“I’m scared, Noah.”
“I know,” he said, looking back over his shoulder. “But you don’t need to be. I have supplies for us to get through a few days.”
“A few days?” she asked in shock.
“They should find us long before then,” he assured her. “But if they don’t for whatever reason, we’ll be okay. I’ll take care of you, sunshine.”
She nodded, swallowing. None of this adventure was what she’d signed up for.
Chapter 10
Noah kicked through the water, relief coursing through him. Ten more minutes, and they’d be on the island. He’d have Bailey on dry land.
It was harder swimming with her holding onto the back of his waist, but he wasn’t about to risk losing her in the middle of the Atlantic. Even with her life vest on, he didn’t want them separated. They’d come too far for her to be swept away now.
He gripped his backpack more tightly in his other hand.
His muscles burned from pushing harder for the last stretch. He didn’t want to worry Bailey, but he had a feeling they were a couple of miles from where the boat had been. They hadn’t seen this island when they’d left on their fishing trip this morning. And there were lots of small islands scattered throughout the area.
Logically, the Coast Guard would start searching near where they’d gone overboard.
“We’re almost there, sunshine,” he said, glancing back at Bailey.
She nodded, her green eyes looking frightened. Her hair was soaked, and she looked so fragile behind him that his chest clenched. She was holding up amazingly well for not being used to situations like this. Noah was used to spending hours in the water for training and missions. It was what he’d been trained to do. It was his job.
But Bailey?
She didn’t have the skill set that he did. Didn’t have practice enduring stressful situations out in the ocean. But he’d do whatever was necessary to ensure her safety. He hoped like hell the helicopters would search this way today, but if not?
They’d spend the night on the island.
They’d set up a shelter somewhere, and he’d hold her close. Keep her safe.
“I’m cold,” she said.
“I know. Just keep kicking your legs and hanging on to me. You’re doing an awesome job, and we’re almost there. You’ve hung on this long. We’ll be drying off on the sand soon and can have something to eat and drink.”
“I can do it,” she assured him. “Just a little farther.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, flashing her a grin.
His girl. She wasn’t his in any sense of the word. But watching her fall off the boat had sent his protective instincts soaring. He’d have rescued anyone, of course, but his blood had run cold at the fact that it’d been her.
“Oh my God, we’re getting so close!” she said a few minutes later. They were close enough to see the waves breaking on shore. “Do you think anyone’s on the island?”
“Hard to say,” he admitted. “It’s not inhabited by anyone, that’s for sure. But someone could’ve taken a fishing trip and stopped here or just gone exploring.”
“Maybe someone will come by on a boat!” she said excitedly.
“Hopefully so. The tide will start to bring us in from here. We just have to be careful of the undertow.”
She shuddered beside him, brushing her wet hair back. “The last thing I want is to be swept back out to sea.”
“Let’s do this,” he said.
A few minutes later, they were crawling onto the shore. Bailey collapsed in the sand, her wet clothes clinging to her like a second skin. She rolled over onto her back, sand covering her body. Noah briefly laid beside her, gripping his backpack as his gaze swept over her for any injuries.
His muscles burned from the exertion, but he could’ve kept going if needed. “Let’s get further up on the beach,” he said. “It looks like high tide right now, and we don’t want our supplies being swept back out to sea.”
Okay,” she agreed. Bailey stood up, stumbling, and Noah hauled her against him. She was wet and cold, but the sun would remedy both of those things now that they’d reached the island. His arm wrapped around her waist, and she leaned against him, exhausted.
“I’ve got you, sunshine. Let’s go up there, and you can rest.”
She took a timid step forward, and then they were closer to the tree line.
“Hello!” Noah shouted, his gaze scanning the empty beach. “Is anyone here? We fell overboard!”
He paused for a moment, listening. A few seagulls swooped through the air, the waves crashed on the shore, but there were no signs of any people.
Picking their way amongst the shells on the sand, Noah gestured to a spot ahead for them to rest.
“Let’s dry out our clothes,” he said. “The temperature will drop later on.”
He dropped his backpack to the ground, rooting around. “Is everything dry?” Bailey asked, shivering as she tugged off her hoodie. Her nipples pebbled against her hot pink bikini top, and then she was tugging down her denim shorts, standing there wearing only that skimpy string bikini.
She squeezed the water out of her hair and then wrung out her hoodie.
“I’ve got a spare sweatshirt or something,” he said. You can put it on.
She nodded, reaching out to him with shaking hands. He handed her the sweatshirt he’d pulled from his backpack. “Turn around, sunshine,” he said, nodding at her wet top. “I won’t look.”
She turned away from him, reaching back to untie the strings of her bikini top. It took everything in him not to walk over and help. Despite all they’d been through, he was still attracted as hell to her. Not that this was the appropriate time to be lusting after her.
Her fingers trembled, working at the tie at the back of her neck. A moment later, she tossed her top to the ground, and as she tugged his sweatshirt over her head, he caught a brief glimpse of the side of her breast.
