Prowl

When the Black Panther enters your life as a totem,

it awakens the inner passions. – Ted Andrews, Animals Speak

 

Mara stood behind the bar, washing the glasses left over from last night.  There were few patrons in the restaurant, so early in the morning.  Don Rodrigo and his friend Don Carlo were sitting at their usual table, having their morning coffee and sweet rolls.  Mara’s mother still baked them by hand every morning, though the arthritis was making it more difficult each year.  Nevertheless, the smell of cinnamon and coffee welcomed townspeople and guests alike every morning.

 

Not that the little hotel saw guests that often; the hotel’s four guestrooms often stood vacant months at a time.  Few outsiders found their way this far up the river.  That had changed last night!  The beautiful young American with his fine hair, yellow as sunshine and piercing blue eyes had finally arrived.  Mara paused her work remembering his broad smile when he checked in the evening before.

 

Just then, something the two men were discussing caught her attention.  Don Carlo was telling Don Rodrigo about some excitement of his own.

 

“I saw it again last month.”

“Really?” asked Don Rodrigo.

“It was prowling at the edge of the jungle, right by my son’s tool-shed.  I swear it stopped and looked right at me!”

“And you are sure this was a panther?”

“The moon, it was so full and bright.  I saw it quite plainly.”

 

Mara noticed her mother looking from her to the basin full of glasses, and went back to work, missing the rest of Don Carlo’s story.

 

- - - - - - - - - -

 

Daniel Simmons looked out over the little town of San Raphael, or at least the little of San Raphael he could see.  The early morning haze lay thick around its winding streets, leaving only the tops of the few two story buildings to give testament to the town below.   Already the heat was rising into the 90s, and the sun was barely over the crest of the mountains.   It wouldn’t be long before the haze burned off.  It was going to get unbearable by noon.

 

Daniel turned from the balcony and caught his reflection in the mirror.  His 6-foot frame was filling out nicely.  All through high school, and even most of college, he had always been little more than skin and bones.  Now after 6 months of lifting weights in preparation for this trip, he could see some real improvement.  He chuckled to himself; scarecrow was what his older brothers used to call him.  They’d hardly recognize him now.

 

He sat down on the bed and pulled on his faded jeans, gray t-shirt, and wool socks.  He double-checked the supplies in his photographer’s vest.  He had plenty of film, a good sturdy knife, snakebite kit, snickers bars, a bottle of aspirin, and a large tube of SPF 40 lotion.  He got up.  Donned the vest, and put on his hat.  Then he slung his gear bag over his shoulder and headed down to breakfast.

 

By the time he entered the restaurant, it had begun to fill with locals here to enjoy a cup of coffee before they started their day.  Daniel felt rather conspicuous, as conversations paused, and curious eyes glanced furtively in his direction, and then jumped back away.  He was going to have to get used to this.  Being the only person in several hundred miles, without black hair and dark eyes made him quite a curiocity.

 

He was just finishing his second cup, when he looked to the entrance of the restaurant and nearly choked on his mouthful of coffee.  Entering the restaurant was a man, maybe five or ten years his senior, wearing a clean white t-shirt and ragged blue jeans.   The fabric clung tightly to his well-muscled torso plainly showing him to be a powerfully strong man.

 

The man was coming strait towards him.  Daniel’s eyes ran along the man’s shoulders, down past his flat stomach, and focused on the front of his jeans, which looked to be as fully packed as the t-shirt.  He caught himself staring at the bulge and feeling an uncomfortable bulge rising in his own jeans, snapped his eyes back to the face of the man who now stood with his right arm stretched out toward him.

 

“Senior Simmons?” The man asked in a rich baritone.

 

Daniel blushed, and shook the man’s hand.  The grip was like iron, and as he vigorously shook his hand, Daniel watched the man’s bicep swell and fall.  Daniel smiled and looking around the room, and said, “How could you tell?”

