Jade

I woke up to the chattering of monkeys. The dominant colobus had come to visit with some of his troop. They perched along the deck’s railing as if modeling their stunning black and white coats on a New York runaway, staring intently into the bungalow. For a moment, I wondered what they found so interesting. I followed the monkey’s line of sight to Matthias, stretched out beside me on the bed, fully dressed in his usual cargos, long legs crossed over his ankles. His stare was fast on his tablet as he scrolled down his screen. I stared. Why was Matthias in my bed?

Memories of last night hit me in vivid detail, everything from the party, to Peter Drake, to Matthias coming to my rescue. God help me. What had happened since? I bolted up in bed.

“Don’t move…” Matthias tried to stop me but it was too late.

The pain split my skull in half. It was as if I’d been struck by a Viking ax. I clutched my head between my hands and slumped in Matthias’s arms, keening as he slowly lowered my head back on the pillow.

“Easy now,” he murmured.

A jolt of residual pain hit me. “Ow.”

“Give it a minute.” Matthias grabbed a bag of ice out of a bucket by the bed and pressed it to my forehead. “You need to stay very still.”

I shut my eyes and waited for the worst of the pain to pass. The ice clinked quietly in the plastic bag, cooling my forehead, spreading a pleasant numbness over my scalp. The pain slushed at the back of my head for a few moments then settled down into a quiet presence. As long as I didn’t move my head, I was okay. But the pain lay there in ambush, holding me hostage, waiting for me to stir it with a careless motion. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes cautiously.

“You’re okay.” Matthias shifted the bag of ice from my forehead and tucked it beneath the curve of my neck. “But your head is probably gonna hurt for a while.”

“No kidding.” I grimaced. “What happened after I went out?”

“It’s kind of a long story.” He sketched out what I soon came to believe were the grossly understated details of what sounded like a very hairy situation. “In the end, it’s all good. Zeke’s shots scared the croc, we got picked up from the water, and we brought you here.”

Wow. Not only had he arrived at the right time. He’d fought for me. He’d jumped into the river after me and had a near miss with a croc up close and personal. If all of that wasn’t enough, he’d stayed with me all night and taken care of me.

Matthias cupped the back of my head, lifted it gingerly from the pillow, and pressed some pills and a glass of water against my lips. “Here, take these.”

I swallowed. A surge of belated anger heated my cheeks. “Where’s Peter?”

“We’re looking for him right now,” Matthias said.

“But it was Peter, right?”

“All the evidence points his way,” he said. “But the ranger I’d assigned to watch him before I got to the party didn’t see him put anything in any of your drinks.”

“Wait…you had a man on Peter?” I reeled at that. “Why?”

“Never really trusted Drake. We never caught him doing anything illegal, but my gut told me from day one that he was up to no good. I suspected he was supplying drugs to some of our staff, but we didn’t catch him with the merchandise. Right now, we have him on the hook for assault. I’ve got people looking for him. Have no doubt, I’m gonna find him.”

For an instant, I felt sorry for Peter. He was doomed. I wouldn’t want to have Matthias hunting for me. Then all the semblance of compassion went away. I dug my nails in my palms. Peter was going to get it…from me.

A new realization hit me. I’d survived all kinds of stuff. I’d always relied on myself to ensure my own safety. I would’ve never put myself willingly in someone else’s hands. I simply didn’t have it in me to trust another human being like that.

And yet, last night, Matthias had taken charge of me. He hadn’t acted like a player. He hadn’t betrayed me. He’d acted like a gentleman, like a good, upright man, a warrior with a sense of honor. And I, I had actually trusted him with myself. The realization blew my mind.

“Babe, listen up.” Matthias sat on the mattress next to me and traced the edges of my face with his brawny fingertips, a light touch that pebbled my skin and resonated between my legs. “I want you to rest this morning. It’s the fastest way of getting over this. I’ll have Claudette bring you some food. If you do as I say, you’ll feel somewhat better by this afternoon. Got that?”

“It’s not like I have brain damage.” As long as I didn’t move, my head was fine.

“In that case…” He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine, a soft, chaste kiss that felt anything but chaste to my suddenly feverish body. “I want you to be packed and ready to leave by noon.”

“Leave?” The promise of pain kept me in place, but I lowered my chin and shot my best glare at Matthias. “You can’t throw me out of the reserve. I didn’t do anything to break the rules.”

He cased my cheek with his hand. “Don’t get all riled up for nothing.”

“But I’m not done here,” I said. “I’m not ready to leave.”

“I’m not kicking you out.” He paused and then, “You’re coming with me on a little trip.”

I frowned. “A trip to where?”

“I’ve got to run some errands and get some leave off the books.” He trailed his knuckles along the line of my jaw. “Since you’re my responsibility, I can’t very well leave you behind. With Kumbuyo around, I need to keep you with me at all times. Given that you and I have some shit pending, I figured we should make good use of the time.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but my body pulsed with excitement. Matthias and I were going somewhere. Together. The anticipation was about to kill me.

“I’d like to give you a preview,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“A preview of things to come.” His smile deepened the creases that radiated from the corner of his eyes and lit his irises with a warm golden glow.

I didn’t dare move a muscle when he kissed me again, a slow, careful exploration of my mouth that parted my lips and imbued my tongue with the wholesome taste of him. Not for nothing, but his kisses promised to take care of my headache a lot better than any medicine. He held me while he kissed me and that was good and exactly what I needed.

“Rest now.” He murmured with shocking tenderness, before he kissed me again and got up from the bed. “I have somewhere I need to be, but I’ll come get you this afternoon.” He gave me a little peck on the forehead and made his way to the door.

“Matthias?” I called after him, trying to emerge from the haze that his kisses spread through my brain. “Don’t you think that instead of telling me, you should ask me if I want to come with you?”

He stopped by the door and, hand on the handle, considered his shoes for a moment. When his face finally swiveled in my direction and his gaze met mine, his mouth curled up at the ends in an expression that fell somewhere between a smile and a smirk.

“No, babe,” he said. “I need you to come with me. So be ready, Jade. That’s an order.”