Journey to India (Exiled Dragons Book 7)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Sounds like you’re getting the better end of that deal,” Josh laughed.

  “I wish. That pull-out is about as comfortable as sleeping on a jagged rock. It has seen better days. I usually don’t even pull it out. More comfortable to just sleep on the closed sofa with my bag under me. At least these cots have springs with some give to them,” he told them, pushing open the door so that they could see inside.

  Kara peered in. He had been right. There wasn’t much to it, just the skeleton of a cot and bare concrete walls with a glassless window on the backside. She was glad to see that it at least had a thin metal covering and a net over it to prevent unwanted visitors, but still let some air inside. Khalib seemed to notice her looking at it and began to speak again.

  “Oh, yeah. That window doesn’t let a lot of air in. It helps, but not as much as you’ll wish it did. The door can be left open if you prefer comfort over complete privacy. There is a pull-over screen like the one on the windows,” he added.

  They watched as he reached for something inside the door and pulled it across for them to see what he was talking about. It didn’t offer much in the way of privacy, but who was really going to bother them out here?

  “I’m going to get to making us some food if you want to get set up out here or just relax for a bit in the main building. It’s up to you,” he told them, walking away to let them decide among themselves.

  “I don’t guess it matters which one we take. They seem to both be the same from what he is saying,” Barb said.

  “Sounds like it. You two can take this one, and we’ll take the other one. I think I’m going to go ahead and get ours set up, while he cooks. I hope it’s edible. I’m starving,” Thomas replied.

  The couples walked back to the jeep together and retrieved their packs, hauling them to their respective shelters and getting their beds laid out before returning to the main building to relax before dinner. Kara found an electrical outlet and plugged her phone into it, turning on the radio to a classical station so it wasn’t so quiet in the room.

  “Who wants first shower?” she asked.

  “You can take it if you want,” Barb told her, scanning an old book she had found on the shelf and walking toward where Josh had sat on the sofa to show it to him.

  “I’ll come with you. We can conserve water,” Thomas said.

  Kara smiled at him and headed toward the hallway with him in tow. Barb called out to them as they headed out of sight, “Don’t use up all the hot water being naughty in there!”

  Everyone laughed as they made their way away from them and stepped into the large, but spartan shower.

  Chapter Eight

  “So much for a hot shower,” Kara remarked as they climbed beneath the large shower head.

  The pressure was much better than she had expected out here, but the water was barely tepid. Still, it felt nice to wash off some of the grime she had collected since they’d embarked on their little adventure into the wild. It was going to be a long couple of weeks if there were more days like the ones they had experienced so far.

  “Yes, it does leave a bit to be desired,” Thomas remarked, unwrapping a fresh bar of soap they had retrieved from the stocked items on a shelf just outside the reach of the water’s stream.

  “I wish the water were hotter. I am so sore from walking and sleeping on the ground,” she groaned.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” he told her, rubbing her shoulders with his hands.

  “No. You don’t have to. I know you have been through just as much as I have today. I’ll be fine,” she replied.

  “Nonsense. I’m just fine,” he told her, kissing her neck beneath the flow of the water.

  “Mmm,” she moaned, enjoying the way his fingers felt on her wet skin.

  She leaned her head forward, his hands massaging her shoulders and her back before roaming softly down her arms. He was pressing against her from behind, his growing excitement apparent. She smiled in the near darkness, their shower area lit only by a dim light that was encased in a built-in glass dome beside the door. Folding her arms across her breasts, she leaned back against him, his hands slipping around her waist to pull her closer to him as his teeth sank into her neck and then kissed the same spot.

  Slowly, he pulled away from her, turning her around to face him. His lips met hers in a kiss that spiraled throughout her being and sang along every nerve ending, exciting her even more. Reaching behind her, he dug his fingers into her ass, pulling her up to wrap her legs around him. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, sticking to her wet skin. It hung forward, partially covering her face, but not her closed eyes. She was biting her lip in anticipation of his entering her as he took his time exploring her skin and kissing her.

  Her nipples rubbed against his chest, the friction driving them to harden so that they were like points of glass against his own. It was different being at this level with him, his height usually creating such a disparity between them. Opening her eyes, she looked into his, saw that he was watching her as she smiled to herself, and partially bit her lip.

  “Fuck me,” she said, feeling bold and brazen out here in the middle of nowhere with the man she had loved since she had first laid eyes on him what seemed like so long ago, but was really only a matter of months.

  “I’d love to,” he told her, pushing her up toward the shower wall and bracing her there as he finally entered her. His thumb found its way to her clit, massaging it roughly as he drove into her deeply, his strokes gaining momentum as their cries of passion increased.

  Her nails dug into his back, dragging across it as he fucked her wildly. Her legs quivered as she exploded against him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder to stunt the scream that welled up in her throat. She pulled away as he whispered to her.

  “Don’t hold it back. I want to hear it,” he said.

  Pulling away to look him in the eyes, she watched his face and the way it twisted slightly as he thrust into her, driving into her center heavily each time. His pace quickened as she continued to watch his face, and then he was a whirlwind of activity, fucking her harder and faster with each thrust.

