Curse of the Condor (9 page)

Chapter 10

Jetta woke up to the sound of macaws squawking wildly from somewhere above her. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and got her bearings. She'd almost forgotten for a moment she was in the midst of the jungle, sleeping on a straw mat and trying to stay out of the way of wild animals so she wouldn't get eaten.

The thought of the jaguar the night before, suddenly popped into her head, and then the anaconda that had almost strangled her. She jumped to her feet and scanned the ground, her heart racing all the while. Conrado was nowhere in sight, and this thought frightened her immensely.

"Conrado?"

No answer. She wondered if something had dragged him away in the night. Then she wondered how she'd ever get out of the jungle alive without him.

"Conrado! Where are you?" she called a bit louder.

Then, if she wasn't mistaken, she heard the call of . . . Tarzan. His voice echoed though the trees, and she looked up to find him.

Conrado stood high in the trees, barefoot and half naked as always, pounding his fists against his bare chest. He still donned his shorts which seemed to have gotten even more frayed since yesterday. A vine was wrapped around one strong arm as he leaned out over the high limb, his shoulder-length hair loose and hanging forward over his face.

"Me, Tarzan. You, Jane," he grunted. As if on cue, Chatter jumped to the branch next to him and started jumping up and down reminding her of Cheetah.

"Quit goofing around and get down here before you hurt yourself."

She knew she probably sounded ridiculous, as the man was part monkey. Swinging from the trees was natural to him. He couldn't hurt himself in the process if he tried.

"Why so crabby this morning?" he asked. "Having a bad hair day?"

She ran her hand over her hair trying to pull out the tangles, wondering just how bad it looked. She usually never left the house without styling and spritzing it. But now it'd been almost two days and she hadn't even brushed it.

"I'm not trying to impress anyone with my hair," she said. "I just want you down here so I can talk to you without shouting."

"Then why not join me up here?" He smiled, and she felt warm inside from his invitation. He swung from one branch to the next gracefully, his monkey doing the same just behind him. He landed with a soft graceful thump on a branch a little closer.

She shook her head. "You're crazy if you'd think for one minute I'd climb up there."

“You’re right,” he said. “Let me come and get you.”

Holding on to a vine, he swooped down through the trees coming straight for her. She screamed and turned to run, but it was too late.

His free arm came down and wrapped around her waist. Her feet lifted off the earth, and she grabbed him around the shoulders and closed her eyes as the ground disappeared beneath them. She smashed her face into his chest and screamed again.

He landed softly on another limb, then took both his arms and pulled her close to him as he sat with his back against the trunk.

"Open your eyes, Jetta."

"I can't. I'm too scared."

"You’re afraid of heights?"

"No. Just falling."

"I won't let you fall. I promise. Now open your eyes and see how beautiful it is up here in the canopy."

She still had her face smashed into his chest, her arms so tight around his waist she could barely breathe. She opened her eyes slowly and almost jumped when Chatter's face was all she could see as the little monkey inspected her from his position on Conrado's shoulder.

She pulled back a little, her nose almost touching Conrado's, her heart beating quickly from the scare she'd had. Or was it from being so tightly pressed next to Conrado's half-naked body? She glanced down to her own legs, horrified to realize they were wrapped around Conrado's waist in a very provocative position. If they hadn't had pants on right now, they'd be in a perfect position for making love.

Where had that thought come from, she wondered? And why was she having these feelings toward a man she barely knew? She decided to look somewhere else instead of at Conrado, and let her eyes drop to the ground below. That was her first mistake. She gasped and held tighter to him  instead. He only chuckled and tightened his hold on her waist.

"Don't look down," he told her. "Look up instead."

She did, and was amazed at the beauty of the canopy that made up the jungle. Moss covered trees gave way to long, trailing vines. Sunlight streaking through a small opening way up high lit up a tree full of orchids and red bromeliads. Colorful birds congregated nearby, chittering away twice as loud as it sounded on the ground. She stared in disbelief as she spied a mother sloth hanging from a limb, its baby holding on to her stomach. They didn't move, just watched her.

"It's beautiful," she said. "There are flowers and fruits up here I couldn't see from down below. And I never dreamed I'd ever see a sloth in the wild. What a treasure."

"Exactly," he replied. "And notice the way even the hanging clusters of flowers grow upwards, reaching for the weak rays of sunlight that never make it to the forest floor. Can you smell the fragrance up here? It's a hidden paradise that a civilized person could never dream of experiencing. Maybe now you can see why I’ve stayed in the jungle so long, Jetta."

She took a deep breath, breathing in the pungent sweet smells of the jungle flowers. She closed her eyes and relished the memory, never wanting to erase it from her mind. Everything seemed so different up here, away from the dense forest floor. More life, more mystery, and oddly enough, more romance.

"Look at this," he said, and she opened her eyes to see him reaching up above his head and picking a red prickly pod from a cluster.

"What is that?" she asked.

"This is called a lipstick tree," he told her. He broke open the pod and showed it to her. "The natives use this as well as other plants as their paint to decorate their bodies.”

"Really?" Intrigued, she momentarily forgot her fear of falling.

"Want me to paint something on you?"

"Me?” The idea excited her. “Oh, no. I couldn't. I shouldn't."

"Why not?" he asked, looking into her eyes, mesmerizing her with his tone.

"Afraid to take a walk on the wild side, Jane?" He lifted his eyebrows in challenge.

"No. No, I'm not afraid," she tried to convince him. "This won't be permanent, will it?"

"Not if you scrub really hard. Now what do you want me to paint?"

He pulled at the tree and came up with a reed of some sort. He then played with the end of it, dipping it between his lips in a seductive manner, making it into a primitive brush.

