Naked and Defiant (5 page)

"This island was a divorce present to myself.
I served my time in hell and deserved a little slice of heaven to
regroup and recover."

"Oh." Jade backed down, hearing a hint of
sadness on his voice. "Sorry. My parents are divorced, and I know
it can be hard on you."

Griffon abruptly changed the subject. "The
only thing hard on me is when there are things to do and I am
surrounded by laziness. You've rested enough. Go walk in the salt
water and let it clean your feet. While you're there, look for
mussels and hermit crabs. Hurry before the tide changes, and make
certain to always mark your trail so you don't get lost coming
back, if you go into the jungle for any reason. When you return,
I'll steam some noni leaves and put them over these bites. It will
take away the swelling and the itch." He stomped away to gather
more driftwood. Jade blinked in confusion. Maybe Griffon Badger
really did give a shit.

Griffon refused to
look behind him as he hauled the long bamboo poles up the path
towards the camp. He had left Jade to gather seaweed and the tiny
hermit crabs from the tide pools. While she seemed to have changed
some of her attitude and made an attempt to offer words of
appreciation, she still seemed to think life would be chocolate and
roses. Her disposition about money angered him. He forced himself
to reconsider her position, accepting that her arrogance was a
result of her father's overindulgence and that she had never known
anything else. He silently admitted that it was unfair to judge her
for how she was raised, but he could not shake the uppity,
rich-girl insolence. It was too much like his ex-wife's.

His eye caught the red fruit of the sea
grapes and he plucked them from the bunch. He popped one in his
mouth, careful of the large pit as he bit down. The sweet-sour
juice filled his mouth and he thought of how Jade might enjoy the
flavor. Jade. That woman knew exactly how to get under his skin
without even trying. She was like nails down a blackboard, raising
every hair on end when she began to whine and complain. On the
other hand, the smile on her face when she produced their morning
meal, and the way her eyes twinkled when he praised her, touched
something deep inside of him.

She had almost melted with joy as his brief
compliment fell upon her ears. For a split second, she reminded him
of a little girl who had accomplished a difficult task. Maybe he
should praise her more often, instead of scold? That still left him
facing her temper when she was unhappy.
Damn it to hell
,
Griffon cursed under his breath,
I'm stuck babysitting a brat.
Well, maybe I can help mold her into becoming a responsible woman.
Her future husband would surely appreciate that effort.

After tossing the sea grapes into the halves
of a large clam, Griffon set the shell on the outer embers to
slowly allow the fruit to bake and be a dipping sauce for the
crabs. He then broke down the firewood and stacked it neatly under
the high platform beneath the shelter. He proceeded to repair the
roof by weaving more fronds and slabs of bark peeled from the palm
trees, and returned to whittling his spear. The sound of running
caused him to turn his head.

"Look what I found! Can we eat this? Huh, can
we?" Jade asked, holding a small conch in her hand. "I also thought
I saw bananas down the beach a ways. I didn't see any hermit crabs,
though."

"Yes, we can certainly eat that. Very good,
Jade. We can even cook it in the shell and dip it in this:" Griffon
offered her the tip of his index finger that he had dipped in the
sea grape sauce. He felt his manhood awaken as she wrapped her pink
lips around the digit and innocently sucked.

"Those are yummy. I tried to find more clams,
but the tide is coming in. I'm sorry," she said, her joy suddenly
leaving her face. "You're alot bigger than me and are doing all
this hard work. You have got to be starving, and …"

"Grab the net you found. We are going to fish
the easy way. Then we can knock down some bananas."

Griffon led the way down, acutely aware of
the naked girl at his heels. Forty-eight hours and already his body
was betraying him.
No!
He reprimanded himself.
There is
no way I will repeat the same mistakes. I will get me a dog! They
are much better companions. Besides the fact they don't talk, a dog
could hunt, loves unconditionally, and provides plenty of
warmth.
His mind slipped to the previous night. Jade, too,
provided much-needed warmth, especially as it radiated from her
beautifully-striped, and deliciously ample, rear end.

