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They dozed in each other’s arms, but then Charlie felt his lips touch her forehead and he shifted his weight so she ended up curled up on the matting of the forest floor. Feeling bereft without his body to cuddle into, and aware of the number of insects around, she forced her eyes open to find him with his shorts back on, crouched in front of the fire.
She grabbed her bikini and shorts, and started to pull on her clothes.
“What are you doing?” she called to him.
He looked over his shoulder at her and her heart swelled. He was so gorgeous, she could hardly believe he’d been holding her only moments before.
“If we’re going to make a move, I wanted to make sure we had enough boiled water to carry with us. We don’t know when we’re going to find the next fresh water source.”
Charlie got to her feet and walked over to him. Nerves spiked through her. “So we’re going to do this? We’re really going to try to get to the next island.”
“I don’t know what other choices we have.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded her agreement.
Tyler continued, “We still have hours left before it gets dark, and we have no food here, so we might as well get on the move. There’s no point in us going back to the beach. We’ll only be going back on ourselves. Hopefully, we’ll come across some more fruit trees, but frankly, I’d eat just about anything right now.”
Her stomach constricted in a tight knot of hunger. “Yeah, me too.”
They gathered together the pathetic belongings they had left, Charlie thankful that at least they both still had their sandals. Walking any distance would have been rough without shoes. She’d already experienced that much from the walk after they’d first washed up on the island, though the soles of her feet had already started to toughen up.
Clutching a bottle of murky, warm water to her chest, she asked, “So are we taking the same route as before? How are we going to get down that cliff face?”
Tyler shook his head. “Nah, that’s too dangerous. I saw a small ravine running through the cliffs to the south of the island. We’ll head toward that. Plus the ravine must have been caused by something. There’s a chance we might find another water source there.”
“God, I hope so,” she said, licking her dry lips. The heat was so intense, she found she grew thirsty again after only just taking a drink. The bottles of water they carried wouldn’t last them long.
Tyler found a couple of good strong sticks. He broke off the protruding smaller branches and handed one to her. “Use it to clear your path as you walk,” he said. “I’ll go first, but you might still need to hold back bigger vines. Also, beat for snakes.”
She groaned. “Don’t talk to me about snakes.”
“I expect I’ll scare most of them away. But you still need to stay vigilant. If you do see one, keep still and tell me, and I’ll try to kill it. Snakes make for good eating.”
A small shiver ran through her at the idea of killing and eating a snake, though a loud growl issued from her stomach. While her mind hated the thought of eating a reptile, her body had other ideas.
Instead of heading directly into the island, they stayed west, Tyler following natural animal tracks that he hoped would lead to the path through the cliffs. Above their heads, monkeys screeched and leapt from tree to tree in a sudden burst of activity as the two people passed beneath. Brightly colored birds called to one another, hopping between branches in their strange courtship dances. Though Charlie had thought the density of bugs near the beach had been bad, deeper into the forest they not only increased in amount, but in size as well. A giant spider web stretched right across their path, as big as a beach towel. Luckily, Tyler had spotted the web before he walked into it, so he got her to duck instead of them both destroying the intricate structure. Even so, she was half convinced the spider had dropped on her as she’d passed beneath and was now crawling down her back, her mind convincing her not only of the tickle, but of the monstrous size of the creature. She jiggled and shook as she walked, her hands flapping at both imaginary and very real insects.
Tyler’s broad back suddenly drew to a halt and he turned to her. She was surprised to see him laughing. “What the hell are you doing back there?”
She stared at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I feel like I’m being followed by a crazy person. Screw that, it sounds like three crazy people.”
“I’m trying to keep the bugs off,” she protested. “They’re leaping at me from the trees!”
He laughed again. “No, they’re not. It’s your imagination.”
She pouted. “Well, maybe part of it is. But there are still a lot of insects here. Big ones, too!”
He turned from her and kept walking. “Not much I can do about them, Charlie. But a bit less flapping might make you less noticeable to anything bigger that bites.”
Instantly, she thought of the snakes again, and proceeded with a little more caution.
A gap in the trees allowed them to see farther across the island. The cliffs rose to the north, a grey rocky line across the horizon. She watched Tyler’s square jaw as he scouted the line of rock, checking the position of the sun and doing some kind of calculation she couldn’t even fathom. “I think we’re on the right track. Another hour and we should find the hillside and cliffs to be more on our right, and then hopefully the trail will lead to the ravine.”
“How do you know that?”
