Chapter Thirteen
Cori
Oh my God! He’s…his face…
Is he…? Smelling me?
I try to pull away, but his hands clamp down harder on the backs of my thighs, and a growl comes from him. “Just give me a second, sweetheart. Just give me a second and don’t move.”
“O…okay.”
He takes a deep breath, and I instinctively try to back away, only to fall back in place.
He mumbles something, but I don’t catch what it is because the way his words vibrate through me has me turning embarrassingly wet close to where his face is nestled.
The thought of just the thin nightgown being the only thing between him and the part of me no one has ever seen before has a shiver run through me.
“Mac?” He groans. “Are…um, is everything alright? Are you okay?”
When he looks at me, his eyes look…hungry.
“You smell fucking good!”
Holy cow!
He runs his nose along the bottom of my tummy before moving his hands up to my hips. My nightdress bunches up, and I try to sidestep to make the material fall in place. The length of my gown isn’t very long, and if it bunches up any further…
When I look down, I realize his eyes aren’t on my face anymore. He’s looking at the place that will be revealed if he keeps moving his hand.
“I bet you taste amazing.”
“Oh my God!” The shock that pours through me has my mouth falling open as I stand stunned. Is he talking about what I think he’s talking about?
Our eyes meet, and the look he gives me is very similar to the one he gave me when he discovered I could see and hear…things.
“Interesting.”
“What? What’s interesting?” I wish I could control my breathing a little better, and I didn’t sound like a wheezy bird squeaking and squawking every time I opened my mouth.
His eyes fall to where my thighs are wet and tense, throbbing with some veiled urgency I don’t understand and have never felt before.
One of his hands leaves my hips so he can trail his fingertips up the back of my knee and feather them around the sides.
Everywhere he touches creates a fire, and has my body growing tighter and tighter.
He finally cups my thigh and runs his hand further up until it is just barely beneath the edge of my gown.
“We…I…Roxie. Won’t Roxie be back soon?”
“Hmm.” It’s not really an answer, and he doesn’t pull back or put space between us. His eyes capture mine and burn into me until there’s no place to hide. My whole body is shaking and on fire at the same time. If his thumb goes any higher, he’s going to…
“Such a sweet girl. So, kind and…trusting.”
His words hold me enthralled, so it takes me more than a few seconds to realize he’s taken his hand away and brought his thumb to his mouth. A gasp falls from my lips as I watch him close his eyes and moan around it.
“Guys, we’re back.” My head whips around to stare at the door. I know they are most likely coming through. I really wish I had a moment to…gather myself before Roxie sees me.
“Just a minute.” It comes out as a gruff command that makes me jump and take a step back. This time, he lets me go.
He stands up, and I take another step back before he reaches for me to pull me to him. His hand comes up to brush against my cheek.
“You stay close to me from now on.”
I don’t ask why. I’m too afraid of the answer. He waits for me to give him a nod before stepping in front of me and telling Roxie to come in.
I have more questions than I had before I came to this island, and I don’t know exactly where Mac and I stand.
Did I make a mistake trusting him, telling him who and what I am?
He promised not to use me, but was he telling me the truth?
And why does he want me to stay close to him?
Why did he…do what he did? The uncertainty has me all upside down and off balance.
Roxie can tell because she stays close to me, and her eyes are full of questions I don’t have the answers to. Mac makes her go outside so we can change clothes, but as soon as we’re done and call for her, she’s right back by my side.
“You alright, sweetie?”
I nod and glance over at Mac, standing next to Tray, going over the footage of the night before. His eyes are on me, and he’s…listening to what we are saying.
“You seem awfully quiet.”
“I’m okay. I mean, as okay as I can be knowing every time I fall asleep I might walk into the ocean and…”
“We’re not going to let that happen, sweetheart.” Mac interrupts me and comes to stand beside the bench that Roxie and I found and are sitting on.
I give him a nod, but I don’t know how much I believe anything can help or stop it. Not until I'm off the island and away from all the…things that seem to be happening to me. When I look up, I see the drowned woman standing behind Tray.
“Cori, baby…” I can tell when I look up at Mac again, he realizes I’ve seen something - probably because all the blood has drained out of my face.
Before I can say anything, the bench we are sitting on starts to tip backwards, and Roxie and I are falling.
“Oh shit!” Roxie’s voice has a slight sound of panic that mirrors the feeling in my heart as we fall all the way back.
“Oh my God!” I land on my back with my legs up in the air.
“What the hell?” I’m being pulled up and out of the hole we’ve seemingly fallen back in.
Roxie is being lifted out by Tray. When I look back, it's to find that the floor of the boathouse has given way and we’ve fallen into a…pit.
“What is it?” I look at Mac, who shakes his head.
“I don’t know.”
What the hell did we just fall into?