“What is it?”
“It’s research.” He studied the contents of his mug rather than looking at me. “It’s about panthers and the places they can be kept legally and the regulations for keeping wild animals on a domestic property. Plus, there’s a list of places where you can surrender an animal without getting into trouble.”
I’m not going anywhere.
Sometimes my beast had trouble understanding he and I couldn’t be separated.
I almost spat out my coffee, not because he was insistent on me being punished but he was helping me avoid the long arm of the law. A stranger who knew nothing about me except his suspicion I’d lied to him repeatedly.
“I understand you’re a wildlife photographer.”
He glanced around the room, and I grabbed the stack of printouts that were facedown on the coffee table. But I couldn’t bring myself to flip them over. What photographer would have printed out copies of images from a generic website?
“But if you really have a panther secreted away, I wanted to give you options.”
If I’d been sitting beside him, I wouldn’t have been able to resist hugging him, so it was better I was perched on an armchair.
Bronson gulped. “These are ways to fix your panther problem without repercussions.”
I’m not a problem. My beast was annoyed at the direction of the conversation.
The universe couldn’t have chosen a better mate for me than Bronson. He’d come up with ways to help me and get me out of trouble while protecting a wild animal.
“Thank you. I can’t believe you did all this. But I have to tell you something.”
He nodded as his knees gripped the edge of the sofa. “Please tell me you’re not going to confess to illegal animal trafficking. If you are, I should leave now.”
“I'd never engage in any activity that hurt animals.” Hmmm, except when my beast took down a deer or a rabbit. But that wasn’t for sport.
“Okay, I’m waiting for the truth.” He fiddled with a cushion tassel. “But I have a confession of my own.”
Gods, no. He’d called the cops. I jumped up and did what Dale had done. I peered through the curtains to see if we were surrounded. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in the street.
“You first.” Yeah, I was being gallant, because whatever Bronson had to say was nothing compared to my secret.
A stunning pink blush crept over his face, and I considered offering him a glass of water.
“My mom was bugging me about a blind date I went on.” He looked directly at me. “I don’t want to be matched with some random dude and expect it to be true love.” He sighed. “So I fibbed and said I had a boyfriend. And that’s being a huge-ass hypocrite because I accused you of lying.”
“I see.”
His face was now the color of cooked beets. “But I am kind of interested in someone but doubt that will work out.”
My head jerked up. Why did I get the sense he was talking about me? He was probably eyeing a guy at work or lusting over someone at the gym.
“Use me.”
“What?” His screech terrified birds nesting nearby, and they flew off.
“I’ll be your pretend boyfriend. You can even introduce me to your mom.”
Now his face was white, the blood draining to who knew where, while blood was being pumped into part of me, and I crossed my legs so he didn’t see my arousal.
“I want to help.”
He furrowed his brow. “That’s kind but a little odd.”
“I like you.” I wasn’t being completely honest because I was head over heels in love with him. “But before you answer, I have to show you the real me and the truth about the panther.”
