[Project Nemesis] Jungle Fever

by Celeste Anwar

  She sipped water directly from the waterfall, feeling instantly better and refreshed. She’d been dying of thirst and hadn’t really realized it. As she moved away, the other men followed suit. Remy cupped water in his hand and drank his fill, then splashed water on himself to clean up as best he could while still keeping watch.

  Yvonne dipped her head under the water, rinsing her hair out and running her fingers through the tangles.

  “Muñeca, you´ll have to strip. You´ve got to try and wash that scent away. Whatever the hell it is, it´s fucking strong. Your skin will be permeated in the stuff now,” Rafael told her calmly. He was obviously trying to be as non-threatening as physically possible.

  She realized abruptly that they didn´t know that she was saturated in a chemical pheromone, she didn´t exactly relish the thought of having to strip down in front of them, but she recognized the wisdom in his words. She nodded at him then watched Rafael and Armando join her in the pool. Each went to their own corner.

  They rubbed sand from the bank over their warm, bronze skin. She watched them rinse the blood from their forearms and torsos for a second, then spun around and started to take her clothes off. She had to remove her boots in the water, but there was no way in hell that she was going to leave them beside the pool for a venomous spider to crawl in and bite her on the toe!

  Unzipping her pants, she struggled to tug them from her legs and rubbed the fabric in the water to try to clean some of the scent from the material. She then proceeded to pull her shirt off. It slurped against her skin, and she dropped it into the pool with a plop. She wore a sports bra underneath, so she didn´t feel uncomfortable as she tried to clean the shirt as well.

  There was only so much she could do without soap and/or a washing machine, but she tried anyway. Sinking down under the water, she removed her bra and used it to scrub her arms, neck and stomach since those areas had received the highest concentration.

  Dimly, she heard Remy whistling on the edge of the pool. He was on guard, and she listened to Armando and Rafa speak in Spanish. She didn´t understand but one word in twenty, but she had to admit that it sounded very sexy with their deep, rumbly voices.

  The area was a peaceful one. Nothing much was happening, but there were sounds from everywhere--the jungle was never silent, it had always amazed her. She could hear a bird´s whistle, the sound of the trickling waterfall, the rustle of leaves and the gentle sway of a tree in the gentle breeze.

  The jungle was a world of its own, but in its own way it was truly beautiful. Take this pool, nowhere else in the world would you be able to expect this little area of beauty in the middle of a bunch of trees! The jungle was special, it wasn´t her favorite place on Earth, she preferred the mountains or forests, as that was her home ground, but she could appreciate and enjoy the lush beauty here.

  She heard the wading of the two men, and assumed they were getting out of the pool, so she tried to speed up since she knew they´d yell at her if she took too long. She didn´t expect to feel a hand on her arm, so she squealed and spun around in shock. Armando´s eyes flared over her bare breasts and dark nipples, and he suddenly pulled her into his chest, and started to kiss her with great biting kisses, that at any other time would have turned her on and had her immediately jumping into bed.

  His kissing was frenzied, hurried, and she moaned at the feel of his pecs with their slight dusting of hair rubbing against her nipples. She restrained herself somehow, and tried to push him away.

  Instead of stopping, his mouth gentled, his tongue played with hers, coaxing her into the game. She was tempted, so tempted to give in, but how could she? A hand reached up to cup her breast, she stiffened, but his lips started to press into hers again, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, rubbing hers every time. She could feel arousal start to thrum in her veins.

  “No!” she yelled, the sound muffled against his mouth. She struggled against him, and almost pulled away until Rafael came up behind her, and pushed her against Armando so that she couldn´t escape. Armando´s mouth returned to hers, kissing her while his hands kneaded her breasts. Underneath the water, she could feel Rafael’s cock nudge her backside while Armando’s cock teased her belly. She moaned, weakly trying to fight them off.

  Rafael pinched the other nipple, his mouth nuzzled against her neck, and his other hand started to trace its way down her stomach and into her panties. She started to struggle again since she knew she’d be helpless and unable to resist if he touched her pussy.

