Chapter Ten
Eleanor
Worst. Vacation. Ever.
I picked my way across the hot, coarse sand, knowing that I probably looked like a really pissed off flamingo, but not really caring anymore.
“What are you doing?” Gavin asked from where he was standing in the shallow water watching fish and taunting them with a spear. “You look like a pissed off flamingo.”
Exactly.
“If you haven’t noticed, you are walking around in your boots and I’m barefoot. If you’d like to try digging your feet down into the sand you, too, might discover the delightful little chunks that seem to have been turned into glass by the blazing hot SUN.”
I flailed and kicked at the sand as I screamed the final word, letting out some of my frustration, but still feeling plenty, all bottled up ready to explode whenever it found the right time.
“You’re just like all the others,” Gavin muttered.
I tilted my head at him and took a step closer.
“Excuse me?” I asked. I took another step. “Excuse me? What did you say?” He shook his head and I took a couple more steps, losing some of the impact of my anger as I stumbled through a dip. “No, no, no. That’s not how this works. You don’t get to mutter things at me under your breath and have me not ask you what you said. If you’re going to say something, you’re going to say it to me.”
“Why?” Gavin demanded, turning to stare at me. “Because you’re so entitled that you think that everyone should do exactly what you say, exactly when you say it?”
“Entitled?” I repeated, stunned.
Of course, it hadn’t been the first time that I had had someone say that about me, but it was the way Gavin said it, spitting it at me like it was the worst possible thing that he could think of to say.
“Yes,” he said, facing me now. “What I said was that you are just like all the others, and that is exactly what I meant. All of you rich bitches are exactly the same. You think that everyone either worships you or fears you because your money, and that the more ancestors you have who had money, the more important you think you are. Anyone else is just put here to do your bidding.”
“That’s not true,” I said, tears stinging in my eyes as I looked around, desperately searching for Hunter. “That’s not who I am.”
“Of course, it is,” Gavin said. “You don’t think that I can see the money dripping off of you? You don’t think that I can hear it in every word that you say to both me and Hunter? You might have gotten him all starry-eyed so he doesn’t realize what he’s dealing with, but you’re not fooling me. Whoever you are, you’ve got serious money behind you, and whoever you are pretending to be, there’s a reason. I’ve been working my ass off trying to figure out what we’re going to do here, and all you can do is bitch. It could be a hell of a lot worse. Why don’t you just appreciate your surroundings a little bit.”
“Appreciate them?” I asked, still trying to process the nastiness that he was spewing at me. “I’m not sure what it is that you’re experiencing, but apparently it has stopped you from noticing that we are not in a revival of the Blue-Fucking-Lagoon.”
“That’s a great movie.”
The voice behind me made me jump and I turned around to see Hunter standing on the top of a rock that jutted out into the ocean. A wave crashed at the base of the rock, sending a spray of white foam up to his feet and I felt my knees go a little weak.
“What?” I asked, his words not fully going through my mind.
“Blue Lagoon,” he said. “It’s a great movie. I used to watch it all the time when I was little.”
Oh, dear lord. How old was he?
“A little racy for an evening family movie, don’t you think?” I finally asked.
Oh, shit. How old was I?
Hunter shrugged as he started down the rock toward the beach.
“I don’t honestly remember anybody watching it with me. We had a VHS of it that had been recorded off of the TV and it was one of about three that I could reach where they were kept, so I just kind of watched them in rotation.”
“He probably didn’t even realize that it was racy,” Gavin said and I looked over to see that he was back to stabbing at the water to catch more fish to toss up onto the sand. I hated to see them flopping around the way that they did, but I hated being hungry more, so I was going to deal with it. “Maybe he thought that one of those birds that they show was the stork and that’s how they got the baby.”
“You seem to be going pretty deep into that movie to make fun of someone for watching it,” I snapped.
Hunter was walking toward me and I hoped that he hadn’t been standing on the rock long enough to hear what Gavin had been saying. I had already spilled enough about Virgil when we were in the jungle. I couldn’t let him find out more.
