DesertIslandDelight (3 page)

She squared her shoulders. “So just because I took
one…misstep, you’ve elected yourself king? I don’t like being bossed around.”
Well, that wasn’t a hundred percent true. She had been more than a little
turned-on before when he’d played the bossy card.

He grinned at her scowl. “You’re not much better at being a
castaway than you are at creating ad campaigns.”

“Very funny. I have a CLIO statue in my living room that
proves otherwise.” Her chest swelled with pride at the memory of how she’d
beaten him and his agency out two years earlier for the prestigious industry
honor.

“A lot of good that’ll do you here.”

She gritted her teeth. The statue would serve to knock him
upside the head! She sucked in a deep breath.

“Look, we lived through at least two near-death experiences
already today. Our nerves are raw.” He touched her shoulder and gave her a warm
smile.

She softened at the memory. “You’re right. We’re just so
used to being in competition, I guess. Thanks for saving my life, more than
once.”

He cupped her cheek. “I deserved the CLIO more than you.”

She couldn’t hold back a laugh. “My ass, you did.”

“In other circumstances I’d never admit this, but okay. You
did
deserve it. Your work is…pretty good. Sometimes—but not often—it’s better than
mine. A little.” He pinned her with a sultry stare that shook her tenuous
resolve to keep their relationship platonic.

She wanted to celebrate the rare compliment but with his
hand on her face she couldn’t think of anything except how attracted she was to
him, how nice it felt to have him touch her. Words became a jumble in her brain
as he threaded his fingers through her hair and held her head possessively as
if he were about to kiss her again. She closed her eyes and parted her lips,
waiting for contact.

Instead, he released his hold on her and cleared his throat.
“I should…we should search the island before we think about…anything else.”

She straightened and the blood drained from her face. Her
stomach growled loud enough for him to hear. Stepping back, she centered a hand
on her abdomen, almost grateful for the distraction. “Maybe we can find some
food first.”

Chase shook his head as he started walking deeper into the
brush. “Not until I know the island is uninhabited. Maybe we’ll stumble across
something edible in our travels, but the priority must be our safety.”

“I need something to eat, Chase. Anything.”

He glanced over his shoulder at her. She had a funny
expression on her face and she looked suddenly paler. He took her hand and
pulled her behind him. “As soon as we come across something I’m sure is safe to
eat.” He’d spotted her in the hotel dining room having a big pancake breakfast
early this morning. Sure, she’d exerted a lot of calories in their long swim
but she was going to have to wait for dinner until he was reasonably sure they
were alone on the island.

She tugged at his hand.

Gritting his teeth, he stopped and turned around to face
her.

Her eyelids fluttered and her legs seemed to just give out
under her. She folded like a house of cards onto the pine needle-covered forest
floor.

Oh God.
What had he done?

Chapter Four

Kneeling beside her, he gently slapped at her cheek. “Diana?
Wake up.” He touched two fingers to her wrist but he wasn’t sure if he felt his
own heart hammering or her pulse.

Don’t panic.

But it was way too late for that. He leaned his ear to her
chest and practically cheered when he heard her heartbeat.

She moaned groggily.

He grasped her shoulders and pulled her against his chest.
“Thank God. Diana, are you with me, sweetheart?”

Holding her at arms’ length, he carefully checked her
complexion, which was still too white. Her eyes fluttered. “I need food,” she
whispered.

He scanned the area but didn’t see anything. “I can’t leave
you here alone while I go to find something for you to eat.” He could carry
her.

She pointed behind him. “Bananas.”

He followed her gaze to a palm tree with a tiny cluster of
green bananas. How had she spotted that? He raced to the tree, yanked off the
fruit and returned to her side.

She still looked a little woozy.

“What happened? One minute you were behind me then you were
passing out.” He peeled a banana and broke off a piece for her.

She grasped his hands as he raised the food to her lips. She
winced at the taste but continued. After she’d swallowed the first bite, her
color started improving. “I’m hyperglycemic. My blood sugar drops if I go too
long without eating.” She greedily devoured the rest of the banana.

He exhaled, unaware until that moment that he’d been holding
his breath. “In that case I’ll go find you some better food. Let’s get you back
to the beach.”

She backed away and those sexy lips drew back in a
surprising snarl. What the hell had he done now? “I thought we already decided
I’m not a weakling you can confine to the beach. I will not be told what to do
by a man. I’m going with you.”

He clenched his jaw. “Like hell you are. You need to rest.”

She was up on her feet in a split second, fists at her
waist. “I’m fine now. Let’s go.” She scratched one foot on the opposite ankle
and winced, but immediately schooled her expression when she saw him staring at
her.

