by Ava Harrison
“But—”
“No buts. One more day of rest and then tomorrow you can go back to whatever you were doing when this happened. But no swimming without me.” I lift my brow. “And I highly discourage you from climbing a tree.”
“I didn’t climb a tree.”
I give her a look that tells her I wasn’t born yesterday and that I know she did.
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “I climbed a tree. But did you see what I brought back?”
“Yes, and that’s why I won’t yell at you. But you have to be more careful.”
“Sorry, not everyone can be perfect like you.”
I wink at her before standing. “I am pretty amazing.”
“Where are you going?” she asks as I stride in the other direction.
“I’m going to the lake to see if I can catch more fish.”
“And you are just going to leave me here?”
“Yes.” My one-word answer probably pisses her off, and that thought has me smirking.
“But I feel fine.”
I turn to face her. “That may be the case, but I would feel a lot better if we didn’t press our luck.”
She makes a brief sound of disappointment.
“I’ll be back before you know it.” She pouts her perfect little lips, and I leave.
I need to get away. With the little sounds she makes and the way her lips look, I can’t help but imagine her beneath me. Since that will not happen, I know I have to go, maybe relieve myself too.
That or I’ll probably end up attacking her, which is something I can’t and won’t do.
When I finally make it to the lake, I’m rock hard.
Phoenix will be a problem.
My dick will be a problem.
Before I can think twice, I’m stripping off my clothes and grasping my cock in my hand.
I just need to take the edge off. Then I can fish and go about my business of trying to prepare for us to leave. I imagine Phoenix’s legs wrapped around me. I imagine what it will feel like to slide into her and pound into her flesh.
I stroke myself up and down, climbing toward my release. It doesn’t take me long. Much less time than normal, but this girl has me wound tight.
I come hard into my palm, grunting, “Fuck,” as I do. My eyes open, and I’m not alone. At the edge of the clearing, watching me come, is Phoenix.
Eyes wide, cheeks flushed, she’s watching. She can’t pull her gaze away. She’s not even swallowing as I tug one last time and milk it out completely. Finally, when every last drop is spent, I let my lips tip up.
Silently asking if she enjoyed the show.
Saying nothing after that, I head toward the water and fully submerge myself. I expect when I resurface, she will be gone. That she will have turned tail to hide from me.
But instead, I find her exactly where I left her, still staring in my direction, still breathless from what she saw.
27
Phoenix
I need to look away.
I need to look anywhere but at him.
But as he touches himself, eyes closed, I can’t. I can’t seem to budge at all.
Something about this man is completely mesmerizing. Looking at him is like watching a car accident unfold. You know there is a very good chance you can get hurt in the crossfire, yet you can’t seem to pull away.
That’s Alaric Prince.
Deadly.
Corrupt.
Yet tarnished in all the right ways.
I can’t stop myself from watching him. I’m silently enthralled by the scene playing out and even more secretly wishing I was the one touching him.
With my mouth dropped open and my eyes wide, I watch as he strokes himself, and I’m rooted in place.
Finally, I shake myself out of my haze, and I’m about to move when his eyes open.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
He’s staring right at me, still stroking himself.
The lust that fills the space between us is heady and makes me warm. The sight makes my body flush, my core growing wet with need.
It would be so easy to walk up to him and put on the façade I gave him at the club only a few weeks ago.
Pretend I’m that girl. The one who takes what she wants.
And what I want right now is him.
So badly it aches.
I want him to touch me. Stroke me. Fill me.
My cheeks warm even more, and I’m sure my face is beet red. I’m probably the color of a cherry tomato by now.
The way his damn lip tips up lets me know that he knows. Yet even with him smirking at me, a tease heavy on his tongue, I don’t move. I still can’t.
I wait for him to make a witty comment.
For him to say anything, but he heads into the water and dives below.
Now is the moment that I need to leave, yet I can’t.
Instead, like the drunk-on-lust idiot I am, I wait with bated breath for him to pop back up so I can see him again.
I’m pathetic.
When he surfaces, I can see the look of surprise on his face. He expected me to be gone, yet here I still stand. Not knowing what to do or say.
Thankfully, he’s the one who breaks the silence.
“I thought you were going to take it easy?”
“I got bored,” I admit. I don’t tell him I missed his company—and that I chanced re-injuring myself to be with him.
I don’t need to say those words. They are heavy in the air, regardless.
“Do you want to come in?” His husky voice cuts through the air, making my nipples pebble with the weight of his words.
Do I?
I don’t even know anymore. Rather than speak, I stare at him like an idiot.
His words bounce around in my brain until I’m not sure what to do. His stupid chuckle is what finally snaps me out of my lust-filled thoughts.
“It’s a natural thing, dove.”
There must be marbles or glue in my mouth because even though I will myself to respond to his ridiculous comment, I can’t.
I can’t even find it in me to yell at him. I’m flushed. So damn hot, I’m on fire.
