Page 16 of Love in the Wild

He began the descent, and when their feet touched the ground, he let her off his back. The wild man held out a hand to her, and she took it. It was strange to feel connected to this nameless mystery man, but Eden was beginning to trust him as he led her through the jungle. Besides, what choice did she have?

After about half an hour, at least by Eden’s guess, she heard the roar of a waterfall and her heart leapt. She might be able to clean herself off and get something to drink. She glanced back down at herself and cringed at the mud and blood staining her clothes.

The wild man took her straight to a large pool at the base of the waterfall, which poured over a mountainous area nearly two stories tall. The sight was breathtaking. The waterfall was as clear as glass, cascading into a frothy whiteness that settled into gentle ripples across a wide pool that was clear as the sky above.

“Is it safe?” she asked as the man took her to the edge of the water. “I know you can’t understand me, but—”

He turned to face her, his gaze solemn and his lips parted as he whispered one word. “Safe.”

It was almost a hoarse grunt, as though he hadn’t spoken in ages, perhaps ever. Yet she recognized that word, and her world spun as she realized that she might have a chance to communicate with this man.

“You know English?”

He nodded uncertainly.

“How much can you speak?”

He held up his hands and shrank them together in the air.

“Okay, how much can you understand?”

His hands widened apart.

A flood of questions filled Eden’s mind, but right now she had to focus on more pressing needs. The kind that pressed against her bladder.

“I need to use the ... Wait, you probably don’t understand what a restroom is. I need ... privacy?” As embarrassing as it was, she squatted down, miming her intentions.

He nodded toward a clump of trees.

“Stay close,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

Eden went over to the bushes and did what needed to be done before she rejoined him at the water’s edge.

“Is it deep? I can swim. I’m just worried.”

“Deep, yes. Safe.” He removed the gold leaf crown from his head and set it down in the grass. Then, without warning, he untied the strips of leather that held his loincloth on and dove into the pool.

Eden had a brief but glorious glimpse of his muscled ass as he disappeared into the water. A cloud of mud circled around where he had vanished, sullying the pretty blue water. Eden waited for him to come up, wondering what he looked like beneath the layers of mud. But long seconds passed and he didn’t come up.

Had something happened to him down there? She took off her hiking boots and socks before hastily wading into the water and diving under to search.

Her heart thundered against her ribs as she dove beneath the surface, trying to find him. She opened her eyes, searching, but all she could see was a blue haze and white bubbles from the waterfall. She surged back up to the surface for air and then shrieked as something curled around her foot and pulled her back under.

Water covered her head, and she reached down to claw at whatever had grabbed her leg, but it was already gone. She swam back up to the surface with visions of crocodiles and snakes in her head as she sucked in a lungful of air. The water beside her churned, and the wild man’s face appeared. He shook his head, and his long dark hair whipped around his face. He ducked below the water again and came back up, allowing Eden her first glimpse of his face unmarred by mud.

My God.

She couldn’t have guessed what lay beneath the heavy coats of mud. The chiseled features of a god matched his muscled form. There was a slight cleft in his chin, and the tan skin of his face made his blue eyes glow even more brilliantly. It was difficult to look away from his face. Dark shapes colored his shoulders. Tattoos? They looked tribal in design. She’d never been into tattoos before, but they only added to the mystique of this man.

He swam slowly around her, his lips curved in a playful smile, then suddenly splashed water at her. Eden gasped and instinctively splashed back at him. He let out a deep, rich laugh that made her melt. They swam and played, not quite touching each other, but close enough that she was aware he was completely naked. Eventually her skin began to prune, and she realized that she was drenched in her only set of clothes.

Now exhausted, she started to go back to the shore, but the man caught her hand and motioned for her to swim toward the falls. She followed him and blushed to the roots of her hair as he climbed out of the water and onto a small rock ledge, leaving nothing to the imagination. Then he vanished behind the waterfall. She gripped the smooth rocks at the base of the ledge and pulled herself up, finding it easier than she expected. Then she followed him behind the glass-like curtain of water.

The cave behind the falls was deep and dark, and she could barely see the outline of the wild man ahead of her.

“Wait! I can’t see.” Her voice echoed all around her despite the roar of the falls behind them.

A warm hand caught hold of hers, and she was pulled deeper into the darkness before they stopped. Her feet touched something soft. Animal fur? She knelt and touched it. Yes, it was, but what kind she couldn’t tell. Hands touched her shoulders, pulling lightly at her clothes as though to remove them.

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