The starry sky above us is just a stray thought as Kai's dulcet words dissipate into the night...
"(Y/N), you're beautiful..."
He captures my mouth with a kiss, his tongue tangling with mine.
"Ohhh..."
His sweet kisses work their way to my earlobe, and he moans in my ear...
"(Y/N)..."
My heart skips a beat as my name slips across his lips again. I trail both hands up his chest, enjoying the heat radiating through the thin, red fabric. Smirking, I skin a finger across his pert nipple. He shivers and moans at my touch.
"Yes..."
I relish the feel of his kiss, his touch, his body...until I remember his words from the other day.
FLASHBACK
"Hey, this conversation isn't over. I'm tired of you shutting me out."
"You want me to say it? Fine. Last night was a mistake."
PRESENT
I suddenly sit up in the overgrown grass and push Kai away...
"Wait..."
"What's wrong?"
"Last time this happened...you called it a mistake. I can't do this if you're going to push me away again."
Kai rubs the back of his neck, his eyes searching me.
"You have no idea what you do to me."
He places his hand on my thigh.
"You're headstrong, stubborn, and you frustrate me like no one else—"
"Gee. Thanks."
"—But you set my nerves on fire. I can feel your touch hours after you've let go."
Suddenly, I'm very aware of the heat and pressure of his hand on my thigh.
"What are you saying...?"
"That...I'm falling for you, (Y/N)."
I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"It's been a long time since I've let myself feel like this... But with you, I don't want to hold back anymore."
"So don't hold back. Let everything go but me."
"That's all I want right now. You're all I can think about."
In an instant, his lips are on mine again. This kiss is slower, more sensual than before. He toys with my hemline as he speaks, voice rough with desire...
"I want all of you tonight."
"Everything I know about chemistry and biology can't help me describe my reaction to being with you."
"Maybe you should stop overthinking it then."
His mouth is on mine once more, kissing me deeper. His body interlaces with mine, and I melt against him. The sweet taste of the fruity drink lingers on his lips as he welcomes my tongue, entwining it with his own.
"I'm already thinking less."
"We can do better..."
"Oh, is that so? Then prove it. Distract me."
"Careful what you wish for."
He flashes a mischievous grin, then lets his hands slide down my body... He cups my breasts, bringing my nipples to a point. I bite my lip, wishing I feel his touch against my skin.
"Is this working?"
He takes his time removing each article of clothing, pressing a kiss to each inch of revealed skin until only my underwear remains.
"Ohhhh..."
"Oh? I guess it's not working."
He begins to move away, but I tug his shirt, pulling him back to me.
"It's working. Please...keep going..."
His teeth find the elastic of my underwear and pull it back with a snap.
"You like that?"
"Yesss..."
He slides my underwear off, leaving me exposed before him. The warm breeze brushes every inch of me. In a quick, fluid motion, Kai rips his clothes off, tossing them aside. My breath catches as I drink him in, aching for his touch.
"Tell me. What are you thinking of?"
Kai hovers over me, his member tickling my thighs. I swear he can hear my heart beating out of my chest.
"Kai..."
"Tch, tch. Answer me. What are you thinking right now?"
"You. Only you..."
He rewards me with a long, commanding kiss, his tongue dancing with mine.
"Good."
Kai closes the space between us again, cupping my cheek as his lips meet mine in a lingering kiss. We hold contact as we roll in the tall grass.
"Mmm..."
The tropical scent of flowers surrounds me as the two of us lay together. Kai props himself up above me, drinking in the sight of my naked body.
"You're intoxicating."
He drags a finger from my neck to my abdomen to the curve of my inner thigh... Close, but not close enough.
"You're just teasing me now."
"Nah, this is teasing."
His lips follow his finger, kissing the soft skin at my hips before working inward. He hovers just above my opening, close enough to feel his breath ghost over my skin. Cupping the back of his head, I prop my legs on each of his shoulders, opening up to him. His tongue trails along my ridges and valleys, lapping against my core in thrilling circular patterns.
"Mmm..."
