“They’re hatching! Come quick!”
My head wrenched up from Conner’s excited shout. I placed the Swiss Army knife on the log I was leaning against while doing my best to carve a plaque to hang above our bungalow.
I’d taken the day off from raft building to spend the day doing odd jobs around our home. The roof needed an extra flax or two, the flooring a replaced panel, and our hut still needed an official title.
Pippa tore after her brother, sand flying like smoke from her fast feet. All day, the sun had played peek-a-boo with the clouds, granting us some much-needed shade and the freedom to work outside—to air our bedding, take stock of our salty reserves, and swim without fear of our skin peeling off our faces from sunburn.
However, it also meant that Estelle’s phone hadn’t charged, which apparently wasn’t a good thing the way she yelled in despair and tossed the dead device onto the flax blanket beneath the umbrella tree.
Jogging to catch up with her as she sprinted after Pippa and Conner, I asked, “What the hell is going on?”
“Didn’t you hear him? They’re hatching.”
“What’s hatching?”
She threw me an incredulous look. “Seriously? You’ve forgotten already? Even with what we did after we watched the turtles lay their eggs?”
My body warmed.
I flashed her a smug smile. “When you put it like that, I completely remember.” I tried to grab her mid-jog, but she shied away. “We can relive that night if you’re up for it. Minus the bad ending, of course.”
Ever since that night, she’d trusted me. I’d been inside her more times than I could count and not once had I come in her body.
I wanted to more than anything.
I wanted to finish while feeling her clench around me.
But I also didn’t want to get her pregnant.
Not because I didn’t want a baby (my ideals on children had changed drastically in the past few months), but because I was bloody terrified of Estelle going through that with no medical assistance or specialist care.
She swatted my hand away, changing direction to the vegetation where the turtles had chosen for their nests. “Do you always think with that part of your anatomy?”
“When I’m round you? All the time.”
She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was secretly pleased that I wanted her so much.
And it wasn’t a lie.
Whenever she was around me, whether it be chopping wood or gutting fish, I couldn’t help my cock reacting to her lithe figure and long white-blonde hair.
“Oh, my God. They’re so cute!” Pippa squealed, jumping up and down.
We slowed, steadying our breathing as we arrived at the nest where tiny shelled creatures did their best to unbury themselves with the aid of ungainly flippers.
Conner sat on his haunches. “Whoa...that’s kinda cool.”
One by one, hundreds of the damn things erupted from the ground in a stampede.
Estelle couldn’t tear her eyes away as our beach slowly transformed from virgin sand into flippered chaos. “There must be close to a thousand of the things.”
I did a quick calculation in my head. “I think I read somewhere that close to a hundred eggs can be laid at one time. I guess the odds are that you’re right. There were a lot of turtles that night using our island as a bloody incubator.”
Conner and Pippa abandoned their post by the nest, crawling on their hands and knees, keeping pace with the baby turtles. Smiling, they inched toward the water’s edge, following the haphazard trails and lurches of new life.
“This is the best day ever!” Pippa beamed, stroking the back of one tiny critter. “I want one. Please, please can we keep one?”
Estelle crawled like Pippa, making my heart swell as her ass swayed in her black bikini. She had no fat or womanly curves anymore, but I would’ve given anything to be alone, pull down her bathing suit, and take her from behind.
We’d done that a few nights ago. I’d slipped into her while she rested on her hands and knees. I’d clutched her hips and bit the back of her neck as we both turned a little savage.
I loved that her libido was the same as mine.
I loved that we liked the same thing.
I loved that she loved me.
“Can’t, Pip. You know the rules. If they survive, they’ll come back.” Conner broke the cardinal law and plucked a baby from the sand, holding its shell so the poor thing flapped in mid-air. “Besides, they’re kinda pointless. Cute, but not exactly awesome like a cat.”
“Co, put that thing down.” I crossed my arms. “What did we say about looking but no touching?”
He grunted. “I’m not a little kid, G. Don’t talk to me like one.”
“Don’t care. Put him back.”
Frowning, he plopped the turtle next to one of its nest mates.
Pippa pouted. “If they survive?” Her eyes turned worried. “What does Co mean, Stelly? They’ll all make it...won’t they?”
Estelle glanced at me, panic on her face.
“Don’t look at me.” I shrugged. “You’re up.”
She glowered.