The rain beat a steady tattoo on the roof. She was very aware of the hum of insects and the rustle of leaves and branches against the side of the house. She swallowed the little knot of fear blocking her throat and inhaled Rio's masculine scent. He smelled of danger and outdoors. "I'm certain the cats don't care, they probably have already picked up your bad habits."

Rio leaned close to her as if sensing her fear, although he rubbed the ears of the cats pressing against his legs. She could see his temple where she'd struck him, a jagged line, already healing, but looking as if it should have had st.i.tches. Before she could stop herself, she touched it. "That's going to scar, Rio. I'm so sorry. You were so busy taking care of me, you didn't really have time to take care of yourself." She was ashamed of herself for hitting him. The details of the attack had faded in comparison to the nightmare images of men turning into leopards.

"Are you going to keep finding reasons not to touch the leopards?" He took her hand. "This one is Fritz. His ear has a little chunk missing and his spots are in a pattern much like a map." He stroked her palm over the animal's neck and back. Her skin was burning again, dry and hot to his touch. Her eyes were glazing, taking on the overbright look he had become accustomed to seeing.66.

Rachael made a supreme effort to keep from trembling. "h.e.l.lo Fritz. If you were the one chewing off my leg the other night, please refrain from ever doing so again."

The hard line of Rio's mouth softened. "Nice greeting. I'm certain he'll remember that. This one is Franz. He has a sweet disposition most of the time, until Fritz gets a little rough with him, then he has a bit of a temper. They disappear for days on end, but most of the time they stay with me. I leave it up to them whether they want to stay or go." He pressed her hand into the cat's - fur.

Rachael couldn't help the small thrill that went through her at the thought of touching such a wild, elusive creature as a clouded leopard. "Hi, Franz. Don't you know you're supposed to be afraid of humans?" She frowned. "Haven't you considered that by making them pets, you've made them more vulnerable to poachers who want their fur?"

"They aren't exactly tame, Rachael. The only reason they accept you is because my scent is all over you. We sleep together. That's why I'm reinforcing their relationship with you, so no more mistakes. They hide from humans."

"We aren't sleeping together," she objected sharply. "And I don't have a relationship with them and I can't imagine ever having one. Has it occurred to you that you're not exactly normal? This isn't the way most people prefer to live."

Rio looked around his home. "I like it."

She sighed. "I didn't mean to imply it wasn't nice." She moved again, shifting into another position in the hopes of easing the throbbing pain in her leg.

He swept her hair back from the nape of her neck. It was damp with sweat.

Rachael was becoming edgy and restless, shifting her position continually in an effort to ease her discomfort. "Rachael, just relax. I'll fix a cool drink for you."

She bit her tongue as he stood up with his casual grace. He didn't mean everything to sound like an order-she

.67.was hypersensitive. Rachael tried to push at the heavy fall of hair to get it off her forehead. It was curling in every direction as it always did in high humidity. As she lay there, she swore the walls began to creep inward, boxing her in, pushing the air from the room. Everything annoyed her, from the sound of the relentless rain to the playful leopards. If she had a slipper handy she might have thrown it in a fit of petulance.

Her gaze strayed to Rio as it always did. It exasperated her that she couldn't control herself enough to stop staring at him, and that she knew exactly what he was going to do before he did it. She knew the way he moved, the graceful flow of his body as he reached into the icebox. She knew him. If she closed her eyes he would be there in her mind, talking softly to her, reaching out absently to push the hair from her face, curling his fingers around the nape of her neck.

Why did she a.s.sociate every single movement, every gesture, with that of a cat?

Especially his eyes. They were dilated the way a cat's eyes would be at night and yet in the daylight, the pupils were nearly invisible.

"Okay, there's no way you turned into a leopard." Rachael stared up at the ceiling and tried to work the problem out in her mind. She had to stop fantasizing about him leaping through the treetops with his little cat friends.