I was thinking about that as he came up, his eyes seeming to purposely avoid me. My heart clenched and I felt a flicker of blended, uncomfortable emotion wash over me. I wish that I understood why I had pulled away from him in the jungle. He had been right there, looking at me with the expression in his eyes that I had been hoping to see the night of the wedding. As soon as that thought went through my mind, I realized that that wasn’t the case, and that that had been exactly why I had pulled away. The night of the wedding all that mattered to me was that Hunter was young, gorgeous, and sexy. He seemed like the perfect man to take care of the stress that I had been feeling and get me on to my new life. He was going to be my sampler, my training wheels, and I just wanted to see the same attraction and desire in his eyes that I was feeling. When we were sitting together in the jungle, however, I saw something much more. There was emotion in his eyes that I didn’t know if I was ready to face. I didn’t even know if I was able to feel that way again. He didn’t know me, and I was doing everything that I could to make sure that he never did. The last thing I needed was to not only admit the deeper attraction that was pricking at the back of my mind, but to see the same in him and have to admit that I had done something wrong.
“Do you think that we could wrap up the theater review and someone could actually help me with this shelter?” Gavin asked.
He had climbed up out of the water and tossed his spear onto the sand. He would come back for the fish after they had stopped twitching, which was exactly how I preferred them. After this she would never be able to look at a sushi bar the same way.
“I still think that it’s ridiculous that you’re going to all this trouble to build a shelter,” I said. “We’re not going to be here long. They’ll have noticed that Hunter and I are missing from the ship and come looking for us.”
“And miraculously find us on an island that has nothing on it and is who knows how far away from the ship’s route?”
“He’s right,” Hunter said.
“What?” I asked, swinging my head to look at him.
“He’s right,” Hunter replied. “I thought that it was going to be better if I went off on my own, but I’ve been thinking more about it, and I don’t think that it would be a good idea for us to fracture. As much as none of us really relish the idea, we need to rely on each other right now. The reality is that we really don’t know how long we’re going to be here. Of course, we would hope that the people on the ship would have noticed by now that we aren’t there anymore, but that doesn’t mean that they would know how to come find us. And to be completely honest, they might not have noticed. I assure you that those men who were chasing us didn’t go to the head of security and tell him what happened. The people with the wedding on the cruise might notice that we weren’t at the activities, but it’s entirely possible that they would just think that we decided to have more relaxing vacations and were just not going. It could be quite a while before they’re able to retrace their steps, figure out when we went overboard, and then find us.”
“So, we’re just screwed is what you’re trying to tell me?” I asked.
“No,” Hunter said, his tone telling me that he was trying to keep me calm. I wondered if he had seen the flail. “What I’m telling you is that all of us hope that we’re going to get off this island soon, but we can’t let that hope keep us from doing what we need to do in order to stay safe until that time comes. If there’s going to be more bad weather, the last thing that we need is to be just out in the open. We might not be able to build a resort, but we can put together something that will at least protect us a little bit.”
I stayed silent as I stared at him. I knew that there was really nothing that I was going to be able to say that would make any impact at all. It seemed I was the only one who had any intention of believing that we were going to be off the island before they even had a chance to build a shelter, and they were refusing to make any concessions for the optimism that I was quickly starting to believe was delusion. I started away from him, not really knowing where I was going to go, but not wanting to be on the beach with the men any longer. When I reached the edge of the trees, I turned and looked back over my shoulder at them. They were standing in the sand seemingly locked in an intense conversation, and then they broke apart, Hunter stalking toward the trees and Gavin heading for the boxes of supplies that were stacked high enough on the sand that they wouldn’t be caught up by the waves when the high tide rolled in. I was afraid that Hunter was going to disappear again, but instead he reached out and grabbed onto one of the nearby trees.
“These are what you should be using,” he said forcefully.
Gavin scoffed.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “Do you see how that thing is bending? And under even your strength. That would never be able to support a shelter. We need something far stronger and more stable.”
“It’s bending, which means that it can be curved,” Hunter said, his voice tense as if he were trying to force himself past Gavin’s crack. He bent the tree to demonstrate what he meant. “And what is the strongest structure in the world?”
“The United States military. USA! USA!”
“Charming. No, the geodesic dome.”
There was silence and I knew that Gavin was just as in the dark about that one as I was. I knew that I had heard the term before, but it wasn’t one of those bits of information that I kept filed under “ready to use facts” in my mind. Hunter stared at Gavin and I could almost hear his brain starting to fizz with frustration.
“Geodesic dome,” Hunter repeated. He gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes. “The big spiky ball at EPCOT.”
