Island, United States

July 2019

Emerald

An awkward silence settles between us, and I’m willing nature to open the sand and swallow me whole. I can’t believe I just told him he was my first and only.

In a way, of course.

Who does that at my age? I should be having sex with various guys and learning all the things about pleasure, but instead, I sound like I’m waiting for the perfect prince to show up and knock me off my feet.

He stands still, zeroing his gaze on me with a myriad of emotions flickering through it. I can’t name them, because they change so fast, but in a way, I feel like he loves my confession and hates it too.

But that’s probably my mind speaking nonsense, because I don’t think such confessions can evoke any emotion besides surprise. “It’s not that I was holding on for someone special,” I decide to add and groan inwardly at how lame it sounds. “I go on dates and all.” Defensiveness laces my tone, since he still stays fucking silent. Shouldn’t he say something? “So don’t think I’m in love with you or something—ugh.”

I swallow my words when he presses me to his chest, holding my nape and covering my mouth with his hands, while he orders, “Enough.” I blink in confusion, and he throws another order. “Breathe through your nose.” I follow the command before it even registers in my mind. The rich air of the beach slowly fills my nostrils once again, and calmness falls over me, seagulls cawing loudly indicating my whereabouts.

Slowly, he removes his hand from me and I gasp, taking a greedy breath. “What happened?”

“You were panicking.”

“Oh.” But yeah, I have a tendency to create a huge problem in my head and think something bad might happen, and well, Micaden sort of stayed silent too. I punch him lightly in the stomach, but he doesn’t even budge, just merely raises his brow. “You could have said something.”

“Why?”

“My confession,” I say in disbelief, like “hello, elephant in the room?” Or doesn’t he really care about it?

“I can share about my past too if you want,” he says, and anger along with jealousy wash over me, freezing me more than any real ocean wave could.

Just the idea of him being touched by other women, something he has done with me, sends me in…

Exhaling quickly, I push away the stupid possessive emotion and shake my head. “No, thank you. I prefer not to know.”

Micaden shrugs, freaking shrugs, and then says, “Let’s go back. The fire is ready, so Eve will be coming for us any second now.” Just like that, the conversation in which he’s left a victor is closed, and I’m the stupid idiot who blabbed about her inexperience.

We sit down by the bonfire, and Eve chatters. “You will love this, Em.” She gives me a stick and then pushes a wiener on it, and I give a skeptical look, grimacing and shaking my head. “I don’t think I want it—”

“Oh, come on. You’ll love it.”

“Eh, no thanks.”

“How come you don’t want a self-made hot dog?” Her voice is so lost, like my behavior truly surprises her. But why? She doesn’t even know me. “I’m a vegetarian.”

Two pairs of eyes blink at me while Micaden’s brows rise slightly, but that’s the only indication of his thoughts on the matter. “What kind of bull is that?” Eve shouts, crossing her arms.

“I don’t like meat. All the blood and…. Just no.” Not to mention the smell. Whenever I pass hot dog vendors, I always want to vomit. Granted, it usually has to do with mustard or ketchup, since those I can’t stand at all. I even avoid passing them in shops. Kaden doesn’t get why I hate it so much either, so I consider it one of my quirks.

But it doesn’t satisfy Eve, because she continues to push the issue. “Seriously, a girl who—” Tom squeezes her arm, and at once she shuts up, muttering, “Sorry.” And although I nod, I can’t help but frown in confusion.

They don’t have vegetarians here?

“Then you can just eat the bread,” Tom offers, extending the bun bag to me, and I hide my surprise at his friendliness. Shouldn’t he be aloof and stuff?

“Thank you.” I decide to extend an olive branch as well. “Eve told me you’re the sheriff.” He’s not wearing a uniform now though, so he must be off duty.

“Correct.” The reply is curt as he flicks the lighter and the fire starts while Micaden passes around sticks, and I prop my bread on it, placing my hand on my rumbling stomach, and Eve smirks.

“Always hungry, right?”

“Right. Because you know me so well.” I roll my eyes, but once again, she shrugs, but I can’t help but feel sadness coming from her.

“Probably not a lot of crimes happen in this small town, huh?” I address Tom again and he tenses, but then lifts his eyes to me that for a moment are filled with hate but quickly change to indifference. “You’d be surprised just what kind of stuff happens in small towns.” He waits a beat, and then says, “I became a sheriff so that innocent people didn’t have to be locked behind bars.”

“Tom—”

He shrugs at Eve. “She asked.” And then he places his hot dog above the fire.

