by Amber Hart
“Yes, Raven. Let’s go while it’s dark. We’ll have to be careful.”
I look once more toward Clovis, who is still sleeping silently, before taking off my shirt. Raven undresses down to her underwear, and we both wade into the water. She goes first so that I can help her along if she needs. The tunnel seems darker at night, making it hard to anticipate the opening. Once we surface, the jungle greets us with the chattering of insects. I listen for any sound of poachers but hear nothing suspicious.
Raven is just barely illuminated by the moon. I swim to the side of the pool with her, happy to be free of the confinement of the cave. Judging by the smile on Raven’s face, she is too.
We spot a secluded area off to the side of the waterfall, so I lift Raven in my arms, pressing her open legs to my stomach. She wraps her ankles around me as I carry her to the water’s edge, where a ledge of rock forms a divider and gives us privacy.
I set her down. “Turn around,” I whisper, and she does.
I gently remove her underwear, then my own shorts and boxers. I start at the base of her neck and kiss down her spine. Raven rests her hands against the wall for support. When I get to her lower back, I take a moment to look at her. Raven is bare for me and I cannot take it; I have to touch her. But first I kiss down the back of one of her legs and up again. I do the same with the other. When I get to her backside, I kiss more gently, just barely a sigh against her skin.
“Jospin,” she moans.
I take my time kissing her from behind. When it seems as though Raven cannot take it anymore, I stand and let her feel exactly what she’s done to me. I press against her and reach a hand around her stomach as I nip her ear.
“Yes, Raven?” I reply.
“Please,” she says.
“Please what, Raven?”
I like the game we play, where Raven needs me so badly that she asks out loud for me to make it better.
Raven reaches around to touch me.
“Not yet,” I say, and put her hand back on the wall.
I want Raven to have all my attention.
I am hard against her as I press between her legs. She begins to move against me, but I stop her again.
“Wait,” I say, because I know the moment she rocks into me I will not be able to take it. I will need to be inside her, but I’m not through with her yet.
“Jospin,” she says. “Touch me.”
I grin. “Ask nicely.”
She glances backward with a look that nearly makes me lose all resolve.
“Touch me,” she says again, seductively.
“Ask,” I repeat, not without struggle, “nicely.”
She reaches for me again, but I pull her hand away, place it firmly on the rock.
“Now, let’s try this again,” I say into the dark.
I trail fingers up her legs, stopping before I touch her completely. Raven squirms, but I don’t give in to her.
“Touch me,” she says, not wanting to give up control.
I smile and run fingers along her inner thighs.
“I am touching you, Raven.”
But I see that she is determined, so I slip a finger between her folds and run it softly along her. Raven moans.
“Have you decided to ask?”
“No,” Raven says.
I slip fingers between her again, this time circling her the way she likes. I take my time, letting her get worked up, and then I stop.
“What about now?”
Raven moves against me, but I pin her in place, smiling against her hair.
“No,” she says, but I can feel her giving up on our little game. Raven needs me just as badly as I need her. I spin her around and kneel.
“How about now?” I ask, and let my tongue slip between her folds instead. I taste her just long enough. And then I pull away. It is beyond hard for me to do and I am about to taste her again regardless, but Raven relents.
“Will you please touch me, Jospin?” she asks. “I need you.”
That is good enough. I let my tongue roam every part of her. I reach two fingers to her opening and slip inside as Raven’s breaths come rapidly. I move quickly, the way I know she craves. I press my lips to the softest parts of her. I don’t stop this time. I go and go until Raven digs her nails into me.
“Yes,” she says, beginning to tremble.
I stop and retrieve my cargo shorts from the ground, feeling around the pocket for a condom. I tear it open.
I lift her in my arms and press her against the wall as I slowly sink into her. Raven arches toward me—hot skin and fast breaths and so much passion. I tease her nipples as I begin to move in her.
“So sexy,” I murmur.
Raven’s skin reflects the moonlight from this position, and I love the view. Her nipples harden more as I take them into my mouth. I support Raven upright and drive further into her.
“More, more,” she whispers.
I move faster, sinking as deeply as I can. Raven’s arms wrap around my neck. She is full, so full, of me.
“God, Raven,” I groan.
Our pace is relentless; we are skin on skin, no space between. Raven rolls her hips backward to meet me with each thrust, making our bodies crash against each other. She places her palm against my mouth, and I bite down hard enough to leave a mark. I love the look of Raven then. Completely full of me, sweat glistening all across her skin. Our bodies are slippery, gliding and pressing. Raven tightens against me, and it sends me almost completely over the edge. But first I let her ride out her orgasm, mouth open, head back, clenching me desperately. She rocks with waves of pleasure.
I have to support her one-handed to put my other hand to her mouth. I cover her moans. Deeper and deeper I sink. I tangle my fingers in her hair and roughly press my lips against hers. Raven kisses me with absolutely everything she has. Then she pulls back to look me in the eyes, to gaze steadily in mine, as I too come undone.
Chapter 39
Raven
“Raven, wake up!”
I startle, trying to process what is happening.
Jospin’s voice is in my ear. “We have to go now!”
