Page 26 of Castaway Heat
Ronin captured his lips tenderly. He lifted a hand to Shiloh’s chin, commanding attention. “We’ll figure it out one way or another. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”
Shiloh heard the tiny waver in his voice. He was scared. They both were. If he was pregnant and didn’t get off the island in time, one or both of them could die from the trauma of childbirth. He pushed that thought from his mind and took a deep breath. No more dwelling on the negative, for the maybe-baby’s sake. Positive thinking only.
They would be rescued before he gave birth.
“So… warm or lukewarm?” Ronin asked.
“As hot as it is, the idea of warm sounds nuts, but I’m really sore.”
Ronin frowned, concern written into the lines of his face.
“It’s okay,” Shiloh said. “It’s to be expected, especially if an alpha has a horsecock.”
Ronin feigned being offended. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
Shiloh grinned.
“And as I recall, you begged me for all of my horsecock our first night together.”
“In the heat of the moment,” Shiloh whispered.
Ronin’s smile faded. “Do I hurt you?”
“No,”Shiloh said, caressing his cheek. “I was only playing with you. You’ve always paid close attention to my reactions, and it almost feels like you can read my mind.” He pressed a soft kiss on Ronin’s lips. “That meanseverythingto me.”
“Youmean everything to me. I never want to hurt you.” Ronin rose from the bed. “I’ll go check the temp. Be right back.”
Shiloh smiled, watching his alpha leave. He ran a palm over his stomach, where Ronin’s had been, and secretly hoped he had another little Ronin in there, but only if they got rescued in time.
6
Six months later…
Ronin awoke, stretching as carefully as he could not to awaken his omega. The shadows of the nearby coconut trees danced over his beautiful face as the breeze moved them outside, dappling sun and shade on his cheeks already littered with freckles. Freckles had popped up all over the more Shiloh was in the sun, and Ronin had made it his duty to investigate them often to see if any new ones appeared. It gave him the perfect excuse to kiss every single one of those freckles, new or otherwise, on a regular basis.
Shiloh mumbled something incoherent in his sleep and rolled to his side, curling into the crook of Ronin’s arm. He smiled, running a gentle hand over his omega’s growing belly. While they were both growing more and more scared as their time ran thinner and thinner before Shiloh would give birth, he couldn’t ignore how sexy his omega looked full and round with their child.
He traced his fingertips over the swell, in awe of what his mate could do. A little bit of Shiloh and a dash of Ronin—and they’d made a new life. A new life they’d have to figure out how to provide for and protect on a deserted island.
His gaze drifted to the haphazard remnants of the crib he’d attempted to build with bamboo and vines. It had looked great, but after he’d placed one heavy gallon of water inside to test the strength, it had come apart. He’d have to go back to the drawing board and hopefully figure out a design before the baby came—although, Shiloh’s weaving skills were beginning to look really good. He’d already made multiple baskets to use for collecting the papaya, pineapple, passionfruit, and breadfruit from around the island, and they were sturdy enough to hold a decent amount. Maybe they’d have to weave a crib instead.
“I see steam coming off your head,” Shiloh whispered.
Ronin glanced up, his hand still dreamily drawing circles over Shiloh’s belly. “No you can’t. Your eyes are closed.”
“You’ll figure out the crib,” Shiloh whispered. “We still have time.”
“It’s starting to feel like we don’t,” Ronin replied sourly. The instant he did, he saw concern in Shiloh’s eyes and immediately regretted vocalizing the moment of doubt. For months, he’d been the voice of optimism, hoping he might wish a rescue into existence. As the months flew past, he’d gotten more and more cynical of their chances—though he’d tried to hide those thoughts from Shiloh. He slid his hand from Shiloh’s belly and skated it up, grazing a stiff nipple on his way to capture his mate’s face for a kiss. “But you’re right. We’ll get there. We still have a few more months.”
“I wish I’d paid closer attention in health class all those years ago,” Shiloh muttered.
“You’d think a biologist would know more about how the body worked.”
Shiloh swatted at his arm. “Amarinebiologist. Other than a couple of basic biology classes first year, I’ve been focused on aquatic life, which is much,muchdifferent than ours for the most part.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Speaking of marine biology, do you remember if I brought in my notebook?”
Shiloh had been taking advantage of a collection of tide pools a ways down the from their section of the beach to watch some of the native fish in the mornings and late afternoons. He sketched and took notes on their habits. They’d also swam out to a coral reef not too far from that a few times, but without scuba equipment, or a snorkel at the very least, they were only able to go under for brief minutes at a time. At least the water was crystal clear, and they could watch some of the activity from above the surface, too.
“I don’t remember you having it when you came in,” Ronin said. “You may have left it on the beach.”
