His Purrfect Mate

by Aliyah Burke

  “Do you have any idea where in Northern Cape you need to be?” she asked as they drove along.

  “Nope. But I don’t think Slim is going to be very hard to find. He’ll have hired himself out as muscle. Anything to make himself a bit more money. And assert himself as a force to be reckoned with. I don’t know for sure.” His fingers formed claws, and he struggled to calm himself down.

  “Okay. Then what?”

  Dane looked over at her. She turned her head to him but her sunglasses kept him from reading the expression in her eyes. He didn’t like that. “Then what, what?”

  “Well, once you find him. Then what?”

  “I kill him.” Her head snapped back to focus on the road. Dane could see the muscle working in her jaw, and he waited for her to say something. Nothing came. “Aida?”

  “I’m not sure how I feel about this.”

  “What did you think I was going to do?”

  “Bring him in to stand trial. Or whatever the hell you military people do. What is it called, a court martial?”

  “You want me to capture him alive and allow him to remain that way?” Dane was shocked.

  “Well, yeah.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  She looked at him again briefly. “Why wouldn’t you? I don’t understand, Dane. You want revenge for what he did, but if you go kill him, isn’t that making you the same as him?”

  He stared at her, her words echoing through him. He was nothing like Slim. She just didn’t get how things were. “You don’t understand, Aida,” he bit off.

  “I know. I’m not Special Forces, and I didn’t have someone betray my trust like you did.” She shook her head and said in a softer voice, one tinged with sadness and resignation, “I’m sorry, Dane. What you do is your business. I had no right to say anything.”

  “Aida,” he said.

  “Drop it, Dane.” The order was issued through clenched teeth.

  Dane glanced at her. He could see the fury vibrating through her. Her body was stiff and unyielding as she drove.

  She’ll never accept what you truly are. The taunt came from the darkness who never lingered far away, always ready to add in doubt or egg on anger.

  He swallowed hard, not even daring to allow his mind to think things like that. As she steered them across the wide open plains of South Africa, he alternated between watching her and staring at the scenery that graced the country she called home.

  As it flew by, he ignored the voices in his head which told him Aida would push him away if she ever found out the truth of what he was. Not to mention what he’d done. When she stopped in the afternoon for a meal, he was wound tightly, coiled and edgy. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything about it. In fact, Aida remained completely silent.

  Dane sat on the tailgate and watched her walk around. He could feel her putting up blocks around her heart, and he didn’t like it. With a low grunt of frustration, he jumped up and strode determinedly toward her. She stood, hands in the back pockets of her pants, facing away from him, overlooking the horizon.

  “Talk to me, Aida,” he said, stopping beside her.

  “About what?”

  “What’s bothering you?”

  “Nothing’s bothering me. I’m fine.”

  “Do not lie to me,” he bit off with a snarl.

  He could sense her thoughts were a jumbled mess. But he couldn’t get a bead on any of them, and he didn’t want to lower his shields. And somehow, he figured that would be the best way for him to get into them, for there was something keeping him out. He’d been unable to reason why he’d heard her thoughts the other night when he had no access to her.

  “Let’s go,” she said, spinning and walking back to the truck. “Load up, boys,” Aida hollered.

  Lifting his lip in a silent warning rumble, he followed. Once they were all in, she began to drive again. Dane knew she was pushing it. She punched the accelerator, and they shot off across the plains. It was well after dark before she stopped again.

  “We leave at first light,” she announced, tossing him a bedroll once he’d made a fire.

  “Aida,” he tried again.

  “Good night.”

  His question of where she was going stopped before it even got out when he saw her vault easily into the back of her vehicle and lay down with the dogs. Dane struggled to control the rage rising within him. I’ll give you this night, Aida. With a frustrated groan, he laid upon the blankets she’d given him. As he lay there, he remembered how nice it’d been last night being in her arms.