Micaden, who stayed silent through the entire exchange, speaks up. “Small towns hold a lot of secrets.”

“Really? Everyone just seems so friendly.” It’s hard to imagine any drama happening here; people generally have such calm lives. Why would there be any fights? In the cities, a lot of people are driven by success and other materialistic stuff, but here the community is more family-oriented and dependent on each other.

However, it might be my ignorance speaking.

“You never know who hides behind the mask of good people.” Micaden’s words snap my attention to him, and I’m locked in a stare with him as he tries to convey a message to me that I fail to understand.

One thing is clear though; with my question, I touched a sore spot, because the tension in the air is so palpable I’m surprised we’re not hit with it.

“Emerald teaches art in school to little munchkins.” Eve drops the information and then quickly munches on her hot dog, and Tom gives me a curious look.

“School?”

“Yeah. I find peace in teaching them, especially with my disability—”

“Disability?” Micaden repeats, and I nod.

“Yes, I lost sixty percent of my sight in the accident.”

“What accident?” Eve asks the question again, because the last time, we were interrupted.

I shift a little on the sand, straightening my legs to the side, and sigh in relief, because sitting with my knees raised much always brings me nothing but cramps and headaches. “When I was twenty-one years old, I was in a car accident. I hit my head so hard I lost my memory of everything that previously happened in my life and then my sight. My limbs were broken, and it took me about a year to get back to normal. Thankfully, I had my brother Kaden by my side.” I focus on my toes, afraid to see pity in their gazes. I’ve had enough of those. “He told me I wished to be a psychologist, but with my limitations and love for art, I decided to channel it somewhere else.”

“Oh.” Eve sighs, and then gets up to quickly drop next to me and wraps hers arms around me. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers like it physically hurts her that I used to be in such pain.

I pat her hands and give her a weak smile. “That’s okay. It turned out for the best. I love teaching and art is my life.”

“It’s good that you can see everything in a positive light,” Tom muses, not much moved by my story it seems. He shifts his and Eve’s sticks from side to side, making the weiners slightly red, and then takes them out. “Help me out, baby.” She jumps to help him and snatches the meat with the bread, instantly creating a meal.

She drops next to him again, gives him his hot dog, and they munch on them so eagerly it’s a surprise when the hot dogs start to look delicious, even to me.

“Your bread is burning,” Micaden says, and I wince, noticing it’s indeed turning black, and quickly pull it back. I blow on it a little to remove the excessive black stuff.

I touch it but then cry out. “Ouch.” It’s so hot!

A loud sigh, and then Micaden takes the stick from me, gives me a plate with normal but slightly toasted bread, and puts the burned one in a separate bag. “Eat or your stomach will eat itself.” How does he know that? I can never go for long hours without crunching on something, because the suction inside my stomach becomes unbearable and nausea hits me. That’s why I eat small portions but often. “Thank you.” I take a big bite as he continues to flick his stick above the fire.

We continue to eat, talking about neutral stuff like weather, sports, and movies.

Time passes quickly and darkness slowly creeps in. The sky becomes navy blue with thousands of stars scattered about, and the moon shines so brightly it gives the ocean a special glow. The only audible sounds are those we make, because oddly enough the beach is secluded. “Why does no one hang out on the beach?”

Eve’s water cup pauses midair and she frowns. “What do you mean?”

I motion to the empty beach. “No one is around, and it’s summer. Even next to the inn, I never hear any voices. Do the young people prefer different spots, or the tourists for that matter?” Wouldn’t it be profitable to have some bars by the beach where people can hang out?

“Parents don’t allow their kids to wander by the beach after nine at night,” Tom replies, taking a sip from his beer. He and Micaden went for them an hour ago.

“Why?” What kind of bull is that?

“Ten years ago, our town had… a situation. After that, the town council came to the conclusion we shouldn’t allow teenagers or kids to be here after a certain time.”

“But even grownups are not here, except us.”

“That’s because it’s our place. Always has been,” Tom once again replies, and Micaden stays silent through the entire exchange.

Though the curious me wants to know more. “What exactly happened?”

The minute the question is out of my mouth, Tom gets up and helps to do the same to Eve. “It’s late. We’re going to call it a night. Plus, we have plans.”

Eve kisses him on the shoulder, and I assume he means baby-making plans.

It doesn’t escape my notice he didn’t answer my question either.

She blows me a kiss and says, “Stop by the bakery tomorrow.”

“Sure.” I’ll take my laptop too; my feet hurt so much I don’t plan to do any sightseeing in the near future.