 

Grinning, showing a mouthful of strait white teeth, the man looked around the room and said, “It wasn’t too difficult.  I am Miguel.  Your agency arranged with me to guide you to the ruins.   I trust your trip was uneventful.”

 

“It wasn’t too bad.  The roads around here are nothing like what I’m used to, though.  I though my ass was going to fall off by the time the bus left me off here at the hotel.”

 

Miguel chuckled.  “I’m afraid that you may be saying the same thing tonight after a day in my jeep.  It has a good suspension, but where we’ll be going, the roads are little more than ruts through the jungle.  We’ll have to hike in the last half kilomiter as it is.  I see that you have a good pair of boots.  You know, I’ve actually had to carry some guy out.  He was wearing Sneakers.”

 

Both men had a good laugh.

 

“Well, When do we start?”

 

“Well, I have our gear already packed in the jeep, and it looks like you’ve had breakfast, so if you want to gather your things, we can go as soon as you are ready.”

 

Daniel ran up to the room gathered his things.  He returned, and the two men left the hotel; mounted the jeep; and headed out of town toward adventure..

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

They traveled towards the mountains in the distance, following a road that got progressively worse, until it was barely a road at all.  Miguel proved to be an amiable companion, telling Daniel about his family; what it was like growing up in such a remote location.  Daniel, in turn, told Miguel about his family, and finishing his masters program in archaeology. 

 

With the road conditions being so bad, Miguel was forced to keep his attention on the road, giving Daniel time to study the man next to him.  His eyes were often drawn back to the bulge in the man’s jeans.  On several occasions, he thought Miguel had noticed his attention, and he would turn to watch the jungle pass by.

 

At noon, they stopped for a rest on a high piece of ground that offered them a good breeze to mitigate the heat of the day.  Miguel produced sandwiches from a cooler in the back, and opened two cokes.   Daniel grinned to himself.  He still wasn’t used to the fact that few people outside of the U.S. chilled their beverages.

 

Miguel passed him a coke and a sandwich.  As his hand pulled back, the tip of a finger grazed the back of Daniel’s hand, and Daniel felt a sudden electric jolt at the contact, and immediately his dick stiffened in his jeans, noticeably tenting them.  He quickly turned away from Miguel, and studied the jungle, color rising in his cheeks.

 

The two ate listening to the constant buzz of the insects, and occasional calls of birds.

 

“Do you see the little red bird there?” Miguel suddenly spoke, startling Daniel out of his drowse.  He looked around, in the area Miguel was indicating.  His eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head, looking at Miguel.

 

Miguel reached for his hand, and stepping behind Daniel brought his arm up to point out the tiny bird.  Daniel was ready for the contact, and with relief, found he could control his reaction.

 

Now seeing what Miguel was pointing out, he asked, “Is that what is making such a racket?”

 

Miguel chuckled, “Si.  We call him a pepper bird.  He’s so small you could hold him in your cupped hand without hurting him, but he is very jealous of his territory.  He sings to tell all the other boys that this is his area of the forest, and they better stay away.”

 

Miguel was still holding Daniel’s arm, but then he released him and went around to the driver’s side.  “We had better get going.  I want to get to the ruins before nightfall.  Here in the hills, it gets dark very fast.  We will want to see to set up the tent.”

 

Miguel stepped to the side of the road, and Daniel heard the unmistakable sound of a zipper being lowered.   “You better go now, we have a hard ride coming up,” he advised.

 

Daniel stepped to the other side of the road, being careful not to look at Miguel, as he heard the sound of the man’s piss flowing over the undergrowth.  Daniel followed suit, but had a difficult time wrestling himself back into his jeans, as his mind pictured what was happening on the other side of the road.

 

They both got into the jeep, and headed off again.

 

The shadows were beginning to lengthen, and Daniel checked his watch.  “Miguel, it’s 5:00.   How much further do we have to go?”

 

Miguel stopped the jeep, and took out his GPS receiver.  He turned it on, and then consulted a topographic map.  “Well… we’re only about 2 kilometers from the site, so we should be there by 7:00.  We are making good time,” he said smiling.

