Part 3 (2/2)

'Would you kindly move your a.s.s before I get behind you and kick it?'

He could almost hear her grinding her teeth. 'I'm moving said a.s.s as fast as I can,' he said, not even slightly winded yet. 'But you know, those cigars make it kind of hard to breathe.'

'I swear to G.o.d if we lose this race I will sneak into your cabana while you're sleeping and slice your b.a.l.l.s off.'

'A little compet.i.tive, are we?' He liked that about her. And she hated to lose!that would help with what they were going to face in the future. If she stayed around that long.

But he did have to start moving his a.s.s. The others were pulling ahead, even Jake. And Olivia was a runner, so they had to start putting some spark into this, and now. He stepped it up a notch, hoping Gina would soon have a little trouble keeping up when he started pus.h.i.+ng it.

She didn't.

Dammit.

In fact, she acted as if she'd like him to put a lot more effort into it.

Okay, he was getting winded when they reached the end of the island and made the turn. Not bad, but it was hot outside and he was really cranking it to keep this pace.

She was sweating as much as he was, her clothing completely drenched.

But she was smiling.

And didn't look one bit uncomfortable.

She probably did those aerobics cla.s.ses every day, perspiring happily to music at the gym.

But he could keep up just fine. He'd handled much worse than this, and by G.o.d he he was setting this pace, not her, so he slowed it down a little. They were far enough ahead of the others by now they could afford to relax a bit. was setting this pace, not her, so he slowed it down a little. They were far enough ahead of the others by now they could afford to relax a bit.

'Getting tired?' she asked, arching a brow as she jogged circles around him.

'No, I'm fine. Just don't want to demoralize the other teams on the first day so I'm cutting back a little.'

'Uh-huh.'

Okay, so she was in better shape than he gave her credit for. That didn't mean she could hold her own in the game. No comparison.

He sped up when they reached the halfway point on the way back.

'Ready to sprint?' she asked. 'There is the bet.'

He was so ready to subtract those points next to her name. 'You're on.'

Sucking in air, he forced his lungs to work, making his feet pound the sand and dig for each step as they made their way down the path until each breath burned like fire in his chest, each step resulting in a knifelike stab of pain in his s.h.i.+ns.

Concentrate. Almost there. Can't give up. He'd never let her win. As soon as he was sure he was ahead, he'd catch her out of the corner of his eye, her braid slapping against her breast as she pulled forward. Maybe just by inches, but still she'd get in front of him. He'd never let her win. As soon as he was sure he was ahead, he'd catch her out of the corner of his eye, her braid slapping against her breast as she pulled forward. Maybe just by inches, but still she'd get in front of him.

Sonofab.i.t.c.h, the woman was inhuman!

Finally, the finish line became visible. Sweat poured into his eyes like a waterfall over his head. He brushed it away with the back of his hand, the grit from the dirt on his hands blinding him. He pulled his s.h.i.+rt up to swipe it away which only made it worse. He blinked once, twice, and despite his blurry vision knew he had a clear shot at winning, but then he b.u.mped something and his feet got tangled. What the h.e.l.l? Was it a vine or was it Gina's foot?

s.h.i.+t! The world suddenly spun as he lost his balance, skidded, tripped, and fell flat on his face, eating a mouthful of the island in the process.

'Get up, G.o.ddammit!'

His mouth full of sand and his eyes burning like h.e.l.l, he felt hands at the back of his s.h.i.+rt, helping to pull him up with a sense of urgency and surprising strength. Blinded, he let her lead him as she literally dragged him by the scruff of the neck the last few feet and threw him over the finish line and back onto the ground. He landed like a beached whale, once again face first into sand and dirt.

He spit and choked his way into a half sitting position, feeling like half the island had settled in his lungs as he wheezed and coughed it out, trying to breathe.

'Well, that certainly wasn't one of your more stellar moments.'

The sound of Lou's amused voice didn't help. 'Bite me. I tripped.'

Thank G.o.d he was still blinded by the sand in his eyes. He sat back and reached for the hem of his s.h.i.+rt, trying to wipe his face.

'See if this will help.'

He sputtered as ice cold water fell onto his head, though it didn't feel all that bad considering his body was nearly melting. When he could see again, he wished for the nirvana of temporary blindness. He looked up to see Gina standing over him, looking smug and victorious with an empty pitcher in her hand. Surrounding her were the rest of the contestants and Lou, with an I-told-you-so look on his face.

Derek would never, ever live this down. Sonofab.i.t.c.h!

Gina squatted down to his level, her face even with his. 'I think you owe me some cigars.'

'You tripped me.'

'Whiner.'

'I'm not whining. You cheated.' Okay, he did sound like a sore loser. But h.e.l.l, he'd been blinded by sweat, otherwise he'd never have lost that race to her.

'Don't we have a compet.i.tion to prepare for?'

He almost hated her right now. And at the same time admired her guts and determination. She'd kicked his a.s.s! Not many people could say that.

Score one for Gina.

Okay, maybe Gina had gotten in front of him a little during their race the first day while the sweat had been dripping down his face. Maybe their feet had gotten tangled and he'd fallen facedown in the sand, allowing her to drag him the last few inches across the finish line. Wasn't her fault he was so d.a.m.n sweaty.

And he had had promised to give up the cigars. Who knew he'd be so grumpy about it? Twenty-four hours later she was battered, bruised, and d.a.m.n near bone-crus.h.i.+ngly exhausted from the paces he'd put them all through. And the rest of the compet.i.tors looked at her like it was all her fault they'd been worked so hard, sweat dripping down their faces as they ended yet another skirmish, this time hand-to-hand combat with bamboo poles. h.e.l.l, she thought it had been fun, even though right now her biceps were screaming in agony. promised to give up the cigars. Who knew he'd be so grumpy about it? Twenty-four hours later she was battered, bruised, and d.a.m.n near bone-crus.h.i.+ngly exhausted from the paces he'd put them all through. And the rest of the compet.i.tors looked at her like it was all her fault they'd been worked so hard, sweat dripping down their faces as they ended yet another skirmish, this time hand-to-hand combat with bamboo poles. h.e.l.l, she thought it had been fun, even though right now her biceps were screaming in agony.

How could it be her fault? She was just as tired as they were, had worked just as hard as they all had. And Derek was putting himself through the same grueling punishments. He worked them from sunup to sundown, abusing just about every conceivable one of their muscle groups until they crawled into their bungalows at night and collapsed. Then that infernal bell rang at daybreak, signaling another day of torture.

'If he pulls one more compet.i.tion today, I'm going to find a way to kill him while he sleeps,' Shay growled, scrunching her shoulders and tilting her head from side to side. 'My personal trainer never worked me this hard.'

Gina nodded. 'I always had punis.h.i.+ng workouts before a shoot. But never this bad.' Though she'd never admit that within earshot of Derek. And she really did enjoy this. Seemed like Derek did, too.

<script>