Max’s lips were heated on hers. How the man stayed so warm was beyond her, but she’d take it. With his shirt off, her hands roamed the peaks and valleys of his shoulders and abs. His moan encouraged her on until he pressed her back against the rough rock. Yeah, not happening.

She pushed him back a bit. “It’s a little cramped up here if you haven’t noticed.”

His eyes never left hers. “Nope, didn’t notice.” He took her lips again, his hunger growing hers.

Giggling, she said, “Max,” and he sighed. “When we get back to the plane and have a dry place to sit, we’ll see about continuing this.”

His eyes lit up. “Really?”

God, he could be so funny when he wanted to. She glanced past the overhand and saw the rain had stopped. “Hey. Look. We can go now.”

His head swung around. “Really?” He was up and on his feet before she could say another word. Kara shook her head, wearing a smile. While Max put his shirt on, smothered the fire, and cleaned the small space, she looked down the muddy slope.

“Holy shit,” she said, “the stream is now a river.” With the swift moving water flowing over the sides of the banks, there was no way they could return to camp the same way they’d come. She stepped out to look around the entrance to see if they could go down the other side.

“Kara,” Max called, “wait for me.”

“I’m not going any—” Her slick-bottomed shoe slipped out from her weight. She grasp onto the rock but found no hand hold. “Max!” she yelled. He lunged toward her, arm extended. She latched onto his wrist, but he had nothing to anchor himself. Together they slid down the hill and off the cliff, plunging into the raging water.

Oh god, Kara thought, not water again. At least she didn’t have to worry about sharks. Just rocks bashing her head, sticks poking through her body, waterfalls crushing her to the bottom, and breathing. Sharks seemed preferable, almost.

“Kara!” She heard Max somewhere behind her. Trying to look over her shoulder, a dip in the flow dunked her under. She swallowed a mouthful of muddy water and came up spitting.

“Max!” Even if he couldn’t see her, he’d know she was alive and fighting. Slowly, she worked her way closer to the side. Ahead, they were coming to the forest where the water slammed into the trunk then flowed around. Her body would not like to be introduced to the native birches.

The only way to make it through without becoming a pinball was to be one with the water. She lay back, feet first, becoming the rushing current. In theory, she would go with the flow sending her around obstacles. In theory. The hard part was keeping her head above the swirling, splashing, water.

Holding her breath, she glided around tree trunks as wide as her body. Debris slammed into her from all sides. Whirlpools threatened to snatch her in and send her to the bottom with little hope of coming up.

How far had she traveled down the island? She felt she had to be at least to the center.

The rush of the water grew louder. Almost like thunder from the storm that just passed. But the sky was clear. What would make such a sound? Then she figured it out. Water flowed from highest point to the lowest. And with the top of the rocky hill so close, the height would have to go to sea level very, very, quickly. Like falling over the side of a cliff quickly.

“Max!” she yelled. “Waterfall. Big one.”

“Fuck!” Hearing his voice nearby, she twisted to see he’d almost caught up with her.

“Max!” She reached for him, but of course, her path’s direction was made and there was no changing it.

“Get to the side, Kara. You gotta get out now.”

“Not without you,” she called. She heard him cussing. Another thing her father taught her was to never give up on those you loved.

Several yards ahead, a white pipe extended from the flooded ground to disappear under the water. She’d wager her paycheck that the tube reached out a good distance.

“Max,” she yelled.

“I see it. Grab it, Kara. Grab it.” Easier said than done fit this situation perfectly. Focusing her agility and determination, she fought to cut across the current. The pipe was getting closer quicker than she anticipated.

Kara reached out toward the pipe, feeling for something to grab onto. Turned out she didn’t have to worry about that as her torso wrapped around a non-moving object, kicking her feet up and upper body forward. The impact knocked the wind from her lungs. With her head above water, she wouldn’t drown.

She tried to signal Max, waving her arm. But she needn’t do that either as he crashed into her, bending her around the pipe again and scooting both forward. For a minute, Kara worried the tube would snap and tear away.

“Max,” she breathed, “you’re squishing my guts into my back.”

He grunted and pushed them both toward dry land. He helped her climb from the water then both lay on their backs staring at the wet leaves overhead.

After doing nothing but breathing for several minutes, Kara asked, “Where to now? I’m sure there are plenty of other things on this island that can try to kill us. How about cliff jumping with no parachute next?”

Max rolled his head sideways and scowled. She wasn’t sure why, but it was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. She laughed until her stomach hurt. Maybe it was just the fact his face was beside her and still alive.

He rolled over on top of her and nestled himself between her thighs with a snug fit. The head of his cock pressed against her opening. Too bad wet clothes prevented him from entering. His mouth covered hers, hot and moist. She wanted more from him, of him. The had fought death once again and came out on the living side.

She’d had about enough of this. It was time for someone to rescue them already. Then she thought about the pipe being there.

“Max,” she said as his teeth pulled on her lip.

“Hmm.”

She tried to lift his shoulders, but he wasn’t having any of that. “Max,” she said again.

“Hmm,” he repeated, pressing down more on her, rubbing his hardening cock against her mound.

“Dammit, Max. Someone must live on this island. We need to get help.”

Sighing, Max quit his make-out session. “I wondered about that also when we were under the overhanging rock. The items there looked placed by human hands and not Mother Nature.”

“Well,” Kara continued, “I don’t think she lays PVC pipe on abandoned islands neither.”

