Colette Gale - [The Erotic Adventures of Jane in the Jungle Part II] Read Free

who’d hardly eaten two bites of the sausage and biscuits as he examined his latest specimens (although his cup of ale had been refilled several times). The only sort of company Papa would provide was that of taking up space. He’d be utterly unaware of her absence as long as he had his journals and equipment spread out in front of him.
    She smiled to herself. In many ways, that could be considered a benefit.
    As Jonathan crossed the room to the lift that would take him and Jane to the ground, he glanced at Kellan Darkdale. A measured, meaningful look passed between the two men, but neither of them spoke. Kellan turned to pick up a book and was settling in a chair as Jane followed her fiancé onto the lift. She wondered what their exchange meant.
    To her knowledge, the two men had hardly interacted since Jonathan’s arrival, and she was curious as to whether there might be some sort of discord between them. After all, Jonathan could blame Kellan for not looking hard enough to find him when he disappeared three years ago, and Kellan could be upset with his partner for doing such a foolhardy thing as going after his pack and ruining their trip.
    On a previous moonlit walk, Kellan had told her about the map that originally brought the two men to this Madagascar jungle. It was a charter that led to a discovered but untapped diamond mine. Whatever had happened to the map, its loss could be a bone of contention between them.
    Or perhaps she was being fanciful. She hadn’t noticed any tension between them. The two men had been friends and business partners. They’d been so close that Jonathan had, according to Kellan, talked often and in detail about the intimate relationship he’d had with Jane. Kellan had used that information as an attempt to court her…if one could call attempting to seduce her in her bedchamber courting .
    For that reason, Jane was relieved Jonathan hadn’t invited his friend to join them for a walk. She’d never been wholly comfortable with Darkdale and the way he looked at her. Even though he apologized for the incident in her chamber, she still felt self-conscious about what had passed between them.
    “I don’t know as you have to watch for snakes tonight Miss Jane,” Efremina said with a nod. “Not when y’got Mr. Kent with you.”
    “What a beautiful breeze coming from the ocean,” Jane said as she stepped onto the ground a moment later. She slid her hand around Jonathan’s arm, suddenly boisterously, deliriously happy to be here with him.
    It was a miracle.
    “Come, Jane. I’d like to show you something.”  
    A little squiggle of anticipation whipped through her, and Jane smiled up at him. Her gaze went of its own accord up and beyond his head, focusing on the tall dark treetops swaying above them.  
    Was he up there somewhere? Watching from a shadowy perch?  
    Jane forced herself to look away, back to ground level. Whoever or wherever the wild man was, she had no reason to care any longer. She’d never see him again, and it was just fine with her.
    “What is it?” she asked, turning her whole attention onto Jonathan.
    “Remember back in London, how after dinner the men and women would separate? The men would go into the study and smoke their cigars and pipes, and drink whiskey and brandy?”
    “Of course,” she told him with a laugh. “It must seem like forever for you, but I’ve only been gone from London for three months. Yes, we women were relegated to the parlor with, if we were lucky, a tiny glass of sherry. We’d have to wait until you males were finished with your masculine pursuits, and then you might join us for cards or games.”
    “I always thought that an absurd tradition,” Jonathan told her. “For why would we want to be separated from the women? There are so many more interesting pastimes with the fair gender. I mention this because the native tribe that I’ve been living with has a completely different tradition after the meals.” He looked down at her