Chapter 27 #2
We stared at the bay through the screen of branches and leaves for a long time, small rocks and shells biting into my legs.
I brushed crap off my skin and faced the jungle, leaning my back against the roots.
Across from us was a tree similar to the giant near the bat cave, only this one was baby-size in comparison, and its trunk quickly forked into two.
The more I studied it, the more I became aware that, whereas the giant’s leaves had small, pale green, maple-like leaves, this tree’s leaves were dark green and shiny on top, almost like a laurel oak.
One part of the tree broke off at the base and leaned against its neighbor.
Something was off about this. I dropped a twig I’d been twisting between my fingers and crawled over.
I poked the dead trunk, its bark hard to the touch.
I lay on the ground and carefully peeked through its bottom (hoping nothing would jump out at me from there) and recognized the blue skies on the other side.
It was hollowed out. It had been broken for a while, completely cut off from its nutrient system.
Why were the leaves green? I grabbed one of the slim branches, and my gaze followed its length up the trunk and over the tree it rested against, then it reached the other tree and got lost in its canopy.
Only then I understood. This was a network of vines.
The same vines I have seen throughout the island. The tree was dead, but it looked alive.
“Do you need anything from the hut?” Hunter asked.
We brought food, meds, water and two kitchen knives. I shook my head. “Nothing I can think of.”
“Stay here. I’ll be back.” Hunter moved between the bushes and disappeared toward the hut.
A few minutes later, he returned with towels and a beach blanket. “We should have brought these with us right away.”
“It’s a slumber party, not a hideout,” I said, smiling and taking the towels from Hunter.
The small space was enough for one person to semi-stretch out while the other had to sit at their feet or lie snuggly on the top of them.
I helped Hunter arrange everything, and he dropped onto the makeshift bed, reaching out his arm to me.
“What are you doing?” I asked as he pulled me to straddle him.
“What does it look like?” His hand came around the nape of my neck and pulled me for a deep kiss before his lips trailed to my jaw. “A man in possession of a good fortune must make love to a woman he’s confessed his love to.”
“Your fortune sucks,” I said, laughing.
His fingers gripped my hair, and he pulled my head back, exposing more of my neck to him.
I closed my eyes and whimpered when his hot mouth landed on the sensitive spot, his stubble leaving a path of small fires.
My hips moved involuntarily against his hardness, the greedy need for release quickly building inside me.
Everyone grieves differently, and the same could be said about stress relief.
Some took yoga. Some punched walls. We were going to have sex, and I wouldn’t oppose it.
“Take off your shorts,” Hunter said, then scraped his teeth on my earlobe.
“Who is going to watch the bay?” I asked, my hands already working on the button and the zipper.
“We’ll hear them if you’re quiet.” Hunter fiddled with his own shorts. He exposed himself just enough for me to sink onto him. He groaned with pleasure, and I swallowed a moan as I took him in, inch by inch, until I was full of him.
I looked at him, and for the millionth time, my thoughts stammered, rapt in awe at how handsome he was. Especially when he looked at me like I was the only woman for him. I blinked to restart my brain function, then said, “Are you sure this is a good idea right now?”
“It is always a good idea to have sex with you.” His voice was low, and the edge of his mouth hitched, his palm cupping my ass. “Our space is limited here, and my hand is—”
“We’ll manage.” I captured his mouth with mine and moved slowly, my soft noises of need escaping with gasps.
His groan vibrated in his chest, and I felt it in every part of my body.
It scared me how much I wanted this man and how easily I could lose myself in him.
I tried not to think of the future and only focused on this moment.
On us. And how good he made me feel. How much he wanted me.
How much I wanted him. Our kiss went from hard to soft, then back to hungry.
Hunter tasted of salt and citrus, and his heart pounded against mine when I looped my arms around his neck and began working him faster.
“You feel incredible,” Hunter said breathlessly. He sucked and bit the base of my throat.
His word spiraled through me, making me want to change my mind.
To stay with him. To trust my heart that it was what I needed.
I rocked back and forth with a slow rotating movement, dragging my clit against his pelvis, its coarse hairs creating a perfect sensation, sending waves of pleasure at our contact.
“Let me get behind you,” he whispered.
“No,” I insisted. “I want to be in control.” I squeezed tight around him and a rugged exhale rippled through his throat. Hunter pressed his head back on the tree, closing his eyes.
My thighs grew tired in a few minutes, and I was getting out of breath, but I needed to chase my relief and help Hunter to reach his. I was so close. We were so close.
Hunter sensed my exhaustion, and his left hand snaked between our joined bodies. His fingers massaged my clit, his hips rhythmically driving into me deeper again and again. His mouth found my ear, and he demanded in a seductive whisper, “Come around my cock, sweetheart.”
Maybe it was him calling me by nicknames he hadn’t before, or maybe it was his goddamn command and the way he growled it, but that was enough for me.
My inner muscles tightened, gripping him, and with a muffled cry into his mouth, I unraveled.
And so did Hunter, with low curses mixed with my name.
My body slacked against Hunter’s, and I smiled into his shoulder, totally happy, totally in love, and totally not sure if returning home was the right decision.
Later, Hunter assumed the first watch while I attempted to fall asleep.
It wasn’t easy. Pesky bugs buzzed (and crawled in places of my body they shouldn’t), not letting me relax.
Perhaps it was how I sat: my knees were drawn up to give Hunter more space at my feet, as he watched the beach.
By now, Tom had had enough time to reach Avarua, gather whoever he needed to bring, and return to Teaku at any minute.
So rest was the last thing on my mind, even though I knew I needed it.
Today felt like the longest day of my life.
My overstimulated brain overthought everything that happened: Tom’s visit, Hunter admitting he loved me, uncertainty about what would happen to us when this was over, us hiding in the bushes, the dead trunk looming above, my back against its alive twin.
I slapped a pestering bug on my shoulder.
Strong but hollow alive but dead inside.
The last riddle kept flashing in my mind like the lightning of a passing storm in the distance.
You smelled rain, felt an electric charge in the air, yet you couldn’t feel wet fat drops, but you knew it was coming your way.
The answer to the riddle was within the reach of my fingers. Still, I couldn’t grasp it.
The gold statue was seven feet tall and Captain William Thomson would’ve needed a gigantic space to store it.
On the printout the illustration showed it was slim.
It could have been lowered into an opening in the mountain because the rock was strong and dead, but the trees on the top were alive.
Well, damn it. There was a lot of the mountain here.
It had to be something a bit more obvious.
Something that was here two hundred years ago but already big and strong.
The giant. It was far from the beach, well hidden from view and weather elements.
It could be dead for years and never bothered by storms and strong gusts.
It could be the answer to the riddle if it was also hollow.
“Hunter,” I said. “What if the last riddle means the giant tree near the bat cave?”
“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Hunter said without looking at me.
“No, listen.” I straighten up. “It looks alive, but it’s ancient, and for all we know, it could have been half dead when Captain Thomson found it.
He probably stuffed the statue into its trunk.
It is so huge he could hide two statues inside if he wanted.
” What little energy levels I had flared to life. “I want to check it out.”
Hunter twisted to look at me, his forehead wrinkled. “Now?”
“Yes. It’s still light outside. I’ll check it out and come back.”