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The Island 13
Chapter 13AnyaIt wasn’t quite light out yet when I woke up fully, with no hope of getting back to sleep. I shifted restlessly in the tree, counting down the minutes until it was light enough to depart. I glanced over and upward, finding Dai still sleeping. I waited until the sun broke over the horizon, though it didn’t do a whole lot to improve the gloominess of the jungle. Abruptly, I recalled I was wearing the headlamp that I had switched off last night and switched it on.When the beam of light accidentally arced to Dai’s face, her eyes blinked open, and she sat fully upright. She appeared instantly alert, and her hand gripped the spear. I didn’t think she’d dropped it all night.“We should probably get going.” I whispered the words so she could hear me, but hoped no one else was nearby to hear them.She nodded and gestured downward. “I’ll go first and stand guard, and then you can start down.”Before I could agree, she was already scrambling down the tree. She made it look easy
The Island 14
Chapter 14SpencerHow the hell had she gotten away from me? Cutting myself some slack, and due to the fact that my head was still aching, and I had an occasional moment of slightly blurred vision, I accepted I had been too slow to respond after that little shit hit me with the branch and tried to steal her away from me. I just sat there like an idiot as she stared at me before running. It’d taken me another couple minutes to really gather my senses and get to my feet to follow her.At that point, I was still overly confident in the tracker, and I’d followed the route it mapped for me. It wasn’t until I was almost at the destination that I realized the red dot hadn’t moved for several minutes. I was terrified for her and broke into a run despite the pounding in my head, expecting to emerge to find someone attacking her, or her injured. Instead, I just found her damn backpack and some of her other items abandoned. She figured out I was tracking her somehow, and she’d left it all behind
The Island 15
Chapter 15AnyaAt first, I was certain that it had all been a dream. I woke up feeling snug, secure, and completely warm. I was no longer dangling over a cliff, confronting my own mortality as my fingers started slipping. For a moment, it was all blank how I’d managed to get up from the mudslide area to a warm and cozy bed.Then it came back to me, and I remembered how tender Spencer had been with me as he took care of me. He hadn’t pushed me, and I wanted to make it up to him. I was moved by how sweet he’d been, and I had absolutely no fear even knowing I was lying naked in his arms, and his erection was pressing insistently into my stomach, though he was asleep.Moving carefully, not wanting to wake him just yet, I scooted upward so I could hold onto his shoulders as I started raining kisses gently over his face. He woke sometime between me kissing his nose and his mouth, and his lips captured mine in a deep and far more forceful kiss than the light, almost teasing, ones I’d been d
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Chapter 16SpencerI nodded off for a while along with her, and then woke closer to dawn. I knew the terms of the show, and I had to be out of her bed by nine a.m. I didn’t want to waste any more time, so I stroked a finger down her cheek until her eyes fluttered. She looked at me with a sleepy smile, and I picked her up after rolling out of bed. She clung to me, asking no questions as I took her back to the bathroom. The water was cold, so I let it out and started a new bath. Apparently, this placed didn’t believe in showers, but a bath suited me just fine. I wanted her squeaky clean for all the things I still wanted to do to her.She was starting to wake up when I stepped into the bath and sat down with her on my lap. Her eyes flew open the rest of the way, and she frowned for a moment before apparently realizing we were back where we’d started. She snuggled against me, pressing a kiss to the corner of my mouth, and I turned my head slightly to deepen it into a real kiss.She tasted
The Island 17
Chapter 17SpencerI forced myself to slip away before she woke, deciding it would be easier that way. She spent the last hour or so sleeping deeply in my arms, because I’d worn her out. I was worn out too, but hadn’t been able to sleep. I was too consumed with dread at leaving her, and low-level anxiety at my dread. Anya was addictive, and I braced myself for withdrawal.I slipped out of the little cottage and made my way back to the bungalow to shower and dress in preparation of leaving. It’d taken everything I had not to wake her up and demand her phone number or some way to contact her.When I arrived back at the bungalow, I found my brother emerging from our shared bathroom with a towel around his waist. He had some scratches and bruises, and a huge grin. Apparently, he’d been successful in catching Kelly.We didn’t discuss what had happened though. I was a little surprised he didn’t ask me, and I didn’t ask him because I didn’t want to talk about my weekend with Anya. It was too
The Island 18
Chapter 18AnyaI woke at first feeling completely serene, but quickly realized I was alone in the bed. A sense of dread crept through me, and I sat up with a sigh. A glance at the clock on the nightstand revealed it was after nine a.m., so Spencer was probably long gone.I was miffed and a little hurt that he hadn’t bothered to wake me up to say goodbye, but maybe it was easier this way. I wouldn’t see him again, and a long, drawn-out goodbye scene might’ve made it that much harder. I wouldn’t have wanted to cry on camera, especially after bidding goodbye to a man I’d only known for forty-eight hours or so, so I was thankful he slipped away quietly. Mostly.I got out of bed and walked across the room. My clothes were a lost cause when I managed to gather them together, and I let out an impatient sigh. “What am I supposed to wear?” I asked that aloud, hoping maybe they were still observing me. With that thought in mind, I realized I was parading around naked and moved to the bed to st
The Island 19
Chapter 19AnyaAlmost a full day later, I was back home where I’d started. I exited the airport with my carry-on, prepared to wave down a taxi from the line waiting for passengers. Instead, two huge men crowded on either side of me, grabbing my arms. I tried to fight to escape, but they clamped harder on my arms and half-dragged me between them. I knew who they were, having recognized them from the afternoon Ivanov had come to our home, the very day of my father’s memorial service. Where they were, that bastard had to be nearby.I was still trying to struggle when they shoved me inside a limousine before crowding in beside me on each side. Ivanov sat across from me, and he took my purse when one of the goons snatched it from my fingers. “Give that back.”He clicked his tongue. “So you can cash your check and make off like a bandit in the night? I think not.”I watched with horror as he opened my purse and fished out the check from “The Island.” “How…?” I trailed off, briefly wonderin
The Island 20
Chapter 20AnyaWhen I woke, it was dark in the room. The curtains were drawn, so I couldn’t even see the light the neighbor usually kept on at night above his garage. I knew the room well and managed to get up and make my way to the bathroom before stumbling out of it and crossing the room.I didn’t bother with the light, too driven by hunger. I hadn’t eaten a real meal since Heathrow and wanted to eat while I was still hungry. I was certain if I spent too long contemplating my circumstances, I’d lose all appetite. Knowing I needed strength to deal with Ivanov, I made my way downstairs.The track lights that lined the hallway made it easy to navigate into the kitchen without flipping a light switch. I went straight to the refrigerator and opened it to remove a carton of milk. It was nearly empty, so I tipped it back and drank straight from the carton before tossing it vaguely toward the recycle bin. I would pick it up later, but didn’t have the energy now.I bent down to forage in th
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