The Island

"Hush. Relax, be still and get some rest."

He had his thick, hard arm under my head, his arm wrapped around and his hand on my waist. His other arm was draped over me heavily and he was hot. Sweltering.

"Are you sweating?" he asked incredulously, sleep heavy in his voice.

"It's hot!" I complained.

He let out a sigh that was more of a growl and let me go, moving back in the bed far enough that he could still reach my hip with a single hand.

"Don't you have a bed down there?" I asked, squirming.

"It is nicer up here in the summer," he said sleepily.

"You could turn on the AC."

"There is no AC here, it takes too much power. Go to sleep Holly."

"This place is hell," I muttered.

"You made a promise..."

"Hell is not a swear! It's in the bible and it's a place that is ridiculously hot! Like here!"

"No more complaining and if I consider it a swear word, it is."

I huffed angrily, but said nothing. Hot and free was better than hot and in pain, I wasn't going to press the issue. I lay there sweating and wishing the breeze would pick up and trying not to focus on his large hand on my hip. His grip was solid, even as he slept. Possessive, demanding, insistent.

I eased out from under his hand as slowly as I could manage and scooted to the edge of the bed, out of his reach. I laid there trying to find a comfortable way to lay, my back still hurting and the cuffs digging into my wrists. I layed there forever, it seemed, listening to the waves and him breathing. When the sky began lighting on the horizon, I eased out of bed, wrapping in a sheet and sat down on the edge of the window, watching as the sky lit up and the sun began rising.

It was the first time I had ever seen a sunrise, it had never seemed important before and I had never thought about it. It wasn't worth getting up early enough to see. Now I felt like I had been missing out, it was so peaceful. I felt like I was witnessing something beautiful and amazing and new. I was alone, just me and the sunrise.

"That's quite a sight," Tony said from the bed.

I looked back at him and he was up on one elbow, looking at me with a pleased smile. I felt myself blush as I turned to look back at the horizon.

"Did you sleep at all last night?"

"No."

"Your back still hurts. Does your head?"

"My back hurts worse than anything. And it's already getting too hot again."

He chuckled. "Why don't you come over here and lay down with me for a while?"

"Perv."

"Come find out."

"How long till breakfast?" I asked, ignoring his teasing.

He threw the sheet back and rolled out of bed and I turned to watch him, then immediately jerked my eyes away. He wasn't wearing anything! He had been laying next to me all night with nothing on! And all I had was a pair of underwear!

He came and stood right next to me, standing over me as he looked out. I was mortified.

"Do you have clothes?" I demanded.

"Mmm. I never get tired of sunrises over the ocean. How can you not love this view?"

"Five more minutes and it will start burning me," I said glumly. "I can't swim, I hate water and sand is gross and... sandy."

"I think you are being contrary."

"No. I love the snow, the cold, the holidays. I like curling up in a nice thick blanket with a book or a sketchpad. I just like what I like and don't like what I don't like. I like to look at the trees and the mountains even if I don't want to go out in them. I've just never liked the beach and I have... a sort of fear of water. Deep water."

"Does it stem from an event?"

"Not that I want to talk about. Seriously, are you going to put that thing away?"

"Does nudity bother you?"

"It's practically sitting on my shoulder!"

"There is nothing wrong with the human body, nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about."

"Unless an old perv is trying to wave his... thing in my face!"

"As much as you curse, you have issues saying penis?"

"Shut up! Jeez! Can you just put some shorts on?"

He chuckled and stepped back, then turned and stepped away. I could hear him rustling around and the whisper of fabric, but I refused to turn around and look. I didn't need another view of his... everything. Though admittedly, he did have a nice... everything.

He came back to stand behind me, handing me down the t-shirt he had gotten for me the night before. I took it as he knelt and unlocked the cuffs, pulling them off of me. I pulled on the shirt before pulling the sheet out from under it.

"Do you think you can behave today if I let you out to eat breakfast?"

"Yes! I'm starving."

"Mmm. Come along then," he said, holding his hand out to me. I took it and stood, following him down the stairs.

"Do you have my shoes?" I asked, the hard stone bruising my heels.

"None of the clothes you were wearing are here. We were careful about not bringing in outside contaminants."

"Great. So I was wearing nothing. Perv."

