Dangerous Journey (17 page)

“How nice!” C.J. was both surprised and warmed by such thoughtfulness.

A short while later she went outdoors with Carter. Hot as her room had been, it seemed cool in comparison to the outdoors. The heat was intense, but the humidity was even worse. The air was so filled with moisture she couldn’t believe it wasn’t raining.

Darius and the others joined them. True to John Carter’s word, the village had prepared a huge meal of hot, spicy and unrecognizable meat, fish, and fowl; rice; and leafy unfamiliar vegetables. The meat had a musty pungency to it that not even spices could cover. Much as she tried, C.J. couldn’t put out of her mind the many rat-like animals that dwelled under the longhouses and lived off the refuse and garbage. They could easily have become part of the meal now gracing the dinner table. Being a guest, she managed to swallow enough to hopefully avoid insulting her hosts.

The local liquor flowed freely, while the villagers performed music and dancing. Screaming dancers wearing feathers and animal skins wheeled and soared in mock battles. A young man danced with a traditional
mandau
, the wide sword of the headhunter. He whirled the sword and leaped about to wild gamelan music. C.J. didn’t want to admit that her hair stood on end as she watched him, and she drank more than she should have while that performance was going on. Less aggressive dances followed.

The evening was long, but fascinating.

She put all thoughts of John Carter and his questions out of her mind until Darius walked her to her room and said good-night. “Wait,” she whispered. “I need to talk to you.”

As he followed her up the ladder, she could feel the knowing glances and smiles of the villagers.

Ignoring them, she relayed her conversation with Carter and her concern over his questions.

“You were right not to tell him—or anyone else—anything that can lead to Alan,” he said.

“Something else bothers me. Why would the Peace Corps replace Alan so soon? I’ve never known the government to do anything quickly. How would they know he wasn’t coming back? Do they have ties to the police? It doesn’t make sense.”

He looked away from her, as if not wanting her to read the same questions in his eyes. Or did he have the answers?

“I’m sure there’s a simple explanation,” he said off-handedly. “It’s probably nothing. I’ll see you in the morning.”

As he turned to leave the hut, C.J. whispered good-night, her eyes following him. He glanced over his shoulder at her before stepping outside, while she stood as if rooted to the spot.

She watched a look of uncertainty cross his face. Although he had made it quite clear that they had no future, she wondered if it was in some way almost as hard for him to leave her as it was for her to watch him go.

She was thankful when her old sense of humor returned and she smiled.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Well, I was just thinking, I always pictured you in a little grass shack, with wild, primitive nature at your feet, and here you are. I’m glad I got to see you here. The picture is perfect.”

His gaze burned as he looked at her. Then he left without another word.

Chapter 15

The next morning C.J. arose and went in search of Darius only to learn that he had already gone into the jungle alone. She hurried back to her room. Her notebook with the map Alan had drawn was gone.

She felt both perplexed and angry. Would Darius try to find the White Dragon without her? Would he take it out of Sarawak to get the reward? Or would he sell the jade to Yeng for even more money? And if he found it, would he come back to see her one last time?

She wandered around the village for the rest of the morning, growing more irritated at Darius’s absence by the minute. Finally she went into one of the longhouses, where she tried to help the women husking rice. She was sure they tolerated her only out of hospitality. About noon, she saw Darius casually strolling back into the village, hands in his pockets, whistling a jaunty tune. She hurried outside to wait, arms folded and foot tapping.

“What did you think you were doing?” she asked as soon as he was within hearing distance. “I thought we were going out there together!”

“Just checking the territory. I decided it would be best not to take you into something that could be dangerous before looking at it firsthand. Borneo does have cobras and leopards, even rhinoceros. Most of them don’t live in this swampy coastal area, luckily. But there’s enough that is lethal here that I was worried.”

She was tired of being treated like a helpless child. “I know Alan wouldn’t go anywhere dangerous!”

“As I’ve said before, Alan lived here for three years. He learned what to watch out for.”

