Page 63 of Light the Fire

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Haina

A sliver of red and orange light hung along the horizon by the time Rix and I returned to the sailboat, where a steaming-mad Zane and a curious and worried Jorik greeted us.

But what could I say? After the first time Rix slid his cock inside me, it was like a new door had been opened, and then I went and ripped the thing clean off its hinges and incinerated it. No way was I ever closing that door again.

And if Rix wasn’t quiteupfor the task, he made sure I was taken care of by shoving his face between my legs and sucking on my clit, proving the claim that a mouth is WAY better than fingers.

Even after we’d packed up and started our hike back to the boat, with our arsenal of weapons, fresh fish on a spear, the grouse I shot, a handful of dead squirrels in a satchel, more herbs and tubers, fresh water and clean laundry, I still couldn’t stop myself from coercing Rix into taking me right there in the woods up against a tree—twice!

Not that the man seemed to need any convincing. And the way he sank into my pussy as he hammered me up against a tree … I’d never felt so … God, I’d never felt so much of anything in my entire life. It was like I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, my hair growing, and the cells of my body multiplying. I became not only more aware of what was going on inside me but also around me.

It was an addictive high that I craved more of the moment my climax ebbed.

I wanted to climb him like a tree and never get down off his branch.Literally. Because what was between Rix’s legs definitely reminded me of a thick tree branch.

“What the fuck took you so long?” Zane growled as he secured the rowboat to the towline, then drew up the rear anchor.

I scowled at him, but that only gave him a moment to stare at me. His nostrils flared, and he sniffed the air. His eyes went wide, and his gaze shifted to Rix, fury engulfing his face and turning it a frightening shade of red.

“I see you’re still your sunshiny happy self, Zane,” I said dryly, refusing to let his sour mood deplete my own amazing one. “I’m going to go make something to eat.”

“I’ll help you,” Jorik said. “I haven’t seen you all day, and I missed you, Angel.”

I shot Jorik a big smile over my shoulder but caught Zane’s thunderous gaze and met his glare with one of my own. But after two heartbeats, I focused back on Jorik. “I missed you, too, Big Man. How was your day with Captain Sunshine?”

“Bright and shiny, as I’m sure you can imagine,” Jorik said with a laugh, following me down the ladder and below deck.

Jorik and I cooked together seamlessly. Since I’d never prepared a meal for myself in my life before boarding the boat with the guys, Rix and Jorik had taken it upon themselves to teach me how to cook. And as Jorik liked to say, I took to it like a duck to water. Except for the whole burned groundcones earlier. But I hadn’t burned anything in a while and found myself quite comfortable in the kitchen now.

In no time, we had the squirrels skinned and cleaned and frying in the pan with some freshly gathered herbs and tubers. The cabin smelled delicious, and my mouth watered and belly rumbled so much that Jorik had to swat my hand twice from picking at a piece of uncooked meat in the pan and popping it into my mouth.

“That’s wild meat, woman. It needs to be cooked through. No medium-rare or tartare in the backwoods. Are you crazy?” But he was all smiles, which just made me smile.

The sun had sunk behind the mountains in the west and the stars were coming out and winking at us as we finally finished preparing dinner and brought it out to Zane and Rix, who were steering us through calm waters.

“Smells delicious,” Rix said, casting a long, hooded glance at me. “I’ve certainly worked up an appetite.” Then he winked.

My body flooded with heat, particularly in my face and between my legs.

Zane made a noise in his throat. “Pass the squirrel,” he said gruffly.

Rix and I just grinned wider and rolled our eyes.

We finished dinner, and with a grunt and a scowl—his mother tongue—Zane announced thatIcould take first watch and steer us through the first half of the night, since I’d yet to do so. Then he gave Rix and Jorik poignant looks, and the three of them seemed to have a wordless conversation.

They cleaned up dinner and retired to the cabin, making a racket in the galley before they all threw themselves on the bed. Then things became silent.

I heard all three of them snoring in less than five minutes, their breathing even, heart rates slow and steady.

And with their quiet and rest, so came mine.

I hated to admit he knew what he was doing leaving me alone with my thoughts, but maybe Zane did. Maybe he knew that I needed this me-on-me time outside at night with the calm ocean and sweet briny breeze.

I stood at the helm and pushed my face into the wind, closing my eyes for a moment and just allowing the freedom to sweep through me.

I was grateful to Rix, Jorik and Zane and always would be. Without them I wasn’t sure if I’d have made it to the survival pack, let alone the boat. And their dedication to helping me compartmentalize my senses was the reason I could confidently stand behind the wheel of the boat and push their heartbeats to the back of my mind and focus on each individual scent that the breeze brought me. Then I could push those smells to the back of my mind and concentrate on the gentle lapping sound of the water against the hull and the wind flapping the sail while I tuned out everything else.

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