Wildfire Read online

  ‘Probably not,’ Andy conceded. ‘But what do you reckon to his mother?’

  ‘She’s not here, is she?’

  ‘Just sit tight,’ he told her. ‘And nobody move.’

  They didn’t have long to wait before the lioness returned in search of her cub, who was by now trying to jump up on the landrover. As she stalked imperiously towards them, Rhiannon saw Andy’s body tense, though in the soft evening light his face showed none of the unease she could feel thudding in her own heart.

  ‘Hello old girl,’ he murmured softly. ‘How are you doing now, mm?’

  Rhiannon and the others watched, spellbound, as the lioness approached, her mean yellow eyes fixed on Andy’s, the power emanating from the movements of her magnificent body seeming almost palpable in the dampening night air.

  By the time she reached the jeep not a soul inside it was breathing. Her eyes were still on Andy. She was so close now he could feel her odorous breath warming his face. Her jaws were parted, the deadly incisors gleaming yellow and stained with blood.

  It seemed like an eternity that she stood there, gazing into Andy’s eyes, her tail twitching randomly over her back, her mighty chest heaving as she panted.

  ‘Is she going to attack?’ Melanie wailed.

  Rhiannon and Lizzy tensed. Jack swore under his breath. Hugh kept the camera running, praying he wasn’t about to record a sight he never wanted to see.

  ‘No, she’s not going to attack, are you, mate?’ Andy said soothingly. Rhiannon half-expected him to reach out and stroke the lioness’s neck, but so far he hadn’t made a single move, not even for the gun.

  Then a deep, gutteral sound rumbled softly in the lioness’s throat as her golden eyes narrowed and she sank slowly back on her haunches.

  Rhiannon felt Lizzy’s fingers burying into her leg.

  Melanie whimpered and recoiled deep into the far corner of the seat.

  Andy was very still. It was as though the entire bush was pausing, waiting for the lioness to spring. Her eyes were piercing, her jaw was open, revealing the great predator’s teeth. The only movement was from the cub as he frolicked around her giant paws.

  Then suddenly the ground started to shake as a deafening, thunderous noise rumbled through the earth, seeming to echo right into the very depths of the jeep, filling the soggy warmth of the air with a sound as compelling as it was terrifying.

  Lizzy turned wide, disbelieving eyes to Rhiannon. ‘Was that what I think it was?’ she murmured as the stentorian roar ebbed into the wittering chafe of bugs and bats and awakening night birds.

  ‘You mean, dad?’ Rhiannon whispered, smiling as she nodded for Lizzy to watch the lioness again. ‘I think so.’

  When Lizzy turned back it was to find the lioness once more on her feet, her topaz eyes blinking at Andy, the cub dangling from her whiskery jaws.

  ‘The old man’s calling,’ Andy reminded her, still looking very much as though he was about to touch her.

  The lioness stood her ground, seemingly oblivious to the struggling offspring in her mouth. Then, with no warning, she lifted a paw on to the door of the jeep. Her giant claws were only inches from Andy’s heart, the size of it, the sheer deadliness of it was turning everyone’s blood cold. The jeep listed under her weight, then with one final blink she turned round and padded off into the darkness, the cub still swinging from her teeth.

  ‘Don’t tell me,’ Rhiannon murmured as the others let go a collective breath of relief, ‘you once removed a thorn from her foot.’

  Andy laughed. ‘Not quite,’ he answered. ‘But I do know her. She’s the lady I was telling you about earlier. The one who got caught in a poacher’s trap and almost died. She was preggers at the time, so I guess you could say we didn’t only save her, we saved the youngsters too.’

  Lizzy’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘Do you mean she was showing you one of the cubs you saved?’ she said.

  Andy shrugged and started up the jeep. ‘Could be,’ he answered. ‘Impossible to say for sure.’

  Rhiannon and Lizzy looked at each other.

  ‘Please don’t tell me you don’t have a name for her,’ Rhiannon said opening up her notebook, ‘because I won’t believe it.’

  Andy grinned. ‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ he answered, turning to look over his shoulder as he reversed back to the track.

  ‘You nurse a fully grown lioness back to health and you don’t give her a name?’ Rhiannon protested. ‘No, I’m sorry, I’m not buying it. You treated her like she was a pet, you weren’t even afraid of her . . .’

