Page 8 of Lust & Lollipops

My abdomen was so tight it hurt.

I let myself take three more breaths before I stood.

My legs shook.

There was sand plastered to basically all of my exposed skin. The unexposed skin, too.

But I managed to stand. The backpack on my shoulders was insanely heavy, though, making it hard to stay steady.

“There are three buckles on the front,” Rhett said. When I glanced over at him, I found him shirtless, with a pair of massive, wings spread behind his back. They looked like they were made of glass, and were entirely clear. He was a few inches taller, too. And thick horns protruded from his scalp.

My hands shook as I undid them. “You’re a real bastard. Who throws someone out of a plane?”

I stumbled forward when the weight crashed down behind me, finally leaving me free. He grabbed my upper arm to catch me before I could fall again. “Just following Society instructions.”

“You and the Society can both kiss my ass.”

“We’ll leave that for your mate.”

If I hadn’t already been sweating, my face would’ve flushed.

My mate, who I wasn’t really going to get to choose. Every other compatible human had free will when it came to their game show. They could choose any of the supernatural men.

But me?

I’d get three options.

The three who either outsmarted or outplayed the rest in some way.

In all likelihood, the three I liked the least.

“This is bullshit,” I said, brushing sand off my boobs, tiny bikini, and shorts, but barely making a dent.

Damn, I hated sand.

It was going to be a long month.

I really hoped there was some kind of a shelter built. Or at least some wood for the guys to build something with. The last thing I wanted to do was spend my nights on the sand.

Actually, the last thing I wanted to do was spend my nights snuggled between gigantic fae guys in a tiny shelter, on the sand.

Sure, they’d be attractive, but snuggling would give them ideas.

Maybe sand wasn’t that bad.

Another small plane made its way toward us, the sound getting louder as it approached.

“I could refuse to mate with any of these guys,” I said. “If the Society wants to play hardball by throwing me out of a plane and into a whole new game, I can just decide not to play.”

Rhett snorted.

It was the first sign of emotion I’d seen from him.

“You’re about to be secluded on an island with a dozen horny, lonely, dying fae males. Any of them could overpower you with little more than the blink of an eye. I’ve been assigned to protect you while you’re here, but if you don’t do your job, I’m under no obligation to do mine.”

My chest tightened. “You’d let me die?”

He laughed.

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