Conquer

  I ran over immediately. Nobody was going to fuck with that girl while I was around.

  Chapter Twelve

  ~~Paige~~

  “So tell me again why I should bring a bathing suit with me.” I called out to Daemon as he walked to the bathroom to grab a shower. I was still lying in bed, not really looking forward to moving after what Daemon put me through the day before. My muscles ached and I wasn’t sure I would be able to remain upright if I attempted to stand or walk.

  Daemon’s head poked out of the doorway. “That’s for me to know, Damsel, but you will be spending some time in the water today, although I’d suggest against a bikini.”

  I thought about his suggestion. What the hell did he have planned that would require more than a bikini? I groaned. Whatever it was, I’m sure it wouldn’t be good. “I don’t own anything but bikinis. Plus, I don’t think I brought any bathing suits with me to your place. We may need to stop by the apartment.”

  Daemon didn’t respond. When I heard the water turn on, I laid my head back down on the pillow. I woke up again to Daemon nibbling my ear. Water from his hair dripped down on my face and the smell of his soap overtook me. “Hey beautiful, you need to wake up. We’re going to be late.” I looked up to notice that Daemon was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts.

  I couldn’t help the yawn that escaped me before asking, “Are we going to the beach or something?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” Pulling the covers from me, he lifted me up, carried me over to the closet and placed me on my feet. “Now, get in there and get dressed. Don’t forget your bathing suit.”

  I was amazed to find that I was able to stand on my legs without collapsing. Although they were tight, it actually felt good to stretch them out. “Little problem there, Daemon. I don’t have a bathing suit here. I never thought to grab one.”

  Daemon waved off the issue. “Not a problem, we’ll stop by a store on the way. Get dressed. I’ll go make coffee.”

  He left the room and I quickly put on some shorts and a tank top. I slipped my feet into a pair of flip flops, then headed into the bathroom to pee, wash my face and brush my teeth.

  I walked out into the living room to find David waiting patiently on the couch. A bag sat next to him with a rolled up towel and what appeared to be folded up cardboard sticking up out of the top. David was wearing a plain white t-shirt and some board shorts.

  “You’re coming today as well?”

  He smiled. “Hell yeah, I’m coming! I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He clapped his hands excitedly. “Today is going to be fun. You’ll see.”

  What the hell?!

  I walked into the kitchen and stood next to Daemon. We were watching the brewing coffee when I asked, “So why does David get to know where we’re going and I don’t?”

  Daemon put his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. “Because, I have a thing for surprising you, Paige. It’s one of the small joys I take in life.” He looked down at me and winked. I just smiled and shook my head. I’d finally learned that there was no use arguing with Daemon when he was keeping information from me. I’d have better luck convincing the President to give me classified government documents.

  We sat in the living room for a bit to drink our coffee, but then we were quickly packed in the truck headed towards my surprise destination. We drove for about twenty minutes before Daemon pulled down a small dirt road that led to a hidden parking lot. A lake came into view to my right. I noticed several cars with empty boat trailers parked throughout the lot and my curiosity peaked when I saw where Daemon was taking me.

  Daemon parked the truck and came around to open my door. He grabbed my bag from me, leading me toward the launch dock. It was a good distance to the dock so, while I was able to see the boat, I couldn’t quite make out the person standing in it who was presently waving in our direction. Daemon waved back as we approached. I was really surprised but excited as hell to recognize that it was Logan as we got closer.

  Letting go of Daemon, I ran the last fifty feet to the boat. I jumped in and threw myself into Logan’s famous bear hug. “Paige! Good to see you, babe! How the hell have you been?” We let go of each other and he smiled brightly at me. “Daemon tells me he’s been toughening you up?” Logan took two play swings at me.

  “Yeah, I guess. Although, I’m a little confused as to why we’re here.”

  Logan laughed and held out his hands to indicate the boat and lake. “To have fun, of course. Can’t be all work and no play, babe. That’s not how a person should live, you know?”

