Tempt (Take It Off) (4 page)

“You’re going into shock
,” he explained. “Just breathe.”

I thought his weight might seem crushing, but it wasn’t. It was security
; it was something solid in a tentative world. My hands twisted in the hem of his shirt and held on, their shaking slowing to a fine tremble.

“That’s a girl,” he murmured, placing his lips against my forehead.

My body calmed. My heart rate returned to normal. What he did for me nothing in that first aid kit could do.

“I’m going to go as fast as I can,” he promised.

I wondered what he was talking about.

And then the needled jabbed into my skin. I yelped and he bore his weight down on me even further, pinning me to the chair and keeping me still.

I hoped I never had to feel this kind of pain again. I felt every jab, every pull of the needle. It hurt so bad I sort of went numb. It was as if my body refused to feel that amount of pain.

And then he pulled his hands away.

I collapsed against the back of the chair like I’d just completed a marathon.

“Hey,” he murmured softly, taking my face in his hands. “You still with me?”

I nodded.

He kissed me.

The first brush of his lips was balm to my pain-laden soul. It was a soft, lingering kiss that stole my senses and made everything, including the pain, disappear. He titled his head just slightly, his lips dragging over mine. Mine parted and our mouths met again. His tongue teased the entrance of my mouth, tracing the outline of my lips, and then he planted his lips fully upon mine once more.

It was the best pain medicine I would ever know.

A small whimper left my mouth and traveled into his. He swallowed it like he was trying to capture some of my pain and take it away, like he was willing to shoulder some of my hurt so I would know relief.

It wasn’t really about romance. It wasn’t about passion.

It was more.

When he pulled back
, he dropped a soft kiss to the tip of my nose. “
Bella
,” he whispered, the word sounding poetic as he spoke it in his native language.

It was probably the only word I knew in Spanish. It meant “beautiful.”

“I’m going to cover this now,” he said gently, reaching down beside us, cleaning off his hands and then rummaging around for more supplies out of the kit. “The worst of the pain is over.”

His kiss lingered on my lips
. The taste of him clung to the inside of my mouth while he finished cleaning the area around my new stitches and then applied some sort of covering.

“There,” he said, climbing off my lap. I instantly missed his weight. “That’s the best I could do considering all this hair.
” He reached out and fingered a thick lock of my wavy, long blond hair.

“Thank you.” I looked up. Noticing the blood and gash on his cheek once more. “Your turn.”

I motioned for him to take my seat and I crouched, searching around for some supplies of my own to clean his injury. I lined them up on his lap, kneeled between his knees, and leaned into him to clean off the area.

The muscle in his jaw ticked as I cleaned off the worst of the area. It wasn’t still bleeding so I figured a butterfly bandage would do just fine. I tried not to be distracted by the way his hand found the side of my hip and held on
to me while I worked.

Who was I kidding?

It was distracting as hell.

I guess my libido d
idn’t get damaged in the crash.

After I applied the antiseptic and bandage
, I pulled back. “I think you’ll live,” I declared.

“That’s good. I’m not ready to die yet.”

I swallowed. Was there a veiled meaning behind his words? I could have sworn desire laced his eyes. I told myself I was just seeing things because of my discomfort.

A sound from outside caught my attention. I stood up abruptly.
“Where are we?” I murmured, nervous about what lay beyond the wreckage.

“Don’t know. Probably one of the many islands around here.”

“We should find a hospital. Or the police.”

He gave me a long glance out of the corner of his eye but didn’t say anything. Even still, that one glance made me uneasy.

“Come on,” he said, packing up the first aid kit and tucking it beneath his arm with one of the water bottles. I grabbed up mine and he took my hand, leading us to the back of the plane.

“Stay here,” he said and then hopped down over the jagged metal and loose wiring
into the jungle-like environment. He glanced out into the foliage and then back at me.

I could see his internal debate about whether or not to leave me or drag me along with him. Too bad it wasn’t his decision.

“Stay together.” I reminded him of his earlier words.

He nodded and palmed my waist, lifting me down as if I weighed nothing at all. When he sat me on my feet
, he reached up and brushed away the hair that was sticking to my forehead in what I assumed was dried blood.

It appeared
the plane crashed onto the shore and skidded into a densely wooded area. I figured we couldn’t have hit the ocean because nothing inside the plane was wet, and surely some of the salty seawater would have made it inside with the busted windows and half the plane missing. What was left of the plane rested among palm trees and plants with leaves as big as my head. Behind it, the earth bore the skid marks of its hasty crash and it was those marks we followed, kind of like Hansel and Gretel followed the breadcrumbs.

It didn’t take long to see where they led. It wasn’t to a cottage made of candy. It was to a pristine stretch of beach.

The sand was white, the water a crystal-clear blue. In the distance, the sun was sinking low in the sky, painting the horizon shades of pink and orange, setting a blazing trail of crimson along the top of the water.

It was absolutely stunning.

Except for one thing.