“Animals automatically choose the easiest route to water and food. If there’s anything on the other side of the cliffs, which I’m pretty sure there is, then they’ll use the ravine as a natural pathway.” He started walking again. “And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
She hoped he was right. She didn’t like the idea of either of them falling down a cliff face and breaking a leg, or even worse, their necks. There wasn’t exactly much help out here.
“We should hydrate,” he said. “We won’t function properly if we get too dehydrated.”
They didn’t have much water left. “What if we run out?”
“It’s better that we drink the water and are fully functional to find more, than if we try to make it last and end up so dehydrated our bodies won’t work well enough to get more water. Trust me on that.”
She did. She took a long swig of the water, careful not to spill any. Tyler mirrored her movements, taking a drink from the bottle he’d been carrying nestled under one arm. She didn’t think he had much water left either. There was nothing they could do for the moment.
The walk began to get harder, the vines and bushes growing thicker, forcing them to climb over the top of some, Tyler going first so he could turn back and practically lift Charlie over. Her shins became scratched and covered in bites, and she wished she had some long pants as protection.
He stopped and looked up at the tree branches and foliage above their heads.
“Hey, check this out,” he said, his voice bright. Using the small knife he carried, he cut away at one of the vines severing it in two. “Quickly.” He lifted the end of the vine so it curved in a U shape. “Put your mouth underneath it.”
Over the last few days, she’d learned Tyler knew what he was talking about—most of the time, anyway—and so she positioned herself beneath the end of the vine, her mouth titled upward and open. Tyler tipped the severed end. She didn’t know what to expect, but clear, cool liquid dribbled over her tongue and down her parched throat.
Water!
“It’s a water vine,” he explained. “They hold water until they’re cut. You couldn’t completely quench your thirst, but they’d keep you alive.”
“Oh, my God. That’s the best water I’ve ever tasted.” She pushed his hand away, “Your turn.”
He grinned and took a drink.
Tyler cut off the vine, holding both ends up in a U shape. “Here,” he said, handing it to her in that shape to carry, so as not to spill any. “We just got ourselves some new water carriers.”
She took it from him, and they continued their walk. She took tiny sips from the vine as she walked, marveling at how clean the water tasted, especially after the dirty, warm water they’d been drinking.
Finally, they broke through the forest, the cliffs rising on both sides of them.
“You were right!” she exclaimed. A narrow gorge ran through the cliff, and she heard the trickle of running water. “Look, water!”
He caught her arm. “Hang on, Charlie. We still can’t drink straight out of the river. There could be parasites and animal feces in the water.”
She groaned. “So it’s no good to us?”
“We can carry some with us until we reach someplace we decide to make camp for the night. Or else we can stop here,” he glanced up at the sky, “though I think we still have another good couple of hours walking left in the day.”
She looked around. The bush was thick around them, the ground rough and uneven, the cliffs towering, with rocks and boulders shifting loosely from their surfaces. She didn’t want to stop here, and she said so.
He nodded in thoughtful agreement. “You’re right. We’ll find somewhere better.”
They followed the water route upstream, passing between the cliffs and heading into the other half of the so-far-unexplored part of the island.
After another half hour, Tyler stopped and nudged her. “Do you see what those are?”
She looked up at the tree, thick green foliage spreading in a canopy above their heads. Pods of some kind hung from the branches, and lots of them.
“What are they?” she asked.
“Oh, you’ll know them. They’re a little unripe at the moment, so you’re probably used to them being a different color?”
She wrinkled her nose, trying to think.
Tyler jumped up to hang from one of the lower branches and leapt for one of the fruits. He grabbed the pod and pulled. The movement caused a couple of other fruits to fall, hitting the ground with a thump. Charlie glanced down. Monkeys must have been at the fruit as well, for there were several half eaten and a couple of stones. She recognized the stones. While the outside of the fruit may have looked different, the inside didn’t change.
“They’re mangos!” she said in delight.
Tyler grinned and handed her the one he’d picked. “For you, my lady.” He fashioned a small bow and wave of his hand.
She laughed out loud. Using his knife, he peeled the skin off one half and sliced a chunk of the fruit, handing it to her. “It’s unripe, but it should still taste great.”
She didn’t care what it tasted like. She sank her teeth into the fibrous flesh, the tart flavor sending her taste buds into overdrive. Saliva poured into her mouth and she held her hand over her lips as she chewed, not wanting to literally drool as she ate.
Tyler watched her in amusement.
She swallowed. “Stop looking at me. Eat your own.”