  Daemon and David climbed in the boat as Logan and I talked. Daemon came up to stand behind me. He reached over my shoulder to bump fists with Logan. “We all set, man?”

  Logan gave two thumbs up. “Yep! Got us some drinks and food in the cooler and the skis and vests are stowed away in their cubbies. Let’s do this!”

  “Skis?!” I looked up at Daemon. “What does Logan mean by ‘skis’? I don’t know how to ski, Daemon.”

  He smiled mischievously at me. “Well, you will after today, Damsel. Everybody’s got to learn some time. Plus, it will help build up your legs. You need the added strength to get your speed up in the ring. What better way than on the water?” He laughed again and winked.

  Fuck. This was not going to be good. I’m a klutz on my own feet. I had no idea how I was going to navigate on TOP of water with only two pieces of wood strapped to me. I turned to look for David. He’d already made a place for himself at the bow of the boat, a broad smile covering his face. I bet the asshole probably knew exactly what Daemon was planning today and let me walk right into it anyways.

  I looked out over the water. The lake itself was massive, but there were many weeded areas dotting the shores. “I don’t know about this Daemon, what about gators and snakes and shit? I’m not sure I want to be in the water. This is Florida, you know there’s some nasty reptile out there waiting to bite me….or eat me.” My eyes continued scanning over the areas where I knew nasty surprises were hiding.

  “Fuck, Paige! When did you turn into such a girl? Where’s your sense of adventure?!” His lips came down to kiss me on top of my head. “You’ll be fine, Damsel. I promise, if you get into any trouble, I’ll jump in and save you. Nothing is going to harm you while I’m around.”

  I rolled my eyes. Apparently, arrogant Daemon had returned.

  “No doubt, Paige. We’ll be way out in the center of the lake. You won’t find too many creepy crawlys out there, especially not with all the boats speeding around. No worries, babe!” Logan shot me a friendly smile and went to work preparing the boat.

  Daemon’s hand came down on my shoulder as he directed me to a seat. “Time to go, beautiful. You may want to stay seated as Logan gets us out to where we’re headed.” He winked at me again and moved up to sit opposite David on the bow. Logan untied the boat and pushed us out from the dock. He jumped in the driver’s seat next to me, threw on a straw cowboy hat, and turned on the boat. “Hang on Paige! Let me show you what my baby can do out there!” His hand came down on a lever to the side and the boat lurched forward. Once we’d reached out far enough, Logan slammed the lever forward, causing the boat’s front end to lift and spray a wake out from behind us. The wind whipped past us and I closed my eyes. The feeling was similar to riding my bike. You couldn’t hear a damn thing over the rushing wind and engine of the boat as the world rushed past us. Every once in a while the boat would travel over the wake of another boat, bouncing us so high that I grabbed onto my seat desperately trying not to get knocked out into the water.

  Logan appeared familiar with the lake as he drove us out to his intended spot. With the sun beating down on my face and the wind rushing across my skin, I couldn’t help but smile. A feeling of freedom spread through me, making it sadly apparent that I’d been cooped up for far too long. We drove for another ten minutes before Logan pulled up on the lever and the boat slowly came to a stop in the water. “Here we are! This is my favorite spot.
We’re out far enough that we have a good distance for skiing, but not many boats around to compete with us.”

  Daemon stood up and walked over to me. “You’re up babe.” He pulled me into a standing position and then reached down to pull up my seat cushion. He retrieved a ski vest out of the seat cubby and handed it to me. “You’re going to want to wear this. It’ll keep you from drowning in case something happens.”

  Drowning? Oh, I wasn’t liking this.

  “Listen, Daemon. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I mean, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do out there.”

  “It’s not difficult, Paige. Just put on your vest and jump in the water. I’ll toss your skis down to you after you jump in.”

  “Seriously, Paige! Just do what the man says. I’m getting sea sick as we sit here. We need to get moving.” David shouted at me from his spot at the bow.

