The Island

by Alice Ward

  “And why is that? Do you feel sick or weak? Because you shouldn’t. I take excellent care of you, and quite frankly you’ve never looked better. You even glow.” I picked a tiny yellow flower that was growing in a bunch and leaned forward, giving it to her.

  She took it as a smile curled her lips. “Thank you. You’re very sweet.”

  “So are you. Now, what makes you feel like we’re missing something in our diets?”

  “My lack of a period.” She bent her head low as she peeked at me through her thick lashes.

  “Or you might be pregnant.” I gave her a big smile, but she only shook her head.

  “I think I’d know if that was the case. I’ve lost weight, which is the opposite of being pregnant. I think the reason I skipped a period is that I’m malnourished and having too much physical activity. My youngest sister, who’s extremely athletic and into every sport, misses periods a lot. The doctor told her it was because of the amount of activity she was doing. I bet that’s part of why I haven’t had one.”

  “We’ll get some more food into you, baby. Don’t worry about a thing.” She had lost weight, but I was pretty damn sure she was pregnant. I wasn’t about to get into an argument over it.

  “I want red wine and a juicy steak.” She licked her lips as she looked up at the sky. “I want to go to the movies, eat popcorn, and drink soda. I want to listen to music on the car radio as I drive down the highway. I want—”

  “I don’t miss any of that. I thought I would, but I don’t. I love it here, with you.” I tossed another tiny flower at her. “I thought you did too.”

  She smiled and blew me a kiss. “I love having you all to myself, but I miss civilization. I miss the high-rises in New York and the farm houses in North Carolina. I miss using a real bathroom with real toilet paper.”

  “Hey, those leaves I found are very soft, you have to admit.” I pulled another piece of grass to chew on as I thought about how great our lives were and how Kendra was probably on the verge of starting her period because she was moody. She hadn’t been moody at all. Not since I took her virginity and made her into a real woman. A woman who had learned how to push all my sexual buttons better than any woman ever had.

  “Those leaves are great, but real toilet paper would be better. And not having to cook would be nice too. What I’d give to be able to pull up to a drive-thru window and pick up a burger and fries.”

  “That shit isn’t good for you anyway. I’m glad we’ve had nothing but natural food to eat for over thirty days. We’ve gotten rid of all the nasty toxins our bodies had accumulated. I can feel it. I feel so different. In a great way. I can’t imagine how nasty that processed food would feel in my mouth. And if you want a few days of not having to cook, I’ll be happy to give them to you. I’ll cook, and I’ll even serve my princess.”

  “I don’t want that, Eli. I don’t want to make you work harder to do things for me than you already have to. Don’t you think I feel bad about everything you already do?”

  “Well, don’t.” I got up and went to sit next to her. Putting my arm around her, I kissed her cheek. “Kendra, I thought money and lots of women were the answer to everything. Since I’ve been here with you, I’ve figured out those things mean nothing. You mean everything to me. I don’t know if I would’ve ever figured that out if this had never happened to us.”

  She looked at me with wary eyes. “When we’re rescued, will you go back to all that? Will you leave me and go back to the women you left behind? Because I think you will. Maybe not right away, but after a while, when so many of them come at you the way they do, I think you’ll leave me and go back to that life.”

  “You’d be wrong.” I kissed her lips lightly. “Truth be told, I have no desire to get off this island. I feel like this is paradise, here with you.”

  “We’re trapped here together. There are no choices here. You and I are all we have. Of course you’re happy I’m here with you. You’d be happy with whatever female was available. You can’t deny that. Don’t even try to.” She turned her head away from me, but I’d already seen the glistening that had begun in her eyes.

  I took her chin, running my thumb across her lower lip. “Let’s not talk about that. It serves no purpose. We’re here, and we’re making the best of it. I would rather be here than anywhere in the entire world, and I have you to thank for that.”

  A single tear ran down her cheek. “How?”

  “What do you mean, how?” She was really in a mood. I felt it was getting out of hand too fast.

  “How are we not supposed to talk about the elephant in the room? If you had taken, let’s say, Lola, on the trip to Scotland then it would be her who was making you so happy. Admit it.”

  I scowled. “I won’t admit that. First of all, I wasn’t about to take anyone but you to Scotland, okay? And Lola isn’t a person I like that much. I’ve always liked you, wanted you. And you know that’s true. So what is all this shit really about? Because it makes no sense. Have I fucked other women? Yeah. Did I ever feel anything remotely as much as I feel with you, with them? Hell, no.”

  “You don’t understand at all.” She turned away from me again. “I want more. I want to go back home. I miss my family. I miss my bed. I miss so damn much, it’s not even funny.”

  Then I got it. I finally understood what she was going through. “Oh, baby, I’m sorry. Of course, you miss your family. How stupid of me. That’s what this is all about.”

  She looked at me with her mouth ajar. “That’s only part of it. I was prepared to stay away all summer. I do miss them, but I miss so much more. And I keep thinking about how close you and I are right now and how you’d be that way with anyone you were stranded with.”

  “And you’re wrong about that, so stop saying it.” I got up, changed my mind, and sat back down on the ground. She was making me nuts.

