The Lion’s Cross Species Baby

Chapter 4

Annie lifted her head out of the bucket; she’d been throwing up for the last thirty minutes. She wondered if the food was having an adverse effect on her body, but she hadn’t been sick until this morning. And it was only throwing up, nothing else. She frowned as she felt the need to vomit rising in her throat once more. As she finished her fourth round of dry heaving, she wished she was at home or in a hotel or anywhere that had plumbing. Throwing up was bad enough without having to do it in a bucket that must be emptied later.

She rose and wiped her mouth with the cool, wet washcloth she’d taken from the cabinet and dipped in the basin. Grateful Cooper had been up and out of the camper when she’d arose from the bed. They had been sleeping together the entire week, and every night they had enjoyed each other’s bodies, reveling in the s*xual experiences. She knew everything about his body, how to touch him, kiss him, and make him feel the most pleasure. He knew everything about her body as well, but that didn’t mean she wanted him watching her throw up.

The vomiting extravaganza had ended finally, and Annie’s stomach was calm. She brushed her teeth and dressed in a clean shirt before grabbing the bucket to dump it behind the camper. When she opened the door, she looked around before exiting and walking around to the rear of the camper to dump it. She didn’t want to explain to anyone what she was doing, and luckily, everyone must have gone to the dig near the cave.

She took the bucket with her with the intention of washing it out in the creek they walked past each day. She wondered briefly if somewhere up the creek there was a bigger section where they could swim. Research before coming to this country told her most waterways here, as long as they were moving, were safe for swimming, just not for drinking. Annie would give anything to be immersed completely in the water, and had mentioned it in conversation to Cooper, who’d had a twinkle in his eye when she’d made the comment.

After swishing her mouth again with water from a bottle, she grabbed a tin of peaches and scarfed them down. She needed to get to the dig so she could take more pictures. She had a good start for her thesis, but she needed so much more and only had two weeks left in which to gather the information and pictures. Before leaving the campsite, she sat for a few minutes to make sure the nausea wasn’t going to return. As she waited, Cooper bounded into camp, excitement written all over his face.

“Annie! There you are,” he said. “I thought you’d come in with the workers.”

“Yeah, sorry. I was working on something for my thesis and wasn’t paying the least bit attention to time,” she lied convincingly. Even if she hadn’t been convincing, he was entirely too excited to notice. “What’s going on, Cooper? You look like a kid who just got the best Christmas gift ever.”

Cooper grinned. “Even better. We found more drawings deeper in the cave.”

Annie’s eyes widened in excitement as well. She grabbed his arm and said excitedly, “More s*xual drawings? Or just standard cave drawings? Either way, that’s fantastic!”

Cooper was nodding his agreement. “They’re s*xual in nature. It’s just like you said. The Brazilian kama sutra. We’re hoping to find even more as we continue to excavate.” Cooper took off his cap and wiped the sweat from his brow. “I’ll tell you, Annie, I thought this was a hell of a find before. Now I’m beginning to believe it may actually be the find of the decade.”

Annie touched his cheek with her hand. “I’m so happy for you, Cooper. Big things are coming!”

“Yes they are!” He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. He swung her around in a kind of dance, laughing.

She laughed with him until the nausea returned. “Oh, Cooper, put me down,” she said. When she was on the ground, she covered her mouth with her hand and waited.

He watched her, concerned. “Are you ok, babe?” He’d begun calling her babe the day after she arrived. The day after they had s*x for the first time.

Annie nodded her head and belched quietly behind her hand. “I’m ok, just a little nausea. I think the food is starting to get to me.”

“Oh, babe, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s just a little nausea, Cooper,” Annie said with a little smile.

“Yeah, but now that I look at you, you seem a little pale,” Cooper said, putting a hand on her forehead. “No fever or anything, though. And you certainly haven’t lacked energy.”

Annie giggled. “Well, not in bed. Maybe you’re wearing me out.”

“Hmmm. I kinda like that idea,” Cooper said. His grin was so big she thought his face might split.

“Oh good lord, your ego is so big I’m surprised there’s room for anything else in that head of yours,” Annie chided, turning to grab her cap off the table and pulling her ponytail through the hole in the back as she spoke. “Come on. I want to see those drawings.”

“Let’s take the jeep since you aren’t feeling well,” Cooper said.

“You can get there in the jeep?” Annie asked, wondering why they hadn’t been taking advantage of that on occasion.

“You can, but it takes about thirty minutes. We have to drive around several miles of jungle on a really crappy road to get there. That’s why we always walk. Takes less time,” Cooper informed her.

“Hey, we can walk. I don’t feel that bad. Like I said, just a little nausea,” Annie assured him.

“Let’s take it anyway,” he said to her. “It may be a rough ride, but the scenery is absolutely beautiful.”

Annie smiled. She had her camera in her backpack but would take it out if the scenery was half as beautiful as what they’d driven through her first day. She’d already had to take the memory card out of the camera and import the pictures onto her computer; it had been completely full of pictures. Luckily, out here in the sticks with no distractions, she’d been able to organize the photos into folders, which would make her life so much easier when she got home and really started working on her thesis.