Tiger's Curse (23 page)

Just then, Ren galloped out of the jungle and took a flying leap. All five hundred pounds of his white tiger body landed with a splat right in the middle of the pool, sending rippling waves over to lap against my rock.

“Hey,” I said when he surfaced, “I thought tigers hated the water.”

He paddled over to me and swam around in circles, showing me that tigers did know how to swim. Darting his big head under the falls, he swam behind them and over to my rock. Pulling himself up behind me, he violently shook out his fur like a dog. Water sprayed in every direction, including all over me.

“Hey, I was drying off!”

I slid back into the water and swam out to the center of the pool. He jumped in again too, and paddled around me in circles while I splashed him, laughing. He dove under me and stayed underwater for a long time. Finally, he surfaced, leapt on top of a rock, and jumped into the air to belly flop into the water right next to me. We played in the water until I started to get tired. Then I swam back over to the falls again and stood in the stream with my arms raised, letting the water fall all around me.

I heard a pop and a thump from above. A few rocks fell down in the water right next to me with a plop and a splash. As I quickly moved out of the falls, a rock thumped me on the back of my head. My eyelids fluttered and closed as my body slumped into the cool water.

k
elsey!
Kelsey!
Open your eyes!”

Someone was shaking me. Hard. All I wanted to do was fall back into the black peaceful sleep, but the voice was desperate, insistent.

“Kelsey, listen to me! Open your eyes,
please
!”

I tried to crack open my eyes, but it hurt. The sunlight was making the painful pounding in my head worse.
What an awful headache!
My mind finally started to clear, and I recognized our campground and Ren, who was kneeling next to me. His wet hair was slicked back, and he had an expression of concern on his beautiful face.

“Kells, how do you feel? Are you okay?”

I intended to answer him with a really good sarcastic retort, but, instead, I choked and began coughing up water. I inhaled a deep breath, heard a crackly wetness in my lungs, and began coughing some more.

“Turn on your side. It helps to get the water out. Here, let me help you.”

He pulled me toward him so that I was resting on my side. I coughed up some more water. He took off his wet shirt and folded it. Then he gently lifted me and placed it under my sore head, which hurt too much to appreciate his . . . bronzed . . . sculpted . . . muscular . . . bare chest.

Well, I guess I must be okay if I can appreciate the view
, I thought.
Sheesh, I’d have to be dead not to appreciate it.

I winced as Ren’s hand brushed against my head, shaking me from my reverie.

“You’ve got a major bump here.”

I reached up to feel the giant lump on the back of my skull. I gingerly touched it and recalled the source of my headache.
I must have lost consciousness when the rock hit me. Ren saved my life. Again.

I looked up at him. He was kneeling next to me with a look of desperation on his face, and his body was shaking. I realized that he must have changed to a man, dragged me out of the pool, and then remained by my side until I woke up.
Who knows how long I’ve been laying here unconscious.

“Ren, you’re in pain. You’ve been in this form too long today.”

He shook his head in denial, but I saw him grit his teeth.

I pressed my hand on his arm. “I’ll be okay. It’s just a bump on the head. Don’t worry about me. I’m sure Mr. Kadam has some aspirin tucked away in the backpack. I’ll just take that and lie down to rest for a while. It’ll be alright.”

He trailed his finger slowly from my temple to my cheek and smiled softly. When he pulled back, his whole arm shook and tremors rippled under the surface of his skin. “Kells, I—”

His face tightened. He threw his head to the side, snarled angrily, and morphed to a tiger again. He softly growled, then quieted, and drew close beside me. He lay down next to me and watched me carefully with his alert blue eyes. I stroked his back, partly to reassure him and partly because it soothed me too.

I stared up through the dappled trees and willed my headache to subside. I knew that I would have to move eventually, but I really didn’t want to. He purred softly, and the comforting sound actually helped my headache. Sighing deeply, I got up, knowing that I’d be more comfortable if I changed my clothes.

I sat up delicately, slowly, while breathing deeply, hoping that by moving cautiously the nausea would dissipate and the world would stop spinning. Ren lifted his head, alert to my efforts.

“Thank you for saving me,” I whispered as I stroked his back. I kissed the top of his furry head. “What would I do without you?”

Zipping open the backpack, I found a small box that contained a variety of medications, including aspirin. I popped a couple in my mouth and swallowed a mouthful of the bottled water. Pulling out my dry clothes, I turned to Ren. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’d like to change back into my regular clothes, so if you would head off into the jungle again for a few minutes, I would appreciate it.”

He growled at me, sounding a bit angry.

“I’m serious.”

He growled louder.

I rested my palm against my forehead and held on to a nearby tree to steady my wobbly legs. “I need to change, and you are
not
staying here to watch me.”

He huffed, stood, actually shook his body and head like he was saying no, and stared me down. I stared right back and pointed to the jungle. He finally turned around, but then he padded into the tent and lay down on my quilt. His head faced inward while his tail twitched back and forth outside the opening.

I sighed and winced after turning my head too quickly. “I guess that’s the best I’m going to get out of you, isn’t it? Stubborn tiger.” I decided that I could live with his compromise, but I kept an eye on his flicking tail as I changed my clothes.

I felt a little better for having on dry clothes. The aspirin had started working, and my head throbbed less, but it was still tender. I decided that I’d rather sleep than eat, so I skipped dinner but opted for hot cocoa.

Carefully making my way around our campsite, I added a couple of logs in the fire pit and put the water on to boil. Crouching down, I worked the fire for a while with a long branch to get it crackling again and got out a packet of hot chocolate mix. Ren watched every move I made.

I dismissed him. “I’m fine. Really. Go off on one of your scouting trips or whatever.”

