A/N: Thank you readers for your patience and support. I'm sorry i haven't had time to update the story recently.

The entire top portion of the chapter below contains strong sexual elements. With that having said, you have been warned.

Thanks beta Erik'sTrueAngel for editing.

.

.

Under the brilliant streaks of sunlight, an image of a woman appeared amid the magnificent field of yellow flowers. A delicate fabric of crimson covered her nude form, and Erik's heart beat enthusiastically within his rib case to recognize the figure as no other but his beautiful Christine.

Her mahogany hair was flying in the cool breeze, and her face was glowing with an angelic radiance. She looked at him in a coquettish manner, pursing her full lips and held out her slender fingers, seductively gesturing him to come to her. As if being a fallen victim of a siren, he hypnotically moved toward her, utterly spellbound by her alluring charm. Ironically, the moment he drew closer, she suddenly ran away and enticed him to follow.

Erik ran as quickly as he could with all his strength to catch up with her but when he reached the lake, Christine disappeared, leaving him alone in a secluded, mysterious place. Feeling disappointed, he scanned the area to find himself in front of a waterfall, surrounded by nature. The place was like the Garden of Eden in the Bible: there was a heavenly serenity to it, which Erik could swear he had never felt peace like this before.

He looked around for any evidence of his angel's whereabouts, and his brows furrowed in confusion. Where could she go? The water looked still, as if nothing had disturbed it. But something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and his mouth fell open when he saw the crimson fabric that was Christine's only clothing lying in a disheveled pile nearby the shoreline.

Leaning down to grab it in his hand, Erik felt her lingering warmth and sweet feminine fragrance, as he held it to his nose and took a desperate inhaled breath. He shuddered at the thought of his hands covering her beauteous, naked body. The erotic image sent waves of desire surging through his vein as he let out a shaky breath, his head feeling dizzy with want.

In the middle of the lake, a figure emerged and protruded from the surface of the water. As if sensing someone's presence behind him, Erik's hand instinctively went to the knife, which he always carried by his side in case of any danger. The moment he turned around, what he found caused him to immediately drop the weapon, his mouth agape, and his loins on fire.

The gorgeous Christine, in all her glory, slowly waded to the shoreline toward his direction. A provocative smile touched the corner of her lips, as she watched his eyes feasting hungrily over her sensuous body. Erik swallowed a big lump in his throat when her luscious breasts came into view, the rosy tips taunted his self-control, begging for the attention of his wet tongue. His heart skipped a breathless beat and he felt his mouth water at the sight.

She appeared standing in front of him, the water dripping off her skin in tiny wet rails. Erik took in a deep breath as he stared at her naked form in complete awe. Her stomach was smooth and flat as was her back, which gave way to a beautifully rounded rear. Her legs were slender, the hips and thighs curvaceous and soft…and at the center, nestled between her thighs where his eyes were held for the longest moment, the doorway to paradise. He groaned, never before feeling as hard as he did right now. The thought of ravishing her body intensified and drove him beyond the brink of madness. His cock was beckoning for release, begging him to do something. Nevertheless, even when his body was set on blazing fire, all he did was standing immobile at the beautiful sight of Aphrodite. He hesitantly turned his face away, his mind battled to resist the temptation.

The goddess of beauty stepped closer until her face was merely inches from his. She took his breath away when she boldly grasped his large hands and placed them on her firm breasts. Both of them let out a gasp of pleasure, and Erik looked at her in disbelief.

"Touch me, Erik…Touch me." She murmured, her voice was pure seduction and quivering with need.

"Christine, we are outside, your mother might catch us..." He whispered, yet unable to stop his hands from playing and caressing the two soft creamy globes. His long fingers ran over her breasts, squeezing and arousing her rosy nipples to hard points.

Christine panted as he kneaded her. Her eyes were glazed with dark passion and her lips parted, whimpering at the feel of his bare skin on hers. "I don't care. You are who I always wanted. Only you can make me happy …" She insisted, causing him to shiver at her audacious statement.

