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ten

ERIN

Unfortunately, Jordan announced it was time to head out as soon as the massages were over. The massage therapists left us to get dressed, and my guard turned his back to us, studiously looking away.

Someone had cleaned our island clothes and left them folded on a table beside my robe, so I headed for them instead. The robe wasn’t exactly great for sand, beaches, or rain.

I stepped into my running shorts, then reached for my sports bra. Before I grabbed it, Rhett caught my hands.

His eyes leveled with mine. “We need to talk.”

My stomach clenched even though I knew it couldn’t have been that bad of a conversation.

Shit , he was terrible with introductions. We needed to chat about that.

“How long until we leave?” I asked Jordan.

“You’ve got about five minutes,” he said, without turning toward us.

Five minutes wasn’t great.

“I made a deal with Kyle,” he said.

I blinked.

Kyle made a deal with both of us?

Bastard.

“I’m going to continue acting like I don’t want a mate while we’re on the island,” he said. “It’s working so far. None of the men are suspicious. Kyle will do what he can to continue making it sound like I’m not a threat. I won’t be able to play hard in every challenge if I want to sell it, and I won’t be able to go on every reward.”

“Can you handle that, given the possessiveness?”

“I’ll have to.”

I tugged my hands free of his grasp and pulled my bra over my head. It had taken some wrestling to get it on before the game began, but those days were over. I’d already lost a little weight from the starvation. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do that? Because I’m not committing to you until you’ve convinced me you’re certain, and we’re not there yet.”

His eyes flashed.

His hands landed on my bare waist. He was still naked, but I definitely didn’t mind.

I got the feeling he wanted to walk me backward until he had me pinned to the wall, but he didn’t.

“I’m not wondering , Chaos. You’re mine, even when you’re trying to push my buttons.”

“I would never,” I drawled.

His lips curved. “Right.” He squeezed my hips lightly. “I’ll convince you.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“You’ll see it.”

I opened my mouth to keep the banter going, but before I could say anything else, he kissed me.

Slowly.

Softly.

Sweetly.

His tongue moved with mine, intimate and delicious.

“It’s time,” Jordan said.

“I have a plan to create more chaos, too,” Rhett murmured, when he finally released my mouth.

My chest rose and fell quickly. “Now that’s something I can get behind.”

He chuckled, brushing his lips to mine one more time before he stepped back.

I followed Jordan into the hallway, Rhett close behind me, and found Kyle grinning knowingly.

“Wipe that smirk off your face,” I grumbled at him, as we walked through the spa.

“Why? We’re going to make this game our bitch.”

“You do know that this plan requires you to lose again, right?” I checked.

“Running the game and saving good old Rhetti Spaghetti’s life doesn’t sound like losing.”

I snorted. “Rhetti Spaghetti?”

“He loves pasta. Everyone knows that. I’m just the only one with enough guts to give him a nickname for it.”

“For good reason,” Rhett grunted.

The men shifted, and Rhett’s arms went around me. His grip wasn’t nearly as gentle as it had been the last time, which was satisfying. When I’d told him I wasn’t going to break, he listened.

We took off, and the wind grew too loud to speak over.

Despite my lingering uncertainty, I felt good about our plan for the most part.

And even better about choosing Rhett.

Reid was gone when we got back. I couldn’t say I’d miss him.

The rain was still coming down, too.

It was kind of sad to go back to my “usual” sitting by myself and watching the waves roll, but that was the plan. So, I had no choice but to do it.

I started shivering when the sun disappeared behind some storm clouds partway through the day. Immediately, an illusion washed over me.

I was sitting on the beach, with my side pressed up against Rhett’s.

His arm was around me, and the sun was shining down on us. Warmth flooded every cell of my body, and I leaned in closer to him.

We couldn’t have a real conversation in the illusion—I wasn’t free to do whatever I wanted inside it. Rhett had complete control.

But that didn’t make it any less perfect. I was more than confident enough to let him take the helm, especially when his doing so meant giving me the illusion of feeling warm when I was shivering.

“If we weren’t in this damn game, I’d put you on my lap and use my wings as an umbrella right now,” he admitted.

I wanted to urge him to do it, just in the illusion, but had no way to say that.

So we remained where we were.

And even though it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, it was enough to make my chest ache. I could do a lot worse than spending my life with a man thoughtful enough to do something about my shivering when it absolutely wasn’t expected.

Somehow, when the illusion faded away, I was still warm.

