Hunting the She-Cat (8 page)

She snuggled back in her chair and he
came close to sit on the stool before her.

“Back to Eliava,” she
prompted.

“She is a blue, rock planet such as
this one is, blessed with all the things for life. She hangs in the
heart of the black, with only her sun nearby, the third galaxy
beyond this one. Eliava has been better treated than Earth from the
beginning, her rich resources protected with our lives as they
should be.

She adjusted in her seat, becoming even
more alert, intrigued.

“Good. I’m a resource lawyer. I work to
see our waterways, our wetlands and natural areas are improved,
nurtured, allowed to live.”

He nodded his approval. “It is as it
should be.”

“Yes. The mother planet is all a
civilization has to sustain it like a Petri dish in the lab, you
know?”

Her eyes lit with passion for the
topic. He felt himself stir in response. The female was
extraordinary. An unexpected gift after long years of searching for
a mate.

“I do know how fragile life is,” he
said, taking her hand in his, stroking the silk of it with his
thumb.

“Tell me what you’ve done to sustain
Eliava?”

He launched into speech, telling her
everything he knew about the protections Eliavan scientists
employed. She was fascinated with the revelation of domed villages,
completely self-contained, no harmful emissions allowed to escape.
Of wide expanses of privately owned and cared for nature preserves.
“The natural gifts are everyone’s business. I will bore you to
sleep.”

“No, no,” she said, but a huge yawn
belied her words.

“We must rest. It has been …,” he
sought the correct words, “... an eventful and troubling day
cycle.”

She laughed. The tinkling soft music of
her sounds caused him to close his eyes to savor as the beat of it
battered against his defenses.

“You underplay the reality of it, I
think. It was a very strange, strange time.”

Her eyes became serious, troubled,
darkening with dread. “If I believe your story, will I be a
fool?”

Anger hot and quick fired in him. “Does
not matter if you believe me or disbelieve me. Believe your own
memories, little cat. Search them for the answers.”

She watched him, shocked at his
abruptness. “G’Ran. I will check the perimeter of your territory
before we retire.”

“I will go with you.”

“No. Stay here. Rest. I will be gone a
while. If I do not return, go to your brother.”

She stood from the chair. “Why? What do
you think is out there?”

“Two of my kind have followed me
here.”

She gasped. “How do you know
this?”

“Matt saw their tracks on the ridge
where we encountered your family.”

As he walked out the door he was sure
he heard her mutter, “Two more and I cannot even handle this
one.”

Chapter Eight

Lugar morphed into a cat before he
cleared the mudroom door. His muscles responded with power as he
padded around the house. When satisfied no one lurked in the
landscaping, he spiraled out in ever larger circles, patrolling the
woods and rocky cliffs looking for threats.

He soon found those he sought, what
Matt spoke of. Two men. They camped on the bank of the river. The
tents of his homeworld different from anything the natives had.
Damn fools.

“Enjoying the evening, gentlemen?” He
failed to keep the anger and sarcasm from his words.

They jumped up, hands going to their
weapons.

“Commander?” a man he knew to be named
Zeff Harro said.

“I understood you were to wait for my
word. I have no need of your aid in this matter. The people of this
area are not idiots. They may see you and if they do you may have
some technology to explain. We don’t need that sort of
complication.”

“Pardon us, commander, my name is Chief
Sneal. I saw no reason to maintain covert cover.”

“You disregard my specific orders. I do
not plan to tarnish this time and these people with our presence
anymore than we already have.”

Sneal shrugged and his eyes turned
mean. “We have higher orders. We’re not to allow you far from our
sight. This camp suits our needs, unless you want to invite us into
the cabin.” He paused, daring Lugar to counter that
statement.

“Explain your orders.”

“His honor, Gald, wants your mission
completed and you safely returned home.” Sneal’s smile was more a
smirk. “I don’t ask questions, he is above all others in his
thinking.”

“Hell,” he muttered. Gald. Lugar grew
sick of his name. He had enough to deal with in working with one
determined female, without the supercilious clown, Gald, his
machinations and his henchmen. Gald exemplified the slick and
dishonorable politician. He had no use for the man. But for this
mission he could not show his full contempt.

“I see. I thought Eliava had moved
beyond a time when we measured one man to be superior to
another.”

“Unfortunately, it’s coming back into
fashion these days, commander.” The second man spoke. He recognized
him as Zeff Harro. They’d served the Prime Minister together
before. “Zeff, how are you?”

“Good enough, Commander
Lugar.”

“Investigative Minister Gald wants the
she-cat destroyed. He believes there is no need to question
her.”

“I will question her. I will do nothing
more before I hear her story.”

“Yessir,” said Harro.

Chief Sneal’s black eyes looked as if
he’d argue the point more.

“Get back to your plane and wait. I
don’t want to hear word of any more big cat tracks around here.
It’ll scare the locals.” He turned and left them.

* * * *

Misha stood in the cabin’s third story
master bedroom and watched Lugar from the expansive window
panels.

Gix sat by her feet with his tennis
ball in his large, out of proportion to the rest of him jaws. The
mouth was the largest part of him for sure. He wanted her to play
but she could not tear her eyes from watching Lugar.

She’d planned the view for security
reasons. The efficient room took up half of the A-frame of the
cabin. The ceiling was heavy beams with tongue and groove cedar
planks.

