Ocelot

Myths and Legends: Ocelot Judy Mays All rights reserved. Copyright ©2006 Judy Mays No part of this e-book may be rep...

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Myths and Legends: Ocelot Judy Mays All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2006 Judy Mays

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical

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ISBN (10) 1-59596-297-2

ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-297-3

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Editor: Chrissie Henderson

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Chapter One Sahara Desert, 1942 “Sandstorm! Get us out of here!” Hans ordered. Sand flying in all directions, Sergeant Klaus Schiller, in Hans’ opinion one of the best Panzer drivers in the German army’s Afrika Corps, had the Panzer turning around before Hans got the heavy hatch lid fastened firmly above him. Gears ground as the tank slid left and shuddered. Cursing, the driver shifted into reverse and backed up. The gears screamed as he shifted again and lurched the tank to the left. The moaning wind could be heard above the laboring engine. Hans looked around. Fear rolled off his men like sweat inside the hot tank. A savage burst of wind slammed into the side of the tank. Slowly, then more and more quickly, it began to spin. The heavy lid ripped off the hatch. Screaming, his men were sucked up out of the tank one by one. Grabbing onto his seat, Hans fought the suction of the wind. More metal shrieked as the driver’s hatch lid ripped from its hinges. A scream from the front of the tank registered in Hans’ mind. The driver was pulled from his seat as everything that wasn’t bolted down was sucked out of the Panzer. Hans began to lose his grip. Above his head, he could see swirling sand and flashes of lightning. Lightning? In a sandstorm? Then his head hit the rim of the hatch. Brilliant flickers of light in a kaleidoscope of colors exploded like fireworks in Hans’ head. Memorable events from his life flashed behind his closed eyelids. Christmases in Bavaria with his family, his sister learning to ride her first pony, receiving his commission as an officer in the Afrika Corps from his father’s friend, General Erwin Rommel, and the month he spent in the Swiss Alps with

Judy Mays

Myths and Legends: Ocelot

-4-

Greta -- Greta with the long blonde hair, melon-sized breasts with large, rosy nipples, dimpled ass, and a hot, wet, pink-lipped cunt. He’d spent his nights with her urging him to screw her every way they could possibly think of. Insatiable, fuck-me-now Greta -- he’d never forget her. Before they’d parted, his cum had covered every part of her body he could reach -- inside and out. Someone straddled his waist. As she leaned over, she ground her breasts against his chest. More lights flashed in Hans’ head. His stomach rolled. Blood rushed to his groin. Greta? He lifted his hands and cupped her buttocks. Moaning, he shifted his hips and rubbed his cock against her ass. A bird called, and Hans could feel the ground beneath his bare back. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face. Some of his favorite memories were of fucking Greta under a clear, blue sky. “Come, sweetheart, let me love you.” He slid his hands up the outsides of her thighs. “Love me, sweetheart. Let me suck your breasts.” With his thumbs, he began to stroke the creases of her legs where they joined her hips. The woman sitting on him shivered and tightened her thighs about his waist. Moisture seeped onto his belly from her cunt. His stomach muscles bunched and shuddered. His cock jerked. “Kiss me.” Gripping her waist, he pulled her forward. When his mouth connected with hers, he nuzzled her lips then nibbled them. As he rubbed his erection against her ass, she pressed her mouth to his and flattened her hands on his hard chest. She slid her tongue along his bottom lip. Immediately, he opened his mouth and sucked her tongue inside. “Hmmmmmmmm.” When she pulled her tongue back into her own mouth, his followed it. He tongued her teeth and gums, then stabbed his tongue deeper into her mouth. He thrust his hips upward, and his cock bounced against her firm ass.

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Moaning deep in her throat, Greta shuddered and ground her hips against him. More moisture seeped from her cunt onto his belly. The musky scent, both familiar and foreign at the same time, taunted his senses. His balls began to ache. Lifting his right hand, he laced his fingers through her hair and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. Their teeth clashed, their tongues twisted and stabbed. He slipped his other hand between them and cupped her full breast. It fit his hand perfectly, and he squeezed and massaged it until the nipple pebbled into a tight bud. She moaned into his mouth and slid her hands upward to swirl her fingers among the hairs on his chest and pinch his nipples. Electric bolts of desire raced to his balls, and they contracted against his body even more tightly. “Yes, yes,” he growled into her mouth. Hans’ entire body was on fire. His balls now felt ready to explode, and his cock was rock hard. If he didn’t bury it in her hot cunt soon, he’d spew his cum all over her, and while that could be highly satisfying at times, he wanted to come with his cock smothered inside a hot, willing woman. In one quick movement, he rolled over, trapped her beneath him, and nudged his cock against her cunt. “Spread your legs for me.” Dropping his head to her breast, he sucked her nipple into his mouth. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Bucking against him, she spread her legs wide and wrapped them around his waist. His mouth never left her breast as he slid his cock into her. Hot, wet heat surrounded it, gripped it, and sucked it deeper. Hans nibbled kisses from her right nipple to the left and sucked it into his mouth. Releasing her breast, he trailed his teeth up over her collarbone and neck, kissed her hard, then buried his face in her neck. He thrust harder and deeper. “Yes, yes!” He pumped his hips harder and faster. His cock slid deeper and deeper. She ground her hips against him, and dragged her nails from his ass to the back of his neck. Pleasure/pain wrapped itself around his backbone. A conflagration of pure heat blasted his balls.

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As he slammed his cock back into her as deeply as he could, her internal muscles clamped tightly around it. An eruption of hot cum exploded from his balls and burst from his cock. Moisture gushed around him as her cunt clasped and unclasped his cock milking it dry. A rainbow of sparkling lights flashed in Hans’ head then everything went black. Gasping for breath, he buried his head in her neck. Above the sound of their heavy breathing, he heard the droning, buzzing, and whirring sounds of a myriad of insects. A heavy cloud of humidity crashed down on him, and sweat instantaneously bathed his entire body. How could it be so wet and hot at the same time? In the distance, a large cat roared. Hans opened his eyes. A lion -- in the desert? The woman wiggled beneath him. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he looked down into her face. It wasn’t Greta. “Who are you?”

*** Central America, the present “They’ve taken five of the children.” The wails of three bereft mothers rolled out of their small houses to the crowd gathered around the temple. Balam slammed his fists against the rough stone wall so hard smears of his blood remained. “For generation after generation, since the first of my name found the secret way to the top of this plateau, our people have been safe from the outside world. The Maya, the Inca, the Aztec, and all the other peoples of the surrounding lands respected and honored us. But now, these white men with their flying machines have brought war to our doors. We must fight.” “How, Balam,” challenged a lithe, tawny-haired man, “can we hope to defeat them with their guns and machines? Fist and spear, paw and claw will not be enough.”

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-7-

Snarling, Balam stepped forward. “Do you fear these men, Kirak?” The slighter man shook his head. “No more than I fear you. But getting ourselves killed won’t save the children.” “Are you saying we should give in to their demands and grow their poison?” “If it will save our children, maybe we should,” one man yelled from the back of the crowd. Rumbles of agreement came from other throats. “What do we do when they discover our secret?” Balam countered. “Do you think they will be content just to have us grow their plants then?” “They will take us as freaks to show others in their world,” Kirak interjected. “Do you wish to spend your life in a cage, Farad?” “Then how do I get my daughters back? How long before they become so frightened that they or one of the others shift? If those men discover what we are, they’ll never stop hunting us.” “I will find them.” All eyes turned to the slight woman standing near the front of the crowd. Balam crossed his arms over his chest. “What can you do, Raina, that we cannot?” She smiled. “I can slip into places you can’t.” “Raina speaks the truth.” Everyone turned to the woman who’d stepped from the temple’s shadowy doorway. “She can at the very least find where the children are being held.” Balam bowed his head briefly. “We all know Raina can get into many places where she doesn’t belong, Malia.” Nervous laughter tittered through the crowd. “But, this will be no game. Those men will kill her.” The priestess nodded. “Yes. They will, and they will kill some of us whether we agree to serve them or not. They will terrorize us, believing we will come to fear them too much to do other than obey.” “Do you think the children are already dead?”

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She shook her head. “No. They live. The Goddess protects them.” “Then why didn’t she protect us in the first place and destroy their flying machine?” he snarled. “Do not blaspheme, Balam!” Malia snapped. “The old gods do not have the powers they once did. Too many people no longer believe. But the Goddess helps us as she can. And to do that, Raina must find the children. She is their only hope.” Growling, Balam rubbed his still bleeding knuckles with his other hand. Malia laid her hand on his arm. “I know you wish to rip out the throat of the man who took your son, but you would both die in the attempt. Let Raina go. She will find them.” “She has ‘til three days before the full moon, Malia. If she’s not back by then, I go myself.” Shaking her hand off his arm, he pushed his way through the crowd and stomped toward the small house where his mate cried for her eldest child. Muttering amongst themselves, the crowd dispersed. Malia smiled at Raina. “You do a brave thing. Do not fail us.” Raina smiled back. “I won’t, Malia. I promise to remember everything you’ve taught me.” “Your heat is almost upon you. If it starts, the urge may be too much to resist.” Raina shrugged. “I have enough time.” The priestess’ voice stopped her from leaving. “A strange, arcane wind blows toward you, Raina. A wind with you at the center which brings profound changes for all of us. Do not turn away from it for our survival depends on you. Follow your heart and you will not fail.” Raina stared at the priestess for a moment, but Malia simply smiled and disappeared back into the depths of the temple. Finally, shrugging at the priestess’ cryptic words, Raina trotted toward her small house. The sooner she left, the sooner she’d be back, either with the children or with information on how to save them. Contrary to what Balam believed, she was not without common sense. Raina knew very well she couldn’t defeat a full-grown man in battle, and she was not stupid enough to

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try. But, she was the best thief in the village. Every home had useful items she’d brought back from off the plateau. As she reached her home, Kirak stepped around the corner and grabbed her arm. “Tell them you changed your mind.” She wrenched her arm free. “No. You have no right to tell me what to do.” “All the other men know I want you. When your heat comes, it will be my cock you ride.” “Not if you were the last man alive, Kirak. I am not yours.” Hissing, she ducked inside her house and stripped off the simple shift she wore. “Raina!” She ignored him. Finally, she heard him stomp away. Biting her lip, she stared at the doorway. She should never have allowed Kirak to catch her last year during her ocelot heat. Now he thought she belonged to him. He was not her choice for a life-long mate and never would be. He was entirely too controlling. “Arrogant male!” Throwing her long hair back over her shoulder, she stomped toward the door. Goddess help him if he was out there waiting for her. She’d scratch his eyes out! Cinnamon colored mist swirled and a svelte ocelot leaped out the door and headed for the forest.

*** As she loped through the rain forest, uneasiness began to tickle Raina’s senses. No birds were squawking or fluttering about. The monkeys were completely silent. There weren’t even any insects buzzing around her. Stopping, she looked up. The closely intertwined branches above her head completely blocked out the sun. She frowned. Normally, there was a break in the canopy here where a huge tree had fallen not long ago, yet no sun was shining through. Was a storm coming?

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Trying to ignore her uneasiness, Raina continued toward the cave system that would take her to the forest below. She had the children to find. Still, her fur rose of its own accord and nervousness prickled her skin. When Raina finally reached the rim of the plateau, she halted between two trees and stared at the black and gray clouds manifesting before her. Uneasy, she stepped back. Storms on the plateau could be fierce, but she’d never seen clouds like these before. Deep, ebony black and sickly green-gray, they rolled and billowed over and around each other as streaks of lightning flashed and flickered between them. Thunder boomed above her head and shook the trees around her. Then a deluge of rain pounded down. Howling gusts of wind ripped leaves and branches from trees and bushes and threw them high into the air or slammed them onto the ground. Leaping onto the trunk of a huge tree that had fallen years ago, Raina dug her claws into it to keep from being blown away. Rain and debris swirled around her. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she struggled to swallow her yowls of fear. A boulder the size of her house shot up from beneath the rim of the plateau and flew over her head to crash into the forest behind her. Trees groaned and cracked as the wind and boulders attacked them. A deafening crash buckled the ground beneath her. No longer able to control her fear, Raina closed her eyes and mewled in terror. Then, as suddenly as it began, the storm stopped. One moment the world seemed to be ending, the next the angry clouds were gone, and the sun again beat down. Plumes of steam rose around her as the heat returned and evaporated the water. A bird chirped cautiously. After a moment, another answered it. A monkey chittered nervously. Slowly, Raina opened her eyes and loosened her claws. Rising from her crouch, she shook as much water from her fur as she could and looked around. A few feet in front of her, a gooey, steaming mass dripped down the side of a fallen tree. Placing one paw carefully in front of the other, she tiptoed toward it. Stretching her neck forward, she sniffed. Sand? Here?

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Lashing her tail, she rose to her full height and looked around. What in the name of the Goddess had just happened? In all her years, she’d never experienced such a frightening storm. Terrified mewling reached her ears. Leaping to the ground, she zigzagged around storm debris and loped toward the sound. Reaching the base of a sturdy tree that had managed to escape the storm’s fury, she looked up. On a branch about fifteen feet above the ground clung a young, whimpering jaguar. Raina shifted to her human form. “Tzel, you can come down. It’s over.” The whimpering stopped. Amid the rasping of claws gripping bark, the jaguar inched its way down the tree. Once the cub reached the ground, he shifted immediately into human form, launched himself into Raina’s arms, and hid his face against the side of her neck. Staggering against his weight -- even though he was still young, he weighed at least fifty pounds more than she did -- Raina wrapped her arms around him until he stopped shaking. “Shhhhh. It’s all right, Tzel. It was only a storm, a strong one, but still only a storm.” Lifting his head, he looked down into her face and said, “Then, what’s that?” He jerked his chin to her left. Loosening his grasp, she turned. The strong odor of oil lay heavy on the humid air. A huge iron box with strange bulges and a bumpy metal strip wrapped around the wheels on both sides sat amidst splintered trees fifty yards from the edge of the plateau. Some kind of machine? What was it for? The young shape shifter looked at her. “What is this thing?” Raina looked more closely. A long, metallic arm protruded from the round top and pointed toward the edge of the plateau. The flying machine that carried those evil men had similar arms protruding from it. Small arms that spat death.

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She slid her hand along the side. Some places were smooth. Others were pitted with small abrasions. Lifting her hand, she stared at the residue on her fingers, then sniffed it. She frowned. Sand again. Where had this machine come from? She looked through the shattered treetops to the open sky. The storm had dropped this machine on the plateau. Perhaps the Goddess hadn’t forgotten about them. Raina looked back to Tzel. “When you go for the men, bring your friends back with you. Show this to them, then you and your friends cover it with vines and branches. If those men return in their flying machine, it’s better that they don’t see this.” Nodding, he shifted and leaped away. Raina stepped closer and touched it. It was warm, as if it had been sitting in the sun all day. Men such as those who’d stolen the children had made this thing. Was it a weapon of some kind? And if it was a weapon, could it be used against their enemies? Her mind whirling with possibilities, she shifted to her ocelot form and trotted through the jungle. Following a barely discernable path, she eventually reached a jagged hole. Stopping at the rim, she halted for a moment and stared down into the crack in the earth. With a quick flick of her tail, she leaped down into the darkness to follow the series of tunnels and caverns that would take her to the base of the plateau and the lands inhabited by humans.

Chapter Two Dusk was stretching its arms over the jungle by the time Raina finished her descent. Stopping just inside the final cave, she raised her head and sniffed the moist air. The slight breeze was wet and heavy, but she didn’t scent anything unusual. When she pushed her way through the bushes and vines and stepped outside, the thicker than normal humidity caused by the violent storm crashed down onto her back and shoulders. Panting a bit, she stepped into the open. A narrow strip of land approximately five hundred meters wide separated the jungle from the plateau. Here and there, single trees stretched toward the sky or small thickets sprang from the rocky ground. Following her instincts to remain hidden, Raina stayed low to the ground and headed toward the nearest cover. Once inside, she licked a paw that had come in contact with a sharp rock, then stepped to the other side. Another thicket lay only a few yards away, then another was close to that one. After that, a quick sprint would have her inside the edges of the jungle. Ears swiveling, she trotted toward the next thicket. From inside its tangled branches, she searched with both eyes and nose. Nothing. Slipping from the thicket, she loped toward the next one. From there, she would disappear into the jungle. As Raina entered the large thicket, the scent of a human assailed her. Halting, she planted all four feet on the ground and sniffed. Definitely human. Definitely male. Definitely alive.

