Jade

A week later, I sat on my deck, repairing my broken body camera harness with carefully placed strips cut to size from the duct tape I always carried with me. I worked under the supervision of my closest neighbors, the troop of black and white colobus monkeys that had taken up stadium seating in the trees around me and seemed to find my actions fascinating. As far as I could tell, I was their newest form of entertainment, Jade Nat Geo, for monkeys.

Between grooming sessions and games, they watched my every move, cawing, squeaking, and clicking, as if commentating on my clumsy attempts. I might have found them fascinating subjects for a segment as well, only I wasn’t in the mood for a shoot. I dropped the roll on the table. If only I could patch my pride and dignity with a strip of duct tape.

I hadn’t seen Matthias for a week. A whole freaking week. Seven days had passed and not a word from him. Sure, I’d heard he’d gone after Kumbuyo, a hunt that probably kept him seriously busy, but that was no excuse. I was sure he was avoiding me on purpose, to teach me a lesson, to drive me insane. I added “vindictive” and “infuriating” to the long list of character deficiencies I’d compiled for him.

But could I really blame him, after the fiasco at the orphanage?

I’d acted like a bitch in heat, like a young, pliable fool, dying for attention. I blamed a year of self-imposed celibacy for my extreme reaction. I also blamed the over-reaction on the sexual oven that smoldered at the center of my being, the exhausting, irrepressible trait I associated with flawed DNA. True, my sexual fire had a tendency to flare and disrupt my life, but what I’d felt at the schoolhouse? That had the makings of a life-altering cataclysm.

I squeezed my legs together, took a deep breath, and tried to calm the need tormenting me. I’d dreamed about Matthias every night this week. Every morning, I woke up with my panties drenched and hornier than the night before in an escalation that was driving me insane. Worst part? Even if I tried to take care of the problem myself, it didn’t seem to make any difference.

It served me right. For letting my guard down. I had to stop thinking about him in a sexual way. Yeah, I could fix this. I just had to stay mad at the jerk. Stick to plan A: get my pictures, file my reports, and get the hell out of this place. Compliance didn’t come naturally to me, but neither did defeat. I was going to complete my assignment and soon.

As if feeding on my sexual energy, the monkeys around me began to click, caw, and howl. The big male, an impressive thirty-pounder with a gray face and intelligent eyes, mounted a female right there on the railing, not five feet away from me.

“Really?” I puffed. “Show offs.”

I set the harness aside, lifted up my camera, and shot a few stills of the encounter. Monkey porn. Hannah would find a market for it. At least someone was getting laid around here.

The rumble of engines from the trucks returning to the lodge after a day of research in the field came from afar. The elephant team was out and about, and so were the members of the rhino project and the German group studying the habits of hippos. But not me, uh-uh, I wasn’t allowed to go out into the reserve, not until I proved I could be good and obedient. Obedient. Me. Right. I snorted at that.

I’d kept busy during my captivity/probation. The combined IQ power in this place was off the charts. On the scientific angle, I’d interviewed Martha Knowles, the legendary pioneer of the most established lion satellite tracking program in Africa, and Darryl Valdez, Sarah’s boss, the world’s foremost elephant communication specialist. Not bad for a week’s work, but I could’ve done a lot more if allowed.

Through Zeke, I’d gotten my reports approved and out to Hannah. The footage wasn’t as compelling as the video about the poachers, but it’d kept up record views and thankfully, the GoFundMe—the main reason I’d been allowed to stay—continued to grow at a healthy rate. By now, I pretty much knew everybody. People were kind to me, probably because they knew that I was on Matthias’s naughty list.

“Hellooo!” Sarah called out about three seconds before my door bust open. She marched right in, still clad in her field boots, followed by Lara and Cara. “Dinner time. Come on, Jade. We’re famished.”

I stowed my camera in my pack and followed them out the door, secretly relieved that I didn’t have to face the dining hall all on my own. Sure, the women weren’t exactly like me, but who the hell was?

We made our way to the main lodge, where the dinner buffet was already laid out, framed by the conclusion of another gorgeous Serengeti sunset. I spread some fragrant rice at the bottom of my dish, added some scrumptious-smelling stew to the fresh offerings on my plate and joined the girls at our usual table. I’d made some serious progress with my food by the time that Lara got up to get some ice cream and Peter Drake, the bush pilot, plopped down in her empty chair next to me.

“Hey, Jade.” He planted a kiss on my cheek.

“How about keeping your lips to yourself?” I wiped his wet slobber off my cheek and met his amused stare. “When did you get here?”

