The shadows surrounded us when we entered, the last of the oil burned away by the lantern hours before. I re-lit it, watching the light and dark play across Jacob's face.
"Maeva?"
"Jacob," I mimicked, breaking some of tension that lay thick between us.
He chuckled. "What does 'mahal' mean?"
I looked at him, my eyes narrowing. "How do you know that word?"
"You called me that just now and when you were waking me up."
I smiled to myself. "Really? I didn't realize that I had done that."
"Well, what does it mean?"
I reached for his hand again. "It means, 'my beloved.' "
The corner of him mouth tugged into a grin, ivory teeth glowing in the dark. His hands snaked around my waist and pulled me close. He pressed his lips to my ear, whispering softly, "Mahal…"
I closed my eyes and shuddered. He said it again, the deep rumble of his voice filling my center with warmth. His lips found mine, softly pressing and a little insistent. I opened for him, feeling his tongue swipe across my bottom lip. I thought I would die from the sweetness of him.
Suddenly, he pulled away, staring at me, wide-eyed.
"What's wrong?" I asked. I cradled his face in my hands, growing more worried as his expression fell.
"I just…" He choked out the words and took a deep breath. "I almost forgot that we won't be here forever."
My heart clenched at his words. I wanted to cry then. To just curl up in a little ball and let my heart continue to turn in on itself until it imploded with all the longing there. My hands dropped down to my sides.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, smelling the night air and the ocean breeze. When I opened them, I met his gaze, deep dark pools of sorrow. He'd had enough of that. I didn't want him to feel that now. I didn't want to feel that.
I touched his cheek, and his face softened. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to his again. Before long, he was warming to me, his mouth responding eagerly.
"You have me for tonight, mahal," I murmured against his lips. "Please just live in that. Just for now. Forget about everything else."
He kissed me again, hot and wet, pleading with his kisses. We undressed and stood naked in the orange glow, twisted around each other.
I backed up to the bed, my knees brushing against the cool cotton sheets. He gently turned me around, my back was pressed to his chest, his hardness on the curve of my buttocks. His hands wandered across the tops of my breasts, down the valley in between and across my belly. He gently touched the triangle of hair between my legs, fingertips gently soliciting entrance. I spread my legs for him.
"You trust me?" he whispered.
"Yes."
He pushed me, bent over the bed, my elbows resting on the soft mattress. I closed my eyes as his hands roamed over the curve of my ass, then between my legs. He settled himself there, teasing me with the head of his cock. I wanted him to consume me, fill me up with him until he drowned out everything else.
“Please Jacob. I want to feel you bare. I’m safe. Are you?” He nodded.
I knew it was coming, but I gasped when he finally pierced inside, the heat of him sending my senses reeling - hard flesh caressing soft folds. He held one arm behind me, pressing my wrist against the small of my back. My shoulder began to ache, but the pain felt good, cleansing and real. His orgasm shattered through both of us, electric shock of passion and desire spilling into me and filling me up.
His thrusts had stopped for maybe a minute, but it felt more like a heartbeat, breath panting hot against my ear. He slipped out of me, wet. Even then, I could feel his heat, his growing arousal again. I turned around and met the intensity of his gaze, dark eyes flashing, almost feral. His fever overtook me. I pushed him onto the bed, crushing my mouth on his. I straddled his waist and rubbed myself against his cock until it was hard and straining again.
The second time was faster, more frantic. Tangled tongues and lips, groping hands, thrusting hips. One of his hands was on my side, pressing his fingertips deep into the crease on my hipbone. I could feel the calloused pads, digging into me. His other hand cupped my left breast, squeezing, fondling and pinching almost harshly. There was pain, but it all felt so right somehow. The pain mingled with the heat in my groin, his hardness piercing me again and again, and I wanted more.
I crashed hard into him, shaking all over. He held me tightly, fingertips against the small of my back, not letting go until I shuddered my last.
Seventeen
Boracay, Philippines, 10:29 am
Maeva
The tall grass along the side of the path tickled my legs as I headed for the beach early that morning. I struggled a little, balancing the cooler with one hand and two towels tucked underneath the same arm.
When the tropical brush gave way to sugary sand, I pulled my oversized straw hat down tighter on my head. No longer protected by the lush greenery, the sun beat down harder, immediately warming my skin.
Squinting into the horizon, I spotted Jacob coming back from the water. He wore a pair of green swim trucks, golden-tanned chest glistening with dotted water. His hair hung in tight, wet ringlets around his face, the sun glinting against honey blonde curls. I bit my bottom lip.
Forcing my stare away from him, I found a flat spot on the sand, deposited the cooler and spread out one of the towels so I could sit.
"Good morning," Jacob said, smiling brightly. His face was soft and open, the worry creases on his forehead nowhere to be found. It warmed my heart to see him like this.
