Castaways {Jariana}

The Recovery

Jai was completely exhausted after carrying Ariana back to the cave. Despite this, he gently placed Ariana on the soft matting of moss they used as a mattress. Quickly, he assessed her condition. She had fallen asleep or passed out on the way. Her clothes were soaked through and her skin was icy to the touch even though her face was flushed and she obviously had a fever.

Jai knew he had to get those wet clothes off or she'd become even sicker. Taking a deep breath, he decided to talk the two of them through this even if she couldn't hear him.

"Okay, Ariana... we need to get these wet things off you", he told her as he lifted her arms and pulled up her crop top. He sucked in a sharp breath when he realized that she wasn't wearing a bra.

Oh, God. She didn't normally do that, did she?, Jai thought to himself. No, of course not. I would have noticed. She must have washed her bra when she took her shower. He shook his head to clear the dirty thoughts from his mind. This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be ogling her. I'm doing this to help her.

He quickly grabbed his hoodie and covered her upper body with it.

Good, now I can think more clearly, he thought right before swallowing hard and jerking back so fast that he nearly fell over. He had just started to pull off her black Lycra mini-skirt... Good Lord, she must have washed her panties too, Jai's mind thought as his voice squeaked out loud.

Working up his nerve, he reached with shaking hands and closed eyes and slowly pulled the skirt down. Ariana let out a low moan and Jai thought he was going to die (in more ways than one), but she just rolled onto her side went back to sleep. Ignoring, as best he could, the seductive curve of her hip and her bare bottom, Jai adjusted the hoodie to cover her more completely. Then, he carried her wet and muddy clothes outside where he lay them across a rock to dry in the sun.

When he crawled back into the cave, Jai is shocked to see that Ariana has started shivering again and she has pushed off the hoodie. Remembering something he read about treating hypothermia, Jai laid down behind her and pulled her body flush up next to his to try and warm her with his body heat. After a few minutes, he realized that it wasn't working because his clothes were still damp and they seemed to be making her even colder.

Three minutes later, he laid down behind her again; only this time he was naked too. He spooned himself up behind her and wrapped his right arm around her ribs, being careful not to touch any private areas. He gently placed his chin on her bare shoulder and unconsciously inhaled the intoxicating scent of her damp hair. Even wet, Ariana's hair still smelled wonderful. She immediately stopped shivering and appeared to relax. Relaxing against her, Jai closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing. He didn't even realize when he fell asleep or when he started dreaming.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"It's okay, Ariana... I've got you."

They were floating in the cold, choppy water and Jai held on with all his might to Ariana's lifejacket. She raised her head up above the water and spit out some water before trying to talk.

"You okay?", she shouted over the violence of the rough seas.

"I'm fine. Just hold on and we'll be fine."

Jai was just about to say something more when a bolt of lightening lit up the dark waters and he saw their salvation floating a few feet away.

"The life raft! Ariana! Come on!"

They kicked with all their might to reach the side of the rubber, inflatable raft.

"I'm going to push you up into the boat", he told her, unnecessarily, as he boosted her up and over the edge of the boat.