Chapter 51
CHAPTER 51
Rosalina
H ands full of clean tunics, I follow Dayton through the jungle until I hear the soft bubbling of water. He pushes back a leaf as tall as me, revealing a silvery stream cutting through the foliage.
“Wow,” I gasp. “It’s beautiful.”
Dayton stares at me for a moment, then walks downstream. “I’ll go behind this bend to give you some privacy.”
“Right,” I say, trying to ignore the disappointment that swirls inside of me as I watch him disappear around the corner.
Leaving the dry clothes on the bank, I strip down to my bra and panties, not willing to go completely naked in the jungle in case Justus wanders over. The stream is cold yet refreshing. Dirt and sand float off me as I wade deeper. Gross.
I take a plunge and work furiously at the mats in my hair, desperately wishing for some conditioner. Then I scrub my skin, before returning to the stream’s edge and grabbing my clothes to give them a wash in the deep water as well.
As I work, the sounds of the jungle come alive: a chorus of birds bidding farewell to the day, the chirping of crickets, the rustle of leaves, the murmur of the stream, all blending in a harmonious lullaby. I close my eyes, surrendering to the serenade of the jungle.
Something slimy prickles on my arm. Opening my eyes, I see a giant black bug attached to my forearm. A bloodcurdling scream erupts from me.
Water splashes and suddenly Dayton is in front of me, the trident gleaming in his hands. It’s like he moves faster in the water than out of it. He grabs my shoulders and whips his head back and forth, searching for injury. “What is it, Rosie?”
“My arm,” I squeak.
He looks down, notices the bug, then bursts out laughing. The trident disappears into light and flows back into his necklace. He’s been wearing it on a separate string since he first faced Justus. “That’s a nightfire caterpillar, Blossom.”
“A what?”
He tilts his gaze to the sky. I notice he hasn’t completely stripped either, wearing only tight black shorts. “Should be about time,” he murmurs.
“Yeah, about time to take this off me!”
“During the day, they look like this, but when night approaches …” His movements are slow, careful, as he gently taps the black bug three times. “They change.”
The caterpillar shudders, sending a strange tingling sensation up and down my arm. There’s a small crack and then two translucent wings appear from it, a soft orange glow emanating from its shell. The wings flutter once, twice, then it lifts into the air.
“Wow,” I gasp.
“Just wait,” Dayton says, grabbing my arm and spinning me toward the trees. “It just takes one.”
Suddenly, the whole emerald forest is filled with fluttering orange lights, like dancing flames rising into the sky. The Summer Realm’s version of fireflies.
“It’s so pretty,” I whisper, running a hand over the water that ripples with their reflections, like a hundred sparkling suns.
“Quite the scream, for such a little thing,” Dayton says, squeezing my arm.
“I’m usually not scared of bugs,” I say, trying to regain some dignity. “It just startled me.”
“Sure, Blossom.” Dayton smirks.
“Hey, I didn’t grow up in a place where there are bugs as big as my hand.”
Dayton laughs and snatches my wrist. “Nah, it was bigger. Your hand is tiny.” He lines his up with mine, and I feel his calloused fingertips against my palm.
“Only compared to yours,” I breathe, not taking my hand away.
He tilts his head. His hair looks longer wet. Burnished golden ends curl over his damp collarbone. “Your shoulders are burned,” he says.
In a swift movement, he disappears beneath the water, and all I see are bubbles popping on the surface. I shift from foot to foot as I wait, feet sliding over the smooth rocks and silty sand.
Dayton emerges a moment later and takes a deep breath, a strange root in his hands.
“What is that?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Lotusweed.” Dayton tears the bulb open, and a gooey pink liquid oozes out, which he coats his palm in.
A cooling sensation spreads over my skin as he rubs a hand along my shoulders and collarbone.
“You’ll have to let this dry above water before rinsing it off,” Dayton explains. “It’ll help soothe the burn.”
His large hands move softly over my skin. He caresses my chest, fingers nearly brushing the tops of my breasts. My body shivers, and a sinful heat clenches in my core.
