Baited

by Crystal Green

  She hoped. Good Lord, she hoped.

  With that, they ducked into the plodding rain.

  By the time the weather began fully crashing down again, Kat and Larry had found one measly netted bag of apples, a ruined packet of rice and a small suitcase that contained but a few of Dr. Hopkins’s possessions. Hoping to find more, they climbed over a group of rocks to get to the adjacent beach. There, nothing but driftwood littered the sand. They would come back for that later.

  “There’s nothing here,” Larry said, yelling over the wind, which in the past few minutes had picked up to a whistling roar.

  Pointing in their shelter’s direction, Kat nodded. But just as they moved toward the rocks again, she saw it.

  A man in torn clothing, stumbling toward them, yelling.

  Adrenaline kicked Kat into a run. Larry followed.

  Tall. Built like him. Was it…?

  The man fell to his knees, laughing, panting, reaching for her.

  “Will?” she yelled. “Will?”

  Her brain felt numb, blindsided.

  Will. Here. Alive!

  Both she and Larry skidded to a stop, burying their knees in the sand as they wrapped their arms around him, bowling him over. Electrified with happiness, Kat laughed until she was weak. Will yowled, probably in pain, so they backed off. They were acting like fools in the eye of a hurricane, but why not?

  He was alive. She knew it. Dammit, she knew it! Well, she’d hoped, somewhere beneath all that pessimism.

  As they got over the shock, a forceful wave pounded the shore ten feet from them.

  “Let’s get back!” Kat tried to help Will…yes, Will!…to his feet. She was near to bursting, giddy as a young girl who’d seen a dream come to life.

  He shook his head as she told him about their camp and pulled him in that direction. Gesturing to higher ground where there was an overhang like the one her group had found, he said, “Kat, help me get my stuff from up there first.” He signaled for Larry to take the apples and suitcase. “We’ll see you back at your place.”

  With a wink and a hearty pat on the shoulder that made Will heave in a slight breath, Larry bounded back toward the original shelter. Good thing, Kat thought, because Tink was probably having a fun time guarding those chips.

  Will’s limp was pronounced as he took her to his dank and dreary shelter. He’d settled under a rocky ledge, which provided overhead coverage while bushes lined the sides. A life jacket, a power flashlight, a coil of rope, three kitchen steak knives and a duffel bag with clothing strewn over the ground were all his supplies.

  Kat couldn’t contain herself. Throwing away every pretense, she embraced him again.

  “I was hoping…” she began.

  “Me, too.”

  They held each other until she gave him an extra-strength hug that made him suck in a breath.

  She backed away, heart twisting. “You’re hurt!” But then, hungrily, she touched his face, running her fingers over his skin, giddy just to know that he was in one piece.

  Will…right here…

  “I don’t hurt that much.” He put a hand to his ribs. “Maybe here. Bruised. But it’s nothing. I was keeping watch for anything helpful from the wreckage when you two popped up out of the clear blue. I—” He stopped, voice strangled. “God, Kat. I can’t believe it.”

  Neither of them said anything for a minute. Instead, they just stared at each other. She couldn’t believe this, either. Will. Alive, alive, alive.

  “Wow,” was all she could say.

  “Exactly. I thought maybe I’d see other survivors after a rescue, but…”

  The rain thrashed against the bushes, sending a stream of cold air past them. His green-blue eyes were exhausted, but glowing. She took that as a good sign. A sign that he would be just as excited about taking advantage of second chances as she was.

  Will…right in front of her for the taking…

  Almost losing him had torn her apart. It made all the doubts that had broken their relationship in the first place seem so petty, just like rocks that couldn’t stop the mad flow of a stream.

  He cleared his throat. Was she watching him too intensely? Did he have any idea of how badly she’d been rattled by this storm, of how much it had changed her outlook about him?

  “Now, where’s your camp?” he asked.

  Right. He probably thought she still didn’t want anything to do with him.

