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fourteen

ERIN

I woke up early again the next day and went out to walk along the beach through the sunrise like I had the day before.

It was a good way to start a day.

Though it was still drizzling, it had eased up enough to be peaceful. My coat helped with that too.

Biting my lip, I paused after a particularly rough wave and stared out at the horizon.

It was beautiful, but that wasn’t on my mind.

Rhett was.

He was…

Well, I didn’t know exactly.

We hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time together. He was a lot rougher when we first met. There’d been a quiet intensity about him that lured me in.

Now, he just seemed… gentle.

Too gentle.

And quiet.

And easy-going.

None of which were bad things. They just weren’t who I thought he was, which made me doubt everything.

On top of that, I didn’t want a quiet and easy-going life. Yeah, I wanted safety, but not at the cost of enjoying myself.

Which was a conundrum.

Maybe I just had bad taste in men, because what woman wouldn’t want a polite, nice guy?

It was no wonder fate made me compatible with the fae. I was probably better off with Kyle than Rhett. At least with Kyle, there would be arguments.

And speak of the devil…

Kyle came strolling up to me, ignoring the rain altogether. “Hey.”

“Hi.”

“You look thinky,” he said, gesturing to my face.

“It’s called having a brain.”

He grinned. “Is it?”

I rolled my eyes at him, and he tucked his hands in the pockets of his shorts. The bastard was lucky he was so big, or he would’ve been freezing.

Like I would’ve been, without my new favorite possessions. My coat and boots would be my best friends for the rest of my life, at the rate we were going.

“Rhett thinks you’re upset about something,” Kyle said.

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure we were alone.

“Everyone else was still asleep when I walked away, and the jungle is too far from us for anyone hiding there to hear us. We’re good,” he added.

“I’m not upset,” I said, refocusing on the water. “Just… uncertain, I guess.”

“About what?”

I hesitated.

“You’re sexually attracted to me, aren’t you?” he drawled.

I smacked him on the arm. “Shut up.”

He grinned.

“I don’t know him very well,” I finally said. “Which is fine. I don’t need to know everything about him. But I need to know what his personality’s like before I marry him, you know? That shit’s permanent.”

Kyle made a noise of agreement. “It is.”

“And…”

“And what part of his personality are you uncertain about?”

“He’s just been acting… nice. And laid-back,” I said.

Kyle blinked.

“I know it sounds ridiculous,” I added hastily. “Those aren’t bad characteristics. It’s just that when we were around each other at first, he was more intense. And rougher. Now, he’s so calm in all the illusions he sends me. Sometimes, calm is good. But it gets boring, you know? I want him to know what he wants, and assert himself. Not just be nice.”

Kyle blinked again. “I don’t know anyone who would call Rhett nice .”

My forehead creased. “You don’t?”

“No. He does the Society’s dirty work more often than not. Doesn’t exactly leave him room for kindness.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. If he’s being too nice, he’s probably just trying not to scare you off.”

That made me feel better.

A lot better.

If he was trying not to scare me off, that would explain his over-politeness. And the blandness I’d started to feel sometimes in his illusions.

“Since I can’t talk to him, can you tell him to stop being so nice?”

Kyle sighed. “Alright. You’ll owe me, though.”

“What do you want?”

“A kiss.” He tapped his lips.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he grinned again.

“I’m teasing. Just put in a good word for me with the next girl if you get to meet her.”

“Deal.”

We headed back toward the shelters, and my thoughts moved a bit faster.

I didn’t know what Rhett would do when Kyle talked to him, but I was kind of excited to find out.

That day passed just like all the others, and I was relieved when it was finally time to call it a night. I got cozy next to Rhett as if I didn’t want to fuck him, like always.

He barely touched me, which was also our usual.

I remained awake, tense and waiting for him to do something while everyone around us fell asleep one by one.

It was still sprinkling a little, but that was the last thing on my mind.

When I finally started to drift off, Rhett’s hand found my ass.

My eyes opened.

In a smooth motion, he swept me out of the shelter and carried me into the jungle. His feet were silent, and I clung to his neck, my heart beating wildly against his chest.