When he didn’t say anything, she squared her shoulders.
“Chop, chop.”

Chop, chop?
“You have some issues, sweetheart.” His
temples throbbed. “Look, I go alone or I don’t go at all.”

She gave him a lazy shrug then bent to retrieve a
three-foot-long branch from the forest floor. Crouching next to a large rock,
she started grinding the end of the stick on the rough stone surface. In
minutes she’d forged a crude but impressive spear and held it up for his
inspection.

He tested the point. Impressive. Sharp enough to wound
something, but probably not to kill it. “You think that’ll protect you? There
was a reason ancient peoples made arrowheads out of stone.” He held up the axe
he’d taken from the tree house. “Next time use this to carve.”

“I don’t have time for that. This’ll allow me to gather
food.” Determination sparked in those brown eyes. “Better food than you could
get, I’ll bet. But then, you should be used to being bested by me. I know it
still stings that I got the CLIO instead of you.”

Anger simmered in his gut. He held back the snide comment on
the tip of his tongue. “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

She lifted one blonde eyebrow. “I’ve never backed away from
a challenge. What’d you have in mind?”

He slid his gaze over her. Sure, she had a strong, killer
body—although she looked ridiculous in her ruined outfit—but he was a hundred percent
positive she couldn’t hunt and gather half as well as he. “A little wager. He
who finds more food, and better quality food, wins.”

“You’re on. And when you lose you have to back out of the
running for the sheik’s account.”

He swallowed, then nodded. “Agreed. But we have to stay
within earshot for safety sake. And if I win…” He looked her over again. “If I
win, we make love.”

She widened her eyes and he could have sworn that he saw a
flash of excitement. “Fine. But don’t count on it because I plan to win fair
and square, a concept you probably know little about.”

Diana could think of worse fates than having to sleep with
Chase. But she was determined to win because her physical cravings were way
less important to her than her career. If Chase dropped out of the running for
the sheik’s account, she was guaranteed to take the multimillion-dollar account
home to New York as a souvenir—one that would most likely earn her a
partnership in her firm.

Guilt prickled at her skin. He’d done so much for her, she
had no right to speak to him the way she just had, but when her inner ad
executive took over it was as if she was a different person, one with no
scruples.

She hated to admit that her early years with her physically
abusive father had made her downright afraid of men. The best defense to keep
them at bay was to be nasty to them. That was no excuse though. Chase had saved
her life, at least twice already.

She stepped closer to him. “Chase, I’m sorry. Maybe this
competition is a bad idea. I mean, we should probably be working together.”

He grinned like a cat who’d just found the fishbowl. “So you
forfeit then?”

“Like hell I do.” Once a Chase Cunningham, always a Chase
Cunningham. “Come on. The sooner we get this little exploration over and done,
the sooner we can begin the competition. Kiss the sheik’s account goodbye,
mister.”

“I’ve never met such an obstinate, prickly woman.” He glared
at her then marched ahead, cutting his way through the forest wielding that
ridiculous axe.

They reached the other side of the island in less than half
an hour. The shore was rocky unlike the beach they’d landed on earlier. Diana
sank onto a boulder and rubbed her tired feet.

Chase stood next to her, looking obnoxiously energetic.
“Since we didn’t run into any giant lizards or venomous snakes, I say we begin
our competition right away. Just stay close to me so we find our way back to
the beach together. In case you run into any trouble, call my name.”

She waved away his concern. The island wasn’t that big. If
any monsters were lurking in the woods, they’d have found them on their hike.
They started off together but when she spied a fallen coconut, she raced over
to grab it. Too bad they didn’t have any rum or she could make a mean banana
colada. But in any case, the coconut would provide them with something to drink
that wasn’t salt water. He couldn’t beat that unless he found a freshwater
stream or lake, which she doubted he would.

When she turned back around she found Chase climbing up a
tree after what appeared to be figs. Every toned muscle in his back, shoulders
and legs worked like a well-oiled machine as he shimmied higher and higher.

She should have been concentrating on finding more food but
she couldn’t tear her gaze from the incredibly sexy view. Maybe she ought to
let him win so she could feel all those muscles join force in pursuit of mutual
pleasure.

No, she wanted that account. But there was nothing stopping
her from agreeing to sleep with him even after she’d won the bet. Why shouldn’t
they indulge? It could be days, even weeks before they were rescued. She could
hardly remember the last time a man had touched her, besides the kiss they’d
shared after their shark encounter.

