Page 49 of Explorer’s Revenge

FORTY-THREE

WILDER

W e haven’t heard or seen signs of the croc for miles, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s probably waiting and watching. It won’t let us go.

Maeve is hanging back. She said it’s because she has a gun, but I’m worried it’s due to her leg. One week of rest in a hospital doesn’t miraculously cure someone with an injury as severe as hers, so I ask Way to take the lead for me and slip back, matching her pace.

Her eyes scan the jungle, her grip on the gun tight, but I know she senses me. “What is it, Wilder?” she whispers.

“How’s your leg holding up?” I ask quietly so the others won’t overhear. It’s clear she doesn’t want them to worry, but that shit doesn’t work on me.

“Fine,” she answers absentmindedly. She stops for a moment, her eyes on the bushes around us, before she continues walking. I know she’s concerned—hell, I am too—but the croc isn’t here right now, and she is, so I’m going to focus on her.

She came back for us.

I want to wring her fucking neck for putting herself at risk again, and then I want to kiss the shit out of her.

“Carter,” I warn, and she flashes her eyes to mine and sees I’m serious. She never could lie to me. Even when all we did was fight, it was nothing but truthful, even in malice, and like my brothers so helpfully pointed out, it was mostly flirting rather than fighting now that I look back at it.

At least on my end.

I took out my need for Carter on her without even realizing what I was doing.

I don’t know when my mindset began to change, but I can’t deny that Carter is the one I want. If I were ever to take something for myself, it would be her. I might die today, tomorrow, or a year from now, but when I do, I’ll regret the time I wasted not being hers.

She’s crude, loud, excitable, and silly, but she’s also highly intelligent, caring, loyal, and brave. She drives me crazy, but maybe I need that. Maybe I’ve even come to crave it.

I don’t know what will happen when we make it from the island alive, but I do know that I’m tired of pretending I don’t want Maeve Carter.

“It’s fine,” she grumbles, finally realizing I’m not backing down. “They gave me some good drugs. I should be resting, but I will when I get back, so until then, I just need to focus on moving and distracting myself from the ache.”

So it’s hurting her. We need to get off the island, but until we do, I can help a little, or maybe it’s just my pervy thoughts that only seem to crop up around her.

“Fine, then let me distract you. Let’s talk about our kiss.”

Her head swings around, her eyes wide, and I chuckle.

“Really? You want to talk about that now?” she hisses, cutting the others a look.

“We don’t have anything better to do. Are you embarrassed, Carter?” I tease.

Her eyes narrow in irritation, just like I expected, and damn if it doesn’t make me hard when she rises to my bait. No one fights me like Carter. No one else dares to. “You call that a kiss? I barely remember it.”

She’s saying it out of embarrassment and trying to get me to argue with her. It’s how we are, and she’s trying to get us back to our norm, but I won’t let her. I’m not going back now.

Not after I’ve had a taste of her.

I step into her path, and she bumps into my chest, her head coming up and eyes widening as I grip the nape of her neck and pull her closer.

“Then let me remind you,” I growl before I cover her lips with mine.

Her gasp opens her mouth, and I slide my tongue inside, tangling it with hers as I deepen the kiss.

She smacks my chest to push me away, but as we continue, she stops struggling and grips me tighter, hauling me closer.

I smirk in victory as I pull away. Her eyes are closed, her lips are swollen and parted, and her cheeks are pink.

She’s so fucking beautiful, I ache to kiss her again.

She would look so fucking good below me, all that fire and attitude. I’d fuck it right out of her. If there wasn’t a croc on our tail, I would do just that right here and now, everyone else be damned.

Sweeping my thumb across her lips, I settle for just that kiss—for now. “You’ll remember that one,” I tease her.

She stares at me incredulously, and she’s so fucking cute I can’t help myself. Leaning down, I steal another peck, and she stumbles back, her hand covering her mouth as if to protect herself from me.

“I give it an eight out of ten.” I glance back to see Rick grinning. “You needed more tongue, brother, but if you two are done dry humping and flirting, then we need to keep moving.”

“We do not flirt!” Carter yells before glaring at me and giving me a wide berth, her eyes wide as she leads the way. Laughing, I lunge for her, and she yelps, moving until Logan is between us and glaring at me.

I can’t help but smile, even as I hurry after them.

Maeve Carter is so fucking adorable, and when we are out of this jungle, I’m going to show her just what she does to me.

