Callie's Captors [Mountain Men(36)

“Uh, guys?”

Their sharp gazes turned her way.

“Yeah?” asked Raine.

“How about waiting for me in the water? By the waterfall?” Did her voice sound seductive enough to keep their focus on her? “Unless you’re too tired to have a little more fun?”

“Touching fun?” Pete was already heading toward the water.

“Oh, most definitely.”

“Then meet us behind the waterfall. There’s a break in the fall and a ledge in the back.” Blue wasn’t far behind Pete with Raine taking up the rear.

That sounded almost interesting enough to divert her from her first idea. “Great. I’ll be there in a minute after I check out the shots I took.”

“Yeah, let’s have a look.”

Her heart did a flip-flop as Pete diverted from his course. She darted her gaze to the creature to make sure it was still there then back to Pete. “No, no. I want to check them out on my own. You go on ahead with your brothers. See? They’re already halfway there.”

“Okay.” He rushed to the pool, then waded in and dove under the water.

She waited a moment longer before moving swiftly toward the forest. When she was within a few feet of the creature, she paused, giving it time to realize that she meant it no harm. With luck, he wouldn’t hurt her, either.

“Hey there.”

She didn’t know why she half-expected to get an answer. He had intelligence in his red eyes that made her think he might be more than an animal, but that was it. His mouth, more a muzzle, couldn’t have formed words. At least not words she could understand.

She inched forward. He remained still, his focus on her and nothing else. Would he flee if she brought the camera up to her face? Not wanting to take the chance, she held it at chest level and did her best to aim it at him. Once she got closer, hopefully, he’d get more comfortable and she’d take a chance at getting a better shot.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

His face scrunched up as it had the first time she’d seen him.

“You won’t hurt me, will you, Scrunch?”

He didn’t seem dangerous to her. Maybe the men had the creature all wrong. Or maybe she’d encountered a peaceful one of his kind. Either way, she’d take care, but she’d give him the benefit of the doubt, too.

A low sound rumbled out of him as his attention flicked to the water. She checked to make sure the men weren’t coming. They must’ve already made it behind the fall.

“It’s okay. They won’t hurt you, either. See? They’re gone.”

Not that she didn’t want them close enough to hear her if she called for help.

Scrunch hunkered down, leaning forward on long arms that seemed more human than animal. His knuckles brushed the ground much like an ape’s would when it walked. He was hairless, his black skin as shiny as a fur coat, with his flesh stretched over a bone-thin frame. Small ears pressed flat against his head.

She clicked, taking a photo. The slits in his head that served as his nose quivered and a long, black tongue lashed over his thin upper lip.

She should run. Scream. Do something other than stand there and take a picture of the hideous thing. But she couldn’t. He wouldn’t hurt her. Now that she’d gotten closer, she knew it was true. But what was it? Part animal and part human? The Missing Link? She caught a movement below and dropped her gaze.

Oh, hell. I already saw enough of his cock the first time. She pulled her gaze away as fast as she could.

“That’s it, Scrunch. Take it easy. But you better know that if you come at me with that thing, I’m going to run like hell. Which means the three big guys you saw will be on you like white on rice.”

Scrunch tilted his head, reminding her of the way the men had tilted theirs in question. Was it a coincidence? Or did it mean more than that? She ignored the errant thought and decided Scrunch was comfortable enough for her to lift her camera to her face. Besides, she didn’t want to take shots of just his dick.

Taking it slowly, she lifted the camera and centered the photo in the frame. Scrunch flicked out his tongue again, but remained where he was. She didn’t waste any time, and took several pictures in succession.

But when he picked up a banana and held it out to her, she forgot all about what she was doing. She lowered the camera and frowned at him.

Did she dare accept his offer? Or was he drawing her closer so he could grab her?

She pushed down the clanging of alarms raging in her head. If she were smart, she’d back off while she could. But curiosity got the better of her.

Putting her camera beside her feet, she took the banana and started peeling it. Once peeled, she broke it into halves and handed one of the pieces to Scrunch. “I hate eating alone, too.”