Chapter 7 #2
Huh. Maybe she’d just never seen the right child before. Maybe something deep inside her—that instinct that she trusted so much in all other aspects of her life—knew that a human child wasn’t the thing for her. No. Maybe a shifter child was what was meant to be…
“Shelly, this is Jim, Kensi’s father and my first cousin.” Mark introduced them.
“Hi,” Shelly said. “Your daughter is beautiful,” she complimented, realizing the little cat’s eyes were now focused on her.
“She’s a handful,” Jim agreed, as they all began walking back toward the house. “She’s at that age where she wants to assert more independence, but it’s really not good to worry your mama,” Jim finished, directing his words to the little girl and kissing the top of her head.
The little cat made a mewling sound that melted Shelly’s heart.
Mark watched Shelly’s reaction to Kensi with particular interest. She didn’t seem repulsed by the idea that the little cat was actually a little girl, as well.
That boded well for his future plans. If all went as he hoped it would, someday, Shelly would have a child of theirs who might be able to transform like Kensi.
It was important that Shelly not be too shocked by the idea of shapeshifter children.
They ate lunch at the mansion with a number of Mark’s Clan mates.
Everyone was on their best behavior, much to his amusement.
They were both wary of making him look bad to the only human woman he’d ever brought to meet his Clan, and curious as only cats could be about her.
The conversation was casual, but every once in a while, someone would ask a question that was a little too direct.
Shelly handled it well, though Mark was a bit embarrassed by some of the questions that she fielded. The one about her family’s fall in fortune was particularly awkward, but Shelly didn’t seem to mind. At least, she gave no outward sign that the prying questions were at all out of the ordinary.
When the inquisition masquerading as lunch was finally over, Mark showed Shelly to a guest room where her luggage had already been placed.
His room wasn’t far away, and if he had anything to say about it, Shelly would be sleeping with him tonight, but for the moment, he’d give her a few minutes to freshen up and prepare for the afternoon’s trek deeper into the jungle.
He left her at her door with a peck on the cheek. He wanted more, but he had decided on a strategy and was sticking to it. She was in his domain now. He had time and space in which to work his plan…and hopefully create a little magic.
Mark met with his staff for the twenty minutes he’d allotted, getting updates on critical business situations and happenings on the island while he’d been away. His people were more than competent, and he was able to delegate much of his work for the next day or two. He’d have time to court Shelly.
Everyone in the Clan knew that when a jaguar scented his mate, everything else became secondary—at least for a while. Once the mating was solid, other things might recapture his attention somewhat, but the mate was paramount. Once found, a mate would change a jaguar’s life forevermore.
And in Mark’s case, his mating would impact the entire Clan. Shelly could be the instrument of change for everyone on this island and all the jaguars he intended to bring here. To bring home.
Because he wasn’t just building some kind of resort community for jaguar shifters here. No. Mark’s plan was to build a place where they could all live together. Protected. Isolated when they wished to be. A jaguar sanctuary.
It was time to call all his people home and rebuild the Clan.
*
The trip out to the building site wasn’t as rugged as it had been the last time Mark had done it.
While he’d been in the human world, his people had been busy pre-positioning huge stacks of basic building materials that would be needed once construction began.
They had to be cautious, bringing in small shipments to the warehouse a little at a time, so as not to draw notice from the humans on shore.
Getting the stuff to the building site required that they widen the jungle track they had carved out of the foliage.
Careful to leave the sheltering trees in place so their temporary road would be hard to discover from above, they had nevertheless created a more passable pathway under the cover of the leaves.
It was almost like a green tunnel in places, and Mark watched Shelly look around in wonder. He liked her reaction.
“I can’t believe what you’ve done here,” she remarked as the four-wheel drive vehicle bumped along the trail. “This is like something out of a movie.”
“It’s been greatly expanded since I was here last,” Mark admitted.
He was driving, and it was just the two of them in the Jeep.
He had wanted time alone with her. He’d also wanted to see her reaction to the spot he had chosen for the future home of the jaguar Clan.
Maybe it was selfish of him to want to keep her all to himself for now.
Or, judging by the cross examination she had suffered at lunch, maybe it was the smart thing to do.
“They’re really gearing up to build as soon as we have a solid plan for the structures. In the meantime, we’ve been stockpiling supplies and prepping the area as best we can,” he told her as they came over a rise in the landscape.
They had been steadily climbing since they left the mansion.
The spot he’d chosen to build on was at a high point on the island, but there were taller peaks around them still.
The idea was that they’d be sheltered on three sides by the rocky terrain, leaving only a small area through which they could see the ocean—or anyone on the ocean could possibly see them.
If they built the right kinds of buildings, nobody would be able to detect them from the sea or satellite. Their new home would be as secure as Mark could make it, while still allowing the freedom and beauty of their location to shine through.
He stopped the Jeep atop the final ridge to give her a good view of his chosen location.
Her reaction didn’t disappoint. Particularly since the guys had been busy prepping the area.
It wasn’t clear-cut by any stretch of the imagination, but what they’d removed so far helped the natural contours of the land be more visible—at least from this angle.
“Oh, wow,” she breathed, her focus strictly on the landscape. Her mouth hung open a tiny bit in what looked like awe.
Mmm. He liked that. In fact, he wanted to kiss her so badly in that moment, he had to grab the steering wheel so tightly he almost ruined it.
Get a grip, amigo. He didn’t want to scare her off.
He had to let her get used to him before he pounced too enthusiastically, but she wasn’t making it easy.
She was just too damned attractive—which was a good thing overall, but right now, it didn’t help him be the gentleman he was trying so hard to be.
“Is this a caldera?” Her expression changed as she turned to him, a little frown between her eyebrows that he found utterly adorable.
Damn. His lady was smart. The cat in him purred in approval.
“The entire island is an ancient volcano, yes,” he told her. “This is the place where the lava flowed, but it’s safe now.”
“How can you be so sure? I mean, the Atlantic isn’t as active as the Ring of Fire in the Pacific, but things can change. If you’re planning long-term, this might not be the best place…” Her gaze roamed back to the landscape before them as if it called to her.