Page 79 of In the Heat of the Jungle

Leigh needed to coax him to confide in her. “I know, Jace.” She murmured. “It won’t be long.” She drew his head down and kissed him.

Wounded hearts, troubled minds, yearning souls, and hungry bodies craved contact and solace. They clung together in urgent need. They kissed until both were breathless and aflame, then yanked off their garments and sank to the bedcover on the jungle floor.

Jace worked skillfully and leisurely to arouse her, to dispel her tension and doubts. His tongue darted into and out of her mouth and across her lips. He nibbled at her ear lobes, his hot breath enlivening her senses. His mouth slipped down her throat, halting at her pulse point to absorb her reaction to him. His lips brushed her collarbone, then moved down her cleavage to encircle the base of each firm mound. With tantalizing and stimulating slowness, he traveled up one breast to moisten and arouse the rosy-brown peak. When his mouth relinquished the taut point, his forefinger and thumb caressed it while he labored at the other peak. One hand drifted down her stomach, caressing every inch of her quivering body along its journey.

Jace’s fingers stroked her inner thigh, moving closer and closer to her womanly domain. He felt her trembling in need, suspense, anticipation, and pleasure. His mouth recaptured hers as his hand covered the center of her desire. There, he intoxicated her until she moaned and writhed. His searing kisses and artful caresses drove her wild. She willingly and eagerly surrendered herself to him. He was determined to become her only reality, to make himself unforgettable, irresistible. He was resolved to titillate her fierce yearnings and to kindle her smoldering desires until her body pleaded for appeasement and her heart loved only him, until she was unable to ever part with him.

Leigh’s mouth fused with his, exploring and tasting the sweet desire within him. He held her so tightly that she could hardly breathe, but she didn’t care. Her fingers played in his hair, across his back, along his arms, and down his neck. Every inch of her body tingled and burned. She let her responses tell him she was willing to be conquered and claimed by him, and him alone. She was enslaved to him. Her hand slid down his side and her fingers grasped the prize that could drive her mindless. She stroked it, relishing its warmth and smoothness. “Please, Jace,” she entreated him.

Jace moved atop her, and she greeted his arrival with blazing surrender. Her hands wandered up and down his strong back, savoring the feel of his rippling muscles as he labored to sate them. The stimulating sensations were overpowering and wonderful. By instinct her body responded to him. Engulfed by fiery desire, her mouth almost savagely meshed against his and her tongue danced provocatively with his. Her body arched upward over and over, and she seductively wriggled closer to his enticing frame. Wanting and needing him as close and deep as possible, she wrapped her legs around him and clutched him possessively.

Jace increased his pace and force, driving them onward toward rapture. He expertly guided her through the tangled jungle of desire, up the summit of pleasure, and carried them down the other side of the blissful mountain. As he trekked, he was patient and gentle, passionate and tender, taking and giving, pushing his self-control and stamina to their limits. His mouth rested upon hers, then his lips roamed to her neck. “You’re mine, Leigh, all mine,” he murmured into her ear at the height of their joy. He clasped her to him and rolled to his back, carrying her atop him. His mouth continued to savor her kisses and his fingers stroked her wet back and drifted into her damp hair. In time, his heartbeat returned to normal.

The ecstatic climax left them weak and shaky. They were exhausted but content. It had been a journey beyond description, beyond comparison, beyond any previous pleasure. Sweat rolled down their sides. The scent of lovemaking hung heavy in the imprisoned air.

Leigh nestled her face to his chest, uncaring that it was soaked from his exertions and the tropical heat. Heavens, she loved this man. She never wanted to be parted from him. She wanted to be his wife, the mother of his children, his partner, his friend, his lover.

“You don’t know what you do to me, Leigh.”

She hugged him tightly. “I know what I hope I do to you; I hope I make you want me more than anything else in your life.”

“Is that how I affect you?” he asked, his voice hoarse and husky.

“Yes,” she admitted, then kissed him with yearning.

Neither asked probing questions, and neither offered answers to unspoken ones. Neither wanted to force a confrontation now; each wanted trust and a commitment to come willingly. Perhaps all they needed was more time together. Yet each felt hurt and denied, as they had failed to touch completely tonight.

~*~

While the safari party was concealed in tall grass, a band of hyenas raced by on their way to seek sleeping cover after their night of feeding on carrion. The carcass eaters reeked of rotten flesh and the stench of death.

Leigh felt queasy and held her nose for a time.

“They trail lions mostly,” Jace whispered, “cleaning up after them. Sometimes they shadow pregnant animals so they can gobble up the newborn before its skin is dry from birth. Most people think the hyena is a coward, but he isn’t. He can be ruthless and skilled on a hunt. You don’t want one to bite you. His jaws and teeth can devour bone as easily as tender flesh. Some tribes leave their dead out at night for those scavengers to bury in their bellies, especially if the person died of a terrible disease and the natives don’t want to touch the body. By allowing the hyenas to devour the dead, some natives believe a person’s spirit can inhabit the animal and be reborn.”

Leigh knew there were scavengers in the human kingdom, people who would consume other people, particularly the weak and helpless. Jace had teased her once to beware of “predators like me.” She hoped and prayed that’s all he was, and not a skulking scavenger.

The trek for lion continued. At the edge of the last savanna before it swept into foothills, they saw numerous herds of migrating wildebeest. Among them were the ever-present zebra and gazelles. Some herds seemed to stretch for miles on the grasslands, reminding Leigh of what the buffalo must have done long ago on the American plains. An occasional tree offered a few animals shade from the blazing sun. Although peril was never far away, the creatures seemed content to graze and browse peacefully. Yet predators had followed the herd from Tanzania into British East Africa.

A pack of spotted wild dogs—the wolves of Africa, Leigh was told—were closing in on a solitary wildebeest. To her, the wild dog favored the hyena. But, as Jace explained, it was very different.

He motioned to the pack. “There’s a bloodthirsty killer for you. A pack will challenge a full-grown and healthy wildebeest. Usually there are five to twenty running together. The wild dog has speed, stamina, and intelligence. They take turns running their quarry to tire it. If the creature falters or doesn’t get back to the protection of the herd, like that big boy, they’ll rip his flanks and belly open.”

Despite her revulsion, Leigh watched the tragic, but natural, sight. The black-and-brown killers had white-tipped tails and broad muzzles. They were sturdy and determined. Large ears were cocked to catch all sounds of the area and signals from the group. As with a wolf pack, the dogs relentlessly pursued their large prey.

Jace continued, “They offer more danger to the migrating herds than lions, cheetahs, and leopards put together. Watch how they close in on that bull when he fatigues and is forced to make a stand.”

Leigh witnessed the beauty, intrigue, and horror of nature. The pack streamed after the wild beast, nipping viciously at it. At last, it halted and challenged its attackers with ineffective horns.

“He’s twisting and turning to protect his flanks and belly. Once a pack separates its quarry from cover and help, they usually succeed with the kill. Those teeth are like sharp knives; it’ll be over soon.”

Leigh wondered if one of the human male beasts with her was trying to separate her from the cover and aid of the other. Presently she felt like secluded prey, helpless and vulnerable and afraid. She felt as if two predators were nipping viciously at her flanks and innards. She had, as the wildebeest, grown exhausted and been compelled to take her last stand. If only her beloved Sir Lance—

“Let’s move out,” Jace ordered, tugging at her arm to pull her back to reality. “Did that scene disturb you?”

“A little. Brutal killing should, shouldn’t it?”

“I would be stunned if it didn’t. Out of ignorance and hunger, that animal made the mistake of getting too far from safety. As you can see, risks and recklessness cause trouble.”

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