“I’ve got good news for you, Tabitha,” her boss said as he stepped into her office.

“I doubt it,” she said dryly.

“Now, now, put a smile on that pretty face of yours. This is just what you need. A little out of town assignment to take your mind off things,” he said.

“Out of town where?”

“India.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope, not at all.”

“What am I supposed to be covering down there?”

“Tiger conservation and poaching issues.”

“You’re sending me to some wacked out wilderness to cover a story on tigers?”

“Precisely. You’re a journalist, aren’t you? This is what you do.”

“What do I know about wandering around looking for tiger poachers?”

“Nothing. That’s why I am sending you. I want a fresh perspective instead of the same drivel I’ve been getting on these stories from Timmons lately. I need a better journalist on this and you need a break from this city. Are you my girl or not?”

She sighed. “I’m your girl. I’ll get it done. When do I leave?”

“Tomorrow. Get yourself a flight booked into Dhaka as early as possible. I’ve already got a guide lined up for you. His name is Matt Helford and he’ll make sure you are well taken care of and safe on your journey. He’s worked with the BBC journalists in the past, so he knows the ropes.”

“Matt Helford? Doesn’t sound very Indian.”

“That’s because he isn’t. He’s former British military. You’ll be in excellent hands.”

“I hope so. I don’t relish being eaten by tigers or picked off by poachers.”

“You’ve got this. I’ve every confidence that you will do a fantastic job.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, do you mind if I take the rest of the day off. I need to figure out what to pack to go roam through the wilds of India. I’m pretty sure I may have to do some shopping. I trust I can charge that off to the magazine?”

“Opportunist! Of course you can.” He pointed his finger at her. “Just don’t get too out of hand.”

“Me? Of course not.”

“I trust you. Now go get me a great story.”

“I will.”

Though she wasn’t going to say it, she was terrified of the assignment. She had traveled all over the world covering various stories, but always in cities and towns. The most remote locations she had ever visited were state parks and river festivals. It was hardly the same as trekking through some exotic wilderness with tigers and other lethal animals. Of course, she also had to factor in that she wasn’t exactly an athlete. Though far from being what some would consider fat, she was a bit thicker than most girls and not in prime shape for a safari.

A few hours later, she stood in a local outdoors shop trying on all-weather clothing for her trip. She opted for lightweight but waterproof materials after doing a bit of study on conditions in the area. It would be hot but potentially very wet at times. Smiling into the mirror, she thought she looked pretty good in the khaki colored jacket and pants she was trying on. It was a good color against her olive skin and dark hair, bringing out the deep brown of her eyes. At least she would look the part, she thought.

Making her way back across town, she started to feel excited about the trip. It would do her some good to get out of her own head and focus on her work. Where better to do that than an exotic location she had never been to? Though she knew the subject of poaching could be dangerous, Sam had said he’d lined up a guide. Someone familiar with the area should be able to give her all the information she needed without her having to risk anything to gain it on her own.

“Oh shit,” she said as she stepped into her apartment with the bags containing clothes, boots and other amenities the sales person had recommended when she had told him where she was going.

Bending down, she picked up the large Russian Blue curling itself back and forth through her legs. Who was she going to get to babysit her cat? Usually, her fiancé took care of her while she was away. The thought of him interrupted the temporary peace she had found in considering her trip to India. She had spent the past week trying to think of anyone but him and it was impossible. Everywhere she turned there were signs of him.

She was absorbed again in thoughts of how things had fallen apart so suddenly. Nothing had warned her that something was wrong. How could she have been so blind to it? She was jarred back into reality by the sound of the doorbell.

She opened the door to find an older couple and a teenage girl standing there to look at her. “Yes?”

“Hi. We’re Hannah and Saul Miller. This is our daughter, Janet. We just moved into the apartment next door and wanted to introduce ourselves.”

For a moment, Tabitha looked at them blankly. Who in New York City bothered to introduce themselves to a neighbor? Then the accent sank in. They were from the south and she supposed that was something they were used to doing. She smiled at them and invited them in for a moment.

“Oh, no. We didn’t want to intrude. We just thought it might be nice to know a few of the people around us. I just accepted a position as a science teacher at Xavier. My wife will be teaching there, as well, and Janet will be a freshman there.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you,” she replied.

“You have a cat!” Janet squealed, suddenly leaning down to pet Siniy.

“You like cats, I take it?” Tabitha said.

“I love them. We can’t have one because Mom is allergic. No pets at all. It sucks.”

“That is unfortunate, but I’m sure your mother’s health is more important,” Tabitha replied.

“Yeah,” Janet replied glumly as Siniy decided she was sleepy and wandered away from the girl to go lie in the window sill, stretching out in the sunlight.

“We’ll let you get back to what you were doing. I hope we will see each other again soon,” Hannah told her, nudging the other two back toward their apartment.

“Sure. Nice to meet you,” Janet said as she closed the door and began unpacking the items from her bags so she could wash them before packing them up. The last thing she needed was some sort of odd chemical rash from wearing them straight off the hangers.

“Okay, let’s find someone to take care of you,” she told Siniy as she scanned her speed dial. She tried Carla first, since she had been slated to take care of Siniy during the honeymoon that Tabitha should have been on until today. Unfortunately, Carla’s mother had fallen ill and she’d gone to stay with her for a while, so no luck there. A dozen calls later, she still couldn’t find anyone that could take her on such short notice. She scanned the internet for kennels, but wasn’t really thrilled with that idea. Finally, she went to some of the pet sitter sites but no one was available so quickly.

Then Janet’s face came to mind; how happy she had looked to be around her. She wasn’t thrilled with leaving her in the hands of someone she didn’t know, but she was desperate. Walking out of her apartment, she knocked on her neighbor’s door, looking a little embarrassed.

“Hi, I know you just met me, but I’m in a bit of a pickle and could use some help. I’m a journalist and I leave tomorrow for an assignment in India. It was very last minute and I can’t find anyone to care for my cat,” she began.

“Well, of course that’s a problem, but my allergies. No way could I help you out,” Hannah told her.

“Yes. Yes. I know, but she’s pretty self-sufficient. All I really need is for someone to feed her, change her litter and make sure she is okay. I thought that since Janet was so taken with her, perhaps she might be willing to just check on her before and after school? I’ll pay her for it and the cat would stay in my own apartment, so it wouldn’t affect your allergies.”

“I don’t know…” Hannah began, but she was quickly cut off.

“Yes!” Janet exclaimed, pushed between her mother and the door. “I’d love to take care of her.”

“Are you sure? I mean, it needs to be okay with your mother too,” Tabitha said.

“Mom, please?” Janet begged.

“Sure. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of a job here. How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. It depends on what I find. A week or two at most.”

“I think we can manage that.”

“Oh, you have no idea how much this means to me. Do you mind if Janet comes back over with me now so I can show her where everything is?”

Janet was already on her way out the door before her mother could answer. Hannah shrugged and laughed, leaning out the door to speak to her daughter, who was already waiting outside Tabitha’s door for her.

“Don’t be too long. Dinner will be done in a half hour.”

“Okay, Mom,” Janet replied, following Tabitha back into the apartment.

“Wow, that is beautiful,” Janet said as she caught sight of the white lace and tulle wedding dress hanging in the hall closet where Tabitha now kept the kitty litter. In some way, it seemed fitting.

“Yes, it is,” Tabitha replied, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice.

“Is it yours? Are you getting married?” she said excitedly.

“I was. It didn’t work out,” Tabitha told her, hoping she would leave it at that. Of course, being a clueless teen, she didn’t.

“Why not? Did something happen to him?”

“Just his feet,” Tabitha replied, causing the girl to look at her with a raised eyebrow. “They got cold.”

“Oh. Cold feet.” She laughed, then realized it wasn’t really something that was funny. “I’m sorry. Why did you keep the dress?”

It was a good question, Tabitha thought. Part of the answer was that she had worn it and that it couldn’t be returned for even partial credit. She had gotten up and spent hours having her makeup and hair done, making sure everything was in place for the large wedding that was to take place that afternoon. Finally, she had gone to the church and changed into her wedding gown, waiting for the moment when she would say her vows and become Mrs. Stephen Conroy. She was nervous and excited, but so happy. After five years, she was finally marrying Mr. Right.

Then Carla had come into the room. “Tabitha, something’s wrong.”

“What?” Tabitha asked, watching as her best friend and maid of honor’s face fell a bit.

“Stephen. He’s not here. We didn’t want to say anything until we were sure, but he’s not here.”

Tabitha sat down hard in her chair, feeling suddenly too weak to stand. What could have happened to him. No way would he have skipped out on her on their wedding day. He must have been hurt or detained somehow. This couldn’t be happening.

“Call the police. Something has happened to him.”

Carla’s face fell a bit more as she walked over and knelt down in front of her, putting her face up to Tabitha’s, and reaching out to squeeze her hand. She spoke softly, but the words cut like a knife as they assaulted Tabitha’s ears.

“No, Tabitha. His groomsmen aren’t here either. Neither are his parents. We called his brother and he told us that Stephen called them that morning and told them the wedding was off. He told them not to come.”

“What?” Tabitha yanked her hand away and stood up. “This is a joke, right? You’re just yanking my pre-wedding nerves aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid not, honey. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, God. Oh God. Oh God!” Tabitha wailed, her words turning to tears. The door flew open and her mother came in, pulling her close and hugging her tightly. A moment later, her father joined them, his face red with fury.

“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” he muttered.

“No, you aren’t,” Tabitha’s mother said quietly, giving him a stern look as she continued to try and comfort her jilted daughter.

“I want to,” he growled. “I should.”

“What you’re going to do is go out there and send all those people home in as dignified a fashion as you can manage. Then, we are going to take our daughter to our house and help her get through this day and as many more as necessary until she can sort this mess out.”

“Fine, but I still may kill the bastard.”

“John! Stop it and go take care of the guests.”

He groaned and left, telling the guests that there had been an unfortunate incident that required a cancellation of the wedding. As they filed out of the building, he took care of sending the caterers home, n o doubt bemoaning the amount of money he had just paid them for food that wasn’t going to be eaten. Tabitha heard later that he sent it all to a local homeless shelter for their evening meal, including the cake.

“Tabitha?” Janet said, snapping her out of the memory.

“I don’t know. I guess it was just so beautiful that I didn’t have the heart to throw it away.”

“Maybe he’ll see that he made a mistake and come back,” Janet said optimistically.

“No. I’ll have to get rid of it at some point. I just can’t yet.” She closed the door.

“I understand,” Janet said softly.

“Anyway, that is everything you need to take care of Siniy. I will give you a key, just make sure you lock the door each time you leave. This is a pretty safe neighborhood, but an unlocked door just asks for trouble.”

“I will double check it each time.”

“Good. And I know how it is to be a teen. If you want to stay and play with Siniy for a while when you check on her or just kick back on the sofa away from your parents for a bit, you are welcome to do so. Just don’t make a mess or invite anyone over. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.” Janet beamed. “I don’t know anyone here yet anyway. Siniy will be my first friend.”

“She is a good girl. Good company.”

The girl nodded and left, promising to return the following morning for her first check in. With that out of the way, Tabitha finished packing her things. Her flight would leave tonight, shortly before midnight. It was going to be a long day just getting there. After a light dinner and some more research on the area of India where she would be going, she and Siniy curled up in the bed for a few hours of sleep. It was the first night she didn’t dream of herself standing in front of a minister with no groom.

After an eighteen-hour flight, along with an almost two-hour layover in Istanbul to make her connecting plane, Tabitha was exhausted. She walked slowly through the airport, looking for someone who was supposed to be waiting for her. It was difficult since she had no idea who she was looking for, but she finally spotted him standing to one side. She was usually met by professional drivers in dark suits, but today she was met by a rather tall, handsome man wearing faded jeans, hiking boots, and an old Star Wars t-shirt.

“Matt Helford?” she said to the man holding a sign with her name on it.

“Tabitha Stewart?” he replied blandly, looking her up and down woefully.

“Yes,” she said, too tired to even be concerned with whatever it was he seemed to find distasteful about her.

“Very good. Let’s get going. Normally, I would stop off at a couple of the touristy type places for you to sightsee a bit, but it’s late and we need to get you checked into your hotel for the night. I have other plans for dinner, so you’ll be on your own. There’s a decent place to eat in the hotel and you’ll need your rest. We have an early start in the morning. Six a.m. I expect you to be ready when I arrive. I’ve no time to wait while you put on your makeup or polish your teeth,” he prattled off as they waited on her luggage.

“Fine,” she replied, already dreading spending a week or more with this pompous British asshole. They were quiet as they made their way out to what appeared to be a well-worn Range Rover, and rode to the hotel in silence. Was it possible she had already offended him somehow or was he always this way, she wondered.

“You’ve a new guest, love,” he told the young girl at the front desk with a wink. She giggled before looking over at Tabitha, the smile fading from her face into a sour note.

“Name?” she asked him.

“Not me. Just her. I’ve got somewhere else to be,” he said. “I’ll get your bags before I go.”

Tabitha watched as he strolled back out toward the rover, having a hard time believing how rude he was being. She had every mind to call her boss and complain. Maybe he could find her someone else to guide her through the area. In only the short time she’d been near this man, she had seen just how awful this journey was going to be with him in the lead.

“Do you have a name?” the girl asked impatiently.

“Tabitha Stewart,” she told her, giving her back the cool glare she was receiving.

“I don’t have a reservation in that name,” the gir l replied.

“You’re kidding me. This just gets better and better.”

