Tyler’s hands crept up to her ankle, his fingers rubbing, smoothing, stroking with an expert touch. Then his hand moved higher, wrapping around her slender calf. The muscles were tight and knotted from the amount of walking she’d done, but he worked them out.
His hand slid past her knee and up to her thigh.
Charlie suppressed a small smile and cracked open an eye, peeping at him. He was watching her face, a similar expression on his own features—cheeky, judging her reaction.
“I don’t think my feet are that high up,” she said, giving in to the smile.
“No?” He slid his hands higher, midway between her knee and the juncture of her thighs. “How about here?”
She shook her head. “Still nowhere close.”
“Really?” His fingers crept higher again. “How about here?”
She squirmed under his touch. “You’re getting cooler.”
He leaned toward her. “Then why are you getting hotter?”
His fingers reached the V of her thighs, slipping inside the leg of her shorts. He reached inside to spread his hand across her mound, pressing firmly on the little bundle of nerves there, making her gasp. His fingers slid beneath her bikini bottoms, and his thick index finger slipped between her folds, dipping into her wetness.
“Oh, Tyler,” she groaned, her head falling back. She felt so exposed as he pushed his finger inside her, his eyes never leaving her face. His movements were restricted by the clothes she still wore, but he hooked his finger inside her, the flat of his palm pressed against her mound.
A quick glance at the crotch of his shorts left her in no doubt that he was as turned on as she was. She lifted a hand from the palm leaves on which they sat, and reached toward him, but he batted her hand away.
“No, this is just for you.”
He watched her with half-closed, hooded eyes, his full lower lip slack with lust, something dark and primitive in his expression. She met his gaze, holding contact as he added another finger. Her inner muscles tightened around his digits, pulling him deeper. Her hips thrust forward, back on him, wishing he’d add another finger—hell his whole hand—and fill her completely. The world narrowed down to nothing more than the feelings he sent racing through her body, her nipples hard and sensitive, pressing against the skimpy material of her bikini top. She wanted to lift a hand to squeeze and pinch her nipples, stimulating herself further, but she was leaning back on her hands, and her arms already trembled. If she dared to move, she would fall back on the sand.
Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on Tyler’s fingers. He moved faster now, his thumb sneaking up to rub small circles on her sensitive bud.
Her orgasm built, and she squirmed against him, her breathing becoming ragged. Her muscles tightened at her core, that familiar building edging a notch higher with every push Tyler made deeper and harder inside her.
“Do it, now,” he told her, his dark eyes still utterly focused on her face. “I want to watch you come.”
His words sent her over the edge. She came hard and fast, the waves of pleasure radiating out from her deepest center, spreading through her whole body in waves. She cried out, little ‘ohs’ of pleasure, the orgasm sending her mind spinning.
Charlie slumped forward, breathing hard, waiting for the final pulses of her orgasm to wrack their way through her body. Her skin was slick with sweat. When she opened her eyes, she found Tyler watching her with a smug expression on his face. He removed his hand from her shorts and brought his fingers to his nose, inhaling the scent of her.
“That,” she said, when she caught her breath, “has got to be the best foot massage I’ve ever had.”
He laughed. “Good to hear.”
With the sun going down, her body relaxed and her stomach still full of mango, Charlie only wanted to sleep. Tyler knocked back her offer of repaying his ‘massage,’ telling her she was obviously exhausted, and that he’d chalk it up for another time.
They drank most of the sterilized water, and Tyler pulled her down into his arms, so she lay with her head pillowed on his chest, her arm across his body, her thigh hooked over his leg. It was too hot to be sleeping this close together, but she didn’t care, not standing the thought of having any space between them. Tyler didn’t seem to mind. He smelled of fresh sweat, salt, and smoke from the fire, and she pressed her lips against his pectoral muscles, the spatter of dark hair on his chest tickling her nose. Mosquitoes buzzed around her head, but, other than slapping at the occasional one which landed on her to feed, she’d learned to ignore them.
As she drifted off to sleep, she heard him say, “We’ll try to get to the other island tomorrow,” and she tried to stop the fear of the dangers the next day could hold following her into her dreams.
Chapter Nineteen
Charlie woke first the next morning. The potential the new day held left her both terrified and hopeful.
But she had to wonder what, exactly, was she frightened of? While her time on the island had certainly held some petrifying moments—finding Agatha’s body, almost drowning after jumping from the plane, getting caught up in the flood waters—part of her also feared leaving. So many questions spun around in her head. Would Tyler still want her once they were back in the real world? The simple girl he’d gotten to know here would vanish and be replaced by one followed by paparazzi twenty-four-seven. And that was before the plane crash. She couldn’t imagine how badly this story would have stirred up the hornet’s nest. She didn’t think Tyler was one to be motivated by money, but a number of magazines would be sure to throw huge sums at him to do a ‘reveal all’ piece on her time on the island. Hopefully, he would hurl the money right back at them, but it was hard to judge what people would do when faced with large amounts of cash.
