Page 63 of Restoration
It’s thrilling. It makes me clap and cheer. Edmund is grinning for all he’s worth as the kite lifts as high as the string will allow and then kind of dances there against the sky.
He ties it off to a metal rail on the piece of his boat we turned into our shelter. And it stays up in the sky, the string occasionally jerking when the wind is particularly strong, until early evening when the breeze finally dies down.
The following morning we fly it and tie it off again and keep it up all day except for when a brief thunderstorm passes through midafternoon. For the next five days, we’re able to keep it in the air for at least eight hours every day and usually longer.
So the kite turns into a great success, and we add flying it to our list of daily chores and tasks.
One afternoon—I’ve long since lost track of days of the week—we’re lying together on a blanket in the shadiest part of the beach near our shelter. We had sex as soon as we settled here after our post-lunch swim. He took me from behind until I came, and then we rolled over so I was astride, and I rode him until we both reached climax. He pulled out at the end as he always does. We’re not going to risk me getting pregnant. Afterward, I cleaned myself up with water from the rain tub before lying down again, but he couldn’t make himself move.
So now we’re resting in post-sex languor, me wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt and him wearing nothing at all.
I think he dozed off for fifteen minutes, but now he stirs and turns his head to give me a sleepy smile. “You okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I don’t know. You came pretty hard just now. I thought maybe you’d be at risk of passing out.”
I giggle helplessly, exactly as he intended. “No passing out for me. Your dick might be a sufficient size, but it’s not some sort of magic wand.”
He snorts but otherwise manages to stifle his laughter in order to give me an indignant glare. “Sufficient?”
“Yes. Sufficient is good, isn’t it?”
“It’s better thandeficient, but it’s not as good as out of this world.”
I can’t help but laugh again, reaching over to pat his flat belly. “All right, champ. Your dick is an out-of-this-world size that makes all the girls swoon, and you should be very proud of it. Statues should be erected to its glory, and future generations will whisper of it in awe.”
He sniffs. “That’s better. Although the statue thing might be slightly over the top.”
I’m still shaking with laughter as I roll over to kiss him. Two months ago, I never would have dreamed of being able to do anything of the kind, and now it’s second nature. Like he’s mine to kiss and touch and take care of.
“Are you happy, Autumn?” he murmurs when I lift my head.
I’m basically lying on top of him now, and he’s slid his hands down to cup my bottom.
I think about the question before I respond. “Yes. I think I am. I mean, being stranded on an island isn’t ideal, but I’m glad to be with you, and I think we’ve done pretty well for ourselves.”
“I think so too.” His eyes are deep and earnest and the softest shade of brown as he gazes up at me. “Is there anything else you need me to do to make you happier?”
“No!” I sound and am surprised. “You’ve been amazing, Edmund. You’ve done more to keep us safe and take care of us than anyone else I can imagine.”
He swallows visibly. “I’ve been trying.”
“I know you have. You’ve done amazingly well. You’ve worked so hard for us. For me.”
“You’ve worked hard too, but you’ve always been that way.” He moves one of his hands from my butt so he can palm my cheek. “You’ve always taken care of me, but I’ve never had much practice at taking care of anyone. So this... this has been new to me.” He takes a weird, hoarse breath. “And... as bizarre as it sounds, I think I might actually be happier now than I was before. More... more like I’m doing what I was made to do. I know I should want us to get off this island, and of course part of me does. But I... I don’t want to lose this.”
I’m so touched by his vulnerable admission that my chest hurts. My heart is fluttering. “I don’t think you need to lose it even if we end up getting rescued. You can still work hard. Take care of people. Focus on what’s more important. Be close to the people in your life.”
“Can I?” His hand has slid down to wrap around the side of my neck in a deeply possessive gesture.
“Yes. Of course you can. But honestly, I’m not holding out much hope of our being rescued.”
“Me either. But if we’re stuck on this island for the rest of our lives, I’m glad that it’s you I’m with.”
I stifle a little whimper of feeling. My face tightens very briefly. “I’m glad it’s you I’m with too.”
Emotion twisting on his face, he pulls me down into another kiss, this one longer and deeper and slower. So incredibly tender.