Jungle Freakn' Bride (5 page)

First things first, though. She
yanked
at the creeping fabric of her top trying to cover herself. It didn’t prove very successful given her
Tarzan
wanna-be
captor jogged and leapt through
a
jungle lit
in only a feeble
light
.
T
he
slight twists and turns of his body, along with gravity
,
pull
ed
at the fabric
of her shirt
.
Braless under
her
tank top, it meant her boobs rubbed against the smooth skin of his back, a fact that once noticed
,
caused her nipples to harden.

Traitorous things. She didn’t want him to think she’d welcome his advances if he ever paused to take a break. However, she couldn’t stop her body’s biology. Handsome physique rubbing against a sensitive part of her body equaled stupid boobs that would never see the light of day again if they didn’t behave.
Thankfully, he didn’t notice.
She didn’t know if she should feel relief or indignat
ion
. Why kidnap her if not for her body?

Carlie wasn’t too modest to admit she possessed a nice frame. She’d had enough boys admire it over the years, used it to her advantage more than once
,
to
not
have an
y
illusions. But, unless he spied on her beforehand,
her abductor
had no idea of her shape or looks before he kidnapped her
–
h
e and his cohort.

Speaking of
whom
, where was his partner in crime? She distinctly remembered two men in camp. Plus one big freakn’ cat. A cat with eyes just like
the man she’d
…

Nope. Not going there. In her groggy, half
-
awake state, she must have mistaken some realistic jaguar mask for the man. How else to explain they both possessed the same mismatched eyes?
As for the raspy tongue and big feline body she’d felt? Again, a product of her imagination. She thought a cat accosted her, so of course she attributed certain characteristics to the event. In reality, a ma
le
, in a cat suit, licked her.
Totally gross.

The cat disguise theory held up until dawn
fully arrived in all its bright glory and
a jaguar, with a matching pair of golden eyes bounded down from a tree to land behind them.

She shrieked a warning and finally her jogging abductor slowed his pace.

“Turn around
,
you idiot, there’s a freakn’
ferocious kitty
behind you,” she whispered, nervously watching the feline
keeping
pace
with
them.
But he either didn’t understand her, or didn’t care, because he took his time sliding her off his shoulder and seating her on a rock.
Despite the feline menace stalking behind him, she found her gaze riveted by the giant in front of her.

Holy. Freakn’. Hotness.

Up, up, up she craned to see him in all his wide
,
muscled glory.
Sporting the mismatched eyes she recalled, in the
increas
ing
leaf filtered da
wn light, she saw every detail from his smooth
,
tanned skin to his slabs of muscles – so well
-
defined and drool
-
worthy – to his chiseled features, sensual lips
,
and down lower to tapered hips and an honest to
G
od
loincloth
that barely covered him
– a
little scrap of leather that twitched as she stared.

Oh shit. Up flew her gaze to meet his amused expression. Mouth dry, heart racing
,
and palms sweating
–
for reasons other than the heat
–
she tried to think of something to say
,
whether he understood or not.

“I hope that jaguar bites it off.”
Before he had a chance to use it.
However,
it seemed she wouldn’t get her wish because from around the behemoth stepped a slightly smaller version
of hotness
with the same long
,
dark hair
,
but
eyes a matching amber
-
gold.

Of the cat, she didn’t see a sign.
Maybe they did travel with a pet after all
,
or the other guy scared it off
.
Or he was wearing a pretty realistic cat suit. Maybe they take turns wearing it.
She’d heard about this syndrome back in some psych class she took in university.
U
rsusagalmatophilia or
something, also known as grown men dressing up like stuf
fed animals.
If her situation weren’t so screwed, she’d find it fascinating for study.

Nervous at how they kept staring
– unwavering gazes with flat expressions
–
she fidgeted, unable to look away.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m an American citizen,” she stated
,
since she seemed to hold both of their attention.
“I demand you bring me back to my camp. At once.”
She emphasized with a sta
mp of her booted foot. Boots? Hunh, they’d actually thought to cover her feet. How odd.

The big one crossed his arms and half his lip curled
as
he shook his head.

He didn’t speak, but he
inadvertently
answered on
e
question
. He understood some English. Or he interpreted her tone.
Maybe she could work with that.
“You can’t keep me.”
Brave words that didn’t
match
the fearful flutters in her tummy.

