Falke’s Captive

look at what lay beneath. She’d looked sexy the other night in her faded jeans, T-shirt and adorably quirky glasses.

She pushed those same spectacles up her cute nose and returned to a chair in front of the computer monitors. “Sure would help my search if I knew your name.”

Kelan didn’t dare give her that information telepathically, so he met her probing gaze with silent regard.

She turned her back on him and started typing. From his angle, he couldn’t see the computer screen.

Why did his cat-napper have to be Beth? It left an awkward mix inside his gut—elation at seeing her again and dismay over the revelation that she used pumas as lab experiments.

He pawed at his stinging ear then yowled at the pain that caused.

“Oh, hey, what’s—” She spun around. “No, don’t touch that. It’s just an ID tag. The pain will go away soon. I promise.”

A tag? A tag? Son of a bitch.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a fierce frown. Then she closed her eyes and let out a slow breath. “I didn’t just hear that. Really, I didn’t. I think I need some coffee. It’s been a long day.”

He chortled and laid his head on his paws again. She heard him all right. He’d never tried to drive someone mad with his abilities, but obviously he could if he wanted to.

He and his siblings could communicate telepathically with each other, and he liked messing with his brothers’ mate now and then. Dakota took the silent chatter well, for a human who hadn’t grown up around a litter of telepathic shifters. But he’d never let a stranger hear him, until now. It was forbidden. He could get into a lot of trouble, but she was too cute. He could almost forget that she’d shot him in the ass with a dart and put him in a cage.

“Laugh all you want, pussy cat,” she said with a small grin.

She recognized his laugh? He blinked at her, but she wasn’t looking at him any longer.

“I’m not really insane. I might talk to animals, but I don’t expect them to talk back, and I usually ignore the voices in my head.” She cast him a sideways glance and laughed. The sound went through him like an arrow, straight to his heart.

Damn him if she wasn’t dangerous. He reminded himself that she’d shot him, caged him and planned to do God-only-knows-what to him.

She sobered when the side door opened and a tall, lanky, black-haired guy stepped inside. He carried two large paper sacks. “Hey, Lizzy, how’s he doing?” he asked, eyeing Kelan as he passed the cage, keeping to the far wall as if afraid Kelan would attack through the bars.

Kelan obliged him with a hiss.

“For a pet, he doesn’t seem too friendly.”

The scent of grilled meat wafted to Kelan, and his stomach growled.

“He’s ticked off about being caged,” she said, “but wouldn’t you be?”

“Guess so.”

“He seems fine now that the drugs wore off, and he’s healthy. He drank his water too. Did you find something for him to eat?”

“Yeah, and us too, though I’d love to take you to dinner. This town is really neat. I found the perfect—”

“Thanks, Tim,” she said, cutting him off and taking the bags from him. She pushed her keyboard to the side and opened one of the bags, then the other, and pulled out a butcher paper wrapped package.

“I’m serious. Since we’re here, we should get to know the community, don’t you think?”

The schmuck sounded so hopeful, Kelan chuckled. A sound more like a cross between a sniffle and a sneeze, but enough to gain the man’s attention.

Tim turned and stared, his eyes wide.

Directed toward Beth so only she could hear him, Kelan whispered, He doesn’t know a brush-off when he hears one, does he?

The woman stopped and studied Kelan, who dipped his head to lap at what remained in the water bowl. After a moment, she shook her head and finished unwrapping the package in her hand. When she approached his prison, he saw she held a chunk of raw roast. Oh, great.

“Here ya go,” she murmured as she opened the door at the bottom of the cage again and poked the meat through, taking a big chance by putting her hand almost all the way inside to deposit it. If he were a wild animal, he could have gone for her.

Why don’t you come in here and join me? There’s room for two. You said you like cages…

Beth closed the feeding door and tilted her head, meeting his eyes. Damn, she was gorgeous. He purred and held her gaze. She smiled and shook her head.

“They have a little playhouse, and there’s a show starting in about forty-five minutes,” Tim said, taking a seat in the second chair and flipping open the lid on one of the Styrofoam boxes. “You want to head over after we eat?”

“Tim,” she said with a sigh as she plopped back down in her chair. “I’ve got work to do.”

“All work and no play…”

“This isn’t a vacation. We’re not here to study the human population, and I don’t have time for some community theatre production.”

The show started in less than an hour. That meant it was only about seven o’clock, maybe a little after. He hadn’t been gone that long after all. If Tim and Beth left, he could get home without anyone the wiser. If Axel or any of his brothers found out he’d been captured, he’d never hear the end of it.

“Lizzy, come on. The professor’s not even here, yet. Our research doesn’t begin without him.”

“Beth. I prefer Beth,” she grumped under her breath.

Tim continued with persistence. “It’s only day one, and you already got a cat to study. You can’t work all of the time. Besides, we’ve got the next two months. It doesn’t have to be wrapped up with one cat in one day. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t make sure my workaholic buddy didn’t take time off every once in a while, hmm?”

She chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Okay?”

Tim sighed and pulled plastic utensils from the bottom of the bag. “Okay, but think fast. It’s not far, but we’ve got less than an hour before the show starts.”

I wouldn’t take no for an answer, Kelan told her telepathically. If I wanted you, I’d have you, and you’d be begging for more.

Beth lifted her chin and looked around. Then her gaze settled on Kelan. He yawned and pawed at his meal as if unaware of her regard, but he peeked to watch her reaction. Again she shook her head as if she thought she was losing it, but her lips curled into a slight grin.

He glanced at the hunk of raw meat next to the water bowl in his cage, snarled, then laid his head on his paws. Lone catamounts might be willing to feast on raw meat, but he had a domesticated palate.

With any luck, they’d be gone soon and he could make his escape.

About thirty minutes later, his chance arrived. As if by silent, mutual agreement, they shut down the computers, turned off all the lights except one small one and headed for the side door.

Beth stopped by his cage and looked inside. “Hey, baby. We’ll be back first thing in the morning.” She glanced at the untouched hunk of meat. “I know it’s not venison or rabbit, but it’s good.

I promise. Eat.”

Not a chance. He liked his beef at least seared, not still mooing.

Bravely, she touched the bars on the cage as if she wanted to reach in and stroke him. He wouldn’t have minded that. She smelled so damn good, and it was apparent she hadn’t meant him harm. He’d have to find her when he was human again and give good buddy Tim a run for his money.

Perhaps she’d let him put her in the cage for a while.

He began to purr.

“Night, night.” She shrugged out of her lab coat, placed it on a hook by the door, then followed Tim outside. She had an awesome backside, nicely rounded hips and butt encased in denim.

He caught a glimpse of the sky when they exited. Still light out. He estimated maybe an hour ’til sunset, so