The new friends arrived at their accommodation; Kevin made everyone giggle immediately: to his dismay, he wasn’t allowed to sleep outside near all of the insects. Lucy and Charly grabbed beds next to each other; throwing their bags down with excitement. Heather and Lucas brought up the rear. Lucas was admiring the spectacular views and Heather had been struggling with the weight of her rucksack: she seemed to have half a supermarket aisle in there, with enough teabags for an entire population. The group was in the middle of unpacking when a smooth, deep male voice said, “Aren’t you going to introduce yourselves?”
At the deep, attractive voice, the girls spun round immediately. Less interested in the new appearance, the boys turned slightly slower. Before them, was an incredibly gorgeous man. Well over six feet tall, he had broad shoulders and visibly powerful arms and legs. His entire body seemed carved from sinewy lean muscle, which was an easy assessment to make as he was in only a pair of shorts and a vest. Reluctantly pulling her eyes away from his perfect washboard stomach, Lucy saw the man had the most striking green eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to shine and sparkle like no eyes she had seen before, reminding her of fine emeralds and diamonds. He smiled, running his fingers through his dark red hair, knowing the girls were checking him out. When he smiled, Lucy noted his teeth were perfectly pearly white, his canine teeth perhaps sharper than the average grin.
“Hi, I’m Lucy and this is Charly” Lucy said, as Charly bounced forward to shake his hand. “What’s your name? Are you from the other group? When did you get here? Are there many of you?”
“Woah, hold all the questions, Lucy! I’m Philip, 30 year old Sagittarius, my favourite colour is blue. I like eating seafood and travelling, dislike vinegar and standing in queues,” Philip teased. “Now, what were your other questions? I lost track.”
Kevin and Lucas laughed with Charly as Lucy looked momentarily embarrassed, despite her ear-splitting grin. Heather wasn’t there; she must have already gone for a walk.
“All joking aside, yes, I am with the other group. We just got here and I wanted to say hello and introduce myself. There are five others besides me in the other building. I wondered if anyone wanted to come for a hike. I’d love some company.”
Lucy readily agreed; she was desperate to explore the area and she could always unpack later, she couldn’t wait to see what was out there. The others decided to settle in and left Lucy to go with Philip.
Nobody from Philip’s group wanted to come either, it transpired, so the pair went alone. As they walked, they talked of other cultures. Lucy was impressed at his knowledge of other societies that did not stop at one continent; most anthropologists specialized in one area, but he was comfortable talking about Mayan culture, the Ndebele tribe and much more. It was as though he had lived their cultures, rather than just reading about them. Lucy felt intimidated at his vast knowledge at first but he soon put her at ease, telling her all about tigers. She learnt that around here, there would be Bengal tigers; the male paw being bigger in relation to its body than the female. She learnt to tell the difference with ease and made a mental note to talk about them with Heather later. She wondered why he was so interested in tigers; he claimed he was here to study the Monpa people like her, but he seemed to know an awful lot about the wildlife. Still, Lucy reasoned, she thought tigers were beautiful and hearing the information from him was interesting. She pushed the question from her mind and thought no more of it.
Soon, Lucy met with Philip every morning for a hike before breakfast. He contained his amusement as she unconsciously tried to be in front, to walk faster, and climb the rockiest terrain possible. He wanted to know why she was this way, why she pushed herself so hard and was so competitive. He didn’t want to pry too much though; after all, he had secrets of his own he didn’t want to reveal. Instead, he tried to pick up clues from her in conversation, silently storing everything he gathered in his brain.
As Lucy spent so much time leading the way during their hikes, Philip had several fantastic opportunities to check her out. He often ran an appreciative eye over her figure when she wasn’t looking and admired her independence and grit. He soon learned that she was not an emotional girly girl in the slightest. She cradled enormous spiders and shared the dirtiest jokes. She was thoughtful too, always on the lookout for things she could take back to make the others smile. They were lucky to have her. He was thankful she was on this trip too; the people in his group were terribly boring and he struggled to talk to them. He struggled to talk to anyone the way he spoke to Lucy; he really valued their friendship and time together. They spent time laughing at the blossoming romance between Charly and Lucas; they seemed perfect together in every way and complemented each other very well. Charly was tiny, bouncy and loud, Lucas was tall, funny and clumsy. They made a great pair and a great conversation starter; Philip asked every morning if he’d missed anything funny from the night before.
