I smiled back at him and continued digging.

“Pass me the rocks,” Jakob commanded after about ten minutes of us frantically digging in silence.

“Okay.” I stood up and handed them to him with a question in my eyes. I watched as he placed the rocks at the bottom of the hole we’d dug. “What are you doing?”

“We’re creating a natural filter.” He smiled at me. “We need some driftwood.”

“Where can we get that?” I stood up. “Should I go look?”

“I’ll come with you.” Steve jumped up and gave me a wide smile.

“No.” Jakob shook his head. “Bianca will go by herself. You’ll help me pat the sides of the wall down while we wait for the wood. We don’t want the sand to fall into our water hole.”

“Water hole?” I gasped and looked into the hole we’d dug.

“If it works properly, the salt water will rise up in that hole.” Jakob grinned. “The rocks will act as a filter and should remove most of the salt.”

“Wow.” My jaw dropped. “That’s cool. I had no idea.”

“I took a survival course once.” He shrugged. “I thought the information was useless at the time. Now I’m glad I did it.”

“Of course you did.” Steve’s eyes narrowed.

“Pat down the sides of the hole.” Jakob gave him a derisive look and stood up. “You sure you’re okay to go by yourself, Bianca? I can come with you.”

“I’ll be okay.” I nodded.

“Go farther up there.” He pointed to the left. “You don’t have to go into the jungle by yourself.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I do. You’re not going in by yourself.” His expression grew serious. “I’ll stay here with Steve and keep the sides solid.”

“Okay.” I stared up at him.

“Good luck.” He leaned down and gave me a light peck on the lips. His eyes were laughing at me as I pulled back in shock.

I walked away quickly, with my heart beating. His lips had tasted salty but also warm and tender. I hadn’t been prepared for his kiss. I hadn’t been prepared for how good it would feel. My whole body tingled as I walked toward the tree line in search of wood.

Jakob’s plan had worked, and we had water to drink. It was still slightly salty, but we had filtered it enough that it wasn’t unbearable, and it quenched our thirst.

“Another banana?” He handed one to me as we watched the sunset.

“Thanks.” I took it from him gratefully.

“Would you like one, Steve?”

“I’d like a big, fat, juicy steak with scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies.” Steve smiled at me. “And for dessert, a big slice of cherry cheesecake.”

“Don’t,” I groaned. “That sounds so good.”

“Doesn’t it though?” He grinned at me and took the banana from Jakob. “This doesn’t quite match up, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t.” I chewed on my banana and sat back. “But it’s so pretty here. Whoever kidnapped us all really chose a beautiful spot.”

“We should really talk and see what we can figure out.” Steve’s expression changed, and he looked at Jakob and me carefully. “I’d like to know if we have any connections.”

“I’d like to know that as well.” I nodded and thought back to Jakob’s earlier comments.

“Tomorrow.” Jakob stood up. “We’re all tired right now. We might miss something. Let’s talk tomorrow morning when we’re all fresh.”

“I’d rather talk—” I started, but Jakob grabbed my arms and pulled me up into his arms. I fell against him, and he grinned before his lips crushed down on mine. I melted against him, and my hands flew to his face as he kissed me hard.

“I’d rather make love,” he whispered against my lips as he pulled away slightly.

“Jakob!” I gasped, and looked down at Steve, who was staring at us with narrow eyes.

“Don’t worry, Steve. Bianca and I won’t shock you tonight. Though it will be hard for me to keep my hands off her. I won’t lie.”

“I don’t blame you.” Steve stood up. “I’m not sure I’d be able to resist, myself.” He looked to the ocean. “I’ll go farther down the beach and sleep there, give you both some privacy.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I called out after him as he started walking, but he didn’t stop.

“Let him go.” Jakob’s hand rubbed my back. “We have things to do tonight.”

“I don’t do casual sex,” I muttered, and tried not to stare at the front of his boxer briefs. Of course, my eyes couldn’t turn away as I stared at the huge bulge. I shifted my position and looked up to see him staring at me with an intense expression.

“I wasn’t talking about sex,” he said slowly and seductively, as his eyes dropped to my breasts.

It took everything in me not to place my hands over my skimpy bra. I’d almost forgotten that I was standing here in my underwear. I’d taken his shirt off after it had gotten wet in the ocean. Now I was once again fully aware of how close to naked I was and how close to naked he was as well. I swallowed hard as I felt an imperceptible change in the mood. It was no longer light but filled with sexual tension.