“Well then,” she asked, glaring, “what now?”

“Lunch.” He walked off, leaving her standing there gawking at him. Finally she followed.

Their lunch of fresh fruit, rice and tea made her feel a bit more human—enough so that when Darius said he was going to take a walk along the beach, she decided to go with him.

The ocean was about two mile from the river village, at the end of a well-worn trail. A slight breeze blowing in off the water helped her to feel more comfortable than she had since her arrival.

Darius seemed to be spending far more time watching her than the scenery. Finally it began to upset her. “Is anything wrong?” she asked.

He shook his head and glanced at her again, then looked out at the ocean. Dark clouds filled the sky directly overhead.

“C.J., I…” He hesitated, then began to walk along the sandy beach again in silence.

She followed, her frustration growing. “What is it?”

“Nothing. Let’s go back.”

“Right,” she snapped. “Let’s go back.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets as they retraced their steps. Everything about him that day had infuriated her—the way he had taken Alan’s map and gone exploring without her, the way he kept trying to frighten her about the jungle, the way he seemed to be keeping something from her, and particularly the way he was avoiding any conversation. “Obviously we have nothing to say to each other,” she added with more than a hint of petulance.

He didn’t even bother to pretend she was wrong.

A strong wind gusted in from the ocean.

“If the rain starts,” he said quietly, looking at the sky, “we had better wait here. A beach is safer than the jungle in a tropical storm.”

She put her hands on her hips. “In that case I’ll just have to make it back before the rain ever starts, because I wouldn’t wait out a storm with you in Buckingham Palace, let alone on this beach.”

She saw his anger flare as quickly as hers had as she marched into the jungle.

When a few large drops of rain started to fall, C.J. began running toward the village. She hadn’t gotten very far when the rain picked up. Never had she been in such a torrential downpour. She was soaked in no time. Strangely, in the jungle, even the rain felt hot and steaming.

The trees started swaying wildly, and vines began to fall.

As the storm strengthened, the jungle turned gray from the sheeting water, and she could barely see where she was going. The wind, rushing through the leaves, was deafening. She stopped and looked at the trees in alarm, as the sound of cracking wood and crashing timber was heard nearby. In a matter of minutes the jungle had become frightening, menacing. She pushed her wet hair off her face and stumbled ahead.

“You little fool!” Darius caught her arm, stopping her progress. He was as soaked as she was, his clothing clinging to him.

“Let’s hurry!” She jerked her arm free and took a step away from him.

“You don’t know what you’re doing.” He grabbed her, spun her around to face him. Her hair slapped against her face, and he brushed it back roughly before his hands clasped her shoulders. “These rainstorms don’t last long, but they can be dangerous. They turn the ground into a river full of poisonous snakes and lizards. The trees droop, blocking the trails; vines and branches fall—and who knows what kind of creatures will come hurtling down with them?”

She stared at him in disbelief.

“Look at the ground,” he said.

She looked down. Already the water was eddying around her ankles. At the thought of snakes in it, she blanched.

Darius put his arm around her. “Come on,” he said. She wasn’t about to argue. The sooner he got her out of there, the better. She held on to his waist, her fingers clutching his shirt as the water and mud beneath her feet grabbed at her boots, making walking difficult.

“Over there,” he shouted as the storm kicked itself into a fury. He pointed to a raised, rocky area. Slowly they made their way to it, scrambling up the hard granite until they reached a smooth flat area that abutted a cliff face with a hollowed out area offering protection from the rain.

“What a mess!” C.J. couldn’t help but laugh. She was completely soaked, and pushed her hair off her face. “I’ve never seen anything like it! It’s wild, but strangely beautiful. Come back here with me. It’s a little dry, at least.” She held out her hand to Darius, and he took it as he stepped closer, huddled under the granite.

Her hand tightened on his and she lifted her gaze to him. Their eyes met and everything seemed to stop.

