Jessica sat on the low seat installed close to the rear of the plane, her knees pulled up to her chest. By her side, she kept her precious satchel of medical equipment and supplies. Every now and then, she reached out to touch it gently, taking some comfort in the sturdy canvas and nylon bag. Her mind was still spinning from the sensations that had shot through her when she and Marcus had touched, from the way that everything had lit up for just one moment.
It was just some kind of static electricity zap, she told herself again. It was nothing, it meant nothing.
Despite the rational solutions that her brain was desperately trying to grasp on to, there was a part of her that knew deep down it was all crap. It wasn't static electricity, it wasn't some weird misfire, it was something altogether different. Whatever it was, it had reached deep inside her to a place that had never been touched before.
It sounded crazy, but it felt as if that electrical contact had awakened something inside her. After the heat of that touch had subsided, a restless hunger was left in its place, one that was only soothed for a moment when she glanced at the front of the plane where Marcus sat piloting calmly. The soothing only lasted for a moment, however, and then she was looking at his thick sandy hair, the bronzed skin of his arms where he had rolled up his sleeves, the broad lines of his shoulders and the powerful musculature of his...
Jessica shook her head hard because this was not an indulgence that she could afford. She had not come to Africa for a roll in the hay, and right now, she had absolutely no time for one. There were people counting on her, and they needed her badly. No matter how good looking Marcus Van der Berg was, she refused to think about him or what this strange all-encompassing attraction meant.
I don't know the man—at all. That's dangerous enough when trying to date in New York City. In an unfamiliar country, traveling virtually alone into what could be some very perilous territory on a vitally important mission... well, it would be ridiculous to be distracted by a stranger, wouldn't it?
At the age of twenty-seven, this wasn't Jessica's first time in a foreign country, or even one as high-risk as Tanzania. Her training made her uniquely suited for field work for the WHO, and as the old adage went, she had gotten good at something, so they kept sending her out to get better at it. She had operated in Africa before, and getting her transportation from anyone who was willing to give it to her was old hat.
She knew that Marcus was up to something, but she was willing to ignore it as long as he wasn't hurting anyone and as long as he was transporting her where she needed to go.
She was familiar with bumpy flights and turbulence, so the first time the plane bucked, she ignored it. The second, third and fourth times, however, happened in such quick succession that she knew that something was up. She made sure that her bag was secured to the bench she’d been sitting on and made her way to the front of the plane.
"What’s happening?" She was not comforted by the fact that Marcus looked worried. Below them, she could see the stretch of green forest that was Tanzania's temperate zone, verdant green... and far closer to the underbelly of the plane than it should have been.
"Why are we flying so low?"
"Good question," Marcus said tightly. "I think the man who sold me this plane was right when he called it a bucket of bolts..."
"And you bought it anyway?" she asked, horrified.
"Hey, you didn't ask about it before you got on board, either."
"I didn't buy the damn thing," she spat back, but then the plane lost a good twenty feet of altitude, clipping some tall trees before Marcus wrestled it back up.
"Quiet," he said through gritted teeth. "I need to find out where I can put her down..."
"We're going down..." She might have said more but Marcus pushed her down into the seat next to him.
"Buckle up, I think this is going to be a bumpy landing."
No sooner had she gotten the straps buckled around her, then the engine made an enormous coughing sound. It sounded as though the plane was grazing the treetops again, and she shouted as Marcus wrestled with the wheel.
"We're going down harder than I’d hoped," he growled.
She had a mere moment to register his words, and then he was grabbing her, draping himself over her, his chest and arms covering as much as he could. The sudden drop in altitude left her stomach behind. Someone was screaming, and it took her a moment to realized that it was her.
Jessica dug her nails into Marcus's thighs. He didn't flinch. He was whispering something in her ear, something that was meant to be comforting and soft, but the only thing that made her feel better was how tightly he held her.
In the middle of her terror, as enormous crashing noises exploded all around them, she could feel the same electric heat that had occurred when they had touched earlier. Curled this close, practically under him, her body responded to his, and her craving for him intensified.
Is this really what I’m thinking about moments before my death? she thought in dismay, but there it was.
There was a terrible ripping sound that could only be one of the wings of the plane shearing off, and then Marcus was pulling away from her, back at the controls, trying to take command of the plane again. She clung to him hard, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see green all around, something so unnatural to see surrounding the cockpit of a plane. The green was rushing past hard, barely slowing the plane's descent at all. For one delirious moment, she wondered if this was going to go on forever, and then as the base of an enormous tree appeared in front of her, she had her answer.
There was a resounding crash, a feeling of extreme force being met by something that adamantly would not be moved, and then the world went dark.