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Slowly she inched forward. Near the center lay a man dressed in a shirt and pants the color of sand. A layer of fine sand even covered him. Again Raina’s mind whirled. Sand? In the jungle? She looked up. Where he lay was open to the sky. Broken branches and crushed leaves lay beneath him. It looked as if he had fallen from above. For long minutes, she crouched frozen behind some thick, leafy branches. The man didn’t move. His breathing was erratic. Carefully placing one soft paw in front of the other, Raina stepped forward. Twice she froze, but he remained still. Finally she reached his side. Reaching out, she batted him with her paw and leaped back. He still didn’t move. Once more, she inched forward and nudged him. Nothing. Relaxing her tense muscles, Raina sniffed him. He didn’t smell like the humans she’d encountered before. She shifted into her human form. Kneeling beside him, she poked him with her finger. Still no response. Leaning closer, she examined him more fully. He had very short, golden hair. Raina cocked her head. Puma? Then she shook it. No. He wasn’t a shifter. She’d have known that right away. Bracing one hand on his chest -- it was very firm -- she reached up with the other and lifted an eyelid. Blue eyes. Pretty. She let the eyelid fall and stroked his lean cheek. Whisker stubble rasped against her fingers. She fingered his crooked nose; it must have been broken some time in the past. Then she traced a finger along his firm, bloodless lips. Finally, she turned her attention to his wide forehead and the huge lump the size of a macaw’s egg on his right temple. Carefully, Raina stroked the lump. No response. She prodded it. A groan rolled from his throat.

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Leaning back, Raina crouched at his side and shook her head. A falling branch had hit an old man from her village, and a lump such as this one had grown on his head. He’d never awakened and died a day later. This man was dying too. Leaning forward again, she began to work his shirt buttons through the tiny holes. Better to remove his clothing now before the odor of death seeped into it. Unbuttoning his shirt was easy. Wrestling him out of it was another thing. He was solid muscle and heavy. After wrenching his shirt from beneath him, she pulled off the sleeveless white shirt he wore beneath it and unbuckled his belt, undid all the buttons down the front of his pants, and pulled them down to his ankles. She removed his boots and socks and pulled his pants off. Blowing hair off her forehead, she grabbed the waist of the tight, white pants he wore under the other pants -- Goddess, but these foreign humans wore too many layers of clothing -- and began to pull those down too. She’d just peeled them down over his hips when he grabbed her wrist, lifted his head, opened his eyes, and cried, “Sandstorm! Fahren Sie schneller! Fahren Sie schneller!” Almost immediately, he released her. As his head fell back to the ground, his eyelids fluttered closed. Falling on her ass, Raina scrabbled backward away from him. What language was that? It wasn’t like any of the native languages or the Spanish most members of her tribe knew. Who was he? Cautiously, Raina pushed herself onto her feet. It didn’t matter who he was. She would just have to stop on her way back to get his clothing. For a moment she stared at him. His body rivaled that of any of the males in the tribe. Broad muscular shoulders and chest, tapering down to slim hips, firm thighs, and long legs. His cock lay amongst a nest of golden curls. Even flaccid, it promised a satisfying length and thickness. Heat warmed her stomach. Too bad he was dying.

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Get your mind back on your business, Raina! she snapped to herself. You have children to find. This man is nothing to you. Besides, if he were awake, he’d probably cause as much trouble as the evil men who stole the children. He might even be one of them. Stepping to his side, she fisted her hands on her hips and stared down at him. Anyone who wasn’t a member of her tribe was an enemy. Even in the past, before she and her people were more than myths and legends, humans feared them. This man would be no different. Still, she should watch over him until he died. Shaking her head, she stepped back. The kidnapped children were her first priority. This stranger didn’t matter. He’d be dead soon anyway. She had to focus on her mission. Shifting, she snaked her way through the thicket. With each step, however, her uncertainty and unease grew. The memory of the man’s blue eyes staring unseeing into hers remained in her mind. She stopped and looked back over her shoulder. She shouldn’t leave a wounded man to die alone. Hissing, Raina shifted back to human. She couldn’t leave him. She would sit with him until he died. It was what the Goddess expected her to do. Besides, Malia said the children were safe. This man couldn’t take that long to die, could he? As she reached the clear space in the thicket, a shadow flitted across the moon. A red-breasted quetzal landed on a bough above the man’s head and looked squarely at her. Then it fluttered down to his side. Raina stared at the sacred bird, a bird that should not fly at night. The Goddess had sent a clear message. This man was important. Leaping over his body, Raina grabbed his discarded under shirt. There was a spring with icy water in the cave. She’d be able to carry some back here in the bottle attached to his belt and put cold compresses on the man’s head. That would help with the swelling -- she hoped. Once the man was conscious, she would be on her way. The Goddess would protect the children until she could find them.

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When Raina returned, the quetzal had moved. It now sat on the man’s chest with its emerald green wings and tail feathers covering as much of his shoulders and chest as it could. Turning its head, it looked back at her, chirped once, then launched itself into the sky. In moments, it disappeared. Dropping to her knees, Raina ripped a section of cloth and soaked it with icy water. After wringing the excess water from it, she draped it over his forehead. As soon as the cold cloth touched him, he shook his head. Holding it in place, Raina tsked. He had to keep the cloth on his head no matter how cold it felt. He tried to shake the cloth loose again, but with Raina holding it in place, he failed. He started to shiver. “By all the gods,” Raina muttered. “Even unconscious, he’s a poor patient.” Straddling his waist, she laid the upper half of her body on his chest to keep him warm while she held the cloth in place. His

eyelids

fluttered

open,

then

closed.

He

muttered

something

incomprehensible and tried to shift away from her. Blowing a lock of hair off her forehead, Raina poured more cold water on the cloth and put it back on his head. “Hold still,” she muttered beneath her breath. “I’m trying to help you.” Something in her voice must have comforted him, for he stopped his restless movements. Then he lifted his hands and cupped her ass. Raina bolted upright. As soon as she did, he shook the cloth from his head. “You’re worse than a child!” Leaning forward, she dumped more water on the cloth then examined his head closely. Was the lump getting smaller? She dropped the cloth on his head again. Moaning, he shifted his hips. Rebalancing herself, Raina inched back a bit -- and was poked in the ass by his rapidly swelling cock.

Chapter Three Gasping, Raina slid forward onto his abdomen and looked down into his face. He was still unconscious, feverish even since his skin was now ruddy as opposed to pallid. Then he opened his eyes and spoke in a low, husky voice. “Gekommen, Schatz. Lassen Sie mich Sie lieben.” Raina had no idea what he said, but the low, raspy rumble of his voice sent a shiver racing down her back and caused her nipples to harden. She waved a hand in front of his face. Even though his eyes were open, he didn’t react. He slid his hands up the outsides of her thighs and spoke again. “Kommen Liebling, lassen Sie mich Ihre Brüste saugen und Ihre Schenkel küssen.” He began to stroke the creases of her legs where they joined to her hips with his thumbs. Raina shivered again as her ocelot half responded. She was too close to her heat for his caresses not to have an effect. A smile danced across his mouth. “Küssen Sie mich.” When he gripped her waist and pulled her forward to capture her mouth with his, Raina had no trouble understanding what those particular words meant. First he nuzzled her lips with his, then he nibbled them. Then he slid his tongue along them. Heat stabbed Raina’s groin as his pubic hair tickled her pussy and his cock bounced against her ass. She moved her lips against his and flattened her hands on his hard chest. Slowly her body relaxed as he continued to tease her mouth with firm but gentle kisses. Shivers danced up and down her spine and a deep purr rolled up out of her throat. She slid her tongue along his bottom lip. Immediately, he opened his mouth and sucked her tongue inside.

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“Hmmmmmmmm.” Raina tangled her tongue with his in a slippery, erotic dance. When she pulled her tongue back into her own mouth, his followed it. He slid it back and forth across her teeth and gums, then stabbed it deeper into her mouth. He thrust his hips upward. Another, stronger burst of heat exploded in Raina’s groin as his cock rubbed her ass. Shuddering, Raina ground her hips against him and moaned deep in her throat. The ocelot half of her soul wanted to mate. Raina sucked his tongue deeper into her mouth. Lacing the fingers of his right hand through her hair, he tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. Their teeth clashed, their tongues twisted and stabbed. He slid the other hand down her back and cupped her ass. Whimpering as more and more heat roared in her pussy, Raina rubbed her ass against his cock. She needed him inside of her. Sliding her hands upward, she swirled her fingers among the silky curls on his chest and squeezed his nipples. “Hmmmmm. Ja. Ja,” he murmured against her mouth as she gasped for breath. Her entire body trembling, she stared into his eyes. Blue flames danced in their still unfocused depths. He had no idea what he was doing. He lifted his head, his mouth searching for hers. Then, in one quick movement, he rolled over and trapped her beneath his body. Her feline soul shook with pleasure as he settled his hips on hers and kneed her thighs apart. He nudged his cock against her cunt. “Verbreiten Sie Ihre Beine für mich.” Sliding his hand down over her shoulder, he cupped her breast. “Oh, Goddess!” She moaned into his mouth as she thrust her hips against his. Her cunt muscles clenched and unclenched. As he massaged her breast, her nipples tightened to aching nubs. Never had she been so aroused, not even during the height of her heat cycle. This semi-conscious stranger aroused her more than any male from her tribe ever had! How?

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Her ocelot soul didn’t care who he was or why he aroused her so much. It wanted to mate and mate now, hard and fast. Dropping his head to her breast, he sucked her nipple into his mouth. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Bucking against him, she spread her legs wide and wrapped them around his waist. “Now! I want you now!” His mouth never left her breast as he slid his cock into her. His rock hard flesh stretched and filled her. Squeezing her thighs more tightly around his waist, she met his thrust with one of her own. In seconds, their rhythms harmonized. Their hips ground together as he pushed deeper and deeper. Heat radiated outward from her cunt, up her stomach and breasts. He released her right nipple and sucked the left into his mouth. Raina arched her back and ground her hips harder. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the friction of his thrusting cock heated her from the inside out. Pressure built. He released her breast, kissed her hard, then buried his face in her neck. He began to thrust harder and deeper. “Ja, ja.” Digging her nails into his back, Raina contracted her internal muscles around his cock, sucked it as far into her cunt as she could, and allowed her world to explode. Shudders wracked her body as pinpricks of light flashed before her eyes. Above her, he yelled out something completely indecipherable, slammed his hips into hers one last time, and collapsed on top of her. Their gasps were the only sounds audible. Finally, his weight became too much for her, and she wiggled beneath him. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he looked down into her face. Raina stared up into blue eyes that were now focused and lucid. Satisfaction was replaced by confusion. “Wer sind Sie?”

The blanket of humidity seemed to smother Hans as he looked down into the face of the woman beneath him, a woman in whom his cock was still deeply buried.

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Considering he only had half a moon’s light, all he could see was that she had creamy skin, large dark eyes, and a cloud of equally dark hair. She wiggled, and he settled more weight on her. At this moment, she was the only one who could tell him what was going on. Raising his head, he looked around. It was too dark to see much more than bushes surrounding him on all sides. He’d just fucked a woman he didn’t know on the bare ground without so much as a blanket to lie on. What the hell was going on? Frowning, he looked down into her face. He remembered going on patrol -- and the sandstorm. The sandstorm. Cold dread filled his body. He’d been sucked out of the tank. Hans looked around again. Had his men survived also? Where were they? Once again he looked down at the woman. She was watching him with wary eyes. What did she know that he didn’t? “Wer sind Sie?” he asked again. “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?” She shook her head. Even in this half-light, he could see the confusion in her eyes. She didn’t understand German. “Sheiss!” Where was he? The prostitutes the army provided could all communicate in German, at least a little. Was she new? Rolling off her, he sat up. Waves of dizziness rolled over and around him. Gasping, he dropped his head to his hands and discovered the large lump on his forehead. “Sheiss,” he muttered again as he probed it carefully. Rising to her knees, the woman said something in a strange language. He didn’t know what she’d said, but he didn’t have any trouble understanding the command in her voice or the palms pressed against his chest that pushed him back down onto his back. As soon as his head stopped spinning, he opened his eyes and looked up at her. So, she was his nurse. He let his gaze roam down her body. His naked nurse. He was definitely not in a German hospital. Where was he? “Wo bin ich?”

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Shaking her head, the woman muttered something then dropped a wet cloth on his forehead. The breasts he had sucked moments before were only inches from his mouth. His cock stirred. Hans closed his eyes and took a firm hold of his libido. He had no idea where he was, who the woman was, or exactly how badly he was hurt. He snorted silently to himself. Not hurt so badly that he couldn’t fuck a willing woman, even if he had thought she was someone else. When she spoke again, he opened his eyes. She was holding his wet undershirt in her hand. Slowly, he sat up, grimacing as a pointed rock jabbed his bare ass. After shrugging into his shirt, Hans reached down to his ankles and grabbed his underpants. Closing his eyes until another wave of dizziness passed, he carefully slipped them over his feet and ankles and pulled them up to his thighs. Then he lay back down and pulled them up over his hips. After adjusting his cock, he accepted his pants from the woman and slid them on the same way. He took his belt from her hand, momentarily surprised to find his pistol still in the holster and his knife in its sheath. Frowning, he buttoned his shirt. This woman had cared for him after he’d been injured. She’d stripped him but not disarmed him. And, she’d fucked him. Why? Cursing long and loud, he looked at her again. She was now sitting on the ground -- still naked -- smiling at him. What the fuck was going on? Could she understand anything he was saying? “Verstehen Sie alles, das ich sage?” Tilting her head to the side, she simply smiled. Taking a deep breath, Hans lifted himself to a squat then rose slowly to his feet. After the dizziness passed, he stared down at her. Rising to her feet, the woman said something, concern evident in her voice. Hans grabbed her shoulder to steady himself when his head began to spin again. He had to find his men. Squeezing her shoulder, he said, “Wo sind meine Manner?” Raising his hand, he swept it around the small thicket. “Welche Weise sollte ich gehen?”

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The tone of her voice made it clear she didn’t think he should be going anywhere. His Spanish grandmother’s favorite expletive popped into his mind. “Cristos!” he spat. The woman leaned closer and spoke in a different language than before. “Usted habla espanol?” She spoke Spanish? What was a naked woman who spoke Spanish doing in Africa? “Si, I speak Spanish.” Her white teeth flashed in a wide grin. “Good. Now sit down before you hurt yourself. You must have hit your head hard to have such a large lump.” Hans ignored her. “Where are my men?” She shook her head. “You are the only one I found.” Where, then, were his men? What had happened to them? “Did my men escape the sandstorm?” “Sandstorm?” “The sandstorm that ripped the hatches off my Panzer and sucked us out?” “Hatches? Panzer?” Her voice was confused. Grimacing when his fingers grazed the lump on his forehead, Hans raked them through his hair. Was this woman stupid? Then he glanced at her again. She was still naked. “Where are your clothes?” She shrugged. “At home.” “Why aren’t you wearing them?” “I can travel faster without them.” “You can travel faster naked?” “Of course.” Hans stared at the woman, squinting to try and see better in the darkness. Too many shadows. She was traveling naked? There wasn’t a country on Earth where women traveled naked. Was this a dream? “Where am I?” “You are here.”

