“You looked cute. I—” The crawl of heat started across his face and he returned to the subject at hand in a hurry. “We need to play on their natural superstition and maybe train some of the animals to keep up the pressure whenever needed.” Hell, he’d almost blurted out how much he cared for her. He didn’t want to look pushy or desperate. Man, this male-female stuff didn’t become any easier. Even with age on his side, confusion riddled him.
“Good plan,” Hinekiri said. “Meanwhile, I think we should go out on every available excursion—anything that helps us meet the locals.”
“And slyly drop a mention of local superstitions and hyena men into the conversation.” Damn, they made a great team. “You’d better show me how to operate those weapons we brought back with us. I’ll feel happier once we’re armed.” A real team who faced problems standing side by side.
“I’m a bit surprised we haven’t come across any Torgon.” Hinekiri sauntered into the bedroom. Richard followed, taking a second to admire the sway of her hips—a view he’d never tire of. She unzipped the bag they’d stashed the weapons inside and competently assembled a shiny silver gun-like thing while he watched. Sexy and intelligent despite the bimbo act she performed sometimes.
“Can I do the other one?”
“All yours, sailor.”
Richard followed suit, marveling at the lightness of the weapon. As far as he was concerned, alien races had plenty of good points going for them. They’d come a long way since the dangerous beings shown in Lost in Space.
“It’s the same as the gun Luke gave Janaya to use when we went to look for parts. There’s a safety there. That’s the trigger. Point and pull.”
“Seems simple enough. What’s our first tour this afternoon?”
“A Masai village. We can go for a night game drive later.”
Richard grinned. “The perfect place to put our plan into action.”
Chapter Twelve
The days slipped past so quickly that Hinekiri felt out of control. In a matter of days, they would leave Africa. She would leave Richard. A tight band formed around her chest and she had to gasp in order to breathe.
Killer nipped her on the back of the calf to get her attention. By the goddess, she would even miss the mischievous spotty creature and Killer’s faithful companion Harry. “Want beads for collar.”
“Where’s Richard?”
“He busy talking to Masai moran. Warriors,” the dog added. “Ask about fairytale of leopard women.”
“I know what moran means. I visited the Masai village too.”
“Beads,” Killer barked, her teeth flashing as she landed another sly hit.
She bent to pat Killer but actually wanted to ask more questions without drawing attention. “Has Livingston found out anything about Saturday? The poachers weren’t where we thought they’d be.”
Killer yipped in a peculiar doggy laugh. “Courting couple not go there again. Man turn white and lady scream for long, long time. Ears still ring.”
“Mine too,” Hinekiri added dryly. “That woman had a good set of lungs.”
“Livingston pleased. Ghost stories spreading. Animals not see many people at night.”
“That’s good. I hope the poachers strike in the next three days. We can’t stay any longer.”
“Livingston know we must go,” Killer said. “Harry sad when we leave.”
“Yeah, I know.” Hinekiri worked at putting on a brave smile despite the maudlin thoughts whirring around her mind. Of all the men in all the galaxies, why the fodo crap did she have to meet Richard? He’d changed her, made her feel better about being different. The male accepted her as is, courtesan tendencies and all. Not that she felt like grabbing the nearest male to ease the lonely ache inside anymore. Richard filled that spot admirably.
She gave Killer a final pat on the head, smoothing her hand over the creature’s soft fur, before standing. The daily mud roll and wash seemed to help with Killer’s purple problem. Her coat had dimmed to light mauve instead of bright purple. “Let’s mingle.”
Hinekiri squeezed between two tall Masai males. They were handsome people—tall and slender with dramatically stretched earlobes pierced with strings of colored beads. Most of the males had shaven heads and all wore cloaks in varying shades of red. Many carried slim walking sticks. Some had bare feet while others wore dusty shoes. Hinekiri grinned at a Masai wearing a red plaid cloak, white tennis shoes and a nifty straw hat.
“Beads this way,” Killer barked. She ignored the startled look from the Masai when he saw her color.
