I woke up in Ranger's arms; his left hand cradling my head, his right just above my ass and our legs entangled. All that was missing was the smell of Bulgari on his skin.

He was already awake when I opened my eyes. His hair framed his face in loose wild strands which made him look even sexier.

"Buenos Dias, Babe." Ranger said before kissing me.

I swallowed as the memory from last night replayed in my head. "….Morning."

We had only been on the island for less than 24 hours and it was like the Ranger I knew had vanished completely.

He had held me by the hair; had his hand around my throat; talked about me like I was an object; groped me…..

Actually, scratch that last part. He always did that and I kind of always liked it…

He got out the bed and went into the bathroom. I heard the sound of water flowing from the shower so I got up and inspected the rest of my new clothes.

I had few pairs of jeans and shorts, a few miniskirts, more revealing dresses and a few tank tops and t-shirts that were the kind that would cost me a month's grocery money.

In another bag I found a lot of bras and panties made with silk, satin and a see-through mesh along with a few pairs of shoes; sandals, pumps and slip-ons.

It never occurred to me until now but how did Ranger know my size with….everything?

The bathroom door opened and he came in with nothing but a towel around his waist. No Bulgari scent.

His hair hung around his broad shoulders like a shining curtain of cashmere. His washboard abs rippled as he moved and his mocha skin gleamed in the morning light.

Jeez…

I was standing in the middle of a bedroom gawking at Ranger, one of the sexiest men alive with only a towel to cover his tools, and I was too scared to enjoy it.

If I wasn't on an uncharted island with 3 notoriously dangerous men and fearing for my life, I would be envied by every woman on the planet right now.

I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Goosebumps appeared on my arms as the image of him was imprinted into my memory. I couldn't get a hold of myself. I had seen him naked a dozen times but since Nigel introduced himself it was like seeing another man in the nude. I took a deep breath and shook my head while telling myself to get a grip.

I had a quick shower; towel dried my hair and completely covered myself by wrapping a large towel around my torso and another over my shoulders.

I hung the black shirt I slept in over the radiator; hoping to keep the smell of Bulgari for as a long as possible before going back into the bedroom and nearly swooned like a woman in another cheesy romance movie.

Ranger was already dressed in a pair of black jeans and a light blue dress shirt with the top 3 buttons undone. The gold cross pendant lay against his bare skin, beautifully contrasted.

He stood with his arms folded against his chest with no emotion on his face. But until his eyes met mine, a small smirk slowly appeared on his lips as he looked me up and down.

"I hope you don't plan on changing." He whispered as my heart started to beat 5 times faster. He stepped towards me before sliding his hands around my waist and pulling me against him. At least I wouldn't crack my head if I fainted.

A hand gripped on to the towel around my shoulders and I yelped when it was suddenly yanked off of me.

Ranger's pupils dilated to black as they roamed the bare skin above my cleavage. His lips captured mine and a shiver ran up my spine as his fingers slowly traced little patterns over my back.

He pulled away and simpered at me. "Hopefully, you won't have to worry about Cortez this morning. He'll be hung over for a while." His smirk vanished and I felt his hand move to the back of my neck. "But pretend nothing happened."

I was too scared to reply; all the muscles in my limbs turned to ice. Ranger let go of me and walked out the door.

The chill in my arms and legs died away and I started to shake violently. I couldn't work anything out in my head. I didn't know what to think.

He had saved me from Cortez last night, brought me to the bedroom to scare the bejeezes out of me and later came back with something for me to sleep in and told me it wasn't my fault in a somewhat comforting way.

If I was going to be naïve, the only fact that I could hold on to was that he had stopped the unwanted attention.

I dried the rest of myself off, picked a random bra and panties before getting dressed into a pair of blue jeans, a green low-cut t-shirt and some black flats.

I didn't know what to do next. I lingered by the door, wondering if it was okay for me to leave the room. I just had to be careful like Ranger said, right?

I bit the bullet and opened the door to an empty hall way. Okay, so far so good. No scary, sex-deprived men lingering in the shadows….or behind the door.

Ranger and Pedro were sitting at the dining table with mugs of coffee. They both looked up at me as I dawdled awkwardly in the archway holding my arms.

"Buenos Dias, Stephanie." Pedro greeted me with a nervous tone in his voice. "Los siento about last night. Ezio wasn't kidding about all of us being pretty after some time without the…the presence of a senorita."

I pressed my lips together as I switched my eyes to Ranger who gave me a hard stare. I decided to stay quiet.