He grinned and did as she said, so they both sat down on the ground and ate their fill. They left the stones and skin on the ground. It wasn’t as though they needed to clear up for anyone.
She sighed and sat back. “I could do with a sleep now.”
Tyler got to his feet, brushed himself down, and reached for her hand. “No time to sleep. If we sleep, we’ll be staying here all night. Another hour or so, and I think we could reach the beach on the other side.
She preferred the idea of sleeping near the ocean. The ground was softer, and the trees weren’t filled with creatures crashing about and wailing to one another all night. “Okay, she said, taking his hand. “You’re all sticky.”
“So are you.”
Charlie washed her hands and face in the water, cool silk against her skin, refreshing her. It was still so hot and humid. She was grateful for both the full stomach and the clean skin. How strange that she would never have appreciated these things only a few days ago. Now they seemed like the nectar of life.
They both refilled their bottles from the stream, water sloshing from the tops as they walked. Tyler started to press further west, moving toward the coast. Before long, Charlie could hear the gentle crash of waves against the shore, and the foliage began to grow thinner.
“We’re nearly there,” Tyler said.
She was too exhausted to answer. The sun had grown lower in the sky, the horizon taking on the purple-pinkish hue she’d become accustomed to. The day was still warm, though, and the water vine had long been sucked dry and abandoned. She was looking forward to getting a fire going and being able to rest and have a good, long drink, even if the water did taste like crap.
Finally, they broke out onto the sand. Charlie slipped off her sandals. The material had rubbed between her toes, causing a blister, and the soles of her feet were sore and hot. Would it be wrong of her to go for a paddle before helping Tyler with the bed and fire? She hesitated and realized it would. She wasn’t that person anymore—the one who looked after herself while others did things for her, and she was determined never to be that person again. She’d help Tyler first, and then go and bathe her sore feet.
“You head that way and I’ll go the other,” Tyler instructed, unaware of her mental battle over her feet. “Collect as much driftwood as you can carry.”
The southern end of the beach curved into the cliff and rocks which, if they’d been able to boat around them, would lead to the beach they’d been on previously, to the rock pools where Charlie had scavenged and caught the crab. It seemed crazy that they’d travelled such a huge distance and yet hadn’t gone far at all. But the main thing was that they only needed to follow the coast in the opposite direction the next day and they should find themselves opposite the other island.
She collected driftwood until her arms were full and she could carry no more, and then headed back to the spot where Tyler was already starting to get a small fire going.
She dropped the wood to the sand. “This should be enough to keep us going. I’ll go and collect some palm leaves for the bed, and then maybe we can try to scavenge some more seafood.”
“No need,” he started, “I’ve already made us a bed from palms...” But a frown of concern took over his words, his eyes casting to the sand. “Charlie, are you bleeding?”
“Huh?”
“Jesus, Charlie, look at the state of your feet!”
She glanced down. Where she’d walked, she’d left a trail of bloodied footprints in the sand. The friction of the sand must have burst her blisters and then rubbed them raw. With her arms full of driftwood, she’d not been able to see her feet, and she’d been doing her best to put the pain out of her mind and focus on the jobs that needed to be done.
“Sit down,” he told her, his voice hard. “You need those cleaned.”
“Oh, no,” she said, her cheeks heating at the idea of him touching her dirty, bloodied feet. No one would ever have guessed she’d had a pedicure less than a week ago.
“Just sit down,” he said, his tone commanding. She wouldn’t have dared disobey him, dropping to the sand beside him. He’d already placed a tin can in the fire to sterilize the water. “I know we need this for drinking water, but if your feet get infected, you’re not going to be able to walk.”
“Sorry,” she said, feeling meek.
“You should have said something!”
“I didn’t want to be a nuisance.”
“Don’t talk crazy. If you’re injured, it affects both of us. If something is hurting, you need to speak up. It’s not like I’m going to tell you off!”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
He lifted his eyes to her. “I’m not that bad, am I?”
“You have your moments.”
He frowned, a troubling shadow falling over his face. “I never meant for you to feel as if you couldn’t tell me if you were hurting.”
“You can just be a little ... intimidating at times.”
