The Heart of Andros

by Jade Oliver

  “Yes, Tobias, I have.” I don’t elaborate and he doesn’t ask me to. Instead, he tells me to call him Toby and offers to help clean up.

  After we finish cleaning, I walk to the garden. I find Adair and Jasper avidly discussing the foods we grow. Well, she is avidly talking and he is just nodding his head with the occasional yes motion. I can’t help the smile that grows, happy to see both enjoying themselves so openly. I chuckle at the scene and they turn toward me.

  “Adair, I would like to show you the creek. Will you come with me?” I ask.

  “Us alone?” Her facial expression shows discomfort and I understand her hesitation. I planned to apologize at the creek, but I need to do so now. I open my mouth but before I can begin, Jasper quickly tells us both goodbye and leaves. He knows how hard it is for me to express myself and leaves to give us privacy.

  “I would like to apologize for my rudeness yesterday, Adair. You were correct that I didn’t do my duty as a host, whether you are a stranger or friend. You were distraught to find yourself and Toby in a strange place with strange people telling you someone would hurt you. I should have made sure you felt safe and comfortable. Instead I left Jasper to be the only person here to do so. I hope you can forgive me.” I know my voice sounds gruff, but I try to temper my tone to show that I am regretful over my words and actions.

  Adair’s eyes display her willingness to forgive me before I finish speaking, so I am not surprised by her words. “Thad, thank you for the apology. It’s clear it is hard for you, so I appreciate you doing so. We all have moments, I had more than one yesterday myself. It was a long, taxing day for all of us. How about we start over?”

  I give her a small smile. “I would like that. We can start as I show you the creek and the surrounding area.” She nods her acceptance and I begin to lead her to our destination. Finally, I have her alone and I hope not to screw up, again.

  Adair follows me down the trail to the creek, and I point out the more dangerous plants and the healing plants. I explain it’s important for her to know the difference, especially since the only doctor we have here is a villager with no doctor skills. He only has native knowledge based on myths and voodoo.

  As I speak, Adair listens intently; she is studious and her focus stays intent on my words. Adair tells me what little she knows about the plants I show her and how modern medicine uses them, which leads to a detailed explanation about how medicine in general works in the future.

  “The creek is small but big enough to supply water for the house and for the animals since it is fresh and not salt water. This piece of land has been generous to the farm over the years and many are envious. We can also swim in it to cool off if we don’t want to walk to the beach.”

  Adair’s gets an excited look on her face. “Thad, did you know Andros is the only Bahamian island with any fresh water? I found out when I did my research before coming here. That’s why this island has pine trees, like the ones surrounding us, and so much rich, lush vegetation.”

  I am quite fascinated by all the knowledge she has about the place in which I live. We continue our talk, and by the time we arrive at the creek there is a comfortable companionship between us.

  Adair looks around and exclaims, “It’s lovely, Thad. A nice little nook to enjoy.” She walks to the creek, bends down to stick in her finger in it, and quickly pulls it out. “Thad, that water is so cold! How can you swim in it?”

  I laugh. “It’s warm enough by midday. And Jasper and I don’t mind the chill so much.”

  She walks around the creek bend and asks me many questions about the animal and plant life. How Jasper and I adapted to life here from the colonies, and how we use the resources to support the farm. I answer all her questions without feeling annoyed. I enjoy that she finds it thrilling to learn new information and is willing to apply it.

  But after we have been gone several hours I tell her we must go back because I still have chores waiting. I don’t tell her I spent more time with her today than I planned to or that I enjoyed her company more than I will allow myself to acknowledge.

  Before we leave, she smiles, then surprises me when she grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Thank you, Thad. I needed this tranquility after the last twenty-four hours,” she tells me, before pulling herself up to her toes and placing a kiss on my cheek so light her lips only barely touch me. But the electricity it sends through my body tells me I am not going to be able to ignore these welling emotions much longer. I can't help but to smile, knowing she has forgiven me for my stupidity last night, despite the caution I should heed about forming a relationship with her.

