Choosing Rose (Other World Series Book Six)

by Ramona Gray

  “Brody? Are you awake? Do you mind if I… oh!”

  The moonlight filtering through the cracks in Brody’s hut was just as bright as it was in hers. She had no problem seeing Brody and Doc lying naked on the bed of furs. They were kissing passionately, and she gave them a look of embarrassment when they broke apart and stared in surprise at her.

  “Rose? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I – nothing’s wrong. I’m so sorry to interrupt.” She backed up, reaching frantically for the fur that covered the doorway. “I shouldn’t have just barged in like this. I’m so sorry.”

  Brody half sat up and Rose held out her hand. “No, no, don’t, uh, stop. You and Doc stay right where you are. Have, um, fun.”

  Where the hell was the damn doorway?

  “Rose…”

  She gave them both another apologetic smile. “I’m very sorry.” She turned, spotted the doorway and practically threw her body toward it. She stumbled past the fur and into the cool night air.

  “Shit,” she muttered as she hurried away. “You idiot, Rose.”

  She slowed down as she neared her own hut and stared at Solomon’s hut. After a moment, she took a deep breath and marched toward it. It was time to talk to Solomon. Twelve days was plenty of time to give him his own space. They needed to talk about what had happened and decide where they were going from here. Either they were still a couple, or they weren’t, but she was tired of waiting for Solomon to decide. She had the right to know if he was going to hate her forever, for God’s sake.

  She lifted her hand to knock on the doorframe, her fist faltering to a stop. She cocked her head and leaned closer to the fur that covered the doorway. The unmistakable sound of Solomon moaning could be heard, and she smiled a little. If he was having a little sexy time with himself, this might be the perfect opportunity for her to reconnect with him. What man would turn down a warm and willing woman?

  She stepped into his hut, her smile of seduction dying on her lips as she stared at his pile of furs. Solomon was on his knees, his pale body thrusting back and forth, and his head thrown back as he moaned with a stark sound of pleasure she’d never heard from him before. Marissa was on her hands and knees in front of him, her entire body jiggling wildly with every thrust of Solomon’s cock. Her hair hung in her face and her hands were digging into the furs.

  “Oh God,” she moaned. “Fuck me with that big cock. Fuck me!”

  “I’m fucking you, baby,” Solomon panted. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard, you’ll be walking bowlegged tomorrow. You like that? You like having my cock so far in your pussy that you… Rose?”

  Solomon ground to a halt inside of Marissa. She squealed indignantly. “Don’t call me that, you asshole!”

  She lifted her head, tossing her hair back. “You think I want to be compared to her tired old pussy or her – what the fuck? What are you doing in here, you stupid bitch?”

  She glared at Rose with loathing as Solomon kneeled frozen behind her.

  “Solomon, what are you doing?” Rose whispered.

  Marissa brayed laughter. “What does it look like, idiot? He’s fucking me.”

  Rose stared blankly at her before lifting her gaze to her fiancé. “Solomon? I know we’re having trouble right now, but -”

  “Right now?” Marissa laughed again as Solomon gave Rose a look of shame. “Are you that fucking stupid, bitch? You think we’ve just been screwing since we got to the island? Seriously?”

  Rose’s stomach churned, and she took a stumbling step backwards. “You-you’re cheating on me with Marissa?”

  “Rose, it isn’t what you think,” Solomon said.

  “It’s exactly what she thinks.” Marissa laughed before making a little thrust back on Solomon’s dick. She hissed in disappointment and glared at Rose. “Get out of here. Your ugly face is making him lose his erection.”

  “Solomon?” Rose whispered.

  He didn’t reply, and feeling sick to her stomach, Rose turned and ran out of his hut. Tears were streaming down her face and she ran blindly out of the clearing and into the jungle. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to run back and punch Solomon in the face. Instead, she ran faster. She would go to the waterfall and sit for a while. Sit until the image of Solomon and Marissa having sex was no longer burned into her brain.