"Maybe we should get down first and then do it?" She knew he wouldn’t go for her idea, but had to try.

"What's more exciting than getting painted in a tree? Besides, I'm rather comfortable, aren’t you?” He shifted and that's when she noticed his pants were tighter and his lap harder than before. She knew she should insist they get out of the tree, but something made her want to stay right where she was, as she was rather enjoying it.

"All right,” she said. “Have it your way. How bout painting . . . a rose? I think that would be good."

"A rose? What about something a little more adventurous? How about a wildcat or an exotic bird?”

"A rose would be fine," she told him with a nod of her head at her final decision.

"Well, then a rose it will be.” He readied his paint and brush, then looked at her arms and legs. “Where did you want it?"

"Oh, anywhere, I guess. Or maybe I should put it where no one can see it. That way if it won't wash off right away I won't be embarrassed when I go back to teach school."

"All right," he agreed. "We'll put it somewhere where no one can see it. You want it on your ass or your boob?"

She pulled back in shock and almost lost her balance. He gripped her with one hand, pulling her to him and she landed with her chest pushed up against his, her face right in front of him.

He looked at her lips and she looked at his. Then in mutual agreement their lips came together in a sensual kiss. She tried to sit up, but he put his hand around the back of her head and claimed her with a powerful kiss of his own. She melted under his touch, warmed in his embrace. Her body tingled with a new life. They kissed again, and his tongue came out and danced with hers, the power of the jungle sizzling between them.

"Oh, Conrado," she whispered. "That was nice."

He lowered his mouth to her neck and she threw back her head in surrender. His arms held her steady so she wouldn’t lose her balance, but she barely noticed anymore that she sat in a tree. His kisses trailed down her collarbone and in between her breasts. Then she felt his hand slip under her tank top and unclasp her bra effortlessly.

"You don't need a bra in the jungle," he told her. "You need to unleash yourself. Set yourself free."

She felt the burning low between her legs, the fire of passion out of control.

"You're right," she said, slipping her bra from underneath, yet leaving her tank top in place. Then she dangled it from her fingers, watching his intense eyes lock with hers as she carelessly dropped it to the ground far below. Now, all that was between them was her thin yellow tank top.

“How’s that for feeling free?” she whispered against his lips. He claimed her mouth once again, his hands moving under her top, caressing her bare breasts. She let out a small moan of pleasure when he ran his fingers lightly over her nipples.

“You’d feel freer and one with nature if you removed your top as well.”

The tingling was back between her thighs and desire ran deep through her. She removed her necklace, hiding it as she did so, slipping it in her back pocket. She looked up to him with a slight smile.

“Go ahead,” she challenged him, surprised by her own words. The reality of what she’d just said didn’t hit her until she felt him slipping her top over her head in one quick, smooth motion. She grabbed it from him and held it in front of her to hide her nakedness. What was the matter with her? Had she lost her mind? Had she just told him to undress her?

“Have you ever made love in a tree?” he asked her, to her surprise.

She clutched the tank top to her upper body, and froze. He leaned over and kissed her once again, and that was all she needed to make up her mind. She wanted him and she could no longer deny it. But making love like this was absurd. For heaven's sake, she was sitting up in a tree fifty feet off the ground. No one made love in a tree. And no one back on the faculty would ever guess Ms. Jetta Fitzgerald would be doing such a crazy thing. Not even her.

She felt his hand take the tank top, and she reluctantly released it to him. Then she pulled back to look at him and recognized that hungry look in his eyes, just like she’d seen that first day in his boat. To her surprise, he dangled her top over the edge and let go of it just as she had her bra.

“No!” she said, and reached for it, but it was too late. It went floating down to the ground and disappeared somewhere in the thick foliage. She still straddled him, half-naked, and wondered just what to say at such an awkward moment.

"Do you think we'll ever find it again?" she asked in a nervous giggle.

"Do we really care?" he replied, staring at her breasts. Then he reached out and cupped them and she closed her eyes in a surprised gasp. “Relax,” he told her. “There’s no one here but us.” He brushed his fingers past her nipples, and weighed the mounds in his hands. And when she felt the wetness of his mouth upon them, she let out a cry of passion.

"I like a woman who screams. It lets me know she’s unleashing herself.”

She didn’t realize she’d been so vocal, nor did she care. All she wanted was for him to touch her again.

“I bet you've never done anything so exciting.”

"I bet you can teach me to do many things I've never done."

He lowered his head to her chest once more, stirring her to her inner core. The magnetic pull of their body chemistry called out, making her want to get closer to him until they were one. Then she felt a cooler wetness and opened her eyes to see what it was. He was painting a rose on the top of her left breast. It was beautiful. He was a true artist. He painted each glorious petal one by one, and the rose opened from a bud to full bloom by the time he was done. She felt just like that flower. A bud, wanting to bloom but needing his warmth in order to do it.

She reached down and touched his hard length under his jean shorts. He groaned and grabbed her hand.

"Let me finish first," he said and put the finishing touch on the rose. Then he dropped the paint and brush to the ground and pulled her closer to him.

"You're one of us now," he told her. "You're part of the jungle just as I am."

Chatter piped up with some input, and Jetta had almost forgotten he was there.

"You too, Chatter. You're part of this whole scene also," he said. "Now get out of here or you're going to witness more than just a bare pair of boobs."

The monkey scurried off through the trees, and Jetta felt herself dampening. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. And he was going to take her right there up in the canopy of the jungle. She felt a rush of adrenaline flow through her. She'd never even imagined anything as wildly romantic as this in her deepest, darkest sexual fantasies.