A tall tree grew on a slight rise nearby the site where Eric was building the school yard. It was majestic and graceful, a dark shape on the horizon casting long shadows on the ground before it.
Jackie learnt that it was an Acacia, or Umbrella Thorn tree, for its umbrella-shaped canopy and the many needles that grew along the branches far above. It was most beautiful when in bloom: during the summer months of December through March, with tiny cream flowers growing in clusters amidst the thorns and among the green of the leaves.
Jackie threw a coarsely woven blanket on the sandy ground and settled herself under the sprawling branches of the tree. A slight breeze blew by, carrying the delicately aromatic scent of the blooming flowers above. It was her favorite spot to be, and she would spend it writing and doodling in her journal, or simply watching Eric as he worked. She enjoyed watching him; his easy confidence and natural charm as he bantered with whomever was helping him that day.
Today, he and two others had gone a little off-site towards the edge of the woods, where towering tropical trees grew to get wood suitable for the yard. He had asked if she wanted to come along, to get closer to the action, but she had declined, perfectly happy where she was. She could still see him as the village was conveniently situated where the villagers could go gathering in the forest for fruits and such, and watched as he chose a sturdy evergreen that he deemed satisfactory for his project.
He was giving out orders, she could see, to ensure the safety of his two companions, and based on the look of concentration on his face as he considered the height and width of the trunk, she guessed that he was calculating where the tree would fall and where to land the first hack.
Apparently satisfied, he gestured to the two men to stand clear and swung a menacing-looking ax above his head. It cut the air in a graceful arc and landed cleanly about a foot from the base of the tree.
It was a hot day, but the heat coursing through her veins could not entirely be attributed to the weather. At some point he had abandoned his shirt and Jackie found it difficult to look away. This newfound attraction that she had for Eric was confusing to her, as were her feelings about him, and she had tried to hide it as best as she could so far.
It took them about three hours, and by the time the tree was felled, dusk had thrown long shadows on the ground and Jackie was wrapping up her blanket and strolling over to where Eric was. He saw her coming and met her halfway, accepting the water that she handed out to him. He was sweaty and filthy, covered with wood splinters and had smudges of dirt on his face.
She thought he looked good enough to eat.
It had been a long time since she had felt such an attraction to a man other than Steven, and she wondered what was with her that she seemed to be drawn to dirty, scruffy men.
She averted her eyes and looked towards the tree he had brought down.
He followed her glance and answered her thoughts. "Tomorrow I'll come and chop it up into logs."
She nodded vaguely as the breeze shifted and she caught a whiff of him: the clean scent of wood and something inherently male.
Unable to help herself, she reached up to lay a hand on his jaw, and used her thumb to rub off a streak of dirt, enjoying the feel of his stubble under her fingers.
His eyes registered surprise, but his body responded to her instantaneously, and he leaned into the palm of her hand.
He remembered how skittish she was the last time he had gotten too close to her, and unwilling to scare her off if she knew the true extent of his ardor, he willed his arms to remain by his side, instead of where they wanted to go around the curve of her waist to pull her body into his.
But he couldn't control his own need to be near her, and he stepped in closer till she was forced to lean her head back to look into his eyes and they were breathing the same air.
His senses were full of her: the rise and fall of her breasts, the mesmerizing brown of her large eyes, the heat of her hand still on his jaw. The sweetness of her breath lingered in the air between them and he breathed it in; and a bolt of lust so intense blazed through his body and it was all he could do not to haul her bodily off into the woods and pound into her mercilessly till she was screaming his name.
Jackie realized subconsciously that she was stroking the corner of his mouth with the pad of her thumb. She was lost in the green of Eric's eyes, riveted as they flared with a raging heat that turned them a stormy grey, and for a moment she was paralyzed into inactivity. She could hear the pounding of her heart and she knew the exact instant when Eric lost the tight hold he had over himself. Her body tingled with anticipation, but the second she saw his lips part and move towards hers, some feeling that this was wrong spurred her into motion and she wrenched her hand away as if she had been burned. She cradled her wrist to her chest and took a step back, looking blindly around for something else to focus on.
Disappointment burned in his gut and he tasted something bitter on his tongue. He shut his eyes and looked away for awhile to quash the feeling of defeat. Tugging on the t-shirt slung over his shoulder, he wiped his face, leaving dark stains on the white material.
When he could finally look at Jackie again, he had himself firmly back under iron control. He reached out to lay a finger lightly on her nose and she turned to meet his eyes in trepidation.
He forced a smile to his lips. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."
She nodded gratefully and quickened her strides to match his as he strode off towards the village. Timidly, she reached out to slide her hand in his, and felt a weight lift off her shoulders as he folded his fingers around hers in return.
She didn't deserve him, she thought, as she studied the line of his profile as he walked beside her. Even as she thought that, another rose unbidden. But how could she do without him?