“All right,” he pushed up from over her body and helped her up, “let’s see where the pipe leads, shall we?”

It was easy to follow since it lay on top of the ground with no effort made to hide it. To her, it appeared to be a conduit for transporting water from the stream. But where did it end?

Up ahead, through the trees, they saw a fifty-foot diameter patch of light where the sun beat down intensely. That meant the trees had been stripped away from that area. The question became was it natural or manmade?

They stepped into the light and the warmth felt great on her chilled skin. She wanted to lie in the grass and soak it in.

Max circled around looking at it all, then knelt and brushed at the foliage. “Looks like something had been planted here, but it’s been harvested and weeds have taken over.”

Kara walked around the perimeter. “Planted? You sure it’s not the landing spot for an alien spaceship? Fits the movie descriptions—big crop circle like.” She had no idea why she was feeling so snarky, or maybe she was on the edge of a complete mental breakdown and this was how the last bonds of sanity slipped away.

“I’m not even going to ask where that came from,” Max replied. “You’ve been out of the office too long. I need to give you busy work.” He spun around with a devious twinkle in his eyes. Hot need rushed through her with that look. When he marched toward, she debated whether to be easy prey or make him work for it.

Make him work.

She took off running through the trees. The leaves were slippery, but most had been blown into piles against tree trunks and dense areas of brush. She grabbed onto twig size branches from new growth to help her make sharp curves, making Max slow.

When she lost sight of him behind thick foliage, she wasn’t worried. A golden tiger knew how to track, but a platinum dragon knew how to leave a false trail.

Looking for a tree to climb to give her a high vantage point to watch Max, something strange caught her eye. Some kind of contraption was lodged in a tree, hidden behind leafy branches. She had no idea what it was, but it didn’t look natural to the land.

Stopping at the base of the tree, she looked up the trunk and saw a wire attached to a wooden box with several holes cut into the front. The wire she followed down the tree and across the ground. In places, small sticks held it off the foliage. It reminded her a lot of—

Max tromped through the bushes nearby. She needed to find him before it was too late. No telling how many more of these were around. “Max,” she called out, “don’t move.”

“Why?” he said. He heard the concern in her voice and she heard the panic in his.

“I’m okay—”

“I’m coming to you,” he said.

“No, Max,” Kara enforced, “Don’t move.” She picked up another run of wire along the ground, heading in the direction Max was coming. “Max, stand still.” Of course, he didn’t. Goddamn, obstinate men. If they just listened to women, everyone’s lives would be so much better.

She followed the line to another tree. Then she figured out what the holes cut into the boxes were—exit points for arrows to shoot out when someone tripped the wire. “Max, don’t move.” That time she heard the panic in her own voice.

“Kara?” he asked.

Shit. He was walking right into the area. He probably wouldn’t notice the trip wire. She didn’t until she saw the killing mechanism in the branches.

She saw Max headed in her direction. He was following her trail. The only way to make him stop was to take him down. And she would. Running and watching for traps at the same time was hard to do. Coming around a brush thicket a wire delved through, Kara jumped and tackled Max to the ground.

“Damn, baby,” he said, “if this gets you all riled up, we can run around my house every morning and night.”

She dropped her head onto his chest. “Max, shut up.” She sighed then realized what come out of his mouth. “Who said you were getting sex twice a day?”

“Oh, come on, baby. I’ll never get enough of you.”

“Aww,” she cooed, “that’s so sweet, but if don’t listen to me, you will be a water fountain with several holes for water to pour out.”

His brows turned down. “What are you talking about?”

“This area is covered in booby traps,” she said.

He cupped her breast. “Nice boobies, too.”

She slapped his hand away. “Would you please focus. I’m trying to keep us alive.”

He looked into her face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes, look.” She sat up and ran her fingers under the wire he was getting ready to step on. “Up there,” she pointed at a tree with a box of arrows stashed among the branches, “those would’ve put at least half a dozen holes in you.”

“Well,” Max said, “seems that whoever lives here isn’t keen on having visitors.”

“This could be how they get their meat, too,” she replied. “Doesn’t have to be a security thing.”

Max grunted, getting up. “That seems a bit excessive for catching a deer. If there are even deer on this island. I haven’t seen signs of bigger animals.”

Kara chewed on her lip. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t either. “Welcome or not, if this guy has a way to communicate off the island, we need his help. We can go straight back to camp after we make a call.”

“Baby,” Max said, “if we don’t get reception, how can anyone else on this island get it?”

She jammed her fists on her hips. “I don’t know. Maybe he has two damn tin cans strung together.”

Max offered up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, babe, just asking.”

Kara sighed and brushed hair from her face. “Sorry. I’m just...” She was just about everything—tired, hungry, soaked in muddy water, dying for the bottle of wine Meghan gave her. She already drank that. Damn.

He put his arms around her and drew her into him. Even though he was muddy too, he still smelled like the man she loved. She leaned into him, letting her body and mind relax for a moment.

The forest surrounded and calmed her like it did when she was little. Whenever she needed an escape from the world’s stress, she’d ensconce herself in nature and she’d find balance once again.

Except one sound didn’t belong in nature. A hum or buzzing in the distance wasn’t a hive of bumble bees. “You hear that?”

“Yup,” he answered. “Sounds like a generator to me. Someone is definitely here.” He released his hold around her and took her hand. “Let’s go see who it is, and how unfriendly they are.”