28. Adams Rib
Adam's Rib
Havoc
W e remained naked in this untamed island forest, like Adam and Eve.
The comparison wasn’t lost on me.
In fact, when I woke up this morning with Onyx in my arms, that thought took root in my mind.
Since she’d been away, the thought had been growing and growing into something deeper.
Adam and Eve—the first man and woman—created in a world untouched by sin.
Untouched by the complexities of civilization. They were the original pair—the blueprint for what it meant to be human.
To truly be together.
As I picked berries for us, I wondered if they ever pondered the vastness of the world around them?
Did they care that they were the only human beings walking the earth, with no one else to share their existence?
Or did none of that matter as long as they had each other?
I imagined them in that garden—a paradise where nothing was missing— nothing lacking except perhaps the awareness of what lay beyond their borders.
Were they happy?
Did they even understand the concept of happiness?
Or was it simply their natural state, a contentment born of knowing nothing else?
They were together, the only two souls in a world that was massive and empty, yet filled with the beauty of creation.
But, did they ever feel alone?
Regardless, I felt a kinship with that ancient story, with the idea of being the only two in an uncharted world.
This island—even with its unknown dangers and cruel mysteries—was our Eden.
The rest of the world was distant.
Irrelevant.
And now all that mattered was Onyx.
Her warmth.
Her scent.
Her presence.
After an hour of exploration, I discovered wild berries and still Adam and Eve remained in my head.
In the story, Eve was created from Adam’s rib, a part of him transformed into something new, something whole and separate, yet eternally connected.
As I picked berries, I couldn’t help but wonder about the symbolism of it all.
Eve carried a piece of Adam within her.
They were different, yet the same.
Two halves of a whole that only made sense when they were together.
Now as Onyx and I sat by the river, next to all the wild berries I’d picked for her. . .I found myself wishing, in a strange, primal way that. . .I could open our bodies up, strip away our flesh and bone to reveal the truth hidden within us.
I wanted to see our ribs.
To trace the lines of bone and marrow.
To compare the structure.
The design.
Would they be the same, hers and mine?
Would there be some mark that we were made for each other?
Would there be some indication that we were always meant to find one another, even in this wild, untamed place?
It was a madman’s pondering, but it stuck with me, lodged deep in my mind.
Was it crazy that I wanted proof?
Evidence that what I felt in my heart was real, that our connection was more than just chance, more than just two people thrown together by circumstance.
We were destined.
She was the Eve to my Adam.
She was the one who had been carved from my side, who carried a piece of me within her just as I carried a piece of her within me.
But maybe, I realized, I didn’t need that tangible proof.
Maybe the proof was in the way we moved together, the way our bodies fit when I fucked her last night, the way our souls seemed to resonate on the same frequency as we survived on this island.
Perhaps, it was in the way I couldn’t tell where her scent ended and mine began.
Onyx pulled me out of my thoughts. “What’s on your mind?”
“Adam’s rib.”
She laughed.
The morning air was thick with the scent of rain on the horizon, but I pushed that thought aside too.
I wanted to focus on Onyx—just her—in this moment.
“Stop stalling your breakfast.”
“I’m not stalling, Havoc. I’m just. . .eager to explore and figure all of this out.”
“Be patient.” I picked up a plump strawberry. The deep red skin shone brightly in the soft light filtering through the trees.
I brought the wild strawberry to her face and then held it close to her lips. “You are beautiful.”
A gentle blush spread across Onyx’s cheeks.
“Eat, wildcat.”
She hesitated for a second and then she opened her mouth, taking the berry halfway between her lips.
I watched, fully captivated.
When she bit down, juice spilled over those lips and dripped down her chin.
And without thinking, I leaned all the way in and traced the path of the juice with my tongue.
Her breath hitched slightly.
I groaned, savoring the sweet and tart taste of strawberry mingling with the salt of her skin.
A primal satisfaction settled deep within my chest.
But that was what happened every time I touched her.
Every time I tasted her.
It was like a piece of my heart falling further into her orbit, spiraling into something I couldn’t fully control or even understand.
Never taking her gaze off me, she finished that strawberry.
“Good wildcat.” I fed her another berry, and my gaze followed the seductive motion of her lips.
The way they wrapped around the fruit.
The way her throat moved as she swallowed.
She was intoxicating, in a way that had nothing to do with just the physical alone.
It was everything—her strength, her determination, the way she challenged me at every turn.
And then there was that scent, that goddamn lush orange spice fragrance that clung to her skin, weaved its way into my senses, and drove me wild.
I breathed in deeply, letting her scent fill me.
Letting it flood my lungs.
My mind.
Since I’d held her on that raft out in the dark ocean that scent had melted into my very being.
She’s changing me and. . .it’s too late for me.
Now her scent was everywhere. It was all I could think about. It was in my clothes, in the air around my body.
But most of all, it was in me.
Lodged deep in my chest.
I couldn’t smell myself anymore. My own scent had been overtaken and swallowed up by hers.
Will I forever smell like her?
It was a strange, almost disconcerting thought—one that I couldn’t quite shake.
For all my life, I had always been aware of my own scent.
It was a part of who I was, something I had lived with, honed, used to navigate the world.
But now. . .I smelled like her.
Even scarier. . .I couldn’t remember what I used to smell like before she became part of me, before she took over every inch of my senses.
“Havoc.”
“Onyx.” I fed her another strawberry.
She munched on it and then whispered between bites, “What are you thinking about now? You look. . .”
I raised my eyebrows. “How do I look?”
“Distracted and maybe. . .confused.”
Warmth tugged in my chest.
She smirked. “Are you still thinking about Adam’s rib?”
“No. Now I’m wondering about Eve’s scent.”
She chuckled.
I fed her another berry, watching as she licked the juice from her lips, her tongue darting out to catch the last drop.
“Mmm.” I leaned in again, unable to resist, and pressed my lips to hers, tasting the sweetness of her mouth mixed with the faint salt of her skin.
A soft moan left her.
I deepened the kiss, devouring her tongue and sucking on her lips.
Yes. It’s too late to stop whatever she has done to me. I’m completely. . .altered.
I was falling for her.
No.
That wasn’t quite right.
I had already fallen.
Deep and irrevocably.
And there was no going back.
I pulled back from our kiss, but kept my face within an inch of hers. Her breath mingled with mine in the small space between us.
I knew that whatever came next, whatever dangers we faced, I wouldn’t—couldn’t—let her go. She was mine, and I was hers.
She reached for another berry, but I caught her hand, and brought it to my lips instead, pressing a kiss to her palm. “I think you’re in my blood now.”
She blinked as if unsure how to respond.
I studied her. “How did you do that?”
“I did nothing.”
“Then, you didn’t mean to do it intentionally?”
She chuckled. “You’re insane.”
Storm clouds gathered on the horizon. The natural fragrance of rain grew stronger, but in that moment, with her beside me, everything else faded away.
I returned to feeding her, and she took everything I gave her. And anytime juice dripped from her lips and down her chin, I lapped and licked and she moaned.
The warmth of the afternoon sun gave way to a cool breeze that signaled the storm's approach.
When she finished the last berry, she murmured, “I think I want you to feed me every time I eat.”
“All you have to do is ask.”
As the first drops of rain began to fall, I knew that whatever challenges lay ahead, we would face them together, bound by something far stronger than the island that we’d found ourselves on.
The sky had darkened, and the drops turned heavy, splattering against the leaves and on our bare skin.
Neither of us moved or tried to seek shelter.
Was she thinking what I was thinking?
Was lust humming through her body like it hummed through mine?
Not letting up.
Just throbbing and throbbing.