Also, she’d become accustomed to this simple life. True, she craved a long, hot shower and a soft bed, plus a decent room service menu, but she’d grown used to not worrying about being photographed, or spending hours on the internet, trying not to read spiteful tweets about her, or exposé blog pieces. She’d loved the inner peace that had brought. She’d not thought about her seriously overdrawn bank balance, or all the credit card bills piling up.
She had to wonder; did she even want to go back?
Charlie glanced at Tyler’s sleeping face. His dark lashes rested on his cheek, his stubble now long past the designer mark. She checked her own legs and armpits. Still smooth. Thank God for waxing.
She was thinking crazily. Of course they wouldn’t stay if they were offered the chance at rescue. She couldn’t end up some hairy, smelly castaway. That just wasn’t her. But she did wonder if she could go back to her old life. She didn’t want to have to worry about all that superficial stuff anymore. After everything they’d been through over the past few days, she’d grown to learn what was important. Expensive clothes and being seen in the right places with the right people simply weren’t. The basics were all she needed—food, shelter, a good man who loved her.
Not that he’d ever told her he loved her.
She sighed and reached out to close her hand over the top of Tyler’s as softly as possible, not wanting to wake him. Despite this, the moment their skin touched, his eyes flew open.
“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He gave a slow, lazy smile, and stretched. “I don’t mind waking to you.”
“I was just thinking exactly the same thing.”
He turned to his back and then put out his arm to slide beneath her shoulders. He pulled her against him, her cheek pressed to his chest so she could hear the muffled thump of his heartbeat.
“Do we really have to try to get to the next island?” she asked. “I’m scared of going in the water again.”
He shifted his posture so he could look down at her. “No, we don’t. But I think we have to try. I’m sure I saw smoke the other day, Charlie. True, it might have been caused by something natural, like a lightning strike, but there’s a chance it wasn’t.”
Sh
e sniffed and nodded. “I know you’re right. I’ll pull myself together, don’t worry.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I know you will.” He paused. “You do want to get out of here, don’t you?”
“Of course. I’m just scared about what will happen when we get back. It’ll be crazy, you understand that, don’t you? There will be reporters all wanting to know what happened while we were here.”
“I’m not going to kiss and tell, if that’s what you’re worried about. I think too much of you to ever do something like that.” His tone grew harder. “I hope you think enough of me to stop you ever worrying that I would.”
She nodded against him, not trusting herself to speak.
“Come on, let’s get the day started. It could be an exciting one.”
Every day had been exciting since she’d met him. She wasn’t sure how much more excitement she could handle.
They had a little water left, but it wouldn’t be enough to see them through the rest of the day, especially if they were going to work physically hard. They’d need to go back to the ravine and get some more water. But first they needed to walk around the cove and check out the body of water between the two islands. Too far away, and the plan would be over before it had even begun.
They left the fire burning and walked down to the water, where the sand was wet and solid, and easier to walk upon. Already, the day’s sun had heat to it, beaming down on their heads and shoulders. They wandered along the water’s edge, the lapping waves at first stinging Charlie’s blistered feet and then soothing them. The thought of her feet made her mind automatically flick back to Tyler’s fingers inside her and she pressed her thighs together, experiencing a pleasurable throb.
They rounded the curve of the cove and Charlie’s heart picked up a notch. The rocky, tree covered island rose out of the ocean, blocking that part of the horizon. The other island didn’t look far away at all. It was no wonder Tyler had first thought it to be part of their island. Only his experience and knowledge had told him they were two different entities. The body of water between them didn’t look too far, and appeared to be still and peaceful.
“Don’t let it fool you,” Tyler said. “Water that appears flat on land can churn up once you get into the middle of it.”
“Thanks, you’re not making me feel any better.”
“I’m not trying to. I want you to be prepared for the challenge. I can’t have you freaking out halfway across.”
“I won’t freak out.”
He studied her face. “You know, you could always stay here and I’ll go across and check the island out. I could get there and back in a day.”
“No chance. We’re not separating. I’ve seen enough disaster movies to know that’s the worst thing to do.”
He rolled his eyes. “Glamorization, Charlie. Sometimes you need to separate if one person can get help when the other is incapable of doing so.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Yeah, well I’m not incapable, am I? I thought we’d already been over that. We’re not separating.”
“Okay, okay.” He laughed, putting his hands up in surrender. “I won’t mention it again.”
“Good. Now what do we need to do?”
“I saw bamboo growing near the ravine. That’s the best wood we can find to build a raft, plus we’ll be able to get more water, which we’ll need as we’re going to be working hard.”
“Let’s do this then.”
They traipsed back to the ravine, taking the now almost empty bottles of water with them. Tyler pointed out the bamboo growing in clumps where the ravine flattened out closest to the beach. “I can use my knife and a rock like an axe to cut it down. Then we can use some of these vines,” he touched some hanging from the trees, “to bind them together.”
“You think this is going to work?”
“I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t.” He softened his voice. “I thought I made it clear to you that I wouldn’t put you in danger, Charlie. I’m doing everything I can to make sure we both survive this.”
