There was something about her hand in mine that just seemed to click. I’d done as much as possible to avoid turning into a pile of mush, but the way that little bird looked at me with those eyes filled with sheer adoration, there was little I could do to avoid falling deeper and deeper for her.

The line between Paul Drake and my true identity began to blur, and it was all I could do to tell myself that I’d come too far to blow it over some good sex. Except, simply calling it ‘good’ was the understatement of a lifetime, and I’d be lying if I told you the sex was all I held an interest in.

There was a sadness in this gorgeous woman, a little canary in a gilded cage. I would have given nearly anything to see that sadness taken away, but in truth I knew there wasn’t a whole lot I could do for my pretty girl; once the con was over, Ella and I would never see each other again.

I can’t lie and say that I was thrilled with the thought, but I could only wonder how the hell I’d make it work otherwise.

While I was swept up in thoughts that were nothing short of agonizing, for the first time since I met her, Ella seemed fully content with the way things were going. She wore a bright smile that could stop a man’s heart, and a certain skip in her step that told me she would never be the sort of girl you’d just screw and be on your way.

In a sense, I knew that I’d already gotten myself in too deep. The only problem was that I couldn’t seem to stop digging my hole even deeper. I’d dig a hole all the way to China if it meant seeing this darling of a woman flash her pearly whites.

Call me a sucker. You wouldn’t be wrong. But I had to pull it together before the ship docked in Rio. What use was love if it left you penniless on the side of the road, begging for some chump change?

There was also the matter of whether her mother would even let her keep her share in the company if she took off with some scoundrel like myself. Though Ella had made it very clear that she had no interest in running the company, it was plain to see that she had no life experience outside of the business world. I could show her things she had never seen before, but there was only so much that a guy with my means could show a woman like her.

“Penny for your thoughts,” she murmured, and I found myself swept back into reality.

We stood on the very same upper deck where we had met, out of sight of the rest of the ship. The water in the pool shimmered, and I was overcome by the desire to strip down and dive in. It was a hot, sunny day, the sort where all you could really do was take a dive or retreat to your room for a nap. I wasn’t about to ditch my little bird in favor of cranking up the AC.

“You ever been skinny dipping?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She glanced between me and the pool, seeming unsure of what to say.

“Of course, I’m not going to pressure you. It’s just an innocent question,” I continued gently, reaching out to rest a hand on her shoulder.

She smiled that heart-melting smile, leaning in to capture my lips in a kiss. I met her halfway, and the second our lips met, it was as if we were awash in icy waves.

That is, until I realized what had happened, and swam to the surface of the water.

I sputtered, considering her indignantly as she rose up out of the pool and spat water in my direction. She looked so pleased with herself, I couldn’t find it in me to be annoyed at her.

“That was uncalled for!” I yelped indignantly.

She made a face, sticking her tongue out at me.

“Well, you seemed rather keen to get in; I was just helping you on your way,” she said with a wry grin.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, slipping closer to her to capture her lips in another tantalizing kiss. She looped her arms around me, and I took the opportunity to dunk her underwater. She spluttered to the surface, taking her turn to look betrayed.

“Not as keen as you, my little bird. Not by a landslide.” I smirked.

She ran her hands through her hair, wringing out the loosely curled brown locks. I pulled my shirt off, as well as slipping out of my shorts. She seemed not to care much for the sake of decency, pulling her dress over her head and shimmying out of her underwear. I nearly salivated at the sight of her, only just managing to keep control of myself.

She didn’t seem the type to do the deed in a public pool, though she hadn’t seemed the type to strip naked in one either. Perhaps my naughty streak was rubbing off on her, after all.

I swam towards her, and she grinned cheekily, circling around the inside of the pool to avoid me.

“Playing hard to get now, are we?”

I grinned, and she rolled her eyes, running her hands across her exposed breasts. A surge of arousal shot between my thighs, and I averted my eyes from her dripping body as it glimmered in the sun.

“I was just thinking we could get to know each other a little better,” she hummed, idly toying with her own nipple as she spoke.

She smiled sultrily at me, and I made another attempt to close the distance. No dice. She drew her hands away from her chest, diving under the water and swimming underneath me.

She popped back out of the water a few feet away, though all that she exposed was her shoulders up.

“I’m serious, though. I actually…like you, Paul. I want to know what makes you tick.” She smiled, and I swore my heart was hammering double time in my chest.

What a sap, and what a sap I was for loving it so much.

