turned slightly, looking up at him as Brad hacked away at overhanging fronds and branches. He shook his head, warning her that she shouldn’t move, shouldn’t give herself away.
A fly buzzed near her nose. She began to wonder just how long she could stand so perfectly still. Yet, her own heart continued to race, and her suspicions were hiked to the limit, every fiber of her being attuned to danger.
“I hear something,” Sandy announced suddenly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Brad told her.
“No, no, I hear something. From the beach.”
“They’re fishing.”
“They’re not all fishing.”
“So what? We’re just walking around the island.”
“I don’t like this, Brad. Let’s go back.”
“Are you scared?”
“You bet.” She looked at him pleadingly. “Come on, they all have jobs. They’ll have to get back to work in a couple of days. The island will be all ours again. Please, let’s just get out of here for now.”
Brad let out a long sigh. Then he slipped his arms around her, letting the machete dangle.
“Ooh, nice sword,” Sandy teased.
“You bet, baby.”
He started to kiss her. Then, with his free hand, to fondle her.
Beth held her breath, feeling acutely uncomfortable. She could still feel the hand on her own midriff, and watching these two get more and more intimate…
I thought you were scared, Sandy! she longed to shout.
Then things got worse.
“Want to really fool around?” Brad whispered.
“Maybe.”
“Then you won’t be scared? Worried about getting caught?”
“There’s something kind of exciting about it,” Sandy whispered in return. Her hand slid from his chest.
Lower. Lower.
Beth could feel her cheeks flaming to a bright pink.
“Then again…I should be punishing you,” Sandy said huskily. “You were all over the blonde today.”
“The blonde was all over me today,” Brad protested.
“You didn’t seem to mind.”
“Hey…she was determined to let me know she was full-bodied.”
“You and every other guy there.”
“Um, true, but you shouldn’t let her worry you.”
“No,” Sandy agreed. “It’s the other one I’m worried about. You were looking at her.”
“I was looking at her?”
“Yeah, you know. Looking.”
“Well, she is really sexy. Legs that go on forever. Imagine what she could do with those legs.”
Beth could feel the flames deepen in her cheeks, and she imagined that Keith had to be aware of it, too. She couldn’t stand much more of this. Self-preservation had kept her silent so far. Embarrassment might well send her flying from cover.
“Hey,” Sandy protested.
“Am I turning you on yet?” Brad demanded.
“Seriously…I keep hearing something.”
“What happened to the idea of being caught in the act of being so hot and sexy?”
“Those girls are underage.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, the last thing we need now is to be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor,” Sandy said.
“Good point,” Brad agreed seriously. But then he quickly returned to his lighter tone. “Hey…the tent is exotic and hot, you know.”
“So let’s get back to the beach—please! In a couple of days, they’ll all leave. It will be our island again, Brad. Then we can take care of things.”
At last the two of them left, disappearing across the clearing, taking the same trail Beth had used.
Behind her, Keith remained still for what seemed like an aeon. It was all she could do to keep from wrenching away. And yet he was right—they needed to let Sandy and Brad put some distance between them.
Finally, however, she could stand it no longer. He was still touching her, his hand still on her midriff, her body backed flush against his.
She stepped away and turned, staring at him, tense and wary.
“What was that all about?” she demanded.
His eyes were as dark as ebony. He wasn’t wearing his sunglasses, but his eyes still gave no clue of what thoughts lurked in his mind.
“Shh,” he warned her.
“They’re gone,” she reminded him.
“The trees may well have ears,” he said quietly, studying her.
She lowered her voice. “What were they looking for?” she demanded.
“I don’t know.”
“Why didn’t you accost them?”
“Do you really think it’s a great idea to accost a man carrying a machete?” he cross-queried.
“But…” She shook her head. “Now we’ll never know what they were doing.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
She backed away another step, frowning. “What are you doing here?”
“Looking.”
“Looking for what?” she demanded sharply.
He leaned back against a tree, crossing his arms over his chest. “Whatever you were trying to hide when we met.”
Startled, she hesitated, then came back at him far too late. “Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t hiding anything.”
“Then I wasn’t really looking for anything, was I?”
She let out a sigh of irritation and started to turn away. Then she swung back and collided with him once again. Embarrassed, she braced her hands against his chest and regained her footing quickly.
“Why