“It’s too quiet,” Logan murmurs, his eyes wide as he looks around.

We are all worried about resting, but it’s been hours.

We need to sit down, drink, and eat, and there hasn’t been any sign of it.

Of course, that means nothing. Carter has her gun, and I’m on watch on the other side, not taking any risks with our team.

“It’s probably resting or searching for us,” Way says, but he doesn’t seem sure.

After all, this thing doesn’t ever seem to give up.

It finds us wherever we go. No wonder the island is deserted.

I have no idea what happened here, and I don’t think we ever will, but it’s obvious it has something to do with that creature.

As if following my train of thought, Maeve looks around us. “I wonder if that monster is what happened here.”

“There was a temple on our way in with drawings of people being tossed into a hole. We didn’t make the connection before, but I’m betting they were human sacrifices,” Aiy explains.

“Guess it didn’t work,” she whispers.

“Or they left.” I shrug. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. We need to make sure no one else comes here and gets hurt. Ten more minutes, then we are moving. We need to be at the beach when they arrive.”

“I don’t know about you,” Rick says, “but I’m dying for a bath and pizza.”

Way grins. “Burger.”

“Small thinking, my friend. I want a five-course meal with all the alcohol I can drink and Maeve in a sexy, little dress,” Logan teases.

“Wild?” Rick asks.

“I want our home. I want all of you bickering and chasing each other. I want our normal,” I admit.

“I want my dad,” Maeve murmurs, “sitting on his porch drinking tea. I want to sleep without worrying I will be eaten, but most of all, I want to shower.”

We all laugh, since we feel the same way. We must stink, and after a long expedition, there is nothing better than that first shower. It’s something only people like us understand.

“How mad do you think Ajax will be?” Aiy asks.

“At you guys? Not very. At me? Extremely, but then again, he’s always mad at me,” she says, and when Aiy looks scared, she adds, “Don’t worry. I can handle Ajax. Besides, it doesn’t matter as long as you guys are okay.”

“I still can’t believe you came back,” Rick whispers. “You must really love me, Carter. I’m flattered. When should we set the wedding date?”

Her grin is infectious, and I turn away as they start flirting and arguing. Their laughter is a balm for my troubled heart, one that will only calm once we are away from this fucking island. Like Carter, I’ll probably sleep for a week straight when I know we are all safe.

“What happens when we go home?” Aiyaret asks softly. I glance back to see Maeve looking at him tenderly.

“What do you mean?” Whenever she speaks to him, her tone always softens. With Rick and Logan, she’s loud and boisterous, and with me, she’s brave and strong, but with Aiyaret, she’s soft and kind. She caters to us all, I realize, giving us what we need.

“With you.” He looks around then back at her. “We just go our separate ways after this?”

“I—” She swallows. “I’m not part of your team, Aiy.”

“Oh . . .” He looks so forlorn that Way pulls him into his side, and my heart aches for him. “I thought since we . . . Never mind.”

It’s uncharted territory for us, so we become quiet, none of us knowing what to say. I rejected Maeve as part of our team for Aiy, as well as some selfish reasons, but while we’ve been here, we have all grown close, and it’s clear even Aiy doesn’t want to let that go.

Worry tightens my chest at his question. Will she just leave us when we go back?

Moving closer to Aiy, she takes his hand and squeezes it softly until he looks at her.

“Let’s get off this island first, okay? When we are safe, we can talk about it, but I promise I’m not just going to disappear on you.

We fought and survived a crocodile together, sweetie, and that bonds us,” she teases.

“No matter what, I’ll be in your life if that’s what you want. ”

“You promise?” he asks softly. She’s the only woman he has ever trusted, ever let touch him, and as I watch them, something in me unwinds.

She’s healing him, or at least helping him, and despite the twinge of jealousy I feel, I couldn’t be happier.

Aiyaret has suffered for a long time, and the person who could fix him was right there.

I was just too blind to see it, thinking I knew best.

If we get out of here and she asks to be one of us, I’ll let her in a heartbeat.

It’s clear Maeve Carter belongs with us, but I will not tie her down if it isn’t something she wants. I will never try to clip her wings. I love her wildness, and I will never take it from her.

“I promise.” She presses her forehead to his. “Whatever happens, Aiyaret, you’re not getting rid of me, okay?”

“Even if I’m dating Way?” he asks quietly, and I know that’s one of his fears. He thought loving Way would mean losing her, but he doesn’t know her very well.