Free Deadly Obsession by Nigel May

hand from his and placed it across his backside, giving one of his buttocks a playful squeeze, much to the amusement of a middle-aged rotund lady from Bedford who was standing behind them. The woman had been on the same flight as them from Manchester out to South Africa, having booked with the same company.
    â€˜Get a room you two,’ she joked. ‘You’re upsetting the wildlife.’
    Riley turned to face her and mouthed the word ‘sorry’. He wasn’t, just the mere touch of Amy’s hand turned him on.
    But the safari came first. ‘Easy, tiger!’ he smiled, taking Amy’s hand in his once again.
    â€˜Is that the fifth of the big five, then … a tiger?’ asked Amy.
    â€˜No, it’s the leopard,’ he said, finally remembering what he’d read on the website. ‘And hopefully today we will see them all.’
    The voice of the safari guide filled the hot, dusty African air again. ‘So if you’d all like to follow me to the jeeps we can start the safari and attempt to find some animals for you.’
    â€˜And hopefully some sun too,’ said Amy. ‘I thought it was going to be blisteringly hot out here.’
    â€˜It will be,’ replied Riley as they walked towards the fleet of jeeps awaiting them. ‘The web said it would be cold in the morning and seeing as it’s just a little after 7am it’s no surprise really. Give it a couple of hours and the sun will be beating down. In the meantime, I’ll just have to warm you up, won’t I?’ He pulled Amy towards him, wrapping his arms protectively around her. ‘And there are blankets in the jeep if you’re too cold so we can always spread them over ourselves if need be.’
    â€˜As long as I can slip my hand underneath the blanket and play with your “big five” if you get my drift. There must be something about the safari experience that brings out the animal in me. I’ve been horny ever since waking up.’
    â€˜We’ll sort that out later, don’t you worry,’ said Riley, planting a kiss on Amy’s forehead as he pulled her even closer. ‘Now, big five … you cheeky bugger. I think we know I’m a lot bigger than that, don’t we? I’m thinking the ‘big nine’ would be more apt, don’t you?’ He laughed as they settled into their seats on the jeep.
    â€˜Too much info, you two! Keep it in your pants.’ It was the rotund lady again who was now seating herself behind them. ‘And FYI, I’ve not been horny ever since I woke up, I’ve just been ravenous. They do feed us on this trip, don’t they?’
    Amy and Riley could both feel their cheeks reddening as the jeep’s engine burst into life and they headed off to start the safari.
    It was hours later that they finally returned to their on-site guesthouse. The day had been an amazing one and there had been food, much to the enjoyment of the lady from Bedford, but not even the delights of a Harrods hamper could have compared with the animals that Amy and Riley had witnessed during the day. They had seen a female rhino enjoying the first drink of the day with her young calf, a herd of zebras excitedly skipping along, their movements almost choreographed with the skill of a professional dancer and even a couple of hippos lazily wallowing in water to try and escape the ferocity of the overhead sun. Add that to the oryx, wildebeest and springbok they had seen and it made for the perfect day.
    Amy’s favourite had been seeing the lions in the wild. Their proud manes and silky coats entranced her with their deadly beauty. She’d longed to get up close to them but was savvy enough to know that these were no friendly moggies looking for a stroke and a purr-inducing tickle behind the ear. These were killers, beasts who ruled the lands they strolled.
    Amy’s dreams of touching the wildlife did come true though during a moment that