Mack (King #4) (6 page)

When I woke again, lying in a roughly woven hammock, half out of my mind with pain, thirst, and hunger, I was in a small mud hut with a fire pit in the middle. The same lovely woman kneeled over me, lifting my head to drink.

I sipped only a little before the taste had me retching.

“What in the gods’ name is that?” I muttered.

She simply smiled and then swabbed my forehead with a damp cloth that smelled like sweet fragrant herbs. I assumed she believed speaking was a waste of effort since we couldn’t understand each other. In reality, I picked up new languages quickly, but I felt much too tired to do much of anything besides lie there and hope to die quickly. The pain was intense despite her presence soothing my soul. She exuded a quiet, loving energy I instantly connected with.

Did she feel the same? I wondered.

My eyes took in the small dwelling adorned with strange animal hides stretched out on wooden frames, along with dozens of sticks that were tied together to form symbols.

Talismans
, I realized. Our Seers used similar trinkets to communicate with the spirit world.

I looked back at her and noticed the way her eyes stared without fear or question. Like she knew something I did not.

She’s a Seer
, I realized.
Dear gods, that’s what she is.
I assumed they weren’t called that by her people, but it didn’t matter. The gods decided which bloodlines were gifted with powers. They decided who was chosen to carry out their will.

“
Uk’ik
,” the woman mumbled and then reached for a small wooden bowl. She wanted me to drink again.

“No, no, thank you,” I protested. “I think I’d rather die.”

“
Uk’ik!
” Her brown little nostrils flared.

“You don’t like being told no, do you?” I said.

She pointed to the bowl and then my mouth, smiling stubbornly.

“I suppose whatever it is, it’s not poison.” I lifted my head obediently and caught a glimpse of her beautiful creamy brown breasts and dark nipples. The women of my island went topless much of the time, so breasts weren’t much more to me than a neck or set of lips; however, something about this woman’s body captivated me. Even on my deathbed, I wanted to touch her. Every silky inch.

She helped raise my head a bit higher and seemed pleased when I drank the concoction. She then pushed me back and stroked my cheek.

“That made you happy, didn’t it?” I said.

She stared for a moment. “Hap—py?”

“Happy.” I gave her a weak smile, the best I could do.

“Happy.” With a grin, she stood and gestured for me to stay and then left the hut. I imagined she went to be with her people somewhere not too far away.