  Fifteen

  June 6th, 1785

  Toby

  I stare at the chicken coop. What the hell am I doing? Jasper attempted to show me how to do this the other day, but I’ve decided this is not my forte. I’m generally a go-getter and not a quitter, but there is no way I’m going up against a chicken. Give me a spider. Give me a snake. But hell no to the walking dinosaur currently giving me the evil eye with its beady little black eyes. It stares me down in an I dare you to breach the barrier into my habitat look.

  “Toby, what are you waiting for?” Adair walks up from behind me and lays her hand on my back. She has been more affectionate and open with me since… well, everything. I relax into her softness and wrap my arm around her waist.

  I don’t look away from the chickens when I tell her, “Adair, I’ve decided that the chickens have already bested me today.”

  Although she doesn't laugh out loud, I feel her shaking against me. She’s laughing at me, but I don’t care because I’m so damn relieved to see her happy and smiling. The last few days have been emotionally draining. To find yourself in a different world, with strangers and a possible threat that you still don't fully understand, all the while hoping you decided to trust the right people, is stressful.

  “It’s okay to laugh, my love. I’m man enough to admit failure.” I glance down at her and see the happiness on her face and in her beautiful blue eyes.

  She chuckles softly. “Toby, the chickens are not out to get you. They’re harmless creatures.”

  My gaze narrows at the chickens until I find the mean one, the one that was giving me the evil look before she walked up. Finally I find it in the back of the coop trying to hide. I point it out to Adair.

  “Look, there is the evil beastie now. It’s hiding in the back trying to trick me into coming in there to feed it before it attacks me!”

  Adair laughs loudly at my proclamation, not even bothering to hide the tears from laughter in her eyes. She looks to where I am pointing. “That sweet little black hen with the fuzzy feet? She let me pet her yesterday, and hold her, Toby. Why do you think she’s mean?”

  I tighten my arm around her waist so I can slightly see her face. But she is still watching the chickens, not paying attention to me. Apparently she didn’t realize how much she loves animals until we were shown around the farm our first day here. I didn’t know she has been petting the chickens though.

  “Adair.”

  “Hmmm,” she mutters.

  “Adair, look at me.” She turns to me with a distracted look on her face. “When did you pet the chickens?”

  The biggest smile lights up her face. “Yesterday. I passed by when Jasper was gathering eggs and asked him if I could help. He agreed to show me and that I could watch and learn before attempting it myself.”

  She grabs my left hand in excitement and brings it to her chest, and I don’t think she’s aware of her action. It’s a small gesture that fills me with contentment. We have come so far in just a few days because not long ago she would not have done that.

  Her face is animated with excitement as she continues. “And well, the little black chicken walked right up to me and let me pet her! Jasper said it was because she thought I had food, but I don’t care because she let me pet her the entire time!”

  I pull my hand from hers to cup her face with both of mine and lean down to give her a chaste kiss. Mo
ving her lips under mine, she slides her tongue along the seam of my mouth, deepening the kiss. She wraps her arms around me and slides her hands down to squeeze my ass. The little minx. She’s trying to distract me. I groan into her mouth, making her whimper.

  “Tobias, I thought you were gathering the eggs.”

  Bloody Hell! I think as we both jerk against each other, startled by the brisque voice. Cock-blocked in the chicken coop. Irony at its finest.

  I reluctantly pull my lips away from Adair and slide my hands down around her waist, pulling her in front of me to hide my erection, then turn around to face an amused Thad. I knew it was him because I recognized his voice. His voice is rough, with a hoarseness, compared to Jasper’s soft lilt tone.

  “That doesn't look like gathering the eggs to me,” he continues.

  “I was just getting to it.”

  Adair starts shaking her head. “But Toby, you said -”

  “Never mind that. I’m just getting to it. I just had to get what I needed before I started.” I can’t let the chickens show me up in front of Thad.

  Adair gives me a quizzical look. “What did you need?”

