Misplaced (113 page)

“Can
w
e take this off?”

Sh
e
hesitate
d
briefly
,
w
eighin
g
th
e
decisio
n
on
e
las
t
tim
e
bef
o
r
e
o
penin
g
th
e
c
la
s
p
.
L
ayin
g
th
e
c
u
ff
o
n
a
co
rne
r
o
f
th
e
makeshif
t
bed
,
sh
e
turne
d
bac
k
t
o
him
.
Khar
a
ha
d
scarcely
sli
d
hi
s
shir
t
fro
m
hi
s
shoulder
s
befor
e
h
e
pulle
d
he
r
down
.
Th
e
soun
d
o
f
hi
s
pant
s
unzippin
g
cause
d
a
rus
h
o
f
nervous
excitement
,
an
d
sh
e
reache
d
insid
e
hi
s
jean
s
a
s
muc
h
ou
t
of
curiosit
y
a
s
desire
.
Sh
e
w
ante
d
t
o
pleas
e
hi
m
wit
h
he
r
hands
and
fingers
as
he
had
pleased
her.
Could
something
that
size,
as
unyielding
as
a
baton,
fit inside
her?
The
thought
inflamed her further and made her
w
et. Hunger dictated the mo
v
ement
o
f
he
r
han
d
a
s
th
e
ti
p
o
f
he
r
tongu
e
foun
d
his
.
Suc
h
delicate pleasure
!
Oli
v
e
r
exhale
d
po
w
erfully
.
H
e
moane
d
an
d
pulled
he
r
o
n
to
p
o
f
him
,
an
d
the
y
kisse
d
deeply
.
I
t
happene
d
by
instinct,
or
perhaps
by
magic—one
moment
they
w
ere
two;
the next, one, no longer alone, together in an inconcei
v
able shared gratification.

She could not ha
v
e imagined the longing his moving hips aroused, or the urgency they inspired in her. His sinewy body,
m
oi
s
t
wit
h
hea
t
an
d
gli
s
tenin
g
i
n
th
e
night
,
t
oo
k
he
r
breath
a
w
ay.
For
the
second
time
in
her
life,
Khara
felt
w
eightless,
her
sou
l
unleashe
d
fro
m
he
r
bod
y
an
d
int
o
th
e
pine
y
ai
r
t
o
fl
y
i
n
the
darkness
with
the
other
wild
things. An
o
w
l
hooted,
bringing her
back
to
him,
panting
and
damp
with
s
w
eat,
and
they
began
again
.
Touching
,
kissing
,
Khar
a
bega
n
t
o
lea
d
th
e
unhurrie
d exploration
of
skin,
hair,
and
tantalizing
bits
of
flesh rendered deliciously soft and astonishingly hard by lo
v
e.

After
w
ard
,
Oli
v
e
r
sai
d
thing
s
t
o
whic
h
sh
e
nodde
d
an
d
smile
d
unti
l
sh
e
pu
t
th
e
cuf
f
bac
k
on
,
distresse
d
t
o
ha
v
e
lost e
v
e
n a
handfu
l
o
f
hi
s
words
.
The
y
zippe
d
th
e
sleepin
g
bags
together, mo
v
ed to softer ground, and wiggled inside. Blissful in his arms, Khara inched her
w
ay to his chest to listen to the beating of his heart.

Whe
n
sh
e
awoke
,
sh
e
ha
d
n
o
ide
a
ho
w
muc
h
tim
e
had
passed. She
’
d slept like the dead, but for how long? Gratefully, she realized that night had not
y
et slipped into day.

Oli
v
e
r
kisse
d
her
,
rolle
d
ont
o
hi
s
side
,
an
d
y
awned
.
“
W
e should probably get back to camp before e
v
eryone
w
akes up.”

“Y
es
,
bu
t
separately.
”
Sh
e
kisse
d
hi
s
lips
,
an
d
the
n
placed
delicat
e
kisse
s
al
l
o
v
e
r
hi
s
face
.
“
I
shoul
d
g
o
first
.
An
d
you
?
Y
o
u should go back to sleep.”

She
w
atched
him
drift
off again,
contended
and
exhausted.
“Ca
n
yo
u
hea
r
me?
”
sh
e
whispered
.
Afte
r
a
pause
,
sh
e
confided,
“I
lo
v
e
you.”
Lingering
there,
Khara
fixed
the
vision
of
Oli
v
er
sleepin
g
peacefull
y
i
n
th
e
fores
t
i
n
he
r
min
d
s
o
e
v
er
y
detail
would li
v
e within her fore
v
er.

Chapte
r
Forty-two
Vic
t
oria

Victori
a
awok
e
i
n
a
feta
l
positio
n
t
o
fin
d
on
e
e
y
e
crusted
shut and her body pinned inside a striped woolen blanket that smelled
strongly
of
s
w
eat
and
smoke.
A
humiliating
curiosity about
how
she
’
d
gotten
there
had
scarcely
been
sparked
when she wrestled herself out of it and ran for the trees, where she vomited until she thought she might die.