Hinekiri grinned. She’d noticed the surreptitious looks at Killer. Her color intrigued everyone. “Soon. We have work to do first.”
Killer cocked her head and wagged her tail. “Suppose you right.”
Hinekiri dodged a woman carrying a basket balanced on the top of her head and stopped to chat with a group of four ladies selling plantains, the green bananas that appeared regularly on the menu at the lodge. The closest woman smiled shyly. A huge gap showed where one of her front teeth were missing.
“You buy plantain?” A woman wearing a pristine white headscarf and a faded cotton blouse and skirt jerked her head toward a bunch of plantain.
“Not today,” Hinekiri said. “Just wanted to say hello. I believe your husband works at the lodge?”
The woman nodded. “In the kitchens. Pretty dog,” she said when she saw Killer.
“A special breed from New Zealand. Difficult to train. You wouldn’t want one. They’re a lot of trouble.” Hinekiri smothered her laughter at Killer’s indignant growl and changed the subject. “I heard your husband saw a hyena man when he checked the goats during the night.”
The woman’s face paled. Her friends started whispering together.
“I saw hyena ghost too,” one confessed.
“Oh how terrible.” A sliver of guilt wormed into Hinekiri’s mind. They were scaring innocent people. Even though it would make the animals safe, the ripples of fear would continue through the generations—if they did the job right. “Can you describe it?”
“It was huge.” The woman’s friends crowded closer, the whites of their eyes contrasting with their darker skin. “The creature was tall, much bigger than Isaac.”
“That Isaac, he big,” one of the women said with a trace of awe.
“The hyena man was bigger and his eyes glowed. Evil eyes. He peered through the dark at us with his big eyes. A curse whispered on the wind promising danger to all those who traveled the savannah at night. It sent a shiver down my spine.”
Hinekiri nodded. “What happened next?”
The women craned forward, their expressions varying from apprehensive to ghoulish interest.
“The hyena man let out a whoop-whoop just like a real hyena.”
The shy woman forgot herself and spoke. “Probably because he related to hyena.”
“Then another hyena man appear. Much, much bigger. Big glowing eyes. Teeth. Big and white.”
“Jocelyn, how do you see teeth so well if it was dark?”
Hinekiri bit back a smile. The description of the creature had grown in the telling. “It sounds frightening. What did you do?”
“Isaac and I ran inside and barred the entrance to our hut. It was very smoky inside with the entrance closed but it was safer than being outside.”
“I think the hyena men were after your goats,” one of the women said. “Did they take them?”
“No, that is the strange thing. While the hyena men were outside, the goats didn’t make a sound. They bunched together in their pen. We expected to find them slaughtered but they were still there in the morning.”
“That sounds terrifying. Has anyone else seen the hyena men?”
“My cousin and her husband have been kept awake by a large leopard near their hut. My cousin says she saw a leopard transform into a woman.”
“No!” said one of the women. “I don’t believe it.”
“It is true. The woman drifted above the ground. My
cousin said a cold shiver went through her body. She feared for her life.”
“Hmmm,” Hinekiri said. “That doesn’t sound good. If I were you I think I’d stay inside at night.”
“My family intends to stay indoors. It is the only way to keep safe.”
“Sounds like good advice,” Hinekiri agreed. “I want to buy some bracelets and necklaces to take home with me. Could you tell me which direction I should walk?”
“My cousin, the one who saw the leopard woman, sells beadwork. Walk past the man selling wood and the man selling goats. My cousin is the fourth beadwork lady. She is wearing a purple skirt and red blouse.”
“I’ll find her,” Hinekiri promised. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Plan work,” Killer barked when they walked past yet more plantain sellers, a large pile of tomatoes and another of potatoes. She stuck her nose in the air and ignored the loud comments about her light purple fur.
A youngster roasted peanuts in their shells over a brazier burner. He leaned over to blow and a shower of sparks flew across the coals. The boy used a wire scoop to remove the peanuts from the dish sitting above the coals. The distinct scent of roasting peanuts filled the air and his helper did a brisk trade with tourists and locals purchasing newspaper cones full of scoops of roasted nuts.