  Rafa´s hand tightened on her nipple, and his mouth clamped down in the crook of her neck, sucking her hard. She shrieked in surprise and this time Armando released her and pulled her away from Rafa. She stared at them both, her breasts heaving as she panted for air.

  She quickly covered them as she saw both men watch them jiggle and sway with her movements. She glared at them, rejecting their advances, and they left the pool. Sinking down under the water, she washed herself a little bit more, since the water obviously hadn't dulled the effect of the chemical--they were still attracted to her. What made it worse was that she was attracted to them too! What a fucking situation.

  Hearing a sudden torrent of angry Spanish, she spun around and watched Rafa and Armando argue in a way that only the Latin can do. Every limb, bone, and muscle vibrated with passionate anger. She almost smiled at the feeling-fueled argument, especially as Armando was a part of it! She had seen him act coldly, sarcastically, sardonically and harshly. She hadn´t known him long, but it felt like a lifetime, and she had yet to see him express so much feeling ... it was a definite improvement, which wasn´t very good for her now, was it? Not when she couldn´t control her attraction for him now, when he was a cold-hearted bastard!

  The fact that her body reacted to them like that made her feel weak and wary. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle seducing her way out of this after all, but it seemed she’d have an easy time of getting any one of them to agree to bedding her.

  Her cunt throbbed with arousal. She ducked under the water, rubbing herself lightly, hoping to quell the ache, but it only made it worse. Especially when she could see every inch of their glistening male flesh and their semi-hard erections.

  She wondered when she’d turned into such a wanton.

  Admittedly, she wasn’t used to walking around with three good-looking men that were naked more than they were dressed. She’d seen everything they had to offer, and it looked good.

  Armando suddenly reverted to English, “We shouldn´t have lost control like that, it´s a fucking disgrace. How long were we in the Marines? Not long enough, by the frigging look of it? She could have been yelling in pain, and neither one of us would have stopped. Stay away from her Rafe. ¡Déjala en paz! Chica,” he yelled at her from behind, “Get your ass in gear, the scent hasn´t gone, you can´t wash it all off--you need soap.”

  “He´s got a fucking nerve,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Don´t forget, chica, what I am. I have better hearing than you do. Now, move,” Armando told her sarcastically.

  Shaken by what had nearly happened, she quickly pulled on the soggy clothes, regretting not taking off her shoes at the side of the pool, when she felt them fill up with water. If she wasn´t careful, she´d end up with a blister or jungle rot. It depended on how far they had to walk. Somehow, these three men had scrambled her brains, she couldn´t defend herself or attack them, she did stupid things like take her boots into the water. Stupid, stupid actions that could cause problems. If she got a blister, it could get infected, and then there would be more complications! Could it be the pheromone that she was reacting to? No, it couldn´t be, she was human.

  Shaking her head at the thought, she redressed as best she could. She felt uncomfortable with the weight of her clothes, but it was nice to be cool, so she couldn´t complain. She walked forward, squelching all the while.

  Armando grabbed her arm and started to pull her along with him, probably to keep her close so she couldn´t run, but she pulled free of him, an
d said with as much dignity as she could, when she stood there looking like a bag lady, “I´m perfectly capable of walking by my damned self.”

  She glared at him, watched his eyebrow quirk up slightly, but that was his only reaction. She looked at Rafa, who was grinning at her. She whacked him in the gut. That soon shut him up.

  “Armando, Rafa shift. Something´s coming,” Remy yelled. He was further ahead than she and the two men, but he ran back as he spoke, “Cherie, climb on top of me when I´ve shifted, we´ve got to move, they´re coming in fast.”

  She jumped when all three shifted at practically the same time, but clambered on to Remy´s back, uncomfortable at the thought that she was way too heavy for him. His back didn´t cave in, so she assumed that he was alright, and they set off at a sprint. It wasn´t a very comfortable ride. She bounced and jiggled about on his back, it was odd because she had to lift her legs so that they didn´t drag on the ground. She´d learned to ride a horse at David´s farm, but she hadn´t enjoyed it so she´d never put much effort into becoming a more proficient rider. If she´d thought that horse-riding was bad, then this sure as hell was.

