Man of Passion (13 page)

"
Aroka
says it is good to cry. He says it pleases the rain gods and goddesses."

Sniffing and wiping her nose a final time, Ari stuffed his handkerchief into the pocket of her jeans. "Tell him that his gift is priceless to me. It will be the first orchid that I'll try to draw. I know it won't be any good, but I'm so inspired by its beauty." She held it up for
Rafe
to observe. "Look at it! Doesn't it seem otherworldly to you?
As if it is just a visitor to our world?"

Chuckling,
Rafe
said, "The Indians believe that orchids are very ancient teachers to us all, if we will only sit and listen to them. As you know, orchids don't need any soil to live or grow in. All they need—" he gestured toward the jungle and the apricot-colored clouds above them as the sun set "—is air and humidity. No other plant on the face of Mother Earth can do that. So, yes, they are special.
Far more special and unique than most people suspect."

As Ari held the orchid, she felt transported. All she wanted to do was sit quietly with this plant and communicate with it by drawing it. She knew from past experience that when she drew, she entered an altered state of consciousness. The outer world would fall away and there was only her, the colors, the textures and the scent of the orchid. It was a time she always looked forward to, as if the true gift was being able to walk across that invisible bridge of energy and light and be in communion with the spirit of the orchid itself.

"Yes," she whispered unsteadily, "I know exactly what you mean."

"I thought you might,"
Rafe
murmured. He saw a number of other Indians, all members of
Aroka's
immediate family, coming down the path to greet them. "Well, I've got some work to do for a few minutes. Why don't you put your new friend below, in the galley? I'll tidy up around here and then we'll go back with the chief and his family and have some pig for dinner."

Overwhelmed with so much going on all at once, Ari was glad for his advice. She spoke in Spanish to
Aroka
and politely excused herself. He nodded, bowed and grinned, though she wasn't sure he understood her. Scrambling up the plank, Ari was captured by the drama unfolding in the sky around them. The once white, frayed-looking cumulus clouds that haunted the jungle, hanging hundreds of feet above the triple canopy, had turned from a peach color to a deep orange hue with a fringing of crimson along their edges. The sky was no longer blue, but a soft whitish color that was quickly being chased away by inky looking darkness. Magical…yes, this place was pure magic. Ari almost thought that if she willed the clouds to change shape, they would; such was the thrumming power that swirled around her, embraced her and made her feel part of all things in this magnificent place called Amazonia.

Ari awoke slowly the next morning, her face pressed deeply into the small goose down pillow. As she moved from her stomach to her back, the light cotton sheet and thin blanket felt much too warm to her. Shoving them away, she untangled the knee-length, violet silk nightgown she wore. What time was it? From the depths of the houseboat, she heard a cricket singing its heart out. Smiling sleepily, she realized that the faint light of dawn was filtering down through the opened hatch above the wooden stairs. Looking at her watch, blinking away the sleep from her eyes, Ari saw that it was 6:00 a.m.

Groaning, she pushed herself upward. This was the first day of her life.
Her
life.
Not her father's, but her own. As she placed her bare feet on the cool teakwood deck, she stretched languidly and smiled. Other sounds drifted into her consciousness. Her stomach rumbled. Laughing softly, she got to her feet. She shouldn't be hungry at all! The chief's wife had urged her to eat and then eat some more. Everyone had poked at her ribs and told her she was too skinny, saying that in a thunderstorm, the wind goddess would carry her away. They'd all had many laughs over Ari's thinness. And she'd dutifully eaten more than her fill. Of course,
Rafe
didn't help things by agreeing with the
Jumas
.

What a wonderful night she'd had with
Aroka
and his family. She'd loved sitting outside their thatched hut, around the coals of the campfire, sharing the delicious meal of wild pig.

As Ari emerged from the toilet, she picked up her brush and ran it through the thick, golden strands of her hair. Today
was
the first day of her life.
That awareness thrummed through her once more, quiet and yet strong and filled with brimming vibrancy.
She could hardly wait to get dressed and start sketching the orchid that sat on the table across from her makeshift bed.

Climbing into a pair of jeans, a deep-pink tank top and a pair of hiking boots, Ari quickly brushed her teeth and tamed her flyaway hair into a semblance of order. She hurried up the creaking stairs, and as she emerged from the hold, she gasped. Above the quiet, muddy Amazon and the dark green jungle, the sky was alive with brilliant, swirling colors. Mouth falling open, Ari became momentarily lost in the pale peach, the deeper apricot and the fragile lavender hues near the eastern horizon, where the sun had yet to rise.

This morning the gauzy white clouds created by the constant humidity of the fertile rain forest below were like pale orange curtains languidly spreading and rippling across the light blue background. She stood, almost frozen, her hands on the rails at the top of the hatch, just allowing the colors to filter through her like nonstop energy. Lifting her chin, she closed her eyes and absorbed the other sounds—the call of birds awakening now that the sun was about to arrive.
The screech of monkeys.
The final croaks of nearby frogs.

Sweet scents—of orchids, she was sure—wafted into her nostrils. And then she caught another whiff, this time, of bacon and eggs and coffee. How was that possible? Opening her eyes, Ari twisted to look to her left. There, hunched over the campfire and holding a huge black skillet in hand, was
Rafe
. Her heart swelled. He was watching her, a soft hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his wonderfully shaped male mouth. Why was it that every time he looked at her she felt giddy, delicious and beautiful? No man had ever made her feel like that.

Leaping to the deck, Ari hurried down the plank and jogged to where he stood. "Good morning," she whispered. "Can I do anything to help you?"

