Chapter 5
Sera watched as Caesar opened a storage cabinet along a wall in the employee cafeteria and pulled out what looked like two blankets rolled up and tied with straps.
He shut the door and put the blankets under his arm, then went to the kitchen area.
He filled a small cooler he lifted from a low cabinet with things from the various refrigerators.
“Need any help?” she asked, curious what he was planning.
“Nope, just hang out there looking beautiful.”
She smiled. He certainly made her feel beautiful.
He hadn’t really taken his eyes off her since they met.
She hadn’t missed anything about him either.
He had the prettiest dark brown eyes framed with thick lashes, a straight jaw that was deliciously covered with stubble, broad shoulders and muscles…
holy crap. She honestly couldn’t wait to see what he looked like naked.
It had to be among the seven wonders of the world.
As he moved around the kitchen, she marveled at the feelings rising in her.
For the first time in years, she actually felt sexual attraction to a male.
She’d been attracted to males over the years, but not a full-blown heat like this.
Where every time she met his gaze, she could imagine them rolling around a bed and getting into all kinds of fun.
She’d never been a forward person before. Never been the one to kick off anything romantic or sexual. She’d been courted, as her mom would say, by males in the prowl, but she hadn’t wanted to mate anyone in a permanent way.
But Caesar?
Mating was all she could think about.
“Sera?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin. Putting her hand to her chest, she blew out a breath. “What?”
Caesar grinned. “You were a little lost in thought there. I called your name a few times. Everything okay?”
If by okay, you mean me wondering what you look like sans-clothes? Yes, I’m okay.
His eyes slowly morphed to amber, and he let out a low, rumbling growl.
Oh gosh, he could smell that she was thinking sexy thoughts.
How could she not?
“Caesar?” she whispered.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Let’s get going to whatever you have planned before I explode.”
“I would kind of like to see that,” he quipped, “but only if I’m the one causing the explosion.”
Her cat did a somersault in her head.
Pressing her lips together, she chuckled and followed him to a door along the wall. Behind the door was a ladder attached to the wall with brackets.
“Give me a minute to set things up, I’ll be right back.” He hooked the cooler strap over his shoulder and put both blankets under his arm. Then he gave her a rakish grin and said, “No exploding on your own, Sera. Promise?”
“I guess you better hurry.”
“Vixen.”
He climbed the ladder and she peeked upward as he moved, reaching the ceiling and pushing open a hatch. After a few minutes, he called for her to come up.
She wiped her damp palms on her jeans and climbed up after him.
He helped her over the lip of the hatch, and she found herself on the roof.
There was a two-foot stone wall around the edge.
The HVAC unit hummed in the far corner, but otherwise the roof was empty.
Caesar had set out the blankets, one on top of the other, and placed the cooler next to it.
“So no one can really see us up here,” he said. “But it’s a great place for some sunshine and fresh air.”
She looked around, seeing the safari tour and animal paddocks, the carousel and apartment complex in the distance, and the aviary and bird hospital. The scents of sugar and grilled meat were in the air, and the muffled sounds of people milling about mixed with the carousel’s music.
“This is pretty cool,” she said. Closing her eyes, she turned her face to the sun and just soaked it in.
When she’d warmed her skin, she opened her eyes and turned to find Caesar watching her with a small smile curving the corner of his lips.
Could he be any sexier?
She joined him on the blanket and he pulled out the snacks and drinks from the cooler. As they nibbled, they talked quietly, on their private roof, about his past and hers, and how they’d both, miraculously, wound up in New Jersey at a safari park.
Being soulmates was a strange concept.
How was it possible that two people who were from very different shifter groups that never mingled, born in different states, ended up here?
Finding each other despite crazy odds. Him disillusioned with pride life and wanting to start over with his sons; her running from a crazy alpha who believed she didn’t have the right to choose who she mated.
But here they were.
The jaguar and the lion.