“Okay, we are going to go! Bye-bye, love birds,” Eve shouts. She tries to wave, but Tom drags her to the road, and then she squeals and they both laugh. He throws his arm over her shoulders, and I decide that they are the most real couple I’ve ever seen.

Not that I’ve interacted with a lot of couples. “She’s one of a kind,” I murmur, and Micaden chuckles.

“Indeed.”

I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do now that we are left alone, but I decide to follow my heart. He might leave if he wants; after all, he made it clear he isn’t interested in anything else. I swivel on my ass and then lie down, sighing in relief as my back finally gets in a horizontal position. My eyes, albeit blurry, can see all the stars, and I love life in this moment.

Natural beauty is the most beautiful thing ever. “Do you know how to find constellations?” I ask, but then quickly add, “Sorry, you probably want to go. I’m fine here. I’ll find the way.” I expect him to do just that, but I blink in surprise when he drops down next to me, his scent immediately filling my lungs, and he puts one of his hands under his head.

“Every good fisherman knows.”

“You’re a fisherman?” Color me freaking surprised!

“I used to help out my dad when I was a kid, and it’s a stable job around here.”

“Before you travelled to college?” That’s where he probably got all his money, because compared to everyone else, he seems wealthy enough.

“Something like that,” he mutters and then clears his throat, pointing at the stars. “See those stars?” He slides a finger across the sky in a long line then dips it a little and creates a sort of U and closes it. “It has the form of a jug.” I scrunch my eyes, not really seeing, but I don’t want to admit it. Sometimes with the new fancy glasses I have that Kaden found for me, I forget my limitations. “That’s the Big Dipper,” he says, and I nod. “You can’t see it, can you?”

“Nope.”

He huffs but then takes out his phone, quickly types something, and lifts it to my face. “See that?”

“Oh,” I say, because whenever someone spoke about the Big Dipper, I searched for an animal or something, but this is so cool. “I need to bring my glasses next time to see it for real. It’ll be a crime not to do that while here.” He puts the phone back, and we lie in silence for several more minutes, but the position causes small cramps, so I shift to the side and he does the same.

We’re facing each other, just inches away, and I sigh. “In such moments, life is so peaceful. I don’t have that in my everyday life. Everything is just so….” I search for accurate words to describe my feelings, but I can’t find them.

My life is good and has meaning, even if it’s sometimes lonely. But since coming here though, I feel like something is missing from it. “Sorry,” I say, but he says nothing. Instead, he removes a strand of my red hair from my forehead and places it behind my ear.

“You can live a little here.”

My brows rise. “Says the man who hates tourists.”

“You saw how much I hated you yesterday,” he murmurs, and the now-familiar electricity zips between us and my skin prickles where he touched me earlier.

“Are you offering me a summer fling filled with excitement?” I tease, even though inside I’m a nervous wreck. This man has so many mood swings he can give me whiplash.

“No.”

I immediately want to scoot back, humiliated once again, but his hand on my hip stills my movement, and he brings us closer, almost slapping his hips with mine.

A moan slips past my lips right before he covers them with his mouth.

For once in my life, I don’t want to think about consequences.

Micaden

None of what she shared with them is new to me.

I’ve kept tabs on her, watching her peaceful life carefully, knowing that someday she’d return to this hometown.

Emerald did mention in the past that the nature here always called to her.

Some might say the accident should have softened the blow for me, but it meant nothing.

Her accident and memory loss didn’t excuse her crimes.

But she’ll remember.

I won’t rest until she does.

So then, she can burn in the fire I create around her.

Emerald

He pushes me against the wall, his lips skimming my neck as he hikes me up, allowing my hips to cradle him while I moan into the kiss, enjoying every minute of being devoured by him.

We barely made it back to his villa, the car practically vibrating with tension and desire, while I constantly gasped for breath, the humidity of the air only intensifying my need. “Micaden,” I moan against his mouth, my panties dampening from his hard-on digging into me, practically dry humping me through our clothes.

“I know. You need to be fucked. Hard.” He tenses then moves with me still firmly wrapped around him and goes to the bed. I tangle my fingers in his hair and bite him between his shoulder and neck, needing to have his taste in my mouth.

He groans and then drops us on the bed, and I gasp, because clothes or not, it feels like he’s inside me, and my skin burns, all the material between us driving me insane.

Micaden tears my shirt and growls when he sees my lacy, white bra with a clasp in the front. My cheeks heat up when I remember how this morning I decided to wear sexy lingerie just to cheer myself up. “You were an ass yesterday,” I murmur, and his brow lifts, while his thumb brushes the clasp.