He watched her walk nimbly away from him on
her tender feet. Several slight bruises crisscrossed her bum; a
jolt of desire rattled through him. He longed for a reason to spank
that beautiful backside again, to see it sprawled across his lap
and turn a bright, lovely crimson as his hand clapped over every
fleshy inch. He wanted to hear her beg and squeal as she lost
herself to submission and then to see the lust in her tear-filled
eyes as he took her boldly and without any inhibitions. He turned
his back to adjust his stiff cock in his cutoff shorts, pretending
to straighten the torn fragment of netting.

"Hold the net high," he said, quickly walking
into the water. "We'll go to about thigh level and see if we can
scoop up something. Step carefully and watch your feet. Shuffle
them in the sand to scare up any sting rays."

Excitement raced over Jade's face as they
pulled up two small fish. She laughed as she tried to hold one of
the flapping sardines. Her excitement amused him, and Griffon found
himself smiling.

"It's not a tuna, but it will do. I will show
you how to make a fish trap tonight, and tomorrow we will build a
catch-wall during low tide."

"That's that?"

"We build a half circle out of rocks to trap
fish as the tide goes out. It should be fairly simple if we pick a
good spot. It looks like we might have another storm coming,"
Griffon said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he viewed the
horizon. "We need to try to gather enough food to last us a few
days, just in case." Jade's smile faded. He knew she was tired,
sore, and scared, but this was about survival, and she needed to
toughen up. He patted her on the shoulder. "Let's get this done, so
we can both rest a bit."

Her barely audible thanks softened his
demeanor. On impulse, he hugged her and then strolled ahead to
point out various fruit to bring to the camp. The discovery of a
breadfruit tree sent him whooping with joy, not just for the
potato-like pod, but also the sap, which would help waterproof
their shelter even more. Jade, caught up in the excitement of
discovering new foods, picked a coconut off the ground and used his
knife to drill a hole through its eye. She took a swig and spit it
out.

"This is terrible! It tastes like vinegar!
Yuck!"

"Save it. Vinegar is very useful if you step
on a sea urchin. I wouldn't eat that if I were you …"

His warning came too late as Jade, in a
desperate attempt to clear her mouth of the vinegar, grabbed a
bright white fruit and bit into it. She began to retch.

"I think I poisoned myself," she choked,
spitting the fruit from her mouth. "It tastes like vomit!"

"If you had listened, I would have told you
that this is a Morinda. It's also called 'starvation fruit'. It
will keep you alive in times of famine, if you can get over the
nasty flavor," Griffon chuckled. He offered her a couple of raw sea
grapes. "Here. Watch your teeth; there are pits."

"I am never going to learn all this," Jade
groaned, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "How come you
know so much?"

"I studied the islands extensively prior to
purchase and made sure I got some land that was fertile. I've
always enjoyed living off the environment, when I can. Comes from
being raised in a poor home, I guess."

"Your family was poor?"

"Don't sound so shocked. Very few people are
born with a silver spoon in their mouths."

"I didn't mean to insult you. Sorry," Jade
said quietly, accepting his coconut shell filled with water.

"You didn't. I'm a bit defensive, when it
comes to little rich girls. The ex left a bitter taste in my
mouth."

"You shouldn't judge me by what other people
have done," Jade commented, dully. "I'm not like them."

"Really? My impression of you is that you
are."

Jade looked up at him, her eyes filling with
tearss. "Do you think it's easy having to put up this appearance?
Nothing in my life is sacred. Because of Dad's business and how it
effects our local economy, I am followed constantly by either
people who want me to get them a high-paying job with dad's
company, or his competitors trying to weasel trade secrets from me.
Like I would know anything, right? I've never even stepped foot
into my father's office. The people in my life are closed off and
superficial, wondering how to outdo each other. And look at me!"
She was shouting. "I am subject to constant ridicule because I am
not a size 2! I look like a hippo next to other girls my age and am
too fucking scared to get liposuction! My whole damn life is
nothing but a huge joke that is the same size as my gigantic ass!
They wouldn't even know I was gone; that is how unimportant I am to
everyone."

