The entire island was alive and vibrant. A strong and constant breeze rustled through the lively trees, all the streams and lakes continuously ebbed and flowed loudly, and the bristling foliage seemed to almost sing a beautiful song of life.
Natasha Romanoff wasn't sure if she was in the midst of the best moment of her life or the worst, but for her, it was certainly the most interesting. Steve Rogers was by her side, and he was directly the reason for her uncertainty. At the moment, they were traveling through a small, incredibly dense rain forest. The vines and shrubbery were thick and covered everything.
To her pleasing dismay, the soldier wouldn't let go of her as they moved. Despite her earlier bravado, the spy had almost immediately began to succumb to hypothermic aftereffects. As soon as they had neared the edge of the tree line, she had felt her body lose partial control of its motor functions, her limbs felt boneless and weak, and she had a migraine headache which was pounding so bad that her vision became blurred at times.
She was still coherent enough to take notice of the many useful items laying all over the ground as Steve had stated earlier. There were several axes, machetes and other bladed weapons laying at the edge of the forest. She glanced at her partner with a wry smile before leaning down and picking up a classic katana with an ornate case and handle. He grinned approvingly.
The Captain stared at the ground and forest warily. He knew that the previous travelers probably wouldn't have discarded their tools before entering the wooded area. The tactician filed this information away for later analysis.
Steve had also astutely taken notice of the decline in Natasha's condition instantly. When they had moved into the forest, he had slipped his right arm around her slim waist protectively. As they walked over the uneven forest floor, he would intermittently lift her off her feet without realizing it, his exorbitant strength almost carrying her with one hand. Using his shield in his left hand to continually move the forestry out of their path while she used her katana to cut away vines, he hardly ever moved his hand away from where he could snatch her up if she lost her balance in the slightest way.
Natasha didn't want to admit to herself that she found his treatment of her like this unnervingly pleasant. His being the only man on the planet not afraid to touch her without reservation was always a welcome problem for her, but this circumstance was very different from the other times he had physically handled her. In this sweltering heat, given their current state of undress, there was no clothing between their sweaty naked skins. She noticed every touch of his fingers on her waist.
Steve tried hard to focus on the journey ahead of them. His primary concern was taking care of Natasha, but he was honestly having a hard time staying on point. As he held her side, his perfect senses instantly memorized every line, curve and contour of her hips. He knew that the best way to not agitate her was to not show his distraction.
His mind tried not to think about the kiss. He had probably been a little too forward. It was very easy to inadvertently push the spy away, and that was the antithesis of what he intended. He had missed her after last seeing her at the cemetery a year ago, and not a day had passed without his thinking of her.
The spy's mind was filled with similar thoughts. She didn't like to think of how often she had thought of the soldier over the last year. Just the fact that she had to remind herself that the American hero and the Russian spy could not be together in the eyes of the world was a sign of his infiltration of her. Never before in her life had she found herself fighting to keep a man out of her thoughts.
It had been wrong of her to return the kiss he had given her earlier on the shore. She had accepted long ago that the two of them simply could not be together. He was the paragon of virtue and she was the princess of deception. Still, in that moment, after the words he'd said to her, the latent woman inside had been unable to turn away from him.
As they neared a small rushing stream, the spy's keen eyes looked down to search the area for any signs of venomous predators. Without warning, her feet were suddenly no longer touching the ground as her body was lifted into the air. The cold hearted warrior's face immediately broke into a heated scowl which could burn the skin off of an opponent, but then, she looked at Steve and her anger quickly dissipated.
His eyes were carefully searching the stream for any signs of snakes, scorpions, alligators or any other dangerous animals just as she had done. It seemed as if he had barely noticed sweeping her up into his strong arms, as if taking care of her was simply a foregone conclusion for him. Any other man in the world would be laying on the ground right now with her boot on his throat for handling her like this, but from Steve, it was impossibly endearing to her. Unnoticed, she shook her head in feigned exasperation.
Clearing the stream after a few strides, the soldier continued to trek forward. With his arm holding his shield under her thighs and his other around her waist, he seemed perfectly content to simply carry her as he now used his back and the shield to move the foliage aside for them to pass through. There was no way that the spy could let them continue like this. It felt far too comfortable, too good and too ... right.
"Was that your idea of the proverbial 'carrying the girl over the puddle?'" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't have a jacket with me to lay down over it," Steve replied as he slowed down to lower her to her feet.
