Page 16 of Marrying the Enemy

He would settle for a slap on his ass and her weight on his shoulder while he puffed his way up the hill, muscles seared with strain. Her filthy mouth calling him filthy names while her hands clutched into his shirt and her breasts brushed his back was a dream come true.

She tried grabbing the sign as they passed the bottle tree.

“Settle down.” He gave her butt a warning tap, very tempted to let his hand linger there. “No one knows I came looking for you. We have to hurry or we’ll be stuck here.”

“I would rather fall down a crevasse and be eaten by goannas than be held by you.”

“You think I woke up today hoping I could run a marathon with radioactive waste on my shoulder?” They arrived at where the lookout gave a view of the back side of the island. He turned a slow circle. “See any boats?”

“No,” she said on a whimper.

“Hold onto my waist so you don’t bounce. I have to hurry.”

With another infuriated noise, she sagged down and hugged her arms around his chest. The temperature was dropping. Clouds were thickening on the horizon and fat, spattering rain was starting to soak their clothes.

“Why are you even here?” she mumbled into his back.

“Why are you?”

She didn’t answer, but after a few minutes of his half jog across the grassland stretch, she said, “This hurts my stomach.”

“I just want to get to...” He swore as he arrived at the spot where they could see the stretch of water toward the main island. He let her slide down and braced her while she balanced on one foot.

She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the rain and followed his gaze to the loose armada of boats already well into the distance.

“That little silver one at the back is the kid from the shack.” At least he wasn’t towing the shed, probably because the water was too rough.

A desolate noise broke from her throat. “They’ll do a head count when they get back, though, won’t they?”

“Some of them are going to the mainland. Cat thinks I caught one of those. I won’t be missed until dinner.” He looked to the desperation on her face. “Logan said you had a family emergency?”

“Don’t get excited. Everyone’s fine,” she said crossly. “I told him to say that to cover the fact I was leaving early.” She chewed her lip. “Hopefully, he’ll notice my things are still in my room and wonder where I am.”

“Your room? You two aren’t sleeping together?” Satisfaction shouldn’t have glowed so ember-hot in the pit of his gut at that news. “Is that why you were fighting?”

She scowled resentfully. “What makes you think we were fighting?”

“You’re making up reasons to leave early. He was doing his best to get drunk once he got back to the beach. He won’t notice you’re missing.” He shook his head.

“Men are the bane of my existence,” she muttered, fists in knots beside her hips.

“So you don’t need a lift the rest of the way to the beach?” he asked with false pleasantness.

“Why are you even helping me?” Her voice strained with aggravated emotion.

“Because I don’t have your father’s stark absence of conscience when it comes to leaving people to die.”

CHAPTER SIX

“THAT WAS A cheap shot.” Eve was both hot and cold. Her blood was simmering with a mix of anxiety and sexual frustration. Rain was beginning in earnest, soaking her clothes enough to chill her skin as the wind cut across the top of the island. Her ankle hurt. A lot.

She resented the hell out of this man whom she had tried to avoid by taking that stupid trail and wound up injured and stranded and alone. Now she was stuck with him and he thought he could throw old lies in her face?

“I will make my own way down thanks.” She would crawl if she had to.

He swore under his breath and ducked again, moving so fast he had her over his shoulder before she could finish her cry of protest.

She didn’t bother struggling, though. She passionately hated relying on him, but this was a more efficient way of traveling, especially down the knotty, zigzag path through the rainforest.

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