And now it’s fucking necessary.
I spanked her good and hard this morning, and I don’t regret it. Hell, I’m hard as a steel rod now, but we’ve got more important things to do right now than fuck… again. We both have admitted this island’s some sort of aphrodisiac or something, and we have to fight against the constant irresistible attraction between us.
For now.
We’ll have time.
I’m holding her hand as we walk to the beach, her bag slung over my shoulder. This time, we won’t let anyone else touch it.
If Will wants to mess with us, then why did he bring the bag back?
Or does he want us to know that he’s out there watching?
Either way, I will draw that motherfucker out, and if he tries to hurt my girl, I will end him. I will fucking end him.
I’ve done it before. I’d do it again.
The first human life you take guts you. It makes you hyper aware of how fragile and temporary life on this earth is.
The second becomes easier. And the third. As a soldier, I learned to mask my fears and focus on my ultimate purpose. Back then, it was to serve my country and protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.
Now it’s Harper.
She’s not a helpless female, though I’m sure a part of her thinks I think that. She’s held her own on this island, and honestly better than half the men who died before she got here. Though she has her moments of grousing about our circumstances, she’s ready to get shit done when necessary. Hell, I love that about her.
“Oh, wow.” We’ve come to the entrance to the beach where we built the shelter long ago. It’s a part of the beach she hasn’t seen before, and from where we stand now, it looks like a fucking postcard. White sand as far as the eye can see, the beach dotted with picturesque shells and flat rocks on the shore.
“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” I agree.
“All that’s missing is a cabana and someone to serve us drinks with little umbrellas in them.”
It’s missing a fuck of a lot more than that, but I don’t argue with her.
“Looks idyllic,” I agree. “But you can’t swim in that water.”
Frowning, she turns to me. “Sharks?”
“Yep.”
Her gorgeous green eyes narrow on the water as we make our way to the sand. “Did you find that out the hard way, too?”
I close my eyes, instantly assaulted at the memory of the body torn to shreds. We did everything we could, but we didn’t have the tools to save him. Watching him die didn’t solidify our bonds as it could have, as it does sometimes in war. Instead, it served as a brutal reminder of how easily we could die here. We began to turn on one another.
“Yeah.”
She doesn’t reply, but I notice she’s walking slower now.
“There’s a place close to the beach where you can swim, though. You got sunblock in that bag?”
“I do.” She looks over her shoulder at me. “Where?”
I point beyond the beach to a more distant alcove. “That inlet over there. Enough water gets in and out, but the opening isn’t large enough for a shark to get through. It’s almost like a little pool.”
We reach the beach and she digs her toes into the white sand. “Wow, it’s already heating up, huh?”
I nod. There are days when the temperature’s nearly unbearable.
“Can we go for a swim?”
“We? Nah. I’m not interested. You can, though.”
“Why don’t you want to join me?” she asks, her head tipped to the side. She looks at me so coquettishly, I would almost give her anything right then.
“Need to keep watch.”
She looks to the beach, then back to me again. “Fair enough.”
“We have a few things to do today, though.”
“Check out the shelter.”
“Gather some water.”
“Stock up on some food supplies?”
Neither of us says the other item on our agenda out loud: find Will.
I nod, glad that we’re on the same page. “Absolutely. It will be better to wait to get your swim in later, once it isn’t so hot out.”
“Later this afternoon?”
“Yeah.”
Without another word, she sits on the beach, drawing her knees up to her chest. “I’m game for whatever we need to do. I just want to look at the water for a minute. It’s so beautiful.”
I cover my eyes and look out at the vast expanse of endless blue-green water. Neither of us speak, but I sit on the beach next to her and we watch the waves coming in and out in silence. Wispy white clouds dot the sky.
“It’s as if someone painted paradise,” she says softly. “All the different shades of blue and blue-green. Turquoise. Cobalt. Ultramarine. Sapphire. Cerulean.”
“Yeah, makes it sound a lot better than just ‘blue.’”
The sky is lighter where it meets the ocean. Dotted with wisps of white clouds, it gradually becomes a darker blue, a breathtaking contrast to the greenery that surrounds the beach. Palm trees that surround the island bow their heads and branches as if in adoration of the ocean.