"I wrapped you in a sterile sheet once you were thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Good morning Bonita, that smells wonderful."

"Thank you sir! More of the green peppers and onions! Sit down, I will bring your omelettes while they are hot!"

"Her first, she has not eaten and is apparently starving."

"She could certainly stand to gain a few pounds! Vektor saw a ship this morning, but it passed out of sight."

"Yes, mine is not the only such island in the area."

"Thanks!" I breathed to Bonita as she set an omelette in front of me. "This smells amazing! Oh my goodness! Mmmm... wow. Thish ish great!"

"Please do not speak with your mouth full," Tony said, smirking.

Bonita was smiling happily as she went back to the stove. I looked at Tony and opened my mouth full of chewed food.

He arched an eyebrow. "Suddenly you are seven? You are in a much better mood this morning."

"Mm-mm. No. I am delirious with lack of sleep and lack of food. Oh! Thanks!" I told Bonita as she set a glass of milk in front of me. "Mmm, this tastes... different?"

"It is fresh." Tony said, smirking again.

"Fresh fresh?"

"There is a barn set back on the island with several animals. A garden and orchard as well. One of the many things Vektor enjoys taking care of. Do you wish to see them?"

"No! No, no thanks. I'm not a big fan of farm animals and... smells... and outdoors..."

"Mmm. How do you gain inspiration for your art?"

"I can look out a window. Or at a person. Or pictures on the internet. I get lots of inspiration, mostly from books and what I see in my mind's eye. Just because you like something doesn't mean it's the beat all end all. I do like fresh milk though! It's delicious."

"Mmm. I have a library here, perhaps you could avail yourself of it after breakfast while I take care of a few things."

"Ok. What things?"

"Outside things. You are welcome to join me?"

"No thanks. Just wondered. Where is the library?"

"I will show you before I track down Ihvon. I will be back before lunch. Try not to get into too much trouble?"

"Yeah. Maybe. Have any books on how to fly a helicopter?"

"Thank you Bonita. No, Holly. Nothing like that. If my personal collection is not to your taste though, I do have several tablets full of hundreds of books. One for several different genres."

"Ok. Thanks. You have internet here?"

"The internet, cell phones, they are all down at the moment. I do have a SAT phone and a radio, but they are in my personal office which is locked and guarded by Derrick. You have yet to meet him, he usually mans the radio and prefers his own company. I would avoid him were I you."

"Can I watch the news?"

"I would not suggest watching the news too much at the moment, there is nothing good going on in the world right now. Try not to focus on it, Holly."

"That's sort of impossible. I have family and friends, I am worried about them. I want to know what is going on."

"There is no way to know or find out, seeing what is happening will only make you worry more and stress you. Try to focus on something else and enjoy the amenities around you. Would you like another?"

"No thanks. That was fantastic though, Bonita! Thank you!"

"You are welcome Miss Holly!" she said happily, beaming at Tony.

I sat while Tony finished eating, looking around the kitchen with the small dining table. There was a larger, formal dining room through an archway, but it looked like it was rarely used. I turned to look down the hallway and Tony was watching me as he ate. I felt myself blushing under his scrutiny.

"You are still pale and you have dark circles under your eyes."

"I haven't slept."

"Mmm. Still, try not to nap in the library, I do not want you off of a normal sleep schedule. You may have a small nap this afternoon."

"That's a little... controlling."

"Perhaps, but it is also the physician in me. And I want you to sleep at night, when I do. Will that be an issue for you?"

"No. Just very Alpha Male of you."

He smirked and tossed his napkin on his empty plate as he stood. "Thank you Bonita, superb as always. Holly, come along," he said, holding his hand out expectantly.

I hesitated. Was it rude if I didn't take his hand? I stood on my own and motioned him to lead the way.

He arched an eyebrow, his small smile disappearing. I took his offered hand, rolling my eyes.

"You are not holding well to your promise, Miss Brooks."

"You seem to only call me that when you are being pissy."

"Language."

"It's not a curse word!"

"It is. And very astute of you, now you know you have warning. Try harder to be polite and stop being so childish."

"Yes, let me change all of who I am to suit you, become what you want me to be. You picked the wrong girl."

"Miss Brooks," he said darkly, turning to me in the hall.

