9. Milly
”Who says I”m human?” I gasp, rising from the couch and grabbing my discarded robe. Branch”s arm snaps out and grabs my wrist with a worried expression.
”Please don”t leave, I”m sorry. It”s just... I shouldn”t have blurted that out, I”m sorry, but you don”t smell like a shifter,” he stammers. ”Shifters have certain smells depending on what they are. Ones like me smell kinda like forests and the birds smell like really expensive cologne made to smell like air.”
”Oh my... what do I smell like then?” I ask, horrified beyond belief. I fold my arms across my chest to try and prevent myself from smelling my armpits even though I desperately want to.
”Like the most delicious vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting in existence.”
”You”re lying!” I scoff, putting my robe back on because I”m suddenly very, very cold. I cross the room and stand in front of one of the expensive-looking screens.
”I swear I”m not,” says Branch from the couch. ”Please just don”t go. The storm is still rolling through and I don”t want you to have to be alone through that.”
I hadn”t thought about the storm; in fact, I hadn”t thought about anything else at all since he mentioned feeling the same pulling sensation I”ve been feeling. Thinking about both makes me shudder, and I rub my hands along my arms for warmth.
”Here,” says Branch, now behind me, as he drapes over a thick blanket around my shoulders. It helps, but there”s still a deep chill resting inside me.
”Why is it so cold in here?” I ask, and Branch shrugs. He”s still naked, and even through the blanket, I can feel the heat radiating from his body. I make every effort possible not to look at his chiseled chest, or worse, anything below the waist, and walk back to the long couch. Branch follows and sits a respectable distance away.
”I don”t normally do this,” I mumble. ”I don”t normally fuck someone I just met.”
”Me neither,” he responds, and I roll my eyes at him. ”No, really, it”s true! I”m, um, kind of shy usually when it comes to things like this.”
”Oh really?” I ask dryly, gesturing with my hands to the screens around that just put us in the middle of some wild park orgy.
”It”s true,” he says, pulling another blanket over and draping it over his lap. He then shuffles closer to me and continues in a low, small voice. ”I grew up as a very lonely child. My parents were always off in some distant country or buried under work at one of their offices, so I was alone a lot. I think I just got used to it, but something changed in me when I was old enough to make lasting relationships with other people and I made some really close friends. That”s also when I found that I just couldn”t, well, perform well on my own and needed someone else with me whenever things got hot and heavy.”
”What do you mean?” I ask.
”Well, for example, I have a good friend on the island. You”ve actually met him a few times and I made sure I could take him to the island with me as the security guard, we don”t... you know... with each other, not really at least. He”s more like my sexual support buddy.”
The realization hits me swiftly, and I feel a small gasp release from my mouth when I remember where I first met the tree-humping man. It makes Branch lick his lips and stumble on his next words to me.
”You”ve met Archer, the island security, right? He, um, is usually around to help me feel comfortable enough to, well, do most things.”
”I knew that guy fucking the tree looked familiar,” I tell him, and his posture relaxes as he laughs loudly.
”Yeah, I programmed that in there as a joke and totally forgot about it. But the thing is, I didn”t even notice him, well, I did notice him, I don”t think you cannot notice someone banging away at a tree, but it was... different with you. Almost like I didn”t need him or the audience around us. You just have this...”
”Pull,” I finish for him.
”Exactly, I have a feeling I know what it might be but am still looking into it.”
I wait for him to finish, but he doesn”t, and I find myself glaring at him.
”Are you going to share that with me or keep it to yourself?”
”I”ll tell you if you tell me why you”re trying to hide the fact that you”re a human,” he says, and the color drains from my face.
”This is an island for shifters, right?”
”Eh, kind of, but I don”t think Colt would mind a human or two, it”s not like they”re banned or anything.”
”Who?”
”Colt, he”s the owner. I went to boarding school with him. He”s around here somewhere and you”ll probably run into him at some point. Actually, all three of my closest friends are here on the island and are all really nice guys. There”s Archer, the security guard, Colt, the island”s owner and Flint, the island pilot, but don”t change the subject because it makes you sound like you”re hiding something.”
