Page 103 of Uncharted

“Take off your wet clothes. They go in the box by the door.” Zane points. “I brought your pack up. It’s over there. You want anything out of it?” He lifts it.

I reach for it and take it from him. “Thanks. This is a really well-built treehouse. It’s amazing what you did with so few tools.” They really surprise me—every person here. Without their talents and grit, we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have.

“Thanks.” Zane pulls the rain flap around the door closed. “It’s even nicer on a clear night when we open the windows.”

Easton’s got one of the medical kits out. We’ve split a lot of the supplies. When the rainy season kicked in, I was worried that the reef could rip another hole in the hull and we’d have to risk getting enough supplies off the ship. But the more I heard of the pirates, the more I wanted to keep the surplus safe.

Haley takes my hand in hers, and I kiss it. “I’m fine.”

Thunder booms in the distance. Haley shudders.

The storms are rolling over us, but we’ve all been here long enough to know there will be another one right after the first one. The rainy season can’t be over soon enough.

I hold her eyes long enough for the two of us to make a silent pact of not telling the rest of the guys about my wound.

Easton glares at my leg, then Haley, then me. “A little scratch? So how did you get this little scratch?”

“Things happen. I’m fine.”

Haley puts her hand on his knee, and Easton purses his lips at me. “It’s not bad, Sam. You don’t need stitches, but it’s going to leave a scar. Let me get it cleaned out, well, because things happen with bacteria.”

“Scars are sexy, right, Sassy?” Dante’s lying down in the middle of the bed already.

“As long as you’re healthy, you’re sexy to me.” She leans over and kisses the side of my ear.

Easton has my leg bandaged up quickly, and then the dance of moving around the space to get to the right position in the bed begins. Having the three of us return from the ship has set the normal routine into a tailspin, apparently. Not that I’ve been part of the rotation since the night of Haley’s birthday.

I clear my throat. “I’m pulling rank and taking my turn next to Haley.”

“Ho,” Dante chortles. “Rank, is it? Well, how about we let Sassy decide? I’m also not moving. I’m comfortable.”

Haley smiles at Dante. “Ready?” she asks.

A chorus of “Yes” and “Always” fills the treehouse. From a small tub, Haley finds dry clothes. She doesn’t put them on; she places them on a shelf at the center of the bed. Then she strips off her wet clothes and hangs them on the line above the tub. All eyes are on her. Mine, too. And I wonder how I could have stayed away. I’m a damn fool who has to learn things over and over again.

Haley lies down next to Dante, her back to his chest. His arm pulls her to him. When she tilts her chin up to me, it’s like the first time I kissed her in the butler’s pantry—the one kiss that sealed everything for me. I’m drawn to her. Fighting it is pointless. I want her, and if they come with her, so be it.

I strip my shorts off; they join my shirt in the bin by the door. And then I walk up to the mattress and wedge myself between Easton and Haley.

“Shouldn’t I have rank over you?” Easton laughs, but he rolls over.

“There’s no rank, not with me.” Haley’s blue eyes blink at me in the soft light. She leans forward, and her soft lips hit mine. I’m lost. My brain blurs, and all my responsibilities are washed from my skin. This girl, this woman, does it for me.

Dante pulls on her shoulder, and Haley lands flat on her back. Easton’s up on his knees and has positioned himself at the head of the mattress. With my eyes closed and Haley’s lips controlling my brain, I turn off my natural desire to pick out where everyone and everything is on the platform.

Her fingernails run through the hair at the nape of my neck. It’s my favorite thing. My cock twitches between us.

Chapter45

Mess Hall

Haley

I’ve thought about this for weeks. I’ve sat on Sam’s lap in the wheelhouse while we were listening to the radio. We’ve made out. He’s had his head between my legs, and I’ve done some interesting gymnastics squeezing between the back bench and the map table. But we haven’t done anything with one of the other guys again. Mostly because it seems every chance they get, they keep me here on the beach and Sam stays on the ship.

The way they’re touching me, it makes me want to purr. It’s so easy to forget the storm raging on all around us, the dangers we face simply going to get a bucket of water.

“Little Bird?” Zane rubs his fingers over the top of my forehead and follows it with a kiss.

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