JUNGKOOK POV
Jungkook leaned against the rail and felt the ocean breeze across his skin. The horizon stretched out before him. He shouldn't have had a care in the world.
Tae walked up behind him and pressed a kiss to his shoulder.
"Okay, out with it," Taehyung demanded.
"With what?" Jungkook asked.
"With whatever it is that has you looking like the world is ending."
The world wasn't ending, but this was.
"My father called, just before we sailed."
"What is it this time?"
Tae was well used to the king's many demands on his sons.
"Courtship. He's announcing the contest next week."
Behind him, Taehyung was silent.
"We knew this was coming," he said eventually.
"I had hoped we'd get another year, but he won't budge. He says it needs to be now."
Jungkook had called his Uncle right after, hoping he might intercede on Jungkook's behalf, but his uncle said the king's mind was made up.
He turned, leaning his back against the rail of their boat and meeting Taehyung's eyes.
"Then I guess this will be our last time together," Tae said softly.
It shouldn't have been that way.
On paper, Kim Taehyung was everything Jungkook's family could have looked for.
He came from a good family, was intelligent, and a decorated naval officer. Not to mention charming, personable, and handsome.
The only problem was that Tae was an alpha.
If there was one forbidden passion left in their society, it was love between two alphas.
And if it wasn't accepted by the public, it certainly wouldn't be accepted by the crown.
They had one week.
A week to themselves, a week on the open water.
A week to say their goodbyes.
"Let's make the most of the time we have," Tae said, sliding his arms around Jungkook.
"No one watching us, no need to be looking over our shoulders."
"Just you, me, and the big, wide world."
Leaning in, Jungkook stole a kiss, swallowing tae's pleased murmur.
He was determined to make this week one they'd remember.
He'd need it, to carry him through the years to come.
Unless he found a way around it.
* * *
Five glorious days on the sea and then everything ground to a halt.
"Engine's bust,"tae said, climbing back up to sit next to him.
"Is that the technical term?" he teased, already missing the rhythmic vibration of the engines.
"We'll have to call for help." Tae checked his phone. "No signal, we're too far out. It'll have to be the radio, or we can break out the satellite phone."
"Radio is better.If the palace gets wind of this,they'll do something ridiculous like send a helicopter."
He was second in line to the throne. His name tended to provoke an overreaction. They still had two more days together.
He didn't want their week cut short. "The nearest port is, what, Bridgewater?"
"Yep. Four hours away."
"We don't need to radio in too soon, do we? We've got food and water to last us. I say we throw down our anchor and chill for a while."
Tae grinned. "I like the way you think.With one small addendum."
"Oh?" he asked, sliding a hand along Tae's shoulder to cup the back of his neck. "What's that?"
Tae leaned left, pointing out to sea. "We go for a swim to there."
There was the small island they had been sailing past.
"Inhabited?" he wondered.
"Doubt it. Too small. There'd just be us and nature." Tae wrapped his arm around Jungkook's waist.
"What say we go spend the day out there? We can radio in our predicament tonight."
"They'll have help out to us first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll be home as scheduled the day after tomorrow."
"I like the way you think," Jungkook told him.
Another day without his responsibilities weighing on him was just what he needed.
It didn't take them long to drop their anchor and get ready.
It wasn't far to swim, and they could see a stretch of beach to aim for.
Taehyung took off first, Jungkook following him. They each carried a small waterproof bag with food, fresh water, and a T-shirt.
Jungkook brought a handheld radio, just in case their boat was discovered by someone passing.
He didn't want any alarms raised if the boat was found empty.
The sea was calm, the swim challenging but thoroughly enjoyable.
Soon enough, he found himself wading up the beach and onto the sand where tae was standing shaking his head like a dog.
The other alpha turned and grinned at him, stretching his arms out, and gesturing to their surroundings.
"Pretty cool, huh? Our own private island for the day."
"You say that now. What do you bet that a gaggle of tourists walks around that cliff any minute now?" Jungkook said.
Tae snorted and grabbed him, tugging him in for a long, drawn-out kiss. "Then they'd get an eyeful, wouldn't they?"
They looked up and down the small beach they'd landed on.
It wasn't even nine in the morning but already the sun was beaming down on top of them.
"How about we hike inland?"
Jungkook suggested. "See if we can't find some fresh water? If it's going to be as sunny as that clear sky suggests, we'll need it."
