Jungle Cries - ISBN #1-4199-0789-1
Captor and prisoner.
For space explorer Ram, the woman he captures serves one goal only - to guide him to the site on the planet Lamis where he can replenish his spacecraft’s power supply. For Saasa, the tall, intense warrior is unlike any man she’s come across before - certainly not the men of her tribe, nor the rampaging explorers who landed previously, and took something priceless from her she can never regain.
But for a suspicious Ram, binding Saasa to turn her to his will is a double-edged sword. The fiery beauty is nothing like the women from his planet. Quiet, resourceful, with a warriorlike courage, suspicion soon turns to respect, from respect to something…more.
The journey through the steamy jungle to the source of the power thrusts two strong adversaries into situations neither one has encountered before. And underneath that burgeoning respect is a different awareness, a primal awakening for both of them that will spark needs - both physical and emotional - neither can deny. However, Saasa holds a secret, a secret Ram must uncover before he can let her go. But by then it may be too late - for both of them.
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Excerpt
She ran like a wild animal. Her small, athletic body under perfect control, she all but flowed around the trees as if she’d been born to do this one thing. She made him think of a long-legged, gentle plant-eater relying on speed to escape a predator.
Predator. He’d become that, and more.
But although Ram was among Jumaane’s swiftest runners, so far the space explorer had made no headway in bringing her down. He might have overtaken her if he’d been familiar with this land, but of course that was impossible. The Qasim female had been born on the planet Lamis while he’d only been here less than a lunar.
Reminding himself of what had to be accomplished if he and his companions were ever going to leave Lamis, he lengthened his stride. Running like this felt like freedom, like becoming one with the ground beneath his feet, like having no existence beyond his body.
As he split his attention between his surroundings and the female, he wondered whether she felt the same way. Perhaps terror blinded her to all other sensations, but her smooth, easy stride made him think she too took pride in what her muscles and bones were capable of. Was she more human or animal? Unfortunately, he didn’t know because the life-scanners that had studied Lamis were incapable of detecting more than physical forms.
There were few rocks here and, unlike the great and vital jungle lurking to the south, only a minimum of roots and vegetation covered the dirt. And the tall, broad trees were well spaced, making it possible for predator and prey to race at nearly full speed. The sun beat down on Ram’s head and bare shoulders and back. Sweat streamed, but his endurance-trained lungs could keep up the pace for as long as it took to capture the nearly naked two-legged creature.
And he would capture her. No other outcome was possible.
She may be the one, the Qasim I need to guide me into the jungle.
The reminder of the vital task ahead of him caused his concentration to slip. By the time he’d pulled it back to pursuit, he’d lost sight of her. Slowing a little, he scanned his surroundings. A moment later, he spotted movement to the right of a trio of trees. The trees, many times taller and larger than any on his home planet of Atrver, had fascinated him from the moment he’d emerged from the disabled spacecraft he shared with nine others. Now, watching the female among them, he wondered if she took them for granted.
Surprised that he cared what or what might not exist in her mind, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His nails dug into his palms as a reminder of what his body and heart existed for. He was a highly educated explorer of other worlds. And today he had one goal, to capture the fire-haired female.
Distracted again, this time by the great mass flowing behind her like a flaming veil, he imagined what it would feel like in his hands. What her slight but strong body beneath his would say to his cock.
Catch her now. Quit following her like some curious predator. Throw your ropes over her and pin her to the ground and spread her legs. Rip off her crude garments and bury yourself in her soft depths. Pound into her.
A familiar tightening in his groin served as an unwanted reminder of how long he’d been without a female. Yes, the spacecraft came equipped with anatomically correct androids, but the sun-fueled sex diversions were no better than masturbating, while this wild creature-
Something pressed against his cheeks and lips. It took a moment to realize he’d run into a web and another to rub away the sticky fibers. By the time he’d gotten the last of the disgusting stuff out of his mouth, the shadows again hid her. Years of setting foot on foreign planets had taught him wary patience, but today he felt the way he had as a teenager, eager and anxious, afraid he’d fail. Failure came in many forms, and this one struck at a core he seldom allowed himself to acknowledge. If he lost her, the loss would touch more than just his pride and confidence. He might have doomed himself and his fellow travelers.
There. Muted by tree shade. Still running but looking back over her shoulder at him. There was too much distance between them for him to see into her eyes, and yet the power behind her gaze dug beneath his surface.
I will change you, she seemed to be saying. Nothing about either of us will be as it was before life brought us together.
Then let it happen! he challenged. I’ll bring you to your knees and force what I must have from you. Roaring uncivilized defiance, he sent fresh determination to his legs. His were much longer and stronger than hers so surely he could overtake her, but the weight of his muscled body slowed him while she seemed like some swift bird. Half expecting her to take flight, he measured the distance between them. Where she easily anticipated what was ahead and made last-instant adjustments, he knew only to run after her through strange land. No matter how much he hated admitting it, she was outstripping him.
She kept looking back at him, undoubtedly judging the distance between them, but instead of crying out in victory, she kept her steady and seemingly endless pace. Her clothing consisted of a strip of thin, pale green fabric that went around the back of her neck before crisscrossing over her breasts and ending in a tie at the small of her back. Her arms were bare, and her short skirt ended at mid-thigh. In contrast to the gauzy material designed for freedom of movement, she wore sturdy sandals. A long, slender knife hugged her right hip.
More distance between them. No sound of her breathing. Legs pumping effortlessly. Hair flying and arms bent and close to her body. Flowing around the great trees, feet floating. Maybe drawing him near her people’s warriors.
When she again glanced back, he read challenge in the brief contact. Catch me, foreigner! I dare you!
But he couldn’t! She was going to escape.
No!
Hating himself for having to resort to this, he reached for the holster strapped to his waist and pulled out the sun-powered gun that served as his only weapon. When he’d first spotted her crouched on a slope above him, he’d gauged her weight and set the gun on medium stun, but although he could have brought her down without having to chase her, something, maybe the fact that she was female, had stayed his hand. He’d wanted this chase to be physical and not technology versus primitive. However, primitive was winning.
No longer.
Silently apologizing, he aimed and fired. A flash of light shot out the end of the barrel and struck her between her shoulder blades. She continued to run, flowing like a waterfall. Then she stumbled, threw out her arms, and fell face-forward.