Rio woke to the feel of Rachael's tongue lapping at his morning erection. Her mouth was hot and teasing, her tongue playing over him, her teeth sliding gently, wickedly. For a moment she sucked him deep into her throat and he groaned, lifting his hips, helpless in her thrall. His eyes weren't even open and she was cupping his balls; he was already rock hard with her ministrations. He lifted his lashes to watch her. She looked like a contented cat, pleased and stimulated, her silken hair tumbling in curls around her face. She knelt between his legs, her beautiful derriere raised and keeping time with the lapping of her tongue. Her breasts were full, nipples erect. He watched his body slide in and out of her mouth, glistening wet, growing thicker and harder as he began to thrust forward and withdraw. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He meant to say it, but the words came out somewhere between a groan and a husky whisper. She did things with her tongue and teeth and her sinful mouth that drove him out of his mind.
She pulled her hot mouth away and replaced it with something cold and wet and sticky. Rachael smiled as she teased him with a ripe mango fruit, sliding it over and around him, thoroughly dripping the nectar over his bulging erection. He didn't think he could get any harder or thicker, but she managed it. "Good morning. I thought you could use breakfast." She handed him the fruit and went back to licking, this time teasing with her tongue as she tried to retrieve every drop of juice.
Rio stared at her dumbly, shocked to find the mango in his palm. He lay back and took a bite of the juicy exotic fruit. It ran down his chin but he was too caught up in watching Rachael enjoying herself. There couldn't be another woman like her on the face of the earth. He found everything about her sexy, especially the way she enjoyed his body. She was proprietarial about it, as if his body belonged to her and she could do whatever she wanted. And right now she wanted to sit astride him.
Rachael didn't wait. Rio had suckled her breast on and off while she dozed, had pushed his fingers deep inside of her, keeping her wet and on edge and in need. He could do something about it now that he was awake. She'd been patient enough. She knelt over him and slowly lowered herself over his burgeoning penis.
He gasped as he felt his body push its way into hers. She was tight and hot and slick all at the same time. She wanted control and he gave it to her, eating the mango she'd given him while she began a slow, sensual ride. Her breasts jiggled with invitation as she picked up her rhythm, sliding up and down him with obvious relish. He dripped some of the juice over her breast, watched it run over the swell to the tip of her nipple. He leaned forward and caught it lazily with his tongue. His body was on sweet fire, and if she wanted to play he could oblige.
She opened her mouth. Rio fed her a bite, watched her chew as her body slid over his. Rubbed his with heat and fire. She licked his finger, her tongue curling around him in a sexy, explicit manner. He closed his eyes and groaned. He couldn't take much more. She seemed in no hurry, simply pleasuring herself and him at a leisurely pace. The pressure started slow, he didn't even notice it at first, but then it began to lick at his skin, tighten his muscles and put every cell in his body on alert.
He tried to thrust upward to meet her body, but she glared at him and he stopped. A flush spread over her skin until she glowed. Her breath came in small gasps and her nipples tightened. She reached almost blindly for Rio's hands. He had enough sense to take the last bite of mango and catch her, bracing her while she rode hard, grinding against him, bringing both of their bodies to a fever pitch. He met the rhythm of her ride, thrusting into her, bringing the last exquisite peak to them. They finished together, a whirlwind of pounding blood and rockets.
Rachael laughed happily and leaned forward to lick the juice from his chin. "You're a sticky mess. Luckily we have the tub still here."
"With cold water," he felt compelled to point out.
Her smile widened into a mischievous grin. "Well, I did heat it up a bit while you slept. It wasn't that difficult."
"You heated up bathwater for me? And I slept right through it? I never do that. I wake up at the slightest sound. You're ruining me, woman." No one had ever heated up bathwater for him. It was a tedious task. It had to be done on the gas stove if the fireplace wasn't lit. She had obviously spent a great deal of time on the task. Happiness burst through him like the sun rising.
"I hope I'm ruining you. What a marvelous concept." She collapsed, lying partially on top of him, her soft breasts mashed against his chest. He could feel her there, a part of him, taking over his heart and lungs, even his life, until he couldn't breathe without her. "Are you going to tell me what happened, Rio?" Her fingertips brushed at his hair, slid over his face, made every muscle in his stomach clench tightly. Her voice was very gentle. Her eyes too compassionate.
Rio tried a casual shrug. "It was a mission, just like every other." He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want her to ever see him the way the elders had. Stripped naked of all pride. Vulnerable. His life in their hands. Their disgust. Their betrayal,--or maybe it was his. He honestly didn't know.
"Not like every other," Rachael persisted. "What was different about this one?"
He wanted to push her away. He wanted to shift shape and run free in the forest. The urge was on him wild and strong, a rush of fur rippling as his muscles contracted, crackled and snapped.
"Oh no you don't," Rachael flung her arms around him. "You stay with me. I'm not about to let you escape. This is too important."
It was ludicrous to think she could hold him. His strength was enormous, but she was looking at him with her large, liquid eyes and he couldn't bear to break her heart. Better his than hers. He tried to shrug casually, difficult when she was clinging like a monkey. "Joshua told me Drake was shot. I tried to get information, couldn't raise anyone on the radio. Two men tried to ambush Joshua and I had no choice other than to take them out." He looked away from her. She saw too damned much with those eyes of hers. "I killed them."