Tyler shifted his weight to remove the can from the fire, shoving it with small jabs to push it across the sand toward them, the outside of the can still hot. Then he lifted both of her feet and placed them on the top on his thighs, her ankles rested on his legs, her feet overhanging. When the outside of the can had cooled enough to allow it to be lifted, he slowly tipped out the water, using his fingers to gently clean between her big toe and the next, where the blister had formed. His touch was strong, but gentle, and she sighed, letting her head fall back as his touch and the warm water eased her smarting feet. The balls of his thumbs pressed in long, firm strokes up her soles. The stress of the last few days fell away from Charlie’s shoulders and she felt herself relax.
Tyler’s hands crept up to her ankle, his fingers rubbing, smoothing, stroking with an expert touch. Then his hand moved higher, wrapping around her slender calf. The muscles were tight and knotted from the amount of walking she’d done, but he worked them out.
His hand slid past her knee and up to her thigh.
Charlie suppressed a small smile and cracked open an eye, peeping at him. He was watching her face, a similar expression on his own features—cheeky, judging her reaction.
“I don’t think my feet are that high up,” she said, giving in to the smile.
“No?” He slid his hands higher, midway between her knee and the juncture of her thighs. “How about here?”
She shook her head. “Still nowhere close.”
“Really?” His fingers crept higher again. “How about here?”
She squirmed under his touch. “You’re getting cooler.”
He leaned toward her. “Then why are you getting hotter?”
His fingers reached the V of her thighs, slipping inside the leg of her shorts. He reached inside to spread his hand across her mound, pressing firmly on the little bundle of nerves there, making her gasp. His fingers slid beneath her bikini bottoms, and his thick index finger slipped between her folds, dipping into her wetness.
“Oh, Tyler,” she groaned, her head falling back. She felt so exposed as he pushed his finger inside her, his eyes never leaving her face. His movements were restricted by the clothes she still wore, but he hooked his finger inside her, the flat of his palm pressed against her mound.
A quick glance at the crotch of his shorts left her in no doubt that he was as turned on as she was. She lifted a hand from the palm leaves on which they sat, and reached toward him, but he batted her hand away.
“No, this is just for you.”
He watched her with half-closed, hooded eyes, his full lower lip slack with lust, something dark and primitive in his expression. She met his gaze, holding contact as he added another finger. Her inner muscles tightened around his digits, pulling him deeper. Her hips thrust forward, back on him, wishing he’d add another finger—hell his whole hand—and fill her completely. The world narrowed down to nothing more than the feelings he sent racing through her body, her nipples hard and sensitive, pressing against the skimpy material of her bikini top. She wanted to lift a hand to squeeze and pinch her nipples, stimulating herself further, but she was leaning back on her hands, and her arms already trembled. If she dared to move, she would fall back on the sand.
Instead, she closed her eyes and focused on Tyler’s fingers. He moved faster now, his thumb sneaking up to rub small circles on her sensitive bud.
Her orgasm built, and she squirmed against him, her breathing becoming ragged. Her muscles tightened at her core, that familiar building edging a notch higher with every push Tyler made deeper and harder inside her.
“Do it, now,” he told her, his dark eyes still utterly focused on her face. “I want to watch you come.”
His words sent her over the edge. She came hard and fast, the waves of pleasure radiating out from her deepest center, spreading through her whole body in waves. She cried out, little ‘ohs’ of pleasure, the orgasm sending her mind spinning.
Charlie slumped forward, breathing hard, waiting for the final pulses of her orgasm to wrack their way through her body. Her skin was slick with sweat. When she opened her eyes, she found Tyler watching her with a smug expression on his face. He removed his hand from her shorts and brought his fingers to his nose, inhaling the scent of her.
“That,” she said, when she caught her breath, “has got to be the best foot massage I’ve ever had.”
He laughed. “Good to hear.”
With the sun going down, her body relaxed and her stomach still full of mango, Charlie only wanted to sleep. Tyler knocked back her offer of repaying his ‘massage,’ telling her she was obviously exhausted, and that he’d chalk it up for another time.
They drank most of the sterilized water, and Tyler pulled her down into his arms, so she lay with her head pillowed on his chest, her arm across his body, her thigh hooked over his leg. It was too hot to be sleeping this close together, but she didn’t care, not standing the thought of having any space between them. Tyler didn’t seem to mind. He smelled of fresh sweat, salt, and smoke from the fire, and she pressed her lips against his pectoral muscles, the spatter of dark hair on his chest tickling her nose. Mosquitoes buzzed around her head, but, other than slapping at the occasional one which landed on her to feed, she’d learned to ignore them.
As she drifted off to sleep, she heard him say, “We’ll try to get to the other island tomorrow,” and she tried to stop the fear of the dangers the next day could hold following her into her dreams.