Page 2 of Hunting Gianna
But we aren’t the good guys here.
I knew the minute the ship docked and she was back home. I also knew the minute she decided to go camping… to come here. All thanks to my basic knowledge in wireless cams. Amazing what you can figure out with the fucking internet these days.
Win-win.
We were a cohesive unit of unhinged loyalists. We mostly stayed to ourselves, but there were times where we needed each other and as much as we sometimes hated one another, we always pulled through. Brother’s code. The stars aligned and I didn’t have to attend the board meeting for the acquisition of Kairo’s new venture, something about merging with the largest powerhouse on the green energy movement.
I wouldn’t have gone anyway, but it turns out Kairo’s new girl wants to be more involved and I want to be less.
Besides, knowing Gianna was here would have driven me insane. Knowing she was on a ship at sea for the last three months was fucking hard enough, but now that she was back, I’d make my move.
Especially not with my girl in my sights and the knowledge that not far from where she set up camp, a group of assholes has set up their tents.
Something to watch… just in case they think they can talk to what’s mine.
The forest around me is sharp and bright in the early morning sun. Too loud with all the birds waking up the whole damn place. But it doesn’t matter. They don’t matter. I'm tuned to one sound only, her whistling as she walks away from her tent, towards the cliffs. Steady breath, a tracker’s calm, though my pulse feels like a roar inside my chest. I leave the cover of trees, the moss squishing beneath my feet.Just a peek. Her tent flap hangs open, an invitation. I place the carved bird beside it and savor the small thrill of leaving my mark on her world. I retreat to the trees and wait for her to notice.
The little bird was part of a project I’d been working on. Wood carving has always fascinated me and this was my first one. A sparrow. Watching her was like watching birds overhead.
Free.
Enthralling.
And so… she becomes the object of my ruminations. My little bird. Seems only fitting she gets to have a token of my appreciation.
Hours pass and I’m getting pissed. She should have been back by now, the little wanderer. She’s testing my patience without even knowing it, the thought making me shift and tense my jaw, listening for her careless steps. My finger caresses the edge of the knife I use to carve; wood shavings still caught in the creases. A warning from deep inside whispers that this won't be enough, this watching and waiting, but not for long. I catch that thought and put it back where it belongs. Under control. Her obliviousness will serve me just fine.
When I finally hear her, leaves crunching and then the soft scrape of her boots against the rocks, it’s like the pressure in my chest lets up for the first time since I laid that small claim beside her tent. A dangerous little rush. The carved sparrow waits at her doorstep, a token of the patience I won't hold forever.
I raise the binoculars, pulling her into focus.
She’s still in those tiny shorts, that tight top, hair tied up and a long strand falling against the curve of her cheek. She's panting. Her breath like small, feral pants after a hard fuck. I want to run my tongue along the shine of sweat glistening on her neck. She pauses at the edge of the site and pushes a loose curl back behind her ear, like she can feel the heat of my gaze, the raw press of it from all the way across the trees. But then she grins, just a flicker across those perfect lips, and it hits me that she isn't being careful. She isn't looking around. She’s looking right through me. And when she finally reaches her tent, the real delicious thing hits me.
She doesn't see it. Walks right past my offering without even a glance. I didn't think I'd want her this much, this fast. But I feelit now, more than I want to. As loud as this forest around me and I smile at her blind fucking stupidity.
She's perfect. And she doesn't have a clue.
My pocket buzzes and it’s Kairo, telling me to reset the feeds because the connection is wavering. I growl, looking at my girl one more time before starting up towards his cabin to finish connecting the cams to each other.
***
I drank myself into a stupor, watching the shitty trail cams. 32CX is the one that is trained on her section. It’s so grainy, I can hardly see anything, but I watch anyway. The whiskey hits harder and harder and there’s not a chance in hell that tonight will be the one where I make my move.
Kairo was right… we definitely need better satellite connection.I’ll give myself access to the ones I just finished upgrading. He’d be pissed, but I truly give no fucks. I don’t care bout seeing Harbor, or his tiny dick for that matter. I just want to seeher.
I breathe it in, this second hand intimacy, as I watch her start her fire, doing a little dance as it roars to life. Her outline spread like some invitation I haven't RSVP'd yet. I should feel repulsed. Watching wasn’t my thing, but… I don't. Grabbing a photo I took, my eyes roam her body. I set a photo down, take it up again. Gianna's perfect mouth. The soft lines of her legs folded beneath her as she sits by the fire. A closer shot, sweat beading in the dip of her collarbone. I don't want to stop. Watching herthis way, it makes my skin feel tight. Makes it hum with an anticipation that I could almost mistake for tenderness.
Mine.
The image is as real as the scent of her clothes. It fucks with my head more than it should.
She's made it easy. So damn easy to catch her this way, slipping up on her without even trying. Didn't she learn anything before coming out here? You'd think a girl would pick up some survival skills after going camping alone so often. Instead, she's oblivious to all of it. To me.
I sketch the letters out beside a photograph. Loose. Clumsy. Ready to leave pinned to her tent. Unfurling in the empty margins like an artist at work. I've seen it all—her carelessness. Both in her life and when she camps. I have pages and pages dedicated to studying her. Memorizing her. But what is more fascinating than the idiot who dumped her, is the way she seems so oblivious to safety out here. How she leaves the camp unattended for hours. Fails to store her food. Leaves her damn tent flap open even when she's gone for the whole day.
She's acting like she wants this. To be caught.
I put those words down too, little traps just waiting to be sprung.