Maybe he wasn’t too nice after all.

I didn’t say a word as he hauled me deeper into the jungle, finally stopping when we reached the well. He set me down on the rough brick ledge of it, and I barely noticed that some parts were sharp against my ass.

As soon as I was sitting, he took my face between his gigantic hands and looked me square in the eyes. “We’re playing a game, Chaos.”

“I know that.”

“A game that requires me to hide everything I am and feel,” he continued, his gaze piercing. “I want to touch you, but I can’t. I want to hold you, kiss you, fuck you—but I can’t. I have to play the game. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you. It means I have to keep the illusions bland, because if I let myself say and do what I want, we’re both going to give ourselves away and ruin our game in the process.”

That… made sense.

I should’ve put it together myself, actually.

I guess insecurity had been in the driver’s seat. Given the situation, the insecurity did seem reasonable, though.

“There are only a few votes left,” Rhett said. “Eight more days, then we won’t have to pretend anymore. I need you to make it through them without doubting me, Chaos. What can I do to make that easier for you?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I’ll survive. I’ll figure it out.”

“Alright.” Rhett started releasing my face, but paused.

And after a moment—a short beat of hesitation—he tilted his head down and brushed his lips against mine.

The kiss was soft.

Too soft.

I lifted my hands to his hair and buried them in the strands, pulling him down closer as I parted my lips.

His tongue met mine without pause, stroking slowly.

Intimately.

My legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. I wanted more— needed more.

Rhett tilted my head back, deepening the kiss. His hands left my face, finding the zipper at the top of my raincoat. I leaned back just enough that he could pull it down and peel it off my body while he kissed me.

My boots were still back at camp, so with the jacket gone, all I had on was my bra and shorts.

The rain was still falling, but it didn’t feel cold anymore.

Rhett’s hands were rough as they slid over my bare hips, finding the hem of my sports bra. I expected him to tease my breasts through the fabric after the last time we’d been together, but he didn’t bother.

He hooked his fingers beneath the hem, released my mouth for a moment, and peeled it over my head.

A growl vibrated his chest when he looked down at my bare breasts, nipples hard as rain fell over my skin.

The rain wasn’t miserable anymore.

It was kind of hot.

“You’re fucking gorgeous,” he rumbled, taking my breasts and slowly dragging his thumbs over my nipples.

My hips moved a little, and the bite of the rough brick against my backside only made me want him more.

“Are you going to let me walk away without taking what you want again?” I asked, arching my back a little to put more of my tits in his hands.

He squeezed them in response, making me suck in a breath.

“I should,” he said, his hot eyes on my breasts. “I should take you back to camp before someone realizes we’re gone.”

“They’re all asleep,” I said, reaching for his cock. His shorts didn’t hide his erection even a little.

I dragged my hand down the length of him.

He stepped closer, giving me better access. “It’s a risk, Chaos.”

“Live a little, Rhetti.” I tossed Kyle’s nickname for him out there, just to see how he reacted. “Accept your dominance. Take what you want. I’ll stop you if it’s too much.”

He released my breasts.

I opened my mouth to protest, but the words didn’t escape, because he kneeled between my thighs.

His fingers hooked in the waistband of my shorts, and he tugged them down my thighs and calves, dropping the fabric on the dirt. With his hands on the insides of my knees, he opened my legs wide.

He made a sound of appreciation. “Already slick for me, Chaos?”

“Always.”

He dragged a hand up my thigh and slowly traced a circle around my clit, making me shudder. “I want to take my time with you, but I shouldn’t.”

“Then don’t.”

His eyes lifted to mine, holding my gaze as he leaned in and dragged his tongue in the same shape he’d just made with his finger.

I gasped at the sensations.

It had been years since I’d had sex—and I’d been younger then. The guys weren’t experienced. No one had ever gone down on me before.

His chest rumbled. “You taste just as good as you smell.” He ran his tongue over me again, slow and light. “How does that feel?”

“So good.” I buried one hand in his hair as I arched my hips, opening wider for him. “Keep going.”

“You want more?”

“ Yes .”

He licked me again, slower, but with more pressure.

Holy shit.

Holy shit .