They had more water on the boat but the last thing they wanted was to have to swim back and forth every time they got thirsty.
"There," Tae said, pointing.
"That cliff looks easily scalable."
"I see it.Race you to the bottom."
He took off, Tae swearing before giving chase. He overtook him, but Jungkook sped up, passing him again.
He slowed down as they drew near, and they reached the base of the cliff together, both breathing hard.
"You go first," he told Tae.
"You gonna catch me if I fall?" Tae asked with a wink.
"I'll make sure you have a soft landing," jungkook teased back.
"Soft?" Tae scoffed.
"You're all muscle. It'd be like landing on a wooden board. Hell, I'd probably bounce off."
Nevertheless, the alpha climbed up ahead of him.
Jungkook followed, matching him foothold for foothold.
"Wow, look at that view," Tae called down from above.
"Isn't it just fantastic?"
Jungkook, who had the most perfect view of Taehyung's ass, whistled lowly. "Pretty good from where I'm standing."
Taehyung laughed as he reached for the next handhold.
Another minute and he was pulling himself over the cliff edge and disappearing from view.
Jungkook followed, reaching out and grasping Tae's hand when the alpha leaned toward him.
And then he was crouched at the top of the cliff, taking in the panoramic view of the island they'd landed on and the open ocean beyond it.
"Worth the climb?" Tae asked.
"Oh, yeah." Jungkook said.
They sat there for a while, catching their breath before turning their attention inland.
Here, the land was rocky and hilly, grass growing plentiful in irregular patches.
Jungkook spied something move, disappearing behind a rock, and put his hand on Tae's arm.
"There, ten o'clock. You see that?" Jungkook said.
Taehyung went still, looking where Jungkook had indicated.
"There's nothing—wait, there."
Jungkook let out a laugh when he realized what it was. "Goat, huh? Figures. These islands are famous for them."
Milk, cheese, and wool from the goats of northern islands were highly prized.
There was something about the species of goat and the environment they thrived in that made for a very fine soft wool that was renowned throughout the world.
"I hope an angry goatherd with a shotgun won't be scaring us off," Taehyung said, only half-joking.
"It's probably a wild herd. Some of these islands have a protected status. They're allowed to come in twice a year and shear the goats, that's all."
"Poor guys. They must be cold come winter."
They got to their feet, looking for any sign of a spring or a stream.
"There," Tae said, pointing east.
"I see a glint just past those rocks."
Jungkook wished he'd brought the binoculars with him. "I see it too. Can't tell what it is yet. Let's go look."
When they got closer, the glint turned out to be a mineral in the rock and not the water they were looking for.
When they did find water, it was almost by accident, Tae slipping down through overgrown grass into a hole.
"Shit, Tae bear. Are you okay?" Jungkook asked, helping him out.
"Fine," Tae replied, rotating his ankle carefully. "No harm done. But my foot's wet; I think we may have found our stream."
It took them a few minutes to work their way from the hole back up the hill to where the water was springing from.
They both drank their fill and refreshed their water bottles.
That done, and knowing they now had no reason to head back to the boat until evening.
They decided to trek to the other side of the small island, suspecting there might be more beaches, or caves to explore.
Around midday, having walked the circumference of the island and having had more than one goat encounter, they found a nice spot with a view of the sea.
Only Jungkook didn't feel much like sleeping. He rolled on top of Tae and straddled the other man.
Taehyung smiled up at him, grabbing the collar of his T-shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.
There was nothing tender about it, all bruising passion and need.
Their tongues met, tasting and pushing against one another, drawing groans of pleasure and want.
Jungkook pulled back, breathing hard, and stared down at Tae.
He marveled at how beautiful the alpha was, feeling an ache in his heart at the idea of having to let him go.
"I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to pretend what we had never happened."
"Then don't," Tae said.
"We'll find a way."
He knew it was impossible.
Being together meant walking away from everyone and every thing he'd ever known and asking Tae to do the same.
Neither of them were willing to do that to their families.
He leaned down, drawing Tae into another kiss, loving how the other man squirmed beneath him bucking into the heat of their bodies.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he eased slowly upward, not wanting to alarm Tae.
The sea was to their right, the rest of the island to their left.
He glanced left and found they had an audience.
A group of goats munched on the plentiful grass and with them stood a dog.
Holding onto the dog's collar was a young man, his eyes wide with surprise.
Uh-oh. They were rumbled.
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