  Her running turned into a slow jog and as the shock wore off and she started to pay attention to her surroundings, her hurt and her anger turned to fear. She should have been at the waterfall by now.

  She stopped and stared at her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar, but it was dark, and she’d never gone to the waterfall at night before. No one went into the jungle alone and they definitely didn’t go into the jungle at night.

  Okay, don’t panic. Just turn around and walk back the way you came. Easy peasy. You ran a straight line. Keep a straight line and you’ll be back in the camp.

  She turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. The sound of her heartbeat was very loud, and she tried to slow it down, tried to take deep breaths and ignore the panic that was eating away at her stomach.

  Something made a squawking noise about three feet to her left. She walked faster, glancing behind her every few feet. After nearly twenty minutes of walking, she finally slowed to a stop.

  She was lost.

  She was lost at night in the jungle of a very dangerous world.

  Shit.

  * * *

  Okay, so maybe storming off into the jungle in the dark wasn’t her brightest idea. But, it happened, and now she was lost and probably about to die, and it was all because the man she loved had betrayed her in the worst possible way.

  Do you love him though?

  She stumbled to a stop before leaning back against the vine-covered trunk of a large tree. Of course she loved Solomon. He was her fiancé for God’s sake. You didn’t agree to marry someone you didn’t love. Not that she was going to marry him now. Nothing ended an engagement faster than catching your fiancé banging away at another woman.

  He sure seemed to enjoy it. You’ve never heard him make those noises when he was having sex with you. Did you see the look on his face? Pure ecstasy. Maybe he was fucking Marissa because you suck so bad in bed.

  She swiped angrily at the tears running down her face. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t the greatest at having sex, but Solomon was her first and any time she had tried to ask for advice or tips on what to do in bed, he had shut her down. Said it was fine and that she worried too much.

  Besides, it’s not like he was the world’s greatest lover. Nine times out of ten she had to fake her orgasm. If she didn’t, he just kept rutting on top of her, grunting and groaning and asking repeatedly if she was close. Solomon’s penis was big, and the sex was always painful at first. Hell, it had gotten to the point where she was anxious and tense just thinking about sex with him.

  Marissa didn’t seem to be in pain. She looked like she was enjoying herself a lot. He was really giving it to her, wasn’t he? Just going in deep and hard and not –

  Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!

  What the hell was she doing? She was lost, and the odds of her dying tonight were extremely high, and she was thinking about how awful sex was with her fiancé? She had bigger things to worry about right now. Like finding her way back before something came out of the dark and ate her for a midnight snack.

  She needed to be with the others. Not that she wanted to be around her cheating fiancé and his lover, but on this world, you needed other people to survive. She pushed away from the tree, stepped forward and fell flat on her face.

  “What the heck?” She sat up, rubbing at her stomach where a root had jabbed into it and studied her ankles. Vines were wrapped around them and she reached down and tried to pull them off. Fear stabbed through her when they tightened.

  “Oh shit.” She yanked harder, trying to tear through the thick rope-like greenery with her nails. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!”

  The vines were creepi
ng up her calves now and she shrieked and struggled to her feet. She reached out and grabbed the lower branch of the tree to her left and tried to pull herself free. The vines tightened again, and she screamed a second time when more vines came slithering out of the darkness and wrapped around her upper body. They dragged her back toward the tree and she moaned in pain when her head banged against the trunk with a harsh thud. She struggled wildly as vines unwrapped from the tree and slid around her.

  They squeezed and squeezed again. She was beginning to understand how a rat felt in the grip of a snake. Her breath wheezed out of her and she made one last strangled cry of fear before a vine snaked around her neck and tightened. Her body shook as her oxygen was cut off. Black roses bloomed in her vision and her eyes bulged as the vines wrapped impossibly tight around her entire body.

  She was dying.

  She was being murdered by a plant.

  Karma for all the innocent house plants she had accidentally killed over the years.