 

“Seven?”  Daniel said.  “We’re driving faster than 2 kilometers per hour, aren’t we?”

 

Miguel smiled brightly.  “Ah yes, but remember, the last half a click, we have to hike in.”

 

They drove for another 30 minutes or so, when the road abruptly ended. Miguel shut off the jeep.

 

“From here, we walk,“ he said as he pulled himself out of the jeep.  He took two frame packs out of the back of the jeep, and set them to the side.  He opened another two cokes, and the rest of the sandwiches.  The men ate in silence, and when both were done, and the bottles put back in the jeep, Miguel helped Daniel rearrange his pack so that he wouldn’t have to carry his camera gear in a separate bag.  Then they helped each other with their packs and headed off. 

 

By the time the pair crested the rise that finally revealed the first signs that men ever lived there, the road had disappeared completely, and they were navigating by solely by GPS and topographical map.  Daniel stopped and stared at the sight.  Miguel had continued on, but noticed that he was alone, so he stopped and turned around.  Daniel was kneeling with a camera in hand, motioning him to the side.  Miguel smiled and stepped away, while Daniel took several shots of his first view of a city whose name had been forgotten.

 

Daniel moved to join Miguel, a big smile on his face.  “Isn’t it beautiful?” he gushed. 

 

Miguel grinned.  “Well, I guess I’m not sure if I’d call it beautiful, but for the next week or so, it’s home.  Come; we only have about half an hour of daylight left, and we’ll want to have our tent up by then. ”

 

For the next half hour, they pitched camp.  Not wishing to disturb the site, they pitched in a clearing a couple of hundred feet south of the edge of the broken city. 

 

By the time they finished, the sun had just crossed the edge of the mountain in the west.  The sky was still a deep shade of blue, but darkening by the minute.  Miguel had started a fire and served a surprisingly good meal of scalloped potatoes and ham (not bad, for reconstituted food), and finished the meal with strong black coffee.

 

Miguel had taken his shirt off, and was lounging against a log, lazily poking at the fire with a stick.  The wood wasn’t completely dry, so there was a strong odor of smoke in the air.  The birds filled the air with their evening songs.  A Coleman lantern hissed quietly near the tent flap.

 

Daniel sat across from him, watching Miguel breathe, the smooth brown skin of his flat stomach rising and falling rhythmically. Daniel’s eyes traveled up to Miguel’s chest.  There was a dusting of dark hair between his pectorals that ran down to his navel and down below to the edge of his jeans.  Daniel’s eyes suddenly snapped to Miguel’s, and saw that he was being watched too.

 

Daniel jumped up and grabbed the lantern.  “I’m going to take a little walk by that wall over there.”

 

Miguel continued to stir the fire for a few moments and then got up and followed the lantern light.

 

He caught up with Daniel, who was now kneeling down by a broken wall.  He had placed the lantern on a boulder to light the wall more clearly.  Into the wall was a stylized carving of a large cat nearly life-sized. The wall was cracked and falling down in several places, but the relief had been spared.

 

“You really shouldn’t be wandering around alone in the dark.  There could be dangerous animals.”

 

Without turning to look at Miguel, Daniel said: “Look at the detail!”

 

Miguel smiled at the back of Daniel’s head.  “That is a black panther.  I think that she was some sort of religious symbol.  You’ll see quite a few similar carvings this week.”

 

Daniel still studying the carving noticed the sound of Miguel’s voice was receding.  Without looking up, he said, “Where are you going, if I’m not supposed to be alone.”

 

The sound of water hitting the leaves nearby answered his question.  He stood up and looked in the direction of the sound.

 

The sight that met him held him transfixed.  A golden stream shone in the near darkness, flowing out from the end of Miguel’s foreskin, as he relieved himself against a tree.  Daniel watched breathlessly, until the stream slowed, and then stopped.  Miguel shook the last drops from his penis and stuffed it back into his jeans.  Turned around and saw Daniel staring at him.

