Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Three weeks later…
R onin pulled the net closer and roared with excited pleasure when he saw three fish trapped inside. He sighed with relief, too, glad they’d have fresh protein instead of more expired canned food or coconut for dinner. After he’d found the fishing nets, he’d not been sure he could catch much of anything. It had taken him days to repair the rips in it and then on his first two attempts to fish, he’d come up empty. The fish were wily and quick—or so small they slipped through the net. He strode out of the waist-deep water and onto the beach where Shiloh was digging through the newest piece of luggage they’d found washed up on shore.
“I caught us dinner, babe,” Ronin said, smiling as he lifted his catch.
“Uh-huh,” Shiloh said, frantically digging through the suitcase. He didn’t even look up to see the fish. After dragging everything out of the suitcase, he banged both fists on the pile of wet clothing across his knees and let out a roar of frustration.
Ronin dropped the net to the ground and knelt beside Shiloh. He rubbed his omega’s back, trying to lend comfort. Weeks without a single sign of rescue was wearing on them both, but they’d been lucky on other fronts. The solar panels worked. Not only had they cleaned out the well behind the house so they could have running water and showers, but they’d also found a waterfall and freshwater spring nearby. If he could catch fish to supplement their canned food and coconut supply, they could exist indefinitely if they had to. Hopefully they wouldn’t have to, but knowing they could helped dispel some of his fears.
“It’s okay. I’m as frustrated as you are. It’s been difficult, but we’re going to make it through this. There has to be people out there looking for us, so it’s only a matter of time.” He pressed a kiss to Shiloh’s forehead. “We just have to hold on a little longer.”
Shiloh shook his head, tears shining in his eyes. “I know.” A tear slipped down his cheek. Ronin sensed it was a frustrated tear, not sadness, though there might be a little bit mixed in there, too. “But…”
Ronin frowned. “But what?”
“I’ve been searching every suitcase we’ve found ashore and haven’t found something we desperately need.”
He frowned. They had food and water and shelter. What other immediate need did they have?
Shiloh closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before opening again. “I don’t have any heat meds.”
Ronin froze for a second. Why hadn’t that crossed his mind? Maybe because he was an alpha and only went into rut when near an omega in heat. Since most omegas were medicated to limit their heats—or sheltered away with their alpha when unmedicated—he’d never experienced the full sensation of a rut. Once, he’d been close, but it had been mild enough for him to resist and get away. “How long do we have?”
Shiloh shrugged, his expression numb. “I had my last heat just before we left. It took almost two days to fly to Australia and another day before we boarded the ship. We were on our third day of the cruise when the boat sank. If I haven’t forgotten to make a tick mark along the way, we’ve been here for twenty days. Assuming we weren’t floating in the ocean long before we washed ashore, I’m guessing tomorrow or the next day.”
Ronin took a moment to consider that. “So, either you find medication today… or it’s coming.”
“Yes,” Shiloh murmured, his gaze on his hands clutched on his knees.
Ronin sensed Shiloh was scared. He wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was in that moment. Everything that came to mind didn’t sound helpful. “We are mates. We’d share one eventually. So it comes sooner than later.” He brushed back Shiloh’s unruly hair. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”
Shiloh sighed with frustration. “I’ve never experienced a full, unmedicated heat and I’m scared of what’s going to happen. Not just during, but after.”
“I know all about aftercare. We can spend tonight preparing. I just boiled some spring water and refilled a case yesterday. I can move it into the bedroom. Snacks, too, to keep our strength up. There’s a bathtub for you to soak in after. We’ll make it through okay.”
Shiloh smiled, but there was sorrow in it. He caressed Ronin’s bearded cheek, the smile not lasting long. “I’m not worried about aftercare. I know you’ll be there for me.”
“Then what?”
“What if I get pregnant… and we don’t get rescued? What if I have to give birth on this island?”
A mild panic clutched Ronin’s chest. “Omegas gave birth eons before there were obstetricians and hospitals.”
“I’m not a medieval peasant,” Shiloh snapped angrily.
“I only meant that it can be done,” Ronin murmured before remembering the mortality rate during and after childbirth back then was pretty grim. There were dangers for an omega giving birth in the best of circumstances. In the worst of them? His lungs burned from the tightness there.
He wasn’t going to lose Shiloh. They’d already gone through too much and survived. He held Shiloh’s fearful gaze, running through scenarios. After a moment, he jumped to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“To check the sign and make sure the bonfires are ready for tonight,” Ronin yelled over his shoulder. Protecting his omega was his foremost thought, with rescue close on its heels. One of the first things they’d done after checking out their supplies and looking for any form of communication, they’d carried fallen logs and debris to form a massive HELP on the beach near the pier. Every night, as soon as the sun disappeared over the horizon, he set two bonfires on either side of it in hopes the lights would be seen by an airplane or a passing ship. “After that, I’ll search for more washed-up luggage. If I find any, you can search them for medication while I clean the fish and make us dinner.”
Shiloh smiled, his eyes glassy with tears. “Thank you.”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to his omega’s. “It’s not enough, but it’s all I can do. We’ll make it through this, just like everything else life has sent our way these past few weeks.”
