She rushed into the bushes, not too far from the hammock bed and peered at the grass. Dammit. Why did she keep thinking she’d have a snake slithering around her ass the moment she squatted? That was so not conducive to wanting to pee. She shoved her shorts down and waited. And waited. Finally, her bladder took the road less traveled and drained forever, sending trickles of urine while she glanced around in fear of snakes or whatever could be in the grass.
Get a hold of yourself! This was not how grown-ass women acted in the middle of the jungle on a new planet while trying to pee. What the heck did she know? She wasn’t a fucking expert in intergalactic peeing.
After wiping, she tried to figure out what to do with the napkin. Keep it? Toss it? Yeah, all she needed was a souvenir. Still, throwing it on the ground felt wrong. The area was clean of trash and she wasn’t the kind of person to litter. She decided she’d shove it in her bag until she reached a place to toss it. Hopefully nobody went into her duffle or they’d be totally grossed out.
The sound of crunching leaves made her squint into the darkness. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed twin golden spots glancing at her. Fear coiled around her heart. She stumbled back, but the eyes came closer really fast.
She whirled around and ran, but only got a few feet into the open before an animal swiped a claw against her leg. A scream tore from her throat as she fell.
She stopped herself from falling, reaching out for the tree in front of her. The animal swiped again, slicing through her same leg. She screamed louder, this time calling for Karel. Clinging to the tree trunk she flipped around and stared at the massive beast. She couldn’t figure out if it was a pig or a dog. It looked like a cross between the two with massive tusks and deadly talons.
A blur jumped in front of her. She recognized the massive cat immediately. Karel. Her jaguar.
Karel leapt for the big pig-dog and fought the animal. He swiped his claws and shredded slices of the other animal’s side. Blood poured out of the pig and a loud piercing wail sounded from it.
The jaguar didn’t stop. He jabbed at the animal, biting and dodging the pig’s tusks. At one point it looked like the pig would get his tusk into the jaguar’s side, but Liv held a broken branch and slammed it over the pig’s body, calling its attention to her. That gave Karel the break needed to bite the back of the pig’s neck and cling to him, puncturing holes into its side.
In moments, the crunching of bone filled the night and she watched Karel shift back to a man covered in blood.
“Get on the bed,” he ordered with a deep and animalistic tone. “I’ll be there shortly.”
She rushed back. Once the adrenaline started wearing off, she winced at the burn coming from the back of her leg. She couldn’t see it, but when she wiped a hand, it came back sticky with blood.
“Let me see,” his voice broke her thoughts.
“It’s nothing, just a scratch. Doesn’t even hurt,” she lied. The shit might be a scratch, but it totally hurt like a bitch.
“Relax, love. Let me look at it. Lie on your stomach,” he told her softly. She did as he asked and waited. He wiped something over the back of her leg and the burning stopped.
“What is that?” she asked, trying to look over her shoulder, only seeing his head bent over her calf.
“A leaf from a medicine tree that helps heal wounds,” he replied. She felt his fingers press at her legs. “This is going to feel warm.”
He wrapped something around her calf. The material felt soft and comfortable. “Is that it?”
“Yes, you can sit up now,” he said and grabbed her by the waist, helping her.
He’d placed one of the sheets around her calf. It shifted with her movements, but didn’t come loose. She didn’t see a tie or butterfly clips holding it together. How did it stay wrapped?
He joined her on the bed, pressing her back on the mattress and curling a hand around her face. “Please,” he said, gritting his teeth, his voice so low and rough, she could barely understand him. “Don’t leave without me again. We have animals we hunt for food. They can be dangerous to someone who isn’t a shifter.” He pressed his lips over hers hard, devouring her with his mouth. Before she got a chance to really enjoy the meeting of their lips, he pulled back and met her gaze. “I couldn’t live if something happened to you because I wasn’t there.”
She nodded, her body warming from her need for him. She spread her legs, cradling his body with hers. He pressed his erection into the damp crotch of her shorts. The adrenaline from her fear and close encounter of the bitey kind changed into a blast of desire that burned from the inside.