As he stopped, Natasha caught the slight sound of a low grumble from his stomach, and her lithe fingers grazed his perfect six pack abdominal muscles.
"You need to eat, Steve," she told him. "You need your strength for your metabolism. The fruits and vegetables you brought for me earlier aren't going to be enough for you," she said with concern evident in her voice.
"We both need to eat," he responded as he set her down on her feet. "Let's take a detour and head over to the shore."
After walking for a large part of the day at a strong pace, stopping only to allow Natasha to rest, eat and refresh intermittently, the two of them broke through the edge of the forest onto a beautiful open shoreline.
They immediately moved like a team. The soldier headed toward the ocean to gather fish while the spy began to look around at the containers strewn over the area for suitable cooking utensils.
"Hey, Soldier!" she called as she threw one of her pocket knives to him.
Steve caught it without breaking his stride. He opened the knapsack he used to carry their supplies and laid out their clothes as sitting areas before he stepped into the water. Natasha was only just setting down the containers she'd gathered to start a fire when the first large fish smacked on top of his outstretched uniform. Several others followed so quickly that it almost seemed to be raining sea life. In just seconds, the soldier was walking back up the shore toward her. The spy stood and glared at him with her trademark grin.
"I assume you're being modest," she asked.
"What?" he answered with a quiet laugh, already recognizing the quirk in her cheeks she showed whenever she regaled him with her dry wit and dark humor which he always found so charming.
"I've studied your file implicitly, Cap," she told him. "Your metabolism needs to consume a lot more food than this."
"I wasn't sure you could handle cooking more than this," he said sweetly.
"Stand down, Soldier," the saucy spy said with confidence. "I will not only prepare our meal but i will beat your fishing record."
"Be my guest," he replied with a smile, enjoying the challenge.
The spy slid past him smoothly, staring up into his eyes with her tantalizing raised eyebrow. As always, deception was her forte. While the direct soldier was focused on the primary challenge, he hadn't realized the secondary opportunity she intended to take advantage of.
Steven Grant Rogers was more man than any of the male species that she had ever come into contact with on the planet, and yet he had proven to be more immune to her feminine wiles than any other. She didn't like to be ogled by men, as most of their intentions toward her had always been dark and tainted. None of them had lived long enough to touch her, but her deceptions had left her with a deep seated repulsion toward most male attention.
Only this man had changed that for her. After meeting him for the first time, she slowly began to realize that she desired him to notice her. For once, she actually wanted to draw a man's attention. Ironically, the one man she wanted had also been the one man which thought too highly of her to seem to desire her in such a primal way. She eventually caught on to the fact that the perceptive tactician and analyst did notice very minute details about her which all others missed, but she still hadn't affected him in the ways she distracted other men.
Just her luck. Well, it was time to change that.
As she walked toward the water, she easily slipped her slender feet out of her boots and left them behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, the sexy agent slowly began to untie the piece of his uniform she had been using as a wrap around her waist. Adding a little extra twist in her hips, she shimmied out of it and didn't bother to flatten out her underwear which had slid into a thong. Stealing a more subtle glance back at him again, she could feel his eyes boring into her skin. He was watching her intently.
Steve didn't realize that he had stopped breathing until he inadvertently swallowed. He couldn't stop staring at Natasha. The stunning picture of the female physique she presented was captivating beyond words. He had always been an ass man, and the gently rounded contours of her backside were more perfect than his mind had ever imagined. His military regulation boxes suddenly felt three sizes too small. The horizon of the glorious ocean was a lovely backdrop to the scenery, but it paled in comparison to her.
Gauging his subtle but obvious reaction, the woman Natalia felt more triumphant elation that the spy Black Widow had ever experienced after her most successful mission. She had finally gotten him.
She was shocked out of her victory at the first touch of the ocean water on her legs. It wasn't overly frigid, but just its slightly cold temperature exacerbated her hypothermic effects. Her body suddenly felt weak and ill with a thin constant tremble plaguing her nerves.
The Black Widow didn't let her frailty show. Drawing her katana from its sheath, she swiftly began to gather fish. She was soon tossing them on top of the pile he had gathered, but at only a little more than half the speed of the super soldier. Less than a minute later, she stopped, put her sword away, and turned to stare at him with her hands on her hips.
