And if Zerod showed up, she had a can of mace in one pocket of her jacket, and a small gun in the other, and she knew how to use them both. Not that she was a marksman or anything, but DeeDee was a damned good shot. They’d gone to the firing range a few times. DeeDee had shown Callie how to load, aim, and fire a gun. Callie wouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger, either.
The strain of the last few days eased as she neared the jaguar’s cage. “What do you say, Sheba? Will Zerod show himself tonight?”
The jaguar growled from deep in her throat as though she understood.
“Yeah, I know. I don’t like him, either. Rogar will protect me, though.” She had no doubts that he would come running if she needed him. Could she do the same? He wanted her to go with him.
“I can’t just pick up and go live on another planet. This is where I belong, right?”
Callie crossed the fence, and knelt in front of the cage. It was dangerous, she knew. Sheba wasn’t like Balam. But Callie couldn’t stop herself.
Sheba had treated Rogar like a long lost friend. Would Sheba sense Callie’s guide? On the other hand, Balam was a jaguar. Callie still didn’t know what her guide was. It could be a rabbit. Sheba might have been looking at her all these years as a meal, rather than a friend.
“Someday, we’ll really get to know each other,” she said. “Of course I can’t leave Earth. Never seeing you again would be unthinkable.”
Sheba purred as if she agreed, then came to her feet, and ambled across the cage, stopping in front of Callie. Sheba rubbed her head against the bars.
Tentatively, Callie raised her hand, felt Sheba’s fur like a warm caress. Strong emotions flooded Callie as her eyes filled with tears. She had no idea why it meant so much for her to touch Sheba, but it did. Maybe because she had longed to so many times, but never had the courage. She had Rogar to thank for that.
“I have to get back. Rogar will worry. I’ll try to sneak in another visit before we leave in the morning.”
As Sheba went back to her corner of the cage, Callie hurried back to the animal keepers’ building, and Rogar. The lioness still made her nervous, but Rogar seemed perfectly comfortable with her, too.
Some people would think she was crazy to want to work with the big cats when she was a little scared of them, but she also felt this incredible pull to be around them.
Before she reached the building, a man stepped from the shadows. Her heart pounded inside her chest. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. She fumbled inside her pocket for the gun.
“I was getting worried about you,” Rogar said.
She ran the rest of the way to him, throwing her arms around his neck.
“You’re trembling.”
That was an understatement. “I thought you were Zerod.” Oh, yeah, she was real brave.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t that quiet as I walked down the sidewalk, though.”
“I guess I was lost in thought.”
He frowned. “I don’t want you this far away from me again. If I had been Zerod…”
He left his sentence unfinished, but Rogar didn’t need to go into any detail. She could guess what would have happened.
“What were you doing?” he asked.
Her cheeks grew warm. She was glad the only light in this area came from the full moon. “I was checking on Sheba.”
“You were with her that first night, too.”
“I couldn’t have a pet.” She shrugged. “I sort of adopted the jaguar.” Excitement began to build inside her. “This time was different, though. She actually walked over to the bars, and I pet her.”
“You love her very much, don’t you?”
“I do. Over the years that I’ve been here, I’ve poured my heart out to her.” She chuckled. “Sheba is a good listener.”
“I could be a good listener, too.” His hand lightly stroked her arm.
Callie closed her eyes, her heart pounding. He wasn’t asking her to leave, just telling her what it would be like if she did.
“Make love to me,” she whispered. She suddenly needed to feel him inside her, needed that connection with him.
“It would be dangerous.”
She placed her fingers over his lips. “I want to make love to you right here, right now, then every time I walk past this spot, I’ll think about you.” She stepped out of his arms and removed her jacket before she began to unbutton her shirt. He was still watching her when she slipped it off.
“Callie.” His voice was ragged with need.
“Don’t think. Just make love to me.”
She unfastened her bra and let it fall to the ground. He groaned, before grabbing her against him. Her breasts crushed against his chest, her nipples hard from the cool breeze.
Rogar had once told her he wanted to make love to her outside. This was the perfect place. She felt as though she was deep in a jungle. Making love here would give her a memory that would last a lifetime. It would have to last that long.
She raised her head, felt his lips against hers, then his tongue stroking, caressing, loving. His hands slid over her rib cage, then back up to cup her breasts in the palms of his hands. She moaned when he rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. Pleasure shot down, settling between her legs.
He ended the kiss, but she didn’t waste any time unfastening his jeans, then sliding the zipper down. She ached to hold him.
Rogar toed off his boots, then shoved his pants off the rest of the way while she did the same with her clothes. He scooped them up, then tugged her deeper into the wooded area. As soon as they were out of view of any guard who might wander by, he dropped their clothes on the ground and pulled her into his arms.
“I want to taste you,” he said. “All of you.”
He licked across her nipple. She leaned against a tree for support. He licked across the other nipple before sucking it inside his mouth.
She grasped his head, pulling it even closer, as sensations swirled inside her. It felt so good. She couldn’t think, she didn’t want to think, she only wanted to feel what he was doing to her body.
He licked over her stomach, then between her legs,
She drew in a sharp breath as his tongue slid over her, then sucked the fleshy part of her sex inside his mouth. She felt naughty, she felt embarrassed—oh, God, she felt so freakin’ good!
He grabbed her butt, bringing her closer, tighter, keeping her against his mouth as he sucked, running his tongue over her sex. She couldn’t move even if she had wanted to, which she didn’t. It felt so wonderful.
She grasped the sides of the tree, holding on. There was nothing in the world that could harm either of them. The only thing that mattered was this moment in time.
The fire inside her began to build, taking her higher and higher. Flames licking her. Passion building.
Her legs began to quiver as she came. She cried out, then stifled it. Waves of pleasure washed over her. She didn’t think her legs would hold her up, but she didn’t have to worry. Rogar picked her up, then laid her down on top of their clothes.
She felt a familiar burning ache begin inside her. She was going to shift.
She began to relax, and the feeling slowly went away.
Then Rogar was entering her. He began to move, slowly at first, then faster. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Heard his groan of pleasure as he sank deeper. Her body ached once again for the release that only Rogar could give her.
He cried out at the same time the world burst into a multitude of colors around her. She gasped. Rogar collapsed on top of her, then rolled to his side.
Silence.
Only the sound of their labored breathing.
Her world slowly came back into focus.