  ‘Oh, I’m afraid of her all right,’ he insisted. ‘She’s as likely to kill me with affection as she is to rip out my heart in hunger. And her name’s Sheila. As in, brace yourself, Sheila, which was what we recommended she do when we removed the trap from her shoulder. ’Course she was drugged at the time, but it seemed kind of appropriate.’

  Laughing, Rhiannon leaned back in her seat and turned to Lizzy.

  ‘Isn’t he just divine?’ Lizzy mouthed.

  ‘Mmm,’ Rhiannon yawned, stretching her arms above her head and turning her face to the night sky. The sight that greeted her took her breath clean away. ‘Oh my God, will you look at that!’ she marvelled, gazing up at the Milky Way. The stars were so thickly clustered together that in places they appeared like jewel-studded clouds, smudged and glittering and almost obliterating the night sky. ‘Can we get a shot of it, Hugh? Will it come out?’

  ‘We can give it a go,’ he answered, heaving the camera back on to his shoulder. ‘Can we hold it a minute, Andy?’

  ‘God, this place is so romantic, isn’t it?’ Lizzy sighed, leaning her head back on Rhiannon’s shoulder as they stared up at the sky together and waited for the landrover to move on. ‘I’ll bet you’re thinking about Oliver,’ she smiled.

  Rhiannon nodded. ‘Yes,’ she answered, feeling her heart go out to Lizzy for despite her undoubted attraction to Andy there was no question whom Lizzy would be thinking about.

  A few minutes later the hiss and crackle of static broke into the silence and as Andy spoke into the radio Elmore climbed back on to his perch at the front of the jeep.

  ‘What now?’ Rhiannon asked Andy as they started to drive on.

  ‘Now?’ he answered. ‘We start heading back to camp. Could be we’ll see a couple of leopards, maybe even a cheetah, on the way. You probably just heard Gary on the radio with a rhino sighting, cow and calf, over by the Oppiedam. We could go that route, see if we can catch a glimpse.’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ Rhiannon responded, stifling a yawn as she followed the beam of Elmore’s spotlight into the trees.

  This particular film-trip was one they’d all been looking forward to ever since it was first mooted, several weeks ago now, as it was the first time in months that the Check It Out team had assigned themselves something as pleasurable, not to mention benign, to check out as a holiday destination. Normally they were involved in considerably more complex and often sensational investigations and as their programme was transmitted on both terrestrial and satellite TV, they tried to give it as international a flavour as possible. On the whole this seemed to be working, for the audience rating was rising all the time and the ever-increasing mail bag showed that they had captured the imagination of audiences around the world with the diversity of subjects they covered. Subjects which ranged from a behind-the-scenes look at experiments with new drugs; to an hilarious half-hour on a Singapore student who was attempting to make the Guiness Book of Records by having sex with three hundred men in ten hours; to an in-depth report on the manipulators of the world’s money markets and the resulting crises in a nation’s economy.

  Having made its debut as an independent production company some fourteen months ago, Check It Out had already more than doubled its number of staff and there was talk now of running the programme for ten months of the year instead of the seven they were currently contracted for. As a director of the company and the show’s executive producer Rhiannon Edwardes was e
ffectively the head of their expanding team, but there were two people to whom, in theory at least, she was answerable, though if they called her more than once in a couple of months she would jokingly consider herself harassed.

  Sally and Morgan Simpson, both of whom were ex-BBC producers, had taken their redundancy pay-offs from Auntie around two years before and used it to set up Check It Out Productions. The initial idea had been for Morgan to run the company with Rhiannon, their senior researcher from BBC days, as the main producer and Sally, who was somewhat jaded by television after more than twenty years in the Beeb’s current affairs department, as a fill-in producer if and when she was needed. It didn’t take long, however, for the Simpsons to realize that handing the whole operation over to Rhiannon was probably the best, if not the only, route to go if the company was going to succeed, for Rhiannon had a freshness to her approach that had long since withered on the Simpsons’ vine, and her enthusiasm for the newly conceived programme as well as her somewhat unorthodox ideas when it came to staffing, were all just a bit too much for diehards like the Simpsons to take on board. So with the minimum of fuss, the Simpsons had promoted Rhiannon to executive producer, made her a company director with equal shares, appointed themselves consultants, then taken off for an early retirement in the West Indies.