"You're a terrible gloater," she told him as she started to walk out of the water.
"Thanks for the fish," the super soldier mused. "If that's what you want to call fishing."
The snarky spy glared up at him, wishing that she didn't find him so damn charming.
"Come here," The Captain ordered as he walked over and picked up her wrap.
Before she could protest, he had stopped in front of her and dropped to one knee. Taking her right calf firmly in his large hand, he lifted her slender leg and positioned her foot against his hip. He quickly began to dry off her leg with the cloth, moving from her foot to her upper thigh.
Natasha tried not to notice the rise in her heart beat, the way her pulse started racing, or the heat which stirred inside her belly. Having this gorgeous adonis of a man, on one knee in front of her, his face inches from her lower body, his powerful muscles undulating as she intently watched, showering her with attention like this, almost felt intoxicating and surreal. The perceptive and astute analyst must have noticed her strain in the water, and he had responded intently. He remained focused on his mission to see to her needs, and his apparent disregard of the sensual effect he was having on her only intensified the experience. With loving care, he lowered her right leg and then raised her left, drying the water from it with even more attentiveness. Although her balance was perfect, the spy couldn't resist the subtle opportunity to place her fingers on the rock solid muscles of his tense shoulderblades, and the sensation of his hot sweaty power under her hands almost made her come undone.
If she had thought Steve was the vindictive type, Natasha would have wondered if he was striking back at her for the improvised striptease she had just bestowed upon him.
Then, he lowered her foot and stood up over her to take her waist in one arm, and all thoughts slipped away from her. As they both sat down and worked together to prepare their meal, the two of them found comfort in their close proximity.
Although they could easily relax in a calm silence together, the friendly banter which the couple had developed over the last few years had always kept them steadily growing closer. Even though she also used it to keep them apart by trying to set him up on dates, it hadn't prevented them from getting to know each other better. Right now, she needed to use business to distance herself from him.
"How do you think we ended up in that ice?" she asked him as they began to eat.
"I've been considering that," the soldier told her. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"I was in London following some ex-KGB officials which may have been secretly funding 2R, the organization that created The Black Widow operatives. Where were you?"
"Kiev, Russia. I wanted to see some of the former KGB labs where The Winter Soldier had been held. I investigated some of the places where the mind control experiments took place and destroyed what was left of them."
"I was going to contact you soon, Steve," Natasha admitted as she stared over at him, wondering why this felt like some kind of confession. "I may have been on the trail of some hidden connections between Hydra and 2R."
"I shouldn't have let you go that day at the cemetery," he told her as he gazed back at her. "I knew i was going to need your help. We should have stayed together."
After this, they ate in silence for some time before gathering their supplies and moving out to resume their course. The brilliant tactician easily deduced a path to direct them back toward their objective. Soon, they were once again carefully making their way through the dense forest.
The day began to pass quickly as they traveled. After a while, they took notice of a clearing just a few yards ahead. With a few skillful swings, the foliage fell away as the two of them stepped out of the forest to find another beautiful lake in front of them.
At that moment, a thunderous strike of lightning so powerful that it lit up the sky boomed around them. It's power reverberated in the very atmosphere. It seemed unnatural.
The brilliant soldier looked up at the sky warily, staring intently to discern any signs of danger. The spy did the same, her keen mind searching for any clues which may present themselves. Another massive thunderstrike resounded, this time closer, sounding more like an explosion than an act of nature.
There was something very wrong here.
"Has our being here upset God or something?" she said as she looked at him with a grin.
"This isn't Him," Steve answered coldly, his eyes continuing to intently stare up at the sky.
Dark clouds quickly began to gather above them, and pouring rain immediately began to fall from under them. Several spiking sparks of lightning started to strike down on the ground not too far from them, tearing up dirt in their wake.
With a slow, intentful unison, the soldier and the spy moved together. Steve raised his shield, forming a protective barrier against the heavens. Natasha walked to him carefully and intently, positioning herself underneath his arm. She placed her hands on his broad chest while his right arm protectively wrapped around her back and pulled her tight against him. They pressed together closely. The two of them kept their gazes fixed on the sky in their intimate unison, but neither failed to notice the warm heat and subtle caress of their skin against one another. Being close like this comforted both of them.
Suddenly, a wide spark of lightning struck the lake right in front of them and held for several seconds, its energy heating the air around them. Then, the waters burst forth in a massive shower, covering everything in the clearing.