  Chapter Seven

  Aida lay there in the back of her vehicle, staring up at the star-studded sky. I’ll kill him. Dane’s coldly uttered phrase raced around in her head, never giving her a break. He had sounded so positive, so deadly serious about it. Chills broke out along her skin.

  Why is it bothering me so much? She lifted her body up so she could see to where he lay on the ground. His eyes were shut, and although it looked, to her, like he slept, she wasn’t positive. There were strain lines on his handsome face. And that bothered her more than the fact he was so ready to kill a man. Aida wanted to comfort him, longed to make him feel happy.

  Dane.

  His eyes flew open, and he rose slightly to meet her gaze. “What’s wrong, Aida?” he asked, his voice deepened by sleep but nothing but alert.

  I didn’t say anything out loud. How did he hear me? What am I thinking? It’s not possible for him to have heard me. Perhaps he was merely watching for me and saw me sit up. Swallowing, she began to lie back down. “Nothing. Sorry.”

  Moments later, he stared over the edge at her. “What is wrong, solnyshko moyo?”

  “Nothing. Really. I’m sorry for waking you.” Aida tensed when his hand touched her cheek.

  “Let me hold you, Aida.” His soft tone held a need within it.

  A million reasons why she should refuse popped into her head and one why she should accept. She wanted it. “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Be right back,” he said.

  Moments later, he jumped up into the bed with her. He stretched out beside her and pulled her close, using his blankets to cover them. Aida sighed. This…this was what she’d needed. His warmth flowed through her, and Aida burrowed closer. Dane kissed her forehead lightly before she felt him relax.

  “Night, Dane,” she whispered.

  “Good night, solnyshko moyo,” he responded in a tone so light she wasn’t sure if she’d misunderstood him or not.

  Aida gave herself over to some much-needed sleep. Perfectly content in the knowledge she was safe. Dane and her dogs close.

  The morning sun rose and bathed the two people who lay limbs intertwined in the back of a 4x4 and two dogs with its gentle rays of warm light. She opened her eyes slowly, not in any rush to disturb the blanket of comfort which sat tucked around her. Aida lay on her side, Dane’s arm beneath her head and his other one rested across her hip and down her belly. His hard chest pressed into her back.

  “Good morning, Aida,” he murmured deeply in her ear.

  “Morning.” Was there a more perfect way to wake? She didn’t move and neither did he. His fingers began to skim along the material of her shirt and she shivered.

  “Are we in a rush?”

  “I thought you were,” she said, doing her best to ignore the tendrils of heat which furled out from her belly.

  “Waking with you in my arms has a way of making me want to take my time.”

  “Is that so?”

  His lips teased her shoulder. “Most definitely so.”

  Life would be wonderful. She sighed. “We should get going. You have something which requires your attention.”

  Dane flexed his hips. “Yes, I do. When are you going to stop running from me?”

  Every single cell in her body cried out for the man who spooned against her. Her lips parted on a soft breath when his fingers skimmed them. His other hand stroked up and down her outer thigh. I don’t think it’s just me running here, Dane.


  “Why do you deny what you know is between us? My body burns for you, Aida. I can feel the flames eating me alive. And I know you feel it, too.”

  She did. God help her, she did. Her nipples beaded tautly, and an ache settled between her thighs. Swallowing hard, Aida shook her head. “I have to get you to the Northern Cape. We need to get going.”

  His arms tightened around, her preventing her from getting up. He rolled her so she lay on his chest and they were face to face. His eyes swirled with more of that need which scared her. Aida stared at him, drowning in his gaze, her lust fading into the background. She felt as if she could see into his soul and what she saw… It was a scary place to be. Very scary. Darkness surrounded him, and to her, it was as if a battle took place. What kind of battle she had no inkling but what she did know was the stakes were high. It was a battle for his soul.

  “Dane,” she whispered.

  “Aida.” His timbre matched hers.

