Chapter Thirteen
Sabine didn’t trust easily. Not because she’d ever been cheated on, or had her heart stomped on, or been betrayed by friends or family, but because people lied.
Sometimes in ways that could kill them.
She’d once had a patient who’d claimed he’d been sitting perfectly still when the heart attack hit, only to admit later he’d downed three espressos and two Red Bulls on his way to work because he’d been up all night playing video games.
And then another who’d said she was totally abstinent from alcohol and had been for years, but her labs screamed cirrhosis.
And then there had been yet another who had insisted he hadn’t shoved anything up there and had no idea why he was in severe pain and bleeding from the rectum.
In a game like Outlast Her, dishonesty could be just as deadly.
“What do you think?” Sabine asked softly, sinking deeper into one of the jade-hued pools until only her head and neck floated above the cool water.
She considered leaning back against the rock and closing her eyes, but falling asleep in water when semi-exhausted was on her list of terrible ideas.
Right alongside texting while driving, ignoring chest tightness after a long run, and thinking it’s fine to mix a few glasses of wine with a new prescription.
“About the Water-For-All Alliance... do you think we can trust them?” She tilted her head toward the massage beds where Isla and Taye were lying flat on their stomachs.
They were completely silent except for the occasional groan Sabine heard through the roar of the waterfall as the therapist worked coconut oil into their muscles.
Talia dunked under the water and came up sputtering. Droplets clung to her long lashes and ran in rivulets down her cheeks. She shook her head just enough to send beads flying across her shoulders and a few across Sabine’s face. “I think we can trust them.”
“Are you just saying that because they asked us along for the reward?”
Talia shrugged and loosened the straps of her bikini top. Then she tucked them beneath the top, which she wiggled down a few inches, exposing more skin. “Yesterday you were panicking that we were on the bottom, and now we have a way out.”
“Well, making decisions while panicking isn’t the best idea,” Sabine pointed out. She kept her eyes strictly on Talia’s face and not on her chest.
“I’m not panicked,” Talia said, leaning back against the rocks and closing her eyes. Of course, she was doing the exact thing Sabine had decided was irresponsible. At least if she fell asleep, Sabine would be there to save her. “I made the decision with a clear head, and I feel good about it.”
“You do?” Sabine asked.
“Yes,” Talia said, her eyes still closed as the cool water lapped at her shoulders.
“And you should too. We finally have an alliance. Isla is right; Shakira’s the biggest threat.
If we can get her out, Amy will end up paired with Monique.
Connie and Charlize would probably still side with them, unless Monique wants vengeance against the Core Four, but she probably won’t because she’s outnumbered.
If we keep Marloe and Lucia in our alliance, it doesn’t even matter if Monique wants Isla and Taye out.
We would continue to stay in the top three pairs no matter which way you play it. ”
Sabine was nearly impressed. “You’ve been paying attention.”
Talia cackled and kicked up a spray of water. “Not bad for a bartender.”
“Not bad,” Sabine agreed as she winked at Talia.
Over by the massage table, Isla let out a scrumptious-sounding moan. Sabine flicked her gaze in their direction and wondered when it would be her turn. The knots in her shoulders had knots. When she looked back, Talia had moved a little closer.
“You know, the camera crew is on a lunch break. There’s no one around,” Talia said.
“So?” Sabine asked, though for some reason her pulse was beginning to stutter.
She wasn’t an idiot. She knew exactly where Talia was going with this.
She’d even considered it multiple times over the last day whenever they found themselves alone.
There had been too many times that her thoughts had drifted to what it would feel like to kiss her again, to glide her tongue along the inside of Talia’s thigh, because she hadn’t gotten a chance to do that and hear her moan.
But no. It wasn’t going to happen. Not here. Not now.
“So,” Talia said, dragging out the word as she extended one foot beneath the water.
Before Sabine could explain herself, Talia trailed her toes along the inside of Sabine’s calf, and Sabine couldn’t help it; she reacted on pure instinct.
Her hand shot down and knocked Talia’s leg away like she was swatting a fly.
Talia sucked in a breath. “Did you seriously just hit me?”
“Not hit,” Sabine said quickly, even though that was exactly what she’d done.
The truth was, the second Talia’s toes had touched her skin, Sabine had only two options: shove her away or pull her closer.
And pulling her closer would be a horrendous mistake.
A mistake that could inadvertently cost her the Outlast Her title.
“You can’t do that. What happened the other night was—”
Talia interrupted. “You’re going to say it was a mistake.”
“Yes,” Sabine said, relieved she didn’t have to say it out loud.
“Well, I don’t agree,” Talia said matter-of-factly, shaking her head.
The water around her rippled as she shifted, sending small waves nudging Sabine’s ribs.
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Honestly, I can’t stop thinking about it.
And I know you’ve been thinking about it too.
That’s why you’ve been keeping your distance. ”
“I keep my distance because we’re not friends,” Sabine said.
Although that wasn’t entirely true. They weren’t friends in the traditional sense, but they were something.