  “You’re naughty. You know there are people just down the hallway,” she said with a half laugh, half groan as he pushed into her center heavily.

  “So? They’d only be jealous of how loud I can really make you get,” he said.

  “Shut up and fuck me harder,” she told him, digging her fingers into his long hair and pulling at it as he did what he was told. It seemed to only excite him more. She let go completely while her body bounced up and down the length of his cock as if she were weightless.

  “God, it is beautiful to watch you and hear you struggle to maintain control,” he breathed, grabbing a handful of hair and kissing her as he plunged into her once again.

  “Harder, Thomas. Rip me apart,” she begged.

  Thomas was more than happy to accommodate her request, pulling her upward to bite at her breasts as he drove into her fiercely. His mouth trailed up toward her neck, biting into it heavily as she continued to moan and squeal with utter delight. Their lovemaking was heated and frantic. He drove into her roughly, causing her to whine with pleasure. This felt so good, so right. She came again, her juices running down his cock along with the water that flowed across their naked bodies.

  “I’m coming. God, I can’t hold back any more,” he groaned.

  His fingers dug into her thighs as he sank deep inside her and unleashed all that he had been holding back. The knot of his cock exploded inside of her, filling her before melting away from their fire. A loud grunt resounded from his core as he came. Then, he pulled free, setting her carefully back down on the concrete floor beneath them.

  “I know it has been a rough day, but I’m glad you are here with me. It doesn’t matter what is happening around us, I always know that at the end of the day, you are what I have left for the night. I hope you know how much I love you, Kara. I hope you know just what lengths I would go for you.
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br />   “I do know, Thomas. Not many men would have indulged my need to come here to meet strangers, much less accompanied me on the journey.”

  “You should always know that you and I are in everything together. I won’t ever leave your side, no matter what. I might not always agree with what you choose, but I will be there for you to support you or catch you if you fall. I promise you that.”

  “I believe you,” she told him, kissing him softly on the lips and stroking the side of his face with her hand.

  “I guess we best finish up in here and get back to the front room. Josh and Barb are going to kill us if they have to take a cold shower because we used up what little hot water there was.”

  “I guess they’ll have to find a way to warm up their shower like we did,” she told him.

  “Yes, I will have to say that I hardly noticed the water at all while I was inside you. It could have been ice cold, and it probably wouldn’t have fazed me in the state you had me worked into.”

  “Likewise,” she laughed, turning to wet her hair and wash it while he lathered up himself and then her. His mouth fell on her left nipple as she leaned back to rinse the suds out of her hair and the water rinsed it clean. His suckling stirred another tingle in her center, her body yearning for him again already, but she resisted, finishing up her hair and pushing him away.

  “Party pooper,” he chided.

  “Uh huh,” she laughed, climbing out to dry off while he did the same. They slipped into the sleeping linens they had bought for nightwear and returned to the living room where the others were reading and chatting about the way the sanctuary was designed according to the book Barb had picked up.

  Chapter Nine

  “Do we need to wait for it to cool back down in there or is it safe for us to get a shower now?” Josh teased as Kara and Thomas stepped back into the living area.

  “I think you can manage it okay as it is,” Thomas told him, plopping down into a nearby chair and fiddling with his own phone. “No signal out here at all.”

  “No. I guess they don’t build towers in the middle of sanctuaries,” Josh told him before following Barb off to the shower.

  “There is a satellite phone in the ranger’s office on the other side of the kitchen if you need to make a call,” Khalib offered as he stepped out of the kitchen, overhearing the conversation.

  “No. It’s fine. I was just going to check my email. I guess it will have to wait until I return to civilization,” Thomas laughed.

  “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” Khalib said, nodding toward him.

  “Great. I’m starving. What are we having? Grain and berries you picked up during our trip across the plain?” Thomas joked.

  “Boiled rhino feces with a side of rice,” Khalib said evenly.

  “I think I just lost my appetite,” Thomas replied, noting the seriousness on Khalib’s face before adding, “Wait. You are kidding, right?”

  “Of course, I’m kidding. What sort of barbarian do you think I am?” he said, laughing as he turned back toward the kitchen.

  Thomas looked at Kara blankly. Khalib was a mystery. One minute he was condescending and rude, the next he was friendly and joking with them. One still had to wonder what had caused the sudden change in his behavior. It was very odd.

  Thomas began to flip through a nearby outdoor magazine, while Kara flipped through one she had found on the Bengal tigers that inhabited the sanctuary. She was completely engrossed in the information she had found there when Barb and Josh returned from the shower and started to sit down, only to be interrupted by Khalib announcing dinner was ready.

  “I’m afraid the table in here is too small for a proper meal, but you can all come in and grab a plate buffet style and just take it back to the chairs in there,” he told them.

  “Is that roast beef?” Josh asked incredulously.

  “Yes,” Khalib replied, handing him a plate.

  “From where? I mean, how did you get fresh meat way out here?” he asked.

  “One of my brothers delivered it,” he said evenly.