She never said so, but Lucy was also grateful Philip was there; he was a great conversationalist and was interested in her work, asking thoughtful questions about her degree and her plans for the future. He didn’t just nod vacantly at the answers either; he responded with insightful comments or observations from his own experiences. Lucy found Philip physically attractive, but she was aware he knew it. She only ever eyed his lean muscles when he wasn’t looking, for fear of flattering his ego further. She liked his experience with anthropology the most; she felt able to ask him questions of things she was unsure of. It seemed he had lived almost everywhere and he didn’t make her feel silly for not knowing. He praised her curiosity and interest in learning about other ways of life. She learned he was incredibly wealthy from a large share of inheritance he received, which enabled his trips around the world. As she had grown up comfortably, his money, didn’t interest or bother her in the slightest, which he found refreshing. They both saw money as an unfortunate necessity; needing it to get by, but not going out of their way to earn it. It made perfect sense to her that he had spent as much time as possible travelling; she would love to be able do the same and intended to stay away from England for as long as possible.
She liked passing on his knowledge to her new roommates; she told Charly of unexplored lands he mentioned; places he had never been but heard of, all with low levels of tourism. Charly loved this information and used it to plan the rest of her travels, hinting to Lucas that he ought to accompany her. Lucy brought rocks back from her hikes in the mountains, trying to tempt Lucas into joining her, although he never said yes. Lucy photographed interesting insects and spiders for Kevin to use in his research, giggling when he flicked through his camera to find her grinning, holding an enormous tarantula. Every day she would come back with an update for Heather; all Heather cared about was if Lucy had seen a tiger yet. Lucy had not and Heather spent a large portion of the day sat in her bed, reading. The rest of the group was beginning to become worried about her; they wanted her to have an amazing trip and not just visit Bhutan to read books.
Lucy’s favorite activity by far was bathing in the lake. Bathing and washing had always been incredibly relaxing for Lucy and it became her routine after breakfast each morning to walk back to their original camp and bathe in ‘her spot’. She loved the privacy and the view; relishing her daily dip. With each day that passed, Lucy forgot a little more of home. She didn’t realize that the last time she spoke to Rob or her family was the day she arrived: Her focus no longer on England, but on beautiful Bhutan.
Lucy drew sketches in the afternoon and pored over maps, trying to work out why villages had sprung up where they did. She loved figuring out details like this and felt a sense of satisfaction when she learned something new. She worked for many hours making notes, sketching and taking photos, wishing desperately she could go to a Monpa village. Damcho took pity on her and sometimes sneaked things out for her to photograph and document. She had seen some fascinating hunting equipment and love to see it in action, instead settling for documenting everything on camera. Damcho was a
fascinating man and he told her stories of growing up in Bhutan. She complimented his English; although he worked as a tour guide, he was the only one for miles as the tourism industry in Bhutan was almost non-existent.
Lucy was incredibly grateful to Damcho for everything he had done for her and the group. It was thanks to him that they all felt so comfortable and safe; the purple flowers were a strike of genius. There were not offensive or permanent and did not damage the beautiful natural habitats of Bhutan. She could not believe she was learning and having so much fun doing it. Being in Bhutan was Lucy’s idea of heaven on Earth.
3
One morning when the Lucy, Charly, Lucas, and Kevin awoke, Heather was missing. Kevin was particularly worried; he had now become the father of the group, always checking or fussing over something, wanting them all to be safe and happy.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine!” Charly reassured him. “She’s spent a lot of time inside since we got here. It’s good for her to have gotten some fresh air. I bet she’ll be back soon and everything will be right as rain.”
Almost instantly, Heather walked into their room, as if summoned by the mention of her name.
“Look at the wild flowers I picked, aren’t they lovely!” she said, showing off the bouquet in her hands. “I went for a walk today because I just needed to get out. I’m sorry if I’ve worried anyone, I thought I’d be back before you all woke up. These flowers have really brightened me up, they’re just so gorgeous!”