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“Where is here?” He tried to keep the exasperation from his voice. “Between the plateau and the jungle.” “Jungle?” There was no jungle in the Sahara desert. “Where’s the desert? I must return to my base. I’m a member of the German army. Take me there and you’ll be rewarded for saving my life.” “Desert? What’s a desert? And there’s no army here, just a group of bad men who stole some of our children.” She stepped back and hissed. “Are you one of them?” Steal children? What would he want with children? “I do not kidnap children! Damn it, woman. Where am I?” “I told you, you’re between the plateau and the jungle. I can give you no other answer.” She fisted her hands on her hips and glared at him. Even in the darkness, he could see anger flash in her eyes. Hans stared back, his mind jerked from the frustration of not knowing where he was to her naked body. She was totally unconcerned with her nudity. Her creamy, cinnamon colored skin glowed slightly in the weak moonlight, and her firm breasts with their dark nipples bounced slightly. Her waist was slim, her stomach flat. His gaze was drawn down to the dark triangle of hair above her cunt. Frowning as his cock stirred, he shifted his weight. Considering how much his head hurt and the fact that he didn’t know where he was, he shouldn’t be reacting to her nakedness. Had she given him some kind of drug when he was unconscious? Was he her prisoner? That thought dissipated quickly. A naked woman hold him prisoner? No. Impossible. “Is there a town nearby?” She shook her head. “No town, but there is a camp a day away from here. That’s where I’m going. You may come with me if you want.” Hans nodded. That was fair enough. Once there, at this camp, he would, at the very least, be able to find a radio and contact his base. What’s more, they might know where his men were.

Chapter Four Hands still planted firmly on her hips, Raina looked up into the man’s face. He was tall, far taller than any man from her village though not as muscular as some. Still, his shoulders and chest were broad and well defined. And even though she could see quite well in the semidarkness, she didn’t really need to see him to know how muscular he was. She’d spent enough time crushed against his chest to know exactly how hard his body was. Nipples tingling as a fulfilled shiver embraced her, Raina sighed. Their mating had been very satisfying. “If you’d get dressed, you wouldn’t be shivering.” Raina sighed again. Why was it humans were so obsessed about clothing? After touching his forehead, he sat down and reached for his boots. Looking up into her face, he asked, “What’s your name?” “Raina.” Nodding, he laced up the other boot and rose slowly to his feet. Then, bowing slightly, he said, “Captain Hans Bernhard zur Lippe.” Raina stared at him. Why did humans have so many names? “You are called Captain?” He nodded. “By my men.” She frowned. “What does your mother call you?” She had no trouble reading the consternation on his face. “You are not my mother.” “I am not one of your men.” He stared at her. “Hans.”

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Raina nodded. Hans, an easy name to say and remember. “Follow me.” Turning, she took one step. His firm voice stopped her. “I will not travel with a naked woman.” “Why? You did not mind my nakedness earlier when we mated.” His face flushed bright red. “I -- We…” He cleared his throat then continued in a more formal tone. “Fraulein, please accept my apologies. I should not have forced myself upon you when you were only trying to help me.” First Raina stared at him. Then she chuckled. “Force yourself on me? You couldn’t have done anything to me if I hadn’t allowed it. Both of us enjoyed that mating. You don’t need to make any apologies or excuses to me.” “Fraulein -- Raina, I’m much larger and stronger than you.” She shrugged. “So?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I will not travel with a naked woman.” Biting her bottom lip, she stared at him. It would be so much easier to just leave him here, or better yet, inside the cave. There he’d have fresh water. Unfortunately, Hans didn’t seem like the type of man who’d stay where she’d put him. And if he was traveling with her, she couldn’t shift to her ocelot form. Showing him her true self would only cause problems. Humans could not be trusted with the knowledge of her people. So, she’d have to travel in her human form. For some reason, any humans not native to her jungle were unable to concentrate around other people who didn’t wear clothing. Maybe this Hans would be able to explain the reason to her. She tsked. In human form, it would take longer to reach the men’s camp. “I don’t have any clothing.”

Arms still crossed over his chest, Hans stared at her. Then, with a curse, he unbuttoned his shirt, shrugged out of it, and handed it to her. With what sounded like a snarl, she put it on. Instead of buttoning it, however, she ripped a piece of vine from a nearby bush and used it like a belt. Then she did her best to roll up the sleeves.

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“Are you ready?” “How do you expect us to travel in the dark?” Her sigh was audible. “By putting one foot in front of the other. Besides, it’s almost dawn. We have a fair distance to go today if we want to reach the camp tomorrow.” She plucked at the shirt she was wearing. “You shouldn’t have any trouble seeing me in this.” Turning, she pushed some branches out of the way and disappeared. Cursing under his breath, Hans picked up the water bottle, cursed again as he fought a dizzy spell, then hurried after her. Head aching, he cursed more as he thrashed his way through the thick bushes. Then, when he thought some hanging vines had finally managed to capture him, he pushed past the last tangle of branches into open ground. Obviously waiting for him, Raina stood a few feet away. Without a word, she spun on her heel and started down the hill. Hans followed her, the horizon before them slowly brightening. Dawn. Good, at last he’d be able to see more than blurry shadows. In front of him, the tan blur that was Raina stopped next to some boulders. “Now we travel south.” Turning, she led the way downhill. As they walked, the sun rose behind him, its first rays reaching past him to the jungle below. Hans stopped. Tall trees rose hundreds of meters above his head. Wisps of clouds and mists swirled high in the uppermost branches. Lower down, colorful birds flitted among thick branches and clinging vines at the jungle’s edge, their raucous calls greeting the sun’s rising. Not caring that his mouth was hanging open, Hans just stared. Trees such as these grew nowhere near the Sahara Desert. Where was he? “Are you coming?” Hans wrenched his gaze from the trees and looked at Raina. She’d halted about ten feet away and was looking back at him. As the sun shone full on her face, Hans finally got a good look at the woman who’d given him her body during the night. Her long, dark hair wasn’t black but rather dark brown with streaks of auburn, black, and

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cinnamon, and it flowed halfway down her back. Her forehead was wide, her nose slender, her chin pointed, and her cheekbones high. Her pink lips were turned upward in a slight smile. But it was her eyes that drew his attention. They were large and almond-shaped. Last night, Hans would have sworn they were dark but now with the sun shining on her face, he could see they were the color of rich topaz. He’d never seen anything like them. She was the most exotic woman he’d ever encountered. As he let his gaze wander down her body, his cock stirred. Definitely too bad she wasn’t naked anymore. Memories of the preceding night leaped into his brain. Her skin had been soft and smooth, her lips full. Her tongue had tantalized him. And her body… His cock stirred again. “Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” Shaking himself free of his daydreams, Hans focused his attention back on the wall of trees just behind her. “Where am I?” he asked once more. The consternation on her face was evident. “I told you,” she said, pointing behind him, “between the plateau and the rain forest.” Spinning on his heel, Hans looked behind him. Rising upward into the clouds was a wall of stone pock-marked with holes and small caves. Water poured out of some of the holes. Vines, bushes, and small trees dug their roots into others. His heart beating faster and faster, Hans stared at the wall. Spinning around again, he stared at the jungle. “Where am I?” he repeated, mostly to himself. Stamping her foot, his companion stared at him. “I told you…” Before she could finish, he surged forward and grabbed her by the arms. Pulling her close, he shouted, “What country?” A blank expression appeared on her face. “Country?” She shrugged. “You are here, where I have lived all my life.” She didn’t squirm or try to escape him. Moments passed as Hans struggled to breathe. What had happened to him? Just who was this Raina? He sucked moist air into his lungs and fought to maintain his sanity.

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“Hans, we can’t remain standing here in the open. It isn’t safe.” Slowly, he released her. As she stepped back, he wiped the sweat from his brow. The heat and humidity were staggering. Already his back was wet with sweat. If he hadn’t removed his jacket while he was still in his tank, he’d be overcome by now. Thinking of his tank -- and his missing men -- Hans shuddered. They had to be here somewhere too. He waved for Raina to go on. “Lead me to this camp. I’m sure I’ll find my men there.” Turning, she walked toward the forest. “I hope you find your men, Hans, but the men in this camp are not to be trusted. They think nothing of their surroundings, burning the forest’s trees and killing the animals.” “Who are they?” he asked as he followed her into the tangled underbrush. She seemed to know where she was going, but Hans didn’t see a path. “Where did they come from?” Pushing some long, broad leaves out of her way, she said, “I don’t know where they came from. One day they appeared above our village in their flying machine. They landed and demanded that we work for them growing cocoa and other plants. We refused. We are free people and no one’s slaves.” She ducked and slipped under a huge tree that had fallen. “They left, but our priestess, Malia, told us to watch carefully. After two weeks, our vigilance weakened. It was then that they found a group of our children in the forest and took five of them. The other children told us the men shouted if we didn’t do what they told us to, the children would die. We will not allow that to happen.” Stopping, she pointed upward. “Watch your head. The python isn’t poisonous, but its bite is nasty.” Stopping in his tracks, Hans looked up. A very large snake stared back at him. He gulped. She smiled. “I won’t let anything hurt you.” Hans glared at her. He didn’t need a woman to protect him. Bark rasped. Hans looked up and watched as the snake slithered along the branch to the trunk of the tree.

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She grabbed his belt and pulled him forward. “Watch out.” The snake fell to the ground with a thump and slid into the underbrush. “Christ.” Wiping the perspiration from his face, Hans followed Raina. The humidity was even more oppressive inside the forest. Water dripped from the leaves high above his head, adding more moisture to his sweat-soaked hair. A cacophony of bird calls, insect chirps, and other sounds he couldn’t identify surrounded him. Bright colors, the likes of which he’d never seen before, decorated the strange plants. The ground beneath his feet was a slippery mess of decaying plant life. Wherever he was, it sure wasn’t the Sahara.

Smiling as Hans slipped and cursed again, Raina pushed some vines out of the way and continued to follow the faint track that led to her destination. “Why is a woman the one searching for the children?” he asked. “Wouldn’t one of the men be better suited? Why not send a group of men to rescue them?” Off to their left, the bushes rustled. When he started, Raina laughed. “It was a monkey, and it’s climbing up a tree far faster than you could run away from it.” She stepped over a small rivulet of water. “No one else in the tribe is as skilled as I at tracking without being seen. And while we’re sure the children are in the camp, we’re not sure exactly where they are. I’m going to find where they’re being held prisoner, then I’ll go back and tell the men. They will come and get the children.” He fought his way through some tangled vines. “Why didn’t they come with you and wait a few kilometers away from the camp? You’ll waste time going back for them.” “The flying machine checks our village a couple times every day. If the men disappeared, they’d know they were coming for the children.” “Won’t they know it anyway when you go back and tell them where the children are?” Whirling around, Raina glared at him. “Our plans aren’t perfected yet. Right now, it will be sufficient to know exactly where the children are.”

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Holding his hands up palms forward, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you angry. I was just making conversation.” Spinning around, Raina slapped some leaves out of her way. “Best to stop talking. You’ll need all your energy for the walk.” She let the leaves spring back and slap him in the face.

Chapter Five Leaning back against a tree, Hans stared across the small, flickering fire he’d made. Raina had found some kind of prickly plant to use as a comb and was working the tangles out of her hair. For the third time, she muttered something in a language he didn’t understand then shifted uncomfortably. After rubbing her neck for about the fourth time, she snapped out something that sounded like a curse, untied her vine belt, and shrugged out of his shirt. Sighing with relief, she rubbed first her collarbone then her breasts. The stimulation pebbled her nipples. Hans bolted upright. “What are you doing?” Draping his shirt over a nearby branch, she said, “It’s too hot to wear it, and it makes me itch. I wore it today so you’d be more comfortable, but I’m not wearing it tonight. Close your eyes if you don’t want to look at me.” Stretching out on the soft ferns she’d gathered, she lay down and turned her back to him. Her hair fell in a silky cascade across her shoulder blades to settle on the ground. Swallowing, Hans stared at her slender back. He trailed his gaze down along the indentation of her waist to her softly flared hips to her behind’s well-toned muscles. His gaze lingered awhile, then traveled down along her firm thighs and calf muscles. Those legs had been locked around his waist last night. He didn’t remember everything, but he did remember how her thighs had tightened just before he climaxed. Hans swallowed again. His cock remembered last night too. It was stiff and hard as the cannon on his tank. He moved his gaze back up to her ass. The urge to caress their mottled firmness grew. Mottled? He frowned and stared more intently. Her back and buttocks were also mottled. The underlying color was a warm cinnamon shade, but faint lines that were

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both darker and lighter in color patterned her back. A birthmark of some kind? He tried to lean closer. At that moment, she rolled over. Hans’ brain quickly registered that the skin covering the front of her body was a rich creamy tan color without mottling. He forgot about the markings as he stared at her round breasts, flat belly, and the triangle of rich brown curls between her legs. She locked gazes with him then glanced down quickly at his crotch. Chuckling, she looked back up into his face and stretched -- slowly. Hans forgot to breathe as she sinuously stretched first the toes on both feet then rolled her ankles. Pointing her toes, she stretched her legs, separating them slightly as she did so. Raising her arms over her head, she wiggled her fingers, extending them as far as she could. Closing her eyes, she arched her back, thrusting her breasts toward him. “Ahhhhhhhh.” She sounded -- satisfied. Opening her eyes, she stared at him as she lowered her arms and cupped her breasts. As she kneaded them, she arched her back again. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Another satisfied sigh. Her nipples seemed to grow before his eyes. Finally, she stopped massaging her breasts and slid her hands down over her stomach where she tangled her fingers in the curls growing there. Hans gasped as his breath exploded from his body. “Do you want me, Hans?” she purred. “I want you.” “Ra-Raina,” he choked. She spread her legs and slipped the fingers of one hand between them. “Ahhhhhh.” She arched against her hand. “Fuck!” Hans launched himself over the fire to her side. A low, rolling purr slid from her throat as he clawed at his belt and pants. He shrugged out of them quickly, thankful that he’d removed his socks and boots earlier. “Stand up,” she purred.

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Anticipation building, he did so. Kneeling before him, she slid her fingers under the edge of his tight underdrawers and peeled them down over his hips, thighs, and calves. As he stepped out of them, she sucked his jutting cock into her mouth. “Christ!” Threading his fingers through her hair, he concentrated on her hot mouth and supple tongue as she swirled it around him. One hand slid up and down his thigh, the other cupped his balls and rolled them around. “Christ!” he swore again. What did she have on her tongue? It was abrasive -not uncomfortably so. No, just enough to make it almost impossible to keep from coming. If she kept sucking this hard, he’d be finished before they started. Pulling his cock out of her mouth, Hans dropped to his knees and captured her mouth with his. Her answering kiss was not gentle. She sucked his tongue into her mouth and wrapped hers around it. Yes, slightly abrasive. He really must have been mostly unconscious last night if he hadn’t noticed that. She pulled free of his mouth and stared into his eyes. “I want your mouth on me.” Smiling slowly, Hans nodded. If she wanted his mouth, he’d give it to her. “Lie down.” Passion and excitement leaped in her golden eyes as she complied. Grabbing a piece of the papaya left from their meal, he squeezed juice on each nipple and the dragged the fruit down over her quivering stomach, through her soft curls, and slid it between her legs and rubbed it back and forth slowly. “Yes!” She arched into his hand as Hans slid the fruit up and down and around. His cock throbbing, he dropped the fruit and slid his fingers into her cunt. Bending, he sucked a nipple into his mouth. “Ahhhhhhhh! More!” She arched her back, pushing her breast deeper into his mouth. Her tight cunt muscles sucked his fingers deeper. Chuckling, Hans lifted his head and stared into her face. “You taste of sweet nectar and hot woman.” He thumbed her clit. “Ah! Ah! Ah!” She cupped her breasts and kneaded them.