So who was she? And where the hell was I? I didn’t know, but I felt as though the gods had guided me to this place to die peacefully. Only, now I felt a tiny spark of desire to live. Something about this woman made my soul flicker with light.

~~~

Over the next few weeks, I saw the woman—no one else—twice a day. When she was gone, I missed her company, especially the exquisite view. When she came to stoke the fire and bring fresh water and food—some strange mush mixed with meat—animal unknown—she would stare at me the way women do when they want a man. Yes, I was no stranger to women. Taking my pleasure from them was one of my favorite pastimes back on my island. Drinking wine had been the other. It was why my people had loved my brother and not me. He cared for them, helped them, and protected them. I did none of those. Draco and I were similar only in our looks—blue eyes, black hair—identical, in fact, but that was where our similarities ended.

As for my host in this strange new land, I tried to learn her name, but it was useless. She would only gaze at me with those soulful brown eyes. Such temptation. But frankly, as much as I wanted to stay and continue trying to communicate, I had to face facts: I was becoming stronger, thanks to her gift of healing, which meant I had to attempt to return to Minoa. My redemption was counting on it, as was the soul of my brother, whose tortured spirit now wandered aimlessly between this world and the heavens. Unless I returned the stone to Mia, my brother would remain that way for eternity. I couldn’t allow that.
As long as it takes, whatever I must do, I will bring my brother back and return all that I robbed him of
. Yes, I’d killed him because he’d demanded it. But I should’ve said no. I should’ve told him to fight Hagne’s family and that I would’ve stood by him in battle. But no, like a fool, the fool I’d always been, I’d let my brother do the thinking for me.

On the eve of the twentieth day, my beautiful companion sat next to me on a little stool beside the hammock I lay on.

She held out a bowl of food, offering it with her usual smile.

“No food,” I said, gently pushing her hand away. “I need a boat.”

She looked at me quizzically.

“Boat,” I repeated and rose from the hammock. She took the opportunity to steal a glimpse at my manhood as the small cloth tied around my waist slipped off.

I won’t lie, she looked pleased, and my ego felt the same.

I resecured the cloth and plucked a small twig from the ground, drawing a boat in the dirt. Around it, I drew little waves and the symbol of a fish.

When she realized what I meant, I could see the disappointment in her eyes.

“Boat,” she repeated the word.

I nodded. “Yes, boat. I need to go home.” I drew another symbol on the floor of an island with a house. Inside, I drew little figures of people. “Home.”

A look of deep turmoil reflected in her eyes. More than ever I wished I could explain how grateful I felt for her help, how special she was to me. She’d saved my life and asked for nothing in return.

When she stood, I assumed she was going to go speak with her elders in the village, but she did not leave.

She untied the colorful piece of woven cloth around her waist and dropped it onto the floor.

With a hard breath, I took in the sight of her soft curves and the patch of dark hair between her legs, knowing that I shouldn’t dare touch her. I knew nothing about these people or their customs.

But when she slid her hands underneath the piece of cloth I wore around my own waist and began stroking my cock just aching to burrow deep inside her, my manly needs took over.

I reached for the back of her head and kissed her soft lips with a roughness I didn’t know I’d be capable of in my still-weakened state. But this kiss, like the woman, was nothing ordinary. As I tasted her on my tongue and pulled her sweet scent into my lungs, something deep inside me burst, like a light flooding my entire soul and blocking out the entire world. There was only her and me, and nothing else seemed to matter.

Where had she been all my life? Because she was the meaning I’d been searching for without ever knowing it. And I believed she felt the same for me.

Our gentle kiss quickly turned into a wild flurry of touching—our bodies grinding, our hands exploring.

Dear gods, could her breasts be any softer?
Every part of her I touched—ass, hips, and the soft folds between her legs—was sinful perfection.

She broke away and began to kneel, clearly intent on getting my cock into her mouth, something I would normally not refuse from a woman. But that was not at all what I wanted. I needed to be inside her, to feel our bodies connected.

I gently grabbed her shoulders to raise her up. “A woman like you should never kneel before a man like me.” I knew she did not understand the words, but I hoped she’d sense how I truly felt.

I guided her into the hammock and then laid myself between her thighs, not wasting a moment’s time to position my cock at her entrance, testing her readiness.

Gods, was she ready—warm and wet with eager hips.

With our mouths once again locked in a flurry of frantic kisses, I thrust myself into her and she let out a yelp. I immediately realized why.
Virgin?

“I am sorry,” I said, pulling back. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. She wasn’t young. In fact, I guessed she might be five or six years older than myself. On my island, a woman of her age had already had two or three lovers and several children.

Staring deeply into my eyes, she slid her soft hands around my ass and urged me back.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” I hoped she might understand. My size wasn’t something a woman would enjoy her first time.

She gave me a tender smile, as if to tell me it was what she truly wanted. And me, being who I was, could not resist the invitation. I sank into her, slowly driving in my cock, inch by inch. She moaned gently into my ear, tilting her hips to help me slide deeper.

She pulled her head back and stared at me with those intense eyes, and I wondered what she was thinking. What did she see in a man like me who had washed up on the shore, his body shattered and emaciated, nearly dead?

I didn’t know the answer to that question. All I knew was how she made me feel, like there was a goodness inside me—something worth wanting.

Slowly, we began moving together, our eyes locked, our souls touching. It was like magic the way our spirits and bodies mingled and drew from each other. My heart began to tingle, as if pulling the light from within her. Meanwhile, I felt her pulling a piece of my soul into her.

There were no words to explain other than she was pure ecstasy, pure light, pure sinful pleasure and joy.

With what felt like only seconds of thrusting and sliding my shaft into her willing but tight body, I felt the eruption coming. I quickened my pace, our hips colliding, her pants coaxing me to take more, to move faster, to drive harder. I exploded inside her, feeling my seed pouring over the tip of my cock, bathing the entrance to her womb while she dug her soft fingertips into my ass, pushing me as deeply as I could go. She let out a cry of ecstasy, and I forced myself to continue, drawing the pleasure from her body.

Finally, after several long moments of lying together joined, sweaty, and spent, I opened my eyes to find it was no longer morning, but nighttime. What seemed like minutes had really been an entire day.

I looked at her and stroked her soft cheek. “Who are you?” I whispered.

“Happy,” she responded.

Happy. That was the perfect name for my Seer from another land. She made me so happy.

