Stephanie figured that other people at times like this likely felt homesick. They longed for a place where they were loved without reservation or lived without fear. They wanted to crawl back to a place that they thought was safe. Stephanie never felt like that.
She had been born and raised in a small town in Texas, a place that could barely be found on a map. The population hovered somewhere around five thousand, and her family was one just like any other. Her parents were perhaps less kind than she might have wished them to be, but they were distant rather than abusive. They didn't care much what she did as long as she was quiet and out of sight while she did it.
Stephanie had found comfort in books and studying. She worked hard in school, mostly because she enjoyed the challenge, and she eventually found herself with a full scholarship to a state school. After graduating in an accelerated course, she went right on to medical school. She had been interested in helping others since she was a child, and medical school seemed like the best path in which to realize that objective. She had found her place at the WHO almost immediately after her residency and considered it to be the perfect avenue in which to put her skills to use.
Still...
She walked through the verdant vegetation appreciating the life all around her, and keeping her feet on the path as best she could. She knew that losing her way could mean far worse than spending the night shivering in the dark and cold. The jungle was dangerous during the day, deadly at night. She was taking a risk being out like this, and she wasn't sure why.
That was a lie. She did know why. She knew that somehow, even underneath the wide open Tanzanian sky, she was feeling a weighty pressure descending over her. There was something nasty heading this way. There was something nasty on its way here right now, and she wanted nothing more than to get away from it all.
Stephanie knew that fantasizing about running away was as far as she’d go. To think that she’d actually run was being foolish. She would never forgive herself if it came down to it. She could no more leave her posting than a bird could decide to walk for the rest of its life. She wanted to help these people. As a matter of fact, sometimes she strongly suspected that she needed to.
Stephanie realized how long she had been wandering when she noticed that the light coming through the trees was far fainter. The moon would set soon, and that meant that she would truly be at the mercy of the jungle. She knew from villagers’ stories that jungle mercy was short indeed, and she started to hurry back.
Only...
Which way had she come? Stephanie had been fairly certain that the path that she’d taken had not branched out at all, nor had it harbored twists or turns. However, after a few minutes of walking, she wasn’t sure she recognized anything at all. She passed a rock formation that she was certain she hadn’t seen before, and when she passed it again, she knew that she was well and truly lost.
"Oh goddammit," she swore, trying to cover up her anxiety.
She knew this was bad. People got lost in the jungle, and under certain, maybe most circumstances, they were never seen again. Rarely were their remains even found. The team would never know what happened to her, people would continue to die, and she would be forgotten.
Get a hold of yourself, she thought. You know what to do in this situation...
The basic bush training that she had gotten was clear. If you were lost, you stayed still if you were close enough to people who could find you. There was no reason to think that she had wandered that far, after all. She could simply sit down in the shelter of this stone formation. Daylight would mean that she could find her way out or that someone would come looking for her.
She settled down on the cool ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. She knew that her plan was the right one. In the morning, she could drink the dew from the trees and start making her way back. It would be simple in the daylight.
I'll be fine, even if I have to suffer a little embarrassment, she thought ruefully. They'll be laughing at me for weeks for getting lost like some sort of greenhorn.
She somehow managed to doze off a little, but then she heard what sounded like a growl. She awakened with a start, scrambling to her feet and staring hard into the dark. She wished she had had the foresight to carry a flashlight when she’d gone wandering. As it was, Stephanie strained her eyes through the darkness.
There was only the typical night noises at first, but then there was another growl, followed by a tearing, crashing sound in the underbrush. At first, she assumed that all the noise was made by only one animal, but quickly she realized that there were two.
What the hell is out there? she wondered frantically.
The noises got louder and louder until she realized that the animals must be fighting right beyond her line of sight, and then with no warning at all, the noise ceased.
Stephanie was just releasing the breath she’d been holding in a sigh of relief when the bushes rustled, and a man walked out.
Of all the things that Stephanie thought might have ended up happening to her that night, this was at the very bottom of the list. She had thought that she was entirely alone in the jungle, and if she was going to imagine a man in there with her, she was pretty sure her brain lacked the creativity to dream up this one.
