Tiger, Tiger

Marianne was exhausted, but the shocks of the night made it impossible for her mind to rest. James had been shot. Nur had been shot. Sandokan had saved her from danger. Again. And, before that, they had danced. Again. Dancing, smiling, intertwinning fingers just before everything shifted between them. Again. Her thoughts raced in time with her heartbeat. When she finally succumbed and slept, she dreamt of the tiger. The Tiger on Labuan.

She was barefoot and in her nightdress though an afternoon sun shone above her in the sky. Marianne came upon the tiger in an emerald glade. Around them, she could smell the smoke from the fires and hear the thudding footsteps of the hunters, and she could feel the tiger’s anger. This time, it would not be merciful. Finding her alone and without weapons, it would devour her here at the edge of the jungle. The tiger moved towards her menacingly, its muscles twitching, its eyes calculating. It crouched to pounce, and Marianne could only tremble with dread. But when it leapt at her, a second tiger, larger and more powerful, intercepted it. She watched amazed as the first tiger turned to dust when it hit the grass.

Marianne turned to face the second tiger to assess her danger, but it was not looking at her. It was stalking away, disappearing into the thick trees of the forest. Mesmerized, Marianne followed behind it, the orange of its pelt dazzling her whenever the sunlight hit it moving between the shadows and trees. The tiger was roving slowly, methodically, but it was getting further and further away from her. She pursued it as quickly as she could, tripping over roots and stones, her face lashed by the foliage.

Soon, it was gone from her sight, but Marianne continued on. The forest around her grew darker and darker, and her skin felt colder and colder. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself and tried to rub warmness into them, the thin fabric of her nightdress doing little to protect her from the wind.

Marianne heard a thunderous noise ahead of her. As she entered a clearing, she could see a high waterfall crashing into a deep pool that spread before her in the moonlight. She could not see the tiger anywhere. Cautiously, she approached the pool and felt the cold current ripple against her toes, but, when she disturbed the water, she heard a low growl behind her. She froze in terror, the hairs on the back of her neck standing alert. She was not alone.

Just as she was raising the courage to turn and face her destiny, she felt hot hands on her shoulders. Spinning quickly, she found herself entwined in Sandokan’s embrace. He smelled of cardamom and ginger. He held her close heat radiating from his body like fire. Looking up at his face, she saw its fierce contours in the moonlight. His intense ears, his straight nose, and his expressive mouth. His glance was intimate and wild. Discomforted, she tried to look away, but he lifted her chin and held it so that Marianne could only see his face, hungry with desire.

The night winds around them increased in fury. She was shaking with the cold and was covered in goosebumps. Self-consciously, she noticed that her nipples were hard peaks under her nightgown, and she crossed her arms over her chest to hide herself. Sandokan’s expression was unreadable. He cupped her face with his large hands and then moved them down her neck deliberately, caressing her shoulders as his thumbs traced her collarbone.

Following the line of his left hand with his eyes, she watched as he gently tugged down the fabric of her gown, baring the white top of her shoulder. Marianne’s breath caught, and she wet her lips with her tongue. She wanted him to continue moving his hands down her body. She wanted him to hold her closer. Bewitched, she watched as Sandokan tucked his head towards her exposed shoulder, every centimeter of her body tightening with anticipation as his mouth approached her skin….

“Marianne.” She awoke. Sandokan was calling her name. She had to blink multiple times to understand where she was. Recognition. She was in the berth of his prahu, and he had just lost his mother. “Get ready. We are going ashore.”