Page 23 of Lost At Sea With A Billionaire

We worked in awkward silence, emptying the fish traps that had been generous overnight.Three good-sized fish would make a decent breakfast.As I cleaned them on a flat rock, I stole glances at Jonathan.His brow was furrowed in concentration as he reinforced the stakes holding the traps in place.

“You’re quiet this morning,” I finally said, unable to stand the tension.

He straightened, looking at me directly for the first time since we’d woken.“I’m trying to figure out what to say.”

“About?”

“This.”He gestured between us.“Us.What almost happened.”

I set down my knife.“Do you regret it?”

“No.”The word was immediate, emphatic.“Do you?”

“No.”I matched his certainty.

He took a step toward me, then stopped, running a hand over his growing hair.“This isn’t exactly a normal situation, Janet.We’re trapped on an island, dependent on each other for survival.I don’t want you to feel?—”

“Don’t.”I stood, wiping my hands on my shorts.“Don’t you dare suggest I only kissed you because we’re stranded.Give me more credit than that.”

His eyes widened slightly.“That’s not what I?—”

“I wanted to kiss you on that yacht,” I said, the words tumbling out.“I wanted to kiss you while standing in that gleaming kitchen.I wanted to kiss you when you complimented my cooking.I wanted to kiss you when you helped me with my head injury.I wanted to kiss you every time you built or fixed something in this godforsaken place.”I stepped closer.“Being stranded didn’t create those feelings.It just removed the barriers.”

The silence that followed felt endless.Then Jonathan closed the distance between us in two long strides, his hands cupping my face as his mouth dived into mine.This wasn’t the tentative exploration of last night—this was hunger, certainty, and inevitability.

I responded in kind, my arms wrapping around his neck, my body pressing against his.Our mouths meshed, tongues explored, and flavor burst through me in a heated shockwave.I couldn’t get enough.His hands slid down my sides to my hips, pulling me even closer.

When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

“I’ve been fighting this since the moment you walked into my kitchen,” he admitted, his voice rough.“I didn’t hire you just for your culinary skills or your resilience.There was something about you that—” He shook his head.“I couldn’t look away.I needed to know you.”

“And here I thought you were just another entitled billionaire.”

He laughed, the sound warming me from the inside out.“I probably was.Maybe still am.”

“Less entitled now,” I conceded, sliding my fingers along his jawline.“You make a decent fisherman.”

“I will definitely except the praise from Chef Banks.”

His smile faded and a more serious emotion covered his dark eyes as he searched mine.“I don’t know what happens when we’re rescued.Our worlds are very different.”

“I know,” I admitted.“But we’re not being rescued today.”

That seemed to be enough for now.He nodded once, then pulled me back into another kiss that weakened my knees.

“The fish,” I murmured against his lips.

“Right.Priorities.”But he didn’t move away immediately, his forehead resting against mine.“We should probably eat.”

Over the next few days,I decided to build a proper outdoor kitchen because I had had enough of cooking on rocks and makeshift grills.Getting to know Jonathan was ridiculously funny at times.To see this beautiful athletic man get completely flustered at times where I excelled tickled me to no end.But watching his muscles flexed, his nipples hardened, and body spring into action when I needed him for physical endeavors became my favorite pastime.

“I needsomething more stable than this,” I explained, gesturing to our current cooking setup.“A real workspace.Maybe even a storage area for the herbs and fruits we’ve gathered.”

Jonathan considered it.“We could use stones from the beach to build a base and some of the larger pieces of driftwood for the surface.”

“That’s excellent.”I high fived him and the sting from our hands colliding rippled through me with joyous tenacity.

We spent the day hauling rocks and selecting the flattest ones for the countertop.Jonathan’s strength made what would have been backbreaking work for me alone manageable as a team.By sunset, we had constructed a surprisingly functional cooking station, complete with a stone fire pit beneath to control the heat.

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