Illusion (Swept Away #1)(26)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“Hello,” another male voice called out smoothly. “Lost as well?”

“Something like that,” Jakob replied, and I looked past him to see who he was talking to.

My eyes widened as I stared at the other man. He looked unassuming and pale. He was only slightly taller than I was, and he had dark brown hair. I couldn’t see the color of his eyes from where he was standing, but I could see a pleasant smile on his face. He looked like a regular guy. I wondered how he had gotten on the island and why he hadn’t called out to us earlier. I hadn’t seen a boat or aircraft anywhere, so there was no way that he could have been dropped off after us. I hurried toward Jakob, and the man’s face turned into a huge smile as he looked at me.

“Why, hello there.” He smiled as he walked toward me. “It’s nice to meet you both.” He had a slight accent, and I noticed that he was limping slightly.

“Are you okay?” I moved toward him, but Jakob grabbed my arm. I looked back at him, and he shook his head acutely, but I ignored him. There was nothing to be frightened of with this new man. I was strong enough to take down a man with a limp, if it came to a fight.

“I hurt my leg.” The man continued to smile at me. His eyes were bright and blue. He was more handsome than he’d appeared from far away. “Am I glad that I happened upon you both. I thought I was going to be stuck here by myself.”

“We’re glad you found us as well.” Jakob walked up and put his arm around my shoulder. The possessiveness of his action annoyed me, and I tried to move away from him, but his grip on my shoulder was tight. “It must be scary to be on the island by yourself. What’s your name?”

“I’m Steve.” He offered his hand to me, and I shook it. I was surprised at how strong his grip was. I’d assumed he’d have a limp handshake, like most unassuming men. His firm grasp didn’t match his appearance. And the light in his blue eyes seemed artificial somehow. I knew immediately that I didn’t trust him.

“Bianca.” I smiled at him, trying to show him that I was friendly and not sizing him up. My father had always told me to never let a person see that I was evaluating them. If a stranger knew or sensed that you were studying them, they’d retreat and become resentful. I didn’t want Steve to have any ill feelings toward me. If he thought I trusted him, he might be more willing to give me information. I was almost positive that this wasn’t a chance encounter.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” His eyes flirted with me, and my smile wavered, slightly uncomfortable at his boldness considering Jakob’s arm was around me and his whole stance was extremely possessive.

“I’m Jakob.” Jakob’s voice was light as he ignored Steve’s outstretched hand. “How did you get here?”

“I’m not sure.” Steve frowned. “I fell asleep on the beach at the resort and woke up in the jungle.”

“The resort?” Jakob smiled. “There’s a resort on the island?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he pushed me behind him slightly. “I think you must be mistaken.”

“There must be a resort, right?” Steve smiled back. “How else did I get here?”

“Good question.” Jakob looked at me for a second and then turned back to Steve. “Forgive me if I’m not as convinced by your story as you may have hoped, but I’m having a hard time accepting the fact that you think you’re still on the same island as your resort.”

“I don’t really know where I am.” Steve’s eyes grew worried as he rubbed his head. “I’m hot, and I’m thirsty, and I’m slightly disoriented. All I can remember is having a drink and then falling asleep. I feel like shit now, might have a bit of a hangover.”

“It sounds like you’ve had a rough time of it.”

“How did you two get here?”

“Bianca and I were kidnapped, so we’re not really sure how we got here, and for that matter, we don’t even know where we are.”

“You were kidnapped? Together?” Steve sounded surprised, and his smile weakened a little. His reaction was strange. It wasn’t how I expected someone to react to the news that someone had been kidnapped.

“Yes,” Jakob answered at the same time I said “No.”

“Which one is it?” Steve looked back and forth at us.

“They kidnapped us both at separate times.” Jakob’s voice was firm. “Neither of us knows why, but we’re so glad that we’re here together.”

“So you know each other?” Steve’s gaze was on me, and I could see that he was searching for answers in my eyes. I wanted to be honest with him, but I didn’t want Jakob to be mad.

“Yes.” Jakob nodded. “We’re lovers.”

“Oh!” I gasped, and blushed. I felt my face growing red at Jakob’s words, but I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach at the thought of him touching me, of his lips trailing down my neck. His fingers pressed into my back and trailed down to my ass suggestively. I wasn’t sure if this was part of his game, but I knew that I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted to feel his hands all over me. I wanted to touch him and feel his hardness, between my legs. I wanted to . . .

“You’ll have to excuse her.” Jakob chuckled and pulled me into his arms, suddenly making my thoughts turn into reality as my breasts crushed against his chest. “Bianca gets a bit shy when I discuss our intimacy in public.”

“Jakob.” I tried to push him away, and his hand fell to my ass once again and squeezed it firmly. I struggled against him, but his hold became tighter, and I couldn’t move.

“Later, my dear.” He smiled down at me gently, his eyes issuing me a warning as he pulled me closer toward him. I could feel his hardness pressing against my stomach, and I knew his little charade was turning him on as well.

“I guess I’m the third wheel.” Steve’s smile was completely gone, and I was cautious of how quickly his demeanor had changed. He’d gone from friendly to surly in moments, and I began to realize that his casual and friendly demeanor was definitely a pretense.

“We’re happy for the company,” Jakob spoke, sounding anything but happy. “Maybe between the three of us we can figure out exactly what’s going here. I for one don’t want to spend the rest of my days on this island.”

“Yes, I’ll be happy to stay with you both here.” Steve nodded. “I really want to figure out a way to get off the island. And of course I want to know why I’m here. Why we’re all here. Having that knowledge would be good. That would be really good.” He looked at me then, his eyes slightly narrowed and his lips thin. There was something about the way that he’d spoken that discomforted me. He didn’t sound scared. Or afraid. He was acting way too calm for someone that had supposedly been on a beach and woken up on a deserted island.