She looked down. Her breasts weren’t overly large but she wasn’t flat chested either. Movement was apparent under the top when she bounced on her bare heels, making them shake. Beauty nodded.

“Don’t play fair. Life isn’t, so why should I be?”

One deep breath and she went in search of Shadow. He sat in the kitchen at the table with two plates of food. It always touched her that he waited for her arrival before he ate. The atmosphere was still a little tense but she had expected that. She took the seat across from him and peered at his face.

He avoided eye contact, his plate seemingly very interesting.

“This looks delicious. Thank you.”

Shoulders barely covered by a black tank top shrugged.

“I appreciate it.”

“I hope you slept well.”

Tiny lines around his eyes told her he probably hadn’t. “Not really.”

Beauty studied him. “I’ve had enough of this.”

His eyebrows arched. “Enough of what? Do you want something else to eat?”

“Enough of whatever is going on between us. I can’t take it anymore. I’m so sorry that I saw what I did but the last week of us hardly talking and you taking off for hours has been driving me crazy. We should discuss it.”

That drew his attention. “I wanted to apologize.” His cheeks darkened, showing his clear mortification. “You shouldn’t have seen that.”

He was blunt and surprised her by not avoiding discussing what had happened. “I was the one who opened the door. I heard noises and wondered what you were doing.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“I found out.”

His mouth pressed into a firm line as his expression smoothed out.

“You don’t need to apologize but I wish I were more appealing than your hand.” I really said that. Crap! She hadn’t meant to express her thoughts aloud.

“You are.” His voice came out deeper.

She had to look away, the moment just a bit too intense. “It hurt my feelings.” While she was admitting things, she might as well go for broke. “I offered to sleep with you.”

“I didn’t want to just sleep.”

She met his stare. “I didn’t either.”

He took a sharp breath and the chair scraped loudly across the floor as he rose quickly and shocked her by stepping around the table. His hands gripped her upper arms and he pulled her to her unsteady feet.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“Okay.” Her heart speeded up.

Her feet left the floor and he spun with her until her ass landed on the counter. They’d gone from barely speaking to being face-to-face level. Shadow softly growled, a sexy sound, and wiggled his hips. She parted her knees to allow him to step closer until they were nearly nose to nose.

“I want you.”

His confession was what she wanted but it was happening so fast that she struggled to think. “What do we do?” Her hands lifted when he released her. The skin on his shoulders was extremely warm as her fingers curled around them for something to cling to.

He searched her face, possibly looking for fear. That’s not how she felt though. Shadow had her pinned on the counter and was close enough to kiss. She lifted her chin and parted her lips, an invitation to do just that.

He leaned in a little and her eyes closed in anticipation. His breath fanned her face, the smell of coffee nice. She waited but nothing happened. Her eyelids parted to peek at him.

Shadow had pulled his face a few inches away. “Not like this.”

“We could go upstairs.”

“I…”

“You what?”

“I have to meet Torrent for a swimming lesson. After he teaches me, I’ll take you down to the river to learn.”

Torrent had called to delay their lesson. An emergency had come up concerning a lion cub located at a human’s home and he’d had to leave Reservation. He’d been gone all week but maybe he was back now.

Big hands gripped her hips and lifted, slowly lowering her to her feet. “You should eat.” He seemed rattled. He backed away, letting her go, obviously trying to clear his head. “Yes. Eat. I need to, um, check the perimeter.”

He kept putting space between them while they faced each other. She glanced down and clearly saw the outline of his stiff cock poking against the material of his sweatpants.

“Shadow?”

“I, um, need to go. Eat.” He spun and fled.

“Damn!” What had she done wrong? Maybe he’d expected her to kiss him and had taken her lack of initiative as rejection. “I don’t know how,” she whispered. He wasn’t there anymore to hear her though.

Chapter Nine

Shadow didn’t mind learning new things but swimming in the fast-moving water not only seemed dangerous but it held no interest for him either. Shadow wasn’t thrilled that the river was so close to the cabin because it posed a danger to Beauty so he’d learn as soon as Torrent freed his schedule.

Shadow sat on a fallen log, peering across the river to the other side. Movement caught his attention as he spotted a Species male crouch to study something in the water. The male was far away, keeping his distance from the cabin, but the sight of him wasn’t comforting. He stood, making his presence known.

They stared at each other across the water. Shadow kept a tense posture, his hands fisted in threat, to make certain the male knew he’d defend the territory perimeter. A smile curved the other Species’ lips and one hand raised in a wave.

“I’m staying on this side,” he yelled. “Tracking one of my lions.”

Shadow had no trouble hearing what was said over the sound of the rushing water. “Good.”

The male nodded. “It’s a female. She’s roaming but I don’t think she crossed.” He straightened, walked along the bank and then pointed. “She got out of the river here. It’s all good.”

Wild lions. Shadow shivered a bit. He wasn’t opposed to animals but he didn’t have much experience with them. Lauren’s cat was the only one he’d really spent time with and it was a small pet. The concept of a bigger one with sharp claws and fangs wasn’t something he wanted to come into contact with in person.

The male waved again and turned, disappearing into the thick trees. Shadow’s mouth fell open. There was no denying what he’d seen. The Wild Zone male not only had more animalistic features and unusual eye shaping—he had a tail. It hadn’t been an overly long one but it had hung from the back of his loose shorts to his bare calves.

There were a lot of things he hated about the life he’d been handed but he’d been spared being what Mercile considered a failure. Those males with their more altered features really had it tough. He’d read the reports about how they’d been treated in the testing facilities. Most had been housed kennel style in actual cages. Some had very little communication skills since technicians didn’t speak to them often. They were fed and treated as if they were purely animals and hadn’t gotten the benefit of any kind of education. Most Species could read, had been taught at a young age, even if it was only was for testing purposes. It was hard to judge drug results if the participant wasn’t able to verbally communicate or to read to see if their memory or vision had been adversely affected.

His own abuse seemed minimal compared to others as he sat back down on the log, pondering the life of a Wild Zone resident. They didn’t even feel comfortable living amongst their own kind at Homeland. Shadow had been given the opportunity to work closely with humans on the task force. He liked most of them, though there were a few exceptions. They didn’t make him feel subhuman but they just weren’t overly friendly, preferring to keep emotionally detached from other members. It wasn’t personal. They treated everyone that way, whether Species or human.

He glanced up at the sky, judging that he’d been gone from the cabin long enough. He’d left in a hurry when he’d fled from Beauty. The temptation to share sex with her had been nearly overpowering until he realized he had her pinned on a counter. She deserved better than to be taken in the kitchen. Guilt hit hard and fast.