“And I’m being held here why?”
The man across the room stood from the small metal table and crossed the room. For the first time Cal got a clear look at him. He obviously took his job out here on the very far edges of civilization to an extreme. His hair was cut short, almost to his scalp. And even in the oppressive heat and humidity his uniform had nary a crease.
“Because I want to know why you’re stowing away to get to Malory. Most people want to get off the island and you’re going there. Why?”
The soldier crossed the room until he was standing directly in front of Cal. Cal had to look up to see the man.
“I’m not most people.”
He saw the soldier’s arm swing backwards and braced himself for the blow he knew was coming. But that still didn’t stop the pain that radiated through his skull when the other man’s knuckles came into contact with his temple.
He tried to hold on for as long as he could, but blackness overwhelmed him.
Chapter Nine
“So, are you going to tell me how you came to be washed up on the shore down by the docks?”
What was she supposed to say? She had no freaking clue.
“I’m a tracker,” was the answer she settled on as she continued to nibble at the plate of food. She had no idea what the meat was, and figured she probably didn’t want to know, but the berries were excellent.
“And you tracked your way to being passed out by the docks? I guess you’re not a very good tracker are you?”
She recognized the fact that he was simply trying to bait her, but she wasn’t about to let him win.
“I found you didn’t I?”
That one definitely threw him for a loop. He jumped up from the stump and stalked towards her. She flinched for a moment, but chided herself. She wasn’t afraid of anyone. Even a man who’d been living in seclusion for God only knew how long.
All right, maybe she was a little bit wary when it came to AJ. But he was so big and male and…virile.
He took the plate from her hands and marched back to the table, tossing it down before coming back to stand in front of her.
“Hey, I wasn’t finished with that,” she said, but before she was able to take a step anywhere, AJ pushed her back down onto the bed.
“I think it’s time that you gave me some answers.”
“Or what?” she challenged.
“Or maybe I’ll toss you back out there,” he indicated the outside, “and see what some of the other men will do to you.” He ran a thick dirty finger down her cheek. “Or maybe I’ll just do it myself.”
“Don’t touch me,” she managed to get out through clenched teeth.
His touch was nothing like Cal’s. Where Cal’s hands were soft and well manicured, AJ’s were rough and dirty. But she couldn’t deny that the same thrill coursed through her body.
“Tell me why you’re here,” he said, though this time his voice was lower.
He stared at her. His eyes, so like Cal’s, boring into her. She couldn’t blink and before she spoke she had difficulty swallowing.
“To find you,” she said quietly.
“Why?”
This was the real kicker. Her heart pounded so hard she felt like it was going to burst.
“I don’t know.”
He closed his eyes and the connection, whatever connection it was, was broken.
AJ had to get away from this girl. Whoever she was.
She could definitely be a danger to his sanity. And he most certainly didn’t need another mouth to feed. He was resigned to spending the rest of his days alone.
But damn his cock was hard for her.
Leaving her sitting on the bed, he walked as far away from her as he could. Too bad he hadn’t thought to build a bigger shelter. Of course he had a feeling that miles away wouldn’t be far enough now that he’d actually touched her.
The usual outdoorsy smell of the small shelter had been taken over by her scent. Feminine, clean. Damn if he didn’t like it.
“What happened to the clothes I was wearing?”
He was startled when she spoke.
“Clothes?”
“Last thing I remember, when I was on the boat, I was wearing a robe. It was soft. And pink.”
AJ nodded.
“Ah, that. I managed to get you away form the pillagers but couldn’t save your clothes.”
“Well, do you have something I could wear besides this scratchy blanket?”
All of the men on the island were provided with some basic necessities. As if some soap somehow takes the place of being denied basic human rights.
“I have some animal skins and a few old shirts. We can probably make you something.”
Preferably something that covered her well. It was bad enough seeing her creamy skin, her strong shoulders. Yeah, he’d have to find something very thick to cover her.
AJ crossed the room and stepped outside. He needed the fresh air. Her smell, her intoxicating smell, was getting to be a bit too much for him.
As soon as he stepped outside he could sense the danger. His small compound was being watched. No doubt because the other men knew he’d brought the woman here.
“Where are you going?”
The woman stuck her head out the door.
“Get back inside,” he ordered.
But the damn woman didn’t listen to him. Still dressed in nothing more than a blanket, she stepped outside.
“Perhaps you’re used to giving orders around here, but you should know that I’m not used to taking them.”
The more AJ thought about it, he realized that perhaps leaving her down by the docks would have been the smartest course of action. But he’d never been accused of being the smartest guy on the island.
He grabbed a couple of skins that he’d left drying in a nearby cave, along with a shirt that had been drying over a rock.
“Listen woman,” he said as he strode back towards her. They were going to be lucky to make it back inside without a fight. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled. “When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it.”
