~~ *** ~~
Once we’d eaten our fill, we put the rest in our cooking pot with the lid on tightly so it would stay decent for dinner. Then, we set about to making our shelter all over again.
It was so nice to have Jendan as a partner. He worked hard, and when I made suggestions, he didn’t sneer or look at me like I was crazy. We worked together well, and by the time sunset rolled around, we had a platform a foot off of the sand and covered with a thick, slanting lean-to of palm fronds. For the floor of the shelter, we’d used the box lids and covered them with even more palm fronds, and the result was the most comfortable bed I’d had in two weeks. We crawled under the blanket, finished the last of our chicken and fruit, and then laid back and stared up at the brilliant stars overhead.
It was like an entirely new game.
Well, almost. I still had Pandora’s Box hanging over my head. And I had my attraction to Jendan that I was desperately fighting.
Even now, we laid under the blanket, our bodies so close that our thighs were touching. My hand accidentally brushed his, and then the next thing I knew, our fingers were intertwined, and we were holding hands and staring up at the sky while under a blanket, naked.
Man, I hated being platonic.
“I’m glad you’re my partner,” he murmured, and I felt his thumb caress the back of my hand. “Now we don’t have to sneak around to talk to each other any longer.”
“I’m glad too,” I lied. I was still torn about Jendan being my partner. It was like having temptation smacked right in front of my face at all times. It had been better strategically to have Kip as a partner, because I would have zero qualms about ruining his game.
I’d feel massive guilt over ruining Jendan’s game, though.
His thumb continued to slide over the back of my hand, distracting me from my dire thoughts. It felt light and ticklish, but in a good way. My nipples reacted, hardening under the blanket and I felt my pulse begin to thrum. My body always reacted to Jendan’s nearness, but today it was impossible to ignore him. I glanced around for the cameraman, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was he on break? Out for the night?
It didn’t matter; we weren’t being watched. I could do what I wanted.
I pulled my hand from Jendan’s and rolled over on my side, facing him. His gray eyes met mine in the darkness, and we just stared at each other for a long, long moment. I knew he wasn’t reaching for me because he wouldn’t make the first move - not without getting an okay from me first.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to make that leap yet. If I did, there was no going back.
Tentatively, I put my hand on his chest. Oh god, he was so warm. So firm. My fingertips pushed against his pectoral. “So…this is nice.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
How could I not? Jendan had lost some weight since getting on the show - we all had - and instead of looking emaciated, he just looked taut with muscle. Maybe I was biased, but I thought the man looked delicious. “Can I…explore you for a bit?”
“Of course,” he murmured, his gaze intent on me. He hadn’t moved a muscle, but I could feel the tension vibrating through his body at my touch. “I have to warn you, though, I’m not hiding anything under this blanket.”
I giggled. “No one can hide anything on this show. We’re all so very exposed.”
“Kinda glad for the blanket right now or I’d be exposing just how much I like you.”
“Oh?” My cheeks heated. “It wouldn’t be anything I haven’t seen before.”
He laughed. “Thanks for the reminder that I have a hard time controlling myself.”
I grinned, but my hand stroked over his chest, and all of my concentration went there. I looked small next to all that muscle, and it fascinated me. His skin was so warm, and after days of freezing my butt off at night, I was addicted to that warmth. I slid my hand lower and felt him suck in as my fingertips brushed down the flat length of his stomach.
“Now you’re just not playing fair,” he whispered.
I wasn’t. I knew that. But I couldn’t stop touching him. My fingers dipped lower, brushing against his belly button. I watched his face to see his reaction.
His eyes closed and he gave a low groan. “Your hands feel so good.”
“You feel good against my hands,” I admitted.
Jendan’s hand went to my waist and he dragged me closer to him. “Then come and put your body against mine.”
I gasped as my skin pressed against his. Instead of a small, controlled experiment, it seemed all of his body was touching mine. My breasts pressed against his chest, my thighs tangled with his, and my hand was trapped between our bodies.
It wasn’t the only thing trapped between us. I could feel the hard length of his cock flat against my belly, like an iron rod.
And Jendan’s face was so close to mine that all I had to do was lean forward to press my mouth to his and kiss him. Dazed, I looked at his mouth and then into his eyes. They were heavy-lidded with arousal.
