“We may not have time, Dana. Right this minute someone is probably following us, and if we hang around while you collect Pygmy lore and bond with Loku, we’ll be in trouble.”
She pulled away from him. “Kantana can’t be on our trail yet. He had to get back to Porte Ivoire, organize a posse or whatever you call it—”
“He’s not the only one who could be after us,” Alex said flatly. “Have you thought about that?”
Alex had mentioned that possibility before and then left it dangling. He seemed to have the same agenda now—frighten her but don’t explain.
“Oh, you mean the international spies who’re after your secret documents?” She still couldn’t buy into that story.
“Just trust me, Dana, when I tell you that we need to get the hell out of here.”
“No one can find us,” she countered. “The Pygmies wouldn’t leave a trail.”
“For God’s sake stop arguing with me when you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” he snarled. “You and I aren’t Pygmies, are we? We’ve probably left a trail a child could follow.”
As Dana studied his face, she realized there was real concern in his eyes. He was worried about being followed, and he was concerned about something else. Something he wasn’t telling her.
With that thought, she turned and started to walk toward the camp, aware that Alex was the master of his own secrets. It was only then that she noticed how quiet everything was. The Mgembe had vanished into the rain forest, the animals were silent. Even the breeze was still. The hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle. She reached out a hand for Alex.
His voice was low and calm. “In front of you, just to the left of the path. A leopard. A big one.”
Dana stifled a moan as she slowly turned her head and saw him, crouched by the path. Her first instinct was to run, to get the hell out of there. She felt herself tense, felt her muscles gather momentum as she prepared to escape the danger.
But she was blocked by Alex. His broad chest loomed in her way, and his grip was like iron on her arm. “Don’t move,” he said, “not even a hair.” His voice was low and husky but the words were very clear.
The long, lean animal’s smooth muscles were tightened into a deadly crouch. He was poised to spring! Dana tried to swallow, but her throat was dry and tight. She tried to whisper her fear to Alex, but the words wouldn’t come. All she could do was stare at the magnificent beast coiled before them. He was savage and beautiful, one with the jungle—its most dangerous predator.
As Dana stood frozen, she felt the perspiration break out on her forehead and trickle down her face. She was overcome by a fear more intense than anything she’d ever felt.
Then she saw the blood. “Oh, my God, Alex,” she whispered, her voice raspy. “Look at his mouth, his talons—”
Alex squeezed her hand tightly. “The blood’s a good sign. He probably just made a kill and stashed the carcass. We may be in luck.”
But what if the carcass was nearby and he was protecting it? Then they wouldn’t be in luck, they’d be dead. Dana began to tremble all over. Her teeth rattled. She was afraid of losing control. Alex held her steady and didn’t let her collapse.
They stood, arms around each other, for what seemed like hours to Dana. Then the great cat raised his head, twitched his nose and with a flick of his long tail was gone, slinking into the shadows of the rain forest.
Dana gave a sob, hid her face against Alex’s chest and held on for dear life. Her fingers dug into the bare skin of his back. She was still trembling wildly. Finally, she found her voice.
“I was so scared,” she cried. “So scared.” She looked at him, frowning, confused. “And yet at the same time it was...” Her voice broke.
“I know,” he said, holding her close.
“Do you? Do you understand?” she asked, not sure she understood herself.
“Yes.” He wrapped her in his arms. Her clothes were soaking wet, and he thought he could feel every bone in her body shiver.
“That mixture of danger and excitement,” she whispered, “was like nothing I’ve ever felt.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” He caught his hands in her wet hair and lowered his lips toward hers. “The danger that makes your heart pound, the excitement that heats your blood. It’s called being alive, Dana.”
She pressed herself more tightly against him. He felt her nails dig into his flesh almost violently. He brought his mouth down on hers with a terrible kind of force.
Dana reacted with such feeling that Alex’s head reeled. Her need was palpable. He felt it on the surface of her skin, tasted it on her lips as she opened to him.
He wanted her desperately, wanted to own her, to possess every inch of her body. He wanted to make love to her—here on the path. To hell with the danger. He craved the excitement of taking her—now.
Dana knew what was happening but was helpless to stop it. He was dark, handsome and very dangerous, possibly even deadly, and she was on fire for him. She couldn’t control the feelings any more than she could control her hands, her lips, her tongue in their response to him. Or what was happening to her nipples, taut against him. Or the throbbing warmth between her legs that ached for him.
She couldn’t control any of that and didn’t even try. In fact, she insinuated one of her legs between his so that she could be closer. Her head whirled. She was hot and dizzy with desire as he moved his hands along her body. His rough beard bruised her skin. His greedy lips claimed hers again and again.
Then suddenly he stopped kissing her, took her face in his hands and spoke in that low seductive voice that frightened at the same time it fascinated her.
“I want you, Dana. You can’t pretend anymore that nothing is happening between us.”
She let her cheek rest against his chest. “It’s all so confusing,” she cried almost desperately.
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “No, you’re wrong, Dana,” he said gently. “It’s all so simple. If you’d just let it be.”
