“Okay. If it’s safe,” I say softly.
“That’s my girl. I have complete trust in the captain.”
“How far is the ride?” I ask, hoping he’s going to say it’s short.
“It’s not exactly close, but we’ll be there within the hour. We’ll have to go a little slower than we normally would, but we’ll be fine.”
We most certainly arenotfine.
The choppy waters make for a rough ride; the constant rocking brings on a new wave ofnausea. I’ll be fine once we get there, and the ginger tea one of the ship’s stewards gave me helps. The boat is well built and handles the storm as well as it can, until a tiny private island appears in the distance, and finally, we reach wherever we’re going. It takes a few minutes to dock, but eventually, the captain lets us know we can depart.
Dark clouds rage above us and it lightly sprinkles. A short distance away, I can make out a gorgeous cream-colored three-story villa surrounded by cypress trees at the top of stone steps. I grab my travel bag and let Hunter lead me out.
Even though the weather is terrible, the property does look beautiful and I’m sure once I’m inside and dry, the excitement will return for this week alone with Hunter.
I did pack a small umbrella. It’s meant more for the sun, but at least it will keep me somewhat dry. I place my bag on the wooden dock for one second, just enough time to pull out the umbrella and pop it open, but a violent gust of wind comes. I stumble, and in the process, accidentally kick my bag into the water below.
“No!” I yell, dropping the umbrella, the urge to cry taking over.
The lock wasn’t secure and my bag is tossed around the waves, all of my belongings floating out. I’m seized with panic at everything that’s about to be destroyed or lost. My cellphone, books, jewelry, my makeup, medicines, and wallet are in that purse.
Hunter wastes no time jumping into the water, which only makes everything worse. The waves are choppy but he doesn’t stop trying to get as much as he can.
“Hunter, get out of there! You’ll drown!” I plead with him, caring more for his safety than any replaceable items.
The captain of the ship is yelling at us, only adding to the chaos. He keeps pointing towards the shore where Hunterneeds to go. The dock isn’t long and I run down it, never more grateful that I’d worn flats for this journey. This vacation is turning into a disaster! I should have stayed home and been miserable alone. I race towards the end of the dock and down the sand, where Hunter is slowly coming out of the rough waters. He holds up my bag, water pouring out of the bottom.
“I grabbed as much as I could. I’m so sorry, I’ll replace absolutely everything that you’ve lost,” he promises in a panic.
My stomach drops. At least half of the things I packed are gone. I grab my phone and click the side button multiple times. Nothing happens, the screen staying black.
Fuck. I’m not going to be able to tell Harper that I arrived safely, she’s going to be so fucking worried. I try to shut down the blasting apprehension. I can find her in a different way. I’ll log into my social media account on Hunter’s phone so I can update her.
I trust Hunter will replace everything, and I try to remember that at least we arrived safely. Maybe it would be a good thing for me to stay off my phone for a week, a little reset, and knowing Hunter, he’ll buy me the latest model as an apology as soon as he can. Probably even a new bag, too, since this one is probably going to be destroyed from the saltwater.
The captain yells something and we turn to look at him. He points towards the back of the house, where he’s left our luggage and waves as he gets back on the boat, speeding away, probably to outrun the storm and make it home for dinner.
Hunter takes my hand. “Come on, let’s get inside. It’s dry and dinner should be ready for us soon. I have a big surprise for you!”
Relaxing a little bit with every step, we run together through the rain towards the warmth of the villa. I do love surprises. Is a designer bag stuffed with cash too much to hope for? The patio is covered and we stop for a moment to catchour breath. A hot dinner, and maybe a glass of wine, is exactly what I need to relax after watching him risk himself for my belongings.
He’s totally the type of guy who would jump into the ocean for my purse.
I lean on the tops of my toes. “That was sweet of you,” I say against his lips before kissing him.
Hunter relaxes against me, deepening the kiss until he pulls back with a frown. “I’m sorry about your phone.” He slides his own out of his pocket and hands it to me. “Do you need this?”
I give him a grateful smile. “Yeah, I actually do, thank you.”
“Hunter, what the hell is going on?”
Ice flows down my spine. I don’t need to turn around to know who’s there. I would know that surly tone anywhere, but I still spin on my heel, needing the confirmation that Alric is truly here to process it.
His gray eyes widen when he sees me and his fists curl. “What are you doing here? Why haven’t you responded to my messages?” he demands. It’s not an alpha bark, but it might as well be.
He looks between both of us, fire burning in his expression. Hurt and longing. Although Alric hasnevergiven me any reason to fear him, my omega side screams for me to run away anyway. So I do what I did as a child when one of my alpha dads was mad at something I did. I hide.
The boat has left and I don’t have the survival skills to run out into the open terrain on this unfamiliar, secluded island. I turn and run the other way, towards the door farthest away from Alric, leading into the other end of the house.
