Page 28 of Love in the Wild

“Your face is red.”

“Oh... That’s called a blush.”

Thorne noticed that this blush happened to Eden a lot. “Why do you blush?”

She laughed, the soft sound filling his heart with light.

“People blush when they’re feeling shy or embarrassed, or excited.”

“Shy?” He wasn’t familiar with that word.

“Shy is ...” She paused. “When you’re nervous about doing something or being around someone.”

Thorne brushed his fingers down her throat, caressing her soft skin. “Are you shy with me?”

“Sometimes. A little. We’ve only just met, and we’re strangers.”

“Strangers?”

“We don’t know each other. Not really,” Eden explained.

Thorne understood. “So we date!”

Eden looked shocked at this, but Thorne remembered her words clearly:Dating is where two people go do things they enjoy. They do it so they can get to know each other.

She must have remembered as well, because she suddenly laughed. “Yes! So we date.”

“Tell me. Make us not strangers,” he commanded.

Eden’s fingers slid sensually over his bare chest now. “Just tell you everything, huh?” Her nose wrinkled, and she giggled. The bubbly sound delighted him.

“Yes. Everything.” The deep heat of need settled low inside him, but he was still uncertain what to do. Despite her touching him, he knew she was not yet ready to mate. She would tell him; he was certain of that.

He could have gazed upon her forever, listened to her talk as he stroked her skin. The forest around them grew quiet in a peaceful way as the birds of the air and the beasts upon the ground settled down as the evening skies purpled above them.

“I grew up in a place called Little Rock. My father is a teacher, and my mother is an engineer. Um ... she makes things.”

Thorne already had questions, but he kept quiet, content to simply listen. She spoke of a quiet life, a happy childhood, a desire to see the world, a love for animals and the need to protect them.Conservation, she called it.

The more she spoke, the more Thorne saw a tapestry of this woman’s life being woven. She was as brave as any lioness, loyal as any gorilla, and wise and thoughtful as any elephant.

“My coming here was supposed to help the mountain gorillas. But everyone died, all those wonderful people. Those poachers killed them, Thorne. I would be dead too if you hadn’t saved me.” She burrowed closer, her body trembling.

“Death comes to all,” he replied softly. It was the way of the jungle. Death was a part of life, and everything from the tiny ants carrying leaves on their backs to the powerful Tembo understood that.

“But not like that, Thorne. There was no reason for it. It was murder.”

He nodded. “They kill not for food or protection. They kill for the joy of death.” In his world, amid the bamboo shoots and the moss-covered hagenia trees, the joy of death held no place. As long as he lived, he would stop bad men like them. He would protect the impenetrable forest and all that lived in it.

Thorne didn’t want Eden to be sad. He cupped her chin and lifted her face to his. He studied her eyes, such a bright green, and he saw something there that called for him to act. He lowered his head to hers, kissing her. Her lips were like the petals of a flower. He liked what she had taught him, this way of kissing.

He gently bit her bottom lip and then kissed her again. His arms tightened around her as a hum of satisfaction came from her lips. He wanted to purr like a lion at the delight he felt of pleasing his mate. He may not have claimed her body yet, but she was the mate of his heart, the mate of his soul. He knew little of the world outside the jungle, but he knew this: Eden was his true mate.

Eden pressed closer, moaning as he cupped the back of her head and fisted his hands in her hair. He liked this, holding her still so he could enjoy the taste of her. He’d held back his dominant side while he was learning to navigate this unfamiliar type of mating. Now he was confident, and with that confidence, his dominance was returning.

He nuzzled her neck and stroked her back as he explored her body, but when he pulled at the white skin she wore over her torso, she gently held his hand still.

“Not yet.”

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