No woman would say such thing to him. No one would even dare to. In spite of night after night spending in the arms of beautiful women, they would always fear him and never truly want him. But here he was on this remote island, an angel, a divine goddess and a beguiling temptress – all in one desired him with a passion and the evidence was obvious in her eyes.

"We are far from home," she purred in his ear. "Love me, Erik… Kiss me…God, I need you…"

His mouth crashed upon hers and they both kissed each other roughly. She reached up, threading her fingers in his hair as she pushed herself against him, uncaring that she was soaking his clothes. Their tongues dueled, each fighting for supremacy as their passion overtook them.

Her hand tenderly traveled downward, causing him to moan in her mouth. The moment she reached inside his breeches and took hold of his aching arousal, he let out a mighty roar.

"Yessssssss…" he hissed, immensely relishing the titillated touch of her hand. He nipped the lobe of her ear, licking it. His wicked tongue deftly sent tingling waves of desire throughout her blood. "My little temptress, how could you read my mind and know exactly what I want? " He whispered. "Do you know that a man could die a happy death, just by the intoxicated touch of your fingers?"

A glint of satisfaction shown in the depth of her blue eyes at his statement, she pulled back to gaze at him, a wicked grin lit up her face. She stroked the smooth flesh, fascinated by how hard and yet soft he was. Erik tried to stay still as she pumped him but it was proving difficult. Before his mind could conceive the next action, her other hand unbuttoned his shirt, landing on his warm skin. She kissed his neck and pulled his shirt off, leaving him bare-chested.

Feeling naughty, she pressed kisses all over his body, every inch coming away wet from her mouth. She started up on top, and gently worked her way down, from his neck, down the broad chest, then the well-defined torso, alternately licking and sucking as she went.

She knelt on her knees in front of him, her face facing his arousal. Slowly but deftly, her hands unfastened and lowered his breeches, and Erik felt himself swell to incredible proportions when Christine suddenly took him into her warm, wet mouth. For the next few minutes, he was in complete paradise as her mouth worshiped him and drew forth his passion with her lips and tongue. No one could satisfy him the way she could. He let out an endless moan of gratification.

"Oh my Christine…"

To boost up his pleasure to the max, one of her hands pumped him, first slowly then picking up speed when she heard his breathing change, while the other hand gently massaged the sack between his legs. She saw the strain in his muscle, and she heard the whimper in his voice; no doubt she was torturing him with her touch…but it was torture she could tell he was enjoying.

Christine smiled as she stood up to face him. His breath was ragged after being enraptured in such blissful torment of her mouth. He growled deep and low, the beast within him still yearning for release. He kicked away his breeches, desperately wanting to be inside of her.

As if reading his mind, she took his hand and put it on her buttocks, allowing him to grip her, and pulling her against his aching desire. At the same time, she draped one of her legs around his hip and placed his other hand on it to support her in a dancer position. Her wet entrance lined up at his base. She cast a provocative look at him. Seduction. Enticement. Desire. All were blazing in her eyes.

"Take me, Erik," she whispered.

With a dark low growl, his large hands lifted her up and thrusted her onto him. Christine's eyes rolled back into her head as he entered her, causing her to moan long and loud at the feeling of him stretching her.

"Take me hard." She cried out in pleasure at finally being joined to the man that she desired.

They both wanted this, and there was nothing wrong with it. Now was the right moment the two of them became as a whole.

Erik began to slide rhythmically in and out. Both of them gasped and whimpered at the pleasure the movements created. Her hands wrapped around his neck, holding onto him for balance.

"Erik…, Erik…" she moaned his name repeatedly, and it was the best music Erik had ever heard. He happily gave in, kissing her very deeply. He felt her body trembling and panting with passion as he pulled away from the temptation of her mouth to run his lips and tongue along the smooth column of her neck. She tilted her head, giving him more access to her flesh.

