She gave him a jaguar grin. After surveying the cliffs one more time and seeing no sign of anyone, she jumped in and shifted into her human form. She stood on the rocky ground, the delightfully warm water like a lovely bath, caressing her shoulders. She swam to him. “What did you find in the tree?”
Business first, David mused. He’d have time to have some fun with the she-cat before they had to leave their jungle paradise. He was certain his mouth curved into a hungry smile right before he took her into his arms and held her sweet, very naked body tight. “Joe had been in the tree and had a perfect sighting for shooting his rifle. No evidence left behind.”
“So we’re done with investigating for the moment?”
“Yeah, I’d say we enjoy the water a bit. What do you think?”
He was glad she was of like mind as she reached up and locked her arms behind his head and started to kiss him. Only her kisses were molten hot—no slow build-up—tongue tangling with his in a jungle dance, her body moving against his, rubbing against his already rigid erection.
“Hot damn,” he groaned against her mouth, his hands fisted around locks of her silky, strawberry blond hair. Her eyes closed as she gyrated against him, grinding her soft flesh against his.
His hands slid down her back until he molded them around her soft ass and pressed her tighter against him. She bit his lower lip gently, combed her fingers through his hair, and turned his blood into a raging inferno.
When he’d seen the other pool, he’d hoped they could find another one farther downriver, just for this, and that she’d be as interested as he was.
Her eyes a bit glazed, she started kissing him all over again.
Worked for him. He was still in the kissing part of the seduction, enjoying the sweetness of her mouth, the tactile delight of stroking tongues, the way her fingernails glided over his back in a delicate caress that made him think of a cat’s claws mostly retracted. He swore she was purring even before he slid his hands down her buttocks and squeezed.
She reached under the water and began to stroke him, and he groaned. He’d never last. Not with the press of her breasts against his chest or her hand on his cock, driving him to madness. He wanted inside her now, but maybe she wasn’t quite ready. He leaned down and took a nipple in his mouth and suckled. That made her stop stroking him. Good. He wanted to pleasure her first.
He molded his hand to her other breast, felt her nipple poking into his palm, licked and gently tugged on her nipple with his lips and then his teeth. She was leaning back, making soft moaning sounds. He slipped his hand from her breast and under the water, stroking her nub, already as hard as his erection was. She locked an ankle around the back of his thigh, her hands around his waist, her eyes closed, concentrating on the strokes as he was concentrating on the way she seemed to feel pleasure in them. Tension filled her expression as he slipped two fingers deep inside her and she moaned.
He felt the exquisite rumbling of her release, muscles quivering. He loved that he could do that to her.
“Mmm,” she said, sounding relaxed and ready to slip under the water.
The water lapped at the top of her breasts.
He sank into the water in front of her and began kissing her again, rubbing against her, waiting for her to let him know she was ready. She settled a leg around his hip, and that was his green light. He grasped her other calf and lifted her, centering himself between her legs, and eased in.
She began riding him—hot, wet, and beautiful in the rainforest in Belize in the middle of a waterfall pool on a sunny summer day. Nothing could be better or more special than this, he thought, loving every bit of being with her. And wanting so much more.
Omigod. David filled her to the brink and more. Tammy had never done anything quite this wild in her life. Ever. And wouldn’t have ever considered doing such a thing if it hadn’t been for David. With him, it seemed right. More than right. This was wonderful.
She was riding him as she kissed and licked and gently bit his neck. He’d have a few light bruises to show she’d claimed him. Every time she did it, he had a more feral-cat look about him and growled more, his ravenous eyes shining in the sunlight peering between the building clouds. And she loved it.
He pumped into her, the waterfall spilling into the pool, drowning out the sound of their groans and sighs of pleasure, their bodies washed in the splashing water. She felt him tense just before release.
He hugged her tight to his hard body, letting the warm water swirl around them, soaking in the sounds of the rainforest, and they both laughed when it began to rain. She’d always remember their last day in Belize as the most fun sexual experience she’d ever had. And romantic. And…wild.
She clung to him, enjoying just being with him in this way, pushing out all the worries of the world, because as soon as they left Belize and this peaceful little place of paradise, they were bound for more trouble.
Chapter 18
David didn’t want to release Tammy in the waterfall pool. She felt so good in his arms and in this place, as if it was a jaguar-shifter haven for mating. He’d never been with a woman with whom he wanted to cherish the moment for as long as he could after they made love. Previous girlfriends would roll over and go to sleep after they made love in bed, needing their space. He treasured how Tammy loved to cuddle, sharing the intimacy of the moment longer.
Yet he needed to release her so they could return to the resort, eat, and retire to the bungalow to pack. After that, he planned a lot more bed sport—if she was agreeable.
Instead, he held on to the naked she-cat in his arms and soaked up the feel of them, their bodies still joined. Even thinking of them like this was making him harden.
She lifted her head from his chest and smiled. “I think…you’ve got a tiger in your tank.”
