Thanks for the reviews. Kevin doesn't strike me as a violent guy, so I wasn't sure he would hit Jack, but then there really is only so much a guy can take... Things will get better for him, though. I have a plan. ;)
Chapter 20. I Think I'm Falling In Love With You
After losing what turned out to be his very public fight with Jack, Kevin slunk off into the jungle, Libby, ever the peacemaker, scurrying along in his wake. He'd taken such a battering, not so much physically as emotionally, that Kate was relieved to see someone go after him, since she could no longer legitimately do so herself.
By the time they returned, Kevin placated, but staring dolefully at the sand, everyone was ready to go; with a mumbled apology aimed more at Kate than at Jack, who he regarded coolly, he brushed past them, merging into the back of the group.
While there was no longer any reason for Kate to keep her distance from Jack, she wasn't sure what to say to him, especially when he seemed so ashamed of stooping to Kevin's level and trading blows with him, so she decided to wait until they were alone to mention it. Instead, she made small talk with him and a reluctant Ana, who either thought she was going to start murdering the other survivors in their sleep, or else just didn't like having to share Jack's confidence, especially with another woman.
She tried to find an opportunity to talk to him throughout the day, hoping to catch him alone as he refilled his water bottle, or stopped to fix his shoelaces, but with twenty other people around, and him the de facto leader, this was more difficult that she anticipated it to be.
It wasn't until after dinner, when the light of the fire began to die, and the others settled down to sleep, that she was able to light a torch and follow him into the jungle, stopping when she saw him perched on a log, feeling his jaw gingerly as he stared pensively into the darkness.
She knew he sensed her presence because he didn't jump when she dug the torch into the dirt and, sliding her backpack off, sat down beside him, avoiding her eyes until she took his face in both hands, tenderly examining the bruise.
Glancing up at her guiltily, he winced as she prodded the bruise with her fingertips, causing her to let out a sympathetic hiss. It wasn't swollen anymore, or fractured, but that didn't change the fact that the whole thing was unnecessary. "I'm sorry he did that to you," she told him, brushing the stubble on his cheek.
He let out a self-deprecating laugh as he freed himself from her, pushing her hands gently away. He didn't seem to want her sympathy, because he thought he deserved Kevin's wrath, or because he hadn't been able to prevent himself from unleashing some of his own, she wasn't sure. "It's okay," he said with a grim smile, "if I'd been able to get my hands on the guy my wife left me for, I can't say I wouldn't've done the same thing."
Kate couldn't help tensing at this unexpected mention of Sarah, wondering if that was what this was all about. Did he see himself as the other guy, the one who'd swooped in and stolen someone else's wife? Or was he still in love with her, and hurting because of it, afraid of letting anyone else get that close?
"What is this, Jack?" she asked softly when they fell into silence, deciding that this was as good an opening as she was going to get to broach the question that had been bothering her all day. After all, she had left her husband for him. "To you? Is it serious? Do you… do you love me?"
He looked back at her seriously, surprised, until understanding dawned on him, darkening his expression. "This is about Kevin, isn't it?"
When she didn't answer, wondering how he would react if she told him that it was, at least in part, he added, "You shouldn't listen to him, Kate. He's angry and jealous – he doesn't want to lose you, but he can't forgive you either, so he's trying to stop you from moving on. It has nothing to do with me or us."
She couldn't help noting his casual use of the word "us", as if the fact that they were in a relationship now had been decided without either of them ever saying it, but still, she needed vindication. "You're right," she allowed, "he was angry, but that doesn't change the fact that you've never told me how you feel about me – whether this is just an island… fling," she cringed, using Kevin's word, "to you, or whether you want to find a way to make it work if we ever get rescued."
He didn't hesitate, as if he'd already given it too much thought, before replying, "When we get rescued, I'm going to help you find a lawyer with a spotless track record, and we're going to make sure you stay out of jail."
He brought a hand up to her face, brushing his knuckles lightly over her cheek as he added, his voice low, "It's not a fling, Kate – this isn't about me wanting to sleep with you, I need you to believe me when I say that. I want to be with you – I want us to have a chance."
Searching his eyes, seeing how earnest he was, she felt her own fill with tears as she struggled to conceal how overcome she was. She didn't want to drag him into her world, as dangerous and depressing as it was, but somehow, she sensed that he wasn't going to let her shut him out of it.
His determination to help her only strengthened the warmth she already felt for him; she wasn't sure what to say, how to thank him, or show him what she was feeling, so leaning in, she pressed her lips to his, kissing him softer, and more sweetly, than she ever had before.
She felt him grin against her as he grazed her lips, before deepening the kiss, one arm snaking around her waist, the other sliding up so that his fingers were tangled in her hair.
Taking this as a sign that he wanted to go further, she wrapped her own arms around him, pulling him with her as she slid off the log, to the bed of leaves on the jungle floor.
"Wait," he said breathlessly, breaking the kiss long enough to lift her back up, and pull the blue airline blanket from the top of his pack, stretching it over the ground beneath her. "Okay."
He really was amazing; rather than pick up where they left off, she dropped a feather-light kiss onto the bruise on his jaw, pecking his lips, and smiling at him when she pulled back to rest her forehead against his, her eyes wet with fresh tears.
"What?" he asked, looking slightly confused by her reaction to what was really a simple, practical gesture. "Kate?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you," she told him, not realising that this was how she felt until the words were out. Then she realised it might already be too late.
His eyes widened in surprise, and puzzlement. "It's just a blanket, Kate,"
"To you," she corrected him, and he grinned, seeming to understand that her feelings went beyond the object itself.
"I'm just sorry it's not a bed."
When their lips met this time, he eased her back onto the blanket, settling on top of her once he was sure that she was prepared to take his weight. As their kisses grew more urgent, she paused long enough to slide his t-shirt over his head, pressing her lips to the skin it exposed.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, meeting her eyes when she pulled back, and she could tell that he was trying hard to control himself, "The last few days have been pretty intense. If you want to—"
She brought her lips back up to his to silence him, waiting until he relaxed to murmur against his ear, "I want you, Jack." Sitting up against him, she dragged her own t-shirt over her head, tossing it aside as she added, "Now. Tonight. I don't want to wait anymore."
"Good," he agreed, matching her grin, as he drew her back into his arms, "because I want you too – I was just being a gentleman."
Lowering her back onto the ground, he kissed her again, trailing his lips across her cheek to her throat, over her collarbone, all the way down to the waistband of her jeans, making her laugh and squirm beneath him where his stubble tickled the sensitive skin.
As he began to work the buckle on her belt, he met her eyes again, both of them breathing hard now, and said, expression softening with adoration, "You know what? I think I'm falling in love with you too."
I know some of you would like me to change the rating, but I'm really not a fan of vulgar sex scenes, especially between Jack and Kate. I heard somewhere that Mills and Boons tells its authors to focus on feelings more so than anything else, and that's what I prefer personally.
Next chapter(s): the next morning, and I think it's about time the two groups met...