My African Craving

By Audrey Flynn

The Nights are Hotter in Africa…

When Erica Knight arrives in Lebombo Game Reserve for her first African safari she has no idea that her life is about to be changed forever. As an executive for a mining company she believes that negotiating the mining rights for the Lebombo Reserve will be a slam-dunk, but she didn't count on locking horns with the reserve's enigmatic owner, Jean-Luc de Graaf.

In the heart of a wild African landscape full of beauty and danger, Erica and Jean-Luc both stubborn and passionate find themselves on opposite sides of an escalating conflict. With the Reserve threatened by vicious poachers and runaway fires, they are thrown together unable to contain the scorching attraction between them.

Far away from the rat race of New York Erica feels the stirring of a different drum, ancient and irresistible. But surrendering to the wild would mean she would have to submit to the powerful attraction to Jean-Luc and she isn't ready to give up control just yet…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
• Release date: Jun 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781945910760

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

My African Craving

Dedication | TO ALL THOSE FIGHTING TO SAVE AFRICA’S WILD HERITAGE

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My African Craving

Audrey Flynn

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.

––––––––

If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this stripped book.

––––––––

My African Craving

Copyright © 2018 Audrey Flynn

All rights reserved.

––––––––

ISBN: 978-1-945910-76-0

Inkspell Publishing

5764 Woodbine Ave.

Pinckney, MI 48169

––––––––

Edited By Rie Langdon

Cover art By Najla Qamber

––––––––

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The copying, scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Dedication

TO ALL THOSE FIGHTING TO SAVE AFRICA’S WILD HERITAGE

Chapter One

Erica grabbed the armrest in anticipation as the Cessna arched above the wild Lebombo Mountains and then circled for landing. Africa! In all of her travels, she had never set foot on this wild continent.

Look, Charlie! she said, nudging the passenger next to her, whose pale blue eyes, set in a wide freckled face, were huge with excitement.

Zebra! Erica pointed and they watched as a herd scattered from the runway and the twin-engine plane began its steep descent toward the small airstrip that lay in the heart of Lebombo Game Reserve. Erica was known for her cool reserve in all situations, especially business, but she was unable to stifle a gasp as the scope of the reserve became clearer. The terrain was unlike anything she had ever seen. Beneath them, rivers cut their way through an astonishing landscape. There was barely a sign of human habitation.

I can’t believe we’re finally here, said Charlie—Charlotte, actually, but everybody called her Charlie—who was Erica’s assistant at Merrick Mining Company. For the last twenty-four hours, the pair had been making their way to South Africa for a week-long safari trip.

Just remember we are here on business, Charlie.

Business, business. Charlie sighed. Do you ever stop thinking of work?

The plane then glided onto the runway and soon came to a smooth stop. Another plane had landed only minutes before, and more than a dozen guests, mostly middle-aged and dressed in full safari gear, chattered excitedly while porters and rangers took their luggage to two large, open Land Rovers.

The door to the aircraft opened and Erica alighted onto the runway. A slight breeze, warm and sultry, stirred the leaves of the fever trees, and closing her eyes, she inhaled the sweet fragrance of the wild, African bush.

Here for a month, are we?

Erica opened her eyes as a man grabbed her heavy suitcase with a groan. He was tall and lanky, his skin showed signs of the harsh sun. His expression was cocky, and the steel blue-gray eyes held a hint of challenge.

I always like to be well prepared, she quipped back at him. Meanwhile, she cursed herself for bringing the expensive Halliburton luggage. It looked out of place here on the dusty African veld.

Jean-Luc. He extended a strong, calloused hand, the kind that had never seen a manicure.

Erica Knight. She gripped his hand firmly and was determined to keep an attitude of calm professionalism, but it was hard not to notice this ruggedly attractive man with such a provocative manner. Jean-Luc held Erica’s gaze for a fraction longer than necessary. She noticed the faint lines around his eyes and a few flecks of gray in his close-cropped beard. Around his neck hung a single animal’s tooth on a slim chain. Perhaps it had once belonged to a leopard or a lion, she speculated.

