Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Scrambling to my feet, I fling the blanket to the side and start off toward the stone steps across the beach.
Jorn is still animatedly telling a story, and everyone is watching intently, including the Voyagers, who seem to be recovering from the disappointment well.
Sitting amongst everyone, they actually look like part of the crew, and it feels like a relief knowing that we could all get along peacefully here.
I peek past lounging bodies to check on Fin and Roley, both already fast asleep on a blanket, the late night and day full of excitement finally having caught up to them.
Just as I’m about to pass the last set of blankets, someone grabs my forearm and tugs me to a stop.
“Where are you going?” Stassia asks.
Shit. She’s using up my time.
I try not to look like I’m eager to leave, but I want to win, and getting caught up with Stassia will not help that.
“Just tired. Gonna head back,” I say vaguely.
She shoots me a knowing look. “Sure you are. Have fun. We’ll wish Captain goodnight when he gets tired in a few minutes, too.” She releases me, and I purse my lips, trying to hide my smile.
“You’re a good friend, Stass.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says, shooing me away with her fingers. “A jealous one. But a good one. Now go.” Auralie giggles beside her as they both turn back toward Jorn, who has now pulled Taril up in front of the group and is using him to act something out.
Resting my chin on my shoulder, I flick my gaze back toward the blanket, hoping Weston is distracted by the story.
He’s not.
He hasn’t moved, hasn’t started his Captain duties, and instead sits with his eyes fixed on me.
My cheeks heat at the sly smile playing on his lips and the challenge in his gaze.
He cocks his head to the side and lifts a single eyebrow, and I turn away quickly as a giddy flame flickers to life inside of me.
I want to win. I won the first bet, and purposely lost the second, but this time, there’s nothing specific at stake, and I might need to save this prize for a time when I need it.
Now that I know he’s watching me, I need him to think I’m taking the long way through the island, not through the tunnels.
We still haven’t shown them to the Voyagers yet, so I don’t want to go through them anywhere I could be seen.
Laughter echoes behind me as I climb the steps quickly.
I need to move fast, because I don’t know how much of a head start he’s going to give me, especially after I already got stopped by Stassia.
I can’t risk looking back to see if he’s following, so I keep my head down and hurry along the path.
Hooking a right, I head toward the ship, and I’ve barely taken a few steps when I get an idea.
The mist from the falls is chilling on the already cool night as I cross over the bridge.
Darkness makes crossing significantly more difficult than in daylight, and I don’t have Weston holding my hand and leading me across the slick rock to make sure I don’t fall.
If I do plunge into the depths, this time, no one will know where I am.
You won’t fall.
My heart pounds in my ears as I try to take it slow, but move fast enough that Weston doesn’t catch me.
I swing my leg over the side, lowering myself down boulder by boulder until I find the right one.
Water splashes, soaking my clothes as I slide behind the cascading water and into the dark cave behind it.
Hopefully now that I’m a Castaway, the island will let me open the door at the back that Weston snuck through both times we were in this cave.
The tunnels will help me cut through the fast way and beat him back to the ship, and if I’m lucky, he takes my bait and tries to follow me the long way.
The moonlight barely touches the space through the thick wall of water that covers the entrance, and the darkness is overwhelming. I’ve been here before. I know where to go. But as I step further into the darkness, I hesitate.
I’ve never been afraid of the dark. Growing up in a kingdom without true sunlight will do that.
I lived in a cold and dark castle my entire life, but this time the darkness gives me pause.
It’s not the darkness I’m afraid of. It’s the island.
Even though I found the healing waters once before, this is still a location where dangers lurk to keep it protected.
The island could change at any time, and the thought causes a flicker of fear inside me.
Spinning back toward the waterfall, I focus on the bit of light that I can, contemplating whether I should go back through and abandon my plan.
There’s nothing to be afraid of. The island won’t hurt you now.
I take a tentative step backward, retreating from the crashing water, when my back presses into something, something that wasn’t there in the darkness seconds ago.