I can’t banish the memories of how he’s touched me there, grasping my breast with his whole hand, the melody of kisses he left over my body with his lips. I flick my gaze away, desperately trying to think of something else. I know I should step away, but it’s as if I’m addicted to his touch.
He moves to my back, sending shivers down my spine. I can’t help but let out a soft moan as I practically feel the heat evaporating from my body.
Dayton’s breath hitches as he lifts his hands. Disappointment flutters inside me. Why can’t I ever keep my mouth shut?
“Turn,” Dayton says.
I do, every instinct in me obeying him.
He smears a line of pink goo over my nose. “Can’t have your nose this red. Though it is cute.”
My cheeks heat at his compliment, and he quickly paints them with the lotusweed as well. Though, I think we both know my cheeks aren’t burned.
Dayton steps away from me and rubs his hands together beneath the water. “Guess I’ll stay close by, so you don’t get scared again.”
“Good call. You never know, I may spot a particularly frightful monkey.”
“Monkeys are no joke.” His grin widens. “Got in quite the battle with one as a kid. It kept stealing my coconuts.”
I smile as Dayton continues on with another story of chasing a monkey through the city when it stole Farron’s glasses. I know I should look away, but I can’t. Can’t help but notice the hard lines of his muscles as he stretches and washes the sand from his hair. How his stomach ripples, the tempting line of hair that dips below his waistband. How I’m envious of the droplets of water that caress his body.
“Time for this to come off,” he says suddenly. Then Dayton lunges at me, tackling me beneath the water.
We plunge into the cold depths. Here, where no one can see us, his hands are all over me, rubbing away the lotusweed goo. I open my eyes underwater and see him looking at me intently, taking in my barely covered body. His hair flows in golden waves around him.
Dayton smiles when our eyes meet. He leans in close.
Does it make me a horrible person if one of these times I don’t push him away?
But it’s not a kiss. He brushes away the rest of the goo from my face, then drags me to the surface.
“Thank you,” I say.
His gaze is already on the sky. “Think we lingered too long. Looks like I’ll be making my way back as a wolf.”
“I like your wolf,” I say.
Something flashes in Dayton’s gaze, an emotion I can’t quite place. He’s unusually quiet as we step on shore. I take Justus’s clean clothes and go behind some trees to change. The tunic is long enough to be a dress, and I secure it around my waist with a rope belt before gathering the rest of our clothes in a bag.
When I walk out from behind the trees, the wolf is sitting as patiently as a golden retriever.
My nose crinkles as I look at him. His fur has always been covered in seaweed and shells, but it looks worse than ever. Barnacles are crusted along the sides of his face and sickly pale coral is tangled among his golden fur. His curse is intensifying …
A deep pain cuts through me. We won’t be on this island forever. Soon, we’ll return to Hadria, and Dayton will need to complete his mate bond. That’s the only way to break his curse.
I can’t help him with that.
But there are still some things I can do.
“You look like you’ve been rolling in the surf.” I run my fingers through his fur, pulling out the seaweed and shells. He stays quiet as I do, but every so often, he knocks me with his massive snout or nearly trips me with his tail. Finally, I’ve freed all of the debris and tossed it to the jungle floor.
“Rosie,” he says, “do you think it was fate that brought us to this island?”
I’ve finished my job, but I can’t remove my hands from the wolf’s soft fur. I turn to look into his seafoam eyes. “You’re part of this realm, Day. Not just one of the people, but part of the land, as well. Perhaps the tides knew this was where you needed to be.”
He gives a long sigh, then trots back in the direction of Justus’s cabin. “So, it is fate.”
I hike my bag over my shoulder and struggle after him through the thick foliage. “Why do you sound so upset about that?”
Dayton shakes his head, golden fur blowing in the warm night wind. “The thing is, I’ve been trying to convince myself this whole fate thing is a hoax. Because I haven’t liked a single twist fate’s woven for me.”
I stay rooted to the spot as he breaks through a thick line of trees. Dayton’s words slowly make their way through my mind. Fate. Fated mates. Is he talking about Wrenley?