In Peace Lies Havoc (Midnight Mayhem #1)(43)

I turn back around, just as King pulls up to a clearing. “Wow!” There’s a long waterfall that’s pouring over a cliff, crashing into the clear water below. “Wait, how do we know there aren’t gators or anything in this water?”

King shrugs, climbing out of the truck. As soon as his door is opened, the humidity slaps me across the face, and suddenly, I no longer care. Anything to take away this sticky heat. Just as I’m closing the door, the Range Rover and other truck pull in, parking beside us. I’m instantly annoyed that Val is here.

They all stammer out, and Rose yanks at my towel. “Take your clothes off, Dovey!” She hands me a wine cooler, and we clash our bottles together in a cheers.

I take a sip and watch the rest of the girls strip half naked and all go diving into the water after The Brothers.

“You all right?” a voice says from behind me. “Why aren’t you in the water?”

I turn around to find a guy I haven’t met yet. He’s tall and slender with kind brown eyes. He’s attractive, at first glance.

“I’m getting there.” I chuckle.

He laughs, and I notice his white teeth instantly against his tanned skin. His eyes fall on me. He has a friendly face. “I’m Jackson, but people call me Jack.”

My hand meets his. “Dove.”

“I know who you are.” He winks, removing his shirt. No ink. Not even the star that The Brothers have. Interesting.

He dives into the water, just as I slip out of my sandals.

“Oh, come on, Little Bird. Get in the water!” Killian yells.

“What are you scared about?” Val snaps, climbing up one of the rocks, shaking the water from her toned body. The Brothers don’t pay her any attention.

Shrugging off my towel, I toss it to the ground, placing my wine cooler on top. I pad my way to the rock that Jack dived off of.

“Dovey! Holy shit!” Mischa is laughing from the water. “That dancer body, though!”

“What?” I look down at my soft curves, but athletic frame. I have a tight six-pack and more muscles than bone, but essentially, I still wiggle in places. I like it that way, because I love food. “You’re insane. You’re all fit.”

“And you’re not?” Rose challenges me with a sneaky eyebrow lift.

I roll my eyes and dive into the water, instantly releasing all of my stress that the heat had brought upon me. My head breaks through the water, and I swipe the excess off my face, laughing.

“Feel better?” King whispers from behind me, just as his arm locks around my torso.

I spin around, wetting my hair back, so it’s not all over my face. “Much better.” I’m still laughing when I lean forward and kiss him softly on the lips. I freeze when I pull back. “Sorry—”

His lips are on mine again, his arm tightening around my waist. He releases me after a few seconds, and his eyes are searching mine.

“What are we doing?”

“Don’t do that,” he murmurs against my lips.

“Do what?” I want to know what he means. Suddenly, everyone and everything has disappeared behind me, and it’s just King and me.

“Don’t ask questions that you’re not ready to hear the answers for.”

“And you think I’m not ready?” I probe, wanting something. Anything. “You said that you hated me.”

“Yeah, and what did I say after I admitted that?” The words come out of his mouth, but his arms are still holding me beneath the water.

I think over my very brief memories, before his words come back to me in a violent echo. “I don’t need to like you to fuck you.”

“Okay.” I flutter my arms to keep me afloat, but fail miserably when I sink back under water. His hands come to the back of my ass, and he lifts me up out of the water again, forcing my legs around his waist. I’m chuckling with my arms around his neck. “We didn’t finish that conversation. Why do you hate me?”

His eyes narrow, and for a very brief second, I’m lost in his blatant masculinity. His dark hair and lashes. His very prominent jaw that always looks as though he’s tensing it—that’s how cut it is, and the way his eyes can express almost every human emotion while not exuding any at all. “All in good time.”

“Dovey! Want your drink?” Rose hollers, snapping me out of King’s trance. I push away from him and start swimming to the shoreline until my feet touch the sandy bottom. Once I’m out of the water, I take my drink and set my towel up beside her as she flicks through her phone and turns some music on.

“Are you okay?” she asks without looking at me. I get the feeling she’s trying to be secretive in her questions.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I answer, running my fingers through my hair before it tangles.

She exhales, turning her full attention to me. “Please be careful, Dove. They’re not what you think they are. They’re—”

“Hey!” Mischa, the brunette girl who seems to have way too much energy for her little body, flicks her towel down on the other side of Rose. “You and King?”

“Ah…”

Maya drops her towel beside mine, complaining about wearing a bikini, even though she’s wearing sport shorts over her bottoms. “Fucking hate this Texas heat.”