Dee lay in a hammock, staring past the dark curls of the head that was nestled against hers, past the palm fronds that framed their breezy boudoir to the cobalt blue she knew to be mere illusion at the outer boundary of the atmosphere — but which here, looked nothing less than the breath of God himself.
This island wasn't off the coast of Queensland. It had to be in an alternate universe.
The daytime sky she was used to glancing at had never been so vivid, so achingly pure in colour that even Van Gogh couldn't have done justice to it.
And green. The vegetation here was so rich in colour, not only could she differentiate the shades by smell, her taste-buds responded to the air as though to drink the differences.
The commonest food was ambrosia and her skin felt so alive, so sensitive, the slightest stroke along her inner arm or back-of-knee could bring responses that previously, had lain in wait of orgasm. No drug Dee had ever heard of could produce such euphoria of the senses without revealing other evidences of its presence. But if not a drug, how was the change achieved? Within herself?
Had living with the constant knowledge that she might die on this island super-charged her awareness? Or was it the amount of adrenalin being released into her bloodstream? She was, at times, prone to episodes of trembling and sudden exhaustion.
Or, perhaps she was already dead and this was her own private heaven. A pleasant thought.
She drank the sky again. "So beautiful."
"Mmm?" The body beneath hers moved slightly. Nick or Tony? She couldn't remember. And who was this lying above her, feathering her neck with his deep, even breaths?
"Talking about me again?" murmured the voice from below.
She smiled. "The sky."
The body moved again and she felt fingers near her ear, brushing her hair away. "Storm comin'. Big sucker," it said authoritatively, and this time she recognised the voice as Nick's — slightly more accented, and infinitely more colloquial than Tony's English.
Josh had delivered her to them the previous afternoon and she'd had almost twenty-four hours to discover their idiosyncrasies. Voice, scent, skin taste, pleasure noises, gestures — all the subtle nuances that differentiated one twin from the other.
In personality they were opposites, yet physically they couldn't have been more alike. Hot olive skin with even hotter eyes and black, black, hair that curled into the fingers like a kiss. They were dual copies of Michelangelo's David, fleshed out and packed full of machismo and testosterone, and fun. They'd made her laugh, but they'd also made her die. Again and again.
"Hey, Man. Wake up." Nick reached past her to slap the shoulder above. "It's gunna rain. We gotta get Wendee back or Xavion'll gut us."
The hammock rocked.
"Fuck off," mumbled the voice at her neck.
"I'd rather fuck up," Nick said, and playfully raised his pelvis, lifting both Dee and Tony. When he relaxed, the hammock rocked again, more violently this time but Dee could still discern the pressure within herself where he was starting to swell. Despite her unfamiliarity with this strange form of penetration, she had no trouble distinguishing which cavern was being rapidly filled.
She murmured appreciatively and wriggled against him.
"That's it baby," Nick crooned, licking her shoulder, biting the soft flesh gently. "Fuck me good." Then he punched the shoulder above her again. "Get your sleepy ass up and give her room, Man."
"Fuck you," Tony mumbled, obviously exhausted.
"I'm trying," Dee said, and both she and Nick burst into giggles. When they'd subsided, she raised her head licked the only part of Tony she could reach. His ear.
"Oh, that's nice," he breathed as she ran her tongue delicately around the whorls and caught the ear lobe between her teeth. He lifted his head and they kissed, slowly, explicitly.
Dee felt Nick's impatience but she wanted to enjoy Tony. There was a single-mindedness in his kisses — a level of concentration that was immensely flattering and she wanted to savour it.
He broke away finally and raised his head to look down on her, his eyes sultry with the heat they'd generated. "I think I'm awake now." They smiled at each other, Dee breathless with the need to begin.
She could feel both shafts hard within her again, ready to plough through the stickiness of their previous coupling. The adrenalin rush — the excitement that came with the imminence of sex overtook her.
Although she had never injected a drug into her bloodstream, she was sure it would be like this — her stomach jumpy, a smoky thrill racing around her, awakening her nerves — tightening some, loosening others, her mouth tingling, her skin alive, hungry.
She closed her eyes, savouring it as she had savoured Tony's kiss. When she opened them again, he had raised himself off her, his weight transferring onto his knees as he steadied himself on the bar above her head. Below her, Nick's body contacted hers at every point, their legs spread, one pair atop the other around Tony's knees.
Nick was fondling her breasts as Tony said, "Ride us, Wendee."
She lifted her head, lapping the toasted-honey of his chest with the daintiness of a kitten, her fingernails exploring the dark hairs that surrounded each nipple, enjoying herself, prolonging the anticipation.
Tony groaned.
Beneath her, Nick wriggled his hips impatiently. "Stop kissing. Get on with it."
She smiled and wrapped her arms around Tony, gripping his shoulders for support. Then slowly, using his body as a brace, she eased her hips away from them, sucking air in through her teeth as the dual sensations rippled across her lower body. Not too far. She didn't want to risk losing anyone. Just far enough to feel the slippery friction. Then she lowered her hips to experience the delicious re-entry. Tony supported her effortlessly.
She did it again.
And again.
"Oh yeah, that's it," Nick groaned softly as she rose and fell against him, her soft buttocks pressing against his abdomen with each downward stroke. His hands were between Tony and herself, caressing her breasts, pinching the nipples, then sliding down her stomach to reach between her legs.
