Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 53034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
The bridesmaids are easily identifiable because they’re all wearing cropped white T-shirts that say “Bridesmaid,” with Audra and Kyle’s names and wedding date. I snuck a photo of one of them earlier and sent it to Suki, Mara, and Lainey.
Lucien strips off his T-shirt and drops it to the sand. “I’ve always wondered what it feels like to get stung by a jellyfish.”
One of Kyle’s groomsmen lets out a single note of laughter. “It hurts like fuck, man. Don’t do it.”
Now I know why none of his groomsmen are hockey players. Lucien said it’s well known that all of his former teammates from Vancouver hate him, and why. They all made sure no one else would get burned by trusting him like they did.
“I’m gonna go for a swim,” Lucien says, kissing my temple.
I gape at him. “What? Why?”
He gestures to the vinegar rinsing station nearby. “I’ll rinse off if I get stung.”
He slides out of his flip-flops. Everyone is looking at him like he’s out of his mind, including me.
“I’ll go too.” Kyle pulls his T-shirt off.
I’m not surprised. His ego is too massive to stand here while Lucien swims with jellyfish.
“Want to race?” Lucien asks.
“Hell yeah. I’m not saving your ass if you drown.”
Lucien points at a buoy in the water. “Around that and back?”
“Kyle, no,” Audra says sharply. “You are not doing this. I don’t want your face all stung up on our wedding day.”
He sneers at her. “Keep your panties on. I’ll be fine.”
One of the bridesmaids I don’t know, gasps, probably at his dismissive tone.
“What the fuck, man?” one of the groomsmen, Mark, says. “I guess I have to do it, too.”
“No one has to do it!” Audra cries. “This is stupid!”
I agree with her, but I’m not going to undercut Lucien by saying that in front of everyone. He must have a reason for doing this.
“Three, two, one, go!” Lucien says.
He and Kyle run into the water and the wedding photographer walks up to us. At least I assume that’s who it is. She has a huge camera around her neck and a bag over her shoulder.
Audra covers her face with her hands, crouching down. I’m quietly picturing Kyle’s face being red and swollen in all their wedding photos, and I’m probably a bad person for how giddy it makes me.
They’re halfway to the buoy when Kyle yells out, “Fuck!”
He keeps swimming, though. The two of them are side by side, both swimming hard and fast.
They make it around the buoy, Audra standing now and biting her lip as she watches.
Kyle falters about a third of the way back. Lucien moves like a machine, nothing slowing him down.
“He got stung,” Kayla says softly.
When Lucien runs up onto the beach, he runs his hands over his hair, grinning. “A couple of ’em got me. It’s not so bad, though.”
Not so bad? He has several bright-red welts on his chest, and a couple more on one of his biceps.
“It doesn’t hurt?” I approach him, concerned.
I’ve taken enough first aid classes to know that jellyfish stings hurt. It’s like getting whipped with a red-hot whip.
“Nah.”
Kyle gasps for breath as he reaches a point where he can stand, doubling over. Two of his groomsmen run out to help him.
“I got fucking nailed!” he yells, standing up and refusing their offers of help. “It fucking burns!”
“You idiot.” Audra is seething.
Lucien picks up his T-shirt and puts it back on, unfazed. The groomsmen and bridesmaids are all fussing over Kyle, one of the groomsmen pulling his swim trunks down and yelling, “You want me to piss on it?”
Kyle’s legs and back got stung. He’s moaning and groaning dramatically, the photographer quietly snapping away.
“My work here is done,” Lucien whispers. “Want to go grab breakfast?”
I spent so long getting ready, worried about what I was wearing, that we didn’t have time to eat before we came.
“Sure.”
We sneak away from the chaos, and he takes my hand. I’m still not sure what happened, but Lucien brought his Loki energy out at the perfect time.
“Want to find a restaurant nearby?” I ask him.
He nods, his expression grim. “After we find a rinsing station at another beach. These stings hurt like a motherfucker. I just didn’t want to let on in front of them.”
I never thought I’d be turned on by a man deliberately getting stung by jellyfish. But Lucien is full of surprises.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucien
* * *
Talia holds out her phone to take a selfie of us with the jungle as a backdrop.
“Incoming,” I whisper, turning to kiss her.
She takes two pictures of us kissing, then tucks her phone back into the canvas cross-body bag that rests on her hip.
“That energy drink is really helping,” she says. “I could carry you the rest of the way to the top if you want me to.”
I smile and shake my head. “Yeah, good luck with that.”