  “When? I didn’t see anyone come in,” Josh replied, obviously not considering the obvious answer to this.

  “He delivered it earlier, before we arrived. There is a small cooler in the pantry,” Khalib replied. “I brought some rice and spices with me, but he brought the meat and the vegetables by in preparation for our arrival.”

  “Wow, that’s great. I was expecting canned corned beef or sardines, something from a pile of canned goods kept on hand. This is fantastic,” Josh said excitedly, piling a bit of the meat on this plate.

  “I’m glad you approve,” Josh laughed.

  “A sight better than rhino turds,” Thomas said in a dry tone.

  “What?” Josh replied, looking at his brother strangely.

  “Nothing,” Thomas replied. “Hurry up so the rest of us can get some food before it turns cold.”

  Josh handed the plate of meat across the table to Barb, so she could add to it before preparing another one for himself and moving around to the other side beside her. Thomas and Kara moved closer and prepared their own plates, with Khalib going last. She noted that he didn’t eat any of the meat.

  “You don’t eat meat?” she asked, trying to remember if she had seen him eating any of the jerky on the trail. She was fairly certain that she had.

  “I do, but that is a little more well-cooked than I like mine. I had some earlier while I was cooking, before it got too done,” he said.

  “I see,” she replied, feeling a bit nauseated by the idea that he probably ate it raw or mostly raw. She supposed that was in his nature, but she found it gross, which was probably why he had not eaten it in their presence. She would imagine most people in his past might have had the same reaction, and so he no longer ate it among guests. As they all sat down to eat, Kara decided to take the opportunity to learn what she could about their guide and his family.

  “Your family has always lived here?” she asked.

  “Yes, and no. My father says that we originate here, but then there was a horrible incident that wiped out much of our family. The ones that managed to survive scattered to the winds. It was mostly the younger members that escaped, many of them ending up in far-away places. Our particular line comes from a man named Tiogar that ended up in an orphanage on the other side of the country.

  Kara tried to hide her surprise at the name. She wondered if his name, like that of her ancestor, was one he had taken instead of his own, or if there was some relation to it that had caused Khaleel to call his son that as a sign of endearment. Of course, since the name meant simply ‘tiger,’ it could merely be a coincidence.

  “So, he grew up in the orphanage then?” she asked.

  “No. The story goes that he was fifteen when he realized something was different. He had been sent to the orphanage when he was just a baby, his parents killed in the events that had taken place. He was angry, always angry with everyone, and the nuns at the orphanage were harsh. It didn’t help his attitude at all. Plus, he was big for his age, towering over everyone around him.”

  “That must have been difficult for him. Bad enough to be orphaned, but then to feel different from those around you as well,” Kara nodded.

  “Yes. He didn’t feel sorry for himself, though. Instead, he felt sorry for the smaller boys that would get picked on by the more ruthless kids. He tended to step in to defend them, so he was pegged by the nuns as being a troublemaker and punished for it along with those he put in their place. One day, he had taken on a group of boys that were attempting to beat up a frail, little boy who had just arrived and was scared of his own shadow. He fended them off, but that night, they came in the dark and tried to gang up on him.”

  “They hurt him,” Kara said, feeling an incredible sadness that seemed to be the lot in her paternal ancestor’s lives.

  “No. Very much the contrary. Something happened. They had him pinned down and were threatening to do some very bad things to him. Then t
he same to the other boy he had protected to show him how to mind his own business. One of them cut Tiogar’s pajamas off of him and told the others to hold him down as he undid his pants.”

  “Oh, God. No,” Kara replied, unsure that she could hear anymore. The looks on the faces of the others reflected her feelings as they all paused in their dinner and stared at Khalib.

  “I’m sorry. This isn’t a story for dinner. I just realized,” he said, glancing down at his watch for some reason.

  “No, it’s okay. Go ahead and finish. Please tell me he got away from them,” Kara said.

  “They say that he didn’t know what happened after that. He felt something horrible that seemed to be rippling beneath his skin. It felt like his bones cracked, and his muscles pulsed with life.”

  “What?” Kara replied, looking uncertainly toward Thomas. Was he really about to tell them what his family really was? Why? He didn’t know them, so he surely couldn’t think it was okay to tell his family secret.

  “He was changing, but he didn’t understand it. He couldn’t see himself. He could only feel this power and rage as he tore free of them and began fighting back. He heard screams coming from them and then from the nuns that came running into the room. He backed away, looking at the dead bodies scattered all over the floor, frightened. A caretaker came in with a gun pointed at him, and he ran, jumping out a window. He knew it would be his death, but he saw himself as a monster. To his surprise, he landed on his feet.”

  “Like a cat,” Thomas filled in, his eyes leveled on Khalib suspiciously.

  “Not like a cat. Just a cat. He caught a glimpse of himself in a nearby glass pane and stood there looking at his reflection. He was a tiger, and not just any tiger, but the most massive one he’d ever seen. He didn’t know what to think about what he had become or what he had done. He heard voices yelling, coming for him, and he ran until he was far out in the woods.”

  “They never looked for him?” Kara said, her heart racing.