Zach's cat smiled in feral amusement. He was used to the preconceptions some humans, and most Psy, had about changelings. The majority of the time, it rolled off his back. But this time, it mattered. Because this was Annie's mother.
"I am not having this discussion with you," Annie said, tone final. "We'll be there for dinner. If you'd rather we didn't come, just say so."
"No, bring him," was the immediate response. "I want to meet this Zach who's got you ordering your own mother around." She hung up.
Annie stared at the phone for several seconds before thrusting it back into her pocket. "How much did you hear?"
"All of it."
She shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry—"
"Annie, sweetheart, leave your mom to me." He shot her a grin brimming with deliberate wickedness. "Today, I want to lead you astray."
Her returning smile was a little shy but full of a quiet mischief he figured most people never saw. "Are you sure I'm not already beyond redemption?"
He chuckled. "How could you be with a name like Angelica?"
She made a face. "I'm an Annie, not an Angelica."
"I prefer Angel."
"Do you like your women angelic?"
He chuckled. "No, baby, I like my woman exactly as she is." He knew he'd surprised her, waited to see what she'd do.
"So, this thing . . . you want more than just a day?"
He wasn't going to lie to her. "Are you going to run if I say yes?" He pulled into the forest proper, taking a narrow track that would lead them to one of the smaller waterfalls. It was only a trickle right now because of the cold, but it was still a sight to be seen.
"I'm here today, aren't I?" A question with a slight acerbic bite.
Tasting the piquancy of it on his tongue, he decided he liked it. "All alone with a big, bad cat who's rethinking his policy on biting."
Arousal colored the air again, and he sucked in a breath to contain his most primal instincts. "Look ahead," he said, voice husky.
"Oh!" Her eyes went huge. "It's a buck," she whispered, as if afraid the animal would hear her. "His antlers are huge."
Zach slowed the vehicle to a crawl, but the buck caught his scent and shot off into the trees. "Sorry. They tend to scatter the instant they smell leopard. It's why I look after the predators—it's hard for me to check data on the nonpredatories."
"They know they're prey." She looked at him. "Do you hunt them?"
"When the cat needs it, yes." He glanced at her. "Can you handle knowing that?"
"I teach a lot of little cats," she reminded him in a prim, schoolteacher voice. "I might not be an expert on changeling behavior, but I've picked up enough to know that when in animal form, you behave according to the needs of the animal."
He couldn't help himself. He turned and snapped his teeth at her, making her jump. When he began to chuckle, her eyes narrowed. "You're as bad as Bryan. He does that to Katie all the time."
"Odds on, he has a crush on her."
Her lips twitched. "That's what I think, too. Was the fight about Katie?"
"Sneaky, Ms. Kildaire, but I'm sworn to secrecy." Laughing at the face she made, he reached over to tug at her pony tail. "You up to a small hike?"
Shadows swept across her face. "You don't think I can do it?"
He parked the vehicle off to the side of the track and turned. "I don't know your limits yet," he told her honestly. "That's why I'm asking."
She colored. "Sorry. I'm a bit touchy on the whole subject."