Jungle Freakn' Bride (36 page)

It was a wonder the neighbors didn’t complain about the screaming.

Yeah, so she loved them even if she didn’t say it.
In some respects, she felt like she’d already given them too much
–
that she wanted them to go first.
Let them pu
t themselves out there for once.
They didn’t.

Do they need to
say it
,
though
,
when they show me
how much they care for me
every
day?
And they did.
Little things like bring
ing
her coffee
in
bed
and filling the place with
flowers.
They often b
r
ought
her home chocolate and steaming coffee. They also did bigger things like get her a phone and a wicked home office set up for her research and studies.

But it wasn’t just things they bought
that showed their true feelings
.
She and Chaob discovered a love of corny reality shows, watching them together with a buttery bowl of popcorn, laughing and talking
the
evening away.
Acat took her dancing, watching from the bar as she shook her thing, taking only to the floor during the slow songs where he cradled her close to his body
, showing his possession – and his passion
.

They went exploring and she learned to view the city through a new set of eyes.
Even here
,
danger lurked, more so for her status as a woman than her cat.
Acat and Chaob taught her how to keep herself safe, and she thanked them for it
.

Most of all
,
she treasured how
d
espite how hard Acat found it, he trusted her every day when he left for work – after giving her a passionate kiss.
He
t
rusted she’d be there
when he came home
.
Bit by bit, his anxiety
eased
when he walked through the door, his gaze always searching her out.
The fact he let her have
her
freedom, in spite of his upbringing, in spite of his fear she’d one day fly away,
G
od, how could she care if he didn’t say the L word when he gave her his trust?

On her end
, aside from great sex, Carlie returned the favor.
She kept their secret.
Carlie got to talk to her family when she wanted, regaling them with stories of the jungle, editing out the parts she knew her family wouldn’t understand. Unless she spoke to Ruth
–
with
whom Acat said she could speak frankly. Thank
G
od
,
because she need
ed
to speak with someone else
who also dealt with a new way of life with furry friends.

It should have been perfect. The life she always wanted. And it was. She loved her men. Loved the apartment. Loved being able to work, play, shop, go dancing.

But
, much as it gagged her to admit it,
she missed the damned jungle. Missed the quiet green spaces, the freedom of little to no clothing. She missed
letting
her
damned kitty cat
out
.

What galled
her
even more was having to admit it out loud.

Chaob sensed something amiss when he got home and pulled her
pacing frame
onto his lap. “What is it, datura?”

“Nothing.
”

“She lies,” Acat announced
,
stepping from the kitchen with plates of steaming food – catered
,
of course.
H
e
r guys
cooked about as well as she did.

“There’s nothing really wrong.”

“Except?” Chaob urged
,
rubbing his cheek against hers, soothing her with his scent and touch.

She let out a big sigh.
“
D
on’t get too excited, but I think
I’m feeling a hankering for the jungle.”

“You are?”
She saw Acat try and
stifle a smile. “Well, w
e can’t have that now
,
can we
?
”

“Lucky for you, we’ve wound up our business and have a few weeks we can take to visit the tribe
and your friends
.”

“And maybe go for a trip back to those ruins
with the giant bath
?” she asked with a winsome smile.

“
Only if you promise not to go chasing after spiders.”

She shuddered.
“
No worries there. So when can we leave?”

“In the morning if you’d like.”

“
Awesome.
Just
wait until you see my new outfit.”

Acat’s brow drew together.
“
Outfit?
”

W
ith a mischievous grin
,
she pulled out her purchase
– which fit in a small pocket
–
and shook it.

Acat’s eyes widened while Chaob broke out a chuckle. “What is that?” her husband practically shouted.

“My new bikini.”
She blinked innocently.

“What was wrong with the old one?”

“Bah. Animal print is so last year,” she scoffed as she held up the even tinier
blue
polka
-
dotted one she bought. “Don’t you like it? Of course, I had to do a little extra maintenance
south of the waist
to go with it.”
When Acat’s brow drew together in confusion, she flung her legs to sit astride Chaob’s. Then slowly, ever so slowly, she l
ift
ed
up her skirt
. She’d ditched
her panties
earlier
so they got the full effect
,
and
she couldn’t help but laugh at the look on
her husbands
’
face
s
. “It’s called a Brazilian,” she explained when
t
he
y
couldn’t say a word.

