33. Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kian
Lunch in the sun is always nice. It’s hard not to feel smug about how well my plan is going, even if Xane is clearly conflicted about his part in it, and Riley is being a bit of a dick about everything.
The sandwich is nice, and the beer is refreshing, the sun is warm on my back and I’m sitting right next to the woman who’s fated to be ours.
Life is good, and it can only get better from here.
Xane sips at his beer across from us, his gaze slowly surveying our surroundings.
Trick is at his right under the shade of a tree, holding the sunscreen in his hands while he frowns in the direction of the sea. I probably should have slowed down to hand him the lotion, instead of throwing it, but I didn’t want Riley to snap out of his stupor and steal my spot.
Sapphire feels comfortable around me, and I don’t want his mood to infect hers.
He’s standing around behind us, drinking his beer.
Sapphire and I are the only ones eating.
I doubt that’ll last long.
This is Riley’s breakfast time. Another beer and he won’t be able to resist grabbing a roast beef sandwich from the cooler. I know these guys. I made sure I got the kind of fillings they’ll eat.
I wasn’t sure what Sapphire might like, so I got a bunch of different things, too.
There’s more than enough to last a few days, and if that’s not enough time, I have some back up snacks and tinned foods in the hold, too. And bottled water. There’s plenty of that.
I thought of everything.
I kind of had to since this whole thing was my idea.
“Hey, Trick,” I start, pulling his attention away from the sea.
“Huh?” he asks, his expression stormy.
“Beer, or …”
He shakes his head. “I’d rather not dehydrate myself if we might be stuck here for a while.”
He glances at Xane, but our leader’s too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice anyone’s looking his way.
“Well, there’s a fridge and a box full of water in the main cabin, if you’d rather have that.”
Trick nods, before he gets to his feet. “Does anyone else want one?”
His gaze moves around, stopping at Sapphire.
She swallows the bite she just took of her sandwich and rewraps the remainder of it.
“Is there a bathroom on the jet?” she asks. “Or do we need to use the jungle?”
“We don’t need to use the jungle,” I tell her. “I’ll come with …”
“I can show you where it is,” Trick says, cutting me off, before I can finish.
“Great,” she says, pushing her beer bottle into the sand.
She gets up and steps back into her shoes, moving slowly toward Trick as he waits for her, squinting in the sunlight.
He’s still holding the sunscreen bottle, as if he was ever gonna use it.
That pale bastard will be burnt raw by the time he decides the greasy feel of the lotion is worth suffering to avoid further damage.
She gets to him and they walk away together.
I watch until they’re out of sight.
But Sapphire doesn’t leave my mind, not for a moment.
I smooth over her side of the towel, making sure the fabric is sand free for her return.
Our one true mate is within reach now.
The thing that’s been missing from our lives is right in front of us.
All we need to do is to help her see we’re what’s been missing from hers.