Already, she was coming dangerously close to feeling something for this man. When he touched her, she became alive and aware. He made her believe she was the most desirable woman in the world. And though this was a fantasy world they were living in, she didn’t want to leave it. Not yet.
Still, she had a responsibility to her father. A night filled with worry for him was not worth a night filled with pleasure for her, was it? Once Jack Madigan realized she wasn’t coming home, he might do something stupid, like borrow a plane and come looking for her.
“Have you figured out what’s wrong with the radio?” Trey called.
“No,” she replied. “I think this battery is dead, too.” She stared at the emergency radio beacon, turning it over in her hands and rubbing her thumb over the activation switch.
“Why don’t you just leave it? You said they’d find us.”
“It’s Christmas Eve,” she said. “It would be nice if my father didn’t have to spend Christmas Eve wondering if I was dead or alive.”
A moment later, Trey opened the passenger-side door and slid into the seat. His hair was dripping and his khakis were wet. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked you to take this trip,” he said. “Not on Christmas Eve.”
Sophie shook her head. “We needed the money. I could have turned the job down, but I didn’t. Besides, who could have predicted we’d end up here?”
Trey took her hand and drew it to his lips, pressing a kiss in the center of her palm. “Still, I’m sorry. I guess I’ll have to find a way to make it up to you. Once we get off this island.”
His words sent a shiver skittering over her body. Did that mean there would be something between them after they were rescued? Or was she just reading meaning into words that had none? Drawing a deep breath, Sophie held up the EPIRB. “Do you want to get off the island?”
“What is that?” he asked.
“An emergency radio beacon. It will send out a signal. Passing planes will pick it up, ships, too. Maybe even some of the nearby airports.”
He took it out of her hand and examined it carefully, then glanced over at her. “Do you have to turn it on for it to work?”
Sophie nodded. “There’s a switch right there.”
“Why haven’t you turned it on?” he asked.
What was she supposed to say? That she was contemplating putting it back in its case and forgetting she’d ever seen it? “I-I just found it,” she said. “You turn it on.”
“Do you want me to turn it on?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Sophie asked, frustrated with the back-and-forth debate.
He handed it back to her. “Then you turn it on.”
“You don’t want to be rescued?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you?”
She bit her bottom lip as she fingered the switch. “I have to do this,” she murmured. “My father will be worried. I can’t do that to him.” Closing her eyes, she gathered her resolve and flipped the switch. But when she opened her eyes, she noticed the little light above the switch wasn’t blinking.
“How long?” he asked.
Her fingers trembled as she moved the switch back and forth. “It-it’s not working. The battery must be dead.” A flood of relief washed over her, followed quickly by guilt. Was she really so desperate for a man that she’d put her father through the worst worry of his life? At least the decision was out of her hands now.
“Sorry,” she murmured. “I seem to be having bad luck with batteries today.”
“I’m not sorry,” Trey replied. “I’m not going to lie to you, Sophie. I don’t mind spending the night on this island. With you.”
She handed him the plastic case, then crawled out of the door to balance on the float.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Flare gun,” she said. “In case we see any passing boats or planes.” Drawing a deep breath, she jumped off the float into the lagoon, sinking down to the bottom before bobbing back to the surface. She swam toward the beach, then turned and floated on her back, staring up at the sky.
Was it wrong to want this time with Trey to last a little longer? Was she being selfish? Or was she simply taking pleasure where she might find it? She’d already given up her life for her father. Would he really begrudge her just one day of happiness before returning to her ordinary existence?
The sun broke through the clouds and the ocean breeze cooled her wet skin. She felt weightless, as if all her concerns had sunk to the bottom of the lagoon and only pleasure had risen to the surface. She’d never wanted a man the way she wanted Trey. It wasn’t just about his body, or about him satisfying her desire. There was more there.
Sophie heard a splash and a moment later, she felt his arms around her waist, pulling her beneath the water. They surfaced together, wrapped in each other’s arms, their limbs tangling.
He kissed her, his mouth molding to hers, his hands tangled in her wet hair. She wasn’t sure what he meant by it, but she knew there was a reason. He demanded a response and Sophie returned the kiss in full measure, her tongue savoring the taste of him.
When he finally drew back, Trey looked down into her eyes. “There are moments when I don’t want to go back,” he murmured. “Ever.”
Sophie nodded, knowing exactly how he felt. The more time they spent together, the more it felt as if they could live a lifetime on Suaneva. But they couldn’t survive on passion alone. And though their desire might feed the soul, it didn’t go very far to feed the body.
“AREN’T YOU UNCOMFORTABLE in those?” Sophie asked.
Trey glanced down at his shorts, the khakis still wet from their swim in the lagoon. “Yeah. I guess. I suppose I could wear my boxers.”
Sophie shook her head. “Take them off,” she ordered, levering to her feet from her spot beneath the shelter. “Go ahead. As long as we’re staying here for a while, you might as well dress like a native.”
Regarding her suspiciously, Trey stripped out of his shorts. She pointed to his boxers dismissively and he skimmed them over his hips and kicked them aside, too. Though they’d already been intimate more than once, he felt a bit exposed running around the island naked.
“I’m not sure I like this,” he said.
“It doesn’t feel good?” she asked.
“Well, yeah. It feels really good. But I’m not used to running around with all my bits and pieces showing. Something might bite me.”
“I promise I won’t,” Sophie teased. “Besides, you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“Well, you’re dressed and I’m not.”
She glanced down at her outfit, his shirt tied beneath her breasts, and the flowered pareu knotted around her waist. “I think you need to get rid of your inhibitions,” she suggested. “No one is going to see you…or your bits and pieces, except me. And I’ve already seen you naked.”
“There are times when I’d prefer to hide my reactions, if you don’t mind.”
She let her gaze drift down below his waist and then back up again. “It’s a perfectly natural thing,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I find it flattering.”
“It kind of takes all the mystery out of things, don’t you think?” He paused. “I mean, I might as well have a big neon sign on my forehead that blinks Horny every time I get aroused.”
“I don’t need a neon sign to know when you’re aroused,” she said. She unknotted the pareu from her waist and wrapped it around his, fastening it low on his hips. “How is that?”
Trey wriggled, enjoying the feel of the thin fabric on his skin. It felt much better than the damp khakis or his boxer shorts. “The breeze just blows right up beneath it and makes everything very…pleasant,” he said.
Sophie giggled. “You look nice in a skirt. Not many men can carry it off, but you can.”
“And what are you going to wear now?” he asked.