by Lily Harlem
“She seems extra tame, she’s not bothered by us.”
“True.”
He stopped by a bush then drew out a small knife from his pocket and held it against the stem of a big leaf.
“Have you taken another one of Raul’s knives?” she asked.
“Aye.”
“Does he know?”
Mason downturned his mouth and sliced a leaf from the thick stalk.
“Bugger, he’s going to have a Spanish hissy fit when he finds out. Evan took another one too.”
“So did Lucas,” Mason added.
“And I noticed Harry’s got the big one we used for the shelter, tucked in his shorts.” She frowned. “I should have one, don’t you think?”
“The ironic thing is, you’re probably the only one of us he’d happily give them all to.”
She chuckled. “Yes, you’re probably right.” She held out her hands. “Want me to hold them?”
He filled her palms with the big, shiny leaves he’d been holding then took a few more.
“That should do us for breakfast, or lunch or whenever we next need something to eat off.”
“Our very own disposable plates. What plant do you think it is?”
“No idea. But there’s plenty of them in this patch.”
A sudden rustling to her right, caught Olivia’s attention. “What’s that?”
“No idea.” He glanced at a smaller bush that was shivering in the shadows. “Come on, let’s collect your shoes and get back.”
Chapter Eighteen
Harry and Raul were still sat around the fire talking when Mason and Olivia arrived back. Evan was alone on the rock, studying the radio. He’d pulled his t-shirt on, covering the evidence of their passion and appeared deep in thought.
They didn’t disturb him.
“Evan’s keeping watch till dawn.” Harry looked up as they came into camp.
“Okay. I’ll do it tomorrow night,” Olivia said.
“Sure.” He went back to poking the sand with a stick as he spoke to Raul. The subject still seemed to be shipping lanes of the Pacific.
Mason flicked sand from a log and sat opposite them. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and peered at the lines in the sand Harry had made.
“I’m going to get some rest.” Olivia gestured to the shelter.
“Si, I hope you get some, the cicadas are making much noise,” Raul said, clicking his fingers to imitate the loud clicking noises coming from the vegetation all around them.
“It takes a lot to wake me.”
“Yeah, we know.” Harry rolled his eyes then smiled. “Lucas is in there already.”
She wandered from the light of the fire and into the shadows of the shelter. It was long and thin with one big area of bedding. She still didn’t like the thought of the creepy crawlies that could be in there.
“Olivia,” Lucas said softly.
She saw him in the far corner, bare chested and lying on something orange.
“What’s that?” She stooped and headed over to him.
“It’s the canopy for the raft, designed to give shelter. I thought you might prefer to lie on it rather than straight on this grassy stuff.”
“You read my mind.” She sighed with relief and dropped down on the cool plastic surface. “I’m pretty brave about most things, but snakes and bugs that bite, I can live without.”
“I’ll protect you.”
Through the darkness she saw him smile.
“My very own knight, and with shining armor included.” She rested her hand over his upper arm, where his tattoo was.
“Exactly.” He laughed quietly. “Here use my t-shirt as a pillow.”
“Don’t you need it?”
“Are you kidding? It’s hot enough to fry an egg on a stone. And don’t forget, I’m a Scot, I’m used to cold and rain.”
“True.” She lay down and scooted closer to him. “Well if you get cold, you can cuddle me.”
“And suddenly I’m freezing, almost hypothermic.” He settled next to her, so his chest was against her back and curved his body with the shape of hers. He wound his arm over her waist and snuggled in close.
She sighed and rested her hand on his forearm. The make-shift bed was soft, Lucas’s torso was hard, and her eyes were heavy.
“Go to sleep,” he whispered, his breath warming her scalp. “I’ve got you.”
In that moment Olivia felt so safe. With Lucas holding her. Evan keeping watch out to sea and Mason, Harry and Raul nearby, there was nothing that could hurt her.
She was one lucky girl.
Soon she began to drift. Her body relaxed and her breathing was steady and in a gentle rhythm with Lucas’s. Images of the waterfall, of the birds, Angel, and the waves and the beautiful sunset flickered through her mind. They became a jumble of colors and within them each of the guys’ handsome faces appeared.
The sound of the cicadas faded. Sleep stole her away.
Olivia was first to wake, and after a moment of disorientation she looked at the scene before her. She’d barely moved all night and was still facing into the shelter.
Harry was close by, on his back, his lips slightly parted and snoring gently. Soon he’d be well past any designer stubble and into beard territory.
Next to him Raul, his head high on as many clothes as he could find it seemed, and his nut-brown chest rising and falling as he breathed deep.
Beyond him, she guessed it was Mason on his side, but she couldn’t see properly.
Carefully, she lifted Lucas’s arm.
“What…” he mumbled.
“Shh.” She sat and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Stay asleep.” She glanced at Harry’s watch. Seven o’clock. “It’s early.”
Lucas muttered something then shifted onto his back with his eyes still closed.
Olivia had slept in her shoes, and quietly padded a little way from the shelter. She was busting for the loo.