"Ohhh." She pressed her cheek hard against Tony's chest as her hips shuddered. Nick was stroking her clitoris, licking her back, squeezing one of her breasts as she impaled herself on them. The conflicting sensations were intense. She tightened her grip. It would be quicker this time. Much quicker.
Above her, Tony gritted his teeth, the air hissing in and out between them as he held himself immobile. It must have taken immense restraint.
More than Nick had. As his orgasm approached he began to twitch and then to buck his hips up into her downward lunge.
"Man, she's so tight," he moaned. "I'm gunna come. I'm gunna — " His hands clutched her hips, pulling her down to meet his rapturous explosion and she was right there with him, her body shuddering so much she set Tony off too.
"Pussy pie and cream," he grunted as he slammed his pelvis against her already spasming clitoris.
Her nails bit into his shoulders as a fresh surge swept over her, roaring in her ears. Then the roar diminished and she heard the creak of the hammock swaying and the seashell sound of the waves.
A full minute later Nick said, "It really is going to storm."
No-one moved.
"Xavion'll gut us for sure if we — "
"Xavion wouldn't be game to gut you," Tony cut over him, yawning. "The smell'd be fatal.
"You shut the fuck up," Nick retaliated, reaching past Dee to thump his brother.
"Boys, boys, ouch," she wailed as one of Nick's punches connected with her arm.
"Shit. Sorry, Wendee." Nick rubbed the spot briskly, making it worse, but for some reason she was laughing.
"What? D'ya get her funny bone?" Tony asked, propping himself up to frown down at her hysterics.
"Don't think so," Nick said, checking the forearm by touch, probing it gently. "Just a bruise."
Tony shook his head. "You're a dumb shit, Nick. Even if you are my brother. We were supposed to fuck her, not bruise her."
Dee was uncontrollable by this stage, laughing so hard she had wet eyes. The last thing she expected was the cracking slap that caught her across the cheek. Her head rocked, then returned to focus on Tony who was looking satisfied with his solution.
" I'm the dumb shit?" Nick yelled right next to her ear. "What the fuck do you call that?"
"She was hysterical and… Now look, you've done it again," he accused as Dee smiled despite the pain in her cheek.
She bit her lower lip but it was no good. A giggle escaped.
"If you hit her again I'll tell Xavion," Nick threatened. "I didn't hurt her on purpose."
But Tony had lowered his head and was kissing her and Dee found it a much more effective solution. Whatever the cause of her hysteria, it dissolved under the heat of Tony's experienced tongue, and despite the number of times her body had been aroused that day, it stirred anew.
"Don't you pair get horny again," Nick warned. "We gotta go. Now."
"Mmm." Dee rubbed her nose against Tony's and smiled into his eyes. "I love tropical storms." He kissed her again and she melted, barely aware of the whisper in her ear from below.
"Maybe you do where you come from, Babe. But not in these waters. There's nothing to slow them down out here, just thousands of miles of ocean and — "
Tony wrenched his lips away from hers to slap a hand over Nick's mouth, real menace in his eyes. Dee found the sudden change from his passion of a second earlier mystifying. She blinked, then cast her mind back over what Nick had just said.
"We're in the middle of an ocean?"
"Nick has a big mouth," Tony said, glaring at his brother. "And he also has a big cock, but he won't have that for much longer if he keeps blabbing."
"Hey, Man. I was joking. Just trying to scare Wendee. Right, Wendee?"
The Pacific Ocean?
Dee dragged her thoughts back. "Sure, Nick." She reached a hand over her head to ruffle his hair. "Besides, Never Land isn't any place. It just is. Fourth star on from the moon and fly straight through till morning, right?"
"Yeah. That's it." Nick was laughing but Tony was still tense. She could feel it in his body.
"Storm's coming," he said, pushing away from her. "We have to get back."
Carefully, they disengaged themselves and rolled out of the hammock. The twins were keen to go but with a little coaxing she managed to extract permission for a final quick swim.
Her body was lethargic but she pushed it across the sand and into the much cooler water. The sky had turned dark very quickly and the violence of the coming storm gave her impetus. She rubbed herself all over and stumbled back to the shoreline where she turned for a last gaze out across the waves. There was nothing. No land. No ships.
How far was the visible horizon line? Four kilometres? Damn, why couldn't she remember? How could she have forgotten such a basic fact — a distance any one of her students would have known.
Any one of her students.
She swivelled away, hugging her shoulders against a cold more insidious than that produced by cool wind on wet skin.
"Wendee?" One of the twins was loping across the sand towards her, his loincloth flapping in the strengthening gusts. "Come on. We gotta go. Xavion sent Josh lookin' — " It was Nick. He frowned and touched her trembling arm. "Hey, are you all right?"
She shook her head, biting her lip. The tears were close again. First hysterical laughter and now this. What was wrong with her?
He looked at her for a moment. "You're tired out, Babe," he decided, scooping her into his arms to stride back up the beach with her. "But don't worry. Xavion'll look after you," he promised, and Dee found herself calming to the thought. Xavion would look after her. He was her Champion.
She rested her cheek against Nick's golden chest and closed her eyes. So tired suddenly. Nick reached the others and she heard them talking.
"Is she ill?" Josh sounded worried.
"Nah, just tired. I'll carry her back."
"You didn't say something to her?" Tony accused. "She was looking out… there."
"I just walked up to her and she started blubbering. I didn't say a thing. I swear."
"You better not because if the boss finds out you've — "
"Shall we take her back?" Josh interrupted quietly and Dee imagined a look passing between them. The next minute of the journey was silent, and after that she was asleep.