Unexpected tears filled her eyes. She turned her face from him and surreptitiously wiped them away, not wanting to appear weak.
Charlie put on her brightest smile and turned back to him. “Okay, what shall I do to help?”
He nodded to where swathes of vines hung from the trees like streamers after a party. “Pull down as many of those as you can.”
A few vines didn’t seem anywhere near strong enough to hold a raft together, but she knew better than to question him by now. Tyler had been trained to do this sort of stuff. He knew what he was talking about, and right now she didn’t have any other choice but to trust him.
While Tyler got to work hacking down bamboo about six feet in length, Charlie started on the vines. She wrapped a couple around her hand and pulled. The vines didn’t give, so she leaned back, putting her body weight into the task. She guessed they were stronger than they appeared. This time, a couple snapped higher up, and she felt the tension lessen. She unwrapped the bundle from around her hand and began to pull on the ends individually, yanking out the ones that had snapped. She repeated the process a couple of times and ended up with a decent sized pile.
Tyler had also been hard at work. He stood, shirtless, sweat pouring down his naked brown back, his muscles tensed. Around ten poles of bamboo sat in a heap to one side of his feet. The weight he’d lost over the last few days only served to highlight the toned muscle of his shoulders, the lines of muscle running down either side of his spine, the two dimples just above the waistband of his shorts. Despite the circumstances, Charlie found herself catching her breath, her core tightening with lust at the sight of him. This was no hippy, new-age guy. Tyler was about as masculine a man as she’d ever come across.
He turned and caught her staring. “Something I can do for you?”
She blushed and shook her head. “Just admiring the view.”
He gave his head a slight shake, but she didn’t miss the small smile of pleasure that touched his lips.
“The view will be much better from the beach,” he said, redirecting her compliment. “I suggest we drag the bamboo closer to the water in order to build the raft, or we might struggle to get it into the ocean.”
“Sure.” She picked up her vines, giving them a shake to dislodge any clinging bugs so they wouldn’t decide to use her as their own raft. She carried the vines out to the beach and dumped them on the sand, and then turned back to help Tyler with the bamboo. Before she had the chance to head back into the bush, Tyler broke through, a number of the bamboo balanced on both shoulders. His pectorals, biceps and shoulders were tensed to balance the poles, his face stern with concentration, his abdominals cut in a perfect six pack. His skin was shiny with sweat, catching in the bright sunlight. It was all she could do to stop herself from swooning.
Tyler dumped the bamboo onto the sand and straightened. He wiped both hands on his shorts and turned back to find her staring once more. His eyes narrowed, and the tip of his tongue flicked out to wet his lower lip. When he spoke it was with a low, husky growl. “We’re not going to get anything done if you keep looking at me like that.”
“Sorry.” But she wasn’t. Right at that moment, she’d have jumped him rather than be making a raft to take her across a body of water when she’d quite happily have stayed on dry land.
Even after only a few days, he already knew her too well. “No, you’re not,” he said with a grin. “But we need to get this done, Charlie. If we don’t, we’re going to start running out of daylight. We don’t know how long it’s going to take to get across, and believe me when I say we don’t want to be out there when it starts to get dark.”
The possibility of being stuck on the ocean in the pitch black terrified any lustful thoughts out of her.
“Okay, you’ve made your point.”
She went back and grabbed a couple of lengths of bamboo, while Tyler got the rest. With everything in one place, they both sat on the sand, side by side.
&
nbsp; Tyler picked up one of the vines. “There’s a certain knot we need to use to bind the bamboo together. If we lace it together in three different spots, it’ll minimize the chances of it breaking apart when a decent sized wave hits us.”
“Do you think that’s likely?”
“What? For there to be waves, or for it to break apart?”
“Both.”
He shrugged. “It is possible, but I plan to do everything I can to stop that happening. And as for the waves, there are bound to be some. Even the stillest ocean has some movement. But waves won’t be the problem. The worst thing to happen will be if we get caught in a riptide and get dragged right past the other island and pulled farther out to sea.”
Her face drained of blood and she gulped. “Is that likely?”
“For what I can see from the beach, I don’t think there is a riptide. You can normally see them as a particularly flat river of water in the rest of the ocean, and I haven’t spotted anything like that. Still, we need to be prepared.”
She spoke but it came out as a whisper. “Okay.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s better to be ready for these things than get caught out. That’s the only reason I’m telling you all this.”
“I understand. I know you’re not trying to scare me.”
“I would never do that.”
They turned their attention back to their task. Tyler showed her how he planned to lace the vines up and over each of the bamboo and the knot needed to secure each one. She followed his instruction, practicing it over and over, but her fingers felt too fat and uncoordinated. A couple of attempts made her pull too hard on the vines, causing them to snap. Tyler cast a glance over at her snapped vines and bit his lower lip. “I think we’re going to need more of those. Keep practicing and I’ll be back with more.”
Dangerous Encounters: A Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Page 39