Chapter 23
23
E zra
“You’re very good at being told what to do,” I whisper into her hair, knowing she’ll get pissed. I love seeing her riled up, she’s not shy to share her opinion and call me on my bullshit. It’s refreshing.
As expected, I get smacked on my chest with her tiny palm.
“Ouch,” she cries out, shaking her hand until I grab it and plant a kiss on its palm. “You’re a jerk.”
“I know,” I reply smugly. “But I have a suspicion that you love it.”
She’s quiet, but I can feel something unspoken in the air. I’ve learned by now that she’ll say what she has to either way, but letting her do it on her own terms is a sure way to get a few extra points. And extra information—Maeve loves to talk.
“You’ve changed your mind.” She doesn’t explain what she’s talking about, but I’m pretty sure either way.
“I have.”
“Why?” She starts drawing little circles on my chest with her finger.
I exhale slowly, trying to find the right words. “It’s hard not to when I was forced into it.”
She tries pulling away jerkily, but I pull her back to my side where she belongs.
“Relax, I’m joking. It was destined to happen. It was either we’d fight or fuck.” Then I add with a laugh, “We’re good at both.”
Her snort into my skin is the only answer until the heavy silence fills the space, and I know she wants to say something.
“You said,” she whispers, “I’ll be the end of everything you’ve built.” Fucking hell, it was a moment of orgasm-induced weakness. I hoped she didn’t notice. “What did you mean?”
I’m not ready for this conversation. Not yet. Not after everything we both have felt. On my terms, when I’m ready, I’ll explain it. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never. I don’t want to destroy this blissful moment I’ve never felt before.
Today is too good to ruin it with the truth.
“Not now, Maeve. It’s… complicated.”
She swallows. “Okay.”
I feel her withdrawing after that, and this is the last thing I want. Having her in my arms is the best thing I’ve felt in years, or maybe even my whole life, and her silent detachment hurts more than I expected.
I let her get up and put her clothes back on while silently watching her fast movements. When she’s out of the bungalow, I pull my boxers on and follow her. She’s walking toward the water, and my eyes zero in on her thighs. Specifically, on the dripping cum on the insides of them. I’ve never thought of the view being so arousing, but it is.
I fucked up.
Well, maybe not. To think of it.
“Maeve,” I call her, coming closer. “I came inside of you.”
“I’ve noticed,” she replies without turning back and starts cleaning it with the salty water. For some incomprehensible reason, it drives me mad. Her desire to get rid of the evidence of my presence so fast.
“I will take care of it.” I swallow a giant dry lump in my throat. “Of you.”
A nasty glare is all I get for me trying to be considerate of her well-being.
“What the hell do you mean?”
“I mean.” I clear my throat and straighten my back. “I’ll take care of you and a baby if we, you know.” I gesture at her midriff.
She rolls her eyes and goes back to cleaning. “I’m on a shot.”
“Come again?”
She slowly turns her face to me and raises her brow with an obviously sarcastic question.
“I mean how are you on a shot? Why?”
She blinks like I’m the stupid one here. “Because I’m twenty-three and have a healthy sex life.”
I feel my jaw clenching on its own, probably snapping a few teeth in the process. “Healthy sex life?” I repeat her words slowly.
Another deliberately measured blink from her with a clear meaning to drive me nuts.
“It’s when people are of age, and they have sex. A healthy, consensual coitus?” She’s waiting for my response, but all she’s getting are my clenched fists and a tight jaw. So she continues. “Coitus? Like what we just did? When you put your penis into my vagina? Your schlong into my coochie?” she adds when I don’t reply.
I’m about to go ballistic when I notice a jerking muscle on her cheek. I’ve been so focused on her words about her having sex with other people that I totally missed the moment she started having fun with it.
“Your well-proportioned member into my?—”
“I got it!” I cry out, not able to take any more of her colorful synonyms.
This is where she can’t take it anymore and doubles over with laughter. “You’re a very uptight dude.” She shakes her head and washes her face with the water.
“Are you really on a shot?” I need to confirm it for peace of mind.
“Yes,” she sighs. “Don’t worry, you’re free, big man.”
“I’m not worried, Maeve. I wasn’t joking when I said I’d take care of you.”
Her laughter is emotionless, and I don’t like it. “I heard.”
I watch her taking a dip in the water when she gets tired of wiping my cum off her thighs. It’s a lot. And I really don’t like her wiping it off so vigorously. I’ve never been into a breeding kink, but she has made me broaden my horizons.
I join her a moment later. The water is insanely hot, and it’s only the morning. We can probably get some fish around here. It will be a good test of my masculinity to stand against the fish. I’m sure we can figure out a fire when we have incentive to fry the food.
I sit in the water while she’s slowly splashing back and forth in front of me. At some point, I can’t wait anymore and ask, “Do you have someone back at home? That’s why you need a shot?”
She sends me an odd look. “Why are you so hyper focused on it?”
“I dunno.” I shrug nonchalantly, trying not to show how important her answer is. “Just curious.” Just curious to see how many fuckers I need to get rid of when we go back to the reality of our lives.
