Illusion (Swept Away 1)

“The ocean looks like a magnificent creature in the beauty of the day, does she not?” Steve’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I nodded without looking at him.

“She looks magnificent at night as well though.”

“Indeed she does, but at night, her treacherous waves are dark and subtle. During the day her hidden danger lies right before us but eludes us with its magnanimity.”

“I suppose so.” I agreed again, not really sure what he was talking about. If he wanted to say the ocean was dangerous, why didn’t he just say so?

“The ocean plays an illusion on our minds.” He continues. “It is so easy to perceive her wrongly.”

“What do you mean?”

“On the surface, the water looks calm, does it not?” He took a few steps in and touched the water. “And even here, the water is gentle.” He splashed around a little. “She is able to deceive us with her gentleness. However, if I were to go farther in, if I were to attempt to swim out in her graceful waters, I’d realize that looks can be deceiving. I’d be caught up in her currents. The undertow would suck me in. I’d be lucky if I made it out of the water alive.”

“Well, of course you have to be careful how far you swim in the ocean. Everyone knows that. That’s why they have buoys at the beach saying don’t swim too far. You never know when the undercurrent is going to sweep you away.”

“Exactly. That’s the perfect phrase.” He nodded. “You never know when the ocean is going to sweep you away. It is much better to avoid the possibility, don’t you agree?”

“I’m not going to venture in too deep, so that’s not a problem.”

“If only it were that simple.” He gave me an odd little smile and stared at my face. “Long night? You don’t look like you slept well.”

“It’s hard sleeping on the sand.” I shrugged. “My back’s not accustomed to it.”

“I’ve slept on the floor for the last five years of my life. This feels like heaven to me.” He smiled and stretched. “Though, in the light of the day, I do have more questions as to how I got here and why.”

“So you no longer think you’re on the same island as your resort?”

“Considering how sparse this setting is, I’d say I’m pretty definitely not on the same island.”

“So what do you think happened?”

“I think that someone’s playing a sick trick on me.”

“A trick?” I frowned. Who on earth would pull a trick like this? And why was he still acting so calm as if it were perfectly normal to wake up on an island with two strangers who had been kidnapped?

“You know. A trick? Also known as a prank.” He shrugged.

“Who were you at the resort with?” I frowned.

“My wife.” He paused, and I could see something going through his head. I was almost certain that he was lying—I was pretty confident he wasn’t married. He wore no wedding band and there was no tan line on his wedding finger. The way he stared at me was also too interested. I mean, I understood that there are married men everywhere who still have their eyes open to other women, but this felt different. I was almost positive that he wanted me, in a very obvious way.

“Have you been married long, then?”

“No, this is our honeymoon.” The lie slipped easily out of his mouth and I wondered why he would make up such a story.

“I’m sorry your wife played a prank like this on your honeymoon.” I replied smoothly, and I saw the expression in his eyes change slightly. He knew that I wasn’t swallowing his story. I stretched my arms and yawned. “You’ll have to excuse me. I think I’m going to go lie down again. See if I can catch some more sleep before Jakob wakes up.”

“He’s lucky to have a girl like you.” Steve called after me as I walked away. “There aren’t many things I wouldn’t do to call someone like you my girlfriend.”

My pace increased as I walked back to Jakob, and I lay down next to him with my heart beating fast. What had Steve meant? Was he threatening me? I shivered as I cuddled up next to Jakob and closed my eyes. I could feel that Steve was watching the two of us and so I gave Jakob a quick kiss on the cheek before wrapping his arms around me. Even though I was wary of my attraction to Jakob, I still knew in my heart that, of the two men, he was the one I’d much rather be aligned with.

Six

There’s a certain hollowness you feel when you’re all alone in nature. It’s an empty feeling that rattles in your head as you realize that you’re all alone, even if you’re with someone else. It’s that feeling that pops up in all of us sometimes. The feeling that makes us ask the ultimate question—what’s the point of it all? That’s how I felt as I stared out at the ocean in her ominous glory. For while she was beautiful, she was still treacherous. The crashing waves against the rocks told me that if I were to swim out too far, I’d get stuck in her currents and washed out to sea. Not even Jakob could save me then.

Not that I wanted him to save me. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about him. There was something in his blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean—seemingly so open yet so deep and dark that it couldn’t be trusted. That didn’t mean that I wasn’t attracted to him. How could I not be? He was gorgeous. There was something so primal and raw about him, though I suppose that came from being on a deserted island. I started laughing then. I was surely going crazy. I’d been close to tears just a few moments ago, and now all I could think about were Jakob’s muscles.