By nightfall they had removed every trace of their presence from the beach. Joss had even swept away their footprints. If anyone came looking, there'd be nothing to indicate that the two of them had ever been on the island.
Their new shelter, a small hut that Joss constructed out of palm fronds and vines, was hidden behind a wide, flowering snow-on-the-mountain tree and the huge, half- rotted trunk of a tamarind. Unless someone stumbled right over it, the low hut was almost impossible to distinguish from the rest of the undergrowth around it.
They had an ample supply of coconuts, and fresh water fetched from the firewater pool and stored in empty shells. There was no reason for them to leave the protection of the rain forest, not even to fish or catch crabs. On the white sandy beaches, they would be all too visible to chance passersby.
With the coming of night could be heard strange rustlings from the forest floor. Lilah and Joss looked at one another, then turned and crawled into the hut as one.
It was not much bigger than the last one he had built, but the bedding he had piled on the ground was thicker and more comfortable. With Lilah's petticoat spread over it, it made a very adequate bed. Once inside, Joss stretched out flat on his back and Lilah curled naturally against him, her head on his shoulder and her arm curved cross his chest. Her fingers idly stroked the silky hairs beneath them, but at the moment she was not really aware of what she was doing.
"I keep thinking about that poor woman," she said into the darkness, and shuddered.
"There's nothing we can do for her, so you may as well try to put her out of your mind." His voice was soft but grim.
"Where-how do you suppose they got hold of her?"
"I don't know. Maybe she was a passenger on a ship they attacked."
Lilah was silent for a while. From outside could be heard the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the calls and shrieks and rustlings of the island's nocturnal creatures as they went about their business. The inside of the hut was so dark that she could not even see her hand as it rested against Joss's chest, or the gleam of his eyes.
"Do you think they'll find us?"
"I don't know. I doubt it. Why should they? They're not looking for us; they don't even know we're on the island."
"That's true." The thought was comforting. "How long does a careen usually take?"
"It depends on the crew. Not more than a week. From their progress I'd guess they've already been at it for at least two or three days."
"Maybe that was the ship we saw!" At the notion that they might actually have succeeded in attracting the pirates' attention, Lilah shuddered.
"Maybe."
"Joss?"
"Mmmm?"
"We may not have very long together."
"No."
"The pirates could find us. Even if they don't, another ship could stop here if they did. At any time."
"Yes."
"Whatever happens, there's something I want you to know. I-I love you,"
A long silence greeted this gift that she had expected him to return with delight. Lilah lifted her head and tried to read his expression, but the darkness was so thick and so all-enveloping that it was impossible for her to see anything.
"Joss?"
"What?"
"Aren't you going to say anything?" She almost whispered the words.
"What do you want me to say?"
"What do I want you to say?" Lilah sat up, suddenly angry. "What do I want you to say!" she sputtered as she repeated it for the second time.
"You want me to say that I love you, too, I take it. If I do, what good will it do me? You've already made it quite clear that you're in the market for a lover while we're on the island. Once we're rescued, I won't be good enough to kiss the hem of your skirt, much less your mouth. You'll take a husband like your precious Kevin, and he'll sleep in your bed and put his hands on your white skin and give you children. But you know what?"
She didn't say anything, shocked at this sudden bitter outpouring.
"You won't ever again in your life feel with any man what you feel with me. Do you know how rare what we have is? Hell, no, of course you don't! You say you love me, Lilah, but I don't think you even know what that means!"
"I do! And I do love you. But-"
"The bloody hell you do! There are no 'buts' when you love someone!"
With that he jackknifed upright and crawled from the hut.
"Joss!" Lilah was right behind him, hurt and frightened by his sudden fierce anger. He got to his feet outside where it was light enough that she could at least see him. He stood with his back to her, his arms crossed over his chest, his legs braced slightly apart. Lilah looked at that broad muscular back, the set of that black head, and felt her throat tighten.
"I do love you, Joss," she said pitifully, and coming up behind him stroked soft fingers along his shoulder. He stood there, rigid, for just a moment, then as she stroked him again he turned on her with an expression so hard that she was momentarily frightened.
"You don't," he said through his teeth, his hands coming out to catch her by the shoulders. "You just think you do. You think you can play at loving me for a little while, then when we're rescued your life can resume along the nice smooth path you have mapped out for it. Well, that won't work, my dear. We've come too far for that, you and I."
His hands tightened on her shoulders, and he pulled her against him, his eyes glittering down into her face.
"By God, you will love me," he said, then bent his head to take her mouth.