I was exhausted when nighttime finally came around.

Rhett warmed me with his illusions every time I started shivering, but that didn’t make it any easier to spend hours alone.

The rain finally stopped around dinnertime, and Harker started a fire despite the wood being wet. Magic was nice like that.

We all crowded around the fire.

I was squished between two guys I didn’t really know—Travis and Chris—and Rhett’s jaw was clenched, his attention solely on me.

Julian was watching him, almost suspiciously.

My mind flashed back to the first episode of the last season. Cameron had gotten rid of Julian immediately, because he was smart enough to put together their plan.

I’d have to tell Kyle or Rhett to get rid of him.

I focused on the fire until the rice was cooked through, then on my pitiful serving of it. There was some fish too, but it had been raining too hard for the guys to go out for long during most of the day, so I wasn’t going to take that from them considering I’d had a massive breakfast.

I ate the rice slowly, not making eye contact with any of the men. They all avoided me too much to bother trying to befriend them.

They chatted about the lack of rain, some kind of fae sport that was popular, and the huge shark they’d seen while they were fishing the day before. The shark wasn’t concerning to them—they were at the top of the food chain.

When I finished my rice, I looked up and found Rhett still watching me.

And Julian still watching him.

Shit.

I set my leaf down and stood up, not bothering to swat the wet sand off my ass and legs.

There was always wet sand on my ass and legs.

I missed the spa, badly.

Hell, I missed real life too.

“I’m going for a walk,” I said.

Hopefully, Kyle could stop Rhett from coming after me.

I strode down the beach, and heard footsteps behind me.

My stomach clenched.

When I realized there were two sets, I relaxed a little.

Glancing at my sides, I found Kaden and Chris walking with me.

“So,” one of them said.

I didn’t reply.

The other cleared his throat. “We all had a discussion while you were gone,” he said. “And we think it’s unfair that we refused to let you sleep beside any of us when we knew you were too cold to sleep alone.”

“You think?” I drawled.

“Yeah. We’re sorry about that,” Kaden admitted. “And we have a proposition for you.”

“You do know that the term proposition has sexual connotation, right?”

His eyebrows lifted.

“An offer,” Chris clarified. “We’ve all agreed to set up a rotation, and not to target whoever you sleep beside for that reason alone. I volunteered to go first.”

They were more than a little late. Something told me that sleeping next to anyone but Rhett would be an instant no for him. That would create the kind of chaos I didn’t want. The kind that would probably get him voted out of the game.

But I had to be careful about how I approached the offer. It would be too easy to imply that I wanted Rhett if I outright refused them. I had to give a valid reason.

“Did you also talk about the fact that I’ve been shivering from the cold nearly all day every day?” I asked, my voice even.

Neither of them responded.

I didn’t think so.

My lack of enthusiasm about being the prize they were competing for had somehow managed to make them look at me like I wasn’t a person at all. Let alone a woman they wanted to marry. They were focused on the game, and nothing but the game.

Or they just cared more about winning than about how I was feeling.

“Or the way I sit alone constantly, because you’re all too chicken to talk to me? Or the differences between the kindnesses you’ve offered me and the ones you offered Molly during her season?”

More silence ensued.

Though I itched to bring up that Rhett was the only one who’d been kind to me, I didn’t want to risk making him a target. So, I had to leave him out of it entirely.

“You don’t get to pick and choose when you want to treat me well. I’m not participating in your shitty rotation.”

With that, I picked up the pace and left them behind.

They watched me leave.

My chin lifted higher. Even if Rhett hadn’t been there, playing for me, I wouldn’t have gone along with their ridiculous plan. If they wanted to win me over, they should’ve started with a damn apology.

Then again, that also might not have worked.

I could hold a really great grudge.

I walked down the beach. Though the breeze made me cold, the lack of falling rain made up for that.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly.

Everything was going to work out.

I just needed to make sure we got Julian out soon, and talk to Rhett about not staring at me. Even though I liked that he did.

And I had to somehow manage to act like I wasn’t into him. Even though I was.

On top of surviving multiple more weeks on the island.

Yay.

I stayed away from the shelters until I was shivering badly, then finally headed back. I ran into Colt and Ian coming to look for me on my way back.

“You’re freezing,” Colt said, frowning.

“You talked to Chris and Kaden,” I said flatly, walking right past them.

Both men caught me without a problem. Their long legs made that easy.

“We did, and we all feel bad,” Ian admitted. “We’re not selling ourselves as good potential mates.”