  “So much pain, darkness, such sadness. Why?” she asked, touching the side of his face. Deep in her heart, she longed to make him feel better, craved to. Help him to discover peace. His was a tortured soul.

  “My balance is gone.”

  It probably shouldn’t have made sense to her but it did. “What are you?”

  His gaze shuttered, and she could feel him withdrawing from her. Chink by chink, she could feel the bricks falling into place to keep him blocked off. “We should get going,” he said quietly.

  She slowly got off him and vaulted out of the back. No words were spoken as they got ready for the day, ate some breakfast, and got back on their way. It was towards the end of the afternoon when she pointed and said, “There are the mountains. We should be there just after dark.”

  True to her word, she pulled into a small town not long after the sun had set. Stopping at the petrol station, she jumped out and headed to talk to the two men sitting outside on old chairs. One said something to her, and she smiled.

  “Hello,” she responded, a bit thrown by what she was hearing. While it was a common language, she didn’t hear it all that much given where she usually spent her time.

  “Can you talk to them?” Dane asked.

  “I hope so. I don’t know but a few phrases in siSwati, but I’ll do what I can.”

  Turning her attention back on the men, she asked them if they’d seen a white man in the area. Both grinned and pointed at Dane. Aida laughed with them. Turning to Dane, she questioned, “What does he look like? Any defining marks?”

  Dane relayed to her, and she did her best to translate. After a while, frustrated, she asked a question in Tswana and grinned in relief when they answered her. After about ten minutes, she thanked them and turned back to Dane.

  “Okay. There are rumors of a crazy white man who lives somewhere along the outskirts of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. That’s at the northern tip of this province. Not much cover there. But we can get in there and have access to the whole park.”

  “How so?”

  “There are a limited number of visitors who come here because of the remote location. But I’ve done some work with them with Ruger and Kamau, so I’ll just call in a favor. Once we’re there, you’ll be on your own.” She did her best to keep all emotion from her voice.

  “Okay. Let’s get going.” There was a bit of excitement lacing his tone, and she knew he was looking forward to what he was about to do. She didn’t want to think on how that made her feel.

  Turning to the two men, she relayed another round of thanks, paid for the petrol, after which, she and Dane were driving away into the night. Her mind raced, and she slowed when she reached the edge of the park. There was a building with a few lights on, and she parked before it. Jumping out, she motioned for Dane to follow.

  Aida knocked on the door and stuck her head in. A smile filled her face when her gaze landed on a tall dark man bent over a desk.

  “Hey, stranger,” she said in Tswana.

  The man looked up and grinned, his white teeth gleaming against his nearly black skin.

  “Aida,” he replied fondly. She met him halfway and hugged him heartedly, a feeling of anger lingered in the back of her mind, as it had when she hugged Christopher. “What are you doing here?”

  “I brought a friend with me to see the park,” she said in Dutch. “Dane, this is my friend Kgosi. Kgosi, Dane.”

  The men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries in Dutch. Kgosi looked at her and crossed his arms. “You want to go in tonight?”

  “Yes. We’ll travel along the Auob River and stay in the vehicle until morning. I have Ruger and Kamau with as well.”

  “You know I shouldn’t.”

  “I know, but we’re after the guy who’s been poaching in other parks and heard he was here. If we could get up close, under the cover of darkness, we hope to have a better chance.”

  Kgosi nodded. “Okay. Keep in touch?” He reached for a radio and tossed it to her.

  Aida caught it and smiled. “Thank you, Kgosi.”

  “Just catch the bastard, will you?”

  “You got it.” Aida stepped close and kissed his cheek. “I’ll keep you apprised of what’s going on.”

  “You take care.”

  “Always.” Looking at Dane, she winked. “Let’s go.”

  He glanced past her to stare at Kgosi and said, “Thank you for your help and cooperation.”

  Kgosi waved. Aida touched Dane’s arm, and together, they walked outside.

  “How well do you know him?” Dane questioned once they had gotten back to their seats.

