by Banks, R. R.
"There doesn't need to be a 'we'," I said, finally snapping the stalk and tossing it aside. "Hunter and I can do it ourselves."
"Why should I listen to you?"
"What?" I asked.
"You're just going to take over everything and we're expected to just go along with it?"
"I was the only one who was doing anything until Hunter joined me, and I seem to be the only one who has any idea what we should do, so if you want to get through this, your only choice is to listen to me."
"That is not my only choice," Eleanor said, his voice raising higher. "I am more than capable of handling things myself.”
She sounded nothing short of indignant, but I could hear the tremble of emotion in her voice. I knew that there was much more to that statement than it held at face-value and my mind immediately flickered to my assignment. Who was this woman and what made her so damn important that I would be hired to come after her?
"Oh, so you've been marooned before? I'm sorry if I don't immediately have the utmost trust in Auntie Mame. I have extensive survivalist training and have spent weeks in the wild on my own."
“You have no idea what I’ve had to survive,” she growled at me. “They don’t make convenient little tools for what I went through.”
I could feel the anger coursing through me, tingling in my fingers and roaring in my ears. This bitch was becoming more trouble than I might be willing to deal with.
“Somehow I doubt that your privileged lily-white world has given you any of the experiences that I’ve had or offered you any of the skills that you’re going to need to get through this. It just so happens that I do have some of those skills, so you have the choice of either actually letting go of your desperate desire to control everyone around you and helping, or you can move your ass out of my way and be on your own. At this point you could tumble down one of the cliffs for all I care.”
Eleanor glared at me with fire in her eyes for a few long seconds before she spoke again.
“It’s going to start raining soon. Why don’t you put your dick away so you can actually get something done around here?"
I was stunned by her words. I wouldn't have expected that from her. Of course, I didn’t know her beyond the simple dossier that I was given when I was hired, but that had been enough to form my image of her. I knew what these wealthy women, women who had never known anything but power and privilege and walking on the backs of people who they saw as beneath them, were really like. It was this perception that made me capable of doing the things that I did. It was difficult for me to truly feel remorse when I felt like the people I was sent after had created this situation for themselves and likely deserved whatever was waiting for them. I didn’t know who Eleanor was or what she had done to cause so much anger toward her, but I wasn’t in the business of judgment. I didn’t have the luxury of assuming that there was good in everyone. In fact, it served me well to believe that people generally got what they had coming to them, and that in the greater scheme of life, the wealthier and more powerful the person, the more room they had in their lives to deserve what I facilitated. I had gone into this job with a picture of a polished, attractive middle-aged woman and the assumption that she was just like every other rich person I had ever encountered. Now that I was seeing her with the gloss of privilege washed away, however, I was seeing strength and edge that took me aback.
Just then, Hunter walked up, looking between us as if he could feel the tension that was still lingering there. Silently calling a truce so that we could do exactly what Eleanor had suggested and actually get something done, Eleanor and I followed him down to the beach where we sat down in the sand to plan out the rest of our shelter. Hunter and I showed her what we had already accomplished and we worked together to plan out the rest of what we would add to it. I had to stop myself from laughing when Eleanor asked in all seriousness if we were going to find a way to create a bathroom in our shelter.
An hour later, I was back to cutting the bamboo stalks, piling them carefully beside me so that Hunter and Eleanor could carry them over to the skeleton of our shelter. We had broken down the nets from the boat so that we could use the ropes to lash together the stalks, and though only a small portion of the shelter was finished, it finally seemed as though they were finally working with some semblance of cooperation.
"Ow! Motherfucker!"
Hunter's voice broke through the concentrated rhythm that I had fallen into over the last several hours of work and I nearly dropped my knife. I turned and rushed toward the direction of the shouts.
"What's going on?" Eleanor asked, running to catch up with me from the site of the shelter where we had been working.
"I don't know," I answered.
I could still hear Hunter muttering and groaning, and grisly thoughts crept into my mind. There were many dangers in the jungle, and I was afraid that we had been pushing ourselves too hard to get the shelter finished, putting us at risk. Finally, we found Hunter leaned against the wall just inside the mouth of a small cave. He was gripping his leg and I could see the faintest tinge of worry creeping over Hunter’s features.
"What is it?" I asked, crouching down beside him.
"Snake," Hunter said through gritted teeth. "I found another little creek a few yards away and was getting some water. Apparently, he didn't appreciate the company."
He groaned again and closed his eyes, arching slightly as if the pain was intensifying with each moment. I reached out and rested my hand on Hunter's to pull it away from the wound. Hunter relinquished his grip on the bite and I looked down at his leg. Narrow rivulets of blood trickled from the deep punctures and the wound was already beginning to swell. All of the conflict that had occurred among the three of us went to the back of my mind and I felt myself going into action.
"Are you going to suck out the venom?" Eleanor asked.
I have expected her to get the vapors. I gave a short, mirthless laugh and shook my head.
"You've been watching too many cowboy movies," I said. "Snake venom moves through the body so quickly it is next to impossible to actually suck it out of a bite. Doing that could actually introduce bacteria into the punctures that would make Hunter more vulnerable to infection."
