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  Carlos glanced up, expectantly. The hazel eyes were disconcerting on someone so dark.

  "Melanistic,” she said, ill at ease, “young, watching from the tree line.” Antonio would bring up the cat.

  His scrutiny made her squirm. “I know this cat. He is shy of people—not dangerous. Still, fortunate for you he wasn't hungry."

  Beth nodded, praying he didn't question her further. She couldn't take much more of that intense regard without melting to her seat.

  Sitting back with her coffee, she held her other questions and left them alone to eat their now-cold breakfast. Her gaze kept returning to Carlos. More often than not, he was glancing her way out of the corners of his eyes while savoring each bite as though it was fois gras and truffles instead of eggs and bacon.

  When his tongue slid out to clean a bit of egg from the corner of his mouth, her eyes fixed on his movement, hypnotized by the act of bringing food to his lips, pausing to smell, sliding the fork between his teeth slowly, relishing every morsel. And with each bite, it seemed, he glanced her way. Until, after one of those bites, his gaze lingered and the expression on his face made her feel like his next.

  Her dream lover's hungry kisses stared back at her. Embarrassed to have been caught gawking, Beth picked up her tray and left.

  * * * *

  The following morning, they all met at the Jeep after an early breakfast. The faded light of dawn had just begun to seep through the canopy.

  "You have all brought something for getting wet?” Carlos reminded them. Carter told him these four had arrived only two weeks ago and had not traveled as far from the compound as he had in mind. Many things needed to be taken into account when hiking a jungle trail. The unremitting dampness was one they'd have to get used to, but this morning's trip included a soaking. “There is no electric dryer where we are going."

  Each nodded his assent as they piled into the Jeep. The one called Kate brazenly opened her shirt to show him the swimsuit she had on beneath, then laughed at his surprise.

  He returned her smile. He was not so out of his element that he'd misinterpret a bit of playfulness. The disorientation he'd lived with since walking into the compound yesterday had begun to fade—except around Beth.

  Carlos slid behind the wheel and paused, staring at the unfamiliar configuration on the dash. “What is all this?” he muttered, already unsure his foot would remember how to use a clutch after so long. He didn't need all these dials and gauges.

  Beth leaned over him from the back seat and started naming them all.

  "All you need to worry about is RPMs and fuel,” she said. Her hand gently gripped his shoulder. One supple breast grazed his upper arm. Hot breath brushed his cheek. When he turned to her, she met his eyes with a smile. “You do know how to drive, don't you?"

  The scent of vanilla and heat wafted over him. He swallowed and turned back to the wheel.

  "Sure.” How could he resist a woman as willing as this? He couldn't quite remember why he should want to.

  The Jeep slipped into gear with little effort and took off with only a few lurches, then smoothed out. Now all he had to accomplish was to stay on the road. He could handle that.

  Even in the half-light of dawn, her presence in his peripheral vision distracted him. Every time her gaze fell on him, its heat seared the back of his neck. And she watched him constantly, as she had all day yesterday.

  Last night, her scent had carried to him across the compound. With his man's intellect, Carlos resisted the temptation to cross to her room and take what he wanted, but the cat—well, the cat had his own thoughts on the matter. Carlos dreamed of her again, but woke unsatisfied and restless this morning.

  Even now that scent tore at his mind as all the blood rushed to his groin. Better not to look, but knowing her eyes were on him, and knowing her scrutiny to be the source of her heat, made looking unnecessary. She wanted him, and unless she did something to change his mind, he would not be able to resist her for long.

  Perhaps he should take what she offered and hope in the end only his heart suffered.

  The road ended two hours from the camp. They proceeded on foot. The four were not quiet walkers. Though they kept their voices low, the constant chatter drowned the peaceful sounds of the jungle and raised the raucous cries of angry howlers.

  They reached the ford by ten as planned.

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  TRES

  "We will cross here,” Carlos said.

