His Purrfect Mate (15 page)

“
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.

She dropped her plate. “Would you stop
that!?”

“
Stop what?”

“
Saying those things to
me.”

A shocked guise crossed his face.
“What?”

“
The way you’re talking.
Almost a whisper. Like you’re trying to drive me crazy speaking in
that intimate, deep, sensual way. So stop it. You’re flipping
driving me crazy.”

“
What did you hear?” There
was a low intensity to his voice.

“
Oh no, you said it, so
you know what I heard.”

“
Tell me what you heard.”
The command was forceful.

Aida opened her mouth, snapped it shut, and
shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“
Aida, tell
me.”

“
Really? How’s about we
just say it was about sex.”

Dane muttered something low she didn’t catch
but his expression made her nervous when he glimpsed back at her.
Something pushed at her mind, and she frowned, lifting a hand to
her head and brushed at it like shooing away a fly. Tawny
green-gold eyes watched her intently.

“
What?”

“
Aida. I haven’t said
anything verbally about sex to you beside when we were driving
here. I was thinking about it.”

She whimpered. “So, you’re telling me it was
all in my head? Is that it? I’m losing it, right, that’s what this
is. I’m losing my mind. I need to sleep.” Aida shook while she
quickly rinsed off her dishes and dried them. “I’m going to go lie
down and hope this nightmare is long gone when I wake. Good night,
Dane.”

Aida.

“
Would you stop it!” she
wailed, her legs shook so bad she nearly collapsed on the
bed.

“
You’re hearing me, Aida.
My thoughts,” he whispered, shock in his tone.

Hysterical laughter built up within her. “Of
course I am. Silly me.” She whistled for her dogs and felt only
marginally better when they lay beside her bedroll.

I’m not lying to you, Aida Roberts.

Had she not been staring at him and knew his
mouth didn’t move, she wouldn’t have believed it for a second.
Hell, she had seen it, and she still didn’t, but not even she could
deny it was one hundred percent Dane Sidorov voice in her head.
Dropping the blanket she’d been pulling up over her legs, Aida
crawled back to where he still sat and stared in his eyes.

“
I asked you this before
and you ignored me. No more ignoring.
What
are you
, Dane Sidorov?”

“
I’m a
shifter.”

She burst out laughing and fell back to land
on her butt. “A shifter. That’s original. So, like what, you turn
into a puppy, kitty cat, what?” In her mind flashed the image of a
huge white tiger. Aida stared at him even as she thought a tiger
kind of fit him. “Well? Come on, then, shift.”

“
You want me to
shift?”

Aida drew her knees up. “Yes. What, didn’t
anyone else ask you to prove it?”

He narrowed his gaze at her. “What about
your dogs?”

“
What about
them?”

“
I don’t want them
attacking me.”

“
Why don’t you shift
first, I’ll worry about them. Trust me, when or rather
if
I see the white tiger
before me, I’ll be so shocked I won’t let them hurt
you.”

Suspicion swarmed his amazing eyes. “How did
you know I shifted into a white tiger? I didn’t tell you.”

The humor left her. “I saw it in my head. Oh
God, here I go again.”

He grabbed her arms and
shook her slightly. “Aida. I’m not lying to you. I
can’t
lie to you. I am a
shifter.”

“
Prove it,” she said over
the pounding of her heart.

“
I can’t.”

“
Why not?” He frowned, and
her frustration morphed into budding anger. “Look, I think we’re a
bit past the point of secrecy. Why can’t you show me?”

“
I don’t want to hurt
you.”

The anguish in his tone made her hesitate
but she refused to cave. “Why would you hurt me? If you’re a
shifter, aren’t you still in there?”

“
It’s not that
simple.”

She expelled a harsh breath, suddenly
pissed. “I can’t do this, Dane. You want me to believe you’re a
fucking shifter. Prove it, right now. Do it!”

For the first time since she met him, his
eyes dropped from hers, in submission to her demand. “Very well,
Aida. Keep your dogs ready just in case.” The reluctance to follow
her directive extremely obvious.

He stepped away from the truck, the light
from the lantern still allowing her to see him easily. Aida watched
him take a long, deep breath, and then, she lost hers.

Deep rumbling growls filled her ear, and she
had to throw out an arm to stop Ruger and Kamau from launching
themselves towards the big cat that stood there. “Hold, boys,” she
commanded in a shaky voice. Slowly, she moved from the vehicle to
the ground.

A huge white tiger paced restlessly before
her. “Un-fucking-believable.” Larger than any she’d ever seen even
in a zoo. She’d bet everything he was close to a thousand
pounds.

By all logic, she should be freaking out.
But Aida was intrigued. From his gigantic paws to the enormous
masculine head, the creature was absolutely beautiful. Wild,
primitive, and breathtaking. He watched her with eyes that were
identical to Dane’s, but these were even more primal. She took a
step closer, and the cat snarled low in his throat. Behind her, she
could hear the ominous sounds her boys were making. She didn’t even
look at them; they were well trained and wouldn’t break until she
gave the command. Unless the feline attacked her.

“
Can I touch you?” she
asked the cat.

His lips pulled back, showing her deadly
piercing canines. Swallowing back her fear, Aida reached out toward
the creature. The sound from its chest never stopped, and the tiger
held her gaze. Licking her lips, she inched closer until her hand
hovered above the massive head then she touched him. Her hand
lowered into the plush coat, and she smiled.

Crouching down before him,
she touched both sides of his face, petting, stroking, and
exploring. The cat growled the entire time but never made a move
that made her think he would injure her. In fact, the tiger began
leaning into her strokes.
Holy
shit!
“Okay. I believe you. You’re a
shifter. Now, shift back.”

The cat pulled away from her and yawned,
showing her all thirty of his lethal teeth. Gulping, Aida ignored
the curl of fear in her belly and said, “Shift back.” The animal
turned and began to walk off into the night, making zero noise.

Dane. Damn you, shift
back.
The cat froze and looked back at
her. The large head swung between her and the awaiting
darkness.
Don’t you leave me,
Dane!

The animal blurred and in its place, on his
hands and knees, was Dane. Naked as a jaybird. “Dane,” she gasped,
running to his side.

His gaze was haunted as he stared at her.
“Okay? Believe me now?”

You could say that.
“Come on, let’s get you some clothes. Then we
need to have another talk.”

He stood and walked beside her. Aida bit her
lower lip as she stared at his naked body. Her eyes honed in on his
large cock. As she stared, it stiffened and grew.

“
Aida,” he rumbled low.
“Don’t do this.”

Yanking her gaze away, she
stared ahead. Her dogs were standing in the back, heads lowered and
teeth bared. “Back off, boys, it’s okay. You know him.” She jumped
up and grabbed him some clothing from the container. Tossing him
the pants, she watched surreptitiously from beneath lowered lids as
he tugged them up.
Damn. I’d love
to—