The thought is gone almost immediately. Bastian leans against the wall of the shelter, and I sit between his legs and relax against his chest as he wraps his arms around me protectively.
I shouldn’t have mentioned it. What difference does it make what he did in the past? He is known to be violent and unpredictable. He likes vodka far more than he should and makes no excuses for his behavior. Yes, he’s killed a lot of people, but I don’t care. I should care. It’s strange that his history doesn’t bother me.
Why don’t I care?
“But none of it was real,” I say quietly. A strange, dizzy sensation comes over me, and I shake my head to clear it. I close my eyes, but there’s a bright light behind my lids—brighter than the sun filtering through the fronds of the shelter. The brightness is uncomfortable, so I open my eyes again and find Bastian staring at me.
How can the sun be out again? It was just about to rain.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here.”
He turns me around to face him, wrapping one hand around the back of my head. He places his forehead on mine and closes his eyes for a moment. He lets out a long sigh before he looks at me again.
“There is nothing to understand, Kandace,” he says. “You are here…now…with me. Always be in the moment, babe. Life is what you are experiencing right here, right now. Fuck the rest of it.”
He brushes his lips softly over mine, and I think about what he said. Right here, right now, I am safe. I feel good. In fact, I feel better than I have in many months.
“Just be with me right now,” he says against my lips. “Please, Kandace…be with me.”
“I’m here,” I tell him. “I’m with you.”
I close my eyes and revel in the feeling of his mouth on mine, the soft breeze coming from the ocean, and push away all other thoughts.
Chapter 4
Lightning and thunder are all around us, but we remain dry and comfortable inside the shelter. Outside on the dune, the cooking fire is nothing but wet ash and a little smoke. It hisses every once in a while as the rain pours down all around us. Our clothing still hangs from the wooden hooks on the wall, and as I stare up at the blue bathing suit I’d been wearing on the beach, I realize I’ve been naked the entire time I’ve been here.
Where did that suit come from?
Trees blow in the wind, reminding me of weather reporters trying to stand on the beach when a hurricane is on the way, but the shelter doesn’t shimmy and shake like I would expect it to do in such weather. I run my hand over the poles on the floor, wondering how something that looks so haphazardly constructed could be so sturdy. The poles are perfectly smooth under my palm, and there are no drops of rain sneaking through the roof.
Because none of this is real.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Bastian asks as he plants a kiss on my neck. “Can’t cook anything at the moment, but there are almonds, coconuts, and mangos.”
“I love mangos.” I pull my hand from the floor of the shelter and try to recall what I had been thinking about, but the thought is gone.
“You want some?” Bastian produces a large clam shell with perfectly cut pieces of fruit all over it. I blink a couple of times. It smells delicious, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right.
“No, I’m good.”
“I want to make sure you’re keeping your energy up,” Bastian says with a smirk. “I wouldn’t want you getting all worn out or anything.”
“Don’t you ever get tired?” I ask.
“Of you? Never.” He moves up to sit beside me and grins as his large hand grips my thigh. “All I can think about it getting my cock all up in you.”
“Such a romantic!” I push at his shoulder playfully.
“I’d give you romance if that’s what I thought you wanted,” Bastian replies. “It’s not though.”
“Really? What do I want?”
“You came here to get fucked,” he says simply. “That’s what you wanted, so that’s what I’m giving you.”
“Well, you have certainly accomplished that!”
“It is my honor to serve.” Bastian salutes in jest.