“And this is how you punish me?” There’s humor in his tone, but I just give him the death glare.

“It’s not for you. It’s for me.”

He chuckles and then finally unclamps it, removing one cup then the other, the cold air instantly hardening my nipples, and a gasp slips past my lips. “Indeed, it’s for you, darling. So I can easily do this.” Micaden leans forward, and I have a second to feel his hot breath on me right before his tongue swirls around the nipple, instantly sending a tremor through me.

He lightly tugs on it with his teeth, and my fingers tangle in his hair to bring him even closer, but instead of continuing, he licks it and then slides his tongue over my collarbone to my other breast. He repeats the slow action, all while his hips push mine deeper into the bed as his cock digs into me. I gasp, hating and welcoming the slow torture.

“No one smells like you, Emerald,” he whispers against my skin, his mouth traveling lower to my stomach, and it tightens under his touches. It’s like his every movement evokes fire inside me, my body demanding for him to take and take.

He shoulders my legs apart, settling his mouth between my thighs, and this time, he rips my shorts. “Can’t you just take them off? At this rate, I won’t have anything left to wear.” My complaint is short lived though, because he sucks on the inside of my thigh, his fingers digging into my skin while my hips rise up, sensitive to the sensation.

He slides his head up to my heated core, his five o'clock shadow scratching me on the way and highlighting my emotions. He tugs my panties to the side, and instantly his tongue swipes through my folds. Then he nips on my skin, and a moan escapes me as my hands fist his hair and I press him to me. But he only chuckles.

“Patience, my darling.” His breath on my sensitive flesh drives me insane, the need building in me, and then he licks up to my clit, closing his mouth around it and sucking while two of his fingers enter, stretching me. My core instantly wraps around him. “You are dripping for me, Emerald.” There’s so much satisfaction in his voice that for a minute it snaps me out of my haze, but then he swirls his tongue again, replacing his fingers with it, and glides inside, giving me a deep, intimate kiss that envelops me in a cocoon of desire and need so strong I’m not sure I can survive it.

My nails scratch the back of his neck, my thighs clamp around him, and my back arches as he continues to deliver pleasure to my body, feasting on my flesh, darting his tongue in and out while his thumb presses my clit. I need him to give me just one more push to…

But then my eyes open and I gasp at the realization that all this is just a reminder of the previous night, where he played my body like a master and had wild sex with me on his own terms.

I want my terms. I want to know what it’s like when a man is at my mercy and my body drives him insane.

That’s the moment Micaden travels up, leaving wet marks all over my skin until he reaches my mouth. I can smell myself on him, but it doesn't stop him from covering my mouth with his while we entwine tongues in a deep kiss, locking us away in a land that no one can enter, because no one exists but us. His hands grab my hips, and it’s so easy to let him have access to me so he can give us both the relief we so desperately seek, but I can’t.

With one move, I flip him onto his back, and he has a second to murmur “The fuck?” before I straddle him as he sits up, our noses inches away from each other. “You’d like to ride me, darling?” he asks, cupping my breast. My head falls back, which he instantly takes advantage of and nibbles on my neck, probably leaving freaking marks all over me again.

“No,” I say, and he freezes, his brows furrowing. “I mean… maybe after?” I add lamely; suddenly the idea of being on top is very appealing. “I want to taste you,” I blurt, afraid I might lose my confidence.

He blinks, and then I wonder if that’s not what he likes to do, since he didn't give me the chance last night either. But then anger flushes over me at the idea of anyone giving him this pleasure, so help me God if he says—

He lets go of me and lies back down. I flush when his male beauty registers in my mind again and I can finally explore him the way I want.

Strangely, I go for his mouth first, kissing him passionately, needing to connect with him, even though this is nothing but sex at this stage.

I have no clue how to do any of this, so I decide to mimic all his previous actions.

My lips nip on his Adam’s apple and then move lower to his collarbone and tight six-pack, which is so hard against my splayed palm it sends even more desire through me, and I bite on it, earning myself a groan while his hand tangles in my hair.

“Stop playing around, Emerald,” he orders, but I just grin mischievously and lavish the skin with my tongue, leaving small bites all over his navel while my hand glide up and down his thighs, yet I ignore the raging hard-on with its purple head, precum leaking from it. “Emerald,” he growls, and finally, I fist the base of his cock. He jerks but then calms down when I swipe my tongue over the tip, tasting him for the second time, and moan, needing to taste directly from the source.

