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The way he pointed his finger at me made me giggle like a girl. “Careful there, little girl, or I’ll be forced to punish you.”
“Nope. That’s not going to happen.”
“It will if I say so. And I don’t have a stick stuck up my ass.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
We both laughed as the scent of the incredible food wafted toward us, making my mouth water. But not nearly as much as the man standing in front of me. “Anyway, just stop beatingyourself up. As you reminded me to do. Let’s enjoy tonight at least.”
“You’re something special, Zoe. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And you’re right. I will. If it takes my last breath, Iwillput out the fire.”
Something flickered in my periphery of vision, an intense smell assaulting my senses. As soon as I turned my head, I gasped. “Maybe you could start right now!”
He caught my gaze, turning his head. “Ah, shit.”
I wanted to laugh since the food he’d placed on makeshift grates over the flame had sparked into a large enough fire I wasn’t certain he’d be able to put it out easily. For all of his organization skills, his careful attention to details, this was the first and if I had to guess the only time the powerful, handsome man would be off his game.
Unable to keep from doing so, I broke into laughter as he did everything he could to douse the flames, even attempting to save the ruined seafood.
If he only knew that I couldn’t care less about food. The only thing that mattered was spending time with him.
The larger-than-life hunk.
The brooding, ruthless self-proclaimed killer.
And my personal hero.
CHAPTER 16
“But you’ve slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart.”
—Maria V. Snyder
Zoe
Whoever said being friends was better than being lovers was an idiot, but as twilight began to set in, I was enlightened by the fact I’d prefer having Maddox as a friend than as an enemy. He was still the strong, brooding type but over the last couple of hours, he’d finally started to relax, telling me a few stories that both amazed and terrified me. They’d been devoid of emotion, a return to times when he was in full control of the situation. Handling business his way.
Killing when necessary, experiencing no remorse whatsoever.
“Do you believe in karma?” I asked.
Maddox chuckled. “Karma is a method of balancing good and evil, or righting wrongs. But in my mind karma has a hidden meaning.”
I’d never known him to be so philosophical. “And that is?”
“To me the expression is one of hope, that whatever you put out in the universe will come back to you in the most unexpected ways.”
“Only if you take a few chances along the way.”
He grinned, which I also wasn’t expecting. “Exactly.”
I savored the moment, thinking about what he said.
“How many people have you killed?” I asked after there was a lull in conversation.
He took another swig of his drink, staring out at the ocean as he’d been doing almost the entire time since finishing dinner. The feast had been incredible even without the charred seafood. Breads and cheeses, other meats, and fruits. The selection had allowed me to see a more romantic side of him.
Yet as the light had begun to dim, the darkness had taken him other places, his mind lost in whatever operational maneuvers he required to calm the beast inside of him. He was even more on edge, as if my earlier concerns had flagged something within his psyche.