While I was talking to Eleanor, I hadn't realized that Hunter's eyes had closed again and he was starting to shake. The shivering ramped up in intensity enough that I could feel it, and when I turned my attention back to Hunter, I could see that his face was soaked with sweat. Waves of concern washed over me and I silently cursed myself for not knowing where we were. At least if I had some idea of where the island was located geographically, I would have a better idea as to what species the snake might have been, and how dire the situation truly was. I turned to Eleanor, trying to keep my voice as calm as I could so that the situation didn't become any scarier.
"Eleanor, I need you to go back down to the beach and bring up blankets, clothes, and as many kitchen supplies as you can. Please bring the black case that is in my clothes trunk, too."
Eleanor nodded and started away from us. I patted Hunter’s leg.
"It's going to be alright," I said.
The words seemed to comfort Hunter. His shaking had abated slightly and even though his eyes were still closed, it seemed that he was feeling less afraid. A few minutes later, Eleanor made it back to the cave carrying as much as she could. She laid everything out on the ground and started back toward the shelter to gather what she hadn't been able to bring with her on the first trip.
I took a flask that we had salvaged from the boat's galley and splashed some of the rum onto the snakebite, hoping that it would kill as many germs as possible. I dressed the wound and then created a pallet on the floor of the cave. Before resting him onto the blankets, I held the flask to Hunter's lips. He took a few sips and then lowered himself down, resting his head on the clothes that I had fashioned into a pillow. I busied myself with moving the rest of the supplies into the cave and setting them up as best I could, knowing that Hunter wou
ld have to stay put for at least the next twenty-four hours. He wasn’t going to be able to get back to the beach or help with the shelter until he recovered from the bite, and from what I was seeing, there was a lingering worry in my mind that he might not get through it at all.
Chapter Twelve
Eleanor
"You're awake."
Hunter had been sleeping for nearly two days and seeing his eyes open when I stepped into the cave filled me with an incredible sense of relief. I dropped the fruit I was carrying into the basket I had woven from dried leaves and rushed to Hunter’s side, crouching down beside him and looking into his face.
Hunter gave me a weak smile from his pallet.
"I think I am," he said. He tried to sit up and groaned, lowering himself back down. "I'm not sure that I want to be, though."
I laughed and reached over reflexively to take his hand. I had meant the gesture as a sign of celebration and support, but something passed between us when our palms touched, and he lifted his eyes to look at me. My heart started trembling in my chest and I felt like I couldn't get control over the words trying to come from my mouth. It wasn’t until that moment that I had thought about the cold distance that had been between us since I had turned away from his kiss in the jungle. I realized then that we hadn’t spoken and had barely shared the same space since then, but now that chill had thawed and I felt something simmering between us. I wished that I could understand what had happened when we were there together, everything so seemingly perfect except for the harsh memories that were coursing through my mind. I had wanted him. My body craved his touch and my mouth watered at the thought of tasting his kiss again. Yet I had pulled away when he moved in.
What had that left him thinking and feeling?
I knew that it had to be that moment that had caused him to withdraw so much and what was causing me to question what I was feeling now.
"You’ve been cramped up in here for a while," I finally managed to say. "Maybe you'd like to get down to the water, wash up a bit and change your clothes."
Hunter nodded.
"That sounds amazing.” He looked around the cave. "Where's Gavin? I’m feeling a little shaky and I’m not sure that I can get down to the water myself."
I looked around as well even though I knew that the other man wasn’t there. I hadn’t seen him that morning.
"I don't know. Maybe he went back to work on the shelter. He was fairly certain that the storm was going to hit yesterday, but it didn’t, so I think that he’s getting more anxious the longer that he has to anticipate it."
Hunter let out a sigh and nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “I guess I’ll just have to try to make it.”
He started to climb to his feet and I reached forward to grab his arm.
“I can help you,” I offered.
Hunter looked at me and I felt the spark again. I had taken his glasses off when he fell asleep so now I was gazing directly into the indescribably sexy green pools without the glare of the lenses blocking my view. We stared at each other for several long seconds, the heat between us evident even though neither of us said anything. I took hold of his hand with one of mine and gripped his elbow with the other. I could feel his muscles trembling as he started walking and I knew that is muscles were feeling the strain from the time that they had been unused. After a few steps, however, he seemed to find his strength again and was walking with greater stability. I didn’t let him go, not wanting to trust too much in his tired body and cause him to fall and hurt himself again. With Gavin missing, I was fairly certain that I wasn’t going to be able to haul Hunter back into the cave and figure out how to nurse him back to health for a second time. We made our way carefully toward the pool and as soon as we approached it I felt my face heat up, the memories of the time that I had spent in that water thinking about Hunter still fresh in my mind.
“Um,” I said, looking around when we got to the edge of the water. “I’ll turn around so you can get undressed. Just get in the water and let me know.”
I turned around even though that was the absolute last thing that I wanted to do in that moment and waited while I heard the soft thud of his pants hitting the ground and then the light splash of him step down into the water. I couldn’t help but imagine what it would look like for that spectacular body to dip beneath the surface, but I didn’t turn around until I heard him call for me.
