He nodded. “I think that’s our best bet. We’re not even going to be able to get a fire going until some of the wood dries out. If we haven’t got wood, we won’t be having a seafood dinner anytime soon.”
Charlie realized she was starving. It was a kind of hunger she’d not experienced before, a sickening, desperate need, like her body was literally eating itself. She felt weak in a bone deep way, a weariness that went right through to her soul. But she had to keep going. If Tyler said they needed to hike back to the pool, then that was what she intending on doing. She’d keep going until she fell down and physically could not get up, if that’s what he needed her to do.
Tyler’s warm fingers on her arm made her look up at him, and she blinked in the brightening sunlight.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, concern etched in his still handsome, if somewhat slimmer than it had been a couple of days earlier, face.
She nodded. “Yeah, just tired and hungry. This is all too much, you know?”
“I know. But we’ll get through this, Charlie. People will still be looking for us. They wouldn’t have given up yet.”
His comment made her head snap up. “Give up? Why would they give up?”
He spoke softly, obviously realizing the possibility had never occurred to her before. “They’ll look for longer, because of who you are, Charlie, because of the publicity that will come with your disappearance. But most people will assume we went down with the plane. If the plane landed in the ocean, they’ll think we’re dead with the others. No one would have any reason to think we parachuted from the aircraft before it crashed.”
She stared at him. “How long have we been here now?”
“This is our third day.” He screwed up his brow. “I think.”
“Three days.” She could barely believe so little time had passed. She felt like they’d been on the island forever. “How long do you think they’ll search?”
“I’d say five days. But because of who you are, they might push it to seven.”
“So we’ve got four more days. And if we’re not found before then, there’s a good chance we never will be found.”
“You can’t think like that, Charlie. Tell yourself we will be found. Even if the rescue team doesn’t find us, that doesn’t mean no one else will. We’ve got another island on the other side which we haven’t even searched yet and ...”
He trailed off.
“And what?” she prompted.
He hesitated, then spoke. “When I was looking yesterday I thought I might have seen a plume of smoke coming from the other island.”
She brightened. “And where there’s smoke, there’s people!”
“Not necessarily. It might just have been caused by the sun. Forest fires happen all the time. I couldn’t tell how close or far away it was. It could have been anything.”
She breathed out, happy to have at least a couple of other options to cling to. “Okay. Well, let’s go to the pool and get some more water, and we’ll decide what to do next.”
“You’re being really strong, Charlie. I’m proud of you.”
She almost beamed in pride, and then chided herself. She didn’t need his approval.
Chapter Seventeen
The walk back through the forest was harder than normal. The water had churned up the ground, leaving it muddy and difficult to walk upon. The forest floor sucked their feet down into the sodden, sandy soil, and where there had previously been a clear trail, now debris of rocks and tree branches lay across it, causing them to climb over or scramble around.
Her exhaustion and lack of food didn’t help, and before long, Tyler reached back to her and took her hand. Though the path was still narrow, he held her at his side, his arm around her waist to give her support, though she knew he must be hurting as well. He was a big man and he’d not eaten any more than she had over the last few days. She was struggling on the few calories they’d consumed, and to him it would have felt like even less. Yet Tyler had not complained once. His only concern seemed to be for her.
They walked side by side, their hips molded together, giving each other support. Tyler used his free arm to shove aside vines overhanging their tenuous path. Every now and then they broke apart in order to climb over a boulder or other debris that had gotten lodged as the force of the water from higher up had pushed its way down the hillside. The sun was now high in the sky, beating down on their heads, arms, and shoulders with its full ferocity. Charlie’s mouth and throat were so dry she struggled to swallow, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. Her head pounded from dehydration. To keep herself going, she focused on the thought of the pool and the icy-cool, clear water which streamed from the rock face.
Eventually, they broke through the trees and into the clearing where the pool was located, sunlight glinting off the top of the water. Tyler left Charlie’s side, and he picked up his pace, hurrying toward the pool. He got closer and stopped suddenly, his shoulders dropping.
Her stomach clenched. Something was wrong. What now? Can’t we ever catch a break?
“What is it?” she called, hurrying after him. “What’s wrong?”
She came to stand by his side, looking over the pool toward the gap in the rock where the water ran through. Instead of the crystal clear flow they’d always seen before, the water ran brown, full of dirt and silt. Even the water in the pool was murky, and she was unable to even catch a glimpse of the bottom.
“Oh no,” she cried in dismay, her parched throat screaming for fluid. “What’s happened?”
“It’s because of all the rainfall last night and the flooding. The rain must have penetrated deep enough to affect the underground waterways as well. God knows how long it’ll take to filter back out again. This is dirt from high up in the hills.”
“It’ll settle down, though, won’t it? How long are we looking at?”
“Could be at least a couple of days, until the rainfall makes its way off the center of the island.”
“So what do we do in the meantime? There must be a way to clean it?”
“Yeah, we’re going to need to filter the water before we boil it. The result will be lukewarm water that tastes like shit and will take up all our time to produce.”
