WILD DEVOTION
Chapter one
I was never much for the great outdoors, but something changed when Travis left me for somebody with a lot more experience. It opened my eyes to how I was living my life. I wasn’t making my mark or trying different things to make it worth my time to open up my eyes in the morning.
“I can’t believe that you’re here with me. I thought it was going to take a lot more arm twisting to get you to come.” Stephanie was a wild child born under the lucky star and had no problem sharing her voluptuous figure with those she selected to take to her bedroom.
“I’ve been trying a lot of different things lately. It makes me feel alive for the first time in my life. The best thing that could have ever happened to me was Travis leaving me. It was better that it happened sooner than later. I didn’t think so at the time, but I’m learning to walk a few miles in somebody else’s shoes.” I was looking out the window at the desolate scenery and there was this sense of calm that came over me.
“Brandy, I’ve been trying to get you to come with me on these excursions for as long as I can remember. You have no idea of what you are missing out on by roughing it. There’s something primal in how we hunt and fish for our own food.” She was born with a rifle in her hands.
“I have gone camping when I was younger, but it has been quite some time. I’m definitely going to need a refresher course. I don’t want to be the only one standing around not knowing what to do.” I took the precaution of getting one of my male friends to show me the basics of setting up a tent.
I was wearing these cargo pants with many pockets. The white top had a couple of buttons undone for some relief from the stifling heat at this altitude. There was no air conditioning, but the hardtop was taken off of the jeep from the moment we started out. It was a behemoth with the character of something that had been driven rough.
“I would suggest that I take you underneath my wing, but I think we can find a more masculine substitute. Have you noticed the muscles of the driver? That man is a feast for the eyes. I’ve always been a sucker for those with tattoos. I’ve seen the way that he has been looking at me when he thinks I don’t notice.” I did notice the same thing, but their attention had given me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
The driver was conversing with the passenger and they seemed like little boys playing at being men.
The price was right. I couldn’t say no when Stephanie told me the deal that she was going to get for 10 days off the grid.
The last house we had seen was almost an hour ago. The majestic beauty of nature was all around us. I was nervously pulling at my long blond locks. Something was bothering me. I got the feeling those who had planned this excursion had something up their sleeve. They were way too accommodating and pleasant, but I could see through the welcome embrace.
“Stephanie, my mother told me never to take candy from a stranger. Don’t you think the price was a little too good to be true? I know you don’t question these things. There’s something in the way that they look at us that is making me uneasy. I wish that I could shake this feeling, but I can’t.” Her hand touched my fingers in a reassuring gesture, but it was doing nothing to quell my fear that something was wrong.
“You always worry when there’s nothing to worry about. Who was it last year that said that we were all going to lose our jobs? You had us running around the office in a mad panic trying to put together our resumes. It turned out the company was going public and offering its employees hefty pay raises and stock options.” I was never going to hear the end of that, but she wasn’t wrong about me being pessimistic.
“My father always told me to be cautious when somebody is offering too much of a good thing. It usually means they are hiding something.” He was a wise man and losing him a few months ago turned my world upside down.
“I loved your father, but he never was one to trust easily. His death was a wakeup call for all of us. I began eating healthier by eliminating sugars from my diet and exercising regularly.” I was right there with her when she took up jogging and I was not immune to the avid stares of the men getting a look at our bodies.
We didn’t do it for any other reason than to make ourselves feel better. My perception of myself was a real problem when I was growing up fluctuating from one weight to another. I had learned to enjoy my extra curves. I wasn’t stick thin. I was big boned at 150 pounds, but everyone knew that muscle weighed more than fat.
“His reckless behavior made him a perfect candidate for a heart attack. Eating greasy foods and smoking was his guilty pleasures. My mother tried, but failed to make him see that his health was nothing to take for granted.” My mother had decided after my father’s death to move to Boca Raton with my Aunt Catherine.
It was a huge step, but the haunted memories in the house made her feel that she couldn’t move on. Selling it broke my heart, but I knew that she had to do what she had to do for herself. I didn’t like the idea of her flaunting her wares in Florida for all of those available single men. I wanted her to be happy, but I didn’t want her to be happy without my father. It was selfish of me to think that way.