  “Your kiss, my love, for good luck. I’ll always need you, so plan on many more kisses in the future.”

  With a cheeky grin, Adair says, “You mean in the past.”

  I give her a mock frown and reply, “Haha. Very funny.”

  Thad clearing his throat drags me away from joking with her. “Are you delaying, Tobias?”

  “Hell, no. I’m talking with my girl.” Hell yes I’m delaying. I hate those freaking chickens.

  Stern-faced, controlling, serious-minded Thad rolls his eyes at me. If Adair already has him doing this after two days, he is hopelessly done for.

  “Well, get to it then,” he demands.

  “Fine,” I sneer at him.

  Adair snickers at us.

  Thad just smirks back at her. The twat. He knows exactly what he is doing. I can’t decide if he is jealous or wants to join us. The last few days he has interfered every time I so much as kiss Adair. For now, I will just have the worst case of blue balls, but I’m used to it by now and Adair is worth the wait.

  “I’m getting to it, mate.” I sigh wearily as I slowly approach the chicken coop ready to face hell. I don’t care if I sound overly dramatic. When Jasper showed me the chickens, one did attack me and the smug bastard, Thad, knew it.

  I walk into the coop and carefully make my way to the egg boxes, trying to avoid the chickens and their droppings. There’s no way to avoid all of the chicken poop, but I try my best to avoid the bigger piles. I almost slipped and fell on my ass with Jasper the last time I was out here. The entire time I watch out for the fat red hen that attacked me, not the sweet little black one Adair mentioned, but I don’t see her.

  Shite. I am fucked. I know she’s waiting for me. Sweat rolls down my back and I swear the chickens can smell my fear. Just as I reach into the first box and close my hand around the egg, something brushes against it. I jerk my hand out that is now holding an egg and stumble backwards, scaring the chickens around my feet. The egg slips from my grasp, flying backwards, and Adair shouts, but I don’t have to time to wonder why.

  Just as I steady my footing, I see little black, beady eyes staring at me from the box. It’s her. “Bollux,” I squeal out loud.

  Thad chuckles while Adair asks me if I’m all right. I ignore both. It’s between me and the demon now. I begin to backup and leave, no pretense trying to be manly, when she flies out of the box and straight for my face. “Shite. Shite. Shite.”

  The demon somehow attaches herself to my upper body and tries to peck my eyes out. I stumble all over, the chickens under my feet, and try to save myself from this madness. She pecks at my hands, face, and any other part she can reach. I can hear Thad laughing and Adair yelling at me to stop and grab her and toss her, gently - yeah forget that - off of me.

  What the hell does the woman think I’m doing - making out with the fucking demon? She tells me that I can help myself if I’m just going to make fun of her. Fuck. I must have said that out loud too. We’re all picking up her bad habits. I hear Thad laugh even harder and Adair scream “Fuck you Toby” and realize I also said that out loud. Damn.

  Finally, I get the demon in my hands and toss her down, but she lands on her feet like a damn cat. I scramble to get out the chicken coop as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I forget about the chicken shite and step into a big slippery pile of it. I swing my arms to try to balance myself but slip and bust my arse anyway when I fall backwards on the shite covered ground. I can feel it squishing under my back as I lie there debating whether or not to get up. I see something red fly at me from the corner of my eye and scramble to my knees. I crawl towards the entrance, slinging it open and closed before I’ve even thought about what it must look like to the others.

  I close my eyes and just sit on my knees in the grass and dirt. My head hangs towards my chest, and Thad still chuckles at my predicament, the arsehole. At least Adair admonishes him for it. That seems to quickly shut him up and I feel a smile form on my face. Serves him right, the wanker.

  Someone walks over to me and by the light footsteps I gather it’s probably Adair. “Are you alright Toby?” she asks me sweetly.

  I open my eyes and bring my head up to look at her. “If I say no, will you kiss it better?” I try to joke to rid myself of the embarrassment of having the chickens best me.