Never taking his eyes from her, he conversed with his buddy. Mayan or some sort of language she’d not learned because she couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
They seemed to argue for a moment
,
with the smaller one, whom she dubbed Golden
Grin because of his bright smile
,
which he blasted her way
,
talking rapidly while the big
one, Mr. Kitty
,
shook his head. With a shrug, Golden
Grin
gave up.

From a leather satchel strung around his neck, the big one withdrew a canteen. How modern of him. He offered it to her and after taking a cautious sniff, she drank of the tepid water
,
g
ulped it actually.
She also tore into the fruit and
dried meat strips he handed her.
Good to know they didn’t plan to starve her.

Her chance to escape came when the big one mimed squatting and pointed to the bushes.
A pee break?
Carlie didn’t waste her puny urge to go on doing what he wanted. As soon as he turned his back to give her privacy, she took off running. More nimble than her size would have led people to believe, she leap
ed
through the foliage and made it a whole t
en yards before getting reeled in by an arm around the waist.

One arm
,
j
ust one
freakn’ arm
around her waist
,
and he not only halted her
,
but lifted her straight up off the ground.
Impressive didn’t even come close to describing it.
It also proved that if she planned to escape, she need
ed
a better plan.
And possibly wings
,
because
Mr. Kitty
didn’t put her back down. Instead
,
he stalked over to the base of a large tree and handed her up. His cohort, already perched on a branch
,
reached down to grab and haul her up.
But they didn’t stop at the first wide bough. No sir
e
e Bob. Mr. Kitty vaulted up and swung himself onto the branch
,
then the next one, reaching for her once he landed. In tandem, they moved up several layers until they found a spot they liked. Then, back braced against the trunk, the big one sat down, legs slightly spread
,
and she ended up nestled between those rock hard thighs, an arm anchored around her waist, leaning back against
a
bare chest.

She enjoyed it much more than the situation warranted.
Enjoyed it
–
as in
,
nipples stood to attention,
her
body tingled
,
and
her traitorous
cleft moistened kind of way.
Not a prude by any means, Carlie was nevertheless shocked by her body’s reaction.
How dare it enjoy the brute’s closeness
?
Good looks, hunky body or not, these men
were
kidnappers for
G
od’s sake
,
and
obviously didn’t mean her any good.
T
hen again
,
they’d
also not done her any harm
, unless one ignored the kidnapping itself
–
and the fact they’re making a certain body part ache
.
But
,
back to the c
apture
of which
she still couldn’t make
heads or tails
. Were they slavers? Cannibals? Or, no, surely she’d not stumbled across the mystical Moon Ghosts? Her sister Ruth would have pissed her panties in excitement.
She’d lectured Carlie at length about the mystical tribe and their bride quests.

Supposedly
,
the Moon Ghosts could change themselves in
to
jaguars
,
and using their stealth,
stole
girls
as brides
,
leaving behind riches in their place.
It would make a great movie, but Carlie was a realist.
“Who are you and what do you want?” she asked, not expecting an answer. And she didn’t technically get one
,
unless the little voice in her head counted. But it only said
four
words.
To make you ours
.
It was the visual afterward, though, that sucked the breath right out of her. Panting, sweaty, limbs sliding over limbs, three bodies intertwined…

Great. She was a victim of abduction in the jungle, with non
-
English speaking, mostly naked hunks, and she apparently harbored weird delusions of threesomes.
D
espite the interesting visuals this conjured
– and the fact her pussy practically screamed,
“
Try me!
”
–
neither man laid a sexual hand on her. Actually, the second guy dropped out of sight
,
leaving her alone with the big guy, who sported an impressive erection at her back. Hard
-
on or not
,
though, his hands didn’t roa
m. A shame or a blessing? She couldn’t have honestly said.

Carlie
didn’t expect to sleep much, yet to her surprise, in the cocoon of
her abductor’s
arms, she slumbered for a few hours, maybe more, perched in a tree. What a sight they must have
made
. At one point, the men switched places, not that her body seemed to care, it
e
njoy
ed
the hot and hard presence of Golden
Grin
just as much as Mr. Kitty
,
a
nd judging by the bulge pressing against her backside, he
really
like
d
his
bedtime
spot.
Her second half of sl
eep
didn’t prove as restful
–
her mind not sinking into the deeper depths of slumber, startling at noises.

When she realized she was done resting, she spent her time peeking about, not far because of the iron grip around her, but enough to realize where
ver
the guy with the freaky eyes
hid, he blended in well. She didn’t catch sight of him
at all
.
Nor did she hear any signs of rescue.