Capture

by Rachel Van Dyken

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Lincoln

  "I'm sorry." Hands shaking, I blocked my view with the brochure and pretended to be interested in the mating penguin exhibit. What the hell? "I really can't do this."

  Dani tugged the loop on my jeans.

  "Rip them off. See if I care."

  She kept pulling.

  "I've got almost a foot on you, Dani, no chance in hell. It's time to go. We've seen everything but a mermaid. Let's just go."

  Her foot stomped down on the top of mine.

  Sharp pain radiated upward toward my shin.

  "Son of a—"

  The brochure was ripped from my hands. She stood in front of me bracing for a fight. I'd never seen her look more beautiful. Face flushed, chest heaving, eyes blazing.

  Holy shit, I wanted to devour her on the spot.

  I suddenly forgot why I was so freaked out.

  My eyes zeroed in on her mouth.

  Her lips parted.

  If that wasn't an invitation, I didn't know what was. I gulped, reaching for her face.

  Just as a giant wave of water collided with her back and my front, nearly exposing just how much I wanted her body glued to mine.

  "Sorry about that! Whales can get kind of feisty."

  Oh good, something I had in common with the giant demon currently splashing its tail a few feet away.

  "You guys ready?" The trainer hopped out of the water like a freaking seal on crack and giggled.

  "No," I croaked. "Not. Ready." Words. I needed to find more words. Did I mention I was going to kill my publicist?

  "Oh." The trainer laughed. "But the kids will be so disappointed if their favorite star doesn't at least do one trick with us!"

  As if on cue, the crowd of kids in the audience cheered and started chanting my name.

  "One, just…" I held up my finger. "… one minute."

  Clothes drenched, I squeaked my way back toward the fence, pulling Dani with me.

  "I can't do this."

  She sighed and glanced back at the crowd. I really needed her encouragement right now, and the part that sucked was that she had no words to give me, nothing. I felt stupid and selfish for needing both.

  "I'm scared of whales," I mumbled.

  She cupped her ear.

  I rolled my eyes as she leaned in.

  "Scared—" I coughed into my hand. "—of whales."

  Her grin had me feeling like a teen who'd just been caught staring too hard at his hot math tutor.

  "Ready?" The trainer bounced back. Could someone — anyone — just shoot a whale tranq into her ass or something?

  Dani reached for my hand and squeezed it. I expected her to let go, but instead, she gripped it as if she was going to go into the water with me.

  Granted, we had our shoes off. It was one step.

  When I told my publicist we were going to go use the tickets, she'd called ahead and let them know I'd be more than happy to do a surprise appearance during the afternoon water show. Lucky for me, I didn't have to swim with a whale.

  All I had to do was feed one.

  I had graphic blood filled visions of falling into his giant mouth and being no more.

  "Yay!" The trainer bounced up and down a few times, making me feel nauseated, or maybe it was just the whale, Zoe, the one currently swimming around and jolting itself into the air.

  "You kids ready?" Another trainer screamed into the microphone. "Let's give a huge round of applause to Lincoln Greene!"

  I gave a weak wave at the crowd as Dani tugged me toward the first step into the giant whale pool.

  "Here you go." The trainer held up a bucket. "Zoe's going to splash you guys again and open her mouth. You'll toss the food in, and when you're finished with that, all you need to do his hold up your hand for a high five. She'll close her mouth, chomp down on the food and do a trick."

  As long as my body wasn't involved in that trick.

  The bucket was shoved into my free hand. I clenched Dani harder. She leaned into my side then started humming Jaws.

  "Not funny," I said through clenched teeth.

  She hummed louder.

  Great.

  A giant black-and-white blob freaking flew through the water at breakneck speed, stopping right in front of us, splashed with her giant-ass fin, then opened her mouth wide.

  Teeth. She had teeth.

  And so many of them.

  I got dizzy just thinking about them. Who cared if they're flat? They were still teeth, and it wasn't the teeth as much as it was the jaw that had me freaked.

  Dani nudged me.

  I released her hand and dug the small fish out of the bucket and dropped them into Zoe's mouth.

  She held it open.

  Hand still shaking, I lifted it into the air to make a high five.

  Without warning, she splashed us again.

  "Uh oh!" The trainer said in the microphone. "It seems Zoe wants a kiss!"

  "Not a chance in hell," I hissed.

  "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The kids chanted along with the trainer as if it wasn't a legit life-and-death issue.

  They kept chanting. I couldn't move.

  Dani quickly knelt on her knees, soaking her jeans as she leaned over the water, holding her head so close to the whale I was freaked she was going to get bit. But the whale didn't move. In fact, she seemed to enjoy Dani's closeness.

  Dani closed her eyes and rubbed her nose against the whale's skin as if to show me it was okay.

  Slowly, I lowered myself to their level and leaned in. Zoe smelled like fish. Any fast movements and I was going to have a legit issue with passing out and drowning in the giant pool.

  "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" the audience kept shouting.

  Dani tugged my face down to the whale; my lips were inches away from Zoe's skin. Next, Dani shoved my face into the whale. It wasn't even a kiss as much as it was a push with my lips against its rubbery skin. She pulled me back then launched herself into my arms.

  And kissed me.

  I forgot all about the whale.

  In the distance I heard cheering and a splash. I assumed Zoe had done her trick, but I was busy doing one of my own.

  Without hesitation, I lifted Dani against my chest. Her feet dangled against my shins as I swung her around and kissed her harder, needing her more than my next breath.

  Her mouth was just as I remembered, hot, sweet and so inviting it was hard to pull back.

  The trainer next to me coughed. "Children present."

  Dani slid down my hard body as I slowly released her and mouthed, "Thank you."

  She winked.

  "Really, you saved my life," I whispered.

  She burst out laughing as the kids laughed and cheered.

  "So…" Dani licked her lips. "… scared of whales, huh?"

  My mouth dropped open at the same time hers slammed shut, as if she'd just realized she'd spoken out loud.

  The trainer, clearly not realizing the epic moment, tried to engage us in conversation. "Thanks so much for coming and—"

  "Yeah, yeah." I nodded and shook her hand while trying to steer Dani away. "Thanks again. We have an appointment."

  We walked hand in hand toward our discarded shoes and socks. Dani didn't say anything. I wanted her to, but I didn't want to push her either. My heart was pounding so hard my chest ached.

  Once we were away from the crowd and alone, I turned to her and said the only thing on my mind, "Your voice is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."