Rafe
enjoyed the drowsy look in Ari's wide blue eyes. What a change in her from yesterday! It was like night and day. She was relaxed now, and her happiness was evident in the sparkling gold flecks deep in her blue eyes, the soft, lush smile on her lips and the way she held herself. Today her shoulders weren't as slumped. And she was able to hold eye contact with him longer.

"Good morning. No, just have a seat here." He motioned to one of the smooth logs that doubled as a chair. "I've got scrambled eggs, lots of bacon and some fresh coffee ready for you."

"I'm feeling very spoiled," she said, laughing as she sat down. "This is wonderful! Thank you."
Rafe
had placed two plastic plates with flatware on the log. There were salt and pepper shakers nearby.

Moving the bacon around with the fork over the low flame,
Rafe
decided that Ari was nothing like Justine. She actually enjoyed being here in his camp. The discovery was a pleasant shock to him. Setting the skillet on the coals, he rose and picked up the battered, blackened tin coffeepot. Ari handed him a tin mug. He poured the steaming, fragrant coffee into it and handed it back to her. She passed him a second one and he filled it and placed it on the log nearby.

As Ari raised the coffee to her lips, she saw large, bright red birds skimming the surface of the Amazon barely a hundred feet away. "What are those?"

Rafe
turned.
"
Guara
.
Scarlet ibis.
Beautiful, aren't they?"

Gasping, she counted at least twenty of them. "Gorgeous! What a bright color against the chocolate brown of the Amazon and the deep green of the jungle."

"Spoken like a true artist,"
Rafe
said with a smile as he divvied up the bacon and eggs between the two plates. "You see things in terms of color, light and hues. I like that."

Sighing, Ari watched the unfolding of the sky's colors. "You're right. I never realized that until just now. Look at the dawn. I've never seen anything like this anywhere.
Ever."

Rafe
handed her a plate and flatware. "Get used to it.
Amazonia
has her own special magic that she works on those who visit her. In time, she'll cast her spell on you, and you'll never want to leave." He sat down near her, but not near enough to make Ari feel uncomfortable. Setting his coffee cup on the ground next to his boot, he dug into the scrambled eggs with relish.

Sighing, Ari followed his lead. She salted her eggs, realizing once again how hungry she was. As they sat there, eating in silence, the sounds that surrounded them were melodic and caressing. Facing the slow-moving
Amazon River
and watching the bird population come to life as the sun broached the horizon was all Ari wanted. She saw scarlet-and-gold macaws flying rapidly from one side of the river to the other, always in that
squadronlike
formation. And then she saw another flight of smaller green-and-red parrots fly over their camp.

"Color…it's everywhere," Ari said reverently as she caught
Rafe's
gaze. He was wolfing down his large breakfast. She was picking slowly at her food, too excited by all that she was absorbing into her heart and soul to eat, despite her rumbling stomach. "I know my mother would have cried to see this. I had no idea how beautiful
Amazonia
really is. Books can paint word pictures, but to be here, to feel
her…
"

He smiled a little. "Yes, it's
a her
. You feel her, don't you?"

Giving him a confused look, Ari picked up a bit of bacon and chewed thoughtfully on it. "What
is
it,
Rafe
? What's this feeling I sense in and around me? I've never had this sensation before. Am I crazy? Is it my wild imagination taking off again?"

Chuckling, he picked up his coffee and took a sip. Setting it back down at his feet, he said, "No. The Indians call it
onca
,
jaguar energy.
Onca
is Portuguese for Jaguar. It is said that the jaguar is the queen of the jungle and she rules it in the name of Mother Earth. Jaguar energy is said to be alive and fertile—more powerful than any other energy or animal anywhere in the world."

"It almost feels like there's an invisible river flowing slowly through and around me."

Nodding,
Rafe
said, "Yes."

"And everyone can feel or sense this?"

"Everyone I know does." And then he smiled. "But then, my life is here in
Amazonia
, with the Indians. They are very sensitive to this energy. They can tell you when there is an
onca
,
jaguar, nearby. Each village has a jaguar priest or priestess. There is the Jaguar Clan, which is steeped in mystery and myths that go back hundreds, thousands of years, from what I can tell from my conversations with the Indians. Information about this mysterious and powerful clan is carried down to each new generation by word of mouth. Nothing has ever been written about the clan, or the people who train to work with jaguar medicine and energy."

Her eyes widened. "I must go get my journal. You're telling me so many wonderful stories! I don't want to miss a word of it,
Rafe
." She quickly set her breakfast aside and trotted back to the houseboat.

Chuckling indulgently,
Rafe
enjoyed watching Ari. She was an excited child. Yet she moved like a lithe gazelle, or maybe one of those blue or white herons that lived in the hundreds of
igarapes
along the
Amazon
river
. He felt his heart swell with so many good feelings. Putting his own plate aside, he picked up his coffee and simply enjoyed the coming dawn. He hadn't realized how lonely he'd become without the presence of a woman, until now.

Sipping the dark, fragrant coffee,
Rafe
didn't try to fool himself. He was deeply drawn to Ari, to her innocence, to her idealistic view of life and the world around her. She was an artist to her soul. He could see that in the way color affected her. The hues that changed minute by minute here in
Amazonia
brought so many sweet expressions to her mobile features. He found himself absorbing her wonder like a thirsty sponge. Shaking his head, he realized that the Indians would say that the
onca
had brought him his mate. And of course,
onca
mated only once, for life. Then he caught himself. That Ari could be his mate was a ridiculous thought. After the debacle with Justine,
Rafe
had sworn off finding a woman. He had accepted that he would always be a loner.