  With a horse you could feel muscles bunching and clenching, but Yvonne could feel Remy´s every movement, every subtle shift of bone, every sinew--she could feel everything. She clung to him to stay on his back, and because she had to focus so much on just clinging on to Remy, she couldn´t protect herself from the scrape of branches that tore at her hair and skin, scratching her and drawing blood. Every time she flinched in pain from being cut, she didn´t know how, but she knew the cats recognized her pain and she could feel their speed increase as though they wanted to get her to protection, wherever that was, as soon as possible.

  It didn´t take long to get to a cave, that unless you looked for it, you´d never ever see it or be able to find it. The cave was a strange place, sort of open and closed at the same time. She’d heard that water carved most of the cave systems in the area, and that many of them led to underground rivers and lakes. She wasn’t sure what this one held, but they had to move deeper inside for full shelter.

  The cave was perfect for three men/cats though. Maybe not so much for her, but she wasn´t going to fuss about it. Truth be told, she wanted to sleep more than anything else, and she didn´t care where the hell she did it, so long as she could sleep off this awful day. Maybe if she slept for a while, she would stop feeling so odd.

  It came to her like a light bulb switching on above her head, she was acting weird, because she was acting like a woman. That was why she felt odd. She was normally one of the guys, the original tomboy, and here with these über masculine men, she felt pain, she whined and moaned and complained. It was like a parallel universe for her, she was strong and unmovable, she had a soft core to her, but that was usually reserved for animals.

  At work she was a bitch, a respected bitch, but one nevertheless. She wasn´t a feminine person. That these three strangers made her feel that way freaked her out. It more than made her feel uncomfortable. How could they completely change her personality in the space of a few hours? She´d actually started to rely on them. She´d learned too often in life that you can only rely on number one, the majority of her foster parents had proved that, and Tyrell had merely provided more evidence! She wasn´t sure she liked her reactions to them. Iin fact she was damned sure that she didn´t like it! She was a soldier, for fuck´s sake! She couldn´t forget that.

  Remy padded into the cave, deep enough that she was in shelter, but she could still see, it wasn´t so dark. What remaining light there was left of the day entered the cave, and she sighed with relief when Remy bucked his back, as though to say you can get off now. She did willingly and stretched her tense muscles as she stood, trying not to wince at the many cuts and scratches that protested at the stretch. She wiggled her back to release the tension there.

  Watching the men shift, she realized she was getting used to the incredible sight. She didn´t think she would ever not be slightly shocked, it was a bloody shocking thing after all. She´d always been down to Earth, never believed in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus, she´d never had reason to, so to see something she´d always classified as folklore, either that or some sort of Halloween joke, was inconceivable. In particular, she found their physiques incredibly attractive. She tried to look at them as she shuttered her eyelashes--she couldn´t help it.

  It made the breath catch in her chest, made her pulse quicken through her veins. She’d seen everything they had to offer each time they shifted back to human form and stood there, naked for all to see. They were truly beautiful. She could feel arousal start to burn low in her belly, but she tried to ignore it, since she knew that she couldn´t act on it.

  Remy was a dark blond, his hair burnished bronze in the fiery light of the sunset, he had a shaggy cut that framed his gorgeous face to perfection. His eyes, she thought, were green, but he had this sultry stare that did crazy things to her insides. His eyelids were perpetually half-closed, he should have looked odd, either that or as though he needed to wear glasses, but he didn´t, it gave him this moody edge that made her want to jump him. His chin was stubbled, his jaw strong, but it was softened by the two dimples that appeared whenever he joked with Rafael. His body was stocky but muscular, he looked strong.