My back arches and my fingers dig into his hair as his tongue works harder against me. It glides across my skin, dipping down, then up again, mapping every tender inch of me.
"Oh God..."
He licks my button, flicking his tongue from side to side in dizzying motions that spot my vision.
"(Y/N)..."
Kai sucks on my most sensitive spot, his hands finding purchase on my hips as he buries his head deeper into the embrace of my thighs. My body quivers beneath his touch, aching for him as I hurtle toward the edge.
"I need..."
Then suddenly, Kai relents, shifting away. My breathing comes heavy as my body yearns for more of him. Grabbing his hips, I roll Kai onto his back. I smile down wickedly as I straddle him.
"You're mine now."
"What are you going to do about it?"
I sit back to give my fingers access to him and begin tracing teasing, featherlight lines against his sensitive flesh.
"Now who's teasing who?"
"I was just taking a moment to admire the view."
I take the length of him in my hand, and he immediately groans at the touch. Kai's eyes close and his head lolls back in the grass. I watch him as I move my hand up and down in even motions, using my other hand to keep me steady on top of him.
"That feels...ohhh, amazing."
"Is this how you like it? Or like this..."
I increase my grip and tempo and Kai's eyes snap open as he draws in a sharp gasp of pleasure.
"Anything...everything...! "
I alternate between gentle and slow, then hard and fast. Kai's breath becomes ragged, his fingers digging into my thighs on either side of him.
"I'm so close...I'm gonna..."
Mimicking Kai's earlier move, I pull away before I can satisfy him. His chest heaves against mine, and I can feel his heartbeat pounding against my skin.
"Please. Don't stop. I need you."
"How badly?"
"Tell me how you want me. I'm yours."
I give him a seductive grin and reach between us and guide him to my entrance, a low moan escaping my lips as I slide myself onto his cock.
"Oh God..."
Kai grips my hip with one hand and my back with another, using his powerful legs to meet my every stroke. My head lulls back as he fills me completely, hitting just the right spot.
"Faster, (Y/N)... Just like that."
As the pressure mounts, I lean down to hungrily kiss every inch of Kai I can reach. His mouth captures my breast, his tongue swirling around my nipple. I feel myself hurtling closer to the edge. Suddenly, the rhythm reaches a fever pitch. I feel Kai's release just as my own washes over me. My cries of pleasure rock the abandoned village before fading into the night.
"Kai!! "
Our bodies shake as we collapse into each other's arms, chests rising and falling in unison, limbs tangled together. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to fully melt into him, sinking into the soft bed of flowers blanketing the village. The flashes of colors feel a million miles away compared the nearness of the man next to me.
The next morning, we gather our supplies and cautiously make our way back to camp. I lag behind Kai while he checks it out...
"It's safe. I don't see anyone."
He motions for me to come closer, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank God. Everything looks in its place... I guess the smugglers didn't come back, after all."
"We'd still better keep an eye out. Just in case."
Kai starts to clean up the shards of debris around camp, and I notice the cuts and bruises peppering his body.
"Those look painful..."
"Eh. It's just from the bark. I've had worse."
"Sit. You won't be able to outrun smugglers if you get an infection."
I force him to sit on one of the containers. He removes his shirt, then I use some of the alcohol to clean his wounds.
"Ack. That stings."
"That's how you know it's working."
"Can't you just slap a bandage on and call it good?"
"I could always reward you with a kiss after."
"Heh. You should've led with that."
I continue to clean each of his many scrapes. Despite wincing slightly from the pain, Kai remains perfectly still.
"Much Better..."
"I'm a man who knows what he wants."
A few minutes later, I finish cleaning Kai's last cut. He smirks.
"About that kiss..."
I smile, rolling my eyes, then lean down to brush my lips lightly against his.
"Happy?"
As I pull back, Kai wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his lap, and kissing me fiercely!
"Now I'm happy."
Heat rises in my cheeks as I step back to stow the bottle of alcohol away among my supplies. Kai turns his attention to the radio, fiddling with the buttons and knobs.
"This would be a game changer... If the radio works."
