Chapter 48
The first rays of dawn seep through the tiny cracks of our front door, stirring me awake.
The birds are singing loudly outside the confines of our stone walls.
A toucan recently took up residence in a tree nearby, and her loud croaks have been calling larger predators to the area.
She recently laid eggs, but as soon as they hatch, she’ll be evicted.
Nate wants to cook her eggs, but I reminded him we don’t eat baby animals. One look at my face, and he never suggested it again.
Eggs do sound amazing, though.
I sit up in bed and look over at Nate, smiling at his peaceful face.
His sun-kissed skin and messy brown hair look even sexier as he sleeps next to me.
His hair is down to his shoulders now, and he wears it tied up on top of his head most days.
He uses the razors that washed ashore to remove his facial hair, but he no longer bothers with his head.
I never thought I would be into long hair on a man, but my husband really pulls it off.
Husband.
We said vows last month, not wanting to wait any longer to promise ourselves to each other.
The reality is we don’t know if we will ever get off this island.
We wanted to have a ceremony and tie our lives together under the stars.
If we ever make it home, we will marry properly, but this is enough for us.
If we make it home. That thought used to terrify me. Now? I don’t care if we do. I love our life here. It’s simple, quiet…and perfect. It fits us. The only thing either of us have ever wanted is each other. We get to have that here.
It’s been eleven months since our plane crashed into the ocean, forcing us to swim to this desolate island. A once distressing place that has since become home. The dangers diminished as we made our mark in the jungle. We live peacefully among the wildlife, carving out our own little ecosystem.
I’m happy here.
We are happy here.
Probably the happiest we’ve ever been.
We forged a life here, finding happiness in our surroundings, peace with our future, and serenity we couldn’t get anywhere else. We discovered each other as partners again, creating a deeper, impenetrable bond.
The adult versions of us still grew together, despite being apart for so many years.
“You’re staring…again,” Nate mumbles against his arm. His eyes are still closed, but his smile stretches across his face.
“Shh. Go back to bed. Let me look at my husband.”
Nate rolls over onto his back, grabbing my waist and taking me with him until I’m straddling his hips.
“NO sir. I need to go check the traps and wash our clothes.” I giggle as he guides my hips so that I am rubbing against his hard cock.
He flips me over, pinning me underneath him. “Not until I’ve had breakfast.”
I squirm as he slides down my body, leaving hot kisses along his path.
He reaches the top of my panties and bites the band, pulling it back before he releases it with a snap.
The sting goes straight to my groin, and I release a low moan.
He kisses down to my covered mound, reaching the spot I need him the most. He presses his tongue against my clit through the silk material of my panties.
I grab the back of his head, adding more pressure while holding him in place.
I don’t even notice when I begin to lift my hips, grinding against his face.
I can feel his smile through my underwear before he sucks my covered bud into his mouth.
“Ah, ah…oh, God.” I pant. He works me expertly as my pleasure gets higher and higher. He hasn’t even touched my bare skin yet, and I feel like I’m burning alive.
He pulls back, lifting his head up and wiping his mouth before rolling over.
What the fuck.
“Nate, please.” I offer in case he wants me to beg. Not a problem, I’ll beg…
“Baby, we have chores to do. The traps need checked…the clothes need washed,” he teases.
“Nate, let me make something perfectly clear. If you do not put your mouth back on my pussy RIGHT NOW, you will not be putting your dick in it tonight.”
He lets out a rough laugh and reaches over to tickle my sides. I burst into giggles, swatting at his hands as I try to escape his assault.
He pulls me on top of him, dragging my wet panties up his chest. I suspend myself, placing a knee on either side of his face, embarrassed by how soaked I became. He guides me forward until my center hovers over his mouth and then pulls my panties to the side.
“Sit,” he demands. He doesn’t wait for me to comply before he brings his free hand around to my ass, pushing me forward until I’m brushing against his mouth.
He lifts up and sucks me hard, still holding my panties to the side.
He uses his other hand to pull my knees apart until I’m forced to put all of my weight on top of his face.
He groans, the vibrations making me move my hips in desperation. He starts fucking me with his tongue, and I no longer worry if I’m suffocating him. I move my hips in earnest now, riding hard against his mouth, throwing my head back as I chase my climax.
He switches between sucking, licking, and fucking, driving me insane with his wicked tongue. I feel my core start to pulse and realize I’m close. I pull back quickly, sliding down Nate’s body as he gives me a confused look.
“I want to come on your cock.” I pant, sliding his boxers down his legs.
“Fuck,” he breathes, slipping his fingers into my body, wetting them, and giving his cock a few quick strokes.
I don’t even bother to remove my underwear. I just pull them aside like Nate did as he ate me. I lift up and guide his cock inside of me, whimpering as he stretches me impossibly wide.
“Ahhh, shit baby. You feel so good. So wet,” he growls, his eyes flashing with possessiveness.
I slowly move up and down, testing the position. Nate puts his thumb to my clit, rubbing it the way he knows will drive me crazy. He lifts his hips and slams into me as I grind down against him. Within minutes we are both reaching our climax, our body movements becoming erratic.
“Harder, baby. Ride me harder.” He groans as I bounce up and down, increasing my pace. “Fuck. Such a good girl.”
We aren’t making love, we are fucking, dirty and hard. I love when Nate loves me gently, but this? Nothing compares to the animal I bring out in him.
Seconds later, we both are coming so hard that fireworks explode behind my eyes. My heart is racing fast enough to hear it in my ears.
“Ahh…such a good girl, baby. Sucking all of my come into that greedy pussy. Fuck, I love you so much.” He pulls me forward and peppers kisses up my neck as he comes deep inside of me. I can feel him fill me up, and it’s my favorite thing in the world.
His too.
