Page 6 of Red Fire

Up here. Up.

I take another look around and note that thick tree branches make up some of the walls. There’s one that comes straight through the structure. We seem to be in a canopy of trees. It’s darker than it should be. I see green leaves when I look outside one of the few windows. This is some sort of treehouse but on steroids.

It doesn’t take long before there are footfalls on a wooden floor. I try to peer through the window on that side from my position in the fireplace – the damned fireplace – but all I get is a glimpse of a shadow.

The man sighs as he…sits. I think he just sat down because wood creaks; it sounds like a wooden chair put under pressure from a person’s weight, but I can’t be sure. I’m too afraid to move. To say or to do anything.

There is muttering from below and then nothing. I lie there for what feels like a long time. The guy in the chair shifts his weight a few times. What is he doing? What the hell is going on?

Just as I’m tempted to get up so that I can find out, the door opens, and a huge man fills up almost the whole space. Thesunlight that filters in has me squinting, blinding me a little. I’m pretty sure he’s naked.

“Shhhhhh. Not so much as a peep. Your life is on the line,” he whispers before closing the door again.

Your life is on the line.

From him?

Others?

What does he mean by that?

What is going on here?

I hear the big guy sit because the chair creaks again. It doesn’t take long before he gets up and goes down there. Once again, there is more arguing from below. The voices are different, making me think that it is new people. They sound like men. It follows a similar thread to the argument before. There are a whole lot of men and from the sounds of things, they are looking for me. They want me…all of them. Once again, he runs them off.

Are they here to rescue me? It doesn’t feel that way.

Has this guy kidnapped me? Again, I don’t get that feeling. I’m not tied up or gagged. He could have done both of those things. He didn’t.

I’m not sure what to do. My gut is telling me to stay put. My heart is racing, and my eyes are wide. I wish I knew what was going on.

I lie there for an age. Until my back starts to hurt from being in the same position for too long. Until my bladder is protesting. Until my one leg starts to go numb.

I sit up as the door opens a few seconds later.

He’s here.

He’s huge…and very definitely naked. My eyes zone in on his massive penis before I quickly look away, my cheeks heating. I’ve only ever seen one guy naked. He didn’t look anything like this.

“I won’t hurt you,” he whispers. “Keep your voice down, or someone might hear you.” Then he closes the door behind him and enters the cabin. The boards creak under his weight, which has to be significant since he’s freaking huge all over. He’s muscle packed on more hard muscle. His thighs are like tree trunks. His ass is meaty. I realize that I am staring after him and stop.

I get up and try to dust off some of the soot and ash. I’m covered in the stuff. My bag is, too.

My bag… Thank goodness it made it here as well. I clutch my head, which is sore. Not as bad as earlier, though.

He opens and closes a wooden trunk lined up against the wall. Then he goes to a closet in the corner and rummages inside, finally taking out a pair of jeans, which he pulls on, muttering something I can’t make out.

I can breathe again a little once he is clothed. At least the most important part of him is covered, at any rate, even if his torso is still bare. He’s looks more muscular clothed. It’s insane. I’m trying hard not to stare too much. I sigh, relaxing a little; there was a part of me that was afraid he might...try something, but if he has put clothes on that probably isn’t the case.

“Who are you?” he growls, his eyes narrowing on mine. “What are you doing on our island? It’s clear to me that you don’t belong here.”

“I’m Octavia. I didn’t ask to be here.” I shake my head. “I’m from the Mainland. I want to go home…please.”

His eyes are a deep brown. They’re framed by thick lashes. He’s pretty good-looking if you like the big, gruff types. Guys covered in tattoos – which he is. I see two big dragons on his chest. They start on his back and work their way around his whole torso from each side. They look like they are having a face-off in the vicinity of his pecs. His tattoos are mainly dark but have some red in them, too. They suit him. I can’t help but thinkto myself that he would fit in a maximum-security incarceration facility or on the cover of a men’s health magazine equally well, which is nuts.

What’s weird is that I’m not afraid of him, even though there is a little voice telling me that I should be. I think he has been protecting me. Why? What does he want from me?

“You want to go home?” He seems to mull this over. Then he nods. “That’s not going to be as easy as you think.”

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