The Erotic Expeditions - Complete Collection (11 page)

The main whaling boats began to enter the water. Emily saw some of the traditional buoys that Austin had mentioned. They looked like bloated seals. It was the skin of the entire animal, sewn up tight, and full of air.

Austin was already waiting in the waves with the other kayakers. As she had many times that morning, she quickly swung the camera toward him and zoomed in. She waved and he immediately waved back, as aware of her as always, even at this distance. Now he turned the kayak to follow others who were doing the same.

Emily felt a pang as he began to paddle away and knew that she’d be worrying until he was back. If the whaleboats seemed undersized, the kayaks seemed downright tiny. She snapped a couple of photos.

“So, you’re a photographer,” a familiar voice said from behind her.
 

Emily froze.

• • • • •

The paddling felt good. Austin dug the blades into the water, grateful for the release of pent-up energy. Even so, he couldn’t resist one last look. He let the kayak glide as he twisted his torso in the cockpit.

The beach was very far away now but Emily’s blonde hair wasn’t hard to pick out. He was about to raise his hand when he realized someone tall was standing near her. It was too far to be sure but … was that his father?

Impossible. He was
never
up this early. He nursed his hangover until noon at least.

He felt a bump and looked forward.

“Watch yourself,” said Emmet, one of the older kayakers as he pushed off Austin’s kayak with his paddle. “This is a whale hunt, not a cruise.”

“Sorry,” Austin said, as he paddled a few strokes.
 

Then he looked back again. He couldn’t see her any more, or that tall person. The entire crowd had drifted back toward town. He hoped she had done the same thing.

• • • • •

Emily stepped away from Karlin before she even turned. She made herself smile.

“Yes,” she said, her voice tense. “I’m doing a piece for Condé Nast.”

For anyone else she might have elaborated, but not for him. All she could think about was what he must have done to Austin. The crowd around them began heading back toward town.

Safety in numbers, she thought.

She gave Karlin a tight smile and a nod and joined the others.

But it wasn’t going to be that easy. She heard his heavy boots in the gravel next to her.

“You know,” he said. “If you really want good pictures, Hunter’s Lookout is the place to be.”

She couldn’t look at him.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll check it out.”

“It’s the only place to see the hunt from now on ‘cause they have to round it for the better whaling grounds.”

“Thanks,” she said again, staying just behind a small family group.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm.

“I can take you there,” Karlin said.

She quickly danced away from him but he didn’t let go.

“No, that’s okay,” she exclaimed, as the father of the group turned to look in her direction.

Karlin’s hand disappeared.

And then the heavy footsteps stopped as well.

Emily chanced a sideways glance as she kept up her pace.

Karlin was gone.
 

She breathed a sigh of relief.
 

• • • • •

Austin’s arms moved mechanically, no longer enjoying the paddling. He wasn’t tired but he couldn’t stop thinking of the scene on the beach.

Could that
possibly
have been his father?
 

He glanced around him at the hunting party. The success of the hunt could sometimes spell the well being of an entire village. It was less critical now with access to outside supplies but his position here was important nevertheless. These were the men that had taught him his survival skills. Whether they’d suspected Karlin’s behavior, he’d never been able to figure out but virtually each person here had helped him in one way or another.

The sea today was like glass and the boating was easy. Weather was clear to the horizon. The bow of the whaling ships slapped against the water in time with the men’s rowing. The paddles of the kayakers sliced in and out as they kept pace. Tiny droplets of water were wafted up into the air as the blades dove in and out. The white spray sparkled and he felt it hit his face. The conditions were perfect.

And yet it didn’t feel that way.

Emily had only lasted an hour in her room. She had paced, reviewed her photos, then paced some more. All she could think about was Austin and if he was safe. The thought of those small boats and the giant whale had unnerved her. The nice people who owned the B&B had told her how to get to Hunter’s Lookout and had agreed that there was no better place for photos.