He chuckled, but he didn’t make a move to disengage them.
“Maybe we should get back to the resort,” she said, her finger caressing his nipple as if she really wasn’t all that interested in returning.
“Agreed.” He still didn’t let her go.
Her smile broadened.
He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth, one last long, searing, hungry kiss. “This doesn’t end here.”
“Mmm. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about anything, but all I’ve got to say is wow.”
“Which means this doesn’t end here,” he reiterated. He wanted to remind her that he didn’t believe in one-night stands—in tropical settings or anywhere else. When he had sex with a woman, it was only the beginning of a blossoming relationship.
Still, since he was getting worked up and she wasn’t quitting with her strokes and she’d resumed kissing, the notion of doing this a little longer appealed.
He loved how attuned they were to each other. When they were finished for a second time, they shifted into their jaguar forms and paddled toward the shore, her tail waving in front of his nose. He wanted to grab it in playful fun.
And he almost managed to snag the tip, right before she climbed out of the water and shook all over him. She gave him an impish, toothy jaguar grin and then began to lick the water off her body, but the light rain wasn’t helping. He wanted to suggest they switch, and he lick her body while she licked his.
She leaped up the rocks to the cliffs above and they headed back to the resort. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds and would begin to fade as it did at this time in summer. By 6:30, the sun would have set. With the sun-blocking trees and a storm overhead, that meant it would be dark even earlier. They skirted way around the area where the waterfall rappelling site was, assuming the guide and tourists would have been there and headed back to the resort by now, but David and Tammy needed to be careful.
They were getting much closer to the resort, only about ten minutes away, when they heard a jaguar roar.
Tammy and David looked at each other. They both dove int
o the jungle in the direction they’d heard the cat roaring, and David prayed that if it was one of the boys, neither was in any danger.
***
The rain ceased, and after an hour of searching for the jaguar, Tammy and David reached a bungalow where the kids seemed to be staying, since their scents were strongest there. Why would the boys lead them to the rental unit this time?
Inside, the place had been trashed—the teens’ scents and David’s aftershave fragrance were here, but so were Weaver’s and Krustan’s scents, and Joe Storm’s. Tammy felt nauseous with worry as she rushed through the one-bedroom unit, searching for clues that either of the boys was still here.
None. If they’d had luggage, it was gone now, too. And if they’d parked a car nearby, it was no longer here.
David nudged at Tammy to leave with him, and then they returned to where they’d left their backpack. It was gone.
Feeling panicked for the boys’ safety and now their own if they couldn’t find their clothes, she and David backtracked, circled the area, and sniffed the ground. She recognized the teens’ scents around here. Right here. Where they’d left their clothes. The boys had to have taken them. What the hell was going on?
She looked at David. He was staring off into the jungle, whiskers moving, ears twitching, sensing smells, movement, anything to clue them in that the boys were nearby.
What if not only the boys’ place had been trashed? What if theirs had been also?
Men tromped through the brush in the distance, calling out, “Tammy Anderson! David Patterson!”
Crap! What the hell had happened? Now, neither she nor David had any clothes, so they couldn’t change forms. They needed to get back to their bungalow, shift, dress, and let the staff know they were fine.
They ran until Tammy found a big tree to climb into. She grunted at David and leaped into one of the lower branches.
He joined her, nuzzled her face, and sat down. They listened for the men combing the rainforest, calling for them, looking for them. She hated that they worried, but for the moment, she and David couldn’t do anything about it.
When the men’s voices faded into the jungle, she and David jumped down and loped back to their bungalow. Men’s voices speaking in Spanish near their rental unit made Tammy and David halt in their steps. Great. They couldn’t even sneak into their place to get some clothes.
In the distance, they found a tree to climb with a view of their place. She smelled Nate’s scent here. So the teen had watched their bungalow from this vantage point. Luckily, it was far enough from their rental unit that the teen couldn’t see beyond the wall of the outdoor shower.
They watched four men in uniform leave the bungalow, one remaining behind, sitting down on the wooden chair on their deck. Super. He was going to wait for their return, in case they showed up?
Not that she wouldn’t have done the same if she was them, worried about the missing tourists.
She and David watched the man for more than an hour, but he wasn’t dozing and he wasn’t leaving.
Someone moved out of the jungle toward the man and said in Spanish, “No sign of them. They just vanished.”
“They haven’t come back here yet, either.”
“Okay, I had to take a break and see if they had returned.” The man stalked off to the dining hall.
The officer folded his arms and stared into the jungle.
Tammy nudged David, telling him she was leaving the tree to sneak into their place if she had to. They had to let the men know they were okay, though she couldn’t figure out why anyone would be searching for them.
David shook his head, letting her know he didn’t want her to go anywhere. Fine, she’d be the lookout and come to save him if he got himself into trouble.
He jumped down from the tree and ran off. She lost sight of him in the thick foliage, and then saw the man returning from the dining hall.
