Page 88 of Wild Life

I pulled away, cradling her beautiful face. “How did you get here?”

“The university sent me. I worked out a deal with my boss. I will be permanently stationed here and head the bat treatment project. He will deliver medication and supplies by boat, and I will administer them.”

“Does that mean more scientists will be coming?”

She giggled, and my ears devoured the heavenly sound. “I heard how much you love them. On the contrary, they’ll go back in a month or two after we get a good handle on the roost locations, and I’ll manage here on my own. Every once and again, a few may come to help with treatment or set up new technology, but they’ll be mostly invisible.”

Her eyes twinkled as brightly as her smile, but I could see a light murkiness behind her shine.

“How are you?” I whispered. I had wished for her wellness and safety every night.

She shrugged as if she didn’t want to relive the details. “It was a rough few months away, but I made it out alive.”

I knew exactly how she felt. Both of us had experienced similar starts to life, and though we had been forced down different paths, our trauma had left us both orphaned enough to bring us together—to complete each other.

“And how long will you stay here?” Now that I had her back, I couldn’t imagine losing her again.

She bit her bottom lip, as if expecting rejection. “As long as you’ll have me, babe. I’m yours.”

I grinned, my heart ready to burst. “Forever, then.”

I lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around me. My lips found hers, and we kissed each other hungrily, picking up as if no time had ever been lost between us.

Fabric rubbed against my abdomen. “Three months away, and you started wearing panties again?”

“I couldn’t flash the captain of the boat my vagina when I was getting on and off. Plus, I brought more with me.”

I drew my neck back in disbelief. “You brought underwear?”

“Oh, yeah,” she answered excitedly. “And clothes, pots and pans, dishware, toys for Poaka, and more books for you!”

I searched around, not seeing any bags. “Where are they?”

“They’re still on the boat with the crew.” She waved back at the ship, still in my arms, and was greeted by a series of whistles from the men aboard.

I immediately pulled her dress down to cover her panties. “They’ve been watching us the whole time?”

She nodded, a wide smirk on her lips.

I let out a possessive growl and carried her far away from the audience. She was my woman and for my eyes only.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked, bouncing in my arms while I ran through the jungle at top speed. I was a man on a mission.

“To the hut.”

“But my bags!”

“Fuck the bags. They can wait.”

“Why?”

“Because I have plans to ruin this underwear first…in private.”

She giggled as I carried her into the hut and threw her onto the bed. The hem of her skirt slid high on her thighs, and her breasts heaved as I lifted the fabric, exposing red lace.

I hummed thoughtfully, tracing my finger along the edges.

“Like them?” she asked shyly.

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