by Kelli Walker
Then, I saw him move.
“Come with me,” he said.
I looked at his outstretched hand before my brow furrowed.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Do you trust me?”
I found that I did. I took his hand and he helped me up from my chair, then the two of us began walking along the shoreline. Hand in hand, with our fingers intertwined as the starry sky above us twinkled. The waves lapped at our feet, tickling my toes as we slowly walked along the shoreline of the water nearest to our huts. Never venturing far from our temporary homes.
Usually, I preferred to be in nature without people. Without the extravagance and the decadent surroundings. Glitz and glamor didn’t have a place in nature. The beauty of nature was the fact that it was natural. Normal. And expensive cabanas with private chefs and dinners on the beach were far from natural. Or normal. But holding Silas’ hand and walking through the water and feeling his warmth beating down against my side? It felt more natural than it should have.
It felt more normal than it should have.
I enjoyed the way his hand felt against mine.
“Thank you for having dinner with me, Valencia.”
“It was my pleasure, Silas.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, where will you go from here? When we get back to the city, that is.”
“I guess I’ll go home. Get some sleep. Update times for my classes and try to refund people their money. I’ll be putting out some fires for sure. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“If you need anything, I want you to let me know, okay?”
“Silas, it’s fine. It’s just some basic survival courses for a bunch of stuck-up people who want to show their Instagram buddies that they can commune with nature.”
“Well tell me how you really feel,” he said.
“Trust me. You don’t.”
“Do you not enjoy teaching the classes?”
“I do it to keep my head afloat financially. But if I had it my way, I wouldn't.”
“The cabin in Wisconsin?”
“The cabin in Wisconsin,” I smiled.
“Well, I’ll be taking a few days off. I won’t head straight back to the office once we get there,” he said.
“What will you do with your time off?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Sleep. Skydive. Maybe I’ll sign up for one of your classes.”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve had a crash course in all my classes the past five days.”
“Then I’ll sign up for one of your weekend excursions. You have those, right?”
“How did you know?”
“I may or may not have looked you up online after my shower.”
“Awww, I was on your mind.”
“More than you know, Val.”
I stopped walking and looked up into his face. The way he said those kinds of things. There was a longing in his voice. A rumble that rattled my ribcage, like the rolling thunder of the island off in the distance. He turned his body towards mine and pulled my closer as my hand graced his thigh. I felt his chest swelling against my shoulder. I felt his hand sliding up my arm. A baited breath passed between us as he cupped my cheek, his thumb moving over my skin.
It felt so good.
Too good for a man I’d only known for a week or so.
“Val.”
“Yes, Silas?”
“Can I…?”
His face inched closer as his lips paused just beyond mine. I felt his breath. Took in the touch of his skin. Pressed my body closer, until nothing but air could pass between us. I nuzzled into the palm of his hand as his lips followed mine. Waiting for me to make the last move. Waiting for me to give my approval.
And I did.
Underneath the starry skies of St. John’s, I rose to my tip toes and kissed the man that had captured me, body and soul. His warmth encompassed me as his hand slipped from my cheek, cupping the back of my head and holding me to him. The kiss wasn’t desperate. Neither was it rushed. His tongue didn’t lap along my lips and his body didn’t overcome mine. His free arm slipped around my waist, holding my hips to him as my arms slid around his neck.
It wasn’t until my lips puckered against his that he took the chance.
His tongue slipped across my skin and I felt myself go under. Washed away by his taste and the musky scent of his body. Silas’ strong arms cloaked my back, pulling me into him as my body molded to his muscles. Bent to his angles. Cradled his divots against my softness. My head fell off to the side and his tongue slid in, lapping at my cheeks and raking along the roof of my mouth.
I moaned against him. I couldn't help myself. He tasted too good to be true.
I pulled back from his lips, panting for air as our foreheads fell together. His hands splayed along my back, keeping me close but allowing me room to breath. Every movement he made was perfectly tailored to me, and I didn’t know how that was possible.
I didn’t know how this strange man had become something I needed to stay alive.
“I should get back to my hut,” I whispered.
Staying on the beach with him was dangerous. I felt myself slipping into a place I wasn’t sure I would return from. And after coming out of a scenario like that, I wasn’t eager to dip my toes in again anytime soon. My eyes fluttered up to meet his as he relinquished me to the ocean breeze, his body accommodating my wishes while his eyes begged me to come back.
“Thank you for dinner. It tasted incredible, Silas.”
“It was nothing. We had to eat,” he said.
His hands cupped my forearms and I watched his eyes fall to my skin. The sheer covering of my wrap had fallen back on my arms, revealing the gaze still wrapped around my skin. Silas’ fingers traced over them and I watched his eyes become lost in the darkness of his memories.
I slid my arms from his grasp before I cupped his cheeks with my hands.
“I’m okay.”
“Do they still hurt?” he asked.
“No. They don’t. Silas, I need you to listen to me when I tell you that I’m okay. You’re okay. We made it out okay.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding his head against my palms.