"Good morning yourself. Did you sleep well?" I asked.
Jacob plopped down beside me, the water from his shoulders dotting my arm. "Like a baby," he said, winking. I laughed. "I'm sorry I left you. You just looked so peaceful, I couldn't wake you."
"It's alright. I liked being able to sleep in."
"Did I tire you out last night?" he asked, eyes sparkling with mirth.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hell, no."
He tipped his head back and laughed out loud.
"So, how's the water?" I asked.
"Mmm…perfect. Come on, let's go for a swim," he said, stealing the hat from my head.
"Eh, let me just warm up for a bit. I want to just lie here and soak up some sun."
"Maeva…" he admonished. Before I could blink, Jacob had scooped me up into his arms. I clung to his neck, too startled to protest. He jogged for the shore, my body bouncing against his chest. We hit the water with a splash, instantly cooling my skin.
My feet found purchase, and I stood up trying desperately to regain some semblance of dignity as I swiped at the water on my face. "I can't believe you did that!"
Jacob sunk down into the water until it was level with his neck. He swam towards me, grinning madly. "Doesn't the water feel lovely, my darling?"
I glared at him, fighting the smile tickling the corners of my mouth. He laughed.
We swam and played in the water for a while, enjoying the perfect weather – a cloudless, azure sky, warm sunshine, a soft ocean breeze and gently rolling waves. It couldn't have been any more perfect.
When we got back to the shore, our limbs tired and listless from swimming, Jacob suggested that we build a sandcastle. The task seemed to go so well with the feeling of playfulness between us that I couldn't say no.
Jacob
She sat cross-legged in front of the pile of sand, patiently sculpting our sand castle with expert movements. Her little fingers shaped surprisingly tall spires and sloping roofs, carefully smoothing out the rough edges.
I suddenly wished that I had her talent for painting. I wanted to memorize her in this moment – the way the sun brought out the natural red streaks in her ebony hair, how she bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating, the way the soft curve of her belly sort of creased when she bent over.
The finished product was a masterpiece, a castle that could fill the fantasies of any would-be knight or dreaming pr
incess. It even had a moat to ward away would-be dragons and enemy armies.
"Okay, now can I wreck it?" Maeva asked, getting ready to stomp all over our creation.
"But why?" I asked incredulously. "We just spent two hours building it, and you already want to wreck it?"
"That's the best part!" she protested, pouting.
I chuckled, shaking my head. "Alright fine. You can have the honor."
She grinned madly, then quickly put her foot through the sandy drawbridge before I could change my mind.
She looked so beautiful. Ebony locks, tangled and wet, tiny soft body encased in a bright blue string bikini, the color looking stark against her honey-brown skin, pure, child-like glee gracing her delicate features. It hurt to look at her.
She plopped down on the sand beside me, panting from her little romp with our sandcastle. I captured her wrist and tugged her onto my lap, not caring that the sand on her legs scratched against my thighs. She squealed when I tickled her sides.
Holding my hands away from her body, she tried to get away. I pulled my hands away from her grasp, and she tensed a little, but relaxed when I calmly wrapped them around her waist.
"You know, when I was a little girl, I used to daydream about living in a castle." She stretched out one legs and toed the small piles of sand along the edge of our fallen creation.
My thoughts strayed back to the Estate. "Well, now you kind of do."
"Mm...does that make you my prince charming?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. She settled into my chest, tucking her nose into my neck and kissing at the sensitive skin under my chin.
I laughed. "Eh, I don't know. I'm not really a prince, but I guess I can be charming." I winked at her. She smiled. "The only thing is...I'm not the one doing the rescuing."
"That's blasé anyway. We live in the time of the strong, liberated woman," she said. She tilted her nose up, looking down at me behind a half-lidded gaze. I remembered the first time I laid eyes on her. She carried that regal air even then.
"Is that what you are?" I asked, tightening my grip on her waist. "A strong, liberated woman?"
"Yes," she said smugly.
Her eyes widened when my hands began to wander to her sides. With a growl, I gently pushed her onto the sand. She landed softly on her back, squealing and struggling in my grasp. I pinned her legs with my knees and her wrists down on either side of her head. She shook her head from side to side, laughing and struggling to no avail.
"Who's liberated now?"
"Jacob!" she shrieked. "Let me go!"
I grinned at her futile attempts. "Not yet. Tell me…is this a private beach?"
She stopped struggling for a moment, narrowing her eyes. "Yes, it is. Why do you ask?"
"No reason…" I leaned down and captured the top string of her bikini and tugged. The blue triangles of fabric fell away from her breasts.
"Wha…what are you doing?" Maeva asked softly, her voice shuddering.
"Mm…nothing." I kissed her chin, trailing my lips to her neck. She whimpered, relaxing the tension in her arms and legs. I released her wrists and moved my hands to her breasts. Cupping the softness, her nipples hardened against my palms.