His groin tightened, and he cleared his throat, rummaging around his bag. Trying to look anywhere but at her.
Pulling his own wet shirt over his head, he laid it out to dry in the sand, weighing it down with some drift wood.
Bailey brought her own clothes over, wringing out her bikini top so that it would dry faster. Warmth flooded through him as he glanced up at her in his Navy sweatshirt. It was massive on her, hanging down to mid-thigh, but she looked cuter than hell. Happier, too, now that she was warm.
“Sit down,” he said, patting the sand beside him. “Let’s eat something, and then I’ll see if I can light a signal fire. The driftwood on the beach is soaked from the storm. Hopefully we can find some dry wood or something to use in the wooded area.”
“Do you think someone will be able to see it?”
“That’s the hope. If we can build the fire high enough, they should. We’ll have to light it out on the beach though so we don’t catch the trees on fire.”
“Well they’d definitely see that,” she said wryly.
“Yeah, but we’re stuck here. We don’t want to burn things we could potentially use.” He grabbed two bottles of water from his backpack, handing one to her. Bailey’s hands shook as she tried to twist the cap off, and Noah opened it for her.
She took a few gulps, and he held a hand up, indicating for her to slow down. “Easy, sunshine. Just go slow.”
“I feel kind of sick,” she admitted.
“We were out in the sun for a long time. You shouldn’t drink the water too quickly. Just eat a little bit to settle your stomach. Besides, you need to keep up your strength.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
He took a long pull from his own water bottle before replacing the cap and setting it down beside him. “I’ve got two more water bottles, and an empty canteen. Hopefully we can find some water—a pond. A waterfall. I’ve got enough purification tablets to last a week—not that I expect to be out here that long.”
She nodded, swallowing. He searched her face. “Are you okay?�
� he asked.
“Just tired,” she said, stifling a yawn. Her hair was beginning to dry in the warm sun, and she looked completely exhausted.
“All right,” he said, rummaging through his backpack. “I’ve got protein bars and two MREs.”
“Just two?” she asked. “That won’t last very long.”
“Hell, we can fish if we have to, sunshine. Maybe look for some fruit trees. I’m hoping to get the hell out of dodge today though.” He glanced down. “Your choice—spaghetti with meat sauce or cheese tortellini. Let’s start with these, and then have the protein bars later.”
“Cheese tortellini, I guess,” she said.
“Excellent choice,” he quipped, passing it over to her. She opened the package, wrinkling her nose. “Ever had an MRE before?”
“Nope. Why would I?” she asked in surprise.
He chuckled. “Don’t suppose you would.” He pulled a KA-BAR knife from his backpack, neatly slicing open the top of her plastic pouch.
“Wow, that thing looks deadly,” she said.
“It is. We carry them on missions,” he said. “Plus I bring it with me on hiking trips.”
“Or fishing weekends.”
“Hey, it’s coming in handy already.” He watched as she pulled out small packets from the MRE bag, opening a small pack of crackers. “You can start with that, but you need to eat more later.”
“I will,” she said, nibbling delicately on one cracker.
Noah dug into his spaghetti, not even bothering to heat the meal. He was starving. And Bailey might be feeling slightly seasick from being out in the ocean all that time, but he was used to the choppy waters.
“Remember the swim in Coronado I told you about?”
“The five miles?” she asked, taking another small bite of cracker. Her face looked slightly red, either sunburn or irritation from the wind and storm earlier.
“Five and half miles. And yeah, that’s the one. We were so hungry after swimming for hours, they had MREs waiting for us on the beach when we were through. Never tasted anything so damn delicious in my life.”
“I can’t imagine swimming for that long,” she said, shuddering.
“It’s what we’re training to do. I couldn’t ever sit at a desk job from nine to five every day. Something like that would just about kill me.”
“Me too,” she agreed, stifling another yawn. “That’s why I bartend. The tips are good, the people I meet are interesting, and I can set my own hours to some extent. I’m a night owl, so getting to work early every morning just wouldn’t do it for me.”
“You’d never make it in the Navy then,” he said, smirking.
She glanced over at him, her green eyes looking amused. “I admire the hell out of what you guys do, but no, that definitely wouldn’t be the career for me.”
“Why don’t you rest, sunshine. I’ll look around and try to make a fire. Even if the driftwood is too wet, I should be able to find something. You can use my backpack as a pillow. Are you still cold?” he asked.
“No, I’m okay.”
“Lie down and close your eyes, sunshine. I’ll be right here on the beach.”
“Maybe just for a few minutes.”
He rooted around in his backpack, pulling out an emergency blanket. It was made of mylar foil and would reflect Bailey’s heat back to her, keeping her warm. The fact that it was metallic would help them on the beach. The sun would gleam off the foil, helping them to be spotted from the air.
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw, wondering briefly why there’d been no signs of the Coast Guard yet. He hadn’t seen any helicopters even off in the distance.
“What’s that?” Bailey asked, looking at the blanket in his hand.
“Lie down,” he said, unfolding it and covering her with the blanket.