Now that she was here, she had to agree. The vistas were stunning. The lookout was nothing more than a rocky spit that pointed west. But from its tip, the view was unrestricted. It was like standing on the bow of a ship.
 

Not far below, the water crashed against the bottom of the cliff. Since she had driven north, she concluded that the whalers would come from the left. When they emerged from the bay and headed up the coast, she’d see them. She raised the camera to her eye and used it like a telescope.

She couldn’t wait to see Austin. More than that, she couldn’t wait for him to see these shots. Unfortunately, wait is exactly what she’d have to do because no one had yet appeared.

• • • • •

Why could he not concentrate?

Austin jabbed his paddles into the water.

It wasn’t just Emily, though he thought of little else any more. Something was wrong. If that man on the beach had been his father, something was wrong.

“See a whale?” Emmet called from behind him.

Austin scanned the horizon but when he realized that none of the whalers was doing anything different, he looked back at Emmet.

“See a whale?” Emmet said again.

“No,” Austin said. “Do you?”

“No,” said Emmet. “Which has me wonderin’ what you’re chasing?”

Austin slowed down as Emmet caught up. The two of them were far in front of the other kayakers and Emmet was breathing hard.

“You need to focus, son,” Emmet said. “If your mind is elsewhere you’ll end up in the drink. Or worse, somebody else will.”

Austin’s face flashed hot. Emmet was right.
 

“Sorry,” he said, for the second time that day.

He knew these men depended on him. They depended on each other for their very lives. A fall in the water might easily be deadly.

Suddenly, he thought of Emily falling through that hole in the ice and he held his breath. He glanced back at the shore, in the distance. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. She was in trouble. He knew it.
 

He stopped paddling and as Emmet neared, held out his harpoon and bucket. Without a word, Emmet took them, hardly breaking stride. In moments, the rest of the tribe was by him. Though several glanced in his direction, none stopped.

Now he spun his kayak around so fast, it almost stood up on its stern.

• • • • •

“What took you so long?”

Emily jumped at the sound of a voice and spun around.

It was Karlin.

“I’ve been waiting,” he said.

He nodded below and to the south and Emily saw an ATV on the gravel beach below. He’d come here along the beach and then climbed up. He must have waited to see her on the promontory. Her heart began to pound. She looked behind him to her car. It seemed very far away.

“No, you don’t need a car,” he said smiling that brown smile. “You don’t need anything.”

He started to come toward her.

“Everything
you
need,” he said, gripping his crotch. “I got right here.”

• • • • •

Austin paddled for his life. His back burned, his arms burned, but he paddled. The blades chopped ferociously as he cursed himself for having left in the first place. The ocean slid by beside him at increasing speed. Now that he’d made the decision to go back, he couldn’t get there fast enough.

Up ahead, the beach was drawing closer. He had to know Emily was all right. And maybe she was. Maybe they’d laugh about this and he’d regret abandoning his last hunt.
 

God, he hoped that was true.
 

• • • • •

If Karlin got a hold of her, Emily knew it was over.

The only problem was, she didn’t know how she could avoid it. The promontory was incredibly thin. His giant hulking form came closer. He was taking his time, enjoying himself. As she watched, he licked his lips and smiled.

Stop looking at him and do something!

She looked from side to side. There was nowhere to go but down or towards him. He’d picked the spot and he’d picked his timing. Now her only choice was to run. Maybe his bulk would make him slow. There was only one way to find out.
 

She took off as fast as she could.

He didn’t bat an eye–simply side-stepped and reached out his long arms. Emily stared at his face, his widening chest. Her feet pounded out a desperate pace and she was definitely picking up speed. As she neared him, though, he actually laughed as he reached for her.

At the last second, she swung the camera.
 

It began to hurtle through the air at the end of the strap. As she watched its arc, though, she realized she’d misjudged it. It was heavy and moving too slow. She should have begun to swing it much earlier.
 

