Curse of the Condor (10 page)

She undid the snap on his pants. He leaned his head back against the tree and let out a deep breath.

"Jetta, are you sure about this? I don't want you making any mistakes you'll regret tomorrow."

"How can I regret this?" she asked. "I'll dream about it forever."

She unzipped the zipper and released him into her hand. She didn't know why she was shocked that he wore nothing beneath them. She should have expected that from a man like him. Actually, he probably only wore shorts because she was with him. Wild fantasies ran rampant through her mind of the two of them living naked in the jungle. Swinging from the vines, and no one to hide from. Exposing their nakedness to the entire rain forest as they became one with nature.

He pulled her closer and kissed her on the forehead. Then he kissed the tip of her nose and lowered his mouth to blow on the fresh paint of the rose. She felt her skin tingle as his breath brushed past her taut nipple. She was ready for him, ready for this. She would never forget this as long as she lived.

"I think the paint is dry. So do you like your rose?" he asked her.

"I do," she said. "It's a shame no one's ever going to see it."

He rubbed his finger across the rose, teasing her along the way. She breathed heavier and looked down to her naked top half.

"
I
see it," he said, and she felt a tingle go through her at the intimacy of the whole thing.

"I feel so free," she said. "I feel almost like I belong here."

"Never thought you'd be in this position, did you?" he smiled and pulled her closer to sit on his male strength.

"No one back home would ever suspect this of me," she chuckled. "I feel so deliciously wicked."

"You're not wicked," he told her. "Don't ever say that."

"I won't tell anyone about this rose, ever," she said. "If Ryder knew, he'd hit the ceiling. He's always been so protective of me and all. I hope he never finds out."

Conrado's facial features changed at her words and so did his disposition. A cloud of darkness seemed to wash over his face and his warm smile was gone.

"Don't worry," he said. "He won’t."

Then in one move he got to his feet, drawing her up with him on the fat branch. She didn't see him do it, but realized his shorts were snapped and zipped, and suddenly she felt very foolish standing there topless. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her nakedness from his eyes.

He didn't seem to notice or care. He grabbed a vine and wrapped it around his forearm, grabbing her tightly around the waist with the other.

"I think our little lesson on vine swinging will have to wait for another day. We're already late in getting started. By the smell of the air I think we're about to get rained on, so let's get going."

The air left her lungs as they swung down to the ground in one quick motion. He released her, picked up her yellow tank top which lay at their feet and handed it to her.

"Put this on," he growled. "I'll get packed up and let's get the hell out of here."

"But what about breakfast?" she asked. "Aren't you hungry?"

He stopped and watched her as she pulled the tank top over her head. She knew her hard nipples were noticeable through the thin fabric, and when his eyes settled on them she secretly hoped they'd be able to pick up where they left off.

"No," he said. "I'm not hungry at all. I'll bring the breadfruit and you can eat it as we're walking. If we want to make good time we'll have to even skip lunch."

Her heart sank when he said he wasn't hungry. What happened up there in the trees that changed his mind? He was very hungry a few minutes ago. And so was she. Now he didn't want her, and she couldn't understand why.

She grabbed her straw purse and put it on her shoulder. Then she rolled up the straw mat and stuck it inside. She couldn’t find her bra anywhere, nor did she really care.

"It's a good idea to skip lunch," she told him. "I agree with you that we should get to Ryder as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, maybe we can travel all night. I suddenly feel the need to get my brother and go home."

Chapter 11

Conrado could have kicked himself for messing around with Ryder's sister. He knew better. He never should have touched her. He’d done an injustice to a dead man. He knew he didn't deserve such pleasures. Not from the sister of the man he killed.

They'd walked all morning in the pouring rain, as Jetta had refused to stop, even when he offered to make lunch. The breadfruit was long gone, and he was getting very hungry. He hacked at the foliage with his machete and blazed a trail towards the gravesite, all the while continuing to look back to make sure Jetta was still following him.

She was. She stumbled onward behind him, clutching on to that damned straw purse like it and the things inside were actually worth something. He had all their belongings on his back except for the straw mat she'd tucked into her purse. It stuck out from the purse under her arm, rubbing mercilessly on her skin. Still, she stubbornly kept going, never once complaining of the journey or asking to rest.

Finally, the rain poured down so heavily that Conrado decided it was best to stop until morning.

