Sweet Jesus, she was in trouble here.
Pressing her hand to her stomach, she inhaled deeply, frantically trying to figure out a way out of the mess she found herself in. And yes, it was a mess. Because he might have left, but the arousal he’d created inside her hadn’t.
She was going to have to change panties, because she’d definitely soaked hers with the hot spill of moisture his touch created.
And she didn’t consider that a good thing. It wasn’t a good thing at all.
? CHAPTER 5 ?
She would be the death of him.
Graeme had always sworn she would be the death of him. From the moment she’d begun crawling, he’d known that woman was going to be more trouble than he would know how to deal with.
Moving quickly through the tunnels between the small rental and the Reever estate, Graeme remembered how tiny she had been even then, and how she seemed to find trouble no matter the effort made to ensure she was safe.
He’d been only eleven when Brandenmore had placed her in his arms, giving the responsibility of her care to him. Her survival was up to him; he’d known it in such a heartbeat of realization that it had been shocking.
Until that moment he’d never really known a point of time when he could designate that he’d felt his animal genetics in such a separate, fierce flow of energy. It had happened in that moment, though. The boy and the immature Bengal had stood side by side inside him. The boy staring at the child, bemused by how to care for such a sickly creature. In that moment, the feral displacement between Breed genetics and human had disappeared, the animal bonding with him completely to claim that child.
He’d known she was his. The animal, as immature as it had been, had claimed her instantly. At first he’d excused it as claiming her as part of the Pride he’d always sworn he’d have. Yet he’d known better.
Judd was his brother, his twin, and though the bond of twins was always there, his affection for Cat had still been different. She would belong to him once she reached maturity. In a blink, boy and animal had known that. It hadn’t been a sexual knowledge, it had been instinct. He’d found his other half, if he could ensure her survival.
His intelligence even then had been far superior to anyone he’d come in contact with. The depth of knowledge he could amass had been driving him insane, tearing his mind apart as his humanity fought the animal merged with it.
Staring into her weak, pain-ridden eyes, the bonding of the often volatile parts of all he was happened in an instant. And very little of it was actually human.
His intelligence, both human and animal, would have torn him apart if it hadn’t been for that moment. Cat had centered him, had given all those jagged pieces a place to fit.
A job to complete. Her survival.
Her survival meant not just curing the genetic malfunction in her body, which he’d immediately sensed, but also ensuring such a human frailty never weakened her again.
He and Dr. Foster had isolated the genetic function of the serum created before Dr. Foster was assigned to the project. The doctor and Graeme had known that part of it could never be revealed, and they’d fought to keep it hidden. It would cure Cat, just as it was curing Honor, but with Cat the genetic virus, isolated and for the most part taken from the serum, would be added back in once Foster coded in the Breed genetics needed to activate it.
Bengal genetics.
Entering the large main cavern beneath the estate, he strode to the desk and bank of computers set up in the nearest corner. She’d managed to find most of the cameras, but he’d known she would. There were still enough left to monitor her, to ensure her security.
The grounds were heavily covered with cameras, electronic sensors and alarms. He wouldn’t take her safety for granted.
Checking each level of the security he’d installed, he was aware of the scent of the approaching distraction.
Lobo Reever rarely visited the caverns beneath his home that he’d turned over to Graeme. They were Graeme’s domain, it had been agreed. And now, he was visiting twice in once week.
Stepping from the rough-hewn stone staircase, the Wolf Breed moved silently into the main cavern before striding to the security monitors located on the wall to Graeme’s side. Those monitors, nearly two dozen in all, encompassed the estate as a whole. His gaze lingered on one displaying the pool area and the young woman stretched out beneath the rays of the sun with lazy abandon.
“Need something?” Graeme questioned, his attention on the monitor displaying the status of the various security measures on the rental.
“Jonas was here.” Lobo’s attention remained on the pool area, his gaze brooding as he answered the question. “He wanted to speak to you, but it seems you weren’t in.”
“I had something to take care of at the rental,” Graeme informed him. “Sucks to be Jonas.”