340 The swindler (1/2)

The car halted on the roadside. They were still in the northern part of the country and the places they passed were as beautiful as White Falls Village.

There was a scenic waterfall near the road where they stopped.

Alex turned the ignition off and climbed out of the car when Abi looked at him, surprised.

”Alex?”

”Since we're here, why don't we spend the rest of the day in leisure and relax? It will be quite boring if we arrive at the palace too early,” he told her. ”Come swim with me, Abigail.”

Abi glanced at the inviting water. The blue lagoon below the waterfall looked so clear and beautiful. It was hard for her to ignore its call.

Looking at him again, Abi finally moved and climbed out of the car as well. He was right. They should at least enjoy themselves. Besides, Zeke said they don't need to be there until tomorrow and now that they were a few hours away from White Falls village, Abi felt that they were somewhat safe from the witches. She felt a bit better knowing they had put some distance between them and witches that she didn't protest and just followed him.

Alex stretched out his hand to her. ”How about we pause our deal for a day and resume it again tomorrow?” he suddenly suggested, causing Abi, who was about to reach for his hand, to halt in place. ”Our deal was that I would not touch you for five days. I didn't say it had to be five straight days.”

There he was again, the cunning Alex, the lawyer, the swindler. ”It really is not a good idea if I am not allowed to touch you right now. What if you need help? If you slip or fall on me accidentally or get a cramp while swimming, I'd have to touch you to help you. We can't just say it doesn't count all the time, right, little lamb? What do you say?” His eyes glimmered with mischief and excitement and persuasion, making Abi sigh in disbelief.

But Alex had a point. Like right then, she needed to hold on to him so he could take her there in one swoop.

”C'mon, my sweet maid. It'll be easier for you. If you insist with the no touch policy right now, you'll have to walk on your own down to the lagoon below. You will be exhausted once you get there and then you'd have to walk back up again. That's quite far for humans to walk,” he continued, stretching out his hand again, tempting her with his tantalizing gaze to say yes.

Abi bit her bottom lip, if she said no, this man would surely go down there on his own and he knew she wouldn't allow that. They were still in the north end of the country and there were no vampire backups around, so while she felt less nervous, Abi still couldn't drop her guard. She couldn't believe he caught her in his trap again. This guy!

”F-fine.” She relented and Alex's face immediately brightened. ”But I think a day is too long. Wouldn't an hour be enough?”

”Nope, just one hour Alex,” she firmly said.

”Two,” he negotiated, gazing into her eyes deeply.

Letting out a sigh, Abi finally agreed and before she could even touch his hand, Alex grabbed her and off they went, leaping down the lagoon.

”You're such a good girl, Abigail. That's why I'm crazy about you,” he said, smiling as he landed on top of a round shaped rock.