“It’s in my name. Look for Matt Helford,” her guide said as he returned to the front desk with her bags. He dropped them on one of the rolling carriers and stood waiting while the girl looked it up on her computer.

“Ah, yes. Room 208. How will you be making payment?” she asked.

“American Express,” Tabitha replied, pulling the magazine’s business card from her bag and handing it to the girl.

“Excellent. Since you are only staying one night, the full price of the room will be charged upfront,” she told her without a hint of a smile.

“That’s fine,” Tabitha replied. The girl scowled and ran her card.

“Well, that’s me done for now. I’ll see you at six in the morning,” Matt told Tabitha. The girl behind the counter suddenly lost her frown and smiled broadly in his direction. It just annoyed Tabitha that much more.

“You aren’t going to help me get my bags up to my room?”

“No. You should learn to pack a bit lighter. This isn’t a Las Vegas vacation,” he said flatly.

Tabitha watched him walk back out to his vehicle in disbelief. What a complete jerk! She was definitely calling and having him replaced. Turning back toward the girl, she noted the smirk on her face and felt like slapping it off. She wondered if that would cause an international incident.

“Here is your room key and your receipt. Check out is at eleven a.m. tomorrow,” she told her.

“Fine.” Tabitha tucked the key and receipt into her purse and maneuvered the large metal baggage rack toward the nearby elevator.

Inside her room, she collapsed on the bed. She was already emotionally and physically exhausted and this was just the beginning. How was she ever going to make it through this? Already, she was second guessing her agreement to come on this assignment. It took every bit of her strength just to get up and make her way to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face until she felt half alive and pulled out her phone, hitting speed dial.

“Do you know what time it is?” a sleepy voice said from the other end of the line.

“A bit after seven p.m.,” she replied, glancing at her watch.

“Try again. It’s barely past five.” Her boss sighed. “I take it you got there in one piece?”

“Yes, but I can’t work with this jackass you’ve set me up to follow around,” she told him.

“And why is that?”

“He’s just impossible. He’s rude and obnoxious,” she said.

“He’s British. What do you expect?”

“I know plenty of Brits that don’t behave like that,” she protested.

“He’s the best at what he does, Tabitha. He’s not just a guide. His field of expertise is in the area of tiger conservation. The sanctuary he’s taking you to will be a perfect place for you to get an insider’s take on the situation. Make friends with him. Pick his brain.”

“I’d like to pick his brain…with a pick axe!” she blurted.

“That’s my girl. Always so spirited. Now, use that attitude to go out there and get me a fantastic story,” he told her.

“I will, but I’m not happy about it.”

“Noted. I’ll save you some of the butt-hurt cream I keep in my office for such situations,” he remarked.

“Very funny. If you don’t hear from me again soon, you’ll know I’m in an Indian prison for murder.”

“I don’t think the magazine covers bail money in foreign prisons. I’ll see if I can get a collection started around the office just in case.”

“You do that,” she said, ending the call in a huff.

“Wine. I’m going to need lots of wine,” she muttered to herself.

Freshening up a bit, she made her way back downstairs into the hotel restaurant and waited to be seated. A meal of lamb kebabs, accompanied by a full bottle of merlot, improved her mood considerably. Several more glasses in the small bar that adjoined the restaurant sent her wobbling back to her room, the beginnings of a wine headache already beginning to form.

“Lock and load,” she mumbled as she fell asleep across the bed, not even bothering to change into her night clothes or get under the covers.

Tabitha awoke the next morning with a start as the alarm sounded violently from the side of the bed. She looked around wearily, momentarily confused by her surroundings. Her head pounded and she felt a bit ill. What had possessed her to drink so much wine when she had to get up so early this morning?

“Ugh,” she said to her puffy-faced reflection in the mirror.

She showered and dressed for departure, taking her luggage back down to the lobby to transfer back into his vehicle. Though she would never admit it to him, he might have been right about how much she had brought with her. She hadn’t even opened most of it during her first night, but she still had a long way to go, didn’t she?

“At least you’re on time,” he said, picking up her bags and putting them in the rover. We don’t have much time. Plane takes off in an hour.”

“Plane? I thought we were going into the wild?”

“We are, but first we have to get on a plane to Jessore and then drive down to Mongla. Your hotel there will be on the water. It’s a lovely little place. I’ll let you explore on your own and we’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning for Sunderbans. You’ll probably want to wear something a little more suited for the trip,” he said, eyeing her clothing.

“What? What do you mean? I bought this for the trip.”

“I figured that much. The tag is still attached to your jacket,” he said snidely.

Tabitha felt herself blush bright red. Would he be humiliating her the entire trip or was he getting it all out of the way up front? She said nothing for a moment as she tried to calm herself down.

“What should I be wearing?” she asked.

“What you have on is fine, it’s just not properly worn in and too tight. You’re going to chafe in those pants and your boots are going to put blisters on your feet. If you think I’m going to carry you through the trees, you’re sorely mistaken.”

She glared at him, fed up. “You know what? What is your problem? You were hired to be my guide and you’ve been nothing but a condescending prick since I arrived.”

“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I’d known they were sending me someone with zero experience in trekking through the kind of terrain we’ll be traveling. You are the poster child for a New York socialite who runs around interviewing celebrities for a living.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m a very serious journalist. I’m one of the top women in my field!”

“If you say so, sweetheart,” he told her sarcastically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re wearing enough makeup to star in a Broadway musical. Your hair is down and you’re wearing brand new clothes recommended by some clerk at your local sporting goods store who told you it was exactly what you needed when he’s probably never stepped one foot out of Manhattan.”

“What is wrong with taking a bit of pride in my appearance?” she asked, making a point of looking disapprovingly at his disheveled hair and noting he had on the same clothes as yesterday.

“There is no place for it where we are going. You should be in loose, light clothing, and a ponytail. Plus, the makeup was a waste of time. You might be okay today while still in tourist mode, but it’s just going to melt down the sides of your face tomorrow. All those bags you brought are just going to be sitting in an empty hotel room without you.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know? This is my first assignment like this,” she said defensively.

“Precisely my point,” he told her.

They rode in silence the rest of the way to the airport and only spoke to one another during the rest of the trek to Mongla when necessary. Once they had arrived at her hotel, she took all of her bags into her room and emptied them out on the bed, studying the things she had brought. Since she was on her own for the rest of the evening, she went downstairs to the front desk and asked if there was a local guide available for her to talk to. The man there directed her to a small building down the street.

“Can I help you?” a pleasant young local said as she stepped inside. She was glad that he spoke English, as the little Bengali she had learned would do little more than get her to the nearest bathroom or restaurant.

“I certainly hope so. I need the proper clothes for a safari. I’m afraid that what I brought with me isn’t quite right.”

“Ah, you’ve come to the right place!” he told her, turning to call to someone in the back room behind him. A woman, who she assumed was his wife, stepped out and looked at him impatiently. He spoke to her in their native tongue, and Tabitha couldn’t understand a word they said. Finally, the  woman nodded and smiled, holding out her hand to Tabitha and guiding her toward the door. Tabitha looked at the man, confused by what was happening.

“Where’s she taking me?” she asked.

“There is a shop down the street. She will take you there and make sure you get what you need. Her English is not as good as mine, but she knows some words,” he said.

“And she understands what I will need for the safari?”

“Yes. Do you also need a guide for your trip?”

“No. I already have one, unfortunately.”

“Who is it?” he asked, seeming a little puzzled by her response.

“A British man named Matt Helford,” she told him.

“Yes, Mr. Helford is an excellent guide, but I understand your lack of enthusiasm.” He laughed. “He is not known for his charm.”

“That is an understatement,” she replied. “Anyway, thank you for loaning me your wife to help me. I really appreciate it.”

Making her way down the street, it struck Tabitha just how far out of her element she truly was. Why had she let herself be talked into this just for the sake of escaping her poisonous reality at home? Now, she was stuck here doing this. She would see it through of course, but that didn’t mean she was going to like it at all.

Tabitha looked around at the shop they entered. At first she thought it was a mistake. It looked more like some sort of massive flea market than a place that would sell outdoor clothing. Then, the woman began picking up items and handing them to her. Looking around, Tabitha realized it was a surplus store. The items here were previously worn and thus, worn in. It made perfect sense. She wasn’t thrilled about wearing used clothes and wondered if they had been laundered properly, but it was less of a concern than proving Helford right by getting chafed or looking like something out of a magazine ad for Chad’s Sporting Goods.

With several bags in hand, she thanked the woman and paid her a fee as if she were a personal shopper. The woman nodded and smiled, heading back to her husband’s shop while Tabitha returned to the hotel. She was pleased to find that everything seemed to fit perfectly. The woman had been spot on with selecting sizes. Hopefully, this would please her ruthless guide.

“Good morning,” he said to her when she met him in the lobby of the hotel the following morning.

“Good morning,” she replied, feeling a big smug as he took in her clothes and said nothing.

She was wearing only some moisturizer and a ponytail to compliment her well-worn gear, with only the necessities the woman had recommended in a large backpack that she had to admit was much more comfortable on her back than the smaller, stiffer one she had previously purchased for the trip. She would take his lack of commentary as a win for her on this particular issue. Apparently, he was only capable of criticism and not so much on praise. It didn’t really surprise her at all.

“Well, let’s get going then. We’ve a long day ahead of us,” he told her.

“Where are we going?”

“Sunderbans National Park,” he told her.

“A national park? That doesn’t sound like much of a wildlife excursion,” she told him.

“Trust me. This isn’t like going to Yosemite.”

“If you say so. I’m ready,” she replied. He wasn’t the only one capable of being snide.

“Let’s get going then, princess,” he quipped back.

Tabitha ignored the barb and climbed into the rover. They began their journey toward the park. She was surprised when they stopped at the park entrance to get some sort of permits and were joined by armed park rangers for the next segment of their trip.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We aren’t allowed to go down the river without them,” he told her.

“River? What are we doing on the river? Do tigers swim there?” she asked, baffled.

“As a matter of fact, sometimes they do. It’s the best way to see tigers roaming in the wild, as well as other animals, and it gets us closer to our destination without having to go the whole way on foot. I would think you’d find sitting on a boat preferable to getting sweaty on foot.”

“But we will be getting out of the water at some point and on the actual land with the tigers?”

“Yes, w e will be, your highness.”

Tabitha noted that both of the park rangers were trying not to laugh as they looked away to hide the fact that they were amused by the exchange. Great, now not only did she have the uppity Brit to deal with, she had two local park rangers that seemed to have just as little respect for her as he did. This trip was getting longer by the second and she was getting angrier along with it.

Just when she thought she might hit the roof with annoyance, Matt motioned for her to look at a large open pool of water ahead of the boat. Tabitha followed the direction of his finger as he pointed and was surprised at what she saw there.

“Gangetic river dolphins. They swim freely in these waters, along with the turtles you see over there on the bank,” he said.

“They’re incredible,” she breathed, lost in the vision of animals she had never seen in person before.

There was silence as she continued to watch them frolic in the water, passing very close to the boat as they moved through the water and past them. She almost felt like she could reach out and touch one of them as they seemed to chatter happily amongst themselves as she had often heard dolphins do, but this was the first time she had ever witnessed it firsthand.

The day seemed to pass quickly as they made their way through the mangroves and into the Sunderbans. It was a bit unnerving that this portion of the trip required armed park rangers, but she supposed it was just a precaution rather than due to any real danger. Surely being in a boat in a river was enough protection against the wild animals that roamed the large forest surrounding them.

“Miss Stewart, come look at this,” the Brit called out to her, pointing toward the edge of the water on the left side of the boat.

“What is it?” she asked, but he only waved her over, pointing toward the water again.

Tabitha looked to where he was pointing and caught her breath. It looked almost prehistoric as it sat halfway in the water and halfway on the bank of the wetlands they were approaching. She caught her breath as it suddenly turned, its long tail whipping about as it slid fully into sight on the edge of the water.

“Saltwater crocodile. The ones here are some of the largest you will find in the world,” he told her.

“It’s incredible.”

“Yes, it is. Incredible and deadly. Don’t fall out of the boat,” he said dryly.

“I’ll try not to,” she replied, rolling her eyes at him.

Her gaze returned to the crocodile, watching as it slid into the water and swam off. Her heartrate sped up a bit as it headed directly toward the boat. She was relieved when it suddenly turned and headed downstream.

“Intimidating, huh?” Matt said, noting her discomfort.

“A bit. I suppose I best get used to seeing animals that view me as prey where we are going,” she said.

“They mostly view other animals as prey. They don’t usually bother humans unless they make a nuisance of themselves or fail to keep a healthy distance,” he said.

“I fully intend to do just that.”

“Ready for some lunch? We have some sandwiches packed for today. After that, I’m afraid it’s all dry goods, condiments and water until tomorrow, so enjoy the fresh food while you can,” he said.

She swatted at an insect that landed on her arm. “Fantastic.”

“Here. You’ll need this too.” He tossed her a small cylinder with roll-on insect repellant. “It’s warming up, those will be swarming soon.”

Tabitha began coating herself with it while he pulled open a small cooler, fishing out bags and containers with sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water and handing them out to her and the park rangers. It was quite a feat to consume the sandwiches while keeping the insects at bay, but everyone seemed to manage it just fine as the sun bore down heavily on the water that surrounded them.