After sorting herself out, she headed past the fire which was slowly devouring a dense log, and onto the beach.
Evan was still sitting on the rock. It was as if he hadn’t moved.
“Morning,” she said.
“Hey, babe.” He gave her a sleepy smile.
“See anything?” She rested her hand on his shoulder.
“Nah.”
“Why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll keep an eye out till the others wake up.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, you look beat.”
“I am.” He stood and stretched, lifting his arms high, locking his fingers and groaning. “Stiff too.”
“And not in a good way.”
He lowered his arms and chuckled. “No, but I’m pretty sure you could change that.” He reached for her.
“Ah, no.” She stepped away and gestured to the sea. “I’m going for a swim. The ocean will have to be my shower this morning and I need one after sleeping on sweaty tarpaulin all night.”
“Ick, yes, go ahead.” He smiled. “And if you go off with Harry before I wake up, be careful okay.” He nodded to the huge cliff. “That’s high.”
“I can manage it fine.”
“I know you can, but still, be careful.” He nodded, then turned and went into camp.
Olivia scanned the horizon. It was the same flat emptiness as it had been before. No ships, planes or any other signs of life.
She kicked off her shoes, peeled off her t-shirt and dumped them on the rock by the radio. As she did so she spotted Angel staring at her. “Hello, girl,” she said.
The bird hopped from one foot to the other and tipped its head.
“You think I look funny, don’t you?” She held out her hands. “I probably do to you, but you’re pretty.” She paused. “If big beaks and poppy yellow eyes are your thing.”
Angel ducked her head and began to peck at what seemed like nothing in the sand.
Olivia watched her for a moment then headed down to the waves. The tide was in though it didn’t seem to go out very far when it
did retreat.
She waded deeper and looked at the darker patch of coral about thirty feet from where she stood. She wished she had a snorkel to explore it, but she suspected much as Raul’s bag contained many delights, that wasn’t one of them.
She went deeper, the push of the gentle waves delighting her and the cool water waking up her hot skin. Deciding to swim parallel to the shore, she struck out when she got beyond the gentle breakers.
Within minutes the kinks in her muscles and the knots in her tendons had come undone. She was used to exercising every day and swimming was something she did often.
She reached the western edge of the crescent then turned and headed back. Comfortably out of breath, she came level with the camp.
She noticed Raul strolling from the gap in the trees. He was yawning with his arms over his head. When he saw her he dropped his hands to his sides. “Hey!”
Olivia slowed and let her feet drift to the sand.
Raul hurried past the rock holding her shoes and t-shirt and down to the water’s edge. “What are you doing?”
“Enjoying an early morning swim.”
“There’s sharks,” he said. “Around the coral.”
“There are not.”
He frowned. “There might be.”
She chuckled and began to wade out. “They’ll be scared of me kicking and splashing and scoot the other way.”
“They will not be scared, you are in their territory.”
The water lowered down her body as she walked from the waves.
She was aware of his gaze drifting down to her toes then up again. She smiled, enjoying his attention and the sleepy-ruffled state of his hair. Raul was one damn cute Spaniard in the morning.
“Raul, you were in here fishing yesterday.”
“I was over there, it is shallower, and that is me, not you. I lose a leg, that is life. You lose a leg, I would never forgive myself.”
“It wouldn’t be your fault.” She walked past him wringing water from her plaits. “If that happened.”
He frowned. “Just be careful.”
Why is everyone telling me to be careful this morning?
She decided not to let it irritate her. They cared, that was all. “I will, but I’m likely to swim often, Raul. It’s a good way to start the day.”
“Then I should watch to make sure you are okay.” He jabbed his thumb against his chest. “And if anything happens I will save you.” A cheeky glint caught his eye and he leaned closer. “Give you the kiss of life, si?”
She grinned and any grains of irritation left her. “If it was necessary, then si, you should.” She nodded up to camp. “Anyone else awake?”
“Si. Mason is preparing coconuts for breakfast. I came to get the last of the protein bars from the raft.”
“There’s jobs to be done, but that should keep us going.” The sun was already warming her skin and the drops of seawater evaporating. She’d love a jar of body moisturizer but wasn’t about to mention that. Dry skin was a girly complaint.
“I will see you in a minute.” Raul jogged off, kicking up sand behind him.
Olivia put on her shoes and t-shirt near the entrance of the camp and wandered in.
Evan was restacking the fire with the last of the wood.
“I thought you were going to rest?” She smoothed a strand of hair from his brow.
“I will once I’ve done this and eaten.”
Harry was drinking from a coconut, and Mason was hacking at another with the big cleaver.
“Ah, there you are,” Harry said. “I thought you’d gone without me.”
“Gone?”
“Up the cliff.”
“No, we go in pairs. Everything in pairs remember,” she said with a slight smirk.
Harry tipped his head. “Like swimming?”
“Raul has just informed me, that from now on he’ll be watching me swim in case of shark attack.”
Raul marched in, holding the protein bars. “Yes, I will. They are everywhere the sharks, everywhere.”
Harry caught Olivia’s gaze and chuckled. “You’d better let him watch.”