"What's the diagnosis?"
He rips off a large vine, revealing the back panel.
"It'd help if the jungle wasn't growing on this."
"Have you ever fixed something like this before?"
"Yeah, for my grandpa. But with tools and tutorial videos."
Kai busies himself with the inside of the radio, stripping some of the wires, then twisting them together. While I search for something to help Kai, I hear a sudden pop from the radio...followed by a small sizzle of smoke.
"Stupid damn radio! This'll never work."
He angrily shakes the radio, then drops it in the sand.
"Maybe a break would be best. Come on, I still need to find some red torch ginger. I could use your help."
"No. I need to fix this."
"Kai...if you keep working now, you'll break it more. I'll be damned if I let you sacrifice our one shot off Moku because of your temper. So you might as well help me finish my research in the meantime."
Kai huffs, then follows me toward the jungle.
"Okay, okay. Let's go."
Kai and I traipse through the jungle for a while, searching for the red torch ginger. I pause by a large tree and scrape off some samples of the bark.
"Can you do me a favor? Gather a few of the leaves from this tree while I get some of the soil around it."
"Ah, the truth comes out. I'm just here to do your bidding."
"It's a definite perk."
His hand brushes mine as he takes the bag from me, turning to do as I asked.
"So, why this tree?"
"I need to gather samples from both mutated species and unaffected ones in order to compare the two."
I take out my notebook to quickly sketch the tree, noting the large pinecone fallen from its branches.
"Plus, some of these florae are native to the island. Once Mount Moku erupts, they could be lost forever. I'm trying to preserve as much of them as I can. Like this one perfect strobilus. Preserved for all time."
Kai flips through my notebook, noting the various sketches I've made during our time on Moku.
"Not bad, Doc. If this whole ecology thing doesn't work out, you've got a future in art."
Kai seals the bag with the leaves inside. He comes up behind me, one hand on my hip as he unzips my pack with the other to store the sample.
"Promise me this isn't a 'resurrect ancient DNA' thing?"
I turn to face him and find myself just inches away.
"It's not Jurassic Park. Some species can be propagated from a good sample, but the goal is mostly just to catalog it. Or in my case, I want to see if I can derive any genetic markers for their rapid growth in the hopes of changing good production..."
"Trying to change the world... That's impressive."
"And now you're a part of it too."
"We do make a pretty good team."
"Does this mean you want to become my research assistant?"
"Let me think about that... No."
"Admit it. I've turned you into a big science nerd. You're thinking of giving up your life at sea to go into academia..."
"Don't make me regret coming out here with you." he grins.
"It's okay, your secret is safe with me, Professor Huening."
"You keep it up, and I'll start calling you a tourist again."
The two of us share a laugh as we continue through the jungle. Soon, we emerge from a thick copse of trees and let out an audible gasp...
"Oh my..."
The entire tree line is rotted and withered, all other plants on the ground long dead. A distinctive crimson flower grows wild in a creeping trail along the ground.
"Is this what you were looking for?"
"Yes. But not like this."
I pluck one of the flowers, my mind reeling as I try to figure out what's going on.
"Red Torch Ginger. We actually found it... That's the last flower I needed...but I have more questions now than answers."
"I thought you'd be happier to find it."
"I mean, look around us. The red torch ginger has killed everything in the area. It must've taken the water and nutrients from the plants around it in order to grow this way..."
I follow the line of red torch ginger, careful not to step on the blossoms. Eventually, the trail ends, spilling out onto the beach.
"This isn't that far from camp."
"Fascinating... Red torch ginger usually needs moist soil, but this kind is starting to grow in the sand here."
"There's a lot of weird stuff going on here on Moku."
"It's good we're cataloguing all of this. Once I get these samples back to the lab, I might be able to ascertain why its mutations present so deadly to surrounding flora."
"And stop it from happening elsewhere?"
"Hopefully. If I want to promote rapid growth in crops, stealing resources from everything around it would not be in our best interests."
I pull out my field kit and crouch down beside the red torch ginger.
"Care to help me gather a few more samples? I need to collect some of the blossoms, the dead plants, and some of the soil."