 

Daniel immediately turned back to the carving and began to run his fingers over it.  Suddenly his stomach lurched, as he felt a strong pair of hands grasp his wrists and he was forced up against the wall.

 

“You have been watching me all day.”  Miguel’s strong torso pressing into Daniel’s back; his hips pressed firmly into Daniel’s buttocks.  “Is this what you have been wanting?”

 

Oh God, Daniel thought.  What have I done? The jungle seemed to have gone completely silent, except for the two men’s breathing and the steady hiss of the Coleman lantern. Though he could barely speak, terrified as he was, he managed to squeak out, “I’m sorry.”

 

The grip around his wrists tightened, and Miguel pressed him harder into the wall.  Now Daniel could feel Miguel’s hardening manhood pressing against the cleft of his butt cheeks.   “I didn’t ask if you were sorry, Daniel,” he said.  “I asked if this is what you wanted.”

 

Daniel’s chin fell to his chest and he closed his eyes, but said nothing.

 

Miguel leaned his head in towards Daniel and he whispered into his ear, his lips grazing the lobe, making Daniel shudder.  “I asked:  if … this … is … what … you …wanted,” he whispered, punctuating each word with a thrust of his pelvis.

 

Feeling ashamed, a tear flowing down his cheek, barely able to speak, Daniel managed to say in a small voice, “yes.”

 

Miguel brought Daniels right hand toward his left, and easily grabbed both hands above his head.  With the other, he spun Daniel around to face him.  Daniel braced himself for the blow he was expecting, but rather than hit him, Miguel’s right hand firmly grasped the back of his head, and he bent in and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

 

Miguel pulled back, releasing Daniel’s head, but maintaining the hold on his wrists, and stared into his frightened eyes.

 

“I’ve never been kissed by a man before,” Daniel said, his breathing coming in rapid gasps.

 

Miguel smoothed a tear off Daniel’s cheek, and leaned in again.  This time, Daniel’s mouth returned the kiss, opening it and accepting Miguel’s gently probing tongue.   They kissed for a brief eternity, and then Miguel pulled back again.

 

He smiled, and released Daniel’s wrists. “There, now.  Was that so difficult?”

 

Daniel nearly fell to the ground, but Miguel caught him in his free arm, and closed the embrace with his right.  Tears were still trickling down Daniel’s face, but this time, he leaned in, put his arms around Miguel’s back, and kissed him.

 

Miguel broke their embrace.  Daniel stood up on his own power.  Miguel grasped the lantern in his left hand and took Daniel’s left with his right.  “Come back to the camp.”

 

Daniel obediently followed Miguel, to their campsite, where Miguel turned off the lantern.  Now the low fire was the only light. 

 

Daniel stood admiring the bands of muscles flowing on Miguel’s massive shoulders as Miguel added another large log to the fire.  There was the sheen of sweat on his back reflecting the firelight, as he turned.  Daniel thought to himself that he had never seen anyone so beautiful before.

 

Miguel turned back to Daniel, who was leaning on the log that Miguel had been leaning against during supper.  Miguel moved toward him and grasped the sides of Daniel’s t-shirt, pulling it over his head, revealing the smooth skin beneath. 

 

Daniel’s looked strait into Miguel’s dark eyes.  Miguel’s calloused fingers traced the cleft of his pecks. It traced under the left one to graze upward finally to circle his nipple, which popped to attention immediately, the wispy blond hairs surrounding it pulled tight in bumps of gooseflesh.  The erection that had been slowly subsiding now sprang to new life in his jeans.

 

Miguel’s head dove down and his tongue lashed out to circle his other nipple.  Daniel’s head lolled back as he reveled in the sensations.  His breath suddenly caught as the tongue was replaced with teeth, gently nibbling and pulling the nipple back.  His hands moved automatically to Miguel’s head to bring it close to his chest.

 

Miguel firmly grasped Daniel’s wrists, placing them back to his side.  He let go of the nipple, and smiling shook his head.  Daniel relaxed his hands, and Miguel leaned back in and kissed his Adam’s apple.