“Just flew in a load of supplies.” He put his arm over the back of my chair and leaned over my ear. “Are you up for a little get together tonight?”

Christ almighty. He was completely tone deaf. I stuffed my mouth full and totally ignored him. Peter was attractive, but it didn’t matter. After the schoolroom fiasco with Matthias, I’d recommitted to my imaginary chastity belt. It was firmly in place. I wasn’t hooking up with anyone in Africa.

Matthias chose that moment to stride into the main lodge. Seeing him after so many days was a shock to my system. He looked good, tired but hale. Best of all he wasn’t limping. The sore I’d caused him must’ve healed by now. My stomach squeezed and the evening turned stifling hot. I pulled on the neck of my T-shirt and fanned myself with the fabric.

Matthias gave our table a casual glance. His stare slid over me and tripped on Peter. He started our way, but then Claudette came over to greet him and his face broke into the wide smile that made the girls squeal and swoon in their chairs. The familiar way in which Matthias and Claudette related to each other raised my hackles. By the twinkles in their eyes, I just knew those two had slept together. The thought irked me.

Well…why not? So what if they’d slept together? Most people listened to desire over logic. And why did I feel so irritated by the sight of Matthias and Claudette? Or by the memory of Matthias and Mia, or Mei or whatever the hell her name was? I’d never been prejudiced against women who went after what they wanted. What was my problem tonight?

The problem was I kept wondering if he’d kissed them with the same enormous passion he’d kissed me at the schoolhouse.

Claudette led Matthias to the buffet, picked up a plate, and actually ladled the food onto his plate. Couldn’t he just serve himself? I looked around. The eyes of every woman in the joint were on Matthias. Every girl in the hall—including Sarah, Lara, and Cara—was jealous of Claudette, salivating, and not after his food.

I chewed on my carrots until they turned to mush in my mouth. I told myself that I wasn’t mad about what had happened at the orphanage, or about the confusing emotions that had sent me into a tailspin, or about the fact that, after making out with me, Matthias had vanished from radar and left me hanging from his hook like a snared fish. I told myself I was mad because he’d neglected his job and reneged on our agreement. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of groveling. I had to play it cool.

From the corner of my eye, I tracked him across the room. He took his plate from Claudette, greeted the director and the high-ranking researchers sitting at his table, and then went over to the corner, where he sat with Zeke and some of his rangers under the breeze of one of the hall’s giant fans. He hunkered over his plate and inhaled his food. He ate steadily, automatically and methodically, like a grizzly in the fall, intent on packing on the calories.

Sarah nudged me with her elbow. “Are you listening, Jade?”

“What?” I recovered swiftly. “Sure, yes, I’m listening.”

“Saturday night,” Sarah announced to the whole table. “We’re having a party, right here, nine o’clock. No excuses. Proceeds go directly to the orphanage, so show up.”

I smiled at Sarah. I’d told the girls about my visit to the orphanage and I’d convinced Zeke to take a bunch of us out there earlier in the week. Sarah had been smitten by the kids and had returned to the station looking for ways to raise funds to help with the expenses.

“We’re going to dance all night,” Sarah said. “My man Jamie has a killer dance playlist.”

“Hell, yeah!” Jamie pumped his fists in the air. He was a research assistant, a Goth all the way down to his black clothes and his tattoos, rough looking outside but as kind as Mother Theresa inside. Best of all, his tastes in music were surprisingly diverse. “Ain’t no dance club better than my playlist, baby.”

“So be here, everybody,” Sarah said and the entire table cheered.

The news jumped from one table to the next. Everybody seemed excited about the idea. Everyone except Andrew Stoats, whose sour face looked like he’d swallowed a toad whenever he looked in my direction. I ignored him and concentrated instead on the enthusiastic little crowd at our table.

“We ought to let Matthias and his guys know about the party,” Sarah said, nibbling on a pineapple wedge.

“Matthias doesn’t dance.” Peter curled his arm over my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. “Ask Cara.”

“Peter’s right,” Cara said. “The whole year I’ve been here, he’s never come to the parties.”

“But I do,” Peter said, “and I’ll make sure to be here.”

Oh, goody. The tomatoes soured in my mouth.

“Excellent,” Sarah said. “You can fly in the beer kegs.”

“What are we celebrating?” Lara plunked her bowl of ice cream on the table.

“Peter will smuggle the beer for the party.” Cara stole a spoonful from Lara’s bowl.

“Sharing food increases the likelihood of germ transmission by almost a hundred percent,” Lara said, but she dug into her ice cream all the same. “Jade, you’re going to be so happy. I talked to Dr. Schumer. She has agreed to do an interview with you.”