  I didn’t have practice at being with a woman full time, so I had no idea how nutty they could be when their time of the month was coming up. And I still wasn’t positive that was what was happening to her. I knew something hormonal was occurring, though. She’d been so pleasant up until that day.

  “I won’t just stop saying it because you told me not to.” She got up and began to rush away. Not in the direction of home, but the opposite way, which would have her getting lost. And I couldn’t have that.

  “Stop!” I got up and went after her. Of course, she didn’t stop, so I had to run to catch up to her. “I said stop, Kendra.”

  “No! Leave me alone! You don’t understand anything!”

  Grabbing her, I threw her over my shoulder, and she began to kick and scream bloody murder. I gave her ass a nice smack, and she shrieked as if I’d used a bullwhip on her. “Hush. You’re scaring the wildlife. We won’t be able to find a thing to eat for days if you keep this up.”

  But she didn’t shut up. “You let me down. You, caveman!”

  I carried her obstinate ass only a few feet farther as she pounded my back. Then I put her down and pulled her to me, kissing her hard, demanding, and wanting.

  Her arms stopped flailing, her lips grew soft and gave in to mine. Slowly, her arms moved up mine to wrap around my neck. She began to moan as I laid her back on the soft grass. Her legs wrapped around me and our bodies heated up, knowing what would happen next.

  I kissed her until she started to fidget to get the button on my shorts open. I made her work for it. Once she had my shorts undone, she worked to push them down. When my cock was free, she shimmied out of her shorts and pulled her panties to the side, guiding my erection into her.

  She wanted me. She wanted me every bit as much as I wanted her. There was no denying our attraction, or the spark between us when we made love. It bothered me that she didn’t know in her heart that I’d never been as emotionally involved with anyone the way I was with her.

  Kendra had my heart. She carried it in the palm of her hand and didn’t seem to even realize it. I didn’t want anyone else, ever again. If we did get rescued, whi
ch I didn’t want, I’d still want her and only her.

  She and I had a connection that was unheard of. Whether it was from the seclusion or not, I didn’t care. We had something special, and I never wanted to give that up or let it end. Especially just so I could go back to my shallow playboy lifestyle.

  Our bodies moved like the waves in the ocean as we took what we needed from the other. My cock had never been at home inside of a woman until it was inside Kendra. I’d known it immediately, I’d found my home, my woman, my love.

  As much as we’d shared with each other, the “L” word hadn’t been said yet. In certain contexts, it had been said, but not in the way I knew she should hear.

  I wasn’t a man who used that word to get what he wanted. I’d never told a woman, other than my mother, that I loved her. Kendra would be the first and last, as far as I was concerned, to hear those words come out of my mouth.

  We rolled over, leaving Kendra on top of me. She pulled her mouth away from mine and sat up, riding me. “Eli, damn it.” She shook her head as she took a deep breath. “What you do to me isn’t normal.”

  “No, it’s not.” I ran my hands up and down her arms as she pressed her palms against my chest to lift her body up and down, stroking my cock with her tight walls.

  “I’m sorry I was bitchy. I don’t know what got into me.” She made a little swirling motion and moaned with how good it felt.

  Wrapping my hands around her waist, I lifted her to make her go a bit faster as I ached for more speed. “You needed me to get into you, baby. Ride my fat cock until it explodes inside of you.” I growled as she dropped her head back and growled right along with me.

  Out there, in the open, it felt like we were one with nature. Just as wild and free as any animal out there was. Our paradise was not only all around us but within us.

  I’d never felt anything like what we had. If I never saw another day in the city again, I’d never miss it. We had it all. The only thing missing was a little version of us. I wanted that with her. I’d never wanted a child at all. I didn’t think I was wired to be a husband or a father.

  With Kendra, I not only felt that I’d grown into a man who could be those things, but I wanted to be those things. More than I had ever wanted anything, I wanted to be with this beautiful woman forever, and I wanted a family with her.

  Our bodies climaxed together then she laid on my chest as we caught our breath. I ran my hands through her thick hair that was growing more each day. Pressing my lips to the soft spot just behind her ear, I let her know how I felt for the first time. “I love you, Kendra.”

  I waited for her to say it back to me. But nothing came.

  Did she not love me?

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  Kendra

  It wasn’t like Eli didn’t show me that he loved me each and every day. And I mean more than just the mind-blowing sex. He took care of me in every way imaginable. Like making sure I ate and drank plenty of water. He even made sure I got enough sleep. It wasn’t always easy getting comfortable on a blanket on the ground. He’d hold me in a way that would let my body rest mostly on his so I could sleep.

  When the actual words came out of his mouth, going right into my ear, they burrowed into my brain. Eli Reed loved me!

  Nah!

  He couldn’t really love me. I was a nobody from nowhere, and he was, well, he was Eli Reed, the billionaire CEO and playboy of New York City. He could do so much better than me. Everyone would expect him to be with a woman who was in his league. I was nowhere near that.

  Raised by military parents didn’t exactly fill me with class and sophistication. I hadn’t met any of Eli’s family. How would they take me?

  How would my family take him?

  Dad would hate him. That was a given.