A short time later, they pulled up to an embankment and the rangers tied the boat off, helping them get their gear off before stepping back onto the vessel. Tabitha watched as they began pulling up anchor, now feeling a bit of alarm at being out in the wild. It was one thing to have been observing the wildlife from afar, from the safety of the boat, but now she would be in the middle of it and alone with an utter jackass for a guide.

“Ready, princess?” he asked, as if to punctuate her thoughts with confirmation.

“Absolutely,” she replied as confidently as she could manage, though she felt anything but that.

“Let’s go then. We don’t have much daylight left before we’ll need to take shelter for the night. I want to get across this plain and into an area less populated with night life,” he told her.

“Where are the rangers going? To refuel? How will they know where to find us?”

“The rangers? They aren’t coming with us. Their job was just to get us down the river. They’ll pick us up a bit farther along the river in two days to take us through some of the narrow river beds, and then we’ll be on foot again for the rest of the trip.”

“So, we’re staying out here in the open? With the animals?” she asked, somewhat losing the cool she had tried so hard to maintain.

He sighed loudly and looked at her with a huge frown on his face, dropping his bag by his feet and taking off back down toward the shore below them. His voice rang out loudly as he called to the rangers, already well out of sight from where she still stood above him.

“Hey, come back. I don’t think the princess is going to be able to make the trip,” he yelled in their direction.

“I didn’t say that!” she protested loudly behind him.

“Then stop your whining and let’s get a move on. I don’t have time to pet you. You either want to do this or you don’t. Either way is fine with me. I’ve already gotten paid to babysit you.”

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter!” she barked at him, snatching up her bag and stalking off toward the trees in a huff.

“That’s better, but you might want to go the right damned way, Cinderella,” he said in a snarky tone.

Tabitha turned to see that he had begun walking in the opposite direction and followed him with an angry scowl on her face. She was completely frazzled within the first mile of their journey, every noise putting her on edge as she wondered what lurked in the tall weeds just beyond the path they were treading.

“Come here,” he told her. “Stand very still and look right over there.”

She did as she was told, her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she observed her first actual tigers in the wild. Prior to this, the closest she had been to one was at the zoo, secured behind large panels of plexiglass that protected her from the beasts just beyond.

“Oh, wow. They’re beautiful,” she whispered, afraid to speak much louder than a breath.

“They are and lethal. Just keep watching. See the female standing to one side that looks as if she is on alert?” he said.

“Yes,” Tabitha replied, finding being so close to him a little intoxicating despite how she perceived his personality failures.

“Keep your eye on her,” he said.

Tabitha did, continuing to watch as the tiger’s ears pricked upward as she listened to something only she could see. A moment later, something came barreling through the grass and she was immediately on it, pouncing on a large wild boar. The sounds they made were vile, her growls coupled with the boar’s squeals of pain. It took her only seconds to have it pinned down and motionless. Tabitha had to look away as she began to feed on it, several cubs bounding over to share in her victory.

“That was incredible to watch,” Tabitha said, her heart racing wildly in her chest.

“From a distance, yes. You don’t want one coming for you and this area is filled with them. Stay close and stay quiet. They are used to humans traveling through here and don’t usually bother them unless they feel threatened, but we don’t take any chances. Tigers are much like humans, with different personalities and levels of aggression. You’ll be safe with me. Just don’t wander away.”

“I don’t see that happening,” she said, still watching as the tigers surrounded their prey and enjoyed their meal.

“Alright, we’re losing daylight. Let’s go.”

Their trek through the area around the riverbed led them to a dense grove of trees and an area that was obviously well used for bedding down for the night. There was evidence of previous fires in a pit to one side and simple chicken wire fencing wrapped around the surrounding trees. It wouldn’t be enough to stop an attack if one was going to happen, but it was a deterrent and protected them somewhat on three sides. The fourth was open.

“Is this safe?” she asked.

“No. It’s not safe. If you wanted safe, you should have stayed at the hotel.”

“I didn’t expect it to be perfectly tame, but I wasn’t aware we would be sleeping out here in a tent!” she said.

Matt laughed a little and nodded toward a large building that she hadn’t seen before. It almost blended into the wild just beyond where they stood. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of her.

“I was just yanking your chain, princess. There’s a jeep in that building that is shared by those of us that are registered guides with the rangers. I never intended to sleep out here in the open, though you can see that some people do. I just needed to get us here well before dark. We’re going to take that down to a juncture near the river. It’s much less populated with wildlife and there’s a small ranger station with a wooden shelter we can use.”

“You are such a jerk!” she exclaimed, glaring at him.

“I know. I love it,” he laughed. “Come on.”

They made their way to the shed and tossed their gear into the jeep. Matt checked out its fluids to make sure they had been topped off and then they pulled out, heading further down the river. Matt flipped a switch that blasted bright lights all over the area around them and Tabitha marveled at all of the animals that bounded back and forth around the vehicle as it moved along in the near darkness. They were about three miles south of where they had picked it up when there was a sudden lurch in the jeep and it stopped, going completely dead.

“That’s not good,” Matt groaned.

“This better not be another joke,” she told him.

“I’m afraid it’s not,” he told her, reaching for a large mag light on the seat behind them. “Sit tight.”

Tabitha waited anxiously as he tinkered under the hood, a healthy spew of expletives flying about as he did so. She wondered if he was even the slightest bit afraid, being out there in the darkness and drawing attention to himself, but she realized that she wasn’t exactly out of danger herself. The jeep was open topped, which was fine while they were moving, but now she had to wonder what might drop in here with her. She was terrified.

When Matt finally came around to talk to her, she didn’t like the expression on his face. He ran a hand through his hair. “We aren’t going any further in this thing tonight,” he told her.

“You’re kidding?”

He grimaced. “I’m afraid not. We’ll have to make camp here for the night.”

“In the middle of nowhere? This is worse than that last place you showed me!”

“I would have to agree with that, but there’s not much else we can do. It’s safer to hunker down here for the night than it is to try to walk out of here in the dark.”

“I don’t believe this!” she groaned.

“I don’t really care what you believe, princess. We’re stuck here and we need to make camp quickly before anything realizes we’re here. I’ll pitch the tent here by the jeep with the opening facing it. If things get too out of hand, we’ll have a bit of safety from larger animals under the jeep.”

Tabitha glared at him. She was having a hard time deciding if he’d planned this or was just doing it to scare the shit out of her.

“Listen, if you’re just screwing with me to try and scare me, you’re doing a great job. I admit that I’m out of my element and don’t belong here, but I was sent here to do a job. I didn’t have a choice.”

Much to her surprise, he put a hand on her shoulder to calm her, looking down at her with what appeared to be a hint of kindness in his eyes. Or was that just the near darkness falling around them playing tricks on her?

“Tabitha, we will be fine. I realize you haven’t been in a situation like this before, but I have, many times. In fact, I’ve been in much worse situations. If you just stay close and listen to what I tell you, you’ll be fine. I promise. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said uncertainly. The imprint of his hand seemed to burn against her skin, more a sexual reaction than an emotional one she realized and it caught her a bit off guard. Sure, he was gorgeous, but he was also cocky and rude. She was quickly reminded of this by his next statement.

“Besides, if you get eaten by a tiger, I have to give the ridiculous amount of money they paid me to be your guide back to them. Probably get sued for whatever I have on top of it,” he joked.

“That’s not funny,” she said, laughing despite herself.

“No, of course not. Stop laughing. We have a tent to set up.”

“Wait? Tent? Singular?”

“Yes. One tent. Don’t worry. I won’t bite and I’ll sleep on my side.”

“I guess,” she said. Part of her was anxious about being in the same tent with him, but the better part of her felt safer that she would be. Then again, she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that there was definitely a part of her that hoped he would take advantage of the situation.

“In the morning, we’ll get up and hike back to the shed where we got the jeep. I know what’s wrong with it, but I don’t have what I need to fix it tonight. Then, we’ll get you back down to where you need to be to take photographs before we get back on the boat to head downstream toward the sanctuary you wanted to see.”

Tabitha got out of the jeep, closing the door quietly, not wanting to attract the attention of any animals. “If I don’t get eaten by tigers.”

“Precisely,” he laughed, pulling the tent from the back of the jeep. He had it erected in a matter of moments.

Tossing their packs and bedding inside, he motioned for her to get in. Tabitha slipped into the tiny bit of space between the front of the tent and the jeep and ducked inside, gathering up a blanket and resting her head on her backpack as a pillow. It wasn’t exactly the kind of camping she was used to, but she supposed it would suffice.

To her surprise, he opened an e-book reader and began to read beside her. She wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her to bring something to read. She didn’t even have so much as a paperback book in her bag, having opted to come without one to forego the extra weight. Though several had traveled with her to India, they were sitting with the other bags he had said she wouldn’t be using in her hotel room. Tossing and turning a bit, she tried not to get too anxious about things.

“Quit squirming,” he told her, reaching over to put his hand on her arm quietly.

“I can’t. I’m wide awake,” she admitted.

“Would you like me to read to you?”

“What are you reading?”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not. Sure, read to me.”

To her surprise, he began reading an older James Herbert book called “The Others.” She listened intently, enthralled as much by the sound of his voice as she was with the book itself. It was incredibly calming and she realized that no one had read to her since she was a very small girl. His voice lulled her somehow, making her feel safe and warm. After a while, he stopped, closing the kindle cover and laying it aside.

“Looks like that’s it for tonight. The battery is dying,” he told her.

“Well, it was nice while it lasted. Thank you.”

“How about I tell you a story instead? Or better yet, you tell me one. How does a city girl like you end up getting assigned to do a story on tigers in India?”

“Honestly, I just needed a break from the regular world I guess and jumped at it when my editor offered me this gig.” She hesitated before admitting, “I was supposed to get married this month and it didn’t work out.”

“That’s too bad. He broke it off before the wedding?” His voice was soft with something that sounded like kindness and she found herself warming to him.

“More like just didn’t show up for it.”

“Now it’s you that’s kidding me. He left someone as beautiful as you are standing there waiting for him to show up? What a cowardly way to back out of things.”

“It was horrible and humiliating, but I think that maybe he did me a favor.”

“A favor? I hardly see how anyone could see it that way.”

“Like you said, he was a coward. It’s better that I found out his true nature before I married him and now that it’s all in the rear view mirror, I realize that there were signs that I ignored.”

“What sort of signs?”

Tabitha was surprised that he seemed to be taking such an interest in her and her sad sob story, but she kept going. It felt good to talk about it. “I’m not sure it’s anything I can really put my finger on and make sense of to someone else. It’s like, you know, when you do lots of little things for someone just because you want them to be happy or their life to be a little easier. You notice that they don’t take the same care of you, but you chalk it up to a difference in personalities rather than not caring as much as you do.”

Matt nodded, obviously understanding. “So, you made excuses for him not giving you what you needed, what you deserved and that just made it okay for him to do it in his mind.”

“Yeah. I guess I never thought of it that way, but it’s true.”

“Love does that to you.”

“That’s just it. I don’t think I was in love with him.” She took a deep breath, looking at the ceiling of the tent in the darkness, feeling Matt’s warm body next to hers. She hadn’t admitted that to anyone before, hell she’d barely admitted it to herself. “He certainly wasn’t in love with me. I think that we had both just invested so much time in the relationship, we were just blindly going along with what we thought was the next step in our lives. It’s better that it fell apart before we lumped one more mistake on top of another.”

“I suppose that happens.”

There was a long moment of comfortable silence before Tabitha spoke again. “How about you? What’s your story? How does a Liverpudlian end up in the wilds of India tracking tigers for tourists?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been all over the world. I was in the military for a good while and then came here as a tourist myself. I fell in love with the place and decided to stay. The wild suits me.”

“Yeah, I can see how it would. You seem an awful lot like a bit of a wild creature yourself,” she said, not meaning for it to sound nearly as provocative as it came out. Or did she?

“I can be,” he said, leaning up on one arm to look at her, and the sudden change in his tone of voice made her heart thump hard in her chest.

She looked up at him, not sure how to respond. Only a short time ago she had loathed him on sight and now she was finding some odd chemistry between them. She was drawn to his dark eyes, which weren’t quite blue and weren’t quite green, but seemed to shift from one to the other depending on his mood. The light cleft in his chin granted him a chiseled, refined look that was in stark contrast to his outdoor attire. She could imagine that in a more domestic setting, he wore a tux just as well as his khakis.

“I want to kiss you,” he said suddenly.

“What?” she replied, caught off guard by his comment, but excited by it, nonetheless.

His gaze fell to her mouth. “I’ll be damned if I haven’t wanted to kiss you since I first lay eyes on you.”

“Odd, considering how little you seem to think of me.”

“Just a bit of bollocking is all it is. I like to catch people off guard, to see what they are really made of,” he replied with a grin that melted her.

“Well, I guess you should just kiss me and get it out of your system then,” she said.

“I guess I should,” he told her.

He shifted, moving closer to her and leaning down, covering her mouth with his own. His hands were rough as they trailed down her arms, but his lips were incredibly soft on hers. His tongue explored her mouth heatedly, drinking her in deeply. She found herself drawn in, unable to resist how he felt against her with his muscular chest pressing against her own, his growing excitement readily apparent as it pressed against her thigh.

“I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly pulling away. “I’m being inappropriate. You’re a client and I should mind myself.”

“I wasn’t complaining,” she replied, pulling him back down to her and greedily resuming the kiss.

Things heated up quickly after that, their kiss taking on a life of its own as they lost themselves in one another. Tabitha forgot where she was, about any danger that might be present in the arms of such a gorgeous, capable man as Matt. He was older, her guess was late thirties judging from the slight hint of gray beginning to creep into his dark hair near his temples. It only made her crave his experience even more. This was just what she needed, a meaningless fling in an exotic place, far from the pain that had almost crippled her not so long ago.