”I”m not hiding anything,” I pout, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my robe around me tightly. Branch leans closer and wraps the blanket around my shoulders, but as soon as he comes near, the aching chill disappears, and I immediately feel a change in body temperature. I don”t even think the blanket had anything to do with it.
”I think you are,” he says lowly. ”I should know, bunnies have a sixth sense that tells them when a person is hiding something.”
”They do not,” I laugh lightly, and he shrugs before running a hand through his messy hair.
”Rabbits are good at hiding, so therefore they are good at knowing when people hide, and you, pretty lady, are hiding something.”
I can”t think of a good reason to lie to him other than the fact that we”re still relatively strangers. Well, strangers who have fucked each other, at least. There”s a comfort to him that I”ve never felt from anyone in my life, but that doesn”t mean that I trust him enough to tell him my big secret. At least not all of it right now.
”I”m just afraid, and I”m all alone with barely anything to my name, not even an extra pair of underwear. Please don”t tell anyone I”m human. I don”t want anyone to question why I”m here,” I whisper, and he leans in closer, but even though that pull is back and tugging at my insides to tell Branch the truth about my fake heiress status, I can”t do it.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, and I allow him to inch closer and closer until we”re wrapped in each other”s arms. Branch once again reaches for the remote and changes the screens to a softly glowing swamp set at nighttime. Fireflies dance across the screen, and the moon reflects gently over the water, but we remain dry and snug on the massive couch.
”Well, I”ll do my best to protect you, from whatever it is you”re afraid of and I promise not to tell anyone you”re human,” he whispers against my skin. ”And I”ll be here if you ever want to talk.”
I must have fallen asleep at some point, but the screens surrounding the room make it hard to tell what time it could be. Branch is sleeping peacefully behind me on the couch, and we”re rolled up tightly under the blanket. But as much as I want to stay in the warmth, my bladder has an entirely different idea, and I think I should head home instead of trying to silently use his bathroom.
Doing my best to slip out from the blanket unnoticed, I manage to sort of roll off the couch onto the floor. I pop up quickly and tuck the blanket under Branch”s still-naked body, so he won”t get cold. He stirs in his sleep under my hands, his hips thrusting forward with a silly smile on his face, and I wonder if all rabbit shifters dream of fucking every night.
I secure my robe around me and tiptoe from the room and down the stairs, closing the door soundlessly behind me. The storm has long since passed, and even the sun looks higher up in the sky than I would have liked. My guess, as well as my rumbling stomach, tells me that it is well into the morning.
The wet grass squishes between my toes as I make my way back to my bungalow, and the sun feels good on my crisp skin. Maybe I should take advantage of such a gorgeous day and head down to the beach; it”s not like I have anything non-beachy to wear. Then, this afternoon, I”ll pop in to see what Mark wants and ask him if I can order some extra clothes.
That”s when I remember Mark coming to my home last night and requesting to speak with me and the unknown factor of what he could want causes a pit to form in my stomach.
Maybe it”s nothing; after all, he would have insisted on sending me off or arresting me last night if he thought anything was up. Security also didn”t break down my door to take me away, or even at Branch”s home when we were...
A hungry itch stirs within me as I think about my night with Branch. I let my mind wander and coast along those sexy thoughts as I walk slowly back to my little pink cottage. What an unpredictable and scrumptious time that was; I”ll have to pay him a visit later because who knows when someone might show up to haul me off this island.
I”m just rounding the corner when I bump into the ample chest of a pretty blond girl who squeals in delight when she sees me.
”Oh, perfect! I was just looking for you!”
I step back, startled by her chipper attitude, but return her smile because she seems harmless enough.
”Sorry, I was just, um, out enjoying the sunrise,” I lie.
”Silly, the sunrise happened hours ago,” she giggles, pointing a perfectly manicured finger down the path. ”Looks like you were coming from your neighbor”s house anyway.”
”Would you believe me if I said I went over to see if I could borrow some eggs for breakfast?”