 

Miguel slowly sank to his knees, kissing his way down Daniel’s chest and stomach.  By the time he reached the navel, Miguel’s hands had fumbled with Daniel’s belt and fly, and his jeans were slipping to his knees.  Daniel was wearing a pair of white cotton underwear, which were now being stretched out of shape by his pulsing hard-on. 

 

Miguel buried his nose between Daniels legs, and inhaled deeply.  Charged by the musky scent, he nuzzled between his legs, his nose pressing into the pouch of Daniel’s shorts.  Daniel began to shudder in his excitement.

 

Miguel leaned back and with both hands lowered the shorts, exposing Daniel’s penis.  It was completely engorged, the mushroom head flaring at the end, and a clear pearl of liquid glinted in the firelight.

 

Daniel stood trembling, his eyes closed, adrift in the ocean of pleasure Miguel was causing.  He felt his penis being freed of his shorts, and closed his eyes.  He cried out when he felt the tip of Miguel’s tongue take the bead of pre-cum of the tip of his dick, and then again when he felt Miguel take the entire head into his mouth.  Miguel’s tongue ran around the head, and dove in to the slit sucking and scooping out the pre-cum, which was now flowing from the head.

 

Then the lips left him, and though the night air was warm, his dickhead was suddenly cold in contrast.  He almost opened his eyes, but then cried out again, as he felt Miguel’s lips close around the root of his penis, the head striking the back of Miguel’s throat.  Miguel’s mouth closed up against the shaft as he sucked, slowly pulling back on the shaft until only the head was still in his mouth.  Miguel repeated this twice and then began to slowly lick up and down the shaft.

 

Miguel’s hands began to knead Daniel’s buttocks, the fingers grazing the sensitive hairs on his thighs.   Daniel was beginning to breathe heavily and nearly lost his balance.  Miguel’s hands grasped his butt, steadying him, and brought him back to reality for a moment.

 

Miguel’s hands left his buttocks, and his left began to slowly jack his own cock.  Daniel watched in fascination as the foreskin slid off, and then back over Miguel’s cock head.  Miguel stopped sucking Daniel’s penis, and began to bathe his balls in his warm mouth, while his free hand began to jack Daniel’s cock.  Daniel again closed his eyes.

 

Miguel’s stopped licking Daniel’s balls.  He looked up at him as he undid the laces of Daniel’s boots and helped him to step out of both them and his jeans and shorts.  His legs now free, Daniel stood with his feet a little wider apart to help him balance, as Miguel went back to licking his balls.

 

Miguel began to knead his buttocks again; Daniel closed his eyes.  He moistened a finger and then began to lick his way up Daniel’s penis to the head, which was now glistening again with pre-cum.  His lips parted as he drove his mouth down to Daniel’s bush.   His hand separated Daniel’s cheeks and he began to slowly massage the quivering hole with his moistened finger.

 

Daniel’s breathing was now coming in ragged gasps, as Miguel’s tongue and lips bathed his cock, and his finger gently circled and probed his hole.  Miguel paused to re-moisten the finger, and then he resumed.  Suddenly the finger crossed the boundary and slid in, up to the second knuckle.

 

At that moment, Daniels orgasm struck with a force that dropped him to his knees, his cock spurting white globs of cum over Miguel’s chest again, and again.  Miguel’s finger gently prodded something deep inside of him; the orgasm renewed itself, again covering Miguel’s chest with semen, and leaving Daniel draped, gasping over his shoulder.

 

Eventually everything came back into focus.  Miguel extracted his finger, and Daniel plopped backward, nearly hitting his head on the log.  He looked at Miguel, sitting on his haunches.  He was a mess.  All over his chest and abdomen, there were globs of white glistening cum beginning to run down.  He was wearing a huge grin.  “Well,” he said, “you certainly seemed to enjoy that.”

 

Daniel grabbed the t-shirt lying next to him, and wiped his cum off Miguel.  Miguel gently brought Daniel’s lips to his, and they again kissed.  When they stopped for breath, Daniel broke away, and beckoned Miguel to follow him into the tent. 

