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eleven

ERIN

Rhett silently woke me up in the middle of the night, his eyes tired but warm as they moved over my face. There was a question in them.

I bit my lip but nodded, tilting my head to the side.

He lowered his mouth to my throat, and sucked lightly.

My grip on his chest tightened as wetness gathered between my thighs.

He sucked harder, and I bit back a moan.

It took everything I had not to rock against him, chasing my pleasure.

We had to keep it short and sweet. There were too many snoring bastards around to do anything else.

Rhett sucked harder, his hand catching my breast and grazing my hard nipple through my damp shirt. I’d need to take it off at a strategic time the next day.

After another moment, he pulled away, leaving me wet and horny as I caught my breath as silently as possible.

His illusion touched my mind.

“That was fucking sexy, and I’m still hard from earlier. The next time I get you alone, I’m not walking away until I’ve had you on my cock. Sleep well, Chaos.”

His words and the peaceful image of us snuggling alone on the dry, warm beach lulled me back to sleep much faster than I expected.

Some part of me felt the light rain falling over us, washing away the scent of our desire and helping our plan.

Maybe the rain wasn’t so bad after all.

The next morning, the plan started in full swing. The rain had stopped, so it felt like the sky was giving my evil plan its blessing.

The men were determined to start treating me better, which was exactly why the plan was starting when it was.

We had to take advantage of their stupidity, after all.

“Hey, Erin,” Harker said cheerfully, as he and Kyle walked up to me together. “Want to take a walk with us to refill a few water bottles?”

I leaned back against the log behind me. Though the sun was rising, and the island was finally starting to feel warm, I was still wearing my uncomfortably wet shirt.

Because between that and my hair, which I’d taken down from my ponytail, the hickey on my neck was totally hidden.

Ideally, I wanted to target Julian with my plan… but Harker would work if Julian didn’t give me the opportunity.

Or maybe it would work out better if I went off with multiple men.

Hmm.

So many wicked options. I loved it.

“No,” I said flatly. “I’m not walking off with both of you to give you a chance to try to befriend me if you’re not willing to risk being seen talking to me alone.”

I felt eyes on us.

Lots of eyes .

And there were probably even more ears. Everyone would know exactly where I stood on the issue of reverse-harem-style dating.

Kyle grinned and smacked Harker on the back. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” He strode off, putting Harker in a delightfully awkward situation.

Admit to being too scared of a target landing on him and turn me down… or go with me and embrace the target.

His expression grew slightly nervous, but he forced a smile. “Even better. Shall we?” He offered his elbow like an old-school gentleman.

Though the last thing I wanted to do was touch him, I reluctantly stood and took his elbow.

He led me down the jungle path that led to our water well. “It’s nice that it stopped raining, right?” he asked, his voice coming off falsely cheerful. I didn’t call him out for it.

“Yeah, finally,” I agreed.

We chatted about the weather as we walked. It wasn’t fun, but it could’ve been worse.

When we stopped at the well, he refilled the water bottles slowly, still going on about the rain.

I hated it as much as the next girl, but there was plenty more to talk about. He could’ve asked me about my job, my hobbies, or my family. Or something .

When he screwed the lid on the final water bottle, he offered me his elbow again. “Should we head back?”

I nodded, feigning hesitation.

He frowned, studying me.

“It’s just that… you’ve been nice to me. No one’s been nice to me since I got here,” I confessed. Surging forward before he had time to react, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much. It’s been really lonely here.”

He slowly wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. I bit back a grin at his obvious reluctance.

When I let go and stepped away, I took his elbow without waiting for him to offer it, and we headed back to camp together.

He brought up the weather again, and stumbled over the words a little. I felt kind of bad for catching him so off guard, but a girl had to do what she had to do to marry the man she wanted.

He’d signed up for the game. Now, he was going to play or be played.

Not long after we got back to camp, another guy asked me for a walk.

Colt.

I held his arm when he offered it, but didn’t hug him. I needed to make sure everyone had a different story about their walk with me.

