Carpathian 18 - Dark Possesion

impatience in the bite of his fingers. She didn't sink into the ground, but insects raced all around her. She bit her lip and heroically refrained from saying anything as she took a cautious look around.
    Whipping the can of bug spray out, she doused the insects in a businesslike manner, "accidentally" managing to spray a little on Riordan's stiff neck.
    "Whoops. Sorry." She put the can neatly into one of the loops at her belt, ignoring his glare. Fulfilling the childish urge had given her a little burst of satisfaction. She knew she was stalling, but she'd work up to this her way, not be rushed by anyone.
    The rain forest wasn't anything like what she'd expected. It was dark and a little frightening. The air felt heavy with moisture, yet was still with expectancy, as if a thousand eyes watched her. The drone of insects and the unceasing cry of birds were the only things she could hear.
    MaryAnn swallowed hard and stayed perfectly still, afraid of moving in any direction. For some reason she thought the forest would be noisy, with the shrieks of a million monkeys, not just the calls of birds and the rustle of insects. Her heart began to pound. Somewhere in the distance a jaguar roared. A chill went down her spine and MaryAnn cleared her throat.
    "I may have forgotten to tell you about my weird little thing with cats. House cats. I don't know any other kind, but cats scare me. They have that focused stare and dig their claws into people." She was babbling and couldn't stop herself. It was pathetic and a little embarrassing, but she hadn't signed on for this. "So don't, you know, turn into a big cat or anything. And if one happens to be stalking us, it's probably best not to tell me.
    I'd much rather remain completely ignorant."
    "We'll keep you safe," Juliette assured her.
    "I thought you knew you were coming to the rain forest," Riordan said, trying not to sound annoyed. Was this really his brother's lifemate? She wasn't in the least bit suited to their lifestyle. Manolito would eat her alive.
    " Cattle ranch ," MaryAnn corrected. "You said cattle ranch on the outskirts of the rain forest." And that had been bad enough, when she was thinking luxury five-star hotel dose by . "You didn't say a word about an island and being in the middle of the rain forest. I thought you would be bringing Juliette's sister to me there.
    I made it very clear I'm a city girl. Give me a mugger and an alley any day of the week."
    For reassurance, she touched the two small canisters of pepper spray tucked safely beside the bug spray in the belt loops beneath her jacket. She'd come prepared for jaguar-men, not jaguars. And she could read Riordan's expression; he didn't bother to hide it. His opinion of her was hitting an all-time low, but she just didn't care.
    He wasn't the reason she was forcing herself to go into a place she knew was extremely dangerous to her. She had nothing to prove to anyone; she never had.
    Riordan beckoned with his fingers, and MaryAnn forced one foot in front of the other, reluctantly following his lead. Juliette was behind her, looking small and compact and alert. She moved with grace and ease through the surprisingly spacious forest floor. The forest was damp and so relentlessly dark, yet she could see colors she shouldn't have been able to see. MaryAnn was a little shocked at the vast variety of shades. As she walked, she was surprised by the absence of animals. She'd always thought creatures were everywhere in the forest, waiting to pounce on the unwary visitor, but as they walked single file, there was only an occasional flutter of wings overhead.
    She had also expected the forest floor to be an impenetrable jungle, but it was open and easy to walk through.
    Trees rose all around her, giant, smooth trunks rising without branches, nearly to the canopy. Roots flared out of the bases like snakes, writhing across the ground. Some trees appeared as if they were held up by a myriad of stilts. Climbing plants hung everywhere. Lianas tangled like ropes, knotting the trees together and forming a hidden highway up in the canopy. Vines crept up the trunks, weaving their way through orchids and over shrubs, ferns and the moss sprouting from the branches. She walked over dead leaves, seedlings, fallen boughs and twisted roots reaching in all directions like tentacles across the forest floor.
    MaryAnn was so scared. Terrified in fact. She hadn't been this frightened since a man had broken into her home and nearly killed