The Lion’s Cross Species Baby

Cooper took her hand and led her to the jeep. “Come on. I’m really excited to show you these pictures.”

Annie smiled at him, and he stopped moving and stared at her. She frowned at him. “What? Do I have something on me?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”
“Your smile is so captivating,” Cooper said, staring at her as the smile he was falling in love with appeared on her face again. She reddened and looked down. “And the way you blush, man.” He stepped closer to her and put his arm around her, yanking her body up against his. “So, let’s stay here and do dirty things to each other for the next two hours.”
Annie giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling him as he kissed her throat and hummed. “What about the cave drawings?”

“They aren’t going anywhere.”

“Cooper, control yourself,” Annie chided, pulling away from him. He held her so that their bodies still touched but they could look into each other’s eyes. “A minute ago you were bouncing out of your skin to show me those drawings.”

“And now I’m coming out of my pants,” Cooper said as he pressed his co*k, still in his pants, against her pelvis.

Annie’s eyes widened. “Oolala! What an interesting predicament you’ve found yourself in.” She stepped away from him, dancing to the side when he reached for her. “But it’s going to have to stay in your pants for a bit longer. I want to see those drawings.”

Cooper sighed as if she was keeping him from a secret treasure, and to him, she was becoming a treasure he didn’t want to let go of. He nodded and took her bag from her. “Let me take this for you.”

“Thanks. Please don’t put it in the very back. I might want my camera,” she said to him, her back to him as she grabbed a couple of water bottles.

When she turned, he was holding the camera out to her. He grinned and said, “You’ll want it, I promise.”

The drive was bumpy and terribly uncomfortable for Annie, whose stomach began to churn as they hit bump after bump. She refused to be sick, though, and swallowed hard whenever she felt the need to vomit rise in her throat. Small sips of water helped, and she was grateful for the saltine crackers she’d found when digging in her backpack. They were a bit stale (who knows how long they’d been there), but they made her stomach feel so much better.

She wasn’t able to take any pictures. Every time she looked through the lens, her stomach lurched even harder and she felt like her esophagus might explode. This is not good, she told herself. Her mind threw articles she’d read at her, such as the bacteria that can grow in the water in South America. She reminded herself she’d only drank from the bottled waters, not from a stream or pool. She remembered an article about a voracious strain of food poisoning that had killed several shifters she’d read about. But that had been in Africa, not South America.

Annie ordered her mind to stop the fussing. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn’t help it. She’d always been a bit of a hypochondriac, sure she had the worst disease imaginable when she coughed loudly.

“You’re so quiet,” Cooper commented. “And you haven’t taken a single picture.”
“Yeah, I guess my stomach is still a little upset.”

“I’m sorry. Want me to go back?”

“Heck no. I can mull through a little nausea. I want to see those drawings,” Annie assured him. “Besides, I turned down a hot bout of s*x with a hot dude. I’m not missing out on both.”

Cooper laughed. “They’re worth it, I promise. And the hot dude plans on fu*king you tonight, so you’ll actually get to do both.”

“Thank the gods,” she replied, sarcasm so thick in her voice he could almost cut it. “I thought I had lost out on the hot dude s*x forever by turning you down once. Too much for your ego.”

“Shut up, Annie,” he told her, reaching over to put his hand on her thigh and squeeze. “I promise I’ll fu*k you for as long as you’ll let me.”

Annie laughed and put her hand on top of his. “Better enjoy it, friend. I’m only here for two more weeks.” Annie’s attention was arrested by a group of marmosets swinging on vines in the trees. She pointed, ecstatic. “Monkeys!”

Cooper smiled at her when she glanced at him, her face so elated he thought he was looking at an angel. But when she turned away from him, his frown deepened. He had forgotten she would only be here for two more weeks. She had to go back to the United States and to school to finish her thesis. At that moment, bouncing in the jeep with her, watching her face beam with excitement over monkeys, he realized he didn’t want her to leave. How did I fall for her so quickly? he wondered.

Because she’s perfect for you, he answered himself. She’s beautiful, can hold an intelligent conversation about anything and everything, is the sexiest damn woman he’d ever met, and she was a good person. He shook his head and glanced at her to make sure she was still enthralled by the wildlife. You went into this knowing it was a three-week fling, he chastised himself. Stop being such a romantic.

At the dig, they waddled down to the next room in the cave, which was much deeper and required electric light. The generator hummed like an over-exhausted eighteen-wheeler, which ground on Annie’s nerves as she listened to it. Even this far down, she could still hear its incessant noise.

But the drawing took all her attention. She began snapping photos, asking Cooper to hold the light at different angles. “Have you taken pictures?” she asked.

“Only about a million,” Cooper laughed.

“I’ll probably have that many,” Annie responded as she clicked five more in succession. “This is one hell of a find.”

“I know. Just think of the grants,” Cooper said, shaking his head.

“How much longer do you think you’ll be down here?”

“I’m here six more months, if I wish to be. I’m going to continue this excavation in the cave, see if any more drawings pop up. If nothing else is found in two more months, I’ll go back to the states and write the book.”

Annie smiled. “Sounds fantastic.” She frowned. Dammit, she cursed internally. She felt lightheaded. To stop the sensation, she put her hand on the wall and steadied herself.