Falke’s Captive

“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay.”

The hell he was. He forced himself to his feet and turned a circle, spotted the door to the cage and bumped his nose against it. God damn it! How had he let himself get captured?

“Hey there, don’t hurt yourself.”

He turned again to face his captor and growled.

Beth? He almost couldn’t believe his eyes, but the sexy grad student stood on the other side of the bars, and part of him was tempted to take a swipe at her. He didn’t only because she had such a sweet voice. And those kind emerald-green eyes he’d all but drowned in the other night. But she was supposed to be out hiking somewhere, not staring at him like an oddity on display at a Ripley’s exhibit.

Anger simmered beneath his skin, and he let it show with a vicious snarl.

Was this all a set up? Did he and Reidar miss something, some kind of sign, the other night in the pub? Fuck. He was usually a better judge of character, better able to read people, but this woman had him doubting himself.

“Hey. You’re okay,” she murmured, pushing up her wire-rimmed glasses as she bent to peer into his eyes. She wore a lab coat with University of Washington embroidered above the pocket on her more than ample chest.

At least she’d told the truth about her college.

Where the hell was he? Was all that talk about hiking with friends in Wenatchee just bullshit?

“Looks like the drug finally wore off. Didn’t think you’d be down so long.”

She shot him with the dart? The bitch!

A gorgeous one, but a bitch nonetheless. He bared his teeth and hissed. Let me out of here!

She stumbled back and landed on a chair. “Whoa,” she whispered as she shook her head and touched her temple.

Damn, he must not be all with it yet. He might have sent that thought to her. In catamount form, he and his brothers had the ability to send their thoughts to humans. Not a good thing in this case. Not if he was some goddamned lab experiment.

“That was weird.” She tilted her head and muttered to herself, “Get it together, Beth. You start acting like Dr. Dolittle and the professor might reconsider letting you participate in this field assignment.”

Field assignment? So maybe she hadn’t hauled him back to the university. He glanced around the narrow room. A door centered on one of the long sides. No windows, although an A/C unit hummed high in the short wall straight ahead of him. Behind him sat an ATV. And beyond that a set of big double doors like those of a tractor trailer. A mobile lab? What the hell was going on?

A bank of computers took up the top of one table. He was in the only cage, and it was big—the right size for a full-grown cougar. A stainless steel freezer-looking thing occupied one wall, along with some storage cabinets and more countertops with a microscope and a bunch of other equipment he couldn’t begin to identify. On the desktop near one of the computers lay a tranquilizer gun and three red-and-white-tailed darts.

He snarled again.

“I wonder. How long have you been on your own?” Beth stood and lifted a bowl off the floor. As she approached his prison, she moved with more caution than before and whispered, “It’s okay, big boy. Really. We’re not gonna hurt you. I promise.”

She stared at him as she came closer, and she damn near mesmerized him. Her eyes were so light they were almost unreal—so intense. At the pub, they’d sparkled with humor and what he was sure had been lust. Now they showed tender caring. Her voice was husky, sexier than all hell. And her scent. He licked his chops, wanting a taste. That chaste, almost nothing kiss they’d exchanged at the hotel had left him hungry for more. And now, in his catamount form, he could smell her and knew she’d taste like heaven.

Before he realized what she was doing, she opened a small door at the bottom of the cage and slid the bowl of water inside. He glanced down at it as the momentum made a few drops splash over the side of the dish. The tiny door clinked back into place.

“See there? It’s okay, big fella. It’s just water. You must be thirsty. Right?”

Should he trust her? Would she drug him again?

“Go on. It’s okay,” she murmured, her forehead furrowed. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting, strands of spun gold shot through her deep auburn hair. It must be amazing to see in the sunlight. Like the night before, her tresses were pulled back into a bun, but this one drooped a bit, and he could see a few pieces of what looked like twigs stuck in them.

She gave him a tentative smile. So damn eager and friendly. As if she didn’t mean him any harm.

He bent his head and sniffed the water. It smelled clean. He took one lap to test it, then more and more, trying to quench his thirst and bring moisture back to his throat.

“That’s a good boy. Tim’s out getting you some food now. We’ll take good care of you until we figure out where you belong.”

That brought him up short.

All he had to do was change into human form and unlatch the cage to free himself; she hadn’t used a padlock on the cage’s slide bolt. But he couldn’t shift in front of her. What if she never left? He glanced around again looking for sleeping bags or other camping equipment but found none. How long would he have to sit in this prison? How long before his family, or at least Reidar, realized he was missing and went looking for him?

Shit. All they’d find was his clothes strewn on the path behind Axel’s house. Not good. So not good. Kelan sat on his haunches, his head drooping. As pissed off as he was at Axel, he didn’t need his brother worrying about him. And his dads. Damn it. He couldn’t have them thinking he might’ve run off.

The anger returned, this time aimed at himself. How could he have been so fucking careless?

“Hey there, big guy. What’s wrong?”

He looked up at the woman who stared at him with obvious concern. Caught by a girl—a pretty girl, but still no excuse. He tried to glare a hole through the floor.

“You’re probably not used to being locked up, huh?”

He huffed and wanted to roll his eyes.

She made a sad face. “I know, but I swear it won’t be long. I just need to locate your owner and get this all figured out.”

Great. Even worse. She’d find his family, and they’d tease him mercilessly for the rest of his life for getting shot in the ass by a city slicker. He had to get rid of her and get the hell out before anyone went looking for him.

Her expression changed to one of guarded mischievousness. “Would it help if I tell you a secret?”

He didn’t budge. He didn’t breathe.

“I’ve always found cages and collars to be a little sexy.”

Whoa. She was into cages? And collars? He wanted to grin. The sweet-smelling lady in a dowdy lab coat had a kinky side. Maybe he had read her right before and she would have accepted him and Reidar into her bed. She hadn’t looked too sure of herself, so he hadn’t pushed it.

“Not that I’ve ever been in a cage, or worn a collar for that matter, but I read a lot of erotic romance, and…I don’t know. I guess the idea of danger can be sort of titillating.”

He’d respected her for not inviting them to her room—more often he and Reidar had women throwing themselves at them—but at the same time welcomed the challenge she’d embodied, and he’d hoped to see her again.

Just not like this.

He blew out a breath and laid his head on his paws. As much as he might love to switch places with her and have some fun, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do right now to titillate her kinky side. That revelation made his imprisonment all the more hellish.

She chuckled. “Don’t agree with me? Well, that’s okay. You’ll be out of there just as soon as I can track down your owner.”

He huffed again, his tail swishing with agitation. Nothing he could do until he was alone, so he might as well get comfortable and enjoy the view. He wished she’d help him out and take off that coat so he could get another