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sixteen

MOLLY

Kyle’s heavy footsteps in the forest woke me up. He always crunched more leaves and sticks in the morning than everyone else combined. I’d be so damn glad to get away from him in a few days.

The sound of him taking a piss close enough that I could hear made me scowl, and I started to roll over.

And then remembered where I was.

And what position I was in.

Shit .

My back was pressed to Cam’s front.

His erection was between my ass cheeks, ensuring I was still wet with desire even after sleeping a few solid hours.

One of his hands was tangled in my hair.

The other was buried inside me.

There was an ache in my lower belly that could only be some mixture of desire and soreness. I’d never experienced it before, but I’d never had anything as thick as four of Cameron’s fingers inside me.

Definitely not for an entire night.

Kyle was still stomping around, so I had to be quiet if I decided to get up.

But… did I want to get up?

Cam’s cock throbbed, and I sucked in a breath.

No, I definitely didn’t want to get up.

Not until I’d gotten off again to relieve some of the tension in my middle, at least.

The man behind me was still breathing evenly, telling me he was asleep. He wouldn’t have pretended. He had no reason to, and it just wasn’t his personality.

He knew he was winning the show, and he had no reason to hide anything from me anymore.

Especially considering how horny I was, and how much fun he apparently had watching me climax.

And given how exhausted he had looked when I found him wide awake in the middle of the night, I was sure he needed the rest.

But… Kyle was still stomping around.

So Cam probably wouldn’t stay asleep much longer anyway.

He had been tense, too. A release could help him.

And given the way we’d fallen asleep and everything he’d said to me, it was safe to say he had no qualms about the kinkier side of things.

So, I slipped my fingers between my thighs and teased my clit slowly. The motion made me tighten around his hand.

His fingers curled slightly, the tips brushing the inside of my channel, and I bit back a moan as I continued.

His lips were on my throat again a moment later, sucking lightly. “Good morning, Sunshine,” he murmured.

I bit back a snort at his reference to my sweatshirt.

“Woke up a little needy, hmm?” he said, as I rocked lightly against him.

“A little.”

He pulled his hand from his hair and used it to remove my fingers from my clit, then rolled me to my back. His cock was no longer against my back entrance, and I ached for the pressure of it,

Then, he slowly slid my feet up toward my ass, opening me up and changing the angle. My head tipped back at the way the sensations changed, my face twisting in pleasure.

His fingers felt amazing—but I wanted more.

“I need your cock,” I breathed.

He rumbled. “Not today, Loll.”

“ Please .”

“Beg all you want, Beautiful, but you can’t have me until we’re off this island.”

I groaned softly.

He started to move his fingers, as if he was thrusting in and out, while he toyed with my clit. I was already so turned on, it didn’t take long to find my climax.

I came down from the high panting, with my knees open and my bare center only concealed by the blanket. The fabric hid his hands from me, so I couldn’t see him touching me—but I wanted to see him.

“Lolli,” he warned, as I started lifting the blanket.

“Screw the cameras,” I whispered.

My entire body clenched when I saw him.

His hand owned my core. Between the fingers buried inside me and the thumb on my clit, it looked like he was gripping me. Holding my pleasure.

And shit, he was doing it perfectly.

“You like watching me touch you?” he asked, sliding his fingers out and back in slowly as he toyed with my clit. “Like seeing your release on my skin?”

“Yes.” I breathed the word, and reached for his cock. His shorts were somewhere on the floor of the forest, and neither of us gave a damn.

He was still hidden beneath the blanket too—so I lifted it higher to see him.

Holy hell, what a cock.

Massive and thick, he was already throbbing for me again.

My body clenched tighter.

I wrapped my hand around him, and his eyes closed as his jaw clenched.

“Kyle’s awake,” he gritted out.

“Don’t bring up Kyle while your fingers are inside me.”

“We don’t have much time until Travis is up too.”

“We’ll be quick.” I started working his cock roughly, and his lips twisted in a snarl.

“That’s the last thing I want with you.”

“We’ll have all the time in the world when we’re off the island. For now, don’t hold back.”

He didn’t.