”Nope,” she says. ”I met Branch when he got here, there”s no way someone would go over there just for breakfast foods.”
Her brightness makes me laugh, and I let her continue with me down the pathway.
”You said you were looking for me?” I ask, and she nods vigorously.
”Yes, I work in the main office with Mark,” she explains. I stop dead in my tracks, the pit in my stomach growing larger.
”You”re from the main office?” I gulp.
”Just the assistant, but between you and me, I practically run this place,” she laughs. ”I was just checking in to see if you needed anything; I know you just arrived yesterday. Oh! And I need you to sign this; it”s just an allergy statement we need to have on file for any food sent to your bungalow.”
”Oh, I actually do need something,” I say, stumbling across my words as I sign the small sheet of paper with my usual flowing script and dotting the ”I” of ”Milly” with a small heart. ”Do you have a mail order service or clothing store? I, um, would like something different than the attire I brought with me. The weather isn”t, er, suitable for the, um, big coats and stuff I brought.”
”Oh! I can definitely help with that; I”ll have something sent over right away. I get that the weather here can be unpredictable. It was much warmer than I anticipated and I had to practically get a whole new wardrobe when I started working here. Come to think about it, the weather has been sort of crazy lately. I think Mark is looking into that. We have devices on the island to help control things like the seasons, but they can be a little temperamental.”
”Have you been on the island for long?” I ask.
”Ever since my school chum, Colt, bought the place and throughout the entire process of filling it up with his friends,” she laughs. ”He helped pay off my college loan debt so I guess I owe him.”
”I see,” I murmur. We”ve reached my front door, and she sticks her ivory-skinned hand out to me before leaving. ”My name is Patricia, and I”m at your service! Drop by anytime you need something or just want to talk about the boys here; I”ll be all ears!”
”Thanks, Patricia; I”ll see you later,” I say, shaking her hand and then watching as she bounces on her heels down the path and off to some of the other homes, I assume.
She seems nice, and at least she isn”t another devastating, attractive man. I don”t think I could handle another one of those.
I slip into my bungalow and find the temperature chill and calming, and even though I just took a long shower last night, I feel like I should take at least one more to clean up any ”Branch” still on my skin.
After my skin is freshly cleansed and pink and I”ve used the toilet, I wash my one pair of underwear and leave it out to dry on the counter. Hopefully, Patricia will get me that catalog soon, and I can order some extra pairs; having a yeast infection on a tropical island doesn”t sound like paradise at all.
Next, I search my cupboards and find the basics that have already been supplied for me. Because I”ve had years of practice cooking for one, I”m able to whip up a big breakfast of cheesy eggs and hot, buttered toast. I”m no chef, but it does the trick, and after I”m full, I decide that I”d like to check out the beach again.
I put on a matching grey, terry cloth short set over my bikini and wrap a soft beach towel around my waist before sliding my feet into an old, well-worn pair of flip-flops that I always make sure to pack in my carry-on luggage. Still sore that I don”t have any reading material, I let out a big sigh and decide to find Patricia to ask if she has any books I can borrow.
Jogging down the path to see if I can find her out and about somewhere, I stop short when I hear two deep male voices speaking with each other close by. I slow my pace to listen more carefully and realize its Branch speaking with his friend, the security guard named Archer. While I missed most of their conversation, I pick up on my name and notice the tenseness in Branch”s shoulders.
Archer is listening intently to him and writing down notes from their conversation on what looks like some sort of tablet. Neither of them seems to be smiling and dread begins to pool in my core. What is Branch telling him about my smell, or lack-there-of, and is Archer taking down his testimony before coming to take me away?
I back up slowly, hoping neither of them notice my movements. If Archer is going to come to confront me, then I”ll just have to talk to him, but I”m so tense and strung up on the anxiety of it all that I don”t know what I”ll even say. Maybe if I have a chance to calm down and collect my thoughts, it will be easier to either plead my case or convince them both that Millicent Taylor really did name me as an heir, that there is no way I could be faking the whole thing.
And would Branch betray me like that? That soon after we had this unreal connection in his bedroom? Ug, I need some beach time.