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Hans kissed her stomach then licked his way down over her abdomen to her cunt. Positioning himself between her legs, he grabbed her thighs and spread them. At first he stared down at her ruby red cunt. Her lips and clit were swollen, and drops of papaya juice and her own lubricant glistened. “Pleeeeeeeease,” she begged. Lowering his head, Hans licked her clit. Moaning, she thrust her hips upward. “You want my mouth?” He blew a warm breath against her cunt. “Yes! Goddess, yes! I want your mouth, your tongue, your teeth!” Burying his face between her legs, Hans sucked on her cunt, licked it, and because she’d asked for his teeth, nibbled and nipped her clit. Grabbing his short hair, she thrust her cunt up against his tongue. He stabbed it into her and sucked. Moisture tasting of fruit, woman, and something wilder and more erotic than he’d ever experienced gushed into his mouth as she came. Pulling his mouth from her, Hans lowered her thighs to the ground and rose over her. One quick thrust had his cock buried to the hilt. Pulling back, he thrust forward again. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled his head down and locked her mouth on his. When he thrust forward again, she ground her hips against his. Hans slid even deeper. “Fuck me, Raina, fuck me hard,” he gasped against her mouth. Slick sweat and sticky pulp lubricated their bodies as his chest rubbed against her breasts. He kept his mouth locked on hers. Their tongues danced from one mouth to another. Their nostrils flared as they sucked air down into their laboring lungs. All the while, the rhythm of their thrusts matched each other’s. Chest locked against chest. Hips ground against hips. Pressure built. A bonfire roared from Hans’ stomach to his balls. His cock was rock hard, harder than he ever remembered it being. He pulled out then slammed back into her, ramming it in as deeply as he could. She whimpered into his mouth and dug her sharp fingernails into his ass to pull him deeper. The intense heat in his balls exploded into a volcano of fire that raged

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upward through his cock and burst free into her hot cunt. With his own cum further lubricating his thrusts, Hans fucked Raina harder and harder. Her muscles sucked at him and clasped him tightly as if they wanted to lock his cock deep inside and never release it. Finally, she stiffened in his arms. She screamed into his mouth as she dragged her nails up his back. Her cunt muscles shuddered around his cock and sucked every last drop of cum from it -- clasping, grasping, gripping. Hans felt welts rise, but he didn’t care. He’d just experienced the most mindblowing sex of his life. He could die now and be happy. Lifting his head from hers, he sucked great gasps of air into his lungs. As his heart pounded, he looked down into her face. Golden fire danced in her unfocused eyes. Beneath his, her body still shuddered. Slowly, her ragged breathing became normal and reason returned to her gaze. Hans smiled down at her. She smiled back up at him. “My Hans.”

Raina stared at the other half of her soul as she looked into Hans’ blue eyes. How had this happened? He was human! How could he be the one for her? After placing a kiss on her forehead, he flopped onto his back at her side. Soon his steady breathing told her he was asleep. Silent as only a cat could be, she rolled away from him, rose to her feet, and disappeared into the thick undergrowth. Once away from the fire, she shifted to her ocelot form and sprinted away. Raina ran for miles, finally stopping on the edge of a wide stream. After a quick drink, she scaled a nearby tree and stretched out on a thick branch. While she’d run, she’d been able to lock her human thoughts and feelings away in her mind and concentrate on being an ocelot. Her stomach grumbled, and she climbed higher in the tree. With a little luck, an unwary bird would be roosting where she could get it. Luck was with her, and in a few minutes she was feasting on a parrot that had been too young and stupid to roost safely

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away from strong branches. After finishing her meal, Raina descended back to the stream and drank. Shifting to human form, she stared at the splashing water. Mate a human? All shape shifters had human blood. Though not unknown in her tribe, a human/shape shifter pairing hadn’t happened for centuries. These days most humans didn’t even believe shape shifters existed. Worse, if their existence were discovered, shape shifters wouldn’t be left alone. Those people called scientists would take them away for study and dissection like they did every other plant or animal they found. No, keeping their existence secret from humans was the best thing her tribe could do. Raina drew her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. But where did that leave her? Shape shifters were neither animal nor human but a combination of both with instincts and mannerisms from both species. The males and females in her tribe, unlike the cat species that roamed the jungle around them, eventually chose one mate and stayed with him or her. Raina knew that not all humans were faithful to their mates, but her tribe members were. There were so few of them. By staying together, a couple could better ensure the birth and survival of more children. Sighing, Raina tossed a small branch into the stream and watched it swirl and bounce through the eddies until it disappeared. If she had children with Hans, they would be able to assume ocelot form, but what would he think of having a mate and children who could shift into animals? The old stories related by the elders of her tribe told of humans who fled when they discovered the truth. She shook her head. She couldn’t trick Hans into mating her and letting him find out about her abilities later. She wouldn’t have her heart and soul destroyed by his fright or revulsion. Or, what if he took her away to show to other humans? Raina frowned. No. He wouldn’t do that. She was sure of it. She’d touched his soul when they mated last night. He was a strong, powerful man, a warrior who had been in many battles. Of this she was certain to the depths of her soul. He was not the kind of man who would take her and sell her. She would have to tell him the truth -soon -- so she’d know how he’d react.

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In the distance, a jaguar roared. Shaking herself free of her musings, Raina shifted. Leaping into a steady lope, she headed back to her camp and Hans. Somehow, she would figure out how to keep Hans and protect her tribe.

Chapter Six “The camp is close. Can you hear them?” Hans strained to hear something besides bird calls or monkey howls. “No.” A gunshot echoed, and he froze. Raina was right. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to just walk in. Stopping in front of him, Raina pulled off his shirt. “What are you doing?” She grinned. “How can I scout the camp wearing this? They’ll see me immediately.” He pulled her against his torso and dragged his fingers along the crack in her ass. “Like they won’t notice a naked woman wandering around?” Sighing happily, Raina nuzzled his chest. Last night, she’d returned to the campsite and slipped to the ground beside him in time to have him roll over and mate with her again. She hadn’t gotten much sleep but felt more energized than she had in months. Looking up, she smiled into his face. “They won’t see me, I promise. It’s you who must be careful. You don’t know the jungle.” He slid his hand down over her long hair. “I’m a trained soldier. I know how to be careful.” A shiver danced up Raina’s spine and a low purr rolled around in her throat as Hans stroked her hair. Leaping up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him -- her mouth moving slowly and passionately, her tongue stabbing into his mouth to caress his teeth and tongue. Before he could respond, however, she pushed herself away. “I must go find the children. You look for your men.” He lifted a hand toward her. “How will I find you?”

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Another shiver gripped her as the memory of his hands on her body surfaced. Her heart rate accelerated. Moisture pooled between her thighs. She had to go -- now! “Be careful, Hans.” With those final words, Raina vanished into the undergrowth.

For a moment, Hans stared at the spot where Raina had disappeared. One moment she’d been standing in front of him, and the next she was gone without a sound. Muttering to himself he wiped sweat from his forehead, put on his shirt, and followed the fairly clear path she’d indicated. Grimacing from the weak stab of pain when his fingers brushed against what was left of the lump on his head, he walked carefully and slowly. His men might be in this camp, but if the inhabitants were as unfriendly as Raina believed, he didn’t want to trip over a sentry and end up a prisoner himself. Raina. Her smiling face appeared in his mind, and Hans felt the corners of his mouth turn upward. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but she certainly was the most exotic. And, she was, without a doubt, the most enthusiastic lover he’d ever had. Once he found his men, he would take her back to the base with him. Other officers had women they kept for themselves. Before this, he hadn’t wanted to be bothered with the logistics of maintaining his own woman. But Raina… He felt himself grin. Raina wasn’t a woman to leave behind. He’d known her less than two days but already knew he wasn’t ready to give her up. He was going to keep her as long as he could, maybe he’d even take her back to Germany with him. The thought of home brought a frown to his face. Taking Raina to Germany might not be a good idea. Her -- exoticness -- would be noted and marked. The color of her eyes and the strange mottling on her skin would raise questions. The scientists of the SS would have questions and tests. Hans shook his head. He couldn’t allow Raina to fall into their hands. If she survived, she’d be traumatized for the rest of her life. Even taking her back to his base might not be a good idea. There were SS officers and scientists there, too. And, they

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kept a close eye on everything. Men, women, and children who were different, whether from accident or birth defects, had disappeared into the large building the SS had appropriated for itself. If he took Raina back with him, she too would soon “disappear.” “Christ! How am I to keep her?” he growled at a brightly colored parrot that squawked at him. Stepping between two trees, Hans felt something tangle about his ankle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shape flying toward his head. He jerked himself to the side far enough so that the swinging branch didn’t hit him full in the face. He did, however, receive a glancing blow on his forehead, the same side that had hit the edge of the Panzer’s hatch. Pain exploded in his head. All the breath rushed from his body as he slapped both palms to his forehead and fell to his knees. Trying to suck air into his straining lungs and still holding his head, Hans staggered to his feet and stumbled forward. Alternating flashes of bright light and thick blackness danced before his aching eyes. Sharp pains shot downward from his head into his neck and shoulders. “Hohes Dunnerwetter. Ficken! Ficken! Mein Kopf! Gottfluch! Mein Kopf!” Blinded by the pain, he staggered forward into a large clearing filled with huts and tents. When he could finally see clearly again, he was surrounded by armed men. “Stop!” “Shoot him!” The gun barrel jabbed into Hans’ stomach sent him to his knees again. “Verdammen Sie Sie!” “What did he say?” growled a raspy voice. “I don’t give a fuck. Just shoot him.” “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Ramon,” a redheaded man said with a clipped British accent. “He’s speaking German. Looks like one of those German mercenaries survived the attack by the government’s forces. Carlos won’t be very happy to have you kill a man he’s already paid quite a bit of money for.”

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Hans tried to concentrate on what was being said around him. Mercenary? He wasn’t a mercenary. He was a soldier in the German army. And who was this man speaking Spanish with a British accent? The British army was here? Trying to clear his head, Hans gave it a slight shake. More pain exploded behind his eyes. He felt more than saw a man squat down next to him. “Easy, old boy. That’s a nasty lump you have on your head. Come with me. I’m a doctor. I’ll check it out and give you something for the pain.” With his hand under Hans’ arm, the doctor rose slowly. Using his other hand to clasp the doctor’s arm for support, Hans rose with him. It didn’t matter if this man was his enemy or not. He was in too much pain not to accept his assistance. The man led him slowly forward. “This way. Just keep step with me. That’s it. I’m Michael Sterling, by the way, but everyone calls me Doctor.” Hans grunted but didn’t say anything. “Here we are. The medical hut. Carlos does insist on good medical treatment. Men suffering from malaria or some other tropical illness can’t work, and that would cut into the profits. Sit down and let me take a look at your head.” Easing himself up onto a table, Hans stared at the doctor then blinked when he shone a small, bright light into each eye. He gasped when the doctor gently probed his forehead. “That’s a nasty bruise. It’s a wonder you were able to make it here from the ambush site.” The intelligent, penetrating gaze in the doctor’s eyes encouraged Hans to keep his guard up even more. The doctor’s affability was at least partially a mask. He was fishing for information. Well, the British wouldn’t find anything out from him. “What’s your name?” the doctor asked. “Captain Hans Bernhard zur Lippe, Afrika Corps.” The doctor started. “Afrika Corps?” “I do not have to tell you anything else, Herr Doktor.”

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The redheaded man stepped back. His gaze roamed from the top of Hans’ head to his feet and back again. “Hell of a bump on the head if it knocked you clear back to World War II.” Hans frowned. Back to World War II? What was he talking about? He watched as the doctor walked to a cabinet, took out a small bottle, poured some water into a metal cup, and returned. “Here, take these,” he said as he shook two small pills out onto his palm. “They’ll help you get rid of the pain. Then go sit on that cot. I want to keep you here a bit to make sure you don’t have a concussion.” Cautiously, Hans tossed the pills into his mouth and swallowed them with water. Then he slowly made his way to the cot the doctor had indicated. “Good. Relax if you can. There’s a man with a bad machete cut I’ve got to check up on. I’ll be back shortly.” With those words, the doctor left. Hans stared at the open door. Even though he couldn’t see a guard, he was sure there was one outside. There had to be. No one left a prisoner unguarded. But was he a prisoner? He still wore his knife and pistol on his belt. What kind of camp was this? Slowly, waiting for sharp pains to stop wracking his brain, he rose. Nothing. Frowning, he straightened. What kind of drugs did the enemy have that would kill pain so quickly and still leave him with all his faculties? And why give it to prisoners? Did they have so much of it? Hans’ stomach rolled. If the British had such medicine, their wounded would recuperate and return to battle faster. This was not good. Circling the room slowly, he examined various pieces of equipment. Most of it was completely incomprehensible to him, but then he wasn’t a physician so didn’t expect to understand what much of it was. Still, he’d been in hospitals to visit wounded men. He should recognize some of it. Was British medical skill really that superior to German? Finally, he reached what had to be the doctor’s desk. It was covered with papers. Hans glanced at the door once more. Doctors were officers. Perhaps he could learn something to help the high command. All of it was written in Spanish. He smiled, again

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grateful to his Spanish grandmother for insisting that he become fluent in her native language. He lifted first one, then another. Most of them were about farming. Fertilizer, crop rotation, rainfall amounts. Why would the British want to know these things? Finally, at the bottom of the pile, he found a Spanish newspaper. Terrorists attack United States’ military installations in Saudi Arabia, screamed the headline. His eyes widened. The Americans had military installations in Arabia? Since when? Hans continued to peruse the paper. Columbian general suspected leader of drug cartel. Argentina searches for oil off shore. Cuban president Fidel Castro condemns U.S. fighting in Afghanistan. Hans stared at the paper. What was this? Drug cartel? Searching for oil? Cuba didn’t have a president. Afghanistan? How would America fighting Afghanistan help the British and French? Then Hans saw the date at the top of the paper. April 23, 2006. The doctor’s voice came from behind him. “Sorry, that paper’s months old. It’s easier to get the news off the Internet. Feel free to use my computer if you want.” His hands shaking from holding the paper so tightly, Hans turned to the doctor. “What -- what year is this?” Sauntering to his desk, the doctor lifted the lid on a black case that sat there. He pushed a button and flickering pictures appeared. Smiling, he looked up at Hans. “2006. That knock on the head may have given you a touch of amnesia if you have to ask.” Hans didn’t answer. The number 2006 whirled around and around in his mind. Then, his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the floor.

Chapter Seven Raina’s breath caught in her throat as she watched Hans stagger into the camp. She had to hold herself back to keep from leaping forward when the ugly, one-eyed man rammed his weapon into Hans’ stomach. Then she relaxed. The redheaded doctor had appeared. From everything various members of her tribe who’d spied on the camp had seen, he was a decent enough man. No one would harm Hans with him there. Taking advantage of the commotion Hans caused, Raina sprinted out of the forest -- she’d shifted to her ocelot form shortly after leaving Hans -- and leaped between some crates stacked behind a large green tent not far from the forest. An armed man lazed on one side of it. This had to be where the children were being held. Lifting her head slowly, she took a quick look around. She sniffed. No one was approaching. Hugging the ground, she slipped underneath the tent. In a matter of seconds, she was inside, and her sensitive nose immediately told her the children were not there. The tent was filled with cages. Most were empty. Eight were occupied -- five ocelots, a margay, and two jaguars were prisoners. Low growls rumbled in their throats, and all eyes turned toward her. Before she could react, the tent flap was thrown open and sunlight flooded in momentarily blinding her. The scent of a female jaguar engulfed her, and Raina was shoved into the shadows behind some unoccupied cages. The large male jaguar in a cage near the entrance roared. A man with a gun entered. “Why don’t we just shoot them and skin them? These pelts are worth much money.”

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Another man carrying a bucket of meat entered. “Then Carlos will shoot you, one body part at a time. He has buyers for these cats the way they are.” Without another word, he tossed chunks of meat into each cage. All the cats except the angry jaguar devoured theirs. Once the meat was all distributed, the two men left the tent. With the men gone, Raina stepped back away from the jaguar by her side. While a wild jaguar might kill a wild ocelot given the opportunity, all wild cats recognized the mix of feline and humanity in the members of Raina’s tribe and left them alone. But this female jaguar had pushed Raina into hiding so the men wouldn’t see her. Sitting on her haunches, the jaguar wrapped her tail around her forepaws and stared into Raina’s face. I apologize for pushing you, but you needed to hide, desplazador del gato. Cat shifter? A true jaguar wouldn’t address her like that. Raina backed up a few more steps. I need your help. These men have captured my son. She looked toward a cage that held a young jaguar cub. I have no hands and cannot free him. You can do that for me. In return, I shall help you find the children you seek. Raina continued to stare at the female. She was not a normal jaguar. Even in the semidarkness of the tent, Raina could see she wasn’t as bulky as a normal jaguar. More intelligence shone from her brown eyes. Brown eyes? Jaguars had yellow eyes. With a gasp, Raina shifted. According to all the legends, only one female jaguar had brown eyes. She was face to face with a myth from the deepest past. “Lilliam! You’re still alive!” The jaguar dipped her head. I have not been released from the Goddess’ judgment. Indeed, death would be welcome, but I live on. Outside, a man shouted. Lilliam rose to her feet. We have no time to talk. We must free my son and the others and lead them to safety.

