The Pathway To Us (7 page)

“I’ve had better days but nothing a hot shower and pancakes couldn’t fix.”

“How about a banana instead?”

“That works too. I’ll take it.”

Logan dropped his load and tossed her the fruit. “Eat quickly. We should set off soon, and you’ll need your energy to explore this island. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get a hot shower and a good meal tonight.”

There was a part of her that hoped so, but another part that wished she could be alone with this good-looking man a little while longer.

*****

It seemed like Logan and Lily had been walking for hours. It was hot, and the trees were dense and so tall that they blocked out a lot of the sun. Being in the thick of it was actually pretty frightening.

As they continued to walk, they hadn’t discovered any real paths, so she was sure the overgrown underbrush was slowing them down. The noises though, they were almost her undoing.

Lily made sure she stayed close behind Logan as he used a big stick to check that they weren’t walking into anything harmful. Once, when he stopped abruptly, Lily almost walked smack dab into the back of him.

“Sorry.”

“Shhh . . .” He put his hand up as if telling her to be quiet. “You hear that?”

“What in particular? I hear a lot of things.” Lily swiped at something that buzzed past her ear.

“It sounds like rushing water, maybe a stream or lake.” Logan started walking again. He picked up the pace but was still careful to check the path before them. Lily didn’t know what she would do if that stick actually touched something. It was only a matter of time before it did.

The sound of the flowing water was getting louder. The excitement of possibly finding fresh water, temporarily took her mind off of jungle critters. “I hear it. I hear the water.” Her stride was no longer aimless. She walked behind him with purpose. They went on for another few minutes before the trees opened up to a beautiful clear lake with a spectacular waterfall. An avalanche of white water cascaded over a cliff into the lake. Depending on which way Lily turned her head, she could see the colors of the rainbow. What was even more incredible was that the lake remained perfectly still as if it had been completely undisturbed by the flood of water that flowed into it. It was so clear she could see all the way down to the bottom. Lily was set to jump headlong into the water to wash off all the salt water and sweat until Logan stopped her.

“Wait! This is fresh water. If we are drawn to it so might other animals.” He put their things down and took off his running shoes. “Let me make sure it’s safe.”

Logan looked around them first then bent down and cupped some water into his hands for a drink. The water was good and fresh. Other than a few fish, there didn’t seem to be anything in it that would cause them harm.

Lily was shifting from one foot to the next, waiting for his word.

“Okay. Everything seems to be fine. Make sure when you take off your shoes that you sit them upside down, and then still shake them out before you put your feet back in them. We wouldn’t want some little critter to crawl in and bite those cute little toes.”

Lily did as she was told then jumped into the water. It wasn’t that deep and felt heavenly. Nothing in her life felt as good as washing away the salt in her hair and on her body. After fully submerging herself, Lily stood only to find the water was slightly more than waist deep.

Logan watched Lily intently from the bank. It wouldn’t be hard to stare at her all day. It wasn’t the salt that covered his body, but the ecstasy on her face that made him jump in too. Truth be told, it may have been the pebbling of her nipples. Either way, he needed to cool off and think about something else. Quickly, he dunked his head beneath the waters and allowed it to cool his heated skin.

When Logan came up from under the water, she was watching him. Her smile was broad and her eyes, framed with droplets of water that clung to her lashes, sparkled. “We’ve found our very own Garden of Eden. If nothing else, I feel almost human.”

It was easy to return her smile. “I feel much of the same way.” He couldn’t help himself and he decided to flirt just a little. “If this is Eden, then you must be Eve, and you’re just as beautiful as I always imagined.”

He’s flirting.
Lily swam over to him and decided to try it too. When she popped up from out of the water, they were only standing inches apart. The easy smiles from moments before were replaced with a sexual tension they couldn’t deny. Logan had never felt the immediate connection to a woman that he felt with Lily. They stared into each other’s eyes barely breathing before she grazed the side of his cheek with her fingertips. “You’re my very own Adam. At least here anyway.”

Instinctively, Logan pulled Lily’s body into his and brought her lips close. Lily’s eyes fluttered closed as her body melted into him waiting for his lips to touch hers. She waited, but it never happened.

Her eyes slowly opened at the same time that Logan moved away from her. He took a deep, steadying breath. “As much as I want to taste your lips, I can’t. I’m engaged, and I can’t hurt my fiancé by cheating on her.”

Lily felt awkward and awful. She wasn’t the type of woman to even flirt and definitely not with someone who wasn’t available. “I-I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

He looked away from her. “Don’t be. It’s nobody’s fault. We’ll blame it on our circumstances.” He gave her a lopsided grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “We should probably get moving.”

As they started to walk out of the water, Lily’s eyes landed on something shiny – almost blinding when the sun hit it just right buried halfway beneath the floor of the lake. “Logan, what’s that?” She pointed to it.

He wasn’t sure but decided it might be worth investigating. He dived down under the water’s surface until he reached it. It took a minute to completely unearth it but when he returned to the surface the smile on his face was huge. “It’s crude, and I have no idea how long it’s been down there, but this might come in handy.”

“What is it?”

“A machete.”

*****

Over the next few hours, Logan and Lily didn’t speak much. They kept walking with each of them lost in their own thoughts. Lily couldn’t believe she had actually come on to Logan. She felt like the worse kind of pond scum. It went against all of her principles. She would never date or flirt with someone who was in a committed relationship. Except with Logan, something kept drawing her to him. Maybe it was the hero worship thing. He’d saved her life, and she felt safe with him.
Stop it Lily. Stop making excuses. You were attracted to him before any of this ever happened. So, stop it and respect his commitment to his fiance.