Hinekiri caught a glimpse of Richard chatting to a group of Masai standing around a small truck. They were loading the truck with supplies—sacks of grain and others that appeared full of red cloth. A bunch of plantains joined the purchases.
Richard glanced up at that moment and caught Hinekiri’s gaze. He acknowledged her with a smile and a wave. The moment seemed to freeze as they stared at each other. Her heart pounded and her breasts tightened against her silky bra and then people moved in front of him, blocking her view.
She loved him.
It hit her in that moment.
Hinekiri inhaled sharply, desperately needing air. She dragged in a second breath, her pulse rate jumping while her heart felt as though it had ridden in one of those super fast Earth elevators and landed somewhere south of her stomach. She swallowed, trying to lubricate a dry mouth and rid herself of the huge lump in her throat that threatened to choke her to death. The swallow did nothing. The lump grew, cold and icy, until it enclosed her chest with one big ache.
She loved him.
Courtesans didn’t fall in love, but somehow she had tripped and fallen. The horoscope was wrong and it was possible for her to love. Despite the budding joy, the realization kicked like one of the bitch-birds she’d discovered on Verox.
Nothing could come of their relationship.
They both had commitments elsewhere—their jobs and Richard had friends and family. She had her friends too.
She would have to leave as planned.
By the goddess, how was she going to leave him? Tears formed at her eyes and she turned away before she succumbed to temptation and blurted out her feelings. Goddess, it hurt now and she hadn’t even left yet.
“I see beads,” Killer barked. “Want multi-colored one and maybe another for special occasions. And another for present for Harry.”
Hinekiri ignored the chatter from the spotted creature and ambled over to the bead sellers. She smiled at the locals and decided she’d purchase some of the red material favored by the Masai for her fashion designer friend even as her heart ached and protested her decision to leave.
A group of youngsters crowded around a boom box. Music blared. The kids’ heads bobbed in time. The compulsive, toe-tapping reggae beat pumped through Hinekiri’s blood while the singer wailed about no woman, no cry. The tension in her chest magnified when she converted the lyrics to her point of view. No man, definitely cry.
The bead sellers sat on the ground with a cloth spread out in front of them, displays of their beadwork arranged on top.
“Hello,” Hinekiri greeted the plump woman sitting behind the first cloth. She plucked a beaded belt from a pile and decided her fashion designer friend would like a belt as well. “How much for the belt?”
The woman named a price that seemed reasonable to Hinekiri but she knew bargaining was expected. “Oh no. I can’t afford that many shillings. Will you give me a discount for five belts and a short belt for my dog to wear as a collar?” She named a fair price and waited for the counter negotiations.
“I can’t feed my children if I accept that price,” the woman said, a sad expression on her round face.
“Won’t have no children if hyena ghosts get them,” her neighbor stated.
“Have you seen the walking ghosts?” Hinekiri asked. “Everyone is talking about them at the lodge. I haven’t seen them. I would love to get an image to take home when I leave.”
“Better not seeing them,” the plump woman said. “Bad things. My children have nightmares.”
Hinekiri felt guilty at distressing undergrowns, but it was important to stop the poachers. “I thought they haunted at night?”
“My girl sneak out to meet boy at night. Her little brother followed to see where they go.”
Hinekiri sensed Richard behind her before she felt his touch on her shoulder. She identified his musky scent combined with floral soap. The male had taken a liking to her soap. He informed her it kept the bugs away.
“How’s the shopping going?”
“Fine. We were talking about the hyena men. This woman’s children have seen them.” Richard’s training of the hyenas had paid off. They were doing a fine job and under Livingston’s control, the timing was perfect. The locals would never know when the ghosts might show up and would gradually conclude it was safer to stay indoors at night.
“It’s a bad thing.” Richard’s sexy rumble reverberated through Hinekiri’s body heading for places south. A mild tingle sprang to life bringing to mind an afternoon nap with slow and lazy lovemaking.