  She stepped closer. “We’re just over that rock ridge out there.” She told him about how the weather had washed away most of their SOS sign, so she and Larry had been forced to correct that and the arrows leading to the cave.

  “Only a hundred feet more and you would’ve found us.”

  “I only stumbled over this place this morning.” His eyes went dark. “It seems like days ago, doesn’t it?”

  All those months of being with him had given her a type of Will sonar. She could plumb the depths of his sorrow in those troubled eyes. She’d been so much a part of him that she knew just what he needed.

  “Don’t feel guilty,” she said. “You didn’t get us into this situation.”

  “Then who did?”

  “Stop it, Will.”

  “I…” He swallowed, gesturing at the knife on her belt. “That’s Shaw’s custom-made Bowie. I found him washed ashore and had to bury him. Are any of my other crew…?”

  “Larry and Tink are the only ones who made it. God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but it’s not your fault. Stop thinking that way.”

  He looked crestfallen at the loss of his comrades, so she ventured even nearer to him, needing so much to make him feel better. He smelled of seawater and sharp musk. Vitality. The tang of his skin triggered something primal in the core of her—a sublime cry that celebrated being alive in the throes of death.

  Dammit, she needed proof of their still being really alive. Needed to feel again, to remind herself of what it was like to wallow in utter ecstasy instead of sadness.

  She knew her eyes were telling him everything because he couldn’t glance away. And even though he’d been abused by the water, his mouth swollen with cuts, his skin sliced and chafed, his bones bruised, Kat knew none of it mattered.

  Unable to stop herself, she tilted her face upward, standing on her toes. She pressed her mouth against his, softly at first, testing. It was almost like she wanted to reassure herself that he was really here.

  His lips were wet, salty. The taste of his blood from the cuts on his mouth washed through her, warming her, rushing around her own veins. A shiver wracked her body.

  She hated that he was hurt.

  “When I thought you were dead,” she whispered over his lips, “nothing could make the pain go away.”

  He breathed against her, almost like he also couldn’t believe she was with him, that she was inviting him. With effort, he raised his hands, took her own sensitive face in his palms and rubbed his thumbs over her cheekbones.

  She knew it was agonizing for him—his ribs sore, his skin tender—but she didn’t stop him. Couldn’t.

  “I’m not about to leave you for anything, Kat,” he said, voice low and tortured. “Not when we could finally get what we deserve out of life.”

  She was beyond wondering exactly what he meant by that, if he was talking about the five percent of Duke’s fortune she could be inheriting or if he was genuinely wishing they could be together again. But who cared right now? Why care?

  Beyond control, she kissed him again. Her head spun with the power of their reunion, with the burgeoning affection she was opening herself to again.

  But what if this emotion had only been brought on by all the terror, all the uncertainty, all the…

  He kissed her back, ending her doubts, burying his hands in her hair and opening his mouth to suck on her lips in erotic rhythm. Nipping, nibbling, his tongue easing past her lips and tangling with hers until she felt her chest nearly collapse from want of breath.

  As they slid to the sand, a thrust of hunger pounded Kat.
It’d been so long since she’d felt, since she’d sighed under Will’s muscles against her own skin, their bodies slick with friction and sweat.

  Blood pooled and heated in her belly, between her legs, making her swollen and stiff, in need of a touch, a hard caress. Ignoring her own bruises, she took his hand, guided it down there, breaking their kiss only to moan at the contact. While he stroked his thumb across the denim of her shorts, she bit his neck lightly, craving more.

  Her hands traveled up his arms, into his hair, restlessly exploring, encouraging.

  “I want you to come inside me. Now.”

  I want you to keep me feeling alive.

  “Kat…”

  “Do it, Will. Come on.”

  He didn’t hesitate. Pressure built deep within her, packed by all the fantasies she’d let expand.

  Had he suffered through the same yearnings this past year? Had he dreamt of her, too, driving himself to distraction as he counted the minutes of an alarm clock in the dark?

