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eight

ERIN

Rhett was breathing steadily beneath me when I woke up. Kyle was climbing out of our gigantic, shared bed, and the rustling blankets woke me even though I didn’t feel the mattress dip.

Being draped over Rhett’s body like a blanket probably prevented that.

I lifted my head, bleary eyes landing on Kyle.

He whispered, “I’m going to make myself at home in the mud bath. See you in a few hours.”

I blinked, and he was gone.

Rhett’s erection throbbed against my hip, and my face flushed.

I shouldn’t have been attracted to him after our tense conversation the night before, but I was. And Kyle’s ridiculous offer lingered in my mind.

He would get Rhett to the end, if I was willing to risk Rhett rejecting me when I chose him.

It was insane.

Ridiculous.

And yet some part of me had been ready to agree immediately.

That part of me was clearly lacking in common sense, because come on . What self-respecting woman would choose a man she knew would reject her? I’d been through enough shit in my life to know better.

But knowing better didn’t change that ready-and-willing part of me.

Which was frustrating.

Wanting to avoid another tense conversation, I started to move carefully off of Rhett. His erection was still throbbing slowly, scrambling my mind a little and making my cheeks hot.

I ignored that as I put one knee on the mattress.

His hands on my waist, big and heavy, tightened.

I froze, breathing in and out steadily in an attempt to keep him from waking up.

A minute passed.

Then another.

His grip didn’t loosen, but he was still enough that I didn’t think I’d woken him.

I finally planted a hand beside my knee on the mattress and lifted the other half of my body, rolling away as smoothly as I could when I did.

My chest rose and fell quickly after I landed on my back, relief rolling through me.

No tense conversation.

No awkwardness.

No—

I sucked in a breath when a chiseled body rolled over the top of me .

Rhett’s eyes were heavy with sleep, but he held his weight off of me so the pressure was nothing but comfortable. I waited for the position to trigger the trauma of my past, but it didn’t happen. Something about the way he looked at me ensured that.

“You’re trying to get away from me,” he said.

“I need to pee.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I did .

That just wasn’t the main reason I was bailing.

“You wouldn’t have tried to be sneaky if that was it.”

“I was being polite by trying not to wake you up,” I tossed back. “Since I made myself at home on top of you while we were sleeping, I knew I’d bothered you enough.”

His lips curved upward just the tiniest bit.

I hated how much I loved his soft smiles.

“Having you on top of me isn’t a bother.”

“Liar.”

He lowered his pelvis over mine, lightly pressing his erection against me. “My body can’t lie.”

My face flushed. “A physical response isn’t proof of anything. You’d be hard if a cat was laying on your cock.”

He snorted.

The sound threw me off, it was so unexpected.

“I’m not a human teenager, Erin. I don’t get hard unless I want something.”

“And that something is…” I shot back, before I could reconsider pushing his buttons like that.

“You. Obviously.” He shifted positions, easing his hips away from my core.

“Wanting me physically while we’re playing a game that will require me to mate with someone else is bullshit,” I said, fighting like hell to stop myself from wrapping my legs around his hips to pull him back to me.

“That’s not possible.”

My forehead creased.

“Wanting you and accepting that you’ll mate with someone else,” he clarified.

“You’re too afraid to even consider taking a mate, so?—”

“What if I wasn’t?”

I blinked.

What if he what ?

“What if I decided to face my fear?”

My body flushed.

I was already wet between my thighs, but the wetness increased.

“I’d say it doesn’t matter, because I’m not interested in you.”

It was a bold-faced lie.

The fire that blazed to life in his eyes told me he knew it, too.

“So you don’t want me,” Rhett said, his voice suspiciously calm.

“No.” My heart was beating erratically.

“Then why did your pheromones kick in while you were on top of me?”

Crap.

Shit.

Damn.

“I was staring at someone else,” I lied.

“Staring isn’t enough to start them.”

“Fine, I was fantasizing about someone else.”

“Who?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” I snapped.

“You don’t,” he agreed. “But I’m not moving until I get one.”

He lowered his hips just a little, and I sucked in a breath at the pressure against me.

He felt incredible.

I wanted more— needed more.

But I couldn’t let myself have it.

“Fine,” I said.

“Good.” He lowered his forehead to rest against mine, his gigantic cock still pressing against my clit. I would get hornier the longer he stayed in that position, but I couldn’t bring it up. Not without letting him win.

So, I waited.

A minute passed.

And another.

And another.

My breathing picked up, my heartbeat following suit.

My clit started throbbing the way his cock had.

