Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102167 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Come on, Henry.” I extend a beckoning hand, grinning like I just solved world peace. “Let’s go have sex.”
“Avery…” He scrubs a hand down his face and sighs heavily.
“What now?” I blow out a frustrated breath from pursed lips. “What possible excuse could you have?”
“You’re a virgin, Avery.”
“Uh. Yeah. I know. I am the bearer of the hymen after all.”
His jaw clenches. “Then you have to know it’s not just as simple as saying, Hey, let’s go do it. There are consequences. Things that it will change.”
I scoff. “It’s only complicated if we make it complicated. We’re just two bodies, passing the time.”
“We’re going to get off this island, Avery.” His voice has the kind of careful cautiousness that grates on my nerves. I don’t want to overanalyze this shit. I just want to…escape. “And then what?” he questions. “Will you regret it then?”
I cross my arms. “Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”
“Because,” he snaps, running a frustrated hand through his hair, “I can’t handle the thought of you regretting it and deciding never to talk to me again.” His words come out raw and unfiltered, the sharp edges of his restraint fraying. “I get that it’d be easier—that it would make this whole situation easier if you had someone to hate or blame or lash out at. But God, Avery…” He exhales, shaking his head. “I…I can’t have you hating me. I can’t.”
And just like that, the weight of it all slams into me.
The air between us shifts, heavier than before.
I stare at him, my pulse hammering, the firelight casting shadows over his sharp features—the cut of his jaw and the heat in his stormy blue eyes.
And fuck, I want him.
I want him so badly it’s making my head spin.
I swallow hard. “That’ll never happen, Henry. I swear.” And I mean it so deeply that my whole body shakes.
Two days ago, when I thought he was hurt or missing or…dead…I realized a lot of things about Henry I’ll never be able to forget. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy at home or stuck on this godforsaken island, Henry Callahan is the kind of man you ride or die for. He says what he means. Does what he says.
And I can’t imagine a world without him in it.
Fighting the overwhelming emotion of everything I’ve been working so hard to drown in bourbon, I suck my lips into my mouth, my next words no louder than a whisper. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get rescued.”
His gaze darkens. “Avery…”
“I don’t. And you don’t either. But either way, this is something that’s happened to both of us. Something we can’t go back from.” I exhale, stepping closer and kneeling before him until I slide my body between his opened thighs. “You will always be part of my life. No matter what. Okay?”
He stares at me, hard, then finally nods. “Okay.”
I smile. “Good.” Then, without missing a beat, I grin wickedly and waggle my brows. “Now, let’s go have sex.”
“Avery!” Henry lets out a strangled sound, something between a laugh and a groan, rubbing a hand down his face.
“Oh, come on!” I push, desperate for the connection, desperate for the distraction—desperate for something that’ll make me feel alive.
I graze my fingertips down his bare stomach, and heat coils in my belly at the way his muscles tense under my touch.
“What are you so afraid of, Henry?” I question, locking my gaze firmly with his. “Do you think I’m going to fall in love with you or something?”
Henry
Avery’s words hang in the air like the morning mist of yesterday, begging me to take the bait.
Do you think I’m going to fall in love with you or something?
It’s a pointed question—one I know from years of experience with her personality that she’s crafted with the intention of creating a challenge. She’s daring me to turn down the unobjectionable, but in the process, forgetting all the other things I know.
For one, she’s more than a little tipsy, and for two, I can see the mania in her eyes as a surge of dwindling hope ravages her nervous system unchecked.
She doesn’t know if we’re ever getting out of here, and frankly, neither do I. And while I’m not sure that either of us is falling in love, I know for a fact we’re getting attached—I mean, I sure as hell am—and the thought of ruining that bond for one stupid night is almost unbearable.
I believe she wants to have sex; I just don’t think she’ll be able to stop herself from regretting it.
“I’m not afraid of you falling in love with me.” I can hardly imagine Avery wants to fall in love with anyone. “But I am worried you’re making a rash decision that you’ll regret later, and I don’t want to be forever associated with something so hugely negative in your life.”