"Please, Jameson," I begged, tugging on my boyfriend's warm, firmly muscled arm. "Let me take the blindfold off."
He laughed lowly in my ear. "Don't trust me?"
"Absolutely not."
As if to prove my logic, the next step I took was accompanied by a trip. Wind whisked my hair backwards as I stumbled forward, fearing my demise, but warm arms snagged me before the ground could.
"Careful, heiress," Jameson taunted. "One of these times I might not catch you."
Had they been visible, I would've rolled my eyes. I settled, however, for a good shove to his left arm. "You wouldn't need to catch me if you took this thing off."
"Where's the fun in that?" Jameson's strong hands probed my hips, infusing my skin with his natural heat. However, the butterflies that he aroused were more similar to irons burning through my jeans.
"Fun has nothing to do with this," I retorted. "You're just trying to torture me."
Taking my hands, he led me a few steps to the right, supposedly dodging something. A tree? I held out my arm as we walked, hoping to brush a branch to confirm my suspicion.
Contrary to popular belief, I hated surprises.
"Cheater," Jameson mumbled as I triumphantly touched a tree's trunk. Leaves, and what I assumed was ivy, clung to the braided bark.
"Is this the Black Wood?" I demanded.
When Jameson hesitated, bile gathered in my throat and panic threatened to overwhelm my body.
"No," he murmured, his voice near my ear. "I wouldn't do that to you."
Jameson must've noticed me shaking, because he removed my blindfold upon further investigation. Instead of the haunting, densely-packed forest in which I'd been shot at, I discovered a glistening lake, so bright the water almost appeared silver.
The fear inside me began to recede.
"I'm sorry," Jameson said, reaching for my hand, "I didn't realize you might —"
"I'm fine," I interrupted, brushing off his comment. I squared my shoulders, shoving the fear away. If he'd meant to surprise me with this beautiful scenery, I wasn't going to ruin it.
Walking towards the edge of the lake, I twirled in a circle. The claustrophobia I'd felt mere moments ago dissipated. Trees were much fewer than I'd expected, and unlike the Black Wood, the sun was visible through the foliage. Beneath the lake sat a tattered collections of sticks and stumps, as if a fort had given way in the wind.
"We used to come here as kids," Jameson explained, closing the space between us. From behind, his arms slung low around my waist. "All four of us."
"Why did you stop?" I asked him, tilting my head.
Jameson lifted my hair to kiss the back of my neck. His lips shifted, though, and warm breath tickled my ear. "Nash stopped coming. He started avoiding Xan and Gray and I." A soft sigh met my earlobe as he continued. "And then Gray stopped, too."
"You haven't come back since?" I asked him with a head tilt.
Jameson shook his head. "I didn't want to. Every time I considered it made me long for something I couldn't have back."
"The past," I said.
He nodded, head solemn. "Sometimes I feel like the old man ruined my life."
I reached up to cup his face. "Hey," I said, voice echoing off the circle of trees. "He did get you a girlfriend."
A crooked grin infected his lower face. "So maybe ruined is a strong word . . ."
My hands went to my hips. Still smirking, Jameson stole my arms and looped them around his shoulders. He dipped his head into my neck and trailed a few kisses up my collarbone. Skin aflame, I went weak in his arms.
I simultaneously hated and craved his effect on me.
"So, maybe," Jameson murmured, pulling on my waist until I was level to his chest, "the old man did me a favor."
My lips twitched as Jamie pulled me into a kiss. His hands were hot blades on my waist, but I didn't mind, even as his grip tightened. Even as he murmured, "I think it's time to have some fun . . ."
And grinned mischievously.
Before I could fix him with a suspicious glare, Jameson shoved me into the lake.
My body didn't have time to brace for impact. As water lolled around me, encompassing me on all sides, my brain struggled to catch up with the heartbeats racing in my chest. Forcing my head upright, I discovered my boyfriend bent over on the damp sand, laughing.
Treading water, I glared. "Jameson."
He smiled innocently. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Help me out."
I swam the few feet between us and extended my hand. Jameson took it, but before he had the grip to pull me out, I yanked. Hard.
Between one heartbeat and the next, Jameson had joined me in the water. I couldn't help my laugh as he ran a hand through his wet hair.
He'd done this to himself, and he was well aware of it.
"You're pretty strong, heiress," he murmured, stripping off his soaked t-shirt and tossing it to the sandy shore. I tried not to stare at his bare chest and failed miserably. "Could've pulled my arm out of its socket."
"Serves you right."
Smirking, Jameson caught me in his arms. The water was shallow enough that we could both stand, although I was up to my neck. As he kissed me, my legs wrapped around his waist, arms synonymous around his shoulders. He alternated between my lips and my neck, his lips teasing my delicate skin.
When the sun began to set that afternoon, we were still in the lake, kissing between our low, murmured words.
As Jameson finally helped me out of the water, letting me dry myself with his sun-warmed shirt, he asked, "Do you like it here?"
I nodded. "It's . . . peaceful."
"Better than the Black Wood, huh?"
A pleasant sigh filled me. "So much better."
