There was a distinct subtext of you idiot in his panther’s tone.
Okay, Shane admitted. I guess I deserved that.
His panther— and Shane himself, to be honest— would have been content to let the ear-scratching continue indefinitely. But Shane didn’t know how long they’d be allowed to stay alone together, and there were things he had to tell Catalina before someone else got to her first.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on human things.
How to field-strip an M4 carbine. How to seal a sucking chest wound. How to survive if your parachute fails to open.
Shane opened his eyes as a man.
Catalina still had her fingers in his hair. It felt so good that he didn’t know if he could stand to move aside. He felt a stab of mingled relief and regret when she yanked them away.
“Oops,” she said. “Sorry. Hope you didn’t mind me taking liberties with your ears.”
“It’s all right when I’m a panther.”
“When you’re a panther,” she echoed delightedly. “Shane, that was the most amazing thing I’ve seen in my entire life. And I’ve seen a lot of amazing things. And—” Her gaze strayed downward. “Ha! I’m seeing another one now.”
For a moment, he had no idea what she meant. Then he realized that he was naked. He’d spent too much time in barracks to be embarrassed by nudity, but he didn’t dare spend one more second naked with his mate. He was sure he had the self-control not to touch her— well, pretty sure— but if she touched him, all bets were off. And she definitely looked like she wanted to.
He gritted his teeth. He ought to be flattered and happy that she was so obviously into him, but under the circumstances, it was nothing but frustrating. Not only could he not do anything about it without putting her at even greater risk, he couldn’t even admit his own attraction.
She was strong and brave and kind, but she was also honest. Everything she thought and felt showed on her face. And while their captors might exploit it if they believed that she had an unrequited crush on him, that was nothing to what they’d do if they discovered that he loved her. If they ever learned that he felt more toward her than the basic responsibility any airman would have for a fellow prisoner, all they’d have to do to keep him in line was threaten her. The only way he could protect her was to pretend he didn’t care about her.
“Just a sec.” He hastily wrapped the towel back around his waist, went to the bathroom, and put his jeans on. Then he returned and sat back down on the floor. Belatedly, he pulled his shirt on too.
Catalina was still grinning. “I can’t believe it. You really are that gorgeous panther!”
Inside his head, his panther once again began to purr.
Shane was torn between relief that his mate liked his panther, and dismay that he’d accidentally convinced her that being an ultimate predator was the coolest thing ever. “Listen to me, Catalina. We have to get out of here. Before they do anything irrevocable to you. It’s not what you think.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced. “What’s the downside?”
His heart lurched. But he’d walked right into the question. He had to answer.
“I didn’t volunteer.” He made sure his voice sound cool and calm and distant, though he felt none of those things. His heart was hammering so hard that he half-expected her to hear it.
“I was on a combat search and rescue mission when I was captured,” Shane went on. “Not by the enemy— well, not by the enemy we were supposed to be fighting. By this place. It’s called Apex. It’s a black ops agency. They picked me because they thought I was strong enough to have a shot at surviving the ultimate predator process. They were right, but just barely. It nearly killed me. Apex held me for a year before I escaped. By the time I got loose, I’d been declared killed in action. And I might as well have been. My entire life was over. Nobody who knew me before has any idea I’m still alive.”
Shane’s teammates at Protection, Inc. knew that much of his story. Hal knew the most, because he’d
been involved in some of it. But even Hal didn’t know all of it. And all of them knew not to ask for more details. Shane couldn’t imagine telling anyone the whole story— not even his mate.
Especially not his mate.
Then he felt a warmth penetrate his chill. Catalina had put her hand on his shoulder. “Shane, I’m so sorry. It must have been terrible.”
He jerked aside. Pulling away from her felt like ripping off a bandage. Shane wished he could let her touch him, but it was just too dangerous. “No shit.”
The flash of hurt in her eyes made him feel even worse. He had to keep his distance, but he didn’t have to be an asshole about it. Awkwardly, he muttered, “Ultimate predator is bad news. I was lucky to survive it. It’s a lot more likely to kill you than it is to give you powers. Trust me, you don’t want it.”
“It didn’t sound like they were going to give me a choice,” Catalina said.
“They have to run tests on you first, to tailor the process to your body. It’ll take about a week. But I promise, I’ll break us out before then. This time next week, you’ll be home.”
To his relief, she seemed to accept this. “With one hell of a story. I can’t wait to tell Ellie!” Then she frowned. “Can I? Does she know you can turn into a panther? Does Hal know?”