Page 123 of Blue Arrow Island
“Sure.” Her eyes shoot to mine, her knowing smile making my cheeks warm.
Our room?
The past five days in the jungle have brought Marcus and me closer. We had to rely on each other, and we got to know eachother better. The thought of going to our separate quarters to sleep has been making me uneasy the whole walk back to camp.
I can’t keep taking his bed while he sleeps on the floor, though. He didn’t sleep the entire time we were out searching, and he has to be exhausted now that his aromium is off.
Amira says a quick goodbye and ducks off toward the kitchen, glancing back at me with a conspiratorial smile.
“She’s subtle,” Marcus says lightly.
“Is it done already?” I look up at the tower in the center of camp as we pass it.
“Looks like it. I think Stella might be after my job.”
He keeps his arm around me, and we’re almost to the housing block when we see Niran approaching.
“The team that lassoed the eagle!” he cries, grinning.
He embraces Marcus, clapping him on the back. When they part, I’m surprised when Niran hugs me, too, lifting my feet a few inches off the ground.
“You guys coming to the Hub?” he asks, setting me down. “A bunch of us are hanging out there.”
Marcus shakes his head. “We’re wiped, man. Just showers and sleep for us.”
My stomach twists with excitement. We kept our hands off each other for five very long days, even though aromium made me feel like a bitch in heat. And now that I’ve seen Marcus’s erection tenting his shorts, I know what I’m missing, making it extra tragic.
“See you kids tomorrow,” Niran says, waving as he turns toward the Hub.
Marcus uses his thumbprint to open up the door to the housing block, letting me step inside first.
Fatigue tugs at my limbs as I climb up to the second floor. I can’t wait to take a shower and finally dry my feet fully.
Marcus speaks into his radio. “Ares to Operator, do you read?”
“Loud and clear. Welcome back, Ares.”
“Can you open up the keypad on my quarters for the next two minutes?”
There’s a pause before an answer crackles over the radio. “Ares, I can’t do that without more information.”
A corner of Marcus’s lips tilts up in a half smile. “Right. Peanut butter and cherry preserves on wheat.”
“Copy, Ares.”
Marcus puts his radio away and I ask, “What was that?”
“Code. We’re cycling through everyone’s favorite sandwich. That one’s ... Breck’s, I think. We’ll set a new code tomorrow. But more importantly, put your thumb on the pad.”
I pinch my brows together, pressing my thumb to the small black pad beside his door.
“Leave it until the light turns green,” he says.
It takes around twenty seconds for the light to switch from red to green, and then I remove my thumb.
“You can get into our block and room with your thumbprint now.”
I arch my brows, smiling. “Ours, huh?”
