193356377X-Savage-Shores-Wildes by sirenpublishing.com Read Free Book Online Page B

not being able to have her at all.
    They struggled on, the underbrush so thick it was difficult to
    walk, both of them with weapons in hand, mindful of the dangers

    Savage Shores
    41
    around them. Jonathan was relieved and curious when they reached
    the rise of ground and he saw that there were indeed openings. The
    rock was riddled with holes, most of them too small for human
    beings, but a few were promising. Skirting along the base of the
    small mountain, he selected the biggest one he could find and went
    about the process of lighting the driftwood they had brought as a
    torch. The lack of light had kept Anthony and Charles from
    actually exploring inside on their previous visit.
    “Let us pray this is not a haven for a family of hungry
    panthers,” he said, lifting the blazing wood in his hand. “I’ll go
    first, but I swear, Charles, this is like when we hunted lions in
    Africa. Run like the devil if we are confronted. One small knife
    will not help us one wit, and if cornered in a cave, a leopard will
    risk our fire to escape.”
    “Who knows what other animals are around, too, my lord,”
    Charles said helpfully. With his curly brown hair and dusting of
    whiskers, he looked like a handsome dissolute young pirate.
    “There could be creatures we don’t even dream exist.”
    “Thanks. That bolsters my courage,” Jonathan shot back,
    sending his companion a killing glare. “Be sure and get a
    description for the scientists back home. They will want to study
    this new specimen, especially if it devours me in a single gulp.
    Here…I’m going in.”
    Edging inside the gap, Jonathan lifted his light, finding the
    space was too shallow and narrowed immediately. Backing out, he
    picked another opening, this one smaller, but just the opposite, the
    cave inside widening into a good-sized cavern that was thankfully
    unoccupied, though there were droppings that indicated bats and
    the ceiling rustled slightly at their entrance.
    “A good possibility,” Charles murmured, “if you don’t mind
    flying rodents.”
    The floor was dry and even, and the space was remarkably cool
    considering the heat and humidity outside. Jonathan lifted the

    42
    Emma Wildes
    torch, sweeping it around. “Twenty people could fit in here. I think
    the four of us could weather a storm with ease. Jenna might not
    like the company.” He glanced upward but the ceiling was actually
    too high to see the mammals clinging there. “But she will adjust. A
    few bats are better than being blown back into the ocean.”
    “She liked the company last eve,” Charles said evenly.
    “Standing sentry so close, neither the major nor myself could
    escape hearing her scream your name. More than once, if I recall.”
    Turning, Jonathan gave him a sardonic glance. “Remind me to
    sleep farther down the beach. I have no interest in hearing her with
    either of you.”
    “We all have to stay close together,” Charles argued.
    “Considering the leopard this morning, it was a good thing we
    were there. And it isn’t so bad. In fact, she sounded to be so
    breathlessly enjoying herself that it made me feel quite a bit better
    about her offer. I have slept with refined ladies before, but they
    have all been married and experienced. She is different.”
    “Remarkable would be the word I would choose.” Jonathan
    indicated with the torch he wanted to leave the cave. “I don’t bed
    innocent young ladies either. But, luckily for all of us, she is very
    sensual.”
    Following him outside, Charles frowned. “How much do think
    is simply being here? No rules, all of us barely dressed, our future
    grimly looking like we will be here for a good long while, if not
    forever. She is younger than any of us and more susceptible to the
    environment. It is wild, untamed, and dangerous. Jungle creatures
    mate at will—I see her that way—yielding to our desires because
    there is no reason why she can’t and it will please us all.”
    “I see you have thought about