Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ARENA
My panic climbed as I slowly ran out of reasons to avoid going to bed. Dinner was cleaned up. We’d played several games of cards, which had actually surprised me. First, he knew the rules of Go Fish, and second, he could understand the cards for the most part, but couldn’t read.
He’d explained that it had taken him a long time to learn the “symbol” on the cards, and that the humans were trying to teach them to read, but it was taking longer than it had to learn the cards.
I watched him add more wood to the fire. It was almost uncomfortably warm in the living room. He’d been extra attentive to adding wood since coming up from the basement, and I knew why.
After it’s warmer in here, I’ll be able to walk around without clothes on again.
Can I still sleep on top of you at night?
Was I regretting testing him earlier? You betcha.
At the time, I’d just wanted to make sure he didn’t plan to share me with Belak. Now, though…
Maybe you should spank Arena before giving her your cock.
My insides went hot and cold at the thought.
Some kinky spanking could be fun, but was that what they were talking about? I didn’t know, and I was afraid to find out. As they’d pointed out, they weren’t human. They didn’t have human strength. The idea of a handprint bruise on my ass was not appealing in the slightest.
“It’s warmer in here,” Nav said, standing to look at me.
I toyed with the hem of my shirt. It was warm, and I knew what he wanted—me naked and asleep on top of him. If we hadn’t been interrupted by Belak this morning and I hadn’t overheard their spanking talk, I would have had my clothes off already.
Nav crossed the room and took my hand in his.
“You can keep your clothes on if you do not feel safe enough yet, Arena.”
The understanding in his gaze broke through my panic.
What was I doing? Nav hadn’t forced a single thing yet. Why did I think he would start now?
“I heard some of what you were saying to Belak today,” I admitted. “Will you tell me about where you come from? Who are Garrett, Ryan, and Dad?”
Nav nodded and stripped out of his pants. My gaze lingered on his evident interest as he held out his hand.
“I’ll tell you about them until you fall asleep.”
It was a trade I was willing to make. In short order, I was lying on top of him while he told me about the three communities the fey had helped build.
“Ryan is Mya’s brother, and Dad is her Dad. Mom is her Mom.”
I hid my smile against his chest and continued to relax as he stroked my back over my shirt.
“They treat us like family. Mom doesn’t scold us for asking questions. Neither does Dad, but he will sometimes give us a warning look. He doesn't like it when we ask Mom certain questions. We can ask Mary those questions, though. Emily says we shouldn’t because it tires James after we leave.”
I wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about, but it was obvious he knew these people well, and they seemed to like him.
He kept talking, describing the community to me, from the high walls to the animals they’d rescued from abandoned farms. My mouth watered at the idea of fresh eggs and milk.
He also talked about the greenhouses they had set up at another community and the berries and veggies they were already growing.
“Do you think we could find a small greenhouse around here?” I asked, already thinking of how we could get it to the island. We hadn’t had fresh veggies for a while. How easy would it be to grow some radishes or peas if we had somewhere warm to do it?
“Yes. I will find you one tomorrow.”
“Not tomorrow,” I said. “Tonight, after I fall asleep, if you think it’s safe for me to be alone.”
He grunted.
I woke up alone in the bed to the soft murmur of conversation coming from the kitchen.
Light was already peeking around the blanket I’d hung.
Was I a little disappointed he hadn’t woken me with oral again?
Yes. But I was grateful, too, because I wouldn’t have survived another embarrassing interruption.
Crawling out of bed, I stood with a stretch and went to the kitchen, where Belak and Nav were both sitting on sturdier chairs that hadn’t been there the day before.
“Good morning,” Nav said, watching me.
“Good morning. What are you two doing ?”
“Waiting for you to wake up so we can show you the greenhouse we found.”
“Really?” I hurried to the window to look outside.
“We put it in the front yard so that we could use the back for planting,” Nav said behind me.
I darted out of the kitchen and tugged the blanket from the living room window.
I was expecting piles of metal poles and stacks of slightly cloudy panels in the street.
Instead, an assembled greenhouse sat on the dormant lawn.