His hand clenched at my hip again, dragging me against him. “You feel incredible, Annabelle. Your skin is like silk.”
I bit my lip at his words, said with such intense pleasure that he made my body shiver with need. I shifted and my nipples rubbed against his chest, making me gasp. My hand went to the back of his neck and I clung to him, my breath fanning against his cheek.
He closed his eyes and leaned in, his nose brushing against my own even as his hand cupped my buttock. I felt enveloped in his embrace, his warmth seeping into my own. He felt so good. His nose brushed against my mouth, and I parted my lips, expecting a kiss.
But he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he leaned back and gazed at me. “If we kiss, you realize there’s no going back? That instead of just friends, we’d be friends with benefits?”
I stared up at him, my lust-fogged senses having a hard time following the conversation…then it registered. He was giving me a chance to back out.
And he was right. If we kissed, kissing would lead to more snuggling. To furtive make-outs and raiding the First Aid kit for condoms. To people filming when we thought we were stealing kisses, and patching it together to make it seem like I was Annabelle the Island Ho all over again.
My vow to play a tough game so different from my last one would be nothing but meaningless words.
I sighed. “Jendan—“
“It’s okay,” he said softly, and kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ll just huddle together for warmth, how’s that?”
“If we weren’t in the game—“
“I know.” He patted my shoulder. “I understand. I really do. Don’t worry about it.” He inched away and then pushed a fold of the blanket between us, forming a barrier between our bodies. “There. All better.”
My fingers played with the hair at his nape. “Can I take a rain check? Once we’re both out of the game, maybe we try again?”
“Of course,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
Easier said than done.
Chapter Fifteen
“Sometimes, I really hate being in this damn game.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Day 16, Endurance Island: Power Players
We totally dominated the next Judgment challenge.
It was clear to me that Jendan and I were the strongest team left. Not bragging, just calling it as I saw it. We’d managed to win fishing tackle a few days ago in a reward challenge and had caught a few tiny fish to give our bodies protein. With that and the fact that we were both young and strong, we blew past the others. The Judgment challenge had been another obstacle course followed by a slide puzzle at the end, and we ended up in first place by a mile.
Once we’d eaten our fill, we put the rest in our cooking pot with the lid on tightly so it would stay decent for dinner. Then, we set about to making our shelter all over again.
It was so nice to have Jendan as a partner. He worked hard, and when I made suggestions, he didn’t sneer or look at me like I was crazy. We worked together well, and by the time sunset rolled around, we had a platform a foot off of the sand and covered with a thick, slanting lean-to of palm fronds. For the floor of the shelter, we’d used the box lids and covered them with even more palm fronds, and the result was the most comfortable bed I’d had in two weeks. We crawled under the blanket, finished the last of our chicken and fruit, and then laid back and stared up at the brilliant stars overhead.
It was like an entirely new game.
Well, almost. I still had Pandora’s Box hanging over my head. And I had my attraction to Jendan that I was desperately fighting.
Even now, we laid under the blanket, our bodies so close that our thighs were touching. My hand accidentally brushed his, and then the next thing I knew, our fingers were intertwined, and we were holding hands and staring up at the sky while under a blanket, naked.
Man, I hated being platonic.
“I’m glad you’re my partner,” he murmured, and I felt his thumb caress the back of my hand. “Now we don’t have to sneak around to talk to each other any longer.”
“I’m glad too,” I lied. I was still torn about Jendan being my partner. It was like having temptation smacked right in front of my face at all times. It had been better strategically to have Kip as a partner, because I would have zero qualms about ruining his game.
I’d feel massive guilt over ruining Jendan’s game, though.
His thumb continued to slide over the back of my hand, distracting me from my dire thoughts. It felt light and ticklish, but in a good way. My nipples reacted, hardening under the blanket and I felt my pulse begin to thrum. My body always reacted to Jendan’s nearness, but today it was impossible to ignore him. I glanced around for the cameraman, but he was nowhere to be seen. Was he on break? Out for the night?
It didn’t matter; we weren’t being watched. I could do what I wanted.
I pulled my hand from Jendan’s and rolled over on my side, facing him. His gray eyes met mine in the darkness, and we just stared at each other for a long, long moment. I knew he wasn’t reaching for me because he wouldn’t make the first move - not without getting an okay from me first.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to make that leap yet. If I did, there was no going back.