~~~

The next morning, I found myself alone as usual, but now I missed her more than ever. Her sweet smell, her eyes, her smile. I realized that being with this strange woman was the first time I’d ever felt I belonged somewhere, like there was hope for me. Yet, the other part of my soul knew that to be impossible. I was an outsider, not welcome in their village.

“Boat,” I heard a familiar voice speak from the doorway.

I looked up and found my goddess holding out several spotted furs and three big bundles tied with twine.

“Boat,” she repeated, urging me to take the goods.

“You did it?”

I got up, and she quickly shoved the items at me. “
Ko’oten. Ko’oten!
”

I suddenly had the feeling she was telling me to hurry my ass up. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t with the blessing of her tribe.

“You will get in trouble,” I said. Of course, she didn’t understand. Her response was to grab my hand and urge me to follow.

“No. I do not want you to do this.” I had no clue if these people were peaceful or savages, if her helping me to take a boat would earn her more than simply being poked with sticks as they had done to me when I invaded their shore.

I dug in hard and with my considerable size compared to hers, she couldn’t move me. “No,” I said firmly. I refused to have another black mark on my soul or cost someone else theirs.

Suddenly, deep male voices began echoing through the jungle.

Her eyes filled with panic. “
Ko’oten!
” she yelled.

“I will speak with them. I will tell them you had nothing to do with this.”

Frustrated by my lack of movement, she shook her head at me and blew out a breath. She then reached for my hand and placed it over her heart. “Happy.” She laced her fingers with mine, and I then started to wonder if she was trying to say that she wanted to go with me.

I could never allow that. There was little chance of any boat crossing back over that ocean. I couldn’t put her in danger.

I took her hand and placed it over my heart. “You have to stay here.”

She blinked at me and then growled, jerking her hand away. She turned her petite frame and began running.

“Gods be damned, woman! Where are you going?” I chased after her, running as fast as I was able, ducking under branches and thick vines. Still fairly weak and not yet having built my muscle back, I moved as fast as a pregnant ox at best.

I tracked her footsteps through the moist dirt, finally breaking through the vegetation, shooting out onto a warm beach covered with white powdery sand. I caught sight of her running toward a small fishing boat that was narrow with an upward-pointing tip.

She didn’t stop until she got to it, and when she did, she immediately began shoving off, motioning for me to come.

I looked up at the sky for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts. I had to make her understand.

I hurried toward her, and the moment I got to the boat, now bobbing in the shallow waves with her wading knee deep beside it, I heard the men’s voices.

I looked over my shoulder at them as they came rushing toward us with long spears in their hands.

Curses of the gods.
This was not good.

Happy yelled frantically, and I had to choose. She would most likely die if we shoved off and tried to cross that ocean. If she stayed, I might be able to bargain with these people and convince them this was my doing. Perhaps I could make them think that I had bewitched her in some way.

I grabbed the boat and gazed into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t take you on that ocean. I care too much for you.”

She frowned at me and a look of hurt showed in her eyes. She didn’t understand, and there was no way to explain it.