There wasn’t a single soul in sight. There were no boats. No people. No hotels, no streets, no noise. It was as if this place had been previously untouched by any kind of civilization.

I glanced at Nash and the solemn set to his jaw. I finally understood the look he’d given me on the plane when I talked about a hospital and the police.

There would be no hospital. Or police. There would be no help at all.

It appeared that Nash and I had crashed on an uninhabited island.

We were utterly alone.

We walked for a long time, thinking we would run into some kind of civilization, not yet willing to give up hope. But every step we took only got us closer to the realization that there was no one here but us.

We were on an island. A tropical oasis of nothing but sand, water
, and lush tropical growth. The sand was white and the water was crystal clear. The beach stretched on for as far as I could see and the sand gave way to a jungle of sorts. We didn’t really explore too deeply into the foliage. I was afraid of getting lost. And we were both exhausted.

We might have been out for some
time, but it hadn’t been a restful sleep. It had been our bodies’ way of healing, of keeping us both alive.

When it became apparent that there was nothing out there
and darkness threatened to consume all the light of day that remained, we turned back, heading for the plane. My stomach rumbled as we walked and I struggled to remember the last time I ate. I glanced at Nash, who had fallen quiet. His jeans were rolled up above his knees, one falling slightly lower than the other. He walked in the water as it rushed up over his feet and ankles. A breeze blew off the ocean, pulling at his T-shirt, plastering it against his torso, which was clearly well defined.

He must’ve felt my stare because he looked up.

“When we get back to the plane, I will try to radio for help. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have a signal.”

I nodded. “Maybe we can find one of our phones.”

“I think staying near the plane is our best bet right now. If someone comes looking, they might spot the wreckage.”

“And the plane is good shelter,” I added. Even if the tail end was missing
, it still provided a barrier from the elements and the sun. Not to mention we really had no idea what kind of predators lived on the island.

“Do you think we
’re close to Puerto Rico?” I asked him.

“I couldn’t say. The plan
e was blown farther out into the sea… If I had to guess, I would say we’re closer to Bermuda.”

“We crashed in the Bermuda Triangle?”

He nodded, his expression grim.

I wasn’t sure what this could mean. Sure, I’d heard all the tales and rumors about the triangle and how planes and boats often went missing. Were we just another victim of the esteemed black hole of the ocean? Were we going to fade into something of a mystery? Would we fall victim to a myth?

I pushed those thoughts away, telling myself it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered right now was that we were alive.

The plane came into view in the distance, an all too vivid reminder of what we just endured. Both of us trudged on, me wishing I had some kind of pain medicine to dull the
throbbing in my head and Nash saying nothing at all.

It was completely dark when we made our way inside the
wreckage. I was exhausted and felt like crying. We both plopped down in two wayward chairs. Nash was nothing but a blur of color in the darkness.

“Let’s just rest tonight. We’ll figure out what we’re going to do in the morning.”

“Good idea.”

He stood and
pried open the overhead compartments above the row of seats. He pulled something down, shaking it out and then draping the blanket over me. Then he handed me a pillow.

“What about you?”

“I’ll get one for me too.”

I snuggled down into the seat with my blanket and pillow
, telling myself things could be far, far worse. And then I closed my eyes. My thoughts drifted to Nash and the way I felt earlier when his lips were upon mine.

*    *    *

Sleep was rather easy to obtain… but it was hard to keep. I kept hearing the crunch of metal, the sound of the tail being ripped away. And then I would somehow break free of the pile of debris burying me and stand, wind whipping around me evilly, trying to pull me from the plane. And then I would see him. See Nash. He would reach for me and I would hold out my hand…

And then the wind would claim him, would suck him right into the darkened sky outside.

His scream rang through my head.

I jerked awake.

“Ava?” His voice reached me through the dark.

“Nash.” Just the sound of his voice washed away the worst of the dream.

I heard some movement and then he appeared above me. “Did you have a nightmare?”

I nodded and realized that he likely could
n’t see the movement. “Yeah. I’m okay now.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“The plane was crashing all over again. But this time… you didn’t make it.” I couldn’t help the way my voice caught at the last part.

He made a soft sound and reached for me, picking me up and sitting down with me in his lap. My skin felt cold against his and I sighed at
his warmth enveloping me.

“Where the hell is your blanket?” he
asked, feeling around the ground around us. He found it and dragged it up, tucking it around us both.

“I must have kicked it off when I was sleeping.”

He grunted. “Those shorts of yours aren’t going to keep you warm.”

“What’s wrong with my shorts?
”

“Not a thing,” he said, his voice a little thicker than before. “They just don’t offer much warmth.”

They
were
short. And I
was
cold.

“Like your jeans are any warmer
.” I snorted, reaching down and fingering one of the many holes. My fingertip slid in and brushed against the skin of his leg. Heat fizzled along my nerve endings, zapping up my fingers through my arm and toward my chest. I jerked back, a little frightened about the sudden surge of desire.

He chuckled.

I felt my muscles stiffen slightly, a little shocked at my response from an accidental touch.

