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“You’re cute when you pretend to be tough.”
Now he’s mocking me.
“I’m not pretending to be tough. I’m giving you fair warning. It’s up to you whether or not you want to take the risk.” My expression remains flat but there’s no way he can’t sense the hint of playfulness behind my words.
“You think you could do it?” He steps toward me, his large frame shadowing over me. “You think you could really leave someone for dead?”
“If I felt like I had to, yes.” I square my shoulders, refusing to shrink under his dark gaze.
“I don’t believe you.” He dips down so that his eyes are level with mine. My heartrate skyrockets. “I’ve known a lot of killers in my life, and you are not one of them.”
“Looks can be deceiving. I am a Herrera, after all.” I can’t help myself. It’s like I get some sort of sick pleasure by taking jabs at him. And mentioning my family certainly seems to rile him up.
At first I think I’ve pissed him off; the way he’s looking at me is enough to make my knees shake under my weight. But then his eyes lighten and his features relax. Tipping my chin, his gaze drops to my mouth then back to my eyes, like he’s trying to decide if he wants to kiss me or shove my ass off the dock.
I hold my breath as I wait, trying to anticipate his next move so I know what to be prepared for. But much to my relief, and my disappointment, he turns and effortlessly hops into the boat. Turning, he offers me his hands. I weigh my odds of falling if I jump in and decide that’s probably not a good idea, given how that worked out for me last time. So, even though I don’t want to, I take his hands and allow him to help me down into the boat.
I pull my hands away the second my feet are planted, not wanting to prolong the contact. It’s bad enough that my feelings are all kinds of messed up. It’s something else entirely to let him in on this fact.
“You can sit in the back,” Mateo tells me, gesturing to the back of the boat where three long benches line the rear, forming a U shape.
He unties the rope anchoring the boat and pushes hard against the dock, causing us to drift a couple of feet further into the water. Taking the seat behind the wheel, he waits until I’ve settled onto the far side bench directly behind him before firing the engine to life. It rumbles loudly, a sudden light flooding the water in front of us.
Seconds later, we’re whipping through the water at rapid speed.
I hang onto the side railing as we bob and weave through the water.
I have no idea where we’re going and honestly, I’m not sure that I care. Being out here, on the water, the night air hitting my face, the taste of salt water on my tongue, it feels amazing.
I don’t know how far we travel, or how much time has passed before Mateo slows the boat and powers off the engine, leaving us bobbing aimlessly in the water.
“What are we doing?” I ask, suddenly nervous.
He stands, turning toward me.
“Lie down,” he instructs.
I’m pretty sure my heart ends up somewhere in my stomach as I stare up at him.
“Why?” I try to make my voice sound normal but it still comes out a little higher than usual.
“For once, just do as you’re told.” His words are curt, but his expression is relaxed and at ease. I watch as he takes the bench seat on the opposite side from me, stretching out on it before tucking his hands behind his head, his face turned up toward the sky.
I watch him for a long moment before mirroring his actions.
“Wow.” It’s the first thing off my lips when I catch sight of the sky. It’s filled with more stars than I think I’ve ever seen.
“You don’t have night skies like this in Pennsylvania.”
“No, we certainly do not,” I agree, letting out a slow breath as I allow my body to relax further.
We lay silent for several minutes, both of our gazes locked on the sky, the boat bobbing gently back and forth in the water, the sound of it sloshing around us the only thing I can hear.
It’s so strange, being so far removed from everything. I don’t think I’ve ever been so isolated from the rest of the world before. And if circumstances were different, I think I’d actually really love it out here.
“This is my favorite place to come when I need to clear my head.” Mateo breaks the silence between us. My head lulls to the left and our eyes instantly lock.
“I can see why,” I tell him softly.