It looked like it was maybe 8 to 10 feet wide and about 14 to 16 feet long.
Not huge, but still a decent size. The roof was perfect for the winters we got up here, though.
It wasn’t quite a dome, having a peak at the top, but otherwise had rounded sides.
It would make it easier for the snow to slide off the panels during winter so that they wouldn’t collapse under the weight.
“Do you like it?” Nav asked.
“I love it. Where did you find it?”
“In a store near the water. There were many other supplies, too.” He took my hand and led me to the basement. The stacks of boxes were even more impressive than before. I stopped at a box labeled as dehydrated eggs and pulled out a packet.
“I want this for breakfast.”
Neither denied me. I grabbed a tin of Spam to go with it since they’d found more boxes of that too.
As I made breakfast, I asked about the stores they’d searched while I slept.
“We found three close together. The biggest one had food, clothes, and house items.”
I nodded, remembering the stores they were talking about from the map Lettie had given me.
“And many infected,” Belak added.
Nav grunted. “We will need to return after breakfast and remove their heads so they can’t hurt you.”
“They won’t,” I said. “I’m here, and they’re there. And if they’re there, they’re keeping the supplies safe for us, too. What about the other stores?”
“The smaller ones had many tools and seeds,” Nav said.
“Seeds are good. Did you bring any?” I asked.
“Yes.” He got up and lifted a bag from the counter.
While the pan heated, I peeked at the contents.
The options made my stomach growl. Peas.
Beans. Carrots. Lettuce. Turnips. All things I could grow with relative ease.
I still wished Kelby were there, though.
She was the one who loved to grow things.
With her in charge, she would have everyone on the island eating fresh veggies within weeks.
“This is great.”
“Good,” Belak said with relief. “We left some of the same packets at the dock for your friends.”
Turning my back on them, I focused on pouring the reconstituted eggs into the oiled pan along with the diced Spam.
“We found another note when we left the supplies,” Nav said, reaching around me to show me a folded piece of paper.
Heart pounding, I took it from him.
We’re not giving up on you.
“What does it say?” Nav asked. “Did they like the supplies we left? Do they want more?”
“We can bring them a greenhouse, too,” Belak said. “The boxes are too heavy for them to get into their boat without help. I can wait for them.”
“No. I want you to stay here with me.”
He glanced at Nav, who wasn’t looking at me, but at the stove, his expression slightly sad.
“Does the note say they want more supplies?” Belak asked hesitantly.
“It says they miss me.” I balled it up and tossed it in the garbage. “But that I should stay here with you.”
The silence in the kitchen stretched.
“They want you to stay with Belak?” Nav asked, his voice rough.
I glanced at him, saw his anguish, and realized what I’d said.
“No, I meant they want me to stay here with you, Nav. They miss me, but they know I’m safe with you and Belak watching over me.”
His relief was visible. Did he really want me that much? Why? Just because he was lonely? Because he saw some of his other brothers hooking up back in the communities and wanted the same?
When I thought about it like that, it didn’t seem so crazy. Wasn’t that why we humans dated? We were lonely and wanted to find “the one” with whom we’d spend the rest of our lives. Was it so crazy to think Nav would want the same thing after what I heard yesterday?
I plated the eggs, giving them the larger portions, and sat at the table with them.
“Do your friends like to eat this too?” Belak asked. “I could run to get—“
“They miss fresh vegetables the most,” I said, knowing I would need to distract him. “Do you know anything about farming?”
For the next three days, I kept them both busy during the day, turning dirt over in the backyard—it was frozen, thankfully, so it took more effort and shovel repairs to get it done—and building racks for the greenhouse.
At night, I kept Nav distracted with naked cuddles.
He was really good about waking me up with his face between my thighs before Belak came knocking for breakfast.
Each night, they would leave to find whatever I wanted. And they always left more supplies at the dock. Although they were gone by the next night, I didn’t get another note.
Twice, they heard an engine, but they said it was coming from the south, not the north. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Had my family found a way to rescue me?
But more importantly, did I want to be rescued?