He sank to the ground in a squat and put his head in his hands, his forehead pressed against his palms, his elbows on his thighs. His posture alarmed her. She’d never seen him look defeated before—even when they’d found Agatha’s body—and now that was exactly how he appeared.
She couldn’t let him give up. “Well, right now I’ll take crappy water over no water at all. I’m seriously dehydrated.”
He didn’t move.
“Tyler,” she said, her tone sharp. “I’m thirsty. If we’re going to need to boil the water, then we need wood. I need you to help me find some.”
Finally, he looked up. He nodded, his lips pressed together. “You’re right. Let’s go and try to find some dry wood.”
“How are we going to get a fire lit?”
He reached into his pocket. To her surprise, he pulled out an open condom containing an item. She frowned at the shape, but he held the condom up by the neck and said, “I told you these would come in useful.”
She blushed. They hadn’t exactly been using them to be safe. They hadn’t even had the conversation, though she’d had the contraceptive implant, so pregnancy wasn’t a worry, and considering they didn’t know if they’d survive the next few days, they hadn’t given much thought to the long term. But then she realized what the condom contained—a lighter.
Tyler pulled the lighter out of the neck. “Nothing else is better when it comes to keeping things dry.”
By the time they got the fire going—with Tyler struggling due to the damp wood and total lack of anything fibrous for tinder—Charlie was starting to feel dizzy from lack of water. She was desperately tempted to drink straight from the pool or rock, but when she tried to sneak close, cupping her hand down to the water, Tyler’s voice made her jump.
&nbs
p; “I wouldn’t do that, Charlie,” he warned. “Trust me. You don’t want to end up with an upset stomach out here. Nothing will dehydrate you quicker.”
She paused, wanting to cry. She hated to admit it, but it was primarily the idea of the embarrassment an upset stomach would cause that stopped her from drinking the dirty water.
Finally, they were able to boil some water up in an old can Tyler had found half buried in the beach’s sodden sand, and brought with him. “Take off your top,” he said.
“Sorry?” As much as she loved being naked with Tyler, she didn’t think now was really the time.
“We need to either use your shirt or my shorts to strain the water, and I really suggest we use your shirt. It’s thinner and probably cleaner too.”
“Oh, right.” Quickly, she pulled it over her head, revealing her bikini top beneath, and handed her t-shirt to Tyler. He stretched the material over the top of the can and used it to strain the water from one of the empty water bottles he’d managed to salvage from the flood water.
“That should get the worst of the grit out. It’s not going to do anything to improve the taste, though.”
“I don’t care what it tastes like. I just need a drink.”
Charlie had to stop herself hopping up and down in impatience as Tyler set the can in the fire and the water began to heat. In only a few minutes, bubbles rose from the bottom, and the water started to boil.
“Thank God,” she breathed.
Tyler looked up at her. “We have to wait for it to cool.”
She did her best not to growl in frustration. She was unable to even swallow now, her eyes dry and gritty, her mouth completely sapped of fluid. A headache had settled in behind her eyes, and her body yearned for liquid.
Eventually, they were able to drink. Tyler poured a little of the water into one of the bottles to wash it out, and then filled it for her to drink from. He got to his feet and handed it to her, and she brought the bottle to her lips, trying not to gulp the water down, despite her body wanting to do exactly that. Even though he had already set about straining and boiling more water, she had to force herself to remember this water was for Tyler, too.
She pulled the bottle away and grimaced at the taste, before handing it over to him. “Like tea made from dirty socks.”
He chuckled, and took the bottle. “I did try to warn you.”
Already, she started to feel better—her head clearing, her sore, dry throat soothed. She settled down on the ground beside him.
“So what’s the plan?” she asked. “Do we just stay here now we have a fire going?”
He nodded. “That is one option, but there is another.”
“I’m all for options,” she said. “They seem to be pretty limited these days.”
“We could try to get to the other island.”
“How would we do that?”
“Navigate to the other side of this island and try to build a raft.”
Her eyes widened. “And cross the ocean?” Her stomach roiled at the idea of being back out in the open sea.
“Yeah. That would be the idea.”
“All to find a fresh source of water? Wouldn’t that be kind of an extreme reaction?”
“I don’t think so, Charlie. And it’s not just to find clean water. What happens if it rains heavily again? Do we head back to the beach and hope we’ve picked a new spot that isn’t going to end up getting swept away in a flash flood? And what about the smoke I told you about?”
“You said that smoke could have been a forest fire, and the other island might get flooded too.” She could hear the desperation in her voice. “Only forty-eight hours ago, you wouldn’t even let me hike with you into the center of the island. Now you want me to cross it, and then try to get across the ocean!”
Overcome, she jumped to her feet and began pacing, her hand locked in her hair. “I can’t do it. I’m hungry and tired. You were right about me—I’m not strong enough.”
Tyler got to his feet and stood in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her frantic pacing.
“Forty-eight hours ago I didn’t know you like I do now.” He lowered his gaze to hers, capturing her with those intense dark eyes. “I owe you an apology, Charlie. I thought you were the person I’d seen on the crappy gossip magazines and news channels. I misjudged you.”