  As he worked off her shorts and the knife, her sex pulsed second by second, long and maddening beats of time, just like that clock. Her body was counting down to an explosion, a final betrayal of all the mental battles she’d fought against Will. Looming above her, he eased off his wet top, groaning because of his ribs. But he didn’t seem to care. Next came his ragged pants, and then he slid the life jacket under her head.

  His body…She’d forgotten how it made her skin hum with electric currents. Wide shoulders, strong arms, a lean and tanned work of nature, like the beautiful cut of a wave. His right-hand ribs were a dark ménage of bruises. Sparse hair sanded down his chest. His flat belly led to…

  When she saw how ready he was for her, she felt herself go wet, slippery with heat.

  Alive. Next to me. Skin on skin.

  She moved to take off her T-shirt, but he stopped her.

  “Let me…”

  He exhaled, his gaze filled with a longing so profound that it swept her under, pinning her until she was almost clutching for breath.

  His eyes…a mirror of her own desperation for him.

  Reverently, he traced the outline of her small breasts against the dark T-shirt. She hadn’t been wearing a bra when the boat wrecked, and with the play of his fingers, her nipples hardened, strained against the cotton.

  He circled them with his thumbs, bent down and took one into his mouth. Sucking, he slipped his hands to the small of her back, urging her hips upward against his belly but away from his bruised ribs. She rubbed up next to him, demanding more.

  “Wait,” he whispered, pushing her shirt up so his lips could find bare skin.

  He coasted his mouth down, up, tonguing, teasing, latching on to her other nipple.

  Kat winced, digging her heels into the sand. Her body was thudding toward a big bang. Pounding. Pumping.

  Enough. She wiggled, seeking to position him between her legs, dragging over his erection. Her undies were the only barrier between them, his stiffness prodding her, making her crazy.

  With a harsh laugh, he stripped off that barrier, wasting no time in coaxing his fingers between her bare, drenched folds. There, he caressed her, expertly nudged her until she was ready to scream.

  This was really happening, she thought. Together. We’re together.

  Alive.

  As he entered her, moaning with pain and pleasure, filling every last empty space she’d guarded against him, Kat locked her legs around him, rocking in cadence to a faint alarm signal that was growing louder, louder…

  Danger. Danger. Danger…

  Like starving creatures, they consumed each other. He drove into her, and she moved with every hammering thrust.

  Hungry. So hungry.

  Danger…danger…

  The alarm was getting faster, blinding her, searing her head until she became dizzy.

  When she reached the breaking point, her sight went red, warning lights flashing through her bloodstream like embers flying from a burst of fire.

  Danger, danger…

  He climaxed first, breath leaving him, body tensing then shuddering to closure.

  But Kat was still going, fed by pure euphoria. Will helped her along with his mouth, his expertise, his knowledge of what would make her implode.

  Out of time, her body pulled itself apart, blasting into a shower of flame. Sparks dug into her skin, hot, cold, spiking her. Hurting her in such a good way.

  Then, while the dying sparks echoed the sound of falling rain, Kat opened her eyes.

  Cleansed, she thought, catching her breath, holding Will against her as their heartbeats slowed. A second chance with the man she’d never stopped wanting.

  Chapter 9

  Epiphany or not, it’d ended up being a little awkward—and wonderful—after the sex. Not having any with your ex-boyfriend for a year did that to a girl. So did wondering if skipping the pill—which she’d been taking only to regulate her erratic periods—for a day would matter in the scheme of things. Still, it was beautiful, lying against him, not having to say a word, yet.

  After reclining next to each other in the sand, stroking and caressing, Will whispered to her that, if they didn’t get back to camp soon, their privacy would end anyway: someone would probably come looking for them.

  She knew he was right. It wasn’t like this island was some Club Med where they had all the time in the world to mend themselves together again. There was food to be gotten, people to be taken care of. Responsibilities.

  Still, while they got dressed and traded shy smiles that promised more to come, Kat couldn’t help floating on air. There was an animating glow lifting her up from the inside out.

