Rio made an effort to keep from laughing. Rachael didn’t need to be encouraged in her defense of him, but he couldn’t help secretly loving it. “You might want the protection of the village when we have children.”
“Are we going to have children?”
“Don’t look so shocked. I like children—I think.” He frowned. “I haven’t actually been around any children, but I think I’d like them.”
Rachael threw back her head and laughed more, hugging him to her as they drew closer to the house.
13
THE bath was heaven. Rachael slipped beneath the water to soak her entire head. She hadn’t felt clean in weeks. Days of taking sponge baths didn’t work for her, especially when an infection ravaged through her body the way it had. She came up and looked at Rio, trying not to let the happiness in her burst out. He’d been through such an ordeal, fighting the leopard, and he hadn’t talked much about it He looked older, the lines in his face deeper, shadows lurking in his eyes.
He rubbed shampoo into her hair. “You look happy.”
“I never thought a bath would feel so good. Whatever
‘ Tama used on my leg is a miracle product. I couldn’t
believe the difference in the swelling and I’m certain it
helped heal the puncture wounds. They’d been draining all
the time, but now it’s stopped. I feel so much better.”
“Good.” His fingertips rubbed her head in a slow massage. “Fritz is back. He snuck in when I was heating the water. I saw him go under the bed.”
“What about Franz?” She wanted to moan with ecstasy. His fingers massaging her head were magical. “I’m worried that we haven’t seen him.”
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Christine Feehan
“He followed us through the forest. He was in the canopy. He’ll come in when he’s ready.”
“You should have pointed him out to me. I have to be more alert.” She smiled up at him through the shampoo. “See, if I were a leopard, I would have noticed.”
“I expected him, and we travel together all the time. I know his patterns. Leopards will even cache food in the same place repeatedly, making it easy for poachers to destroy them. We have to fight to keep from setting patterns. We all have that tendency and in a business like ours, it can get a person killed. I try never to use the same path twice. I never use the same escape route twice. I don’t come to the house the same way. I have to make certain I always think about it.”
Rachael ducked under the water to rinse out her hair. She didn’t feel feline right then, she loved water, the hotter the better. She wanted to stay in the bath for as long as possible. She was beginning to realize bathing was a luxury. When she came up, wiping her eyes, she heard the radio crackling.
“I thought that was broken. Didn’t I shoot it?”
“Drake left his for me.” He picked up the small handheld radio and listened to the warble of distorted voices. “They think they’ve found the right camp. They’re going in soon, probably after midnight.”
She read the anxiety in his voice. “You stayed behind because of me, didn’t you? Rio, if you need to be with them, go. I’m perfectly fine by myself. I’ve got weapons here. You know I can use them.”
“There’s more to it than that, Rachael. You always take on responsibilities that aren’t yours. I make my own choices, the same as you. I wanted to stay with you.”
“Because you didn’t altogether trust them.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I don’t right now, not where you’re concerned. If the elders of your village contacted the elders in mine and asked them to aid in carrying out a death sentence, it’s possible the elders here would agree.
WILD RAIN
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They don’t know you and our laws are very strict. Some might think harsh.”
“You really think I’m some sort of a shape-shifter, don’t you? I can’t change my form. I’ve thought about it and tried, just to see if you’re right, but nothing happens. I’m still me.”
“Just hear me out for a moment, Rachael. Suppose your mother took you and your brother away from her village. She didn’t want to upset the balance in the village but she decided she was too young to live the rest of her life alone so she chose to give up her heritage and live entirely with her human side.”