I went on a walk with Ev after that, and didn’t touch him at all.

After walks with Chris and Ian, separately of course, Julian finally asked me to go with him.

The plan would kick off, then.

He didn’t offer his elbow when we headed into the forest together, but I took it anyway.

Unlike some of the other guys, he asked about my life back home. Not wanting to share anything personal, I gave vague answers about my shitty job and the way I’d been sidelined because of my impending game show stint. He acted apologetic about that, but I didn’t know if I believed him.

It didn’t really matter if I did, because I wasn’t risking him staying in the game to wreck Rhett’s shot.

When he was ready to turn around and go back to the shelters, I put my plan into action.

To make Julian the target, I needed him to spend extra time in the jungle with me. And I needed him to smell like me even more than the other guys I’d touched.

So, I walked another minute with him before twisting my foot and crashing to the ground. Did it look like a realistic fall?

Probably not.

But I’d been genuine enough with the other guys that no one would believe him that I’d pretended to fall.

Hopefully.

“Are you okay?” Julian crouched beside me as I rolled to my ass, grimacing at the “pain” in my ankle.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Just need to give this a minute before I put pressure on it.”

He didn’t look sold.

I rubbed it lightly, still grimacing.

A few minutes passed in awkward silence before he spoke again.

“I don’t want to be out here too long,” Julian said. “People will get suspicious.”

“That’s fair. Can you help me up?”

The look in his eyes told me he was finally starting to get suspicious of my plan and my pain .

But when I draped my arm over his shoulder, he stood up, dragging me to my feet with him.

“Thanks,” I said, leaning heavily against him so my back pressed against some of his front.

My fingers brushed the back of his hair lightly, and he jerked away.

“You’re fine,” he said, stepping back.

I didn’t have a problem staying upright, of course. I wasn’t actually wounded.

“I’m going back to the shelter. See you there.” His voice was clipped, and he strode away from me.

Perfect.

I crouched down, scooping some sand into my hand and lifting it to my mouth. Gently, I rubbed it over my lips. They needed to look a little swollen, to make people think I’d been kissed.

When they felt hot, I was satisfied, and headed back down the path until I found the branch of it that led to the beach.

It only took a minute to strip my shirt off and take a dunk in the water. Since the sun was shining for once, it was deliciously hot out, so my sports bra and shorts would dry quickly. My hair would take longer, so I tied it up in a ponytail after washing it. The ponytail was part of the plan, anyway.

After draping my shirt over a branch to dry, I strode back down the beach and headed to camp again, ready to watch the chaos unfold.

I saw a massive golden bird land down the beach while I was walking, and curiosity had me speeding up.

Molly, the pretty blonde girl from the first season, met me partway down the beach. Large but delicate golden wings hung off her back, reminding me that she’d mated with the fire guy, Cam.

She looked much more comfortable than I’d ever seen her on the show, and was wearing a pair of leggings and a t-shirt.

I raised my eyebrows when I saw her, careful not to greet her with a hug. I wanted it to be clear that I’d washed my scent clean. “How the hell did they talk you into coming back here?” I teased her.

She laughed. “They didn’t. I packed a few things to make your trip a little more comfortable. Any way to stick it to the Society for dropping us here.”

I smiled. “I can appreciate that. Thank you. Nice wings, by the way.” I gestured to her golden feathers. “How is it, being a fae?”

She shrugged. “Could be worse.”

I snorted. “Could it, though?”

She laughed again, then handed me the backpack she’d brought. It probably wasn’t much different than the one I’d packed for myself, but I wasn’t going to tell her that when she’d made effort to be nice to me. And now that the sun was out, maybe I’d actually get some use out of everything.

We chatted a little about how much we both hated the island as we walked back to her mate. She said goodbye fairly soon, and left me before we ran into any of the men.

Sure enough, every eye was on me when I got back to camp. I hoped Julian hadn’t said anything about my fall . Doing so would probably make other people suspicious of him, since I hadn’t been anything but bluntly honest, but still. I didn’t want anyone doubting me yet.

