Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Aggie comes to stand by my side, eyes on the tree line. “It makes me think, though. What happens if we do run out?”
“We can’t think of that, we can only focus on right now and what we can do to protect what we do have.”
She nods, biting her lower lip.
Kellen doesn’t say anything, he just prowls the debris, hands on hips, looking around for an answer we all know he won’t get. It could be worse, I remind myself. I want to tell the others that, but it feels pointless. Nobody wants a pep talk right now, least of all me.
Ace turns to face the rest of us, and I can see the thoughts running around in his mind. “We need to find a new place to set up. Where we are is good, as we can see the ocean, and maybe we do shifts to stay there and keep an eye out for boats, but we need to find somewhere we can set up a safer camp.”
Aggie rubs her arms. “I don’t like that, because that means we might be here a while...”
“Well, we can’t keep avoiding the facts. If we are going to be here, we need to think about how we’re going to keep ourselves fed and safe.”
Nobody disagrees.
“We could explore,” I suggest. “See if there’s anything better on the other side of the island. Maybe higher ground or a cave of some sort that is easier to get to.”
Zeke nods. “I agree, we haven’t explored much. We need to see what is available to us.”
“We’ll split up, go in pairs,” Kellen offers.
“There is a large rock on the west side,” Adrian shrugs, standing against a rock. “I found it a week ago. It’s what you want. Go that way,” he jabs a finger behind Ace, “you’ll find it. But it is windy over there, so you might want to consider that. I think we check the north side, because there are more shallow pools for fishing.”
Well, sometimes he is helpful.
It’s decided then.
Kellen and Aggie take the south side of the island. Rachel, Zeke and Adrian go towards the east and Ace follows me towards the north.
We set off in our direction, heading up through brittle brush and overgrown vines. The earth here is soaked and springy, a mess of animal tracks and fallen fruit. Ace walks a few paces ahead, shoving as many branches out of the way as possible, so I can easily get through. Watching him walk ahead, so masculine, makes my insides do silly things.
I am finding it hard to focus with those guns swinging around all over the place.
He glances back at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I say quickly, too quickly.
He gives a skeptical grunt. “Sure about that?”
I huff. “I’m sure.”
My face stays down, so he can’t see the flushing in my cheeks.
We walk on in silence, up and up, until the trees thin and sunlight blazes down hot and sharp. There’s a break in the jungle here, almost a plateau. You can see the whole sweep of the island this far up, the ragged coastline and the ripped shirts of surf slapping against the reef.
Ace stops, hands on knees, breathing hard. “Fuck, have a go at how beautiful this is.”
He’s not wrong.
“There are a lot more cliffs and rocks on this side, and we can see a good portion of the ocean, so maybe we see if we can find something around here.”
“I agree,” he nods.
We skirt the ridge, following its slow drop toward the other beach. At one point, Ace brushes against me, the heat of him blazing even through my sweat-soaked clothes. He doesn’t say sorry. I don’t want him to.
“Want some water?” he asks, stopping to sling a water bottle in my direction.
I take it, grateful, and gulp it down.
“So,” He leans back against a tree, arms crossed, staring at me with a look that’s half challenge, half something else. “Are you purposely avoiding me or...”
I reel back, shocked. “What? No?”
He grins, so wicked it makes my heart skip a beat. “Sweetpea, you’re avoiding me.”
I shake my head. “No, I swear. It has been crazy and...”
He steps forward and the words become trapped in my throat. His hand comes out and his fingers graze my waist and suddenly I’m pressed against the tree, his mouth inches from mine.
“I’m gonna kiss you now, is that good with you?” he murmurs, his voice low and husky.
I don’t answer. I just let him do it.
The kiss is nothing like the ones from before. This is desperate and hungry, our mouths tangling together and our tongues dancing. His hands are all over me and I do nothing to stop him. He lifts me, just enough to make me gasp, and presses me against the trunk. His mouth trails down, a rough line along my jaw, a scrape across my collarbone. I arch against him, my body betraying me.