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“My family owns this whole island,” I told her. “It’s a vacation destination for us.”
I hadn’t been here in a couple of years because life had been insanely busy, but there was no mistaking the property. The footpath leading to the front door was as familiar as any other that I’d ever walked. Of course, I’d never been here during this type of violent weather.
A cry of pain came from behind me. I whirled around to see that one of the pilots, the woman, had slipped on the wet grass and fallen. She was gripping her ankle with her face twisted in a grimace of pain. I rushed back towards her, but before I got close, the other pilot scooped her up in his arms.
We proceeded to the house a little more slowly, but we were already so close that it didn’t take long to get there. Once the four of us were huddled on the porch, I tried the door and let out a sigh of relief as the knob turned. We didn’t usually lock it—what was the point when we owned a private island—but if I had found it that way, I was prepared to break a window if I had to.
I was getting desperate to get safely inside. Being soaking wet was annoying, but the roaring wind and menacing thunder was even worse. I felt defenseless and completely vulnerable for the first time in my life, and I fucking hated it.
Rylee was the first to rush into the house, followed closely by the pilots. I slammed the door shut behind us, and then we were all standing in the foyer, surrounded by darkness. I ran my hand along the wall until I found the light switch, but when I flicked it to the “on” position, nothing happened.
“Damn it,” I muttered. “The electricity is out. Everyone stay right here.”
Pulling my cell phone out of my pocket, I turned on the flashlight and used it to light my way into the kitchen. Yanking open all the drawers, I managed to find a box of matches. My mom loved candles, so I knew there’d be plenty scattered throughout the house. I walked around the living room and lit every one I could find. Then, I pulled out two long-stemmed white candles from the dining room sideboard and lit those too.
“Okay, guys, come on into the living room,” I said.
Rylee had turned on her cell phone’s light too, and she led the way into the room. The woman with the injured ankle was carefully placed on the couch.
“I’m Dale, by the way,” the man that carried her said. “And this is my wife, Sandra.”
I was glad he was reintroducing himself. I hadn’t really paid any attention when I met them before the flight. Who would have thought we’d end up crash landing the plane and in a situation like this?
I gave him a wry smile. “Well, I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but frankly, I wish you’d been able to just stay in the cockpit until we arrived in Costa Rica.”
Dale chuckled. “That makes two of us. This is definitely not an ideal situation.”
“I hate to interrupt,” Rylee said, and I glanced over to see her standing beside the chair. Her black hair was wet and clinging to the sides of her face. I could see her shivering with her arms wrapped around herself. “But do you have any clothes here I could wear since I didn’t have the chance to grab my bag? I’m freezing and want to change out of this cold, wet outfit.”
Her white blouse was plastered to her chest, and even though she was wearing a bra, it appeared to be made of thin lace, judging by the pattern and the way her stiff nipples jutted against the material.
A surge of lust shot through me, unexpected considering our current circumstances. I’d definitely noticed her on the plane, with her olive skin and pretty hazel eyes—when they didn’t appear to be annoyed with me for whatever reason. She had a natural beauty that I didn’t see often, the kind that could maybe be enhanced with some light makeup, but she didn’t need to cover up anything. With high cheekbones and a killer body, she was just my type, despite her obvious lack of interest toward me.
It wasn’t often that a woman wasn’t flattered by my charm or flirtatious attempts as Rylee had been on the plane, and I was intrigued. But right now I needed to focus on getting us all settled for the time being.
“Clothes?” I thought for a moment. “Let me go look around.”
I headed up the stairs to the room I used when I was here. I had a few things in the dresser for myself, but I wasn’t keen on rummaging through my mom’s usual room for something Rylee could wear. She was probably fifty pounds lighter than my mom anyway.
Then, I remembered the last time I was here. I didn’t vacation alone, and I was pretty sure my guest left a dress behind. Checking the closet, I found what I was looking for and brought it downstairs once I’d pulled on a pair of dry jeans and a T-shirt.
“Are you kidding me?” Rylee asked, wrinkling her nose as I held the garment out to her.
“What’s wrong with it?”
She took it out of my hand and held it up to her body. “There’s barely any fabric here!”
I couldn’t help chuckling at the indignant look on her face. “Well, it is clean and dry,” I pointed out.
“Whose is it?”
I shrugged as I tried to remember. “Some women I brought here to impress a couple years ago. Sasha? Sierra? Something like that. She was a Victoria’s Secret model.”
“Of course she was.” Rylee looked disgusted with me as she picked up a candle and took the dress into the bathroom to change.
I left the living room to give Dale and Sandra some privacy to change their clothes as well. At least they’d managed to grab their bag, so they had something dry to wear.
Going through the pantry, I took stock of what we had on hand. I knew that Dylan had been planning to come here in a couple of weeks for a vacation, so the pantry had recently been stocked and there was even some cured meat hanging in the back. It wasn’t much, and I was sure he was planning to bring more stuff when he arrived. Still, we were lucky to have food to eat.
