Tempt (Take It Off #3)(30)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Another boat. A ship actually. A large white one that cut through the water like a warm knife in butter. It was so pristine it actually gleamed in the sunlight. There was a large flag billowing with the wind, but I couldn’t tell what was on it. The boat was still too far away.

But not for long.

It was headed in this direction.

I called to Nash and Duke and they saw it too. Nash rushed to my side and pulled me down behind the rocks, keeping us from sight. Every few moments, he or Duke would peek over, looking to see what was happening.

I looked back at the boats, the ones that had been practically vandalized and left there to be used as storage. I thought about the creepy shack, the poker chips… the blood and the chains.

Whoever lived here was home.

Whoever lived here was not going to help us.

Nash’s whispered Spanish word drifted through my head. Pirata.

I didn’t have to ask him to tell me what it meant. I knew.

Pirates.

15

It took half the time to get back to our side of the island than it did to get across to the pirates’. Adrenaline and fear are great motivators. Not to mention that once Nash thought we were far enough away from the pirates not to be heard, he set a punishing pace.

Twice, I thought my lungs were going to burst (from being scared silly or being out of breath, I couldn’t tell), but thankfully, Duke was there to spur me on and give me a hand. At one point, I was pretty sure he actually picked me up and ran with me.

It wasn’t embarrassing at all. (Not.)

I decided then that when I got home—if I got home—running was going to be my new hobby.

When we reached the little lagoon with the wide waterfall, Nash finally stopped and I doubled over, clutching my middle and sucking in lungfuls of air.

I felt a large hand settle on my back and rub slow circles. “Just breathe,” a voice instructed. I looked up.

It was Duke.

“We… should… have… listened…” I wheezed.

“Sometimes you have to see something for yourself to believe it,” he said kindly.

Nash thrust a newly filled bottle of water under my nose. “Drink,” he said, not even sounding out of breath. It made me want to kick him in the shin. I mean, he had fabulous hair, a year-round tan, was a pilot, and he was Mr. Fitness? The boy was beyond blessed.

I took the water and gulped it down, choking as it caught in my throat. I started hacking as tears blurred my vision. I thrust the water away from me and Duke took it as my body continued to make a fool of itself.

Nash’s hand cupped the back of my neck and he brought his face close to mine, holding it still as coughs still wracked my chest. “Easy, bella,” he whispered. He was so close that his lips practically brushed mine.

My breath caught.

The coughing stopped.

He kneaded the muscles in my neck lightly, easing some of the tension coiled in my body. “There you go,” he murmured when I was breathing calmly.

“Do you think they saw us?” I worried and then glanced at Duke. “Or heard us?”

He shook his head. “They’d be chasing us.”

I bit my lip, still worrying. “I thought pirates were only made up for movies and TV.”

“I’ve hear the rumors of modern-day pirates,” Nash said grimly. “First time I’ve seen one.”

“What do they do?” I wondered out loud. My knowledge of pirates was limited to Captain Hook from Peter Pan and Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean. Something told me that these “modern-day” pirates weren’t the same.

I noticed that neither man was rushing to explain. Well, that couldn’t be good.

I glanced at Duke. “What do they do?”

He seemed sad to have to tell me about such things. “Oceans don’t usually fall under regular jurisdiction laws of our government. Meaning it’s basically a free-for-all out there. Pirates sail the seas, take over boats, rob people, and take hostages.”

“Hostages!” I cried. “What on Earth for?”

Neither one of them answered.

I made a frustrated sound. “I’m not a two-year-old!” I snapped.

“They also murder people,” Duke said grimly.

“Murder?” I echoed.

“Yes, bella, money is a very powerful motive to kill.”

“They live on this island—on that side—because it’s unchartered. Because no one would look for them there. They literally commit their crimes and then come back here to hide,” Duke told us.

“It’s the perfect setup,” I whispered, totally appalled.

“We need to get off this island,” Nash said.

“If only one of those boats had been salvageable, we could sail away.”

We fell into silence, but it wasn’t particularly comfortable. It was more ominous. I kind of wished we didn’t know what was over there. Then I wouldn’t be so scared.

I sat down by the water’s edge and plunged my feet into the cool liquid. It felt so good against my flushed skin. All that running had made my legs shaky and my body overheated. I stared out at the water, thinking about going for a swim to cool off.

Then I thought about this morning when I was in the water… with Nash.

I shook my head, disgusted with myself. How could I think about sex when murdering pirates were on the loose? Clearly my priorities were not what they should be. I glanced over my shoulder at Nash. He looked back, spearing me with a heated look.

Clearly his priorities weren’t that great either.

But, in our defense, thinking about sex was a lot better than thinking about most everything else.

Nash looked away. “Can you stay with her?” he asked Duke.

“Of course.”

I was about to argue about not needing a babysitter, but I stopped. I didn’t want to be left alone now. Even if I happened upon a Johnny Depp/Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike, I would run away screaming (and we already know how horrible I am at running; I might as well be a turtle trying to run in a puddle of peanut butter).

“Where are you going?” I asked nervously.

“I’m going to check the plane, make sure no one found it.”

“You shouldn’t go alone,” I said, starting to rise.

“You’re not coming,” he said, his voice hard and unforgiving.

Geesh, rude much?

Duke sat down beside me, his feet joining mine in the water, as Nash disappeared. I sighed. “Hey, there aren’t any man-eating piranha’s in here, are there?”

“If we see one, I’ll catch it for dinner,” he said and then winked.