Primal Touch

by Amber Jacobs

  Ashley laughed shortly. “Well, she has a pretty savage side to her personality, too. Living out here as a predator for so long, I guess that’s understandable.” Her eyes took on a conspiratorial glint. “But to tell the truth, I think that’s part of what I find so attractive about her. She’s so animal, so unrestrained and primal. It’s not something I thought I liked, but in Leandra, I think it’s sexy as hell.”

  Grace smirked. “And from the position of those handprints, I’d say she thinks the same about you.”

  A crimson flush spread over Ashley’s face as she nodded. “Seems that way, yeah.” She picked up the clean dishes and cutlery and cradled them in her arms. “I guess we’ll be talking more about it when I see her tomorrow, but right now, I just want to enjoy this feeling without thinking about the complications.” A sudden gust of wind and a distant clap of thunder interrupted her, heralding the coming of a storm, and the two women exchanged glances.

  “I hope things work out,” Grace said.

  Ashley nodded. “Me, too.” She gave the other woman a sincere smile. “And thanks for lending a friendly ear.”

  “Hey, I know what it’s like working in a male-dominated environment,” Grace said. “Sometimes it’s nice to have another woman around to talk with.”

  A flash of lightning illuminated the distant mountains, and a call from Grady got the two women moving back to the ring of tents. Depositing the dishes inside a small knapsack, Ashley said her good-nights and retreated to her tent just as fat drops of rain began falling from the sky.

  Rain pelted down from grey, heavy clouds, drenching the jungle and carving small, muddy rivers through the undergrowth. The night was dark, moon and stars alike hidden by the obstructing clouds. The heat remained, turning Leandra’s cave into something more like a sauna than a home. She looked out over the dim landscape from the mouth of the cave, her eyes taking in her hunting grounds with quiet satisfaction.

  This was the perfect time to hunt, Leandra knew. The rain was an effective dampener of both sound and scent, and many animals would be sheltering under trees, not as alert for potential predators in the impenetrable dark. But Leandra didn’t feel like hunting tonight. The memory of Ashley’s hands as they traced striped patterns over her flesh still burned in her mind. The heat of Ashley’s lips…the taste of her tongue…

  Leandra hugged herself in the darkness. No. There would be no hunting this night.

  She kissed me.

  She kissed me!

  Leandra hadn’t anticipated this development; hadn’t hoped to dream that her attraction to the younger woman might be reciprocated. She certainly hadn’t counted on Ashley making the first move. But she had, and now things were changed forever.

  New and wonderful feelings overwhelmed Leandra’s senses, thoughts and emotions she’d not experienced in many years, if at all. For four years, this jungle had been both her home and her prison. She had struggled against it, had loved and hated it, and in the end, had come to learn a great deal about herself. The jungle was a harsh instructor, and her lessons had often been painful. But now, for the first time in those four years, Leandra found herself able to look beyond the endless ocean of grasslands and forests, and see again the world she’d left behind.

  For the first time in those four years, she saw a future that did not involve this savage world of predator and prey.

  A future that involved Ashley.

  “Ashley.” Leandra whispered the name, shivering at the way the simple word affected her. Painted fingers rose to trace painted lips, recalling the kiss and wanting desperately to relive it. Leandra wondered what Ashley was thinking about right now. How did she feel about all this? Her desires were obvious from the way she’d responded. But Leandra had never cared for anyone the way she cared now for the petite blonde. Always before, she had pursued, conquered, and then abandoned her lovers. She didn’t want something so transient and insubstantial with Ashley. She wanted a relationship. Something that could comfort her and embrace her, could heal the old wounds that still pained her. Leandra was entering a new world, and a part of her felt as naked and vulnerable as when she’d first returned here after her encounter with Shar-Tushar.

  Watching the rain fall, sniffing air thick with moisture and the scent of wet rebirth, Leandra sat silently and waited for the morrow. Things would be clearer in the light, and she could see Ashley once more.