  Beth regarded the rope spanning a narrow part of the river with more than a little trepidation. Apparently, they were supposed to wade across using the stretched and worn line for leverage.

  "Is this s-safe?” she stammered. She was the shortest and smallest of them. Picking up a twig, she tossed it into the middle of the deceptively calm stream and watched it sweep away in the current. “There has to be another way."

  "Nothing in the forest is without risk, colibrí,” he said. “The water is little more than waist deep. I've crossed here many times. There is a rope bridge six kilometers upstream. We'll use it coming back, but Carter said you must take readings at noon. We will not reach the site in time if we try to walk that way."

  She hadn't heard him string so many words together in the two days since he'd shown up at the compound. Soft and low, melodic, with the hint of a purr, his voice flowed over her, harmonizing with the murmuring of the water until it seemed as much a part of the forest as the bird and insect song.

  He called me hummingbird. At the moment, Beth thought she might follow Carlos Elizandro anywhere.

  "Well, I'm game,” Kate said and began unbuttoning her blouse where she stood.

  Beth moved behind a tree for at least the illusion of privacy while removing her shirt. She folded it into her small daypack to keep dry. They all wore quick-dry shorts, but the bathing suit would be more comfortable than a wet T-shirt.

  Carlos took the ford first, striding through the current with apparent ease. The muscles in his back rippled as he tugged and pulled to test the strength of the rope. Among the three men, they'd keep the lead taut for the others to cross.

  Kate followed Carlos. Her confident stride took her into water midriff-deep until, about halfway across, the current redoubled. She moved more cautiously. Gripping tightly with both hands, she leaned against the force of the water for about three meters, then strode through the shallows and did a little victory dance in the mud on the opposite bank.

  The crossing took longer than Beth had anticipated.

  Sam grabbed her pack. She tossed him nervous thanks and waded in.

  The water was surprisingly warm, but dragged at her legs so her muscles strained in unfamiliar ways with each step. By the time she moved into the midstream flow, the water reached her breasts. She froze.

  With only one foot in the current, she already recognized the unsteady hold it had on the rocks. Kate's extra height and fifteen kilos would come in handy right now.

  She paused a moment, considered asking for help. Thought better of it—by the time one of the men reached her, she could be on the solid ground of the other bank with her pride intact.

  One more step. Her legs flew out from beneath her, and she went under.

  Beth clutched the lead, holding on for her life.

  The rope stretched under her weight as the current dragged her legs downstream. She hung on. Forget trying to get her feet on the ground, she needed to breathe.

  The surge of water tore at her hold on the rope and the breath in her lungs. Panic tried to swallow her. She thrust it aside and fought to raise her head above the surface.

  One hand lost its grip. The current flipped her over.

  She finally gulped a breath of air and water. The rope ripped from her fingers.

  Two arms came from nowhere, grabbed her about the waist and lifted her to her feet. She gasped, choking, fighting for air and trying to get a grip on the rocks as Carlos dragged her to the bank. Still clutching his arm, she leaned forward and vomited an ama
zing amount of water into the mud.

  Carlos supported her up the bank and held her as she fell against him, shaken, cold and weak-kneed.

  "O, lo siento. I'm so sorry, mija. I didn't think you are so much smaller,” he crooned, while she clung to him.

  She became aware of his naked chest against her cheek at the same moment he did. He gasped, and his heart stuttered beneath her palm. Something deep inside her melted.

  "She needs mouth-to-mouth,” Kate quipped.

  Beth shot her a scathing glance and pulled away from Carlos as a violent coughing spell erupted to expel the rest of the water from her lungs. When she was finally able to stand on her own, she glanced up at him and found him frowning, his golden eyes full of concern.

  "Okay?” He attempted a lopsided grin.

  "Yeah, good."

  As the other two crossed, without incident, Beth sat on the ground, silently contemplating her mortality while pouring water out of her boots and squeezing her socks dry. Occasional bursts of laughter attempted to erupt from her chest like the monster in Alien, but she managed to control her hysteria.

