“Here, eat,” he said pressing it to her lips. “The coconut will make you stronger.”
She opened her mouth and he pushed the flesh between her lips, her tongue brushing the tips of his fingers as she greedily sought out more. His eyes sparkled as he fed her.
Perhaps surviving here wouldn’t be so bad after all?
Chapter Five
With the rest of the coconuts cracked open, the sweet water and flesh from inside scooped out and devoured, they filled the husks with more water from the opening in the rock, and headed back to the beach. The walk back was in some ways harder, because she needed to try not to spill any water, or at least as little as possible, but in many ways she found it easier. The slope was now on a decline, so her legs didn’t ache so much, and she’d been refreshed by both the water and the meal of coconut.
Tyler had loaned her his shoes again, but she wished she had her own. She felt clown-like as she slapped her way between the trees and tried not to stumble—a thing she wanted to do even less now that she had arms full of water-filled coconut shells. She didn’t want to spill all the water and have to go back and start again.
Before long, the blue of the ocean peeped between the tall palms, and the terrain beneath her feet turned from dirt and dried undergrowth back to sand.
Charlie placed the coconuts beneath a tree and flopped down onto the sand beside them. Even in the shade, the temperature was blisteringly hot. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes and squinted out over the ocean. The water appeared calm, only tiny white specks of waves dotting the blue. The sky and ocean were almost an identical color, so she couldn’t tell where the ocean met the horizon. She saw no sign of any ships.
Tyler didn’t give her any time to rest. “We’ve got stuff to do. We need to scavenge through the debris washed up on the tide line and see if we can find something to carry water in. Those coconut husks aren’t going to be any good in the long run.”
She gave a sigh. “Okay, fine. Anything else?”
“We’re going to need shelter and a fire before it gets dark.”
Laughter burst from between her lips. “You’ve got to be kidding! It’s like, a hundred degrees out here. And I don’t think it’s going to rain anytime soon.”
Tyler frowned, his hands on his hips. “We’re on a tropical island and it’s monsoon season. You’d be amazed at how quickly the weather can turn. And the fire isn’t for keeping warm.”
She swatted at another mosquito as it whined around her ear.
He counted the reasons off on his fingers. “For one, the smoke will help keep all the biting insects away. Two, if you want to eat anything other than raw coconut for the next however many days, we’re going to want to cook whatever we can catch. Three, if we find something decent to carry water in, we’re going to have to boil the water to make it drinkable. And four, the best chance we have of being spotted by either a plane or a boat is with a fire. They’ll see the smoke from miles off.”
“Why do we need to boil the water? I thought you said it was fine coming out of the rock?”
“It is, but as soon as the water touches the inside of any plastic or metal container, it’s going to become contaminated.”
Chastened, she realized how unprepared she was for all of this. She guessed putting together that television stand had been laughable after all. “Oh, right. Of course. So what’s first?”
“Being able to carry and boil water is the most important, so I suggest we start by scavenging.”
She sighed again and forced herself back to her feet, brushing sand from her body. All she really wanted to do was lie down in the shade and sleep until this whole experience was over.
Together, they walked over to the far side of the beach where most of the driftwood had washed up. What Charlie had originally taken for predominantly wood, she discovered was something quite different. Plastic in all shapes and sizes littered the sand. Empty detergent and soda bottles, toothbrushes, bottle caps, Styrofoam cups, together with plastic bags and pieces of plastic packaging had all washed up on the tide line.
She stared at the mess in horror. “Oh, my God. This is awful.”
Tyler pressed his lips together and nodded. “At least this part could be cleared up if the government implemented funding to do so. The worst part is that a massive amount of what we’re standing on isn’t even sand anymore.” He bent to scoop a handful of sediment, and allowed the grains to run through his fingers. “A lot of it is microscopic pieces of plastic that now simply looks like sand. It’s in the water, too, killing all the sea-life that thinks it’s eating plankton when it’s actually getting tiny pieces of all this crap.” He gestured helplessly to the plastic debris.
“I had no idea it was this bad.”
“Most people don’t.”
Tyler began to step over the plastic refuse and started to sift through it. He spied an empty two liter soda bottle and picked it up. “At least for people in our situation, we have plenty of things to choose from that will help us.” He waved the bottle. “We could do with a couple more of these.”
Charlie nodded and started to pick her way around the trash. She found an empty commercial sized can of beans. “Is this any use?”
A rare smile flashed across Tyler’s features, softening the hard lines of his face. “That’s perfect for boiling water. Well done.”
His praise warmed her inside, and she put the can to one side and continued to search through the debris. She found an old flip-flop, but it was far too big, and anyway, she couldn’t quite bring herself to put her foot in something without knowing whose foot had been in it first. She felt awful picking up old bottles and plastic bags, only to throw them back down onto the sand again. But she had no way of disposing of the items, and so had no other choice.
As soon as I get off this island, I’m going to make other people aware of this mess, she promised herself.
Her toes hit another two liter empty bottle and she stooped to pick it up. “Got another one!” she called to Tyler, who was still sifting through the trash.
