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backed down, hearing a hint of
sadness on his voice. "Sorry. My parents are divorced, and I know
it can be hard on you."
    Griffon abruptly changed the subject. "The
only thing hard on me is when there are things to do and I am
surrounded by laziness. You've rested enough. Go walk in the salt
water and let it clean your feet. While you're there, look for
mussels and hermit crabs. Hurry before the tide changes, and make
certain to always mark your trail so you don't get lost coming
back, if you go into the jungle for any reason. When you return,
I'll steam some noni leaves and put them over these bites. It will
take away the swelling and the itch." He stomped away to gather
more driftwood. Jade blinked in confusion. Maybe Griffon Badger
really did give a shit.
     

CHAPTER 3
    Griffon refused to
look behind him as he hauled the long bamboo poles up the path
towards the camp. He had left Jade to gather seaweed and the tiny
hermit crabs from the tide pools. While she seemed to have changed
some of her attitude and made an attempt to offer words of
appreciation, she still seemed to think life would be chocolate and
roses. Her disposition about money angered him. He forced himself
to reconsider her position, accepting that her arrogance was a
result of her father's overindulgence and that she had never known
anything else. He silently admitted that it was unfair to judge her
for how she was raised, but he could not shake the uppity,
rich-girl insolence. It was too much like his ex-wife's.
    His eye caught the red fruit of the sea
grapes and he plucked them from the bunch. He popped one in his
mouth, careful of the large pit as he bit down. The sweet-sour
juice filled his mouth and he thought of how Jade might enjoy the
flavor. Jade. That woman knew exactly how to get under his skin
without even trying. She was like nails down a blackboard, raising
every hair on end when she began to whine and complain. On the
other hand, the smile on her face when she produced their morning
meal, and the way her eyes twinkled when he praised her, touched
something deep inside of him.
    She had almost melted with joy as his brief
compliment fell upon her ears. For a split second, she reminded him
of a little girl who had accomplished a difficult task. Maybe he
should praise her more often, instead of scold? That still left him
facing her temper when she was unhappy. Damn it to hell ,
Griffon cursed under his breath, I'm stuck babysitting a brat.
Well, maybe I can help mold her into becoming a responsible woman.
Her future husband would surely appreciate that effort.
    After tossing the sea grapes into the halves
of a large clam, Griffon set the shell on the outer embers to
slowly allow the fruit to bake and be a dipping sauce for the
crabs. He then broke down the firewood and stacked it neatly under
the high platform beneath the shelter. He proceeded to repair the
roof by weaving more fronds and slabs of bark peeled from the palm
trees, and returned to whittling his spear. The sound of running
caused him to turn his head.
    "Look what I found! Can we eat this? Huh, can
we?" Jade asked, holding a small conch in her hand. "I also thought
I saw bananas down the beach a ways. I didn't see any hermit crabs,
though."
    "Yes, we can certainly eat that. Very good,
Jade. We can even cook it in the shell and dip it in this:" Griffon
offered her the tip of his index finger that he had dipped in the
sea grape sauce. He felt his manhood awaken as she wrapped her pink
lips around the digit and innocently sucked.
    "Those are yummy. I tried to find more clams,
but the tide is coming in. I'm sorry," she said, her joy suddenly
leaving her face. "You're alot bigger than me and are doing all
this hard work. You have got to be starving, and …"
    "Grab the net you found. We are going to fish
the easy way. Then we can knock down some bananas."
    Griffon led the way down, acutely aware of
the naked girl at his heels. Forty-eight hours and already his body
was betraying him. No!