It wasn’t as though she didn’t want to try to get to safer ground, or even find somewhere that might house other people. The idea of trekking right across the island, trying to get across the ridge of cliffs that divided the island in two was scary enough. But the thought of crossing open water on some kind of man-made raft when there was a good chance of sharks or poisonous jellyfish swimming beneath them was terrifying.
He took her hand. “I know you’re frightened, Charlie. I am, too. You’d be crazy not to be. But as long as we keep moving, we’ll survive. If we stay stagnant for too long, we’ll lose hope. And if we lose hope, then we’ll die.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she squeezed his hand so tight it must have hurt him. “I don’t want to die.” Her voice came out as a squeak, her throat narrowed and painful.
Tyler pulled her into him. She was grateful for his strength, for the solidity of his body against hers. She pressed her cheek against his naked chest, the heat of his skin warming hers. She lifted her face to him and he lowered his mouth and kissed her. His fingers knotted in her hair, suddenly rough, urgent. She returned the kiss, wanting to feel something other than fear and hunger and desperation. If she could lose herself in Tyler for a while, she’d give herself what he said they both needed—hope. She could hope for him. She could hope that whatever else happened, she might have finally found a man worth keeping. One who didn’t care about the fame, cameras, or money.
Using her hair, he yanked her head back, exposing her throat. His kisses left her mouth, his lips working against the delicate, sensitive skin of her neck. With his other hand, he reached behind her back and pulled the tie which held her bikini together. The material slipped away, exposing her breasts to the sun and Tyler’s hungry mouth. His lips closed around her nipple, sucking it into a hardened bud and scraping his teeth against its sensitive peak. Like her, he seemed desperate; the act was a way of finding something else in life. Taking pleasure in a situation where there was little else to enjoy.
Her hands reached down to the button of his shorts, his hardness straining against the material. She was happy to oblige, popping the button and yanking the shorts from his slender hips. That was all it took to get Tyler Janson completely naked. Her hands ran over his abs, the breadth of his shoulders, teasing him.
“Charlie,” he growled in ear.
She smiled against his shoulder and slipped her hand back down, her fingers running through the soft curls of his pubic hair and then up along the silky heat of his shaft. He groaned as she tightened her grip around him, loving how impossibly hard he was, and how she was the one who had made him that way.
He undid her shorts, slipping them off. Her bikini bottoms were also tie-up. Tyler pulled away, creating a few inches of distance between their bodies. He locked her eyes with his, and smiled with a mixture of heat and shyness which made her heart thump. He bit his full lower lip and slowly pulled one of the strings. It threaded open, and his hand moved to the other side, repeating the process so the couple of triangles of material fell to the ground. Her hand was still tight on his length, and she used it to pull him toward her. He grinned, insanely sexy, and wrapped a hand around her lower back, pulling her tight against him so his erection crushed hard against her flat stomach.
His hand slipped down, his fingers running down the crease of her buttocks, making her squirm. He moved lower, separating her inner folds and dipping into her wet heat. She moved apart from him slightly so she was able to grip his erection again, wanting to feel him in her hand. She stroked him with firm, fast movements, her thumb swiping the small drop of fluid from his head when she reached the top. She knew it would be salty an
d wanted to taste him. Though she didn’t want to lose his contact, loving where his fingers were, Charlie dropped to her knees before him. She opened her mouth to take him between her lips. As she’d expected, he tasted salty from the precum, but also of other things, the smoky scent from the fire, the masculine earthy scent that was all him.
Tyler groaned, his hand reaching down to lace in her hair. She ran her tongue down his flattened shaft, lowering her head and taking him as deep. She wanted to pleasure him, wanting him to love her.
She moved faster, swirling her tongue over him as she bobbed back and forth.
He groaned above her. “You’ve got to stop now, Charlie, or I’m going to come.”
Reluctantly, she let him pop from between her lips, slick from her saliva and his own arousal. He reached down and pulled her to her feet, and then hooked his arms around the back of her thighs and lifted her. Her calves wrapped around his hips, and he moved with her until her back hit the rough surface of a tree trunk. She wound her arms around his neck, and he kissed her again, hot and hungry, mashing their bodies together. He released her with one hand, and quickly reached between them to adjust himself. With her legs spread wide around his hips, it only took a thrust of their hips to join them together.
Charlie gasped and clung to him tighter.
All she could think was that she didn’t want to lose him, and she knew leaving the island would mean just that. Relationships, for her, didn’t work in the real world. Instead she tried to lose herself in the moment, to capture the sensation of him inside of her, of his hands gripped the backs of her thighs, of his hot breath against her throat as he drove into her.
I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to lose you.
But then her body took over her thoughts, intense pleasure catching her in its grip. It started low in her belly and then exploded outward, shuddering through her whole body, making her fingers turn to claws against his back, and her toes curl in the dirt.
Tyler gave a final groan. “Ah, fuck, Charlie,” and held himself deep inside her as his own release broke over him.
Dangerous Encounters: A Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Page 37