Fate of the Gods: A Reverse Harem Romance

by Laura Wylde

  “I was hoping we might have gotten lucky and found some of the bottled water or a crate of food or something,” Asher said, picking up a coffee thermos and looking inside. He turned it upside down and shook it. “Empty,” he said, stating the obvious, Rose thought.

  “I found a lighter,” Dexter said with a smile. He held up a small butane lighter and flicked it. The small flame flickered for a second and he said, “At least we won't have to rub sticks together to make a fire if it gets cold later.” He shook something in his other hand. It sounded like a box of mints. “Ibuprofen too,” he said, holding it up proudly, for everyone else to see.

  “That's good,” Ryder said, “I think we'll all be in need of that by morning, if not tonight. Maybe we should gather some wood out of those trees over there before it gets dark, and see if we can find some fresh water. Hopefully there's a stream or something that runs through here.” The more they talked about water, the more focused Rose became on her dry mouth. She almost wished that Dexter had found a box of Tic-Tac's. “You should take a break off that leg,” Ryder said to Dexter. “The Ibuprofen might be hard to swallow without water, but I'd take a couple of those too if I were you. If we find any fresh water, we'll need to clean up that wound so it doesn't get infected.”

  “You a doctor or something?” Dexter asked him. Rose had wondered about that too. Ryder seemed completely confident when he had made the tourniquet for Dexter's leg earlier and then bandaged the wound.

  “Something like that,” Ryder said. He pushed a large suitcase he'd been sifting through over near Dexter and said, “Here, you can sit on this.”

  “Thanks,” Dexter said, dropping down on it with his injured leg out in front of him. He shook two of the pills out of the bottle he was holding and popped them into his mouth. Rose made a face as she watched him chew them up.

  “Someone should probably stay here with him while the rest of us go scout for wood and water,” Ryder said.

  “I'll stay with him,” Rose said. She wouldn't have minded helping the guys gather wood, but she did realize they were all a lot bigger and stronger than her. She would probably be more useful there, continuing to sift through the luggage and keeping an eye on Dexter.

  “Okay, thanks. You guys ready?” Ryder asked Beau and Asher. The two men nodded, Asher had a jar full of change in his hand. “What's that for? In case they have vending machines?”

  Asher rolled his eyes at him and dumped the change on top of a t-shirt at his feet. Holding up the jar he said, “I thought the water might last better in this, rather than cupped in our hands.”

  “You might not want to drink any unfiltered water,” Dexter said. Beau was already headed for the trees. Ryder and Asher gave him a look that said neither of them liked being told what to do and then turned to follow him. Rose opened another suitcase and began to go through it. Dexter shrugged and said, “I warned them.”

  “Honestly,” she said, “What choice do we have? We have to stay hydrated and it's doubtful there's a water filter lying around here.”

  “Probably not,” he said, “But if you see one of those cups from Starbucks in anyone's luggage, that has the filter in the top, definitely hang onto it.” Rose almost groaned at the mention of Starbucks. She loved her coffee and she almost got a headache just thinking of being without any at all for the duration of their time on the island. With a sigh, she proceeded to go through the boxes and suitcases all around them.

  “So Rose, are you from California?” Dexter asked. He had slid off the suitcase he was sitting on and opened it.

  “No. I was just visiting California,” she said. “I'm from New York. What about you?”

  “I'm from LA originally,” he said. “I was headed to New York for a chess match,” he said, with a little laugh. “Ironically, I wasn't going to go, but one of my professors got ill at the last minute and I stepped in to help him out. I guess this is my punishment for being a nice guy.”

  “Your professors?”

  “Yeah, I'm in the Historical Studies PhD program at Stanford. I was in LA just for the weekend, visiting family, when he called. He begged me to take his place...I'm pretty good and without him, the school wasn't going to be represented at all.”

  “Wow, Historical Studies. I always loved history, but I imagine getting a PhD in the subject could be pretty grueling, with all of those names and dates to remember.”