  Somehow, this was right. As strong as her fears were, these new desires and emotions were stronger still. And when all was said and done, Leandra knew she had no choice but to put her faith in them, and in the woman who was at the heart of their creation.

  After a pleasantly restless sleep, Ashley woke bright and early the next morning to find the day dawning humid and misty after the passage of the storm last night. The campsite was a muddy quagmire, with pools of water settling into shallow depressions everywhere. The jungle dripped and flowed. Ashley, too, was damp with sweat, but nothing could dispel the good spirits that infected her. When her companions emerged grumpily from their tents, they found that Ashley had already coaxed a small campfire to life from the few pieces of dry wood that had escaped the rain. She had also boiled water for coffee and prepared a simple but sustaining breakfast from their dwindling supplies. But with her anticipation of the coming day running feverishly high, there was barely time for the group to offer their thanks before she said her good-byes and headed toward the river, eager to meet with Leandra.

  Wandering along the water’s edge, she looked around for the tiger-woman but found no sign of her. After half an hour, she was starting to worry that Leandra might not show. But when she reached the small waterfall that she’d explored that first day in the jungle, Ashley’s concerns flew away as she spied the familiar striped figure sitting cat-like on a rocky overhang, head bent slightly into the breeze. Her lips spread helplessly into a smile as she approached, and Leandra sensed her presence and turned to face her.

  “Hey.” Ashley almost bounced her way forward, grinning like an idiot at the smile Leandra graced her with. She came to a stop a few feet from her tall friend, not quite knowing how to greet her after their kiss and feeling a little awkward. Gnawing her lower lip, she shuffled uncertainly, trying to think of something charming to say. “Some storm last night, huh?”

  Leandra stepped forward and pulled her into a possessive embrace. Ducking her head, she quickly claimed sweet lips with a hungry kiss, dueling slowly with a soft tongue when Ashley parted her lips and invited her in.

  After several seconds of seductive exploration, Leandra broke the kiss and looked down at her. Ashley licked her lips and grinned, pleasantly surprised. “What was that for?”

  Leandra shrugged. “You looked like that was the kind of ‘good morning’ you were hoping for, but weren’t certain you were going to get,” she explained, running her hands down the crease of the smaller woman’s back. “You never have to worry about that, Ashley. I’ll never stop wanting to kiss you like that.”

  Ashley’s smile grew so wide it nearly swallowed her ears. “Really?”

  “Really,” Leandra promised, sealing her words with another long kiss.

  Ashley wrapped her arms around Leandra and laid her head on her breast. Feeling the solid, powerful body against her own felt so right, so perfect. However, she knew there were issues that needed addressing before they could continue. “I guess we should talk, huh?”

  Leandra’s fingers were teasing the soft hairs at the nape of her neck, and when they withdrew a sigh of disappointment almost slipped past Ashley’s lips.

  “Yeah, we probably should.” Taking her by the hand, Leandra led Ashley to the edge of the overhang and helped her settle on a dry rock. Sitting beside her, Leandra offered a nervous smile. “This is kind of awkward, isn’t it?”

  Ashley nodded. “Yeah, it is.” She took a deep breath. “I was up half the night, listening to the storm and thinking about you. Abou
t how much you’ve come to mean to me.”

  Leandra squeezed Ashley’s hand gently. “You mean a lot to me, too.”

  “I think I made a list of about a hundred different reasons why this is stupid,” Ashley admitted. “I know we should just put a stop to it before it goes any further, before we both get hurt.” She saw a guarded, fearful expression wash over Leandra’s expressive face.

  “But I don’t care about any of that,” she continued. “I really like you, Leandra. More than I can remember liking anyone in my whole life. I don’t want to run away from this because it seems like a bad idea, or because it seems too risky. This is all kind of new for me, and I don’t really know what your thoughts are, but—”

  “I want to keep going,” Leandra interrupted, almost desperately. Mahogany eyes caught and held Ashley in a powerful spell, and she swallowed hard. Leandra continued, “I’ve never met anyone like you, Ashley. I’ve never felt anything like how I feel around you. It’s pretty new for me, too, but I don’t want to stop.”