We both came hard and fast, and Cam leaned over my body as he caught his breath.

His expression was still intense, though his shoulders were more relaxed. “That was fucking hot, Loll.”

“It was.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and used the grip to pull him closer.

He hugged me tightly to his chest. “Only two more days.”

For the first time on the island, excitement curled in my middle. “Two more days.”

We were so, so close.

And now that there were no secrets, maybe we could even enjoy it.

Cameron burned the mess off our skin before he scooped me up and carried me off to our part of the beach. The sun was still rising, but we’d heard Travis moving around too, so there was no need to be quiet while we washed ourselves off.

He assured me I wouldn’t get a UTI despite our less-than-sanitary sex the night before. Apparently, fae magic was good for that too. I wasn’t sure it would really help me, considering it was his magic, not mine. But, even in the worst case, we were leaving in two days.

Which meant he’d be turning me into a fae in two days.

And any infection I had when I changed would simply vanish, which would be cool.

Cam and I sat on the beach after we washed off, our legs sprawled out in front of us and our sides pressed together. We were on the edge where the water met the sand, and the tide was rising.

“You’ve never told me much about your family,” he said, as a small wave rolled over my calves.

“You haven’t told me much about yours,” I countered.

He chuckled. “I had to keep my life private to qualify to come here.”

“I know. But you haven’t told me since then. And I didn’t tell you, because it seemed silly to try to bond with someone who showed no interest in my past.”

“I wasn’t allowed to show interest, but I am interested. And my family… well, we’re close. It’s just my parents and I, though Rhett sort of joined us recently, which I did mention. They went through many rounds of fertility treatments to have me, and have never shown desire to repeat the process for another child. I can’t say I blame them. Twenty years of trying and failing, of dealing with that heartbreak and the physical pain my mother had to go through, would be too much for many people. I don’t know that I could survive it.”

“But they did.”

“Yes. And I am eternally grateful for that.”

“Are they good parents?”

“The best. They’re more like friends now—I’m too old for the relationship to be the same. But I always knew I was loved, and that we were a team. Even now, I can go to them with my fears and feelings.”

I smiled sadly. “That sounds really nice.”

“It is.”

“What are the odds that they’ll hate me?”

He snorted. “You’ll be saving my life when you become mine, Lolli. They’ll love you.”

“Saving your life doesn’t mean they have to like my personality.”

“It doesn’t, but they will. You’re passionate, you’re fun, you’re sarcastic… you’ll fit right in.”

I hoped so.

“My parents were amazing,” I said, looking out at the ocean. Another wave rolled over us, reaching my knees that time. “They loved each other, and me, fiercely. They would’ve had more kids if the world wasn’t on the verge of ending when they had me, but they chose not to risk it. I lost them in the war, three years before you guys stepped in and saved the world. He was a doctor, and she was a nurse. They both died saving lives.”

Though my eyes were on the ocean, my mind was on the past.

On the people I’d loved and lost.

Tears welled in them, and I didn’t try to wipe them away. Sometimes, letting myself feel sad for a bit was the best way to accept the emotions and keep living.

“I was still a teenager, then. Seventeen. I could’ve joined the fight, and I wanted to, but my grandma guilt-tripped me into staying with her. She thought I needed to grieve, and she was right. I don’t think I’d fully moved on when the war ended, and you showed up at her door. Hell, I don’t know if I’ve even moved on now .”

Cam set his hand on mine. “Grief has no proper timeline, Lolli. It strikes when it decides to, and it stays as long as it chooses.”

“Who did you lose?”

“Many friends. We fought our hardest to end the war without exposing ourselves and our magic. We should’ve stepped in the way we did much sooner.”

I nodded. “Some people say the fae won the war, even though it was between humans. Because of the way you took over.”

“No one wins a war, Loll. We’re just the ones who stopped it.” He slipped his hand beneath mine and laced our fingers together. I held on tightly, needing to feel his support more than I realized. “Your grandma will be thrilled when she finds out we’ve mated.”

A sputtered laugh escaped me. “You have no idea. The woman is obsessed with you.”

He flashed me a grin. “I bet she watches every episode the moment it comes on.”

