“I wouldn’t mind taking a look at the journal. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for me to come over. I won’t be able to stay long, though. I have a lot of preparation for Monday’s class,” she said, hoping her voice showed a relative lack of eagerness.
By the huge grin crossing his features, she didn’t think she was fooling anyone.
“Right this way, Ari,” he said as he placed a hand behind her back.
“Stop right there, Rafe. You said there would be no touching,” she reminded him.
Rafe slowly pulled his hand away before bending very close to her face, taking the breath right from her lungs. “For tonight,” he reminded her, then waited, keeping only a few inches of space between them.
This is a bad idea, a very, very bad idea, she thought as she followed him from the classroom.
Chapter Six
Lia
Shane’s mouth took Lia’s in a kiss fraught with hunger; his hands ran up her quivering stomach, skimmed over her swollen br**sts and caressed her hungry body. Why fight it anymore? She wanted him — had always wanted him. It was time to give into her desires.
There was no other man for her except for Shane. What was the use in pretending otherwise? The feel of his mouth on hers, his hands sweeping over her neglected body…
She needed him like a fish needed water. She tried to open her eyes, but they were weighted down. As he pressed hard against her chest, she fought him. No. This wasn’t right. Why was he trying to hurt her? Shane would never hurt her.
“Lia!”
That wasn’t a cry of passion, but of panic. “Dammit, Lia. Don’t do this!”
Suddenly, she was coughing as water spewed from her mouth. What the heck? Her throat was on fire from the salt water; her chest felt bruised. Finally the weights lifted from her eyes, and she cracked them open, looking into the face of a very ashen Shane.
“Thank you, Lia,” Shane gasped as his arms went beneath her and he pulled her against his solid chest. She finally realized where she was, what had happened.
Falling. She’d been falling, then everything went black.
“I’ve never been as panicked as I was when I watched your body get sucked beneath the waves. You’re OK. We’re both OK.”
Lia wasn’t sure whether he was trying to reassure her or himself. As he loosened his grasp, she looked around her in horror. They were on the sandy beach about ten yards from the angrily pounding waves of the ocean, both of them drenched in salt water, both of them apparently trapped in the middle of nowhere.
“Shane?”
She didn’t know what she was asking, but he had to have the answers. This was Shane — he’d always had the answers to everything, ever since she was a teenager and he stepped through the doors of her parents’ house, his dark hair just a bit too long, his roguish smile confident and self-assured.
“I’m not exactly sure where we are, Lia, but let’s hope this is one of the inhabited islands,” he admitted.
“We’re lost? Please tell me you have the beacon so they can find us. There are hundreds of islands out here! It could take weeks for them to locate us.”
“I haven’t checked the equipment yet. I’m sure it’s fine,” he answered, but his voice wasn’t full of confidence.
Lia pulled away as she looked around the lonely beach. With the sun shining, it would be a true sight to behold with chalky sand, fan palms, and exotic plant life. With the storm angrily brewing around them, it was sinister and frightening.
“We need to take cover, Lia. We can fight later,” Shane promised as he helped her to her feet, then rushed over to their boat.
As she gazed at the broken craft, she had to fight the fear gnawing away at her stomach.
They would be all right. Rafe wouldn’t rest until she was found. She knew her brother well. On a good day he was overprotective. On a bad one, he’d move heaven and hell to track down his sisters, for whom he felt responsible, even though they had incredible parents who were more than capable of taking care of them.
Just as Shane returned, carrying a large backpack, Lia felt the first drops of rain splatter down.
“Let’s go,” he said, holding his hand out to grip hers.
As Lia looked into his strained face, she decided she’d fought him enough for the day. They were stuck, and there was nothing they could do about it, so now it was time to give him a hand. She accepted his help up, then fought the wind instead as she followed him into the protection of the trees.
Her throat felt as if she’d swallowed sandpaper, and it hurt to breathe, but she didn’t complain as she moved by Shane’s side. She ignored the pain, and moved quickly, knowing they had to get under cover. It was a tropical storm, but though she wasn’t freezing, the elements could still cause major damage — even death.
“It’s really blowing, Shane.” Pretty stupid statement, considering he could feel it too, but she needed to hear her own voice. Admitting how frightened she was wasn’t acceptable, so she was stuck with stating the obvious.
“We’ll be fine, Lia,” he assured her again as they broke through the tree line and the wind instantly lost some of its fury. Shane threw down the large pack, which had to weigh at least a hundred pounds, and then he began pulling out a small piece of black canvas.
Soon, he had a tent going up — a tiny tent — and was tossing the pack inside. She wasn’t a lot of help, because he was moving so swiftly, but she managed to pound a couple of the stakes into the ground, securing their makeshift shelter.
Lia began trembling as everything caught up to her. The air was ridiculously warm and humid; being soaked through wasn’t helping, and her nerves were shot. One glance at Shane told her that he wasn’t holding up much better than she was; he was just working through the pain a lot faster.
“Come on, Lia. We need to get inside so we can dry off.” Shane gripped her hand and sent her into the tent ahead of him, ducking behind as he joined her.
As she sank to her knees, then fell on her butt, her body was overcome with the shakes. She couldn’t even speak, her teeth were chattering so loudly. She knew it was just the situation, but she couldn’t manage to stop.
“I only have two blankets and one change of clothes in the bag. The pack is mainly filled with food and fuel,” he told her as he pulled out a tiny contraption and within moments was lighting a candle beneath it. A small flame cast a bit of heat and light in a tent barely big enough for the bag and them.