Page 2 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

Chapter two

Darla

“ S he’s my girlfriend.”

I swing my head around at the sound of Maurice’s voice, my eyes wide as I take in his stern expression and rigid posture, his arms crossed over his chest.

Weston stops a few steps from them and helps lower me to my feet as I adjust my skirt to make sure it’s covering me.

He’s here. The only person besides my dad that I ever truly cared about and the only other person who really knew me. And he’s standing right in front of me.

I can’t take my eyes off him. He has the same brown eyes and tousled brown hair that I remember. But the rest of his face is almost unrecognizable. Gone are the soft features of a thirteen-year-old boy. In its place is the sharp jawline of a man. A rather handsome man, too. He grew up real well.

Seeing him in a light blue dress shirt, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and black dress pants… it’s so out of place. Not just on this island, but on him. The boy I remember loved band tees and jeans. He hated dress clothes .

He takes a step towards me, his arms in front of him like he doesn’t know if he should touch me or not.

“Are you real?” I whisper, my eyes continually scanning his face for any more signs of the boy I once knew.

“Me? I feel like I’m dreaming right now. I… I don’t understand. How are you here? Where have you been?” His eyes scan me just as much as I scan him.

“Reece,” Kingsley says carefully, making him jerk his attention to him in question. “She’s been here this whole time.”

Maurice frowns, looking back at me as he shakes his head. “No… No, that doesn’t make any sense. It’s been fifteen years. She hasn’t been—”

“She has,” Bower says, stepping up on our other side as he looks down at me, sadness written all over his face.

I turn back to Maurice and watch as his confused expression turns shocked, then that gives way to fear before his face completely pales.

“No… Darla, you… You’ve been stranded here all this time? Just you and your dad? Wait—Where is he?”

I squeeze my eyes tightly shut as the thought of losing him makes my chest constrict with pain. Weston’s warm hands grip my shoulders, his thumbs rubbing gently, reminding me he’s here.

I open my eyes and look back up at Maurice. “He’s gone. I lost him four months after arriving here.”

“Fuck, Darla, you’re telling me you’ve been alone here since you were thirteen?” he asks, his face a mixture of disbelief and fear.

I just nod my head because there’s nothing else to say to that. He finally reaches forward, no longer able to hold himself back as he pulls me against him, one arm wrapped around my back, the other holding my face to his chest .

“I’m so fucking sorry, darling. I didn’t know, I didn’t know!”

I wrap my arms around him as he gently sways us side to side, gripping me so tight it’s as if he’s afraid he’ll lose me again if he doesn’t keep hold of me.

“My dad made it sound like there was no chance you could have survived. If I had known—”

“I know, Mo-Mo,” I try to reassure him.

“Mo-Mo? Wait, did you name the lemur after Reece?” Bower asks with laughter in his voice.

Maurice pulls back and looks down at me, the barest hint of a smile on his lips. “You named a lemur after me?”

I shrug my shoulders. “It seemed fitting.”

He cups my face, his eyes dropping to my lips. “Darla, I missed you so fucking much.” He starts to dip his head towards mine and my breath catches in my throat.

We’ve kissed before, but it had been relatively innocent, a quick peck on my doorstep or when we were cuddled up watching a movie. I have a feeling kissing him now would be completely different.

But before his lips connect with mine, I’m pulled back hard against Weston’s chest, and he uses his other hand to push Maurice back a step.

“Whoa, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Weston asks angrily, circling his other arm around the front of my shoulders and pinning me against him.

Maurice—No, that name isn’t fitting anymore, and Mo-Mo definitely doesn’t work for such a hard-looking man. The others call him Reece. Nobody had ever called him that when we were young, but it suits him now.

Reece frowns up at Weston. “I was about to kiss my girlfriend. ”

My eyes widen in surprise. I mean, technically, we never broke up… but to make such a bold claim fifteen years later is both flattering and terrifying.

Weston lets out a huff of laughter. “I don’t think so, mate. She’s not your girlfriend.”

“Excuse me?” Reece asks, his expression turning angry.

“She’s mine.”

“Ours,” Kingsley corrects, making Reece’s wide eyes turn to him in surprise.

“What did you just say?”

“Zee is our girlfriend, all three of us.”

Reece’s jaw drops open, then snaps shut. His eyes bounce between all of us as he opens and closes his mouth again, then finally he takes a step back and runs his hand down his face in frustration.

“I don’t even understand how that would work. But it doesn’t matter. She was mine first.”