* * *
They’d spent hours on the roof talking and even dozed off together, her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Eventually, they made their way back down to the underground space, where they grabbed dinner at the market cafeteria and sat with several members of the pride, including his son Lucius and his mate Sidney, who was a human and worked at the gift shop drawing pictures of the animals.
She offered to sketch Sera sometime, saying she’d never seen a jaguar up close and bet she was beautiful.
By the time the park was closed and the security team had declared it safe, she and Caesar made their way to the paddock to shift with each other under the moonlight.
“This has been the most amazing day,” she said.
Caesar climbed the steps leading up into the lions’ paddock ahead of her and pushed open the door in the floor. He turned and offered his hand, and she took it as she finished the last steps and moved into the maintenance barn.
“I think so too,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve had a good day. But we’re not done yet.”
He lowered the door back in place and pushed open one of the maintenance shed’s doors. Turning slowly, he faced her, his eyes amber and his body tense.
“You first, baby.”
She bit her lower lip, suddenly very aware of the fact she was about to be naked in front of her soulmate.
They hadn’t even kissed yet!
Well, that seemed strange and out of order, so she moved to him and went onto her toes, brushing her lips over his.
He pulled her close with a growl and kissed her back, but it wasn’t a simple brush of lips. He kissed her like he was going off to war, like the most important thing he could do with his lips was kiss her and drive her wild.
When she was breathless and senseless, he slowly released her, his lion purring loudly in his chest. They didn’t say a word as they stripped together, just kept their gazes locked and both of their beasts purring.
First the shirts, then the shoes and jeans.
And then her bra was on top of her clothes on the wood floor and they both stood just a foot apart in only their underwear.
Her body was positively humming.
It was so tempting to forget the shifting and just ask him to take her to bed. But the truth was, she wanted to see what he looked like in his shift. And they had just met. Even if they were soulmates, she could keep her inner hussy on a leash for a little while longer.
Underwear was lowered and then they were fully naked.
The air was erotically charged, and she was pretty sure she’d never been so turned on in her life.
But she forced herself to focus on her jaguar, and she shifted.
In moments, she was on four paws, her tail swishing as she stretched and let out a low yowl.
He dropped to his knees and ran his fingers through her short fur.
“You’re beautiful, Sera. I feel like the luckiest male on the planet to have such a sweet and gorgeous female for my soulmate.
” He cupped her face and pressed his forehead against hers, his fingers pressing lightly to her fur.
“Baby, I thought I was going to be alone forever. I’m so glad that you’re in my life, and I want to do everything in my power to keep you safe and make you the happiest female on the planet. ”
She purred loudly, her whiskers twitching in happiness.
He kissed her nose and eased back, his body on full display for her for the briefest moment before he shifted into a huge lion, with a golden-furred body and chocolate mane.
He stretched like she did, his tufted tail slicing through the air as he purred like a truck.
They padded out of the barn side by side and moved around the paddock in lazy circles, stopping at the manmade pond to splash each other, before lounging under the stars.
The time was over both too fast and too slow, as the hours had ticked by while they were in their shifts.
Shifting had always been something she’d done as part of the jaguar prowl, part of the traditions and routines of the group, and not something she did for fun.
Even when Fallon had been able to shift and they’d gone out together, she hadn’t really enjoyed herself.
Not like tonight with Caesar.
It had been a joyful time, and something she wanted to do again.
They made their way back to the shed. He pulled the door shut by tugging on a rope attached to the door and closing them in. A small lantern had been left on inside the shed and the soft light illuminated the space.
They moved around each other in a slow circle, prowling with low murmurs from their beasts, and then they shifted back to human.
Caesar rose to his feet, his body cast in shadows from the lantern, every delicious inch of him on display.
“Stay with me tonight, Sera. I want to make you mine in truth.”
He offered her his hand as she straightened, her skin tingling and her cat ready to pounce on him.
“I want that too.”