The others were quick to agree; they had felt she was perhaps homesick, so wanted her to keep the happy mood the flowers had given her. All of them were relieved she was safely back. Suddenly, Lucy spotted flashes of purple in with the flowers.
“Wait a minute, aren’t those Damcho’s flowers? The boundary markers?” she shrieked.
Heather faltered, not knowing how to reply. “I thought Damcho’s flowers were more of a blue… it’s been so long since I saw them. I’m so sorry everyone, I’m sure we’ll all be fine. I don’t think I went too far.”
Lucy rolled her eyes, instantly regretting it as Heather burst into tears. Sometimes she forgot that she was perhaps less outwardly emotional than other girls. She felt bad for upsetting Heather, but she was also furious that someone could be so stupid and inconsiderate. How could she forget what they looked like? Those flowers were their safety net.
“Heather, its fine. Please stop crying,” Lucy said flatly. She was growing more irritable as Heather’s racking sobs echoed through the room. “I’m going to speak with Damcho and let him know what happened. Honestly, please don’t cry, it won’t change anything.” With that, Lucy stomped out, grabbing her sturdy walking boots on the way.
She traipsed through the greenery, desperately hoping to see Damcho on his way to their dwellings. She wasn’t paying attention as she was walking; she was far too angry and impatient. If she looked where she was going, she would have seen stray purple petals on the ground, near a small neat patch of grass where the flowers used to be. Striding along, she thought she heard some rustling in the bushes. She turned and saw nothing. Must be the wind she thought.
Suddenly, a blur of tanned skin came running at her; yelling a garbled language she couldn’t understand. She screamed, not knowing why; she knew her screams would do nothing. For the first time in a long time, she was frightened; she rarely felt this way and didn’t know what to do. She tried to focus her attention, hoping to find a way of escape. She saw a man, dressed in brown robe-like clothing, was pursuing her. He had facial hair and a scar across his cheek.
THUD! She was against a tree, powerless to escape. She saw a knife in his hand. Closing her eyes, she willed it to be over quickly. Death. She never imagined this is how she would die. She felt an arm against her throat. Struggling for breath, she thought of all the regrets she had in life: not standing up to her father, not ending her relationship with Rob. Every moment was precious; she knew that now. She screwed up her face in anticipation. Several seconds passed; why had he not killed her yet? His arm was beginning to ease on her throat too. What was happening?
She risked opening one eye. Looking at her attacker, she saw his attention wasn’t on her at all. Opening the other eye she looked around frantically for help or means of a getaway. Her attacker looked terrified, but she couldn’t see why. His arm was completely by his side now; she could breathe again. Massaging her throat, she looked around. Something had paralyzed her attacker from fear; her survival instincts warned her not to run yet, there was more danger lurking. Sure enough, she was right. A tiger slinked into view, muscles flexing powerfully, staring at the man. The tiger was not looking at her at all. This close, she could appreciate how truly beautiful the animal was. Its sleek orange fur was a dark shade of auburn, reminding her of autumnal leaves in England. She saw burly muscular legs that screamed strength and power. She thought the tiger was elegant and graceful as it paced a circle around her and her attacker. Wow she whispered softly. This tiger was stunning already, but it had the most incredible eyes she had ever seen. Bright green and perfectly reflective, she became instantly unafraid. Those eyes and shade of green were familiar to her somehow; they reminded her of someone. She just couldn’t think whom. She became instantly unafraid, those emerald eyes silently communicating she would be okay.
She braved a step towards the tiger, an uncontrollable desire overpowering her, urging her to stroke soft fur. The tiger stilled as she touched it, enjoying the caress of her palm. The villager took his opportunity to run as fast as he could. The tiger gave chase; knocking the man over with ease. The tiger biffed the man across the cheek, marring the other side of his face. It grabbed the knife with its sharp, pointy, white teeth. Leaning over the man, the tiger growled menacingly. It was clear this was a warning; the man looked petrified. Allowing him to stand, the tiger stared, those green eyes burning into the man’s soul. He allowed the man to run away.