But it wasn’t simple, she thought. The complicated factors included Louis, the murder, the so-called secret documents, the lies. Yet she wanted Alex with an unbounded physical intensity she’d never felt before. She pressed her lips against his bare chest. He tasted of perspiration, salt. He smelled of excitement and fear. The mixture was a powerful aphrodisiac.
It was a combination she had to get away from. She took a step back, hoping it would help. But it didn’t. The trembling began again, more overwhelming than when she’d faced the big cat. She had to escape it.
In a clear voice she said, “I’ll talk to Moke.”
“Don’t change the subject, Dana,” he responded. He still held on to her arm.
“I’m not,” she rebuked. “You told me we needed to keep moving. You’re right.” She started down the path.
Alex put his arm around her and walked by her side. “We can run for the border, Dana. But we can’t escape each other. You know that now, don’t you?”
Her answer was lost in the call of Moke. “Aas aas ibude, aas aas mota,” he cried out as he ran toward them through the trees.
“What is it, what’s the matter?” Alex asked.
“Nothing’s the matter. Elephants have been sighted. They’re going on the hunt!”
* * *
BY LATE AFTERNOON of that same day, Dana and Alex had traveled as far as they could with the tribe. They were on their own, alone in the jungle, and the Mgembe had raced ahead after the elephant.
Dana felt a tremendous emptiness as the voices of the tribe faded into the distance.
“I’ll never see them again,” she said sadly, “and we owe them so much, Alex.” Instinctively, she took his hand. “Moke and his tribe found us, sheltered us...”
“And they guided us this far, Dana.”
“I know. They’ve made it possible for us to get close to the border. But now they’re gone, and I feel as though I’ve lost a group of friends.”
“May
be you’ll see them someday—”
“No,” she interrupted Alex’s thought. “Even if I ever come back to the rain forest, the chances of finding Moke’s small tribe are minuscule.”
“They had to go on without us, Dana,” he reminded her.
“I know.”
“As fond as they were of you, the elephant means everything to them. The hunt is what it’s all about. For us, it’s the border.”
She looked at him thoughtfully. “Do you think you could have kept up with the hunters on your own, without me and all my stuff?”
Alex shook his head. “In true Americanese, no way. Besides, the Pygmies never would have led us all the way into the swamp. You said yourself that they believe a monster lives in there.”
Dana laughed. “Yes, huge with a long neck and tiny head. I hope we don’t run into it—if we ever get there.”
“They got us this far. And with their directions and my map, we’ll get the rest of the way. But for now, we’re stopping to make camp,” he announced. “I want to approach the swamp in the morning when we’re fresh.”
“It’s okay, Alex, I can go on. I’m not tired,” she lied. It seemed too soon to stop, to be alone with Alex. She could still feel the morning’s kiss on her lips, still remember what it was like to be in his arms.
“We have to rest sometime, Dana.” He dropped his pack to the ground and reached for hers, and when he did, his hand rested lightly on her arm. “Now is as good a time as any.”
His eyes caught hers, held them. Her heart began to beat faster simply from the touch of his fingers against her arm. She was afraid of what was happening between them, but she felt powerless to stop it. All she could think of was to keep moving. “No, we have to—”
“Dana, we have to stop.”
She realized that was true. They couldn’t keep going forever; she couldn’t keep avoiding him forever, either. “I...I guess so,” she said.
“I’ll put up the tent, unless you’re planning to build a hut out of those mambo leaves.”
“Mongongo,” she said automatically. For a moment she wished she had the know-how to put up one of the huts. At least it would give her a place of her own to sleep—away from Alex. In fact, that wasn’t a possibility. They’d be sleeping together in the tent again tonight. She couldn’t run or hide from him—or her feelings.
“I’ll fix dinner,” she said absently, well aware, as was Alex, that there wasn’t that much preparing to do. They’d brought along gifts from the Mgembe of honey, nuts, berries and fruit. All she had to do was set it out. And she took her time.
Even though she’d turned her back on Alex, she was very aware of his presence as she listened to him unpacking, moving around, setting up the tent. She thought about lying in it beside him and couldn’t put the image out of her mind.
Abruptly, she got up and moved to the edge of the campsite, trying to get away from the sight and sound of him. But she could still picture him moving around, spreading the tent as he continued the ordinary job of making camp. Except there was nothing normal about it. Everything seemed magnified bigger than life. The trees soared hundreds of feet above her, their leaves greener than green. The setting sun was a ball of fire trailing across a lavender sky. The intensity was overpowering. But it wasn’t frightening. Not nearly as scary as the nearness of Alex.
Once again she experienced the heady mix of fear and excitement fighting for control, shimmering on the hot air. She’d never felt more alive.
She sensed Alex standing behind her, heard his breathing, slow and regular. Did she imagine the beating of his heart, or was it hers that pounded so loudly?
She didn’t have to turn around; she knew he was there. Then she looked at him over her shoulder, and he touched her hair lightly and ran his fingers along her neck. Her skin felt hot and tight, as if she was wrapped in a blanket of sensuality. She turned into his arms. His mouth found hers, and she flowed into the kiss.