Finally, she was his. Erik captured her mouth once more, his tongue diving into its depth.

When he pulled back, and looked at her. Instead of giving him endearments, what came out of her mouth indeed startled him, causing him to stop thrusting as it was the screeching sound of an animal.

"WHAT?"

Again, she replied with a screeching sound, very animalistic, very unlike her.

"WHAT? He scowled. "What did you say?" Erik stared at her, unable to believe his eyes and ears.

Another screeching. And then another one. Louder.

Erik watched in horror as his beloved's face contorted into the face of a squirrel.

Furry. Black protruded eyes. Wet muzzle. Two shot up ears.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING ON TOP OF ME? GET OFF!" Erik woke up from his lovely dream to find a giant squirrel sitting on his chest. He shooed it away and shook his head frantically. Looking around, he found himself lying under one of the tall trees across the meadow, not too far from Christine's cottage.

He had fallen asleep here last night and he wondered how he even got to this spot. Suddenly he recalled he had gone to the lagoon and found Christine talking to herself about him. He knew she also thought of him, but unsure what it was. Then he watched her bathing in the water and it drove him insane. He had run back to the cottage, to be away from her, but it proved to be difficult as he felt so hot with his own sinful desire.

He had used up the entire water content from the clay storage to cool down the raging fire inside his body and wandered away to clear up his mind. And later went to rest below a tall tree.

Erik let out a heavy sigh. It was an erotic dream. No, it was such a beautiful dream, in which his angel willingly gave herself to him. He looked down and saw his breeches unfastened and pulled down above his knees. He knew at that same instance what was going on. In his wild fantasy of Christine, he had…

Remembering the image of her bathing in the lagoon, he could not help but feel his male organ hardening again. With a throaty groan, he felt his lust surging through his body. Strong. Wild.

Checking quickly to see no one nearby, he reached down and gripped his throbbing organ, stroking it with hopes to find release. Erik rarely touched himself. He had money to get what he wanted, but now it was a different story and he could not help it. In his mind, the image of Christine's beautiful body reappeared, rising from the water, her sweet voice filling his ears, her carefree spirit, when she rode her horse, as well as her compassion and kindness. He imagined she was riding on her stallion and he was her horse, her voice singing the song of pleasure and passion, and her spirit boiling with his own as together they strove to reach the pinnacle of their desires.

Erik cried out as he came hard from his thoughts, groaning the satisfaction as his body went limp and his breathing became uneven. Never had the thought of a single person have such a powerful effect on him. And never had he felt such desire before.

"Oh gosh, please tell me what to do now."

.

.

Christine stayed with her mother the entire time and focused all her energy on caring for her.

"Drink, Mother! You must drink!"

Jameela pushed the cup aside and waved listlessly. "I have had enough. Let me rest, child."

"Please, Mother. Let me take care of you," said Christine, her voice was adamant and concerned. "You've been ill."

"Child, I am already old. It's a matter of time of how much longer I could live."

"SSSHHHH….Don't be pessimistic, Mother. You will be well soon."

Jameela stared at Christine's lovely face. The girl had grown into a beautiful, young woman, and she remembered it was only yesterday that her husband brought her in as a baby. Lovingly touching her daughter's face, she said:

"My dear, I love you so much. The very first time I've seen you…"

"Mother, if you don't drink, you will grow weak. You must keep liquids inside. That is what you always taught me."

"The first time I saw you, I knew you were a gift to me. You made living worthwhile..."

"You are exhausting yourself, Mother. Perhaps you should rest for a while."

"Christine, let me speak!" Jameela's tone was firm and Christine understood that she must quit interrupting. "I knew right then you and I were meant to find each other in this world. I needed you and you needed me. But recently I feel my time on Earth is near ending and you don't need me anymore."

"Don't be silly. I need you very much. When you say such things, you make me anxious."

Her mother looked around, her old eyes suddenly sharp. "Where is he? The sailor? He hasn't come to the cottage at all."

