Page 28

Chapter twenty-two

Kingsley

I tug at the collar of my golf shirt, the material starting to feel rough against my skin. I let out a deep breath as I stare out at the never ending ocean, empty as always. This morning it was Weston and my turn to look out for any boats, and I was feeling more agitated than usual.

We’ve been here for almost three weeks now, and every day that passes without sign of rescue, I start to worry more and more.

Surely Reece should have found us by now?

Our radio was fully working until the plane started going crazy, it was ten minutes later that the explosion went off and then we went down within eight minutes.

How far off course could we have gotten in that time?

So where was he? I didn't expect Reece, the man who was terrified of flying, to actually be on the plane that finds us, but I did expect him to have hired a search team. So where were they? Better question, where were we?

I don’t want the others to know how worried I am, so I keep playing the part of being hopeful and optimistic, when inside, the knot of worry grows bigger every day .

The only saving grace out here is Zee. The way she walks and swings around this island like she owns it, makes me feel like we could survive out here without too much hardship.

I’m not an idiot, though. Without her, this whole thing would have gone completely differently.

We probably would have died or starved to death by now.

At the very least, we’d be sleeping on the hard ground, miserable and hungry.

But her knowledge of this island wasn’t the only captivating thing about her.

No, she also has this raw, primal energy that was infectious.

It made you want to be around her all the time.

Then there were the times her sweetness and vulnerability peeked out.

With her big green eyes and pouty lips, sometimes she reminds me of a stray puppy, just wanting to be loved but not knowing how to trust someone enough to do it.

Whenever I hug her, it calms my racing mind and everything else fades away.

It’s as if nothing else matters when she’s close.

I’m desperate to move to the next step with her and kiss those plump lips, but I’m terrified of scaring her off.

The way she seems to melt into my hugs, to all of our hugs, makes me think she might be ready, but the truth was, I’m not sure who she would choose.

And worse, if I wait too long and we’re rescued, she’ll probably have a family to go back to, one that’s likely nowhere near ours, and we may never see her again.

“Did you hear what I said?” West asks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Sorry, what?” I ask, turning to face him.

He smirks and shakes his head. “You were thinking about her again, weren’t you? ”

I sigh, turning back to the ocean from where we sit at the back of the beach, in the shade by the edge of the jungle.

“Yeah, it’s hard not to.”

“Is that because you haven’t had sex in three weeks? Cause you know she’s worth more than that, right?”

“What?” I look at him with surprise and a little hurt.

“Why would you even think that, West? First of all, it’s been at least six months since I’ve dated anyone.

And no, it’s not about sex at all. I mean, yeah, I’ve pictured what it’d be like with her, but it’s because it’s her . It’s Zee. But she’s special, you know?”

“Yeah, I do,” he says with a sigh. “And sorry, I had to ask. I feel so protective of her.”

“Why do you think that is?” I ask, my eyes scanning the horizon.

He shrugs and is silent for a minute before he speaks.

“I dunno. I’ve had girlfriends before, and I guess I’ve been a little protective of them, but it’s nothing like I feel for her.

With Zee, it’s like an obsession. I tell you, King, I’m not sure I can take many more nights of her sleeping alone in that tree.

If I had some rope, I might have tied her to me by now, so I can always keep an eye on her. ”

I let out a small laugh as I try to picture that. “I don’t think she’d like that very much.”

“You never know, maybe she’d be into bondage.”

I chuckle as my eyes catch on Bower and Zee heading towards us from down the beach. “Here they come.”

We watch them approach, their joined hands swinging back and forth between them as Zee laughs at something Bower says.

I love seeing her like this. Relaxed, happy and enjoying our company.

She’d probably be fine living here with us for the rest of our lives.

I just hope that doesn’t happen. As enjoyable as she’s making what should be the worst weeks of our lives, we had to get home.

My mom and sister are back in the states, along with Reece and our company.

I had a life there waiting for me, for us.

“Hope you guys are in the mood for some pears,” Bower says as they approach, holding up his bag and giving it a little shake.

“Where’s Mo-Mo?” I ask, since he normally joins us for breakfast.

“The little bugger already took a few from us on the way here and took off,” Zee says with a roll of her eyes before she drops down in the sand on her knees in front of me, sitting back on her feet.