She’d deprived herself for too damn long. Filling her empty
feel-good coffers with expensive indulgences didn’t come close to having a man
make love to her.

Her nipples hardened and pressed against the lace fabric of
her cool, wet bra. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and twirled a
lock of hair around her finger and imagined what it would be like with him. She
had no doubt it would be mind-blowing.

He reached to the clump of fruit and wrestled it free from
the tree. Every inch of him was pure, naked power and a hundred percent man.
When he slid to the ground, she immediately looked away and pretended to search
through the bushes.

Before she knew what was happening, Chase grabbed her from
behind and hauled her away from the bushes.

“Leaves of three, let them be,” he said.

She shrugged him off and spun around to face him. “What?”

“You heard me. That could have been poison ivy.” He smirked.
“I guess you weren’t paying attention when you went camping with the Girl
Scouts.”

She straightened but refused to tell him that her troop had
never made it out of the church basement where their meetings were held. The
wildest activity they participated in was making holly-covered wreaths before
Christmas. “I just forgot. Sorry.”

Maybe she should make herself one of those fishing poles so
she could catch something in the ocean for their meal. She marched off in the
direction of the tree house. Aside from the spool of thread, maybe she could
find other items that would aid in her search for food.

Somehow she’d gotten turned around and couldn’t find her way
back to the clearing under the treetop dwelling. She didn’t particularly want
Chase to know her plan since he’d no doubt copy her ideas.

Stepping between two pine trees, she pushed some fallen
branches out of the way and walked right into a human skeleton.

Chapter Five

Diana’s scream was like a million-volt current straight to
Chase’s heart. He followed the sound and found her between a stand of trees,
trembling like a loose bolt on a rollercoaster track. She lunged into his arms
and buried her head against his chest.

“I’m here.” He petted her hair, tried to calm her down
enough so she’d tell him what had frightened here.

Backing away a little, she looked up into his eyes and
struggled to pull in a breath. “U-under the leaves.”

He moved her aside then took a few steps in the direction in
which she was pointing. He started to root through the brush but stopped when
she let out a terrified cry.

He faced her and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring
nod. “Is it an animal?”

She shook her head and shuddered. “A skeleton.”

Was she really this upset over some rodent bones? He
squeezed her upper arm, rubbed his hand up and down over her silky skin. “It’s
okay.” Then he returned to the pile of leafy branches and rooted through it. He
caught sight of what appeared to be a skeletal human foot. He clenched his jaw
so he didn’t gasp and scare her even more. No wonder she was so upset.

He delved into the mass of foliage deeper, cleared away all
the obstructions until he could visualize the entire skeleton. “Well, at least
this answers the question of what happened to the resident of the tree house. A
body doesn’t decompose overnight, you know. He could have died…years ago.” But
he wondered how the person had perished. He scanned the skull, the rib cage and
the arms and legs but he didn’t notice any holes or breaks in the bones. Could
have been anything but he was a little relieved to see nothing obvious around
the scene like a spear or a bullet.

Diana took a step closer and some of the tight lines around
her mouth eased. “I guess you’re right.” But she didn’t look totally convinced.

He took her shoulders and met her stare. “We are not going
to die, understand?” He waited for her tentative nod before continuing. “I will
protect you from lizards, snakes, spiders and anything else nature throws at
us. I promise.”

He released her then rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get
back to work unless you’re going to quit on me and give me the opportunity to
ravage that gorgeous body of yours.”

That won him a smile. “Not on your life.”

“Have it your way. The sooner we get food and drink in the
works, the sooner we can start work on an SOS sign and some sort of shelter for
the night.” He recovered the bones then backed away. “Stay near the shore,
would you?” He prayed they’d be rescued before the shelter was needed but he
refused to take any chances. The discovery of the skeleton emphasized the
urgency of his mission.

* * * * *

Diana handed Chase a half shell that she’d filled with
coconut water as the sun slowly sank on the horizon. He tasted the drink then
winked at her. “Delicious, but we’ll have to get to work on desalinating
seawater if we’re not rescued tomorrow. A few coconuts won’t provide us enough
to drink.”

“I’m sure we’ll be rescued before it becomes an issue.” She prayed
they would. The giant SOS they’d formed out of rocks, leaves and branches on
the beach would help, especially since they planned to light it on fire after
dark.

She picked up the basket she’d pilfered from the tree house
and lined with a palm leaf. Extending the platter to him, she pointed out each
item to Chase. “I found coconuts, of course, a few ripe enough bananas and the
piece
de resistance
, heart of palm.” She’d worked for a long time, steaming the
tough palm husk then working with her fingernails to open it and get out the
tender flesh.