"Don't worry. He prefers to stay at the beach, nearby the tower he built, day and night. Fishes are his food." Christine said hesitantly. She hadn't seen Erik for a while and also wondered if her assumption was correct. The memory of his kiss brought a faint blush to her face. The feelings…the sensations…he had unleashed something in her she did not understand. Christine bit her lips as she tried to stifle her thoughts and concentrate on her mother.

"You should find him and speak to him."

"What?" Christine looked up and gave her mother an incredulous look. "I don't understand why you said that."

"Child, you can't hide your feelings from me."

"I'm not hiding anything from you. Besides what are you talking about?" Christine looked away to avoid her mother's inquisitive gaze.

"I'm talking about your feelings for the young sailor. I know you see him more than just a friend." Jameela stated, her eyes shining with affection. "Go to him and get your issues resolved."

"What issues? I don't have any issues with him. We are fine." Christine quietly argued, her lips pouted downward. Her mother knew everything and she could hardly hide anything from her.

"Christine, you have not been yourself since yesterday. I know you both have problems with each other, and you just didn't want to tell me. When your father was still alive and we got into arguments, he and I would always talk things out to reach a consensus. Many times, a consensus couldn't be achieved, but at least we understood what each other wanted and tried to compromise at our best. Forgiving is the key."

Christine looked into her mother's eyes. She was right. The two of them needed to talk. Though she still didn't know how to start or what problems they had, but she and Erik could not hide from one another forever. Communication was important.

"Go to him, Child. Show him you are his friend." Her mother urged.

"I will be back." Christine kissed her mother's cheeks. "Here, let me tuck you in. Rest for a bit. I will return before dusk and we will have dinner together."

"I'm sure we will." Jameela smiled and sank against the grass filled pillow. "You don't have to cook tonight, dear. We have a lot of leftover soup in the pot. It's still very good." Then she drifted to sleep.

Christine placed her hand on her mother's chest, feeling for the moment when her breathing steadied and slowed, indicating that she slept. Once assured of her comfort, she went outside. Her mother's illness was very strange. Sometimes she coughed up blood, and Christine pondered what kind of illness it was. Christine let out a sigh of distress, she only hoped the illness would go away and her mother would recover quickly. Anyhow, she would return to check on her soon.

With a whistle, a pristine stallion appeared a few minutes later. As he butted his head against her, she pulled herself onto his back and commanded him.

"Claudius, take me to Erik."

.

.

At the seaside, Erik threw a spear as a fish drew near.

"Gotcha." He exclaimed happily as he held it up. In his life, being independent had taught him many things useful, and that included how to survive on a deserted place like this. Well, not really, he could not boast about his achievement, since without the help of Christine from the beginning, he wouldn't be able to live till this day.

Erik muttered something under his breath as he walked to the bonfire, where he planned to grill the fish. He truly owed Christine, but what could he do for her? She did not ask him for anything in return, except for his friendship. He tried. She was a sweet woman, but being around her drove him up the wall. He knew he wanted to be more than just her friend. A lover. Someone special. But what if that was not what she wanted.

He turned the spear so the fish could be cooked evenly. Ever since he heard her sing and saw her bathing in the lagoon, he did not trust himself around her. She was beautiful, seductive and had a voice of an angel. His nether regions ached with desire and his soul screamed with need, whenever he thought of her. He couldn't come to see her. He couldn't talk to her. If he did, he would explode.

Noticing the fish fully cooked, Erik took a small bite. He hadn't had any food since yesterday, but he didn't feel hungry. Regardless, he had to eat to live. An expression of dissatisfaction swept across his face, and he spat it out, discontentedly hurling the spear with the fish away. It didn't taste right, he mumbled to himself. Nothing seemed to be right ever since he had met Christine. Everything around him was about her. When he saw the horses, he thought of her. When he saw the seashells that peppered the beach, he also thought of her. When he smelled the meadow grasses, he yearned to feel her again. Her beautiful image haunted him, and he burned for her to be with him again.