“On that, we agree.”

“Here.” Colt draped his arm over my shoulder, but I ducked away as soon as its weight rested on me.

“Fuck off,” I snapped. “Feeling bad doesn’t give you the right to touch me.”

He lifted his hands as if in surrender.

Ian did the same, but added, “We just want to keep you warm.”

“I’m so used to shivering now, I don’t even want to be warm.”

It was obviously a lie, but the bitterness in my voice told them the truth.

“We’ll have to work on a better apology,” Colt said.

“I think you should all just fuck off the island so I can enjoy my life alone, actually,” I said as we approached the shelter.

Rhett and Kyle were both sitting by the fire, leaning against a large log. Rhett’s eyes narrowed when he saw me flanked by two men, and I wanted to smack the guy on the arm.

He was being too obvious.

“Good night,” I snapped, striding right past all four men and whoever else was around as I went to mine and Rhett’s usual spot in the shelter.

“Damn, she’s pissed,” one of the guys muttered. “Thought an apology would do it.”

Kyle snorted. “I think Erin appreciates action more than words.”

“When I tried to warm her up, it only pissed her off more,” Colt protested.

“Grabbing someone without their permission isn’t the good kind of action,” Kyle said.

“You did that with Molly at least a dozen times,” Colt pointed out.

“And I didn’t win, did I?”

Silence was their response.

“How do we make it up to her, then?”

“I don’t know. Let her call the shots or something,” Kyle said. “We turned her down the last time she asked for help, so I think we’re stuck waiting for her to ask again.”

Someone groaned.

Someone else sighed.

“I knew the group snuggling was a shit idea.”

“Then you should’ve volunteered to cuddle alone, bastard.”

“What do we do about the sleeping arrangements?” someone else asked.

Rhett hadn’t spoken. Hopefully it wasn’t because he was too furious with me. I wasn’t really sure what I could’ve done to make him mad, but he definitely hadn’t seemed happy .

“She picked Rhett days ago,” someone said glumly. “I think we have to ask him to keep doing it.”

“Rhett?” someone asked.

He scoffed. “Fine.”

The grumpiness in his response made my stomach tight with worry, even though I knew he was just playing the game.

I didn’t want to get myself mated to someone who didn’t want me. I really didn’t want that.

Then again, it would be better to mate with someone who didn’t want me, who I knew would treat me well, than the opposite.

So maybe it was fine.

And Rhett did want me. He’d said so himself. I was just… worried, I guess.

“She was shivering pretty badly,” one of the guys said. “You should go now.”

Rhett growled at them, but a minute later, lifted me up so he could lay beneath me in the shelter.

His eyes collided with mine, and the world twisted with another illusion.

We were on the warm beach again, watching the sunset. I was sitting on his lap, facing him, this time.

“You smell like Colt,” he growled at me. “I want to kill the bastard for touching you.”

The tightness in my stomach eased.

He pulled me to his chest, hugging me tightly to him. I could feel his grip loose in reality, and knew he was still playing the game, even if he wasn’t absolutely terrific at it.

“I fucking hate seeing them touch you. Knowing I can’t touch you. Not being able to sit down and talk like two normal people. This game is torture.”

He continued, “Now, they’re trying to convince you to like them. I don’t know how to fucking handle it. Kyle’s going to end up starting fights daily to keep the attention off my shitty self-control,” he growled. “But the only way to get to the end if they realize I want you is to win all of the challenges, and some of these bastards are better at puzzles than I am.”

There would be puzzle challenges, which meant Rhett probably couldn’t win everything. Even if he was good at some kinds of puzzles, which I didn’t know if he was, there would likely be at least one he couldn’t win.

So, we couldn’t just admit our relationship and hope for the best.

We had to play the game.

Despite the illusion filling my view, I tilted my face toward Rhett. His ear brushed my lips a moment later, and I whispered, “Julian is onto you. You have to stop glaring at everyone who’s near me. Trust me.”

He squeezed me tighter. “Of course I trust you. The plan Kyle put together requires a fuck ton of that trust. It just feels like it’s going to be a damn miracle if I make it to the end of this thing.”

He lowered his lips to my head and kissed the top of my wild hair. Maybe it was a good thing I hadn’t chopped it. “We’re going to have to start that chaos to get the attention off me.”

“I’m listening.”

My lips curved as he explained the idea him and Kyle had put together.

It was absolutely vicious .

I loved it.