Jaguar Pride by Terry Spear

they grabbed any more exotic animals to sell.
    Raina had offered for them to drop by anytime and feed their pet pacas, which looked like very large guinea pigs with stripes and spots covering their coats, square heads, small ears, and barely visible tails. Jaguars—not the shifter kind, but their cousins—found pacas a tasty meal.
    Bags in hand, Melissa and Huntley climbed the wooden steps to the deck. As soon as Huntley unlocked the door, he said, “I know this is moving kind of fast, but…”
    She raised a brow at him and wondered if he was thinking about what had happened between them last night. She suspected that he wasn’t going to want to stop at kissing this time. “You’re needy?”
    He laughed. “Okay, if you want to put it that way. The cabana does have two bedrooms. But I thought we might…share the same one.”
    â€œYou don’t think it’s too soon?”
    He followed her into the last bedroom. “No.”
    She chuckled. His answer was so adamant that she figured if she’d said she wasn’t sure, he’d try to talk her into believing she was.
    â€œSo…we’re just having a little lighthearted fun, right?” Melissa asked, unpacking her bag in the room, where the double bed sported a yellow comforter with a couple of towels folded into the shape of elephants sitting on top.
    She smiled at the sight.
    â€œYeah, I’m good for it.”
    Hearing the huskiness in his voice, she glanced up to look at him.
    He smiled at her, his blue-green eyes swallowing her up like aquamarine pools of warm water, beckoning her to get closer.
    â€œI know what this is about,” she said, closing the drawer, straightening, and poking her finger at his chest.
    He took her hand and kissed it, then wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close, and held on tight. “Oh?” He brushed a kiss lightly over her forehead and again at one temple, and then swept his warm, appealing mouth across her forehead and kissed her other temple.
    â€œYes,” she said, running her hands up his T-shirt. “You like my cooking.”
    He laughed. “And your sense of humor. I mean, yeah, I love your cooking, but there’s a hell of a lot more to you than that.”
    â€œGood to know.”
    And then he leaned down and kissed her. It was different this time—not so needy, but more of a willingness to get to know her, inside and out.
    â€œYou keep kissing me like that, and I’m going to think you want something more than just friendship.”
    He smiled and kissed her again.
    What the hell. Life was all about risk, wasn’t it? Anytime they went on a mission, they might not come back. She realized now why she’d taken up with Oliver. He was safe, and she didn’t have to worry about him being hurt. Not in his line of work. But what if she really got interested in a JAG agent? The dynamics would change between them, wouldn’t they?
    She sighed, put on the brakes on this time, and said, “Let’s get ready for bed.” She meant to sleep. The way he gazed at her just a little longer, using his cat senses to analyze her, told her he hoped she meant otherwise.
    â€œI’m going to get some water while you take a shower,” she said when he didn’t move to get ready for bed.
    â€œOkay.” He was in the bathroom in a flash. Only this time, he didn’t shut the door.
    Feeling like a schoolgirl, she stalked out of the bedroom and down the hall. Once he’d finished with his shower and climbed into bed, she showered separately and then joined him. She swore she felt like this was last night all over again. She wasn’t sure why the thought of sleeping with him made her feel so…anxious. She didn’t recall having any trouble like this when she started seeing Oliver as more than just a friend.
    The lamp next to Huntley’s side of the bed was still on. At least that seemed to be his side of