“You-you
–
”
Acat fumbled for words.

Chaob shook his head, mirth dancing in his eyes as he
squeezed her in his arms, the lump under her bottom swelling
. “You are surprising and wonderful is what I think he means to say.”

“And what do you say?” she asked, nipping his chin.

“That you look good enough to eat.”

And so he did
,
to her screaming delight. Acat, once he found his tongue again, also put it to good use, and then
,
and only then
,
did they finally go on a jungle visit
–
minus the new bikini that mysteriously disappeared. Little did her husband
s
know, she’d bought several more in different colors because it turned out
they were
right. Less was better
,
a
t least in the rainforest.

Once upon a time, a modern girl went on an expedition and met two warriors. She never expected to fall in love, especially with two men. She also never expected how much the savage grace and beauty of the rainforest would come to mean to her. How much she would need its humid haven and wild green spaces to soothe her soul. Once upon a time,
Carlie
was a much different person.

Now, running through the lush undergrowth, the scents of nature filling her nose, the sounds of life
–
real life, not the artificialness of city life and technology
–
washed over her.

Much as she loved modern living, this was home, and the two feline males chasing her tail, the loves of her life. And as far as this jungle freakn’ bride was concerned, it wasn’t tradition that needed changing, but the world.

Months later…

Kicking off her heels, Carlie padded into the living room,
and Acat couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her
.
To think once upon a time, he’d thought to cage this wild and perfect beauty. Thankfully
,
Chaob showed him the way. The gods truly blessed him when they chose her as his bride
.

“Did you enjoy your
afternoon
?”
he asked as she continued to smile mysteriously.

“I did.
Is
Ch
a
ob
here?”

“I am,” her other husband replied
,
sticking his head
out of the bedroom,
his
hair still damp from
a
shower
. “Is something amiss?”

“Nope.
But I have news that I think you’ll want to hear.”

Wandering out barefoot,
dressed only in a towel,
Ch
a
ob
slid onto the couch, a wary look on his face as Carlie paced before them.
Acat’s inner beast roused, tail twitching, excited
,
but about what
,
Acat couldn’t discern
.

“So, remember how I’ve been studying the plants and water in and around the village?”

“Yes.”

“And found nothing.”

“Yes.”
Acat spoke the word a second time, more warily.

“Well, I must have missed something.”

“And you’re telling us this because?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Chaob whooped before scooping her up to spin her around. Acat, the more restrained of the pair
,
stole her when her feet hit the ground and gave her a thorough kiss.

Breathless and with her cheeks flushed, she laughed. “I wasn’t done
with my news
.
I know you said it was impossible, but
I’m pregnant with
twins.”

Acat’s breath caught. “As in two babes?” He palmed her slightly budding stomach, wondering how he’d missed the evidence. His feline chuffed
,
t
ail twitching even more madly.

“Yes, two. Two girls to be exact.
”

When Acat came to,
prone on the floor,
Carlie peering anxiously at him, he grabbed her and drew her down to his chest for a tight hug. “
Twin girls?
Are you sure?”

“Very. I got extra tests
done
just
in case
because I didn’t want to drop the bombshell without having all the facts. I mean, I kind of expected the twin thing given it happens every other generation in my family, but girls. Think of what this means?”

It meant his father would have an
apoplectic
fit as the
evidence
mounted that it was time for the tribe to move away from their old ways
,
t
hat perhaps they’d out
-
stayed their time on the tribal lands.
But that was a problem for another day. Right now, he had a happy mate anxiously eyeing him.

“
Have I told you how much I love you?” he said.

Blinking
,
her mouth rounded into an O of surprise. “Um, no actually.”

He frowned. “Yes
,
I have.”

“No
,
you haven’t. Not the L word
,
at any rate.”

Acat
scrambled to his feet and yanked her up with him.
How could he not have said it? Surely in some of their happier moments
,
he’d…
s
hit. Done everything but tell her how he felt. Shown her
?
Y
es. Spoken
?
No. Time to fix that error.

“Then forgive me,” he said. “Because I should have said it the moment I felt it. I love you
,
Carlie, wife, mate, soon
-
to
-
be mother of my cubs and most wonderful thing to ever happen to me.
An
d
Chaob,” he added with a wink in his
friend
’s direction.