Chapter 18

Staying put, watching until the human was well out of sight and keeping her ears pricked for the demanded bikes, Ally studied the fruit in the tree next to hers. The smell of the fruit she'd held still lingered around her, sweet and succulent, making her mouth water.

The far off roar of bikes made her stiffen, listening intently. It seemed as if they moved further and further away from this spot. A sudden smile touched her lips when she realized they'd probably stirred up some wildlife, and kept following the crashes of whatever hapless creature fled. That ought to keep them busy for a while, she thought. Turning her attention back to the fruits in the tree next to hers Ally decided on the two yellow ones she could see hanging just beyond her reach. Taking a measuring glance from her branch, to the fruit, to the jungle floor some four to five meters below, she shoved off from the trunk.

The branch shuddered beneath her feet as she pushed straight into a sprint, knowing what would happen next, aiming to get as far along the branch as possible before it did. She made it over three quarters of the way along when she felt the first crack. Barely breaking stride she dropped into a lunge, leg muscles bunching tight. The loud SNAP of the tree limb breaking beneath her weight rang out as she leapt, sailing with arms outstretched. The branch clattered to the ground while Ally kept her eyes on the two heavy hanging fruits. Her outstretched fingers closed around the smooth textured skins. Gripping them firmly, she allowed herself to drop, arching back and twisting so she turned herself fully around moments before landing neatly on the dense leaf littered ground.

The sounds of the human and dog were long gone but a heavy crash made Eoin move, climbing the last couple of meters faster than he'd believed possible, almost flinging himself up over the edge. Crouched, eyes wide, searching, he tensed at an unexpected sound. Seconds later it repeated, a harsh furious hissing. Turning slowly, stomach plummeting with dread, Eoin froze.

Arched back with its hood flared wide, the king cobra rose in undulating menace to Eoin's chest height. Shocked, mind scrabbling for the correct reaction, Eoin couldn't manage more than, 'Urk!'

Another sound, smooth and fast, caught both his and the cobra's attention but not quick enough. Ally had it by the throat, just beneath its flared hood, a second later.

Arching a smug eyebrow, Ally winked while gently waving the hissing snake at him. 'This is why I'm the hunter.'

Repulsed yet fascinated, Eoin moved closer. Ally tilted the head back slightly, her arm stretched out as the snake wildly thrashed its tail in an attempt to free itself.

'Shhh,' she soothed. 'I'll let you go shortly.'

'What does it feel like?' Eoin asked, having so far avoided such physical encounters with snakes, preferring to leave the reptiles to their own devices.

'Smooth,' Ally said, while studying the snake with as much interest as him. 'You can feel the texture of the scales. It's quite dry, I imagined it might feel moist somehow.'

Crouching, Eoin gently caught the tail, stroking it while making a note of the pattern, stripes of almost creamy tan then dark brown while the back of the head, that Ally obligingly tilted again so he could see, had an eye-like pattern that flared across the spread hood.

'Beautiful creature,' he remarked to Ally who nodded.

'He is. Can I let him go? His heart rate is rather high.'

Eoin nodded with a grin. 'So was mine when I spotted him!'

Ally laughed and with an easy flick of the wrist tossed the snake a good ten meters away from them. The creature undulated through the air before bouncing lightly when it hit the ground. It slithered off.

'Thank you for saving me, Ms Huntress, may I appeal to your curious nature and show you my progress?' Eoin made a courtly bow before Ally who rolled her eyes and snorted.

'Will it get my heart racing too?'

Eoin straightened and met her eyes with a suggestive smile. 'If it doesn't I have certain ideas to address that.' Then he blinked, eyes fastening on the two large lumps protruding from beneath her shirt. 'Ally, what are those?'

'Ooh! I forgot, these smell great, I think we can eat them!' She pulled the bottom of her shirt out, awkwardly managing to catch one then the other golden yellow fruit against her thigh with her other hand as they tumbled out. Eoin took one, lifting it to his nose and inhaled the scent.

'Mango,' he said with a sigh of pleasure.

'You've had one?' Ally asked with a slight tone of disappointment.

Eoin smiled at her, reaching to draw her close, body relaxing fully from the awful tension of before.

'Yes, it's a good find. They're delicious.'

Eoin's progress update when they arrived back at the lab was far from heart racing for Ally. She listened equably while he gestured away and just resisted the temptation to zone out where she lay, spread across the comfortable couch in their sleeping quarters.

'The equipment IS of a high enough quality that I'll be able to replicate the virus, with our blood samples it should be a fairly quick job, I might even have the first concept finished by the end of tomorrow!'

'Good,' Ally cut in as he drew a breath. 'Because the humans are bound to keep hunting.'

That slowed down Eoin's rush of words. He shrugged before turning to move the kitchen partition into place then motioned Ally to move off the couch. He rummaged through the food parcels in the storage area, occasionally popping one on the cooker to see what it contained.

'We need to consider our travel options,' he said while peering at the display on the cooker. With a frown he put the parcel back with the others then selected a different one. 'Because the chances of us finding our trike, let alone finding it in usable condition, are slim.'

'And it was likely tracked,' Ally added wryly. 'I'm thinking we take the extreme terrain vehicle.'

'Mmm,' Eoin said distractedly, setting a parcel in the cooker and pressing go. 'The what?'

Ally grinned at his confused expression when he turned to look at her. 'I'll show you.'

Eoin went to lunge toward the door.

'But NOT till you give me what you promised…'

'Err..' The confused expression grew. Ally snickered and lounged back against the wall, glancing coquettishly at Eoin before shifting her body, arching her back then her eyebrow.

'Hmm?'

'Oh!' The confused expression vanished, his eyes seeming to darken and a slow smile spread. He reached for her, his large hand closing firmly and sensuously around her hip as he drew her close. Ally smiled in pleasure at the feather light kisses he began with, pausing to murmur in her ear.

'Dinner can wait.'

With a chuckle she tipped her head, lips catching his in a hard biting kiss before she broke away, leaving him sucking a breath in a gasp as she shoved the partitions back, bringing the bed back down to place.

'It certainly can,' she grinned at him then shrieked as he tackled her back to the soft cushioned surface, both of them breaking out in laughter that quickly vanished, their hands and mouths busy.