Page 29 of Desert Island Duke

Her heart soared in relief. She might have wished to be alone when they’d first been washed ashore, but now she couldn’t imagine not having his companionship.

For one foolish moment she wondered what it would be like if they were never rescued.

She could be happy, here, with him.

A rogue wave splashed her feet and she let out a soft snort at her own idiocy. This situation wasn’t permanent. They would be rescued, eventually, and reality would intrude like a bucket of cold water to the face. Max would regain his memory, and they would each go their separate ways.

If she was truly unmarriageable when they reached London, she would remain a spinster, traveling the world and assisting her parents in their scientific endeavors. Max wouldn’t consider her as his potential duchess. She was too unconventional, too unusual. And staying in England to watch him marry someone else would hurt.

“I thought you’d come to grief,” she scolded when he was close enough to hear. “What will I do if you break your leg or get bitten by a shark?”

His teeth flashed in his tanned face. “I expect you’ll put me out of my misery and finish me off with the pocket knife.”

She shuddered at his morbid sense of humor. “Don’t say that!”

“Oh, so you’d nurse me back to health?”

“I’d certainly try.”

He snorted. “Only because it’s too hot to dig me a grave. I heard what you said that first morning. You called me an insufferable oaf.”

Caro turned her face away to hide her blush.

“I’m hoping your opinion of me has improved?” he pressed.

She started back toward camp, but he kept pace beside her easily, with his longer stride.

“Marginally,” she conceded.

She caught his grin from the corner of her eye and felt an answering smile tug her own lips.

“Well, that’s a relief. I won’t be afraid of sharpening the blade.”

“Perhaps you can use it to shave?”

He drew his fingers over his cheek and chin. “You don’t like my stubble?”

Caro clenched her hands against the desire to stroke his cheek. “You look like a pirate.”

His smile widened. “That’s not an answer.”

She lifted her nose in the air and ignored his taunting. The man’s opinion of himself was high enough already. There was no need to admit she found him devastatingly attractive.

To cool off, she waded out into the shallows, lifting her skirts above her knees. Max started to clamber over the rocks, but she hadn’t gone far when something brushed her calf and a stinging sensation prickled her skin.

She glanced down, and saw the clear dome and gently waving tentacles of a jellyfish, bobbing in the waves.

Chapter 16

“Oww! Jellyfish!”

Caro splashed ashore and bent to inspect her leg. The burning sensation had increased to pain, and even as she watched, a series of thin red stripes like rope burns appeared on her skin.

Max raced to her side and threw his arm around her shoulder, supporting her as she sank onto the sand. “Hold still.”

“It really stings!” Caro bit her lip as a wave of light-headedness threatened.

“You’re white as a sheet. Damn it.”

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