Page 21 of Wild Life

“Where’s the beach?” I stared, puzzled, at the dense trees around us. We had been walking for some time, and instead of the foliage thinning as it did near the shore, it grew thicker. We were in the heart of the jungle.

“I think you went the wrong way,” I called out. He stood in front of a luscious green tree drooping with red and orange jewel-colored fruit.

He dropped his basket, and with a brisk shake of the tree with the rod, the gem-colored fruit rained down on us, landing on the ground with blunt thuds. I covered my head, unwilling to withstand another unconscious incident while I was still recovering from the first.

“Mangoes!”

There must’ve been almost twenty of them lying around my feet like green, red, and orange globes.

Cryptid stooped low, tossing the ripest fruit into the basket. He moved to the adjacent tree and repeated his process of shaking so hard that the branches threatened to break off.

The avalanche sent bubbles of excitement bursting inside me, like a kid witnessing birthday balloons raining around them. I giggled with glee until the last one hit the ground.

This time, I beat him to the chase and picked up a mango before he had a chance to collect it. The pig let out a coarse snort and went to town, gorging on the feast around us.

The seemingly permanent wrinkle etched between Cryptid’s brows softened at our enjoyment. His usually intense eyes lightened briefly with an emotion I couldn’t place.

I squeezed the fruit in my hand, testing the slight give. Eagerly, I dug my nail into the skin and juice spilled out over my fingertips as I pierced into flesh. Saliva was already pooling in my mouth.

Unexpectedly, he reached out, taking it from my hand.

“Hey! That’s mine, you big bully.” His grouchy self was like a wet blanket on my emotions. God forbid I ever found any joy around here. He would make sure I was as miserable as him. It was a wonder he ever let the pig squeal in excitement.

Mr. Miserable let out a rough grunt before biting into the skin. Threads loosened steadily as he ripped it away from the orange flesh with his teeth. Strip by strip, he skillfully peeled the mango by mouth as we huddled over the ground. My gaze was glued to the confident way his mouth treated the fruit, and a warm heat rushed through my core. He could make any task erotic.

He passed the exposed, juicy globe back to me.

I cleared my throat, swallowing down excess drool in addition to gratuitous guilt. “Umm, thanks.”

I sank my teeth into the treat. “Mmm,” I groaned. It was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted. So sweet and hydrating…and untidy. Nectar dripped down my chin in tiny rivulets. I laughed at the complete mess I was making as I slurped the entire thing down in record speed. Not ignorant to his attention dragging along my liquid-stained skin to the bottom of my V-neckline, I tried to wipe away the juice—and also his gaze.

He peeled another with his teeth and offered it to me.

“Don’t you want any?”

He nudged it in the air until I finally accepted. I took another bite, closing my eyes this time to savor the luscious taste.

“It’s so good. You have to have at least one bite.” I pushed it toward him. Instead of taking it into his own hands, he grasped my wrist and lowered his head, wholly focused on me, and sank his teeth into the flesh. Juice dribbled down his lips and onto his beard, and I followed a cloudy drop as it escaped onto his bare chest. His skin was always glistening with sweat—not in a pretentiousgym-brokind of way, but in a sexy-lumberjack kind of way. The result of hard manual labor. The sheen highlighted the definition in his muscles, making them appear as juicy as the mango in his mouth. Maybe even more.

My tongue was suddenly too heavy, and the temperature must’ve risen about ten degrees because my neck was burning up.

There we sat, in the middle of the jungle, hungrily staring at each other’s lips. Was he hoping for more than just sharing produce, like I was?

My belly tightened, as he held my wrist. His breath was warm on my face. Fragrant like fruit. I parted my mouth, hoping to catch a taste.

There was no one around to interrupt this moment. No one.

No one.

Realization slammed into me like a freight train, and the lustful murkiness in my head vanished.

No one was here to save me. I was stuck on this island with a strange man who couldn’t answer any of my questions in a way that I could comprehend.Shit.I didn’t even know his damn name.

What was I doing? I didn’t have time for this. I needed to save myself, unless I wanted my worst nightmare to come true—to live what few days I possibly had left in isolation.

My paralyzing fear of loneliness clawed up my spine and wound around my neck, strangling me.

Clearing my throat abruptly, I shot to my feet, effectively breaking our connection. Forever the expert at pushing people away when things became too real…too intense. “Um…thanks. These were yummy.” I dropped the seed on the ground and backed away. The flies must have been watching us because they swarmed around me, sticking to the mess on my neck.

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