“I don’t have someone back home,” she answers with lots of anger she just summoned out of nowhere. “Do you think I’d sleep with you if I had?” Now, she’s totally offended, and I can’t really blame her. I wish I could say I feel bad, but I don’t. Now I know what I need to know.
She can be mine. She is mine; she just doesn’t know it yet. My problems on the mainland? I’ll figure something out. Right now, it feels like we’ve fallen out of the loop where everyone is moving. Like we were given this opportunity to pause and reassess our lives. At least, I was given it for sure.
And this reassessment sure as fuck happened. A few days without my phone, money, and name is all I needed to see that my old life with my old goals was a false idol.
“Sorry,” I mumble, not feeling it at all. And she knows it. She already knows me so well because she gives me an evil eye and swims toward the shore.
Of course, I follow her. Like a fucking lost puppy.
And why did it take me so fucking long?
We grab some leftover fruit and water in silence, collect our stuff, and head toward the waterfall to replenish the pantry. There’s a dark cloud on the top of her head, indicating that she’s mad at me. Very mad. I know a thing which could chase the cloud away, but first, I need to get her in the mood.
“Do you want a papaya?”
She loves them, and we’ve run out. The last one from yesterday turned out to be rotten, and Maeve’s sour face when she opened it gave me an idea how I can get back into her good graces.
“No.” Her tone is short.
“Are you sure? ”
“Yes.”
“Alright then. I want a papaya. Let’s make a detour.”
I turn to walk in front of her, lean forward, and place my shoulder in her midriff.
“What are you doing?” she squeaks, digging her fingers into my sides as she holds on.
“Going to get a papaya for us.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Tough luck because I want company.”
“Even the one who will be the ruin of everything you’ve built?” she asks, copying my tone mockingly.
I sigh and smack her ass with my palm, making her squeak again. “Not now, Maeve. We’re getting damn fruit for you.”
She’s quiet again. Thinking. Calculating.
“When will you tell me?”
“Tomorrow,” I promise. “I will tell you tomorrow.”
Would it be enough time for me? Am I asking too much of her?
Maybe. But that’s all I’ve got for now. Tomorrow, it will be another day, and I will be ready for that. Today, I want to enjoy being left out of the loop from real life, here, in this paradise with her.
After a few deep breaths, she relaxes on my shoulder. “Tomorrow then,” she agrees.
And I ask myself, how did I get her in my life? And why now? Do I deserve her? No. Will I do anything to keep her now? Yes. Am I a psychopath to make such a life-altering decision based on a few days spent together? Maybe.
I get papayas for my insatiable woman, who’s currently singing “I like to move it move it” while I climb the palm. I nearly fall down from laughing because she sounds so off-key, she even scared all the nearby chickens. But she’s trying really hard to sing at the top of her lungs, and she’s laughing. She looks so carefree and happy I wonder what type of life she has back in reality. Is she always this happy? Or is the island changing her too?
We eat papayas even though I loathe the taste, but she’s trying to convince me that the enzymes in there are good for us. Like we don’t get enough fiber eating only fucking bananas and coconuts the entire time we’ve been here. Which reminds me I should try fishing and go collect more eggs.
So we do just that, after I nearly vomit trying to swallow the awful papaya she’s hand-feeding me. The only good thing out of it is me licking the juice off her fingers while she’s biting her lower lip. Every time her white teeth sink into the pink flesh, my cock jerks, and I wonder if throwing her on the ground and fucking right now would be too soon?
We get some eggs, a lot more than before, and eat half of them right there. A skinny rooster tries to nip me, and I promise to come after him if it doesn’t work out with the fish. The bird surrenders because he takes a step back probably after seeing my determined face. I’m here to impress a woman, pal. You’ll lose every step of the way.
“Did you just have a standoff with a bird?” Maeve asks, biting her cheek in a weak attempt not to smile.
“Yeah. I’m protecting my territory.” It’s easy to talk to her. Easy to joke. She gets me, the authentic me.
“You should piss on that tree.” She points at one of them. “And that one too,” the next tree, “to mark your territory. It seems to be a big one. Big ones are good.”
“I just might. Will you watch?”
“Will you swing your schlong?” Her eyes twinkle with mischief.
I shake my head, trying to force her words away from my memory. “Don’t say this word anymore.”
“Schlong?” she cackles .
“Yeah, that. Don’t.”
“Why?”
“It traumatizes me.”
“But you’ve got one.” She giggles, stepping away to the side.
“Maeve,” I warn.
“What?” She smiles, taking another step backward.
I put everything on the ground, making sure the eggs are placed very carefully. “Come here.”
“Nope.” She bites her lower lip and hides her hands behind her back.
“Now.” I lower my voice to that growl that seemed to raise goosebumps on her skin. It works. Her nostrils flare as her pupils dilate with anticipation.
“What if I don’t want to listen?” Her tone is challenging.
“Then run.”
She takes off a second later. I give her a head start before I run after her. Her giggles allure me from between the trees. I know where she is every step of the way, but I like the chase as it turns out. And she likes being chased. So we play.
Until I catch her by the waterfall, and we do the thing I’ve wanted to do since the moment I saw her naked. I fuck her from behind. While her cries are muffled by the sound of the falling water and my hand.
Tomorrow, we will talk.