Shiloh kissed him.
Ronin returned it, full force, clasping the back of Shiloh’s head. When they parted, he pressed his forehead to his omega’s before rising, hoping he wasn’t blowing smoke up both their asses. “I’ll be back soon.”
Shiloh looked up at the night sky, his back on the sand and his belly full of fresh fish. He’d never seen a sky so full of stars. With light pollution all over the country, there was little chance he’d ever have seen a sky like that one without being washed ashore. Out in the middle of nowhere, the night sky was dazzling, even with the moon full and bright. He rolled his head and looked at Ronin. “If we get rescued, this is the one thing I’ll miss from this place.”
“When we get rescued,” Ronin murmured. He was silent a few seconds, linking his fingers with Shiloh’s. “You’ll miss the quiet with only the waves crashing on the shore—or the stars?”
“Okay, there will be two things I’ll miss from this place.”
Ronin chuckled. Shiloh loved the deep rumble of Ronin’s chuckles. He hadn’t had cause to do much of it over the last weeks, but the few times he did, it was music to Shiloh’s ears.
“What’s the first thing you’ll do once we get home?” Shiloh asked his mate.
“Take a hot shower for at least an hour,” Ronin replied. “And then maybe sleep for a week.” He rolled his head and eyed Shiloh. “With you in my arms.”
“For the shower or the sleep?”
Ronin frowned. “Both, obviously.”
“Not a bad plan,” Shiloh whispered.
“What about you?”
“I agree to shower and sleep, but between those, I want a massive, juicy bacon cheeseburger, a mountain of french fries, and the largest chocolate shake they can bring me. It’ll probably tear up my stomach after the last few weeks on the canned diet, but I don’t even care. It would be worth it.”
Ronin laughed. Not just a chuckle, but a full laugh. “At least you’ll have toilet paper and won’t have to use leaves at that point.”
“Oh, gods, toilet paper. Yes!” Shiloh sighed. “You don’t realize just how much you appreciate the small conveniences until you go without them.”
“At least I figured out the water pressure problem and we can shower again. I doubt those leaves do the greatest of jobs.”
Shiloh rolled onto his side, facing Ronin. “I’m grateful you fixed that.”
Ronin turned his head and smiled. “Less fixed and more rigged. Hopefully it lasts. Long enough, anyway.”
Shiloh scooted over and rested his head on Ronin’s shoulder. Ronin dragged him even closer, pulling one of Shiloh’s legs over a thick thigh. He rubbed Shiloh’s back with a broad, comforting hand, the comfort it provided welcome. But as the minutes passed, that caress over his back spun his body tighter instead of relaxing him.
Shiloh sensed it was coming… but wanted to deny the sensation. He wasn’t ready to be a papa. Not yet. He lay there, fighting the urge to mount his alpha. To be bred. A bead of slick eased out of his hole, slid along his taint and the back of his sac.
“It’s happening, isn’t it?”
Shiloh lifted his head and looked at Ronin. “You feel something?”
“Arousal and tension, but it’s something more than that.” He pressed a kiss to Shiloh’s forehead. “Hunger.”
“I feel it, too,” Shiloh whispered. “I’ve had heats before, so it’s not exactly new… but even as it nears, it feels different.”
Ronin brushed a hand through Shiloh’s hair. “Maybe we should go into the house, shower as much sand out of our crevices as we can and climb into bed where you’ll be safer and more comfortable—before it gets any closer.”
Shiloh chuckled. “What? You don’t want to have sadomasochistic sex with sand in our privates?”
“The time to experiment with S&M isn’t during a heat and even if it was, we’re most definitely not using volcanic grains of glass as a form of punishment,” Ronin said with a grin before rising and brushing off as much as he could. He helped Shiloh up and did the same. He paused under the stars before they left the beach and kissed his omega. “I love you.”
***
As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, Ronin was shocked he’d said them.
Shiloh looked up at him, wide-eyed. “You love me?”
Ronin stared down into Shiloh’s face a few seconds before his mind caught up to his heart. The sentiment had been whispering through his mind from the moment he’d awoken on the beach alive and found Shiloh hovering over him, and he’d held it back, fearful it was too soon. “I do.” He searched the only face he wanted to see when he woke up and before he closed his eyes at night. The only face that mattered. “I love you.” He caressed the side of Shiloh’s cheek. “From the moment we found ourselves in danger, my only fear was losing you. I can’t imagine a world where you’re not at my side. I never want to have to imagine it.” He lowered onto one knee and slipped the ring he’d braided out of thin vines from his pocket. “Marry me.”
Shiloh smiled down at him. Without answering, he held his hand out, fingers straight and spread apart. Ronin slid the ring down his omega’s finger, amazed he’d gotten the fit right on the first try. He’d measured Shiloh’s finger while his omega slept, but hadn’t been able to test it to ensure it would work. Shiloh gazed down at his hand, his smile growing wider.
“You’re not asking me preemptively, in case you knock me up, are you?”
