Page 23 of Beautifully Wild

Samuel

Samueldidn’tthinkshe’dremember the words he spoke in Rio.

“You’d been drinking,” he says gently.

“Not so much that I forgot.”

He looks out the window to what has her interest and sees their reflection in the glass. She’s watching his every move.

He sees the indent between her brows, and yet there is sadness in her eyes. “You’re angry. I understand.” He witnesses an eye roll. “The other night…” He closes his eyes momentarily with the memory. It was only five nights ago, yet it feels longer. “You surprised me. It put me in a position, and I needed time to consider my action.”

She turns and glares. “Most guys would jump into bed with a naked woman given a chance,” she hisses under her breath. “Especially the one I gave you. Unless I’m—”

“I’m not most men,” he says. “I don’t indulge like our friends.”

She stalls as though comprehending what he’s saying. Her expression softens, and he hopes she’s considering his words.

She turns again to the window like it’s a safety barrier even though both of their expressions are visible.

“Did you know I was on this tour?”

He nods. “Wait for the next stop, and I’ll explain…”

As best he can.

How does he tell her the truth?

He can only explain how she has haunted him from the moment he first saw her.

Even from the time she took a seat on the bus, her scent filled the small space, and he knew it was her before he caught sight of her long, blonde ponytail flowing from the base of her cap, the same fruity, floral scent on her skin she wore to the ball. It taunts him with the memory of her lying close to him, and the soft curves of her body beneath his hands.

She obliterated his armor in Rio, armor he had built up over the years to resist women so he could focus on his work. His duty. He has never expected anyone to understand his way of life or his choices. Years of restraint and the willpower to get to this point in his life all vaporize when he’s around her. He doesn’t know why he gravitates to her like a bee to a flower. Not any flower. She has evolved from all others. Her scent and beauty attract him in a combined complexity, controlling his thoughts and manipulating his behavior. She’s his weakness, and now he has her scent ingrained in his memory—his brain has selected her. The overwhelming need to understandwhywas enough for him to change his flight and head to Ilhéus to find her.

“I wanted to say hello before you hurried off to climb the waterfall, only I didn’t know how you’d react seeing me—”

She turns her head in a snap-like action. “You’ve been on this bus the entire time?”

“At the back,” he confesses.

Eden removes her hands from beneath her bare thighs and wipes her palms on her tank top. “I don’t know what to think.”

The bus pulls to a stop, and the guide announces they have thirty minutes for a quick swim at the rock pool and to stay close by. Samuel stands when the rows before him file out. He glances at Eden and holds out his hand to help her slide across the vinyl. Her gaze remains fixed on the glass, and she stays seated. He leaves her to walk ahead. When he reaches the stream, he finds a smooth boulder to sit on away from the group.

He observes the other tourists splashing in the water to cool down. He catches her in his peripheral vision. She strips down to her bikini and wades into the water only several feet from him.

Tossing his t-shirt on the rock, he sits on the edge so his feet can dangle in the water.

For days, he contemplated what to say when he saw her again. His heart and mind have endured a battle since the morning he left her lying in his bed.

He grits his teeth when a voice tells himyou’re weak. He is threatening everything he’s worked for, endangering the lives of those he now calls family. Simultaneously, his gut tightens the moment Eden rises from the water and takes a step toward him. Water drips from her sleek body, moisture glistening on golden skin in a goddess form. Right now, he believes she’s one. It’s the only explanation for the hold she has over him. The dark shadow of weakness consumes him.

Lust.

Desire.

And more.

It has sparked and ignited his soul. He had tried to ignore it and disregard the voice calling to him to do what he shouldn’t. A voice reminding him of the one he hears in the dark of night when he sleeps on the jungle floor, a voice more powerful than any living being.

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