The Lion’s Cross Species Baby

His decision was made. He wouldn’t seduce her, but if she continued the flirting and obvious arousal, he would let the relationship take its course. If she wanted him, she could have him, but he wouldn’t pursue her.

Damn, he thought. That’s going to be a hard rule to live by with that beauty just a folding door away.

*****

Annie waited for him to leave, then released the pent-up breath into the air. Damn, he was fine, she thought. That blonde hair and gorgeous smile would win her over if she wasn’t careful. She reprimanded herself for being foolish. He was just a man, like any other. She couldn’t let her hormones rule her behavior while in Brazil. She would focus on her thesis and that was it. She vowed to put Cooper Downs and his raw animal magnetism (she giggled at her joke) out of her mind.

Ten minutes later, she exited the camper and looked around for Cooper. She saw him munching on some kind of fruit as he meandered her way. He held it out to her.

“What is it?” she asked, hesitant to eat anything she didn’t recognize.

“It’s called jabuticaba. It’s a kind of fruit.”

“What does it taste like?” she asked, looking at the deep purple, juicy fruit.

“It’s kind of like grape juice. Sweeter than grapes by themselves, but that flavor. It’s good. Try it,” Cooper urged, holding a piece out to her.

Annie took it from him, her fingers brushing his palm and sending a warm sensation up her arm. As she popped it into her mouth, she looked at him. The juice had exploded over her fingers, so she su*ked on them. His eyes narrowed and did not shift from her mouth until she removed her fingers. He licked his lips as he watched her, and she saw the movement. Arousal shot through her again, and she looked away.

“So which way to the dig site?” she asked, her voice a little husky with arousal.

Cooper watched her for another second before speaking. He cleared his throat and swallowed the arousal that demanded he kiss her. “This way.” He turned and walked away from her, and she followed quietly.

What was that? she asked herself. She had deliberately taunted him, teased him by su*king her fingers. She griped at herself for breaking her rule in the first five minutes. If you aren’t going to sleep with him, you can’t tease him!

*****

Cooper introduced her to the workers at the dig site. His associate, Buddy Wilcox, an older man with graying hair and buck teeth, ran the dig when he was gone; the rest were men they’d hired here in Brazil.

“A nicer group of fellas you won’t find,” Buddy claimed, waving at the four men who worked on the dig. “We’re glad to have you, Annie. Cooper told me you’re a history major here to work on your thesis.”

“Yes. My emphasis is on ancient civilizations in the Americas.”

“Ah, interesting topic, to be sure,” Buddy said. “I’m sure he told you about the cave drawings?”
Annie nodded. “I’m so excited to see them!”

“I bet. It’s kind of dark, but we can take a flashlight down,” Buddy commented.

Cooper had a different opinion. “Don’t you think it’s better to see them in the daylight?”

“Well, it’s certainly easier to see them in the daylight, that’s for sure.”

“But a quick peek with a flashlight won’t hurt a thing,” Annie interjected, smiling her most charming smile at the pair of men.

Buddy laughed. “Damn I’ve missed having a woman around. She’s knows exactly how to get her way too!”

Annie laughed and said, “I have some feminine wiles, it’s true.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you do,” Cooper commented, winking at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Let’s take her down. She won’t give up until we do.”

“No, I won’t. I can also nag with the best of them,” Annie proclaimed as she grabbed the proffered flashlight.

The trio tramped to the opening of the cave, which was wide enough to walk in as long as one leaned over at the waist and walked slumped over. Annie, who was almost as tall as Cooper, bent at the waist and walked hunched and uncomfortable, for about twenty feet, descending the whole time. Once they exited the tunnel, she could stand up straight again. They’d entered a rough chamber that might have functioned as the home of a family. Archaeology markers set about the place showed where a tool or a bowl or something of that nature had been found. A trickling sound like water echoed with their footsteps, although Annie could not find any water.

Annie lifted the flashlight and looked around for the drawing. When she’d located, she gingerly moved across the floor, avoiding the markers and generally watching her step. She didn’t want to pollute their finds.

She leaned in close to the drawings, studying them as closely as she could. She wondered why the men had claimed you could see them better in the sunlight. A breeze struck her face, and she pointed her flashlight up. Above her, a shaft went straight up to the sky, through probably fifteen feet of dirt and rock. At exactly noon, the sun would be directly overhead and would send a ray of light directly on the drawings, lighting them up like museum lit paintings on the wall.

Finally she turned her attention to the drawings. She tilted her head to the left, then to the right, examining the awkward positions of the two people in the drawings. There were three separate drawings, each depicting a couple having intercourse, and each depicting a different position in which to have intercourse. She chuckled.

Behind her, Cooper grinned. He knew what she was laughing at, but he asked her anyway. “What’s so funny?”
Without looking at him or Buddy, she gestured to the drawings and said, “This is ancient Brazilian kama sutra. Latin lovers, indeed.”