Erik went over those wonderful moments when their lips touched and recalled how his body had tremored, reacting to her sweet kiss.

He had heard her at the lagoon, and he wondered the extent of her feeling for him. Was it just only friendship or was it beyond that limit? Then he chuckled at his own foolishness. How could a man like him expect more than just friendship with pure angel?

Erik knew that Christine's seclusion had made her innocent, vulnerable to the world. He could have taken advantage of her for his own pleasure but he wouldn't. No, he could never do that. It would not be right.

He knew it was wrong to think of her so often. He should never touch her. He should forget her. His own history made him a blighted creature and he had no right to sully her beauty. Eventually, he would be gone from here, and Christine would continue to live her days on this island for a lifetime. She did not need to know what the world was really all about. She did not need to learn that greed over land and riches could tear families asunder and rip countries in half. For once in his life, he could give a gift to someone deserving. He would gift her with a lack of knowledge. By sacrificing his own desires, he could let her live in chaste paradise.

Erik stood up from his spot, screaming out loud to the vast sea before him:

"For the love of God, I need to be rescued! I know you would not answer my prayers, for I deserve no kindness from you, but let my men find me for her sake!"

When he saw no ship appearing upon the water, he sank down on his knees, letting out a heavy sigh of disappointment. "God has mercy on me." He broken down and sobbed like a child.

Christine rode her horse from far away. Erik's voice was so loud and she could hear almost every word clearly. What was that all about? He sounded so desperate. His voice was filled with agony. Gosh, he needed help and she must go to him immediately.

Christine approached, and saw Erik kneeling on the sand, his palms covering his face. What was the matter with him?

She jumped down from her horse and strode to him. "Erik, are you alright?"

He turned around to find his angel standing beside him. She looked exquisite as always. Had Providence sent her to alleviate his sorrow or to test his will power?

"Why are you here, Christine?"

"Well, I'm here to make sure you are alright." Christine replied, a sheepish grin on her face. "And it looks like you aren't. I heard you yelling from far away. What's happening? Are you in any kind of pain?"

"It's nothing," Erik curtly replied and shook his head from side to side. "I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me."

Christine pouted in disagreement. He was hiding something from her and from the look on his face, it was something rather critical.

"I know you are a big boy. But big boys sometimes also need help. I heard your voice from far away. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know." She caught sight of the grilled fish thrown on the ground. "By the way, why are you eating this fish?"

"Why should I not?" Erik scowled. Why did she have to care?

"Just to let you know, this kind of fish doesn't taste good and it could cause stomach flu." She arched her eyebrows in curiosity. "Did you eat any of it?"

"No, it tasted horrible so I threw it away." Erik said, a light degree of petulance had crept into his voice. Thank God, he didn't eat it. Otherwise…

"Good, you won't get the stomach flu then." Christine happily nodded. "Are you hungry? We have food at the cottage."

"Thank you but I'm not hungry. I need to wait here for my men."

"How long do you intend to wait for them? Forever and ever?" Christine said with a dashing smile. "What if they won't come?"

"They WILL come. Or they will learn a big lesson from me." Erik growled. He was the most important person of the crew. They couldn't sail back to the mainland without looking for him first.

"And what would you do if they aren't going to come? Just imagine if all of your other ships sank, how could they ever come and get you?"

"I…" Erik only stared at her; he was at loss for words. She was right. What would he do if all of his men were shipwrecked and died? Well, in that case, he would have to stay on this island beside his angel forever. The idea didn't sound too bad, but only if she agreed…"It's none of your concerns. Just leave me be."

"Aha, would you be waiting for them till your beard grows twenty feet long? And your hair turns white or perhaps bald?" She paused and giggled at her own imagination. "Your eyes weary and blurry? And your back as curvy as a shrimp?"

"Enough. That doesn't sound funny." Erik abruptly turned away, pretending to be irritated at her little insults but he actually tried to hide his chuckle. Christine really had a sense of humor, and a wild imagination.