A scream rips through my throat. The sound resonates off the stone walls and rings in my ears, as a hand wraps around my mouth, stifling the noise.
Panic rises in my chest as flashes of Dane’s furious face from the night in the cabin flicker before my eyes.
I immediately reach for my waistband, trying to grab my dagger, but a strong hand grips my wrist and holds firm.
Our arms around my waist, tugging me backward until I am pressed into the hard planes of a body.
“Were you trying to let me win?”
The soothing voice grumbles in my ear, and relief floods through me.
Weston. Not Dane.
I’m safe.
He releases my mouth and wrist, his arms instead circling my waist and pulling me into his warm embrace. I drop my head back onto his chest, settling against him, and let my tense limbs relax, then think better of it and jerk my elbow into his abdomen.
He lets out a huff followed by an amused laugh.
“You scared me, asshole! I almost pulled my dagger on you.”
“You mean this dagger?” The blade glints in the scarce moonlight before me as his arm extends, and he flips it deftly between his fingers.
“How did you—” I reach out to grab it, but he pulls it away, holding it out of my reach.
I hadn’t even felt him take it off me, and now I’m questioning whether he even did it here, in the cave, or back on the beach.
How did he disarm me without my noticing?
Then, the thought pops into my head. He knew he was going to catch me.
“This is why I’m in charge, both here and in Blackwood.
” I can hear the smile in his voice, and I know he will not let me live it down.
He’ll probably force me to practice defending against it in the next training session.
His lips brush the curve of my ear and cause goosebumps to erupt on my neck. “You don’t need it right now, anyway.”
I feel his arms move as he slides it away in his belt, and the memory of being disarmed here before is too familiar. This time though, I’m not itching to get it back. I know he won’t keep it from me.
“Are you finally going to tell me how this door works?” I ask, stepping away from him and turning toward the complete darkness at the back of the cave. I’m barely a pace away before he reaches out, grasping my hand and spinning me around until I fall into him with a thud.
“Where do you think you are going?”
I can barely make out any of his features in the shadows, but the lilt in his voice is enough to give me an idea of the challenging look on his face.
“Home?” I say warily.
He steps forward, walking me backward until I’m pressed against the wall of the cave, and yet another memory of him in this cave surfaces, only this time, I’m not fighting him with every ounce of hatred I have.
The dim glow silhouettes his shape before me, but his features remain dark.
I feel before I can see his movement, as the pads of his fingers lift my chin and tilt my head up toward his.
“I believe I won the bet.”
“You did,” I say playfully. “What do you want?”
“I want a lot of things.” His voice is dangerously low, bordering on the growl he usually reserves for when he’s angry. But he’s not, and I can tell his voice is laced with something besides anger.
“But I won, and I want you pressed up against this wall with my cock buried inside of you.”
Heat blooms between my thighs in anticipation of Weston’s prize, but more than being overcome with my own desire, I’m caught off guard.
“Here? Right now?” My eyes strain to see his face in the darkness, to see if he is serious or playing more games.
“Yes, sweetheart, right fucking now.”
My pulse rises as his hips press into me, his desire already apparent as his hard length fits against me.
I suck in a quick breath as a pulse of pleasure surges. “I can’t see you,” I say, the words coming out breathy as I search for him in the darkness. My skin prickles as he leans closer, and his breath caresses my skin.
“You don’t need to see me. Just feel me.”
My lips part as his brush tenderly along my jaw.
The fabric of my shirt tickles my stomach as he slowly bunches it into his fists, pulling the ends from where it is tucked into my waistband.
His hands are on me then, hot and firm as they lie beneath my shirt, trailing up my skin.
A low hum fills my throat as the backs of his knuckles brush the underside of my breasts.
I swallow hard, the anticipation of his touch without the lace between us getting stronger with every second.
The tip of his nose glides down the length of my neck, and his lips press into my collarbone.
“You smell fucking amazing,” he grumbles, breathing deeply, and I turn my face away, giving him more access. “I never knew what I was missing until my sheets smelled like you. You’re lucky I let you leave my bed.”