  The vine around her neck was torn away and she sucked in a breath of air. She kept her eyes closed, her breath tearing in and out of her throat in harsh pants. The vines were being pulled from her body and she opened her eyes and squinted at the dark shape in front of her. Big blue hands grabbed the vine that was winding across her rib cage and tore it easily in two. Dark green liquid spurted out from the vines, soaking her t-shirt and pants and the vines collapsed to the floor of the jungle as Vida tore away the rest of them holding her captive.

  She fell forward. He caught her and held her with one arm as he snapped the last of the vines from her calves and ankles. When she was free, he lifted her into his arms and carried her away from the tree. A few vines were wrapping around his legs, but he broke them easily with just his stride as the muscles in his calves bulged.

  “Vida?” Her voice was hoarse. “I – I thought you were dead.”

  “Why would I be dead?”

  “I – because no human can survive here alone.”

  He grinned, his fangs flashing in the dim light. “I am not human, small flower.”

  * * *

  “Where are we going?” Rose squinted at the trees around them as Vida walked swiftly.

  He was still carrying her, and she really should have been telling him to put her down, but there was something comforting about being in his arms.

  “My home.”

  “Your home? Vida, how did you survive? They said -”

  “Shh, human.” Vida’s arms tightened around her for a brief second. “Do not speak so loudly. The jungle is dangerous at night. You shouldn’t have been out here alone.”

  “Why are you out here at night then?”

  “Hunting.”

  “Hunting what?”

  “Food.”

  There was no derision in his tone, but she still felt stupid. “You don’t have any weapons.”

  “I have some weapons, but tonight I was checking my traps.”

  “Oh. Did you, uh, trap anything?”

  He shook his head. “Not tonight. You’re very lucky that I heard you scream, small flower. The vines of that tree would have choked the life from you.”

  She shuddered all over and Vida squeezed her thigh. “You’re safe now.”

  “Where is your home?”

  “Not far from here.”

  She lapsed into silence, staring at the hard line of his jaw. She had the ridiculous urge to press her mouth against it. She tore her gaze away and stared at his chest instead. Bad idea. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and she studied his smooth skin. God, he was a big man. Big and warm and rather attractive if you looked past the fangs and the horns.

  Oh, who was she kidding? The fangs and the horns only increased his hotness factor. She had no idea why, but it was the truth. What would it feel like to have those fangs dragging across her skin? What would it be like to have his big hands touching her? Squeezing her breasts, teasing her nipples, reaching between her legs to –

  Rose!

  She jerked against Vida and he gave her a curious look before shifting her a bit higher in his arms. Her heart was thudding along like she’d just run a marathon, her nipples were hard peaks and, sweet mother of Mary, was she wet?

  Yep. She was definitely wet.

  Her face burned, and she resisted the urge to bury her face in Vida’s thick throat. Okay, she could explain this. She had almost died not ten minutes ago. The near-death experience, her tiny crush on Vida, and the fact that she hadn’t had sex in months, was why she was acting so out of character. She didn’t even feel guilty for lusting after Vida when she was engaged to Solomon.

  Uh, Rose? Solomon was fucking Marissa. Did you forget that?

  She flinched. God, she had forgotten for a minute there. She was losing her mind.

  Vida stopped and set her gently on the ground. Her shirt and pants were sticky with vine juice and she plucked her t-shirt away from her chest as Vida pointed to the large mass of yellow flowers growing on the stone wall in front of them.

  “Follow me, human.”

  “Follow you where?” She asked. “It’s a stone wall.”

  He took her hand and tugged her toward the wall. Her eyes widened when he pushed aside a portion of the flowers.

  “It’s a cave.”

  “Yes.” He urged her forward with a hand on the small of her back.

  “Is it safe? I mean, are there animals living in it?” She asked.