I needed more.

Needed him .

“Tell me what I was doing to you in this fantasy,” he murmured.

I bit my lip to stop myself from groaning.

“Unless you’d rather see what we did in mine.”

My legs hooked around his waist of their own volition.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to force them to let go, but it didn’t work. I wanted him too damn much.

“Show me.” I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out.

My mind spun for a moment—and when it righted itself, we were on the Survival island again.

The rain fell lightly, and I was draped over his body. The shelter was empty around us, his erection nestled between my thighs exactly how I wanted it.

The smell of what had to be his desire filled my lungs.

The wetness between my legs had me shifting slightly, moving against him.

His hands were on my ass, his grip light but unmistakably possessive as he slipped his hands beneath the light, damp fabric of my shorts and built-in panties.

I sucked in an unsteady breath at his grip on my backside.

Though it didn’t feel entirely real—I could tell it wasn’t actually happening—it was real enough .

He kneaded my ass slowly for a few minutes, his touch encouraging my movements as I rocked lightly against his cock. When my breathing was uneven, my abdomen tight with need, his fingers finally slid up my center.

I gasped when he dragged them through my wetness, over my clit.

“You’re already ready for me.” He nipped lightly at my ear.

“Yes,” I breathed. “I need you now.”

He slid a finger inside me, and I moaned softly.

“Louder, Chaos. I want every man on this island to know who you belong to.” He added a second finger, and I cried out as he stretched me, still toying with my clit too. “You’re too fucking tight. It’ll take time to?—”

“No.” I pressed my forehead to his neck, arching my hips until the head of his cock was pressed against my slit, forcing the fabric of my shorts inside me with him and pinning his fingers down. “Take me now, or I’ll get myself off with my fingers.”

Rhett growled, but didn’t waste any time.

He had my shorts pulled to the side in a heartbeat, and the thick head of his cock was pressing into my opening a moment later.

I cried out loudly as he pushed inside, just an inch.

“You’re too tight,” he gritted out. “You need?—”

“More.” I lowered my hips, forcing him the rest of the way inside me. In reality, it might’ve hurt a little—but in the fantasy, it was pure pleasure.

My climax hit, hard, and in reality.

I gasped as my release ended the illusion immediately, my hips rocking to drag out the bliss.

Rhett’s chest was rumbling, his eyes dilated as I came down from the high. He’d rolled us both over during the illusion, so I was on top of him again. “That was the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Bullshit,” I panted.

His grip on my hips tightened further. “You don’t believe me?”

“You told me yesterday that the sex between you and Kellie was amazing. That wasn’t even sex. It’s not possible for that to be the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen.”

His eyes darkened. “I said it was the only thing we weren’t shit at. Kellie didn’t know what I was. I couldn’t use my magic on her. She never saw my fae form or touched my wings. Every time we were together, I was at war with myself the entire time. So yes, watching you get off against my cock to nothing but the illusion I’m placing in your mind is the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

If I hadn’t already been flushed, I definitely was after hearing that. “You changed your tune fast, considering you were pissed at me for pointing out that you’re afraid yesterday.”

“I wasn’t pissed at you. I was frustrated with myself for not realizing the truth sooner. And fucking furious with your mother’s boyfriend. What’s his name?”

“Matthew Olgden.”

Rhett’s nostrils flared.

“He died in the war,” I said, eyeing him.

Rhett scowled. “One of the bombs?”

“Yep. Took my mom too. They were on vacation together.”

“The fucker deserved much worse.”

“On that, we agree.”

Rhett slid his hand over my hip. “You believe me?”

“Mostly.”

His eyes narrowed. “Mostly?”

“I have a hard time believing you considered her your mate even though you could never be yourself with her.”

His forehead smoothed for the most part. “That was the easiest way to explain the shitshow to the other fae I interact with. In human terms, I proposed too soon. Her family was pushing it, and I couldn’t explain my resistance without telling them what I was. We’d only been engaged a few days when I realized I had to tell her the truth before the planning went any further.”

“How did you tell her? And how did she respond?”

He studied me for a moment before saying, “I can show you, if you want.”

The illusions.

Right.

That was a handy trick, honestly.

I nodded, and my vision did the typical shift before everything changed.

We were standing in an old-fashioned apartment with stark gray walls and uncomfortable furniture made up of harsh lines.

The woman in front of us was tall and skinny, her smooth, highlighted blonde hair tied up in a severe bun. Her light skin was tanned, though it didn’t look quite natural. Her expression was tight, her pretty face caked in makeup, and her lips painted in a perfectly-chosen neutral shade that complimented her complexion.