“Oh man, now I feel plenty warm.”
“You just got chilled out in the water for that long,” he said, brushing her hair back from her face. Her eyebrow ring gleamed in the sunlight, and he trailed his fingers over the tiny studs in her ear. “Rest. I’ll be right here.”
“Thanks for rescuing me, Noah,” she said softly.
He opened his mouth to answer, but she’d already fallen fast asleep.
Chapter 11
Bailey stirred, warm sunlight beating down on her. Her pillow felt harder and lumpier than usual, but she was so tired and so warm. She shifted slightly, trying to fall back into a deep slumber and ignore her slightly stiff neck. The sun was so damn bright though. Had she forgotten to close her shades last night?
Sniffing the air, the scent of wood burning had her instantly awake.
She sat up with a start, gasping. The bonfire fifty feet away on the beach was baffling. Smoke rose high in the air, and she noted with a frown that dark clouds were off in the distance.
The boat.
The storm.
Memories of their day came flooding back.
She wasn’t at a beach bonfire with Taylor and the guys. She wasn’t dreaming, sound asleep in her own bed.
She was stuck here with Noah.
Rubbing her eyes as she pushed away the emergency blanket and glanced around, she realized he was nowhere in sight. The sun was lower in the sky than earlier, and fear crept through her as she realized they might be stranded out here all night. The fire should alert the rescuers, but with the rain in the distance, would they even be able to come?
Would the rain put the fire out before they even saw it?
A hot tear slid down her cheek, and she hastily swiped it away.
She was being silly. She was safe here with Noah. They had food. A few basic supplies. The pending rain would be somewhat of a challenge, but they could move back beneath the shelter of the trees.
Her gaze tracked upward, focusing on the tall palm trees. Her eyes widened as she spotted some coconuts. They could drink coconut water, too, to stay hydrated. If they could somehow get one down.
Sniffling, she swiped at her eyes again as her stomach rumbled. She’d barely eaten anything all day—just the few crackers earlier. And breakfast this morning at the condo, which now felt like a lifetime ago.
Were Taylor and Mason out looking for them now? Had something happened to them, too?
“Hey!” Noah called out, suddenly appearing from the tree line. He looked tall and self-assured as he moved forward, barefoot and wearing his swim trunks and tee shirt. He frowned as he walked toward her, his eyes crinkling with concern. “Hell, sunshine, are you okay?”
He crouched down beside her, and she instantly felt foolish. Noah had been out here gathering wood and starting a fire while she slept. He’d probably been searching the skies and water for any sign of someone. She should be helping him, not sitting here feeling sorry for herself.
She could smell salt and sweat as he leaned closer. His gaze searched her face, and he wiped away some of her tears.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’m just being silly.”
“It kills me to see your tears,” he said, his voice gruff. Despite herself, another one rolled down her cheek, and he gently wiped it away. “We’re going to be okay. There’s a storm in the distance, so it looks like we might be stuck here tonight. They won’t search in severe weather.”
“Have you seen anyone?” she asked quietly. “A boat or plane or—anything?”
“No,” he said gruffly. “And that does concern me. We don’t know if Mason and Taylor are stranded out there, too. They should’ve been able to radio for help, but we have no way of knowing what problems they encountered in the storm. The engine could’ve given them trouble again. And if they made it back or were able to radio the Coast Guard, we sure as hell would’ve seen someone out here looking for us.”
“What if they got washed overboard, too?”
“I don’t think they did,” he said, sitting down beside her in the sand. He stretched his long legs out, and she gazed at the springy hairs. He was the epitome of masculinity—strong where she was weak. Tall. Muscular.
“You were near the starboard side of the boat, but they were right by the steering wheel,” Noah said. “The entire boat would’ve had to capsize for them to go over.”
“I just hope they’re okay. Wow, it’s getting hot.” She started to pull off Mason’s sweatshirt as they sat in the sunshine, and then she realized she was wearing nothing underneath. Her gaze landed on her clothes, still drying under the driftwood.
“Your things should be dry by now,” he said. “I’ll grab them.”
He handed her the bikini top, shirt, and shorts, their fingers briefly brushing together. Something about seeing his masculine hand gripping her hot pink string bikini sent heat surging straight through her. Noah was handsome as hell, and she admired the way he’d handled himself during the whole ordeal.
He’d been calm and clear headed. He’d dove in after her in the middle of the storm to save her. And ever since they’d gotten here, he’d put her needs before his own.
Not every man was like that, she knew.
The guys on the team were all protective to some extent. Goodness, it was practically in their job description.
She’d seen a different side of Noah this afternoon than all the flirting and teasing though. They’d had fun before, yes, but now she knew she could literally trust him with her life.
It brought things into an entirely new perspective.
He eyed her skimpy bikini top with interest but then turned away from her so she could have some privacy. She tied the strings behind her, imagining those thick fingers of Noah’s working them. Flipping her hair to the side, she tied the top string behind her neck and then adjusted the triangle cups.
Stranded with a SEAL Page 7