She said nothing, but her hand slipped into his.
"I had to get Joshua across the river and back to the village where there was medical help. I field dressed his wounds, but he lost too much blood and needed immediate attention."
"What happened?" She knew there was far more to the story than the bare bones he was giving her.
"Tomas and his men caught us at the river. I'd left Josh in a tree, hoping to get him across before Tomas caught up with us. I didn't want to take the chance with his open wounds in the river. If I stumbled, he could get a major infection." A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "Unfortunately, I didn't have any of Tama's famous green gunk to smear on him."
"So you left him in the tree and went to do what?"
"I have a pulley and sling I sometimes use for the cats, especially if the current is strong. I went to retrieve it, but Tomas showed up. I winged a couple of his men, forcing him to get them medical aid."
"But he left someone behind."
Rio sat up and pushed his hands through his dark hair. "A bath sounds good."
She took his hand and tugged. "Come on then. Get in and I'll wash you, like you did me. It felt delicious."
Rio stretched and padded across to the small closet that passed for the bathroom. He wasn't going to tell Rachael he preferred the jungle. After his performance at dawn, she very well might think him entirely uncivilized. Rachael was making him coffee when he returned.
"You're spoiling me."
"I hope so." She frowned at the marks on his body. "Leeches? Did those nasty little things manage to get on you again?"
"I was laying in the bog, waiting for my shot. They go for body heat."
She grinned at him and pushed him toward the tub. "Well, we both know you have plenty of heat."
He sank into the steaming water. Her hands went to his shoulders, soapy, sliding as she massaged the aches away. "Tell me what happened to upset you, Rio."
She was standing behind him, her hands wielding magic on his sore muscles. It was far easier to talk about it when he wasn't
facing her. "I took him to the village. It was a long, difficult journey lugging Josh. Half the time I was afraid he was dead and the other half I knew I was hurting him. I didn't have time to change into clothes so I had to go through the shrubbery bare."
"That's where all the scratches and cuts came from. Why did you shift?" She kept her voice curious, careful not to sound judgmental or accusing.
"To get back across the river before the man left behind spotted Joshua."
Rachael kept kneading the tight muscles in his shoulders. He had made a third kill and wounded others. It had been a bad night. She remained silent, leaning down to brush a kiss on the top of his head.
"I don't know what happened, Rachael. I guess I was tired. I don't care what the elders think of me. I knowingly broke our rules. I accepted the consequences. I live with the banishment and it's never made me feel less of a human being."
Her hands stilled on his shoulders. Something frightening bubbled in the pit of her stomach. "You carried Josh home and they said something mean to you?"
"They don't speak to me. They don't look at me. I'm dead to them. If they happen to look my way, they look through me. If I spoke, if I had tried to tell them what happened to Joshua, they wouldn't have heard me."
"Those bloody bastards," she hissed.
Her swearing startled him. Not just her swearing but her choice of expletives. "That doesn't sound like South America to me." He turned his head to look at her, a small grin on his face because she could take the sting of the elders' rejection away with a few choice words.
"I went to school for a year in England. You'd be surprised the things you pick up," she said and rubbed shampoo into his hair with a little too much vigor. "I'd like to have the chance to meet these wise elders of yours. Greedy little vultures with their hands out and you doing the risky jobs. What about the men you work with?"
If she rubbed any harder she was going to take his scalp off. "Most of them live away from the village and of course we talk. You saw Drake. It's better for them if they don't advertise we're friendly because technically they're breaking the rules. I guess if the elders can't see it, they don't mind it."
"Sanctimonious bastards."
He caught her wrist gently. "I'm going bald, sestrilla. I can't afford the hair loss. I have a woman now and she's very edgy about certain things."
She smacked the top of his head with the flat of her hand. Soap bubbles flew everywhere, making her laugh. "I'm not in the least edgy. It's just that these idiot elders..."
"Wise elders," he corrected and hastily ducked under the water before she could smack him again. He stayed low while she massaged the soap out of his hair. When he came up she made a sound of complete disgust.
"I don't know who gave them that title. Most likely they did. In any case, are you telling me that you hauled that man through miles of forest and those men didn't even say thank you?"
"Normally it doesn't bother me. It really doesn't. But standing there with Joshua's blood all over me and my feet hurting like a son of a gun, I felt like a kid again. I felt ashamed of my actions, my lack of control, the terrible thing inside of me that won't forgive the one who killed my mother. And I wasn't certain I could forgive them, and still don't know if I have. Not one of them said they were sorry for her death. I felt like I mourned her alone. I felt rage and I felt shame. Damn it, Rachael, I hated that."
"They're the ones who should be ashamed with their no forgiveness." There was a fierce, protective instinct welling up in her. "They don't know the difference between good and evil. They aren't very wise."
"And you do?" He lifted an eyebrow at her.
Outside the birds shrieked and several monkeys screamed a warning. Rio stood up, the water pouring off of him. He turned his head alertly toward the door, taking the towel she handed him. "You need clothes on, Rachael," Rio said. "Company's coming and coming fast."
