I was bursting at the seams with a primal desire to stalk her down and claim her for myself. Now, she was announcing her early defeat.
Shoving a thorny bush aside, I exposed the stretch of land. There, in the dipped earth and surrounded by skinny branches, was Marina. Her gun was in one hand, she was facing away from me.
All around, the forest looked like a massacre. Red paint coated bark and rocks alike. It was good that the paint balls were non-toxic. It'd wash away in the next rain storm.
Kite stood on the other side, just out of her view. He watched me for instruction. I motioned for him to keep his gun trained on her. I hadn't counted her ammo, this could be a silly ploy.
Breathing through my nose, the noise—or maybe my piercing stare—alerted her.
Spinning, Marina's eyes bounced frantically. Finally, she spotted me. Instantly her arms lifted, the gun dropping to her feet. She was surrendering without a word.
Not a ploy, then, I thought in frustration. She really had just emptied her tank and lost. Seeing her with her hands in the air, wide-eyed and lips tight, I still found my smile taking hold.
Maybe the battle was over, but the fun wasn't.
“I thought you'd last longer,” I said, keeping my gun on her as I approached. I doubted she was fast enough to grab hers, but I wasn't taking chances. When I closed the gap, I kicked her weapon away casually. As close as I was, I could see the shine of sweat on her forehead. Her lips were trembling. “Why are you so quiet?” I asked, cupping her chin. “Are you nervous? Scared of what I'll ask for as my prize?”
Marina blinked, flicking her gaze from my gun, to my face. The girl who was so clever, so sassy; seeing her turned silent by my presence was... exciting. She could get me going by just existing near me.
Glancing sideways, I started to call out to Kite. I was going to tell him the game was done, Marina couldn't fight back anymore without ammo.
She breathed in deep through her nose.
The sound pulled me back to her, thrilling my core. The dark centers of her eyes twinkled privately for me. Was she waiting for me to kiss her?
The smile she flashed was sudden; too satisfied, out of place. She pursed her lips.
A kiss wasn't what was waiting for me.
Wet, thick streams of red exploded from her mouth. They hit me on the cheeks and forehead, some staining the front of my jacket. When she was done, it dribbled down her grin and left her teeth gleaming like blood.
Jumping back, I rubbed at my face with a gasp. Into her open palm, she spit the remains of some gel capsules. “Two shots,” she said, wiping her lips with the back of her arm. She'd never looked more proud. “That was all I had to hit you with, right?”
Slowly, I rubbed at the paint on my face. It reminded me of this morning, the bloody nose Kite had given me. Today, everyone was getting me with cheap shots.
My smirk was tense. “That was very sneaky.”
She winked. “I learn from the best.”
From my right side, a loud, raucous laughter started. Both of us turned, watching Kite as he hugged himself and bent double. “Holy shit! She got you!”
Stepping back, I cleaned my face with my sleeve. “We lost, Kite.”
“So what?” He had tears in his eyes, a grin so huge it was contagious. “This is amazing. You need to see yourself, Jacob. Fuck, she got you good.”
In my mind's eye, I did see myself. I could watch them both and tell how silly I appeared. Me, the man who was so serious and calm, standing there with vibrant paint all over my face.
Once Marina started laughing, joining Kite, I felt my humor bubbling up.
The three of us, we shook and held our stomachs. Relief, it was glorious—the situation changing from tense to cheerful. I'd never predicted this. I was good at guessing outcomes, and I had failed.
It was a nice failure.
Watching Marina, her eyes crinkling at the edges from her laughter, my mood transformed. I thought of this morning, of last night. Beyond it all, the whole week.
This beautiful woman had morphed me. I'd been concerned, but now I felt something else.
Hope.
Is that what Kite had been feeling, too?
I wanted to believe what he believed. Marina, alive and well when this was all complete. A future where we three could laugh like this all the time was one I craved.
I can make it happen... she can make it happen. I just had to find a way for Marina to prove herself to us. To show she'd never betray us, or lie to us.
But not now.
Not in this moment.
She was still giggling when I snatched her face up. The sweet sound vanished under my lips. The paint had a vague flavor, like artificial plastic. It didn't bother me.
The hunt was over, Marina had won, but it wasn't as if I had lost.
My gun fell onto the leaves, forgotten. Crushing her on the tree she'd used to hide, I held her in place and nibbled her bottom lip. How was every time we kissed more stunning than the last?