Then, several things happened all at once.
Di realized the exact moment she’d made a mistake.
Though, she couldn’t really concede that it was her fault because it wasn’t like this big oaf of a man was telling her anything.
She noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. Then two straggly men sauntered out of the bushes.
No problem, she thought, she could totally take them.
But she wasn’t so sure what to do about the extremely large knives they were carrying.
“Why couldn’t you just do what you were told?” AJ asked her.
He spun around and before she’d even blinked he’d delivered a roundhouse kick to the closest man. He fell in a heap, completely unmoving.
Wow.
Unfortunately, three more men stepped out of the bushes.
“Go back inside,” AJ said, pulling a pretty lethal looking knife out of a sheath hidden beneath his pant leg.
“Yeah,” she said as she bent to retrieve the knife from the fallen man. “Because you don’t need help.”
As she spoke, two more men came sauntering out of the bushes.
He snickered.
“You think you’re going to be much help?”
Her blood was boiling now. And even though she wanted to kick AJ’s ass for treating her like a wimpy woman she figured it was better to take it out on their unexpected company.
She could deal with AJ after they were disposed of.
Di stepped forward elbowing AJ out of the way. One particularly foul looking, and smelling, man stepped forward. He didn’t even bother to keep his gaze north of her breasts. It was a piece of cake for her to take him out with a well-placed heel to the sternum. He didn’t even see it coming.
All of the men, including AJ, were temporarily stunned quiet.
“You were saying I wouldn’t be much help?” She turned to AJ and spoke
in her sweetest voice.
“Behind you,” was his only reply.
She spun around quickly, just in time to send her elbow flying into her attacker’s nose. All it took was another punch to send him sprawling on the ground.
While two more men came in her direction, AJ was busy with two guys himself. Behind her she could hear the clang of knives as he fought his own opponents.
She easily disarmed the two men, kicking their knives far away from them. Once they were unarmed, there was no way they stood a chance against her.
Both men came at her at the same time. She thrust upward with the heel of her hand into the nose of one of the men. At the same time she brought her knee up to the other mans groin. They both collapsed in pain. Showing no mercy, she kicked both of them while they were down. Neither man would be getting up any time soon.
She turned around to see AJ taking down the last man standing. Then they stood in the middle of a circle of carnage smiling at one another.
“Nothing like some fighting to get your blood flowing in the morning,” Di said.
AJ started to laugh but quickly stopped.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing? I told you to stay inside.”
“Yeah, and you wouldn’t have gotten though this fight without me.”
“Ha,” he laughed, “I would have been just fine without you, sweetheart.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her hip.
“Oh yeah, well then, why are you the one bleeding and I don’t have a scratch on me?”
He looked down to the red slash that streaked across his chest.
“How the hell did that happen?”
He swiped at the scratch, smearing blood over his pectoral muscles.
“Face it, you’re not as good as me.”
His head snapped up to meet her eyes.
“Like hell I’m not,” he said.
He stalked towards her ready for a fight. Well, another fight. He reached her side and grabbed her wrist. Normally she would have fought him back but he happened to grab her still injured wrists.
“Ow, mother fucker that hurt,” she said as she wrenched her arm out of his grasp.
AJ was obviously surprised by her actions.
“What the…sorry,” he finally settled on.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the duo as they both nursed their own wounds.
“I guess we should probably get back inside.” AJ finally broke the silence.
Di didn’t speak, she simply walked by him into the sparsely decorated shelter.
****
Damn, that was one prickly woman.
AJ walked to the small cave where he kept most of his belongings, stepping over bodies along his way. One of the men was moaning as he stepped over. AJ made sure to give him a swift kick to shut him up.
Now that the adrenaline was fading, the gash that ran across his chest started to throb. He finished gathering the things he was getting before he’d be so rudely interrupted and then added some antiseptic and bandages for both of their wounds.
He should ask her what had happened to her wrists.
Hell, he should probably find out what her name was.
Gathering all of his stuff and forcing the pain to the back of his mind, he headed back into his small shelter.
Funny how it seemed so much smaller when she was there.
As soon as he walked inside, he was practically knocked backwards. Damn she was sexy. And he was pretty sure that he wasn’t just saying that because he hadn’t had a woman in longer than he cared to remember.
Her long black hair was matted, but he guessed that when she brushed it it’d shine like a starry night.
She obviously hadn’t heard him come back into the shelter because, though the blanket was still wrapped around her, she had it pulled up high showing off her incredibly long legs. If she pulled it up any farther he’d probably be able to see her ass.
An ugly purplish welt was blooming on the side of her thigh.
“Looks painful,” he said.
She spun around quickly, dropping the blanket at the same time and taking away AJ’s tantalizing view.
Too bad. He should have remained quiet.
She gazed at his chest for a moment before she began to speak.