"I thought you said I didn't need clothes and I had to get over my civilized inhibited ways."
Her voice teased his senses, whispered over his skin like a silken glove. She made life worth living. He caught her hair gently, tugged her head to him and fastened his mouth to hers. He was instantly, ravenously hungry all over again. "You're killing me, sestrilla, I'm not going to survive. I don't think I have the stamina."
She laughed softly and flung her arms around him, holding him to her as if he were the most precious thing in the world. She peppered kisses all over his face. "You do just fine. I need to start cooking for you, build up your strength."
He couldn't stop his roving hands from sliding down her back, shaping the curve of her hip, cupping her bare buttocks. Rio allowed himself the luxury of burying his face against her soft throat. Love filled him up, burst out of him, a tide he couldn't stem, but he couldn't find the words to say it without choking. He held her, feeling her alive and warm and real in his arms. "Damn it, Rachael." His voice was gruff as he pushed her way, holding her at arm's length. "You're turning me into a poodle."
Her entire face lit up, her dark eyes laughing, her mouth curved and soft and beautiful. He ached to kiss her again, but tossed her a pair of jeans instead. "Stop laughing at me and put your clothes on."
"A poodle? Have you ever seen a poodle?" She finger-combed her hair, grinning at him. "I have the hair, maybe we can make a match." The sunlight pooled around her, soft rays that barely filtered through the canopy but found her, were drawn to her in the same way he was drawn. She looked radiant, filled with joy.
He had been so filled with pain and shame and anger the night before. In a few hours of bliss, she had shaken his world, turned it so that he could only feel joy and laughter and a paradise of pleasure. "You're tempting me, woman, and I'm going to throw you back in that bed."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "I doubt if I'm in any danger when you were just complaining about stamina. Wimpy male."
He tackled her, driving her back onto the mattress, throwing his body over hers. She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. He pressed his erection against her, rubbing back and forth to show her what stamina was all about. Rachael didn't seem very impressed, laughing until he stopped her with his kisses.
The whoop, whoop of warning by the birds just outside on the railing of the verandah forced him to leave the temptation of her body. She lay on the bed, laughter fading into a smile as she looked at him. Something about her mysterious, feminine smile set his heart pounding.
Deliberately she began to pull his jeans slowly up her bare legs, wiggling to bring them over her hips and bare bottom. She left them open, exposing the triangle of tiny black curls. She stood there with her bare breasts thrusting toward him invitingly. "I can't find my shirt."
His mouth was dry. "You shameless hussy. You're deliberately provoking me." His fingers crushed the material of the shirt, his gaze drinking her in.
"Is it working?"
"Damn right it is. Put the shirt on before we shock poor Kim."
Rachael looked alarmed. "Kim? The guide?" She held out her hand for the shirt.
He held the shirt to his chest. "Come and get it."
Rachael went without hesitation, one arm sliding around his neck, pressing her breasts against his chest while her other hand slipped between his legs and began to caress and dance and cup him right through the material of his jeans. Her lips were at his throat, tongue swirling in a small, deliberate caress. Rio rocked against her hand, wanting her all over again with such an urgency it was as if he'd never once made love to her. Or as if his body remembered every magical moment and was obsessed.
Franz coughed a warning. Rio groaned and dragged the shirt around her, buttoning it quickly. It was the only safe thing to do. Barefoot, he pulled her with him onto the verandah to wait for their guest.
Rachael looked down to see Kim climbing the tree. He wasn't as fast or as efficient as Rio, but he was sure and steady. He gained the lower branches and made his way up to them.
"What brings you so far from home?" Rio greeted.
> "My father sent me with news and I wanted to tell you about the man from the church group who was missing." Kim smiled at Rachael. "You look so much better, Miss Rachael. How is your leg?"
"It's far better, Kim. I see you're looking good. I hate to admit this, and let's not tell your brother, but his green gunk works."
Kim nodded seriously, willing to be a conspirator. "Tama is renowned for his healing skills. It was foul-looking though, wasn't it?" He exchanged a smile of understanding with her.
"Which man got away from the bandits?" Rachael asked.
"The one called Duncan Powell."
She remembered Duncan well. He stayed to himself a lot, but was always extremely polite. "I hope he managed to get away safely."
"That is what you both need to know. The man who escaped on his own from Tomas was one of your kind, Rio. He shifted into the form of a cat and mauled a guard, escaping into the forest. None of Tomas's people spoke of it, but two of the church group saw the shadow of the leopard on the rocks. They said they saw the guard ripped up and it had to have been a large cat."
"The men are very superstitious," Rio explained to Rachael. "They believe that the bigger cats are deities. Leopards are rare in these forests, so seeing one, especially attacking a guard at night, means many things to them. Unfortunately, it will also bring poachers here. The attack will most likely be talked about and the incident will grow into multiple incidents and the gossip will be we have a man killer on our hands." Rio sighed and pushed his hand through his hair. "Damn that idiot anyway. He could have gotten out of the camp without being seen and no one would have been the wiser."
"The guard had beaten him," Kim said.
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