But Karlin’s utter shock made up for her lack of timing. The camera body struck him in the side of the head just as he grabbed the sleeve of her jacket.

• • • • •

Austin’s boots splashed in the water as he drug the kayak behind him and flung it onto the gravel. He sprinted past a number of surprised townspeople.
 

“Is the hunt over?” someone called out to him.

He couldn’t pause to make a reply. He pealed off the sealskin parka as he sprinted.

The B&B wasn’t far now.

Karlin’s howl of rage nearly split Emily’s ears but he let go.

She dropped the camera and sprinted for the car, not pausing for even a second to look back. Her boots thudded into the frozen turf and she had no idea if he was following.

Please let the car be unlocked.

She collided with it and pulled the door handle so hard she thought it might break but the door flew open. She threw herself in the driver’s seat. Then she slammed the door closed and pressed the door lock button.
 

The window started to come down.
 

Wrong button!

Suddenly, there was a loud thud on the glass and Karlin’s hand tried to get through the window but the gap was too small. She hit every button she could find and then the door flew open.

He grabbed her by the hair and drug her out.

Suddenly, Emily’s view of the ground rushing by was replaced with a polished wooden floor and a set of stairs. Her father drug her by the hair into her room. He took her to the bed, sat on the edge, and threw her over his knees.

“No,” she wailed but it only made him angrier.

He spanked her.
 

Between sobs and promises to be good, he kept spanking her, holding her down by the hair. When he had finished, she’d thought it was over but it had only been the beginning. Something in him had snapped. Only eleven, her body was already showing signs of the woman she’d turn into.

He proceeded to yank her off his knees, pushed her onto the bed, and ripped her clothes off. Then he had raped her. She had begged him to stop–to let go of her hair. She said she was sorry. Promised to be good. But none of it mattered. Suddenly, she heard his voice.

“Say my name!” he had screamed. “Say my name!”

She had yelled Daddy and Father and anything else she could think of but none of it pleased him.

“My name is Jonathan,” he screamed into her face as he tugged viciously on her hair. “Say it!”

“Jonathan,” she wailed.
 

“What?” Karlin said.
 

Emily blinked.

Karlin still had her by the hair and also a vice-like grip on her throat. They were standing just a few feet from the car.
 

“Don’t touch my hair,” she tried to scream but now his fingers squeezed her vocal cords.

She hit him–with every ounce of strength she had–she punched him in the gut. She slapped and punched and pounded but her blows only bounced off. Then she kicked and grabbed the fingers around her throat.

He shook her then, as easily as he would a rag doll, but the years of pent up fury wouldn’t let her stop. She hit him again, aimed for his face.

Finally, he let go of her hair and grabbed one of her arms. Still kicking, she lashed out with her other hand and raked her fingernails at his eyes. He bellowed and the grip on her throat released. She inhaled, not even realizing she hadn’t been able to breathe.

And then her head snapped sideways.

The world tilted at a crazy angle as the ground rushed up to meet her. She couldn’t get her hands up to slow the impact and hit the turf with a grunt. Her limbs went slack as she became aware of a pain in her mouth and nose.

Get up
, she thought.

But her body wouldn’t obey her. Instead, she fought to stay conscious as she watched Karlin’s boots approach.

• • • • •

“Bitch,” Karlin hissed, wiping blood from his temple.

He grabbed the front of her jacket and turned her over on her back. She tried to sit up, raise her arms in defense but she was barely conscious, pushing out at nothing.

“See,” he said to her. “You had to make it hard.”

Which reminded him.
 

He checked his crotch.
 

Good to go.

With a single big hand, he pushed her chest and slammed her to the ground. He wouldn’t bother with the jacket and sweater. That could come later.

He yanked the sweater and jacket up high, dug his fingers into the top of her low rise jeans and tugged them down. He’d learned that when you tugged hard enough, you didn’t need to bother with the button or zipper. With her midriff exposed, from the bra down to her hips, he took a second to look.