  My father wasn’t a silent hater, either. Oh no. He’d be loud about how he felt. And he’d be loud about the fact that we weren’t married before sleeping together.

  The fact was, I didn’t have to hear the words come out of his mouth, Eli had already shown that he loved me. And I loved him too. I just hadn’t said it.

  And I still hadn’t said it, even though the words had just escaped his lips.

  I was lying in his arms, catching my breath when he first spoke them to me. In the afterglow of some righteous sex, I heard him say the phrase I wasn’t sure he ever would.

  What was worse, I was afraid to actually say those words, myself. I had been bitchy with him before about my insecurities, but they were real. If I said the words, then I was telling him I trusted him and had faith in him.

  But did I?

  On the island, I had absolute trust and faith. In New York, not so much.

  He nibbled my neck and whispered, “Did you hear me, baby? I said, I love you.”

  Clinging to him, I wanted nothing more than to say the words back to him. I would mean them if I said them. But I was afraid.

  He pulled his head back and looked at me with a frown. Putting my hands on his bearded cheeks, I couldn’t stand to see his face like that, so I decided to be brave. “I love you, Eli.”

  The puff of air he let out pushed my hair back, making me laugh. “Are you sure?”

  “I am sure. I’m sorry it took so long to say it. It’s just…” I didn’t want to get into it again. We’d just gone through what my problems were. There was no reason to revisit that.

  “It’s just that you think I won’t be faithful or want you if we ever get to leave this place; our little slice of paradise.” He ran his hand through my hair and kissed my forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that. I know these are just words and they’re hard to believe, but they’re true. I only want you, and I won’t be changing my mind about that if we’re found and taken back to the world we left behind.”

  Deciding to broach the subject of our very different families, I ventured into that territory. “And what about your family? I’m sure you’re expected to marry within your class. I am not in that class.”

  The way he smiled made my heart skip a beat, it was so sweet. “I don’t think I’ve ever been expected to marry.”

  Before he could say another word, I quickly realized that I was assuming he would marry me if we ever got back home. “That was presumptuous of me. You’ve barely told me that you love me and I’m already talking about marriage. Ignore me. I have no idea what’s wrong with me lately.”

  “Before you end this line of conversation, let me assure you of one thing. My family consists of my father, who minds his own affairs and leaves mine to me. Anyone who matters to me will accept you, or I’ll get rid of them. And as far as marriage goes, well, I think you know I’d make an honest woman out of you. Do you feel the need for me to propose a thing like that to you? Because I feel like we’re already married. We belong to each other in our hearts and minds, we take care of one another. Isn’t that what a marriage is?”

  He was right, I had to give him that. “I hadn’t thought about it much. I always have your best interests in mind, and you seem to do the same for me.”

  Softly, he caressed my back, his eyes looking dreamily into mine. “I’ll admit that I only wanted your body when we first met. You were a woman who caught my eye from the moment I first saw you. I wanted only what I wanted from any female who drew my attention.”

  “If I would’ve given in right away, do you think you would’ve ever fallen for me?” I had to ask him that question. It was one of those things my father had drilled into my head; if you fall into bed with a man right away, you’ll never have him in a serious relationship.

  His lips touched my nose as he gave it a little kiss. “I don’t know. I’m not into looking into the past and trying to figure out what would’ve happened if this or that occurred. The truth is that I saw something in you right away, but I saw more and more as time went on. You were dead set on making me teach you about business and keep things on professional terms. You were different for me. To be honest, no woman has ever resisted me so efficiently.”

&n
bsp; “Should I be proud of that?”

  “Proud?” He nodded. “You can be proud of yourself for making sure you got what you were after. You came to my company to learn, and you achieved that goal. You didn’t allow my attraction to you, or yours to me, to get in your way or make you deviate from what you came to do. So, yeah, you should be very proud of yourself.”

  “Was I a good intern, you know, a good student?” I looked at him and thought he might just tell me what I wanted to hear, instead of the truth. “And don’t just say I was. I want examples.”

  His chuckle made both our bodies shake as he held me close. “You were a great student. I have tons of examples I could site in testament to that.”

  I sat up, excited to hear about my achievements from his point of view. I knew I’d learned a lot, but it was always nice to know someone else saw that too. “Okay, what about Mrs. Davenport from that one meeting? What did she think about me? I mean, she was what I strive to be. A real businesswoman who’s no-nonsense and a real ball buster. I adored her. Did she like me at all? Did she think I was smart and have what it takes to be a savvy businessperson?”

  He tapped his chin as if he had to reach back into his brain to pull out that memory. Then he grabbed me and pulled me to lie on his chest as he laughed. “She loved you too. And she warned me that she’d be contacting you after graduation to see if you’d like to work for her company. I told her you were spoken for with mine, but she told me I’d be in for a fight where you were concerned.”

  I smacked him in the chest. “She did not!”

  “Ow! And yes, she did.” He rolled over, pinning me to the ground. “Don’t ever doubt how smart you are and capable of anything you put your mind to. People can see that about you, right off the bat. You carry yourself in a way that lets people know you’re confident and knowledgeable and take no shit.”