  “It’s safe. Quickly, little flower.” He was scanning the dark jungle and when the low bird-like whistle came out of the darkness, he pushed her hard into the cave. She stumbled and fell to her knees, wincing at the pain, as Vida let go of the vines of flowers. It was complete blackness in the cave and Rose groped blindly in front of her. Her fingers brushed against Vida’s calf and she twitched when his hands circled her waist and he lifted her to her feet.

  “Vida? I can’t see anything. Can you?”

  “No. But I know the way.”

  She didn’t object when he scooped her up and carried her again. She clung to him without any shame and after only a minute or so, she realized she could see a little better. She wasn’t sure if her night vision was kicking in, or if there was some light filtering in somehow. She had the vague impression that Vida was walking downhill and the air felt colder.

  The tunnel widened, and she stared at the three flickering candles. It was the only light in the darkness. She held Vida’s arm in a tight grip when he stopped and set her on her feet. He tried to walk away, and she pulled on his arm. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Stay here, small human. I will not be long.”

  She watched as he moved to the candles and stooped to pick one up. He moved confidently, lighting candle after candle until the darkness had been banished and she could see again. Her mouth dropped open in shock. The tunnel had widened into a large underground cavern.

  “Is that a- a couch?”

  “What?” Vida asked. He returned the candle to its rightful spot and watched silently as she staggered over on rubbery legs to the couch. It was dark grey in colour, with thick cushions and green throw pillows set neatly on it. A crocheted granny square afghan was placed neatly over the back of the couch. There were two matching overstuffed armchairs on either side of the couch. A plush green area rug was under the couch and chairs. A coffee table was placed in front of the couch and she stared at the hard cover books that were piled in the middle.

  “What the hell is going on?” She whispered.

  She made a slow twirl, staring at the bookshelf that was stuffed full of books, the second smaller bookshelf with knick-knacks, photographs in frames and fake potted plants arranged artfully on its shelves.

  Behind her was the kitchen, complete with a large oak kitchen table and six oak chairs. A set of pots and pans hung from small hooks in the stone wall and a white rolling kitchen island with four cabinets and two drawers was parked near the table. A green porcelain fruit bowl sat on top of the oak-coloured island counter. Next to it was a steel container
that held an assortment of spatulas and serving spoons. A wooden knife block was at the far edge, all of its slots filled with knives. She moved jerkily to the island and opened one of the drawers. It was stuffed full of dish cloths and towels as well as a set of green placemats. The second drawer held a set of silverware.

  She opened each of the cupboards, staring at the dishware, plastic containers and serving dishes with a numb surprise. She closed the cupboards and swiveled to her right. This section of the cavern was the bedroom. There was a king-size bed, complete with a mahogany frame. The colourful quilt was pushed back and she could see the blue-coloured sheets. Obviously, Vida had been sleeping in the bed.

  Matching mahogany nightstands were on either side of the bed and a mahogany wardrobe and dresser were a few feet away. There were candles sitting on both nightstands. On the right one, there was also a book with a pair of reading glasses sitting on top of it.

  “Vida, where did you get all of this stuff?”

  “It was here when I found the cave. This odd bed is very comfortable. You should try sitting on it.” He patted the couch.

  “Were there humans here when you found the cave?”

  He shook his head. “No, it was empty. Are these things from your world, small flower?”

  “Yes. Or at least a place very similar to our world. What I don’t understand is why all of this is here? It’s like the person packed up their entire house and brought it to this cave. Why would they do that?”

  He shrugged. “I do not know.”

  “Maybe this world is more similar to mine than I thought,” Rose said. “Like, maybe it’s just this island that’s full of-of monsters and stuff. You know?”

  He didn’t reply, and she ran her hand along the island’s smooth counter. “Maybe someone was shipwrecked or something. But, why would they have all of this with them?”

  She walked to the bookshelf and picked up a frame. It held a picture of an older couple. They both had necklaces of large pink and white flowers around their necks and they were grinning widely into the camera. Behind them was a large wooden sign with the words, “Welcome to Oahu” engraved into it.