“Oh, yeah,” Gavin said. “I remember reading about that.”
“Great. Then you know that it is the strongest structure that can be built. Far stronger than any other shape. If we build the shelter as a dome rather than as a square, it has much more of a chance of withstanding a storm or other influences.”
“Other influences?” Gavin asked, putting a voice to the worry that had just flashed through my mind.
“Well, we haven’t encountered any of the wildlife here other than fish, but I would venture to say that with an island this large and with this variety of flora, there are going to be animals. Just because we haven’t seen them yet doesn’t mean we won’t. In fact, chances are the animals that do inhabit the island have been watching us and trying to understand our patterns, and when they are more comfortable, they will make themselves known.”
Fabulous. Something else to be afraid of on this shore excursion of the damned. Somehow, I doubt that he’s talking about the squirrels and deer from my old camping trips.
“I don’t care what shape you think it should be. We just need to start building. Start cutting whatever trees you want.”
I leaned against the nearest tree and watched as Hunter stomped over to the supplies and grabbed at one of the boxes. His hand hit a box next to it, sending it toppling to the ground where the lid popped open. Several items fell out, including a large stash of condoms that spread across the sand, their multicolored foil packets glinting in the sun. Everything went silent, at least in my mind, as I stared at the condoms. I swallowed hard, my mind immediately running wild with thoughts of how I could put those to use.
Hunter cleared his throat, seemingly thrown off by the appearance of the condoms out in the open on the sand. I looked up at Gavin and saw him roll his eyes. He stalked over to the box and scooped everything back into it, bringing along with the stack of foil packets a liberal amount of the beach.
“They’re condoms, Hunter,” he said mockingly. “Don’t you know what those are?”
“You just carry a supply box full of condoms around with you on your boat?” I asked.
He looked at me and I saw an angry look in his eyes.
“I use my boat for more than work. Sometimes I have some company with me and I don’t know their names much less where they’ve been, so I’m not going to risk anything, if you know what I mean.” The words made my skin crawl and it worsened when he looked at Hunter with a vicious sneer. “Don’t worry, Hunter. Go grab a banana and I’ll teach you how to use them.” He looked him up and down. “You might want to go ahead and cut it in half for accuracy.”
I braced myself for Hunter to lash out at Gavin, but he didn’t. Instead, he calmly picked up a knife, turned around, and walked deeper into the jungle toward more of the bendy trees that he had chosen. For a few moments, he cut at them aggressively, tossing the stalks that he chopped down to the side to create pile. As the pile grew, sweat started to bead on his forehead and his shirt seemed to stick to him. He set his knife on the ground and peeled off his shirt. I had to withhold a gasp when it revealed a smooth, chiseled chest, rippling stomach, and tight waist.
So that’s what was hiding behind that suit.
Hunter went back to his work and I watched as his muscles tensed, contracting and releasing with the movement of his cutting. He paused for a second to comb his fingers back through his hair and I felt my body respond with a rush of arousal. He was nothing short of delicious and the fact that he seemed to be the complete opposite of Gavin in how he thought of women made him even more attractive. I had to drag myself away from staring at him so that he didn’t catch me, and headed further into the jungle. I suddenly felt the need for a bath.
The water rushing over the rocks and down into the small, blue pool at the bottom deadened any other sound of the island and sent up a cool spray that was refreshing as it touched my skin. I quickly slipped out of my clothes and stepped down into the pool. My skin was hot from the sun and had been sent to searing by the sight of Hunter without his shirt, and the water sliding up over it brought cooling, relaxing relief. I dipped my head back into the water, rubbing my scalp with my fingers to loosen the sweat and dirt that I felt had collected there. The feeling of my own touch was suggestion enough to my mind for the arousal that I was already feeling to spiral upwards.
I encouraged it, slowly running my hands along my body to clean my skin and increase the feeling of need that was growing between my thighs. Finally, I made my way across the pool to where the waterfall tumbled in. The floor of the pool rose up at this point, leaving piles of rocks that rose up out of the water on either side. I sat on one of the lower rocks so that the level of water was up to my breasts and leaned back against the rock behind me. The water running down into the pool agitated the surface, causing it to bubble and dance across my skin. I closed my eyes and sighed, letting my hand run across my breasts in time with the bubbling. As I touched, my legs opened slowly, as if naturally drawn apart by the promise of the touch of the water. I slid down slightly further on the rock so that I could tilt my hips, opening myself to the rush of the water, and immediately felt a surge of pleasure flow through me.
