Saria didn’t look up, fussing with her napkin. “That would be strange, Drake. We don’ have large cats in the swamp anymore. The last one was shot in sixty-six, wasn’t it, Miss Pauline? I remember mon pere tellin’ us how sad it was.”
“There are legends,” Pauline pointed out. “My sister’s husband and his father were out fishin’ when he was young and they claim they saw a panther, but if they did, it was a ghost, cuz there were no tracks left behind.”
“You have to get used to the sounds in the swamp,” Saria added. “I’m often in the swamp at night workin’ and it can be a little scary.”
His head went up. “What the hell are you doing in the swamp at night?” He looked to Pauline for confirmation. “She shouldn’t do that, should she?”
“No, she shouldn’t,” Pauline ou ternly. “What time did you come in last night? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Probably your sleeping aid,” Drake pointed out helpfully. He helped himself to more trout and eggs. The woman was lying her ass off, but he appreciated how smoothly she did it and there was no sense in passing up a great meal.
Saria leaned toward Drake with a laugh. “It wasn’ her sleepin’ aid, my man. I’m a ninja. No one ever hears me unless I wan’ them to. I watched a lot of martial art movies, so if anythin’ goes wrong, just get behind me and you’ll be safe in that scary swamp.”
“I’ll be sure and do that,” he agreed. “Can you catch bullets with your teeth?” He liked her calling him “my man” rather than “my friend.” It was probably just her way of speaking, but he’d take whatever he could get. It was rather pathetic to be looking for the smallest of signs that she was just as mesmerized by him as he was with her, but apparently he’d fallen much harder than he expected.
“I haven’t actually gotten that technique down yet,” Saria admitted, laughing. She turned to Pauline. “I was in the swamp last night, tryin’ to get pictures again. I’ve got a buyer interested in winter wildlife shots. The mood of the swamp is so different at night. I sat up in a blind for hours and got cold, but wasn’t happy with most of the shots.”
“You were in the swamp last night?” Drake demanded. “Alone?”
Saria shrugged. “I often go into the swamp alone at night.”
“Where are your brothers?” Pauline asked. “I bet they weren’t home.”
Saria laughed. “It wouldn’t have mattered if they had been. I do what I want. Remy has some big case he’s workin’ on. I think Mahieu is smitten with your niece, Charisse—he’s been courtin’ her recently—and the rest left to go give a hand on the river.”
Pauline looked pleased. “I would like that match, although Charisse seems a little frivolous for a man like Mahieu. I love her and she’s very intelligent, but she’s a little . . .” She trailed off and then laughed. “Kooky.”
“Bossy,” Saria said at the same time. She laughed too. “Don’ worry, Miss Pauline, Mahieu is bossy too. They might make a terrific match. Besides, she’s a genius, isn’t she? No one makes perfume, the exact right blend, like she does.”
Pauline beamed at her. “She does have a gift, doesn’t she?”
Exact blends of perfumes didn’t interest Drake at all, but Saria’s penchant for traipsing around in the swamp alone was of paramount interest. “So your brothers just left you alone?” Drake couldn’t get over the fact that she had five brothers and none of them were looking out for her. “And you went out into the swamp to take pictures.”
“Well, Lojos might have been around, but I didn’t see him,” Saria said, obviously unconcerned. “And they aren’t just any pictures.”
Drake had the urge to reach across the table and shake Saria. She didn’t understand how much danger she was in with a leopard killing people. The killer was most likely watching her every movement. “You put yourself at risk for pictures?”
The marks on her back meant a male leopard was already staking a claim—a male she wasn’t interested in. Saria wasn’t the type of woman to lead a man on and she was definitely attracted to Drake. He wasn’t misreading signals. Her brothers should have been protecting her. They had to know she was close to the Han Vol Dan, yet none of them were guarding her and they just allowed her to run around at night alone where anything could happen to her. He was beginning to form a very low opinion of her brothers.
“I attended this lecture once, a woman who photographs the swamps and gets paid for it. I showed her some of my photographs and she gave me a couple of connections, places to sell my photographs.” Saria lifted her chin and gave him a look that basically said he could go to hell if he didn’t like it.
He studied her stubborn chin. Yeah. That chin was going to be a problem in the coming years. She lifted it just so and his heart melted. The woman was going to get just about anything she wanted from him if he was ever stupid enough to let her know how much she affected him. He was going to have to work very hard to keep a balance between her wild spirit and his need to protect her.
Saria ignored him and leaned toward Pauline. “When I contacted them, they both said they would pay for my photographs. I’ve made quite a bit of money. A lot is ridin’ on these photographs and I want to get them just right. One of the places wants a year-round pictorial of the swamp and if I can get it the way they want, it means a lot of money for me. I won’ have to hunt gators.”
Drake groaned and put his head on the table. The thought of her hunting alligators was beyond his imagination. What the hell was wrong with the men in her family?
“Can I see the pictures you took last night?” Pauline asked.
The innkeeper was smooth, Drake decided. He sat up straight and speared another rice cake, looking casual, not letting on that he was considering shaking Saria and accusing the innkeeper of being a blatant liar. Pauline hadn’t missed a beat, but she wanted to know if Saria had been taking pictures in the swamp during the leopard fight. He would bet everything he had that Pauline would insist on seeing the photographs and she’d take care to examine the time stamp.
Saria looked pleased. “Really? My brothers never want to see them. I wait for hours to get the right shot and when I do I’m so excited, but it’s kind of a letdown with no one wantin’ to see them. If you mean it, I’ll show them to you when we get back this evenin’.”
“I’d love to see them too,” Drake said. “Since you grew up on the edge of the swamp, you probably have seen some very unusual things others have never had the privilege of seeing.” He leaned toward her. “You’re a very fascinating woman, Saria. How did you get into photography?”
The warm admiration in his voice caused Saria to blush and Pauline to look at him again with open speculation, but he didn’t care. Everything about Saria fascinated him and he wanted to know more. The fact was, he was feeling very possessive of her and he didn’t much care who knew, not when she was managing to be so blasé.
Saria sent him another mischievous smile. “I wasn’t exactly the type of child who loved school. I wasn’t used to anyone tellin’ me what to do and on beautiful days, I wanted to be in the swamp, not in a stuffy school room. Photography was the only thing that kept me there.”