Page 111

Jace’s eyes cut to me like I’m the problem.

Mina tsks. “Oh my. You can look, Jace, but it appears the audience is siding with our current front-runners, Rhett and Cristina. Congratulations, you’ve won the obstacle course and are still in the lead at two hundred points.

“Holly and Jace, since I’m not judging on whether or not you cheated, you came in second with forty points, putting you in fourth overall with eighty points. Callie and Jeff grabbed thirty points from this challenge, making their total one hundred points, which puts them in third place. Maya and Logan took home twenty points here, putting them fighting for fifth place against Holly and Jace, with eighty points overall. And Clarice and Beau came in last, adding ten points to their total of one hundred and thirty and putting them in second with one hundred and forty points.”

She keeps talking, but my skin is thrumming. We’re first. We’re really in first place, and we’re trying now. It’s incredible.

I look up at Rhett. My gaze brushes over his eyes, drops to his mouth. He swallows like he’s thinking something big, then he lowers his head and, with his mouth inches from mine, says in a rough voice, “We did it, fair and square.”

“We sure did.”

Then the world narrows to just us—Mina’s clapping muffles like cotton in my ears. Holly’s whining turns into background noise.

There’s Rhett and only Rhett.

“Cristina,” he murmurs, my name a question and a promise.

“Rhett,” I answer back.

Then he kisses me.

It’s only the third time our lips have touched, but it’s the best one yet. Fierce. Claiming.

When we break apart, I’m dizzy, and it has nothing to do with the race.

His eyes are dark—hungry, like he’s done fighting something inside himself. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nod because words are useless. Everything inside me is flame and heartbeat as he drops to one knee, unbinds our legs with steady fingers, and rises in one fluid, powerful motion.

Then he takes my hand and leads me off the course, away from the torches, away from Mina’s cheers, and away from Holly’s whimpering—back toward the resort, toward whatever’s waiting for us behind a closed door.

And I know, deep in my bones, there’s no turning back after this.

Chapter 35

Cristina

Rhett doesn’t move toward me right away, just stands there with his back against the door, chest rising and falling, watching me like he’s memorizing every detail.

I could chicken out right now. Laugh it off, blame the adrenaline, pretend this doesn’t terrify me. Let’s face it—part of me wants to hide.

But instead, I take a step toward him. My hands tremble as I place them on his chest. He sees and takes them in one warm hand.

“We don’t have to do this.”

“I’m not nervous because of you,” I reply, trying to play it off.

“Then what are you nervous about?”

“I’m not nervous at all.”

“Uh-huh.” He kisses the inside of my wrist, and I melt. “Have you told your hands that?”

“They have a mind of their own.”

“So it appears.” He drops my hands and slides one palm over my cheek. I lean into him, reveling in how gently he touches me with his roughly calloused hands. How his gaze is like molten lava. “Cristina, I meant what I said before, about not wanting this to be an escape.”

“It’s not.”