  Rafael was leaner, his muscles just as pronounced, but his body looked perfect for running. He had the look and moves of someone who’d been through military training—Armando too, for that matter. Although his muscles weren´t huge, he still had massive biceps and the most gorgeous six-pack she’d ever seen in her life. His hips and waist were cut and framed his cock magnificently. He had spooky golden eyes that matched his cat, they followed her eerily at times, but they burned with passion. He was tall and rangy, which added to her theory that he looked like a runner--he was head taller than her at least.

  Armando was the coldest of the three, but somehow it made him all the more intriguing. She thought his standoffishness had something to do with the scars. They were a reminder of what was probably a bad time in his life, she doubted the physical remains of that time, i.e. the scars, were the problem, it was the cause and source of them that probably hurt. He had olive toned skin, and light brown hair and eyes. He was tall and rangy too, but his body was strong and powerful. He looked like a swimmer, no fat on any inch of him.

  All three of them were beautiful, Remy the boxer, Rafa the runner and Armando the swimmer. She´d never felt this way about one man before, never mind three. But she couldn´t help it, she felt like a moth fluttering towards their flame, it was instinctive and primal, and even scarier because of that. She had to fight it, she had no choice. Yvonne knew, however, that it wouldn´t be easy.

  “Hey! Caught in the act, chérie! She was checking out my ass, guys,” Remy grinned and winked at her, then gestured ´fuck you´ at Rafael with his hand.

  She could feel her cheeks burn up in embarrassment, which compounded her guilt. She had been checking out his ass, it was a mighty fine one too! She knew that she couldn´t touch, but there was nothing that said she couldn´t look! No matter how much she longed to just sleep and rest, she knew that she had to get away from them before she lost her head.

  Armando glared at her, but he said briskly, “Stop pissing about, Remy. I´ll build a fire, she´ll freeze otherwise, her clothes are soaked. Take off your boots before your feet blister.”

  Yvonne couldn´t help but be pleased that they wanted to take care of her, but then they needed her to be alive and well, didn´t they if they were going to use her as a ransom? It wasn´t for her, it was for the hostage. They´d have done it for anyone.

  “Rafe, you go out and find something to eat. Find our little Vegan some fruit if you can. I thought I saw some trees by the river. Remy make sure we weren´t followed. Check the perimeter, I don´t feel like fighting again tonight.”

  “Yes, boss,” Remy saluted him sarcastically, “Come on Rafe, shift your ass.”

  No matter how dour Armando was, she couldn´t help but fe
el attracted to him. The wounds he suffered inside called out to her—a kindred spirit who she empathized with. He was so intense, but graceful at the same time. Each movement was light, every action well-planned, he was always on alert. Even making the fire, she knew that his attention was split between her, his task, and the exterior of the cave; he was ready for any attack.

  That attention to detail made her feel protected, but she also recognized that this was a perfect time to escape them while they were separated. She had to get away from them, before she became too involved. The feelings they inspired in her were new and scary, and she didn´t relish falling in love with three men, only for them to dump her later on when they could escape the island. She knew it wouldn´t take much for her to make that drop into love.

  As tough as she pretended to be, her heart was tender and vulnerable.

  Yvonne recognized the danger, and knew that she had to act before she lost her heart to the three men that had captured her. She would have been terrified had she been feeling this way about just one of them, but to feel it about all three, what was that about? Whatever it was, she knew that she had to nip it in the bud immediately.

  Her only option was to seduce him and then maybe hit him on the head with one of the rocks that littered the cave floor when he was reaching his climax. She quashed the guilt that she already felt, but knew that she would seduce him. If she succeeded in her attempt to incapacitate him, then this could be the very last time that she saw him.

  Despite herself, she couldn´t help but feel upset about that possibility. Something deep inside her recognized that Remy, Rafael, and Armando were special. But she had to get away from them. She knew that as soon as she returned back to her men, she would lie and say that she was ill, she couldn´t take part in the project again.

  No way, no how. She would just have to bargain with the IRS and say that she had no means to pay the debt. She didn´t relish the thought, but she refused to be a party to the scientists here on the island fucking with nature.