“Alright, I have a few minutes,” Kellie said in a clipped voice. “What do you want to talk about?

“Let’s sit down.” Rhett took her arm lightly and led her over to an uncomfortable-looking couch, where they both sat. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he admitted.

She tensed.

She probably thought he was going to admit to cheating or something, with that shitty introduction.

Note to self: Rhett was not great at starting important discussions.

“I’m not human,” he said.

She blinked.

Her forehead creased.

“I’m fae,” he said. “The legends about faeries started with us, though they have most things wrong.” He rolled his shoulders lightly, and shifted to his fae form. His massive horns curled off his head, his wings spreading behind him.

Kellie went pale, fast.

Rhett reached for her arm when she swayed a little, but she moved it away before he could touch her.

“Get out,” she said softly.

He shifted back to his human form. “Kellie, I ? —”

“Get out,” she repeated. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk.”

The scene shifted.

Rhett was knocking on her door. The scruff on his face and tension in his position told me it had been a few days.

Kellie opened the door, her expression cold and hard. “What do you want?”

“You didn’t call.” Rhett’s voice was low, but controlled. He was holding tightly to his emotions, careful not to let go. “It’s been a week, Kellie. You just posted that our engagement is over on social media, but didn’t fucking call.”

“You can’t expect me to marry a monster,” she shot back. “If I’d known what you were from the beginning, I never would’ve dated you at all.” Leaving the door open, she stepped back for a moment and grabbed a diamond ring off something just inside the door.

She flung it at him, and he caught it as she slammed the door shut.

The illusion disappeared, and I stared down at Rhett. Though I expected the memories to upset him at least a little, he didn’t look bothered. I didn’t know if he was just hiding his emotions or if he genuinely wasn’t hurt anymore.

“Wow,” I said.

“Yeah.”

“How does all that shit make you feel now?” I asked.

“Like I dodged a bullet.”

“Or a bomb.” I propped myself up on his chest. Though my robe had fallen loose during the night, my comfortable underwear hadn’t budged. Good old granny panties and unsupportive cotton bra. “I’m not like her.”

“Not even a little.”

“You loved her.”

“I loved not being alone.”

“You were lonely?”

“Tremendously,” he admitted. “I’ve never handled being alone well. Cameron was my closest friend, and he’d started fading. I was on my own too much. She pursued me, and the attention felt like what I needed. It wasn’t until after she ended it that I realized how much I preferred the loneliness to being with the wrong person.”

“And you don’t think I’m another wrong person.” It wasn’t a question—it was a statement. The same one he’d made, but rephrased.

“I think you’re the right person, actually.”

“Why?” I wanted to hear his reasoning. Hell, I needed to if I was going to consider letting things go any further between us. Let alone agreeing to mate with him for the rest of our lives.

“You don’t pretend to be anything you’re not, and you don’t take anyone’s shit. On top of that, you’re stunningly beautiful, as well as fearless, Chaos.”

I rolled my eyes, though the gesture was half-hearted. No one had ever complimented me like that. It felt nice. Really nice. “I’m not fearless.”

“Maybe not, but you don’t let your fear control you. Any of the men in the game would be lucky to have you. What you should really be asking, is why you should want me .”

“Tell me, then.”

His lips curved upward. “Since my engagement ended, I’ve worked for the Society in keeping the peace. Before the war, when there was a fight, they sent me in. When a new compatible mate was found and chaos broke out, they called me. After the game shows began, they did the same. I kept the peace through season after season of Bachelorette before Survival began, and naturally, was brought in for this game considering its volatile nature.”

Rhett continued “I don’t hurt anyone unless I have to do so to protect someone else. I don’t lose my temper. Everyone on the island would vouch for that. Yes, I would be intensely possessive if you were mine—but that would ensure your safety above anything else. No chaos required.”

I bit my lip.

His gaze landed on my mouth, and lingered for a long moment. “I’ll even tell you something, despite knowing it will lessen my chances with you.”

“What is it?”

He chuckled, lifted his head, and murmured into my ear, “It’s not possible for a male fae to physically hurt his bonded mate, or the other way around. Mated fae live for each other.”

My heart beat painfully. “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Well…

That changed things.

A lot of things.

I didn’t need to cause chaos at all if the men would be equally unable to hurt me. I could choose a mate based solely on his personality.

Assuming my damn heart let me consider anyone other than Rhett. I still didn’t know why I was so interested in him. Maybe because he was so good at snuggling.