The soldier only angled his shield slightly, still mindful of any bursts of electricity which would do far more harm to them than a wave of water. Steve needlessly held Natasha tighter as the glistening shower washed over them, instantly drenching their clothes and supplies.
After the wave had passed, they looked back at the lake to find it completely frozen solid. Side by side, they walked over to its edge and kneeled down to examine it.
"Is this how we got here?" the spy surmised.
"Maybe this is some kind of portal or conduit, perhaps a bridge between realms or something," said the tactician.
Their attention was drawn back to the sky by another crack of thunder, this one a much greater distance away from them. Just as suddenly as the clouds had appeared, they began to dissipate, revealing a quickly setting sun.
Sunset was upon them. The beautiful sky was darkening quickly. Along with the changing skyline came a chill which was strikingly strong and intense. Natasha inadvertently crossed her hands to rub her upper arms. In her post hypothermic state, the least amount of frigid temperature caused an immediate adverse reaction in her body. The cold almost felt as if it were burning her insides.
"The night chill is coming back," Steve said warily, his voice filled with concern for her.
"We should find cover," the spy replied, not showing just how rapidly her condition was declining.
"I know where we need to go," he said firmly. "Come on."
Taking a strong grip on her hand, Steve set off at a brisk pace with the spy in tow. He headed in a direction adjacent to their initial course toward the installation a few miles away. She stayed close, allowing him the comfort of gauging her condition in case he needed to wrap his arm around her again.
After several yards, the two of them broke through the edge of the forest wall to find a large rock face towering over them. There were small caves lining its structure, and many birds and colorful flying animals were already heading into its upper levels.
In perfect unison, the soldier and the spy moved together. Steve held his shield hooked on his left forearm as Natasha wrapped her slender arms over his neck and crossed her toned legs around his waist. The super soldier paused to run his hands along her legs to ensure that they were tight and secure around him, and the spy felt a burning heat where his strong hands slid over her muscles despite the cold air surrounding them. Steve had to give his mind a quick mental shake after touching her, not expecting the feel of her soft skin and firm thighs to be so distracting.
With her secured to his back, the athletic specimen jumped up two levels in a single bound and caught the edge of the third level above. He then skillfully free climbed up the equivalent of three stories before sliding up over the edge of a particularly thin cave.
"We should be good here," he said as he stood to his feet and let Natasha slide down from his back. "This cave is tight. It will act as a small buffer against the cold."
"There is a supply of wood already here," the spy observed as she stepped around him.
Steve walked forward and caught sight of a pile of wood and debris packed together. There were several pieces of driftwood, straw and small flammables laying around toward the rear of the cave. Natasha rubbed her arms again and shivered as he quickly walked over and got a strong bonfire lit in seconds.
"We should put on as much of our clothing as we can manage," he said quickly.
"I'd ... I'd rather take my chances with your metabolism," Natasha said quietly, feeling her body starting to shiver uncontrollably. "It all got wet again."
Steve quickly nodded his agreement. He had again surmised the same conclusion, but he hadn't wanted to suggest it. His keen senses took instant note of the paleness permeating her creamy skin, and he became more worried than he wanted her to know. With a skilled quickness, he laid out the clothes close to the fire to warm them and made a makeshift bed of them.
Sitting his shield alongside them as additional protection from the cold breezes, the diligent soldier sat down with his knees raised and extended his arms to help her down. The sexy spy slipped around the flickering fire slowly, carefully untying her weapons from her waist. In the dim lighting, it almost appeared as if she were undressing as she stepped closer to him, and he failed to notice that she had so captivated his attention that he was staring at her openly. His gorgeous blue eyes traveling over her body stirred a gentle heat in her center, and she sexily reached a hand up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear as he watched.
Placing her hands in his, Natasha kneeled down between Steve's legs and positioned herself securely between them. Instead of spooning with him this time, she turned her body sideways, resting her shoulder against his broad chest. She tucked her knees up to her breasts, and he closed his large legs tight against her back and her shins as he completely enveloped her small frame in his muscular arms.
Clad only in her makeshift bra top and bikini bottom, along with his boxer trousers, their skin on skin caress was almost intoxicating. Natasha swung her arm around his waist and rested her fingers on the small of his back, but she still held somewhat upright, unsure of being so intimately connected to him like this.