Chase lifted an eyebrow as he helped himself to some of each
food. “Impressive.” He tried the heart of palm and nodded. “Pretty tasty, but
not good enough for the win.”

She grabbed a chunk of coconut and shoved it into her mouth.
“We’ll see.” But she wasn’t hopeful. She’d tried for better than an hour to
catch a fish but even after Chase had relinquished the crude fishing pole to
her, she’d had no luck.

“Let’s see how my entry stacks up against yours.” He used two
sticks to pull a charred leaf-wrapped item off the fire then set the steaming
packet on one of the rocks they’d used to ring the fire pit. Delicious aromas
filled the air.

He breathed deeply and let out an exaggerated moan. “I
haven’t had grouper since I visited my grandmother in Miami last year. Great
stuff.”

She rolled her eyes but she couldn’t very well deny her
excitement in having a real meal. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just open it up.” She was
already salivating.

Chase had on a smug grin as he tore at the package. More
deliciously scented steam plumed into the air as he peeled back the cover to
reveal the fish. He used the sharp edge of his axe to cut it open then scooped
some of the delicate white flesh onto another leaf. He topped it with some
brown and orange goo from a coconut shell on the ground.

He handed her the leaf plate and a crude fork he’d fashioned
from some twigs and thread. “Try it.”

She lifted the food close to her nose for a better whiff. It
smelled vaguely sweet. “What’s the gooey stuff?”

He gave her a wide smile as he fixed himself a portion. “Fig
and mango chutney.”

Much as she wanted to throw the whole meal at him, her
stomach growled for the food. Maybe it only smelled and looked good. The fish
could be tough or taste bad. But her first bite melted in her mouth.
Circumstances aside, the grouper was flaky and moist, cooked to perfection and
the chutney complemented it perfectly.

She eyed Chase suspiciously. “How did you do this?”

He gave her a smug grin. “I worked part time in an upscale seafood
restaurant while I was in college. One of the chef’s signature dishes was
grilled grouper with apricot chutney.” He shrugged. “The figs and mango are
actually better.”

She grumbled at the unfairness of it yet she couldn’t stop
herself from devouring every last bite.

Chase set his leaf plate aside. He handed her his coconut
shell cup. “Drink?”

She accepted his offer, sipped the liquid without releasing
his gaze. God those eyes were the bluest she’d ever seen.

She’d always been fiercely competitive but losing this bet
wasn’t so bad. So she’d have to go up against him for the sheik’s
account—providing they ever made it off the island—but she’d also be able to
indulge the urges that had been tearing at her since that very first kiss back
in New York.

Hell, the possibility that they might not survive this
ordeal was reason enough for her to give in to temptation. She set her cup down
on the beach and watched as Chase lit the SOS on fire.

“Any planes flying over us won’t be able to miss this.” He
settled beside her and leaned back on his elbows.

“I guess you know you won the bet, huh?” She turned onto her
side and stretched out.

He shrugged. “I guess my restaurant experience counts as
cheating, or at least as a handicap. Don’t worry. I won’t make you give me the
prize we agreed upon. I don’t want you under duress.”

“Right. Under duress.” She tried to feign an expression of
relief but faced with his nearly naked body right next to her—the body she’d
watched climb and work, glistening in the hot sun all day—she didn’t think she
did a very good job of hiding her lust.

The fire grew higher, painting the brand new night in every
shade of gold. She slid closer to him but the moment she did, he shot off the
ground and started pushing around the leaves and sticks in the fire. She’d
obviously done something to turn him off.

She glanced down at her clothes, wrinkled, matted with dirt
and sand. She was a mess. Although his change of heart might not have a thing
to do with her clothes. She’d been pretty hard on him. If only she’d have
watched that sharp tongue of hers.

Her mother and sisters were constantly reprimanding her for
saying whatever came to mind. Her bluntness had always kept men at bay, but
that was probably why she did it. Every time she told a guy off she’d secretly
fantasized that it was her father she was dressing down. Now she’d said enough
to turn Chase off and ruined her chances for what could easily have been her
last opportunity to have sex. To add insult to injury, he happened to be one of
the hottest, most attractive men she’d ever met.

Chase poked absently at the fire. They’d outlined the
letters in rock then filled the area inside with flammable materials. In the
morning, after the flames died out, they’d be left with huge black letters
against the pristine white sand. Day or night, their message would remain.

He glanced over his shoulder at Diana. She was so beautiful
lit by the amber glow of the fire. Her dark eyes sparkled and her wild curls
flew in every direction. He’d never yearned so much to kiss a woman.