“Yeah, well, I guess we’ve both had better days, huh?”
The pain in his chest was throbbing now.
“You can say that again.” He started moving towards her and pointed to the small stump that sat in front of the table. “I’ll do you if you do me.”
“What?”
He was pretty sure he’d get a reaction out of his statement, but as she began to turn pink and stammer, he realized that it was even more fun than he’d imagined.
“I don’t know what you think you’re going to do to me, buddy, but just because you rescued me…”
He couldn’t contain his laugh any longer and the sound erupted. It was rusty, and he obviously startled her by the way she jumped back away from him. He couldn’t even remember the last time he smiled let alone laughed.
And she just continued to stare at him.
“What’s your name, anyway?” he asked when he finally caught his breath.
“Di.”
“Die, what, are you trying to tempt fate or something?”
“Di,” she said again. “D-I. It’s short for Diana, but no one calls me that.”
After seeing the carnage out in front of his shelter, he took her warning seriously.
“Di. Nice name. It suits you.”
He chuckled, something that surprised even him. As much trouble as this woman, Di, had been so far in the brief time she’d been on the island, he had to admit that he kind of liked her.
“Sit down and let me take care of the wounds on your wrists.”
She eyed him suspiciously before she acquiesced. She sat down on the stump and held her wrists out to be tended.
AJ was surprised that she relented so easily. He expected to have to fight her much harder. He looked around for somewhere else to sit, but came up empty. He pulled the bed across the room so they could both make use of the table.
He upended a flask of water into a small bowl. Taking the cleanest piece of cloth he could find, he dipped it into the water before dabbing it on her wrists.
“Who tied you up?”
“How do you know I was tied up?”
He held his own wrists out for her too see. The marks had almost faded, but he knew he’d carry them with him for the rest of his days.
“I know what rope burn looks like.”
She didn’t respond. He continued cleaning her wounds in silence. When the scratches were as clean as he could manage to get them, he ripped up another piece of cloth and wrapped it around her wrists gently. He tied a bow, and declared her finished.
But he didn’t move his hands away.
He couldn’t.
Her skin was so soft and warm. A part of him felt bad for marring such perfect skin with his calloused hands, but he couldn’t help it. He just wanted to touch more of her.
“I--I should probably help you now.”
Chapter Ten
Tingles skittered up and down Di’s entire body.
It was totally inappropriate, she could maybe be in a quasi-relationship kind of thing with Cal, wherever he was. She should not be having any kind of feelings whatsoever for his brother.
But his hands felt so good on hers. They were so big, and his rough palms sliding over her skin made her glad that the blanket she was wearing was thick and long.
She couldn’t help wondering if AJ had anything thick and long, too.
No!
Bad train of thought. She couldn’t, shouldn’t, wouldn’t think things like that. She just had to get him cleaned up so that he wouldn’t have to worry about infection.
Right. Infection.
But the fact was, she couldn’t wait to run her fingers over the hard planes of AJ’s chest. Couldn’t wait to feel his m
uscles rippling under her hands.
“Are you going to help, or should I do it myself?”
Was it her imagination of did AJ’s voice seem a little…huskier. There wasn’t a chance that he was thinking the same things she was thinking. Was there?
She picked up the fabric and ripped it into strips. She dabbed one of them in the water and swabbed it over AJ’s wound. When the water touched his flesh, he hissed out through his teeth.
“Damn, why didn’t you tell me the water was that cold?”
Because she needed it to be cold to help lower her body temperature.
She didn’t answer, just shrugged.
She tried hard not to touch him as she continued to drag the cool cloth over his skin. Gradually the red blood turned to pink and then disappeared all together.
But she didn’t stop patting his skin. Her fingers were now making more contact with his skin than the cloth. She ran her fingernails over his chest, over his nipples. They pebbled under her fingers.
She dropped the cloth.
The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing and the plop of the wet cloth as it hit the ground.
That plop brought her back to the moment.
She snatched her hand back as if he suddenly burned her.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “We should wrap that up now.”
But she really didn’t want to have to touch him again.
Well, that wasn’t quite true. She desperately wanted to touch him again, but was absolutely certain it wasn’t a very good idea.
“Yeah. I can probably handle that myself.”
Obviously he was in no more of a hurry than her when it came to them touching again.
AJ stood up and picked the remainder of the cloth up off the table. He wrapped it around himself several times so that most of his torso was covered.
“Do you think you could…”
But the rest of the sentence never made it out of his mouth. Instead, he crumpled to the ground.
“AJ?”
Di dashed to his side. He didn’t look very comfortable, the way he was laying.
No. It couldn’t be. The passing out thing couldn’t be a genetic thing shared by the brothers, could it?
AJ moaned a bit and shifted slightly.
Double Jeopardy Page 8
