AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lucius pointed at the pillows stacked on one side of the blanket. “Do you want to sit down?”
This was feeling more and more like a date—a thought I squashed immediately. He was only doing this to get me back on track. None of this meant anything.
I sat down and he followed, facing me. “I hope you’re hungry, because Mariana made enough to feed ten people.”
I laughed, feeling better than I had in a while. He didn’t have to go through all this trouble to cheer me up. Despite his questionable occupation, he was a good man.
I peeked inside the basket. “I’ll try everything, then.”
Lucius pulled out containers of food, the basket seemingly bottomless. He chuckled, lifting a small container. “There are even strawberries and dipping chocolate in here.”
My eyes lit up at the mention of chocolate. I couldn’t remember the last time I had any.
He placed the container that held the precious treat in front of me. “You look like you’re about to attack me to get to the chocolate.”
I grinned at him, hoping my addiction wouldn’t put him off. “You don’t know how much I missed chocolate.” I didn’t waste any time taking the lid off and cradling the container to my chest.
Lucius left me to worship the chocolate, foregoing the strawberries. I ate with abandon, barely swallowing before shoving more in. I’d never thought I’d miss small things like my books, chocolate, and my daily dose of television as much as I did. I’d taken it all for granted. And never would again.
By the time I had cleaned out the container, Lucius had set out all the food. There was everything from cut fruit to sandwiches to empanadas and cupcakes. Heaven on a blanket.
I selected a sandwich and enjoyed the homemade hot sauce Mariana added to it. Lucius was watching me, and I bit my lip, unsure how to respond to his intense study of me. “Aren’t you going to eat something?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was redness creeping into his cheeks from getting caught staring at me. But that was impossible. Someone like Lucius didn’t blush.
I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since my jump off the cliff, but Santino told me in as few words as possible that Lucius had been the one to follow me into the water and drag me out. I owed him my life.
Done with the sandwich, I looked up at him. “I haven’t thanked you yet for saving me. If you hadn’t jumped in, I would have drowned.”
“I would have never let you drown.” His declaration was fierce and spoken as if there had never been another option.
I hung my head. “Well, thank you anyway. Even though I thought death was better than the alternative, I changed my mind as soon as my feet left the ground.”
Lucius sat up, setting his food on the blanket. “Death should never be an option. You will make it out of here and get your life back.” He hesitated but then took my hand. “Trust me? Please?”
He would help me get out of here?
The crazy part of it was I believed him. Nodding, I found myself putting my trust into my captor.
He studied my face, clearly satisfied with what he saw because he continued eating.
We spent the rest of the meal getting to know each other. And despite Lucius not being incredibly forthcoming, he eventually told me about his mother who’d died when he was young and that he moved to the States when he turned eighteen.
We were lying on our backs, watching the clouds through the glass roof when Lucius turned to me. “Why did you come to Guyana of all places? It’s not exactly the number one tourist destination.”
Turning on my side to face him, I traced the patterns on the picnic blanket. “My brother went missing. And the last place he was seen alive was the same place you took me from.”
“And you think we had something to do with it.”
Meeting his gaze, I nodded. “I do. But getting kidnapped put a hold on my search for him.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for anything unusual. But despite what you might think, kidnapping isn’t what we usually do.”
His offer meant everything to me. Even if nothing would come from it, having someone else look for my brother was a huge relieve.
I’d realized one thing while here with him: He seemed to like me, but more in a little sister kind of way. He was affectionate, but not overly so. He also seemed protective and to care about me. But not once had he made a move to kiss me, no matter how much I longed to find out what his lips felt like on mine. Or what he tasted like.
And while he might be my savior, first he was my captor. And I would do well to remember that.