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“The children?” They’re being held in a ruined temple at the north end of the camp. The front entrance is always guarded, but there many other ways in and out for a cat. Nodding, Raina turned to the cages. The ocelots and margay first. They understand the need for secrecy. Then my son. The jaguar last. The big cat growled. Raina glared at him. “Quiet, or you’ll find yourself shipped off to a zoo or something.” The cat snarled silently. “And if you hurt any of the others, Balam will find you.” Ears laid back, the jaguar crouched in the far corner of his cage. No jungle animal wanted Balam angry with him. Moving quickly and quietly, Raina opened the cages. Lilliam’s cub jumped to her side, then took refuge under her body. Only the angry jaguar male remained a prisoner. Raina approached his cage warily. Normally, he would leave her alone, but… He stared into her eyes. I will not harm you, Ocelot woman.

“You can get out underneath the back of the tent.”

I will go out the front and divert the men from your escape.

“You could die.”

So be it.

When she opened his cage, he padded to the front of the tent and pushed against

the flap. It hadn’t been tied. Looking back over his shoulder, the jaguar nodded then leaped forward. Almost immediately, a man screamed. A loud explosion caused the other cats to start. Shift and follow us. Lilliam squirmed her way under the back wall of the tent. Raina waited until the others were out then wiggled under the canvas. All the cats were sprinting toward the forest, and no one noticed them. The camp inhabitants were after the jaguar that had gone out the front.

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The ocelots and margay had already melted into the underbrush. As Raina followed Lilliam and her son into the forest, a deep roar from the other side of the camp told her the male jaguar had also escaped safely. The easiest way into the temple is from the east side. We’ll have to be careful. Even though the entrance is hidden, we have to go over the top to get to it. If someone is looking that way, we could be seen. Raina didn’t say anything as she followed the jaguar and her son. Instead, her mind tried to wrap itself around the fact that a Mayan priestess whom the Goddess had changed into a jaguar as punishment for her involvement of the attempted murder of a puma shape shifter hundreds of generations ago still lived. Impossible, yet Lilliam trotted before her. How could she still be alive?

*** The smell of ammonia jerked Hans back to consciousness. Blinking his eyes to clear away the tears from the odor, he stared at the blurred figure of the doctor. “Where am I?” “Medical hut, old boy.” Hans propped himself up on one elbow and grabbed the doctor’s arm. “No, where am I? What country?” Straightening, the doctor capped the bottle he held. “Central America. Costa Rica to be exact, in the camp of Carlos Montoya. That bump on the head is as nasty as I thought it was. Lie back down and stay still.” Hans flopped back against the pillow, said nothing. Central America? “And the year is 2006?” His voice sounded weak even to himself. Nodding, the doctor stared down at Hans. “Yes.” Closing his eyes, Hans ignored the doctor. He was an ocean away from where’d he’d been two days ago, and seventy years in the future. When he opened his eyes, the doctor was still standing next to his bed. Hans swallowed. “Who won the war?” “Which one?”

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Hans swallowed again. “The one in Africa.” “Man, there are half a dozen wars going on in Africa right now, and I doubt if anybody knows who’s winning any of them.” “No! The one -- between -- the Germans and -- English.” Hooking a chair with his leg, the doctor pulled it over and sat down. “The last time the Germans and British fought against each other was World War II. Germany lost.” Depression settling around him, Hans closed his eyes. “You know I’ve never seen a concussion manifest itself this way, but the brain is a strange organ. Is Hans really your name?” Hans nodded. “And you think you were a Panzer captain in Rommel’s Afrika Corps?” Hans opened his eyes, but before he could say anything, a gunshot exploded outside. The doctor leaped to his feet and headed for the door. “What the bloody hell are these sodding fools doing now? How the fuck they’ve managed to become one of the most feared drug cartels in Central America I don’t know. They’re a bunch of fucking idiots.” A jaguar’s roar echoed around the camp. “Bloody fucking hell!” he exclaimed. “Someone let that jaguar escape. I told Carlos trapping those cats would lead to trouble.” Pushing himself to his feet, Hans followed the doctor and stepped outside to stand behind him. He was still shocked by his circumstances, but he also knew his life was probably in danger since he wasn’t one of these German mercenaries everyone thought he was. He snorted to himself. Maybe he should assume that identity. What else could he do? Everyone he’d ever known was an ocean away -- if they weren’t already dead. What other choice did he have -- besides give in to the hysteria and madness building in his brain? Seventy years into the future. How was it possible?

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The memory of the violent sandstorm returned. Lightning had flashed inside of it. Hans shuddered. The sandstorm had brought him here. How? Why? Wiping his face with his hands, he sucked in a deep breath. Dropping his hands, he looked around. The camp was in an uproar. Waving and yelling, men ran into and out of a large tent. “That’s interesting. Seems like they’ve managed to lose all of the cats.” The doctor looked at Hans. “Are you sure you came here alone?” Hans remained still. “I am alone, Herr Doktor.” But his brain spun crazily. Raina. Had she been involved? She said she was here to search for children. She did mean humans, didn’t she? “Come on. Let’s get back inside before someone thinks to blame you.” “I did nothing!” “With that bump, I doubt if you’d be capable of sneaking into the tent and opening eight cages without anybody knowing. Still, you’re better off inside.” Nodding, Hans preceded the doctor back into the hut. He had a lot of thinking to do, especially if he wanted to keep his sanity.

*** This way. Raina followed Lilliam up over the overgrown hill -- only it wasn’t a hill, it was what was left of a Mayan temple. Slowly, Raina followed the jaguar and her cub until they reached a little opening shielded by a couple of large boulders, a few bushes, and some thick vines. Slipping between the boulders, the jaguar disappeared. Raina followed her into the coolness of a small cave and to a dark passage at the back. This shaft once brought sunlight into the main room of the temple. There’s much rubble and broken rock inside, so you’ll be able to reach the floor easily. Then, follow the left hand passage. It’s mostly blocked, but you’ll be able to squeeze through as will the children if they aren’t too big. Have them shift if they have learned. It will be easier for them to escape. My son and I will wait for you here.

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After a quick nod, Raina slipped into the tunnel. Crouching, she inched her way down the light shaft until she came to the end. A mound of rubble rose almost to the ceiling. She jumped down onto it and made her way carefully to the bottom. Once on the floor, she trotted into the left passageway. Dust motes danced in the intermittent slivers of light seeping into the temple through cracks in the temple wall and ceiling. Soon, her sharp ears picked up the sounds of hushed whispering. She quickened her pace. After another few minutes, light from a torch glowed along the top of the wall. After squeezing up over the rubble from a cave-in that reached almost to the ceiling, she leaped to the floor. Five children stared at her. She shifted. “Raina!” A small girl ran into her arms and the other children flocked around her. She quickly hugged the girl and put her down. “Shhhhh. You must be quiet. When was the last time anyone checked on you?” “They brought us food not long ago. No one will be back until it’s time for the evening meal,” answered the oldest, a gangly twelve-year-old boy. “You’re here to rescue us, aren’t you, Raina? We don’t have to stay here anymore, do we?” Raina chewed her lip. She knew she was supposed to go back and tell the men where to find the children. But how could she leave them now that she’d found them? The small girl clung to her side. “Those men scare me. The ugly one looks at me in a strange way. I’m afraid, Raina.” Raina hugged her. She had to take them with her now. “How many of you can shift?” All but the small girl promptly did so. Raina sighed. Escaping was going to be harder with one of them in human form. Kneeling, she held the girl out at arm’s length. “Jara, you’re going to have to be brave and not quit, no matter how tired you get. Can you do that?” The child nodded solemnly. “I’ll keep up, Raina, I promise.”

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“Okay. Follow me. Once we get over the top of that rubble heap, you keep your hand on my shoulder.” The girl nodded. Raina looked over at Balam’s son, a half-grown jaguar. “You’re the oldest so you will be last. Let me know if you hear anyone behind you.” He nodded. “Follow me, Jara. Stay close and wiggle on your belly wherever you have to.” Shifting, Raina led the small girl, an ocelot cub, two puma cubs, and the half-grown jaguar up the heap of rubble.

Chapter Eight Panting, Raina led the exhausted child and tired cubs out of the light shaft and into the cave at the top. Their escape had been slower than she would have liked. Jara hadn’t complained, but she had ugly scrapes on her arms and legs from the sharp stones and rubble she’d been forced to crawl over. The cubs had faired better, but all except Balam’s son needed rest. Lilliam was reclining next to her sleeping son. You have been successful. Raina shifted and pulled Jara into her arms. “Yes.” Lilliam nudged her cub awake. The children have been missed, and the camp is in an uproar. They are searching the forest around the base of the temple. A group of them have started up the west side. We must leave now before they find this cave. Raina raked her hair back over her forehead. She’d been hoping they’d have time to rest. As the jaguar rose and herded her son to the opening of the cave, Raina pulled Jara into her arms. “We have to go now. Those bad men know you’ve escaped and are looking for you. Follow me and keep low. Stay in the shadows as much as you can and be as quiet as you would be if you were hunting.” One of the pumas whimpered as she pushed herself to her feet. Her sister licked a sore paw. Balam’s son nudged the ocelot cub who snarled softly then rose slowly. “Make sure they keep up, Bandar.” Balam’s son nodded and batted at the sulky ocelot as Raina led them to the cave’s mouth. The sun was setting, which cast the entire east side of the hill that was once the side of the temple in long shadows. Raina sighed with relief. All cats could get lost in shadows.

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They were almost at the bottom of the hill, when a man’s cough froze them in their tracks. Lilliam nudged her cub over to Raina’s feet. Wait here. Insects buzzed and the shadows grew darker. The cub moved restlessly at Raina’s feet. Faint stars began to appear. Time crawled. As silently as she’d left, the jaguar returned. There are two men waiting below us. We must shift to the right. “That will take us directly toward the camp,” Raina hissed. “Can’t we go to the right?” That part of the pyramid is unstable. We could fall through. Besides, there are more men in the jungle searching for the children than there are in the camp. If we are careful, we can sneak through. “The camp is lit up as if it were day. I don’t like this.” The jaguar looked directly into her eyes. Neither do I, but we cannot go back, we cannot go right, and we cannot go straight down. Nor can we stay here. We have no other choice. Besides, there are many shadows in the camp. When my son was captured, I entered and left it a number of times at night. Turning away from Raina and followed closely by her cub, she faded into the dark shadow of a large bush. Raina motioned the others forward toward the brightly lit camp. Goddess help them if they were caught.

*** Fingers laced behind his head, Hans lay on the cot and stared at the wooden ceiling. A few hours after the cats had escaped another uproar had rolled through the camp. The ugly, one-eyed man had appeared within ten minutes and demanded that Hans tell him where he’d hidden the prisoners.

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Dr. Sterling had jumped to his defense and told him that Hans had been in his care ever since he’d arrived at the encampment. He explained that the contract with the German mercenaries was clear. Hans was only interested in the money he’d earn working for Carlos, and he certainly wouldn’t do something as stupid as spirit those children away and then stay here himself to face the consequences. All the while, the doctor had been examining Hans’ Walther revolver. Hans knew it was loaded, and he was sure the doctor did too. Ramon had left cursing. With a smile, the doctor had returned Hans’ gun. Now he sat typing rapidly at the thin machine he called a laptop computer, which seemed a great deal like a typewriter. A slight commotion at the front door caught both their attentions. For a moment, Hans simply stared. Then he jerked his revolver from his holster as a large jaguar padded inside. The doctor also pulled his pistol from the holster hanging on the wall as five smaller cats followed it in. Hans’ breath caught in his throat when Raina, carrying a small child, staggered in. The doctor clicked the safety off on his revolver. “Bloody hell!” “Hans! Help us,” Raina gasped. Without a second thought, Hans swung his gun away from the big jaguar and pointed it at the doctor’s head. “Set your weapon on the desk very carefully, Herr Doktor.” “I’ll be damned,” he said as he followed Hans’ order. “You are involved.” Raising his hands with palms outward, he stepped back away from the desk. Hans turned his attention back to Raina. “What are you doing? I thought you were only supposed to find the children.” He glanced down at the cats that had collapsed on the floor. Except for the large jaguar, the rest all looked like babies. Surely these weren’t the children Raina was talking about!

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Then he remembered the doctor talking about the captured wild cats that had been released. Mentally, he shook his head. Why would wild animals willingly follow her? Maybe the large jaguar was tame, and the cubs were following it. And Raina did have a child in her arms. Rising to his feet, Hans kept his revolver pointed at the doctor and paced toward Raina. The jaguar growled. “He’s a friend, Lilliam. He’s not one of these men.” The jaguar growled again and nudged the smaller of the two jaguar cubs behind her. “Why did you come in here, Raina?” “There were too many men in the jungle, and we had to come through the camp. We’d gotten this far when a group came back out of the jungle.” “You won’t be safe here very long,” the doctor interjected. “He’s right, Raina. You have to get out of here.” “I’ll help you.” An eerie feeling slithered down Hans’ back as not only he, Raina, and the child turned their gazes toward the doctor, but so did every one of the wild cats. He crushed his uneasiness. They were just animals, and he was a German officer. Raina had saved his life, and if she wanted to rescue some baby animals, he would help her. “Why would you help us?” “I never agreed with taking children hostage.” The doctor looked at Raina. “Where are the others?” She hesitated. “They’re safe.” The large jaguar growled. A man outside shouted. The doctor looked back to Hans. “Let me go outside and draw them away. It’s only a few hundred yards to the jungle. Watch me from inside the door. If I betray you, shoot me.”

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Hans looked back to Raina. “We really don’t have any other choice. Anyone could walk through the door.” She clutched the child more tightly against her chest and stared into his face. “Are you sure? If they capture us…” She didn’t have to finish. Judging from a few of the doctor’s comments, these men were as ruthless as the SS. Motioning the doctor forward with the hand holding his revolver, Hans kept the gun trained on him as he skirted the wild cats and stepped to the door. Squaring his shoulders, Hans threaded a path through the cats, ignoring the two that growled at him. “If I even think you’re going to betray us, I’ll shoot.” The doctor nodded once and stepped outside. Hans watched as he caught the attention of two men standing nearby and led them away from the hut. Still watching the doctor, Hans held out his free arm. “Give me the child. You look exhausted.” At first, the little girl wrapped her arms around Raina’s neck and refused to let go, but Raina whispered something in her ear. The child turned, stared at him, then launched herself at his chest. Wrapping his arm around her, he held her tight while he kept his eyes on the doctor. Once the redheaded man led the other two around the corner, he, Raina, and her charges would make a dash for the jungle. With part of his mind, Hans contemplated the gravity of his situation. He’d been thrown forward into the future, away from everything he’d ever known. He was here, in this place and in this time, whether he wanted to be or not. His only option was to make a life for himself. Deep in his soul, he knew helping Raina was the right thing to do. Besides, allying himself with men who kidnapped children didn’t appeal to him. The decision was easy. “Are you ready?” One of the smallest cats whimpered, but they all rose. Hans stared at the small woman standing before him. “You are an amazing woman.”

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A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. The adult jaguar growled, though Hans could have sworn the deep rumble was tinged with amusement. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he looked outside. The doctor and the men with him had disappeared. “Raina, take the cats and go. And don’t stop running until you’re deep inside the forest.” “But…” “Go, woman! I’ll be right behind you.” Without another word, Raina sprinted out the door. The adolescent cats followed her, including the cub of the adult jaguar after his mother batted him. She stood and looked up at Hans. “Go!” A shiver ran down Hans’s back at the intelligent glare the jaguar shot at him, but she leaped through the door. Keeping the hand holding his revolver outstretched, Hans followed on her heels. Raina and the cats had just made it to the jungle when two men stepped out. Neither Raina nor the cats stopped. One man gaped in astonishment, but the other was far more quick-witted. He raised his rifle. Hans pulled his trigger and the man fell. Then he shot the other one. Behind him, yells erupted in the camp. In front of him, two more men ran from the jungle. Both came out firing. He fired again and wounded the man on the left. The man on the right aimed his rifle at him and pulled the trigger. Turning his body so the child he carried wouldn’t be hurt, Hans fell to the ground as the bullet whizzed over his head. Struggling to his feet, he raised his gun to shoot. The man at the edge of the jungle had him in his sights again. Dropping the girl, Hans rose to one knee, knowing he’d never get his shot off in time. As the other man shot, a different bullet shrieked past his ear and hit the shooter in the middle of the forehead while the female jaguar leaped between him and the man shooting at him.