He was an enormous man, tall and broad, though without an ounce of fat on his imposing frame. He was dressed simply in the khaki outfits that were worn by so many of the officials and game wardens in this part of the world, but otherwise, he looked like no man that she had ever seen. His pale hair—impossible to discern the actual color in the dimness, fell in waves to his shoulders, and his face was chiseled as if from rock. It was a strong face, perhaps one given to sternness, but a part of her warmed to him immediately.
"Who are you?" he asked with frank curiosity, and she drew herself up nervously.
"I’m a doctor," she said bluntly. "I’m from the base camp at the edge of the jungle."
The enormous man raised an eyebrow, making her feel as if she was a confused ten-year-old.
"Base camp? That's some distance away," he said. "Too far for a night time stroll, I would think."
"Well, I at least have a reason to be in the area," she shot back. "What are you doing here?"
Her implication was clear. Tanzania was a beautiful land with amazing animals and resources. It also spent a great deal of time and money fighting off poachers and smugglers who were looking to take advantage of its resources. The man didn't look like a poacher or a smuggler, but why in the world would he be out here otherwise?
Instead of taking offense at her insinuation, he laughed. She was forced to admit that he did indeed have a very nice laugh. It rolled out of him, a warm and golden rumbling sound that made her want to close her eyes and rest her head against his chest.
"Let's say I'm here on business," he replied, and though Stephanie knew that he couldn't see her, she raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of business?" she asked.
"Legal and righteous business," he said and she knew with that, she would have to be content.
"Well, that's very nice for you," she said stiffly.
He cocked his head at her, and in that moment, she had a fleeting vision of a cat. There was something very feline about him. Cats, whether they were house cats or pumas, always seemed to act as if they owned the world. That was how the man looked now, as if he was wondering how she had gotten into his world.
"Sometimes. Other times, it's a pain in the ass. And you? Are you merely out for an evening stroll?"
"Something like that," she muttered. She wished she could leave it at that, but she knew that that would not necessarily be wise where her wellbeing was concerned.
"I'm lost," she sighed, and though she expected him to laugh, he did not.
"That's a shame. It is a good thing then, that I have found you."
Stephanie started to say something in response, but to her shock, he stepped close to her. When they were less than a foot away from one another, she could smell him, a scent of sweet grass and open sky and something uniquely male. She lingered on the scent for a moment, and then she snapped out of it. Scowling, she gave him a push to get him away from her.
God, he's as stable as a wall, she thought, but she glared up at him anyway.
"What's the matter with you?" she asked indignantly, ready to fight, and he smiled, showing off a glint of white teeth.
"Nothing at all..."
For no good reason at all, he lifted his face to the wind. He seemed to be waiting for something, and then he nodded.
"All right, you have wandered quite a way, haven't you?" he asked. "You had better let me get you home. If you follow me, you'll be safe in your bed in an hour or less, how does that sound?"
"How do I know that you are not simply going to murder me and dump me in a ditch?" she demanded, and he smiled again, something that did not strike her as necessarily nice.
"Well, you don't," he said. "I might decide that I want to lead you in circles around in the dark, or perhaps kidnap you, sell you on the black market where you would be one hell of a prize commodity..."
She bared her teeth at him. This area of the world was prone to human traffickers, and she had no interest in joining the ranks of their victims.
"I'd like to see you try," she snarled, and he fell back, raising his hands for peace.
"I'm sorry, that was a bad joke. I didn't realize how frightened you were."
It came to the tip of her tongue to deny that she was afraid, but the truth was so palpable that she couldn't deny it.
"How do you know that I’m frightened?" she asked in a soft whisper.
God, for such a big man, he was fast. One hand came out to run a feather-light touch down her cheek before she even noticed.
"Because you are being so brave," he said. "That usually means a person is afraid."
She didn't know what she should make of that, but the compassion in his voice came through loud and clear.
"Will you allow me to take you back to where you belong?" he asked, and she managed a tiny nod.
"Yes."
He grinned again, and this time it was at least a little gentler.
"Good girl," he said. He held out his hand to her, and without thinking about what she was doing, she took it. His enormous fingers closed around hers, his touch gentle and considerate.
"What's your name?" she asked as they started to walk.