  Feeling outnumbered, I took off my shorts and top before sliding my arms through the sleeves of the vest. After buckling the six snaps up the front I turned to walk towards the back of the boat. “So what, do I just jump in?”

  Daemon’s face was filled with amusement. How nice. “You can jump over the side, or there’s a ladder on the back. Your choice.”

  I decided to take the ladder. As I stepped down into the water, I imagined what could be waiting for me within the murky blue depths. “Logan, are you sure there’s no gators out this far?”

  “You’re all good, Paige. Just be sure to jump out as far as you can. You don’t want to come down on top of the propeller.”

  Well……fuck.

  I let go of the ladder and used my feet to jump out away from the boat. I landed, but didn’t go completely under due to the vest. A little bit of lake water got into my mouth which was fucking gross. “Okay,” I screamed. “Now what?” Daemon jumped over the side of the boat and swam to me.

  “Logan! Throw me the skis and the rope!”

  Within seconds, Logan had launched two twin missiles in our direction, following that with an apparent lasso. Daemon reached out and grab the skis before they could collide with my face, however I still was clunked on the head pretty hard by the rope handle.

  Logan shouted out to me from the rear of the boat. “You were supposed to catch that, Paige!”

  Daemon laughed. “Alright, Damsel, lean back and lift your feet out from underneath the water. I’m going to fit the boots of the skis to your feet. We need to make sure they are tight, or you’ll just be pulled out of them by the boat.

  I leaned back as instructed while Daemon fit the skis to my feet. When he was done, he grabbed the rope and placed it so that it was running between the skis before placing the handle in my hands. “You are ready to go. All you need to do, Paige, is stay just like this until the rope gets tight. Once that happens, Logan will increase the speed of the boat to pull you up and out of the water. The skis I have you in now are tied together to help you get a feel for it, Paige, but I’m going to cut those ties after you’ve tried it a few times.”

  I was terrified. Images of being dragged along the top of the water danced in my head. What if I lost control and landed in a bed of weeds? What if there really was an alligator about to bite my ass as we speak? What if I hit the water wrong and broke my neck? There were so many possible ways for me to die that I was convinced that this was a seriously bad idea. “Why are you trying to kill me, Daemon? I mean, really, what have I ever done to you?”

  My eyes pleaded with him, but then narrowed at his laughter.

  “Paige, I don’t understand. You have no problem driving a motorcycle and no problem chasing a psychopath through the wilderness, yet the idea of water skiing frightens you? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “First off, when I’m on my bike, I’m in control; not some beach bum with a penchant for speed. Secondly, there are no incidents out there of an alligator attacking someone while they are on a bike. That only happens in or near the water. Third, I grew up in the woods so I wasn’t worried about getting cornered by Chris when I went out there.” I was getting frustrated. “Just….whatever. Swim back to the boat so we can get my execution over with.”

  Daemon laughed again, kissed me quickly on the lips, and then complied with my request.

  He climbed back in the boat and took a seat in the back to watch me. David suddenly joined him, smiling like an idiot. He waved one time before I heard the engine start. Traitor!

  The rope began tightening as Logan slowly drove the boat forward. When I started getting pulled through the water, the boat sped up. I started feeling myself being pulled forward, however I wasn’t sure what to do with my legs. Logan increased speed again and I was pulled forward only to go tumbling feet over head. For whatever reason, I still had the rope in my hands and lake water was being shoved up my nose and into my mouth. I quickly let go of the rope and spit out as much as I could. Logan circled back around as Daemon fished the skis out of the water. They positioned themselves back in front of me. Daemon slid the skis in my direction as Logan pulled the rope into the boat.

  Daemon’s hands came up to frame his mouth as he shouted to me. “Next time, try bending your knees as you’re being pulled forward. Straighten your legs only after your ass is no longer in the water.”

  I pulled on my skis and motioned for Logan to throw the rope.

  “Try to catch it with your hands this time, Paige.” All three of them broke out into laughter after Logan shouted to me. I flicked them off after catching the rope.