I didn’t bother to take off the gym shorts and shirt that I was wearing. It was hot enough that they would dry when I got out, and even if they didn’t, I had done what passed as laundry on the island and would be able to change into yet another set of gym shorts and shirt that I had snagged from Gavin’s supplies. I didn’t love that I was wearing his clothes, but I would rather deal with that than live in the same dress that I had arrived in or try my hand at weaving leaves into an Eve wardrobe. I walked down into the water with him carrying one of the coconut halves that I had emptied out and put by the side of the pool. I filled it with water and used it to rinse Hunter’s back. I wanted to resist touching him, but I couldn’t. I poured another shell of water over him and reached out to gently run my hand across his skin. His muscles were firm and perfectly formed beneath my palm and I heard him let out a sigh when I touched him.
I stepped slightly closer to him and whispered for him to tilt his head back. When he did, I poured water over his hair and reached up to tousle it with my fingers. Hunter moaned slightly and I bit down on my lower lip to control the surge of desire that rushed through me. I continued this way, helping him bathe away the dirt, sweat, and tightness of lying in the cave for two days.
“Does the bite still hurt?” I asked.
Hunter shook his head.
“No,” he said. “Not really. A little achy, maybe, but nothing like it was.”
“That’s good,” I said.
I was nearly against him now, my wet clothes the only thing that was keeping me from being able to feel the warmth of his skin on my breasts. I ran my hands over his shoulders and along his arms, savoring the smoothness and the feeling of the muscles just beneath. This man was young. Too young. But I couldn’t resist him. I ran my hands around to the front of his body and over the top of his chest so that they just grazed his collarbones.
“Turn around,” I whispered in his ear.
He complied with my request and turned. The water was low enough that it hovered just beneath the delectable deep V of muscles over his hips. When he shifted, the water moved, revealing the hint of coarse, curly hair at the bottom of the V. I flattened my hands on his chest and let out a long breath, comparing the rhythm of our hearts as I felt his against my palm and mine against my ribcage. I was so invested in Hunter that I didn’t even notice that the sky had darkened and the pressure of the air around us had gotten more intense until it felt like the jungle itself was closing in around us. In an instant, though, the sky opened up and a deluge of hot, steaming rain cam streaming down on us.
I let out a cry of surprise and jumped back from Hunter.
“Get back to the cave!” he commanded and I did as he said, fighting against the resistance of the water to get back to the bank.
The ground was already slick as I ran back toward the cave and I nearly lost my footing. As I started to stumble, I felt Hunter grab onto my arm and lift me so that I didn’t fall. Above us, a bolt of lightning sliced through the sky and the jungle rumbled with a massive crash of thunder. It reminded me of the night that we had escaped from the cruise ship, but this storm seemed to have come on faster and far more vicious than even the storm on the water. I was thankful when I got beyond the mouth of the cave and into the dryness beyond. I went as far inside the cave as I could see with the light from outside.
Hunter ran in after me and I noticed that he had gotten back into his pants.
I guess running through the jungle naked wasn’t nearly as appealing as National Geographic would make it seem. Even Tarzan made himself a fancy loin cloth.
“Oh, no, wh
at animal was that?”
“What?”
I looked up at Hunter, not realizing that I had spoken out loud. I shook my head.
“Oh, um, I was just thinking about Tarzan.”
“You were thinking about Tarzan?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“He was human.”
“What?”
“You asked what kind of animal he was.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Not him. I was thinking about his loin cloth. It was obviously made out of fur. So, which of his little animal friends and family did he kill off to turn into his wardrobe?”
Hunter stared back at me and blinked a few times as if he was trying to process what I was saying in the context of something that actually mattered.
“I ---” he started, but then stopped.
“Never mind,” I said, trying to brush some of the water off of my skin.
“Have you ever wondered why people run out of the water when it starts raining?” he asked. “It seems kind of silly. Like ‘oh no, we need to stop swimming, we’re going to get wet!’”
I laughed.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the rain,” I said. A bolt of lightning lit up the cave and I pointed at the entrance. “It’s that.”
I was walking toward the pile of supplies that I had built just inside the cave when a clap of thunder crashed overhead, so loud it felt like the Earth was going to split. I gasped and jumped toward Hunter. He reached out and caught me, drawing me close to him so that I was pressed to his chest. I lifted my eyes to look at him and found him staring back at me, his eyes darker. Suddenly I didn’t care about the storm around us anymore. All that mattered was the feeling of his arms around me and his chest against mine. Without thinking, I rose up onto my toes and touched my mouth to his. He tasted warm and delicious and I parted my lips slightly to seek more of it.
Hunter’s hands pressed to the small of my back and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss. I looped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up closer to him, not wanting any space between our bodies. As we kissed, I started to walk backwards, drawing him with me. I was easing myself down to my knees, trying to bring him down so that we could lie on the pallet that he had rested on as he recovered from the bite, when I felt him ease me away from him again. My stomach sank. This couldn’t be happening again. We had already gone through this and then back around in circles. With the storm raging outside, I didn’t have anywhere to hide and I certainly didn’t have any champagne to drown my embarrassment in.