He darted forward and picked up a third, shaking off the sand. “Yeah, me too. Let’s find one more and then gather some wood for a fire.”
Within a few minutes, Tyler had found a fourth bottle, so they gathered up some wood and headed back to the small area beneath the trees where they’d left the coconut husks. Just walking across the beach in the heat was hard work. The soft sand gave way beneath her feet, making her have to work twice as hard. Plus, she had her arms full of driftwood, and the items for boiling and carrying water. By the time she’d made it back to the spot where they were setting up camp, she was exhausted and thirsty.
“Here, drink this,” said Tyler, handing her one of the coconuts still containing water. “You need to stay hydrated or this is going to get a whole lot harder. In this kind of heat, especially doing physical work, you’re going to need to drink at least three liters of water a day. That’s why getting this fire going is so important. If we don’t have the fire, we won’t be able to sterilize the water.”
She drank the remaining water gratefully, and asked, “So how are we going to get a fire started? I’m guessing you don’t have a lighter or matches hidden on you anywhere?” She couldn’t help her eyes skirting his body, the form fitting t-shirt which concealed nothing, and the shorts, which had plenty of pockets but which she also knew were molded to his ass when he squatted or stretched.
Tyler gritted his teeth, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “It’s going to have to be started with hard work, I’m afraid. We can use some of the stuff on the outside of the brown, mature coconut shells which have split open as a tinder bundle, and we’re going to use some of the driftwood for the fire. It needs to be dry, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I need to find a couple of special pieces to get things going.”
Charlie grabbed one of the coconuts and began to pull off the hairy fibers which covered the shell, creating a soft, fluffy tinder bundle for Tyler to use to get the fire goi
ng. Before long, he returned holding the rest of what he needed. A flat piece of wood that looked like it might have been a board or plank once upon a time, and a long, but sturdy stick. He used some of the smaller pieces of wood and sticks to create a type of teepee.
“That’s where I’ll put the tinder bundle when it starts to flame,” he explained.
He sat down beside her on the sand, his legs spread either side of the pieces of wood, and got to work. Using the sharp stone he’d retained from their time up at the pool, he began to scrape away at one end of the stick, using the edge of the rock to whittle down the end. Using the same stone, he chipped out a slender groove in the middle of the plank-like board.
Tyler placed the end of the stick into the notch he’d cut away. Getting himself into position on the sand, he rubbed the stick between his palms, back and forth, his forehead furrowed in concentration. His biceps strained as he continued his work, veins protruding from beneath the skin.
“Come on, smoke, you son-of-a-bitch,” he muttered. Before long, beads of sweat popped on his forehead and upper lip. His breathing grew harder and he suddenly stopped and exhaled, lifting his head. His cheeks were flushed, his dark hair matted to the nape of his neck. Without looking at Charlie, he dropped the stick, reached down, and gripped the bottom of his t-shirt, before pulling it over his head and dropping the item onto the sand.
Charlie swallowed hard. His torso was ridged with muscles, his abdominals a perfect six pack, tan skin molded to the surface. His nipples were dark brown and hard, and she wondered how it would feel to run her tongue over those sensitive nubs. She realized she was biting her lip and forced herself to stop.
He glanced up and caught her staring.
“Is... errr... there anything I can do to help?” Her cheeks heated even deeper than they’d already been because of the sun.
The corner of his mouth twitched and his eyebrows lifted. “Nah, not yet. Just get ready with that kindling.”
Obediently, she picked up a handful of the small, splintered pieces of wood. Tyler got back to work. Sweat ran down his chest, soaking a line into the top of his shorts. He was so focused on his task, she could get away with letting her eyes drink him in. Normally, she was the most impatient person around, but with the current view, she didn’t mind the delay.
Is this really going to work?
It seemed to take forever, Tyler working tirelessly, while she began to shift restlessly on the sand. Just when she was about to suggest maybe they’d be better off doing something else, a thin plume of smoke drifted up from the piece of wood.
“Oh, look!” Her heart jumped in her chest. “It’s working!”
Tyler gave the stick a few extra rubs and then lifted the piece of wood to reveal an ember on a second much smaller piece of wood beneath.
He lifted it up. “Quick, pass me the tinder bundle.”
She did as she was told, and Tyler dropped the ember into the bundle of coconut fibers. Within seconds, the tinder began to smoke and Tyler cupped his hands around the small fibrous ball and gently began to blow. The smoke thickened, and then began to pour from between Tyler’s hands. A spark cracked up from the tinder, followed by another, and then the whole ball flamed. Quickly, he placed the ball into the small opening he’d left in the teepee of sticks, and the flames began to catch.
“We need the kindling, Charlie.”
She went to drop a handful onto the flames, but he caught her wrist in his hand and shook his head. “A little at a time. You don’t want to smother the fire.”
He released her wrist, but she could still feel the imprint of his fingers on her skin. Doing as he’d instructed, she dropped a few of the smaller pieces of the driftwood onto the flames. Quickly, they caught, and she added a few more.
