Page 121 of The Darkest Hour

“I didn’t say that, Onyx.”

“I’m just saying. . .I know you think that fucking and surviving wouldn’t be a bad life.” I smirked. “But, there’s more to life than fucking and surviving.”

He looked up at me. “Okay. You return to civilization, see your brother, and then what?”

I widened my eyes.

“What else is there, Onyx? Out there, in that world we left behind, what’s so much better than this island?”

“Everything.” I held my hands out. “The world out there is full of experiences, of life beyond just survival. There are cities, full of people with their own stories, their own lives. There are places we’ve never been, things we’ve never seen. . .together.”

He looked away and whispered, “Together.”

“Imagine us sharing those things together—traveling, learning, growing in ways we never could if we stayed here on this island.”

He shook his head. “All that comes with complications, with rules, expectations. Out there, we’d have to conform to their ways, their norms. Here, it’s just us. We make our own rules. We’re safe from bounties.”

“I know, but that freedom, it comes at a cost. We’re isolated here, Havoc. Cut off from everything. Sure, it’s beautiful, and there’s a simplicity to it that’s hard to find in the world, but it’s also… lonely.”

“We will have each other.”

“It’s just you and me, and while I know I will love being with you, I can’t help but think about everything we’re missing too. And this is my life. I don’t want to miss too many things.”

He closed the distance between us.

I tensed and looked up at him.

“Fine.” Havoc’s expression softened as he reached out and brushed a stray loc from my face. “I just need you to understand one thing.”

“And what is that?”

“Whether we leave this island or go back to the godforsaken civilization of other humans. . .you are mine.”

I smirked. “You made that fact known last night.”

“Damn right I did.” He yanked me forward, and our bodies melded together like two puzzle pieces finally finding their match as his lips devoured mine, igniting a fire within me.

When he pulled away, I whimpered.

He sneered at me. “You’re going to get us killed.”

“Does that mean we are going north?”

Sighing, he let go of me. “I hope you enjoy rain.”

“Maybe, we can get to the man before the rain.”

“Let’s hope.” He pointed to the berries. “Eat. You’ll need your strength.”

“Yes. Yes. I will eat.”

Adam's Rib

Havoc

We remained naked in this untamed island forest, like Adam and Eve.

The comparison wasn’t lost on me.

---