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“Thanks, babe. You’re the best,” I say and still, cocking my head to the side while studying one of the trees because it seems to move way too much. As if something is purposely shaking it.
I notice more movement, and my heart plummets while fear swipes over me, the air sticking in my lungs, and I whisper into the phone, “A leopard.” A magnificent animal indeed, his orange-black fur glistening under the sun while his size shrinks the tree in proportions, yet despite all that, the creature is graceful and majestic.
“What?” Giselle asks in confusion.
“A leopard. In Octavius’s garden!” I can’t even form coherent sentences as the animal does a whole-ass flip against the tree and then lands on his paws, zeroing his gaze in on me. My heartbeat speeds up while every instinct in me screams to run from the predator. “Oh my God!”
He darts toward me, snapping me out of my stupor. I turn around and rush back inside while his paws tap against the grass. I want to shut the terrace door, but he comes too close, so I drop the idea, running faster only to hear him inside the house.
I spin around, my back hitting the wall, and I scrunch my eyes closed, ready for his attack while everything inside me tenses.
My pulse drums in my throat, and I clench the phone so hard, I bruise my hand. Seconds trickle by, and nothing happens, my heavy breathing filling the space with Giselle screaming, “Isla! What the hell happened? Callum, why does Octavius have a leopard in his house?”
“That’s his pet.”
“You said he was stable!”
I force myself to peel my eyes open and sigh in relief when a strong, scarred back greets me as Octavius blocks me from the animal’s view. “Mine, Lampos.” He steps back, and I frown at him when he grabs my palm and brings it closer to the leopard. I’m still too shocked to react, so I just go along with it. “Mine,” he repeats again as the wild cat sniffs me, his whiskers twitching and his eyes flashing while he roars, the sound hurting my ears. “Lampos.” Steel laces Octavius’s voice, and the animal huffs as if hating the fact that he can’t tear my flesh apart.
He sniffs me some more, his tail swaying back and forth, and he rubs his muzzle into my palm before roaring again and strolling back to the garden while my whole body trembles. I’m still glued in place.
Octavius takes my phone. “Everything is fine. And, Giselle? Callum lied. I’m insane.”
“You fucking assh—” He hangs up before Callum can finish his sentence and cups my cheek, shifting my focus back on him.
“You have a leopard,” I whisper, and he nods. “It’s illegal in this state.”
“I’m aware.”
“Of course you’re aware.” And why would he care if it was illegal anyway? He does whatever he wants. And while I can deal with a lot of stuff, I draw the line at the whole leopard thing. “It’s a crime toward an animal to keep it caged. He belongs in the wild.”
His mouth slams on mine, capturing my lips in a passionate and probing kiss as our tongues entwine, and a hot flush travels all over me while my fingers curl into his bare chest, and he wraps his arm around me, pressing me tight to his chest.
Tilting my head back, I allow him to deepen the embrace, and he swallows my gasp when he hikes me up, my legs circling him as his hard-on digs into my core. He continues to ravish my mouth, staking his claim with each brush of his tongue while sending fire into every cell in my body, wiping away any thoughts from my mind.
When I’m in his arms, surrounded by his strength and power, I feel cherished and invincible because he will slay all the dragons, and just for a moment in time, I can pretend to be the princess saved by a brave knight.
Or the villain, it depends which fantasy of mine I want to explore.
We groan when I lace my fingers in his hair, kissing him even deeper, but my lungs beg me to stop, so I tear my mouth away, gulping for breath while another roar echoes through the space. This one is a little different from the previous one, almost annoyed. Can leopards be annoyed? “He’s injured. He won’t survive in the wild,” Octavius says, skimming his lips over my throat and biting on my pulse. My fingers dig into his shoulders, earning me a hiss. “So he lives here.”
“All the time?”
He nips on my skin before licking the sting away, breathing in my scent. “Most of the time. Sometimes I keep him in a special zoo so they can watch over him, and he has more land there to explore. The vet makes sure he’s all right.”
“And when he’s here, he roams freely inside the mansion?” Still too shocked, I need to know all the answers before having any kind of reaction.
He chuckles, the vibrating and his five-o’clock shadow tickling me, and a grin shapes my mouth. Of all the things I’ve imagined for this morning, making out after a leopard almost attacked me wasn’t one of them.
Which just proves how unique and a little psychopathic this relationship truly is. “No, kitten. Only in my house and the garden.”
“Just peachy, then.”
He chuckles again, walking to the couch and sitting on it while my knees dip into the cushions. I place my hand on his cheek and gently trace his scar as he closes his eyes and rests his head back, welcoming my touch and not shying away from it. It thrills and warms me at the same time as even though he still didn’t share with me what caused it…at least my touch soothes something inside him. “I don’t think I can live with a leopard who comes and goes. He’s a predator.”
“He won’t bite.”
“Says the guy who feeds him. Of course he won’t bite you.” I drop my voice to a whisper, “I’m convinced he’s plotting revenge right now after you kicked him out.”
