I was utterly captivated that he was doing this in full view of the entire tribe, and I was powerless to turn away, be damned that I was sitting next to a priest. I told myself it would be an interesting study for a paper I would publish one day, and that gave me the permission I needed to continue to watch.

“Zach… não aqui. Não na frente dos nossos hóspedes,” I heard Paraila bellow, and I saw Zach’s entire body stiffen at what I thought must be a rebuke. My gaze slid to Paraila, who was looking at Zach with fond exasperation. A sly smile overtook Zach’s face, and he nodded at the old man in deference.

“I apologize,” Father Gaul said beside me, and I turned to look at him. “You’re getting a look at one of their social norms that’s completely antithetical to the modern world’s. Here… in this culture, the man is the dominant and has a right to take one of the available women whenever and wherever he wants. The Caraica view sex as a reward for the way that the man provides for the village. They are completely open in their sexuality, and privacy isn’t required. In fact, it’s a source of a man’s pride to make a woman submit for all to see.”

“I understand,” I told him, but I didn’t understand at all. It was fascinating to consider the differences in our cultures. My mind spun with how I was going to eventually teach Zach the difference between the world as he knew it, and the world he was getting ready to enter. I turned my attention back to my food, while Father Gaul turned to talk to Ramon on his other side.

But the woman in me—no, the scientist I mean—was completely helpless in my curiosity. My eyes peeped back up to watch what Zach did. He merely lifted himself up from the ground and reached his hand back down to the woman. She took it and he helped her to stand, then he led her toward the nearest longhouse, for what I assumed must be some measure of privacy. But when he was no more than twenty yards from the fire, he pushed her back down again to her knees. She didn’t even wait for him to tell her what to do because she immediately pushed her chest to the ground, tipping her butt toward him. The woman rested her cheek in the dirt as Zach knelt behind her, pinning her down by the back of her neck once more. The look on her face as she faced the fire was pleasant… almost serene, which I couldn’t imagine, because if I were getting ready to be impaled by the huge length sticking out from Zach’s pelvis, I’d be a hot, squirming mess.

With the one hand remaining on her neck, Zach took his other hand and wrapped it around himself. He leaned his h*ps forward and fed his length slowly into her. The woman gave a tiny sigh of pleasure, and I watched as Zach’s eyes closed briefly until he was fully seated.

The low throb started between my legs again and beat harder as he began to move within the woman. Long strokes… no hurried measure, but deep, tunneling thrusts.

I watched… captivated, almost feeling his c**k between my own legs, and it was at that point I realized that my job to help Zach acclimate to the modern world was going to be a problem for me. I realized with utter clarity that I was completely affected by his raw sensuality… the domineering way in which he took what he wanted. It was a sinful turn on to me—the utter control and harsh dominance he asserted—which was strange because I’d always been an independent and confident lover.

My eyes were so focused on the animal coupling before me that I failed to care what else was going on. I watched as his one hand held the woman down by the neck and the other had his fingers dug into the flesh at her hip. The woman was softly moaning and, in the firelight, I could even see Zach’s shaft glisten with moisture every time he pulled back from her body. When my eyes finally rose to Zach’s face, I was almost knocked over backward when I saw that he was staring straight at me across the low, burning fire.

His pale eyes glittered in the ambient light; his jaw set in a hard line as he f**ked the woman in the dirt. He held my gaze, and I was powerless to look away. He seemed to be challenging me to watch what he was doing… almost forbidding me to look away. I think he was telling me… at that very moment… that he was a savage and would not make things easy when we left this place.

Father Gaul and Ramon talked softly beside me, the women sang, and the other tribesmen laughed amongst themselves.

Why was no one interested in this but me?

But then it all faded away, and it was just Zach and me staring at each other.

Even the woman he was coupling with seemed to blend into the night, and my heart raced as I watched him… watching me… as his h*ps thrust back and forth with a languid pace. It went on and on and on. I just stared at the spectacle before me, my own body hot and frustrated as I became overwhelmed at the voyeur in me who was stretching her wings. I never thought I would be so turned on by watching another couple have sex, but I was sure it had everything to do with the way Zach refused to let me look away and my imagination going into overdrive of what he could do to my body.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Zach orgasmed with an intensity so quiet that I almost didn’t recognize what I was seeing. There was no hoarse shout of pleasure, no crying out his release. Instead, his eyes held mine while the muscles in his neck contracted into hard ropes. He gave one last push into the woman, and I saw a slight shudder run through his body as he came silently, eyes open wide and staring me down with such ferocity, I swear I could feel his own pleasure deep in my bones.

Zach watched me a moment more, his gaze savage and confident. Then he pulled out of the woman, stood from the ground, and walked away into the darkness.