 

Miguel started to pull on the jeans he had opened to get at his cock, but Daniel said: “Just leave those.  You won’t be needing them tonight.”

 

Miguel smiled, and after removing his boots, shucked the jeans off and ducked into the tent.

 

By that time, Daniel had zipped the two sleeping bags together making one large bag.  Miguel came up behind him as he worked, and enfolded Daniel in his powerful arms.  Daniel turned in the embrace, and they kissed deeply, their hands exploring each other.

 

Daniel broke the kiss and positioned Miguel on his back.  “Your turn”, he said, as he licked his way down the trail of fur, until he was poked in the jaw by Miguel’s cock.  The fire was burning brightly by now, and enough light was filtering through the tent flaps for him to see the beautiful cock he was holding.

 

With deep fascination, he slicked the foreskin forward over the head, until there was a ring of skin hanging over the slit.  The end of the foreskin drooled a tiny bead of pre-cum.  Holding the cock in his fist so that the foreskin wouldn’t pull back, Daniel stuck his tongue into the hole, and licked around the head inside the fleshy tube.  Miguel groaned.

 

Daniel slicked back the foreskin, revealing the head, and he dove down on it with gusto.  Miraculously, he managed to keep his teeth out of the way, and soon Miguel was moaning loudly, as Daniel sucked eagerly on his pulsing cock.

 

Miguel reached down under Daniel’s arms and pulled him up until they were again face-to-face.  They kissed while Miguel again began to knead Daniel’s butt and his finger again began to massage the sensitive hole.

 

Daniel began to push back on the finger, so Miguel brought it to his mouth.  He slicked it up, and this time when Daniel pushed back, it slipped easily inside.  Daniel was very aware of Miguel’s cock grinding into his belly while his finger slowly worked its way in and out.  Daniel groaned, and his head fell onto Miguel’s shoulder.

 

“Tell me what you want,” Miguel said.

 

“I want you to fuck me,” Daniel whispered back.

 

The finger slipped out of Daniel, and was replaced with two.  While he finger-fucked Daniel, Miguel gently stretched the tight opening until it allowed a third finger to enter.  Then he pulled them out and told Daniel.  “Get on your knees in front of me.”

 

Daniel did as he was told, and quivering in anticipation waited.  Miguel spit several times, lubing him, and then he spit into his hand and spread it over his cock.

 

Miguel moved Daniel’s legs a little further apart, and began to massage the hole with his dick head.

 

Daniel could feel the velvety head circling his hole.  Then slowly it began to press against him.  Miguel slowly leaned forward, holding his dick in place.  Daniel suddenly felt the head slip inside.  There was an instant burning sensation around the ring where his sphincter tried to eject the invader.  Daniel gasped.

 

Miguel stopped leaning forward, but maintained a steady pressure.  “The first time is always the most difficult.  Stop moving and try to relax, and the burning will stop.”

 

Daniel waited.  Miguel was right.  Eventually the burning did stop as he relaxed.  Daniel began to push back onto Miguel’s cock.  Soon he felt Miguel’s balls touch his, and he let out a sigh.

 

Miguel stroked Daniels back; pulled a little way out, and then pushed slowly back in.  Daniel moaned and backed himself forcefully into Miguel’s pelvis.  This time Miguel pulled nearly all the way out before thrusting, a little quicker this time, back in.

 

Miguel grasped Daniel’s hips, and set up a slow rhythm.  Daniel tried to make him go faster, but Miguel slapped his butt and said “Patience.”

 

Daniel relaxed into the rhythm that Miguel set and enjoyed the feeling of fullness and vulnerability he felt as Miguel slowly fucked him.

 

Miguel’s breathing began to get faster, as did the pace of his fucking.  Daniel clenched down on Miguel’s cock, causing him to gasp and thrust powerfully forward.