  “It can be. But, I've been blessed with a knack for remembering things,” he told her. “I have an almost photographic memory. It helps a lot with the studying.”

  “I'll bet. And the chess?”

  He smiled and his gray eyes sparkled. “Yeah. I learned how to play chess when I was five. My grandpa used to take me to the park and bet all the old men I could beat them. I'm actually chess master of the chess club at school. I just wasn't really interested in this chess match in New York, so I had passed on it, originally.”

  “I guess you probably wish you wouldn't have agreed to go in your professors stead now.”

  He shrugged. “I don't know. I don't have a girlfriend or wife or kids. Professor Little has a wife he's been married to for 20 years and two teenagers. I guess if one of us is needed more than the other, it's him.” Rose wondered why a man as smart and good-looking as him didn't have a girlfriend, but she didn't ask. After a few beats of silence Dexter asked, “What about you? What do you do?”

  “I'm a model, and an actress,” she said.

  Dexter let his eyes roam over her, not in a creepy way, but like he was just finally getting a good look at her. “Makes sense,” he said with a grin. Rose's body reacted with a rise in temperature and butterflies in her belly when he looked at her with his intense, gray eyes. She was beginning to wonder if it had just been too long since she'd had sex. It was just such an odd time for her to be feeling so aroused by every man she met. She tamped those feelings down and said,

  “I think we're all pretty lucky. It seems to me like the only survivors were those of us in first class. At least so far. I hope there are more.”

  Dexter looked pensive for a few seconds and said, “Yeah, me too. That guy that looks like a beach bum, what's his name again?”

  “Beau,” Rose said.

  “Yeah...he's the really lucky one, if only those in first class survived. I was behind him when they bumped him to first class.”

  “So he wasn't supposed to be there?” Rose said. She'd always been a pretty firm believer in, “when it's your time, it's your time and when it's not, it's not.” and Beau's last minute bump to first class seemed like more evidence of that to her.

  They stayed busy gathering what they thought might be useful and stowing it all into the large duffel bag that Beau had found. Dexter asked her questions every so often about her life and her family but didn't talk any more about his. Each time he'd finish going through one suitcase, Rose would bring another over for him so that he could stay off his leg. They worked well together and found quite a few things that might be useful. About an hour into their search Dexter said, “Look what I found!” In an excited voice. Rose turned to see him holding up a bottle of Ibuprofen.

  “That will definitely come in handy,” she said. Her body still hurt, but she knew Dexter had to be in twice as much pain thanks to the crushing injury to his leg. He wasn't a complainer though, obviously, since he hadn't even mentioned it. He did open the bottle of pills and toss three into his mouth, almost as soon as he found them. Rose grimaced slightly at the idea of him chewing them up, or trying to swallow them without water. Her own mouth was so dry that she could hardly swallow at all. The inside of it felt like it was coated with sand and the one prayer she sent up as they were waiting was that the men at least found some clean water.

  “I think I see them,” Dexter said, looking off into the distance. Rose followed his gaze and saw three shadows emerging from the trees. As they got closer she could see that the jar Asher took with them was full of what looked like mostly clear water and her dry, sticky mouth rejoiced. Beau was ca
rrying coconuts and another kind of fruit that she didn't recognize and Ryder's arms were full of firewood.

  “Water!” Rose exclaimed, happily. Asher smiled at her and again, the butterflies in her stomach took flight. Maybe her over-active libido was simply her mind attempting to detract from the thoughts of being stranded there. Asher unscrewed the lid of the jar and handed it to her. She took a drink, being careful not to gulp it and make herself sick, and she handed the jar to Dexter. He sipped at it, taking three or four sips before handing it back to Asher.

  “We found a lagoon,” Beaus said, excitedly. “There's a cliff that overlooks the ocean and a waterfall that empties into the lagoon. The place is gorgeous. I can't even describe it.”

  “It is,” Ryder agreed. “Did either of you happen to find a knife?”

