Page 155 of Love Me in the Dark

“Come,” he grunted again like it was the one word he knew.

I stared at the man’s face, realizing how handsome it was. His brilliant blue eyes held an intelligence as they bore into me. A slightly crooked nose seemed almost regal pasted onto his chiseled mug. Plump lips opened again and said a bit clearer now, “Come.” He reached around my body to help me to my feet.

He heaved on the rope. My legs were weak, but I had no time to find my balance before the man dragged me along behind him. The back of him proved equally appealing. A carved, broad back led to a slim waist and a gorgeous rock-hard butt. Below it were legs of steel with massive calf muscles that I always found sexy. As much as I enjoyed the view, pain shot through my ankle. And nature was calling. I’d had my share of alcohol last night and felt it in more ways than one.

“Hey, you! I’ve got to go to the bathroom, if you know what that means.”

He stopped but said nothing as he let out a little slack and pointed to the right.

“Great.” I’d never peed behind a bush before, let alone in a jungle. I took the slack as far as it would go into the thick vegetation and limped behind a tree.

He followed me.

“Are you going to watch me pee?”

He didn’t move or turn around.

“Sicko.”

Strategically lifting my dress to allow me to urinate but still be covered from wild eyes, I let my panties pull around my ankles. I squatted and took the longest pee right on the ground. Refusing to use a leaf, I wiggled enough to shake dry.

Disgusting.

“Are you happy?” I puffed out as I righted myself. “I don’t even pee in front of Chris.”

The barbarian’s brow pulled together as he tied the rope to his waist this time. We were on our way again. To where? I had no clue. In the daylight, I saw no signs that we were near the safari camp. I seriously doubted he’d be taking me back anyway. Sure, he saved me from certain death but to what end?

“They’ll be looking for me, ya know,” I told my rescuer turned captor.

He whipped his head around for a moment but made no response. As we walked, him in front pulling me along like a mule, I wondered if it were even possible for someone to live alone in the jungle. This man wasn’t a native of an African tribe. If anything, he resembled a Viking. Meaning he looked European. Like a white guy on a much larger scale. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe anyone could be raised by gorillas and survive. More likely, he’d been a naturalist to go nuts. Some people enjoyed traveling to the wilderness and pressing their luck. Survivalists, they’re called. Possibly he’d been one, gotten lost at some point and returned to being savage.

We walked the entire day, only stopping to drink water droplets from wet leaves. It wasn’t nearly enough. My head pounded from my hangover, and I felt more dehydrated than ever. Sweat covered me, sticking the thin dress to my body like glue. Every other step, my ankle throbbed. Sharp pricks met my feet. I’d always had sensitive feet and couldn’t even walk on smooth pebbles. At first, I was too shocked by my situation tocare. Eventually, I started howling from the pain. The big guy picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder like last night.

Face to butt with him, I sputtered, “I can’t travel like this. My blood is rushing to my head that already hurts like a motherfucker.”

Without a word, he put me down and continued tugging me along. I kept my mouth shut about my feet.

We arrived at a clearing in front of an opening to a cave. Half covered with a tapestry of leaves, there’d been an obvious attempt to make a door. Rocks made a fire ring beside a makeshift rack where he stored fruits, nuts, and dried meat. We’d gotten to his home, which I was positive was a bad thing.

Beside the set up, I noticed something half-buried in the dirt. Bones. Too long for a bird, too small for a deer. I told myself they were monkey. Had to be. Still, I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to know.

Right away, he started eating like a wild animal. Kind of like I’d shove popcorn in my mouth sometimes. Pressing some dried meat to my lips, he tried to feed me, too.

“I’m not eating that,” I said but licked the salt from my lips.

He backed off and continued to eat.

My stomach rumbled, but I was too worried to eat. I could only assume Chris made it back to our hut. That’s if that tiger hadn’t killed him.

“I need to get back to my party. You know there’s a camp close by. You don’t have to live like this,” I tried.

He smirked, his eyes narrowing as he listened. I couldn’t tell if he understood me or not.

“I’m very grateful you saved me from that tiger last night, but I must get back to my life.” I was still going off the thought that he’d gotten lost at some point. “I don’t see why I can’t help you find your way back to civilization.”

He shook his head no.

Tugging at the rope around my wrists, I found fighting useless. I sat down in protest. “Why do you want to keep me here anyway? I’m just another mouth to feed. Unless you plan to eat me, I don’t see how I can be useful to you.”