Hannah's Hero - Ruby Dixon Page 0,85
mouth. He nods at me in acknowledgement, and then reaches over and grabs Taushen’s spear from where it sits against the edge of the cliff. When he touches the point, I realize they’re going to do weapon talk, because J’shel’s mind is still focused on the big, dangerous creature outside.
Right now in this little lagoon, though? That monster seems very far away.
I dunk under the water again, and then do a little twirl even as Brooke swims a circle around me. “We’re not polluting the drinking water, are we?”
“It’s a bit too late to worry about that, isn’t it?” She laughs at my stricken expression. “No, silly. We get drinking water from the waterfall.” She points at the trickling water far above. “It’s coming from the rock itself.”
“Oh, good. I’d hate to drink my own bathwater.”
Brooke ducks her head and comes back up with her cheeks puffed up, full of water. She swishes it around in her mouth and then spits it out, then pretends to consider. “Interesting blend,” she says in a snooty voice. “The aroma is crisp and earthy. As for the taste, I’m catching notes of…sweat and jizz.”
I splash her, blushing. “You are gross!”
“I didn’t say whose jizz it was,” she tells me mischievously, and then points a finger at me. “Though when you got down here, you definitely had some headboard hair, so I’m guessing we both got more than a few notes of jizz, if you catch my drift.” Brooke wiggles her eyebrows at me. “And your man looks like he went through a hurricane. Hurricane Hannah?”
I stifle a laugh, glancing over at J’shel. Okay, he does look like a mess. His long hair is everywhere, all tangled and messy and cascading down his shoulders and back. I think it’s sexy…but it is a mess. He definitely looks like he’s been rolling around in the furs, that’s for sure. “He’s going to have some serious tangles,” I agree, unable to stop staring at how sexy he is. Even right now, I want to just climb out of this pool and ride him like a pony.
“So…should we high five? Or do I still need to pretend I didn’t hear you getting railed last night? Or this morning? Or this afternoon?”
I cover my face, embarrassed at Brooke’s words. I can’t help but giggle, though. “You are the worst.”
She mock-splashes me. “It’s just girl talk. I’m teasing you. In all seriousness, I’m glad you two finally got together. I was hoping for that when you asked to come with us. You looked so unhappy at camp that I figured getting away would do you both good. I see now that I was right.” Brooke’s expression is smug as only a matchmaker’s can be.
I can’t even be mad. I’m glad we’re here, because it allowed me to get away from the stress of the camp and see J’shel for who he is, and being with him made me realize I’ve been fighting hard over nothing at all. “This has been exactly what we needed,” I admit to her. “I owe you one.”
Brooke just chuckles, swimming another lazy stroke around me. “We all fight it a little harder than we probably should, but it always works out in the end.”
I nod and slip under the water again, scrubbing at my hair because it feels so good to swim and get fresh water all over my body. I surface for air once more and glance over. Both Taushen and J’shel look less interested in the water—or their mates—and are gesturing at Taushen’s spear, eyeing it and speaking in low voices. I glance a little farther away and it looks like he’s been making nets out of the green vines as well. That worries me. I swim over to Brooke’s side. “Is Taushen stressed about that big bird outside?” I keep my voice quiet so it doesn’t carry over the water to the men.
For the first time, Brooke’s playful expression disappears. She chews on her lip. “Very worried,” she admits. “He’s mostly worried about how we’ll get back to the tribe and the safety of the beach. For some reason he thinks they won’t come out of the mountains—I guess because there’s no dvisti on the beach. He thinks he should confront it, but that thought terrifies me. That thing is far too big and they only have spears.” She shakes her head, her wet hair flinging a few drops at me. “I told him we can just stay here and wait