  Rose dug into the duffel bag and came up with a pocket knife she had found. She handed it to Ryder and her mouth began to water on its own as she watched him peel back the thick husk and she could see the yellow-orange fruit that was trapped inside. It almost looked like a small, yellow tomato.

  “It comes off the physalis plants,” Ryder said. “Some people call it a “ground cherry.” They're pretty good, I think. They taste like strawberries to me.”

  “My grandmother had one,” Dexter said. “I always thought they tasted more like pineapples.”

  “Think I'll stick to the coconuts,” Asher said. “At least we know they're not poisonous.” Beau was busy trying to crack a coconut open with a rock the size of his hand.

  “They're rarely toxic,” Dexter said.

  “I'd rather not take the chance that I'll beat the odds,” Asher said. Ryder smiled and held out one of the ground cherries toward Rose. Her stomach growled and she realized she wasn't going to turn it down even before she reached her hand out for it. When her soft hand brushed up against Ryder's rougher one, she felt a spark run up her arm and down her spine. She took the fruit and pulled her hand back quickly. Bringing the fruit to her lips, she took a cautious bite. The burst of juice and flavor delighted her mouth and as she took a bigger bite she thought it might almost be worth it if it turned out to be a little bit poison.

  “The sun will be down soon. We were thinking,” Asher said, looking at Dexter as he spoke, “If you feel like you can make it, that it might be better to build a shelter near the lagoon than here. That way we're close to the fresh water and all the fruit trees.”

  “I can make it,” Dexter said. He struggled back up to his feet and Rose could see the slight grimace of pain on his face as he did. Beau must have noticed too because he went over to help him. Asher picked up the duffel bag and Ryder found an empty suitcase and filled it with the firewood he'd found. Rose felt slightly awkward, being the only one that wasn't carrying anything, but it seemed that she was stranded on an island full of gentlemen...gorgeous gentlemen, no less. She supposed if she had to be stranded, there were definitely much worse places she could be.

  Chapter 4

  The walk to the lagoon was a long one thanks to the condition they were all in, the loads they were carrying, and Dexter's injury. Rose's aching body was complaining the entire way, but she didn't complain out loud. She pushed herself to keep up, and while she was doing that, she noticed that it seemed like Asher was pushing himself to hold back. He was by far the most physically fit of the four men and he seemed to be the most impatient as well. As they walked, Rose became more curious about the athletic, impatient man. She fell into step beside him, not missing the fact that he shortened his stride to allow her to keep up and she said,

  “I keep thinking about my family, wondering what my parents are going through. Do you have family waiting for you in New York?”

  “No. I was actually on my way to an important business meeting. I live in San Francisco. I had a meeting this past weekend in LA and then this one in New York tomorrow. I guess I won't be making that one.”

  “What do you do?”

  “I own a catering business, Hospitality Heroes, have you heard of it?”

  “Oh wow, yes I have. I do modeling shoots all over the US and sometimes in the Bahamas. I think your company is the main one we use.”

  “Yep, we do a lot of catering for the modeling and the film industry. I have a branch in LA, one in Chicago and one in New York.”

  “That's great. Food must have been a big part of your life growing up.”

  He laughed. “Just the opposite, actually. I was raised in foster care and some of the places I ended up...well, let's just say that some foster parents are good, and some aren't. I spent a lot of nights going to bed hungry and I think that was actually where my obsession with food started.”

  “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. It looks like you don't let that food obsession control you though.”

  He smiled down at her and said, “I eat healthy and it's actually the main selling point of my business, healthy foods. It's why companies that cater to beautiful people like you, hire us.”

  She nodded. Rose had always paid attention to what she put into her body. Her parents were so determined to raise a healthy, happy child that they had even changed their own eating habits by the time Rose learned how to eat. She grew up always eating fresh vegetables and fruits and staying away from too many unhealthy carbs, sugar and fatty meats. She wasn't a vegan, but she ate mostly fish and lean poultry and the caterers who did the modeling shoots always seemed to provide a wide variety of those meats as well as healthy grains and crisp vegetables. The only time in her life that Rose could truly say she abused her body was when she was with Trevor, and that was all about the mind control. “Well, from my perspective anyways, your company does a great job. I was an orphan too, but I was one of the lucky ones. I was adopted young and my parents were...are, amazing.”

