Chapter 2
ZIVREN
Akkal is playing with his toys when I spot something strange through the large window that looks onto the sea––a hand poking out of the water. It’s a five-fingered, pale white hand that holds a striking resemblance to the hand I felt pressed against my stomach earlier at the brew shop.
I can still feel the heat of her small palm through my shirt.
The way her gaze lingered on my body before she knelt to clean up the mess she made with my drink.
Even at the memory of it, my cock stirs in my pants.
It deflates when I catch sight of her head breeching the surface, and the panicked flail of her arms as a dark red wave crashes over her yellow hair.
“Akkal, stay inside!” I shout as I race out the side door. The rough sand I kick up sprays against my forearms like tiny jagged pebbles as I charge toward the water. It isn’t until I’m diving in that I realize my clothes are still on. This’ll be another wardrobe change for the day, I suppose.
It doesn’t take me long to reach her, but when I do, she’s unconscious with her mouth open.
This poor human has had quite a day. I wrap one of my arms around her middle and pull her toward the sand.
When it’s shallow enough, I lift her into my arms. She’s devastatingly light.
I’m not at all surprised the sea pulled her in.
Even a slight wave could easily topple her frame.
I gently lay her down on the sand, brushing the wet strands of hair off her face before I begin resuscitation efforts. She’s so delicate, I need to be careful not to break any of her ribs as I continue my compressions.
“Come now, human,” I say through gritted teeth as I watch her, hoping for any sign that she’ll live. Even her mind is quiet. “Come back.”
What was wrong with me this morning? Why didn’t I introduce myself?
I couldn’t have been polite and said, “Yes, see you around the island,” as we left the brew shop?
This is what happens when I meet new people, though, particularly lovely ones at that.
The shop was so loud with the many islanders and their bizarre thoughts.
I wish they knew how clearly they broadcast their most intimate secrets.
This is why I spend as little time as possible in public––I get overstimulated quickly.
Now this stunning human might be dying beneath my hands, and I never bothered to learn her name.
I pause my compressions to breathe into her mouth as a cough rattles out of her.
Hope fills my chest as I lean down to listen to her lungs.
Her heart beats rapidly, and I detect a soft wheeze in her chest. As I lift my head to resume offering her oxygen, hers pops up and she vomits red sea water all over my face.
“Ficq!” I holler as I scramble to yank my shirt off and use it to wipe my face.
She continues coughing and retching little bursts of sea water onto the sand every few minutes. Eventually, her eyes land on me and she mutters, “Hot neighbor?”
I don’t understand the term “hot” in this context but given the way she was looking at me at the brew shop, and her lewd thoughts picturing me without clothes, I assume it’s a compliment.
Not that any of it is relevant, considering she almost died.
The gravity of that realization leaves my hands shaking with fury.
Why was she being so careless? “What were you doing out there?” I seethe.
“If I had not made it to you in time…” The thought is startling in the way it grips my insides.
Why should it matter if she drowned? I don’t know this female.
A death of any resident on the island is sad, of course, but why does the idea of her death leave me feeling rattled?
I’m not sure why my body is reacting this way.
To shake it off, I suck in a deep breath through my nose, exhaling slowly.
I decide on a different tactic. “Zivren,” I say, tapping my chest before tossing my vomit-covered shirt aside. “Are you well?”
She nods, looking around with confusion etched into her features. Tears start to bead on her long, dark lashes, but she blinks them away.
“Do you recall what happened?”
“I was…I was walking,” her breaths come out in short pants, “along the beach.” She swallows hard, and her bottom lip trembles. “I just wanted to test the water.” She casts a wary glance at the sea. “I wasn’t even in that deep.”
“The sea is unpredictable. It’s not safe for swimming, and for someone as tiny as you, I wouldn’t recommend going in at all.”
A laugh bursts from her lips as if she wasn’t expecting it. “Tiny? Yeah, that’s one thing I’m not.”
She’s in a vulnerable state and peeking into her mind doesn’t seem appropriate, but I can still sense a sharp pain that’s close to the surface of her psyche, and also embedded deep within.
I offer her my hand and when she takes it, I pull us both to our feet. Then I flatten my palm and run it just above her head. “See? You don’t even reach my shoulder.” I take her wrist and lift it between us. “Look at these fingers. Miniature.”
Her smile grows so wide I can see all her blunt teeth. “I mean, compared to your gargantuan digits, anything would look small.”
Our laughter fades as we stand there, the light mid-day breeze lifting the purple ends of her drying hair.
I haven’t seen hair like hers before. It’s yellow almost all the way down, then it fades into a pale purple.
It lands just past her shoulders in lustrous waves, but there are also short straight pieces that cover her forehead.
She is odd-looking compared to the other females on the island, but I must admit I find her captivating.
I have since the day she moved in down the shore from me and Akkal.
The way her belly and thighs jiggle when she walks is a sight that could make anyone weak in the knees.
She is softness and abundance in one delectable package.
“What is your name?”
“Juniper,” she replies, her green eyes sparkling, “but you can call me June.”
“June,” I repeat, enjoying the way it feels on my lips.
“Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry you had to do that.”
I nod, ashamed and confused by the way it had me close to losing my temper with her. “No trouble at all.”
Suddenly, a realization hits.
“You are Juniper Tossan?” I ask, silently begging her to say no.
“Townsend,” she corrects. “Yes, why?”
Any heated thoughts I’ve had of her must die here and now. “I believe I am to interview you later today for a job.”
Her mouth falls open. “You…have a five-year-old son, and you’re looking for a nanny during your night shifts?”
I nod, and I see her come to the same conclusion I do at the exact same moment––that whatever heat there may have been between us must cool immediately, even if it’s one-sided.
Even if I misread her signals and she was merely being friendly with me at the brew shop.
If she does have experience with children, I’ll need to hire her.
She’s the first promising candidate the job placement program on the island has sent me in several moon cycles.
Currently, Akkal spends his nights at Greshenia’s house while I’m at work, but I know he doesn’t enjoy it.
I’m fairly certain she doesn’t either. She’s the property manager for all refugee housing on the beach, and to most people, she’s surly and unpleasant.
She tolerates me and is kind to Akkal, but I know she’d rather spend her nights at the game hall playing sattuvyee with her friends while smoking an entire pack of muskranoms.
“I, uh, I suppose I shall see you soon, then. My house is at the end of the shoreline. Next to the tree that looks like a lakeshrah’s beak.”
“Right,” she replies, her nose scrunched in confusion.
I point at the tall tree down the beach that looms over my bungalow with its misshapen trunk and bushy dark blue leaves. “That one there.”
“Right!” This time when she says it, I see her signature exuberance. The bright light that seems to be beaming from her eyes whenever she speaks to someone. Then, a pause. “You’re sure you still want to interview me? I haven’t exactly made a great impression today.”
While her clumsiness certainly ruffled me, it’s not enough to deter me from hiring her.
I want Akkal to be around someone who’s attentive and kind.
Those seem to be Juniper’s most dominant qualities.
As long as she truly has experience with children and vows not to take Akkal swimming in the sea, I don’t see why I wouldn’t.
“The day is not over,” I tell her with a half-smile that I hope she sees as a sign of encouragement. “See you later.”
As I walk home, I envision what it would look like to have her as Akkal’s nanny. Coming home to her after a long shift at the fire house. Her rich laughter filling the air, the sweetness of her scent thick in every room. My cock hardens, and I worry I’ve made a big mistake.