She just had no idea what that something was.
“We are here to win the game. This isn’t The Sapphic Match; I’m not here to find love.
I’m here to win a title and a lot of money. That’s why I keep my distance.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “You’re right, but love is just a little lagniappe.”
“Please,” Sabine cut in. She hated how exasperated she sounded. She hated how she was practically begging. But then again, Talia made her exasperated. The woman was exasperating. “Can we just forget anything ever happened? Or at least just pretend it didn’t happen and focus on why we are here.”
“Fine,” Talia said.
“Fine,” Sabine echoed, feeling momentarily victorious. At least now it was settled.
Talia drifted nearer. And nearer.
Before Sabine could swim across the basin to the opposite ledge—where ferns spilled over the volcanic rock and fat-leafed vines kissed the water—Talia was standing right in front of her.
She was so close that Sabine could feel the warmth of her through the water.
So close that the space between them shrank to nothing but a sliver of air.
So close she could see darker specks in Talia’s honey-brown eyes, and feel her knees brush against her thighs.
Suddenly, Sabine forgot how to breathe.
And then it didn’t matter if she was breathing, because Talia was lifting her hand. She was skimming her palm across Sabine’s shoulder. She was sliding her fingers up to Sabine’s jaw. Then she was tilting her face just enough that Sabine had no choice but to look at her.
“I don’t want to pretend,” Talia said so quietly the word barely made it past the roar of the waterfall.
“I know you think it was a mistake, and maybe it was. Maybe we were being stupid. But this game, this time we’re spending here, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
There’s no rule that says we can’t thoroughly enjoy the moment. ”
Sabine could easily argue the opposite—they shouldn’t be enjoying themselves, they should be strategizing to win—but the words got stuck in her throat because Talia was leaning in. And then, so was Sabine.
Their foreheads touched first. Then a pause.
A breath. Then Talia’s nose brushed against hers, then her lips.
And Sabine suddenly made an involuntary sound against Talia’s mouth, which was all the encouragement Talia needed.
She swept her tongue into Sabine’s mouth and kissed her harder.
Talia tasted like beer. Her skin smelled both salty and sweet.
Sabine pressed closer. She wanted to slip under Talia’s skin.
She wanted to flick off her bikini top, yank off those bottoms, and feel her nakedness against her own.
But then reality set in like a stone sinking into water.
Not only were Taye and Isla close enough for this to be awkward, but the camera crew was huddled on crates just beyond the trees.
Any one of them could snap their heads back and see the two of them making out.
What would they say? Would they flick on the cameras and begin filming immediately?
Would they spin Outlast Her into a love series? Sabine hoped not.
She pulled back her lips and, before Talia could even protest, she glanced toward the massage tables. Isla and Taye were still face down on the plinths. The massage therapists were busy and oblivious. If they were quick, they could... No! Absolutely not.
“We can’t do...” Sabine couldn’t even finish her sentence because suddenly Talia’s hand was skimming down her stomach to the crease at her hips.
Sabine thought she knew where this was going.
Talia was going to stick her hand into her bikini bottoms and slip a finger through her folds, and she was going to moan because of course she couldn’t help it; she had no say when her pleasure centers were this deliciously stimulated.
But Talia didn’t finger her.
Instead, she ran both hands up Sabine’s torso, made her way to her ribs and before Sabine could take a breath, she was pushing up her bikini top and fondling her nipples, which weren’t just peaked, they were begging for Talia’s mouth around them.
Sabine stepped back. Or tried to. There was nowhere for her to go. She was wedged between Talia and volcanic rock. “This is too risky. We’re going to get caught.”
“We’re not,” Talia said, kissing Sabine’s neck while at the same time sliding her hand down Sabine’s thigh and drifting them back up between her legs.
Then she dragged a finger over the gusset of Sabine’s bottoms, and then another, which was honestly the best fucking thing Sabine had felt in a long time.
At least since that other night. She was soaked.
Wait, was that possible even when submerged in water?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was how long Talia was going to keep this up before she finally touched her.
“Sabine! Talia! Your turn!” Isla called.
Talia jerked back so fast that there was a splash, and then she was gone, submerged under the water. Sabine snapped her head back only to see Isla sliding off the plinth and Taye folded over, stretching out her hamstrings.
Had they seen what they were doing?
The thought made Sabine sick. She swallowed hard and called, “Coming!” Then she climbed out of the pool, careful not to slip on the slick stone, and didn’t bother looking for Talia. She’d caused enough trouble already.
Which was exactly the problem. Because the truth was, Sabine wanted the trouble.
She wanted Talia. And that was the sort of want Sabine didn’t allow herself, not here.
She was here to win. She’d trained for this, planned for it, built her whole world around outlasting everyone in the room.
She hadn’t flown across the world to get distracted by warm eyes and an easy laugh, and she definitely hadn’t come here expecting to fall for anyone.
It was always the same. Someone seemed to walk into your life when you least expected it.