by Ava Harrison
“All clear,” I say.
I expect him to say the same to me, to tell me to close my eyes, but as he strips out of his shirt and pulls down his pants, my eyes grow wide. I should look away. I really need to, but it’s as if I’m stuck in quicksand and can’t move. My eyes have been glued open instead of shut.
I physically can’t look away. Instead, I watch him as he strips naked and walks toward the water. He stops, and I’m surprised, but then he reaches into the bag and pulls something out. I don’t want to ask him what it is because then he would know that I’m staring at him.
I pretend not to watch him as he makes his approach. The water shifts and I know he’s moving closer.
My eyes are still closed, and I’m scared to open them.
“Scared, little dove?”
My eyelids jolt open. “Don’t call me that.”
“But it’s what you are.” He smirks.
“You’re annoying. You know that?”
“I might be annoying, but I’m also the guy who has soap.”
He lifts his hand out of the water, and a bar of soap sits in his hand.
“Seriously, is that soap on a rope?”
“What else did you expect in a survival kit?”
“I am in prison, so it makes sense,” I gripe.
He motions his hand around us. “I would hardly call this prison.”
“Speak for yourself.”
“Look around you. I have been to prison, and this is not it. This is paradise. Maybe you wouldn’t choose to be here with me, but …”
I lift my brow. “You think.”
“I’m not that bad.”
I shake my head adamantly. “You most certainly are.”
“Admit it, I’m at least easy on the eyes.” Cue the smirk. That damn smirk.
The first time I saw it, I knew it would be a problem, but now? Now, I realize just how big a problem it will be. He’s smirking at me like that when we’re both naked underneath the water. How easy would it be to just cross the divide and lose myself for a bit? To pretend I’m here on vacation with someone I want and desire. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, and he is not that person for me. No matter how good-looking he is.
“See? Case in point, the arrogance.”
“At least I’ll keep things interesting on this island.”
“Just give me the soap.”
“Say please.”
This man. If I didn’t want the soap so badly, I’d splash him. Or drown him or something. But, alas, I do need that soap. “You’re intolerable.”
“But at least I’m clean.” He chuckles, and just as I’m about to close the distance and throttle him, he reaches his hand out.
I take the soap before he can change his mind.
Then I wipe off the past few days. With each pass, I feel cleaner.
But as he stares at me, hair slicked back, tattoos showing, I fight the urge to bite my lip.
There is no amount of soap to wash away the impure thoughts running through my mind right now.
And that will be a problem.
It isn’t long until we are back at the beach. I’m not sure if we’ll camp out here again, or if we’ll set up camp further inland.
Alaric must read my mind because he unties the raft.
“It’s too heavy to drag it.”
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“If you help me, we can drag it further away.”
“To do what?”
“Sleep on it.”
“You want us to sleep in that … together?”
“I know I should have thought of it last night, but I was too tired. But seeing as we don’t have any other option, I figured there’s no reason for us to sleep on the sand again.”
I look at him and then at the tree where I rested yesterday.
But as much I want to say okay, I can’t. My damn pride is still getting the best of me.
“I’m okay over here.”
He lifts a brow. “You sure? The wind is picking up. You might get cold.”
“And I’ll be warmed by you?”
His lip tips up. “Body heat. Plus, I do have the blanket,” he teases.
“I’m sure that’s what you tell all the girls you want to lie with on a tiny raft.”
“It’s hardly tiny. It can comfortably fit six.”
“Whatever you say, dude.”
“If you aren’t going to sit with me, then at least take this.” He throws a protein bar at me. By my calculations, we will run out of these bad boys by tomorrow.
As if reading my mind, he opens his mouth. “I’m going to fish tomorrow.”
“You know how to fish?”
He gives me a look that says, Are you kidding me?
“Of course, you know how to fish. Is there anything you can’t do?”
“I can’t get you to shut up.”
“Ass.”
At that insult, I turn from him and eat the protein bar. This time, I take tiny bites while drinking the remaining water to get fuller faster.
It’s not long before I hear the familiar sound of a fire crackling and the smell filters around me. I wrap my arms tighter around myself. He was right; the temperature is dipping and rather fast. It will be fine. Sooner rather than later, I’ll fall asleep, and I won’t notice the cold. Or at least that’s what I hope as I close my eyes and will myself to bed.
Time must pass, but I’m having no such luck on the sleeping front. I’m still wide-awake and freezing my ass off. I turn toward Alaric, the still roaring fire a foot from where he’s lying on the raft. He wasn’t lying when he said it wasn’t tiny. It’s actually pretty big, and I’m not sure why I hadn’t thought to sleep in it. If I went over there, he’d probably never know. Maybe I could just sit there long enough to get warm, and then once I am, I can find another tree, maybe one a little closer to sleep under.
I watch him for a minute. The way his chest rises and falls, I’m sure he’s asleep. If I go there, he’ll never know. I just have to move before he gets up.