Hinekiri decided to hurry things along and named a price for the belts just a fraction lower than the one the woman had declared.
“I accept. I must feed my children somehow.” The woman wrapped the belts in newspaper and handed them to Hinekiri.
Richard and Killer followed her around the rest of the bead stalls and waited patiently while she purchased items from each. She chatted to the cousin who had seen the leopard woman.
“What did it look like?” Richard asked.
“Big with head of leopard and body and legs of a human. It was the eyes that were scary.” The woman shivered and Hinekiri noticed the goose bumps that sprang to life along her bare arms. “The eyes were big as my fist and they glowed orange and red like fire.”
Once Hinekiri completed her shopping, and they fed the rumors regarding the supernatural beings prowling the savannah during the dark of the night, they headed back to the lodge.
Richard opened their cabin door and Killer marched inside.
“I take present to Harry,” Killer yapped. “Do ya have any food? Need steak first.”
Richard snorted. “Why don’t you dine at Harry’s burrow? It would be a hell of a lot cheaper.”
“Don’t like African food much,” Killer barked. “Get fur in teeth.”
“I think there’s still a doggy bag in the fridge.”
Something was wrong with Hinekiri. She hadn’t been her normal cheery self during the last two days. Once Killer left, he’d talk to Hinekiri. Hell’s bells. Listen to him. He was considering talking to a female willingly. Emotional, touchy-feely stuff. Shit, he had it bad for her.
Hinekiri walked over to the compact fridge in the kitchenette, her shoes squeaking on the tiles. Richard watched her each step of the way—the gentle sway of her lips, the display of slender, tanned legs and the luscious curve of her ass beneath the khaki shorts. His. A man would be a fool to let a woman like Hinekiri get away. A courtesan. Hell, she was no more a courtesan than he was King Tut.
“Steak.” Hinekiri unwrapped the hunk of cooked meat they’d saved from the briar cookout last night. She placed it on the tiled floor, using the wrapping as a dinne
r plate.
“Hungry,” Killer growled.
Richard left the dog to its dinner and walked through to the bedroom, mentally willing Hinekiri to join him. If he had his way, they were going to have a little bonding session of their own.
The bedroom reminded him of Hinekiri even though she wasn’t present. She’d left her favorite rainbow-colored robe, now his favorite since he’d discovered the nifty see-through panels, strewn across a cane chair. In the bathroom, several pots of mysterious feminine cosmetics and perfumes covered the surface of the vanity. The faint scent of her soap and potions perfumed the air.
Richard unbuttoned his shirt and cast it aside. It fluttered on top of Hinekiri’s robe and he decided he liked the way that looked, the display of intimacy. He kicked off his leather sandals and his shorts hit the ground followed by his boxers. Richard stretched out on the bed and waited for Hinekiri. A pleasant hum of sensual awareness pulsed through his body, tightening his gut and making his cock stiffer than one of the bed legs.
“Richard?”
“In here,” he called.
Hinekiri appeared in the doorway.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Come here. Please.” It was hard to believe another male hadn’t snapped her up years ago.
“Well, hello, sailor,” she purred. “I thought you’d be wanting a nap instead of little old me.” She dropped onto the mattress beside him. They kissed with slow familiarity. Lips sipped and tasted. Tongues explored with lazy strokes. Gradually, the heat built between them.
Richard brushed her ear with his mouth. “Age is an attitude, sweetheart. There’s nothing old about you, and since I’ve met you, I have a new lease on life.”
Her gaze drifted across his groin. “I can see that, sailor.”
He kissed her again, taking the time to explore the sensitive inner surfaces of her mouth. He wanted to imprint himself on her so she’d never forget how they were together.
“I love you, Hinekiri.” There! He’d admitted it—the words that had tickled the tip of his tongue for days. He traced her face, her lips with his gaze, feeling as though a burden had lifted from his shoulder—a weight called cowardice. “I love you.”
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