Page 32 of Hunted (Desert Island Duet #2)

Chapter twenty

Darla

“ S top looking at me like that!” I grumble, narrowing my eyes at Weston as I pull on my shirt.

“Like what?” He smirks at me with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

“You know exactly what that look does to me, now cool it. Or everyone will know what we did.”

His smirk turns into a full-blown smile, momentarily stunning me. “Oh, baby. If you think they don’t already know, you’d be dead wrong.”

My eyes widen in worry. “What?!” I squeak, my voice coming out unusually high. “How? I covered my mouth!”

“Not nearly as much as you think you did. Did you not think they could hear you begging me to fuck you?”

“West!” I gasp at his dirty words.

He just chuckles as he finishes getting dressed and heads to the door.

“You’re getting mighty cocky, you know that?” I ask, as he snags my hand and kisses my knuckles.

“Why wouldn’t I be? My girlfriend is the most beautiful woman in the world AND she fucks like a god-damned queen.”

“Weston!” I gasp for the second time. “What’s come over you? ”

He drops his hand from the door handle and turns to face me, gripping my face between his hands as his cocky grin turns into something sweeter and more sincere.

“Baby, I’m just happy. After months on that island, the mercenary attacks, the warehouse, and all that damn flying, I was running on fumes.

But after what we shared and that nap, I’m feeling more myself than I have in a long time. ”

“Does that mean you’ll ease up on all the protective stuff?” I ask with hope.

But he just laughs and grabs my hand, pulling the door open. “Not a chance.”

As we head downstairs, I smell something delicious coming from the kitchen. When we round the corner, I see the other three seated at the large island, watching an older woman cooking away.

When she turns to the side and I see her profile, I gasp. “Mrs. G?”

She furrows her brow as she turns to face me. Her eyes scan me from head to toe and she tilts her head in confusion.

“Do I know you, child?”

I drop Weston’s hand and step closer to her. “Did you really forget me, Mrs. G? After all the peanut butter cookies I stole?”

It takes her a full two seconds before her face scrunches in more confusion, and her eyes roam my face again before she finally sees it. She gasps, the plate in her hand dropping to the floor and smashing into a hundred pieces.

But she ignores it, stepping over the mess in her usual Doc Martens as she stops only a foot in front of me. “Darla? Is that really you?”

I lift my arms up to the sides and let them drop as I give her a tight smile. “In the flesh. ”

She practically screams, startling me, but before I can move away, she wraps herself around me, pressing my face into her large bosom and rocking me back and forth as she cries and mumbles words of nonsense I can barely understand. Something about thinking I was dead.

As fast as she grabs me, she pushes me away and I stumble back. Luckily Weston is there to stabilize me as she pivots on her heel and points at Reece. “You! Why didn’t you tell me who the young lady was?!”

He shrugs, watching her in amusement. “I thought it’d be more fun this way.”

“It was,” Bower adds with a chuckle.

“How are you here? Where have you been?!”

And that’s how I spend the next two hours.

Eating dinner while explaining to Mrs. G how I ended up on the island, eventually met the guys, and how Reece rescued us.

I make sure to leave out the traumatizing stuff.

Didn’t need to give her nightmares, too.

And I left off most of the relationship stuff, though the guys let enough slip that I think she knew something was going on between us, although nobody said it outright.

After everything is cleaned up and she leaves for the evening, Bower suggests a movie night on the couch. Everyone agreed it sounded like the relaxing evening we needed after so much commotion recently.

“Zee, I have a surprise for you!” Bower says, walking into the living room with his hand behind his back.

“What is it?” I ask, sitting up excitedly.

“You weren’t up for this in Madagascar, so we had to wait until we were home to get this certain item crossed off your bucket list.”

I clench my hands to stop myself from reaching out and yelling “gimme” as he stops in front of me with a pleased look on his face .

“Here you go!” He moves his hand around and shows me a bowl filled with my favorite food.

“Ice cream!” I squeal, immediately taking it from him and pulling the spoon out.

I reluctantly take only a small amount, afraid too much of the freezing cold goodness might not be as enjoyable as it once was.

