He inched with a cautious step along the wall, her padded paws silent beside him. Rhys had to fight his urge to run like hell to escape. They’d get out. The window he’d come in through was only a few yards away. Sounds of a waking city slipped in on the breeze.
A moment later he froze, the cat beside him going stock still at the same time. A phone rang. Steps retreated. Damn. He let out a slow breath. Whoever was there, was pacing a path in the flooring. The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, warning him he was running out of time. Nearing the window, he motioned for Mira and she cleared it with one flying leap. Hoisting himself up, he fell through to the other side, landing in a crouch. Leaning against the wall, buried in shadow, he paused, listening for any sound of pursuit, then he pointed and she whirled, taking off at a run. Rhys fell in behind.
Three seconds later, a volatile shout filled the warehouse. He didn’t stop to look over his shoulder to see if they’d been spotted or who it was. His only goal was to get them both out of sight and disappear.
* * * *
Mira collapsed on the leather front seat, Rhys already turning over the engine of the SUV. “There’s clothes in the back,” he told her once she’d completed her shift. She nodded, gasping for breath.
“Just go.”
He didn’t argue.
A moment later, shivering and naked, she reached behind her seat and found a pile of clothes. “Thank you.” Slumped down, she couldn’t see where he was going, just grateful it was away from that cage.
“Like I’d let you out in public naked,” Rhys scoffed with a playful grin.
She lay in shivering silence for a moment, her eyes closed. Adrenaline surges sent shivers down her frame in rivers. Mira had never been captured like that, and she never wanted it to happen again. “For coming to get me.”
A hand threaded through her blonde curls a second later, drawing her gaze to him. “Like I’d ever let you go.” Her heart thumped and a heavy sheen moistened her eyes at the absolute adoration in his gray-brown eyes when she locked hers with his.
Mira was still getting used to having Rhys in her life. She knew he loved her. She loved him like no one else. But he’d taken a huge risk tonight. Sliding the sweater over her head, she heatedly admonished herself. He’d done it because she’d made a bad choice and had been caught for it.
“Do you think they know?”
He raked his bottom lip with his teeth. “Honestly, I don’t know.” He turned right at a light, his attention on his driving. “I’m not sure if they were just poachers, or if someone else has figured out what you are and is actively hunting for you guys.”
She groaned. The tears continued to well. “Damn it!” She swiped a stiff finger beneath her lashes when she couldn’t make them stop.
“You have to admit, anyone reporting cheetahs and lions and tigers to the wildlife department is going to be laughed at. Get enough calls from more locations and someone’s going to ask questions.” He glanced her way. “Catch one and you’re an instant media rock star.”
“I don’t think he was waiting for the news vans,” she said. Mira curled up tighter on the seat, wanting to sink into it and disappear. “I need to lay low for a while. I thought it was safe here. I got careless.” She pressed, as though to hide, against the rear of the seat.
Rhys pulled over into a diner parking lot miles from where he’d found her and stopped the vehicle. Shoving the gears into park, he turned and faced her. “It’ll be all right.” Warm, solid and steady, his palms cupped her face, calming her frantically racing heart. The sweep of his thumbs over her skin made him feel so real, soothing her like no one else could. “I love you. I’m not letting anything happen to you.”
Her breath caught. It always did as his lips descended to hers. She purred and moaned at the same time, the flash of desire so hot, she shook. All it took was a kiss and she went up in flames. A touch and she’d be demanding he strip and take her. And he wouldn’t argue. He couldn’t deny her when he was usually just as eager. The intensity of what they’d found together was staggering, and so once in a lifetime, she was determined to never let him go, provided incidences like yesterday morning didn’t take her from him unwillingly.
She’d never known anyone like Rhys Jamison Rowls. Her fingers dug into his thick bay brown hair, holding on as his kiss heated the interior of the vehicle, chasing away her chills. Memories of the day spent in the confines of a cage faded as his lips molded to hers. She opened to his query, giving him access, craving the feel of his tongue. Pushing forward, she danced with him, and felt the shiver of want rush down her spine. Her womb clenched, and her body grew damp. She had to shift on her seat to ease the climbing ache.
The End
About the Author
Diana DeRicci is the sexy, flirty pen name of Diana Castilleja. A romance author at heart, DeRicci’s writing takes you into a saucier spectrum of sensuality and sexual adventure, where a happily-ever-after is still the key to any story. Diana lives in Central Texas with her husband, one son and a feisty little Chihuahua named Rascal. You can catch the latest news on all of Diana DeRicci’s writing and books on her website. Feel free to drop Diana an email. She’d love to hear from you.
Visit her on the web at:
www.DianaDeRicci.com
Other books by Diana DeRicci available at Purple Sword:
Alpha Awakening
Watching Her Every Move
Caged
PURPLE SWORD PUBLICATIONS
Romantic Speculative Fiction
www.purplesword.com
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