Page 59 of Stranded

“Tink, sweetheart. Please never use the word ‘baby’ and ‘penis’ in the same sentence again when referring to me. A guy's ego can only take so much.”

“I—” I cut myself off as I stare at his definitely not so baby package.

Fingers snap in front of me, making me jerk back. “What? I—” My wide eyes find Bower smirking down at me as he points at his eyes.

“My eyes are up here, Tink.”

“Ohmygod, I’m so sorry!” I blurt out, covering my face with my hands as I try to find somewhere to turn that isn’t full of naked men.

“Just give us a minute to air dry, then we’ll put boxers on,” Kingsley says gently, taking pity on me.

“You’re welcome to look if you want, Tink. I was only kidding,” Bower says right before I feel the heat of his body press against my back. “Would you like to take your wet clothes off, too? You can stay right where you are, so we can’t see much.”

I hesitate before answering. I really don’t want to get naked in front of them, but I’m drenched and a change of clothes would go a long way to making me feel better. “Okay,” I whisper hesitantly.

“Arms up,” he commands, and I lift my arms above my head. Bower grabs the bottom of my top and carefully pulls it up, tossing it into the corner with their wet clothes.

I lower my arms, crossing them over my chest as his hands slide down my sides until they reach my skirt. He slowly pushes it down my hips andwhen he bends down, he places a quick kiss on my ass cheek, making me gasp in surprise.

I lift my feet, stepping out of the skirt, and he tosses it away. As he stands, his hands glide up my legs, ending on my hips. He moves closer, chest pressing against me, and his hard cock presses against my lower back, making me suck in a sharp breath at the reminder that he’s just as naked as I am.

His fingers flex on my damp skin as he inhales against the side of my head.Is he smelling me?A shiver rolls down my spine as I lick my lips, unsure what to do or say.

Weston’s arm reaches in front of me as he grabs my dry t-shirt and shakes it out, then in one swift motion, he turns and pulls it down over my head, his eyes never dropping from my face, something I’m grateful for. He helps me push my arms through as Bower takes a step back to put on his own boxers.

I realize Weston and Kingsley have theirs on now as well, and I’m not sure if I’m upset by that or grateful, but it does make me feel a tad bit more relaxed.

“Shit, we should have grabbed the jerky from the kitchen before we took off our wet clothes,” Bower says as he stretches his arms above his head. I try and fail not to stare at all the skin on display, and when he sees me looking, he winks at me with a smirk, so I quickly turn away.

“Zee, here, you can wear these,” Kingsley says, offering me a spare pair of his boxers. I gratefully take them, not wanting to be stuck in here without anything underneath this loose fitting t-shirt, especially with how wet I was still feeling down there.

“Thanks,” I say, quickly pulling them on. “Bower, I don’t think you’ll have to go hungry,” I say as I rummage through my bag and pull out abundle of jerky wrapped in a banana leaf. “I’ve got some jerky you can eat.”

I toss him the whole bundle, and his eyes widen in surprise. When he unwraps it and sees all the dried meat, a huge smile covers his face as he pulls me into a side hug. “This is why I’m gonna marry you, Tink. You’re always thinking two steps ahead!” He takes a piece and offers it around to everyone while I try not to freak out at his words. He’s obviously kidding, didn't he say that the first day we met, too?

Yeah, he’s obviously just joking around.

We nibble away in silence as the rain continues outside. How am I going to get out of here, and where am I even going to go? I can’t fall asleep here, it’s too risky.

“Zee, you take the bed,” Weston says as he grabs a spare pillow and lays down right in front of the door. I eye the exit as the sounds of the rain penetrate my fog.Crap shells,I’m stuck in here for the night, aren’t I? The way he’s looking at me right now tells me he’s expecting me to try to leave, and he’s not willing to budge.

I can’t sleep here, I’ll just have to try to stay awake until the rain stops. There is no way I want to risk falling asleep where they’ll hear my nightmares. I’m not so much afraid of how they’ll judge me, since they’ve done nothing to make me feel that way since they arrived. It’s more worry of having to relive what happened by explaining the nightmares to them. It’s something I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to bury for the past fifteen years, and I’m afraid if I allow myself to fully remember, I won’t be able to hold myself together anymore.

Bower gives me a kiss on the forehead before climbing into the hammock. I grab Steve and McStabby from my bag and move to sit on thebed, but not before Kingsley stops me, grabbing my hand gently and turning me to face him.

His eyes scan my face, a small frown pulling at his eyebrows. “You okay, sweetheart?”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod, the knot of unease growing in my belly.

He watches me for a few more moments before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Alright, get to bed.” He moves to the other mattress as I climb into my old bed, hugging Steve to my chest.

Bower kissed me on the cheek,and the butt, and Kingsley kissed my forehead. They were becoming more affectionate with me every day. I can’t say I mind it, in fact, it stirs something in me I haven’t felt in years. But I remind myself that family often kisses each other on the cheek or forehead, so maybe they just see me like a sister.

But the way Bower had held me briefly while we were naked, and the fact that he kissed my butt cheek, makes me think that isn’t entirely accurate. The biggest problem is that there are three of them, and one of me. And I care for all of them equally. Andnotas brothers.

I glance around again and a shiver rolls through me. Suddenly, I wonder why none of them wanted to lie with me.

Under the raft they were all too eager for cuddles, but now… Had I done something wrong? Nobody seemed upset. Was that just a one-time thing?

---