Summer by Summer (20 page)

I opened my eyes and sucked in a giant, cool breath. Rays of light shot through the roof and down into a round pool. The liquid ran from the cracked sections in the walls, accumulating at the bottom. All around it, smaller pools — some the size of our wash pan, some larger — sat holding crystal clear water. Where the light hit
just right, you could see the bottom of each little pool. And I swear it looked like the place was glowing.

“It’s beautiful.”

Bray knelt down in one corner of the room. “Mud.” He brought his hand up to show me the dark stuff. Before I could say, “Gross,” he started spreading it up the inside of his sore arm.

“Uh . . .” was all I could manage.

“You next?”

I took a step back. “No thanks.”

“I think it will help your wrist.” He seemed really sure of himself and I wondered if the cave had somehow swapped his brain for mush.

“It’s
mud
.”

“Didn’t Mom take you to the spa? People pay high dollar for this.”

I did seem to recall a mud mask on the spa menu. “You really think that will help?” I couldn’t believe I was falling for this. It was probably some kind of joke, but I shuffled toward him.

“Mud has great healing properties. Seriously. We can slather some on, and then rinse it off in one of the little pools. Or . . .” He let the word hang in the air.

“Or what?”

He wiggled his brows and pointed to the large pool. So fresh, so inviting. And right there waiting for us. I slipped my lower lip between my teeth and bit down.

“The water’s nice and cool. Would feel great right about now.”

Before I could change my mind, I pulled my T-shirt off to reveal my bikini top — which by now I was growing more accustomed to. “I don’t want mud on my shirt.” Of course, it had become a darker shade of gray in the time we’d been there. I dropped to my knees next to Bray and we hovered over the mud hole.

Bray plunged his fingers into the muck and brought up two handfuls, then spread it on my wrist over the rope burn. The half liquid, half solid pressed against my burns, soothing them, cooling them.

I sighed and dropped from my knees onto my bottom. Bray scooted beside me.

“It’s good for sunburns too.”

Suspicious eyes met his all too innocent ones. I just couldn’t get a mental picture of Bray spreading mud all over my body. Or maybe I
could
get a picture of it and that’s what bothered me. “I’ll stick with just the wrist.”

We really weren’t that sunburned anymore. Bray was a little worse than I was. The burns had become tans and we were both about five shades darker than when we had arrived. At least the tan seemed to help us tolerate the sun and unforgiving temperatures on the island. But even if I didn’t want the mud, the water in front of us was practically calling, and I could imagine it cool and clear, caressing my suntightened skin. My eyes trailed from the mud pit to him. “Last one in is a rotten egg.”

I leapt up and removed my shoes and then my shorts, leaving them right where they dropped.

My foot hit the water and I froze. Behind me, Bray was yammering about it not being fair, that he wasn’t ready and his entire arm was covered in mud, slowing him down.

“It’s
cold
. I mean,
really
cold.” I snatched my foot out like it had burned me.

Bray carefully pulled the T-shirt from his body, but it got stuck around his head as he tried to remove it without getting the whole thing covered in mud. “Could use a little help here.”

Hands over his head, face blocked by his shirt. I stepped closer and noticed the lines of muscles in his stomach, like chains under flesh. He really was beautiful, even when covered from elbows to fingertips in mud. “Uh, Summer?”

He couldn’t see me inspecting his chest and stomach from such close proximity, so I did the only thing I could do. I plunged my
hands into the mud and brought it up to his chest. When I first touched him, he tensed. Then quivered. Then a long sigh left his lips.

I could imagine his eyes closing, his mouth slightly open. I don’t know why it was easier to do with his face covered, but it was. The mud was cool, but warmed as it made contact with his hot skin. My fingertips ran over his pecs, leaving dark smears wherever they touched. I moistened my hands and placed them along his sides, then slowly drew them upward until I felt his lateral muscles tighten at my touch. I grabbed his arm and turned him around so that he faced away from me. He moved easily as if not wanting to break the contact. With one tug, I stripped the shirt from him. His hands lowered, shoulders rising and falling, but in an uneven manner. I spread a generous helping of mud over his shoulders, fingers and palms moving with more and more confidence as I learned the curves and contours of his body. I covered his back, taking note of the way his waist dipped slightly inward and the indention of spine ridged with muscle. He could be a model if he wanted. He was perfect. Bray made all other guys seem like little boys. He made them smaller. I could lose my heart to him. And that wasn’t the only thing on the line.

After I finished, I doused my hands over and over again in one of the small pools until they were clean.

“You next?” Bray said, coming to stand just behind me, his voice hoarse against my ear.

I closed my eyes. He wasn’t touching me, but he felt so
there
, so in my space, and I didn’t want him to move but I also couldn’t take his hands on me. My body had reacted to his as my hands roamed freely over him, and right now, I wasn’t sure I could resist. I swallowed.

“I probably shouldn’t have done that.” The words were a whisper on my mouth. Until he answered, I wasn’t even sure he heard.

“I’m glad you did.”

I turned to face him, water still dripping from my fingertips.
“You just looked more burned than me. You’re the one always out in the sun, and I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable if the mud could help . . .”

He placed a mud-caked finger over my lips. Luckily, the mud had hardened. “Summer. Don’t apologize. Don’t
ever
apologize for touching me.”

“Stop it!” I slung the remaining water from my hands.

Bray took a step back and raised his brows.

“This isn’t
fair
to you, Bray. You have . . . you know . . .” I turned to face the pool because I couldn’t look at him and say it. “Needs.”

Beside me, he tromped a couple steps into the water. One quick glance told me he was dousing his hands. A moment later, he stepped in front of me, blocking the pool.