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Behind him he saw the doctor holster his pistol then dive into the medical hut. Scooping up the crying child, he started forward only to stagger to a halt when he saw the bleeding jaguar lying prone before him. Shivering, her cub huddled at her side. The jaguar had purposely taken the bullet meant for him. What would make an animal do that? Before he could react, the other black jaguar cub sprinted back toward him. As it did so, a dark mist formed around it. When the mist dissipated, a naked, adolescent boy with long black hair grabbed the whimpering cub from its mother’s side. A coal-black gaze locked with his. “Run, you fool,” the boy snarled. Then he turned and leaped back toward the forest.

Chapter Nine A bullet slicing through the fleshy part of his left upper arm galvanized Hans into action. Hugging the child tightly against his body, he sprinted for the tree line. Once inside, he zigzagged left then right. Bullets ripped leaves from bushes and thunked into trunks of trees, but he kept going. Suddenly, Raina appeared before him and motioned him to follow. Sliding his revolver into its holster, he shifted the child to his other arm and followed. She set a steady pace. As they jogged along, he caught glimpses of cats running on both sides of them. Hans didn’t see the black-haired boy again. The blow to his head could be making his mind play tricks on him. Yes, that was it. His mind was playing tricks on him. Soon, he stopped thinking and concentrated on moving through the jungle at the quick pace Raina set. Warm blood rolled down his arm. The bullet must have cut more deeply than he’d thought. The humid air wrapped itself around him. Sweat dripped into his eyes as he lifted his arm to stop a supple branch from slapping the child. The back of his shirt was soaked with sweat. The muscles in his legs began to burn, and he slipped on a decaying tree trunk. His breathing became more labored. Gritting his teeth, he blocked everything from his mind but following Raina. His whole world became placing one foot in front of the other. “Hans.” Her voice seemed to be coming from a million miles away. “Hans. We’re stopping. We’ll be safe here.” Blinking the sweat from his eyes, he focused on Raina’s face. “Give Jara to me.”

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As soon as he handed the child to Raina, his knees buckled. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. “Holy Mother Goddess, he’s bleeding,” Raina hissed as she set the child on the ground. “Bandar, get me some water.” He returned with a small bowlful as Raina ripped the sleeve off Hans’ shirt. “One of the bullets grazed his arm,” the young shape shifter stated from over Raina’s shoulder as she cleaned the wound with his shirtsleeve. “Bring me some toe’ stems with the leaves attached. There are some plants to the left of the path.” “Is he going to die?” Jara asked from her side. Raina shook her head. “No. I can take care of him here, and when we get home, Malia will make sure he’s healing correctly. “He cannot go home with us, Raina,” the child stated matter-of-factly. “Humans are not permitted on the plateau.” “I know,” Raina answered as she pinched the two sides of the wound together, “but Hans is a very special human. He helped save you.” After a huge yawn, the child nodded. “He was very careful while he carried me. He didn’t let any branches hit me, not once.” Bandar returned with a couple small, leafy plants. “Here’s the toe’.” Taking the plants, she split the stems with a sharp fingernail and squeezed the sap onto Hans’ wound. He hissed and tried to pull his arm away. “Grab his arm, Bandar, and don’t let him pull away.” The boy did as he was told. “Shouldn’t you be mixing that with something?” Raina tsked. “I would if I had something other than water. As it is, this will have to do. Here, hold these leaves against the wound while I bind it.” Ripping Hans’ other sleeve from his shirt, she wrinkled her nose. “Not as clean as I’d like, but I have nothing else.” While Bandar held the leaves in place, she tied them in place with the ripped cloth. “That should hold until Malia can check it.”

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Raina ignored Bandar’s sharp gasp. Wisely, he didn’t say anything. Sitting back on her haunches, she stared into Hans’ dirty face. Rivulets of sweat had traced strange patterns there. Bits of leaves and fruit clung to his head and body. The bump on his forehead was still visible, and now he had been wounded while helping save the children. She shook her head. Wherever he had come from, he certainly deserved a welcome from her people, even if he was human. Raina looked around the small hut then glanced over at Bandar. This was a secret place known only by her people. They should be safe here for the night. Still, it was better not to take chances. “Shift and take the other children into the trees for the night. You’ll be safer there if those men happen to find us.” “What about the jaguar cub?” A sharp ache clenched Raina’s heart. Lilliam had given her life to save Jara and Hans. “Leave him here with me tonight. Tomorrow he’ll go with us. We owe that much to his mother.” With a quick nod, the boy shifted, gathered up the other cubs, and led them out into the trees. After a few angry toucan squawks, the forest settled down to its usual night sounds. Leaving Hans’ side, Raina checked on Jara. She was sound asleep. Whimpering, Lilliam’s son flattened his belly against the ground and crawled over to Raina. She immediately cuddled him in her arms. “Poor baby. We’ll take care of you and treat you with all the honor your mother earned.” Stroking him until he relaxed in her arms, she laid him down next to Jara. The cub buried his face in her small chest as she wrapped her arm around him. Snuggled together, they slept. As the child and cub slumbered, Raina rose and placed her hands in the small of her back and arched. She was so tired. How long had it been since she’d slept? Between finding and caring for Hans and then locating and rescuing the cubs, she was exhausted. She stepped back to Hans’ side and knelt down. After checking to make sure his bandage was in place, she felt his cheeks and forehead. He seemed a little warm, but that could be because he wasn’t used to the humidity.

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Then his arm snaked out, and he pulled her down onto his chest. “Raina,” he murmured. She looked up into his face. He was still sleeping. With a sigh, she laid her head down on his chest. She was so tired. A little sleep wouldn’t hurt.

*** Hans awoke with a dull, burning ache in his arm and an unfamiliar weight on his chest. Then a unique, musky scent reached him. Raina. As soon as he shifted, she woke and tried to sit up. Hans tightened his arm. Her warm supple body fit against his like it belonged there. “Stay.” Sighing, she relaxed. “What happened? Where are we?” “A safe place. My people have many such huts scattered around the forest. We use them when we wish to hide.” He traced a finger down her bare arm. She shivered. “You were wounded -- on your arm. It’s just a flesh wound and should heal easily.” He kissed the top of her head. “How’s the little girl?” “Fine,” she breathed against his chest then looked up. Cupping her face with his other hand, he guided her up along the side of his body. When her head was even with his, he kissed her -- long, slowly, thoroughly. She shivered against him. He rubbed his cock against her hip. “Raina, I’m hungry. So is the cub. His name is Terin.” Raina giggled and rolled away. Hans heard flint scrape against steel. A torch flared, and he was able to see better. “Here, Jara,” Raina said as she lifted a thick slab of rock and removed a tightly sealed jug out of a rock-lined hole. Unsealing the lid, she pulled out pieces of dried meat and handed some to the girl. The jaguar cub sitting next to her pricked his ears forward and mewled. Raina tossed him a couple pieces of meat, too. Then she turned to Hans and threw some to him. “Here, you’d better get some before the others come in.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the five adolescent wild cats tumbled through the hut’s concealed opening.

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As he chewed, Hans watched the young animals gobble down their shares. The memory of the black jaguar changing into a boy flared in his mind. He chuckled to himself. What an imagination he had! A jaguar changing into a boy! Then he shook his head. Last week if someone had told him he’d be tossed seventy years into the future and meet a woman who had wild cats for friends, he’d have said the person had a crazy imagination. “Everybody get a drink. We have to get moving. You’ll all be home by tomorrow.” Rising to his knees, Hans crawled outside. After relieving himself behind some bushes, he got a drink from a stream that flowed from an outcrop of rocks. By the time he was finished, Raina and the others were outside waiting for him. As he lifted Jara into his arms, grimacing at a sharp stab of pain burst in his arm, he said, “Are you the only one in your tribe who doesn’t wear clothing? Even this child is wearing a dress of sorts.” The sound that came from the black jaguar’s throat was so much like a laugh that Hans continued to stare at him even after he herded the other cubs in a westward direction. Raina’s giggle drew his attention back to her. “I told you I can travel faster without clothing. I wear clothing in the village.” Before he could answer, Jara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping to save me, Hans.” A warmth spread outward from the general vicinity of his heart. “You’re welcome.” Even to himself, his voice sounded gruffer than he wanted. Jara didn’t seem to care. She hugged him again, then she dug her heel into his side. “Come on, Hans. I want to go home.”

Chapter Ten “In here.” Pushing aside some vines, Raina stepped into a cave. Sunlight flowed through high holes in the rock wall. The cubs tumbled in after her, and Hans followed. “There’s water through there,” Raina continued as Hans set Jara down. Raina had set a slower pace today, and she made sure they stopped for water as often as possible. Hans’ blood loss from his wound hadn’t been that bad, but combined with everything that had happened to him in the last few days, his endurance wasn’t what it should be. Letting Jara slide out of his arms, he slowly lowered himself to the floor. Leaning back against the smooth, stone wall, he closed his eyes and sighed. “Drink this.” Hans snapped his eyes open. The black-haired boy held out a bowl of water. Where had he come from? The memory of seeing a black jaguar disappear into a cloud of mist only to have this boy appear when the mist dissipated surged to the forefront of his mind. “You need to drink this,” the boy urged as Hans stared at him. He held the bowl closer. Swallowing, Hans lifted a shaking hand. With a quick smile, Bandar set the bowl in his hand and turned to Raina. “I’ll go ahead and tell them we’re coming.” Dark mist swirled and the black jaguar appeared again. The bowl shattered when it hit the stone floor. Hans’ gaze flew to Raina. Sighing, she shook her head. “He trusts you with his life, Hans. Please don’t betray that trust.” Before he could answer, a golden mist formed around one of the puma cubs. “We want to go home now too,” the girl who appeared pleaded. “Please, Raina. Can we go now? Bandar went. Why can’t we?”

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Hans’ entire body began to shake. Could they all change into human form? What were they? He looked at Raina. Was she like them? “We’ll start upward as soon as you’ve rested a bit. Bandar is older and stronger. The climb will be hard. Jara and Hans will have trouble in places.” The child looked at Hans. “Is he coming? What will Balam say?” Placing her hand on the girl’s shoulder, Raina urged her back toward the other cubs. “Rest now. I’m counting on you to help the jaguar cub if he needs it. Can you do that for me?” She nodded her head. “Oh, yes, Raina. We’ll all help him.” With those words, she dissolved into mist and the puma cub reappeared. “What are they? What are you? Are you -- human?” Hans’ whisper echoed around the cave like a shout. “Go to the cubs, Jara.” As the child snuggled down amongst the cats, Raina sat down by Hans’ side. “We are humans, Hans. But, we have -- a gift.” She put her hand on his arm. Before he could even think about it, he jerked his arm away. The hurt look on her face went straight to his heart. “I -- I’m sorry,” he stammered, “but…” She leaned away from him. “It doesn’t matter.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “It does matter. You took care of me when you didn’t have to, maybe even saved my life. You deserve my gratitude and respect.” He looked over to the cubs and then back to Raina. “Are you like…” “Them?” she asked in a tight voice. Before he could say another word, she shifted to an ocelot. His eyes widened. So that was why the skin on her back had that mottled pattern. She had spots when she -- he swallowed as his mind still rebelled against the possibility -- was a cat. She shifted back to human. Hans couldn’t help himself. He simply stared at her. Now he understood the exoticness of her face, her golden eyes, the slightly pointed ears, her pointed chin.

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The memory of her raking her nails down his back when they’d had sex surfaced. Sharp nails that turned into claws. Then, the fact that he’d had sex with her -more than once -- hit him. She was more than human, she was part animal, and he’d had sex with her. What did that make him? His stomach rolled. He began to suck in air in great gasps as his hand stared to shake again. He broke out in a cold sweat. “Hans?” Again, she laid her hand on his arm. Shuddering, Hans struggled to regain control of both his thoughts and his body. “I -- no -- please, I must think.” He pulled away. Jerking her hand back, Raina stared into his face. He had said she deserved his gratitude and respect. She wanted more than gratitude and respect. She wanted passion -- and love. In her soul, she knew Hans was the mate for whom she’d waited. But now he knew what she really was and he was reacting exactly as most humans did, with disgust and revulsion. She turned her head and blinked her tears away. Rising to her feet, she called to the cubs, “We’ve rested long enough. It’s time to go. Bandar should be back with your parents by the time we reach the ledge.” Leaping to their feet, the young shape shifters, guiding Lilliam’s son, headed for the rear of the cave. Jara stood in the middle of the floor and stared at them. Raina turned back to Hans. “You cannot stay here. There’s no food, and those men will eventually find you. You are welcome to come with us.” At least he hadn’t run screaming when she shifted. She hadn’t lost him yet. He continued to stare off into space. “Hans!” Stiffening, he focused his gaze on her. “Are you coming with us, or are you going to wait for those men to find you and kill you?” For a moment, he stared at her then looked at the child. “I’m coming. I promised Jara I’d make sure she got home safely. I always keep my promises.” He frowned.

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“Wouldn’t it be easier for Jara to travel if she -- changed into a cat? Isn’t she like the rest of you?” A small blossom of hope unfurled in Raina’s heart. “She’s too young. Shifting and holding the new form requires much practice.” “Oh.” Rising, he held out his hand to the child and said, “Which way?” Smiling broadly, Jara skipped over to him. “We climb up and up and up.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the back of the cave. Raina walked by his side. “Remember the space between the plateau and forest where I first found you?” He nodded. “We are inside the bottom of the plateau. There’s no path, no possible way to the top -- on the outside. However, there are a series of connected tunnels and caverns that lead to the top. Ocelots, jaguars, pumas, margays, any cat that knows the way can make the journey.” He looked down at her. “Any cat? What about humans?” Raina met his stare evenly. “It’ll be hard for both you and Jara, but you especially because you’re so big. Eventually, we’ll reach a place where neither of you will be able to go further. Only a cat is limber enough to fit through one of the smaller passages. Jara will be hauled to the top in a basket along the outside wall. It’s how we transport things from below.” She looked away. His voice was dry. “Somehow, I don’t think you have a basket big enough for me.” “You will have to climb -- if they allow you to come up.” “Allow me to come up?” Raina stopped. “Go on ahead, Jara, and tell the others to wait until we get there.” She turned to face Hans. “Humans are rarely permitted onto the plateau, nor has any other human ever been told about the passage to the top.” “Why me?”

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She dropped her gaze. “When I found you, I couldn’t just leave you to die. Then, when we mated…” She swallowed. “After I found the children and you helped us escape from those men, you became their enemy. You don’t know the jungle. To leave you down here would mean certain death.” “I think that wouldn’t matter so much to anyone else.” Raina jerked her gaze from the floor and stared into his face. “You helped save the children. You deserved to be honored for that.” Stepping away from him to the wall, she grabbed something from a rocky ledge. “Here. I -- found -- this last month. The passage to the top is dark. Cats’ eyes are fine in the darkness, but you would be blind.” She disappeared through a dark opening. Hans looked at the battery-operated electric torch she’d placed in his hands and stared into the darkness. She’d broken her people’s rules for him. Without a doubt, he would not be welcomed. He looked back over his shoulder. All he had to do was turn around and leave. She wouldn’t follow him, of that he was sure. He sighed. But where would he go? How would he live? He had his knife and his revolver but very little ammunition left. He’d heard the reports of the rifles those other men had been firing. Only machine guns could fire that fast, and those guns were as small as the rifles infantrymen carried. They’d been lucky in their escape from the camp. Without help from the doctor, they wouldn’t have escaped at all. No, he wouldn’t survive if they found him. Hans shook his head. He had no choice but to follow Raina. He had nowhere else to go. Pushing the torch’s switch forward, he followed the beam of light into the darkness. A smile tickled the corners of his mouth. He wondered what other things Raina had found.

