Page 58 of Stranded

Of all the ways I’ve spent my time while raining on this island, this is, by far, my favorite. Luckily, it seems to have stopped thundering now, only the sounds of rain reaching my ears from outside our little cocoon.

Weston’s fingers lightly stroke the back of my head where he holds me against him, tucked under his chin. A contented hum leaves my throat as I try to wiggle even closer. I wish I could sleep like this, wrapped up in their arms, but I know my nightmares would ruin any hope of apeaceful sleep for them. So right now I’m just going to enjoy their closeness while I can.

“I wonder how long it’s going to rain for?” Bower says, breaking the silence.

“It doesn’t sound like it’s slowing, it could go on all night,” Kingsley whispers from where he’s pressed against my back.

“Should we go back to the hut or wait it out here? This isn't exactly comfortable being crammed in here.”

Feeling bad that they are stuck in here because they came looking for me, I pull my face back so I can see Bower. “You guys don’t have to stay here because of me. You can—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Weston practically growls at me, making my eyes go wide as I look at his angry face. “We aren’t leaving you. If we decide to go back to the hut, you’re coming with us.”

“Zee, do you think you’ll be okay out there in the rain?” Kingsley asks softly, his hand gently rubbing my back.

“Uh, I guess it’s fine… if I’m with one of you? It’s really thunder and lightning that I, uh, don’t like.” I swallow heavily, a small knot forming in my stomach at the realization of how much I just revealed to them. I know it’s just a matter of time now before they break through my tightly formed walls, to find the real me—a broken, scared, and sad Darla.

“I say we head back, what do you two think?” Bower and Weston agree and before I know it, I’ve been released from Weston’s warm embrace as the three of them manage to push the raft up enough for us to make an easy exit without crawling through the wet sand.

Bower grabs my hand and pulls me with him as we start to jog through the jungle back to the hut. It’s darker than it normally is at night and yet, somehow, instead of being full of fear, I have a smile on my face as we run,hand in hand, trying to jump over puddles and avoiding large spouts of rain coming down. Bower’s laughter is infectious and soon I’m laughing right alongside him, especially when he runs through a particularly large puddle that splashes us both.

When we reach the ladder, Bower encourages me to go first as he holds the bottom steady for me. When I get to the top and look back down, Bower is climbing up and the other two are looking up at me, trying to shield their eyes from the rain.

“Zee!” Weston yells, trying to be heard over the rain. “You better get that pretty little ass of yours into the hut!”

He thinks my ass is pretty?

“And what if I don’t?” I yell back, deciding to ignore the unusual compliment.

“You don’t want to find out what happens, Tink. Now get in there,” Bower says as he climbs up beside me and grabs my hand, pulling me into the hut.

The relief of being out of the rain is immediate, and my shoulders instantly relax. I look up at Bower as he pushes his hand through his wet hair that’s hanging down to his shoulders. “Your hair looks good like that,” I tell him, reaching up to touch a strand that falls in front of his eye, pushing it behind his ear.

A smirk covers his gorgeous face as he gently grabs my waist and pulls me closer to him. “Oh yeah? You like my hair, Tink?”

My eyes latch on to his grinning lips, and I lick my own and nod in response. I’m suddenly filled with the wonder of what it’d be like to kiss him.

I press my hands against his wet shirt, feeling his firm stomach as I swallow heavily. His eyes explore my face and his smile turns intosomething much more heated. His nostrils flare slightly, then he starts to dip his head towards me.

“Wow, that’s one heck of a down pour out there,” Kingsley says, popping the intimate bubble Bower and I had found ourselves in. I try to take a step back, but Bower grips my waist, turning me and pulling me against him while he wraps his arms around me. I grip his forearms and rest my head on his bicep as I watch the other two close the door and try to shake off some of the rain.

“I wish we had towels,” he says as his eyes bounce around the space, landing on me standing in Bower’s embrace.

“Sorry, I never learned how to make those,” I tell him with a quirk of my lips.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you had though, you seem to be pretty resourceful out here.”

“At least we all have a change of clothes in here,” Bower says, releasing me to point to the table. I glance over and see my own bag there.

Frowning, I move over and peek inside, confirming it is, in fact, mine. “How did you get this?” I ask in confusion.

“Kingsley went up the tree, looking for you,” Weston says, pulling off his wet shirt and throwing it into the corner of the room where it lands with a plop. My eyes widen as I take in his bare chest. I’ve seen it before, but this time, the sight instantly makes me wet between my legs as I clench my thighs tight.

Why does that keep happening to me?I’ve never wanted underwear so badly in my life.

“I saw your bag so thought it’d be a good idea to keep it dry,” Kingsley explains as I turn to him to find him in a similar state of bare chestedness.When he starts to undo his jeans, I quickly spin around, just in time to see Bower push his own jeans and boxers down to the floor.

“Sweet baby penis!” I gasp at the sight of his naked body as my hands fly to my heated cheeks. Kingsley laughs loudly as Bower narrows his eyes at me.

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