He chuckled. “We’ll be sitting ducks. They know we are somewhere on this godforsaken island. It will be just a matter of time until they catch us. We have to deal with Tom right away.” Tossing our small fortune on the desk, Hunter stepped to me. “Sydney, they are cunning thieves, not murderers.”
“Are you sure?”
Hunter’s forehead wrinkled, and his shoulders sagged. “No, but I’ll do everything in my power to take care of you.” I believed him.
His gaze held me in place, his features softer, not tired anymore. His hand cradled my jaw, and he softly brushed my cheek with his thumb as if I were made from porcelain and the moment I left him, I’d shatter into a million pieces. “I know back then in the water, we agreed this would be a short-term thing, and no feelings involved, but I was in love with you already.” His words were a caress on my skin. My breathing slowed, and a light feeling took over me, pushing away exhaustion and fright. “I could have said it then, but you were firm on this just being sex, so I thought it was best to keep my feelings to myself.” His eyes searched my face like this was the last time he would see me. “I’m not asking you to love me back. I’m not asking you to stay here with me. I just wanted you to know that I love you, and I’ll be a wreck after you leave and probably never get over you, but that is something for me to deal with later.”
My heart leaped out of my chest and landed in his hands, where it would stay forever. I felt it, too—the love for him. It pained me to think that in a day, a week, or a month, we were heading back to our other lives. I wanted to scream, “Come with me,” but I knew it wasn’t fair.
“I love you too,” I blurted out. I felt more happiness, emotional security, and commitment in my with-an-expiration-date relationship with Hunter than with anyone else.
“You do?” he whispered, his lips turning up at their corners.
“I do.” My words came out more like a croak, tears running down my cheek. I wanted to take the sound back and try again, respond with a much sexier sound, but Hunter’s face broke into an unhinged smile, and his eyes glistening with so much happiness as if I were Hunter’s treasure, and he’d searched for me all this time. I brought my hand to his neck and gently tugged him closer until his warm mouth caught mine. His lips parted, and he kissed me soft and slow, as if we were kissing for the first time. So tender. So sweet. I turned into a puddle and swayed into him.
I was still here with Hunter, but I already missed him. I wanted to split in the middle, one part of me to stay here and the other to return. If I said that out loud, it might give Hunter false hope that I might have changed my mind. This wasn’t the place to build my new life. And it fucking destroyed me. Hunter released a sigh of pleasure or relief, or both. With his good hand on the side of my face, Hunter angled my head and took my mouth again with a devouring kiss, his stubble scratching my skin, his other arm wrapped around my back tighter, putting me flush against him.
The moon might have gone around the Earth thousands of times, and when we parted, Hunter’s lips were red and swollen, no doubt matching mine. Hunter pressed his forehead to mine, his eyes closed.
“All I want right now is to strip you of your clothes and show how much I love you, but…” He exhaled a quiet laugh.
“We should continue getting ready for the unavoidable,” I finished his thought, then added with a teasing smile, “Maybe later?”
“Then we’d better hurry.” Hunter brushed a brief kiss on my lips and then snatched the Ziploc bag off the desk. He walked backward, his eyes locked on me, smiling.
I buried the plastic bag in the sand under the stairs, and then we found a hiding place in the jungle on the beach’s border, ten yards from the leaning palm and the path toward the hut. A pandanus tree with its complex roots and branches and thick shrubs with fragrant flowers around it concealed us so well that even if we had fallen asleep and missed the unwelcome guests’ arrival, they wouldn’t find us easily.
We stared at the bay through the screen of branches and leaves for a long time, small rocks and shells biting into my legs. I brushed crap off my skin and faced the jungle, leaning my back against the roots. Across from us was a tree similar to the giant near the bat cave, only this one was baby-size in comparison, and its trunk quickly forked into two. The more I studied it, the more I became aware that, whereas the giant’s leaves had small, pale green, maple-like leaves, this tree’s leaves were dark green and shiny on top, almost like a laurel oak. One part of the tree broke off at the base and leaned against its neighbor. Something was off about this. I dropped a twig I’d been twisting between my fingers and crawled over.
I poked the dead trunk, its bark hard to the touch. I lay on the ground and carefully peeked through its bottom (hoping nothing would jump out at me from there) and recognized the blue skies on the other side. It was hollowed out. It had been broken for a while, completely cut off from its nutrient system. Why were the leaves green? I grabbed one of the slim branches, and my gaze followed its length up the trunk and over the tree it rested against, then it reached the other tree and got lost in its canopy. Only then I understood. This was a network of vines. The same vines I have seen throughout the island. The tree was dead, but it looked alive.
“Do you need anything from the hut?” Hunter asked.
We brought food, meds, water and two kitchen knives. I shook my head. “Nothing I can think of.”
“Stay here. I’ll be back.” Hunter moved between the bushes and disappeared toward the hut.
A few minutes later, he returned with towels and a beach blanket. “We should have brought these with us right away.”
“It’s a slumber party, not a hideout,” I said, smiling and taking the towels from Hunter. The small space was enough for one person to semi-stretch out while the other had to sit at their feet or lie snuggly on the top of them. I helped Hunter arrange everything, and he dropped onto the makeshift bed, reaching out his arm to me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he pulled me to straddle him.
“What does it look like?” His hand came around the nape of my neck and pulled me for a deep kiss before his lips trailed to my jaw. “A man in possession of a good fortune must make love to a woman he’s confessed his love to.”
“Your fortune sucks,” I said, laughing.
His fingers gripped my hair, and he pulled my head back, exposing more of my neck to him. I closed my eyes and whimpered when his hot mouth landed on the sensitive spot, his stubble leaving a path of small fires. My hips moved involuntarily against his hardness, the greedy need for release quickly building inside me. Everyone grieves differently, and the same could be said about stress relief. Some took yoga. Some punched walls. We were going to have sex, and I wouldn’t oppose it.
“Take off your shorts,” Hunter said, then scraped his teeth on my earlobe.
“Who is going to watch the bay?” I asked, my hands already working on the button and the zipper.
“We’ll hear them if you’re quiet.” Hunter fiddled with his own shorts. He exposed himself just enough for me to sink onto him. He groaned with pleasure, and I swallowed a moan as I took him in, inch by inch, until I was full of him.
I looked at him, and for the millionth time, my thoughts stammered, rapt in awe at how handsome he was. Especially when he looked at me like I was the only woman for him. I blinked to restart my brain function, then said, “Are you sure this is a good idea right now?”
“It is always a good idea to have sex with you.” His voice was low, and the edge of his mouth hitched, his palm cupping my ass. “Our space is limited here, and my hand is?—”
