“Survivor?” he repeated, confused.

She straightened and pushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes.

Her cheeks were pink from the excursion as she said, “Twenty-two years and forty-two seasons andSurvivoris still going strong. Viewers like to watch other people roughing it while they sit in the comfort of their own homes.”

“So we have to cook over a fire and shit in the sand with leaves for toilet paper to make the viewing public happy?”

“Exactly.” She nodded before bending to pick up a tent pole. She alternated staring at it and the tent on the ground before looking up at him. “Do you know how to do this?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“Will you help me?” She widened her eyes expectantly.

Seeing an opportunity, he grinned. “Depends. What will you give me in exchange?”

Her frown was fast and furious. “I’m not sleeping with you for it, that’s for damn sure.”

He bit out a few choice words that the network censors wouldn’t approve of before returning her frown. “Believe me. Sex with you here is the dead last thing on my mind. That wasn’t what I was talking about at all, so get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Then what were you talking about?” she demanded.

She crossed her arms, which made her tits strain the fabric of her T-shirt and made a liar out of him since he was definitely thinking about sex with her, here, now.

He cleared his mind of that thought and said, “I want information.”

“What kind of information?” she asked.

“Whatever you can give me about the other teams or anything about the challenges that will help me—us—win.”

He’d have to split the money with her, but half was better than none. And the glory of the win would be all his.

She frowned again and he began to suspect he’d be seeing that expression from her a lot this week. “I can’t do that. It wouldn’t be ethical.”

“And your boss forcing me to participate in this shit show or risk my military career is?”

She pressed her lips together. “I am sorry about that. I had nothing to do with it.”

He believed her.

“I can tell you this,” she continued and he leaned in closer to hear. “The cameras are on twenty-four hours a day and they have night vision so don’t think darkness is any protection. The sound team is on site so expect anything you say can and will be recorded. The mics are amazing and catch everything, even long range. So no more talkabout cheating.” She mouthed the last two words silently so he had to read her lips.

“Okay,” he mouthed back, just as silently.

Then he let out another single silent word over the information she’d shared. Cameras. Mics. Night vision.Fuck.

“So when will we be told what’s happening?” he asked as a scowl settled on his face. He didn’t like being kept in the dark.

“As soon as we get these tents set up, we’re to meet on the beach for a barbecue. Then they’ll explain the first challenge and the rules of the game to us.”

“As soon as these tents are up? Then I can find out what the hell is going onandI get fed?” he asked, just to clarify.

“Yup.” She nodded. “And there’s alcohol too.”

His brows rose. “Step aside, sweetie. I got this.”

Lucky for him, all the SEALs had realized the same thing he had. The quicker they did the work for their female civilian teammates, the sooner they could get this show on the road—so to speak.

In no time they were assembled along the surf where Stefan kept reminding himself he was no longer a trainee and was not here to be tortured by instructors. Still, the whole island made him twitch.