“Or in my case,” I say, “If I wanted to tie some two-thousand-thread-count sheets together and climb out of my bedroom window.”
Will laughs. “Sure, or say, if you accidentally drop your tiara down a well.”
I grin. “That happens to me all the time. I must have dropped at least a dozen tiaras down the well behind the palace.”
“Now, you’ll be able to retrieve them yourself,” he answers. “Here, you pull this one. I want to see how tight you can get it.”
I take the vine from him, letting my skin brush against his for the briefest second. I yank on it as hard as I can, grunting and struggling while I put my entire body into it. When I finish, I stare at him, hoping I passed the test. “So? Did I do it?”
“You tried. I’ll give you that.” His face scrunches up a little as he takes the vine with one hand and gives it a quick tug, actually tightening it.
“Oh,” I mutter, my shoulders dropping.
“Don’t worry about it. By the time we get out of here, you’ll have some upper body strength. I’m going to turn you into Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.”
He gives me a questioning look. “Hmm, Tomb Raider? Croft?”
“Better than Mad Dog,” I say. “But not by much.”
“Yeah, still not quite right. I’ll figure it out.”
As we set to work on the other connector, I find myself wanting to reach out and touch his cheeks. And by cheeks, I don't mean the ones on his face. Those are some taut buttocks. Yum.
Oh, dear, the humidity must be getting to me.
After a quick lunch of leftover cold yams from last night and more fruit, we pack up camp and get ready to float our way down the river. A thought pops into my head that hadn't occurred to me before. “There aren’t crocodiles here, right?”
“Not many. I have heard of Nile crocs coming as far west as this, but don't worry, they mostly hunt at night, and with any luck, we’ll be off the water by then.”
“Well, that sounds comforting,” I say.
“Actually, we were more likely to be attacked by one last night since we were camped so near the river.” He gives me a teasing grin and I narrow my eyes, unsure of whether to believe him.
We heave our packs onto the raft, then Will holds it steady while I climb on and sit near the center. He hands me the long bamboo pole he's going to use to guide us downstream, then pushes us away from shore and lightly hops on in one swift move. A rush of excitement fills me as we start down the river. I turn and grin back at him as he kneels behind me.
He takes the pole and says, “What do you think? Does it beat walking?”
I nod. “Yes, my ankles say thank you. Well, actually, my entire sore body thanks you.”
“You should thank yourself. You did a lot to build this.”
“Thank you, me,” I say, feeling surprisingly proud of myself. I smile around at the passing trees and feel the sun on my skin, happy to be able to rest safely here as we make up some miles today. “This is terrific. We should do this until we reach Mbambole.”
“If only we could. We’ll stay on the river for the next three days, maybe a little more. Then it curves north, so we’ll have to hike it out from there. With any luck, you’ll be heading back to your palace in under four days,” he says.
“Really? But that’s five days ahead of schedule.”
“Yup! We’ll take them all by surprise.”
“Brilliant. Can’t wait,” I say, with a big smile, even though on the inside, that thought makes me anything but happy.
18
A Fork in the River
Will
It’s our second day on the river, and I’m having far too much fun, which is why I need to get the hell out of this jungle now. If I don't, the consequences will be dire, because for the first time in my life, I think I might be allowing a woman to worm her way into my heart like a skin-penetrating nematode. And it's not just her looks—although she definitely has the most beautiful eyes I've ever gazed into. Gazed into. Stupid Will, so very stupid. I've never gazed into anyone's eyes before, and the fact that I'm admitting to it in this situation proves that if I don’t get us out of here as fast as humanly possible, I’m totally screwed.
I want to hate her. I really do. Or, at the very least, I want a healthy disdain for her that will save me. But the more I get to know her, the more I get all the feels. She's funny and quick-witted and smart, and she has the loveliest voice I’ve ever heard. I could listen to her talk all day long. Or laugh. She has a great laugh, too. It’s like this full, feminine sound that is not only contagious, it’s addictive. And to be honest, it’s so much more fun to be out here with her than I ever would have imagined. She’s so enthusiastic about everything she sees, and even though she has a weak stomach, and isn’t into eating grubs or larvae, she’s up for almost everything else I’ve asked her to try. For a graceful, gorgeous, pampered princess, she’s extremely adventurous. And it’s the adventurousness that scares me because it makes me wonder if that trait might possibly carry over into the bedroom. Because if it did, wow. I’d be done in.
So, for all of those reasons, plus the whole money thing, I absolutely, positively must get us the hell out of this jungle as fast as possible so we can go our separate ways and I can forget all about her. I've done the math, and no matter which way I flip the equations, a relationship between someone like me and someone like her has exactly zero percent chance of working out. Not that I want it to, because I don’t. But, if I did and she did, it could never happen. I wouldn’t last two days in her boring, stuffy, conservative world without wanting to slit my throat, and it's not like she's going to give up her life and her family for me—nor would I want her to because that kind of sacrifice never works out. No, this is a total dead end, and if there’s anything all my travels have taught me, it’s that dead ends are a waste of time and effort.
Although she does seem incredibly happy out here. I thought she’d be missing home, but she hasn’t mentioned it once. Not that that means anything because, as fun as this is for her for a few days, it won't be long before she’ll need to go back to everything she knows—the security, the luxury, the ability to eat something other than charred yams and river fish.
Have I considered seeing if she’s up for a secret fling? Yes. Yes, I have. But Arabella’s not the kind of girl who ‘flings.’ She’s the kind of girl who falls in love for keeps. She has these bursts of courage and strength that seem to take her by surprise, but at the end of the day, she’s an extremely vulnerable person. And it's for that very reason I refuse to take advantage of her, not while I know how this ends. There is no future for us. We’re just two strangers who are spending a very intimate time together under highly unusual circumstances. It's bound to make you feel things that aren't real and think things that aren't true.
And for all those logical reasons, I’m doing my level best to make as many miles as possible each day. With any luck, I’ll only have to resist her for three more nights, then it’ll be goodbye Princess and hello Matilda.