It was idiotic and just proved she really was pushing the edges of sanity.

"What are you going on about now?" Rio stirred the contents of the gla.s.s with a long-handled spoon. "Half the tune you don't make much sense."

"I'm not responsible for what I say when I'm running a fever." Rachael winced a little at her tone. She sounded snippy. She was tired. And tired of being tired.

Tired of feeling out of sorts and grumpy and sick of trying to figure out what was real and what had taken place in her fevered imagination.

"You could try not saying anything," he suggested.68.

Rachael winced again. She always talked too much when she was nervous. "I suppose you're right. I could be a stone-faced mute staring at the walls the way you do. We'd probably get along better." Most of all she was ashamed for sniping at him, but it was that or start screaming.

His gaze shifted to her face. She was very flushed, her fingers plucking at the thin blanket with restless pinches. Each time he looked at her, he felt that strange shifting deep inside his body where a part of him still felt emotions.

"We get along," he said gruffly. "It isn't you. I'm not used to having people around."

Rachael sighed. "I'm sorry." Why did he have to be so blasted nice when she wanted a rip-roaring fight? It would have been nice to take her frustration out on him and pretend justification. She heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I'm feeling sorry for myself, that's all. I honestly don't know what's going on half the time. It makes me feel stupid." And helpless. She felt so helpless she wanted to scream. She did not want to be trapped in a house with a total stranger who looked every bit as dangerous as he obviously was. "You are a stranger to me, aren't you?" She could feel the heat of his gaze right down to her toes. Why didn't he feel like a stranger? When he touched her, why was it so familiar to her?

His eyebrow shot up. "You're in my bed. I've been taking care of you night and day for a couple of days. You'd better hope I'm not a stranger."

Rachael thumped her head against the pillow in sheer frustration, "See what you do? What kind of answer is that? Did you grow up in a monastery where they taught you to speak in riddles? Because if that's what you're trying to do, believe me it sounds more annoying and idiotic than mysterious and prophetic."

She blew upward at her bangs. "My hair is driving me crazy, do you have scissors?"

- "Why is it you're always asking me for sharp instruments?"

She burst out laughing. The sound filled the room and

.69.startled several birds perched on the railing of the verandah. They took flight with a noisy flutter of wings and a scolding trill. "I feel like I have to apologize to you every other sentence. I broke into your home, used your shower, slept in your bed, bashed you in the head and forced you to take care of me while I'm all out of it and grumpy. Now I'm threatening you with sharp instruments."

"Threatening to cut your hair might hurt as much." He moved across the distance separating them and bent down to look into her eyes, his fingers curling in her hair. "No one can force me to do anything I don't want to do." The one exception might be the intriguing woman lying in his bed, but he wasn't going to admit that to her ... or to himself. "Your hair is short enough. You don't need to cut more off." He rubbed the ragged edges of her hair between the pads of her fingers, "It used to be much longer. But it's so thick, with the humidity it's very hot."

"I'll find something to put it up and get it off your neck."

"Don't bother, Rio, I'm just edgy." His kindness made her ashamed.

"I found wet clothes smelling of river water that night.

Were you in the river?"

She nodded, making every effort to rally. "Bandits attacked us. They came out of the jungle shooting guns. I think Simon was. .h.i.t. I went overboard and the river swept me away."

His muscles clenched in reaction. "You could have been killed."

"I was lucky. My shirt snagged on a branch below the waterline and I managed to crawl onto a fallen tree. I made my way here. The house was a surprise. I almost didn't see it but the wind was blowing so hard, it took away some of the cover.

I was afraid I wouldn't find it again if I went exploring so I tied a rope between two trees to show me the way. I thought it was a native's hut, one they use when they travel from place to place."70.