I felt the gazes lingering on my mouth—my lips still felt warm and swollen—as I grabbed a bottle of sunblock and took my seat beneath a tree again.

I was still only wearing my sports bra and shorts, with my wet hair tied up. The hickey on my neck was basically front and center. I hoped that was what they were staring at, rather than my tits.

The murmurs that broke out almost as soon as I sat down told me that the rumors and gossip were starting. I was too far to hear exactly what was being said, but I could imagine the possessive fae getting all riled up on the inside as they fought to maintain control on the outside.

I couldn’t get involved in any of the conversations or push any more suspicion onto Julian than what already existed. So, I stayed where I was while the flurry of hushed conversation continued.

A boat showed up to take us to a challenge a few hours later.

Everyone kept their distance from me on the boat, especially Julian. I ended up standing in front of Rhett, who managed to look as bored and grumpy as usual.

Part of me worried he’d changed his mind, but I ignored that part. It wouldn’t do me any good.

The boat ride was short, and then we were on an island, in front of a large table puzzle. It looked like a big maze, with a ball that would have to be navigated to the little dip in the center.

Shit.

Julian was smart.

He could win.

Then again, a puzzle like that wasn’t just about being smart. It was also about coordination.

Which all of the fae guys probably had.

So… it was anyone’s game.

I took my seat on the bench while Jordan explained the maze to everyone. The reward was a snorkeling trip that would bring me and the top two guys home late that night, after the voting was over.

When they began, I watched the game. Rhett was barely trying, which was expected.

But it also made me nervous, because it meant he was going to the vote. Which meant there was a chance he could be voted out.

It was slim, but… a chance was a chance.

I couldn’t let my gaze linger on Rhett too long, just in case someone was watching, so I focused on Julian.

I was curious.

I’d seen the looks everyone was shooting him. He was totally the target. Winning the challenge would mean spending extra time with me, which was dangerous for him when he was already being targeted for that.

But losing would very likely mean getting voted out.

So either way, he was in trouble.

If I were him, I’d fight like hell to win the challenge. At least that would come with a few more days to stop being seen as a threat.

Sure enough, he finished first and stepped back, his hands in the air.

Jordan declared him the winner.

Ev finished soon after him.

Twenty minutes later, I was on a boat with both of them, feasting on shrimp tacos.

I didn’t even like shrimp, but I was so hungry I didn’t care.

When we were done eating, I leaned up against the boat’s railing, watching the clear ocean on the horizon as we continued on. The wind blew through my ponytail, my hickey still on display though no one had mentioned it.

“So,” Ev said, stepping up next to me.

Julian hadn’t come anywhere near me since we left the jungle together. Which meant I needed to play the next few hours very carefully. It would be too easy for me to help Ev realize I wanted Julian out.

“So,” I replied.

He chuckled. “That’s a nice accessory you’ve got there.”

I shot him a quick frown before looking back out at the water. Though I was pretty sure I knew what he was saying, I was going to make him spell it out. “What are you talking about?”

“The mark on your neck.”

My forehead creased. “What?”

We didn’t have a mirror on the island, so my cluelessness could totally be realistic.

Ev lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

He gestured to his own neck. “You’ve got a hickey.”

My eyes flew open.

My face flushed.

I lifted a hand to the same side of my neck he’d gestured to.

“Other side.”

My face flushed hotter, and I lowered my hands.

“Secrets can be hard to keep,” he said. “Want to tell me the truth?”

I scowled at him, my face still warm as I looked away. “Screw off.”

“Julian’s been pretty quiet.”

“Everyone’s been pretty quiet,” I shot back.

“Not everyone.”

I clenched my jaw and said nothing.

“If you tell me the truth, I can try to save him,” Ev said.

I didn’t believe him.

And even if I did, I wouldn’t have told him the actual truth. There was no way he’d believe me if I “opened up” anyway. He was looking for me to do something out of character, to prove to him that I was lying.

So, I stayed quiet.

He didn’t bug me again, and when he changed the subject, I didn’t participate much in the conversation.

It was a long, long date.