That won’t be hard. I just won’t close my eyes. Making sure I don’t make a sound, I stand from where I’m sitting and head over. I step over it, redistributing my weight so as not to wake him, and take a seat closest to the fire. It feels so good. Much better than the other location. My teeth stop chattering, and I want to inhale deeply, but don’t dare.
That’s when I hear it.
A chuckle.
A chuckle coming from what I thought was a sleeping Alaric.
Goddammit, he tricked me.
I go to stand, but then I feel it. His hand touching my skin. The pads of his fingers warm on my flesh.
“Don’t,” he says, and I look down to where he touches me, a million goosebumps erupting at the contact. “Just sleep.”
I should move, but with the warmth emanating, I can’t help but obey.
24
Alaric
It’s official. She is the most stubborn woman I have ever met in my life. Without a doubt, she is probably the most stubborn person in the world.
Which, if you really think about it, is kind of admirable. To be the best at something. Even if it’s the most annoying thing in the world.
When I opened my eyes this morning, she had moved from her spot on the opposite side of the raft to right beside me. She had curled up next to me. While asleep, her body must have sought my heat. I watch as she dreams, her breathing soft and peaceful.
She looks gorgeous in the morning. Not that she’s not always beautiful, but now, in a deep sleep, her face is peaceful. There are no frowns and scowls present.
When I look at her, I don’t see hate, anger, and the many ways she wants to kill me.
I see a girl I have never seen before. A girl in another life. If we were different people, I might be interested in getting to know her.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. She’s my enemy’s daughter, sent in to infiltrate my life.
Not a woman I can mess around with.
B
ut as my eyes skate across the distance, I realize I can’t think of her as that here on this island. Here, we have to be allies. If we ever collect enough supplies to leave, we have to work together.
I’m still hopeful someone will find us, but with each day that passes, that hope diminishes more and more. There is no denying the reality of our situation.
Revenge doesn’t seem nearly as important as it once did.
Instead of waking her, I decide to slowly move from where our bodies are touching to start my day.
I’ll let her rest.
My movements, however, have the opposite effect because she jumps up, eyes wild as she takes in her proximity to me.
Leg still entwined with mine, she sits up and moves away.
“Morning,” I say. She scowls at me, but it just makes me chuckle. Sleeping, her body found mine, but now with her mind awake, she’s backpedaling.
“Comfy?” I jest. “You slept well, wrapped in my arms.”
I’m not sure why teasing her is so entertaining, but when there’s not much else to do, I guess we have to get our excitement somewhere.
She stands abruptly and leaves our makeshift raft bed. I watch as a furious Phoenix rifles through the bag to get the toothpaste, all while glaring at me.
I want to laugh at how absurd this is, but something tells me she will throw that container in my face. Literally.
“Brush your teeth and do your business. We leave once you’re done.”
“What’s on the agenda today? Fancy lunch?” she mocks.
“One, we hunt for food. Two, we are going to look for anything edible.”
As it is, we won’t last much longer without an alternative food source.
“What about the raft?” she asks, her cheeks pinched in.
“In order for us to get on the raft, we need to have at least enough food and water to last a week. We also need to find wood to make oars. Without a way to push past the tide, we will get nowhere fast.”
She takes a deep, lengthy breath. “Do we really have any chance?”
“There’s always a chance. But we need to get ahead of it while we still have the protein bars. Right now, that’s our only source of energy. We won’t be able to hunt and gather once it’s gone.”
“Then let’s get to it,” I hear her say, and then she’s behind a tree doing what she needs to do.
Unlike her, I don’t need to hide behind a tree to do my business. Instead, like the asshole I am, I whip my shit out and pee on the palm tree.
“Wow. Seriously?”
She sounds annoyed. Which I kind of understand, since I did pee on her tree. “You couldn’t hide that shit.”
“It would take too long.” Once I put myself back in my pants, she walks over to me, reaching her hand out with the toothpaste.
“Here. You stink.”
“I don’t stink. And even if I did, you stink just as bad, so you wouldn’t smell me.”
“Real nice, asshole.”
“Just keeping it real.” I shrug.
I take the container from her and place a small amount on my finger and clean my mouth and gargle and spit. With that out of the way, I point in the direction we will go today. It’s relatively close to the water but in the right direction of the lake, which means there’s a chance some fruit will be there. Together, we walk and don’t go more than a few feet before I notice a few palm trees that might have a coconut.
“Look.” I point up. “This might be our lucky day.”
“Yeah, but how are we going to get them down?”
“Well, that’s easy. I’ll climb.”
She raises her brow. “You can climb a tree?”
“You can’t?” I deadpan.
“Can you ever be nice to me?”
“Oh, that’s rich. Here I am, offering to climb a tree so you don’t starve to death, and you’re saying I’m mean.”
She lets out a long sigh. “Fine. You might be right.”