"Jacob…" she whispered.
"You okay, baby?" I moved down her chest, tracing my fingertips along the ridges under her ribs.
She moaned in response, softly and low in her throat. I took that as an affirmative.
Hooking my fingers into the fabric at her hips, I pulled her bottoms down, sliding them across her silky legs. I pushed her legs open, gazing down at her. Petals of a flower, opening to me.
"Jacob, stop. Please. I want you inside me." She tugged on my shoulders, pulling me up to her and, crushing her mouth on mine. I lapped eagerly at her lips, tasting the salt in her kisses.
Fumbling with my swim trucks, she pushed them off my legs and away. She was shaking, almost frantic.
"Shh…. it's okay, baby. I'm here," I whispered into her ear. She calmed a little, closing her eyes.
The sand from our skin, chaffed against my thighs, but the sensation was quickly forgotten. I poised myself to enter, slowly sinking into her sweet wetness, filling her to the hilt. She closed her legs around my back, the muscles of her sex, sucking me in. I moaned against her neck.
The waves provided the rhythm for us, like a watery drumbeat. We were there together, coming in gently coursing waves.
Maeva
Afterwards, he carried me to the hammock hanging on the edge of the brush. Held up by two palm trees, it swayed softly, back and forth, pushed like a cradle by the ocean breeze.
Jacob climbed in too, shifting until he was on his side, tucked right into me by gravity and the mesh of rope keeping us suspended. He did it with surprising grace, propping his head up with his hand, the movement sending the hammock rocking to and fro.
I looked back at the sky, examining the sparse feathery wisps of clouds as the wind sailed them across the expanse. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply – ocean tainted air, sweet hibiscus blossoms, sand baking in the sun, Jacob's musky scent.
I opened my eyes to find him staring at me, brown eyes flickering green because of the sunlight.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
It took him a moment to answer. He moved his hand up to touch the side of my face. "How anyone can be so beautiful, both here." Soft caress across my cheek, my lips. "And here." Touch across my collarbone to my chest, right above my heart.
I could feel the crimson flooding my face. "I'm not," I whispered.
He shook his head. "Don't deny it, Maeva. You know you're the most beautiful woman in the world."
"In your eyes, perhaps."
"And does anyone else matter?"
"Not today, mahal. But what's going to happen when…" The words just came then, and they halted with a hitching breath. I didn't mean to say them.
"When what?" he asked, the same instant that he understood what I was asking. "Oh…"
We were quiet for a long time. I could still feel his gaze on me, draped like silk sheets. He didn't give me an answer. Probably because he didn't have one. Neither of us did.
Eighteen
Boracay, Philippines, 8:35 am
Maeva
Butterfly wings brushing against my cheeks. That's what Jacob's fingertips felt like in my semi-sleep induced consciousness. I opened my eyes and blinked hard, focusing on the intense expression gracing Jacob's face. The morning sunlight and the mosquito net, cast crisscross patterns on his cheeks. His facial muscles remained still, only the dark pupils of his eyes moved roving over my nose, my mouth, chin, cheeks and finally my eyes. I smiled at him, but he didn't smile back.
"We're leaving today." It wasn't a question.
I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them again, I saw a flicker of anguish flash across Jacob's eyes. I cringed, nodding.
"Your flight is tomorrow?" I asked, voice shaking.
"Yes. Very early in the morning." There was something else. Something he wanted to say or ask or scream, but he didn't.
I had to get up and do something. It was too much, this tension between us. Moving aside the gauzy mosquito net, I slid my feet into the slippers waiting by the bed. I busied myself gathering our clothes strewn all over the hut's interior.
We didn't speak much for the rest of the morning and much of the trip home either.
* * *
Laguna, Philippines, 5:48 pm
Tito picked us up from the airport after the short plane ride from the island. The plane was a tiny, propellered Cessna, and we boarded it on the resort's private airstrip. I stood on the runaway, watching Jacob climb the steps, blonde curls whipping in the wind, dark sunglasses perched on his face, lips set in a straight line. He had turned and looked down on me, tilting his head to the side and frowning a little. Rock star, I thought.
In the car, Jacob sat across from me, his face turned to the window. He had taken his sunglasses off as the mid-morning sun had burned away, the sky now overcast. He wasn't r
eally watching the scenery whizzing by. His eyes were blank, turned inward, watching the view behind his eyes rather than outside.
I reached across the seat and gingerly placed my hand on his. He opened his hand, palm up and engulfed my fingers. He turned to me, offering a half-smile. No teeth, just a small, upturned mouth.
"Come here." I pulled him closer to me, and he bent over, awkwardly laying his head on my lap. He didn't let go of my hand. I ran my fingers through his hair, teasing the curls at the nape of his neck. He relaxed against me, melting and settling.
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