I slid my thumbs against his cheeks, trying to smooth away the tension that had appeared in his features. His hands fell to my hips, pulling me in for another hug I couldn’t resist. My arms fell around his neck as he held me close and I sighed into the crook of his neck. I felt him trembling. I felt his body betraying his words as we stood there in the moonlight of the island. The moonlight of the beach.
The moonlight of a place that reminded us of Montserrat.
“We’re okay,” I whispered into his ear.
And even though I felt him nod into my skin, something told me he still didn’t believe me. So, I did the only thing I knew to do. I began to sway.
Moving to the rhythm of the wind around us as it blanketed our bodies. I couldn’t kiss him. It wasn’t a choice. If I did, I’d lose myself in him and never come back up for air. But I wasn’t ready to relinquish him, either. I wasn’t ready to go back to my hut and sit in a lonely room and fall asleep in a lonely bed.
“What song are we dancing to?” Silas asked.
His hands splayed across my back again as I smiled into his neck.
“I don’t know. What song do you like?” I asked.
But instead of telling me, Silas began to sing. And I found that his singing voice really wasn’t all that bad.
“When you try your best but you don't succeed. When you get what you want but not what you need. When you feel so tired but you can't sleep. Stuck in reverse.”
I closed my eyes and allowed his baritone voice to sweep me under its current. I opened myself up to the possibility of never letting go of him as he held me close to his warmth. My arm tightened around his neck. My forehead fell to his chin. His leg slid between mine as his hand found my palm, and within seconds I found him dancing me down the shore back to my cabana.
And all the while, he sang that sweet, swe
et song in my ear.
“Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones. And I will try to fix you.”
Silas
I didn’t want to drop her back off. I didn’t want to stop singing to her. But as I spun her slowly up to the front door of her cabana, I relinquished her anyway. I wanted to respect her wishes, no matter where mine lied. But I would miss her that night. It would be the first night not having her at my side after the ordeal we had been through, and I wasn’t sure how I would handle it. Hell, I wasn’t sure how she would handle it. I spun her around and landed her right in front of her door and took one last look at her.
And man, was she a vision.
Her sweet summer dress had a silky texture that made my hands want to explore the curves she donned. The black fabric had swirling colors that reminded me of the tropics we had conquered. Greens and blues and yellows and oranges, all swirling together in a mesmerizing pattern that let my eyes wanting more. The spaghetti straps barely held up her bosom as the excess fabric fell off her shoulders. Merely for decorative purposes, and fuck me, it made her look fantastic. Her smooth blonde hair had been tossed up into a bun, with wisps of it framing her face. It blew with the wind that seemed to follow us, and when the fabric of her skirt graced her legs I got a wonderful glimpse of the outline of her thick thighs.
I wanted to take her back to my cabana and press her against the wall. Against my body. Against the kitchen counter and against my mattress. I wanted to thank her with my tongue and my cock until the sun rose over the water.
Instead, I settled for a kiss on the cheek.
I pulled my lips away from her warm skin and watched her body flush. Her brown eyes locked with mine as I reached around her shoulder, skimming her neck with the skin of my arm. She pressed her cheek into my muscle. Rested her face against my bulging veins. I wrapped my hand around the doorknob of her hut and paused allowing her a moment to lean against me once more.
“I had a fabulous time tonight,” I said.
Her head whipped up from my arm. As if someone had caught her doing something wrong.
“I did, too. Thank you for inviting me out to dinner. It was really nice, Silas.”
“You sleep well. And if you need anything, come over and knock.”
“I will. Promise.”
I turned the doorknob and pressed her door open, watching as she stepped through the threshold. Her eyes fluttered up to mine one last time before she closed the door, and part of he hoped that if I stood there long enough, she’d open it back up and beckon me in. But I knew I couldn’t stand there like an idiot. I knew she wouldn't do that. So, I forced myself to turn around and walk back to my cabana.
Back to my empty hut with my empty bed.
That night, I dreamt of her. Of our time in the wilderness and the way she saved my life. I felt her hand wrap around my cock again, stroking it back to life. I felt myself warming against her, my lips exploring the nape of her neck. My arms wrapped around her and I stood to my legs, fire and fury running through my veins.
That night, I dreamt about every single way I would take her.
I slid into her from behind and pressed my pelvis to those toned ass cheeks. I spread her thighs and lapped her up with my tongue until she shook and begged for more. I gripped that smooth hair of hers and planted her lips to my cock, watching as she wrapped them around my girth. Her lips swelled and her cheeks hollowed out, sucking me until I slid down her throat and exploded.
Then, I woke up that morning with a pulsing erection that wouldn’t go away.
I took the coldest shower I could, and while it served to keep my cock at bay, it didn’t serve to keep my thoughts of her at bay. I wondered how she did last night. I wondered if she was okay. I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off, then slid into some clothes and stepped out onto the porch.
And like clockwork, I looked over and saw her standing on her own balcony.
