Billionaire Alpha Romance: The Proposal (Mature Gentlemen Book 2) (251 page)

Chapter 6
  THE AWAY GAME

Luwangwa National Park, perhaps the best of all Southern African game parks covered the large flood plain of the Luwangwa River, which formed the western border of the park.  The only road access to the park was a bridge across the river – perfect for tourists, who were invariably treated to a panorama full of animals: hippos, crocodiles, water buck and other herbivores as soon as they entered the park. Shirlee was enchanted pointing out various animals to Brad, and asking Blessings what they were.  Brad was excited too, but sorely missed his rifle; there were literally dozens of easy shots. Wisely, however, he refrained from mentioning that to Shirlee.

Once across the river on their way to the camp, they saw a family of elephants with several very young infants who were crossing the road ahead of them on their way to drink at the river, magical in the golden light of the afternoon sun.

At the camp, Blessings, after helping them out of the safari vehicle and collecting his rifle from the rack in the vehicle, ushered them to their tent, set on a concrete foundation and including a bathroom which had an open-air shower set overlooking the river but enclosed on the other three sides for privacy. Blessings, after showing them the features of the tent, told them that there would be drinks at the dining enclosure in about half an hour. He told them that they could walk freely in the camp during the day, but warned them that they should be aware that it wasn’t fenced so they should keep their eyes out for game wandering about.  He assured them that dangerous game virtually never entered the camp except at night.

Shirlee and Brad showered and changed their clothes.  It was clear that Brad assumed that as they would be living as a married couple, sleeping in adjacent beds, that his long celibacy would be at an end, and Shirlee really couldn’t think of any way to refuse.  He joined her in the shower, but contented himself with soaping her all over, an activity he and she both  found extremely erotic, but agreed with Shirlee when she urged him to wait until they had more time.

Dinner was not a pleasant experience, except for the food, which was excellent. The four Zimbabweans introduced themselves and then interacted almost exclusively among themselves, except for covert predatory glances at Shirlee and negative comments about America, obviously indirectly addressed to Shirlee and Brad.  Neither Shirley nor Brad retained their names, nor felt any great desire to.   Brad, as usual when confronted by self-confident males, sank into sullen non-responsiveness except for monosyllabic answers to questions directly addressed to him.  Shirlee, despite herself, could not keep her eyes off Blessings. Every inch of him, it seemed, from his sparkling eyes and brilliant teeth, both highlighted by his dark skin, to the substantial bulge in his shorts and the muscular thighs below it, brought back disturbing memories of Harry.  Since nobody but Blessings seemed interested in conversation with her, she really had no choice to chat with him.  He, while trying vainly to make the conversation general, had no choice but to concentrate mainly on Shirlee, bringing out stories of his life as a game guard and quizzing her about her life. In the course of their conversation he gradually felt himself attracted to her personality as well as her body, and wondered why on earth she had gotten engaged to Brad. Surely, she could have done better.   Her emphasis on her straitlaced life was slightly off-putting, but Blessings had known similar clients for whom the African bush brought out behavior they never would have engaged in at home.   He caught the electric vibes between them, despite Shirlee’s attempts to disguise them, and wondered if something might arise out of them to make the safari more interesting both to him and, he hoped, her.  Evading the porcupine next to her would take very careful maneuvering, but the challenge itself would be entertaining. 

As an opening gambit, he casually mentioned the camp swimming pool, situated with a view of the river which could provide a welcome relief from the searing midday heat during their long midday rest period, and was pleased that Shirlee seemed more interested in it than Brad.  Maybe he could build on that.

The Zimbabweans, increasingly inebriated as the meal advanced, lapsed into reminiscing about some bush experiences they had had as youngsters, most notably hunting. Two of them had arranged to “hunt” lions that had been raised for the purpose – the practice known as “canned hunting.”  Brad perked up at that.  It sounded exactly like something he would very much like to do. His fantasies of a lion skin rug as a trophy brought the first animation of the evening onto his face, and he quizzed the guys about their experience. They, of course, emphasized the mostly non-existent dangers involved and how vividly alive they had felt when doing it. Brad was entranced and asked them for the names of the companies they had used and their addresses.

