“And what about insects and snakes?”
“Snakes?” She looked around her cautiously. “What kind of snakes? You have kitty cats for friends.
I’m hoping you say friendly snakes.”
His mouth softened but he kept from smiling with a small effort. “I haven’t known too many friendly snakes.”
“Where did your kitties come from? And how come they aren’t trained to meet guests properly?”
“I trained them to run off the neighbors. I hate it when they drop in unannounced.”
A lock of midnight black hair fell across his forehead. Without thinking, Rachael brushed it back with her fingertips. “You need someone to look after you.” The moment the words were out of her mouth she was mortif ied. She couldn’t seem to censor her tongue with him. Every random thought just popped out, no matter how personal.
“Are you applying for the job?” His voice was harsh again, emotions welling up to choke him. It was happening again, that strange time distortion. He felt her hand in his and looked down. His hand enveloped hers, the pads of his fingers rubbing back and forth over her soft skin and he knew every indentation. The very shape of her bones was familiar. There was even a memory of doing the same thing, of her teasing voice skittering down his spine like a caress.
Rachael closed her eyes, but he thought he saw the glimmer of tears before she turned her head away.
“Tell me why those cats stay here all the time. They are wild, aren’t they? Clouded leopards?”
Rio looked across the room to see the two cats tumbling around in a mock fight. Each weighed in at fifty pounds, so when they banged against a chair or table, they made a ruckus.
“Are they pets?”
“I don’t keep pets,” he said gruffly. “I found them. The mother had been killed and skinned. I backtracked her and found them. They were very young, still needing milk.”
She turned her head back toward him, lifting her lashes so her gaze nearly devoured his face. The smile lighting up her pale face nearly took his breath away. “You bottle-fed them, didn’t you?”
He shrugged, trying not to be affected by the way she was looking at him. There was that dazzling admiration, a look he didn’t deserve. No one ever looked at him, saw him, in the same way she did. It was disconcerting, yet gave him a rush. He spent a great deal of time tr ying not to allow his body to react, or his heart. He dropped her hand as if it burned him, stepping away from the bed quickly.
She laughed at him, a soft inviting sound that felt like fingers playing over his skin. He was beginning to feel desperate. She lay in his bed, her body lush and tempting, her silky hair spilling around her head like a halo. He wished it were just the allure of her body. That would at least make sense to him. He hadn’t been with a woman in a long time. Womanly curves, soft flesh, heat and the fragrance of the forest were a heady combination and he could be excused for his body’s fierce reaction to her. But it was far more than that. Knowledge of her body. Memories of her laughter. Whispers in the night, a secret world they shared. His mind and heart reacted to her. And damn it, if he were a man who believed in such nonsense, he would think his soul recognized hers.
“Didn’t you?” Rachael persisted. “You found some baby kittens and you brought them home and bottle-fed them.”
“I don’t believe in skinning animals,” he said tersely.
She watched the dull red creep up his neck into his face. The man wasn’t in the least embarrassed about traipsing around in the nude but he turned red admitting to an act of kindness. She found that blush endearing. “Why are you always running around with no clothes on? Did I stumble into a secret nudist colony? Or do you think I enjoy staring at you in the buff?”
“You do enjoy staring at me.” Rio smiled in spite of himself. She was very open about her appreciation of his body.
Rachael answered him with her usual candor. “Well, I’ll admit you’re beautiful to look at, but it’s beginning to make me uncomfortable. Why do you do it?”
His eyebrow shot up. “It makes it so much easier to shift into leopard for m and go running in the forest.”
She made a face at him. “Ha ha, are you always this funny? I suppose you’re never going to let me live that down. I think it’s perfectly logical to have nightmares over men turning into vicious leopards after what happened.”
“Vicious leopards?” He rummaged through a small wooden closet and came out with a pair of jeans.
“Leopards aren’t vicious. They might be natural predators, but they aren’t vicious.”
“Thanks for making that distinction. I had no idea there was a difference. It felt the same when they were chewing my leg off.”
“That was my fault. I was focused on the idea of someone waiting to kill me.”
“Why would someone want to kill you?”
He laughed softly. “Now don’t you think it seems more logical for someone to want to kill a man like me than a woman like you?”
She wanted to look away from him, but she was fascinated by the play of his muscles beneath his skin.