Without thought, she opened her arms, and he stepped into them, then wrapped her in his grasp. His mouth found hers before she had a moment to think about it, to protest, or to walk away. She felt his muscles harden beneath her hands as the intensity of the kiss sparked and grew.

Her eyes caught Darius’s, and the look on his face was one of smoldering hunger, a naked desire that shocked her, causing her breath to catch, a hunger matched by her own. Her hands, her traitorous hands, opened wide and glided over his back, pressing him hard against her. She exulted in the taste of him, the feel of him. Everything about him was strong and forceful. His heartbeat could have been hers, so closely were they bonded.

Something about this wild place, the jungle, the pelting, savage rain, merged with the feel of him, her dangerous jungle man, to unleash the desire she had been struggling against. She wanted him completely. It was always there, this powerful ache, but she had denied and suppressed it for so many days and nights that now, awakened, there was no holding back. She was sure her feelings were apparent to him, and she had no ability or wish to hide them.

He raised his head, his eyes fixed on hers, then to her mouth. “I must be a real bastard, Cleo,” he whispered, a tortured look on his face. “Despite my honorable intentions, you make me want things that are wrong—wrong for you.”

His words cut through her. She saw the unhappiness in his face, heard the desperation in his voice, and, as always, though she knew it would only lead to more heartache, she saw beneath the surface dismissal of his words to the man who needed the love she felt for him, whether he could admit it or not.

Her fingers trembled as she slid them over his face, his chin, his lips. “I love you,” she whispered, her voice husky and her eyes like gray smoke.

His face filled with an anguish that she felt reflected in her own as time passed and she realized that he couldn’t respond in kind to the words she had spoken. Despair crept through her for her foolish, revealing words.

“C.J.,” he whispered, cupping her face. “Don’t look at me like that. Don’t—” He kissed her softly, desperately, and then once more.

Her body trembled beneath his touch, aching for his caresses. Dazed, she watched the play of emotions running over his face. Then, with boldness she didn’t know she possessed, she lowered herself to the ground, took his hand, and drew him down beside her. Hungrily, his kisses deepened as his hands slid over her body.

His touch was like a blazing bonfire in the midst of the storm, a haven in the oceans of water swirling and beating down upon them. She no longer cared about the water, the noise, the crawling, slithering creatures, any of it. They were nothing to her, not even as clothes were shed and used as a cushion beneath them. They were nothing compared to the fire that Darius caused to burn in her very being, the fire that totally consumed her.

She lost track of everything as a pulsating ache filled her and she kissed him desperately, whispering his name over and over, knowing on some instinctual level that only he had the power to help her now. Yet, despite the fever that filled her, she couldn’t stop herself from stiffening as their passion neared its inevitable conclusion. It’s Darius, she told herself. Darius, with his fluid grace and rakish features, his tender kindness and watchful concern. Darius, who had never hurt her, who had been there when she needed him. Darius, the man she had fallen head over heels in love with, the man she wanted to be her first lover, her only lover.

Holding him tightly, she pushed hard against him.

He stopped. He didn’t make a move or say a word, but as he stayed frozen above her, she knew he realized the full extent of her deception. Much as she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to fool him.

Her head was spinning, her heart beating so loudly that she could hear it drumming wildly in her ears even over the loud rush of the storm. A long moment passed before he seemed to expel the breath he had been holding. She thought she heard him whisper her name, thought she heard him say, “Oh, C.J.,” but she wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was just a groan…

Perhaps she was no good at this, and that was why he had stopped. Perhaps she was unable to give him any pleasure at all and never should have decided to try. Perhaps he would despise her now….She fought the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Slowly, with infinite tenderness, his mouth found hers. His fingers lightly touched her face, as if he could tell where the rain stopped and her tears began. Gently, he kissed the tears away, and it struck her as so wonderful a gesture that it was all she could do to prevent more tears from falling.

She put her arms around him, looking at the outline of his face, his beautiful face, as the wonder filled her of how intimately their bodies had joined, of how perfectly they were made for each other. A warmth spread through her, and she was sure it radiated from her whole body.