The jungle, Jes thought, looked much friendlier when you were not in the thick of it. For the first five minutes, Jes and Zain had walked hand in hand. Unfortunately, it became abundantly clear that Jes was not used to hiking and Zain's coordination was better as an animal. He let her hand go and walked a few steps ahead of her.
"Are you sure we are going in the right direction?" Jes said after about forty minutes of walking. She eyed a tree suspiciously. Had they been here already, or did all trees look the same?
"Of course, we are going the right way," Zain said, not bothering to look at the map. "I would know if we were lost."
Jes walked up to him and reached for the map. "Why? Because you're a lawyer?"
"Because I come from nature," Zain said.
"So does everyone," said Jes, trying to place them on the wiggly, multi-colored travesty that was the map. "A super-sense of smell does not make you Indiana Jones."
Zain let out a low growl and snatched the map back. Jes frowned and took the map back again.
"If we are going to try to give this a chance," she said, gesturing at the two of them, "then you need to treat me like an equal partner. I am navigating for a while and that's that."
***
Zain's panther was over the moon. The cornucopia of smells assaulting his nose, of trees, leaves, rot, bugs, flowers, and Jes, were delighting the panther part of his soul. Each crinkle of leaves and snap of a twig sent the panther into spirals of delight. Every time he looked at Jes, his heart pounded and he felt at ease.
Of course, the human part of Zain was not as relaxed. They had been walking for a little over an hour now and Jes refused to give him back the map. After her comment about an equal partnership, Zain backed off. Panthers were solitary and tended to look for the biggest and strongest to lead them when they were in groups. Zain was much bigger and much stronger than Jes, he expected to fall into the position of caretaker without much fight.
Humans, though, must have different ideas of what relationships meant. He could smell Jes's determination from here. If he was being honest with himself, this was an exceptionally attractive quality in a mate. He was sick of women looking to him to lead the way and solve every problem. Of course, Jes's determination to prove that they were wrong for each other would be hard.
"Jes," Zain said, relishing the way her name fell from his lips, "I think we are going the wrong way."
Jes looked over her shoulder without stopping, exasperated. "Every way is the fucking wrong way. The only way I want to go is back to the resort."
Zain took a few large steps and caught up with her, wrapping his arm around her waist. He smiled as he felt Jes shiver at his touch.
"Listen," he said, "if you want to call it quits we can go back to the resort. We will tell Circe this wasn't the right activity for us and we can spend the day on the beach."
To his surprise, Jes narrowed her eyes.
"Oh," she said, her voice hard, "you don't think I can do this?"
"That's not what I-"
"I'll have you know that I do yoga!" Jes snapped. "I can handle this hike, I just can't handle the way you try to boss me around."
She slipped in the mud at that moment. Zain reached forward and grabbed her, pulling her up just before she hit the ground. They were close to the river now, and the ground was soggy and the underbrush plentiful.
"I'm not bossing you around!" Zain said, unsure whether he wanted to kiss her hard or pick her up and carry her off to his bed. She looked sexy when she was angry.
"You are!" said Jes, unhooking herself from his grip. "You pressured me into trying to turn us into a relationship in two weeks' time and you're pressuring me into going back to the hotel even though we are still looking for the first marker."
Zain went cold. "What do you mean pressuring you to make this work?"
Jes was already ten paces ahead of him, map swinging wildly as she gestured in anger. Zain growled and stalked after her.
"You know," she said, "when you followed me to my room and kissed me. All sexy."
"I didn't force that on you," Zain said, voice serious. "I kissed you because I wanted you. And you wanted me."
"That doesn't mean I want a relationship," Jes said. "It just means I wanted a kiss."
"Fine," Zain said, his voice hard as his panther rose dangerously close to the surface of his control. "Fine, I won't kiss you ever again."
"Great," said Jes, her voice losing some of its edge. "Perfect."
"Perfect," said Zain.
They walked a few more steps before Jes let out a yelp of shock.
"The marker!" She cried, pointing at a heart-shaped target painted on the trunk of a tree near the edge of the river. "I can't believe we found it!"
She took a few steps toward the marker and Zain reached out, catching her slight wrist in his large hand. Her skin was so soft against his, like silk sheets or rose petals. Jes yanked her hand away.
"Don't touch me," she said, walking toward the marker on unsteady feet.
"Be careful," Zain said. "The river is high and the mud is slippery. I don't want you to fall in."
"I'm not going to fall in," Jes said, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face. Zain held his breath and prepared to lunge as she slid toward the tree trunk, catching hold of it at the last minute. "I am just going to take a selfie with the marker."
She waited for a moment, digging the camera out of her pack, then gestured toward Zain.
"Are you going to come be in the picture?"
Zain shook his head. "I'm not going to risk falling in."
Jes rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself."
A smile flitted over Zain's lips as he watched Jes hold out the camera and pose for a selfie, tongue sticking out as she pointed at the target. When she wasn't yelling at him she was very cute.
"Got it," Jes said, turning to slip the camera back into her pack. She let go of the tree and, without warning, started to slide back toward the river. Zain watched in horror as she looked up at him, eyes wide and mouth in an "o", before plunging into the rushing river. Fuck.
Zain didn't think. One moment he was a man. The next, he was a panther charging to the water. He leaped and crashed into the current. It was strong and cold. The water pushed at him, beckoning him to stay awhile, to go under and never come back to the surface. Zain turned his paws against the side of the river and pushed off a large rock, steadying himself in the current.
Jes bobbed up ahead of him. She fought to stay above the water, but the pack and her clothing weighed her down. She cried out as she tumbled over a small patch of rapids, flowing further from Zain's reach.
He paddled without stopping. He thought only of her. He would swim until he could swim no more until he pulled her to safety. If Jes wasn't saved, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
The current bent and curved around trees and over small rocks, leading them to the ocean. It was fast, high from earlier flooding leftover from their wet season. Zain popped his head over the water and caught sight of Jes. She had managed to grab a branch of a fallen tree and clung to it desperately. Her face, though soaked, was hard and steadfast. She would never let go. Zain knew this was his chance.
Diving fully into the main current, Zain used the river to build up momentum. He barreled toward Jes, leaning into the current. When he got close, he bent his legs to spring. Prepared to pounce, he counted. Three... Two... One...
At the last possible moment, Zain threw himself at Jes. Her hand slipped from the branch but found his shining coat. Zain shoved his head between her arms, willing her to hang on. Jes understood, wrapping herself around him.
For one terrifying moment, Jes and Zain floated with the current in the open water. Then, Zain ducked in between two rocks and pushed them on to shore. Jes fell hard on the ground and threw off her pack, panting and drenched. Zain crumpled beside her. They were safe.