17. Chapter Seventeen #3
Two more days, and this island becomes a bizarre story I tell at parties.
Assuming the radio works.
Assuming the boat arrives.
Assuming the pilot doesn’t find us first.
The questions begin gathering.
What if the weather worsens?
What if the pilot contacted whoever hired him?
What if Dad believes we’re dead?
What if we never leave?
I walk behind the cottage, needing motion to keep the panic away.
I don’t intend to go far.
Then I hear children laughing.
The sound comes from beyond a line of low trees.
Water splashes.
Curiosity pulls me toward it.
I push through the foliage and discover a small freshwater pool tucked into a shallow basin behind the village.
Moonlight turns the surface silver.
Olive trees curve over the water, their branches forming a canopy around it.
Julien, Rémy, and Ana?s splash near the edge, their trousers rolled above their knees.
Their laughter echoes across the pool.
They haven’t noticed me.
Rémy shouts something about cheating.
Ana?s threatens that her father will scold them if they return late.
I understand just enough to follow.
Julien sees me first.
He pauses.
Then his face brightens.
He asks whether I’m sneaking out to play too.
“Maybe.”
The children laugh and make room on the bank.
I sit with my knees drawn toward my chest.
They talk rapidly, switching between subjects faster than I can translate.
Animals they’ve seen in the forest.
The best hiding places in the village.
A goat belonging to a neighbor that apparently hates everyone.
I understand only pieces, but their energy is comforting.
For a while, I forget the pilot.
The crash.
The gunfire.
Even Luca.
Then heavy footsteps strike the path behind us.
“Simone!”
His voice cuts through the quiet.
The children gather together.
Luca appears between the trees with Brock behind him.
Fear fills Luca’s face.
Raw and unmistakable.
It disappears the moment he sees me.
Anger replaces it.
“You disappeared.”
I stand.
“I’m fine.”
“You left the cottage without telling anyone.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“So you wandered into the forest while an armed man is somewhere on this island?”
“I followed the children.”
“You didn’t know they were here when you left.”
Brock calls the children toward him.
They obey reluctantly.
Julien waves before Brock leads all three away, leaving Luca and me beside the water.
The anger in Luca’s face remains, but his voice becomes quieter.
“I woke up, and you were gone.”
The words hold something deeper than irritation.
I remember his father.
The way Bran said Luca takes responsibility for everyone around him.
“I didn’t think.”
“That’s the problem.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“You’re fine because nothing happened.”
He takes one step toward me.
“That doesn’t make leaving alone safe.”
“I know.”
The admission stops him.
“You’re right.”
Luca stares as though I’ve spoken in another language.
“We agree on something,” he says.
“Don’t become emotional.”
His shoulders lower slightly.
The wind pushes several strands of hair across his forehead.
He isn’t wearing shoes. His trousers sit low on his hips, and the jacket hangs open across his bare chest.
He must have left the cottage the moment he realized I was gone.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
The words surprise both of us.
“I should have woken you.”
“Yes.”
“I wanted air.”
“You could have taken air near the house.”
“That sounds less dramatic.”
“I don’t care about dramatic.”
“I know.”
His eyes search mine.
“Come back.”
I glance toward the water.
The pool reflects the stars, smooth now that the children have left.
“I’m not ready.”
“Simone.”
“I want to swim.”
“At midnight?”
“The water doesn’t know what time it is.”
His jaw tightens.
Then his gaze drops as I reach for the straps of Claire’s dress.
“What are you doing?”
“Going swimming.”
I slide the straps down my shoulders.
The dress loosens.
Luca becomes perfectly still.
The fabric falls over my breasts, waist, and hips before gathering around my feet.
I step out of it.
His eyes move over the black bra and underwear I wore beneath it.
The attention burns everywhere it lands.
“Simone.”
The warning in his voice is already weakening.
I reach behind myself and unfasten my bra.
His breathing changes.
The garment drops beside the dress.
Moonlight touches my bare skin.
Luca watches me like he has never seen a naked woman.
I hook my fingers into my underwear.
“Last chance to look away.”
He doesn’t.
I slide the fabric slowly down my legs.
Now I’m completely naked.
Wind moves through my hair.
Luca’s stare travels from my face to my breasts, along my stomach, and between my thighs.
I like the hunger in his eyes.
I like knowing I put it there.
“Come back to the house,” he says.
His voice is rough.
“You told me to stay close.”
I walk backward toward the water.
“I’m close.”
“You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“I know.”
The pool reaches my ankles.
Then my calves.
I turn away from him and walk deeper.
The heat of his attention follows me.
At the center of the pool, I glance back over my shoulder.
Luca remains on the bank, fists clenched at his sides, every line of his body rigid with restraint.
I smile.
“Come find me.”