But as soon as the unmistakable cookies and cream flavor hits my tongue, I moan in pleasure, leaning back on the couch as I close my eyes, enjoying that tiny bit of heaven.

“I take it you like it?”

I open my eyes and see Bower’s amused face still looking down at me.

“It’s amazing, thank you for remembering.” I reach out to give his hand a squeeze of thanks. I immediately go back to eating, taking small bites and when I’m about a third the way through, I know I can’t eat anymore, my body not used to that amount of processed food and refined sugar.

“Don’t force yourself, there’ll always be more,” Kingsley says, noticing my distress. “Give it to Bower, you know he’ll finish it for you.”

I pass it over and Bower devours it in seconds, making me smile at his love for food.

I glance out the back windows and see it’s dark outside. It’s strange, it being so light in here when it’s nighttime. My body seems to be used to the change, but my mind isn’t yet. It makes me feel nervous, unable to see outside.

“Reece?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Can people see in through those windows at night?” I ask, pointing to the back wall. He looks where I'm pointing and is silent for a minute before he speaks .

“We need curtains.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that for me.”

“No, you’re wise to point it out. It’s not safe.”

“Are… Are we safe?”

He nods his head as he looks at me with a pinched smile. “I’ve hired extra security. I have four men out there right now, around the property, watching for any signs of activity. They’ll alert me if they see anything.”

That knowledge makes me feel slightly better, but until we know exactly who is hiring the mercenaries and that they are either dead or behind bars, I’m not sure how safe I'm going to feel.

“I’ll be right back.” I run upstairs and grab my bag from the floor in Weston’s room. I debate strapping McStabby on my hip, but decide it’s safest if I keep it in the bag and have both my knife and my rock with me.

When I get back downstairs, they all notice it slung over my shoulder, but nobody comments. Bower pats the seat beside him, and I quickly jump on the couch and snuggle into his side while he browses the movies.

Reece sits on the coffee table in front of me and passes me an iPad. I take it automatically and stare down at it in confusion.

“You don’t have to do it now, but you’re going to need to order yourself some new clothes. I’m assuming you’d rather order online than go to the store?” I nod my head quickly, not wanting to go anywhere near people yet, and he points at the iPad.

“Order anything you want; my credit card is saved on there. If you don’t know your sizes, there is a tape measure in the second drawer of the downstairs bathroom.”

I stare at the iPad, not even knowing where to start. “You don't have to do it now, of course. And we need to get you a bed and other furniture, too.” I nod, feeling overwhelmed. He seems to notice as he takes the iPad back and sets it on the table beside him. “When you’re ready, of course.”

I nod, already feeling lighter without that burden in my lap. How the hell did I know what type of clothes I should buy or what kind of bed to get? I don’t even know what kinds there are.

King sits down heavily on my other side, making me knock into Bower, and the remote falls from his hand into my lap. When I pick it up to pass back to him, I must touch a button because the TV flips inputs from Netflix to cable.

“Crab sucker!” I curse when I see what’s playing on the TV. It’s the local news, and once again, the footage is of us arriving in San Francisco. Only this time, we can understand what they’re saying.

Bower turns the volume up, and Reece moves out of the way as we all stare at the screen.

“Eyewitness footage shows Maurice Benson, Kingsley Voss, and Bower Riggs, the billionaire trio behind Titan Tech, arriving at the San Francisco International Airport earlier this afternoon, accompanied by an unidentified woman and their pilot, Weston Callahan.

“Voss and Riggs have been missing for the last two and a half months. The two were last seen boarding a private plane out of Perth, Australia, but they never arrived at their scheduled destination. Until today, they were presumed lost, or dead.

“But that’s not all. The mystery deepens with the woman by their side.

Social media sleuths and online forums are lighting up with speculation that she bears a striking resemblance to Darla Danvers, the future heiress to the Danver’s Group who vanished with her father, Donald Danvers, without a trace over fifteen years ago when she was only thirteen and was long assumed to be dead .

