Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
The death-match circle? A pang of worry gnaws at my stomach. It’s only because of Pax that I’m not still working in the kitchen, and now that I know what’s included in the mystery meat stew, I can’t go back there.
“By who? Can you say no?”
“A guy named Anders. A four. And I wouldn’t say no even if I could.” He drops his arms to his sides and clears his throat. “Look, I can’t stop thinking about the way I treated you at the waterfall. I accused you of teasing me, and that—”
I wave a hand, dismissing his concern. “Forget it. It’s fine.”
He draws his brows down in an earnest look. “No, it’s not. I like you, Briar. I really like you.”
Heat floods me all at once. My nipples tighten and my core aches. I want to throw myself at Pax, literally. Just hurl my body at his chest and climb him.
Fuck him. Do it right here against a tree. It’s what you both want.
My lips part with surprise. I’m having thoughts that aren’t my own again, and why do I suddenly feel like an animal in heat?
“Something’s wrong with me,” I murmur.
Pax takes my palm and gently lays it on his chest over his heart. “There’s nothing wrong with you, I promise. I feel it too. Only it’s stronger in me because I’ve been here longer. I wanted to let you adjust and not come on too strong, but...” He puts his hands on my hips, squeezing lightly. “I’ve been with other women here, but it’s never been like this.”
You want him. Put your hand on his cock and show him how much you want him.
I close my eyes, pushing back against the thoughts. It’s not really what I want.
His skin is so warm beneath my hand, though. I could run my fingers over his hard, muscled chest. And then lower. I could make his eyes wide and his cock hard. I could hold power over this powerful man—with just my body.
“Briar.”
I open my eyes, and Pax tilts my chin up so our eyes are locked together.
“I don’t want to go into the circle without knowing what it’s like to kiss you. Just one kiss.”
A kiss. Wetness pools between my thighs as I imagine sinking into him for a long, sensual kiss. His tongue sliding over mine. His mouth claiming mine.
It would feel so good. It’s okay to let go, just for a little bit, and feel good.
He slides his hand up from my chin to my lower lip, slowly grazing the pad of his thumb over it.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers.
It feels good. Fuck him. Give in, give in, give in.
The words in my head play in time with the drumbeat that is my heart. I could let go of my control, for just a minute. Do what feels good instead of always fighting.
He slides his hand over my cheek and around to the back of my neck, cupping it as he lowers his mouth to mine. I melt against his chest, parting my lips.
Groaning, he moves his hand from my hip around to my ass, squeezing. His tongue brushes over mine, our bodies instinctively pressing together.
More. More. More. Give him more.
I pull away, the madness of having another voice in my head making my eyes wide with alarm.
“What’s happening to me?”
A smile tilts the corners of his lips. “We’re all animals here. Mating is instinctive.”
I pinch my brows together, at war with myself. My body and part of my mind are ready to lie down in the mud for a primal, filthy fuck. But the rest of my mind—the part that’s still me—is telling me to run.
As I shake my head, he puts a finger over my lips. “I got my kiss. That’s enough.” Arousal swims in his dark-brown eyes. “For now.”
He drops his hands away, continuing to lead the way on the narrow jungle path. I just stand there for a few seconds, dazed. How can someone or something else be inside my head?
Maybe I’m losing my mind. Maybe this is what happened to the other women here who have babies and don’t care that they don’t get to be mothers to them.
I exhale hard, steeling myself and following Pax.
At least there will be other people in the ocean swimming and bathing. I don’t trust myself alone with Pax. Nothing has ever made me feel more helpless than this loss of control over my own mind and body.
I have to get off this island. Soon.
13
It’s a mistake to study a plant in isolation. A plant’s relationships with pollinators, seed dispersers, root symbionts and even its enemy herbivores are all keys to a plant’s true biological identity.
- Excerpt from a lecture given by Dr. Lucinda Hollis in her Introduction to Plant Biology course
The mood in camp the next day is charged with excitement. As some of us work in groups to remove debris and others carry in freshly felled logs for new buildings, every conversation I overhear is about the same thing: Pax and Anders.