Bower passes us each a pear and West pulls out his knife to start cutting his up. “Here, you can use McStabby.” I look up to see Zee offering me her beloved knife.

“Really?” I ask, my eyes wide in shock. She just nods, and I tentatively reach out and take the offered handle.

I expect her to watch me carefully, but instead she turns to watch West cut a slice from his own pear.

He holds it out to her, and she gives him a warm smile, taking the offered piece and nibbling on it as she watches him cut another one.

Her attention on him makes my stomach clench with nerves. Would she choose West over me?

I focus on what I’m doing and take a moment to properly assess her knife, since I’ve never held it before. It definitely isn’t handmade, and it has seen better days. The handle is well worn, and the blade is blunt. I run my thumb across the blade and it does nothing to my skin.

“I think I can sharpen this for you,” I say, turning it side to side to take it in.

“Really? I tried using Steve, but it didn’t seem to do anything. ”

I shake my head. “No, I believe you need to use a finer-grained rock that’s wet. Like something found in the pond.”

“Oh, how do you know all that?”

I shrug as I reply, “I like to read. A lot is useless, some is helpful.”

“What else you been hiding from us, King?” West asks with a raised eyebrow before he bites into a slice of pear.

“I haven’t really had to rely on my knowledge since we’ve been here, since Zee is the island expert.”

We all glance over at her as Bower asks. “Well, Zee? Anything you need that you haven’t been able to figure out for yourself yet?”

“I don’t suppose you know how to make underwear? It’s been years since I’ve had any.”

I swallow heavily, my eyes darting down to where the short skirt is barely covering her.

Does she mean to tell me that she isn’t wearing anything under there?

I mean, I caught sight of the bottom of her bare ass weeks ago, when she was wearing my shirt, but I assumed she had some, somewhere.

Given that her top and skirt are clearly island made, I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me to think about her undergarments too.

Nobody says anything as we all stare at her, the tension growing thicker by the second.

“What happened to the clothes you arrived here in?” Bower asks as he tries, and fails, to stop looking at her thighs.

“They’re long gone,” she says so quietly, I almost don’t hear her over the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.

I finally tear my gaze away from her legs to look at her face. Her eyes are filled with pain and her skin’s turned pale.

“Zee? What is it?” I ask in worry .

She quickly jumps to her feet and takes a step away from us. “Nothing, I just need to get some air. I mean…” she trails off, her panicked eyes bouncing between us as we all get to our feet. “I need a bath, I’m going to the waterfall, don’t follow me, please.”

She turns on her heels and practically starts running back through the jungle.

“Zee! Wait!” Bower asks, but it’s too late, she’s long gone. “Fuck! What did I say?” he asks as he tries to run his hand through his hair, but it gets stuck in his bun, so he pulls it loose.

“I’m not sure,” West says, frowning in her direction. “We really need to get her to open up to us. Her way of coping is not healthy.”

“Maybe not, but it’s all she knows. And it’s kept her alive this long,” I tell him as I scratch my chin, my beard getting longer each day.

“Let’s give her an hour, then we’ll go check on her,” West says as we all sit back down and watch the ocean before us. My eyes catch on some dark clouds in the distance, and a sense of unease grows within me.

“Where is she?” West asks as we scan the pond and the surrounding area for signs of Zee.

A few more rain drops hit my head as I try to stop myself from panicking .

“I don’t know. But remember, Zee has survived plenty of rain and thunderstorms out here on her own before we arrived, I’m sure she’ll be fine.” I say the words, hoping to reassure myself, as well as them.

“Yeah, but she had the hut then,” Bower says, pulling at his hair. “Maybe she’s there now? Let’s go check.”

With lack of a better solution, we jog back to camp, hoping to find her waiting for us in the dry hut. The rain starts to pick up speed and when I push open the door and find it empty, I swear in frustration. “Fuck.”

“She’s not here?” Bower asks, stepping into the room last. I try to think about where she might be and I can only think about the place she spends every night, high in the tree above us somewhere.

“You guys wait here where it's dry, I’m going to climb up and find where she’s been sleeping, she’s probably there. Knowing her, she has a secret hut up there, just as dry as this one.”