Shirlee was appalled, but said nothing. She had accepted that Brad loved hunting, but somehow, killing deer for food in the American forests where there was a case for culling was entirely different from killing magnificent inedible beasts in the African bush.  The idea horrified her. She was glad when the meal ended because of that, but also because her Blessings-induced memories of Harry had aroused her and made her eager for the encounter that she knew would take place as soon as they reached their tent for the night.

Chapter 7
THE FIRST HALF

Brad, as she had expected, lost no time once they were alone in stripping, obviously expecting her to do the same.  As she did so, he postured and preened, his organ already stiff and throbbing.  As his body was a far cry from that of a Greek god, or even Shirlee’s personal African god, Shirlee avoided looking at him. When she was bare, he took her in his arms and threw her on the bed. She insisted that he turn off the light, but as soon as he had    reluctantly done so, he pushed her legs wide with his knees, and plunged into her. Shirlee had anticipated making a false cry of pain as might be expected of a virgin, but the suddenness of his assault made her cry out without dissembling, and if Brad noticed it at all, he accepted it and continued thrusting without a pause.  Fortunately, Shirlee had been made ready by her daydreaming, and she was well into a growing excitement when he suddenly reached his climax and once the explosion was over, quickly deflated and withdrew, leaving Shirlee in mid-flight.

Humiliated and contrite, he sat up and groaned, “I’m sorry! But I’ve been longing for that for months. Next time will be better.”

“It’s alright,” Shirlee replied truthfully. “It’s just the first time.”

But despite both their efforts, including vigorous hand work by Shirlee, it seemed that the second time would be some time off, perhaps even the following night.  Brad hurriedly levered himself off the bed and stomped out of the room to the shower – not because he particularly wanted a shower, but because it was the only way he could get off by himself where, close to tears, he could recover.  Shirlee lay on the bed and stroked herself until she was calmed. She’d never done that before, but she had read about it and anyway it was an instinctive response to her condition of arousal.   By the time Brad returned, she was lying on her own bed pretending to be asleep, and he joined her silently, relieved that he didn’t have to say anything because he could think of nothing to say.

When they were awakened at dawn the next morning, Brad had “the morning boner,” and wanted to do something about it, but Shirlee argued, accurately, disguising her reluctance, that there was only time to dress and grab a quick cup of coffee before they set off on the morning game drive.

When they were joined by the four groggy Zimbabweans, they were ushered into the safari vehicle. The four Zimbabweans headed for the two rear tiers of seats where the height gave marginally better views, leaving the seat behind Blessings to Brad and Shirlee. This suited Blessings because he thought it likely that the four would be bored with his patter, if not actively disagreeing with what he said, which was quite possible.

It was a glorious morning, the chill in the air giving no hint of the heat that was coming.  Before driving off, Blessings gave the usual instructions about keeping quiet or talking in whispers when game was in sight, not standing up when the vehicle was moving, and not smoking without Blessings’s permission.

Very soon after leaving the camp, they came across a family of hyenas with three pups young enough to be cute.  Since Luwangwa in recent years had been relatively free from poaching, except for rhinos, the family ambled off, not much bothered by the presence of a vehicle. But when one of the Zimbabweans said loudly, “I’ll bet we could kill all of them at once,” they ran. Blessings ignored what the guy had said, but reminded them to keep quiet. Shirlee wanted to ask them why they would want to do that, but was restrained by Brad’s likely reaction. Shirlee had hoped that the whole question of hunting wouldn’t arise in a game park, but apparently she was wrong.

Brad initiated his usual informative talks about Luwangwa and its ecosystem, and was relieved that the Zimbabweans, while showing little interest, did not contradict him. The morning went well with a number of very good sightings, including the majestic sable antelope, waterbuck, male kudus with their magnificent spiral horns and giraffe.

When one of the Zimbabweans mentioned that he was in dire need of somewhere to “mark territory,” Blessings took the opportunity to stop for a morning coffee and bathroom break, choosing an area with widely scattered bushes and very little undergrowth.  He directed the men to the largest of the nearest bushes, and Shirlee to another smaller one.  Everybody but Brad and Shirlee, it seemed, had a similar need to “mark territory” and headed off, leaving them behind at the vehicle. While fixing the tea and buns, Blessings asked Shirlee how she was enjoying the drive.