"We’ll stop for the night," he called back to her.

"Why?" she asked, pushing back the dripping wet strands of hair from her face.

She was tired. Exhausted more like it. It bothered Conrado that she wouldn't admit it.

"Because you're tired," he said, feeling a little weary himself.

"I am not." She took a step to go past him and slipped. He caught her before she went to the ground. "Well, maybe a little," she finally admitted.

"I know a small rock enclosure just up ahead we can stay in tonight. It's a bit of an inconvenience to get there, but it'll shelter us from the rain."

"What isn't an inconvenience in the jungle?" she asked. "Lead the way."

* * *

Jetta watched Conrado as he lit the dry branches that sat in the middle of the small cave floor, causing the room to come to life.

"I can't believe there's dry wood in here," she remarked. "Almost like someone left it for us."

"I did," he said, clicking off the cigarette lighter and shoving it back into his pocket. "Whenever I pass through, I leave it ready to go for occasions such as this."

"I'm glad you did," she said, looking around the place. It was a small, dark cave, and she could hear the dripping of water from somewhere within.

"Didn't happen to leave any food here, did you? I'm starved."

"No. There's no food here. And I'm starved too. I'll go out and catch us something to eat while you get out of those wet clothes."

He dumped the contents of his pack on the cave floor, grabbing a rope, and cutting off a piece with his machete. He then fastened it around some jutting rocks, creating a clothesline that went close to the fire. He threw the blanket over the line to dry.

"I don't have any other clothes," she reminded him.

He looked at her, and she noticed his eyes sweep downward, stopping at her chest. She looked down at her wet, yellow tank top, realizing what took his interest.

"I guess I could just sleep in the nude," she told him, testing him to see if he'd take her up on the invitation. She was almost hoping he would after this morning. She was feeling very self conscious that she'd done something to make him not want her, even if she had no idea of what she’d said or done.

"No," he grumbled. "You'd better not do that." He reached down and grabbed a khaki long sleeved shirt from the pile and tossed it to her. She caught it with one hand.

"You can wear this," he told her. "It's all I have with to offer. It's a little wet, but not nearly as wet as your shirt."

"And what will you wear while you're drying your shorts?" she asked, knowing he had nothing at all underneath them.

"Don’t worry about me," he said, "now stay here like a good girl till I get back."

She saw him reach down toward the blowgun, then change his mind. Instead, he took the rest of the rope and the machete and headed out of the cave. Jetta watched him go, realizing it was almost black outside, not to mention pouring rain. She had no idea how he was going to see where he was going, let alone catch dinner with just a rope.

She went over to the blowgun and was about to pick it up when she heard his voice from the darkness outside.

"And don't touch the blowgun!"

She jerked away. There was a problem with his blowgun. Not physically, but something that bothered him severely about using it. Maybe he was just afraid she'd get hurt on it, she told herself. But her insides told her it was more than that. She'd have to ask him about it tomorrow. Right now she had to change her clothes before he came back and saw her standing there naked.

Conrado could see Jetta clear as day from his position in the bushes. He'd purposely stayed close so he could keep an eye on her while he hunted for their dinner. He'd set up a snare with the rope just outside a rabbit's burrow, and was now just waiting for the right moment to scare it out of its hole and into his trap.

He was about to do just that when he looked back at Jetta and saw her taking off her top. Her arms stretched up high over her head, exposing to his eyes a pair of the most beautiful breasts he'd ever seen. And twice in one day no less.

She hung up the shirt to dry, and pulled off her wet shorts. Next came her panties -  the pink cotton ones he knew so well. He groaned when he saw her round little bottom. He knew he should look away as she changed, but just couldn't bring himself to do it.

She was a woman - a beautiful woman. And he was a man who hadn't seen a naked woman in a long time.

Damn it anyway, he wanted her. And he'd had the chance to have her today, she more than willing. But he just couldn't do it. Not with his guilt weighing heavy on his mind. He had to tell her about Ryder and he had to do it soon.

* * *

Jetta lay back on the newly dried blanket, thinking it was the best rabbit she'd ever eaten. Actually, it was the only rabbit she'd ever eaten, and she'd had her doubts about trying it after Conrado brought it back and cleaned it right in front of her. But that was the way of the wild, she reminded herself. Eat or be eaten. And she was glad mankind was at the top of the food chain right now.