*** Hours later, Hans pulled himself out of the steep shaft he’d shimmied up. The walls were rough enough for the cats to dig in their claws, but he’d been forced to crawl

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upward on his hands and knees with his back scraping the rough stone above him. To be honest, he was surprised he’d made it. As he sank to the floor and wiped sweat from his brow, Raina leaped up out of the shaft. When a cinnamon colored mist formed, he watched closely, but he couldn’t see anything inside of it. It disappeared and Raina stood before him again. After a quick smile, she stepped to where the cubs and Jara were lying. “We’re tired, Raina,” the child complained, “and hungry and thirsty. How much longer?” Smiling, she stroked the child’s hair then petted each of the cubs. “This is as far as we go for now. Bandar should be back with your parents soon.” Moving away from them, she walked into the darkness. A minute later, moonlight flooded the small cave. Clicking the torch off, Hans rose to his feet and followed her. She was standing outside on a fairly wide ledge. He stepping closer to the edge. The ground was far below, and the jungle was nothing more than a dark smudge. The top of the plateau looked to be about two to three hundred meters above his head. He looked down again. “It would be a long fall.” She stepped to his side. “Unless you’re a cat, it’s the only way.” “Raina! Someone’s coming,” Jara called. Pivoting, Raina headed back into the cave. Hans followed, his gaze sliding down her slender back to her ass. Firm muscles moved beneath her smooth skin. The memory of fondling her buttocks flared in his mind. She had the finest ass of any woman he’d ever met. He’d just stepped inside the opening when an ocelot followed closely by another leaped to the floor of the cave from a small opening high up in the wall. Both immediately shifted to their human forms. Jara jumped into their arms. Other cats tumbled out of the opening and both adults and cubs shifted. Their reunions brought joy to Hans’ heart. The cub that had belonged to the female jaguar

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whimpered a bit and slunk to Hans’ feet. Bending, he lifted it up and cradled it in his arms. “I know just how you feel.” More cats leaped from the high opening and shifted to their human forms -large adult males. At his side, Raina stiffened. Hans’ grip on the cub tightened. Finally, a large black jaguar dropped to the floor and immediately shifted to his human form. He wasn’t as tall as Hans but was much bulkier. Hans watched him closely. This must be the leader. For a moment, happiness and relief were evident on the other man’s face. When he turned toward Raina and Hans, however, an emotionless mask dropped over his visage. His stare went to the cub in Hans’ arms. “Where is his mother?” Lifting him from Hans’ arms, Raina walked to the man and held the cub out. “The legends were true. Lilliam still lived until…” She choked and swallowed. “Balam, she leaped into the path of a bullet to save Jara and Hans.” Jara appeared at Balam’s side. “His name is Terin, Balam, and he’s my friend. He can stay with us, can’t he?” The smile returned to the muscular man’s face when he looked down at her. “Of course he can stay. Even if he didn’t have human blood, our forest brothers and sisters are always welcome. You know that.” Jara’s smile lit the entire cavern. Then, she added, “Hans is my friend too, Balam. He carried me all the way here, even when he was bleeding. And he didn’t let me fall down the long tunnel. And he killed a bad man who wanted to hurt me.” The smile disappeared from Balam’s face. “Go back to your parents, Jara.” He looked at the other parents. “Take your children home.” The parents and cubs, except for Terin, Jara, and her parents, left. “Balam,” the slender woman stated firmly, “You will do nothing while we are here.” A cold stillness came over Hans. He didn’t like the sound of that.

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Raina stepped forward. “I found him unconscious at the bottom of the plateau, Balam. He is not one of them. When I took him to their camp, they allowed him to live. He could have joined them. Instead, he risked his life to help save the children.” Balam didn’t get a chance to answer. A muscular, blond man suddenly stepped forward. “You know the rules, Raina. No humans. You have broken our laws.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her against his naked body. Anger blazed in Hans’ soul. This man acted like Raina was his. “Be quiet, Kirak,” Raina snapped as she wrenched herself free from the blond’s grasp and stepped back to Hans’ side. “This is not your decision to make.” The blond man wasn’t deterred. “This human must die.”

Chapter Eleven “No!” Jara shouted as she scooted around Balam and punched Kirak in the thigh.

Grabbing her upper arms, he lifted her off the ground.

Before anyone else could do anything, Hans leaped forward and grabbed Kirak’s

wrist. “Put her down.” His voice was low, deadly. The blond man dropped Jara. Hans’ grip loosened when golden mist began to form. “Hold!” Balam commanded. Kirak stopped shifting. “Let him loose, human.” “My name is Hans.” A scraping noise sounded outside the cave. “The basket is here. Come, Jara. It’s time for you to ride to the top.” She wrapped her arms around Hans’ thigh. “No. I’m not going.” Sighing, Balam held out his hand. “You’ll see your human at the top.” She stared up into his face. “Do you promise?” “Balam!” Kirak snarled. Balam ignored the other man. “I promise, little one. Now, will you go?” Smiling, she nodded, took the jaguar cub from Raina’s arms, and followed her father out onto the ledge where he put them both into a large basket. As it disappeared, Jara’s mother leaped to the passage that led upward. Soon her mate returned to the cavern and followed her. One by one, the men shifted and exited the cavern. “Kill him now, Balam,” Kirak growled.

Balam’s voice brooked no argument. “I gave my word.”

Kirak’s snarl echoed around the cavern. “Why do you break our most ancient

law?”

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Balam stared at Kirak. “Because Malia told me if he died, we would all die. Now go.” After a disgusted snarl and a hate-filled glare at Hans, Kirak left. Balam turned back to Hans. “You will have to climb to the top, human.” Hans crossed his arms over his chest. “My name is Hans.” After a moment, Balam nodded. “If you fall, you die.” Hans nodded once. “Come, Raina,” Balam ordered. She shook her head. “I’ll climb with Hans.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Kirak won’t cut the vines if I’m on them too.” After a slow nod, Balam looked back at Hans. “You have made an enemy, Hans. Kirak wants Raina for himself.” Shifting, he too left the cavern. “Come on,” Raina said. “It will soon be dawn, and we have to be to the top by then.” As she walked by, he stopped her by clasping her arm. “What did he mean?” She tried to shrug free. Hans refused to let her go. “Do you belong to Kirak?” This time she was able to wrench her arm free. “I belong to no man! Kirak dreams impossible dreams.” “Then why does he act like you’re his?” “It’s nothing.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain.” She stamped her foot. “Hans! We’re running out of time.” He simply lifted an eyebrow. Fisting her hands, she snapped, “Kirak wants to mate me.” “I can understand that. You’re beautiful.” She froze. “You think I’m beautiful?” He nodded. “You do have a bad temper.” “Bad temper?” She leaped at him.

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He caught her in his arms and kissed her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth under his and sucked his tongue into her mouth. Hans cupped the back of her head in his palm, slanted his mouth over hers, and twisted his tongue around and around with hers. His cock rose when her nipples poked against his chest. A small voice in his brain shouted, Animal! He quashed it. She was the most fascinating woman he’d ever met and he wanted her. Pulling his tongue from her mouth, he nipped her neck then nibbled his way to the end of her shoulder while her unique scent surrounded him. She moaned and ground her hips against him. Cupping her ass, he spread his feet for better balance, lifted her, and pressed her back against the smooth, stone wall. “What about me, Raina? At the bottom of the plateau, you said we mated. Do you want me?” She wrapped her legs around his waist. Inside his trousers, his cock was rigid against his leg. Pulling back, she looked into his face. “Yes.” Bracing her against the wall, he let go of her ass with his right hand, slipped it between them, and freed his cock. After a long shuddering sigh, she tried to push him away. “No. Hans. We can’t. Not now. We must go.” “We aren’t going anywhere until you don’t smell like him anymore. You’re mine, and if that Kirak touches you again, I’ll kill him.” He slid his hand between her thighs and twisted two fingers into her. Moisture coated them immediately. “Hans!” She arched into his hand. “They could come back.” He removed his hand, grabbed her ass again, and stabbed his cock into her wet cunt. As always, her internal muscles sucked him deeper with each thrust. “Then -- they -- can watch. You -- are -- mine!” Each word was punctuated by a harder thrust.

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Hans was not gentle. The urge to dominate, to have Raina surrender to him, surged through his body. Anger such as he’d never experienced before had roared to life when Kirak had pulled Raina into his arms. The other man would never touch her again. And when they reached the top, every cat man up there would smell Hans’ cum on and in her. He ground his hips harder. Against him, Raina moaned. She nipped his chest and neck. Her sharp teeth didn’t stop Hans. Instead, he became more exited. Arching his back, he ground his hips against her and pushed his cock deeper. Her muscular legs tightened around his waist, urging him to thrust harder. Moisture from her cunt coated him. “Fuck, but you’re wet. That’s it, tighten your muscles around me. Suck my cock deeper.” He slammed into her again and again. A low keen rolled out of her throat, and she nipped his shoulder so hard, blood flowed. As he shouted something incomprehensible, Hans’ cum surged up through his cock and spurted deep into her. When the echoes of their cries finally faded away, Hans raised his head from where it lay against her neck and looked into her eyes. “You are mine, Raina, forever.”

*** Dawn was breaking when they finally crawled over the edge of the cliff. Satisfaction embraced Hans as he watched the men’s nostrils flare when Raina and he stepped among them. He grinned into Kirak’s angry face. Before anyone could say anything, all of them stiffened, then froze in place. “They come,” shouted one of the men. Instantly, humans dissolved into various types of cats and disappeared into the jungle. “Hans, we must hide!” “Damn it, Raina, leave the human! Shift and run!” Kirak commanded. He reached for her arm. Reaching for his revolver, Hans pointed it at the other man.

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An older woman stepped between them. “Kirak! Go now.” She turned to Raina and Hans. “You two come with me.” She took off at a run into the jungle. Following Raina, Hans strained his ears. All he heard were the normal sounds of the jungle. Birds, insects, monkeys. Then, he heard a faint sound which got progressively louder and louder. Whump, whump, whump, whump, whump. He stopped running and turned around. Looking up, he tried to see through the high canopy of branches. “What is that?” Raina grabbed his hand and pulled him toward a thick cluster of vines. “It’s their flying machine. We must hide so they don’t see us.” Looking around, he saw a small clearing up ahead. “I have to see it.” Pulling his hand free of hers, he raced forward. “Hans! No!” Reaching the edge of the clearing, he stopped and stood behind a tree. Raina skidded to a halt at his side. Hovering above the clearing was the strangest airplane Hans had ever seen. It didn’t have wings. Instead, blades spun in a circle directly over it, with another, smaller set sideways at its tail. A helicopter, he said to himself. He had a friend in the Luftwafe who’d told him about this new experimental aircraft that could hover in one place. Obviously, the designs had worked. This one looked nothing like the picture his friend had shown him. This one looked far more deadly. It was black, lean, and had what looked like small cannons sticking out of both sides. A flash burst from the side of the aircraft to be followed almost immediately by the sound of a loud explosion. Far faster than Hans thought possible, the helicopter veered to the right and flew inland. More flashes followed by explosions disrupted the peace of the jungle.

*** When Raina finally led Hans out of the forest and into the village, they joined the group of people staring at the smoking ruins of four of the houses.

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“There is nothing to salvage,” Balam said. “We are lucky no one was inside. We must leave here tonight. We cannot fight those men. Their weapons are too powerful for us. Men died when the children escaped. They will keep coming back until they kill us all.” “Raina,” a young man interjected, “the big metal thing you had us cover with vines and branches.” “What metal thing?” Hans asked. “Show me.” “This way,” the boy said in an eager voice. He sprinted toward the forest. Hans followed him. “Maybe if we’re lucky, he’ll fall off the edge of the cliff.” “Quiet, Kirak,” Balam ordered. “If he can help us, I will adopt him into my family.” Smiling at the consternation on Kirak’s face, Raina trotted at Balam’s side as they followed after Tzel and Hans. When Hans reached the giant, misshapen, vine engulfed thing as the boy Tzel called it, his excitement rose another notch. His Panzer tank was here. “We hid it well, yes?” Tzel asked. Hans nodded. “Very well. Now, let’s get all this vegetation off of it.” Soon, Hans had removed enough of the vines and branches so that he was able to climb up the side to the hatch. A large rock covered the opening. “We put another one on the other hole over there,” Tzel said. “Otherwise, snakes would have crawled inside.” “Good man,” Hans said. After a short struggle, they rolled the rock over the side. Hans slid down into his tank. Memories overwhelmed him. His men had to be dead since they hadn’t arrived here with him. For a moment, he remained still, lost in his memories. “Hans?” Raina’s voice drifted down into the tank. He shook himself out of his reveries. The past was the past. He had the present to think of.

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Small feet followed by slender calves appeared as Raina slid down into the tank. “How much room is in there?” Balam called. Hans pointed toward the front of the tank. “Raina, go sit over there. Come down carefully. There’s room for you, but it will be cramped. No one else though.” As he slid down the hatch, Balam looked around. “How will this thing help us?” Scrunching down, Hans moved forward, past Raina into the driver’s seat, and he flipped the ignition switch. Nothing. Cursing, he turned it off and then back on again. The engine sputtered and coughed. He flipped it off and started it once more. The engine roared to life. Making his way back to the turret, he stuck his head out. Most of the villagers had gathered around the tank. “Everybody off and step back.” As soon as they were clear, Hans slid back down to the turret controls. He shouted with triumph when they answered his commands. Sliding back to the driver’s seat, he turned the ignition off. The only petrol he had was what was in the fuel tank and the few extra gallons strapped to the outside. Smiling, he turned to Raina. “As long as I have a clear shot, they’ll never know what hit them.”

Chapter Twelve As the sun rose, Hans stood close to the edge of the plateau and looked back toward the Panzer. The entire village had labored all night to make sure not a single branch or vine would interfere with his shot at the helicopter. “Are you sure they will stop here and not go on to the village?” Balam asked. Hans nodded. “When they spot a dozen of your armed warriors here, they’ll take it as a challenge and figure they can wipe you out all at once. It’s standard battle practice. Kill the able-bodied men, and the women, children, and elderly are easier to control.” Balam nodded. “It’s a good plan.” He cocked an eyebrow. “If it works.” Hans clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m one of the best shots in the Afrika Corps. I won’t miss.” “If you do,” Kirak said from behind him, “I will gut you myself.” Hans glared back. “I won’t miss.” Then he smiled. “But, if I do, you’ll be dead.” “Enough!” roared Balam. “Balam,” called one of the men, “they come.” Sprinting back to the Panzer, Hans scrambled up the side and slid into the hatch. Raina was waiting for him. “You were supposed to go with the other women and children.” “I wanted to be with you.” Grinning, he leaned forward and kissed her -- hard and fast. Then he turned his attention to the sights of his cannon. Once the helicopter was in position, he’d fire. He only had to wait a few minutes before it was hovering in his sights. He pressed the firing pin and a few seconds later, the helicopter exploded as the cannon shell hit it.

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After sharing another hard kiss with Raina, he crawled out of the hatch and jumped down among the cheering men. The women and children poured out of the undergrowth around them, all shouting in celebration. Jumping up onto the tank treads, Balam raised his hands. The crowd quieted immediately. “We have been saved,” he began, “by a human. It has been many generations since we lived among humans and they among us. We hid here on our plateau as the seasons passed. While we have stayed the same, the world around us has changed. Though we must keep this place and our abilities secret, today has taught us we cannot completely isolate ourselves if for no other reason than our own protection. Most humans, I fear, will never understand us and must still be considered enemies. But some…” he turned to Hans, “…can be our friends. We must never lose sight of that. Hans, you are welcome to our tribe. Stay as long as you like. Leave whenever you like. You are our friend.” Taking a circlet of delicate orchids from Jara, he placed it on Hans’ head. All around him the people cheered as Hans blinked a stray tear from his eye. Turning, he looked up to Raina where she stood on the edge of the tank. What he saw caused a lead weight to drop to the bottom of his stomach. Raina was doubled over as if in extreme pain. Then, before he could reach her side, she sprang off the tank, and disappeared into the undergrowth. He started after her. “Raina!” A grinning Kirak grabbed his arm. “It’s her ocelot heat, Hans. She will mate with the first male who catches her, just as a cat would. Remember, she is not completely human.” Sneering, he let go of Hans’ arm and leaned closer, his face only a few inches away. “You don’t know our forest. I’ve spent my entire life here. I know her favorite places. I will catch her, and when I mount her, she won’t even think of you.” “I don’t think so,” Hans snarled. Squeezing his right hand into a tight fist, he put all his weight behind an uppercut that connected with Kirak’s chin.