But hell no am I getting in that lake. Even if it’s what my body wants, there is no way he will get the satisfaction of me admitting it to him.
This isn’t me wanting him. I’m just the product of my environment. What woman could be stranded on an island with that man and not want to jump his bones?
It wouldn’t matter if I was a nun at this point. Looking at a naked Adonis wears on me.
Finding space, lots and lots of space, to calm my libido is imperative right now. Before I do something I will regret.
Without a second thought, I turn from him, his laughter fading into the distance the farther I walk.
“Where are you going?” he asks in a playful and not welcome tone.
Nope. Not answering.
“I don’t bite. Unless you ask, but you’d have to ask very nicely, and use the word Sir.”
Ignore.
Each step I take makes his voice fade more and more until I no longer hear him.
I need to cool down.
The blue water in front of me calls my name.
I know Alaric said not to go in, but he’s being ridiculous. It was a dolphin, not a shark. He’s not my boss. I’ll do what I want to do.
Streams of sunlight brush the surface of the water. It’s beautiful.
It’s the perfect weather for me to take a dip. Cool off from the erotic show he gave me.
I strip down completely.
With Alaric in the lake, he won’t bother me.
I’m all alone, so I might as well.
Also, this way, my clothes won’t get wet.
Stepping onto the sand, I curl my toes in bliss.
Yesterday, I hadn’t allowed myself the luxury of relaxing, but right now, that’s what I do. Right now, I’m on a tropical island, relaxing. That’s what I tell myself, at least.
If I let the rest
settle in, my anxiety will flare, so I shake it off and give myself these brief moments. My feet are now bathed in the warm water. Not as warm as a bath, but not frigid enough to make it uncomfortable.
With each step I take, I submerge my body deeper and deeper.
My head tilts back as I’m fully engulfed, and I look up at the sky.
Here and now, it feels like a dream.
Blue as far as I can see.
It’s perfect.
If only the company was … Nope, not going there. Instead, I think of nothing. Inhaling deeply, I silence my brain.
My chest rises and falling as I relax.
I’m not sure how long I stay there, but soon, the water is pulling harder, and the once blue sky is turning a different shade.
In the distance, the sky is turning gray now, and the waves are growing larger and more vicious.
Is a storm coming?
I turn my attention back toward the beach.
Icy tendrils of fear fill my body as I realize I’m much farther away than I imagined.
The water has been pulling me out to sea.
In my haste to get away, I have done just that.
I start to swim, kicking strongly, but no matter how much I kick, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
I kick harder and harder. But no matter how much I do, it’s as if I’m stuck.
Adrenaline floods through my veins at the precarious situation I’ve placed myself in.
What am I going to do?
As my arms work to push me forward, an endless stream of what ifs plague my brain, making me panic.
I can’t freak out.
I have to push these morbid thoughts away.
They won’t help me now.
I could call for Alaric, scream for help, but it’s no use. He’s too far.
He’s not here to save you this time.
No, I’ll need to save myself.
It wasn’t that long ago that I had found myself in a similar position, but a world of change has happened since then.
I don’t want to give up.
I don’t want to die.
With all the strength I can muster, I push past the riptide. I kick and thrash, and soon, the shore is approaching. By the time my feet hit the sand, I’m done.
My breath comes out in sharp bursts, chest rising frantically to inflate.
I hear the sound of his screams first, but my eyes are closed from the exertion. My naked body now lies on the sand. Strong arms lift me, cradle me to a firm, warm chest.
I should be cold, but the hands touching me set me ablaze.
“What the hell were you doing out there? Are you insane? I told you yesterday not to go into the ocean alone.”
I don’t answer, too tired from the fight to make it back to shore.
I know I should tell him to put me down, but I don’t. I allow him to hold me. To keep me warm and safe.
He sits by the fire, and I’m happy it’s still lit from before.
My teeth chatter, more from nerves than anything.
When he starts to rock me, I can feel the tears forming behind my eyelids.
He’s comforting me. This strange and beautiful man, who I should hate and who should hate me in return, is picking up the pieces I broke on the beach and putting them back together.
“You’re okay,” he says, and I let out the sob lodged in my throat. “Everything is going to be okay. You’re safe.”
More tears pour out of me. This isn’t about the water or the riptide. It’s about the island, the fear. I haven’t allowed myself to stop. Pushing to find food. Pushing to survive. But when it all sinks in, I feel like I’m drowning in my own grief.
“I have you.”
“But who’s got you?” I ask, tipping my head up for our eyes to meet.
“I was hoping you,” he responds, but this time, there is no humor in his tone. I continue to look at him, searching for something, but all I see is loneliness. Fear. Feelings that mirror my own.
Neither one of us speaks as my body dries. Not even when it becomes painfully obvious that I’m naked in his arms.
