“She’ll be fine.”

“No.” She’d looked worriedly into the forest. “She rested a lot in the kayak…it…it wouldn’t be fair to leave her here alone.”

I’d crossed my arms. “She wouldn’t be alone. There are other parrots she can befriend.” Of course, I had no intention of leaving a bird I’d raised and cared for over fourteen years but I wanted to see how strong Eleanor really was. How far she’d go to stand up for a creature who she’d only just met.

“I can’t.” She shook her head. “I’ll…I’ll row back. I give you my word that I’ll return. But…I also gave Skittles my word that I’d keep her safe.”

Her reply clenched my stomach with barbwire, twisting me up until I bled.

Without thinking, I’d waved my hand at the pilot, cut the helicopter’s engines, then whistled the special call when it grew quiet. Skittles flew from the jungle and straight onto Eleanor’s shoulder. I didn’t want to stress or harm the caique, but if I had to throw a blanket over her or trap her in some way so she’d accept the mechanical flight, then so be it.

But Eleanor gave me a soft smile and walked away. She held up her hand for Skittles to perch on. She murmured something to the bird, pressed a kiss to her delicate head, then gently planted her free hand over her wings. Holding her sandwiched between her hands, cradled into her chest, she walked past me with her sexy bare feet and climbed into the helicopter.

And

fuck

me.

If I’d been worried for my sanity before? It was all over.

I’d lost it.

Right there.

Forever.

I’d clambered in after her, watched her the entire time the engines whirred back to life and we traded gravity for flight, all while my heart pounded as she soothed Skittles on her lap.

Shaking my head, I dispelled the memory.

I was turning into a fucking fool. Just because she was kind to animals, I had stars in my fucking eyes?

Get a grip, Sully.

Needing to do something, I snatched a bottle of water from the cooler on board. Tearing at the lid, I went to take a swig when Eleanor’s gaze locked onto the icy dripping bottle. She swallowed hard, then forced her stare back out the window.

She’d been capsized hours ago. She’d swum fuck knew how far. She was sunburned and palm blistered. Yet she didn’t ask for water.

Without a word, I passed her the bottle.

She flinched as the cold condensation dripped onto her lap. Skittles chirped and tried to squirm from her hold, but she stroked her thumb on the parrot’s head and cooed. “It’s okay. You’re okay.” Meeting my stare, she added, “I can’t let her go. I need two hands. It’s all right. I can wait until we land.” Her mouth said one thing, her eyes begged another.

She was thirsty, probably desperately so.

But she put Skittles before herself.

I wanted to do so many goddamn things.

Kiss her.

Thank her.

Throw her out of the goddamn helicopter so I didn’t have to feel this way.

With my teeth locked together, preventing myself from saying something I’d regret, I held the bottle to her lips.

Her eyes widened as I cupped the back of her head for balance, fighting the glide of the helicopter, making sure I didn’t bash her teeth with the bottle.

Goosebumps shot down her arms as my fingers automatically cradled her nape. My cock thickened in response as the expensive, sleek fuselage filled with sparkling, electrical awareness.

Ever so slowly, I tipped the water into her mouth. Some spilled down her chin, darkening my shirt, pebbling her nipples beneath. The colour matched her grey eyes perfectly, bringing out threads of silver that once again hinted at the iron will inside her. The unbuckling core that no amount of smelting or beating could break.

I waited until she’d drank the entire bottle before placing a droplet on my finger and holding it to Skittle’s beak. The bird drank greedily too. Eleanor’s stare never left my face, making my blood act strange, whizzing and hissing, hijacking my body with energy.

Pulling away, I tossed the empty bottle into the cooler, drank my own refreshment, then glowered out the opposite window.

Ah, fuck.

Chapter Twenty

HOME.

For the next four years.

I accepted it now. Or at least…I accepted it for now. Maybe someday, I’d get free. But until that chance came, I would learn to be grateful for what I had, rather than the false freedom that I didn’t.

I was lucky.

So, so lucky compared to so many others. I would do my best not to complain or despair about my situation when I had a roof over my head, food in my belly, and an owner who had some ability to care for me.

Sully commanded the helicopter pilots to turn off the machine, the sound of the rotors winding down still loud in my ears. Skittles hadn’t stopped trembling the entire flight, but at least she’d endured my makeshift prison, pressing gently on her wings so she couldn’t fly around and get hurt.

Not that she could’ve gotten hurt in the luxury cocooning us. I hadn’t taken notice of the interior when I’d been flown here the first time, my neck aching from the tracker being removed and my wrist itching from my new tattoo, but all of Sully’s belongings glowed with class.

The helicopter was no different.

Elegant cream material covered the large bench seat, fluffy padding softened the five-point harness, and the ceiling had pinpricks of light mimicking far-flung constellations.

When the rotors finally hung heavy and sullen, Sully moved. Sliding open the large door, he climbed out regally, a magistrate back in his kingdom.

I waited for him to storm off, pissed at my running, angry that I’d stumbled onto an island that had been his secret. Instead, he turned around with his hand up, as if waiting to escort me from the aircraft.

My heart tripped and hiccupped. With the sun sliding into late afternoon, its rays were no longer as harsh, transforming Sully from rigid ruler to golden-hued gentleman. He was unbelievably handsome. I’d never grow used to the perfect shape of his lips, the dark shading of his five o’clock shadow, or the effortless way he wore a suit.

Flashes of his naked skin beneath his blazer ensured I needed another bottle of water for my sudden thirst. He made my body malfunction. My heart stuttered, my breath faltered, and my brain short-circuited in favour of some ancient intelligence.

There was something there.

Between us.

Between captor and captive, aggressor and slave.

But there shouldn’t be.

This bonded connection shouldn’t have evolved in these circumstances. I didn’t know if that made me stupid or Sully a hypocrite. Either way, we could deny what we felt for the rest of our time together, but unless we accepted it—truly accepted it, talked about it, confessed it…then only disaster would follow.

Sully’s brilliant blue gaze glowed brighter, waiting for me to place my palm in his. With the heaviest sigh born from fear of losing myself and heartache over what would come from this, I opened my hands and let Skittles fly free.

For a second, she remained where she was, confused by the weight of my hand disappearing from her dainty wings. She cocked her head and chirped, then spread her green plumage and took off.

She fluttered out the door and into the palm trees, accosted by a second green bullet that I assumed was Pika welcoming her back. They both vanished into the greenery, leaving Sully and me alone in our own challenging, chemistry-charged existence.