“What do you suggest?”
She swallows and then bites her lip. “A truce.”
Knowing that it took all her strength to make that suggestion, I push down my need to make an arrogant, sarcastic remark, instead opting for a different approach. “For how long?”
“As long as it takes to get off this island.”
“Deal.”
“Let’s shake on it.”
I reach my hand out, and she hesitates.
“If you want me to climb the tree …”
Reluctantly, she reaches out her hand.
I take hers in mine, and when I do, I see the way she stares down. My finger gently strokes the skin on her palm, and she shivers, her pupils dilating.
She shakes her head and pulls away. But not before I realize that Phoenix is one hundred percent affected by me.
Good.
Because she affects me too.
Now what to do with that is the real question.
25
Phoenix
No matter how hard I try, I can’t take my eyes off him.
It’s annoying.
No man should be able to do that with his body. He’s limber in ways that make my imagination go wild.
The worst part? Before he started this ridiculous tree-climbing, he removed his shirt.
So yep.
Here I am, six feet beneath him, watching his heavily tatted arms flex as he lifts himself up. If that isn’t bad enough, his back muscles are in full effect.
I can barely breathe. Not just because I’m fairly certain he will fall, but also because he looks like he’s a freaking god up there.
Turn around and stop looking.
But as much as I try to pull my attention from him, here I am, just staring.
“Fire in the hole,” he shouts, and I’m not quite sure what he says, but then a coconut hits the ground a few feet away from me.
“That could have hit me,” I grit out. He lowers his head, and I can see his big blue eyes dancing with mischief.
“I warned you.”
“You warned me as it was falling. That hardly counts.” My own eyes narrow.
His lip tips up on one side of his face. “It counts.”
I shake my head, but instead of saying anything more, I take a step back. That way, any loose coconuts won’t hit me.
One by one, they fall. The sound of heavy breathing is present, but other than that, Alaric doesn’t seem to care that he’s up in a tree.
I’m happy on the ground.
“How much longer?” I ask.
“One. See that one.” He points at one that is way too high for him to get.
“Um, no. Don’t you dare get that one!”
“Afraid I might hurt myself?” he chides. “I thought you hated me. This could get me out of the way.”
“You better be careful.”
“If I fall and die, it would probably make you happy.”
I’m ready to respond, but I can’t form words as he swings his body to grab the coconut way too far away.
When it’s in his hand, I let out a gigantic sigh of relief, but it isn’t until he’s firmly on the ground, bending down to survey his handiwork, that I realize just how much I didn’t want him to get hurt.
I can’t do this without him.
Nor would I want to.
“Grab a few, and we can bring them back to camp,” Alaric says as he hands me four.
“Then what?”
“Then we do this again.”
My mouth drops open. “You are going to climb a tree again today.”
“Yep.”
I must go pale or something because he laughs. “You worried about me?”
“Hardly.” I snicker.
“Whatever you say, dove.”
“Phoenix,” I clarify for what must be the millionth time before turning from him and walking away.
We have eight coconuts, which, according to Alaric, is not nearly enough.
I know he’s right, but I have no interest in watching him climb again.
&nb
sp; “Can I do something else while you act like Tarzan?”
“Very well, Jane. What are you good at?”
I stare blankly at him.
“Can you hunt?” I shake my head. “Fish?” I continue to shake it. “Can you gather?”
At that question, I nod my head.
“Okay, so gather all the fruit you can find. Eat nothing.”
I take a step back and look at him. “Let me get this straight. Not only can you climb a tree but you also know which fruits won’t kill us?”
“Yes.”
“How is that even possible?”
“Why, because I’m a criminal. Believe it or not, before I became this, my life was quite different.” Without another word, he sets off to where the trees are, leaving me to myself on the beach and wondering what I said wrong.
After a few minutes of waiting for him to come back and maybe explain, he doesn’t. I have two choices, wait or look for fruit. If I want any chance of ever having the option to get off this island, I need to pull my own weight on this escape mission.
But which way to go …?
The day we found the lake, we went east. Should that be my direction, or should I look west?
I hem and haw over it before I decide to try the path we didn’t take.
Hopefully, I’ll have better luck that way.
I’m only a few miles in when I realize my mistake. The terrain is rugged, not nearly as smooth as the other direction.
My leg keeps getting scraped, but I need to keep going. There has to be something.
Somewhere.
Anywhere.
My breathing grows choppy from the exertion, and I know I have to take a break. I stop and reach for the bottle of water.
I sure hope Alaric has filtered the lake water because our bottled water is running low.
Add water filtering skills to the lengthy list of things this man can do.
Top it off with being the sexiest man I know, and he’s deadly.
It’s not fair, to be honest.
No one should have that many talents.
Maybe he sucks in bed?
Dammit.
Why did I let myself think that? Because now, all I’m going to think about is whether he does.
Couple that with the fact that only yesterday I saw what he was packing.