Protector Panther (Protection, Inc 3)

“Cozy,” Catalina said, and seemed to mean it.

“Just wait.” Shane gathered dry branches and twigs from beneath the shrubs, took them to the back of the cave, and lit a fire.

Catalina held her hands over it. “You’re amazing. Too bad you can’t snap your fingers and conjure up marshmallows to roast. Though actually— and I can’t believe I’m saying this— I’m hungry enough that I’d rather have an MRE.”

“I’ll get us something better.” He pressed a quick kiss on to the top of her head. Her hair did smell good, wet or dry, with a warm and spicy scent. “Hold down the fort.”

He undressed, became a panther, and left the cave. Shane slipped into the nearest stretch of woods, climbed a tree, and lay on a low branch as the sunset faded to gray. It was the time of day when rabbits came out to feed. He waited until there were several nibbling away beneath him, then pounced, catching two with lightning-fast snaps of his powerful jaws. Shane picked them up and loped back to the cave, where he dropped them at Catalina’s feet.

She gingerly picked them up. “Very nice. My cats bring me treats like this all the time. Only not so big. And usually they bite the heads off first.”

Shane became a man and said, “Aren’t you glad I can catch bigger prey than mice?”

“I’ll be even more glad if you know what to do with them.”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

He put his clothes back on. Then he used the Swiss Army knife to clean and dress the rabbits, while Catalina watched and made admiring remarks. Shane collected some small branches, split some to use as holders and used others to skewer the rabbits, then set up the meat to roast over the fire.

He sat down, leaning against the rough stone of the cave wall, and beckoned to Catalina. She settled down in his lap and leaned against his chest. He closed his arms around her. For the first time, it sank into him that he’d succeeded. His plan had worked. They weren’t out of the woods yet, literally or metaphorically, but they weren’t locked up on the base, either. He and his mate were free.

He leaned back, relaxed and content. Catalina was warm in his arms, and the fire was warm on his skin. The rabbits sizzled over the flames, and the tempting smell of grilled meat filled the cave.

When the rabbits were done, Shane pulled them off the fire. For lack of anything better, he set them on top of the medical kit. “At least it’s clean.”

“You always make me such fancy gourmet meals,” Catalina said, then ate a chunk of meat. “Oh, hey, this is actually really good. Try it.”

She pulled off another chunk and held it to his lips. He opened his mouth, taking the bite of rabbit from her fingers. It was good, tender and juicy. His hunger awakened. They devoured the rabbits, nibbling the bones free of every scrap of meat, and washed them down with bottled water.

“Just pretend there’s wine and candles,” said Shane.

“You can treat me to the real thing when we get back home.” Catalina snuggled back into him. “How long do you think that’ll take, by the way?”

He shrugged. “Well, there’s a base with employees, and a paved road. We can’t be that far from civilization. If we head west, eventually we’ll get out of the mountains. Could be a day, could be a week.”

“I’ll think of it as a hiking trip.” She yawned so widely that he heard her jaw pop. Shane wasn’t surprised. He too was tired from fighting and hiking and climbing, not to mention the built-up tension of his capture and imprisonment.

He thought about keeping watch or having them trade off watches. But they’d be more conspicuous and easily scented if they left the cave than if they stayed in it. And if all they could do was listen, he might as well sleep. He’d wake up at the slightest noise.

“Let’s get some rest,” Shane said.

They spread out their scrubs on the floor, then lay on top of them, still in their clothes. She fit so easily into his arms, her head pillowed on his shoulder as if they’d been made to fit together. He inhaled the scent of her hair and listened to her breathing deepen as she drifted off.

But despite his weariness, even despite having his mate in his arms, sleep eluded him. Shane lay awake, unable to move without waking Catalina and unable to shut off his restless thoughts. The peace he’d felt earlier slipped away, leaving him edgy and wired.

You should be more relaxed, not less, he told himself. You escaped. You won. Soon you and Catalina will be safe and home.

And then...

Catalina turned in her sleep, nestling even closer to him. She trusted him so completely. Would that change when— if— she learned the truth about him?

You’re free now, a voice whispered within him. Who’s going to tell her? She never needs to know.

That voice didn’t belong to his panther. It was pure Shane— the worst part of Shane.

I can’t lie to my mate, he told the devil on his shoulder. I’ll tell her everything... once we’re out of the woods. If I tell her now, she might not want to stick with me, and she needs me to bring her safely home.

The vow of honesty brought him no more peace than the impulse to lie. He lay awake for what felt like hours, thinking of every wrong thing he’d ever done and picturing Catalina turning her back on him and walking away. Forever. Finally he succumbed to sheer exhaustion, and slept.