"Not funny? Huhm, then why are you smiling then?" Christine swiftly moved in front of him, catching him grinning.

"I'm not. Beside I am very busy. I don't have time to mingle with you."

"Busy? Busy doing what? Pounding sand? Or perhaps counting sea shells on the beach?" Christine stuck her tongue out at him, and smiled from ear to ear just to show him she was indeed joking.

"Can't you really see? I'm building my signal towers." He pointed to the two big bonfires several feet away. The fire was burning high, crackling and its black smoke wafted up the blue sky.

"Oh I see. How many more of those do you plan to make?" Christine enquired, her eyes rounded with wonder.

"As many as possible."

"Are you kidding me? You must be planning to burn down this entire island then?" She cleared her throat, then motioned him to look at the dark clouds above the horizon. "See those clouds over there? It is going to rain either tomorrow or the following day and your signal towers will be extinguished." She leaned closer, whispering in his ears. Her warm breaths caressed his uncover cheek. "That means your hard work will go in vain."

"No way!"

"Ah huh!"

"You are lying, Christine."

"I'm not. Can't you really see it for yourself? Why would I lie to you?" Christine defended.

"So I will go and play with you," he accused.

Christine snorted in frustration. "Erik, don't think that way. When you sailed the sea, did you also pay attention to the weather?" She took a few steps away from him, then sharply turned around, deliberately looking into his intent eyes. "Do you agree that grey clouds would usually give rains?"

"Most likely, but not all the times."

"I will take that as a yes. Since there is a chance it will rain, why should you put extra effort in building something, knowing your attempt will be wasted for nothing?"

He was unable to verbalize a counter statement, for he admitted that she was right and he hated the feeling of being defeated.

Christine went closer to him. "Now what? Are you still going to build more signal towers?"

"Just leave me alone, Christine. Whatever I do has nothing to do with you." He scoffed and moved a little away, refusing to be in the same proximity with her.

Tears of hurt sprang to her eyes but she fought them back. "Why must you be so stubborn? All this time, I was only trying to help. We are friends, remember?" The emotion was rising that she could not control the shakiness of her voice. "And friends should watch out for each other. I don't understand your reasons for avoiding me." She stood trembling, sniffling.

"Christine!" she heard him say, the irritation in his voice had disappeared and being replaced with a soft, apologetic timbre. "I am not avoiding you."

"Yes, you are. I can see it in your eyes, your actions have spoken them." She wept. "We were fine yesterday until…"

Cutting short the distance between them, he stood in front of her, his hand tenderly hold her above the elbows. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He saw her crying and her tears had undone his resolve to stay away from her.

Tears drops slipped down her cheeks. Did he know how much he had hurt her? His words stabbed through her heart like a sharp knife. "Why are you being mean to me? What have I done to you?"

He drew her closer with one hand and used the other to brush away the moisture on her cheeks. "Please don't cry, Christine. Shhhhhh…..I was wrong. Please forgive me."

She intended to pull away but somehow, his warm embrace offered a strange comfort she could hardly repel. Despite of her little knowledge of his background, she did care for him and seeing him shunning her away hurt her deeply.

Christine tried to stay strong but tears flowed down her face more freely, dampening his shirt. She felt his hands comforting her as he tightened his strong arms around her lithe body.

"My dear angel, I am very sorry. I wouldn't know what to do if you keep crying."

She tried to stop sniveling, and looked up at him with wondering eyes. Did he just call her his angel? "What did you just say?"

"Christine, you are my angel." Erik's hand gently brushed upon her face as it slowly caressed her moistened cheeks. No words passed between them, as they continued to gaze into one another's eyes. He had spoken the truth and his sincerity had shone through from the depth of his gray eyes.

His fingers brushed over her rosy lips, which slightly parted, tempting him to break his willpower and place his lips upon hers. But he hesitated and pulled away.