Not when he places a soft and gentle kiss on my forehead and then on the lids of my eyes that have now closed.
“Rest. I have you.”
28
Alaric
Once she’s asleep, I continue to hold her in my arms.
I wait for her breathing to level out, so I know she won’t wake up.
With careful precision, I lay her flat on the raft before I stand to get her clothes from the grass beside the sand. When I make my way back over to her, I realize just how hard dressing her will be.
Instead of even trying, I lift my own shirt over my head and move to place that on her body. Because of the size and how tiny she is in comparison, it’s easy to maneuver it on her. Then I place the blanket on top of her. She’s been difficult about using my blanket, but now, deep in slumber, she has no choice. She can no longer be stubborn.
With her body covered, I take the spot beside her. I spend the next few hours staring out into the horizon and thinking. My thoughts are of the past and what the future will bring. If I’ll even have a future.
Before long the sun sets, and when the sky turns dark, I recline back and look up to the stars.
When I saw her, I thought she was hurt again.
But unlike the previous time, my heart stopped.
I don’t know when she did it, but Phoenix flew right into my chest, making a nest for herself.
I’m not sure when that happened, but I care about her. It would be easy to say it’s just lust. Because let’s be honest, she’s gorgeous, but it’s more than that.
She’s been a pain in my ass since the moment I met her, but I think that’s what I like about her the most.
She challenges me.
She calls me on my shit.
She’s a little spitfire, and yes, it doesn’t hurt that she’s stunning.
She’s an untamable fire. Like a Phoenix, she falls, but every time she gets back up.
I have no doubt that by tomorrow, she’ll do just the same, but for now, she nuzzles against me, seeking my warmth, so I pull her closer.
Early morning sunlight streams down, forcing my eyes to open.
As the world around me comes into focus, I see yet again that Phoenix is asleep, nestled against my chest.
Unlike before, I don’t rush to move.
Every day since we’ve been here, I’ve pushed myself from dusk till dawn to find a way off this island.
Even I deserve to sleep in.
Don’t I?
I close my eyes against the glare and will myself back to bed.
But my companion seems to have other plans as she rolls almost completely on top of my body.
She’s still asleep.
That much I can tell from the way she breathes.
Now, I’m not sure what to do.
Which is wholly unlike me.
I’ve never given a shit before about what this girl wants or needs, but now I do.
And the notion doesn’t sit well inside me.
I need to squash these feelings.
I can’t let myself grow attached to her.
Again, she starts to move, her leg draping over me. If she keeps rubbing up against me like that, she’s going to wake something else inside me. I can’t cross that line.
Something tells me if I do, one time won’t be enough to get this girl out of my system, and I can’t go there with her.
My inner debate is cut short when she starts to speak in incoherent sentences, and then as if she got struck by lightning, she bolts up into a sitting position.
“What-What happened?”
Her eyes are wide and crazy from sleep, and it takes everything in me not to burst into laughter.
But something tells me if I do, I’ll end up with a black eye.
“You were exhausted and fell asleep.”
She looks down and lifts the blanket, then her hand reaches for my shirt
that covers her.
“How?” She doesn’t finish the question, but there is no need, seeing as I can already tell what it’s going to be.
How did I get dressed? Did you do this?
“You were naked.” Her cheeks turn a bright red. “I didn’t want to wake you, so my shirt seemed an easier task.”
She’s quiet as she takes in my answer, but eventually, she nods to herself.
“We should get up,” I finally say, breaking the silence between us.
“What’s the plan for today?” she asks.
“Other than make coconut phones?” My lip tips up into a smirk, and she shakes her head at my joke.
“Yes, other than that, Gilligan.”
“Gather fruit and fish.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll do it together.”
Her brows knit together as if she is going to react. Maybe she’s perfectly capable of doing it herself, but she must think better of it.
“You can get most of the fruit. I’ll be focusing on seeing if there are any animals for us to catch.”
“How will you do that?”
“Bait.” But the moment I say the word, I realize my mistake. Her body tightens, and she’s up before I can speak, marching off behind the trees.
I would say she has to use the bathroom, but I know better.
If what I said bothered her, she doesn’t act on it, instead opting for a time-out. Hopefully, it’s long enough for her to be okay. A few minutes later, my question is answered when she steps out of the trees with a smile. I’m not sure if she is being serious or merely mocking me, but I don’t really care. Either way, no matter her mood, we are doing this.
“What has you so happy today?” I ask. Her smile brightens, and she points toward where she found the fruit.
“I’m excited to be getting closer to getting off this island.”
Now that I have heard her answer, the excitement she portrays doesn’t sit well with me. It’s not that I want to stay on this island, but the moment I get off, I’ll have to figure out who attacked me and why, and there will be a price to pay. As much as this isn’t a vacation, I’m not looking forward to the idea of having to do all that.
I turn toward Phoenix. “Do you need anything?” I ask before we head off for the day.