“What?” I ask. “Why? What time is it?”
“It’s noon, and we need to leave. We don’t have much time!”
I don’t understand what’s going on. It feels like night, but Jospin’s words contradict the shadows around us.
Clovis quickly shoves food into our packs, along with ammo and our clothes. There’s a rushing noise, like the waterfall, only it’s in the cave.
“What is that sound?” I ask.
Jospin yanks the blanket away from me and tosses it to Clovis, who packs it and zips up our bags.
“It’s water, Raven,” Jospin answers. “Look around you.”
I don’t see much at first, but as I step closer to the pool, I realize what he means. The water has risen too high. It’s now entering the cave at an alarming rate.
“Why is the water rising?” I ask.
“Flash flood,” Clovis says, joining Jospin and me at the edge. The water is starting to cover my toes. “The rain forest is angry today. Dark skies. Torrential downpour. We cannot stay here. Jospin is right. We have to go. We only have minutes until there is no more ground at all.”
We don’t have anywhere else to go. We cannot be rushed out like this.
“Where will we hide?” I ask.
Though it has now been two weeks since our escape, and my wounds are nearly healed, I cannot help but think that we are still not quite safe from Mr. Tondjii.
“I don’t know,” Jospin replies. “But it cannot be here.”
Jospin takes my hand. Clovis straps the bags together, hoping to pull them through the tunnel behind him.
“You’re going to have to swim hard, Raven,” Jospin says. “As hard as you can. The water pressure in the tunnel will try to push you back here, but you cannot let it, okay? Kick, swim, fight the current. It’s our only chance.”
I nod and wade into the water. The three of us wait
until the last possible second to take our breaths, then we dive under. Jospin wasn’t kidding: The water pressure is intense, and I wonder if this will work. We could easily drown in the crushing black of the tunnel. Clovis presses on through the opening. I lose my nerve and surface again. Jospin follows.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
“It’s too strong,” I admit.
Emotion pinches in my chest, and I feel exactly as I did that moment in the forest when our evidence was destroyed and I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. Jospin notices and takes my hand.
“Hey,” he whispers. “You’ll be okay. I know it’s hard.”
I realize from his stare that he is trying to hold it together too. I also know that he could easily hide his emotions from me, put up an impenetrable front, but he doesn’t. He wants me to see that he feels it too, that he’s not always strong, that we are both overwhelmed and scared, but we are in this together.
“Listen to me, Raven. You do not give up,” he continues. “I know what it’s like to want to break down. And you have every right to. But right now I need to get you out of this cave.” He pauses. “Before it’s too late.”
I look back at the rushing tunnel. “I don’t know if I can.”
Jospin kisses me once, softly. “Don’t you dare give up. You are not that girl. You are a fighter. You have battled a gorilla and won. You have battled poachers, on several occasions, and won. You are scarred and beautiful and fierce and determined. You,” he says, pulling me close, drawing me nearer to the opening of the tunnel even as the water rushes in faster, “are going to swim and swim. You will make it. You are not a quitter. You are a warrior.”
Jospin’s words help beat back the panic that’s been rising inside me. I steel my shoulders with the courage he’s given to me, and I duck under. I swim and swim and swim like he told me to. Even when my arms tire, even when it feels as if I’m pressing through a solid weight, even when my legs turn to rubber and I cannot kick much longer: I press on. My lungs burn and my head hurts, but I swim on. Jospin shoves me hard through the tunnel, and I know I’m out when the water opens up into something like a churning storm. I surface and gasp for air. Jospin drags me to the edge and lays me down.
“Breathe,” he says. “Calm down and breathe.”
It takes me a minute, but I finally do. My lungs feel heavy. Each breath is painful, until it’s not. Until, finally, breathing feels good again and the throbbing in my head dulls.
“You did well, Raven,” Jospin whispers. “You did so well.”
And I almost swear that his eyes are watery, not from the pool but from emotion.
“Because I’m a warrior,” I joke.
“Yes,” he says. “Because of that.”
His faith in me compels me.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you too.” His lips find mine, just once.
My lungs are not ready for a run, but we have to make it to the border of Mr. Tondjii’s territory. It isn’t safe within his reach, though the truth is he could find us anywhere in this jungle if he tried hard enough. Anything could’ve happened while we’ve been holed up in the cave, but we have to assume that the other pack is at full force, and thus Mr. Tondjii cannot enter their territory freely. They will be on guard, which is great for us because that means the likelihood of Mr. Tondjii following is slim. But if that is the case, they might also be on the lookout for enemies, and their being on guard could also be our downfall if we are not extremely careful. They could find us.
With the advantage of the rain to wash away our tracks, we keep pace quickly through the forest. Thunder booms overhead. There is not an animal in sight. If we were as lucky, we’d have somewhere to hide out of the way of the storm too.
“Almost there,” Jospin says. And we push on.
Chapter 40
Jospin
Strong tree limbs promise our safekeeping, at least for the evening and night. We’ve traveled far enough outside Father’s borders that he won’t look for us here, I hope.
“We’ll stay here tonight,” I announce.