I lick him from the head to the base, slowly dragging my tongue over his cock and then slide back, enjoying the groan echoing in the room. It changes to a moan once my mouth wraps around him, taking him as deep as I can for the first time, and I suck him, enjoying the feel of him and how helpless he seems in my hold.

My hand continues to glide up and down, with my head bobbing, and the actions ignite my arousal too, my pussy dampening, and I can’t help but slide my palm down my stomach. I barely reach my clit before his firm “Don’t” registers. My eyes rise to meet his darkish blue ones, glistening with so much passion I gasp and tighten my hold on him. “Goddammit, woman,” he growls, fisting my hair and arching my neck so I can take him deeper. “You enjoy having me at your mercy, don’t you? Needing you so much I can’t fucking see straight.” I hum in agreement around his length, sitting on my calves and tightening my thighs, seeking some kind of friction or I’ll go insane. “I bet your pussy is so wet I can enter you with one thrust and go as deep as I can.” My eyes close, but he pulls at my hair so they snap open again. “Isn’t it?” I nod, his cock slipping past my lips, and I lick the head again. “See how hard it is?” He moves my head from side to side, my lips brushing his head lightly. “Who makes me this hard, Emerald?”

“I do,” I reply hoarsely. Saying each word seems like torture, because my throat is so dry.

“That’s right. Open your mouth.” I do and immediately he fills it, pushing slightly farther, and I groan, sucking before my hand moves lower, reaching for his balls, and that’s when everything changes.

He freezes. I think he stops breathing, but then he drags me up and flips me to my back, with him looming over me, our sweaty bodies breathing heavily as he stares at me with madness in his eyes, and for one split second, fear rushes through me.

Did I do something wrong? Does he not like when his balls are—

But all fear washes away as his stare changes to smoldering. He grabs a condom from the nightstand, rolls it on, then hooks my legs under his arms, and presses me to the mattress, and that’s when I feel his cock dragging up and down over my pussy. “Micaden, I need—”

“For me to fuck you. I know.” And he enters me with one firm thrust, and my scream tears from my throat. “Yes. Let the whole fucking world hear you right now,” he says, and he pulls backward only to bury himself in me again with a harder jerk.

I moan and gasp into the air, pushing my hands on the headboard while, with each move, he sends me higher and higher in a spiral of bliss, the fire spreading through me filling my blood with so much pleasure and torture at the same time I don't know what to concentrate on.

With each time he glides inside, my hips rise, meeting him halfway, my eyes closed, concentrating only on the sensations he can bring me. My whole body is on alert; every nip of the air affects me as he speeds up, clearly on the edge too. “Micaden, please.” He has to give it to me harder, and deeper, but instead, I keep receiving shallow strokes.

I curl my fingers around his neck and pull him forward, his palms landing on either side of my head, which gives me freedom to wrap my legs around him, holding him tightly, and rock my hips in rhythm with his. “You drive me crazy,” I murmur in his ear, biting his earlobe as my nails drag over his back, leaving nail marks for sure, and a small grin curves my mouth. I love the idea of everyone seeing that—for the time being at least, this man belongs to me. “I’m so wet, so needy, and it’s unbearable.” I trap his mouth in a passionate kiss, squeezing my internal muscles, and he groans, sending vibrations through me. “So please, freaking fuck me.” The words seem so foreign to me, yet they give me what I need.

He speeds up, driving his cock into me so deep I see stars, and that’s when it happens. I reach the peak and he follows me shortly after; we breathe heavily with sweat covering our skin.

I hug him close to me and close my eyes as I enjoy holding this beautiful man in my arms while reality fades away.

Coming here hasn't been a mistake. Even if nothing comes of this fling with Micaden, he’ll forever stay a memory I can’t forget.

Micaden

As her breathing evens, I gaze down, trailing her cheek and freckled skin with my finger. She shifts a little, sighing contentedly.

Her beautiful skin glows in the moonlight while the sheet barely covers her perfectly shaped body that has the ability to bring so much pleasure to a man. In this moment, she seems so innocent, so naïve, that part of me, the one I thought was dead, reacts to it.

My hands fist and I snarl, pushing away, and I get up, grabbing my pack of smokes on the way to the terrace.

The wind blows the curtains as I step outside, inhaling the fresh midnight air in hope it’ll wash away her scent, which seems forever imprinted on my skin and my memories.

Lighting up a cigarette, I take a greedy pull and block away everything else but the rage that’s been my constant company for the last ten years.

Everything is going according to plan, and no emotions will sway me from my path.

Emerald sealed her end when she sealed mine.

There’s no one else left but her.