Love Overboard

Love Overboard

N.H. Alling

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Contact the Author

Copyright

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For Caroline, who wanted a romance.

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Chapter 1

Angelina sat staring across the idyllic white-sanded beach without seeing a thing. An arc of palm trees bowed as if in homage to, or perhaps in a desperate reach for the crystalline waters that lay beyond the fine, perfect stretch of sand separating them. Her unseeing gaze dropped to her feet. Slowly they swam into focus, and her brow furrowed.

Where have all these little cuts and abrasions come from? They look like they belong to a street urchin. When did they become so brown, so … not manicured? They look like they belong on a hobo, she thought to herself.

She ran her fingers listlessly through the sand, lifting it from the beach, then watching as it sifted back through her loosely held fingers. She watched intently but without seeing, each grain making its own path, yet seen as nothing more than a single flow.

Movement down the beach caught her attention. Her gaze drifted toward it. It didn’t snap to take in the change. Not enough changed here and besides, she knew what she’d see, a man striding toward her.

Damon! she thought, her heart skipping a beat. No, he’s … gone.

It wasn’t a man; it was a boy. Well, a young man. Her mind was fuddled. His skin was dark, so dark that he could have been midnight blue. The sunlight glistened off his bare chest, the heat of the day had produced a sheen of sweat, and the light played with it. He was smiling. Even from a hundred yards away his smile was notable, special. Teeth as perfectly white as the beach’s sand split his face.

The vision wavered.

Angelina tried to focus, but everything was blurry. She felt the tears running down her face before her disjointed mind connected the wavering vision with them. She belatedly ran a hand across her face, the tears leaving a streak across the back of her wrist, a clean path through the layer of dust and dirt coating what would normally have been pale, clean and immaculate.

Just seeing the state of her skin set her off again and she bowed her head, unable to watch the boy approach any further. A sob wracked her body, shoulders heaving.

Angie, what’s wrong? he asked kindly, sitting beside her on the sand, his arm slipping around her shoulders to pull her close to comfort her.

Angelina leant against him, letting him enfold her within the safety of his embrace.

Nothing new, she sighed.

We’ll be ok, he told her with more conviction than he really felt.

So you say. You say it every day, but nothing changes, Aki. We never find enough food, there’s no sign of civilisation, no ships, no planes, nothing. How can you be so sure? she demanded, her voice rising in desperation; hysteria barely held in check, threatening to crush her fragile spirit.

I just know. I can feel it here, he said, tapping his chest over his heart. We have enough, if only barely, and I pray. All the time I pray, and I know that I am heard. Miracles take time.

Angelina laughed but it was hollow, bringing no smile to her face. Rather than happiness, her eyes betrayed the fear and desperation constantly infecting her spirit.

Akanni stopped talking and just held her. He knew from the last couple of days that little as it was, it was the best thing he could do. He also worried. It had been weeks. Maybe they wouldn’t be rescued at all. He hid his doubts, though. Even though he was the younger, he knew he was the one who needed to stay strong. Angelina was always too close to the edge.

Hungry? he asked her some time later.

Always, Angelina sighed, turning to smile at him.

I think I might catch a fish today, I can feel it.

In here? Angelina asked, tapping his chest.

No, in here! Akanni answered, laughing as he tapped his stomach.

Angelina smiled at his genuine laugh and this time her eyes even joined in. That brought an even bigger smile to his face as he realised he had reached her, had brought her back from the edge once again.

Come on, not everyone gets the chance to see the world’s best spear fisherman at work, he said, offering a hand to help her to her feet.

Angelina took his hand and was pulled easily from her seated position. She over-balanced in surprise and stumbled against him. Akanni closed his arms about her, steadying her with a hug.

Thank you, Aki, she said, gazing up at him. Without you I’d be so lost.

Anytime, Angie, he grinned.

He looked down at her, holding her close, smelling her. It was strangely intoxicating. He wondered what she must smell like normally, when she'd been pampered and preened. He felt a wave of affection for her, aware that she was as fragile as a flower. He quickly stepped back, releasing her.

Angelina sighed as she was released. There was security in those arms, security she desperately craved. She didn't want to feel so needy, but the last couple of weeks had worn her down, and she wasn't sure if she had much left in reserve.

Come on, Mister Fisherman, get out there and impress me, she said.

You mean you aren’t already? Aki threw back over his shoulder with a grin as he swaggered playfully toward the beach.

Angelina watched him go for a few moments, admiring the muscle definition of his back as much as she’d previously admired the same view from the front. She snapped herself out of the moment and followed him, tucking away the memory of how close to utter despair she’d been just moments ago.

Aki went down to the beach, wishing he felt as confident about catching fish as he had expressed to Angelina. He had watched a lot of Survivor and knew that some people seemed to have the knack and others seemed incapable of ever catching a fish.

Carefully he made his way into the shallows. He’d been watching the water over the time they’d been shipwrecked and knew there were plenty of fish nearby. He knew that if he moved quietly and carefully he could get close to them. He also knew he was completely incapable of snatching one in his hands. Spying a target, he carefully raised his poorly crafted spear, aimed and thrust with all his might into the water.

The spear slipped into the water and pierced only the seabed. There was no fish on it.

Angelina tried not to laugh. She was desperately hopeful that Aki would succeed in catching a fish but she wasn’t exactly optimistic. For fifteen minutes she watched the spear thrust into the water and emerge again with nothing but dripping water clinging to the tip. She slid down to the sand, hope fading, and despair creeping back into her psyche.

Aki was persistent. It was a quality he’d inherited from his mother, though his father had tended to refer to it as stubborn rather than persistent. He didn’t want to admit it even to himself, but the harder he tried, the worse he seemed to be getting. His body was tiring, his mind losing focus and the fish always seemed more determined to avoid his spear than he was to skewer them.