Ren just sat there stubbornly, twitching his tiger tail.

“I’m serious.” I spun my finger in a circle. “Go circle the grounds. Look for your brother. I’ll just gather some firewood and go to bed.”

He still wouldn’t move and made a noise that sounded slightly like a whining dog. I laughed and petted his head.

“You know, despite appearances, I’m usually pretty good at taking care of myself.”

The tiger harrumphed and sat beside me. I leaned against his shoulder while mixing my hot chocolate.

Before the sun set, I gathered wood and drank a bottle of water. When I crawled into my tent, Ren followed me. He stretched out his paws, and I carefully positioned my head on them to cushion it. I heard a deep tiger sigh, and he settled his head next to mine. When I woke up the next morning, my head was still cushioned on Ren’s soft paws, but I’d turned, buried my face in his chest, and had thrown my arm around his neck, cuddling him close like he was a giant stuffed animal.

I pulled away a little awkwardly. As I got up to stretch, I cautiously felt my lump and was happy to find it greatly reduced. I felt much better.

Famished, I broke out some granola bars and a package of oatmeal. I heated enough water over the fire again to pour into my oatmeal and make another cup of hot chocolate. After breakfast, I told Ren to head off on patrol and that I was going to wash my hair.

He waited for a while, watching my movements until he felt reassured, then took off, and left me to fend for myself. I grabbed a small bottle of biodegradable shampoo that Mr. Kadam had included for me; the soap smelled like strawberries. He’d even included conditioner.

Changing into my swimsuit, shorts, and sneakers, I hiked down to my sunning rock. Staying on the edge of the falls, well away from the place I’d been hit by falling rocks, I gently wet and soaped my hair. Leaning slightly into the sparkling water, I let it softly rinse out the bubbles. The cool water felt good on my sore head.

Moving over to the sunny side of the rock, I sat down to brush my hair. When I was done, I closed my eyes and turned my face toward the early morning sun, letting it warm me as my hair dried. This place was a paradise, no question about it. Even with a bump on the head and my dislike of camping, I could appreciate the beauty of my surroundings.

It was not that I didn’t appreciate nature. In fact, I liked spending time outdoors with my parents when I was growing up. It was just that I always enjoyed sleeping in my own bed
after
appreciating nature.

Ren came back around midday and sat by me companionably while we ate our freeze-dried lunches. It was the only time I’d ever seen him eat as a man other than the mango fruit. Afterward, I rooted around in my bag for my book of poetry. I asked Ren if he’d like me to read to him.

He’d changed back into a tiger, and I didn’t hear a growl or another type of tiger protest, so I grabbed my book of poetry and sat down with my back resting against a big rock. He padded over next to me and surprised me by morphing into a man. He flipped onto his back and laid his head in my lap before I could get a word in. Then he sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

I laughed and said, “I guess that means yes?”

Keeping his eyes closed, he mumbled, “Yes, please.”

I flipped through my book to pick a poem to read. “Ah, this one seems appropriate. I think you’ll like it. It’s one of my favorites, and it’s also written by Shakespeare, the same guy who wrote
Romeo and Juliet
.”

I began reading and held the book with one hand while absentmindedly stroking Ren’s hair with the other.

SHALL
I
COMPARE
THEE
TO A SUMMER’S DAY?

by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

His voice was soft. “That was . . . excellent. I like this Shakespeare.”

“Me too.”

I was thumbing through the poetry book searching for another poem when Ren said, “Kelsey, perhaps I could share a poem of my country . . . with you.”

Surprised, I set my book down. “Sure, I’d love to hear some Indian poetry.”

He opened his eyes and stared up at the trees overhead. Capturing my hand, he twined my fingers through his and rested our hands on his chest. A slight breeze was blowing. It caused the leaves to dance and twist in the sun, weaving shadows and sunlight across his handsome face.

“This is an old poem of India. It’s taken from an epic story that’s been told for as long as I can remember. It’s called the
Sakuntala
by Kalidasa.”

Thy heart, indeed, I know not:

but mine, oh! cruel, love

warms by day and by night;

and all my faculties are centered on thee.

Thee, O slender maid,

love only warms;

but me he burns;

as the day-star only stifles the fragrance of the night-flower,

but quenches the very orb of the moon.

This heart of mine,

oh thou who art of all things the dearest to it,

will have no object but thee.

“Ren, that was very beautiful.”

His eyes turned to my face. He smiled and reached a hand up to touch my cheek. My pulse quickened, and my face felt hot where he touched it. I became suddenly aware that my fingers were still twined in his hair, and my hand was resting on his chest. I quickly removed them and twisted them in my lap. He sat up slightly, leaning on one hand, which brought his beautiful face very close to mine. His fingers moved down to my chin and, with the lightest touch, he tilted my face so that my eyes met his intense blue ones.

“Kelsey?”

“Yes?” I whispered.

“I would like permission . . . to kiss you.”

Whoa. Red alert!
The comfortable feeling I was enjoying with my tiger just a few minutes before had disappeared. I became acutely nervous and prickly. My perspective swung 180 degrees. I was, of course, aware that a man’s heart beat inside the tiger’s body, but, somehow, I’d shifted that knowledge to the back of my mind.

Awareness of the prince burst into my conscious mind. I stared at him, astonished. He was, well, to be blunt, he was out of my league. I’d never even considered the possibility of a relationship with him, other than friendship.

His question forced me to acknowledge that my comfortable pet tiger was actually a virile, robust example of masculinity. My heart started hammering against my ribcage. Several thoughts went through my head all at once, but the dominant thought was that I would very much
like
to be kissed by Ren.