Page 20 of Wild Life (STEAM-y #2)

Liar, Liar, Loincloth on Fire

Maris

I had finished my mist net.

And I had given Cryptid a blow job.

I wondered which of the two I was more proud of. Definitely the blow job, with the net coming in a hair behind.

I grinned like a fool as I carried my accomplishment. Last night had been a night of firsts. It had been the first time a man had licked honey off my body, which had surprisingly really helped my bumps improve—or maybe that should’ve been attributed to the stampede of endorphins shouting at my body’s immune system to calm the fuck down.

It had been the first time I shared the truth about my baggage with anyone. And he appeared not to have judged me for it. In fact, he had held me all night like I needed. I’d had the chance to wake up wrapped in his arms without having had to exchange mediocre sex for cuddling. He had given me my pride back.

According to my assumptions, it had also been the first time he’d ever received a blow job, and his response made me want to give him ten more. How could a guy as hot as him be deprived of fellatio? If he’d lived in Washington, women would’ve been throwing themselves all over him. His size alone would’ve attracted news attention. People would’ve written articles about it. “Giant Jungle Man Has Even Bigger Cock.” And for a guy who was living without the standard hygiene necessities found at drugstores, he kept himself pretty tidy down there.

And the way he had choked me with his length…I’d been afraid he might impale my voice box, leaving me unable to talk like him.

It was so fucking hot.

And I wasn’t mad at myself. I had been initially, when he’d finger-fucked me, like I was taking advantage of him. Like I was too messed up for this innocent guy to get involved with. Like I needed to save him from myself.

So much so that I’d poured my heart out to him with brutal honesty. Yet when I had seen him touching himself, because of me , I couldn’t resist. He had desired me as much as I wanted him. And I had wanted him badly, without needing to receive anything in return.

To my surprise, he acknowledged my confession and had gathered me up in his arms, refusing to let me go all night. Nothing else sexual had happened again, but honestly, it had been refreshing not to have to worry about putting out to receive intimacy.

It was perfect and I was on a high. If I smiled any harder, I swore my teeth would fall out.

The sun bathed my skin. The birds chirped merrily. My bumps barely itched, although I resembled a short giraffe. I was happy.

And I was productive, too. My net was complete, and I was ready to hang it.

If I wasn’t returning home anytime soon, then I would resume my research.

The lack of technology would be a challenge, but I could certainly observe bats in their natural habitat and file details away in my head for later when I returned home.

If I ever returned home.

Luckily, I stumbled upon a spool of string in Cryptid’s cupboards. Typically, mist nets were made of very fine material, making them difficult to be detected by the ultrasonic radar that bats were capable of. The string wasn’t quite that fine, slightly thicker than sewing thread, but it was better than nothing. The most important thing was that it wouldn’t hurt them in any way.

I’d had a hell of a time weaving the strands together, nearly going cross-eyed. The pig had almost ruined all my hard work when he’d trampled through it to chase a bird.

Thankfully, the net was alright and safely tucked under my arm as I trekked to the nearest still-water source, a pond not too far from the hut. The waterfall would’ve been a larger reservoir for the bats to drink from, but they weren’t fans of getting sprayed with liquid. Nocturnal bats typically liked to dip down quickly during flight for a sip on their way to search for food. The pond was less threatening for the little winged creatures.

I set my net down, searching around for the best trees to use to hang my net. There was still ample time left before they’d wake up, so I could set everything up and then come back right before sunset to check for visitors.

I had found some twist ties to tag their feet. Cryptid’s shelves had proved to be a hoarder’s dream because I’d also found rubber gloves which I had sterilized in hot water to keep from introducing any bacteria when I touched the critters.

Two large trees looked ideal. Each had lots of low-lying branches that I could easily reach without help. When the bats flew from wherever their roosts were, they’d close in for a drink first before hitting the net. I would be hiding in the bushes nearby, keeping careful watch. Tagging would be quick, and then I’d free them right after. The tags would help me keep track of them, if by chance I saw them again. I could note their locations in hopes of finding their roosts.

I was about to hang the contraption when a sound in the distance froze me in my tracks.

A melody.

From a song.

With a voice.