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Unconscious, the blond man dropped to the ground. As Hans started after Raina, someone grabbed his arm. Pulling his revolver from its holster, he spun around and pointed it at his assailant. “Release me, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.” Malia wasn’t the least bit intimidated. “You must not be gentle when you catch her. You will find her in her human form, but this heat comes from deep within her feline soul. She will want to be dominated, mounted as if she were a cat. If you cannot do this, then stand aside for another.” Hans yanked his arm free. “No one else will have her. Raina is mine.” With those words, he holstered his revolver and crashed into the jungle after her. He fought his way through the jungle for about half a kilometer then stopped and looked around. A verdant green forest surrounded him. Trees with trunks so wide three men wouldn’t be able to link hands around them rose far above his head. High in the green canopy brightly colored birds called to each other. Insects buzzed around him. A giant blue butterfly fluttered by his head to land on a brilliant red flower. A large, mottled snake slithered along a dead tree that rested perpendicularly against its neighbors. Cursing, Hans looked around again. He had no idea where he was. Brush rustled and leaves parted. The priestess Malia stood before him. “Follow me. I will guide you to her.” Hans wiped the sweat from his brow. “How do I know you aren’t trying to trick me?” She smiled. “You were always meant for Raina. Why do you think the Goddess brought you here from your time?” Panting, Raina leaned against a tree. She had to keep running, had to make sure she kept away from Kirak. If he found her, her body’s sexual urges would overcome her common sense. What her heart and mind wanted wouldn’t matter. Nor could she shift to escape him, for she’d mate with the first male ocelot she found which would result in

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pregnancy. Then she’d have to stay in her cat form until after her cubs were born and raised. Damn Kirak! Sighing with frustration, Raina wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. She wanted Hans. She was sure Malia would explain what was happening to her just as she was certain that he would pursue her. But Hans was a stranger here. How could he possibly find her before Kirak did? Another stab of desire knifed through her pussy. Groaning as sweat broke out on her forehead, she squeezed her legs together, but that provided no relief. After a long shudder, she stumbled forward. The ruins of an isolated temple to the Goddess the ancestors of her tribe had build centuries ago wasn’t far away. Maybe should could crawl deeply enough into the ruins so that Kirak would not find her. Once her heat passed, she could return to the village, and she and Hans could be together. The sun’s rays were standing straight overhead when Raina finally reached the jumbled stones that were all that remained of the ruined temple. His arms folded over his bare chest, Hans waited for her, an obvious bulge in the front of the mottled trousers he wore. All thoughts of Kirak and the problems he caused her were swept from her mind as a shiver of delighted desire danced up and down Raina’s spine. The man she wanted was here. “Come to me,” he demanded. The command in his voice teased her nipples into tight, tingling buds. Her stomach muscles shuddered, and moisture slipped down the inside of one thigh. Her heart began to thud against her ribs. “Raina.” His voice was lower, more commanding. “I want you now.” He held out his hand. Raina stared at it. Goddess, how she wanted this man, wanted him moving over her, his cock buried deep inside of her. Lifting her chin, she stared into his face and said, “No.”

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Amusement tickled the small part of her brain that was still thinking clearly at the shocked expression on his face. However, her ocelot half was gaining more and more control over her mind and body. Here was the man she wanted. She should be over there wrapping her body around his, submitting to him as he mounted her. But Raina fought against the urge to simply submit and spread her thighs for Hans. She was more than an ocelot. She was also a strong woman. She wouldn’t meekly give in to his dominance. He had to earn it. “Catch me.” With those words, she melted back into the forest. A few feet into the undergrowth, she stopped, parted the ferns and looked back. Hans stood with legs spread and his hands fisted on his hips. “I will not chase you, Raina,” he called. Then, he sat down on the ground. Raina moved off to the left and stopped. Except for the normal sounds of the forest, all was quiet. What was Hans doing? She slid to the edge of the undergrowth. He was still sitting on the ground. Disappointment colored with irritation flooded her mind. Why wouldn’t he chase her? She stepped into the open. Smiling, Hans set his sock stuffed boots to the side, stood up, and unbuttoned his trousers, pushing them down over his hips. They fell to the ground, and he stepped out of them. He stood before her in his skin-tight, white cotton underdrawers with the reddish-purple tip of his cock poking out above the waistband. Raina sucked in a breath as he loosened the string that held them up and pushed them down over his hips, thighs, and calves until he could step out of them. Holding them out, he dropped them to the ground and spread his legs. His cock jerked. His voice was softer, more tempting. “Come to me, Raina. Come to me and I will bury my cock deep into your tight cunt. I will mount you and ride you until you forget where you end and I begin. You want that, don’t you, Raina? You want to feel my hot cock sliding in and out, stretching and filling you.” Raina began to pant. Sweat beaded between her breasts. As moisture seeped from between her pussy’s lips, she stepped closer.

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Hans remained where he was. “I want you, Raina. I want your body under mine, your breasts in my hands, your cunt sucking on my cock. Come to me.” Her stomach rolling with anticipation, she stepped closer, her gaze locked on his cock. It jerked again. Nostrils flaring, she inhaled, the musky scent of sex, both hers and his swirled on the hot, wet breeze. He held out his hand again. “Come to me, my sweet woman-cat.” The caress in his voice made Raina’s entire body shiver. Her stomach rolled. Bumps rose on her arms. She wanted his mouth on her aching nipples. She stepped even closer. Raina was now close enough to see the curly, blond hairs on his chest. She watched as his firm muscles slid under his smooth skin whenever he moved. She licked her lips when his cock jerked again. A shining drop of liquid appeared on its tip. Moaning she closed her eyes and shuddered again. He was on her in seconds. Wrapping one arm around her, he grabbed the neckline of her shift and ripped it down the center. Then he pulled her tight against his body. His cock poked her belly, then slid upward until it was erect between their sweat-lubricated bodies. Her hands and arms trapped between their bodies, Raina tried to push herself away, but he held her too tightly. Keeping one arm around her waist, he slid the other up under her hair until he held the back of her head in his hand. Gripping it firmly but gently, he tilted her head back. “You’re mine.”

Chapter Thirteen As she stared up into his deep, blue eyes, Raina’s heart flopped over in her chest. She wanted him more than life itself. She opened her mouth, but he didn’t give her a chance to answer. His mouth descended on hers. He was not gentle. His mouth conquered, demanded. Curling her fingers, she dug her nails into his chest. He grunted and sucked her tongue into his mouth where he twisted and slid his around it. The ache in Raina’s groin burst into a fiery conflagration. Pulling her legs up, she locked them around his waist and tried to impale herself on his cock. Lacing his fingers through her hair, he released her mouth and raised his head, a look of triumphant desire on the hard planes of his face. “How much do you want me?” “Please, Hans. I’m burning up. I need your cock inside of me.” His teeth clashed against hers in a rough kiss. He lifted his head again. “Say you’re mine.” She ground her hips against his upright cock. Taking his hand from beneath her hair, he slid it down between them to her slit and slipped a finger into her. Moaning, Raina ground herself down onto it. He twisted his finger. She tightened her cunt muscles around it and tried to pull it deeper. He thumbed her clit. “You like this, don’t you? You want my finger deeper.” He slid another finger into her. “More? Wouldn’t my cock feel better? It’s longer and thicker. It will go far deeper. Just tell me.” She licked his chest then nipped his nipple. “I want you.” His sharp gasp told Raina he wasn’t as much in control as he wanted her to believe.

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She nipped his other nipple. He wiggled his fingers inside of her. “How long do you want me?” “Always!” she gasped against his chest. “Only me?” He was beginning to sound desperate. His cock throbbed against her abdomen. Raina licked some salty beads of perspiration from his chest, then raised her head and tilted it back. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Only you, forever.” “Gott sei Dank!” Falling to his knees, he released her long enough to spin her around and position her hips. Ramming his thighs between hers, he slapped her ass once and drove his cock into her. “You -- are -- mine!” Thrusting her hips higher into the air, Raina buried her face in her arms. The ground muffled her screams of fulfillment.

Pumping and grinding harder and deeper than he ever had, Hans concentrated on the burning ache in his balls and struggled to control the volcano of semen that was ready to erupt from them. He wanted to last as long as he could. He wanted to fuck the memories of any other man from Raina’s mind so that only he remained. She was his. Indeed, she was all he had. Leaning over her back, he cupped and squeezed her breasts. He plucked both nipples. She gasped and pushed her breasts deeper into his hands, writhing her ass against his stomach. “You are mine, Raina. With you I will make a new life in this place. I need you, Raina, to make me whole.” He slammed his thighs against hers and drove his cock deeper into her hot, wet cunt. Straightening, he grabbed her hips and swiveled his. “Hans!” she shrieked. “More! More!” “I will -- always give -- you -- whatever you -- want!” he grunted. He spread his knees wider to try and ease the burning ache in his balls. It didn’t work.

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“Harder, Hans, harder,” Raina sobbed. She tried to raise her ass higher. “I can’t wait any longer, Raina!” he growled as he slammed into her again. “Come with me!” “Yes!” Fire erupted out of his balls, roared up the length of his cock, and exploded deep into Raina’s hot cunt as her muscles tightened around his cock and sucked it deeper.

Hans’ cock seemed to slide deeper and deeper. For a moment, Raina froze in place, then every muscle in her body contracted, including those deep inside of her. Bright speckles of light appeared before Raina’s eyes. Her stomach muscles clenched and rolled, then clenched and rolled again. The aching need that had burned in her groin was gone -- for the moment. Hans collapsed on the ground at her side, pulled her body back against his, and spooned himself around her. He nuzzled the back of her neck then kissed it. “You are mine, Raina, but no more than I am yours.” Sighing with contentment, Raina snuggled against him. Who would have thought that eerie storm a little over a week ago would bring her such joy? Purring contentedly, she laced her fingers through his over the back of his hand and guided it up to her breast. He began to stroke it, then swirled his finger around her nipple. “Hmmmmm. That feels nice.” “Does this?” He slid his hand down over her stomach. She spread her legs for him as he slid his fingers into the slippery mixture between her legs and began to rub her clit. His breath ticked her neck. “Are you ready for more?” Raina could feel his cock nudging her ass. “For the next few days, I’ll be almost insatiable. Are you ready for more?”

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Rolling over on top of her, he nudged her thighs apart and slid his cock into her. “I will always be ready for you. If you’ve worn out my cock, I will always have my hands -- or mouth.” He dragged his tongue up over her shoulder. “I’m yours, Hans, forever.”

Lifting his head from her breast, Hans looked down into Raina’s beautiful face. Her golden eyes glowed with passion and -- love? For a bare second, Hans stiffened and closed his eyes. Love? What did he know of love? Then, he remembered the way his father and mother would look at each other, the way they would look at him and his sister. Opening his eyes, he lowered his mouth to that of the woman in his arms. Finally, he was home.

Epilogue Michael Sterling stood in the middle of the medical hut and looked around. Nothing of importance left here. Everything that mattered was packed away and loaded on his small helicopter. In a few months, the jungle would recover the entire area and it would be as if humans had never been here. Ducking as he stepped outside, he strode over to the fire that still burned in the middle of the deserted compound. Only one more file to burn. Pulling it from under his arm, he opened it and gazed at the black and white, satellite pictures one last time. He looked up at the fogged enshrouded edge of the distant, isolated plateau, the one with no way up for at least a thousand miles on either side. Carlos’ plan to grow and manufacture drugs up there had been stopped the morning his helicopter had blown apart in midair just beyond the plateau’s edge. A rich verdant rain forest would continue to grow up there, still undisturbed by modern man. The plants and animals would remain safe as would the small tribe of indigenous natives who lived there, a people whose ancestors somehow found their way to the top. Perhaps in the distant past, a path had existed that had since been eroded by time. Michael looked at the pictures again and shook his head. Those people would remain undisturbed with their plants and animals -- and one circa World War II Panzer tank. Carlos’ helicopter hadn’t exploded on its own. It had been shot out of the sky. As he watched the file burn, Michael contemplated the German who’d staggered into camp, the man everyone thought was one of Carlos’ German mercenaries. Michael shook his head again. No. It wasn’t possible. Time travel wasn’t possible, and he was not going to mention any of this to his superiors at MI5. They’d have him locked up for psychological observations faster than he’d be able to say Guy Fawkes. No, he wasn’t

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going to mention an operational seventy-year-old Panzer tank suddenly sitting on top of a thousand-foot plateau in the middle of a Costa Rican rain forest. Turning away from the fire, he walked over to the last tent standing and ducked in. In the single cage lay the female jaguar who’d been shot the day the German and the strange woman with golden eyes had led a group of jaguar, ocelot, and margay cubs through the camp and into the jungle. It was also the day the children Carlos had been holding hostage disappeared. The woman had appeared carrying the youngest girl. What happened to the others, Michael had no idea. Nor did he want to think too much about it. The jaguar snarled at him. Pulling a hypodermic needle from a bag sitting on a rickety table, Michael said, “Not to worry, old girl. Just a slight sedative. Enough to put you under so I can open the door to your cage and then get out of here. Wouldn’t want you to repay me for saving your life by trying to claw my heart out.” She hissed at him. He slid a pole into the cage, effectively pinning her against the side. Then stepping to the rear, he jabbed the needle into her haunch. The sedative’s effect was immediate, and she collapsed. “There we go now, sweetheart. You’ll be wide awake in fifteen minutes.” Removing a key from his pocket, he opened the lock and pulled the door wide open. Pausing, he reached in and stroked the unconscious cat’s head. She really was beautiful. Seeing her shot had wrenched his heart. As Michael stroked her head, he frowned. Instead of escaping into the jungle, this jaguar had kept pace with the German as he’d carried the little girl. Then she’d jumped in front of him and had taken the bullet that probably would have killed Hans. Jaguars didn’t do things like that. What had possessed her? Oh well, that’s a question he’d never have answered.

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After one more stroke to her head, he chuckled and said, “I wish you were human, old girl. Then maybe you could explain all the bloody strange things that have happened.” One moment the heavy, humid air was dead still. The next, a weird, alien wind screamed through the tent flaps, and a single, uncanny clap of thunder boomed. An eldritch mist of browns, blacks and creams appeared in the tent and swirled inside the cage. A deep, rolling feminine voice echoed around the tent. “It is done.”

Michael dropped to his knees with his hands over his ears.

As suddenly as it had come up, the wind and thunder stopped. The mist

disappeared. Shaking, he pushed himself to his feet. The sooner he got out of this godforsaken jungle the better. Then he was going to take a vacation whether his superiors liked it or not. No more assignments infiltrating a drug lord’s operations. He wanted some peace and quiet on his estate in Scotland. Nobody would bother him there. He glanced over at the jaguar to make sure she was okay.

She was gone.

In her place an unconscious, naked woman lay on a jaguar skin. Her long, ebony

hair surrounded her face, its dark color emphasizing the row of delicate, white flowers tattooed from ear to ear over the bridge of her nose.

The End

Judy Mays Sexier than a Hollywood starlet! More buxom than a Vegas showgirl.

Able to split infinitives with a single key stroke!

Look! At the computer!

It’s a programmer!

It’s a computer nerd!

No! It’s -- Judy Mays!

Yes, Judy Mays - erotica writer extraordinaire who came to Earth with powers and

abilities beyond those of mortal authors. Judy Mays! Who can write wild, wanton

werewolves; adorable, alluring aliens; vexing, vivacious vamps; hot, haunting

historicals; compelling, combustible contemporaries; sexy, surprising suspense, and

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teacher in a small public high school, fights a never ending battle for Hot Hunks, Hip

Heroines, and Salacious Sensuality!

Read excerpts and reviews of Judy’s books at www.judymays.com or email her at

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