Lucy was now calm, her thoughts becoming more rational. She looked at the tiger once more. She knew from her conversation with Philip this was a Bengal tiger, probably male. She was transfixed on its eyes. Philip! That was who this tiger reminded her. It was those mesmerizing eyes. She felt her body tingle and tremble, instantly vowing to live her life to the fullest. She took a few tentative steps, watching to see if the tiger let her leave, never breaking eye contact. Dazed, she walked in the direction of their base, instantly vowing never to take life for granted again and live life to the full.
Back at camp, Damcho had arrived, worried for her safety after hearing about the removal of the flowers. She saw Charly, Lucas, Kevin, and Heather there with him. She relayed the story to them, leaving out her association with Philip; it sounded silly. Heather burst into rapid sobs once more as Lucy grabbed her towel. Lucy didn’t know how she felt, or what to think; but she knew she wanted to be alone for a while. Alone or with Philip. He had become her closest friend and ally in camp and she needed to let him know what happened.
As she headed off towards her usual bathing spot near the lake, Lucy tried to get her thoughts straight in her head. She felt strangely familiar and comfortable with the tiger. She was disgusted at herself when she realized she was aroused; she knew she wasn’t attracted to the tiger. It was more the thrill of being rescued. She thought of those eyes and instantly pictured Philip, her sexual arousal growing. She knew it wasn’t he that saved her, but she couldn’t stop the tingling sensation when she thought of the tiger’s eyes, his eyes. Growing hot at the thought of it, she sped up her pace and soon came to the bushes of the lake. Stripping off, she jumped in the water and plunged herself into its icy cold depths. The cold water didn’t have the desired effect; it didn’t stop her from thinking about Philip. She was now craving his touch, imagining him saving her. She wanted nothing more than her legs wrapped around his muscular waist. She thought about what she would have done if Philip saved her. She would taste every inch of him, her eyes never leaving his, thanking him with her mouth. She wanted him badly.
She groaned
as she swam to the edge of the lake, pulling herself out of the water. She caressed her thigh, as the tingling grew stronger. Reaching to touch the hot wetness between her legs, she stroked the slightly swollen bud of her clitoris, shuddering as her pleasure grew, picturing nothing but those piercing emerald eyes.
“Oh Philip!” she gasped and her excitement mounted. Her need was greater now than ever before; she desperately needed a release.
“Oh Philip, please!” she gasped again, pinching one of her dark pink nipples, willing herself closer to climax.
“Yes?” she heard an enquiring voice ask.
She shot up, still cupping her full, pert breast. It was Philip.
“Are you okay?” he asked, “I heard what happened.”
Lucy stood wordlessly, naked before the man she wanted like no other. Sexual desire burned from her stare into his soul. He could feel passion and lust radiating from her every pore. Philip hushed, feeling an erection growing at the sight of Lucy’s naked body. He could not tear his eyes away from the firm, womanly curves presented to him. He ravished her with his mind, his eyes feasting on her slim waist and her firm but tender breasts, quivering as her breathing grew heavy. He stared at her shapely legs and voluptuous backside, his lust rivaling hers as he imagined what he would do to it.
She stepped towards him, silently challenging him to match her; she had seen the bulge forming in his shorts and wanted him more than ever. He removed his clothes, as they continued to stare at each other. Overcome with lust and passion, Lucy remembered her earlier vow to life to its fullest. She stepped forward to kiss him, powerless as her yearning took over.
Philip reacted instinctively, grabbing her and balling her silky hair in his large first. Their tongues collided as their bodies touched; both growing hotter at the feel of skin on skin. Philip traced his fingers over her perfect chest, losing control of his rationality. He wanted her. He needed her. Lucy’s body responded, arching her back towards his touch, nipples hardening against his muscular chest. Their lips broke apart as her hand found his erection. As she stroked him, he threw his head back in pure, unadulterated pleasure. Their eyes met and she was instantly transported to being saved mere hours ago. She had to thank him, thank those eyes for what they had done earlier. Grinding her hips, she slid down his body, never breaking eye contact. As she looked up at him, she took his thick, hard member into her mouth. Running her tongue down its great length, she had never been so wet before in her life. She needed him; needed the pleasure she was giving him. She swirled her tongue over him, cupping and caressing his balls as he pulsed in her mouth. Neither spoke, only gasps and heavy breathing breaking their silence. They didn’t need to speak; their bodies said it all.
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