Before the job, before even setting foot on that ship, I had formulated an elaborate backstory for “Paul” in case anyone asked about my past. Looking into those big, innocent eyes, though, I knew I couldn’t slip one past her. She’d know I was lying in a heartbeat, and I didn’t want to see her disappointment turned upon me.

I swam to the side of the pool, allowing my body to bob up and down in the warm water. Though it had felt icy to suddenly plunge into, now that I had been inside for some time, the water felt more pleasant.

“So you wanna know what makes old Paulie tick, huh?” I murmured, and her eyes widened with delight.

“Well…you know, lots of kids dream about running away to the circus. Nine times out of ten, their parents shut that shit down, you know what I mean? Not to crush their dreams, but cause they wanna keep their youngin’s at home. Keep ‘em safe.” I paused, treading water to get a bit closer to her.

She allowed me to swim near her this time, though I didn’t make any attempt to get physical. If my little bird wanted to hear my story, I would tell it. The real story, the one that so few had the privilege of knowing.

“My parents didn’t chase after me when I ran away. Didn’t send the cops. Didn’t even report me missing. I haven’t seen them since I hit the streets all those years ago.”

She drifted closer to rest her hands on my shoulders.

“So, you had an unhappy childhood?” Ella murmured, tracing her fingers along my skin.

I smiled, brushing a hand through her soaked hair.

“Up until the time when I found where I belonged. I found a traveling circus, and they needed a hand packing things up after the shows. Told me they’d look after me if I didn’t mind bunking down with the freak show carnies at night. I was probably around ten at the time, and while I wasn’t anything compared to a grown man, I was big for my age. I expected to have to wrestle the strong man to earn a bed or something.”

I grinned, and God love her, she was riveted. Being a good con man was all about weaving good stories, and even when it came to my actual past, I wanted to weave a web she would be ensnared in.

“Did you? Have to fight the strong man, that is?” she asked, eyes wide with fear for my little ten-year-old self.

“The thing is, the strong man turned out to be a big softie. There truly wasn’t room for me in their bunks, but he offered me his side of the bed, which he shared with the bearded lady. Gotta tell you, I was terrified of the gal for a good while. But…things changed, ya know? Things got better.

“Bruno and Felicia took me in, raised me like their own. They taught me everything I know about being circus folk. I gotta be honest with you, Ella. Running away from my childhood home was the best thing I could have ever done. Up until I met those carnies, I didn’t know what family meant. Now…now, they mean the world to me. I keep in touch when I can, even work the shows on occasion, but…”

I trailed off, catching myself before I slipped up and revealed my current occupation.

“Anyway. Tell me about your childhood, little bird. It couldn’t have been all bad. All that money—you probably had a Ferris wheel on your back lawn.” I smiled.

She tensed, and I knew immediately that I’d said the wrong thing. I drew her into my arms, and to my surprise, she didn’t protest when our nude bodies were pressed flush together. There was nothing sexual about the embrace; I was simply offering Ella the comfort she so obviously needed. She buried her face against the bare skin of my shoulder, and we floated peacefully in the water as she gathered her thoughts.

“No Ferris wheel, I’m afraid,” she began, her voice wobbly.

All I could think was how I wanted to clobber anyone who had made her feel so melancholy about her childhood. Then again, I didn’t think she would welcome me slugging her mother.

“My mom was always working. Of course, she saw to it that I had the best care available, the most prestigious homeschooling program anyone could ask for. I was just…lonely. Mother was never home, and she kicked my father out when I was just a baby. He was too much of a free spirit for her tastes. My mother curses his name to this day, says he’s the one who put these silly dreams in my head,” she whispered, and I felt tears drip onto my shoulder.

I stroked a hand through her hair, humming softly under my breath like my adoptive mother always had. It had comforted me, and I could only hope that it would bring some peace to this beautiful caged bird.

“Have you tried to get back in touch with your father? He sounds like he would be on your side in all this,” I said, and her body quaked.

“He would have been on my side, had I bothered to look him up during the years he tried to reach out to me. My mother had turned me against him to the point that I thought he could only be looking to get money off of me. I later realized that he probably just wanted to get to know me. By that point, I had been so cold and callous towards him, I couldn’t even consider reaching out to him. They say that money can’t buy happiness, and my mother always argued that whoever came up with that was a fool. In her eyes, money was the only means to happiness.”

I drew away, looking her in the eyes. While I knew I had been lucky to grow up with a family who loved me and was willing to show it, I never could have expected that the money I lacked could tear a family apart so cruelly.

Funny how the world worked sometimes.