“And let them get eaten by mosquitoes?”

“Fine, we’ll let Milo and Colt in.”

“Max—”

“And Jason! But I draw the line after Jason. Then again, if Hades shows up he can, like, stand in the corner or something, bless his goat heart, he probably wonders where his daddy is.”

“And Reid?” I asked, stumbling next to Max as I tried to keep up with his pace.

“What about him?”

“He’s blood.”

Max grinned. “Right, but you also like his hair and he does the sex smile way too much around you. Reid stays outside. With the predators. Don’t worry, though, I’ll leave him a knife and enough water to last him twelve hours.”

“How kind of you?”

“I have a huge heart,” Max boasted, grabbing me by the hips and twirling me out in front of him. “Wanna touch it?”

“Your heart?”

“Or anything.” Max bit down on his lower lip. “In fact, if you want to touch any part of me, don’t even ask, just do what feels right. What feels good.”

“There’s something wrong with you.”

“Probably because you aren’t touching me, I get weird when I’m without you.”

“Compliment or scary future reality?” I asked.

“Compliment,” Max whispered against my mouth. “Touch me.”

“No.”

“Just my face.”

“No.”

“Just my hand.”

“No.” I was seriously fighting a smile; the man was ridiculous!

“Fine.” Max tucked my hair behind my ears and whispered across my mouth, “Then just look at me every once in a while.” He pulled back. “Yeah, just like that. That look right there would last me an eternity.”

Okay, it was happening. I more than liked him. I leaned into his warm body and let out a happy sigh as we made our way back to the fire. He was dripping wet, but I didn’t care.

He was also slightly crazy.

Again, didn’t care.

I just wanted him—in any capacity he was willing to give me.

The night progressed, we laughed and teased one another, and I tried desperately to keep my eyes open, but I was exhausted. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in Max’s arms, and for the first time in a long time, being excited about seeing a guy’s handsome face in the morning.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

MAX

I’ll deny it to my dying day . . . hell, I may even deny it now, but it needs to be said. The girl had the most beautiful nail beds I’d ever seen.

There. I said it.

Judge me all you want.

They were petite, white, clean . . . oh, hell, I was in deep. I was in so deep I didn’t even want out. I watched her sleep, I watched her breathe, I watched her do everything while I continued running my hands up and down her arms.

I hated that our moment would soon be interrupted by cameras, almost as much as I hated that when we went back to the real world, I wouldn’t be able to skinny-dip with her in the ocean, or feed goats.

Then again, I was rich enough to make both a reality, right?

But I wanted her to be proud of me.

Damn it! This is what women do to men! They give us sex and then there’s this huge expectation to be awesome in every other area of our lives. And I really needed to be awesome in every area. Which was why, when I got home, I would call my dad. I would finally put on the big-boy pants I’d been hiding in the corner. Funny, how sometimes it takes someone else to make us realize that life’s been passing us by.

I would have missed her.

And that thought terrified me. Had I not gone on the show, I would have missed the girl. I would have missed a future with those damn nail beds. I gripped her petite hands, and softly kissed each fingertip.

Missing those fingertips would have been such a crime.

Missing those lips? I shuddered at the thought.

I would never. Ever. Miss her, because she was going to be by my side forever.

“Rise and shine!” Reid pounded on the door. “Time to get ready for the ceremony!”

Becca stirred in her sleep. I got up and opened the door, contemplating punching my brother in the face. He sidestepped me, clearly knowing my reaction to his constant interruptions, and whistled low in his throat. “You ready for this?”

“Of course.” I stretched my arms high above my head. “I’ve been ready for days. I just want it to be over with. Then I can take Becca on my white horse and ride off into the sunset.”

“You don’t own a white horse.”

“We’ll ride Hades.”

“Hades isn’t white.”

“But he has white spots,” I pointed out. “So it’s . . . similar.”

“Tell that to the damsel.” Reid snickered and then his expression sobered. “Max, if this ends . . . I don’t know . . . if it ends differently than you think? Don’t freak out.”

“The only way it could end differently is if Becca was a dude, and believe me, I know for a fact she’s all woman.”

“Right.” Reid licked his lips nervously. “But what I’m trying to say is hypothetically . . . if the game were different and she chose the money and you and not just you. Would you be upset?”

I thought about it for a minute. “Not really. I mean, she was here for the money first, me second. It would make sense. Besides, she needs it for school, and even if I offered to pay for it, she wouldn’t let me.”