He shrugs. “Probably because you were under the boss’s wing. That and I’m working a lot of the time.”
“Working?”
“I navigate.”
“Ah,” I say, nodding. “You make sure we don’t get lost.”
He chuckles. “That amongst other things.”
“Like?”
“Like tracking.”
I frown. “Right.”
“Sorry,” he murmurs, looking genuinely sympathetic that he’s been hired to track the man who saved my life.
“No problem,” I manage through gritted teeth.
“Come on,” he says, pushing the bottle back toward me. “I’m only doin’ my job. Don’t judge me for that.”
He’s giving me the eyes—the pleading puppy dog eyes. I giggle and shake my head, rolling my eyes. “God, fine, okay. Give me that.”
I take the bottle and have a drink, feeling for the first time in weeks like things might just go how they’re meant to.
And surprisingly, I feel content.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jess
Louder, louder!” I giggle, spinning around in a circle.
I’m drunk—no, I’m beyond drunk. I’ve gone to the level of crazy and I’m rocking it. I’ve been dancing to my own voice for the past half an hour, singing and spinning until I land in a heap on the sand, then I start again. I have most of the guys in fits of laughter; I’ve even seen Dimi smiling here and there. His eyes haven’t left me, though, even when Malibu Barbie tried to crawl onto his lap.
“Zed!” I yell. “Sing louder.”
Zed has joined in now and we’ve skipped off to the sand. He’s now perched on a rock singing “Cotton Eye Joe” to me in his best country voice. It’s not very good but I’m not about to break that to him. He sings louder and I spin harder, twirling until my stomach turns. I drop onto the sand with a loud laugh. Zed leaps off the rock and runs over, plonking down beside me.
“Ever tried to make shapes out of the stars?” I giggle, staring up at the small stars streaking across the sky.
“No.”
“Try,” I encourage, squinting to see through the haze. Nope, I’m too drunk to see them clearly.
“You go first.”
“Okay,” I say, concentrating. I let my blurred vision slide over the stars until I’m sure I can see a shape. “Oh, look, that one looks like a penis.”
Zed snorts and chuckles. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, look, there.”
I point up to the sky.
“Yep, there’s about a billion stars up there.”
“Look harder,” I urge. “It’s right there, pointing to the moon.”
Zed bursts out laughing. “Are you serious?”
“Serious,” I cry, wiggling my legs. “Look.”
“Zed?”
I hear Dimitri’s voice and I turn to see him standing in the sand, arms crossed, looking down at us. Zed leaps up, dusting the sand off his jeans. “Sorry, boss, just lookin’ at stars.”
“I got it from here. Go and finish up with the guys.”
He nods and flashes me a smile. “Later, Jess.”
“Later, Zed, thanks for making a penis with me.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, disappearing into the trees. Dimitri takes his spot, lying beside me. He puts his hands up behind his head. My body becomes aware of his presence and in my drunken state, I’m finding it very hard not to roll toward him.
“Do I even want to know what you two were doing?”
I giggle. “We were making shapes out of the stars. I saw a penis—he couldn’t see it.”
Dimitri turns to me, raising his brows. “Pretty sure there’s no penis shapes up there.”
“There’s a penis, Dimi. Don’t you doubt it.”
He laughs softly. “It’s getting cold, you should go and get some rest. It’s nearly two a.m.”
I raise my brows, rolling clumsily onto my side. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Let’s go for a swim first.”
“Not sure that’s wise.”
I pout. “What did I say about being a fun-spoiler? Come on.”
I get up after a few hilarious attempts, and I stumble forward toward the ocean.
“Whoa there,” Dimitri says, wrapping an arm around my waist and hauling me backwards. “You’ll kill yourself.”
I huff. “No I won’t, it’s fine.”
“Come on, you’re drunk and you need to sleep.”
“But, Dimi,” I whine. “I want to swim.”
He makes an amused sound and pulls me toward the ship that’s docked on the sand. He helps me up the ladder, which ends in a lot of giggles and curse words from him. By the time we get halfway to his room, he’s given up and has scooped down and lifted me into his arms.
“I can walk,” I protest, attempting to squirm. It’s really useless. He’s too strong.
“I have no doubt, but it’s far quicker this way.”
“Can we go for a swim?”
“No.”
“Please, Dimi.”
He smiles and I reach up and touch his cheek where a lone dimple appears. “You have only one dimple.”
“Is that right?”
I nod, poking it with my finger. “That’s right. Do you think it’s a deformity?”