“Oh, wow. Thanks!” Dr. Schumer didn’t give interviews, but Lara had grit and she’d been at it the whole week. “You didn’t have to do this, you know.”

“But I wanted to.” Lara’s gaze slid a few tables over. “You really did fix my little problem.”

Stoats. Yes. The asshole hadn’t come close to Lara since I’d talked to him.

“Oh, and Dr. Valdez said yes,” Sarah added. “You can travel with the elephant team whenever you want—I mean…” she launched a cursory look in Matthias’s direction. “Whenever you’re allowed.”

“Wait, what’s this?” Peter leaned forward, chin in his hand, his stare flicking between Matthias, sitting at his table, and I. “The game warden’s wrath is legendary around these parts. Do tell. Matthias put you on ice?”

“It’s really nothing.” And it wasn’t any of his business anyway.

“You know Matthias,” Cara said to Peter, scowling in Matthias’s direction. “He’s all about the no.”

“He is a stickler for law and order, that’s true,” Peter agreed, sipping on his glass. “What an ass.”

“I can’t believe he’s treating you like that,” Cara grumbled. “You ought to write a really nasty piece about our resident control freak.”

“Control freak he might be, but he’s still pretty dreamy.” Lara sighed wistfully.

“And truth be told,” Sarah added, “Jade is not safe until Kumbuyo is not in the picture.”

Great. Now everybody had an opinion about my private business. “Can we change the topic, please?”

“Not sure it would work to clear the slate,” Sarah murmured.

I puffed out a frustrated breath. “Why the hell not?”

“Because,” Sarah said. “He’s on his way here, right now.”

Oh, shit. My gut solidified into a concrete block. I clung to my fork as if my life depended on it.

“Evening,” Matthias said, speaking to the table in general.

“Oh, hi.” Lara looked up and wiggled her fingers in the air, but there was nothing particularly friendly about her demeanor.

“Do you still work at the station?” Sarah demanded in a brisk business tone.

“Yes,” Matthias frowned. “Why do you ask?”

“Because we haven’t seen your face around here all freaking week.”

“Gone.” Lara snapped her fingers. “Poof. Vanished. Inhaled by a spatial vortex.”

“Very rude.” Sarah added. “Can we help you with anything?”

For Christ’s sake. I peeled my eyes at Lara and Sarah. What was wrong with the girls? They’d gone DEFCON 1 on Matthias and I hadn’t even asked for an assist.

I refused to look directly at Matthias. I did keep him within range of my peripheral viewfinder, glancing up through my eyelashes while pretending to be busy with my plate. I felt the weight of his stare a couple of times, but if he was trying to catch my attention, he was shit out of luck. I devoted all my efforts to rearranging the leftovers on my plate.

“Drake?” Matthias said. “I didn’t know you were staying tonight.”

“Me neither,” Peter said. “It was a spur of the moment decision.”

“Where are you staying?” Matthias said.

“Oh, I don’t know yet.” Peter glanced at me. “Wherever the evening leads.”

I flushed like the stewed tomatoes on my plate. Great, fantastic, fabulous. I wanted to tell Peter to bug off, but I didn’t want to shoot him down in front of everybody. He was pushing my buttons and not in a good way.

“Jade?” My name sounded like a scolding coming from Matthias’s lips. “May I talk to you, in private, please?”

I looked up and he jerked his chin in that stern, commanding way that curled my toes. Crap. “Sure.”

I put my napkin on the table and pushed back on my chair. I got up slowly, determined not to cave. On anything. A professional relationship, that’s all I needed. I was going to be cool, patient, and non-confrontational. I was going to make my points logically and I wasn’t going to lose my temper. But he better have some good news for me.

At least I was free of Peter’s bodily encroachment. That’s not to say I was happy about coming into Matthias’s orbit. He stalked out of the dining area and waited for me on the far side of the pool, arms crossed, flinty stare tracking my movements. His gravity pulled on me as if he were a huge planet and I his puny moon.

“Hey, Jade?” Sarah flashed her best puppy-eyed look. “Ask Matthias to come to the party on Saturday. Better yet.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Ask him to bring his rangers, please?”

“Oh, geesh, I don’t know about that…” I didn’t want to ask Matthias anything of the sort, but Sarah gave me a pitiful pout and I found it impossible to say no. “I’ll see what I can do. I never know who I’m going to get when I talk to that man, Doctor Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.”

The girls, in fact the entire table, burst into laughter and off I went, down the steps, across the old pool deck, shoulders straight, chin high in the air, to square off with my jailer.