‘Judge me by my actions’, Lugar had
said. “Excellent advice,” she whispered and leaned her forehead
against the cool window pane. She would try to overcome her
instinctive over the top defensive response to him. And moreover,
she’d do well to fight and overcome her dramatic sensual response
to him too. Her responses to him were anything but normal and
tame.

His actions since the day he walked
into her office had been clear. He was determined she return to
Eliava with him, to the home of her parents, but a place she knew
nothing of. And her every instinct roared that she didn’t want any
part of it. An old scary memory tried to edge into her mind but she
banished it with long practiced mental words. I did the best I
could. I was just a child. But she knew she’d been much more than
the average child.

And, Lugar, who said he came here to
escort her back to their homeworld, scared her more than the
memory, more than anything or anyone she’d ever encountered. How
could she trust the rest of her life to a stark and brooding
stranger?

Be careful of our kind if you ever meet
them, Misha. Those were her mother’s words of warning, long
forgotten before now but maybe she’d remembered on some
subconscious level. Maybe that accounted for part of her stark
raving fear of Lugar. That and what he might mean to her in bed … a
threat of a very different kind.

Lugar made a thorough job of his
rounds, working harder than he had to do. Narrowing her eyes, she
saw him loping easily as he prowled the hills beyond. Even though
he was in big cat shape, his attitude reminded her of the secret
servicemen, the ones who guarded the president and other
dignitaries -- alert and all-seeing individual ready to die to
carry out their duty. As she watched, he crouched and leapt to a
high rock ledge then surveyed the valley below. From there he could
see miles around. The leaves had fallen weeks ago affording her a
good lookout over the valley. If he had the keen eyesight she
possessed in cat form, then absolutely nothing, no movement would
be beyond his sight.

Every line of his conformation was
unadulterated sex appeal. In that moment she knew she wanted him
more than anything. She could have him once. Tonight. Then send him
back to his alien world without her. Just once, that’s all she
wanted.

He stalked his way back to the cabin
now. She soon saw him disappear around the cabin and heard him
enter the mudroom. Within minutes of that, she heard the shower in
the guest loft just below her. Her breath froze in her
chest.

As soon as she lay down in her large
comfy bed her cell rang. “’lo?”

“You said call if I can’t find
something.”

“Yes, I did.”

“I can’t find you, megisha,” he rumbled
the words, low and thrilling, inflaming her more.

She closed her eyes as her entire body
reacted to his voice from her phone. From her house. “I’m here.
Straight up above you.”

He laughed softly. “Of course you are.
You would be. Do you have a magnificent lair up there, sweet
one?”

“Pretty magnificent. Great bed. Great
panoramic views.”

“You watched me prowl the
night?”

She gasped. He guessed. He could not
know it.

“You did. I felt it.” He laughed again
a delighted masculine chuckle. “Your eyes burned me the entire
time. Distracted me like hell.”

He clearly enjoyed that she’d watched
him. Crazy male, er, man, she meant man, of course she did. In
spite of the fact that she’d been a cat shifter for most of her
life, albeit she’d always fought the temptation to shift more
often, when she thought herself the only cat that took human form,
she could pretend it had all been a dream.

“Why haven’t you mated with
Brandon?”

“Bronson, his name is Bronson. Nosy
beast. That is so none of your business.”

“I make it my business.”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“I say it.”

“Hmpf.”

“Sleep well knowing I am here to defend
you.”

“Hnnh,” she gave an inelegant snort at
that. But she realized he spoke the truth. She would sleep well.
She pushed the little red button cutting him off. Yep, no denying
she would sleep now, knowing he was safely back.

As if driven she dialed him back,
calling her own land line. “Lugar?”

“Yes?”

“Come join me. Up here.”

Silence.

“Is that what you want, my
she-cat?”

“Yes. I’m sure. I can’t agree to go
back to your world but while you’re here in mine … I want
--”

“You will use me for your own
devices?”

She smiled at his joke. “A female has
needs. Yes. I admit I will use you.”

“I will allow it.”

Without so much as a goodbye from the
man, she heard his footsteps on the ironwork spiral
staircase.

Lugar threw open the door and entered
her sanctuary. God in heaven, he was stark naked. Tonight she found
his profoundly arrogant walk way more attractive than seriously
annoying.

At a run, she met him half way across
the room, her arms opening wide to him

“Megisha,” he whispered. “G’Ran,
megisha. Fet t’ian daz v’erta.”

“I hope that’s as good as it
sounds.”

“What?”

“You spoke in your other world
language. Sounds a little like French.”

“I was not aware of it. You fog my
mind. But I will teach you the words. Later. Someday.” He held her
gaze with his, his eyes very serious. “Never forget it is your
language too.”

He grabbed her up in his arms and swung
her around, then carried her to her big bed.

“Tell me what you said.”

His eyes became wary. “Nosy beast. I
have said too much already. Another time I will tell you, when you
are ready to hear.”

She pouted. She wanted to declare
herself ready now but he distracted her with another soul-melting
kiss.

Laughing, he playfully rolled them over
and over in the bed a few times. The rub and tangle of their legs
aroused her mercilessly. He landed solidly between her
thighs.

“Much better than the hard floor of
your mudroom,” he said, smiling and devouring her nape now. Then he
worshiped her left ear with his hot tongue and she moaned a long,
rumbling cry.

“Megisha, megisha, megisha.”

“Misha.”

“Hmm? What?”

She snarled a little. “My name is
Misha, dammit. Say it for me. Now.”

He gave her a slow sexy grin. “If you
wish it.”