Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
The island was new to Gatita though Sonia had been there before, and she cast back and forth for scents, took the time to rub along every tree and bush, just to let all the males in the neighborhood know she was around. Hussy, Sonia accused. You’re going to get in trouble. Shadow has a nasty temper and he’s jealous.
I like it. Besides, it never hurts to let him think he’s not going to get everything his way, Gatita answered, smug and sage at the same time.
The land was solid, and from what Sonia could tell, big enough for several camps. She spotted three cabins on stilts a good distance from one another. Gatita approached one of them and lifted her muzzle to the wind, showing her teeth in a wide grimace. She laid her ears back and called out softly to her mate.
What is it? The scent was elusive, not one she recognized, but Gatita might.
Man. Not good man.
Sonia didn’t like the sound of that. What did Gatita mean? Sometimes things got lost in translation.
Shadow returned and moved around the cabin, circling the entire structure before climbing up the stairs to the porch. Gatita followed at a slower pace, letting the big male take the lead. Sonia strained to see, hear or smell anything that would bother the female leopard. She caught the scent of a dog and stiffened.
He’s a hunter. He brought dogs with him. We have to get out of here. We shouldn’t have come here, Gatita. Sonia held her breath, willing the dogs to remain quiet, not to catch a whiff of the cat’s scent.
Gatita listened, backing slowing away from the front door, heading toward the stairs. Shadow stayed close, but kept his larger body between his mate and the cabin. He pushed at Gatita’s shoulder and she crouched, slinking along the floor of the porch as she made her way toward the stairs.
To Sonia’s horror, Gatita was enjoying herself. More, she liked the adrenaline rush that came with the potential for danger. This is no time to get crazy. This is dangerous. If those dogs wake, they’ll chase you into the swamp and a man with a gun will shoot at you.
You like the danger too. You would want them to chase you and you’d circle back and go after the man with the gun.
Sonia was shocked at the response, but then she knew she shouldn’t be. Gatita was right. She was exactly the same way. It was why she loved the sexy play Joshua enjoyed. She never knew what he was going to do next. She liked the unexpected. She loved the rush she got from being with him. She loved running Gatita in the swamp because that was always a bit of risk. She drove her truck too fast. She liked taking chances.
You’re always the voice of reason, Gatita. This is no time to switch roles.
Gatita marked a bush, ran a few feet forward and then rubbed her fur along a tree. She rolled in the damp vegetation.
Oh. My. God. You little hussy, stop that this minute. On top of everything else you’re a little exhibitionist. You are not going to have raunchy cat sex with a hunter a few feet away. I’m not letting you put Joshua in danger. Get moving right now.
The little cat ran toward the river just as a dog let out a howl from inside the cabin. Shadow was on Gatita immediately, shouldering her so that she turned toward the bank with the long sandbar. He plunged into the river just as two other dogs took up the cry. Gatita followed him. They swam in the darkness back to the mainland. Both leopards ran toward the back of Joshua’s property.
Ask Shadow if he’s ever seen that cabin occupied before. Ask him if the dogs have been there. Sonia was suddenly uneasy. She’d certainly explored that strip of land, but the cabins had always been emptied and seemed abandoned. She knew a lot of the locals had camps out in the swamps and bayous, but as long as she’d been there – admittedly it hadn’t been that long – she’d never seen a single sign that those cabins were used.
He says no. They’ve always been empty. He was cutting across that part of the swamp to get to the land Molly’s grandmother’s family owned. The swampland she bought with her inheritance. He said there is a cabin on it and wanted us to see it.
Sonia would love to see that. Molly had wanted to go out to her grandmother’s camp but had never made it. Sonia didn’t want to see it badly enough that Gatita and Shadow would be hunted or killed. That nagging feeling in her gut refused to go away.
Joshua says you are safe.
She wanted to believe that she was – that both Joshua and she were safe. There were camps strewn all through the swamp. Many of the locals relied on hunting and fishing to survive lean months or years. She shouldn’t have been so uneasy, but she couldn’t quite make the feeling go away.