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Neither of us acknowledges it, but her nails press a little deeper into my shoulders. “I’m not letting this go, you know.”
With her monkeyed to my back, I grab the thick tree root to my right and slowly guide us to the ground below. “Drop it, Kate.”
Sweat slicks my arms as I continue grasping for rocks and roots while scaling downward.
She mocks me now. “What kind of things make Damon Carlisle believe in voodoo island magic?”
“Dammit, I said—”
We’re a couple of feet from the bottom of the hill when my hand slips. Kate cants to my left from the loss of stability, but I manage to fling one arm around her side as we slide through rubble and dirt the rest of the way.
“Are you hurt?” I instinctively reach for her as we cough through a cloud of dust.
“I’m fine.” She pulls her arms out of my hold.
“Don’t be so stubborn.”
“Says you,” she quips.
The dirt settles, leaving our bodies brushing and stares colliding. I note the only stitch of makeup on her face is a swipe of light pink gloss, which is fading as fast as my restraint.
“I’m not the one who set new boundaries, Miss Harris.”
Her gaze narrows at my rumbling. “I said you couldn’t touch me, not that you should completely shut down when I ask a simple question.”
I close my eyes with a sigh. “You want the truth that badly?”
When I open them, she bobs her head, lashes fluttering as I remove another inch of space. I lose myself in her tender stare, searching for a reason not to tell her, but when I come up for air, I’m empty-handed.
“Youare the reason I believe that touristy bullshit, Kate,” I growl, making those sweet, supple lips part on a gasp. “And if it weren’t for those silly rules you made, I’d rip that little bikini off and beg you to let me finish what we’ve started.”
I’m seconds from pulling her against me—contract be damned—when she peers over my shoulder and whispers, “Holy shit.”
Once I’m finally able to pull my gaze from her, dread coils low in my belly.
“I don’t like that look on your face, Kate.”
A big, beaming smile graces the lips I was just seconds from kissing.
“I hope you’re ready to jump.”
