Blooming in the Wild Page 0,86

“I mean The Zone’s future is a little iffy right now. I’m hoping DelRay’s sponsorship will boost my status with the network. Or at least I was, before this whole trip went to hell.”

Bella bit her lip. He had a point. Would DelRay consider the trip worth a redo? “I’ll fix it, somehow,” she said as he drew the comb carefully through her hair. “It was working, I know it was. You looked great with the equipment.”

He leaned forward to kiss the point of her bare shoulder. “Mahalo.”

“What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” he asked, before she could reply. “When we get back, I mean, because we are getting back.”

She was startled by his question. “Well, continue on with DelRay, of course. If they’ll have me after the debacle this trip has turned into. If not, I’ll have to look for another job.” She wasn’t looking forward to that at all. In fact, the thought made her shudder.

But instead of kissing her shoulder comfortingly, her lover was silent for a moment. He stopped combing. “Are you nuts?” he demanded, his huff of laughter more derisive than humorous.

Bella turned on him, the last remnants of her warm glow of pleasure dissipating. “What?” she said defensively.

He closed his eyes for a moment as if asking for patience, the red plastic comb hanging lax in his hand. “Bella, you don’t want another job like that.”

“Oh, and why not?” She turned her back on him, scowling and he resumed combing her hair, tugging a little harder.

“Because, you’re not a suit. You don’t belong locked up in a goddamn office all day. You belong out here, with the trees, and the plants—and freedom.”

She rolled onto her knees and turned to face him, anger so sudden it came out of nowhere blazing in her. She might be in love with him, but he could still be as dense as a lava boulder. “We can’t all play for a living, you know.”

He pulled his head back as if she’d slapped him, his cheekbones staining with red. “Oh, so I play for a living, huh? And I suppose hawking swimsuits and hiking shoes is more important?”

He tossed the comb aside, levered himself to his feet, and stood there, shaking his head. “At least I’ve found a job I love.”

She glared at his gorgeous ass as he turned his back on her and bent over to fish a pair of shorts from his bag. His sac hung heavy between his muscular thighs, and part of her wanted to reach out and touch him there, pull him back down with her. Part of her wanted to smack him on that ass—hard.

“Well, at least I’m not afraid to put down some roots,” she snapped. Blinking hard against a sudden blur in her eyes, she groped in her own bag and found her last clean bikini. She thrust her feet into the brown-and-white-flowered bottoms, then had to yank them off again and untwist them before wriggling into them.

She let out a squeak of surprise as Joel reached down and pulled her to her feet, his big hands holding her upper arms. He scowled down at her. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t want to be tied to one spot, held down and strangled by a place that I can’t get free of. But I’ll tell you something. You’ve got roots, but they’re in a big cement pot. And they’re gonna strangle you, sooner or later.”

They glared at each other for a moment. Bewilderment and anger tumbled inside her. How had their idyll become this mutual attack?

“You’ve only known me for a few days,” she said quietly. As she had him. Was she really in love with him, or were these powerful emotions just the heat of the moment?

“I could say the same,” Joel said, echoing her thoughts. He shook his head. “Look, I don’t mean to psychoanalyze you. It’s just that…” His gaze softened, and he lifted one big hand to cup the side of her face, stroking across her cheek with his thumb. “You’re so beautiful out here. Like you’re part of this forest—a young queen, and all of these”—he waved his hand at the trees around them— “are your subjects.”

Bella gazed up at him, her heart swelling so much at his praise that it hurt. “Mahalo,” she whispered. “I’m… Is that really how you see me?”

His eyes heated, and he stepped closer and squatted to grasp her around the hips and lift her high in