“Your skin is so soft,” he mumbled against her neck as his hands slipped beneath her white t-shirt and caressed her back. “It’s been a very long time since I held anyone.”

Tabitha pulled away for a moment and studied his face before speaking. She smiled gently and brought her hand up to his cheek as he looked down from where he leaned over her.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Matt. I’m a grown up. I can handle just being wanted in the moment and that being the end of it. I don’t want this to turn into some awkward thing between us for the rest of the trip.”

He smiled at her. “I’m not lying. I’ve just not been interested in anyone for quite a while. There’s something about you that is different. Even though I’ve been giving you a hard time, it was just my way of keeping you at a distance, I suppose.

“I assumed that your disappearances when I first arrived, your other plans, involved a woman or women.”

“No. That was…other business. I keep busy so that I don’t think about being lonely. Isn’t that what we all do?”

“Yes. That’s a bit how I ended up so far out of my element here in India with you. You were right. I am a city girl. I mostly report on local social causes or charitable events. My editor sent me here as a favor, to take my mind off of what happened or rather didn’t happen.”

“Has it made you feel better?” he asked, playing with the collar of her shirt, which was extremely distracting.

“In some ways, yes.”

“And in others, not so much?”

“Like I said, I’m just not in my usual setting and that unnerves me a bit.”

“Yes, I can see that you’re anxious much of the time. It’s only made me want to hold you, but I told myself that it was crossing a line, being unprofessional. I suppose that is still true, but I don’t think I care anymore. I’ll give you a refund,” he said with a laugh.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve been attracted to you too, despite your poor behavior and lack of professionalism.” She tweaked his nose playfully.

“Well, if you think that was poor behavior, just wait and see what I do next,” he told her, pulling her back to him and kissing her eagerly once again.

Words fell away as an animal passion began taking them over, every bit as primal as that of the creatures that roamed about them in the dark. She felt completely safe and wanted in his capable arms as they explored one another with wild abandon.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed against her skin, pulling her tighter to him.

Tabitha closed her eyes, drinking him in with her senses. His smell, his taste, the way he felt touching her. It was like no one she had ever felt before. She had never felt anything like it with her ex-fiancé, not even close. How could it be that she could be so in tune with a virtual stranger when she had not experienced anything near this level of intimacy with a man she had been about to marry? It occurred to her again that being left at the altar might have been the best thing that could have ever happened to her.

Then, all thoughts of the past drifted from her head and she was lost in the present, moaning quietly as Matt began to peel away her clothes. His hands were gentle, despite their surface roughness, as he pulled her t-shirt above her head. His mouth fell upon the top of her breasts as he began to unfasten her bra, pulling it off her arms, releasing her breasts to be cupped by his hands, his mouth finding its way to her nipples.

“Your breasts are utter perfection,” he said quietly, teasing one of her delicate pink nubs with his tongue and teeth. Her back arched toward him as he sucked and bit at her nipple even as his hands drifted down to unbutton her pants and slip them away from her hips and down her legs. His kisses drifted downward toward her panties, planting soft kisses along the elastic band.

“I love your hands,” she mumbled, completely lost in him.

“They are more than happy to roam freely,” he told her, slipping his hand into the soft material of her underwear and slowly sliding a single finger up and down across her clit.

“Yes. Right there,” she told him, arching upward toward him as he increased the friction.

Tabitha let out a cry of delight as his hand slipped further down, his fingers sliding inside of her, growing increasingly adventurous in his exploration. She could feel his erection pressing against her leg and she wanted him inside her more and more each moment. Her body convulsed as his manipulations brought her to the first in a series of orgasms that seemed to only spiral exponentially with each thrust of his fingers.

“Smashing,” he muttered, moving upward to kiss her again as he slipped out of his pants. As he entered her for the first time, he groaned into her mouth, a sound of pleasure that created a perfect symphony with her own. Her hand drifted upward to touch his chest, trailing small circles of delight in the shape of infinity back and forth as she moaned beneath him.

“I could spend a lifetime inside of you,” he whispered in her ear and she felt herself melt even more against his powerful body, lost in how he felt inside of her. Her cries of ecstasy echoed against the tent walls as he buried himself into her repeatedly.

“You feel amazing. Don’t stop,” she panted.

Matt’s hips rose and fell in a horizontal dance that met her own with a grinding motion. It felt like he was impaling her, taking everything from her and she gave it to him freely. Their bodies were a whirlwind of ecstasy as everything fell away but how their bodies felt combined.

“I think your body was made for mine,” he moaned, his hands on her breasts, cupping them, massaging them as he fucked her with increasing rapaciousness. She loved how he took what he wanted, but somehow made sure she was getting what she needed, as well. His groans coupled with her loud cries of ecstasy, oblivious to what they might draw attention from outside the tent.

Digging her fingers into the bedding beneath her, she drove her hips up hard to meet his. Her body was on the edge of an explosion that felt like it had built up to atomic mass and was about to blow up the universe around her. A long guttural moan came from somewhere deep within as she shattered violently against him and almost collapsed from the weakness it left behind.

“That was incredible to watch. I want to taste it,” he told her, pulling free of her and lowering his head so that he was between her legs. She twitched a bit as his lips met her now incredibly sensitive clit, lapping at her juices that flooded down her thighs. He took his time, seeming to enjoy the way she tensed and jerked each time he came into contact with her delicate folds. She felt her body giving in to him, shattering with yet another orgasm that he lapped up feverishly before bringing his lips back to hers, kissing her with the taste of their lovemaking on his tongue.

He pushed himself into her once more and Tabitha dug her fingernails into his back, dragging them downward, scratching him as he pounded into her like a wild animal. It felt like she was being fucked by more of a demon than a man and she found that she adored the rough way that he used her body, enjoyed taking her for his own. He seemed to last forever, fucking her deeply beneath the full moon that shone brightly above them. Finally, clasping at her naked flesh, he came inside of her, flooding her with his seed.

Matt rolled over, collapsing beside her for a moment wordlessly as they both lay there staring up into the darkness of the tent, breathing heavily. After a moment, he rolled back toward her, gliding his fingers along her skin in tiny circular patterns similar to what she had made earlier on his chest.

“That felt amazing,” he told her, kissing her lips and looking down at her from the shadows.

“It truly was. I think we should do it again,” she said boldly.

He grinned. “I wholeheartedly agree.” He pulled her to him, kissing her with such intensity that she felt like she was on fire.

The second time was much slower, softer. Matt was, hands down, the most incredible lover she had ever known. It was sad to think this might be only a brief fling in her life, as someone like him was definitely someone she could see herself getting used to having every day. He was nothing short of phenomenal in bed, or, in this case, in tent.

They fell asleep entangled in one another’s arms. She was aware of the wetness between her thighs, a mixture of their climaxes left behind as witness to their pleasure. Ordinarily, she would go to the nearest sink and wash herself, but with him it felt so natural and she found that she enjoyed the way his scent remained on her skin.

Lying there in the dark of the tent, listening to him breathe contently by her side, she fell asleep peacefully for the first time in weeks. Prior to the wedding, it had been jitters. Afterward, she had been too discontent to drift off, her mind going over everything that had been said or done between the two of them prior to his failure to appear at the church. Had there been signs that she had missed? Had she done something to make him feel like he couldn’t go through with a life with her?

Tonight, though, there was none of that past a cursory consideration of how at ease she felt with the man lying by her side. It was if it was all washed away simply by his touch, the way he kissed her, the way he felt inside her. Her thoughts quickly drifted away as she fell asleep, grateful for whatever respite this was that had been granted to her from her own thoughts.

Tabitha was startled awake in the early morning hours by Matt’s hand planting firmly over her mouth. She attempted to struggle, but he held her down, bringing his opposite hand to his lips. Still foggy with sleep, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on and she was terrified. Last night was intense, had he crossed over into something much more sinister? She struggled against him until he leaned very close, his voice barely audible.

“Tigers outside,” was all he said.

Her eyes flew wide open as she began to understand what was happening. She nodded and he took his hand from her mouth, sitting up.

“Don’t say a word. I’ll be right back,” he told her quietly.

Tabitha wanted to protest, but she knew she should keep quiet as instructed. Instead she shot him a look that told him he shouldn’t go out, but he just smiled at her and climbed from the tent, carefully closing it behind him. She could hear him speaking to them outside the tent and it drew her curiosity but she didn’t dare look out.

“Hello, guys. What’s going on here? This isn’t a place for you. Understand?” he was saying

There was a loud growl from one of them that made her skin crawl, her body jangling with nerves on edge. Did he really think he was so in tune with them that he could just go out and speak to them, send them away?

“That is no attitude to have. I tell you what. Walk away and I won’t hurt any of you. That isn’t what I came here for. I’m just here to observe, nothing more.”

There was another loud growl and something scraped against the side of the tent. Tabitha looked up to see a small rip where one of the tigers had apparently managed to get a claw into it.

“Now, that just wasn’t nice. I guess we’ll have to settle this another way,” she heard Matt saying.

There was a strange sound that she couldn’t even begin to describe. It sounded like ripping flesh and she found that she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Had they attacked him? This wasn’t happening. And when they were done with him, what would become of her out here all alone? Surely the rangers would look for them when they didn’t show up at their rendezvous point, but that was another day away and she would have to somehow manage to survive another night here alone. Of course, that was assuming they didn’t come after her when they were done with him.

The deafening roar she heard next was so loud that it seemed to rattle the poles holding up their tent. It was followed by a howl of pain, but not from Matt. One of the tigers was making the sound. Had one of them turned on the others? She hadn’t heard anything else from Matt. Was he dead? Were they fighting over his carcass? Oh God, oh God, oh God, her mind babbled in terror like she had never experienced before. What had possessed her to come here?

It seemed like the encounter went on forever, with howls and growls that made her skin crawl. She looked around the tent for a weapon, fishing around in his bag for his knife before realizing he kept it hanging on his belt. She had noticed it there earlier. He had gone out naked, so his pants were here somewhere and so was the knife. Feeling around, she finally found his belt and worked her fingers toward the leather sheath that hung from it.

Suddenly, there was silence and then Matt stepped back into the tent with a huge smile on his face. He appeared completely unscathed and she stared at him in disbelief. What had gone on out there? Had he really been able to talk to them, reason with them?

“Come out here. I want you to see these guys,” he said.

“What?” she asked incredulously.

“It’s okay now. I’ve reasoned with them and they’re all calm. I want you to be able to see them up close.”

“You’re shitting me,” she replied, just knowing he was yanking her chain again.

“No, not at all. Just wrap the blanket around you and come out,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

Tabitha stared at him in disbelief as she slowly got to her feet and ducked out of the tent, following him as he walked toward the front of the jeep. He was still completely naked and didn’t seem concerned about being vulnerable to a pack of tigers at all.

“Guys, this is Tabitha. She’s not edible and she won’t hurt you. I just wanted her to be able to meet you,” he laughed

Tabitha shot him a look that reflected how surreal this entire situation felt to her. One of the tigers approached her and she flinched, preparing for the worst. These were wild animals and Matt was obviously bat shit crazy. She couldn’t pick a sane man to get intimate with to save her life apparently. Her head shot back toward the tiger as it sniffed her fingers and then lightly nuzzled her hand, allowing her to pet it.

“Go ahead. She wants you to stroke her fur. Big cats like this love that as much as the regular household kind, but they rarely have enough trust in someone to allow it. They are accepting you as someone important to me and they won’t hurt you. Plus, you have a cat at home so they know you like felines.”

“How do you know I have a cat at home?” she asked, trying to remember if she had forgotten mentioning it at some point.

“I know a lot of things and so do they. They can’t stay long, so enjoy your time with them while you can.”

It all seemed too weird to believe, but she found herself petting a tiger as several more approached, letting both her and Matt scratch their ears and stroke their fur. It was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced, excluding the way Matt had made her melt earlier in the night. Suddenly, one of the tigers’ heads snapped around, seeming to hear something in the distance. Mewing toward the others, it turned and trotted away, disappearing into the darkness. The others quickly followed.

“That was insane,” Tabitha said, finally letting go of the breath she felt like she had been holding since waking up with a hand over her mouth.

“They’re just big kittens at the end of the day,” Matt said with a shrug.

“Were you talking to them out here?”

“Sure. Why not?” He shrugged, pulling her toward him into a hug.

“And they listened to you?” she asked.

“Of course they listened to me. I have a way with these animals. They can be reasoned with as long as you know how to approach them,” he said.

“And exactly how is that? Naked and unafraid?” she joked.

“Something like that. Mutual respect. That’s all it is, really.”

“Riiiiight,” she mocked.

“No, really. That’s all there is to it. You saw for yourself how well it worked. They were perfectly docile when you came out here. I just needed to get them settled down is all. Now, they’re off to find food elsewhere and they won’t bother us again, at least not that bunch.”

“Let’s hope another bunch doesn’t turn up,” she moaned.

“The sun will be fully up soon. We need to get dressed and head out so we can get the jeep repaired and head downstream. We’ll make up some time on the trip so that we make our rendezvous point with the rangers as scheduled.”

“Sounds good to me. I hope that tomorrow night we’ll be sleeping in a shelter and not out in the middle of the plains,” she said. She still had questions about what had happened, but she chose to just keep moving forward for now.