"I can assure you mi Querido; any lady-friend of Nigel is a friend of ours." Pedro grinned before taking a sip from his mug and pointed to a door behind him. "There is coffee made in the pot in the kitchen. Help yourself."

I licked my lips. "…Thank you."

I couldn't wait to get out of there. Lady-friend did not sound good coming from him and I only had Ranger's warning that he didn't share to comfort me.

I had to stop myself from sprinting out the room as I walked swiftly into the kitchen. It was a kind of scullery type of style that would class up my apartment. The walls and floor were tiled with burgundy, the units and cabinets were a crimson red and the stove, oven and fridge were a flawless jet black.

My mother would have sold her soul to have a kitchen like this.

Ezio was in the kitchen pouring out 3 more mugs of coffee. He looked up as I entered and handed one to me. "Milk and sugar?"

I managed to nod and made a small smile as I took the mug. "Thanks."

"I heard Pedro talking to you and after last night with Cortez's….drunken mishap, it's a small start. I'm sorry it happened on the same day you and Nigel arrived."

I felt a tiny lightbulb appear above my head.

"Don't be. It's not the first time something like that has happened." I said, taking a sip.

Ezio raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

I turned my eyes to the floor. "Well….there was the first time we met, I told you that last night, and a couple of times when I was home alone...and whenever Nigel and I were out together in places like…Central Park, some assholes think they could do what they'd like and…and think Nigel wouldn't give a damn. But they couldn't be more wrong…"

"What do you mean by that?"

I looked back up at him briefly. His face was blank but I could see his forehead had started to bead with sweat.

"They thought they could get away with calling me some skanky names, grope me, feel me up, that kind of thing…some even tried to take Nigel on but ended up with either some of their bones broken or had something pointy stuck in their stomachs." I did my best to make a convincing short and nervous laugh. "The last one wasn't pretty."

"….What happened?"

I sucked air through my teeth. "You don't want to know."

Through the corner of my eye, I noticed he had turned slightly pale and I heard him take in long deep breaths. I had to take a lot of sips of coffee to hide the grin I struggled to supress.

I went back into the dining room, not wanting to be alone with any of them.

The breath caught in my throat when I almost bumped into Cortez. His eyes were bloodshot; his left squinting and watery. His hair was a greasy matted mess and his jaw was coated in stubble. I could smell the same wine from last night a meter away from him; he wore the same clothes from yesterday.

I avoided his gaze by keeping my eyes on my mug as I steadily headed towards the dining table; knowing I should stay as close to Ranger as possible. I looked up to see him and Pedro with eyes darting from me to Cortez. I heard the door to the kitchen open and felt Ezio's eyes land on my back.

"Stephanie," Cortez blurted out suddenly. Despite Ranger's warning, I felt compelled to look at him. He scowled at me with a sneer that scrunched up the tissue of his scar. "Do you remember what happened last night? Are you happy?"

I took a deep breath and tried to be nonchalant.

"What about last night?" I asked, giving a small shrug before turning towards the table again.

"YOU DAMN WELL KNOW!"

I screamed when I was grabbed by the arm and yanked backwards. The mug slipped from my hands and smashed against the floor as I felt my back hit the wall before Cortez's hands clasped round my neck.

"I MIGHT HAVE BEEN PISSED LAST NIGHT BUT I COULD FEEL YOU WANTED IT! I KNOW YOU DID!" He bellowed whilst spraying me with spit.

Ezio and Pedro appeared either side of him and took hold of his arms. It took a few attempts to pry him off me until Ranger reached us.

He unclenched Cortez's fingers from around my neck and Ezio and Pedro managed to pull him away from me as I was wrapped in Ranger's arms and pressed against his chest.

My heart was thundering and I felt lightheaded as I panted heavily while Cortez finished his morning announcement.

"YOU HAVN'T EVEN BEEN ON THIS ISLAND A DAY AND YOU'RE ALREADY COMING BETWEEN ME AND AN OLD FRIEND! YOU LITTLE TRAMP! YOU CU-"

"CORTEZ!" Ezio yelled his eyes wide with panic. "Nigeles más peligrosode lo que pensamos!" He gave me a glance. "No le gustaa nadiejugar consumujer. Sé que esduro, pero fresco, hermano."

I hid my face against Ranger's chest just before Cortez turned to glare at me. I felt Ranger's hand cradle the back of my head as his arm on my back pressed me harder against him.

"Look man," I heard Pedro say. "You need to relax and recover from your hangover. That's the second time you've scared Stephanie."

There were sounds of footsteps fading away out the dining room until Ranger and I were left alone.

I dared to look up to see him glaring blankly ahead of him.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered before looking down at me. "I told you they were dangerous."