Tentatively, I put my hand on his chest. Oh god, he was so warm. So firm. My fingertips pushed against his pectoral. “So…this is nice.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
How could I not? Jendan had lost some weight since getting on the show - we all had - and instead of looking emaciated, he just looked taut with muscle. Maybe I was biased, but I thought the man looked delicious. “Can I…explore you for a bit?”
“Of course,” he murmured, his gaze intent on me. He hadn’t moved a muscle, but I could feel the tension vibrating through his body at my touch. “I have to warn you, though, I’m not hiding anything under this blanket.”
I giggled. “No one can hide anything on this show. We’re all so very exposed.”
“Kinda glad for the blanket right now or I’d be exposing just how much I like you.”
“Oh?” My cheeks heated. “It wouldn’t be anything I haven’t seen before.”
He laughed. “Thanks for the reminder that I have a hard time controlling myself.”
I grinned, but my hand stroked over his chest, and all of my concentration went there. I looked small next to all that muscle, and it fascinated me. His skin was so warm, and after days of freezing my butt off at night, I was addicted to that warmth. I slid my hand lower and felt him suck in as my fingertips brushed down the flat length of his stomach.
“Now you’re just not playing fair,” he whispered.
I wasn’t. I knew that. But I couldn’t stop touching him. My fingers dipped lower, brushing against his belly button. I watched his face to see his reaction.
His eyes closed and he gave a low groan. “Your hands feel so good.”
“You feel good against my hands,” I admitted.
Jendan’s hand went to my waist and he dragged me closer to him. “Then come and put your body against mine.”
I gasped as my skin pressed against his. Instead of a small, controlled experiment, it seemed all of his body was touching mine. My breasts pressed against his chest, my thighs tangled with his, and my hand was trapped between our bodies.
It wasn’t the only thing trapped between us. I could feel the hard length of his cock flat against my belly, like an iron rod.
And Jendan’s face was so close to mine that all I had to do was lean forward to press my mouth to his and kiss him. Dazed, I looked at his mouth and then into his eyes. They were heavy-lidded with arousal.
His hand clenched at my hip again, dragging me against him. “You feel incredible, Annabelle. Your skin is like silk.”
I bit my lip at his words, said with such intense pleasure that he made my body shiver with need. I shifted and my nipples rubbed against his chest, making me gasp. My hand went to the back of his neck and I clung to him, my breath fanning against his cheek.
He closed his eyes and leaned in, his nose brushing against my own even as his hand cupped my buttock. I felt enveloped in his embrace, his warmth seeping into my own. He felt so good. His nose brushed against my mouth, and I parted my lips, expecting a kiss.
But he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he leaned back and gazed at me. “If we kiss, you realize there’s no going back? That instead of just friends, we’d be friends with benefits?”
I stared up at him, my lust-fogged senses having a hard time following the conversation…then it registered. He was giving me a chance to back out.
And he was right. If we kissed, kissing would lead to more snuggling. To furtive make-outs and raiding the First Aid kit for condoms. To people filming when we thought we were stealing kisses, and patching it together to make it seem like I was Annabelle the Island Ho all over again.
My vow to play a tough game so different from my last one would be nothing but meaningless words.
I sighed. “Jendan—“
“It’s okay,” he said softly, and kissed the tip of my nose. “We’ll just huddle together for warmth, how’s that?”
“If we weren’t in the game—“
“I know.” He patted my shoulder. “I understand. I really do. Don’t worry about it.” He inched away and then pushed a fold of the blanket between us, forming a barrier between our bodies. “There. All better.”
My fingers played with the hair at his nape. “Can I take a rain check? Once we’re both out of the game, maybe we try again?”
“Of course,” he said. “Get some sleep.”
Easier said than done.
Chapter Fifteen
“Sometimes, I really hate being in this damn game.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Day 16, Endurance Island: Power Players
We totally dominated the next Judgment challenge.
It was clear to me that Jendan and I were the strongest team left. Not bragging, just calling it as I saw it. We’d managed to win fishing tackle a few days ago in a reward challenge and had caught a few tiny fish to give our bodies protein. With that and the fact that we were both young and strong, we blew past the others. The Judgment challenge had been another obstacle course followed by a slide puzzle at the end, and we ended up in first place by a mile.