“Morning!” I exclaimed.
Val jumped, as if I had ripped her from a trance. She turned her face towards me and I saw something unreadable in her eyes. An expression on her face I couldn’t decipher. But then, she allowed a smile to inch across her cheeks before she waved at me.
“How did you sleep!?”
She held up her thumb to me and pulsed it in the air.
“Got any plans for the day!?”
“Yes, and they don’t involve yelling at you!”
I chuckled before I made my way down the stairs and jogged over to her balcony.
“So, what are these plans for the day you have?” I asked.
I walked up the steps and made my way to her as she smiled up at me. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said she was actually happy to see me.
“I thought about maybe venturing into the city. Seeing what St. John’s is all about,” Val said.
“In need of an escort? I’ve been here a few times myself. It’s not the same as a local guide, but I know a few nice shops to dip into.”
“You don’t have work to do?”
“I’m not touching any of it until I get back to New York and take my few days off.”
“So, being on an island with a breathtaking sunrise doesn’t count as days off?”
“You’ve been out here since sunrise?”
“I have. It’s my favorite time of the day,” she said.
“I’ll have to keep that in mind. Maybe I can join you for one before we head back.”
I watched a fleeting moment of somberness waft across her face. Did she not want to go back?
“I would enjoy the escort, yes. If you’re offering, that is,” she said.
“Of course, I’m offering. When would you like to head out?”
“I’m going to change my clothes and clean myself up a bit, then we can head out.”
“Any particular shopping you want to do?”
“I’m not really a shopper. I figured we could walk the streets and take in the sights. Maybe get some food eventually.”
“Then I’ll be the best window-shopper tour guide you’ve ever had.”
“You’ll also be the only one,” she said.
“Means the bar’s low.”
She walked into the hut giggling and I took a seat on her balcony. Spending the day with Val wasn’t what I had originally intended, but it worked out better than my plan. I listened to her hum as she moved around the cabana, serenading herself with a little tune. Huh. I would’ve never taken her for a hummer. The sunrise lover in her didn’t shock me at all, but the humming?
I wondered what else I had yet to learn about this woman.
“Ready,” Val said.
“Wow. That didn’t take long.”
“Didn’t need long. You ready to go?”
I turned around and almost swallowed my tongue when I saw what she was in. It wasn’t anything special, but holy hell it looked good on her. The tropical-printed shorts sat just underneath her ass cheeks and her loose t-shirt fell around her bosom nicely. The fabric pooled against the dip in her waist, accenting the beautiful shape of her body she kept hidden away from the world.
It would be hard to keep my eyes off her for the day.
The two of us immersed ourselves in the city that day. We walked into little shops that lined the beach and stopped at the snack stands to get island delicacies. We licked on our ice cream cones as Val ran across the road, ducking her way into a shop that boasted of all sorts of sparkling shells and gems. Her eyes ran along the shelves. She took in all the colors as they sparkled in the reflection of her eyes. She even picked up a necklace that had a blue-and-white marbled stone as the pendant.
And she gasped as she turned it over in her hand.
“That can’t be right,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
She held the stone up to the light before her jaw dropped wide open.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered.
“What is it, Val?”
“Do you know what this is?”
She hel
d the necklace up to me, the pendant swinging in my face.
“A pretty stone?” I asked.
“It’s larimar, Silas. Actual, real, hand-chiseled larimar.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It’s one of the rarest gemstones of the islands. To my knowledge, it can only be found in the Dominican Republic.”
“Then how did it end up here?”
“I’ve got no idea,” she said breathlessly.
The way she looked at it--the way she turned it over in her hand--it was as if she was holding something precious to her. I’d never heard of the stone. I would’ve passed by it on any given day to take a look at something like a ruby or a diamond. But I couldn’t deny the awe in her stare as she cradled it with such care.
“Give it to me,” I said.
“What?” Val asked.
“I want to take a look at it.”
She handed it to me and I brought it up to my face, then pushed past her and made my way for the register.
“Hey. Wait--Silas!”
“Ma’am, how much is this necklace?” I asked.
“Silas, stop. Give me that back.”
“It’s one hundred,” the woman said.
“Then I’ll take it,” I said.
“Silas. No. You don’t have to buy me that. I can get it.”
But I ignored her pleas as the woman rung up the necklace. I had her wrap it up as a gift and put it in a nice little bag, then I turned around and held it out for Val. I grinned at her as she sucked on her teeth, her eyes widening with anger as I dangled the gift in front of her.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
“I know.”
“You can stop thanking me for Montserrat now.”
“What makes you think I still am?”
Her face softened quickly as my grin melted into a soft smile. She held the gift at her side as a flush worked its way up her neck. It tinted her cheeks and curled her lips into a grin that ignited the gray specks of her brown eyes. She shook her head and giggled, allowing that girlish countenance she kept buried to surface.
I found that I enjoyed making her flustered.
“You really are something, Silas Hopkins.”