“Maybe he’ll swim with me.”
“No,” Raul shook his head vigorously. “You want to swim in shark soup, you swim, not me, I stay near the edge and fish, catch the fish.”
“Perhaps you’ll catch a wee shark,” Mason said, handing Olivia a coconut to drink from. “We can have it roasted for dinner.”
“Si, si, I will.” He nodded. “Eat it before it eats us.”
Olivia shook her head. Why Raul had decided to spend so much time at sea when he was terrified of sharks, one of the shiest creatures in the ocean, she had no idea. But his fear was clearly very ingrained.
They ate breakfast companionably, then Evan went into the shelter. He had bags under his eyes and Olivia hoped he’d get a good sleep.
“Raul, you keep the fire going and watch the horizon,” Harry said, standing and slipping on his t-shirt.
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Raul poked at the fire with a stick.
“And Mason and Lucas you go and find the pool to fill up the water bottles.”
“We can do that,” Mason said.
Lucas nodded.
“It’s easy enough to find.” Olivia also stood. “We left an arrow, made of big stones by a ridge in the sand that winds into the treeline. Just follow it in a straight line for a few minutes until the clearing, you’ll see where we hacked a bit of a route through.”
“Thanks, we’ll do that.” Mason jerked his head at Lucas. “Come on, let’s gather the bottles.”
“We’ll take water from the harvesters in these two.” Harry held up two empty Evians. “Bound to get thirsty wandering up that hill.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Olivia watched everyone obeying Harry. It amazed her they all did, but then again, he did act with an air of authority, had done since they’d all met him. But back then he’d been the rich one, the one with the boat, the powerful father. Out here, he was just a guy surviving, the way they all were.
But still he was obeyed.
“Come on then, Liv,” Harry said, flashing her a grin that again told her why she was happy to go along with his bossy ways. He’d been model-handsome when he was groomed and neat, but now, fuck…he had a certain wild look the gossip mags would be clambering for. Harrington Vidal worked being marooned on a desert island the way other guys could work a catwalk.
They wandered into the sunshine. Olivia squinted as Harry filled the bottles. She’d pay a dozen coconuts right now to have her shades. The glare of the sun on the sand and the water was intense.
“We’ll walk by the trees.” Harry indicated to the right where it was shaded.
“Yes, and then by the looks of it, the base of that bloody big rock is in the cool of the trees too.”
“You changing your mind about going up there?”
“No, are you?” She raised her eyebrows. “It’s okay if you are. I’m sure Evan will come with me, or Mason or—”
“We’re going.” He bopped her on the head with one of the Evians.
“Hey.”
He chuckled. “Behave or you might get a spanked ass.”
“Kinky bugger, are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“That depends if your kinks match mine,” she said.
He kind of growled and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her close. “Be careful, you might unleash the monster.”
“The monster in your pants?”
He laughed. “You’re a little minx, you know that.”
Olivia giggled. “I’ve been called worse things.”
“What like sexy, cute, clever, fucking awesome.”
“Fucking awesome is new.”
“Ah, glad to be your first for something.”
Chapter Nineteen
They continued their banter until the beach ran out, then looked up at the rock.
“I’m guessing it’s a less harsh gradient on the other side,
” Olivia said, studying it. “Means we need to cut through the trees a hundred meters or so.”
“We can do that.” Harry pulled a long sharp knife from the waistband of his shorts. It seemed he’d switched the cleaver.
He stepped into the darkness.
Olivia took a deep breath and willed herself not to think about snakes. She hadn’t seen any yesterday, so perhaps there weren’t any on the island. That could be the case, it was its own little eco system. Perhaps they’d never made it here.
She followed Harry. The vegetation was denser than it had been when she’d gone with Evan to the pool. But the thick leaves and vines didn’t bother Harry and he forged forward, hacking things from their path when necessary.
Several bugs flew in front of her face and she batted them away, using her bottle of water like a shield. A bird startled nearby and as it took off one of its large pale blue wings brushed her arm. But she didn’t yelp or complain she carried on.
Before long, the trees stopped at a sheer cliff. It was the color of gingerbread and had horizontal lines in it, like creases.
“We can’t climb this,” Harry said.
“Shall we follow it around a bit, to the west?”
“Yeah, at least we’ll have some point of reference for coming back.”
“This must just be one of the faces of the main rock, don’t you think?”
“Sure thing.”
He raised his arm and sliced a thick stem out of their way then continued.
After a few minutes he stopped and stared at the cliff.
“What is it?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead Harry moved a curtain of vines to the left.
A hole appeared, bigger than a hole, a cave.
“Wow,” she said, reaching for more of the vines and tugging them in the opposite direction. “Look at this, it’s huge.”
Harry sliced the vines he was holding to make a doorway. “Let’s go in.”
“Do you think anything lives in there?”
He shrugged. “Soon find out.” He stepped into the gloom.
Olivia scooted up behind him and clutched his t-shirt. “I’m coming too.”
He chuckled. “Scared of the boogieman?”
“No, you leaving me out there with the snakes.”