Biting down on my lip to contain the moan I felt forming in my throat, I arched slightly into the flowing water. The sensation intensified and I cupped my breast, squeezing it and letting my fingertip and thumb pluck my nipple. The combination rocketed between my thighs and I felt my clit become more sensitive as it emerged, seeking more of the stimulation. Images of Hunter filled my mind and played against my closed eyes. I thought of his incredible body, the hidden sexiness that I would have never expected to discover. Even when I had him in the hotel room with me, his body stretched out across mine, I hadn’t known that that was what was waiting for me just on the other side of his shy, nerdy exterior. His reaction to the condoms brought the thought to my mind that while he might not be as inexperienced as Gavin taunted him about, it might not have been too far off.
Somehow that idea was unbearably sexy. I imagined what it would be like to get through that outer shell and show him everything I knew that that body was capable of doing. I imagined undressing him, finding more of the muscles and smooth, velvety skin. If it was anything like the rest of his body, I knew that the cock waiting for me would be long, thick, and incredibly hard. My mouth watered as I thought of wrapping my hand around his shaft and feeling the skin move over the tight muscle beneath. I imagined running the soft head across my lips and tasting his fluids, then taking him in to suck him nearly to the brink of his control.
The feeling of the water was becoming deliciously intense as my mind wandered to Hunter touching me. I imagined that it was his hand cupping at my breast and kneading into the flesh, his mouth coming down to suck the other nipple. My hand slid down my body as I thought of his mouth trailing along my skin and settling between my thighs so that he could taste me the way that I had tasted him. My fingers pressed past my entrance as I imagined that hard cock sinking deep within me. I could feel how hot and wet my walls were, reflecting how much I wanted him. I lifted my hips higher into the swirl of the water as I pumped my fingers inside of me, mimicking the thrusts that I so craved.
It took only seconds to feel the pressure building through my body and the dizzying heat rush across my face and chest. Suddenly I felt my climax crash around me and I forced my fingers as far inside of my body as I could, pressing against the furthest wall as I cried out in response to the powerful contractions that flowed in waves across me. I rode the feeling, giving myself over to it and the thought of Hunter crying out as he came within me, until it slowed and then gently withdrew my fingers and slipped off of the rock to rinse and cool off again beneath the stream of the waterfall.
****
Hunter
The sound of Eleanor whimpering and gasping as her hand moved beneath the water was too much for me to handle and I pumped my hand harder. My cock was like a rock in my palm, swollen until it felt like it was going to burst. This was the last thing that I expected to find when I went into the jungle for a break to wash the sweat away from my face. I had intended to just rinse off and go back to work on the shelter, but when I came over the slight hill and saw Eleanor down in the water, her face expressing pure ecstasy, all thoughts of anything else that I might be doing completely left my mind.
She was incredibly gorgeous, even sexier now with her hair wild and wet, her skin lightly touched by the sun, than she had been all dolled up on the cruise ship. The movements of her body caused her breasts to surge upward, occasionally breaking the surface of the water so that I could see them fully, her hand grasping one as the other remained between her thighs. She arched slightly and I saw her fingers inside of her body, and there was nothing that I could do to control myself. My erection was already nearly painful it was so hard and I had to have relief.
I watched Eleanor enjoying herself in the water and let my hand stroke my cock at the fast, intense speed that I would have used if it was plunged deep inside her. Her sounds told me that she was getting closer and closer to her climax, and the more those sweet little sounds filled the air, the more intense the feelings of my own pleasure became until I felt that I was only seconds away from orgasm. I held off until she screamed out and then let myself go, feeling the hard throb of my own blinding climax and then the heat as I spilled out onto the ground. My hand slowed, stroking gently as my cock twitched and pulsed in my palm. I gasped for breath, not wanting to make any sound. I didn’t want her to know that I was there, and yet all I wanted to do was get down in the water with her.
Even if I was, though, I wondered if I would ever be able to cause those sounds to flow out of her and create the powerful feelings that she had just given herself, and that thought alone was enough to pull me away from her and head for the narrow creek trickling through the trees so I could rinse off and go back to the shelter.