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I can’t help the grin I’m fighting. Turns out, my baser side likes seeing Derek jealous. Likes this new energy running between us as much as it scares me. “Pediatric doctor.”
He groans. “Did you sleep with him?”
My eyes flare. “Okay, now I’m putting my foot down.” I make a show of raising my foot in the air and lowering it. “See. Foot. Down. You don’t get to ask me questions like that.”
“You did. You slept with him.” None of his distress is for show, he’s really losing it right now. And as a result, I am too. Because what is even happening? “God—I’m having the desire to murder someone I’ve never met.”
“You’re kidding me with this?”
“Never been more serious.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little double standard, then?”
He crowds me. “Are younotjealous? Do you not hate the thought of anyone else sleeping with me?” he grinds out, more unhinged than I’ve ever seen him.
And of course I’m jealous! But I don’t want him to know that. And frankly, I don’t want to be jealous since I know he’s had every right to kiss, sleep with, or fall in love with whoever he wants. I like being rational—but I’ve never been able to stay rational when it comes to Derek.
“Am I the only one who’s…” He looks torn between finishing the sentence or keeping it to himself. And then his gaze snags over my shoulder and he smiles politely to Kayama who has walked up behind us.
“All right, love birds? The captain is all set, so we’re going to takeoff. If you two want to just stay here and look out over the ocean as we motor, Alec is going to stand over there”—she points a few feet away—“and take some cute candid photos of you two. Sound good?”
“Sounds great!” I say, even though it actually sounds like the equivalent of swallowing cactus needles to have my picture taken while I live through the terror of falling off the front of the boat and sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
The engine revs up and so does my heart as the boat begins moving across the water. I really feel like, at this moment, I should have somewhere to sit, but alas, this boat is not of the sitting variety. Where we are standing is a massive blue deck with a very flimsy railing around it (unsafe), and down belowdecks there’s a smallish cabin with a few bench seats, but Alec quickly vetoed those when we arrived, saying it would make for incredible photos if we were looking off the bow of the boat as we cruise.
I bet Alec didn’t bank on my look of terror also being in these photos.
“Are you okay there, Nora?” Derek asks, seeing the look on my face and raising his voice above the sound of the boat’s engine.
“Yep!” I say loudly and cheerfully with a thumbs-up, but then I immediately regret letting go of the railing and I latch onto it again for dear life.
Derek steps behind me, and his large body presses into my back as he wraps his arms around my midriff, holding me firmly to him. I glance down and nearly choke on my own attraction at the sight of his pronounced veins and tendons wrapping his strong forearms. Manly forearms.Athleteforearms.
His mouth is at my ear. “You wouldn’t happen to be scared of boats, would you?”
“No,” I say quickly, and then when the whole boat dips over a small wave, I shriek like a crow. “Not scared.Terrified.”
Derek’s hold shifts and laces tighter. “You’re safe. I won’t let you go overboard,” he says, and I absolutely believe him. Deep in my bones I know that if this boat were to hit an iceberg and start sinking to the bottom of the ocean like theTitanic,Derek wouldn’t let go of me. And you better believe that if I found a floating piece of driftwood to hang on to, I’d scoot over and let him on it with me.There was more than enough room, Rose!
Distantly I’m aware of Alec moving up to the front of the boat with us and aiming his camera in our direction—but my mind is too focused on the feel of Derek’s hand spread out, covering my hip and dipping down to my thigh. His hold is not tentative or restrained. I would ask if it’s for show, but…after the way he just admitted to being jealous of my past relationships, I don’t think it is.
I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing or why my heart is racing out of my chest or if this is the worst idea in the world. But before I can chicken out, I raise my voice above the waves. “Derek. You’re not the only one who’s jealous.”
But he doesn’t hear me. “You’ll have to speak up! The engine is too loud,” he yells over the spray of the waves.
“You’re not the only one!” I yell. “I’ve been jealous since I saw you kiss a woman outside your apartment the week after we broke up!”
Suddenly, Derek is twisting me around to face him, his eyes full of concern. “You were at my—”
But the boat suddenly decelerates at the exact moment we hit a wave and the result has Derek’s body swaying into mine as my head jars in his direction—right into his face.
I yelp and Derek groans, and when I look up at him, he’s clutching his nose with both hands. “Oh god, Derek, are you okay?” I say but when he pulls his hands away, I see that he is not in fact okay. His nose is pouring blood.
Derek registers this at the same time I do, and his eyes cut tomine, knowing what’s about to happen. By this point, the boat has slowed to a stop and our brave captain has announced over the intercom that we’ve reached our snorkeling destination. But all I hear iswah, wah, wah,because at the sight of Derek’s blood, the world begins fading out from under me.
Derek calls my name and lunges toward me with blood pouring down his face and shirt, and then everything goes black.
There was so much blood on the boat (and Derek) that they brought us back to the resort. Not to mention the fact that I fainted and freaked everyone out. Kamaya insisted on bringing us back to have the resort’s onsite nurse check Derek’s nose to make sure it wasn’t broken. Thankfully there was no threat of a concussion from me, since Derek caught me before I fell.