  “I should warn you now,” Ashley said. “I’ve got a terrible track record with relationships. They never seem to last more than a month or two.”

  Leandra grinned. “That’s okay. I’ve never really had a relationship. Not one that lasted longer than the next morning, at least.”

  Ashley glanced away shyly. “I’ve never actually…” She paused. “With a woman, I mean.”

  Cobalt eyes widened for a heartbeat, but Leandra’s grip on her hand didn’t falter. “Are you okay about this then?” she asked softly. “I mean, that I’m a woman?”

  Ashley looked up. “Of course. I’ve always known I’ve had a level of interest there, I just didn’t expect it to happen quite like this, that’s all.” She hesitated. “I take it you’ve been with other women before.”

  “Yes,” Leandra said. “It always felt better for me, more comfortable…although if I’m being honest with you, none of my past relationships ever really extended beyond what we shared in bed. But I want you to understand, that’s not what this is,” she continued in an earnest and deliberate tone. “I’m not taking this lightly, Ashley. You’re not just some casual plaything for me. I don’t want to treat you the way I’ve treated others in my life. I care too much for you.”

  Tears pricked the corners of Ashley’s eyes at the sincerity in Leandra’s words. “I feel the same way.”

  They both knew there was more to be said, but neither wanted to broach the subject of Ashley’s rapidly approaching departure, nor the matter of Leandra’s unorthodox lifestyle. It was enough, for now, that they were together and committed to pursuing whatever bond was drawing them closer.

  “So…” Ashley raised an eyebrow. “Where do we go from here?”

  “Where would you like to go?”

  “Well…” Ashley blushed and glanced away to the river. “I thought the kissing was a really good place to start.”

  Leandra’s eyes danced playfully. “Did you, now?”

  “Uh huh.” Ashley leaned forward, tilting her head to the side and accepting her companion’s lips with a happy little mew of pleasure. Strong arms wound their way around her body, and she quickly responded in kind, shuddering at the sensation of Leandra’s heated body pressing so close against her own. Future concerns were set aside without hesitation, and in some remote part of her brain, Ashley realized one of the simple truths about this primal world that had been Leandra’s home for so long.

  In the jungle, life was only ever a single moment. And if that moment was right, nothing else mattered.

  They spent the day in pleasant companionship, neither of them caring about the showers that rained down from time to time or the steamy heat that left sweat beaded on their bodies. Leandra took Ashley out to a remote area and, from the safety of the branches of a towering tree, showed her where a young male leopard made his home. Ashley smiled with delight at every new secret she was shown, and with their relationship growing more personal now, Leandra was only too happy to share every wonder she had discovered throughout the park.

  Their day was interspersed with frequent caresses and kisses, and by the time the sun was coloring the edges of the horizon with painted hues of purple and crimson, Leandra couldn’t help but chuckle at the telltale streaks of orange and white paint covering Ashley’s face.

  Only when dusk had given over to dark did they part. With familiar ease, Leandra led the way back to the outskirts of Ashley’s camp, then stood uncertainly beside her.

  “You could always stay the night with me, you know,” she suggested in a throaty, hopeful whisper.

  Ashley traced her fingers down the length of Leandra’s jaw, and Leandra leaned into the touch eagerly. “I’d like that,” Ashley said earnestly. “But I should really stay here. I know Grady worries about me, and I’ve barely spent any time with the others lately.” She sucked in a deep breath. “As tempting as the alternatives are, and believe me—” her voice deepened and her eyes darkened “—I’m finding them very tempting right now, I have to put in a little work time.”