 

Miguel began to pick up the pace.  His arms reached around and crossed under Daniel as he brought him up toward his chest.  One hand held Daniel up, while the other started jacking him.

 

The pace of their fucking began to reach a fever pitch, Miguel withdrawing and then slamming his way back to the hilt.  Then Daniel clenched again, and it sent Miguel over the edge.

 

Miguel cried out in his orgasm and Daniel felt Miguel’s cock pulsing his load up into him.  Miguel’s groaning got louder and louder turning into a growl, when suddenly Daniel felt a sharp pain at his shoulder.  The sudden pain brought Daniel over the edge, and he came so hard that white spots danced before his eyes, and he collapsed under their combined weight.

 

Minutes passed as the two lay tangled together, neither of them moving except for their ragged breathing.  Finally Miguel began to soften, and his cock slowly slipped out of Daniel.  He rolled off him, and the two of them lay side to side, their fingers entwined, panting.

 

They kissed for a while.  Then Miguel noticed that his hand felt sticky.  He examined it to find that it was covered in blood.

 

“Fuck!” he cursed.  “You’re bleeding!”

 

They left the tent and re-lit the lantern.  Daniel looked over his shoulder in the light, and saw the clear impressions of teeth marks, several of which were still flowing lightly.

 

He grinned back at Miguel.  ‘I guess you got a little carried away.”

 

Miguel examined Daniel’s back, and ran to his pack.  He quickly got out the first aid kit, and splashed the wound with iodine.

 

“Ouch!  Damn, that stings,” Daniel Protested.

“Maybe if I can get the wound clean, you won’t get infected.”

Daniel turned around and faced Miguel.  “You just fucked me without a condom, you ass-hole”

“It’s not that I’m worried about.  I’m sure I’m negative.”

“Then I don’t understand what you’re so excited about”, Daniel said, looking confused.

“And I hope that you won’t have a reason to understand,” he said, as he gazed at the nearly full moon over Daniels shoulder.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

 

The next four days were wonderful.  Daniel and Miguel explored the ruins during the day, and each other’s bodies at night.  The bite wound was healed by the fourth day.

 

“See.  I told you the bite wasn’t that bad,” Daniel chided, as he took of his shirt getting ready for bed.

“Sure,” Miguel said distractedly.

“So are you coming to bed?”

“Not yet,” said Miguel.  “I’m not feeling tired just yet.  I think I’ll watch the fire until I get sleep.”

“Suit yourself,” Daniel replied, as he entered the tent.

 

Miguel sat alone by the fire, watching the moon slowly come up over the eastern mountain peaks.   He heard Daniel cry out from inside the tent.

 

Miguel began to quietly cry, as he entered the tent.  Daniel lay there on the floor, rhythmically convulsing staring up at Miguel with frightened eyes.

 

“The first time is always the most difficult.  Try and relax, and it will all be over soon,” Miguel said, still crying, as the first convulsion drove him to the floor beside Daniel.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - -

 

The sun shone brightly through the windows of the little restaurant under the hotel in San Raphael.  Mara stepped out from behind the bar with a pot of coffee to warm up Don Carlo and Don Rodrigo’s cups.

She listened to the two as she approached.

 

“And the two of them are living together in Miguel’s house!”

The two old men raised their eyebrows and looked knowingly at each other, and sat silent while Mara refilled their coffee.

 

“You remember, Don Rodrigo, A while back I told you about the panther at my son’s house?”

“Ah yes, I do.  Why?”

“Well,” he said, “I could not believe my eyes.  Last night the panther returned to the field.  Again the moon was so full it was almost like twilight.  But this time, there was not just one, panther, but two!”

“No,” exclaimed Don Rodrigo.

“Yes, but that’s not all.  The other panther was not black.  Its fur was nearly white, and I swear to you by the holy mother, it had blue eyes!”

 

Mara tried to hear more, but just then Miguel and the American came into the restaurant.  They both looked like they had been up all night.  Mara hid her face and smiled.  Something told her that she wasn’t going to be able to seduce the young American.  Pity, she thought.