Page 53 of The Death
“Good night, Mom.”
She closed her eyes. What she’d said had been the truth. She was lucky in that she had family and friends who would move heaven and earth to help them. They might be alone now, but that would end and people would be here for them. Joe and Caleb. Jane. Dominic Even Celine, who had been so desperate to help her when she had scarcely even known her name…
She had to trust all of them.
Just as Joe had said…
ROXANNE FALLS
DAYBREAK
The next time Celine woke, Dominic was gone, but he’d left a message on her phone.
“Somehow I was too occupied last night to tell you that I had to get up at dawn and set up a team to escort Quinn and his men to meet us here at the waterfall. I wonder how that happened… But I’ll see you at breakfast, and I’ll take you to the cave and protect you from the cockroaches while you look around. Or maybe you’ll be the one to protect me. You’d probably prefer that. We’ll work it out. I believe we’re going to have to do a lot of that in the future. Don’t panic. I’m not pushing… Maybe a little, but what can I say… I think we both know where this is going, and I won’t give up until I find a way to bring it home…”
That was all, but it was more than enough after the night she’d spent with Dominic and the way her body still felt sated and contented and yet ached for more. It just showed how he’d studied her during their time together and how well he’d come to read her responses. Probably with anyone else, she would have felt a little panic at the totality of her response. Perhaps also a tiny bit of distrust that she’d yielded so much of her independence, even in that fantastic a sexual encounter? But he’d made sure that he recognized any problems and was willing to work with her to solve them.What a wise man you are, Alex Dominic.She was suddenly chuckling.And definitely crafty.But at the moment, she didn’t want to worry about anything while she was feeling this lovely glow. She could take care of anything the world threw at her, as she always had before, and she would tell Dominic that the next time she saw him.
But she wasn’t about to go back to sleep now. Time to take a shower in that spray from the waterfall and then meet Dominic for breakfast…
But it was Kontara she met when she was walking back toward her tent after she finished her shower several minutes later. She stopped and watched Kontara standing by the edge of the cliff, frowning. “Good morning,” Kontara said, then added jerkily, “I wanted to see you. I won’t keep you long.” She grimaced. “I feel awkward as hell doing this. But I’ll just blurt it out and get my answer and then I can forget it.”
Celine was gazing at her in puzzlement. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Kontara was speaking fast. The words practically tripping over each other. “The roar of the waterfall kept me awake, so I took a walk in the middle of the night. I was up here, not far from your tent.” She paused. “And I heard more than the waterfall.”
Celine blinked as she realized what the woman was trying to say. “I imagine you did. That’s awkward. As I recall, I might have been a little excited. I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“Don’t be stupid. Do you think that I would have mentioned it if that was all I was worried about?” She drew a deepbreath. “But you’re my friend, I had to be sure. I don’t think that Dominic would do anything that you wouldn’t like. But I’ve found that sex sometimes changes men. I’ve been hurt before. I can’t tell you how many times. They can… hurt you. I had to be sure that you wanted it. Now just say yes or no so that I can stop being such an ass.”
Celine could see how difficult this had been for Kontara in quite a few ways.
“Yes, I wanted it,” Celine said gently. “All of it. But thank you very much for caring.”
“Of course I cared.” She started to turn away. “You cared enough about me to teach me to protect myself. Turnabout is fair play. I don’t have many good friends, but Dominic is one of them. I’m glad he brought you pleasure.” She grinned. “And I promise I won’t be strolling anywhere near your tent from now on.” She started down the hill. “Now get dressed and come down to breakfast.” Her eyes were twinkling. “It won’t be nearly as good as last night’s dinner, but you might need the protein.”
Celine didn’t see Dominic until breakfast was almost over and he dropped down beside her in front of the fire. “You look fairly glowing this morning.” He was eating a piece of bacon as he studied her. “You must have had a good night.”
“Passable.” She finished her biscuit. “But then I usually don’t have a problem. Did you set up the escort to bring Quinn here?”
“Wicked,” he murmured. “On their way. They should behere in a few hours. But he’ll be glad of the progress we’ve made since we’ve been here.”
“Progress?” Her gaze flew to his face. “What progress?”
“Oh, that interests you? I hope I can offer you more than just a fleeting amusement. That cut me to the quick.”
“It did not.” She leaned forward. “What progress?”
He took another bite of bacon. “Which area do you want to explore with me?”
“Everything.”
“Now, that’s encouraging, almost promising.” He was smiling teasingly. “But I’m torn which way I want to go with such an abundance of riches.”
“Dominic.”
He held up his hand. “I surrender. Everything it is.” He got to his feet. “We’ll start with the basics.” He held out his hand to help her to her feet. “Walk with me. Are you finished eating?”
“Not according to Kontara. But I’ll risk it.” She put the plate on the ground. “Though she told me most sternly that I might need the protein.”