  Leandra lowered her head in acceptance. “I understand.” Standing on tiptoes, Ashley gave the striped woman a final kiss, then accepted a little help cleaning the marks from her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  They parted with many backward glances from Ashley, and even after she was out of sight, Leandra stood staring after her for many long moments. A part of her wanted desperately to follow. Sighing, she circled the camp instead and climbed stealthily into one of the giant trees just outside the perimeter, where she settled down on a comfortable limb. From her perch, Leandra watched Ashley join her companions for dinner. A slight, longing smile curved her lips. She continued to watch from the tree, thinking about how her life was changing, until the moon hung high in the night sky. Then, knowing she would need sleep for the day ahead, she leapt silently to the ground and returned to her cave, recognizing for the first time in a long while just how lonely her home seemed.

  Even before the sun rose the next morning, Ashley was awake in her bedroll, urging the dawn on anxiously from the warm darkness of her tent. Deciding it was never going to move quickly enough for her liking, she shuffled out of her sleeping bag and ventured outside. Again, she prepared a campfire and sipped a steaming cup of coffee while eating the leftovers from last night that she scrounged from the food knapsack. She greeted her companions cheerfully, then left before they could try convincing her to spend the day in the hide with them. Wandering down along the river, she kept her every pore open and alert for Leandra’s presence.

  So focused were her thoughts on the enigmatic jungle-woman that when a large hand grabbed her from behind, clamped firmly over her mouth, and pulled her back against a muscular body, Ashley didn’t struggle at first, figuring Leandra had surprised her. But when she heard the jangle of steel against leather and caught the scent of unfamiliar sweat, her eyes widened. Something cold and sharp pressed against her throat, and stale-smelling breath tickled the fine hairs behind her ears.

  “Just behave yourself, girly,” a voice muttered, “and I might let you live through this.”

  The poacher!

  The momentary shock vanished, replaced instantly with anger. Ashley was small and lightweight, but she was far from weak. She didn’t give in easily. Going limp in her captor’s arms, she pretended to be paralyzed with fear. The man cursed under his breath and shifted his footing to better support her, which forced him to relax the pressure on the knife he held to her throat. As soon as she felt the steel edge waver, she lifted her right foot and drove it with all her strength down and into the man’s unprotected shin. The poacher grunted in pain and loosened his hold.

  Ashley capitalized instantly. Twisting slightly, she slammed an elbow into his side. She was about to go for the groin—a strike that might have ensured her escape—but he recovered too quickly. With a hard pull on her b
ody, he spun her around and then landed a dizzying backhand across her face. Ashley’s vision went white, and stars flashed before her eyes. She doubled over when a fist punched her in the stomach and knocked the breath from her lungs.

  The poacher grabbed her again, and his knife dug painfully into her throat in a silent, but clear threat. “Feisty little thing, ain’t you?” he grunted. “But I’ll let that one go. Any more though, and that tiger-freak bitch will be following a blood trail to your body. Understand?”

  Ashley gasped for air. Her face felt numb from the blow, but she managed a weak nod.

  “Good.” Her captor dragged the knife down her body to the edge of her tank top. Ashley tensed as the cool steel edge traced down her belly. She struggled not to flex away from the touch, but the man didn’t cut her. Instead, he swiftly sliced a thin strip from the material. Holding up the scrap, he nodded, pleased.

  “What do you want with me?” Ashley asked. “My friends will know I’m gone. They’ll call the rangers.”

  “Maybe.” He began walking Ashley into the jungle. “But those idiots couldn’t find me if they tried. And right now, I’m only interested in one particular friend of yours. I think she’ll be pretty desperate to get you back, too.”

  Ashley tensed. “You mean—”

  “That’s right. That tiger-freak has been making a nuisance of herself for way too long. It’s time she was put down. Permanently.”

  Ashley snorted in defiance. “What makes you think you can take her? She’s been hunting poachers like you for years.”

  “True.” The man tangled his fingers in Ashley’s hair and pulled it sharply, wrenching an involuntary cry from her. “But I have the advantage now.” He leaned closer, and Ashley recoiled in disgust.

  “We’re going cat-hunting,” he whispered, “and I have a feeling you’re the perfect little mouse to use for bait.”