“We’ve never been in better shape in our lives. I can’t get over the transformation I see in the mirror every morning. I feel better and I have a whole lot more energy. I don’t wake up in the morning and roll over and go back to sleep on the weekends. We’re both up at the crack of dawn getting an early start to the day.” She gave me her vote of confidence and the motivation to change the little things to make my life more rewarding.
“Travis got in on the ground floor when I was becoming the woman I’ve always wanted to be. He took a chance by striking up a conversation and I was foolish enough to think he was going to be different. I just want a real man who can be strong and confident, but also can show his softer side.” A burly man with a thick beard and callous hands was my fantasy man.
I was through playing the field with those who had their life planned out for the next five years. I was guilty of the same thing, but I had designs on treating each day like it was my last.
I was 5’5 with an apple bottom and nice honeydews to grab their attention from a fair distance away. I was having a problem seeing what they were seeing without having a mirror nearby with my reflection showing that all the hard work had paid off.
“I’m usually exhausted after only a couple of days. This time is going to be different. I won’t have any problem keeping up with the demands that are going to be asked of us. Neither one of us is ever going to have to depend on a man again. It’s a sad state of affairs when women no longer need the firm hand of a man to guide them. I don’t know about you, but I could use that kind of attention in the bedroom.” She had a toy chest of different things but was reluctant to share her kinky perversions.
“One day you will find that man who will desire those kinky thoughts in your head. The day we can find someone that isn’t a liar and a cheater is when we’re going to have to claim him. Don’t give up because of a few bad apples in the bunch. We can’t judge an entire gender over the actions of those who don’t know how to treat us right.” It was always the same thing with the same twinkle in their eye turning toward another.
“I don’t want to think about the past. We don’t have to think about those guys. I see a few viable candidates, but some of them are fooling themselves. Did they really think we wouldn’t notice the brand new safari outfits they are wearing? They are wannabes. They have no idea what they’re getting themselves into. I get the feeling there’s going to be a few crying for their money or maybe that’s their mommy.” There wasn’t one who had the eye of the tiger.
“Ladies we have come to the end of the road. This is where we go the rest of the way on foot. Grab the one bag you brought with you. Don’t expect us to carry your luggage.” The man’s name was Peter Winter and his leadership quality wasn’t in question.
His long black hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days. He gave off this air of superiority that wasn’t very attractive. It was actually ugly and made him something to be avoided at all costs.
“There was nothing in the brochure that mentioned we were going to have to hike the rest of the way. Are there any other surprises we should know about?” Nobody was going to ask the hard questions and it came down to me to say something.
“In the five years I have been doing this nobody has ever been bold enough to ask. This is definitely a first for me and for the rest of the guys. There is one other surprise. What we asked you to bring with you was not only to help you to survive. You made the mistake of judging the book by its cover. You’re going to need your wits to navigate this treacherous terrain and we’re not going to be there to hold your hand.” That feeling I had in the pit of my stomach was growing with each sarcastic word coming out of his mouth.
“I don’t suppose you would like to elaborate on that statement.” The rest of our group had gathered in one place by the Jeep. I could hear wildlife screaming at us to run while we still had the chance.
“This should tell you everything you need to know.” He took out his rifle and the deafening sound of it turning on us was a cold hard slap in the face. “This isn’t the trip you planned. We’re going to give you a 5-minute head start. If you’re still here by that time then we will have no choice but to make you the first casualty of the hunt.” Everybody thought he was joking, but I knew the seriousness of his tone.
“That’s not funny. I paid good money for this experience and I take a dim light on you making fun at our expense. I have a good mind to request a refund.” This guy with a brush cut and an attitude was poking his finger into Peter’s chest.
“It looks like you need something to convince you that running is your only option.” He pushed the man back with the muzzle of the gun and fired point blank into his chest.
Stephanie screamed and the man looked down stunned by this latest turn of developments. I grabbed Stephanie and dragged her away while she was still in a state of shock. Her mind was overwhelmed, but her body was being played like a puppet with my own hand.
“Run my little pets. This is going to be fun.” His words echoed in my ear with my eyes straying to the expensive new watch I had bought for the occasion with the 5-minute time limit running down with each second.
I was terrified beyond words, but this was no time to lose it when our lives were perilously hanging in the balance. The image of that man becoming a victim was permanently burned into my memory. I couldn’t get over the look in his eyes. We didn’t stick around long enough to see him perish.