“I bet she emails the Society daily in an attempt to convince them to let her watch the episodes before they come out.”

His grin widened. “All of her friends probably watch it with her.”

“And they all probably have to fan themselves when Kyle and the other bastards walk around naked.”

“They won’t be rooting for me, simply because I wear shorts,” he said.

We laughed together, and I leaned my side against his. He didn’t release my hand, holding firmly even as the laughter faded.

“Do you really think they’ll like me?” I finally asked, my voice growing softer. We both knew I was talking about his family.

I wasn’t good at making friends. My only friend options were at work, and they all knew that I wasn’t going to be there long.

Everyone had been waiting for the Society to call me in for Bachelorette . They didn’t treat me like one of them. The women acted like I was fae—but one they didn’t want to fawn over, considering I had tits.

The men acted like I was invisible, not wanting to accidentally piss off Cam.

“I think they’ll like you more than they like me ,” he said.

Another laugh escaped me.

We stayed on the beach for a few hours, talking and letting the water wash over us.

It was blissful.

Two days passed by slowly, but peacefully.

Travis and Kyle tried to convince me to choose them a handful of times each, but they weren’t pushy. I think we all knew they’d already lost.

When the third day came around, we all walked to the voting place for the final time.

Rhett stood beside me while the three guys were instructed to sit down.

“Congratulations to all three of you,” Rhett said, studying the group of us. “You are the final survivors. Now, the game rests in Molly’s hands. Do you have any questions, Molly?”

He looked at me.

I shook my head. “Nope.”

Rhett looked back at the guys. “Now, you all get the chance to say a few words about why you think you should win.”

Kyle cleared his throat. “I’ll go first.”

He stood and took two steps forward, so we were face to face. “Molly,” he began. “When we first met, you clearly disliked me.”

I winced.

Cam snorted.

“But I used that to get myself to the end of the game, outsmarting everyone except the two men here with me now. I caught fish for you and won nearly every challenge, proving myself to be a damn good protector and provider. What more could you want in a man? Choose me, and you’ll live a happy, healthy life.” Kyle dipped his head.

Then he captured my hand and lifted it to his lips so he could kiss my knuckles. He did it so quickly that I didn’t have a chance to pull away.

Then he winked at me, and took a seat.

Travis was on his feet before Kyle had even sat down all the way.

“I watched everyone from the beginning,” Travis said. “I waited until I could see who was controlling the game, and realized it was Kyle and Cameron. Because they were the two you disliked the most, I worked with them, letting them do the dirty work and take the fall for it. No one saw me as a threat, but I was always going to make it to the end, because I allied with the right people. I deserve to win,” he said.

I tucked my hands behind my back as he finished speaking, so he wouldn’t be tempted to grab me.

Since my hand was out of reach, he set a palm on my shoulder and squeezed lightly.

I tried not to grimace at the unwanted physical contact.

If Cam and I really could change the way Survival worked at some point in the future, we needed to make more rules about touching.

When Travis sat down, Cameron finally stood.

His steps were calm but confident as he strode over to me. He took the time to smack both other men on the arms as if in congratulations on his way to me.

His lips curved when our eyes met.

“Hey, Lollipop,” he said.

“Hi, Cam.”

“I started falling in love with you the day I began guarding you,” he said simply. “I kept the secrets I was required to keep, and made sure nothing I did would disqualify me from being here, fighting for you. On the island, I managed to convince every other asshole that I wasn’t a threat, blended in with the crowd until I couldn’t do that anymore, and fought my way to the end. I did it because I love you—and because I cannot and will not imagine a future without being by your side.” He didn’t take my hand, or touch my shoulder.

Instead, he went back to his seat, leaving me with that.

I was in a bit of a daze when Rhett gave me a rose—a connection to Bachelorette —and told me to choose.

I was still in that daze when I crossed the room and put the flower in Cameron’s hand.

And when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

Confetti rained down on us, congratulations followed, and champagne was dispersed.

When that was done, we were led to yet another speedboat.

The cameras remained at the island, filming our departure, as the boat carried us away.

And when we were left on the beach of a small island that held a massive mansion, we were finally alone.