Clovis gets to work right away climbing a tree. He is good at this. He knows just which vines to grab to tie around the limbs. He begins weaving together leaf hammocks for us.
While he works, I assess the tree. “Think you can climb it?” I ask Raven.
Her head tilts toward the sky, her wet hair plastered to her back.
“I think so,” she replies.
“You go first, then. I’ll help you if it becomes too hard.”
I love how Raven trusts me, how she braces her hands around the thick tree trunk and begins climbing. With each step, she reaches higher, struggling through the rain to gain traction with the soles of her boots.
“Is this high enough?” she asks, stopping at a point not far from the ground.
“No,” I reply, looking down about ten feet. “Keep going. I’ll tell you when.”
She continues until there is a solid layer of leaves below us, hiding us entirely from view.
“Here,” I say.
It will take time for Clovis to weave the hammocks, and so Raven and I wait in the trees, under leaves that help shield us from the downpour.
“Is it safe here?” Raven asks. Her eyes dart around our surroundings.
“Have you ever slept in a tree?” I ask, though from the anxious look on her face, the answer is clear.
“No,” she says nervously.
“It’s safer than being down there,” I assure her, nodding toward the ground. I wrap an arm around Raven’s shoulder for comfort. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
This seems to calm her. She leans into me and sighs. “What do we do now?”
“Now,” I reply, “we wait.”
For the next hour, Clovis weaves, eventually climbing up with the hammocks rolled and strapped to his back. And because he knows me well, he makes only two. One for him, and a bigger one for Raven and me. I am tempted to thank him.
“It’s not the best,” he says, handing one to me. “But it will work for now, until the rain dies down.”
It actually is the best I’ve seen. I am a better tracker, but Clovis is superior at building makeshift structures, a hammock being one.
“Clovis, this is amazing,” Raven says, admiring his work. “I had no idea you could do this.”
“You should see what he can do with a tree house,” I say, remembering the one we used to have when we were kids.
And then I realize what I’ve said. The words simply slipped from my lips. I didn’t mean to think of Clovis like that, as someone who is not the enemy. Raven is smiling. Clovis is staring at me. I turn away and begin securing the hammock to the tree.
“Will it hold both of us?” Raven asks.
“Yes,” I reply. I show Raven how it works, where she should lie. “You put your head here, near the thicker part of the tree, and I’ll lie next to you.”
Next I get to work fastening the bags beside us so they won’t fall.
“Can we eat?” Raven asks.
I reach for a granola bar and hand it to her. I kiss her once before getting back to work. I don’t miss the small smile she wears.
“I’ll secure my hammock above,” Clovis says to me.
We’re not exactly on speaking terms, but I’ve accepted that he’s here, and he’s decided that even if I don’t reply he’ll still talk to me. If he’s waiting for a response, he won’t get one. Clovis doesn’t wait, though; he just scales the tree higher and secures his hammock.
Raven finishes her granola bar and looks at the bag longingly. She must be hungry, but she doesn’t ask for more. She knows our rations are slim and we cannot eat extra. As much as I’d love to give her my food, that would only make me weaker, and I would become a burden to her. Raven cannot help me along if I don’t have the strength.
“It’s been two days since we ate the snake,” Raven comments. “Will we hunt again?”
“Small meat like that, yes,” I reply.
“We won’t hunt bigger game until it is safe to light a fire.”
And, honestly, we can’t even hunt snake until the sun comes back out, until we can let it bake on a warm rock. Who knows when that will happen.
“Jospin,” Raven says. “Where will we go from here?”
Raven asks where we’ll go a lot. She likes to know the plan. And as much as I’d like to inform her, the jungle is simply too unpredictable for that.
“I don’t know,” I say softly.
“I’ll take watch,” Clovis says, leaning his head over his hammock to peer down at us.
“No, thanks,” I reply.
“How long will this last, Jospin?” Clovis asks. “How much have you slept lately? A couple of hours a night? You cannot keep going like that. You need rest, real rest.”
I hate his next words. I hate that he’s right, that he even remembers.
“Plus, you love the rain. You sleep best when it’s raining.”
Raven looks at me as if she’s pleased to learn this about me. I help her into the hammock and slide in beside her.
“I don’t need rest. I’m fine,” I say.
But, actually, that’s a lie. I do need rest. My eyelids feel heavy. My arms are tired. My legs are beat. I would sleep in a heartbeat if Raven were the one keeping watch. I glance over at Raven and I see that she’s barely awake. Clovis watches the way I look at her. I won’t ask her to stay up another night, and he knows it.
“Fine,” Clovis says. “You stay up again, and when you’re too weak to continue, I will take Raven with me.”
His words send a flare of anger through me. “You will not go anywhere with my girl.”
Clovis grins. “Then I suggest you sleep.”
He has me cornered. What’s worse, he knows me well enough to understand how to corner me. He’s been able to play me this way since we were kids. I vividly recall one time when we were around eleven. We had just made a huge mess, and Mother was insisting we clean it up.
—
“One of you needs to take care of this now,” Mother says in our tribe dialect.
“Clovis did it,” I complain.
The pack is about to leave on a hunt. The last thing I want to do is clean when I could be seeing them off.