  Starting the engine, Aida shrugged. “Pretty well.”

  His hand covered hers where it sat on the shifter. “Aida,” he uttered dangerously.

  “What, Dane?” She faced him in the muted light from inside the building. “What do you want to know? Do you want to know if I spread my legs for him? How many times I did and how I liked it?” A deep rumble filled the air and brought her dogs up. She grabbed Dane’s chin and glared at him. “Look. We have pasts. Kgosi is a wonderful friend. Other than that, what he is to me is really none of your business. Okay?”

  “No, not okay.” Anger lined his words, and his gaze was hard.

  She started the vehicle and headed into the park. “Too bad.” Aida could feel the intensity rolling off him. After about three minutes, she sighed. “Fine, you really want to know?” He remained silent. “Guess not.”

  “Tell me.” His words were barely audible over the growl which seemed to roll from him.

  Aida stopped the Scout and faced him. “I was involved with Kgosi when I first got back from the States. It didn’t last forever. We parted on good terms and are still friends.” Dane stared back at her, the light hitting his eyes, making them animal-like in the way they reflected back toward her. She shivered but refused to look away. “Satisfied?”

  “No.”

  “What now?”

  “I will be satisfied once I am buried deep in you. For now, I’ll settle for content.” He looked away. “Tell me about the park.”

  Muttering under her breath, Aida began driving again, doing her damndest to stop the flood of moisture his words gave her. Words, scent, look, touch, anything. If it had to do with Dane Sidorov, it affected her. This man infuriated her.

  “It’s desert area, so like I said, not much cover. Some grasslands, dunes, and thorny scrub. It was originally two parks, one here in South Africa, Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, and one in Botswana, Gemsbok National Park. They were merged a couple years back, and now, we have the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.”

  “Okay.”

  The low roar of a lion split the night. Her dogs lifted their heads, but Aida knew they wouldn’t jump out. She downshifted and slowed a bit before they reached the road on the other side of the creek bed. She rolled her neck on her shoulders.

  “Do you want to drive for a while? My eyes are killing me.”

  “You’d let me drive your baby?”

  She grinned at the mock surprise
in his tone. “Well, good point. Maybe we should just stop.”

  “Yes,” he purred. “Let’s stop for the night. Come, Aida, let me hold you.”

  She shivered at the intimacy in his timbre. I shouldn’t. Aida pulled off the road and parked. It didn’t take long and a light was hanging from the roll bar as she along with Dane’s help hung up a covering to keep them a little bit more protected, turning her off-road vehicle into an almost tent like object.

  “A fire?” he asked, stopping beside her at the tailgate.

  “Nope. Dinner will have to be cold.”

  “Okay.”

  Dane opened up some cans for them while she fed her dogs. Soon, everyone was eating, and Aida couldn’t keep her eyes off of him while she sat cross-legged on the tailgate. He caught her staring more than once, the light hanging inside the makeshift tent adding a sexy glow to his golden skin.

  Keep looking at me like that, Aida, and I’ll show you what you do to me. To hell with your no condom rule.

  “What?” she questioned, her head snapping up.

  Dane was eating a sliver of peach from the container. He lifted a brow and stared at her. “What, what?”

  “Nothing. I thought you said something.”

  “Nope.”

  I could have sworn he spoke. Jesus, I’m losing it. Aida focused back on her food. Picking up her own peaches, she ate them then sucked the juice off her fingers.

  Damn it, Aida, I want your lips around my cock. I want you on your knees before me, those fucking tempting, luscious lips opening for my cock, which you make so fucking hard. I’m so jealous of your fingers being in that hot mouth of yours.

  She bit back a whimper and looked again. Dane wasn’t even peering in her direction. He seemed be staring out into the dark at something only he could see. Swallowing hard, she focused on eating the last of her dinner.

  Then I want to bend you over this tailgate and pound you until you don’t even know your own name. I want to fuck you so hard you will feel me inside of you even when I’m not.