I chewed my lip. “I told you, it’s cold.”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t bear to look at him. My gaze flitted everywhere else. He tilted my chin with his finger and thumb. A long moment stretched. “Needs, huh?”

I would have thought he was making fun of me if he hadn’t sounded so tender. I had once placed a purity ring on my hand and promised to wait.

“Summer, I’m not going to lie to you. I want that. In fact, I’d love that. But you’re not punishing me by sticking to your convictions. I think I have a good idea of what that means to you and I’m okay with waiting.”

I was all geared to defend my position. “What?”

“I can wait for you, Summer. You’re worth it.”

I was speechless, trying to digest that. “No. You don’t understand because it’s not just about waiting. Bray, I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t until my wedding night.”

His hand dropped, but his face was unreadable.

“I have a vision for my wedding day, Bray. I put a purity ring on my finger and made a vow.”

When he didn’t speak, I had to continue, had to try to make him understand. “It started in my freshman year when Michael’s mom married. It was the most amazing wedding I’d ever seen and it made me want to wait. Waiting is the only thing that could make a day like that more special. More unforgettable. I went and talked to my youth pastor. He’d been wanting to take us through the class about waiting for marriage. Michael even did the class with me.”

“But Summer, are you waiting for Michael? Because if this vision is wrapped around him, that can’t happen. If that’s the case, you’re going to end up really disappointed.”

He wasn’t being cruel. Just honest. And it deserved honesty in return. “I . . . I don’t know.”

His chilly fingertips slid up and down my arms. “Okay, then. We have some decisions to make.”

I frowned.

“First, you need to figure out how you really feel about it. And second, I need you to know that whatever you decide is okay.”

My heart did a little flip. “It is?”

“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I gotta admit, I’m not always going to like it. You’re a really beautiful woman, Summer, and I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t want you. But . . .”

“But?”

“I’ve learned something from you. I want a deeper relationship, a
real
relationship. One that looks nothing like what I’ve had in the past.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“So let’s just take this one step at a time, okay?”

I knew what he meant.
This
was that thing, that chemistry, that intensity that had grown since we’d arrived on the island. “How do we do that?”

“Can I take you out on a date?”

I almost laughed, part from relief, part from the silliness of it. We were shipwrecked on an island together.

“If you need some convincing, I’m a pretty good date. Flowers and everything. Besides, we’ve witnessed some horrible things today. A date would make life feel — at least a little — more normal.”

“Flowers, huh?”

“Or chocolate.”

I narrowed my gaze on him, fighting the smile.

“Okay, chocolate might be difficult to find, but flowers I can manage. Will you meet me at our place tonight at dusk? That is, if we survive climbing back down the mountainside.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Sure.”

At that moment, the stillness around us intensified. Bray leaned toward me and brushed a kiss across my cheek, causing my eyes to close. “Guess what?” he whispered.

“What?”

“You lose. I’m in the water.”

My eyes snapped open. And just like that, he clamped me in a death grip and dragged me into the frigid pool.

CHAPTER 12

Bray

“Bray look!”

We’d started our way down the mountainside moving slowly. I’d slipped once, but regained my footing quickly. Standing on a flat rock just below Summer, I tried to see what she was pointing at. All I could see was rock. She was perched on one a few feet above and motioned for me to come back up to her.

When I did, I saw a path that cut through the rock moving downward, but at a much easier slope. Her eyes lit. “Do you think it goes all the way to the bottom?”

“One way to find out.” We redirected ourselves and headed down. We navigated the terrain smoothly until we reached a mossy, flat surface. It was about ten feet wide and dropped straight down.

“Can we jump?” Summer’s tone was helpless, and I felt about the same.

“Yeah, I think we can make it.” We both peered over the edge to the forest floor below. It
looked
soft enough. “I’ll go first.” I sat down on the ledge and inched my body over, hoping to slide down, but gravity took hold and I landed with a thud, my feet beneath me and my body jarring.

Summer followed and I caught her at the bottom, clamping my hands around her waist just in time to soften the landing. “We made it,” she whispered.

I was out of breath, but not sure if it from was the descent or having Summer trapped against the rock wall.

When her arms came around me in a quick hug, I knew. It was her. All her.

Before we could make it back to the hut, I heard the hum of a far-off boat engine. Either the killers were leaving, or more were joining the party. Either way, we had to be careful.

It was still hours before dusk, so I had time while Summer busied herself setting up the hut so that we could stay hidden there in the daytime if we needed to. She’d brought containers of water inside and made sure the entrance looked uninhabited. I figured it was unlikely anyone would venture into the hut unless they suspected people were there. And really, if they suspected that, we were as good as dead anyway.

But my curiosity wouldn’t let me rest. I’d heard a boat motor, and I needed to know if it would be best for us to just go back to the cave where I was certain they wouldn’t find us. But the climb and its dangers made the decision for me. While Summer was working, I ran as quickly as I could, being as quiet as possible, to the beach where the boat had been.

Through the trees, my eyes scanned first the beach and then the horizon in both directions. They were gone. No boat. No murderers. At least we could sleep tonight. The problem was, I’d been thinking about how my dad had told me the islands and the cays were used for all sorts of illegal things. This might be a regular stop for these guys. Really, we weren’t much safer than we’d been with them on the other side of the island. But it was unlikely they’d return tonight, so at least we had that.

I returned quickly. I’d spotted a swing on the end hut, but the chain was broken. With the tools I had from the shed, maybe I could
repair it and hang it on the hooks on our front porch for the evenings. I could take it down each morning and cover it with brush. But having a real place to sit might help us hold it together. As if being stranded here wasn’t enough, now we had to worry about who might show up and slit our throats.