“Doesn’t matter where you sleep as long as you are with me. I’ll never let anything harm you,” he told her.

Tabitha couldn’t help but note how permanent that sounded. There was no addition of “while you’re here” or “before the trip is done” at the end. It sounded more long term to her. She immediately chastised herself for allowing such nonsense to enter her head. This was a fling, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less. To get attached to someone like Matt Helford would surely do her far more damage than she was willing to suffer so soon after the previous catastrophe.

“I hope not, but I would still prefer some solid walls between the wild animals and my person, even if you can talk to them.”

“Well, only the tigers. I used different tactics with other animals,” he said with a smile.

“I’m afraid to ask,” she said.

“You should be. Maybe someday I will tell you, but for now, we’ll just keep it a secret. Now, let’s get dressed and get going,” he told her, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips before ducking into the tent to retrieve his clothes.

As he stepped inside, Tabitha couldn’t help but note the smooth appearance of his well-muscled back. She knew she had scratched him last night during the heat of the moment, long scratches that should have been in several places down his back. Looking at it now, they weren’t there. Had she perhaps just imagined that she’d scratched him that hard? She could have sworn she had drawn blood, but there were no signs of damage on his skin.

Looking down, she examined her fingernails. There it was, the telltale sign that she wasn’t just confused about it. Blood lay beneath her nails, his blood. So, where were the scratches? Standing there considering this, she was jarred from her thoughts by his voice from inside the tent.

“You getting dressed, princess? Or are you waiting on a squire to appear with your glass slippers,” he teased.

“Very funny,” she told him, dismissing her thoughts for the moment.

Tabitha followed behind him, getting dressed and helping to pack things back into the jeep before they headed out to the shed they’d gotten it from. It took almost an hour in the terrain they were navigating, but they finally arrived. Matt busied himself looking for what they would need while she stood outside and snapped some photos of the beautiful world that surrounded them.

“By the way, how did you know I have a cat? I don’t remember mentioning it to you,” she said, still wondering how he could know such a thing.

“You had cat hair on some of your things,” he said. “Usually, only people who have cats don’t notice the way cat hair gets on things.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling embarrassed about how often people must notice that when she no longer did.

“Don’t be embarrassed. People are way too uptight about such things. If you look closely, you’ll find a bit of cat hair on me too.”

“You have a cat too?”

“Not like you do, but I spent plenty of time surrounded in cat hair, trust me,” he said as they began their hike back to the jeep with a bag of supplies in tow.

“Alright, looks like we’re in business,” Matt told her as the engine fired up. It had taken a walk to the shed and back, plus another hour of tinkering, but he had gotten the vehicle going so they could continue their journey.

Besides the encounter with the tigers, he’d been all business this morning, without a word regarding the events the previous night. Tabitha didn’t bring it up and neither did he, but whether it was on purpose to avoid the subject or just a matter of being overcome by events, she couldn’t be certain. For her part, perhaps it was a mix of both. Was there really even anything to discuss? It was just a tryst, nothing more and no matter what sort of way her body reacted to his touch, that didn’t make it anything more than just physical between them.

“I guess we should get going then,” she said in reply, realizing she had been lost in thought and had said nothing.

“You guess correctly,” he replied. “We’ve a bit of lost time to make up for.”

Tabitha gave up taking snapshots of the surrounding area as she had been doing while he worked on the jeep and climbed into the vehicle beside him. He immediately headed off along the edge of the forest, following the flow of the river toward their next destination. Neither of them spoke for a while. She engrossed herself in snapping photos of passing wildlife and exotic looking flowers while he focused on the path ahead of them.

“We should be at the sanctuary in another hour. I’m taking more of a shortcut toward it now that we don’t need to bed down in the shelter for the night,” he told her, reaching for her hand.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she replied with a smile, squeezing his hand.

“We’ll spend some time there and then journey down to meet the rangers on the boat. They’ll take us a bit further down river,” he told her.

“That doesn’t seem to give us very much time,” she observed, having hoped they would be able to spend most of the day there.

“We’re shortening it a bit so we can make up for the lost time, but the sanctuary is quite massive. It’s only a matter of not spending as much time on this end of it. The rangers will take us through the narrow part of the river that separates the two halves and then we’ll have the rest of the day to explore the lower region. I think you’ll find what you’re after before the day is out,” he told her.

“I’ll just have to trust you on that.”

“Yes, you will have to do just that.”

“Tell me about the tigers earlier this morning,” she said suddenly, unable to keep her questions to herself any longer.

He glanced over at her before returning his gaze to their path. “Tell you what about them?”

“I heard you talking to them as if they could understand you and they seem to have responded. How did you learn to do that?”

“It isn’t something I learned really. It just seems to be natural. It was as much a surprise to me as anyone when I realized I had such a power over regular tigers.”

“Regular tigers? Are there other kinds?”

“Of course. There are many kinds and all of them respond to me the same way.”

“What about other animals? Dogs? Hyenas? Lemurs?”

“No. I have an instinct about animals. I guess I am a bit of one myself, but I don’t possess the bond with them that I do with tigers.”

“It seems very unusual.”

“You’ve no idea,” he laughed. “It’s most of the reason I chose to do this line of work.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Working as a guide? Or talking to tigers?”

“Both, I suppose.”

He paused for a moment, as if deciding how much to tell her or if he should be sharing this at all. “I learned about the tiger thing when I was still a teen, but I joined the military at a very young age and spent a bit of time on various overseas assignments. After I left the forces, I decided to spend some time here, exploring. I honed my skills and eventually began taking folks on tours.”

“And the sanctuary? How are you affiliated with that?”

“I’m just an overseer, like many of the other volunteers that do what they can to protect the tigers there. You’d be shocked how many of these beautiful animals are killed each year for their fur or because some whacko wants to drink tiger’s blood as part of some hunting or war ritual. People eat their meat and use parts of them to make folk medicine. Tibetans like to wear their fur as dresses as a status symbol.”

“Can’t those people be arrested?”

He shook his head. “Not unless they’re the ones actually doing the poaching and get caught in the act by the right people. Unfortunately, some of the people entrusted with protecting the tigers are in on it and work with the poachers to acquire them and get them out of the sanctuary undetected. They’re very good at what they do, very covert, and they have a lot of contacts. Ruthless men with ruthless friends.”

“How can they possibly get by with that?” she asked, frowning.

“There are always corrupt people who only speak the language of cash. They don’t really care about the tigers at all, only what they can get out of the situation.”

“But not you. You do what you can to legitimately protect the tigers.”

“Always,” he said with a smile that seemed to be hiding something he wasn’t saying, but she wasn’t about to pry further.

“I admire that about you.”

“I can live with that. I have many less admirable qualities, so perhaps it makes up for a few of them.”

“Like what?”

“Oh no.” He laughed, shaking his head. “If you don’t know what my faults are, I’m not going to lay them out for you. That’s just insanity.”

“I’ve never thought about it that way. It’s like saying that you don’t like your nose and then that is suddenly all another person notices about you.”

“Are you saying I have an unattractive nose?” he asked with a coy smile.

She smiled at him, lightly hitting his arm. “I’m not saying you have an unattractive anything. I’m just making a relevant point, I think.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, of some sort,” he said with a laugh.

“It was a compliment…of some sort.”

“I don’t think you have an unattractive anything either,” he told her with a wink.

“I’m certainly glad that we got that settled,” she said with a laugh.

“Same here. Just in time too, we’re here, princess.”

Tabitha looked around. They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere still, but she could see the same style shed built into a grove of trees so as not to be invasive. Matt parked inside and they began to gather their gear for the trek down to the water where the rangers would pick them up to carry them through the narrow passages to the lower half of the sanctuary. It was insanely hot out as they traveled the hour it took to get from the shed to the water.

“You look damn sexy when you perspire,” he whispered against her ear as they stood atop an incline watching for the rangers to arrive.

“I doubt that I smell very sexy,” she replied.

“Well, I wasn’t going to mention that part,” he laughed.

“Jackass,” she joked playfully, mock hitting him on the shoulder with her fist.

“Ah, now you are getting to know the real me. If it makes you feel better, there’s a shower you can use when we get to the lower end. We’ll spend some time getting to know the tigers that roam, as well as the other animals once we get there and then I’ll take you over to it before we bed down for the night. If you’re nice to me, I might even share it with you and let you wash my back.”

“How generous of you,” she said sarcastically, all while smiling broadly.

“I do try to do what I can to extend a bit of kindness,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her. They quickly became lost in one another, breaking apart only when they heard the approach of the boat along the water.

“I think our chariot is arriving,” she said.

“Good thing. A few more minutes and they would have had to pull you off of me. I must tell them how you ravaged me last night instead of letting me get any sleep.” He winked at her.

“I’m sure they’ll be all broken up about it on your behalf.”

“I’ve no doubt. We men have to stick together when it comes to you wild women.”

Tabitha laughed as the boat made an appearance from beyond the branches that overhung the water and the rangers called out to them. Matt walked down to the water to greet them, helping them pull the boat up onto the bank while looking all around. She could only assume there was still very much a danger of crocodiles and other animals that one wouldn’t want to encounter on their own turf. A moment later, he returned, helping her with their packs.

“Watch your step. It’s further down once you step into the boat than you’d think,” he warned her as he stepped inside and took her pack before offering her a helping hand inside.

The ride from where they joined the rangers to the lower end of the sanctuary was a bit rough. Though the water was shallow and fairly quiet, the trees that hung over from either side brushed against the boat and its passengers in some of the narrower sections. Everyone was forced to take on a defensive posture to ensure that they weren’t struck by any of them with any force. Of course, she was more concerned with contracting some deadly virus from the insects that seemed to swarm constantly.

“Here’s some more repellent,” Matt told her, handing her the same small container as yesterday.

“You’re a mind reader,” she laughed, accepting it and beginning to rub it on with one hand while combatting flying branches with the other.

“More like body language reader. You were practically having a spasm trying to keep them off you in between fighting branches. It won’t be much longer and we’ll be out in the open a bit more. We’ll have a bite to eat once we clear these trees and won’t be risking having our food snatched from our hands by tree dwellers.”

“Sounds good. I hadn’t even thought about food, but now that you mention it, I’m starving.”

“I know. The dried provisions are okay to keep you going, but they just don’t do much to really satisfy hunger,” he replied.

“I’ll have to agree with that. There’s only so long you can eat dried fruit, nuts, and jerky before you want something more substantial.”

On cue, one of the rangers began to unpack a cooler sitting to one side of the boat. They had brought more sandwiches but also fresh vegetables and fruit. It still wasn’t the same as having a real meal, but it was an improvement. Once they had cleared the trees, the ranger passed the containers of food back to them, along with bottles of water and bars of dark chocolate.

“Eat up. We only have about twenty minutes before we go through another narrow passage. After that, we’ll be only a short distance from our stop.”

Tabitha nodded, already biting into her sandwich. Though it wasn’t quite the roast chicken she’d prefer having right now, it was delicious after having only snacked on the go since leaving the boat yesterday. Matt seemed to feel the same way, wolfing down two sandwiches in quick succession before working his way into the fruit and vegetables.

By the time they were done, the boat was already making its way back into another tree line. The sides scraped against the banks and had to be pushed through with paddles in a few instances. Tabitha found herself terrified that they would become stuck and have to walk out into the banks around them where crocodiles, snakes, and spiders seemed pretty prevalent. She was relieved when they once again moved out into a wider segment of water.

“We’re here,” Matt told her, pointing toward a small dock and an opening just above it between the trees.

The rangers left them on the banks to make their way to the sanctuary. They would be here for two days, walking into the central portion of the sanctuary where they would shower and bed down for the night and trek then further across to where the river looped back around the other side. Matt had told her it would be late when they arrived at their final destination and the rangers wouldn’t come out at that hour along the river, so they would have to bed down for the night and be picked up first thing the following morning.

“Ready, princess?” he asked playfully as they hauled their packs up from the boat and said goodbye to their escorts.

“I thought I’d proved myself worthy of not being called that anymore,” she replied, feigning hurt feelings.

“Maybe, but I think I just like calling you that now.”

“Of course you do.” She laughed, following him up the embankment and through the row of trees that flanked it.

“Get your camera out. You’re going to want to take lots of photos in this area. It’s very heavily populated with all kinds of animals, not just tigers.”

The hours that followed seemed quite magical. Though they had encountered a great deal of wildlife along the river and on their journey thus far, it was merely the tip of the iceberg. This place was crawling with everything from the most massive tigers she had ever seen to the playful langur monkeys that seem to follow them, flitting through the trees above their heads. An entire herd of chital bounded past them at one point.

“This is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” she whispered.

“It is a thing of rare beauty that most people never get a chance to see or even consider. The closest they come to creatures like this are pictures on the internet or caged animals in zoos.” His expression darkened and his tone grew deeper. “I find nothing more offensive than seeing a wild animal behind glass or bars. It’s an affront to nature.”

“People want to understand them, to study them,” she replied, turning to him.

“Then they should do so on the animals’ terms. They should come here and let the animals guide them, not condemn them to a life of imprisonment when they’ve committed no crimes.”

“I would have to agree, but isn’t it sometimes for the animal’s own good? If they’re hurt or sick, don’t they need to be put into a place like that for their own safety while they heal?”

“There is a grand circle of life with all animals, including humans. If they are injured, if they are sick, they can still be treated in the wild to help them, but if they can’t make it, they should be allowed to become a part of the natural order of things, not hauled off to be studied and displayed. Even a sick animal would rather die in its homeland than in some hole designed to look like home when it’s nothing more than a jail cell.”