"In the video, the woman can be seen holding hands with both Voss and Riggs as they’re escorted through a private terminal. Benson walks just ahead, shielding them from the crowd and what appears to be a flurry of paparazzi.

“Security detail surrounded the group, and no one gave a statement, but body language experts are already analyzing the footage, noting the intimate familiarity between the three men and the mystery woman.

“For those unfamiliar, the Danvers family and the Benson family were very close, and it was said Maurice and Darla were dating when she disappeared. Maurice has never been seen with a woman on his arm, and it’s been speculated that he’s only attracted to men.

“Of course, we don’t know for sure who this mystery woman is, or her connection to the owners of Titan Tech.

We’ve reached out to Titan Tech’s PR office for comment, but as of this broadcast, there’s been no official statement.

Stick with Channel Seven News for live updates as we continue to follow this developing story.

One thing’s for sure, this is one reunion no one saw coming. ”

Bower flicks the TV back to Netflix as everyone absorbs the news report.

I’m not sure what it means for us that they were already speculating that I’m back.

They were going to find out sooner or later, so I’m not sure it really matters.

It annoys me that they barely mentioned Weston, who was also missing.

I glance around and see the tense expressions on everyone’s faces as they think about what we just saw. Hoping to lighten the mood, I turn to my oldest friend and try to get his attention. “Reece?”

His head turns to me in question, and I tilt my head asking, “I didn’t know you were into guys.” His eyes widen in shock and a little fear before Bower bursts out laughing.

I can’t stop the smile from covering my face as Reece’s worried eyes move to Bower, then back to me. I see the moment he realizes I’m joking and his hands clench into fists at his sides as he slowly prowls towards me.

I press my back into the couch, trying to stop my laughter as he leans over me slowly. Bower tries to break the intensity of his stare as he whispers into my ear, “You’ve done it now, Tink.”

I swallow heavily and Reece’s hands slowly move forward to land on the back of the couch, caging my head between his arms.

He doesn't break eye contact with me as he leans closer, only stopping when his face is a few inches from mine. My heart hammers in my chest at his proximity. If I just moved forward two inches, his lips would be on mine.

Everything else in the room melts away as he stares at me in silence, like he’s waiting for me to speak first. But my mind has drained of all rational thought, and the only thing I can seem to think about is if his lips are as soft as I remember.

Finally, he speaks, his voice coming out huskier and deeper than usual. “If you think I’m attracted to men, then I must be doing something wrong.”

My breath hitches and his eyes dart down to my lips before moving back up to my eyes. I don’t reply, afraid anything I say will come out as gibberish. Is he going to leave me hanging here? Does he even know what sort of effect he’s having on me right now?

“There’s only one person in this entire world that I’m attracted to, that I want. And I think you know who that is, don’t you, darling?”

I swallow the lump in my throat as I let his words sink deep into my skin. I knew he wanted us to be together, and every time I talk to him, I find another layer of his obsession for me. I should be scared. I should see his wall of photos and run far away from him.

But I don’t. I can’t. I know him. Even if he is a crazy, obsessive, possessive man. He’s mine, and my disappearance made him that way. I knew him for the first thirteen years of my life, and I know he’s a good man. Someone who will do anything for those he loves.

And he loves me.

It’s a heady thought and my breath catches at the idea of just how deep his love for me must go. Even if he hasn’t said the words, it’s obvious.

“Answer me, Darla.” Did he ask me a question? “Tell me you know who I want.”

“Me,” I whisper, bringing a smile to his lips. But instead of kissing me, he pulls back, standing tall as he looks down at me with a smirk of satisfaction, before turning and sitting in one of the side chairs.

I watch him with wide eyes as my heart continues beating fast.

“Well, fuck. That was hot,” Bower says, breaking some of the tension and allowing me to close my eyes and turn back to the TV.

What the hell was that, anyway? How is Reece able to work me up so much without even touching me? I pull the throw blanket into my lap, feeling like I’ve soaked through my panties and right into my leggings.

One thing is for sure. When Reece and I finally come together, it’s going to be explosive. I just hope I can survive the kind of heat he puts out.