  They carried Will’s belongings and held hands while dodging the raindrops melting from the trees. Thunder rumbled the sky, sounding like a contented animal to Kat.

  An animal just blinking its eyes awake.

  Will was limping, but he was too proud to ask her to slow down. Embarrassed by her flighty loss of common sense, Kat eased up, slipping his arm over her shoulders so he could lean on her without making an issue of it. Still, she loved carrying his weight, feeling him sink against her.

  “This should be real fun,” he said, “seeing the old crowd again. Is Louis still as feisty as ever?”

  Kat paused. “No, Will, Duffy died.”

  Will seemed to lose his balance, stopping for a moment, stiffening. But then he began walking again, unreadable.

  His reaction…Kat tightened her grip on Will, silent, unwilling to give credit to a growing suspicion that maybe he’d overreacted for her benefit. Ridiculous, right?

  Instead, she prattled on about everything that had happened in his absence.

  “You know Harrington’s going to be worried about you being gone so long,” Will said, voice tight. “Your man will be upset—”

  Kat ground to a halt. “My man?”

  Slowly, Will dropped his arm from around her shoulders.

  “What do you mean, ‘my man?’” The way he’d said it held all sorts of derogatory meanings for a woman who took such honor in caring for herself.

  Will paused, ran a hand through his sandy hair. “I…Okay, dammit, I have to ask before we get back because it’s been gnawing at me. What is Duke Harrington to you?”

  Excellent question.

  “I don’t sleep with him, if that’s what you mean, like he’s my sugar daddy or something. Is that it?”

  “I don’t know, Kat. The way he looks at you…”

  She didn’t want to hear this. “You don’t think a man and a woman can be friends, Will? Is that so hard to imagine?”

  A knowing grin covered his mouth, as steamy as the kisses they’d just shared. The Will Ashton charm. Kat almost wilted.

  “There isn’t a guy on earth,” he said, “who’d pass up a chance to be with you.”

  Heat bolted into her, and her face flushed under its sheen of rain. He’d always known just what to say.

  “Duke’s not that way,” she said, putting his arm over her shou
lders again and resuming the walk.

  Will’s only answer was a strained laugh.

  “What?”

  “He’s got you snowed, Kat, if you can’t see what’s really going on.”

  Jealous?

  It was the official end of the afterglow. Slowly, as they continued to make their way to the shelter, reality crept back into Kat’s pores, taking her over bit by bit.

  “We’re just friends,” she said. “And that’s it.”

  Will’s silence ate at her.

  “Don’t you believe me?”

  He waited a beat too long to answer, making whatever he said next irrelevant. It’d been the same kind of heart-crushing hesitation that had marked her with doubts about Will in the first place, the harsh pause of a man who, deep inside, really hadn’t wanted a family with her. A man who would lie to her.

  No amount of explanation or apology could erase such a revelationary reaction.

  It also couldn’t blot out all the doubts she’d had about him on the boat, after Alexandra, the shark cage, the accusations about Captain Macintosh.

  We could finally get what we deserve out of life.

  Idiot, she thought. You fell right into Will’s trap again, didn’t you? How stupid were you to think that sex could chase away all the problems you two had?

  But…dammit, what about everything she’d told herself when she’d thought he was dead? Where had all her I’d-never-let-him-go-again spunk disappeared to?

  Soul-sick, Kat ducked out from under Will’s arm as they came upon a bevy of colorful shirts amongst the foliage. Their party. Holding makeshift umbrellas of bags and life jackets over their bowed heads to ward off the rain, as they stood over Duffy’s body.

  As she and Will approached, she heard Alexandra speaking kind words about her brother in a eulogy. Louis and Eloise were propped against each other, weeping. Off to the side, Larry stood back but neither Dr. Hopkins nor Tink were around. Duke was on his knees, wiping dark red moisture from his mouth as Chris hovered over him. It looked like Duke had been vomiting into the bushes.