The soldier wouldn't allow her reservation. Sensing her holding back, Steve slid one hand down to her bare hip and pulled her tightly against his torso while his other hand grabbed her shoulder and gently crushed her onto his chest. Natasha's other hand came up to press onto the center of his perfect pecs as her forehead snuggled into his neck. The tender warrior lowered his cheek to rest against her temple.
Trembling, the spy let her eyes slip closed ... and exhaled.
The diligent soldier began to rub all over her lithe body wherever his large hands could reach, massaging her skin and muscles to increase her circulation. Natasha was always surprised by how this man could somehow manage to find the absolute perfect balance between strength and tenderness whenever he touched her. It made her secretly crave it all the more.
There was silence around them for long moments as they tried to warm, listening to the crackling fire, the flowing wind, and the rolling of the ocean waves off in the distance.
"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen," Steve whispered, intentionally using the soft deep bass of his voice to soothe her soul. "It's peaceful here."
"No war. No conflict," Natasha said quietly in response, trying to stave off the delirium which dulled her senses. "No fighting."
"I said there was a chance you might be in the wrong business," he whispered in her ear.
At his piercing words, her gaze was drawn up to his eyes. Before she realized what she was doing, she had leaned forward to press her full luscious lips against his own. He responded in kind, his hand moving across her bare thigh to draw her deeper into him. A breathless moan rose from within her when she turned her head and opened her mouth to deepen the kiss, sliding her wet tongue against his. Kissing in passionate synchronicity, her hand rose to fondle his cheek before gliding up to tangle in his golden hair. His hand on her shoulder slid over into her fiery auburn strands on the back of her neck and pulled her up to him.
Intense passion threatened to overwhelm them.
Then, there was a loud crack of thunder a short distance away, and the couple forced themselves apart. Both of them turned to stare at the opening of the cave, vigilant for any signs of peril. The following silence hung heavy around them.
After several long moments, The Captain kissed The Black Widow on her forehead. He stared at her pale skin and lightly trembling frame. Her body needed to heal.
"Rest," he said tenderly. "I'll keep watch."
"Are you sure you're okay," asked the spy, concerned for his condition as well as her own.
"I got this," he told her.
Remembering her similar words to him during the battle of New York, she relented, allowing her forehead to lay comfortably against the side of his neck. Steve began to rub his large hands all along the length of her arm and thigh, adding as much warmth to her pale skin as he could. After a long while, his sharp ears caught the sound of the deepening of her breathing, and he allowed himself to relax a little more.
She was alright for now, and that was all that mattered to him. The soldier tried not to allow himself to become distracted by her subtle attractiveness, but he was soon staring down at her lovely face, lost in her beauty. His hand on her shoulder rose to slowly and gently stroke her silken hair with the caring of a lover, and he held her closer. He couldn't turn his eyes away from her, and he continued watching her throughout the night.
Several hours later, as the morning dawn began to break over the horizon, the customary strong heat of the day began to build quickly. The landscape was still dim, but the first rays of sunlight were quickly spreading. The animals and life on the island sprang to activity with various sounds, their joyful noises resounding across the land.
The weary spy stirred awake quickly, drawn out of her sleep by her concern for her partner. She looked up to find him resting lightly.
Even in repose, the warrior was prepared for combat. The spy knew that he had learned this practice of careful rest while in the trenches during the war, and her heart wished she could relieve him of his stress and pain from their many battles.
Blinking her eyes into coherence, Natasha took notice of the slight loss of color in his skin from the cold. Even though her rational mind told her that the super soldier was just fine, her heart desired to care for him. Telling herself the lie that she was only tending to the needs of her partner, the spy leaned up to lay her forehead on his right cheek while her right hand raised to cover the left side of his face. She warmed his face against her own, using more than the physical as she allowed the silent feelings of her heart to reach out to him.
After she heard the quiet grumble of a slight snore, she allowed her eyes to gaze over him. Her hidden emotions stirred her analytical mind. Her thumb slid down to slide across his still lips, memorizing their feel as she remembered the intense pleasure they had bestowed upon her. She desired to run her fingers over every inch of his face, to catalogue his touch and feel, but she held back. Instead, she watched over him as he had protected her, trying not to let more of what was left of her heart slip away.
The new day held more waiting adventure for them.
Notes: Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement! All of you are truly greatly appreciated! Please share your reviews and comments!
