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Oliver’s back was to me, so I couldn’t see their actual kiss. But I was pretty sure it lasted longer than any of us, especially him and Mya, expected. When he backed up from her, he hurried down the line at the same rate Carter had, not taking his time with anyone else the way he had with Mya.
And then it was my turn. Just get it over with. I unglued my hands from my pockets and went over to Mya.
She gave me a nervous little smile. I couldn’t believe we were all in this situation. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be doing something like this. I leaned in and set my mouth to hers. Quick and fast. Friendly.
With Gwen, I had to forget she was Wyatt’s daughter for a second during our kiss.
Lucy was next. How in the hell was I kissing Charley’s sister, and in front of her? I kissed the side of her mouth, barely catching her lips, hoping our host didn’t spot that. Best I could do in the situation.
My heart was going to pound right out of my chest once I was before Charley, though. I was sweating. Skin on fire.
Charley’s blonde hair was styled differently from Cape Town. She had long bangs now, swept off to the side that blended in with her wavy hair. She was as gorgeous as I remembered.
Her breasts lifted and fell as she breathed through her nose. And when her eyes met mine, I tensed at the memory of the last time our mouths had touched.
“Just do it,” she whispered the directive since I was stuck in the echo of last month’s encounter.
I forced myself to dip my head and slant my mouth just over hers, our lips barely a breath apart, then closed my eyes and waited to see if she’d meet me the rest of the way.
The moment her soft lips met mine I nearly groaned. At the feel of her tongue skimming the seam of my mouth, I almost cursed.
Instead, I took it as an invitation to meet her tongue with mine. The “polite” term French kissing could kiss my ass. This was more like fucking with our tongues. It was hot. Borderline dirty. And being in the presence of others, including those watching on camera, only seemed to ramp up the energy between us.
I couldn’t stop myself if I tried.
She’d have to break the connection, give me some signal when she was ready to back off.
Her hand landed on my chest, lingering for a moment before climbing up to my shoulder, and she held on to me as we made out, and the rest of the world faded away.
My mission? What fucking mission? She’s my new mission. The bad guy, aka the Wizard of Oz man-behind-the-curtain, never fucking heard of him.
“Ahem.” It took Stephen loudly clearing his throat to finally break the spell. “Like I said, a kiss can reveal chemistry.”
When I eased my mouth back from Charley’s, she blinked a few times as if wrapping her head around the moment we’d shared—and fuck, it was a moment, no denying that—then she slowly withdrew her hand from my shoulder.
She must’ve forgotten the pool was right behind her, and when she stepped back, she knocked into a lantern, pitching her toward the water. I quickly shot my hand behind her back and hauled her into my arms. Her hands landed on my chest for support, and she stared up at me with a swirl of confusion in those beautiful eyes.
“Fast reflexes,” I overheard Stephen comment as Charley righted herself. “Nice catch.”
Once I knew she was safe from going into the water, I let go of her. I gave her one last look, then forced myself to rejoin the guys.
Carter’s brows lifted as I headed back his way, a question in his eyes.
Yeah, join the club. I have a lot of questions, too. I huffed out a deep breath, willed my hard-on to go down, then turned toward the host. I couldn’t remember what was next during the icebreaker round, too lightheaded from that kiss to think straight.
“Next up, you’ll each take turns answering a series of questions,” Stephen shared as a few staff members from the lodge began carrying out a table and . . .
Shit.
“A polygraph?” Oliver piped up at the sight of the recognizable equipment. He tossed a quick look Gwen’s way, probably wondering why she hadn’t given us a heads-up that’d be part of the game.
Was this new? Did someone running the show suspect something was off given the sudden change in contestants at the last minute?
We still had no idea if we were dealing with just one serial-collecting psychopath somewhere or a team of criminals. The entire show could be a cover for some shady shit. Or have absolutely no connection to the disappearances whatsoever. Jury was still out. Too early to tell anything.
Hell, it could even be a hide-in-plain-sight kind of bad guy, like our host.
One target we could handle. An armed team, though? I didn’t like those odds without worrying innocents would get caught in the crossfire.