“I made that ring a week ago. When your heat wasn’t even a thought on my mind,” Ronin replied. He winced. “Though I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I hadn’t considered the possibility. I should have.”
“You’ve been a little preoccupied with our survival. I think you can let yourself off the hook for that one.” Shiloh closed the gap between them and smiled at Ronin. “You’ve been working so hard. Between the sign, fixing the roof, finding us water, fixing the pipes, fishing and getting us our first fresh meal in weeks … how could I not care deeply for you after seeing how well you take care of us?”
Care. Not love. Ronin tamped down his disappointment. Mates or not, they hadn’t been together long, and he couldn’t demand his omega’s love. He forced a smile to hopefully match the one Shiloh offered him.
“But after hearing what you said just now… how you couldn’t imagine a world without me at your side.” Shiloh paused a moment. Tears welled in his eyes. “From the moment I realized we were in danger, all I worried about was losing you.”
Ronin struggled to get his next breath in.
“And then there’s the absolute certainty I have that you’re going to take care of me during this heat, when I’m at my most vulnerable—because I’ve already seen what lengths you’ll go to in order to protect me.” Shiloh cupped Ronin’s face. “If that trust and deep affection I feel for you isn’t love, I don’t know what is.” He smiled. “I love you, and yes, I’ll marry you. If we ever get off this island.”
“When.” A tremor ran through Ronin as he dragged his omega closer. He rose and kissed Shiloh’s lips, needing to seal their promise to one another. He lifted his head and stared down into Shiloh’s eyes and saw his future swimming in them. A life of love and happiness—and maybe a family. Hopefully the latter happened down the road, after they were rescued at the very least. Nothing was taking Shiloh from him.
Nothing.
“I don’t see that we need to wait to be married until we leave the island. As long as we stand in front of one another and speak our vows, that’s all we need for now.”
Shiloh showed off his hand. “And a ring.”
Ronin gathered Shiloh’s hands in his and lifted them to his heart. “Shiloh Anderson, I promise to love you with every breath in my being, through sickness and health. To provide for you. To protect you. And to cherish you for the rest of your days—or the rest of mine. Whichever comes first.” He scoffed. “And maybe even after that if I can figure out a way to come back and haunt you.”
Shiloh laughed. He pulled their clasped hands to his heart. “Ronin Drake, I promise to love you with every breath in my being, through sickness and health.” He paused, wincing. “What was next?” Protect?”
“Provide, but that’s for the alpha. You can skip that one.”
“Oh, so an omega can’t provide for his alpha?” Shiloh asked, lifting a brow. “Can he not provide love and affection? A warm, loving home?”
Children? Ronin whispered in his mind. “We’ve been here three weeks without a single argument.” He grinned. “Let’s not start now, pet.”
Shiloh sighed, the sound a tinge exasperated. “To provide for you,” Shiloh said, adding a look that Ronin automatically knew meant for him to keep his mouth shut. “To protect you. To cherish you for the rest of our days… and I’m totally coming back to haunt you if I die first, just so you know. Be prepared.”
“Then it’s agreed. We haunt whoever lasts longer and then after we’re both gone, we can go haunt someplace fun together,” Ronin said. “I hear New Orleans is a big ghost town, so maybe there?”
“Do we really want to go somewhere that’s packed with ghosts? Considering all the stories, it must be wall-to-wall spirits in that city. I think we need to go somewhere a little quieter in our afterlife,” Shiloh said. “Maybe this beach? We can lie back. Look up at the stars. Reminisce about escaping death on our first encounter… and using leaves to wipe ourselves.”
Ronin roared with laughter. “Okay, we come here but I want to visit New Orleans at the very least and see if all the ghost stories are true.”
“Why couldn’t we have a ghost vacation?” Shiloh said. “I mean, it’s not like we have anything else to do but travel around, scaring people.”
“Hopefully ghost sex is a thing. Travel, sex, and scaring people. Sounds like a full, rich afterlife to me,” Ronin replied.
“Of course there’s ghost sex.”
Ronin shook his head. “I don’t know. Look at Casper. He’s like a Ken doll down there.”
“Ooooh,” Shiloh said, wincing. “I hadn’t thought of that. Ken doll Ronin would not be a good thing.”
“Nor would Ken doll Shiloh.”
“Yeah, but I’m a bottom so it would matter less.”
Ronin gasped. “It would matter less? You’re not serious? That’s one of my favorite appendages of yours. How dare you, sir.”
“I’m sorry to inform you, but anal orgasms are ten- thousand times better than penile ones. As long as I still have a prostate in Casper form, then I’m good.”
“That much better?”
“That much better,” Shiloh assured him.
“Well, hell…” Ronin muttered. “It almost makes me want to give bottoming a try just to see.” Before Shiloh could do more than open his mouth, Ronin turned to face him. “Almost, but no.”
“You can dish it out but can’t take it, hmm?”
“Oh, we’re going there, hmmm?” Ronin said, leading his omega up to the house, hand-in-hand. He smiled down at Shiloh. “Fine. I’ll admit it. Omegas have me beat there.”