Chapter 305 Chapter 306

Chapter 305 Chapter 306
Chapter 306

Nina’s POV

The blood drained completely from my face as I scrambled backward on my elbows, my lungs exploding with another high-pitched, desperate scream.

Footsteps slammed furiously against the hard sand outside. Within three seconds, the front leaf curtain of my shelter was ripped open with violent force. Nikolai burst inside, holding his sharpened wooden spear like a deadly weapon, his dark eyes wide with terrifying, lethal rage.

"Nina!" he roared, his voice trembling with sheer panic as his body blocked the entrance. "Where is it?"

I pointed a shaking, trembling finger toward the dark corner near my pile of palm leaves, my eyes wide with pure horror. "There! Right there! Kill it! Kill it before it eats me alive!"

Nikolai lowered his body into a low fighting stance, creeping cautiously toward the corner with his weapon raised. He leaned down, narrowing his dark eyes as he inspected the dark shadow hiding beneath the leaves.

Then, he froze.

The tense, deadly posture in his muscular shoulders slowly relaxed. He lowered his wooden spear, letting out a soft, heavy breath. He turned his head slowly to look back at me, a subtle, highly amused smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Nina," Nikolai said smoothly, his voice laced with faint entertainment. "That is a small, completely harmless garden snake. It is barely six inches long and probably more terrified of your screaming than you are of it."

"I do not care if it is two inches long or named Bob!" I shouted, scrambling out of the lean-to on my hands and knees and wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. "It has no legs and it slithers! I am not sleeping in that tent! Absolutely not!"

Nikolai stepped out of the shelter after me, dusting off his bare chest and shaking his head.

"That is fine," he said calmly, gesturing toward the second shelter he had built a few feet away near the large grey rocks. "You can have mine. I assure you it is completely free and safe. Plus, I have not even slept inside it yet, so there are zero snakes."

I let out a long sigh of relief, crossing my arms over my chest. "Fine. But if I see another creature, I am burning this entire island down."

I turned around and began walking toward his shelter. The firelight flickered dimly against the sand, casting long, spooky shadows across the dark beach. The forest behind us continued to make strange rustling noises, making the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.

Suddenly, the toe of my bare foot slammed hard against a heavy, round object half-buried in the sand.

Crack!

"Ouch!" I gasped out, stumbling forward from the sudden pain.

I stopped instantly, looking down at the sand right beneath my feet to see what I had kicked. The pale moonlight washed over the object, illuminating a hollow, bone-white shape with empty eye sockets staring blankly back up at me.

It was a human skull.

A sharp, terrified squeal ripped from my throat. Without thinking for a single second, I spun around, leapt into the air, and wrapped my arms and legs entirely around Nikolai's broad body like a terrified koala. I buried my face tightly into the warm crook of his neck, my entire body shaking like a leaf.

Nikolai caught me on instinct, his strong, calloused hands resting securely beneath my thighs to hold my weight. He let out a low, breathless chuckle, his warm chest vibrating directly against mine.

"Nina, it is okay," Nikolai said softly, his deep voice carrying a comforting, gentle tone as he held me tightly against his body. "I won't let anything happen to you, okay? It is just an old bone washed up from the sea."

I kept my eyes squeezed tightly shut, refusing to put my feet back down on the ground. "Just take me to the shelter! Do not put me down on the sand!"

Nikolai carried me the remaining five steps over to his shelter, stopping right at the entrance. He carefully lowered my feet back onto the solid ground, leaning down to look into my eyes.

"Okay, get in," he told me gently.

I looked at the small, cozy opening of the palm-leaf tent, then looked back up at his tall, bare frame. "No."

Nikolai blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Why?"

"We have to go in together," I demanded firmly, clutching the edge of his arm. "I am scared out of my mind right now!"

Nikolai closed his eyes, taking a long, deep breath. He raised his hand, rubbing his fingers across his forehead in utter exasperation. "Jesus..." he whispered softly under his breath.

"I am not making you sleep with me or have sex with me, Nikolai!" I snapped, rolling my eyes dramatically while pulling on his forearm. "I am genuinely scared of being alone out here! I have never even gone to a camp alone in my entire life! And besides, I know you are gay anyway."

Without giving him a single chance to respond to my insult, I grabbed his hand tightly and dragged his heavy, reluctant body inside the shelter right behind me.

The shelter was cozy, smelling faintly of sweet palm leaves and ocean air. I collapsed onto the thick layer of soft leaves Nikolai had arranged on the ground, lying flat on my back.

A sharp, aching pain shot through my lower back from all the thrashing in the water and the stress of the day. I let out a long, heavy groan, arching my spine slightly.

"Ugh, my back feels like it was hit by a truck," I complained, staring up at the leaf roof. "A massage would really help right now."

Nikolai cleared his throat, coughing slightly as he sat cross-legged near the entrance, trying his absolute best to keep his distance from me. "I... I can help with that," he offered gruffly. "I know how to relieve muscle tension."

A slow, triumphant smile spread across my face. "Good."

Before he could even react or move a muscle toward me, I reached my hands around my back. I reached for the thin strings of the pink lace bikini top that the Pink Demon ladies had forced me into on the yacht. With one fast, smooth movement, I unpinned the clasp, untied the knots, and completely removed the top, tossing it casually onto the sand right beside his knee.

Nikolai’s eyes went wide as saucers. He froze entirely, staring at the discarded pink top before looking up at my exposed chest in complete, unadulterated shock.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he choked out, his voice cracking slightly.

"Oh, please, it is not comfortable at all," I said nonchalantly, stretching my arms above my head with a lazy grin. "And since I do not have a change of clothes, and you clearly do not want to fuck me, I will just keep it off so my skin can air dry."

Nikolai let out a harsh hiss through his teeth, instantly turning his entire face away toward the wooden wall of the tent, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek.

"Nina, put that back on right now," he grunted out, his voice tight and strained.

"Why should I?" I teased, reaching my hands down toward my waist. "It is just body parts."

Nikolai turned his head back slightly, but his eyes instantly went wild when he saw my fingers sliding under the waistband of my tiny bikini bottoms.

"Nina, stop!" he growled out urgently, his hand shooting forward to grab my wrist before I could unclamp the side straps.