It was distant, but I could hear it. How could that be?

Unless…someone was here. Another person! To rescue me!

Abandoning my project, I hurried in the direction of the singing.

“Close your eyes, child.”

The song grew louder. The voice that sang it was deep and carried a husky rasp, yet it was beautiful. Like a beacon, I was drawn to it. It was like the North Star and I was a lost ship coming home.

“Let the winds be and the stars shine.”

My feet pelted the ground as I ran toward freedom.

“In your dream, your hand will find mine.”

As quickly as I’d let my hopes soar, it all came crashing down.

I stood in shock, peering at the source from behind a branch.

Cryptid was kneeling in front of the pig, de-seeding a papaya while singing him a lullaby. A lullaby!

The words flowed out of his mouth with as much familiarity as a routine—like it was something he’d been doing for years. And judging from the pig’s reaction, this was nothing new for him, either.

That little traitor. I should have barbecued his ass when I first saw him.

Betrayal stung in my chest. I was going to roast Tweedledee and Tweedledum for this.

“Hey, can I have some?” I asked, my voice high-pitched and shaky, effectively halting their little campfire song.

Cryptid’s eyes bulged like they would fall out of their sockets as he shot to his feet. The pig fidgeted in his spot.

I stalked up to them. “You can fucking speak?!” I shouted at him. The pig jumped at the crack of my voice.

Cryptid didn’t utter a word.

“What now? Lost your tongue again? How long were you going to fucking keep this up? Until I got eaten by a shark or something, when you wouldn’t have warned me first that you saw it coming for me?” I was reeling. I couldn’t believe that I’d assumed he was such a good guy, thinking that he was too good for me. I would never sell myself short in front of a man ever again. They were all scum.

“Listen, I can explain,” he said, his hands in the air. His words came out clunky and cloaked by an accent.

I smacked his chest, which did nothing to his sturdy frame, further stoking my anger. “Explain what? How you lied to me?! For fuck’s sake, we’ve been intimate, and you—What? Thought you’d keep this secret from me the whole time?”

“I’m s-sorry," he stuttered.

“I had your dick in my mouth, you asshole! You were willing to keep this lie going for so long that you couldn’t spare telling me before jizzing down my throat?”

“What’s ‘jizz’?” he asked, repeating the word carefully.

I stared at him, dumbfounded one second, and the next, I launched at him, punching his wall of abs. The impact hurt my knuckles more than it hurt him, but I didn’t care. “That’s the first question you ask me, motherfucker?!”

He grasped my arms, and I yanked them away. “You better watch yourself tonight. Sleep with one eye open.”

The pig grunted from the ground. “You too.” I pointed my finger at him, blazing with heat. “Wouldn’t want you to sleep too close to the fire pit, would we? You might accidentally fall in, you little—”

Cryptid interrupted, his voice low. “His n-name is Poaka.”

I scowled at him. “Now you want to speak so much that you’ll cut me off? You got some balls, dickwad!”

“Sc-ree-ch Owl, listen to me—"

I snapped my head around to face him, stunned. His words might’ve been rough, but I heard them clearly. “What the fuck did you call me?”

“Uh, sorry. It was m-my n-nick-name for you in m-my head.”

I hadn’t expected I could have been more offended, but finding out he had been referring to me as one of the most annoying animals in the entire animal kingdom tipped me over the edge.

“You had a n-nick-name for me too, remem-ber?” he said, referring to my admission of calling him Cryptid last night.

“That was the only name I had for you, asshole, because you refused to talk to me! Why did you lie to me?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I put my hand up to stop him. I couldn’t bear to listen to his excuse. All this time, I had been praying he could speak so I could get some answers, so I could have companionship, and now his voice made my stomach turn. “You know what, never mind. You’ll just lie to me again.”

“I p-promise—"

“What’s your name?”

His gaze lowered to the ground, like a puppy who had been caught peeing on the floor. “Aleki.” The pronunciation of his name was smooth.

I tested it out on my tongue. “Aleki.”

He peered at me, hopeful that I was giving him another chance to explain.

But he didn’t know who he was dealing with. “Fuck you, Aleki,” I spat, before storming off.