Red Hot Rebel - Olivia Hayle Page 0,36

kids obsessed with the idea of going on a safari. My little sister had created bingo sheets for all of us with hand-drawn images of the animals for us to spot. It hadn’t really worked out—we all saw the animals together, after all, so we all got bingo at the exact same time. But it was cute.

Joy pulls the Jeep to a stop outside a beautiful lodge. I have to give it to Ben, his company has sourced some of the most beautiful places in the world. Dark wood, the lodge is nestled into the surrounding landscape, located on a hillscape.

The roof is thatched and thick, and wooden double doors beckon. “Welcome to your lodge,” Joy says, jumping out of the driver’s seat.

“This place is… wow. It’s beautiful,” Ivy says.

I lift her heavy bag out of the back of the truck. It’s still insane that the agency sent her with this amount of clothes, but… it’s starting to annoy me less.

Everything about her that once irritated me is starting to do so less.

“It’s the best lodge we have,” Joy says. “It’s top-tier. Come on, come on, let me show you…”

We follow her into the lodge, and what greets us is nothing less than the best Rieler has to offer. A giant bed is in the center, flanked by windows on either side that open up to the landscape beyond. Private, but right in the middle of nature.

I look into the other areas of the lodge. A living room, a giant bathroom… but only one bed. Ivy registers it at the same time as I do.

“Is there another bedroom?”

Joy falters, but only slightly. “No, sir. We were told to set you up in one lodge. Will that be a problem?”

“No, not at all.” I’ll grab the couch. Won’t be the worst thing I’ve slept on—not by a long shot.

Joy’s smile is back. “All right, then. I’ll leave you to get settled. There’s a golf cart outside your lodge, which you can take to go to the main house for breakfast and dinner. We’re just a call away if you need anything at all.”

“And our scheduled safari starts in two hours?”

“Yes, that’s right, sir.”

I sink down into the giant sofa. It’s amazing—it doesn’t hurl through the sky at ungodly speeds. Perhaps I could finally get a bit of shut-eye before we have to shoot. “Thank you.”

Ivy talks to Joy on the way out. It’s a long while until she finally makes her way back into the lodge, and when she does, I have to force my eyes open.

“Are you doing better?” she asks.

I close my eyes again. Something about her noticing that I disliked flying rankles me. It shouldn’t, but it does. Almost as much as the fact that she’d thanked me for doing her a favor by kissing her.

“I’m fine,” I say.

I’m not. The idea of sleeping just a few feet away from her in this lodge creeps through my system like a disease. It meets with the memory of her lips against mine, heat exploding beneath my skin.

Endless possibilities.

It’ll be tempting to try to get close again, I know myself well enough for that. What’s more—it’ll be tempting to get to know her better. She’s surprised me every step of this trip.

She’d called me predictable. Me, while she is quickly turning out to be the most unpredictable person I’ve ever met.

She’s broken ever box I tried to fit her into.

I put a hand over my forehead and keep my eyes closed against the bright Kenyan light. “I’ll sleep on the couch,” I say. “It’s comfortable enough.”

Ivy gives a soft laugh. “Don’t be silly. Your feet are hanging off it. You don’t fit, Rhys.”

I open my eyes to respond but fall silent. No words come out. She’s standing over by her open suitcase. And she’s not wearing a shirt.

Oh, she’s in a bra, and perhaps she thinks that shouldn’t matter to me—I’ve seen her in it before, not to mention shot her in a swimsuit—but it does. Because now it’s just her and me. Because there’s a locked door between us and the outside world.

And because I know how sweet her lips taste.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready.” She rummages through the suitcase. I watch as she grabs what looks like a ridiculously sized toiletry bag. No human in existence has ever needed a toiletry bag that big.

“We have two hours to go.”

“Yes, but there’s no hair or makeup artist here.” She tucks the bag under her arm and scoops out another