Page 14 of Lust & Lollipops

Learning otherwise hurt.

It really fucking hurt.

And even more than that, it made me wonder what the point was. If I couldn’t trust a fae I’d spent four years literally living with, could I ever learn to trust the one I ended up mated to?

They just wanted their immortality. They didn’t care about us little humans.

Eventually, the boat returned to the beach, and we climbed out. Asshole offered his hand to help me stay balanced. I couldn’t think of a good enough reason to turn him down, so I accepted.

The rest of the men had already started working on—you guessed it—the shelter I’d been wondering about. A quick glance told me there was no wood, nails, or anything else to help build it.

So, we were using bamboo and woven leaves and vines.

It was going to be great.

None of the men had put shirts on, but it was insanely hot, so that didn’t surprise me. It wasn’t like anyone had extra clothes anyway.

I was so sticky with sweat that getting all the sand off my skin had become a pipe dream.

I went through the pitiful pile of survival supplies we’d been given. There was a shit-ton of sunblock, a few cans of food, and a small bag of rice, which was good. But everything else?

Junk.

Literally.

We had four boxes of ice cream. The guys had eaten what they could salvage of those while I was on the crappiest date of my life. Whatever hadn’t been eaten was not only melted, but hot, thanks to the island’s temperature.

On top of the ice cream, there was candy.

Boxes and bags of melted, gooey gummy candy.

In most situations, I could easily eat as much candy as your average four-year-old on Halloween. My supply of lollipops had taken up almost an entire box when I was packing. But on a deserted island, when it was just melted goo?

I’d pass.

The guys I hadn’t met yet tried to casually take turns coming up to me. They introduced themselves and asked how I was doing, stuff like that. It was kind of awkward, but I could tell they were trying to be nice and friendly.

One of the last few to come up to me was one of the ones who’d introduced himself to me earlier. I still couldn’t remember his name. He had pale skin and blond hair, and didn’t look kind.

He reintroduced himself as Julian as he sat down beside me and started weaving palm fronds with me. It was monotonous, but something to keep my mind somewhat distracted from the heat and exactly where I was.

“What happened between you and Cameron?” the guy asked me. I tried not to stare at his glass-like wings too much. There were swirls of color in them that kept drawing my attention.

“I’m sure you got the gist of it earlier.”

“That’s the full story?”

“We’ve been at odds ever since he showed up with my blood results and announced he was my guard,” I said. “Not telling me about this was just the icing on the cake.”

“Has he ever mentioned wanting you?”

I flashed him a dark look. “Of course not. We don’t get along.”

He dipped his head. “It’s just strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cameron is friends with everyone. He’s one of the few old unmated fae who doesn’t hold grudges or hate anyone.”

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