Christine stood there, feeling flustered, trying desperately to distract herself from the moment by smoothing out the fold of her blouse. She had almost forgotten what they were really discussing about.

"You look…as fine as always, Christine."

She timidly smiled at his rare compliment. "Thank you. That was rather sweet of you. " Her face was still damp from the tears. Though she had stopped crying, she wasn't sure if her countenance looked fine like he just said.

Erik didn't say a word. Fine was not the best word to describe her beauty; she was transcendent both inside and outside. Though he couldn't bring himself to say it to her, he had truly meant his word when he complimented her. Whether she was crying, smiling, she would always be his angel.

"Erik," Christine heard herself softly calling him out. "Please promise me that you would never avoid me again." She came closer to him and held up his big hands in hers. "We are friends, remember? And true friends don't ignore or abandon each other." Erik swallowed hard; he knew he had not been a good friend to her since yesterday. He could tell she didn't know him watching her bathing and he thanked God for that.

"Whatever happened yesterday, let's just forget it. We are friends and good friends should never bear grudges against each other. Agree? If I ever do anything wrong, I will apologize, and vice versa." She paused and thought for a moment, then continued. "My mom use to say 'life is too short', let's make the most out of our time together on this island. Shall we?"

Erik's eyes bore into hers for an instance; and felt a smile tug on his lips. His angel had never ceased to amaze him. She was right in her assertion and he absolutely agreed with her on that. How come he did not think of this before?

"You are right Christine, and I've already promised you that."

"Now give me your pinkie?" As Christine requested, she stuck out her little pinkie and Erik wondered what in the world she was doing.

"My pinkie? What for?" He stared at her in confusion.

"Just give me your pinkie and you'll know," she insisted.

He hesitantly gave in to her persistent demand. Christine entangled her pinkie around his, while letting her thumb touch his.

"Ouch, that hurts a little. Are you intending to break my finger" Erik grumbled.

"Come on, you are too strong to complain about that." Christine softly chuckled. "There, a promise has been made that neither one of us could ever break it."

Erik's face was dumbfounded at her statement. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's a way my parents and I make a promise official. If either one breaks it, that person will get struck by lightning, or drowned in the sea or blown away by strong wind. Understand?"

Erik tried to stifle his laughter but he couldn't. He hugged his tummy and chortling hard at Christine's innocence. "You are so silly, Christine. Hahaha. I can't believe you would believe in such things."

She glared at him, her face reddened with embarrassment. "Well, it's true though." She countered and stomped her feet a couple times. "If you don't believe me, just wait and see." Then she angrily stormed away.

When Christine only walked a few short steps, Erik's hand suddenly wrapped around her waist and gently yanked her around to face him.

"I'm only joking," he stated. "It's just the first time I've heard this and I thought it was funny."

"It's true. Don't you believe me?" Her face scowled with annoyance. Her lips pouted adoringly.

"Of course I believe you." He replied with conviction in his tone.

"Are you sure?" she questioned him with more emphasis in her tone.

"Of course, my dear. I don't lie to you." He nudged her chin, forcing her eyes onto his again. A soft sigh fell from his lips as he gazed upon her. My God, she is so beautiful. Does she even know that?

Christine's countenance softened as she was again locked in the solace of his embrace. His masculine charm had always been her undoing.

"If you are not hungry, or busy, let us continue our expedition around the island," Christine suggested.

"What? We haven't finished the tour?" His voice rose in surprise. This island was indeed more expanse than he had imagined.

"No, there are more I would like to show you," she suddenly announced, extending her hand with a bright smile. "Come with me, Erik. We will walk this time."

He hesitated a little before sliding his hand into hers. Her slender hand was cool and her grasp comforting. "Where shall we go, Angel?"

"Wait and see, Erik. It's a surprise." A warm smile curled her lips. She winked at him with one eye, letting him know that a secret to be revealed.

Together hand in hand, she led him from the beach, to the enchanted land waiting for them ahead.