I lift off of Nate, his come dripping down my inner thighs. Nate reaches forward and traces the sticky white substance, pushing it back inside of me with a satisfied grunt.
It’s that exact moment I realize I haven’t been on birth control for eleven months.
Holy. Shit.
When was my last period?
Nate grips my ass, sliding me back down his body. My previous thoughts disappear as he latches onto my center.
“Ahh…ahh…sensitive,” I moan as intense pleasure overwhelms me.
“You denied me my breakfast,” he mumbles against me, talking with his mouth full. He licks me up and down, tasting the two of us combined until I’m coming once again.
We spend the rest of the morning in bed together, neglecting our lobster traps in favor of cuddling.
Nate and I split up for the afternoon, so we can complete our chores for the day. That’s the thing about living off the land, you never get a free day off.
I love it, though. Living this way is so rewarding. There is just something about providing for yourself that is so gratifying.
Honestly, I stopped missing home months ago.
This is home now. I look forward to growing old on this island with Nate beside me.
Home consisted of nothing but agony and dread for both of us.
The only good moments we ever had were when we were together, and even then, they were tinged with darkness.
Here, we live in a bubble of happiness. Nothing outside can touch what we’ve built.
Eleven months feels like eleven years when you spend all your moments with the person you love.
I do miss pizza, though.
I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t realize that the blue skies start to fade into an orange glow, indicating that the sun is setting. Nate should be back from the river soon. I bring our wet, washed clothes over to the clothing line made from belts that were in the recovered luggage.
The annoyingly loud squawk from the Toucan makes me jump out of my skin. She is nesting right above my head and is especially noisy this time of day.
“Shut up, or I’ll tell Nate we can eat your eggs,” I mutter, annoyed. I’m normally able to immerse myself in the sounds of nature, but she is testing my patience.
I hear the snap of a twig coming from behind the tree. Probably a howler monkey. They’ve been moving into our area because of an unruly caiman that’s been terrorizing the animals along the riverbed. Nate has plans to capture and kill it for dinner.
We named him Randy.
I pick up my pace, wanting to have our clothes hung and dinner started before Nate returns home. I hang a shirt on the line, and I’m suddenly aware of the stillness around me. No birds chirping, no annoying-ass toucan barking—yes, they bark too.
Goosebumps decorate my arms at the eerie feeling, something I haven’t experienced here for months. My senses are heightened, and my instincts have me turning around slowly.
Jaguar.
Directly in front of me.
I stay calm and try to make myself seem bigger, more threatening.
Eyeing the door to our home, I consider running to it.
But I’m too far, and she’s too fast. I’d have to pass her to get there.
I take deep, calm breaths as her bright amber eyes lock onto mine.
Her stare is so intense, it sends a chill down my spine.
She paces back and forth, her body language indicating she intends to attack.
This isn’t a warning. She isn’t shying away, which is often the case with these creatures. She sees me as a threat.
I hear rustling from beside me and slowly turn my head to assess the situation. Her cub inches out of the brush behind me. A toucan feather hanging from its mouth.
Panic surges through me, and I become paralyzed in fear.
I’m standing between a mother jaguar and her cub.
The odds are not in my favor. I try to edge away from her cub, moving painfully slow so that I don’t provoke her into action.
She keeps her eyes on me, a low, deep growl echoing from her throat.
She lowers the front half of her body to the ground, baring her sharp teeth.
“Ellie.” Nate’s cautious words, a mere whisper. I didn’t even hear him walk back to camp. “Ellie, baby, walk toward me, slowly.” The jaguar looks over at Nate, cautiously backing up as one threat becomes two.
“Nate.” My voice is filled with fear. “She’s going to attack. Her cub is behind me.” Her eyes whip back to me, and she lets out a high-pitched roar.
Nate bends down slowly and reaches for a large branch.
He makes sure her eyes are on me before he tosses it far into the trees behind her.
She jumps forward toward her cub just as Nate pulls me backward into his arms. He doesn’t waste a second before taking my hand and running toward our shelter, passing the jaguar and her baby on the way.
Rather than run off, she turns around right as we pass, swiping her large claws in my direction. Nate pushes me out of the way and into the shelter, shielding my body with his own.
It feels like it happens in slow motion.
The jaguar’s sharp claws burrow into Nate’s skin, tearing down his left shoulder all the way to his rib cage.
The wail she lets out sounds both angry and terrified.
Nate falls to the ground from the impact of her heavy paw, and the jaguar picks up her cub and runs off in the opposite direction of our camp.
I run out of the shelter and help Nate to his feet. Blood trickles out of the large wound in his back, but it looks superficial at first glance. We get back inside our home, closing the door behind us before taking a breath.
“Let me see, let me see,” I chant.
“I’m fine, baby. It’s fine. I’m okay, I can hardly even feel it.”
I run over and grab our first aid kit. It was locked away in the metal box with the flare, so thankfully it wasn’t waterlogged when we got it. I pull out the alcohol swab and antiseptic cream, immediately treating the wound.
It’s deeper than I originally thought, but not deep enough that it needs stitches. The blood flow is already slowing with just a little bit of pressure. I clean it thoroughly, and Nate hisses in pain.
Fuck.
That hurts me.
It’s so much harder to care for someone you love. I ignore my need to cry and put on the cream before dressing the wound.
“Good as new?” he asks.
“Good as new,” I breathe.
“Where’s my sucker, Doc?” he teases, making a face as he stands up.
“Let me get you some Tylenol.”
“No, Pip…I’m okay. We need to save that kind of stuff. I can handle this. It’s just a little scratch.”
“Fine, but if your pain gets any worse, promise me you’ll take it?”
“Promise, baby. Now let’s get dinner going. I think we should probably skip our beachside dinner tonight.”
“Deal.”