“So, if you were an animal and you were hurt, you’d rather take your chances out here with other animals that will prey on your weakness?”

He nodded his head firmly. “Absolutely. Besides, isn’t that what the people who take them off to places like that under the guise of ‘helping’ them are doing? Taking advantage of their weakness?”

“I don’t think all of them are. I don’t think many of them see it that way.”

“That’s because they have no concept of how these animals think and feel. They’ll never be in their heads to know what that feels like to one of them. Even something as mighty as a tiger experiences fear and loneliness.”

She frowned at him, certain know that there was something she wasn’t understanding. “You speak as if you know this firsthand.”

Matt studied her face for a few moments before speaking again. When he did, his voice was full of emotion. Somehow, he was deeply touched by the plight of tigers in this place and any other place. It showed in his carefully chosen words.

“A tiger would rather be put down by another animal than caged. It’s just that simple,” he said with deep conviction.

“I suppose I’ll have to take your word on that,” she replied. She looked hard at his face, about to probe the issue further, when a band of tigers appeared in the trees in front of them. One began walking toward them menacingly and she found herself just as terrified as she had been last night.

“Don’t move,” Matt told her, holding his hand out and pushing her slowly behind him protectively.

The tiger continued to approach, making his way steadily toward them. He was more than halfway across the divide when the others began to run, not in their direction, but away from something they heard in the distance. The tiger that had been on his way to see them suddenly stopped, ears pricked to listen, just as a shot rang out through the woods and men’s voices could be heard yelling.

“Poachers,” Matt said, pushing her further behind him as he moved them behind a tree, out of sight.

“How do you know?” she asked.

“The gunshots. No one is allowed to hunt here. The only people even allowed to have guns are the rangers and they would only be shooting at poachers. If that were the case, the shots would be from much less powerful guns than what we just heard.”

“What do we do?” she whispered, her voice hardly audible.

Matt held his fingers up to his lips and continued watching around the edge of the tree for the men to show themselves. Another shot rang out and the tiger that had been standing in front of them dropped to the ground just as he was attempting to run away. Tabitha gasped loudly before she could stop herself and then bit her lip to quiet herself.

“I got him! He’s a big bastard too!” one of the man yelled through the trees.

“Hurry, go after the others. We’ve got a narrow window to get these things off their feet and out of here or I’m going to have to pay a lot more for people to look the other way,” another yelled.

Though he said nothing, Tabitha felt Matt’s entire body tense with what she was certain was anger. She was quite sure that if his face weren’t currently turned away from her, she would see it twisted with a rage that she could not fully understand. The way he touched somewhere in her with his passion for the tigers was inexplicable.

They were so engrossed in watching the events unfold in front of them that they never heard the footsteps approaching from another direction until it was too late. Shots rang out from the direction the men had gone, masking the final steps that might have given them some warning.

“What do we have here?” a man said from behind them.

They both whirled around to find themselves looking at not one, but three men that had apparently been tracking the tigers from a different direction and come up behind them. One of them poked his gun at them, indicating for them to move forward as he yelled for the others.

“Hey, I got a couple of peeping toms over here.”

“Look, you’d be much better off taking your friends and marching right back to wherever you came from without harming any more of these animals. This is a sanctuary and poaching tigers is illegal. You’ll not want to pay the price for your actions today,” Matt warned him.

“Oh? Is that right? Well, I think that nosey people get what they deserve. You are certainly in no position to threaten me or anyone else. You might be a big son of a bitch, but you appear to be without a weapon other than that utility knife on your belt,” the man said, nodding toward one of the others, who stepped forward and grabbed it from its sheath.

“Now, get a move on, both of you,” he continued, nudging them forward with the barrel of his gun.

Tabitha was terrified. Matt was a big guy and she was quite sure he was capable of holding his own in a fight, but as the man had already noted, neither of them was armed and she had seen at least five men ahead chasing after the tigers, in addition to the three that were here with them. The odds were not in their favor. She just might pay a price for this trip that she hadn’t anticipated.

“Alright, buddy. We’ll go with you. Just keep a cool head,” Matt told him, holding his hands up and being sure to keep his body between the man and Tabitha.

“Smart man,” the guy growled, his gun still pointed at them.

She and Matt walked ahead of them. Without turning his head toward here, Matt spoke in a very low voice, so low that the men behind them weren’t close enough to hear it, but she was.

“When I say ‘get down,’ you need to drop face first onto the ground and crawl behind the nearest tree. Don’t hesitate.”

“Okay,” she managed in a trembling voice.

“I won’t let you get hurt. I promise,” he told her.

Tabitha found no comfort in his words. No matter what he imagined himself capable of, he was still outnumbered and they had guns, big guns. Even if he managed to subdue one of them, the others would have plenty of time to retaliate against him … and her. There was no scenario in which she could imagine them getting out of this unharmed.

The men marched them through the woods until they caught up with the other men. Matt was obviously seething as he looked upon the carcasses of three dead tigers laying on the ground. She could tell that he wanted to hurt them and that frightened her just as much as anything else.

“What the hell, Terry?” one of the men said as they approached.

“I was trying to tell you back there, but you were already off after the cats. I found these two hiding behind a tree watching us.”

“Well, looks like the day is going to end badly for them then isn’t it?” the man replied.

“What do you want me to do with them?”

“Take them with us. We’ll deal with them when we get back to base. I can’t afford to have human blood on my hands out here.”

Tabitha felt something like a lump of doom rising up in the back of her throat. They weren’t going to kill them, at least not out here where they might be faced with disposing of them or where they might be found. However, when they got them somewhere more secure, that seemed to be exactly what they planned to do and who knew what they would do prior to that. She noted one of the men leering at her and felt sick to her stomach at what he might be thinking.

“We could tie them up and leave them for the animals,” another one offered.

“Rope is usually a good sign that there’s something afoot other than an animal attack,” the one who seemed to be calling the shots retorted with a scowl.

“What if we shoot them and drop them into the river for the crocs to deal with,” the man suggested as an alternative.

“Jesus, Carl. No. We’ll take them back to camp and deal with them there. Tie their hands and make damned sure they don’t get away.”

Behind them, one of the men snatched their packs off their shoulders and tossed them forward to one of the others to carry. He protested loudly.

“Why can’t they carry their own fucking packs?”

“Because we don’t know what’s in them and they won’t be able to balance them,” he replied.

“Then you fucking carry their shit or just leave it,” he said.

“No. It might be useful. We’ll go through it back at base and then get rid of it. We don’t want to leave any signs of them here anyway.”

“This is bullshit,” the guy replied.

“Both of you just shut the fuck up and get them secured. We’re losing daylight and you’re acting like a couple of children,” the man in charge barked at them angrily.

The first man pulled some rope from his pack and quickly bound both of their hands, then tied the ropes around their wrists together with a longer rope. The others made quick work of getting the tigers up and onto makeshift gurney-like contraptions to carry them through the woods. They began making their way with six of the men tied up transporting the tigers, the man who seemed to be in charge walking up front with some of their extra equipment and one man leading them along behind the others using the length of rope as a sort of lead.

“Tabitha, I’m sorry for what you are about to see. I would have liked to discuss it with you first, but that option is off the table,” Matt said to her in a low voice.

“What are you saying? Shut up. No talking!” the man leading them barked without turning around.

“What’s going on back there?” the man in front was saying, stopping to let the others pass and walking back toward them.

“Nothing. Telling his little girlfriend it will be okay, I guess. Stupid fucker,” the man leading them said.

“Just keep an eye on them. We can’t afford for them to get away,” the man said, walking back ahead and continuing to lead the group through the trees.

Tabitha had no idea what Matt was trying to tell her. Everything seemed gray and distorted in her mind as she still tried to formulate some idea as to how they could get out of this. As they neared a clearing in the trees, Tabitha could see a large vehicle sitting there. She assumed it was theirs and that was how they intended to get out of here. They must have come in from the south end if they were able to drive up like that. They were just about to clear the woods and she was losing hope of this ending well.

“Get down,” Matt told her. His voice was barely audible and she looked at him with a confused expression. They were tied together. If she dropped, he would come down with her, but as she looked at him, her confusion turned to a mixture of disbelief and fear. He was changing, his face distorting, his body bending awkwardly as he dropped to all fours, tearing the ropes away and suddenly lunging at the man that held them.

The man screamed as Tabitha shook off her state of shock and hit the ground, crawling behind a large tree and holding onto it for dear life. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she finished pulling the now loosened ropes free of her wrists. The sounds she was hearing from the other side of the tree were terrifying, much like those she had heard before when Matt had shown her the tigers feeding on a wild boar. It was horrifying and it was even more so with the knowledge that the tiger attacking the men was, somehow, Matt.

It felt like her heart might stop completely as a shot rang out, then another. She heard a howl of pain that seemed to be coming from the tiger and then more screams, the sounds of ripping flesh and a roar that shook the trees around her. Then, everything was silent. She lay on the ground, afraid to move, even to look up. She heard footsteps approaching and slowly raised her head to see who was coming to bring the end of life for her.

The tiger stood over her. It was impossibly large up close. Blood coated its face and one side. At first, she thought it was all that of the men, but then the tiger faltered, falling to the ground beside her. She was afraid to touch it. Was it really Matt? Was he still in there somewhere? Reaching out, she brought her hand to its fur, feeling the hole the bullet had made when it had hit. Her stomach lurched as she struggled to keep her wits about her.

Afraid to look around the tree, she bent over the tiger and put her head on it. She could feel the rise and fall of its chest as it struggled for breath. Despite how unreal this seemed, she understood that somehow, someway, this was Matt and not just some ordinary tiger, as he had called them.

“Oh, Jesus. Don’t die, Matt. Don’t die on me,” she pled with the beast.

Getting up from the ground, she looked around the tree. The men were scattered all across the forest floor, their bodies twisted at odd angles, blood everywhere. Spotting the packs they had taken from them when they tied them up, she tried not to look at the carnage, grabbing hers and running back to the tiger behind the tree. Its eyes were closed and it seemed to gasp for air. She was still having trouble reconciling that it was Matt when it was in this form, but she knew that it was. No matter how crazy it might seem. She had watched him turn into this.

“Just hang on, Matt. Listen to my voice. Stay with me. Please stay with me,” she told him, pulling a cotton t-shirt from her bag and pushing it against the bleeding wound. What was she going to do? There was no way to call for help out here. Her best bet was to walk out of here and get some help, but what did she do with him? If she left him here with darkness approaching, there was a good chance he would become a part of the circle of life he had told her about earlier.

“Okay, Tabitha. Think. Just think,” she said aloud, coaxing herself through this.

It came to her in a flash. The vehicle! In the aftermath of the carnage that had unfolded, she had momentarily forgotten about seeing it parked just beyond the tree line in a clearing. It wasn’t far away. If she could get him there, then maybe she could find her way out of here to someplace where he could get help. She dug around in her bag for something to hold the makeshift bandage in place, ripping apart another shirt and stretching it around the tiger’s massive girth to hold it in place.

“I’m not leaving you. I’ll be back very soon. Don’t die, okay? Just don’t fucking die on me,” she said as tears fell down her face.

Running to the vehicle, she wasn’t surprised to find it was locked. She fished around for a hidden key and found none. Her stomach lurched again as she realized what she was going to have to do. She made her way back into the woods and found the badly shredded body of the man that had seemed to be in charge. Digging her hands down in his pants pocket, she pulled free a set of keys. Stuffing them down in her own pocket, she struggled to pull one of the tigers off its gurney.

“I’m sorry this happened to you,” she told it, suddenly feeling much more in tune to these animals than ever.

Pulling the gurney toward where Matt lay, she found that her heart was racing wildly. Though she would ordinarily be concerned with how she was going to get out here, all she could really think about right now was taking care of him. She needed to get him out of here quickly. There were maps in Matt’s bag she could follow. She’d have to grab it on her way back past the horrible scene on the other side of the trees.

“Okay. Let’s get you out of here,” she said as she rounded the tree where she had hidden, but there was no longer a tiger there. Instead, she was surprised to see Matt sitting against the tree. He was drenched in sweat and pale from the loss of blood, but he seemed to be managing to hold the t-shirt up to his side to staunch the flow of blood.

“Tabitha,” he said weakly.

“Matt, my God. You turned into a tiger,” was all she could manage to say.

He chuckled and flashed a feeble smile at her. Tabitha watched as he began to try to stand, faltering for a moment and then grabbing hold of the tree to pull himself up.

“Matt, you’ve been shot. Let me help you. We’ve got to get you to a doctor,” she told him.

“No. No doctor. I’ll be fine,” he said as he held onto the tree to steady himself.

“You’ve been shot, for God’s sake! You won’t just be fine,” she said, worried sick at how he looked and afraid that she might not be able to get him out of here before he bled out.

“Trust me. I will be. I just need to rest. We should put some distance between us and this mess I’ve made so no one asks questions. We need to head down to the ranger station that’s just south of here and then bed down for the night.”

“Can you walk? Their vehicle is just beyond the trees. We can use it to get somewhere safe,” she said.

“Spectacular.” He grimaced, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and letting her help him out of the woods. They paused briefly to grab his pack on the way past the men. She noted that he avoided looking at them as much as she did. It seemed to take forever just to get from where they had been to the door of the SUV.

“Tell me which way to go,” she told him once they had him settled into the passenger seat and she had started the vehicle.

“Just follow the tree line this way,” he said, pointed toward the direction they had been headed before they had encountered the men.

