Island Heat (A Sexy Time Travel Romance With a Twist) by Jill Myles Page B
Authors: Jill Myles
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clean up here, get Harold settled, and then we’ll find some proper clothing for you.”
I handed her my bowl and watched as she bustled around the small cave, rinsing out the bowls, giving the remainder of the stew a good stir, and then heading over to one of the nooks and waking the elderly Harold. Watching her, one could easily see how she would resent being thought of as a child, when she was clearly the one running the house here.
Harold stumbled over to the fire with Olivia’s help, his arms shaking with frailty, and I felt immediately sorry for him. He needed a doctor – his face was drawn and thin, and covered with myriad wrinkles under the white puff of beard. I wondered how old he was, and how long he’d been here. “Did you all come from the same wreck?” I asked. “The same plane?”
Harold shook his head at me and smiled, showing a few crooked, yellow teeth. “A shipwreck for me, mistress. All three of us came from ships.” His voice rattled in his throat so much that I was afraid he’d gasp his last breath at the end of every sentence.
“Oh,” I said, and watched as Olivia fed Harold.
“We’re going to find some clothing for Diana,” she said, patting the old man on his shoulder and fussing over him like a daughter. “We’ll be back shortly. Stay here and tend the fire for us?”
At Harold’s nod, Olivia rose in an elegant gesture, and inclined her head. “If you’ll follow me, please?”
I smiled at the queenly motion, feeling the absurd urge to curtsy.
Olivia led me to a small storage nook in the back of the cave, and to my surprise, there was a treasure-trove of things stuffed in there. “Most of the things we’ve found washed up on the beach from wrecks such as your own,” she explained, digging through a series of crates and pulling items out. “Some of it we can’t use, but don’t have the heart to throw away. Some of it we can’t make out. So we keep it all.” She glanced back at me. “We have an agreement with the cavemen – because they used to fight us over what washed up – that everything on the north beach is ours, and the south beach is theirs. That is why they were so upset that Salvador took you – he took you from their territory.”
“But I’m a person,” I protested. “You can’t own someone.”
“Of course you can,” she said easily. “On this island, people are possessions just as surely as anything else, and women are a valuable commodity. If you can’t protect yourself, you’re better off under someone else’s protection.” She turned back to give me a wistful look, her arms full of faded fabric. “You’re lucky that Salvador wants you. He’s the strongest man on the island.”
I eyed the trunks as she shoved past me with the armful of fabric. “I don’t suppose there’s a radio shoved away somewhere in here?” I wanted to stay and look at things. I picked up a small compass and frowned down at it as the needle spun in circles on its own. Well, that wouldn’t do me much good. I walked past a massive sword, still in its scabbard, and peeked at another pile of discarded things. There had to be something useful in the storage room. “Maybe a transistor of sorts?”
“A what?” she called back mildly to me. “Come out here to the light and pick out something.”
“Never mind,” I said under my breath, making a mental note to go and dig through everything later. Another day wouldn’t hurt anything.
Olivia began to spread the clothing out near the front of the cave – where the sunlight was brightest – and I watched as she picked through them with gentle hands. “I would only pick out one or two things,” she said. “We can use those until they wear out, and then once they’re completely done-for, we can go back for something else.” She glanced over at me. “It’s stingy, I know, but we have to make things last.”
“That’s fine,” I said, not wanting to bother her about it. I didn’t care as long as it was
I handed her my bowl and watched as she bustled around the small cave, rinsing out the bowls, giving the remainder of the stew a good stir, and then heading over to one of the nooks and waking the elderly Harold. Watching her, one could easily see how she would resent being thought of as a child, when she was clearly the one running the house here.
Harold stumbled over to the fire with Olivia’s help, his arms shaking with frailty, and I felt immediately sorry for him. He needed a doctor – his face was drawn and thin, and covered with myriad wrinkles under the white puff of beard. I wondered how old he was, and how long he’d been here. “Did you all come from the same wreck?” I asked. “The same plane?”
Harold shook his head at me and smiled, showing a few crooked, yellow teeth. “A shipwreck for me, mistress. All three of us came from ships.” His voice rattled in his throat so much that I was afraid he’d gasp his last breath at the end of every sentence.
“Oh,” I said, and watched as Olivia fed Harold.
“We’re going to find some clothing for Diana,” she said, patting the old man on his shoulder and fussing over him like a daughter. “We’ll be back shortly. Stay here and tend the fire for us?”
At Harold’s nod, Olivia rose in an elegant gesture, and inclined her head. “If you’ll follow me, please?”
I smiled at the queenly motion, feeling the absurd urge to curtsy.
Olivia led me to a small storage nook in the back of the cave, and to my surprise, there was a treasure-trove of things stuffed in there. “Most of the things we’ve found washed up on the beach from wrecks such as your own,” she explained, digging through a series of crates and pulling items out. “Some of it we can’t use, but don’t have the heart to throw away. Some of it we can’t make out. So we keep it all.” She glanced back at me. “We have an agreement with the cavemen – because they used to fight us over what washed up – that everything on the north beach is ours, and the south beach is theirs. That is why they were so upset that Salvador took you – he took you from their territory.”
“But I’m a person,” I protested. “You can’t own someone.”
“Of course you can,” she said easily. “On this island, people are possessions just as surely as anything else, and women are a valuable commodity. If you can’t protect yourself, you’re better off under someone else’s protection.” She turned back to give me a wistful look, her arms full of faded fabric. “You’re lucky that Salvador wants you. He’s the strongest man on the island.”
I eyed the trunks as she shoved past me with the armful of fabric. “I don’t suppose there’s a radio shoved away somewhere in here?” I wanted to stay and look at things. I picked up a small compass and frowned down at it as the needle spun in circles on its own. Well, that wouldn’t do me much good. I walked past a massive sword, still in its scabbard, and peeked at another pile of discarded things. There had to be something useful in the storage room. “Maybe a transistor of sorts?”
“A what?” she called back mildly to me. “Come out here to the light and pick out something.”
“Never mind,” I said under my breath, making a mental note to go and dig through everything later. Another day wouldn’t hurt anything.
Olivia began to spread the clothing out near the front of the cave – where the sunlight was brightest – and I watched as she picked through them with gentle hands. “I would only pick out one or two things,” she said. “We can use those until they wear out, and then once they’re completely done-for, we can go back for something else.” She glanced over at me. “It’s stingy, I know, but we have to make things last.”
“That’s fine,” I said, not wanting to bother her about it. I didn’t care as long as it was
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