  To have had it all handed to her on a plate that way was a dream come true for Rhiannon who had always hoped that one day, probably far into the future, she might be running her own company. But here she was, not even in her thirties yet and already at the helm of one of the year’s most talked-about programmes, with a happy, hard-working team of journalists and technicians who were the envy of their peers from whom Rhiannon received a constant stream of CVs, videos and letters all but pleading for jobs. Experience had shown Rhiannon that with the right team, in other words the right blend of personalities, there was much to be gained from handing over the programme’s reins to a researcher, a cameraman, a production assistant or a presenter in order to enhance their knowledge and appreciation of programme making, as well as to allow them the satisfaction of taking control of their own projects. This meant that it wasn’t unheard of for Rhiannon to assume the role of research assistant, camera assistant or even office co-ordinator, though on this particular trip she was the producer while Lizzy, who thanks to the show had become a household name, assumed her normal role of presenter.

  Melanie’s role needed some work in the defining, for she had only joined the team a couple of months ago when, a bit like Paddington, she’d turned up in London with a note from the Simpsons – her parents – asking Rhiannon to give her a job and do what she could to see that their wayward eldest didn’t get into too many scrapes. Rhiannon had been less than thrilled, but seeing that she hadn’t much choice, she’d collected the girl from the airport, installed her in the Simpsons’ London flat and put her on staff. Since when, Melanie had done precious little to ingratiate herself with anyone, least of all Rhiannon, had shown next to no interest in the programme and despite her generous salary was constantly borrowing from the rest of the team.

  It was just after nine o’clock when the landrover finally pulled into the clearing at the edge of the camp. The other half-dozen jeeps that had driven the Reserve’s other guests into the bush had already returned and early evening drinks were being served around the campfire.

  ‘Mmm, dinner smells good,’ Andy commented as the delicious aroma of freshly barbecueing impala drifted towards them.

  Elmore, his gleaming ebony skin almost lost in the darkness, hopped down from his seat and opened the door for Melanie to get out, while a couple of willowy blonde assistants emerged from the reception area to take Andy’s gun and help Hugh and Jack with their equipment. Rhiannon was on the point of gathering up her own things when she noticed Elmore’s dazzlingly white smile as he gazed down at Melanie, who was staring up at him with such blatant allure that Rhiannon’s mouth fell open in amazement. When, she wondered, had Melanie switched her sights from Andy to Elmore?

  She turned to Lizzy who was zipping her camera back into her bag. ‘What’s the routine now?’ Lizzy was asking, glancing up at Andy.

  Taking the keys from the ignition, Andy turned round and resting his arms on the back of the seat he started to grin. Rhiannon watched in the half-light as his gorgeous blue eyes twinkled mischievously into Lizzy’s.

  ‘How does a quick shower followed by a screaming orgasm grab you?’ he drawled.

  Rhiannon choked as Lizzy’s eyes dilated.

  ‘It’s a cocktail,’ Hugh informed them, tucking the camera under his arm and winking at Andy as he hopped down from the back of the jeep.

  ‘Oh,’ Lizzy responded, starting to grin. ‘What a disappointment.’

  Andy laughed. ‘Maybe we’ll see how many you can handle in a night.’

  As he climbed out of the landrover, Lizzy turned to Rhiannon. ‘You might have to fly me home on a stretcher,’ she warned.

  Laughing, Rhiannon hooked her bag over her shoulder and reached out to take the hand of one of the camp’s security guards who was waiting to help her down. Jack and Hugh were already in the covered reception with the blondes and Melanie was wandering off into the night with Elmore. She turned to where Lizzy was being helped down from the jeep by Andy and found herself starting to smile. They’d only flown in from Johannesburg that afternoon, so it certainly didn’t seem to be taking long for the fabled aphrodisiac of the bush to start working its magic. In Lizzy’s case, however, Rhiannon was only too aware of how fragile the euphoria was, for it was only distance and novelty that was encouraging Lizzy to shed her inhibitions as recklessly as she was. Not that Rhiannon had any intention of bringing her back to earth, for the last thing Rhiannon wanted was to be the voice of caution when she hadn’t seen Lizzy this excited since the accident that had shattered her life.

  ‘Ben’ll show you to your chalet, Rhiannon,’ Andy told her as they joined Hugh and Jack in reception.

  ‘I take it you’re Ben,’ Rhiannon said, looking up at the security guard’s beautiful African face.

  ‘Yes ma’am,’ he grinned.

  To her surprise Rhiannon felt herself starting to blush and treated Hugh to a swift kick on the shin as he gave her a playful nudge.