I immediately dropped my eyes, knowing I was going too far. A library was better than chained to the bed, so I swallowed my pride once again. "I'm sorry. I spoke before thinking... but it is true. I am good with who I am, I don't want to change. Not for anyone."

"Correcting bad habits is not changing who you are as a person. That is enough. Do you wish to see the library or return to the bed? The sun should still be shining directly in for another hour at least and again this evening for over two hours. I am sure you won't mind that very much since you seem to think talking back is more important."

"Alright. I will try."

"A promise I have heard recently."

"Ok, I will stop pushing the limit of my promise. We have different ideas on where the boundaries are. I will try to stay within your boundaries. Ok?"

"I am not convinced, but I will give you a final chance before I collar you indefinitely."

"Collar me?!?"

"Yes. Collar you. As one would a misbehaving slave."

"I am a slave now?!?"

"I think you mistake my meaning, Miss Brooks. As a Master would collar his slave as in BDSM."

I scowled at him. "Perv."

He gave me a sardonic smile. "You've no idea. Come."

He pulled me a few steps further down the hall and opened the door to a huge library with several plush chairs and couches that looked like you could sink into them for days. I pulled my hand free and went to the shelves to look at the books.

"These are all older books? Classics?"

"Yes. Most of them classics. That entire shelf is first editions."

"Oh... umm. What's on the tablets?"

"They are labeled," he said, gesturing to a custom made charging port shelf for two dozen tablets.

I went to it and started looking them over. "More classics, children's stories, horror, romance, science fiction, religion, fantasy, wow, seven for fiction, mystery, comedy, erotica? Gross, perv. Historical fiction, historical romance, period romance, metaphysics, supernatural, YA fiction, YA supernatural, YA romance... expecting a lot of kids?"

"A few children, a few teens, but many women enjoy young adult books. Don't you? The app on your phone had several young adult fantasy stories on it."

"I guess," I said, turning back to look at the rest. "Alternative history? Non fiction, encyclopedias?"

"Before there was internet, there were encyclopedias. As the internet is down..."

"I get it. Poetry, history, series: fiction, series: fantasy, series: romance... a lot of series... I guess the rest of them are all series."

"Do you find my choices lacking?"

"No," I answered, pulling the YA fantasy series tablet and throwing myself on a chair that was under the fan. It was already grossly hot.

He moved around the room as I opened the tablet to peruse the selections and opened both windows in the room.

"Thanks," I said, not looking up.

"Mmm. Remember what I said about not taking a nap. I will return when I am finished."

"Got it," I answered, picking the first book in a series at random. The name sounded cool.

He left and I looked up as he passed by one of the windows, heading to the back side of the island. I leaned and peeked up, watching him until he disappeared into the trees. I jumped up, tossing the tablet on the couch and slipped into the hall, then down to the door to outside a few feet down. I eased the door open and looked around as best I could, but didn't see anyone. I stepped out, pulling the door closed, then tip-toe ran all the way to the beach and the boat house. The door was locked with a keypad lock. I tried 1 2 3 4, then 4 3 2 1, but gave up trying to guess quickly as I moved around to the sides of the boathouse. I stepped a few steps into the water, but I was deathly afraid of deep water and too scared to go further out or try to swim around to see if there was an opening into the ocean. If I could swim, I could probably swim under the wall and come up inside the boathouse, but I couldn't swim.

I gave up that line of thinking and peeked around again before tip-toe running to the helicopter. I hated the feel of the coarse sand on my feet, but the cool grass wasn't so bad. I slipped to the far side of the helicopter and looked up at the door. I couldn't reach the handle. I looked over and dragged over a sandbag from the edge of the pad and tried to stand on it. Still not enough. I dragged over another one and stacked them, but it was still too short. I had to drag five of them and layer them like a pyramid to get the stability and height I needed to reach the handle and to my pleasant surprise, the door opened right up. I scrambled up awkwardly, glad no one was behind me to get that ridiculous show. I sat in the passenger seat, panting from the effort and heat inside the helicopter as I looked over the panel. I climbed over to the pilot's seat and looked for an ignition or on switch, but nothing was labeled. Nothing. You had to actually know what you were doing, you couldn't just wing it. Not that I intended to try, but I was hoping maybe those encyclopedias might have some insight.