  An uneasy silence fell over the group. Once everyone was put back together, they continued along the path for another hour to the site Carlos had in mind for them. She waved off help from both Carlos and Kate and let the slow, steady pace clear the shock and adrenaline from her system.

  By noon, she was fine. They entered an oak grove deep under the canopy where orchids and fungi of every imaginable color wound their way up the thirty-meter trunks and out of sight. Beth recognized half-dozen genera at first glance.

  The men went off to find a mid-height tree to set their tackle in, hoping to get samples from higher up.

  The equipment she'd packed was safe and dry in its waterproof case, thanks to Sam's foresight in taking her pack before the crossing. Kate and Beth worked at ground level, metering the light available at this, the brightest part of the day under the canopy, photographing, taking inventory and notating each species’ population and growth pattern. They took samples only of the least familiar species, since keeping the delicate blooms intact on the way back would be a challenge.

  At three, they stopped to allow time to get to the Jeep before dusk. The others prepared the samples for transport while Beth took a second set of meter readings for comparison.

  As she finished the last reading, Carlos walked up to where she worked. Without a sound, he leaned against a tree, watching her.

  I've wandered away from the group again. She winced. Carlos looked like he had something to say about her carelessness, but, thankfully, kept his peace.

  She sat on a mossy deadfall, filling in her notes and feeling self-conscious. If he didn't stop looking at her, she was going to come unglued. She glanced up to tell him and met his eyes. Her heart hiccupped. She closed the notebook, packed the meter away and got to her feet.

  "You'd better either kiss me or quit staring at me like that,” she said.

  His brow rose to his shaggy hairline.

  She'd taken only a few steps to join the others when he came from behind. Grasping her arm, he pulled her into a gentle embrace. His mouth came down to connect with hers.

  She'd been waiting for this and meant to enjoy every second. But she was not prepared for the heat.

  Carlos gently brushed his lips over her face, mouth first, then chin, cheeks, brow, feather-light kisses on her eyelids, down her nose, back to her lips. His tongue reached for her, tasting, coaxing.

  Her whole body tingled. Heat rose between her legs and he hadn't even really kissed her yet.

  Instead, he breathed her in.

  The kiss became something new. He latched onto her mouth, sucking. His tongue pressed insistently for entry. She opened to give him access and melted into him.

  No ravenous, rude rape of her mouth, but a steady invasion. He kissed as he ate, savoring every nibble, pausing to taste, smell, lick. The gentle devouring awakened every nerve cell, visited every pore. His essence became part of her.

  His chest beneath her hand quivered and he moaned. Slowly, his arms surrounded her about the back and hips, pulling her tight, and her legs lost the ability to hold her up. He grew hard against her belly as she softened.

  Skin to skin, she clung to him, willing the kiss to continue. This was the stuff of life, inevitable, like breathing, like her heart beating. How do you end a kiss like this?

  But it had to end. Carlos set her on her feet and pulled back to peer into her eyes.

  "This is not a good idea,” he growled. The sound sent shivers through her.

  "Oh, yes,” she whispered. “This is a great idea. Like a dream, like something I've waited for a long, long time."

  * * * *

  If he didn't sleep, he couldn't dream, so the cat ran. All seemed well. Whatever had brought him back to his old territory was gone, or too insidious to discern with a cursory examination. TE'e-le, the forest, kept her secrets tonight.

  He'd fished earlier. Without hunger to drive him, the running was mere restlessness, an attempt to escape. The woman's scent carried to him on the night air, relentlessly drawing him toward the compound where she slept until, after the third time turning away, he shifted. In human form, her pull was stronger, but the instinct to surrender was easier to fight.

  The man, however, needed rest.

  Back at the creek where he'd eaten earlier, he gathered his clothes, donning the jeans, and bundled the rest into the T-shirt. Moving a little away from the bank, he built himself a nest of fallen leaves among the roots of a strangler fig. He rested his back against the trunk and let the night's lullaby wash over him.

