Rio turned his head, amusement and even admiration welling up out of nowhere. There was a bite to her voice, a distinctly feminine challenge. She was sitting on his front porch wrapped in his shirt, her bare thigh pressed against his leg, an infection ravaging her body and the jungle creeping close, and she could still manage to act perfectly at home and even annoyed with him.

At home with him. At ease, as if they had known one another for all time.

A bird screeched a warning, high up in the canopy. Monkeys sounded a call for complete vigilance. Movement in the forest ceased. There was a sudden, unnatural silence. Only the rain fell steadily. Rio was on his feet instantly, moving back into the shadows, lifting his face to the wind, sniffing the air as if scenting for enemies. He snapped his fingers, crouching low as the two clouded leopards padded silently onto the verandah, coming quickly from the house as if summoned. One lifted its lip, bared its teeth in a silent snarl. Rio hunkered down, his movement slow and careful so as not to draw attention, circled both cat’s necks with his arms, his fingers massaging the fur as he whispered to them. When he stepped away, the two small leopards took to the trees.

Rio lifted Rachael into his arms. Again his movements were unhurried, very slow. “Don’t make a sound. Not a sound, Rachael.” His lips were pressed against her ear, sending a small shiver down her spine. He moved with ease inside to place her back on the bed. Pressed as close as she was to his body, she felt him trembling, something moving against his skin, pushing against hers. It made her itch for a moment. His hands were gentle as he pulled the cover around her but she felt the tug of something sharp along her skin, as if something scratched her.

Catching her face in his hands he stared into her eyes. “I need to know you know what you’re doing right now. I’m better out there,” he waved toward the open door. “I’m of more use to us out there. You can’t have a light, Rachael, it will just give away your position. You’ll have to make do in the dark and I’ll give you a gun, but you have to stay alert. Can you do that?”

Rio’s voice was a mere thread of sound. Rachael stared up at him, trapped in the ferocity of his gaze. His eyes were different, more yellow than green, pupils dilated and staring. A haunting, eerie, never-to-be-forgotten stare of a wild animal on the hunt. Her heart began to pound. “Rachael, answer me. I need to know.” A flicker of worry crept into the wildness in his eyes. His expression was grim. “Someone’s here.”