It was impossible to be so close to such a large cat, a predator, and not feel the immense power and mystery. Yes, he was definitely a killing machine, the top of the food chain, but he was beautiful, magnificent even. Catarina shifted position carefully, pulling her feet up slowly onto the tailgate. She tried to be silent and stealthy, to not draw the cat’s attention. She wanted it to stay facing away from her so she could take in its amazing beauty without any fear, but the moment she inched one foot up, it swung its head around and the stare of golden fire locked onto her own.

She froze. Her heart stuttered to a halt and her breath once more became trapped in her lungs. They stared into one another’s eyes for a long time. Time enough for her lungs to burn for air. That long. Still, she couldn’t look away, mesmerized by the beauty and focus there.

The leopard shifted his weight and from his sitting position, jumped easily into the back of the pickup truck with her. He landed silently, just to one side of her, but all that muscle was heavy and she felt the truck’s bed settle for a moment.

She would not be a coward and call Eli’s name. It felt too much like surrender and she’d already surrendered her body to the man. She wouldn’t surrender her courage. She stayed very still. It seemed that as curious as she was about the large leopard, he was just as curious about her, extending his head toward her. The head seemed much larger up close than it appeared when the animal had been on the ground.

The leopard shifted position and involuntarily, her body jerked. The animal had to have registered her heart pounding out of control. Still, she wouldn’t give in, wouldn’t call Eli’s name. She felt the brush of the animal’s body against her shoulder as he moved behind her until she lost complete sight of him. She froze again, her entire body nearly seizing with fear. She closed her eyes, waiting for the terrible moment when she would feel his claws raking her back, his teeth puncturing her skin.

The leopard made a soft chuffing sound. It was quiet. Nonthreatening. She didn’t open her eyes. The animal moved against her back, rubbing his fur over the shirt she wore, his chin on top of her head. She was forced to take a breath before she passed out. She could smell him, his wild, exotic, feral scent filling her nostrils.

She wished for her leopard. She prayed for her leopard. “I brought you out here so you could be with him. Go to him. Let me slip away,” she whispered to the cat inside of her. “Save me.”