He kept going.

And going.

And going.

Until I was crying into the jungle, yanking on his hair as the pleasure rolled from my head to my toes.

Despite my release, I still wanted more.

Needed more.

I should’ve been quieter, but I was too lost to my lust to care.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know he was too.

“Rhett,” I said, pushing his face away from my drenched center. “I need you inside me.”

He didn’t hesitate for a moment, standing and pushing his shorts to the ground.

I wrapped my fingers around his erection, but he pulled me off the brick wall of the well and put me back on my feet. My bare chest met his, and the feel of it was everything.

He walked me backward until my shoulder blades met a tree, then lifted one of my thighs as he tugged my hand off his cock. I sucked in a breath when he lined the tip up against my opening.

Our eyes were locked together.

But then a tree branch snapped in the jungle behind us.

Rhett moved so fast, it made me dizzy.

He put me behind him, my body completely concealed from the intruder with his. I tried to look over his shoulder, but he was too damn big.

I didn’t hear the footsteps, but Rhett’s noise of warning told me someone was coming. “Don’t take another step.”

His voice was so ferocious, I definitely wouldn’t have risked going against his order.

“How long have you been together?” another male voice asked.

The voice was tight, but I recognized it immediately.

Colt.

Shit.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Colt was better than Travis, at least. Travis would’ve gone back to camp and told everyone. Colt might do exactly that—but he could be a little more careful about it.

Hopefully.

“Since the spa,” Rhett gritted out.

He didn’t tell Colt we hadn’t actually fucked. That wasn’t his business, and it wasn’t necessary information.

“You should’ve told me,” Colt finally said, his voice nearly as low as Rhett’s.

“Why? You want a mate as badly as any of these other bastards.”

Colt let out a humorless laugh. “And you don’t?”

“No. I don’t want a mate ,” Rhett growled.

My chest tightened.

“I want Erin ,” he said.

The tightness vanished immediately.

That was actually kind of romantic. Or really romantic.

“Go back to camp,” Rhett said. Though it wasn’t an order, it kind of was. “If you’re going to tell the others, tell them. There’s no point in wasting time with any more bullshit. Erin is mine.”

“Not if you don’t make it to the end,” Colt growled back.

“Fuck off,” Rhett snarled.

I heard footsteps as the other man walked away, but Rhett didn’t let go immediately.

“We need to wash off in the ocean and get back fast,” I said, pushing on his back as I stepped away. Though he released me, he didn’t go far.

“There’s no reason to hurry. Whether or not he tells them, we won’t get back in time to stop anyone from believing him.”

Panic swelled in my chest. “We have to, Rhett. I’m not going to mate with one of them if you get voted out. I can’t. I?—”

He caught my waist with one hand, and put the other on the center of my chest. I clutched his arm, holding tightly. “Do you trust me, Chaos?”

I did.

Probably.

Mostly.

Enough to nod, at least.

“Then believe that Colt won’t tell anyone. He won’t make himself the only reason I’m removed from the game he knows I’ll win. Not when losing will mean fading entirely for me.”

“That’s not how this game is supposed to work,” I whispered.

“It’s not,” he agreed. “But it will.”

“You’re insane.”

His lips curved upward slightly. It was another one of those quick, sexy as hell smiles. The ones he reserved just for me. “Maybe.”

“Definitely.” I pushed away from him. “Not all of the guys will work with him to keep you in the game.”

“No. Travis and Ian would fight like hell to get rid of me if they knew. And if the two of them wanted me out, Colt would vote with them, and get someone else on his side. He respects me, but we’re not friends.”

“That’s risky,” I said, shaking my head. “Too risky. We need to wash up and go back. We need?—”

“We need to keep our distance from each other like we were doing,” Rhett said. “I’ll do what I can to win the rest of the challenges, in case Colt decides to speak up. We’ll stay away from each other outside of sleeping, just to be safe. There are only a few days left. We can do this.”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t sure I believed him. Not entirely, at least.

And while I didn’t believe him completely, I hoped like hell that he was right.

Because I couldn’t mate with any of the other guys. Not anymore. Not when I wanted Rhett the way I did.