"Noah," he answered. "And you?"
"Dr. Stephanie Carter," she responded, and he smiled at her with a little bit of pleasure.
"That's a mouthful," he said. "Do you answer to anything shorter?"
She drew up to her full height, which wasn't that far, and glared at him. Was he being snide? She had dealt with thinly disguised derogatory comments most of her career, and she was not prone to giving the benefit of the doubt to a man, even a man who was helping her.
"Just Dr. Carter," she said tersely. "Or, if you must, Stephanie."
"Stephanie..." he ran the name over his tongue as if it were an exotic liqueur, and something about it made her blush.
The man—Noah, she reminded herself—turned to her with a gentle smile.
"It is a beautiful name," he said. "It suits you. Beautiful."
She barked a laugh.
"It's been a very long time since anyone called me beautiful," she snorted. "I don't have much to do with being pretty when it comes to work..."
Noah looked at her curiously, still leading her through the forest. This was getting a little more familiar, she thought gratefully. Whoever this man was, it didn't seem as if he was leading her astray.
"You may do ugly work," he rumbled, "but no, you're right, you are not pretty."
Stephanie felt a little like someone had kicked her in the chest. She knew she wasn't pretty. She had had more than thirty years to come to the realization that she was barely above plain. She was slender with no curves to speak of, her dirt-brown hair was most often tied back into a ponytail, she never wore makeup, and her eyes were a pale blue, nothing special at all. She knew that. However, she couldn't remember a condemnation of her looks hurting so much since high school.
She started to say something dismissive, but Noah was still talking.
"Pretty is far too insipid a term for you. You're alluring, engaging, exquisite… beautiful."
"Are you trying to get laid? Because mister, I really don't go for one-night stands even in the middle of the jungle, no matter how handsome the man might be."
"Handsome?" he asked, and there was something so guileless about the way he said the word that she wondered if he was messing with her. "I'll take that as high praise, indeed, since I don't think you're the type to hand out praise lightly.
She wasn't, but then he was speaking again.
"I will say that when something as delectable as you crosses my path, I don't usually hesitate, but you don't seem as though you would welcome it. You smell like you've got something else on your mind."
Smell? Shouldn't that have been look? She dismissed it from her mind.
"I do," Stephanie admitted, and suddenly she recognized a stream that she knew very well. If she continued on the path to the south, she would find the campsite again easily. In less than twenty minutes, she would be within sight of her camp.
"This is where I need to be," she said. "Thank you, and I will not allow you to come any farther."
He looked at her in surprise, and she knew that if this man wanted to challenge her, she was not going to be able to stop him. However, instead of fighting her, Noah looked at her quizzically again.
"Hmmph. Embarrassed to be seen with a man who led you out of the woods?"
"I wish it was as simple as my reputation," she growled. "There's an illness here. My team and I are trying to combat it, but it seems as if we are not going to be able to do much until we contain it. If you enter that village, I cannot allow you to leave, at least, not until we have a handle on a cure. If you come any farther, you will be forced to stay."
"Forced to stay with a woman as alluringly beautiful as you, that honestly doesn't sound much like a sacrifice..."
She almost told him to cut it out, but then his large hand curled around her wrist, pulling her close. She could smell his unique scent again, and for some insane reason, she simply wanted to lean into him instead of pulling away.
"Meet me here tomorrow night after it is has come on full darkness," he murmured. "I want to see you again."
She started to demur. There were a million reasons why she shouldn't. She would likely be exhausted tomorrow, and getting rest was important. Hell, depending upon how bad things were, she might find herself still working. No one really got a lot of rest at camp, not when they were fighting such a progressive disease.
Instead of listening to her arguments though, Noah backed her against a tree. She was startled by how easy it was for him to simply push her back, and then his mouth came down over hers tenderly, but possessively. There was absolutely no warning for it. In another place, with any other man, she would have been furious, but with this one, she simply wrapped her arms around him, tilting her mouth up to be kissed.
There was absolutely nothing right about this. It was ludicrous to kissed by an absolute stranger in the darkness of the African jungle, someone whose last name she didn't even know. What the hell was he even doing out here anyway? It was terrible and terrifying and dangerous, and God, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt this good.