I sighed, plucking my sticky shirt out and trying to get some air as I tugged it and looked for some sort of pattern or something to go by.

The door opened and I jerked as I looked down at Tony. He looked irritated as he held a hand up to me. I sighed and took it, knowing that he was going to chain me back to the bed or something awful again. He put his hands on my waist and lifted me down before shutting the door and going around to shut the other door. He took my hand and pulled me back to the house, and to my surprise, back to the library.

"When I said you could explore, I meant the island. The helicopter is not a toy, Miss Brooks and you may not go near it. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. I was just looking at it, I didn't touch anything."

"I know," he said, showing me a cell phone with a live video feed of the interior of the helicopter. "Motion activated. The boat house has them as well, as well as most of the rooms and parts of the island. I know everything that happens on my island."

"Understood," I said meekly, picking up the tablet and sitting down on the chair.

"I let this slide because I was not clear on the rules regarding exploring. If I tell you to stay in one place, the library for example, I expect you to obey. If I do not give you explicit instructions, you may wander. As you expressed such disdain for the beach and outdoors, it did not occur to me to warn you. Now you have been warned. Will this be an issue, Miss Brooks?"

"No. I won't move from this spot until you come back. Unless I need to use the ladies room. Are there cameras in there too?" I asked in alarm.

He sighed in exasperation, then turned and left, still irritated.

He hadn't said no though. The thought made me uneasy.

I swiped on the tablet and started reading the book, but my focus was on Tony and the island and how to escape. Soon all I could think about was how hot it was. I laid on the floor again, on my stomach, kicking my feet as I read.

Tony finally came back and I looked over my shoulder when he opened the door. His look went from wary to amused. "Lunch is ready, are you hungry?"

"I could eat," I said, getting up. "I really don't know how you all deal with the heat here. I don't care how much power it takes, you need to get AC here. The summer is just starting and it's already bad, I am going to die if it gets worse."

"Do not be so dramatic," he said, pulling a chair out for me. Vector and Ihvon were both at the table already.

I sat down, feeling a little intimidated as both men looked at me like I was trash that needed to be taken out.

"You like swiss steak?" Bonita asked, putting a large ceramic put on the table.

"I don't know, I have never had it? It smells great," I said as Tony put rice on my plate and then a large scoop from the pot over it. I wanted to tell him I could serve myself, but I bit my tongue. "Thanks," I said grumpily as he set my plate back in front of me.

"I will be another hour or so on what I am working on," Tony said as he fixed his own plate. "No napping until I return."

"Ok... won't be an issue. It's stupid hot and I can't sleep in the heat. Never could," I said glumly. My head still hurt from not getting enough sleep. "Thanks Bonita, this is good, but I can't finish it. I think my tummy isn't big on food when it's this hot."

"It is not so bad as that?" she asked in concern.

"She has a malady where heat makes her ill," Tony said, simplifying it for her.

"Oh, I did not know that was a thing!" Bonita said, surprised. "It isn't even a hot day?"

"What is mild to us is hot to her. She will be fine, it makes her uncomfortable and perhaps makes her lose her appetite, but it will not truly harm her."

"I mean, it wouldn't harm you to stand outside naked in 40 degree weather, but you would sure wish you had some clothes on," I said, using my napkin to wipe my neck and face. "And I bet you wouldn't just be able to ignore it."

"An extreme analogy, but as I cannot know what you are feeling, I will not correct you. Try to at least eat the rice, it will settle your stomach."

"I really am full, may I go and read on the floor again? It is hotter in here than it is in there."

"You may go," he said with a nod.

I went to the library and shut the door, then pulled the t-shirt off and laid under the fan spread eagle. It might have helped a smidgy bit, but not much. I rolled and opened the tablet, picking up where I left off. After half an hour, just to be safe, I pulled the t-shirt back on.

He was almost exactly an hour as he opened the door. I looked back again and watched him look me over. "It is a pleasant view," he teased.

I sat up, making sure the t-shirt was covering everything as I stood. "Perv," I snapped.

He only grinned as he took the tablet and set it on the table. "Come along," he said, holding his hand out.

He led me back to the narrow hallway and then down the stairs again. I moaned in exaggerated ecstasy as he led me into the warehouse where it was so much cooler. He gave me an amused look as he pulled me to the far hallway and down to the end.