“How will I know when we get to where we need to be?” she said. “You might pass out.”

“I won’t, but if it makes you feel better, you’ll know because you’ll see the buildings that make up the ranger station. I don’t recommend driving far enough for them to see this vehicle though. We’ll need to dump it out of sight and walk in as if nothing happened.”

“Got it,” she told him, wondering how he was going to make it when he’d had to hold onto trees just to get out of the wooded area they’d been in.

Tabitha put the SUV into gear and headed in the direction he had told her. Though he didn’t pass out, she wasn’t sure he was entirely still with her either. His skin was beaded with perspiration and his face twisted into a grimace. She became alarmed as he suddenly reached for his side and dug his fingers into it.

“What are you doing? Are you okay?” she screeched, wondering if he was having some sort of hallucination and injuring himself further or what.

Matt didn’t respond. Instead his body twisted in the seat as he fished around. A growl seemed to emanate from deep within him and she wondered if he was going to turn again. What was she going to do if he morphed into a giant, injured tiger in the front seat of the vehicle she was driving? She was about to stop dead in their tracks, and was braking to slow down when he suddenly pulled bloody hands free and held up a small metal object for her to see.

“Got it,” he groaned, obviously in pain as he gasped between the words.

Tabitha stopped the vehicle and looked at him in shock. Had he really just dug a bullet out of his side with his bare hands? What was she dealing with here? First he turned into a tiger and killed eight men and now he was performing makeshift surgery on himself with his own fingers. What exactly was Matt Helford? Was he human? Was he an animal? Was he something else entirely?

“Did you really just dig a bullet out of your side?” she said.

“Yeah. How cool is that?” he said with a grimaced smile.

Tabitha stared at him, not knowing what to say. He was smeared with blood, looking like some sort of macabre antihero from a horror movie at the local cinema. Yet, she could still feel everything for him she had felt in the early hours of morning when he had held her and made love to her. This was the man she had given herself to last night. Now, her only question was whether that had been a mistake.

“We need to get going, Tabitha. Can’t afford to lose time. It’ll be dark soon and tigers might eat us,” he said, still smiling at her.

“Unbelievable,” was all she managed before putting the SUV back in gear and continuing wordlessly on toward their destination.

“Stop here,” he told her after a while.

Tabitha was concerned with how he was going to walk into the camp with his injury and looking like he’s just committed a mass murder, which in a sense, he had. Still, she did as he said and pulled the SUV into a break in the forest beside them. Grabbing their packs that she had retrieved on their way out of the woods earlier, she walked around to help him out of his side, only to find him opening the door and stepping out on his own.

“Let me look at this wound really quick before we head out on foot,” she told him, not sure what she could do about it, but wanting to see how bad it was now that some of the bleeding had been perhaps stifled.

Matt looked at her thoughtfully as she pulled her flashlight from the carabiner that held it to her pack and shined it on his side in the interior of the dimly lit forest. To her surprise, there was nothing but a jagged pockmarked area where there had been a hole. It was red and angry looking, but it was already closed up.

“I don’t understand. How is that possible?” she asked, a brief flash of the missing scratches on his back reappearing in her mind.

“I’ll explain a lot to you when we get settled, but there’s no time right now. That’s why I had to get the bullet out when I did. I didn’t want to have to open the wound back up to do it,” he told her.

“Right,” she said, completely baffled by all that was happening today. “Well, let’s get going then, tiger.”

“Yes. Let’s do that, princess,” he said with a smile, leaning down to kiss her softly on the cheek before they began walking toward the ranger’s area where they could settle in for the night. Along the way, he fished a clean shirt and some sanitary wipes from his bag and cleaned up the best he could so as not to alarm anyone that might be at the station. Dark was beginning to fall as they stepped out of the forest and into a clearing.

“It’s all dark,” she said, noting the absence of any lights.

“Yes. This isn’t the main station. They’ve probably all gone home for the evening. Not every station is manned twenty-four hours a day. We can still use the showers and hole up in one of the shelters. In the morning, someone will be here and I’ll get them to flag the rangers to delay their pickup for a day so that we can finish what you came here to do. Plus, I have some other things to deal with.”

“I’m pretty sure that I can manage with what I have under the circumstances.”

“Nonsense. You came here for the full tour and the full tour is what you will get. In a few days, they’ll find the bodies of the men with the tigers, but we’ll be long gone by then. In the meantime, I intend to finish getting you what you came here for.”

“Will they come looking for us?” she asked, not having considered that more men might come to retaliate for what had happened back there.

“Looking for who? Those men killed three tigers that will be found lying among their bodies. It is apparent that another tiger didn’t appreciate it and repaid them for their actions. Anyone who comes to look for their killer will be looking for a wounded or at least bloody tiger. They won’t be finding one.”

“But, your wound,” she said. “You should rest rather than worrying about my tour.”

Matt pulled up his shirt to show her his side. To her amazement, there wasn’t even so much as a hint of a scar where he had been shot. Even the puckered red splotch that had been there before was completely gone.

“Yeah, I know. We have a lot to discuss. Let’s get cleaned up, find something to eat and then we’ll discuss who or—more to the point, I guess—what I am.”

“Yes, I think that is definitely in order.”

‘I know,” he said thoughtfully, taking her hand and leading her to a small block building that was open on one side.

Inside was an outdoor shower. Dropping their bags outside the entrance, they stripped down and stepped inside. Tabitha felt a bit exposed out in the open in the nude, but she supposed they were alone out here and so it didn’t matter. The water was only tepid, but it felt nice to wash off some of the grime she had collected since they’d embarked on their little adventure into the wild.

“I wish the water were hotter. I am so sore from walking and being dragged around,” she groaned.

“Here, let me help you with that,” he told her, rubbing her shoulders with his hands.

“No. You don’t have to. I know you have been through worse than I have today. I’ll be fine,” she replied.

“Nonsense. I’m just fine,” he told her, kissing her neck beneath the flow of the water.

“Mmm,” she moaned, enjoying the way his fingers felt on her wet skin.

She leaned her head forward, his hands massaging her shoulders and her back before roaming softly down her arms. He was pressing against her from behind, and his growing excitement was becoming more and more apparent. She smiled in the near darkness, their shower area lit only by the moon and stars above them in the desolate ranger station. Folding her arms across her breasts, she leaned back against him. His hands slipped around her waist to pull her closer to him as his teeth sank into her neck and then kissed the same spot.

Slowly, he pulled away from her, turning her around to face him. His lips met hers in a kiss that spiraled throughout her being and sang along every nerve ending, exciting her even more. Reaching behind her, he dug his fingers into her ass, lifting her up to wrap her legs around him. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, sticking to her wet skin. It hung forward, partially covering her face, but not her closed eyes. She was biting her lip in anticipation of his entering her as he took his time exploring her skin and kissing her.

Her nipples rubbed against his chest, the friction driving them to harden. It was different being at this level with him, his height usually creating such a disparity. Opening her eyes, she looked into his and saw that he was watching her as she smiled to herself and partially bit her lip.

“Fuck me,” she said, feeling bold and brazen out here in the middle of nowhere with such an incredible man.

He grinned. “I’d love to.” He moved to push her up against the side wall, bracing her there as he finally entered her. His thumb found its way to her clit, massaging it roughly as he drove into her deeply, his strokes gaining momentum as their cries of passion increased.

Her nails dug into his back, dragging across it as he fucked her wildly. Her legs quivered as she exploded against him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder to stunt the scream that welled up in her throat. She pulled away as he whispered to her.

“Don’t hold it back. I want to hear it,” he said.

Pulling away to look him in the eyes, she watched his face, the way it twisted slightly as he thrust into her, driving into her center heavily each time. His pace quickened as she continued to watch his face and then he was a whirlwind of activity, fucking her harder and faster with each thrust until she let go of a scream that seemed to come from her very center. It seemed to only excite him more. She let go completely as her body bounced up and down the length of his cock as if she were weightless.

“God, it is beautiful to watch you, to hear you lose control,” he breathed, grabbing a handful of hair and kissing her as he plunged into her once again.

“Harder, fuck me harder,” she begged.

Matt was more than happy to accommodate her request, pulling her upward to bite at her breasts as he drove into her fiercely. His mouth trailed upward toward her neck, biting into it harshly as she continued to moan and squeal with utter delight. Their lovemaking was heated, frantic. He drove into her hard, causing her to whine with pleasure. This felt so good, so right. She came again, her juices running down his cock along with the water that flowed across their naked bodies.

“I’m coming. God, I can’t hold back any more,” he groaned.

His fingers dug into her thighs as he sank deep inside her and unleashed all that he had been holding back. The knot of his cock exploded inside of her, filling her before melting away from their fire. A loud moan resounded from his core as he came. Then, he pulled free, sitting her carefully down on the stone floor beneath them.

“I know it’s been a rough day, but I’m glad you’re here with me. I could think of nothing back there with those men but what would happen to you if I didn’t get you away from them. I know that what I did wasn’t pretty to see and maybe it changes how you might have felt for me, but it was the only way I knew to keep you safe.”

“I understand that you did what you felt needed to be done,” she said.

“Those men, they wouldn’t have settled for killing us. They would have hurt you and they would have punished me by making me watch what they did. I could feel their thoughts. I knew what they were planning to do to you, to us. We would have both suffered and then we would have died when they were ready to move on with their next poaching operation.”

“I know. I could see it in the eyes of the one man. I was terrified,” she admitted.

“If nothing else, at least now you understand why you are safe with me. No one will ever hurt you as long as I draw in a breath, Tabitha. I promise you that.”

“I believe you,” she told him, kissing him softly on the lips and stroking the side of his face with her hand.

“Let’s get some sleep,” he told her. He stood, helping her to her feet before taking her hand and leading her outside to pull on some clothes and head for one of the empty shelters.

Clean and settled into the shelter, they sat side by side nibbling on the jerky and dried vegetables in their packs. They shared a bar of chocolate as Matt began to talk about himself and try to give her answers to the questions running rampant in her mind.

“My parents were killed in some mysterious accident and I was sent to an orphanage when I was just a baby. I was fifteen before I realized something was different.  I was angry, always angry with everyone and the nuns at the orphanage were harsh, which didn’t help my attitude at all. Plus, I was big for my age, towering over everyone around me. I was a bit awkward, believe it or not.”

She giggled. “I do find that hard to believe.”

“It’s true. I felt sorry for the smaller boys that would get picked on by the more ruthless kids and I tended to step in to defend them, so I got pegged by the nuns as being a troublemaker and punished for it along with those I put in their place. One day, I had taken on a group of boys that were attempting to beat up a frail little boy who had just arrived and was scared of his own shadow. I fended them off, but that night, they came in the dark and tried to gang up on me.”

“They hurt you.”

“No. Very much the contrary. Something happened. They had me pinned down and were threatening to do some very not nice things to me and then the same to the other boy I had protected to show me how to mind my own business. One of them cut my pajamas off of me and told the others to hold me as he undid his pants. I don’t know what happened after that. I felt something horrible that seemed to be rippling beneath my skin. It felt like my bones cracked and my muscles pulsed with life.”

“You were changing,” she said, feeling the depth of the horror he must have felt in that moment.

“Yes, but I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t see myself. I could only feel this power and rage as I tore free of them and began fighting back. I heard screams coming from them and then from the nuns that came running into the room. I backed away, looking at the dead bodies scattered all over the floor, frightened. A caretaker came in with a gun pointed at me and I ran, jumping out a window. I knew it would be my death, but I was a monster. To my surprise, I landed on my feet.”

“Like a cat.”

“Not like a cat. Just a cat. I caught a glimpse of myself in a nearby window and stood there looking at myself. I was a tiger and not just any tiger, but the most massive one I’d ever seen. I didn’t know what to think about what I had become or what I had done. I heard voices yelling, coming for me and I ran until I was far out in the woods.”

She reached out and held his hand. “They never looked for you?”

“Yes, and they found me, curled up in a naked ball with blood all over me. They took me back to the orphanage, thanking God that they had managed to save me from the horrendous tiger that had taken me into the woods.”

“Didn’t it occur to them that it was odd for a tiger to be roaming the streets of Liverpool?”

“Yes, but they assumed it was escaped from a zoo or a traveling circus. Of course, even if it had, no one would have laid claim to missing one that had committed such a horrible atrocity.”

“I imagine not.”

“I left the orphanage after that. I was frightened to be around people who couldn’t protect themselves from an animal like what I had become. I lied about my age and joined the forces. In the course of my military career, I learned that my abilities came in quite handy, though I was careful not to reveal them to anyone. After a while, I got tired of running from who I was and decided to try to find out what I could about my origins.”

“That sounds like a very lonely life,” she said.

“It has been. I’ve never felt safe with anyone and holding onto such a secret, I’ve only made casual acquaintances.” He looked at her. “That is, until now.”

Tabitha couldn’t help but note how he looked at her as he said the words. Despite the short amount of time they had spent together, she could see that he had feelings for her. In fact, it was shocking, considering how rough their start had been. Then again, could she deny that she didn’t feel the same?

“I guess it was hard for you to hide it from me considering what happened,” she replied.

“I was going to tell you anyway, believe it or not. You’re the first person I’ve ever met that I felt I could tell the truth, other than a very small number of people I’ve managed to locate who are like myself.”

“Then there are more of you? The tigers you were talking to, were they shifters?”

“No. I’ve yet to run into any other shifters here, surprising though that is. I’m able to communicate with the tigers because I am one of them, of sorts. They don’t really understand my words, but they can read my thoughts and my body language. They can smell my inner nature it seems.”

