Page 19 of Out of Peril

I got up and followed him down the beach. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. He'd shed the suit and was wearing nothing more than a pair of loose fitting underwear. It left little to the imagination, and while I hadn't allowed myself to so much as look at a man since my days of teenage crushes, I couldn't help but admire his perfect body. He was hard and toned in all the right places. It made my mouth water and a blush tint my cheeks.

Mate, my beast cooed appreciatively.

That only made me blush harder.

And of course he chose that moment to turn back to look at me.

He frowned. “You look flushed. I’m going to have to hike further into the island to see if I can find fresh water.”

I kept quiet and only nodded though I almost blurted out that I could fly him. I was not ready for that. It had been a spontaneous decision to snatch him up and fly off with him. Until then, I had never flown with anyone, not even the kids. To do so was quite intimate to me and required a level of trust I wasn't ready to give anyone aside from Maya and Dante.

Even though he'd told me, I was surprised to see the fire burning, the fish cooking, and the base of a shelter to sleep under already in construction.

“Looks good,” he praised when he saw the little camp the kids were tidying up.

“We can't put the tops on,” Dante said.

“Of course you can.”

My mate lifted Dante into the air as he giggled and placed the roof onto the structure.

“See. You can do it,” he praised the boy that had become like a son to me.

It melted my heart to see them and a spark of hope was lit. I quickly snuffed it out. This was a Collector who was there to buy me, or maybe not me specifically but others like me. It didn't matter that he was my mate or that in some recess of my brain I knew he was a shifter. He was the enemy and I had to keep my guard up and not forget that.

“Thanks, Walker.”

“Walter,” I corrected.

“No, it's Walker,” Maya insisted. “Walter Grimes was just his undercover name.”

“That's what he told you?”

“It’s the truth,” the man said. “My name is Walker.”

My head was spinning with confusion.

“Walker, we found some more mangoes to go with the fish,” Dante said proudly.

I instantly realized that he had somehow already wormed his way into the affections of these innocent children, and it angered me.

As he and Dante finished up the shelter, I helped Maya with he fish.

“I think it's done,” she said proudly.

Walter, or Walker, whatever his name truly was, came over and examined the fish.

“I think you're right. Good job, Maya.”

His praised tried to warm my heart. But I cut it off. No way was I going to let my guard down. He may be handsome and charming, he could say and even do all the right things, but at the end of the day he was nothing but a snake who owned people like slaves. That was simply unforgivable no matter who he was.

“I'm going to hike inland and see about finding some water. If not, I saw some coconuts on the walk back and we can drink those if needed.”

I didn't say anything as he hesitated a moment and then left us.

As soon as he was out of sight, I turned to the kids.

“I know he seems nice.”

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