*
After impact, the first thing that Marcus realized was that every scent was much more intense. He smelled the steel of the plane, grateful there was no attendant scent of gasoline, he smelled the lush greenery of the jungle outside, and more than that, he smelled something breathtakingly delicious.
The delicious smell came with a name, Jessica. He opened his eyes almost lazily to locate it. She was still strapped to the chair, slumped and unresponsive, but he could smell no injury on her. He was pressing his face close to her belly to get a better idea of her physical state when Marcus finally came back to himself.
Fuck, I shifted, he thought, but even that thought was strangely fuzzy and distant.
As a man, Marcus was tall, heavily muscled, and strong. In his panther form, he was even bigger, enormous and covered with sleek, thick, inky black fur. He was powerful enough to bring down an elk on his own, his paws could crush the life out of something smaller, and his claws could rip through flesh like it was butter.
His panther form was formidable, and right now, still dazed by the crash, the human part of him wasn't sure that he could regain control. More than once, his hind-brain had perceived something as a threat and neutralized it with lethal intensity before his human brain had the chance to make a calculated decision. Base instinct had saved his life more than once, true, but now he was looking in horror at the woman who was passed out in such a vulnerable state in front of him.
What if his panther thought she was a threat? God, what if his panther thought she was food?
Before the real horror of that thought could sink in, she moved slightly releasing a quiet moan, and she did awaken the beast's instinct. What the animal thought, however, was that she should not be bound. Acting on instinct, Marcus bit through her seat belt neatly, and pressed his body against her to help her slip safely to the floor. She weighed practically nothing, and in the smell of torn metal and ruptured greenery, there was something beautifully sweet and enchanting to her. Something about her scent and her touch soothed. Still dazed himself, Marcus settled down next to her, half under her body to cradle it, with one large killing paw settled protectively over her thigh.
*
Jessica came to in increments, and the first thing that she was aware of was that everything hurt. She ached all over, but none of the pain was acute. It was only a dull and lingering ache, and as the memory of the crash surfaced, Jessica realized how lucky she was that she only felt achy.
Oh god, what's happened? Where's Marcus?
Her thoughts spinning, she tried to sit up, only to realize that there was a heavy weight on her. A heavy, furry weight.
Jessica's scream caught in her throat as she saw the black panther looking up at her, nothing human in the lambent light green eyes at all.
Ohgodohgodohgod...
At some point, Jessica was certain that she had received training for how one was supposed to behave when one was confronted by an enormous cat. Whatever she had learned was entirely lost from her mind right then, as she scrambled away. At any moment, she expected to feel a velvet weight pounce, five inch claws rake her body, razor sharp teeth pierce her flesh. But, there was nothing.
She didn't stick around to ponder her good luck. The rear bay door of the plane was open, and as she dashed for it, she grabbed up her knapsack and medical bag full of sampling kits as well.
Jessica shouted again as she pushed her way out of the plane. The door was two feet above the ground, and she just barely managed to avoid falling flat on her face. She righted herself with a curse and started to run. She needed to get away from the deadly predator that had been stalking her. She needed to find Marcus. Oh, god Marcus. What if the panther had eaten him? Was that why it hadn't killed her? Was its belly too full of… Marcus?
She had barely gone more than a few yards when she tripped again, this time knocking all the wind out of her chest. She rolled over on her back in time to see the panther drop gracefully out of the plane. It took a few steps towards her, and for a moment, she was certain that she had survived a near fatal plane crash only to end up being mauled by a wild animal somewhere deep in the African jungle.
Then, as she watched, the panther’s silhouette, illuminated from behind by dappled sunlight, grew taller, and then taller, and after a moment, she realized that it was not just a change in stance. The panther was growing, stretching... shifting.
The whole thing couldn't have taken more than a few moments, but where the panther had stood, now stood Marcus. Buck naked.
This has got to be real, my imagination isn't that good, she thought, taking in his entire, and quite impressive, nude form.
This, on top of everything else, was simply too much. Jessica once again lost consciousness.
*
"Well, that's one way to deal with things, I guess," Marcus mumbled aloud.
He was still dazed from the crash himself, otherwise, he liked to think that he would have given her a better explanation for the panther. He might have even been able to remember to keep himself out of sight instead of dashing after her.
Well, we play the cards we’re dealt, he thought with a wince.
He knelt next to Jessica and was relieved when he found her pulse to be fast and steady. It was shock then, rather than injury. She might have had a concussion, but that would be the worst of it.
He lifted her in his arms, marveling for a moment at how right she felt cradled against his chest. He knew that he would be fine when night fell, but she was another story. Nights in the rain forests of Tanzania were cold and dangerous.
As he felt the warmth of her body pressed against his, Marcus vowed that she would be protected.