There was no thought of breaking away, not even the slightest hesitation. She was where she wanted to be; this was what she’d been waiting for all day. This was what she’d wanted since the first time she’d seen him. His beard scratched her face, rough against her sensitive skin. But where the roughness ended, she felt the soft moistness of his lips. The sensation of the scratchy beard and the smooth mouth, eagerly pressing against hers, made Dana’s head swim. Then his hot tongue sought and found hers.
The kiss went on and on until she felt her legs grow weak. He held her up, and with his lips against her ear, breath warm and teasing, whispered, “Voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir, ma chérie?”
“Yes, yes. Oh, yes.” She felt like laughing and crying as all her emotions tumbled together.
Alex took her hand and led her to the tent. It was still spread out on the ground, unstaked. Together they knelt on it, locked immediately in another kiss. And as they kissed, their hands sought each other, frantically pulling at buttons and zippers.
Alex got her blouse off first, pulled down the straps of her bra and cupped her breasts with his strong, lean fingers. It was just as she’d fantasized. She guided his head to her breast and felt his lips on her taut, tingling nipple. A spiraling curl of passion swept through her, and she finished what she’d begun, tugging at the zipper of his pants until she touched his manhood. It was hot and throbbing against her hand. She held on, moving her fingers along its shaft.
His words came in short, harsh gasps. “Do you want to drive me wild, woman?”
“Yes,” she cried as he pulled off his pants and kicked them away. “Yes, I want you to feel as wild and crazy as I do.”
“Just watch me,” he said, drawing her on top of him and kissing her mouth, her face, her neck. He kissed one breast and then the other. At the same time he pulled at her shorts and panties and rolled over until he was on top. Then he worked his way down her body, licking, tasting.
Dana held her breath, waiting....
She felt him slide his tongue along her skin, nibble with his teeth on her hipbone and then lick hungrily in the warm curve inside her thigh. After a few seconds, his mouth, his tongue and even his teeth found the moistness between her legs. The pleasure he created was exquisite torture. Tremors of excitement danced through her and left her breathless. Out of control, she writhed beneath him, lifting her hips toward him.
Before she could catch her breath, gasp for air, he took her again in his arms and held her close, covered her with the length of his long, hard body. He kissed her throat, her chin, slipped his tongue inside her ear.
She dug her fingernails into the smooth muscles of his back, licked his neck, tasted his salty warmth, wanting to be closer to him, curl herself up beside him, inside him. She kissed his shoulder, nibbled and then bit down on him. Being close suddenly wasn’t enough. She wanted to mark him with her teeth and nails. To mark him and make him hers.
He felt pain from her branding and loved it. “You’re wonderful, Dana,” he said. His voice was low, hoarse, seductive against her ear. “I knew you would be.” He held her closer, crushing her against him. “I want you so much. I want to be inside of you.”
“Yes,” she said, “yes.” She caressed his hardness. “I want you, too.” Her voice sounded far away, floating on the waves of passion. She shifted in his arms and guided him inside.
He filled her, inch by inch, moving slowly at first, letting the pressure build until she felt she would explode. He looked down at her, his green eyes heavy-lidded, secretive, knowing. Then he began to move, matching his rhythm to her response, thrusting more deeply until she belonged to him totally, just as he belonged to her.
Dana lost herself in the aching, blossoming need. Nothing existed except their oneness and the intensity of the exquisite pleasure. His hands slid beneath her hips and lifted her, and she felt him at her very core. She arched toward him, opened herself to him, swept along toward the sweet joy of their union.
Ripples of pleasure cascaded over her, muscles tightened, released in shuddering climax
. She trembled in his arms, called out as she clung to him. And as she rode the waves of her ecstasy, she felt his tumultuous response to her, hot and wild, like the very land that had brought them together.
Dana smiled, a soft secret smile, and murmured the words she hadn’t dared to speak that night in the Stanley Hotel garden. “I came to find you, my love.”
* * *
BODIES DAMP with passion, limbs languid with lovemaking, they lay snuggled together, wrapped in the tent that was still spread on the ground. He’d wanted to put it up so they could crawl inside, but she hadn’t been able to let go of him long enough. She needed to stay close, locked in his arms, touching him, feeling his warm, pliant skin against hers.
They kissed again, softly and sweetly. “Any regrets, Dana?” His breath tickled her ear.
“Je ne regrette rien. Isn’t that what the French song says? Anyhow it’s true of me tonight. No regrets at all.”
“Not even the lack of a tent?” he teased.
“Nope.”
“Pretty soon the insects will be nibbling at you.”
“They already are,” she admitted. “I’ll let you put it up. But not yet. I want to hold on a little longer.”
He ran his fingers down her arm, and she shivered. “Cold?”
“With your arms around me? Never. I’m shivering with passion and desire and need. All those emotions I’ve read about but never felt. I’m afraid you’ve spoiled me for any other man.”
“Have I really done that?” he asked, cupping her breast and rubbing his thumb against her nipple. It hardened against his touch.
“Absolutely. You’re doing it now.” She closed her eyes, her face relaxed, softened, her smile content and sensual.
If she were a cat, she’d be purring, he thought. That contentment pleased him, just as her responsiveness excited him, her passion surprised and delighted him.
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