Shirlee replied, “It’s absolutely fabulous!  Everything I hoped it would be. It’s such a beautiful place. I could stay forever.”

“Some people find it threatening and uncomfortable.”

“Not I!   I love it just like it is and, definitely,” thinking about the conversation about killing hyenas, “don’t want to kill anything, anything at all.”

“It’s not a desire I’ve ever had.”

“How could you kill those darling baby hyenas?  I mean the adults were a bit frightening, so if they threatened you, I can see killing them in self-defense, but the cubs?”

“Actually, the only hyena that’s dangerous is a rabid one, and they’re rare.”

“I’m glad to know that.”

“Even the big cats only attack when they’re very hungry or you’re threatening them in some way.  I’ve a friend at a lion rehabilitation center who plays with the lions just like you’d play with a pet kitty.  Of course they know and trust him.”

“I’d love to do that.”

Don’t try it with big cats, but there are some places in South Africa that let you play with lion cubs if you want.”

“You love the bush, don’t you Blessings.”

“It’s my home! I grew up just outside the park and played with my friends in it from the time I was 5 or 6.”

“Don’t you hanker for the modern world?”

“Not even for one minute.”

The return of the guys put an end to the conversation. Brad went over to Shirlee and asked with a frown, “What were you two talking about?”

“About the bush mostly. Blessings says he loves it and never wants to leave.”

“Better him than me. That’s for sure.”

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s great for a visit. I’m enjoying it, but I miss having my gun.”

To that Shirlee made no reply, and luckily, Blessings was calling them into the vehicle to continue the drive.

For the second half of the morning, Blessings took them into an area not regularly visited by tourists.  The game scouts had reported with great excitement sightings of a rhino there.  Most of the rhinos in Luwangwa had been shot out several decades before, and though spoor had been seen in the remote north of the park, no animals had been seen for a very long time, and none in an area reachable by road.

As they drove, Blessings pointed out a large collection of vultures flying overhead.  “There’s a kill or a dying animal over there.  I don’t know if it will be in sight of the road.”

“Why don’t you just bundu bash?” asked one of the Zimbabweans.

“We’re not allowed to drive off the road,” replied Blessings

“Who’s to know?”

“I’d know.”  The Zimbabwean snorted, making his contempt clear, but said nothing.

After about 15 minutes they drove up to the carcass of a female rhino practically on the road.  Her horns had been sawed off, making it clear that it had been the work of poachers.

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Blessings, and then apologized for his language.

“It was wholly appropriate,” said Shirlee.

“Not to me,” replied Brad.

Then they saw what they had missed at first glance, a very small rhino calf trying to nurse.”

“Oh no!” cried out Shirlee and began to cry.

“It’s only a rhino,” Brad muttered. “What’s to cry about?”

Blessings turned on him and said, “For one thing, it may have been the last adult rhino in the park. I feel like crying myself.”

“It’s the baby, I’m crying about”, Shirley muttered. “Or maybe just the whole beastly business of killing for profit.”

“You eat meat, don’t you?” said one of the Zimbabweans. “What’s the difference?”

“The meat I eat has been grown domestically and wouldn’t exist if we didn’t eat it.”

“So what?”

“I don’t know but it’s different.”

The Zimbabwean just shrugged his shoulders.  Brad agreed with the Zimbabwean, but he’d had this conversation with Shirlee before, so desisted saying so.

Blessings rang the camp on his radio phone to report the killing in hopes that the Park officials would send a helicopter to rescue the baby. Otherwise there was nothing to be done.  In a few minutes he received the news that the helicopter was on its way with a rescue team.

He apologized to his clients, saying, “I’m sorry you had to see this, and unfortunately I have to stay nearby to guide the helicopter in, but we’ll drive around a bit to see what else there is to see in the area. “

Unfortunately the poaching action had frightened away almost all the game, so Blessings was reduced to showing them interesting trees, which didn’t interest the Zimbabweans, and the vultures gathered in the trees waiting their turn at the carcass and a few other remarkable birds such as the Ground Hornbill. By the time they could hear the helicopter approaching, they were bored, hot and upset, but Blessings didn’t see any way to help. As soon as he had directed the copter to the kill, he headed back to camp. He figured everybody, including himself, had had enough.