"Eagin. Ridley. I can't find Kade."

They turn to me with odd looks and an arm wraps around my body, followed by laughter.

I spin, smacking Kade on the bicep. "God dammit, you scared the shit out of me."

He continues to laugh, but I don't find it the least bit funny. I'm a cluster of emotions—wanting to kiss his face and dunk his head under the water. I push away from him, drying my eyes, and allow my fury to take hold.

"You're really mad at me?" he asks, moving beside me.

I ignore him and swim.

For the smallest moment, I thought Kade was no more, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness weighed me down. It wanted to sink me to the bottom of the river and let the current pull me away to where he was. Now, the logical side of my brain scolds me for being so dramatic. I briefly had morbid thoughts over a boy who only months ago I despised. This is the kind of Romeo and Juliet crap I'm not sure exists anymore. Could I really care about someone outside of my family so much I would rather sink to the bottom of a river than be without him?

Yes. Yes, I could.

My breath hitches and I flounder for a moment; I'm dangerously close to falling for Kade.

"Ari," he calls again, and I swim until I reach Eagin and Ridley. I tell them about the rope and their faces light up. We continue down the river with Kade behind us. I grab the rope, walk to the embankment, and place the knot tied in the middle between my legs.

"Ari, I don't know about this," Kade says looking up at me.

I roll my eyes and grip the rope to my chest. The water is several feet out, and I have to give myself a little encouragement to leap. With my mindset and my body tense, I jump. The air rushes past me as I swing over the water. When the rope jerks tight at its farthest point, I let go and fall into the river. Adrenaline rushes through my body as the cold river engulfs me, and I come back up laughing.

We spend the better part of the afternoon taking turns swinging and splashing into the water. I'll admit that seeing Kade swinging from the rope—his raven locks plastered to his head and the biggest smile on his face—cracks my resolve. Even though I want to stay mad at him, it's nearly impossible when he looks so adorable.

Ridley and Eagin eventually tire of the rope and go back down the stream, and Kade and I stay by the oak tree. He lays on a patch of tall green grass next to the bank of the river, watching as I pull the rope behind me to swing one last time. I focus on the tree trunk to avoid making eye contact with him, but as I pass by, he grabs my hand.

"Hey, are you going to be upset with me all day?" Damn him and his charming smile.

With a sigh, I tie the rope to a nearby branch and sit down next to him. "No, I just freaked out."

"I was playing with you; I didn't mean to scare you." He places his hands on my shoulders and runs them up and down my arms.

I pull my knees to my chest and look out at the flowing water. "The thoughts that ran through my head were some of the worst things I've ever imagined. I was worried I wouldn't be able to save you if you were stuck under the water."

He guides me to lie down next to him and rolls over onto his side. "You were going to save me?"

"It was part of my plan." I'm ridiculous. Bodyguards are surrounding him every single day, and here I am, with a lack of upper body strength, thinking I'm going to be the hero and rescue Kade Slone from drowning.

"Are you upset with me because I wasn't dying?" he asks, chuckling.

I glance up at him, and he takes my breath away. The high grass hides us inside of it, and all I see is Kade with a clear blue sky background. His full lips are parted and concern in his brilliant eyes.

Clearing my throat, I answer his question. "No, I was mad because I thought you were gone, and it was hard to picture my world without you in it."

I wait for him to laugh at my stupid, sappy affirmation. It's not like I've never said sentimental things before, but never has there been such a confident truth behind it. I don't regret the feeling, just my mouth's need to say it out loud.

Instead of laughing, Kade closes the distance between us and kisses me. It's not the same needy passion from the other night. This is something different—this is a necessity—a need to make the other person understand they've become an essential part of the other's life.

His palm slides over the wet skin of my ribs, and a chill rushes up my spine. I wrap my hand around his bicep and pull him close. When his skin touches mine, I lose focus, and all I can think about is the way it slides across mine, and how it even dampens the heat of the sun.

This is our tiny space of eternity where nothing else exists but us—the feel of him against my palms, the sexy growls he makes as he moves from my lips to my collarbone, and his hand trailing to my thigh. When he exhales, I inhale intending to breathe him in and consuming all of him.