Page 22 of Heat & Hard Candies

There had been an annoying amount of them already, but I supposed I’d rather have my extra time with Launa spread out a bit more. So, it was fine.

I had to fight to keep my breathing even as I watched my female walk away with Travis. Of all the guys on the island, he was the only one I hated. Or even slightly disliked. The others were fine, but Travis?

Our many months on Survival together only proved how obnoxious the bastard was.

He didn’t care who the compatible female wanted.

He didn’t care if she didn’t want him.

He didn’t care which of the other guys were the nearest to death.

He didn’t care about anyone but himself, and it irritated the hell out of me.

I trusted Jordan to keep Launa safe, but I didn’t want Travis alone with her.

It took everything I had to act normal when we made it back to the island. Everyone wanted to talk to me alone, so I forced myself to strategize with each of them the way I always did. They all thought I was working with them, and even though they knew I was working with everyone else too, they were under the impression that they needed me badly enough to continue.

If history had proven anything, it was that they were right.

They needed me if they wanted to get to the end.

And I needed them just as badly, even if I couldn’t let them realize it. All it would take was a few votes to remove me from the game.

That wasn’t going to happen, of course.

But theoretically, it could.

Which was why I had to bullshit my way through the rest of the day, until Launa got back that night and eased my nerves.

So I put my fear in my pocket and went to work.

Twelve hours later, Jim was gone, and Launa returned safely. Travis spent an hour complaining about how she hadn’t wanted to talk to him, and satisfaction relaxed me further.

Everything was going to work out.

I was damn sure of that.

eight

LAUNA

My rewardwith Travis was awkward. He tried to force me to open up to him by badgering me repeatedly, and obviously failed.

By the time we got back to the beach, I was hoping I could come up with a way to make sure he was the next one out.

But ultimately, that would require actually interacting with some of the men, which was an easy no from me. I’d just have to wait and hope.

Two and a half more days passed slowly, before there was another challenge.

It was another puzzle challenge.

I was about ready to rip my damn hair out when I saw it. I wanted to spend the day with Kyle, not another guy.

I had noticed that most of the guys weren’t really trying to win puzzle challenges after the first one, though. They weren’t enjoying our rewards, so they weren’t competing.

And I sure as hell wouldn’t complain aboutthat. The less they tried, the better.

Kyle still wasn’t going to win when it came to puzzles, though.

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