Should I feel upset that he seems to be treating me like a lost toy? Maybe I am a little, but by the happy fluttering of my heart, more than anything, I’m thrilled that he still wants me.

“Fuck off, Benson,” Weston says, using Reece’s last name in anger. “She’s not an object you can just claim.”

“I fucking know that, Callahan!” Oh… I guess the last names come out when these guys are angry.

“Then stop treating her like one. You don’t even know her.”

“ I don’t know her? You’ve known her for what, two months?

I grew up with her. We’ve known each other since we started walking,” Reece says angrily, his arms flying through the air as he speaks.

I don’t ever remember seeing the old Reece get angry, and it’s slightly scary to see him so worked up now.

“So you knew her as a child. She’s not the same person anymore and neither are you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll always want her,” he says, his voice calming on the last part as he looks down at me, a pained expression on his face.

“Look, why don’t we all calm down a little here?

” Kingsley says, trying to disarm the situation.

“Reece, the truth is you haven’t seen each other in fifteen years, and a lot has changed, for both of you.

Neither of you are the same people you were at thirteen, nor do you know each other as adults.

So why don’t you just take some time to get to know her?

It’s not like we have anything better to do. ”

“And then what? You’ll let me have her?” Reece asks, frowning at him.

“Um, excuse me, but do I get any say in this?” I ask, starting to get a little frustrated at how Reece was acting like he had complete say in who I dated.

“Stop being a dick, Reece,” Bower says, glaring at him. “Maybe you can try asking Zee what she wants.”

Reece scans my face, his eyes taking in Weston’s hold on me as he considers his next words. Finally, he nods, but his next question isn’t what I expect.

“Why do they keep calling you Zee?”

My body relaxes a little at the change of subject. I was starting to worry he wouldn’t let the topic drop.

“When we got here, my dad called me Xena, Zee for short. He said I was his little warrior princess. After…” I trail off, my eyes darting to Kingsley and he reaches out and squeezes my hand, knowing what I’m thinking about .

“After I lost him, I didn’t feel like the same Darla anymore. Zee seemed more fitting for this new life.”

“What do you prefer we call you?” Kingsley asks, his thumb stroking over the back of my hand while he waits for my answer.

I bite my lip as I think about it. It’s strange to be called Darla after so long, but if we ever get off this island, I’ll probably have to go by that name again. I always liked my name, anyway.

“I don’t mind. Zee, Darla, whatever you want.”

“I think Tink suits you best. Now come here and give me a hug,” Bower says, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around me.

He lifts me up and presses his face into my neck, whispering, “I just needed to hold you for a minute. You scared me there, Tink.”

“You scared me, too,” I admit, readjusting my arms around his neck as he hoists me higher and my legs wrap around his waist.

He lifts his head and looks at the others over my shoulder. “Let’s go back to camp. I want to get away from that fire and out of the sun.”

Now he mentions it, it does feel pretty hot out today, although my clothing is still damp.

Bower doesn’t wait for the others as he starts carrying me back to camp. “I can walk, Bower,” I tell him with a smile.

“I’d rather carry you, if that’s okay?” He keeps walking as I watch the others follow a few paces behind. Kingsley and Reece talk quietly as Weston watches me with his usual serious expression.

I nod my head in reply and rest the side of my head on his shoulder, deciding to enjoy the feel of him holding me. A lot has happened today, and the adrenaline crash is starting to hit me hard.

“Hey, Tink? ”

“Hmm?” I ask, yawning against him.

“You said something to me before, when we were in the mud pit. We never got a chance to talk about it.”

I yawn again, suddenly feeling exhausted as I try to recall what I said. Emotions were high that day and my mind is having trouble recalling anything.

“Okay,” I say, not sure what I’m agreeing with.

“Are you sleeping, Tink?”

“So sleepy,” I mumble, my eyes closing against my will.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you, I love you, too. Even if you’re falling asleep on me right now, I don’t want to waste another moment without you knowing.”

I smile, snuggling closer to him as I hum in approval. “Mmm, that’s good.” I manage to give him a small pat on his chest as a rumble of laughter escapes his lips.

“Good? You really are sleepy, huh? Well, I just hope you remember this when you wake up.”

“I will,” I promise him, before another yawn escapes me. “I remember everything you say.”

“Okay, baby, go to sleep. I’ll take care of you.”

“Love you, Bower.”

“Love you, too, Tink.”

That’s the last thing I remember before I fall into a deep sleep in the arms of one of the men I love.