Erica paused for a moment in order to absorb the breathtaking scenery around her. The dusty veld was studded with the most unusual trees, and purple mountains rose in the distance.

The sun directly overhead fell on her shoulders like a dead weight. She gathered her dark hair, which normally fell in a lustrous curtain, into a sensible ponytail at the nape of her neck. She put on a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses to combat the ferocious glare.

Jean-Luc swung the luggage into a large, open-top Land Rover.

Hop in. He gestured to Erica and Charlie. I will drive you to the lodge. It’s about an hour’s drive from here. As they climbed aboard, there was a space for one beside Jean-Luc, and Charlie indicated that Erica should take it.

Hang on tight. There are no seatbelts and the roads are a little rougher than those you are used to.

Jean-Luc gunned the engine and the Land Rover began its journey along a dusty track. A radio below the dashboard crackled with chatter and static every now and then. Jean-Luc grabbed the handset and spoke into it, sometimes in English and then in a language both beautiful and utterly foreign.

Zulu, he said, as if reading her mind.

You speak fluently? she asked.

Yes. I grew up spending a lot of time in the bush, learning the ways of the wild. I always preferred it to anywhere else. My parents sent me to boarding to school at a young age. They worried that my Zulu was better than my English.

It sounds like an interesting life, Erica said. She marveled at the scenery and couldn’t believe how the land was alive with game. All kinds of buck could be seen as they drove through the reserve, and at one point, the vehicle came to a halt as a herd of stately giraffes crossed at their leisure.

Do you travel a lot? Jean-Luc asked.

I have a corporate job that requires a fair bit of travel, but this is my first time in Africa, she answered. I feel like I’m in another world. The day before yesterday, I was hailing a cab on Fifth Avenue, trying to dodge the rain and sleet.

Well, here you can leave all of that behind.

In her line of work, Erica traveled often to far-flung countries, where she had proved her worth as a tough negotiator and quick thinker, deftly capable of sizing up people and situations. She noticed his strange although rather appealing accent, and the strength in his voice. Everything you need will be taken care of. All we ask is that you relax and enjoy the experience.

That sounds amazing, Erica said evenly, although truthfully, she was not used to anyone else being in charge. Furthermore, she wasn’t actually here merely to enjoy herself. She had begun to suspect that this safari might turn out to be unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Once you are at the lodge, you will be taken to your rooms. You will have the afternoon to rest, and I will take you for your first game drive at sunset.

I look forward to it, Erica said, being careful to keep her tone neutral.

***

At the end of her long journey, Erica was grateful for a few hours to rest in her room. She awoke from a restorative nap in a great four-poster bed that was elegantly draped with mosquito netting. The lodge at Lebombo was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined. Instead of separate rooms, each accommodation was a separate thatch-roofed bungalow decorated in the muted tones of safari chic. No expense had been spared in the creation of this five-star haven: the lamp shades were made of porcupine quills, the furniture carved in indigenous wood, and stone floors were overlaid with rattan rugs. The ochre-colored walls were simply adorned, with African carvings and a single kudu trophy head.

Her room’s open layout led directly onto a patio with its own rim-flow pool, and from the vantage point of her bed, she had an expansive vista of veld and bush.

What a pity to have no one to share this fabulous room with. This is the most romantic place I have ever seen.

But she quickly reminded herself that she was here for business and not pleasure.

And anyway, love just ends in painful betrayal.

She tried to expel all memories of Rodger, her ex-boyfriend, from her mind. It had been eighteen months since she had discovered his relationship with her friend Maureen. A painful break-up had ensued and ever since, Erica, always work focused, had thrown herself into her job at Merrick Mining with a new vengeance. The last year and a half had seen her clock up seventy hours of work a week. She knew full well that work had been her drug of choice in order to numb the painful memories of Rodger. Friends had given up asking her out for drinks or dinner, and she hadn’t taken a holiday in two years. Her work colleagues were the only people she seemed to see