"I shouldn't. If you want your samples to make it off Moku, I need to get back and work on the radio."
"Go ahead without me. I'm 99 percent sure camp's just down the beach from here. I'll catch up after I finish here."
"Okay...Don't stray too far."
"I promise. I can take care of myself."
Kai nods, then starts down the beach in the direction of camp. I search the area around the red torch ginger more thoroughly.
"Hm. I wonder if this is why we haven't seen many animals here. IF some of the plants have mutated to behave like this, it could affect the fauna's food sources..."
I pause my work when I hear a squawking noise nearby.
"Is that...a bird?"
I follow the sound, making my way through the withered trees and into the lush, green brush until I see a colorful parrot.
"Hello, little guy. I was just saying that I hadn't seen many animals around."
The parrot stares up at me between the bushes. Its eyes are trained on me.
"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you..."
I cautiously take a step toward the parrot...and realize its foot is caught in a trap! Wire tightens around its claw as it cries...
"That looks painful. How did this happen?"
The bird starts flapping and squawking furiously, trying to free itself from the trap. Wicked cuts wrap around its foot from where the snare digs in.
"It's okay. You're safe with me..."
I try to get closer to examine the trap, but the bird flaps its wings angrily as I approach.
"Okay, I'll stay right here."
My eyes dart to the snare its leg is caught in.
"I've never seen a trap like this before. And I can't just leave you like this..."
I slowly continue toward the bird, squatting down with my palms out.
"See? I'm a friend."
In its panic, I can see that it's only tightening the snare.
If I don't do something soon, it's just going to hurt itself more. Animals usually calm down if they're covered and can't see what's going on...
I slowly remove my shirt. As soon as it stops flapping I quickly wrap the struggling bird up in the fabric.
"Sorry. But I can't see the trap if you don't stop moving..."
"Squawk! Sorry! Sorry!"
I can't help but smile at the parrot's attempt at mimicking my voice.
"Well, aren't you smart? Don't worry, I'll make this quick."
With the bird covered and calm, I can finally examine the trap more closely.
"Strange... This looks brand new. It can't be something leftover from whoever used to live here. I can't imagine smugglers would have much use for trapped parrots, either... Who did this to you?"
"Squaaaak... Who! Who."
The parrot struggles a little as I tilt its foot up. The wire constricts tightly around it.
"Almost done, little buddy. I just need to find the release."
I carefully pick at the knot on the snare line, trying to loosen it.
"Just gotta get this to open up so you can be free. I don't want to rush it and hurt you..."
Finally, I find some purchase, allowing me to slacken the line. I slip it off the bird's leg.
"Almost there."
I thoroughly check the parrot for injuries, but don't notice anything more serious than the cuts.
"Those should heal just fine on their own. There we go, pal. All done. You're free now."
"Caw...Pal! Pal!"
I grab my shirt, tying it back on as I step back to give the bird space. The parrot hops once to test its freedom, then flies up onto my shoulder.
"Free! Free! "
"That's right, you are free. Maybe a smart bird like you should have a name. What do you think, Einstein?"
"Einstein! Free Einstein!"
"Yup, a free Einstein. Now get outta here before whoever set this trap comes looking for you."
Einstein tilts its head, then flies off deep into the jungle.
"I'm glad I could save you...but I have so many more questions now."
I break the snare apart as best I can, tossing the pieces in opposite directions before heading back to camp. I find my way back to the beach without too much trouble and immediately seek out Kai.
"Kai! Something super weird is going on and—"
"Shh! Listen."
He holds a finger up to his lips and gestures to the radio.
"It's working...you fixed it!"
I gasp when I realize I can hear voices coming out of it.
"People?" I ask.
"I just picked up someone on the walkie-talkie, which means they can't be too far away."
I come closer to listen, recognizing a few terms.
"...transmission rate...multiplying...initial data...single-strand...preliminary samples..."
"They're talking about rates of spread for diseases."
"So if it's not the smugglers..."
"Then there's someone else on the island. They could be our way home!"