She had been too quiet for too long. Logan turned around to make sure Lily was doing okay. He had the feeling if she weren’t she might not say anything. “How are you back there? Do you need to stop to rest?”

“No. I’m tired, but I don’t want to stop.” She paused. Her voice was full of disappointment when she spoke again. “Logan, if we are stranded there’s a lot you’re going to have to teach me.”

He looked into her eyes. “We don’t know that’s the case yet.”

Lily turned her head to avoid his piercing gaze. She was still too embarrassed from earlier. “I think we do. I’m not a wilderness woman, but I’m smart enough to know we’ve been walking for hours. This island doesn’t seem to be that big and we haven’t run into anything that would lead us to believe someone else besides us is here.”

She was right. He couldn’t deny that. Even the machete was not something someone in modern times would use. “We can’t lose hope.”

The events of Lily’s life forced her to live in reality not in the land of make believe and this situation was no different. “Right. I haven’t lost hope. I’m just stating the obvious.”

She was trying to be brave. He had to admire her for that. He turned back around, and they continued walking. “If we are the only people here, it’s okay. You’ve got to know, there are people looking for us so we won’t be here too long.”

Logan used his forearm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. He wasn’t quite sure if the sweat was from the heat or the guilt he felt for still wanting to press his lips against hers. His thoughts kept returning to the lagoon where it almost happened. Honestly, he’d been attracted the moment he’d laid eyes on her and being stuck together like this was only making it worse. If he’d almost cheated on Bree in a little over twenty-four hours, what would happen if they were stuck here for longer? No. Logan wasn’t even going to let his mind wander. They were going to get off of this damn island.

As they continued to trek through the jungle, the underbrush beneath their feet started to change. It was getting sandy. That meant they were getting close to the beach. When they finally broke through the clearing, the truth was plain.

Logan couldn’t help but curse. “Dammit!”

Lily walked out from behind him. The beach on this side was just as deserted as on the other. Her voice was soft and filled with disillusionment. “What are we going to do now?”

Frustrated he ran his hand across his face. “It’s too late to head back. We’ll set up camp for tonight and get going in the morning back to the other side.”

Lily let out a small sigh. “Okay, I’ll see if I can gather more rocks for a fire.”

Logan couldn’t help but notice; she didn’t complain, freak out, or have a fit. She just wanted to get started doing what needed to be done.

As the days started to run together, every morning before heading down to the lagoon, one of them would mark a tree with a rock for each day that passed. Two weeks had passed since Logan and Lily found themselves stranded on the island. During that time, they’d fallen into a routine. Logan began to show her things that might save her life. Lily was still somewhat amazed at how quickly she was adapting to her current situation – jungle sounds and all. They also put up some unspoken boundaries. They were friendly because they needed each other but both of them were careful not to cross any lines.

Soon after returning from the other side of the island, they’d found a fresh water lagoon closer to their original camp. The tarp had been hung between a couple of tree branches to shield them from the unrelenting sun during the early afternoon hours and the almost daily bouts of rain.

This morning the heat was particularly stifling. Lily decided to take a quick dip in the lagoon to cool off. Logan was off doing something with the machete he’d found. Before Lily left for the lake, she grabbed the 8-inch knife. Life was very different here than back home. It was another thing Logan had shown her how to use. Keeping the knife with her could be a matter of life and death. She was grateful that so far she hadn’t needed to use it.

She came out from underneath the tarp and walked over towards him. He’d taken off his shirt. The sweat glistened off of his body, and his muscles tightened every time he moved. Logan still left her breathless.

Lily cleared her throat. “Hey.”

He stopped working and turned around. “Hey.”

She pointed behind her. “I need to cool off. I’m going to head over to the lagoon. You look like you could use a break. Why don’t you join me?”

He was response was terse, and he turned his back to her. “I’ve got a lot do. If I don’t finish this nobody is going to come along and do it for me.”

Did he think she wasn’t pulling her weight? Lily did everything he’d asked her to do and would gladly do more. “Is there something else you’d like for me to do?”

“Nope.” His tone was clipped.

He was pissed, and Lily didn’t know why. “Are you angry with me? Did I do something wrong? If you want, I can go over to the lagoon later.”

“I said no. How many ways do you want me to say it?” Logan knew he was being an ass but couldn’t seem to help himself. “Lily, just go. I said I’m all right.”

Lily had never been good with people being upset with her. It was a problem for her. She was always trying to please everyone by going above and beyond for people who wouldn’t do the same for her. She couldn’t imagine what Logan could be pissed about. She didn’t mask the hurt in her voice or her eyes. “Okay. I shouldn’t be gone too long, and maybe when I get back you can show me how to do whatever you’re doing.”

When he didn’t respond, Lily turned and started walking towards the lagoon. All the way there she replayed their conversations over and over in her head. She had no idea what she could have done to set him off. She hoped by the time she returned he might be willing to talk to her about it.

Logan felt like a piece of crap. He purposely treated Lily shitty when she hadn’t done anything wrong except star in his x - rated dream last night. Logan exhaled and squinted out at the ocean. Was he ever going to wake up from this nightmare? Bree, his family, everyone had to be worried sick about him, but he was here dreaming about how it would feel to be buried deep between Lily’s creamy thighs.

A nice swim would be just what he needed, but the evidence of his attraction would be on full display if she were around. An even better plan to keep his libido in check would be to put a little distance between him and her. His conscience wouldn’t leave him alone though, not after this morning. He owed Lily an apology. Logan waited a few minutes to allow his body an opportunity to calm down then decided to go after her.