Page 11 of Taking the Heat

‘Now, each of these rules is deadly serious. The entire island, including your rooms and the fantasy cabins, is monitored with cameras. And while not all footage will be used, all of it is watched. Break the rules, and we will know about it.’ Miles gave us a very stern look, and several people, myself included, quailed slightly, even though we hadn’t done anything.

‘Finally, my dear contestants, I thought you might be interested in seeing these …’

A production assistant handed me a tablet. On it was the homepage of my internet banking site.

‘I’d like you all to log in and check your balances, please.’

Fingers flying, I typed my username and password. When the screen refreshed, I almost dropped the device. Where my balance normally showed about five grand, a red line now informed me that there was a million dollars pending, awaiting clearance.

Stunned, I looked around at the others. Several guys let out a whoop and high-fived. One girl squealed and a few people plopped down on the sand, unable to stay standing from the shock.

I touched the little red line on my screen reverently. It had all just been a game up until now. Tonight, things got very real.

‘You all have the chance to become winners here on Erotic Island. Good luck, contestants,’ smiled Miles benevolently. ‘The party may be over for tonight, but tomorrow the games begin. Your first challenge begins here on the beach after lunch. Until then, sweet dreams.’

He bowed and left. Being closest to the stage, I let myself sit on the black carpeted surface, still processing everything I’d been told. A runner came and collected my tablet and my limp hands dropped back into my lap.

‘Hey. Are you okay?’ I looked up into Henry’s face, his comforting brown eyes a safe space after the flood of information.

‘Yeah. I think. I don’t know.’

Henry crouched down in front of me and went to put a hand on my shoulder. At the last second, he realised his mistake and he tucked his arms behind his back instead. ‘Would you like me to walk you back to your room?’

He was being lovely, but the crazy day had drained me of the will to socialise. I smiled weakly at him. ‘Thanks, but I think I’m just going to sit here and watch the waves for a little while. I’ll see you tomorrow?’

‘Of course. I’m going to come down for breakfast around ten, if you’d like to join me?’

‘Sure. Good night, Henry.’

‘Good night, Tara.’

I watched him leave, the muscles of his butt working hard on the soft sand.Mmmm …Don’t judge me. I might have been exhausted and overwhelmed, but I wasn’t immune to appreciating Henry’s better features.

With Henry gone, the beach was almost empty, save for a single cameraman who kept his lens trained on me. Inside the bungalow, a few crew members in black rushed around, clearing up the mess, but all the contestants had vanished.

‘Need a back rub?’

All but one.

Sighing, I turned to Chris, standing over me on the stage. ‘Hands to yourself, coffee boy. We’re here for three weeks—I don’t intend to blow one of my three chances on the first night, and especially not with you.’

As he loomed over me, his tanned skin blending with the starry sky above his head, he grinned. ‘I guarantee—by the end of this, you’ll have used at least one of those three chances on me.’

He leaped off the stage, lithe like a panther, and while his confidence was irritating, I found the idea of a forbidden tryst with him just as stimulating.

He wandered off down the beach. I had to remind myself I didn’t want to join him.

Did I? I don’t know. I’m really tired. Are we done now? It’s been a really long day. Nothing else happened after that—I walked back to my room and you guys stuck me on the balcony here with a camera in my face. Now I just want to go to bed.

(Unit manager, off camera:That’s great, really good stuff. Can you just tell us quickly—why do you hate Chris so much? Don’t you find him attractive?)

I don’t hate him. And yeah, he’s hot as hell and if I see him in a swimsuit, I’ll probably embarrass myself by walking into a pole or something. But still, I think he’s a douche.

(Why?)

Because … I don’t know. The first second I saw him in that coffee shop, something inside me jumped. Like a part of me already knew him. And when I looked in his eyes, it was like he felt that too.

And then he shot me down. I felt so terrible after he insulted me for auditioning—I nearly walked away. If it weren’t for Serena, I wouldn’t have gone back in and I wouldn’t be here and there wouldn’t be a million bucks sitting in my account, waiting for clearance.

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