Page 17 of Save Me (The Wolf Hotel Mermaid Beach #2)

I didn’t realize how much tension I’ve been carrying around until now, but the farther we get from the hotel and all those people, the better I feel.

Fuck, why did I blow up on Connor like that? He was just being himself.

Sloane walks quietly beside me, picking out the strawberry slices from the fancy water Jeremy made her and slipping them into her mouth. He couldn’t just fill a glass with ice. He had to make it a fucking art piece. Clearly, he’s in love with her. I’ll bet all her staff is. Probably Frank too.

Shit, I’m jealous. That’s what this is. The only other time I’ve experienced this is with Henry, because he has what I want. What I want ed .

But now, it’s Sloane, and I’m in competition with every other male out there. I’m not used to this—to feeling like the woman I’m with is undecided about whether she even likes me as a person. And then I had to go and lose it on my best friend like a douchebag .

On impulse, I reach out to graze her fingertips with mine.

I get a coy smile in return.

Okay, that’s a good sign. I entwine my hand in hers.

“So … Preston and Merrick.” Her bare feet sink into the soft white sand. We kicked off our shoes and left them next to the stairs from the hotel to walk along the beach.

“What about them?” What does she think about guys like that? Because all I ever see are women throwing themselves at these rich bastards.

“They’re Henry Wolf’s friends, but not yours.”

“No. I mean, I got to know them because of the wedding, and I get along fine with them, but those guys are from a different planet.”

“Yeah, I got that vibe.”

“They grew up with summer houses and unlimited credit cards in their wallets. I grew up in a three-bedroom back split with a teacher and an electrician who didn’t believe in paying an allowance for chores because I needed to be a contributing member of the family.

I went to the community pool and mowed the neighbors’ lawns for cash.

I don’t have their kind of money, and I never will. ”

Sloane’s face softens. “I prefer that.”

“Yeah? Why?”

Her pretty lips twist as she considers her answer, and all I want to do is kiss them. “Because you know what it’s like to work for what you have.”

I chuckle at the irony. “Honestly? I don’t feel like I’ve earned anything that I have right now.

I mean, that beach house? The car? These clothes?

” I gesture at myself and then give her a meaningful look.

“A month ago, I was picking up trash and popping beach umbrellas in Miami. I was a low-level grounds crew sort-of supervisor.”

Her eyebrows arch with surprise.

“Exactly.”

“Well … You must have done something right to impress Henry Wolf. I don’t know him, but he doesn’t seem like the type to hire people who can’t do their jobs.”

Yeah, I went into a collapsed mine shaft to save his ass, and I’ve kept a lot of secrets. Hardly résumé builders for this role.

“Not growing up in their world is a positive. You understand the other side of life too. The everyday people side. There’s value in that.”

“I guess.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and I take that opportunity to stroke the meaty part of her thumb with the soft pad of mine.

“Are you parents still alive?” she asks suddenly.

“My parents? Yeah. They’re getting ready to retire. My sister still lives with them, but she’ll probably be moving out soon.” Which reminds me, I need to get her exact flight details so I can pick her up from the airport on Thursday.

From the corner of my eye, I sense Sloane studying me as we walk. What I would do to be able to read her mind right now.

Up ahead, the beach veers, and the jetty forms the harbor. The harbor that Henry wants to destroy. “I’ve never seen a beach like this anywhere else in the world. ”

“Have you traveled to a lot of places?” she asks.

“A few. But I want to see more. You?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t even have a passport.”

“It’s not hard to get one.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just …” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Gigi was always happiest around here, and I guess I’m like her. I can’t imagine a place I’d rather be in than the one I have.”

Her words are a gut punch. Guilt about what I know—about what’s about to happen to her paradise—coils around my neck like a noose.

Do I ruin the night and tell her?

“I’m supposed to go to Hawaii one of these years.

Frank goes back to Oahu every now and then to visit his mother, Anela.

That’s how we know him. Anela used to babysit my mother when they lived there.

She and Gigi kept in touch. A few years after my mom died, Frank showed up.

He said he was tired of island life, but Gigi knew it was because Anela sent him here to help us.

And he hasn’t left since.” She smiles wistfully.

“He sounds like someone you can count on.” Who’s probably in love with her.

“He is.” She bites her bottom lip as her forehead wrinkles.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Hmm?”

“When you get that worried look and your forehead scrunches up.” It’s cute and sexy, but it’s obvious she’s not telling me something important, and I don’t like that. Then again, who am I to complain, given I’m keeping life-altering details from her. “What’s going on, Sloane? ”

“Nothing.” She smooths her expression. “You don’t even know me well enough to know when I’m worried.”

She’s not wrong. Except … “I know certain things about you very well.” Like the feel of her soft lips against mine and the way her entire body quivers when she orgasms.

Her cheeks flush. She peers over her shoulder at the hotel in the distance now. “We’re almost at the harbor. Should we turn back?”

I check my watch and then the sun. It’s descending, but we still have about forty minutes before we’re expected in Opal Reef for dinner, if the schedule Eleanor sent out is accurate.

“No, not yet.” I’m beginning to worry that I didn’t think this through.

What if Henry drops the bomb on her tonight as a fuck-you to me for bringing her?

He’s a vindictive bastard, and I’m not ready for this thing between us to end.

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Okay. Well … what do you want to do?”

That’s a loaded question. You, Sloane. I want to do you, in every way imaginable.

“I want you to myself for a little while longer,” I say instead.

Her throat bobs with a hard swallow. “We have water in the hut. You thirsty? Because I could really use something cold.”

I admire the sheen that coats her skin. It’s still hot out. “Yes.” Perfect. Let’s go to the hut.