Juliet

At night, I lie motionless on the bed as he crawls in beside me.

It’s the first night with a full stomach and without having to sacrifice my morals.

The first night without restraints around my wrists.

But not without mental restraint.

I’m growing increasingly aware of the mountain of a man lying right next to me. I hold my breath whenever he twists and turns. I’m terrified of him touching me, but I’m not scared he’ll hurt me … I’m scared of my own reaction.

Scared of how my body tenses whenever he breathes.

How goose bumps scatter on my skin when he groans in his sleep.

How easy it’s becoming to forget about the outside world.

I shouldn’t let myself slip.

Not here on this island.

Not … with a man like him.

I shiver as his arm touches mine, blood rushing through my veins.

I immediately roll on my side and close my eyes, forcing myself to sleep even if I can’t. I have to stop thinking about him. Have to stop being so aware of his rock-solid, muscular body mere inches away from mine.

What if he turns my way?

What if his …

No, Jules, stop thinking about this shit.

He put you in a goddamn pit.

There’s no way you should ever feel anything but anger for this man. And fear. Lots of fear. Hold it, because it’s the only thing that’ll ever get you off this island.

Not him.

Never him … not as long as I can stop it.

When his hand creeps up along my waist in his sleep, I jolt out of bed.

I can barely breathe.

Memories of the way he touched me when I was crying flash through my head. The sheer need I felt when he did it terrified me. I actually wanted him to keep touching me.

But it’s wrong. It’s so damn wrong.

He captured me, imprisoning me.

I was supposed to do research, not hang around with him…

He’s a savage, and I’m a scientist.

I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be home, bringing the bad news about Ollie and Pete. I’m supposed to be doing something. Not just sit here and wait.

No one will find me here if I don’t act. If I don’t do something to be seen.

That’s it. I’ve decided.

I grab the torch and light it, then grab one of the digging tools he made. Before I leave, I glance behind me to make sure he’s still asleep. A loud snore is enough to know, and I shut the door behind me and walk off.

Through the jungle …

Away from the hut, away from him.

My destination? The beach. The only place anyone would spot a light in the remote chance someone might pass by this island. It’s my only shot.

It might be dangerous, and I don’t know how long it’ll take to get there, but I’ll make it. The torch lights the way, and I clearly remember which way to go from the last time I climbed a tree and looked around.

It doesn’t take me long to get there, but I’m still not prepared for the beauty of the ocean at nighttime. It’s so quiet out here, and the sand is pearly white, untouched by human interference.

I stare up at the sky, marveling at the bright stars. I could never see them this clearly back at home. They’re a sight to behold, and for a second, they make me forget where I am.

But I can’t forget. I can’t ever forget what happened here.

I have to get Ollie and Pete home.

So I take a deep breath and get to work.

* * *

Lock

I wake up when I roll off the bed, smacking my face against the ground.

“Fuck …” I groan, blinking as I come to my senses.

When I crawl up, I notice the bed is empty. No wonder I fell off.

But where’s Jules? How long has she been gone? Did she go outside to take a piss or get some water? Or worse … has she ran off again?

Frowning, I search for my torch, but I can’t find it anywhere even though I’m sure I left it here somewhere. She must’ve taken it.

“That woman …” I growl.

Fuck me. She’s going to pay for this.

Where the hell does she think she’s going? This is an island. There’s no place she can run where I can’t find her.

She’s stuck with me … whether she likes it or not.

But this … this pisses me off.

I try to be nice, I try to give her everything she needs and feed her, and this is how she repays me? By running off again? Even when she said she wouldn’t?

Grunting, I grab a stick from my stack, soak it in the wax I’ve scraped off the trees, then set it on fire. I’m going to find her, no matter what. I don’t care how long I have to search or how far I have to walk in the middle of the night.

I’m going to find her, capture her, and take her back to my hut … or the pit.

If she can’t keep her promise, I won’t keep mine either.

I run through the jungle to the easiest tree to climb up and take a look around. Not far from here, there’s a light … something’s burning.

It has to be her.

I jump down in one go and bolt off toward the place where the light came from.

The beach. What the hell is she doing there?

It doesn’t take me long to find out. The moment I exit the jungle and see the ocean, I also see her … stacking wood and leaves in the sand, then setting them ablaze with the torch.

Fuck me.

She’s building a signal?

Not on my watch.

“What is this?” I roar.

My voice instantly makes her turn her face toward me, her eyes big … with a look that says she knows I’ve caught her doing something bad.

Grunting, I march back into the jungle and jump up into a banana tree. Tearing off a leaf, I jump down, go straight to the ocean and fill it with water, then march toward the fire she made.

“Wait, what are you doing?” she asks, holding up her hand as I approach.

I ignore her and chuck it on the fire anyway.

“No!” she screams as the fire goes out. “Why did you do that? You asshole!” She kicks the sand into my face, but I don’t give a shit about any of that.

I throw the leaf down on the ground and pick her up instead, throwing her over my shoulder.

“Hey! Asshole!” she screams, banging her fists on my back as I walk back across the sand. “Let me go!”

“No … you didn’t listen to me.”

“I don’t care if the jungle is dangerous; I want to go back home!”

“You said you wouldn’t run,” I growl back, trying to ignore her fists pounding on my back.

“That fire was my only way to contact the outside world! You ruined it!” she squeals, but I ignore her.

She’ll calm down once she’s in the pit again. I won’t be persuaded by her sweet little face anymore. No matter how much she pouts at me, I can’t let these feelings inside my body get to me. She’ll ruin me …

Ruin this precious island.

This place I call my home.

No one can come here.

No one …

Maybe it was a mistake to allow her in too.

“Put. Me. Down!” she growls, kicking my chest so hard I have to cough. In that same second, she manages to squirm through my arms like a little monkey and rushes off, back to the stack she made.

I turn and cock my head. “Come. Here,” I growl. “Now.”

“No!” she says, folding her arms. “How dare you? I’m not your goddamn pet. You can’t just throw me over your shoulder like some caveman.”

When I walk over to her, she hides behind the stack of wood, circling it, as if she thinks it’ll stop me from chasing after her. As long as she roams this island freely and tries to destroy it, I’ll never be satisfied. If locking her up keeps her from trying to lure in more people, so be it.

“What is wrong with you? You want to be left alone, but you won’t let me off this goddamn island!” she yells.

“A fire won’t get you anywhere,” I growl, still circling her, trying to get close.

“It’ll grab the attention of airplanes or boats passing by. But now it won’t because you put it out!” she snaps. “You know what? Fuck you. I tried to be nice, but you make it so goddamn hard. Why can’t you just let me be? I never asked for your help.”

“You come to my island and destroy the jungle. You did this. Not me,” I reply, getting all worked up.

“It was supposed to be temporary. And if anyone knew you were here, no one would’ve come.”

“Exactly,” I say. “I don’t want anyone here.”

“But I am, and I want to go home. That helicopter crash ruined all our supplies. I have nothing to build on.”

Helicopter … that must be that metal bird.

“I can’t live here,” she continues. “On an island, with no other people, no proper food, no running water, no technology. Nothing.”

She makes it sound as if this island is the worst place you could ever be. As if she only likes it for the research but not the life. She doesn’t see the beauty in the desolation. The calm in the dark of the jungle.

My home.

She doesn’t like my home. The place that makes me feel like I’m allowed to live.

Maybe that’s why I feel like screaming and punching the trees behind me. Because she doesn’t appreciate this life. This jungle. Me.

Because even if I refuse to admit it, it’s nice to finally have a companion.

Too bad she doesn’t see it the same way.

She doesn’t have nothing.

I frown, growling, “You have me …”