"And I thought you were a bandit who had circled around and managed to get in front of me and was lying in wait. I should have known better, but I was exhausted and I hurt like h.e.l.l. Who is Simon?" He had waited an appropriate amount of time. Carried on a conversation like a rational human being. He could feel the intensity of his suppressed emotions eating away at his gut. He knew better than to let her inside. He knew better, but she was already there. He didn't know how it happened and worse, he didn't know how to get her out.

"Simon is one of the men in our church medical relief group."

"So he's a stranger. None of you knew one another before this trip." The relief sweeping through him irritated the h.e.l.l out of him.

She nodded. "We all volunteered from various parts of the country and came together to bring the supplies." "Who was your guide?"

"Kim Pang. He seemed very nice and I thought him very competent."

Her hand was on his thigh where he hunkered down close to the bed and she felt him stiffen. His eyes glittered with sudden menace, sending a chill through her body. "Did you see what happened to him?"

She shook her head. "The last I saw of him, he was trying frantically to cut the rope to allow the launch to get away. Is he a friend of yours?" She wanted Kim Pang to be safe. She wanted all of the others to be safe, but it would be dangerous if the guide and Rio were friends.

"Yes, I know Kim. He's a very good man." He wiped his hand over his face. "I have to go out and see if any of them are still alive, see if I can pick up any tracks."

"In this weather? And it's getting dark now. It isn't safe, Rio. They were taken on the other side of the river." She would have to leave immediately. Rachael detested how selfish it made her feel. Of course Rio needed to help the others if he could, although she didn't see how he could

71.

accomplish anything against a group of armed bandits.

In a sudden fit of temper at herself, or the situation, she flung off the thin cover. "I need to get out of this bed, this room, before I go completely mad."

"Slow down, lady." Rio caught at her, preventing movement. "Just sit still and let me see what I can do." There was a nicker of knowledge in his eyes, as if he could read her mind and knew her selfish thoughts.

Rachael watched Rio stalk outside and disappear from sight. She could hear him making noise on the verandah, unusual when he was usually so silent. The wind helped to dispel the oppressive heat and claustrophobia, but she wanted to cry, stuck in the bed, unable to get across the small distance to the open doorway.

The mosquito net fluttered in the breeze. As always, Rio hadn't lit the light; he seemed to be able to see in the dark and preferred it.

The thought triggered a long-forgotten memory. Laughter, soft and contagious, the two of them whispering together in the rain. Rio swinging her into his arms and spinning in a circle while drops fell on her upturned face. Her breath caught in her throat. It never happened. She would know if she had been with him. Rio was not a man a woman would ever forget or want to give up.

"Come on, I'm going to take you outside. It's raining, but the roof over the verandah has no leaks so you can sit in the open for a while. I know what it's like to feel caged. Let me do the work," he said. He slipped his arms under her legs. "Put your arms around my neck."

"I weigh a lot," she cautioned, obediently linking her fingers behind his neck.

Joy was blossoming inside her, a deep glowing warmth bubbling over at the prospect of getting out of the bed, and of looking at open sky.

"I think I can manage," he said dryly. "Be prepared when I lift you, it's going to hurt."

It did, so much so that she buried her face against the warmth of his neck, choking off a startled cry. Pain radiated up her leg, hit the pit of her stomach and exploded72.

throughout her body. Her fingernails dug into his skin and she bit down hard on her thumb.

"I'm sorry, Rachael, I know it hurts," he said softly.

He moved smoothly, almost gliding so there was no jarring to her swollen leg. As he stepped through the door, the natural hum of the forest greeted her. Insects and frogs, the chatter of animals, the flutter of wings and the constant sound of the rain all blended together.

Rio had pulled a soft, overstuffed chair outside, his one prized possession. He placed her carefully in it, propping her leg on a pillow on a kitchen chair.

Rachael leaned her head back and took in the high feathery canopy through the fine mosquito netting. The entire verandah was enclosed. The railings were made from tree branches, gnarled and polished, blending in with the surrounding trees so that she couldn't tell where the forest began and the railings left off.