“Anything yet?”
“No,” the officer said.
“I will be back.” He headed into the jungle.
Her heart nearly gave out as she worried David and the searcher would run into each other, but David in his big-cat form ran around the back side of the shower wall. With a soaring leap, he landed on the top of the wall, and before the guard could look, David jumped down inside.
She wondered what David would say after he shifted and dressed when he spoke with the officer. How would he explain that he’d suddenly shown up without the guy seeing him arrive? How would he explain where Tammy was? Not good. What if the officer thought David and his girlfriend had a fight, and he had gotten rid of her in the rainforest?
She stood, ready to jump down and join him, but saw David leap onto the top of the shower wall, still as a jaguar, and jump down into the bushes. What was he doing?
He raced into the jungle and within minutes was climbing back into the tree to rest on the branch with her. She waited for him to tell her something, totally clueless about what was going on.
He shifted. “Hell,” he said. “Someone trashed the place like they did the boys’, and our clothes, suitcases, everything is gone. Maybe that’s why the police and others are searching for us. Believing we met with foul play.”
She wanted to groan out loud and managed a low, angry growl instead.
Chapter 19
Tammy was shocked that all their stuff was gone—passports, cell phones, and clothes, so they couldn’t even shift. She just stared at David, unable for a moment to think of what they had to do next.
He wrapped his arm around her neck and let out his breath as he sat naked in the tree and she curled up next to him on the branch as a big cat. “We’ll figure something out.”
Like what? Break into another bungalow, steal someone else’s clothes, tell the staff they were all right but needed a ride to the nearest U.S. Embassy for passports and a way to call home?
What a disaster!
“Joe had been in our bungalow.”
What? He was supposed to have been long gone. A chill went up her spine.
“Of course the kids’ scents were there. And I smelled Quinn and Weaver and Krustan. So it seems like we had a party at our place, only the host and hostess weren’t there.”
So they were all in on this together. Quinn, too? He was supposed to have taken a flight out. And so was Joe. Damn it!
“I’ve got to wait until the people staying in the cabana farthest from our place have gone to the dining facility—the one out of the policeman’s view. Most of the guests are sauntering over there now. I can’t wait too long, or everyone will be retiring to bed. I’ll grab some clothes for us, and we can return them once we’re able.”
She nodded and shifted into her human form, and he pulled her into his arms. “I worried that when they saw you, they might try to arrest you for getting rid of me in the rainforest,” she said.
He smiled and kissed her cheek. “I did have that thought, too. But when I saw that nothing of ours was there, that was the least of our worries.”
“We can’t even call anyone to let them know what a mess we’re in.”
“Yeah. We’ll have to get dressed, and hell, I don’t know. Make up some story.”
“Was it trashed really bad?”
“No, just the drawers pulled out as if they were looking for stuff. Mattress shoved aside. I was worried someone might have planted drugs to make it look like we were selling or something and get us into more trouble. But nothing. The living room appeared fine. It looked like they were just searching for something.”
“And our intel had it wrong that both Quinn and Joe had flown out already.”
“They must have paid someone else to take their places and given them false IDs.” He glanced in the direction of a cabana hidden in the foliage. “Okay, this is as good a time as any. I’ve got to go.”
“I’m going with you.”
He studied her expression for a moment, kissed her mouth, and rested his forehead against hers, his hands cupping her face. “All right. We do this together.”
They shifted, leaped down from the tree, and moved through the darkening rainforest like two shadowy predators. Off in the distance, she heard men still calling for them and felt terrible that they were going through all the effort for nothing.
She wanted to strangle whoever stole their clothes and the rest of their personal items, stranding them in such a dangerous way.
She was following David toward the cabana he had targeted when he suddenly veered off. She wondered where he was going, worried that maybe he’d heard the people returning to their cabana while she had missed hearing the warning sounds.
Then she realized he was following a scent trail—Alex’s and Nate’s.
The boys had been all over this area, so why follow a trail they’d left now? She saw a rubber—XXL, unused, lying on the ground.
She sniffed it. Alex had held it. So he must have dropped it at some time when he went this way.
Several yards away, she saw another one. Every few feet they found another. Like Hansel and Gretel leaving bread crumbs to find their way back home.
She and David moved deeper into the rainforest until she realized they were headed for the pool at the base of the waterfall rappelling site.
David reached the edge of the cliff and peered down. He grunted. She hurried to join him. Down at the base of the cliff and next to the pool of water now shimmering in the moonlight sat both their bags.
She looked at him to see his take on it, and David gave her a jaguar-sized and very toothy grin.
***
David quickly found a path he and Tammy could take. They made their way down the rocks, glad that jaguars were good climbers, and finally reached the solid-rock ground. He watched Tammy for a moment, saw she was doing fine, then loped over to quickly inspect their bags. The boys’ scent was all he found on them. He shifted and unzipped his and found only a dozen or so condoms left, though everything else appeared to be there, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned.