Page 12 of Last Destination

Who was she talking to? Who was Charlie?

Pushing off the tree to head in her direction, I carefully watched my steps through the narrowing muddy path. My loafers had been fine on the riverbed, but they were a terrible choice for the jungle muck. I grimaced with disgust at each squishy tread.

I’d done my best to ignore each sensation on my skin these last few days, but it was getting harder to deny my filth. The rain this morning had cleaned the blood off the back of my head, but the peppermint-sweat combo of everyone around me was disgusting. I didn’t sweat much, and what little I did didn’t really have a scent, but the same could not be said for our crew.

Especially Jamie. His body odor was so ripe, I couldn’t decide if dousing him in peppermint would be an improvement.

Turning the corner of one of those scary-as-hell chunga trees, I carefully sidestepped its spikes to see Marley hastily pulling a few ripe avocados off a large bush.

“What are you doing out here alone?” I came up from behind and wrapped my arms around her waist. She stiffened, then relaxed into me like she belonged there, and all thoughts of my headache evaporated.

“I was peeing.” She turned in my arms to face me, a tasty little blush tinging her cheeks. “And then I saw the avocados.” She gestured to the tree at her back. “Help me pick some?”

Avocados. A fruit I could barely stand in California was now one of our only sources of sustenance. It was too soft and slightly slimy, with an earthy, salty taste like some sort of weird land oyster, but now it held a sense of nostalgia, a constant reminder of her.

Instead of letting her go, I tightened my arms around her just a little more. “I really like it here, actually.” I pressed into her, relishing every part of her along the length of my body. Her curves melted into my decaying muscles, the squishy, soft, feminine form so fucking perfect against the dwindling hardness of mine.

“Who were you talking to?” I asked curiously, searching her wide eyes for the answer.

“Oh, umm, myself,” she admitted hastily, with a sexy little bite of her lip. “Yeah, I-I talk to myself sometimes? You know, like-bouncing my own ideas off-myself? I know it’s silly but…”

Oh. I’d probably misheard “Charlie” with the pounding of blood behind my ears.

“That’s actually pretty cute.” I moved my hands lower to settle on those wide, squeezable hips and leaned in closer. “You’re pretty cute, Jagiya.”

We were finally alone with nothing between us but our own limits. Would she let me kiss her again? My pulse flooded back into my ears as I breathed in her scent; mildly minty — it smelled much better on her skin — and salt.

“And you’re an ogre with layers,” she retorted, but the glowing green of her gaze danced as if we’d just shared all our secrets. Fuck, I loved that look, like I was in on the joke, not the punchline.

Leaning in, I nipped a trail along her jaw, drawing my nose along the sharp bone along the ridge to her ear. “Ogres take what they want.” I nuzzled behind her ear, but forced myself to go slow, to test the waters. “What if this ogre wants you?”

Fuck, how I wanted her. A perfect image arose, of her bitable thighs wrapped around my waist, bouncing with every thrust as I drove into her perfect pussy like Nikki, and desperate shivers of want flickered down my spine like hot pokers.

Her sharp intake of breath ruffled the matted strands across my forehead, and her shiver in my hold shot currents of need right to my dick. “Why is the ogre asking when he can just … take?”

Fuck. Me.

Glassy eyes and parted lips called me to shore like the siren she was.

She was handing me an invitation, but how far did that invite go? If I pushed her limits and lost the ability to touch her again, I’d die in this jungle from sexual frustration long before malaria got me.

I gave her time to move, to push me away, but she didn’t. Her heartbeat pounded against my chest when I lowered my mouth onto hers, crushing those soft lips in a kiss I'd obsessed about taking ever since the last. Her mouth opened for me and I swept my tongue between her lips, tasting fresh fruit and something irresistibly Marley.

I needed to get this right. Slow. Controlled. If she knew how eager I was, she’d only see me as a horny teenage boy instead of a… desperately horny man. Inwardly, I cringed at the comparison, but outwardly, I made my move.

Slowly, I backed her up, never taking my attention away from my thorough exploration and imprinting it to memory, until she hit the scratchy trunk with a soft thud. She kissed me back with the same level of frantic energy, biting and sucking on my tongue, as if I had the same hold on her.

Could I have the same hold on her? I’d seen how she was with Nikki, how easily she let him take control of her body. They had a history. I was the new guy with a big mouth and a bad attitude. Would she let me do the same?

“You are so fucking sexy.” The words slipped past my tongue when we pulled away to catch our breath. My fingers clenched her hips even tighter, forcing her to rub against me.

“I bet you say that to all your flight crew.” A dramatic eye roll accompanied her scoff, but the smirk dancing on her lips gave her away. “I’ve seen how you look at Nikki.”

“You should have seen how I looked at Nikki fucking you.” I retorted, ignoring the trail of sweat rolling down my back at her observation. “You think I’m an ogre? I was practically feral.”

Her sharp intake of air and the shifting of her hips beneath my hands said I’d hit the bullseye. She had feelings for Nikki, but I was still in the running — whatever this race was.

My hands slid up her ribs and settled on her huge breasts, the object of almost every one of my fantasies. If we weren’t in the jungle, I’d beg to fuck them, to lube up my cock and slide it in between the mounds of supple skin, fucking so hard and fast my cum would coat her face like a branding.