Page 43 of Blue Arrow Island (Blue Arrow Island #1)

“I want you,” I say as I squeeze his ass and push his shorts down farther. “No more waiting.”

He gets to his knees and then his feet, pushing the shorts to the floor. My eyes widen when I see just how thick and long his erection is. The pulse between my thighs becomes an ache as I watch him palm his cock, running his hand up and down its length.

His gaze on me is predatory as I slide my pants down, frantic to get them off and have him inside me. With his free hand, he grabs the waistband, his knuckles brushing over the curls of my sex as he tugs the pants off in one sweep, letting them fall to the floor.

He climbs back on the bed, his eyes holding mine captive.

“No more waiting for what?” His voice is gruff, his shoulders shaking slightly, like they did when his aromium was on and he was struggling to keep his hands off me.

“For you to be inside me.”

He runs his calloused fingertips down my chest, between my breasts, over my stomach, to my ravenous pussy. I jolt and moan, my back arching slightly.

“Say my name.” He runs his fist up and down his length again.

“Marcus,” I whisper. “I want you. Please.”

He leans over me, lining himself up at my entrance. His forearm rests above my head as he pushes himself inside me, my slickness making it easier. He groans and then goes still.

“Still yes?” he whispers in my ear.

“Yes.” I push on his lower back, urging him to sink in farther.

When he does, I gasp and keep ahold of his back. “I’m okay. I like it. Just go slow.”

He kisses my neck and pulls back out, gentle as he slowly slides himself in again. “Goddamn, you feel amazing. I’m out of practice.”

I hum with amusement. “You’re perfect.”

He continues, keeping the pace slow until I grind my hips against his, silently setting a faster pace. My nerves are like a fireworks display, the bliss growing brighter and stronger with every thrust of his hips.

I’m breathing hard, already feeling the build of an orgasm when he captures my wrists in one hand and pins them above my head, putting his other palm behind my thigh and pushing it until he’s sinking even deeper into me.

“Fuck,” he mutters, strain etched into his face. “So fucking good.”

The combination of his control over my body and his arousal pushes me over the edge. I shamelessly roll my hips against his as I come, crying out his name.

He knows how to make it last, and he does, thrusting into me so hard the bed is hitting the wall. I’m starting to come down when he lets out a sound that’s more roar than groan and then stills inside me, his arm muscles beautifully defined as the last of the wall between us crumbles away.

He stays inside me for several heartbeats, his breath returning to normal. I miss his closeness as soon as he kisses me and moves to the side, propping himself up on his elbow and draping his other arm over my stomach.

My eyelids are suddenly leaden, my blissed-out state making me sleepy.

“My toes actually curled,” I say, smiling.

He grins down at me, affection in his mossy eyes. “I’ll take the floor so you can get some good sleep.”

“The fuck you will. You’re staying right here.”

The last thing I see before my eyes slide closed is his amused expression and a nod.

When I wake up, I’m alone in the bed. I put my hand on the side Marcus slept on, finding it still warm.

I’m groggy, which I think means I slept for a long time. I walk into the other room, finding a filled canteen and a note on the table.

Briar,

Meet me in the Hub. I have something to show you.

x Marcus

I smile, my body deliciously sore. I’m thirsty, so I drink all the water in the canteen before getting dressed in a clean Rising Tide uniform and going to the bathroom, where I brush my teeth and secure my long, wild hair in a thick bun at the nape of my neck.

We never ate last night. Whatever food was delivered is gone now. My stomach rumbles in protest when I head for the Sub instead of the kitchen.

When I try my thumbprint on the Sub’s entrance door, it opens. A woman walking out of the Sub nods at me as I walk in.

I can’t keep the silly grin from my face as I descend into the Sub.

I did a terrible job of resisting Marcus.

Zero stars, honestly. But right now, I can’t even remember why I wanted to resist him.

Being near him makes me happier than I’ve ever been.

And since we’re dancing with death all the time here, if my ticket gets punched, I’d rather go having had incredible sex recently than being celibate.

My thumbprint also works on the entrance to the main Sub area, where I sheltered during the last storm. I find Marcus there, leaning against a counter as he talks to Niran, Adele, and Chance.

As soon as our eyes lock, he gives me a warm smile, the others turning to see what caught his attention.

“Hey,” I say in greeting.

“Great job on the op,” Adele says. “Marcus was just telling us about it.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe we found him.” I focus on Marcus. “How’s he doing?”

He shrugs. “He’s alive. Other than that, I haven’t checked. I’m planning to keep him as isolated as possible to increase the chances he’ll break.”

Pushing away from the counter, he says, “Hey, we have to take care of something; we’ll catch you guys later.”

He puts an arm around me, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. “How’d you sleep?”

“Amazing. What time is it?”

“Almost noon.”

“I slept for more than twelve hours?”

“Yep. I slept for eleven.”

He leads the way to a door I’ve never been through, opening it with his thumbprint. It takes us into a long hallway, where we walk to another door that he opens with his thumbprint.

He takes a flashlight that was clipped around his waist, switching it on. “We’re still on low power, so no lights in here.”

He shines the light on a computer. It’s been a very long time since I saw one—pre-virus.

When he pushes a button, the computer hums to life, the screen taking time to load.

“I know McClain, and since he said he looked for the blue flowers, that means he’ll make a stabilizer if we can find them.

Since you know a lot about plants, I figured I should show you all the records we have about them.

Maybe it’ll spark something that will help you narrow down where we can find them. ”

I nod. “Of course.”

The screen loads, my eyes quickly scanning the icons. One of them catches my eye.

“What’s that?” I point at it.

“It’s a database. People who survived the virus and people who didn’t. It hasn’t been updated in a couple of years, though.”

I look up at him, my breath caught in my throat. “Can I look up my family? Maybe there’s something about how they died or where they were found.”

“Of course.” He puts a hand on my shoulder as I click on the icon.

It’s basic, the cursor on a blank search bar blinking at me. I type in my mom’s name first.

A photo of her loads, bringing tears to my eyes. I run my fingertips over the screen, overjoyed to even be seeing a picture of her. It’s been so long since I saw her smile.

Lucinda K. Hollis: DECEASED

That’s the only information it has on her. In my heart, I knew she was gone, but it’s still a stab in the gut to read the impersonal, all-caps declaration.

“She’s beautiful,” Marcus says, smoothing a hand over my hair. “You look like her.”

I wipe a tear from my cheek. “Thank you.”

I type in my dad’s name next.

Benjamin R. Hollis: DECEASED

There’s another stab. My dad isn’t smiling in his photo.

It’s his all-business expression. That’s not what I picture when I think of him.

I remember him laughing as he tried to do the TikTok dances Mae taught him.

His face always softened with affection when he looked at our mom, like she was the only woman in the world.

“I miss them.”

He squeezes my shoulders as I type in my sister’s name.

Maven J. Hollis: Northeast quadrant

My heart stops as I reread the words and look at the photo. Her hair falls just below her chin, shorter than I’ve ever seen it. Her face is leaner. This is an older, more reserved Mae than I knew. Her expression is close to a smile, but not quite.

“Is this real?” I choke on the words as I look up at Marcus. “Is my sister alive?”

“Hopefully. She was as of the update.”

I cover my mouth with my hand, sobbing. I hadn’t even hoped she made it. Even with all communications offline after the virus from a darkened power grid and disabled cell towers, I thought my family would find a way to contact me if they were alive.

Mae is alive, and I might as well be on another planet. I can’t get to her. It hurts deeper than anything else could.

“We have to find that flower.” I swipe the tears from my cheeks, resolved. “And then I have to find my sister.”