Illusion (Swept Away #1)(24)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“I just think that it’ll be better if we try to talk things out,” he said, and I stared at him trying to figure out who this man was and what role he played in everything. “But let’s leave it for the morning. We can talk more then. Let’s try to get some sleep.”

“It’s hard to sleep here,” I said, trying to talk my way out of my discomfort and confusion. “I thought New York was humid, but this air is so thick.”

“Yes, it is.” He nodded his agreement and sat back down next to me. “Tell me, Bianca. Do you think you could kill someone if you had to?”

“What?” I swallowed as my body froze. “What do you mean?”

He stared at me for a few seconds with hard, glittering eyes, and then he laughed.

“Nothing. I’m being too solemn.” He shook his head. “Let’s get some sleep.”

I lay back down on the sand and closed my eyes. Even though my body was exhausted, my brain refused to let me sleep. Every hair on my body was on high alert as I lay there waiting to see what would happen. My skin tingled from awareness as I felt Jakob staring at me. I wanted to roll over or run away and hide.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to the easy camaraderie of the day, but as I lay there waiting for daylight, I knew that I was more confused than ever. My gut told me to trust him. My body told me to touch him. However, my brain told me to be wary. Some of his comments had seemed a bit off, and I wasn’t sure if my instinct to trust in him was influenced by my attraction to him.

I shivered as I thought about his last comment. Do you think you could kill someone if you had to? What sort of question was that? Was it a warning? I wished I had asked him “Could you?” I’d wanted to but was scared of his answer. His face had looked so serious, so different from earlier. I pictured his face as it had been when we’d swum in the ocean earlier and how careful he’d been with me as he’d cut the rope from my wrists. His blue eyes had shown concern for me. His lips had been pleasant. His arms had been strong and muscular, and his chest was perfect. An absolutely perfect specimen.

I flushed as I realized that my thoughts were starting to go down a different road again. I was sexually attracted to him in a way that I couldn’t control, and it scared me. I didn’t want my attraction to him to make me let my guard down. I’d already done that a little bit. I knew my mask was slipping, and I was letting him in, little by little. I had to remember to focus on why I was here. I needed to find out the truth about my mother’s death. It suddenly struck me that if it wasn’t a coincidence that he was here then he might know more information. Maybe he knew more than he was letting on. Maybe if I divulged some information, he’d trust me a bit more as well. I didn’t know if he knew anything, but it was worth a shot. Unless, of course, he was here for another reason altogether.

My breathing stopped for a second as I realized that the truth might be staring me in the face. What if I wasn’t going to get off the island? What if Jakob had no plans of helping me figure out the truth? What if Jakob was here to kill me?

The sun beating down on my face woke me up, and I jumped to my feet feeling anxious and disoriented. I looked around the beach, but Jakob was nowhere to be seen. I went to the ocean to wash my face and wet my hair. My stomach grumbled as I splashed the cool water on my skin, and my throat felt parched. If I didn’t get food and water soon, I would be close to collapsing. The hot sun had already begun to sap my energy, and black and white spots danced before my eyes. I knew I was close to fainting, and I was scared. When David had warned me that I was going to be disappearing for a while, I hadn’t imagined it was going be like this. Being kidnapped and taken to a deserted island wasn’t how I’d expected everything to go down.

I walked out of the ocean and back to the beach, slowing, not wanting to expend too much energy. I stood upright for five minutes, drying in the sun before pulling my top back on. Staring at my pants, I knew that, even in my modest state, I wasn’t going to put them back on. My top fell just below my waist, and I ignored the slight self-conscious feeling of walking around in my panties. The new day had brought with it renewed and even more complex feelings of fear, confusion, and self-awareness.

I stared at Jakob’s large white shirt and had an idea. I quickly pulled off my top and put his shirt on, laying my top on the sand to sit on top of it. His shirt was so large that it covered my ass and made me feel more comfortable walking around. I sat there for a few moments trying to decide what to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go look for Jakob or if I should go look for food. I knew better than to drink the salt water, but my thirst was absolutely killing me.

“It suits you,” Jakob’s voice called out from behind me, and I felt my body relaxing. He was still alive, then.

“Hey, I hope you don’t mind.” I jumped up and smiled weakly as he walked toward me. He looked even more magnificent in the light of a new day.

“What’s mine is yours.” He shrugged. “It’s just the two of us.”

“Thank you.” It was then that I noticed the bananas in his hand. “You found food?”

“I saw some banana trees in the jungle.” He nodded over to the trees. “I figured you might be hungry.”

“I am.” I nodded. “Thank you,” I said again, as he handed me a bunch of bananas.

“I couldn’t find any more green coconuts on the ground.” He frowned. “Or any natural water sources.”

“Oh.” I peeled a banana and ate it eagerly.

“So we have nothing to drink.” He ran his hands over the top of his shimmering unruly dark hair and frowned.

“What are we going to do?” I knew that at this point it was going to be better for us to work together. I was just going to have to watch his every move.

“We’ll have to go look for natural water or hope it rains.”

“Rains?” I frowned. “What are we going to do? Stick our tongues out?”

“Something like that.” He grinned. “The rainwater here will be safe to drink. It’ll be pure. We should find something to act as a container.”

“Um, don’t you think that’s a waste of time?” I looked up at the clear sky. “I don’t think it’s about to rain anytime soon.”

“The weather can change in an instant, Bianca. Weather is like people. Things change when you least expect it.”