A
final
surge
of
nausea
o
v
ercame
her
and
then,
her
stomach emptied,
V
ictoria leaned against the tree and closed her e
y
es.
He
r
bod
y
shook
,
bead
s
o
f
col
d
s
w
ea
t
do
t
te
d
he
r
forehead
, and there
w
as a supremely foul taste in her mouth. When the ground
stopped
moving, she
tried
to
focus. More
than
a
dozen
soul
s
stil
l
slept
,
thei
r
blanket
s
linin
g
th
e
perimete
r
o
f
th
e
fire
which had burned out, but still radiated
w
armth. She
w
armed her hands and thought,
God, I feel like hell.

A
toothbrus
h
an
d a
sho
w
e
r
w
a
s
wha
t
sh
e
ha
d
i
n
mind
when she spotted
Khara with Ben on the far side of the fire.
He
w
as
busy
drawing
lines
on
the
earth
with
a
stick.
She
tottered
to
w
ard
them.
“When
you
and
Oli
v
er
disappeared
last
night,
I
figured…
w
ell,
I just didn’t expect to see you up so early.”

“No
r I
you,
”
Khar
a
sho
t
back
,
laughing
, a
sudde
n
flush
brightening her cheeks.
I
n
on
e
ni
g
h
t,
sh
e
ha
d
b
ecom
e
e
v
e
n
lo
v
elier
.
T
he
sereni
ty
sh
e
ofte
n
wor
e
lik
e
a
mas
k
w
a
s
rea
l
now
.
He
r
nigh
t
wit
h
Oli
v
e
r
had
made her wise, and she smiled lavishly.

I
t
ha
d
no
t
bee
n
tha
t
w
a
y
fo
r
her
.
V
ictori
a
re
m
embere
d a dorm-room bed,
and
Mike,
a
boy
her
family
would
ha
v
e
liked. He had shaggy brown hair, an unsha
v
en chin, and superhero
boxers
,
an
d
sh
e
ha
d
though
t
o
f
thei
r
lo
v
emakin
g
a
s
nothing
mor
e
tha
n
anothe
r
ste
p
o
n
th
e
roa
d
t
o
adulthood—
a
painful,
awk
w
ard, bloody step.

“So much for my pathetic attempt
at discretion.”

“I
t
doesn’
t
sui
t
yo
u
any
w
ay,
”
Khar
a
asserted
,
an
d
dre
w a
breat
h
fille
d
wit
h
y
earning
.
“
An
d
b
y
th
e
w
ay
,
yo
u
loo
k
lik
e
a crocodile dragged you under.”

Unti
l
h
e
cleare
d
hi
s
throat
,
the
y
ha
d
forgo
t
te
n
abou
t
Ben. No
w
h
e
scattere
d
th
e
dir
t
ma
p
h
e
ha
d
draw
n
wit
h
hi
s
boot
,
hi
s
cheek
s
reddened
.
“Thi
s
i
s
wher
e I
mus
t
lea
v
e
you
.
Tra
v
el
safely.” He smiled and took Khara’s hand. “I will ask the great spirits
to
help
you
find
your
w
ay
home.”
Then
he
offered
them a bleak smile and strolled a
w
ay, the spurs on his boots making cheerful clinking sounds.

Crossing her left
arm o
v
er her
chest, she nodded, and then
turne
d
t
o
V
ictoria
.
“
Agains
t
hi
s
bette
r
judgment
,
Be
n
sho
w
ed
me the
w
ay to Urraca Mesa.”

“All
it
took
w
as
a
lit
t
le
Kharissima.
Ha
v
e
you
di
s
cussed
this with Oli
v
er?”

“No.”

“Why not?
And speaking of Oli
v
er, where is he?”

“I left him sleeping in the forest.” She turned, looking into
th
e
tree
s
behin
d
he
r
a
s
i
f
sh
e
expecte
d
hi
m
t
o
appear
.
They
w
aite
d
fo
r
a
moment
,
listenin
g
t
o
th
e
happil
y
chirpin
g
birds
,
an
d
the
n
Khar
a
turne
d
t
o
fac
e
V
ictoria
.
“I
t
i
s
tim
e
I
w
en
t
home.”

“Al
l
right
,
bu
t
let’
s
g
o
chec
k
o
n
Celest
e
an
d
pic
k
u
p
our
things.
Why
are
you
in
such
a
hurry?
And
how
can
you
think
about leaving without saying goodb
y
e?”

“Afte
r
las
t
night
,
ho
w
c
a
n
I?
”
He
r
expre
s
sio
n
w
a
s
one
V
ictori
a
ha
d
ne
v
e
r
see
n
before—simultaneousl
y
beref
t
an
d
blissful.

“
Y
ou
’
re going to break his heart.”