Stowaway (A Pirate Novel) (Completed)

Chapter 38 In the Jungle

The following afternoon the crew was expected ashore to enjoy the food, the ale, the fire, the sun and the rum. Talbot sent food to the ship for Jr, Carl, Anthony and Bartard. Jr was still in the sick room. Carl guarded the ship. Anthony manned the crows nest. Elle didn't know what they had done to deserve being stuck on the ship. Happy that she had free run of the island she made use of that freedom.

With her sword, a dagger and a few things in her pack she sat off to explore the island.

She visited the waterfall and created a mental painting. She wished Leo sat here with his paints. She'd have him paint it for her. Every time she looked at the painting she would hear the sound of the birds in the trees, the crash of the water in the pool, the trickle of water around the boulders. She would smell the earth, the flowers, the water. She smiled. Hope and the thought of the future in her mind she continued her exploration.

The early morning sun shown through the trees casting shafts of light. Elle traversed the jungle. There were more animals on the island then she had expected. Most skuttled out of her view quickly. A few monkeys seemed to look down at her at various points. She was not one hundred percent sure it was the same two monkeys but believed they were.

She found a butterfly the size of her torso. It's wings were brown with yellow and red splashed over them. It's long tongue sucked at a the yellow center of a bright red flower. It didn't bother to fly away when she moved closer to look. The flower spanned half the size of the butterfly's width.

She found a fruit tree with green skinned, yellow meat fruit thanks to the monkeys. They chatted angrily down at her. Hoping from limb to limb. She sat and looked up at them. Eventually they quited and settled down to eat their fruit.

She had no idea their gender and named them M and Z. M didn't like being watched and threw pieces of fruit at her. She would duck and laugh. The sound caused him to scurry with a cry of alarm to a higher branch.

When ready to move on she filled her pack half way with fruit.

The terrain was rocky and had started to increase in altitude. The sun was high overhead, her eyes burned from the brightness. Her back sticky with sweat clung to her shirt under the heavy black pack. Her hair stuck to her face where sweat dripped over her skin. She found a thin trail about a foot wide. She sat on a fallen tree farther up the trail. Her little monkey friends were nowhere to be seen. After resting she turned back down the trail.

The sky had turned to a white sheet of thin clouds. It did nothing to lessen the heat. It did make her eyes feel better when she came out into the open.

She found the monkeys, or rather they found her, just as the clouds started to clear. She had taken a different direction then the one she had originally trecked. She found a rock pillar made like the rock wall. Only it was round, smooth and went straight up almost twenty feet. Five people could have stood around it and barely been able to touch hands.

She only examined it a few minutes before moving on. An hour later she stopped and checked her compass. She was off course. She drank the remaining water from the water skin. Back on course she increased her pace.

Sweat dripped between her shoulder blades. Her monkey friends had disappeared long ago so when she heard the snap of twigs ahead she froze. Her hand went automatically to her sword.

Branches scrapped together. The sound caused the hair on her body to lift. The sound came closer. Her fingers tightened on the sword.

The large leaves a bent outward towards her. She noticed a hand gripping the stalk of the leaf. Talbot stopped when he pushed his way through the foliage.

Elle's breath rushed from her lungs in relief.

"Captain." She said on a sigh. Her body relaxed.

"Elle?" Talbot said. He took a step forward and the green curtain of foliage closed behind him. He lifted his brow in question. "I thought you went to Cook's garden."

"No. I just wanted to explore the island. Hey," she said excitedly, "I found a trail about three hours ago. It's west of here higher on the mountain."

"On the mountain?" He asked his voice tight. She nodded. "Stay off the mountain, Elle. That trail is probably a game trail. There are large cats here. They are far worse than the boars."

Feeling like a child who had strayed too far from her mother's side she looked down at the ground.

"I- Jr told me about the cats. I- I wasn't- thinking. I'm sorry." She told. She hoped her voice didn't sound childish.

He moved in front of her. He took her chin in his hand and lifted her face. Their eyes met. "Elle. I'm not chastising you. I'm concerned. I don't want anything to happen to you. I wouldn't-" his voice had ended on a whisper, leaving the thought unfinished, unvoiced.

Her heart thumped aggressively against her ribs. Fear had nothing to do with its erratic behavior. His eyes looked into hers and she almost felt like he asked her a question. His head dipped lower, hers lifted.

His lips brushed hers as birds twittered in the background. His lips slid over hers.

Her lips caressed his. His tongue played over them in a slow process. It sent shivers through her. She ached to do the same to him. She parted her lips. His tongue entered and glanced over hers.

She pressed her body against his. She stretched. She could feel his hands sliding down her sides. His fingers curled over her hips. They curved over her buttocks. She almost stopped breathing entirely when he molded his hands over each cheek.

Heat pooled in her belly. She thrust out her tongue and invaded his warm mouth. He tasted of sweet fruit. She groaned.

He used his grip on her arse to pull her closer. She felt the rock hard length of him pressed against her stomach.

She wound her arms up over his shoulders. She pressed closer to him.

She wondered if he could feel the beat of her heart against his ribs.

"Off." His voice thick, deep and almost unrecognizable penitrated her brain.

Before she could protest he released her ass. Thankfully he wasn't ending the moment. He pulled at the straps of her pack. He had it off, laying by their feet and a hand in her hair in a matter of seconds. His mouth crushed hers. Their lips parted. Her tongue met his as it darted out.

His other hand pulled her closer. He pulled back his head and broke the kiss. He dropped feather light kisses over her jaw and trailed kisses down her throat.

If he hadn't been holding her she may have slid down to the ground. Her fingers gripped each other at the back of his head.

She shifted her hips. He groaned, the sound slipping past his lips that pressed to her throat.