Julia’s heart leapt in her chest and she felt slightly breathless. The way this man looked at her, with the animal behind his eyes, was as worrisome as it was erotic.
“Oh my.” Her expression brimming with humor, Miss Nathalie turned to Julia, her eyebrows raised. “What do you say to this, Miss Julia? Shall I kick this self-important feline out of my house, or do you want to accept his care?”
“She has no choice,” Parish said quickly, moving into the room, toward her.
No choice? Oh, he wasn’t going to take it there, was he? He might be the sexiest, most gorgeous man she’d ever known, but no one was going to run Julia Cabot’s life but her. Not anymore. Not even in this amazing place where magic actually existed. She glared at him as he approached, and spoke slowly and clearly. “I will always have a choice, Parish Montreuil. Got it?”
Dark brows lifted over blazing gold eyes.
Miss Nathalie chuckled. “I like this human gal.”
Parish looked stunned, as though he wasn’t used to being scolded or contradicted. He moved past her, his gaze going from the tub to the bed. “You need someone to protect you, Dr. Cabot. A human living among the Pantera, it’s asking for trouble.”
“Maybe I like trouble,” Julia found herself saying. Maybe I’m even asking for it.
Parish turned to face her. At first his expression was tight, and Julia thought he was gearing up for another verbal argument. But after moment, his face broke into a broad smile, then he started to laugh. “I think I might like this human gal too, Natty.”
“Peas in a pot, I never thought I’d see this day,” Miss Nathalie uttered, shaking her head. “Cave-dwelling, arsenic-spewing Parish Montreuil, laughing his fool head off.”
“I’ll be staying for supper, Natty,” Parish said, though his eyes remained fixed on Julia. “So make sure it’s a good one.”
“It’s Miss Nathalie to you, and you’ll eat whatever I put in front of you. And you’ll like it.”
He growled playfully low in his throat, and Julia felt the sound all the way to her toes.
“Growl like that at me again, Feline, and I’ll have you peeling potatoes with your canines.”
“Can’t.” Parish reached out suddenly, and took Julia’s hand. “I’m taking Miss Julia for a walk.” He purposefully gentled his tone. “If she accepts my care, that is.”
His hand felt strong and callused in hers, and she had the strangest desire to tighten her grip on him. The warmth of him seeped through the skin of her palm and into her blood. She had to force herself to breathe as she looked up at him. “She accepts. For now.”
Miss Nathalie snorted. “Well, be back before the sun goes down.” She was on her way out the door when she added, “Supper’s at six-thirty sharp.”
The minute she was gone, Parish rounded on Julia, pulled her close until they were just a foot apart. His dark eyes flashed with gold as he gazed down at her. “Don’t do that to me again, Doc.”
Breathing still felt awkward. “What?”
“Leave. Without telling me first.”
Heat was pouring off his body. “I didn’t. Raphael came—”
“I know,” he said quickly. “But I’m asking you, wait for me next time.”
The strength and intensity of his gaze was affecting her brain, how it processed. “You were worried?”
His nostrils flared and he growled at her softly. “Out of my mind. Until Ashe told me where you were.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” He squeezed her hand. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I know I’m overbearing and blunt and a scarred-up wreck of a male, but I have to protect you.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but held himself back.
“Because of the baby,” Julia prompted, her breathing still uneven and shallow as she stared up at him.
“It should be because of the baby.”
“But it’s not.”
He shook his head, his gaze fierce with wanting.
Julia’s skin prickled and her mouth felt suddenly dry. No one had ever looked at her like this. No one had ever said such words as their eyes filled with deep, vulnerable need. And yet, even with her newfound belief in magic and honorable, sexy, shape-shifting males, the fear of failure, of getting hurt, of what had happened with Gary—with all the Garys in her past—clung tightly to her heart.
“You’ve got to understand something,” she began, “I’m just getting out of a relationship. I don’t want to—”
“That wasn’t a relationship, Julia.” His thumb rubbed her palm gently, but his expression was resolute. “That was a lie told by an arrogant, self-centered piece of shit who had no idea what he had. What he was blessed with.” As his gaze roamed her face, his eyes turned completely gold. “If I was lucky enough to be claimed by you, I’d never give you cause to wonder.”
Tears formed in Julia’s throat. His words, his gaze…the blatant sincerity behind both…this man had the power to change her, her heart and her soul, if she would ever allow it.
“Come, Miss Julia,” Parish said, turning and leading her toward the door. “You think what you saw today at midday meal and out your window was beautiful, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
She felt like heaven on his back.
The weight of her, the way her thighs gripped the sides of his body. And her hands, fisting the fur at his nape as he ran the familiar course, weaving in and out of trees with the warm bayou air against his face.
Damn, he could get used to this.
Several feet from the bluff, his puma came to a halt. For one exceptional moment, he looked out over his sacred space and purred as Julia leaned down, wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. He’d never brought anyone here. It was the secret hideout he and Keira had spent hours playing in as cubs, then the home Parish had created after she’d left. No…after she’d been murdered. A mile from anything Pantera, anything that wanted to talk, lecture or demand, the caves had been his solace. While the scent of the bayou, the sharpness of the rocks, and even the intensity of the heat had become his family. He’d never needed more than that to feel whole, never craved more.
Until now.
Until her.
Parish allowed Julia a moment to slide off his back, then quickly shifted and walked to the very edge of the bluff. As was his daily custom, he took a visual inventory of each curve of rugged hillside and the caves above, the heavy vegetation that hung from the rocks and dipped gently into the warm water of the bayou pool below. He sensed nothing unusual or threatening, and his muscles relaxed.
“Incredible,” Julia said behind him, her tone awestruck.
Glancing over his shoulder, Parish eyed her with just a hint of playful arrogance. “Me or the landscape?”
She smiled. “You within the landscape.”
“Thank you for that.” He smiled back and reached for her hand. When she instantly curled her fingers around his, his cat purred. Her touch did what nothing else could: comforted him, made him feel something remarkably close to happiness.
Keeping her protectively at his side, Parish led her down the incline to the grassy bank near the pool. The scent of bayou coated the insides of his nostrils, and he breathed it deeper into his lungs.
“I’m not sure of the reason,” he said. “But the water here is incredibly warm.”
“And clear.”
“And remarkably free of critters.”
She laughed. “Do you bathe in it?”
He turned. “I do.”
Her eyes flashed with sensual interest. “I thought cats weren’t supposed to like the water.”
“I’m not your typical cat.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Prove it.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You want me to go in the water? Bathe in your presence?”