He tossed the stick aside then dropped to the sand next to
her. “You did a great job today, worked your adorable butt off. We couldn’t
have made it this far without the coconut water.” In truth, he really was
impressed with her hard work and her total lack of complaining. She’d hauled
rocks onto the beach for the SOS sign and had even helped him build the palm
frond canopy that they’d take turns sleeping in later.

She rolled her eyes. “I almost fed us berries that might
have been poisonous, remember?”

He smiled, recalling her defeated expression when he’d nixed
the wild fruit she’d brought back from the forest. “They might have been fine,
but why take the chance? The heart of palm was extremely…original. Shouldn’t
surprise me though. I hear you’re quite the creative type.”

Her grin was so sexy he nearly came apart at the seams.
“What exactly are you referring to, sir?”

He turned onto his side and skimmed a finger along her
shoulder. “Use that award-winning imagination of yours.” When she shifted toward
him, he cupped her cheek. Her skin was like satin and she smelled like the
salty air and the clean breeze.

“I’m trying to figure out how a guy who spends most of his
time in a suit and tie in a concrete jungle became so adept at wrangling this
untamed wilderness.” Her voice had grown quieter, throaty and sexy as hell.

“You’re pretty good at this nature thing yourself. And
thanks for sharing your new lip balm.” She’d discovered that coconut meat was
oily enough to give her an organic sort of lip balm, which had saved his lips
after they’d grown dry and chapped from all the time in the saltwater. He
winked at her and licked his lips. “Tastes great too.”

She gave him that gorgeous smile. “I didn’t think I could
survive without my lip-gloss.”

“We’re learning all kinds of things about ourselves. And
each other. For example, I’ve learned that your hair turns the beautiful shade
of amber in firelight.” He smoothed a stray curl from her cheek and met her
stare.

“I bet you could teach me a few things.” Her throat twitched
with a swallow as she molded her body to his. She caught her bottom lip between
her teeth and something earthy and powerful arced between them. Sparks of
arousal exploded like mortar shells.

Her shirt slipped a little off her shoulder and he dropped
his gaze to the hint of that red lacy bra peeking through.

He helped the fabric aside, revealing more creamy skin. Need
coiled tightly inside him. “Before you put your clothes back on you were
killing me in your underwear you know.” His erection pressed firmly to her
thigh.

She lifted a blonde eyebrow and moved against his hard-on
again. Damn. She was doing it on purpose. “You’ve been driving me wild all day,
working in nothing but your shorts. How do you think
I
felt?”

“I’d like to explore that question.” He reached for a lock
of her hair, toyed with the springy curl before releasing it.

She looked at him with eyes so smoky and full of desire he
couldn’t wait another instant to kiss her. He combed his fingers through her
hair and brushed his lips across hers. She tasted like coconut and lust. He
tried to ease her shoulders down to the ground but she wouldn’t have it.

She broke the kiss and grinned wryly. “Still trying to
control things, huh?”

Chuckling, he shrugged. “I thought you’d learned your
lesson.”

She narrowed her eyes for a moment then shoved his chest
back. She straddled his hips and fixed him with a wickedly sinful smile.
“You’re my prisoner now and there’s no one around to help you.”

He stroked up and down along her arms. “As if I’d ever want
help. I think I can handle anything you can dish out.”

“Oh yeah?” Hiking up her skirt, she slid over his length,
inciting a riot in his pants. He held her by the waist but didn’t hinder her
back-and-forth movement.

She pulled her lower lip into her mouth, chewing on the
corner. He reached up and threaded his fingers through her hair. Meeting her
halfway, he kissed her, tasted the desire on her tongue.

Damn, the woman knew every flavor of sexy. How could he have
guessed that beneath her laminated exterior, lived a wonderfully wild tiger?

She broke away and crawled her French-tipped fingernails
down his chest and stomach to the waistband of his shorts. Then she leaned down
to press a moist kiss on his neck.

He shivered at the delicious sensations. She raked her teeth
over his left nipple—hard enough to hurt—and he liked it. A lot.

She lifted her head enough to meet his stare. “That’s just a
sample.” Her voice had turned husky and dark.

“I can’t wait for the entire package.” Something about the
way she touched him made him sure she’d be a tigress in bed.

Chase pulled Diana to him for another kiss. He rolled his
tongue around hers, delved into her mouth as if he’d found a pirate’s lost
treasure. Then his hand was on her breast, kneading and exploring her. He practically
ripped off her shirt then tore at the lacy cups of her bra.