After an hour Angelina had given up. Aki’s attempts had become more and more sporadic. He seemed to spend more of his time wading aimlessly in the water before even attempting to spear a fish. She lay back on the beach, the heat of the sun beating down on her. She knew she should move out of the light. She should seek the shelter of the palm trees and preserve her skin.

Preserve it for what? she laughed slightly hysterically to herself. So my corpse will be pretty as the insects devour it?

A whoop of celebration snapped her back to reality; drew her a few steps back from the cliff of despair yet again. She sat up quickly, her head slightly light-headed from the speed of her rising. Aki was dancing like a lunatic in the water, holding the spear aloft, shouting joyously. Gleaming in the light on the end of his simple wooden spear was a glittering fish.

Aki! Angelina shouted, rising to her feet.

Pure joy stretched a smile across her face. She ran to him even as he ran to her. They met at the border of ocean and beach, their bodies pressing together as they hugged and twirled in a celebratory circle, their feet alternately kicking up sand and surf as they danced around each other.

Aki, you are a wonder, Angelina gushed.

I told you! he crowed with simple conviction.

Angelina sat watching the fish cooking over the fire. She salivated, inhaling deeply as the aroma wafted toward her. Aki squatted on his heels on the far side of the fire, turning the fish slowly so it wouldn’t burn. He shifted left and right occasionally to avoid the drifting smoke, waving it away so he could monitor their precious meal.

When he deemed it ready, he pulled the wet stick from the fire with all the care of a new father placing a baby in the crib for the first time. Delicately he laid the steaming fish on the mat of leaves they had prepared, determined not to lose the smallest scrap. He slid the primitive skewer out of the sizzling hot fish, holding it gingerly on the leaves with his fingers. The stick slid clear and he quickly brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking to cool them, grinning around them the whole time.

My lady, he said formally with an elaborate flourish, gesturing that his esteemed guest should help herself.

Angelina had wanted to be polite, to ensure that the precious flesh of this rare meal was split precisely in two with no advantage to either of them. Hunger prevented such refined patience though, and she simply ripped the fish apart with a single movement. She lifted her portion of the steaming flesh to her mouth, bouncing it from one hand to the other to cool it.

Oh Aki, it’s amazing, she cooed, the flesh seeming to melt on her tongue.

It’s not even seasoned, Aki grinned as he took some of his portion and placed it on his own tongue.

Hunger is the best seasoning, she reminded him happily.

They ate in silence and all too soon only a skeleton remained, a forlorn remnant of the wonder they'd shared.

I should be able to catch more tomorrow, Aki eventually said with a sigh, leaning back on his hands, grinning as he always seemed to do.

That would be wonderful, Angelina replied.

Angelina and Aki began their night-time ritual, bedding down in the shelter they’d cobbled together from the island’s natural resources of branches, vines, palm leaves and a few stones.

'Hold me, Aki,' Angelina whispered as they settled in.

Aki moved closer. He never touched her unless he was invited first. He was nervous, but he was also excited. He had speared the fish and for the first time felt perhaps he could provide enough food for them to survive their ordeal. If only he could be sure someone would eventually find them.

Angelina lay spooning within Aki’s arms, reassured by his strength, knowing he would do all he could to protect and provide for them both. She couldn’t help but think back to before. That was how she thought of her former life; simply as ‘before’.

Before the trip; before the storm; before they were wrecked.

Before … before Damon was … gone.

They had set out without a care in the world; the voyage a gift from Damon. It was a reward for him actually, one from his boss. Damon the successful lawyer had won a big case for his firm, and in celebration his boss had sent them on a cruise on his personal yacht. It was a beautiful boat with its own crew. There had been a chef, deckhands, a captain; everything. Angelina knew nothing about boats, had no idea how big it was or what type of boat it was, only that it had both sails and an engine and was therefore a yacht. It was certainly beyond anything in her prior experience.

She hadn’t even known where they were sailing. Why worry? The destination was irrelevant. They had two precious weeks before they needed to return, and all she’d had to worry about until then was sunbathing, eating and enjoying having Damon all to herself.

Damon. Her heart still ached in ways she hadn’t thought possible when she thought of him. Was he still alive? Tragically, she had no way of knowing. Tall, fit, intense, his dark hair was greying early considering he was only in his mid-thirties, but that merely gave him a distinguished air. He worked out regularly, kept himself fit and trim and ate well. He certainly drew women’s eyes. Initially that had been hard for Angelina to take, but she had come to terms with it.

She used to question herself, Why is he with me? Why does he put up with someone so imperfect? How will I ever keep those amazing, beautiful, powerful women that throw themselves at him from luring him away?

He had continually assured her that she was perfect, that there was nothing he could possibly want from any woman that he hadn’t already found in her. She’d even started to believe him. She’d thought that perhaps with the trip providing a break from the normal pressures of his life he may even propose. She'd hoped. She’d desperately hoped, but she’d also worried. Was she good enough for him that she could say yes without doing him a disservice? Without saddling him with someone he would eventually tire of and learn to resent?

Now she struggled not to think of him in the past tense. She kept forcing herself to think of him in the now so that in her mind he could be alive, not … not gone.

Angelina felt Aki’s arm close tentatively about her abdomen and sighed. The touch broke her train of thought and with some food in her belly; she drifted off to sleep, quickly for once.

Akanni didn’t find sleep as easily. He held Angelina close, too aware of how beautiful she was. He too thought back to before.

He had been a deckhand on the Dolphin’s Kiss. He’d not been on the boat for long. It had been a summer job, something he never thought he’d be able to pull off. His family wasn’t well off, and other than his remote ancestors probably having been transported on a ship, he had no connection with sailing. He still wondered why he’d even pursued the job. It had something to do with the call of the sea. For as long