  When he was a god, women were served to him. They knew what he was, and whether they thought they wanted him or not, after a week or a month or a year, each returned to her village a goddess and happy for his attentions. He'd loved a few and lost them all.

  He'd failed as a god—his people were no more.

  Still, TE'e-le held him in her grip. Why she kept him was a mystery—he'd failed her as well, a thousand times, ten thousand times. He was beyond redemption. But she kept him. He must stay until he understood what was needed of him, and neither cat nor man could resist the woman.

  He must approach this as a man.

  Beth wanted him. She would ask for all he had to give, and what he had wasn't enough. Eventually, now or ten years from now when he hadn't aged, she would discover his secret and run. He should tell her, but he didn't want her to run.

  Maybe she would tire of him before Antonio returned. Then only he need know the pain.

  He dozed and dreamed.

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  CUATRO

  In the dream, he came through the window, soundless as the cat, a silhouette against the black of night. His naked shadow stood over her, unmoving, except the eyes. The dark hid them from her, but she felt their path. Where his gaze fell, her skin sizzled.

  Tonight, when she reached for him, her body obeyed. She pushed herself up. Her arms wrapped around the shadow, drawing him to lie beside her.

  Slowly, carefully, he settled into her capricious bed, turning her gently to spoon against her back. His hard cock burrowed between the cheeks of her ass. His hands explored what his eyes had already taken in.

  Her body responded with a gush of arousal. His mouth descended to her shoulder, biting, then licking away the sting. The hammock creaked beneath their combined weight, swaying to the movement of her hips as she rubbed against his hardness. Cradled in its soft fabric, their bodies tried to meld into one.

  Rough hands cupped her breasts, thumbs petting the nipples until they tightened into hard little kernels. The empty, throbbing place between her legs ached to be filled.

  Perfectly timed, he pulled her leg over his and penetrated her with the length and breadth of two fingers. Thumb on her clit, he plunged into her wetness, bringing the ache to a demanding need.

  She wriggled against him, begging for more. Pitiful, whimpering sounds escaped her. She'd
never begged to be fucked. Tonight she did, her only fear that she'd awaken too soon.

  With a roll of his hip, he brought his cock to her opening, pressed, stretched, filled her. She cried out as the first spasms struck her before he had even seated himself within her.

  His teeth brushed her shoulder. A low growl sent vibrations coursing through her, electrifying every nerve. He rocked, gliding through her slickness with easy, careful strokes, fueling the flames.

  A solid lunge and she boiled over into a maelstrom of pleasure. His arm against her belly pulled her tight. He drove her to the peak and beyond, gnawing at her shoulder and neck, growling in her ear. When she fell limp in his arms, his hand slid to the apex of her sex, gathered moisture from their joining and caressed her clit.

  The hammock rocked precariously as his thrusts grew more heated. Sharp, barking grunts pulsed against her neck.

  Until that moment the dream was hers—all about her pleasure. But now her shadow lover lost control, thrusting hard and deep and long with her squeezed in his arms. His finger on her clit brought her back to a state to match his own. Between them, civilization vanished. In the pitch-blackness, only He and She, sweat-slick flesh and the liquid sounds of their most primal need.

  He shuddered when he came, his thighs quivering against hers, his body quaking. The sound he made tore through and out of her in explosive spasms.

  When the hammock finally came to rest, he turned her onto her back, slipped between her legs and started again.

  * * * *

  From the shadows, Carlos leaned against a mossy trunk watching the woman who'd yanked him from the comfortable oblivion of his most basic nature to this—this semblance of humanity. A masquerade so skillfully wrought he himself fell to its allure.

  She sat on a rock behind a camera and tripod, downwind of several clumps of bright orange blossoms, observing through binoculars. Now and then, she penciled something into the notebook in her lap or snapped a shot of a feeding hummingbird. He'd found her like this at seven and again at ten. It was now noon.