Tyler positioned some smooth stones from the beach around the circle of the fire to keep it contained. They started to add larger pieces of wood, and the flames ignited, the warmth and crack of the fire creating a comforting atmosphere.
A sense of pride rose within her, even though she’d done very little to contribute—Tyler had done most of the hard work. Still, it felt good to watch something they’d created together grow.
Tyler sat back, hot and sweaty.
He ran a hand over his head. “I need to go cool down.”
With that, he stood and started to head down the beach toward the ocean. She watched him go, the muscles of his broad back flexing. His hands went to his waist and before she knew what was happening, he’d slipped his shorts down his muscular thighs and headed into the water.
Chapter Six
Charlie sucked in a lungful of muggy air, her heart pounding, her eyes locked on Tyler as he strode, naked, through the shallows.
With each step, water burst up around his muscular legs, and when he was deep enough, he threw himself forward in a dive, plunging beneath the waves.
Wow. He obviously doesn’t think there are any cameras near the ocean. Either that or he knew they wouldn’t feature him on the show anyway, so he didn’t care if a few of the crew caught him naked.
After a few minutes, Tyler came striding out of the ocean, the droplets of water looking even better on his tan skin than the sweat had, a sheen she knew would dry to white swirls of salt. He picked up his shorts and pulled them on without even glancing at her. As he lifted his head, she turned and poked at the fire with a stick, not wanting it to appear so obvious that she’d been transfixed.
“There are plenty of fish in the shallows,” he said as he approached. “We won’t go hungry.”
She was glad to have something to distract her from the way the seawater matted his dark eyelashes together. “How are we going to catch these fish?”
“An old fashioned sharpened stick will have to do as a spear, unless I can find some fishing net in all the debris. I’ll go back in and see what I can get.”
“And what do I do in the meantime?” she asked. “I thought this was supposed to be about me learning to survive.” He frowned again, the same expression she’d seen at the pool. An expression which unnerved her.
“We’re both surviving here, Charlie.”
She didn’t know what to say.
“Anyway,” he said, filling in the silence for her. “If you head down to the other end of the beach, where the cliff meets the ocean, I’m sure you’ll find a rock pool or two. Why don’t you see what you can scavenge?”
“Scavenge?”
He shrugged. “Sure, shellfish would be great, but we can even eat seaweed.”
She did her best not to wrinkle her nose.
Tyler threw a couple of larger pieces of driftwood onto the fire. “The fire will be fine if we leave it unattended for a bit.”
Charlie forced a smile and got to her feet, dusting the soft sand from the backs of her thighs.
“And make sure you keep drinking,” he said, almost as an afterthought, nodding toward the remaining coconuts they’d filled with fresh water earlier. “You need to stay hydrated or you won’t be much good to anyone.”
As if to prove his point, he picked up one of the oversized nuts and took a long draw. Some of the water spilled down his chin, splashing his chest and dampening the sand beneath in tiny dark spots. He pulled the coconut away, wiped his chin with the back of his other hand, and offered the water to her.
She took the coconut and tried to take a couple of slightly more lady-like drinks, but she found she was much thirstier than she’d first thought and ended up gulping and spilling, much like he’d done.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. “Much.”
He gave her a slight nod, an incline of his perfectly proportioned square jaw. Already, the dark shadow of his beard growth had started to show just beneath his skin, and she wondered what he would look like after five days. Never before had she been so happy that she’d gotten a full wax back at the hotel.
“Well, happy hunting,” he said, one corner of his lips curling.
She guessed that meant she’d been d
ismissed. “Sure.”
Charlie turned away and headed down the beach to the point he’d mentioned, where the cliffs met the ocean. As he’d guessed, the sand ran out, the space filled with craggy rocks, which created small pools. The familiar dark shapes of mussels clung to the edges of the rock in sea-weedy clumps. Though she didn’t much like the idea of having to pry them off the rock, she had eaten this particular shellfish plenty of times in fancy restaurants. Lately, they’d become something of a delicacy. The memory of eating them steamed with white wine, cream, and garlic made her mouth fill with saliva and something inside the back of her throat tighten.
This is real hunger, she realized. Even when she’d been on the strictest of diets, trying to lose weight for some magazine photo shoot or another, she never been this hungry.
Spurred on by her appetite, she squatted on the rock, balancing herself the best she could. She got to work trying to wrench the mollusks from the rock. It was harder than she’d thought it would be, the shellfish clinging tight. Looking around, she found a small, flat stone in one of the pools. She used it to scrape away at the fibrous stuff which attached the shellfish to the rock, taking care not to damage the shells as she separated them. A couple of other little snail-like creatures clung to the rocks, and, after a moment’s hesitation, picked them up too, trying not to grimace as she held them against her body with her other hand.
Charlie paused for a moment and glanced back to where she’d come from. She watched from a distance as Tyler stood, thigh deep in the ocean, poised as he peered through the clear shallows. Every now and then, he lunged into the water.
Her stomach growled. The sun was much lower in the sky than it had been before. She didn’t know the time but guessed it must be early evening by now.
Dangerous Encounters: A Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Page 27