Page 29 of Wild Life

I shifted slightly to my left and pulled the edge of the blanket back, fully aware that I was naked. I had often spent my days roaming without a cloth around my hips and had never given it much regard, but when her eyes were on me, I was suddenly concerned with the parts of me that were bare and wondered what she thought of them.

Her focus darted from my length to the empty spot on the bed, as if a war were going on inside.Chaos.I would give anything to climb into her head and listen to her mind.

She slid in next to me, her sea-salt-kissed wavy hair sprawling over her side of my worn-out pillow. “Can you hug me? Please?” Her voice was almost as fragile as her frame.

It had become a habit to reject her every request. Only lately, I found it harder to deprive her, especially when her hurt was so clear. It activated a part of my human side that I hadn’t sensed in a long time. A memory of the Aleki who’d lived before this island.

I drew my arm under her light body and pulled her close. She fit perfectly into the nook of my arm.

I hadn’t hugged anyone or showed affection to another human in years, and here I was, engaged in one for the second time in a day with the same woman. The first time had been because I’d believed she was leaving for good.

This time was different. She had asked, but control was left up to me.

Intimate body parts were touching me through her shirt, igniting new feelings within. Too much was happening, and I was far too self-conscious to unwind.

My discomfort must have been obvious because she took the lead. Her head lifted and rested on my chest, and her warm breath rushed out against my skin as she relaxed into me, her addictive scent below my chin.

The tension between us melted away.

How had I slept by myself all these years?

Maris shifted and suddenly threw her leg over my hip, the innocent gesture of closeness becoming anything but when her thigh rested on my hard length, which was also very excited to have her back.

Her body stiffened slightly.

She didn’t move her leg. Didn’t apologize. Didn’t try to pretend it had never happened.

My dick threatened to explode from the light pressure of her touch.

What should I do?I had no experience with women, and I had no clue if this made her insides vibrate like it did to me.

I wanted so badly to take myself in my hand and chase that much needed release, but it wouldn’t be enough. I craved more than what I could give myself.

Her hand moved from the center of my chest downward, coming dangerously close to my groin.

Would she touch it? What would happen if she did? My dick lurched with excitement and hope.

Her hand stopped, as if unsure what she wanted to do, until it fell to the opposite side of my waist.

I let out a sigh. Whether it was from relief or disappointment, I wasn’t sure. Everything had changed between us.

I lifted my free hand and pulled her in closer. We lay fused together, like unsolved riddles until sleep silenced our minds.

Chapter 16

Flowers for Ghosts

Maris

In some cultures, bats represented transformation. It was believed that after slumbering all day in secrecy, they were reborn at sunset. Their reemergence was a sign of rebirth. Another chance at existence. A chance I hadn’t been awarded on the beach.

Hope had shimmered so vibrantly in my chest that I’d been sure anyone could have seen it from miles away at sea, like a star in a clear night sky. I had stupidly believed that I would be rescued within hours, so much so that I hurried Cryptid away after he’d brought me some fruit to keep on hand for nourishment. However, as the sun had set, so had my confidence.

No one had come. Not one airplane overhead. And a new dread had set in—the possibility that my team hadn’t been as lucky as I had to have survived the storm.

Lucky.I chuckled at the irony of the word. Sure, I was lucky to be alive. But was life worth living when you were invisible to the world, doomed to spend your days living somewhere no one knew existed?

It was like when people survived some sort of disaster, like a house fire. Friends offering their condolences always said shit like, “At least you’re alive,” or, “How lucky you must be!” all while the person who’d experienced the disaster stood there with nothing but the clothes on their back and the very real knowledge that their life might never recover from the plunge into misfortune.

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