Free Heart's Paradise by Olivia Starke

nervous didn’t help his anxiety any.
    “You want me to open it?” he asked. He started to reach for the cooler, but she batted his hand away.
    “No. There was a movie not long ago… I’m sure there’s nothing in it but maybe some fish.”
    Jonathon held his breath. Phoebe threw the lid open. The odor of rotting flesh hit him, and he stumbled back, covering his face with his forearm. Phoebe had turned away as well, looking ready to gag.
    “Oh God, that’s rank,” he said, grateful his stomach was empty. The smell of the salvaged turtle shell wasn’t nearly as awful as the cooler.
    “Yeah, I don’t think we’ll want this after all.” She staggered to her feet and walked away from it. “I was right, it’s fish. We’d need bleach, and I’m not even sure that would get the smell out.”
    They both retreated upwind of the rotten fish as gulls swarmed in, already squabbling over the disgusting breakfast Phoebe had uncovered for them.
    “I’ll make us some sandals after I finish the lobster traps,” she said when they’d returned to camp. “We’ll need shoes when we hike inland for our next drop. Why don’t you see if you can get us something to eat? Coconuts for now, then I’ll go find something from the ocean.”
    He lifted his chin and squared his shoulders, determined to prove he wasn’t completely useless. Granted, his partner had years more experience than he did, but nonetheless, he could find sea urchins or maybe spear a decent-sized fish for their meal.
    “I’ll take care of today’s food, you can work on the traps.”
    She lifted her eyebrows, an expression of doubt which set him on edge. He had learned a few things about spear fishing and come hell or high water, he’d prove it to her. He walked over, grabbed his machete, and set about making himself a decent spear. When he had a long stick sharpened to a deadly point he walked back to the ocean and waded out into the surf. He moved slowly, staring into the crystal clear water. Fish darted this way and that, too small to mess with, but they nipped at his legs.
    A large gray shape swam into view, and for a split second he thought it was a shark. His heart jumped into his throat until he realized it didn’t have the right fin shape. He carefully lifted his arm, then the spear shot out in a blur—and completely missed its target. The large fish was nothing more than a silver flash as it took toward deeper water.
    Jonathon growled and waded to a new spot until waist deep. The sun beat down on his skin, and he felt the sting of sunburn on his shoulders and the back of his neck. He ignored the discomfort, determined to prove himself. Another large silver fish came into view. Once more he thrust his weapon, and the fish was long gone before the spear tip ever broke the surface of the water.
    “Damn it!”
    He stubbornly tried for another hour, until a headache pounded in his temples, and the sun and salt felt like fire on his sunburn. He gave up his ill-fated breakfast attempts. He swallowed over the bitter lump of pride as he made for shore. They’d have to settle for coconut meat, and he’d have to deal with Phoebe’s disapproval. He dove beneath the waves, letting the warmth soothe the worst of his headache and aggravation with failure.
    When Jonathon broke the surface and stood up in the shallows, he found Phoebe staring at him, her gaze feeling like the sensual scrape of fingernails on his flesh as it raked down him. She caught her plump bottom lip between her teeth as she zeroed in on his crotch. He glanced down, finding the wet fabric of his briefs left little to the imagination. His heart jumped into overdrive. With just a look she’d aroused him more than any woman had in years.
    They stared at one another, trapped by the moment. A tenuous thread of desire stretched between them and he dared not move lest it snap. He wanted to cross the hot sand, grab Phoebe up, and bury balls deep inside her. Hear her high-pitched cries of lust as