  ‘I’ll take Lizzy,’ Andy said, talking to the blondes. ‘You can take the guys. Now listen up, everyone,’ he continued, ‘you’ve got half an hour to clean up, then the guards will be back to collect you to bring you across for dinner. Don’t venture out of the chalets on your own. The camp’s bigger than you think and we don’t want anyone getting lost. More importantly, when you finally retire for the night you’ll be shown back to your chalets and if you come out after that you do so in peril of your life. I’m not joking about this, the animals frequently roam the camp at night and you and your seasoned flesh will make a tasty meal for a penthera pardus or two.’

  ‘A what?’ Lizzy asked.

  ‘A leopard,’ he translated. ‘Or a lion. Or a cheetah. There are plenty of them out there, so be warned. We’ve never had an accident at Perlatonga yet, so we don’t want one of you guys to be the first. OK?’

  As the others went off in vaguely the same direction, each being led by their appointed guide, Lizzy stood for a moment with Andy as he watched Rhiannon disappear along a tree-shadowed pathway with Ben. She was curious to see if he would comment on Rhiannon’s stunning figure, but then they both laughed as Hugh’s voice rang out of the darkness telling Rhiannon to treat the boy gently.

  Slinging Lizzy’s bag over his shoulder, Andy started along a narrow twisting path towards her chalet. ‘You’ll get to meet my brother, Doug, when you come over for dinner,’ he told her, holding a branch out of the way for her to pass. ‘He arrived a couple of hours ago from Jo’burg.’

  ‘Is he older or younger than you?’ Lizzy enquired, ducking away from a giant moth and raking her fingers through her curls to make sure it hadn’t landed.

  ‘Older. We’ve got two more brothers back home in Oz. They’l
l be taking over from the old man on the farm. It doesn’t need four of us, so Doug and I decided to set up here. We’ve both got a passion for animals and since the old man met Carlita, his second wife, on safari here in the Kruger he developed a kind of fondness for the place. So Doug and I didn’t have too much trouble persuading him to put up the moolah to get us started.’

  ‘You’re lucky to have such a wealthy father,’ Lizzy commented, stepping into the light of the little veranda at the front of her thatch-roofed chalet and turning to face him.

  His eyebrows went up as he nodded, but it was clear that his thoughts were a long way from his father as he gazed lazily into her eyes. Then his mouth curved in a half-smile as he lowered his eyes to her lips.

  ‘Yeah, I guess you could say that,’ he said, leaning an arm on the wooden post beside him while continuing to gaze shamelessly at her mouth and thinking about exactly where he would like those unbelievably sensuous lips to be.

  ‘I’d say it makes you and your brother something of a catch,’ she said, knowing what effect she was having on him and feeling the deliciously slow burn of response between her legs.

  ‘Yeah, I reckon it does,’ he agreed. ‘Me, anyhow. Doug’s already kind of spoken for.’

  Lizzy nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well,’ she smiled, ‘I think I’d better go and prepare myself for a screaming orgasm.’

  ‘Just one?’ he queried, raising an eyebrow.

  Looking brazenly into his eyes, she pressed a finger lightly to his lips, then floated off into her chalet.

  Chuckling to himself Andy started back through the camp, knowing full well that he was on for tonight. Not for nothing had game rangers been dubbed the sex gods of the bush by a Cape Town journalist, though it wasn’t often that the sport came with the kind of chassis Lizzy Fortnum could boast. As readily available, sure, but they were rarely, if ever, under fifty and never did they have the kind of lips that gave such eastern promise to a blow job.

  Looking up as he passed Rhiannon’s chalet, he saw her at one of the windows pulling closed the shutters. Hidden by the darkness, he paused for a moment to watch her. She wasn’t, at least by his standards, what could be described as a beauty, she had too many freckles for that and her features, on the whole, were pretty shambolic; eyes too small, nose too big, mouth kind of sloppy . . . But boy, did she have a body! What he couldn’t imagine doing with sheilas like that. And all that flaming red hair that could only mean a real, honest-to-goodness golden doughnut between those gorgeous long legs of hers. But Rhiannon Edwardes, tempting as she was, was strictly off-limits. Which was something he’d better remind Doug about, since one thing neither of them ever did was cut in on another bloke’s dance, especially not a mate’s. And Oliver Maguire, the international diamond dealer and Straussen-backed magnate, was not only a mate, he was also crazy bang in love with Rhiannon Edwardes.