Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
“Found it.
He looked over to see a camera in my hands.
I carried it to the lipstick SOS and began snapping photos.
Sebastian, meanwhile, kept working with his usual cool detachment.
I narrowed my eyes, then shouted suddenly, “Sebastian!”He jerked his head up at once.
Click.
The shutter snapped, catching him full on.
Eagerly, I flicked through the camera’s screen to check. A candid shot like that had to be priceless.
The man in the photo stood bare-chested, his lean, sculpted muscles catching the light, shorts hanging low on his hips, a strip of bark in his hands. His cropped hair framed a sharp, clean face.
Even caught off guard, every angle of his features was flawless, the unposed moment making him look even more natural, more alive.
The photo alone could outshine half the idols plastered across billboards,
But it was his eyes that undid me.
Those long, deep blue eyes held a warmth I couldn’t ignore, A warmth he had failed to hide.
I stared at the screen, expressionless, my grip on the camera tightening.
Footsteps approached, and his voice came with them.
“What is it? Did you make me look like a horror villain?”
“It’s nothing.” I shoved the camera into my suitcase.
“T’help you. It’ll be faster with two.”
***
We spent two days on the island, living on fish from the stream and olives from the trees.
By now, the cruise would be almost over. Sebastian and I were still marooned here. Was anyone even looking for us?
I lay inside the tree-bark shelter, staring up at the dark roof overhead.
Outside, Sebastian was dismantling my camera lens to start a fire.
He sat on a flat stone, laying dry grass and twigs across the sand with one hand while angling the lens in the sunlight with the other. His movements were practised, almost instinctive.
I stepped out of the shelter and sat down on a stone beside him. With a twig, I prodded the tiny sparks flickering in the grass.
Silence reigned, broken only by the crackle of burning twigs.
I poked the embers a little faster, just to look busy.
Sebastian kept tugging at the diving glove on his right hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed it. I thought back and realised he had worn it every day since we landed.
“You’ve had that glove on for a long time, haven’t you?” said.
His lashes gave the faintest flicker, though only for an instant.
“It’s easier to work with,” he replied evenly.
I nodded. With so many poisonous plants and insects around, it was sensible.
I must have dozed off for a while.
These past few days, I hadn’t slept soundly. To avoid danger, we had been taking turns keeping watch.
At first, Sebastian insisted on looking after me. He let me sleep at night and caught what rest he could in snatches during the day.
But I refused.
I couldn’t keep letting Sebastian shoulder everything while I took advantage.
We argued about it. In the end, we reached an agreement. When it came to sleep, each of us took half the night.
That meant our afternoons were spent foraging together.
I was fortunate Sebastian was a survival expert, or I might have starved before anyone ever found us.
I had no idea what was edible.
Once, I reached for a bright, pretty fruit, only for Sebastian to smack my hand away.
He told me it was a well-known poison in the wild, so tokic you could pick it up on your skin just by touching it.
That lesson stayed with me. From then on, I obediently followed behind him.
When I woke, Sebastian had already packed his bag, ready for another round of foraging.
I stretched, looked out at the endless sea, and then at the man next to me, solid and reliable.
He reminded me of an ancient tree. Just a glance at him wrapped me in a deep sense of safety.
A rare calm stirred in me, a peace I hadn’t felt for a long time.
I wanted to hold on to it, to linger in it.
A reckless thought rose up inside me.
Maybe staying on this island for a while would not be so bad.
So long as Sebastian was with me.
That day, we pushed further inland than before. The trees thickened and shadows deepened around us.
I slowed my pace until I ended up behind him.
It wasn’t that I was afraid; Sebastian wouldn’t let me take the lead.
I studied the man who held his arm out, keeping me sheltered behind him.
He still wore the light grey T-shirt from earlier, with sturdy trousers and the pair of leather shoes salvaged from his suitcase.
The outfit was plain, unremarkable.
Yet the way he stood in front of me, guarding me with such quiet care, struck me as irresistibly manly.
My heartbeat skipped several times. I blinked hard and almost stepped back. I knew all too well how strongly this man drew me in.
But sense told me I must not get too close.
“Stop staring at me and watch your surroundings.”His voice was flat, as always, but heat rushed to my cheeks.
How did he always know? It was as if he had eyes in the ack of his head.
That night, the breeze grew cooler. I pulled my long-sleeved shirt tighter around me and leaned towards the shelter of the hut.
I didn’t dare move too much, though, because Sebastian was lying just behind me, asleep.
We were taking turns to sleep half the night each. I tried to stay alert, but my eyelids grew heavy.
Suddenly, a chill brushed my arm. Startled, I opened my eyes. A few droplets had fallen onto the sleeve of my shirt.
Before I could react, more rain came spattering down on me.
The weather changed in an instant.
I sprang up and ducked into the hut. Even so, I couldn’t avoid the downpour completely. My chest, back and legs were soon speckled with drops, and though I wasn’t as bedraggled as a drowned rat, I looked at least half like one. The damp clothes clung to me uncomfortably.
I glanced at Sebastian.
He must have been exhausted from the day, because he slept on soundly without stirring.
A shiver ran through me and an itch prickled at my nose.
This was bad. At this rate, I was bound to fall ill. On a deserted island, catching a cold was almost the same as inviting death. Even with Sebastian around, I’d be nothing but a burden for days.
I frowned. I didn’t want to be a burden.
My eyes drifted towards the clean, dry clothes in the suitcase. Then they shifted to Sebastian’s sleeping figure.
If I wanted to change, I’d have to do it inside the hut. Going back out meant another drenching, which would make changing pointless. But in here, I’d have to do it right in front of Sebastian, asleep or not.
A faint dizziness pressed against my temples. I bit my lower lip sharply to steady myself.
No. I couldn’t risk getting sick.
After all, Sebastian was fast asleep. He wouldn’t see, and he wouldn’t know.
If I moved quietly enough…
Bolstered by that thought, I stole another quick glance Sebastian, confirming that he was still lost in deep sleep. Only then did I ease sideways, take out a clean set of clothes from the suitcase, and start peeling off the ones I wore,
That day I had been wearing a long white shirt-dress. It was linen, which meant it turned see-through the moment it was wet.
I half-pinned my hair up so fewer drops would run down and soak me further.
One by one, I undid the buttons of the shirt. Soon, only the one near my lower stomach was still holding. It was stubborn, and I tugged and twisted at it, frowning, while the rest of the shirt gaped open and slid halfway down my arms.
There was a sharp snap as the button gave way and flew off somewhere. I groaned inwardly. I’d never been suited to buttoned clothes, always popping them off by accident.
I glanced around, but couldn’t see where it had fallen. With the rain still beating down outside and Sebastian asleep beside me, there was no way to look properly. I decided to leave it for tomorrow.