He seemed to sense the change that came over me
, and his hand slid upward and rubbed slow circles over my back, coaxing my body into relaxing once more. It worked. My eyes closed and I submitted to the feel of his palm massaging me.

I snuggled a little closer, not even realizing what I was doing until his arms tightened around me. I might have been embarrassed about my body’s automatic reaction to get closer if he hadn’t felt so damn good. I’d never been held like this before. Sure, I
’d seen women and men on TV embracing and oh-so-close, but I didn’t really think it would feel this way. This secure.

Maybe it was that sense of security that caused the one secret fear that had been gnawing at me since we crashed to pass through my lips.

“Do you think anyone will come for us?” I whispered. The words were captured by the darkness around us, creeping in the empty space, almost taunting us.

He was silent a moment and then he replied.
“Yes. I really do. We’re going to be just fine.” His lips grazed the top of my forehead as he spoke. Hot chills raced over my skin.

I desperately wanted to believe him. Still
, there was a taunting voice inside me that whispered we would never get off this island.

I spent the rest of the night in that place between sleep and consciousness. Usually that state annoyed me because it wasn’t actually restful, but this time I wasn’t annoyed. I was so comfortable it was like I didn’t quite want to surrender to sleep, because then I wouldn’t be aware of his breathing, of the steady rhythm of his heart. I wouldn’t feel the way his skin brushed against mine
when he moved.

The darkness started to lift,
bringing out more shadows, and I became aware of needs that required the bathroom we didn’t have. I felt myself squirm in his lap, knowing I couldn’t hold it forever, but not wanting to use the jungle out there as a potty.

He groaned a little, his hips bucking up, pressing a very solid length against my hip. I froze. Squirming around in a guy
’s lap probably wasn’t the best idea. He moved again, the hard length of him nudging me.

My mouth went dry.

I wasn’t really sure how to react. Part of me wanted to leap off him. The other part of me was curious. My fingers itched to reach out and explore that part of him—the part of a man that was sort of a mystery to me.

Before I could do anything
, he opened his eyes and I felt his stare. A half smile played across his lips. “Good morning.”

“Hi,” I said shyly.

“It’s still really early.”

“I have to pee,” I said, totally embarrassed I just announced that like a five
-year-old, but clearly the feel of his… well, his
you know
, robbed my brain of the filter it obviously needed.

He chuckled. “Yeah, me too.” He patted my back. “Come on
, then, up.”

I swung my legs off him, which pressed my bottom f
arther back in his lap. A groan ripped out of his throat as the ridge in his pants punched forward, right up against my backside.

I froze, not really sure what to do. I hoped he didn’t think I did that on purpose.

“He’s not going to get any smaller with you sitting in my lap like that,” he murmured.

Embarrassment flooded my cheeks and I jolted off him, stumbling a little over the debris on the ground. Nash grabbed my arm to steady me but didn’t say anything else, thank God.

We went outside and he pointed to the right. “Ladies that way.” Then he started off to the left.

I wandered around a few minutes, squinting at ever
y shape I saw, half expecting some kind of wild beast to attack me and make me breakfast. When nothing came after me, I found a spot and did my business, the whole time wrinkling my nose. I was so not a roughing it kind of girl.

Nash was waiting beside the plane when I pushed
my way back through the plants. His back was to me and he was staring out toward the beach. He didn’t turn, but he held out his hand to me. “Look,” he said, his voice hushed.

I stepped forward, slipping my hand into his
, and gasped.

The sun was rising over the ocean.
The sky was a vibrant hue of pink with the pale yellow of the sun in the center. The water sparkled like a chest full of gems and a light, cool breeze brushed over my skin and ruffled the large leaves around us.

“I’ve never seen a sunrise so beautiful.”

“It’s the ultimate love story,” he murmured.

“What?” I glanced away from the view to his strong profile. I couldn’t help but study the planes and angles of his face and the slight stubble that cover
ed the bottom portion of his jaw.

“The story about how the moon loved the sun so deeply th
at it died every morning so she could breathe with the new day.”

I glanced back at the
climbing sun. “I’ve never heard that before.”

“Two entities intertwined forever, destined to never share the sky at the same time
, but never able to hate each other for it. Instead, they die for one other over and over again.”

“That’s beautiful.” And it brought an entirely new
significance to night and day.

“
Si
,” he agreed.

We stood there unmoving, staring out at the
water until the sun had ascended above the verge and appeared to be sitting on top of the horizon like a giant boat ready to sail away.

“Kiki would have loved to see this
,” I said, thinking of my beloved grandmother. Then panic stole through me and I gasped. “Kiki!”

Forgetting all about the beautiful
sunrise, I raced back toward the plane—toward the last place I remembered seeing the suitcase with the urn inside.

B
efore the crash.

Before the tail of the plane was
whipped away and Nash and I were knocked out cold.

I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about her ashes until now. What if they were gone? What if they had been sucked out of the plane when the tail was torn away?

It would be like losing her all over again.