  She bites her lip and looks like she wants to say something but doesn’t know how. Luckily, I have Thad there to help her. Or not.

  “You are covered in chicken shite. Of course she doesn’t want to touch, much less, kiss you.”

  I give Thad a quick glare, then turn and look back at Adair and notice for the first time something orange and sticky in her hair. I have a bad feeling about this but ask anyway. “Adair, what’s in your hair?”

  ‘Well, Toby, that would be egg. It magically fell from the sky.” She bites her lip harder, still trying not to laugh at me. Her gesture makes her face look like she does when she wants to be pleasured, and it makes my dick stir in my pants. Even covered in shite, I want her.

  Thad notices my issue and breaks into hysterics, yet again at my expense. “Go wash up in the creek. Adair can show you where to go.”

  “Well, my little bird, are you going to help me clean up?” I snicker at her as I wait on Thad to call me out for teasingly using his pet name for Adair.

  She gives me a mischievous look. “Toby, do you need me to wash your back?”

  I feel a sudden renewed burst of energy. Instead of joking back with her, I’m overwhelmed by my need. I need her in a way that I can’t describe and it's been building for a month. Thad is forgotten as I climb to my feet, dust my hands off on my cargo shorts, and walk towards her.

  My intent is solely focused on her. On touching her. Kissing her. Adair must see my need because her eyes darken in desire, the blue turning that deep blue sapphire that affects me so much. I don’t touch her, afraid that I won’t stop, and I need to clean up first.

  “I’m ready when you are, Adair.”

  Sixteen

  June 6th, 1785

  Adair

  I’m ready when you are, Adair.

  Those words strike me to the core making my heart flutter and my body flush. There is so much feeling behind that statement. So much want and need. I feel as if I’ve been ready forever, yet at the same time, I will never be ready. But it’s Toby. Toby who gets me and understands me on a level so deep that he’s led me to discover things about myself I wouldn’t have without him.

  “I’m ready.” I turn away from Toby without prompting him to follow me because I know he will. My only thought is to get to the creek as quickly as possible.

  Suddenly, Thad stops, turns, and calls out to us as we leave. “Forgetting something?” He raises his eyebrows as he smirks knowing our minds are not focused on anything but each other. I swear he rolls his eyes as he teases, “You’ll need ga
rments for after you wash and a blanket to lay on as you… dry.”

  With that he disappears into the barn to return with breeches, a longer flowing shirt, and a blanket. My hand skims against his as I take them from him and I feel sparks throughout my body. I grab Toby’s hand to lead him this time.

  Once we are covered by the trees Toby halts abruptly, our linked hands jerking me to a stop. The clothes and blankets slip from my hands as Toby grabs me by the shoulders and pushes my back against the tree. I feel his warm breath heat my cheek as he makes his way to my ear. “When I take you, because we both know I will, it is my name I want on your lips as you come undone. I know you find yourself with attraction to the others and a bit of your heart belongs to the past, but for this moment, it is for us, love. I am going to make sure you know it’s my cock you are milking for every last drop.”

  Holy. Fuck! Yes, please!

  Toby knows what his dirty mouth does to me. I cannot respond with words because I have none. I can only let out this breathy little squeak. He starts to pull me forward as if he knows the way, but I giggle because he is already headed in the wrong direction.

  Scooping up the stuff before we get too far, I tug him towards the correct path to the creek. “Toby, love, let me lead. You’ll get a better view of my ass.” He growls, loudly. I giggle, unsure if the cause was from the use of his pet name or giving him some of his own medicine, maybe both.

  After walking fifteen minutes, we arrive at the creek. Even in my worked-up state I can’t help but notice the beauty around me. The creek is almost the size of a small river because of recent rains, and the water rushes past like mini white rapids. I sigh, realizing I am in fact in paradise, even though it has been all twisted and screwed up with whatever happened to get us where we are. I think of Thad with his hard exterior shell and wonder what is underneath it. Then there’s Jasper and the way he sees everything but says little.