  Once again we got in our positions and Logan started pulling ahead. The rope tightened and pulled me forward. I kept my knees bent this time which helped to pull me out of the water. Once my ass was no longer submerged I straightened my legs.

  Holy shit! I’m skiing!

  Logan picked up speed once I was standing upright. I held tight to the rope as I bounced over little bumps in the water. This wasn’t so bad. I mentally kicked myself for having been scared and closed my eyes, enjoying the wind against my face. Apparently, closing my eyes was a bad idea. Just as I started to relax into what I was doing, the boat took a sharp turn and I was launched over the wake. My mouth opened to scream as I flew over the water, careening out of control. The rope was jerked out of my hands when I’d swung out parallel to the boat. I tumbled ass over head into the water, which at that speed felt about as hard as cement. I went under for a second before the buoyancy of my vest shuttled me back up. When I was topside again, I laid perfectly still on top of the water, my eyes taking in the open skies above me.

  I heard the boat come back around, laughter erupting from its occupants. Assholes!

  “Hey, Paige, you might want to keep your eyes open next time.” David’s voice was filled with humor as he shouted out to me.

  I finally brought my legs down and bobbed on top of the water. They drove out for a moment to collect my skis, before returning to a position in front of me. Launching the skis out to me again, Daemon yelled, “Let’s do it again, Paige. You were doing an excellent job before you decided to stop paying attention.” His body shook with mirth as he mocked me.

  “I’m done, Daemon. I think I hurt myself falling.” I hadn’t really hurt myself, but he didn’t know that. “Yep, definitely think I broke something!”

  Logan tossed the rope out in my direction as Daemon smiled fondly at me. “Damsel, you know me better than that. I’m not about to let you fall without forcing you to get up again. Now, brush it off and strap yourself into those skis.”

  We went through the process another ten or fifteen times before Daemon decided it was time to cut the ropes between my skis. He slid them to me one at a time as he called out. “Paige, now that the skis are cut, you’re going to want to make sure you hold your legs together. The skis will want to push out. It’ll be your job to keep them together.”

  Great. Well, at least I knew I was flexible.

  ~

  My legs felt like rubber by the time I was finally allowed to climb back in the boat. The three men had an excellent time torturin
g me for hours on end just for their own entertainment. Collapsing into a seat, I curled in a ball and regretted ever having agreed to that. Sure, it was fun when you were standing up, but the minute your face was introduced to the rock hard water, the fun times ended.

  Daemon knelt beside me, removed my arms from my chest before going to work unfastening my vest. “You looked great out there, Paige. You should have it perfected in a few more trips.”

  Even though my eyes were closed, they managed to roll at his statement. “You’re going to put me through this again? Why do you hate me so much, Daemon?”

  He snickered as he moved my face up to look at me. “I’m doing this because I love you, Damsel. This was a fun way for me to help you work on your leg strength. It was either this or using the weight benches with Joe and friends looking on. Which would you have preferred had you been given the choice?”

  I bounced the two choices around in my mind, but finally decided that this was more fun than working out in a smoky gym surrounded by critics. “Fine. Just let me sit here for second while I nurse my newly torn ligaments, okay?”

  He wrapped a towel over me. “So dramatic. You’re fine, Paige. Shake it off.”

  We floated out in the water for about an hour after I was allowed to stop skiing. Logan blasted his onboard radio and I laughed when David pulled out a sun reflector to use around his face. Daemon and Logan jumped out in the water for a while as I laid next to David at the bow. Clouds started rolling in when we decided it was time to get back to shore. After tying the boat to the dock, Logan moved around the bow stowing away the ski gear. David and I climbed out, grabbing whatever towels and bags that needed to be taken back to the truck. We got everything put away before watching Daemon and Logan work to get the boat back on the trailer.

  Before leaving, I pulled Logan aside to speak to him about Annie. “So, listen, I wanted to let you know that Annie has been transferred to my parents’ facility in the panhandle.”