“What about the others, the shifters that you’ve found?”

“I keep in touch here and there, but most are like me, hiding in the shadows and not getting close to anyone.”

“And were they able to help you with your origins?”

“No. It seems they don’t know where they came from either, for the most part. However, I met an old man here that instantly knew what I was. He wasn’t a shifter, but had known them and knew their legacy. He told me that I was chosen and that my children would be born as leaders that would unite the tiger shifters that had grown apart. He said they would usher in a new age when our pack would be reunited to protect one another, as well as our non-shifting tiger brothers and sisters.”

“That seems unlikely given your solitary nature.”

“It’s not so unlikely at all anymore,” he said with a smile, his hand reaching up to touch her cheek.

Tabitha’s skin felt like it was on fire. She had only just met this man and he was talking about having children from the sound of it, children that could shift into tigers at that. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have been put off by things moving so quickly between them. Instead, she felt only a deep desire for him and all he had to offer. Perhaps a different life was what she had needed all along. Hadn’t that been why she had accepted this assignment? A chance to do and be something different?

“What makes you think that I am interested in any of that?” she asked, her voice trembling despite herself.

He looked at her with a serious expression, taking both of her hands in his. “Tell me you aren’t and I’ll walk away and never bother you again, but you should know that you’ll be breaking my heart in a way that I’ve never experienced before.”

“You know that I can’t say I don’t want you. I fear that I have no secrets from you. Do I?”

“No. Not really. I can’t exactly read your mind, but I know what you’re feeling. I can sense happiness, fear, confusion…love.”

Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. “So, you’re telling me that I love you?”

“I’m telling you that I love you. I will wait for you to tell me that you love me when you are ready to admit it.”

“If you weren’t completely right about the fact that I do love you, I would call you cocky.”

“Whew! That could have been embarrassing if I’d been wrong,” he said with a smile.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Well, I have something else I need to tell you. You might want to remain sitting for this one.”

“Oh boy.” She couldn’t imagine what else he could possibly say to her at this point that would be more shocking than what he’d already said. “What? Are you going to tell me that you’re an alien or a god of some sort?”

“Well, I am a god, obviously,” he said with a laugh.

“A legend in your own mind?” she teased.

“Something like that. The truth is that I’m scared all the time. I just hide it better than most.”

“Is that what you needed to tell me? That you’re vulnerable?”

“No. I need to tell you that you’re pregnant,” he said, watching her face as he said the words.

“You are a funny guy,” she said uncertainly.

“I’m not being funny. You’re going to have a baby, well two babies, actually.”

“That’s impossible,” she said.

Her mind raced wildly, she and her ex had been very careful about such things and even though she’d been reckless with Matt, there was no way he could possibly know that she was pregnant so soon after they had had sex. Then again, she reasoned, he talked to tigers, turned into one, and could sense her feelings. Should this really be a surprise? She wondered what he was sensing from the gamut of emotions she was currently feeling.

“Tabitha?” he said gently as she stared at him in shock.

“I won’t have kittens, will I?” The words tumbled helplessly out of her mouth. It was all she could think of in her current state of shock and she still wondered how he could possibly know so soon.

Matt was suddenly lost in a fit of laughter, pulling her close and hugging her against his broad chest for a moment as he tried to regain control of himself between chuckles.

“No, love. You won’t have kittens. I promise you won’t find yourself nursing a litter of tiny fur balls. They’ll be perfectly normal children until they get into their teens and I will prepare them for what will happen to them then. I’ll prepare you for it, as well.”

“Prepare me for it? Will it be that bad?”

“Well, boys will be boys and boys that shift into tigers will be more than a handful, but if they’re brought up to understand what they are and what it will mean to so many that will come to depend on them, it will be tempered with a reason that I did not possess. I would say that I might have been more, accomplished more, had I understood things sooner, but I don’t think that’s how it works. I don’t think I was ever intended to do anything more than meet you and bring the boys that will make the biggest difference into the world.”

“So, they won’t be out killing neighborhood dogs or anything,” she said, still in a state of shock. “Wait, boys? They’re boys?”

“I can’t promise anything about the dogs if they cross them, but yes, both boys.”

“Fantastic,” she said with a slow smile. “I don’t know what else to say. What to ask. This is too much to comprehend, especially after today. What you did to those men was disturbing. I’m sorry to admit that, but it frightened me.”

“I can understand that. Not everyone sees something like that and especially not when it’s at the hands of someone you know. All I can tell you is that it is not something I would have done if I had known any other way. I would have preferred to have taken those men in, to see them tried for their crimes. I would have liked to have questioned them to find out who they were working with, but we were outnumbered and all I could think about was you and what they had done to my brothers who lay on the ground beside them.”

“I know. Like I said, it’s just a hard thing to see. All of this really, it’s just a little hard thing to understand.”

Matt pulled her to him again, holding her tightly for a while as what was happening to her slowly sank in. It was frightening, but she couldn’t say she was unhappy about it. Wasn’t this what she had wanted when she had planned her fateful wedding not so long ago? She had wanted to be with someone who loved her as much as she did him, to have a family, to grow old together. Matt was more than she would have ever anticipated as a potential partner. He was handsome, smart, strong and exotic in a way that no other man could be. There was no doubt that he was the perfect match for her. She finally felt like she was at home, though in a place she would have never expected to find her place.

“Tabitha, this piece is amazing. I didn’t know how you would do with an assignment that was so different from your usual work, but it’s incredible,” Sam told her the following week when she returned home.

“Thanks. I enjoyed it more than I can say,” she replied.

“It shows. You look so much happier and healthier than when you left here. I’m glad of that. You deserve that. So, what would you like to do next?”

“Well, that’s the thing, Sam. I’m here to turn in my resignation, effective immediately.”

He frowned at her, his eyes widening in surprise. “What? Why? Is it about money? I can find a way to bump up your pay if that’s what you need.”

“No. It’s not about money at all. I’ve just found out what I really wanted to be when I grew up and I’d like to pursue that.”

“Should I ask what that is?”

“No. Probably not, but you’ll be seeing my name. I promise you that.”

“Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but what can I do. Keep in touch and if you ever change your mind, you know I will welcome you back with open arms.”

“I appreciate that. Take care, Sam,” she told him, standing to leave.

Tabitha was careful to keep her rapidly rising midsection covered with the sweater she had draped over her arm. She had been alarmed to discover that shifter babies develop at an alarming rate of speed and that she would give birth in roughly three months’ time, which meant she had already started to develop a slight baby bump even though she was barely more than a couple weeks along. She said her goodbyes and cleaned out her desk before returning to her place.

“How’d it go?” Matt asked as she came in the door.

“It was fine. How did your errands go?” she asked.

“Very well, thank you. You ready to get started here?”

“I certainly am.”

“Then, let’s go,” he said, standing to take her hand in his and walk back to the door with her.

Opening the door, she found Janet standing there with a key in her hand, getting ready to insert it into the keyhole.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were back!” Janet told her. “I’ve been taking very good care of Siniy.”

“Yes, you have and she appreciates it very much,” Matt replied from behind Tabitha.

Tabitha smiled and winked at Janet, who looked around her to see Matt and then smiled happily back at her.

“Janet, this is Matt. We’re headed out and will be gone again for a few days, so please continue taking care of her until we get back,” Tabitha told her.

“I will!” Janet said happily. “Do you mind if I stay a while and play with her now?”

“Not at all,” Tabitha told her, letting her in as she and Matt stepped out the door. As an afterthought, she stepped back inside and whispered softly to her. “Do me a favor when you leave. Take that wedding dress with you and do whatever you’d like with it. I won’t be needing it anymore.”

“You got it,” Janet told her with a broad smile, watching them as they stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

They made their way across town to the small chapel where they had made arrangements to be married. It was a simple ceremony with only them, the officiant and the witness he provided for them. It was a far cry from the elaborate wedding she had planned not so long ago and yet, it was more magical than she could have ever imagined.

“Well, Mrs. Helford? Are you ready to begin your new life?” he asked.

“Absolutely, Mr. Helford,” she said with a smile.

The two of them headed to the airport for a quick trip to Hawaii, where they spent several days just basking in the open air and splashing playfully along the beaches on their honeymoon. Tabitha had no regrets or doubts about their whirlwind romance. It felt like she was finally in the right place with the right person and that was worth more than any amount of time spent getting to know the wrong person might be. Matt felt right and that was all that mattered.

“Isn’t this place incredible?” she said, looking out the window of their bungalow later that evening.

“Wherever you are is beautiful,” he said, walking over to kiss her, his arms wrapping around her waist so that his hand was resting on her growing belly.

“How can you possibly be so sweet all the time?” she asked.

“I’m not sweet all the time,” he replied, brushing her hair to one side and kissing her neck.

“Yes, you are.”

“Yeah? How about this? Does this feel like sweetness?” he asked, biting her shoulder.

“Mmmm, no. You’re right. That’s not sweet at all. It’s incredibly harsh.”

“You like it when I’m harsh too.”

“I like a mixture of the two.”

“Yeah? So, you like it when I kiss you and then bite your breasts?”

“I more than like it. It feels like ecstasy to me.”

“Ecstasy, huh? Let’s just see how that sounds,” he said, reaching between her legs and slipping his fingers inside of her.

She moaned as he explored her wet folds, looking down at her with a wicked grin. She noted how his blue-green eyes seemed to get even darker when he was excited. It was a turn on, just like everything else about him. If there had ever been a perfect man, he was certainly that man. Every day she only found that she fell in love with him a bit more. Her thoughts were interrupted by her own passion, a gasp escaping her lips.

“That’s my girl. Let me feel you drip across my fingers,” he said, slipping in and out of her softly with two digits until she was nothing more than weak putty in his hands. It was the effect he always had on her, which was perfectly fine with her.

Stripping her of her clothes, he removed his own before laying her across the bed. Leaning over her, he held her wrists down with his hands, taking his time to kiss his way up one side of her neck and then down the other before letting go of her arms and moving downward to kiss her legs from toe to thigh. She drew in her breath as his lips found their way to her center, lapping softly at her pink folds as she tangled her fingers in his hair.

He took his time with her, touring her body slowly and gently. His kisses were soft and warm as he planted them on her thighs, teasing her clit and pussy as he passed from one leg to the other. Then he focused on her core, dipping his tongue inside of her, sucking at her clit and probing her with his tongue. Her hips arched upward towards him, aching for more of him as he teased her.

“Please, I want you. Make love to me, Matt,” she begged.

“Not yet. I want to make you squirm. I love watching what you let me do to you,” he breathed against her skin.

“I love the way you make me yours over and over, each and every time,” she moaned, barely able to get the words out as he stroked her clit with his thumb.

“You are mine. Just like I am yours,” he told her, stroking her pussy in all the right places until she couldn’t hold back. Her body contorted as her need built up inside her, her legs shaking wildly as she exploded against his tongue. He lapped at her swollen folds, the effects of her pregnancy already showing in subtle ways.

“Please, Matt. I want you so much. Please,” she begged.

Moving upward, Matt came face to face with her, looking deeply into her eyes. His fingers traced across her lips, her own scent floating behind them. It was intoxicating.

“I love you, Tabitha. You are everything in this world I have ever wanted,” he told her.

“I love you too,” she replied, feeling like the luckiest woman alive.

Burying his hands in her hair, he leaned in to kiss her, his mouth hungry against hers. She moaned as he entered her, his cock throbbing heavily against her aching folds. Wrapping her legs around his back, she met each thrust with reckless abandon, pulling him further and further into her with each stroke. Their bodies bounced back and forth against one another in the throes of passion.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he said, driving into her until he couldn’t hold back anymore.

His body convulsed as he exploded inside of her before collapsing atop her, his cock still filling her as their passion faded into peaceful silence.

Later, Tabitha lay in the darkness with her head on Matt’s chest, listening to him breath quietly as he slept. Soon, they would return stateside to finish packing her things and have them shipped to their new home in the heart of India, where they would continue what was now their collective mission. Matt would work to protect the tigers as he always had and she would begin a series of freelance exposés that would show the world just how serious the dangers to both tigers and those who chose to stand by them really were. It was the natural order of things and she had nothing but high hopes for the future of both them, their unborn children, and the tigers.

Epilogue

“Matt, we have to go,” Tabitha said.

“Go where?” he asked, not really looking up from the map he had been studying.

Over the course of the past few months, the two of them had been steadfastly growing closer to exposing the network of rangers, local officials, and poachers that worked in tandem to kill off a great number of tigers.

“To the hospital,” she said.

“They’re coming?” Matt was up like a shot from his chair and by her side in a matter of seconds.

“Yes, tiger, to the hospital,” she replied softly.

“Okay, princess. Let’s go,” he said, scooping her up and carrying her out to the car as if she was an invalid even as she protested.

“You forgot my suitcase,” she said as he jumped behind the wheel.

“Right!” he said excitedly. “Don’t move!”

“Where am I going to go?” She laughed as he ran back into the house and emerged a few moments later with the bag she had packed for her visit to the hospital.

“Okay. Let’s go!” he said enthusiastically.

At 4:10 p.m. that afternoon, two seemingly normal boys were born to Mr. and Mrs. Matt Helford. The history books would not know their names, but they would be legends among a certain segment of the population that knew them to be great leaders. Their parents would be known as pioneers in the push to protect tigers around the world and long after they were gone, their name would be carried throughout forests and along river beds where it was revered as the mark of a friend and savior.

THE END