"Did you enjoy the rabbit?" Conrado asked her, pulling out a bottle of warm beer and handing it to her.

"Yes, I enjoyed it, and no thank you to the beer," she said. "Just pass me the water canteen." She just couldn’t get over the fact he wouldn’t let her bring a can of chili, yet this is the second bottle of beer he’d pulled from his pack.

"It's not a canteen," he told her, handing her the skin of water.

She uncorked it and brought it up to her mouth as she talked. "Oh really? Well, what is it then?"

"It's an inflated bladder of a brocket deer I killed a few months ago.”

She was drinking, but at the sound of his words spit the contents of her mouth into the fire. The fire sizzled, then got a bit brighter.

"Bladder? Yuck!"

"Not any worse than what we're having for breakfast."

"Which would be what?" she asked. He didn't answer, just raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"And by the way," he said, "don't be wasting that water by spitting it into the fire. That's all we've got until we hit the waterfall tomorrow."

"Sorry," she told him.

"It's all right. I didn't mean to sound scolding."

He leaned back against a rock and finished off his beer.

“Well, that was fun," she told him. "Now what do we do to pass the time away?"

He looked at her in a way that told her exactly what he’d had in mind. It was what she’d had in mind too. Her heart flitted, and she moved closer. She reached out for him, taking his hand in hers. Now they would finish what they’d started. This time, they’d make love and it wouldn’t be in a tree.

His intense eyes scanned her body and she felt herself warming just from her own thoughts. Then his eyes focused on her lips, and she moved her face closer, thinking he was going to kiss her. Instead, he pulled his hand away from her, and walked away.

"We need to get some sleep," he told her, and laid on the straw mat, closing his eyes instantly. "After we hit the waterfall tomorrow, we'll get to the Yagua camp just about sundown. We'll stay there for the night and then get to where your brother is in the morning."

"The Yagua?" she asked. "Are they something like the Jivaro tribe?"

"Nothing like them," he said. "That's why I think you'll like them. Now stop all the chattering and get some shut eye."

"Speaking of chattering," she said, "where is that pet monkey of yours? He seems to have disappeared again. Maybe we should try to find him."

"This is the jungle," he reminded her. "Chatter is a wild animal. He's home. He doesn't need to be found. When he wants to be sociable, he'll find us."

He kept his eyes closed, and she was beginning to think he didn't want to be sociable either. She was about to ask him about the blowgun when he started snoring. So like a man, she told herself. Able to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.

She poked at the fire and thought of home. She thought of her parents, her brother, and even her warm, soft bed. She wondered if she'd ever sleep in it again.

Then she looked over at Conrado, so far across the room. She wondered if she'd ever sleep in his arms again the way she did last night. She longed to go to him and curl up against his chest, but something made him reject her. He’d been so warm and caring, and then for some odd reason he shunned her presence. She didn’t understand this man at all.

If only Ryder were here right now. She needed a hug, and she knew he would give it. She pulled her necklace out of her pocket, surveying her brother’s gift. She ran a finger over the condor, feeling an emptiness inside she couldn’t explain. But that emptiness would be filled when she met up with Ryder in a day or two. She had so many things to tell him. But for some reason she didn’t want him to know about her relationship with Conrado.

She kissed the crystal condor and clasped the necklace in place. Then she slipped it beneath her shirt so Conrado wouldn’t see it. Soon, she’d find out where he’d gotten this trinket. But until she knew Ryder wasn’t involved in anything remotely illegal, she’d keep it to herself.

Ryder was a good man, but he hadn’t always been trustworthy. He’d been a troubled teenager, stealing a car and landing himself in jail. But Jetta helped him reform. He’d changed his ways and became a missionary. Gee, she hoped Ryder hadn’t gone back to his old ways.

She unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt she was wearing, enough to see the rose tattoo he'd painted on her breast. It was fuzzy from the rain, but still intact. She couldn't help but think the rose was like their relationship. That was a bit fuzzy also.

* * *

Prospero huddled beneath the wet blanket, watching Arlo and Fermin scampering around trying to light the fire. The rain crashed down around them, and a pesky little monkey kept chattering above them. He wished they hadn’t talked about the curse of the cave in front of the guide last night.

This morning, he’d awakened to find the man gone. Now they were on their own trying to track Conrado. This would slow things down indeed. But he wouldn’t give up. The treasure was going to be his, and this time, no one would stop him.