Enrico looked down at her, distressed.
“Look behind you,” Paige said, looking at him.
Enrico turned around and saw a row of bamboo shelves stuck to the so-called wall at the end of the bed, with a square painting on top.
The paint on the painting was not like the common ones on the market. It seemed to be the color extracted from flowers or plants and dyed on the paper, which was actually an old newspaper.
Some layers of dense paint formed the sea, and the coastline meandered without end.
There was a tree growing by the seaside. The tree was no longer painted with oil paint, but was made of dry branches pasted together to look like a tree, and it was very exquisitely done.
The dead branches are covered with small pink flowers with white centers and small fruits, all of which are preserved dried flowers and fruits that can be stored for a long time.
“Is this the tree?” Enrico looks at her.
“Well, I really like that tree.”
Everything on the island is negative, but that tree, no matter if it’s windy or rainy, no matter how withered the branches are, it can still bloom the most beautiful flowers.
Paige stared at the painting she had made back then. It looked very sketchy now, but it was still her favorite.
She looked away and said, “Okay, you’ve seen it, let’s go?”
You really can’t sleep here.
“I said I want to spend the night here,” Enrico said firmly, sat down next to her, and as soon as he did, the bamboo bed creaked under the weight.
It seemed like it would fall apart at any moment.
“There are no quilts here,” Paige said helplessly. Why be so stubborn?
“You used to sleep without a quilt?” Enrico looked at her, his brows knotted again.
“I used to have one, but I haven’t lived here for three years, and Uncle Artie gave it to the old lady to use as a mattress,” Paige said.
“The quilt downstairs just now?”
The quilt on the bed downstairs just now was also called a quilt, but it was all rotten. You didn’t need to open it to know that the cotton inside was all tangled up, and it didn’t keep you warm at all.
Is this what she covers herself with?
“The climate on the island doesn’t allow for the cultivation of cotton, so we can’t produce it ourselves. The only quilts we have are the ones people brought with them when they came to the island.”
She’s lucky to have one.
“…”
Enrico stared at her. Her tone was so matter-of-fact, as if all this had happened before.
He opened his lips to speak, but before he could, something wriggled across the top of his foot, and a fluffy mass brushed against his trouser leg.
Enrico looked down and saw a mouse the size of a child’s palm. It slowly crawled over the top of his foot, dirty and making a squeaking sound in its mouth.
His expression froze.
Seeing this, Paige glanced down and gave it a gentle stomp, and the mouse immediately ran away.
She looked at Enrico and saw that he was motionless and stiff, probably shocked.
When he was a child at Rose Estate, he was exposed to man-made disasters and did not live in an environment where he had to live with rats and ants.
Thinking about this, Paige let out a light laugh and jokingly said, “If it were in the past, when I saw such a little mouse, I would start thinking of ways to find its nest. Mouse meat is also meat and can nourish the sick.”
On hearing this, Enrico’s body stiffened even more.
“Okay, I’ve already said that I can’t live here, there are no quilts and there are also rats and bacteria…”
Paige didn’t finish her sentence, and Enrico suddenly turned around and pushed her down onto the clean, cold bamboo bed.
In the faint light, the shadow of the man fell.
Enrico was still sitting on the edge of the bamboo bed, but he just twisted around and lowered his chest, supporting himself with his hands on either side of her, his sexy deep dimples and his pair of eyes staring deeply at her.
Suddenly, he lowered his head and kissed her lips, closing his eyes as he forced down the surging emotions.
They rolled around.
He was eager and fierce, as if he wanted to completely engulf her.
His large hands covered hers, pressing them together on the bamboo bed. Her hair scattered slightly, brushing against his fingers and arousing him.
Paige could feel his surging emotions, like the silent and endless night outside the window, gradually devouring everything.
She glanced at his injured shoulder, but thought better of saying anything and, like him, closed her eyes, silently yielding to him.
They entwined.
His scorching breath fell between her lips, intimate and maddening.
For an indefinite length of time, Enrico kept kissing her, his head bowed, his forehead against hers, still with his eyes closed, his breathing heavy and shaky.
He clasped her hand.
“Don’t say anymore, I really care for you very much,” his voice was hoarse, and his breathing was unsteady.
“…” Paige’s heart trembled as she listened.
The dim light fell on the two of them through the bamboo slats.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the man in front of her. His long eyelashes moved, and he slowly opened his eyes as well, their gazes meeting at close range.
She saw herself in his eyes.
His gaze was scorching.
“Paige,” he called out to her as he stared at her.
“Mm,” she said softly.
“Paige,” he said again.
“…”
“From now on, I’ll let you eat candy every day,” he said, ‘so that you forget all the bitterness.”
“…”
“From now on, I’ll make you happy every day, give you whatever you want, even if it kills me, I’ll give it to you,”
“…’ ‘Mm,’ Paige said softly.
Enrico kissed her again.
In the end, Paige was unable to convince Enrico to leave the room, and the two of them just fell asleep on the bamboo bed.
The bamboo bed was made into a single bed, which was narrow and small. Enrico couldn’t even stretch his legs out straight, so he hugged Paige from behind, curled up with her legs, and couldn’t move at all. If he moved, the bamboo bed would creak and shake.
Paige was afraid of breaking the bed, so she leaned back against him and lay on her side without moving, rigidly maintaining her sleeping position.
She didn’t think she could sleep like this, but as the warmth of his chest passed through, she fell asleep quickly.
Thinking back, she had never slept soundly in this bed, on this island.
This was the first time.
And it would be the only time.
Paige slowly woke up as the sound of birds chirping outside the window gradually increased. Looking at the old, small bedroom that had become brighter, she was momentarily blank and didn’t know where she was.
For a while, she realized that this was the shack where she had spent countless sleepless nights.
With a creaking sound, the bamboo bed broke apart, and Paige, in Enrico’s arms, carefully turned around.
Enrico was already awake, or perhaps he had never slept.
He stared at her, his bloodshot eyes with a smile of affection, and he kissed her on the lips, “Are you awake?”
“You couldn’t sleep and forced yourself to,” Paige looked at him helplessly.
In such an environment, it was normal for him not to be able to sleep, but it was not normal to force himself to lie here all night.
“I’m happy to,” Enrico raised his eyebrows wickedly, put his arms around her and wanted to kiss her again, but Paige refused, “I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
“Oh,” Enrico responded, but put his hand on her waistline to try to arouse her interest.
“Stop it.” Paige had a good night’s sleep and her fatigue had eased a lot. She smiled and pushed him away, and Enrico leaned in again.
This movement caused the bamboo bed to shake even more.
Paige’s heart was very nervous when she heard a faint ‘click’ sound. Before she could tell Enrico, the entire bamboo bed collapsed.