The huts had the smell of animal habitation--no surprise when the savages looked and behaved more like animals than higher thinking beings! They had obvious skills, though, that no dumb animal would have. The huts were well constructed, very cleverly constructed, actually. They were tight enough they showed no signs of decay from a constant wetting by rain and yet window covers had been fashioned so that they could be raised and lowered for ventilation or to let in light. They were also surprisingly spacious--probably at least partly because they were completely empty--but she thought the structures must have housed more than one family unit. There didn't seem to be enough of them to have accommodated the number of warriors they'd already encountered, and killed, let alone women and children unless they did house multiple families.
Or there was another village nearby.
The location and situation was a good one, Danika decided. The tree dwellings were high enough to protect from all but climbing predators and even few of the annoying flying, biting insects seemed able to fly so high. They were cool, even now that they'd reached the heat of the day because of the shade from the tree foliage and also the wind currents. She thought they'd also be tight enough once the sun went down to keep warmth in.
She hoped so, at any rate.
"This wouldn't be a bad place if we could get rid of the stench from the savages," Danika said after she'd thoroughly examined everything.
The men all looked at her doubtfully and she shrugged. "At least temporarily. It would beat the hell out of rolling in sleeping bags on the ground. We don't have any sleepwalkers among us, do we?" she asked jokingly.
The men all looked at her blankly.
"Never mind. I vote we make this our base if the shit hits the fan. Let's see if we can find out how close the neighbors are."
They didn't find any sign of another village. Danika wasn't convinced that that meant there wasn't another one uncomfortably close, but they didn't have time before dark to explore a lot further.
She was still pleased with the results of their exploration. She'd seen signs of a fairly abundant food supply and shelter that appealed to her a hell of a lot more than the cave. All they'd have to do was figure out how to catch the food and fend off the natives if they decided to reclaim their village!
She was exhausted by the time they reached their post again, too tired to comment on the fact that no one had shown up to guard the position while they were gone. She was sure the men had to be tired, too, and was somewhat resentful that they weren't showing the signs of fatigue she felt, but still grateful when they took over sorting the supplies. Basil handed out food kits. She ate mechanically and then curled up in her sleeping bag and passed out.
Despite the fact that she’d managed to sleep through Reuel’s departure, Danika discovered with relief and a great deal of annoyance, that both her survival instincts and her training were still very much a part of her.
Something touched her.
She was on her feet and swinging before she was even conscious.
Everyone else was also on their feet and at full alert the moment she sprang into action.
Including Basil, who caught the brunt of her defensive maneuvers. The pain of contact brought her more fully awake. “What?” she demanded drunkenly when she realized it was Basil she’d pummeled and not a tree.
“What is it?” Seth growled.
Still too groggy to fully assimilate what was going on herself, Danika looked around at the men surrounding her through blurry, watering eyes, trying to figure out whathadhappened. After rolling it around in her mind for several moments, she finally realized what it was that had awakened her from deep sleep. “Something touched me,” she supplied finally. “I know I didn’t just dream it.”
Seth, Dane, and Niles immediately zeroed in on Basil, narrowing their eyes at him.
“Basil was on watch,” Seth growled. “You did not see anything?”
Basil shrugged, his expression a mixture of discomfort, defensiveness, and irritation. “I did not. It was I.”
Danika stared at him, trying to assimilate that. “You what?” She frowned, realizing finally that he wouldn’t have caught the brunt of her assault if he hadn’t been directly beside her when she’d launched her offensive. “You touched me? What the hell for? Is it my turn to stand watch?”
“I am next in rotation,” Dane ground out.
Basil shrugged. “I thought that I would ask if you were in the fucking mood yet.”
Danika gaped at him. “You woke me to ask?” she demanded disbelievingly.
Niles’ eyes narrowed. “He did not wake you to ask,” he snarled. “He thought to catch you off guard and sex you while you were sleeping!”
Asifshe could sleep through that!
She wouldn’t need to, though, if she was far enough gone by the time shedidrealize what was going on to have no desire to object.
Danika was awake enough by that time for Niles’ assessment to make complete sense … particularly since she’d had time to realize that the touch that woke her was a hand settling on her breast. Anger flooded her. “You scared the piss out of me! I thought something had crawled into my sleeping bag with me!”
“Something did,” Seth growled.
