Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“Yeah.” I sighed. “And then we wouldn’t be here, but I don’t blame you for not trying, Jakob. They had a gun. A gun is mightier than the fist.”

“I would never knowingly put your life at risk, Bianca. I hope you know that. I know we don’t really know each other, but you have to know that I would never want anything to happen to you.”

“Thank you, Jakob. I appreciate it.” I nodded at him and smiled briefly. There was something about the look in his eyes that made me want to trust him, but there were too many unanswered questions. I needed to figure out why we were both here before I could fully trust him. “I’m glad I’m not here alone.” I said the words to be nice, but I knew that they were true as soon as I uttered them. Being on this island all by myself would have been a nightmare.

“I’m glad I’m not here alone as well.” He smiled at me weakly. “Now let’s go find some coconuts and then get some sleep so that we can get up early and explore by sunlight.”

“Sounds good to me.” I yawned and gave him a quick smile.

“I just hope I can fall asleep.” His eyes darkened when he looked down at my body. My body trembled at his gaze, and I tried to ignore his innuendo.

“Let’s worry about sleep after we find some coconuts.” I mumbled and walked away from him and toward the trees. I heard him behind me as we walked away from the ocean. “So what book were you reading?” I stopped and looked back at him curiously.

“Huh?” He looked back at me in confusion and I smiled at him gently.

“In the coffee shop you were reading a book. What was it?”

“Oh yeah,” He nodded. “I was reading A Tale of Two Cities.”

“Oh, interesting.” I wasn’t sure why I was surprised by his answer. “You interested in the French Revolution or just a Dickens fan?”

“Both, I suppose. I’ve always been interested in fiction and nonfiction that talks about revolt. Or more specifically humans going to any extremes to right wrongs or seek answers.” He spoke causally, but a part of me froze inside. Did he know more than he was letting on? “What do you think?” He touched my shoulder, and I jumped. He gave me a concerned look, yet I didn’t know what to say.

“What do I think about what?” I looked him dead in the eyes, ready to find out what he knew.

“The book? Have you read it? When you mentioned the French Revolution, I assumed you’d read the book. I’ve always been fascinated with social structures and the power balance between the aristocracy and plebeians, if I may call them that.”

“Oh, yeah.” I ran my hand over my forehead, trying to calm my overworking brain down. “I’ve read it. I studied history in college.”

“Interesting, you’ll have to tell me more about that later.” His eyes widened and he pointed at something eagerly. “Look, there are some coconuts on the ground.” He ran ahead of me, and I watched him pick up the coconuts and shake them. “They’re soft inside.” He shouted back at me and grinned. “I can hear the liquid inside of them.”

“That’s great!” I shouted back.

“At least we know we’ll survive one night at least.” He ran back toward me and I nodded in agreement. He stopped in front of me, his azure eyes sparkling with genuine excitement, and I knew at that moment that whatever the reason Jakob was here, it wasn’t to kill me. I also knew that I was going to find it very hard to resist him, if he continued giving me looks that turned my limbs to jelly.

Four

“So tonight we’re just going to sleep on the beach?” I looked at Jakob with horrified eyes.

“Sorry, princess. There won’t be any eight-hundred-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets.”

“I don’t care about luxurious sheets. I don’t even have luxurious sheets at home.” I ignored his surprised expression and continued. “What if a wild hog comes and tries to attack us?”

“Wild boar.”

“What?” I looked around.

“A wild boar might attack us. Not a wild hog.”

“Do you think I really care about the semantics of the situation?!” My voice rose, and he laughed gently. I watched as his face transformed from its more natural mature look into a lighter, more boyish expression. I couldn’t stop myself from smiling back at him. “It’s really not that funny,” I continued softly.

“Don’t worry, Bianca. I’ll protect you.”

“Uh-huh.” I stared at his bare chest and bulging biceps and then looked away. “How do you intend to do that?”

“I’ll watch out for you”—he shrugged—“in case anything tries to attack.”

“Thanks,” I muttered softly, then sat down on the sand, lay back, and closed my eyes. I heard Jakob lie down as well, and we drifted off to our own thoughts.

The sound of silence is deafening, especially to someone like me, who’d grown up with the constant buzz of traffic and sirens in New York City. The sand was coarse and hard, and I was incredibly aware of how close Jakob and I were to each other. I shifted in the sand a few times and sighed.

“You can’t sleep either?” he whispered, and I considered pretending I was asleep. He didn’t wait for me to respond but continued talking. “When I was younger, all I wanted was silence. Now I wonder why.”

“I used to want silence as well. Silence made me feel safe. I mean, yes, sometimes, the silence makes you feel all alone,” I responded, and stared at the clear, dark sky. “But sometimes you want that quiet space to just be with your thoughts. Other times—times like this—well, you don’t really want to be alone with your thoughts, do you?” I paused and then attempted to change the direction the conversation had taken. “I’ve never seen so many stars before.”