Griffon was quiet for a moment, debating on
the words to use. He decided on honesty. She might as well get used
to it. "Listen, kid, you are what you are, and only you can make
the choice to break away from that life, if you really hate it. Get
involved in your dad's business, if it interests you. Find a hobby.
Volunteer. Go to school, get a career to call your own and make a
name for yourself apart from your father. Work on your attitude.
You are only limited by your own self-awareness, desires, and
imagination. As for your body," he cleared his throat, "it is
absolutely lovely. Mature men tend to like curves and something to
hang onto. So what if you have some padding? I don't know if my
opinion counts for anything, but I believe it is exactly where it
should be. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who is soft
and smooth in all the right places."

Jade blinked at him. "You like my body?"

"Yeah," Griffon grunted. "I just don't like
the attitude. That negates how pretty you are every time."

The silence was uncomfortable, interrupted
only by the crunching sound under their feet and the growling of
thunder in the distance. Wordlessly, Griffon climbed the banana
palm and sliced off half the bunch, watching as Jade reached to
catch them. The weight threw her off balance and she fell backwards
with a yelp.

"Jade! Are you okay?" Griffon yelled,
scurrying down and kneeling at her side. Worry etched his face as
he helped her to a sitting position. "I'm sorry. I didn't know the
bunch was so heavy."

"I'm okay. Just a little bruised in an
already-tender area," Jade said, as she reached to rub her flanks.
She grinned. "You are actually acting like you give a shit, Griffon
Badger."

"Busted, okay? Don't tell anyone. I have a
reputation to hold onto," Griffon grunted, helping her to her
feet.

Jade hugged him. "Not a word. Thanks. I don't
hate you as much when I know you might care a little."

Griffon grunted again, lifting the bananas to
his shoulder. "Pick up those leaves that I cut, and let's get back
to camp before that storm hits. It looks like monsoon season might
be pretty nasty this year, and we don't want to be caught
unprepared. And watch out for that anthill. Damn things hurt like
hell when they chomp on you."

The next five days were spent in the
backbreaking work of gathering wood and food, building fish traps,
looking for bird eggs, and bottling precious rainwater in plastic
bottles and containers found washed up on shore. A few hours rain,
followed by hours of thick, muggy heat and swarms of biting insects
brought Jade to a place of agitated depression, and her desire to
maintain a 'decent attitude' grew short. Sunshine helped with her
mood, and Griffon was more than happy to allow her a couple of
hours a day to bask under a clear sky, whenever it presented
itself.

Any hint of pleasant weather became a thing
of the past by the sixth day. The days remained hot and muggy, but
under a constant cloud cover, and the nights grew cold and windy.
When it was not raining heavily, Griffon spent his time outside the
shelter teaching Jade how to hunt and gather food, repair and water
proof the roof, and how to use the throwstick to spear fish that
were trapped in the fish gates they had built out of rocks. The
rain provided sufficient water for the time being, however, his
concern about finding fresh water became a daily obsession, and he
often left for hours in search of a drinkable water source,
temporarily escaping the dark mood that grew around the girl. His
frequent absence made her anger and resentment grow, adding a sense
of rejection to her depressed state of mind.

On the evening of day ten, the weather
shifted drastically, as the rain pelted down in large bullets upon
the shelter and the wind aggressively whipped above them. The
inside of the small room flickered with the warm light from the
bottom fire-pit and the air smelled of wood smoke and salt. Griffon
had set to work weaving baskets from vines and thin banyan roots
while Jade worked on a large mat. They were both quiet, as the
crackling wood echoed beneath the platform. Jade suddenly
shivered.

"Are you cold?" Griffon asked.

"No. It's like a billion degrees in here. I
just was thinking about what it would be like if you hadn't known
how to survive out here. As miserable as this is, I honestly have
never felt so safe before. It doesn't make sense, does it?" Jade
said, taking a risk in her honesty. She wanted to tell him how she
felt but was not sure how to begin.