  Asher looked like he was lost in a memory for a few minutes. He smiled, but sadly, and said, “I was a mess growing up. I was always the skinniest kid in the room. I got picked on, made fun of, pushed around. It made me shy to the point of being almost introverted. My hair was always long and shaggy and in my face...and I used it like a veil, to hide behind. When people came to meet us, prospective parents, I did my best to discourage them from taking me. Then, I was scared, but I wasn't sure of what. Now I know it was just the rejection I was afraid of, so I rejected them first.”

  “It's good to see that you overcame all of that,” Rose said.

  “Most of it,” he told her with a smile. “That kid still lives in here,” he pointed at his head. “He keeps me humble...I guess. Look,” he said, suddenly changing the conversation, “you can see the lagoon.”

  Rose looked where he was pointing and for a few seconds, she was literally breathless. When she finally remembered to breathe she said, “Oh my goodness...it's beautiful.” It was like looking at a re-touched photograph in a magazine, but Rose was looking at it with her own eyes. The sky was bright blue, but as the sun sunk down toward the water, it cast an orange and purple glow across it, shading the few puffy clouds that dotted it here and there. The water, from their vantage point anyways, looked as blue as the sky and just as clear. At one end of the small lagoon was a huge mass of rock that almost looked like a volcano, the way it came to a point at the tip. Water ran down the sides of it and accumulated in the pond below. Lush, green trees surrounded it and it looked to her like they all bore fruit of some kind. There was a clearing on the side that Asher was leading them too, and the sand there was even brighter and whiter than the sand on the other side of the island.

  Rose noticed as they got closer to the beautiful spot, that all of the men seemed to be speechless, each one of them taking in the sights around them almost reverently. Asher dropped the bag he was carrying when they got to the clearing and said, “I think we can use those two trees there as the anchor for out shelter.” Beau helped Dexter sit down on a rock and Ryder parked his suitcase and began unloading the wood.

  “I'll find some rocks and make a little pit here for the fire.”

  “Okay,” Asher said. “
Beau, you want to help me collect some palm leaves and whatever else we can find to use for the shelter?”

  “Sure.”

  “I'll help too...” Dexter started.

  “No,” Ryder said, “You really need to stay off that leg.” When Dexter didn't argue with him, Rose thought his leg must really be hurting. He had sweat across the top of his brow and that little grimace pulled at his lips.

  “Maybe you should take a couple more of those Ibuprofen,” she told him. “I'll go with you guys to collect the stuff for the shelter.”

  Asher looked about to object but before he got the chance, Beau said, “Cool. The more hunters and gatherers the better. We've got two hours of daylight at best.” Asher kept his objection to himself and Rose and Beau followed him into the thick trees. As they stepped underneath the cool, green canopy Rose said to Beau,

  “Dexter tells me they bumped you to first class. I guess you've already figured out that we seem to be the only ones who survived.”

  Beau smiled. Everything about him, from his yin and yang tattoos, to his boyish grin, just seemed so calm and laid back. He and Asher were like exact opposites, and although she'd seen Beau in action when he rescued Ryder and knew that he was capable of taking charge, she respected that he was also willing to follow direction. Asher had taken charge of this expedition and Beau seemed content with that.

  “It was a fluke,” he said. “I happened to be the first in line to board for my section. Once I got on the plane, the flight attendant...the male one, he told me they had a cancellation in first class and they were going to bump me up. I'd seen quite a few elderly people earlier so I asked him if they'd rather bump one of those people up. When he said no, I thought he was going to say it was because I was traveling alone and they only had one seat. I was really surprised when he said something like, “Oh no! That seat is just for you.” It was kind of strange.” Rose thought back to her encounter with the flight attendant. She had gotten the impression that there was something odd about him too.