Noah's kiss had started out sweet and gentle. There was nothing demanding about it. He only kissed her tenderly, teasing her lips apart with the very tip of his tongue. She whimpered as his tongue found its way into her mouth, touching her own with something almost reverent.
He held her as if she was breakable and precious. Stephanie had never experienced being held quite so carefully yet possessively before. Unexpectedly, she clung to him, not wanting any of this to stop. He was so large, and now that she was close to him, she could feel the power of his body as well. There was something perfect about the way she fit into his arms. She felt safe and protected and daring all at once, and it gave her a surge of exploratory need.
At first, Stephanie had been content to simply let him kiss her. It was pleasurable and carefree to be in his arms and kissed like that, but soon enough, she wanted more. She dug her nails into his shoulders lightly, and she nipped his tongue with her own sharp teeth. He almost drew back for a moment, making a noise of surprise, and then he chuckled.
"Feisty little one," he murmured approvingly, and she grinned as she pressed herself more firmly against him. She could feel his big body responding to her, and there was something amazing about that as well.
They had called her plain when she was younger, and some of her lovers had even called her frigid, but she certainly didn't feel frigid right now. Right now, in Noah's arms, she felt as if she was being shaped by fire, turned molten in his embrace.
With the tree at her back and Noah in front, she was effectively trapped, but at that moment, Stephanie felt anything but trapped. She felt as if she were flying, rising above it all to soar high in Noah's arms.
She could feel his body tremble with need for her, and she could feel his erection pressed against her stomach.
"Do you know how irresistible you are?" he growled, a deep low thrum in his throat.
She raised her eyes to his, and then she froze. In the darkness, for just an instant, she had seen twin glints of gold. The strangeness of it brought her up short, washing the heat back from her for a moment, and she stared.
"Your eyes!"
The illusion or whatever it was disappeared, and it was only a human man looking down at her. Anything else would have been foolishness, certainly.
"My eyes?" Noah asked, the voice of reason, and she shook her head.
"I... er, nothing. I've been... very tired lately. I think I need to get some rest before things start up again this morning."
"Is that your way of telling me to get lost?" Noah asked with some humor, and Stephanie made a face.
"Look, I don't know what you are doing out here or what brings you to this country in the first place. I'm pretty sure that for my own legal protection and my own sanity, I don’t want to know what it is you’re doing here. And... if I'm being honest, for your own health, you shouldn't be here either. This illness. I've not seen anything like it before. It could be devastating."
To her surprise, Noah chuckled.
"Oh, it won't do anything to me," he said cryptically, but then he straightened up, touching her cheek gently with one hand.
"All right, we'll play by your rules. I'll let you off here, but only if you agree to meet me back at this very spot tomorrow night."
She sputtered a little at that. It was the same request he had made earlier, this time phrased as a bargain. She should be pissed off that he was being so insistent, so much like a man who was used to getting nothing but his way, but something about his smile made her warm to his demand.
Stephanie wavered for a moment, but in the end, she nodded. She wanted to see him again, and things would not be expected to get so bad in the next twenty-four hours. It was the days after that that she was truly worried about, but for now, wonder of wonders, she could push the thought away.
"All right," she said. "Here. Tomorrow. If I can. I warn you though, if people need me, I'll be with them, not running around in the woods with you doing... doing whatever it is you have in mind."
His grin grew white and sharp.
"Well, I have many things in mind, but I'll keep them to myself for now," he said with a smirk. "Then, until tomorrow, beautiful."
I'm not beautiful, she started to say automatically, but somehow, he had disappeared. She stared around herself, startled. She had known some excellent hunters and trackers in her time in Tanzania and Nairobi, but she was not sure she had seen anyone who could do what this man had just done.
"I'm not beautiful," she repeated, but then she heard a soft chuckle not far away. That chuckle seemed to disagree. Stephanie told herself that she had no more time to waste. The sky would be light in a few hours and when that happened, she needed to be ready to work.
Still, she couldn't resist looking back over her shoulder on the walk back to camp. She wondered what Noah looked like in broad daylight. She wondered what had brought him to this country, this particular patch of soil. She wondered if he would kiss her again.