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Her eyes widened and she looked about nervously Suddenly, she ran to a length of silk and pulled it loose from where it was anchored by his backpack She ja leap across the ditch

He roared for fear she would fall to her death, but the silken rope carried her safely across She scrarowled deep in his throat Did she think she could escape him?

He leapt across She screamed, and he knocked her flat on her back He straddled her tre body All it would take was one bite, and she would be his forever

"Carlos, please," she whimpered

He bared his teeth and snarled

Tears filled her eyes "Don’t kill me"

Kill her? He didn’t want to kill her He wanted to possess her, mate with her, keep her forever All he had to do was bite her

And that ain control He couldn’t bite her He could never bite her He loved her tooover her as she treasp, he returned to hu hard

She scooted back on her rump Tears ran down her cheeks "Carlos? Are you okay now?"

No, he wasn’t The Surge wasn’t over yet, not until he found release A flood of lust gripped hiroin, and he grew instantly hard His eyes narrowed on his prey and he growled deep in his throat She was still shiged her toward hi?"

He moved over her and pinned her down by the shoulders "I need sex"

"Your eyes are glowing" Her gaze drifted down his body and her eyes widened "Oh et away from him, but he pushed her back down

"Carlos, please I - I’ht you were going to kill me"

He noticed for the first ti A lot

He gritted his teeth, once again fighting for control The beast inside hi to possess her and take her by force if necessary, but the human part of him loved her The red haze faded away

He backed off her He would still need release for the Surge to end He slowly stood and turned his back to her He glanced ruefully at his erection, then leaped across the ditch

Behind hiasped There was no need to fear With his newly added power and strength, he could easily ju

"Carlos? Where are you going?" Her flashlight beaap in the cave wall

"Don’t go anywhere I’ll be right back" He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a wry look "It won’t take long"

Caitlyn sat in the dirt, breathing heavily, wondering what the hell had just happened Was she drea this? Was she so desperate for Carlos to be alive that she’d dreamed all this? She pinched herself Ouch

She should have known Her dreae

Carlos was alive Her heart expanded, finally able to accept the truth She didn’t kno it could be true, but it was Carlos was alive And apparently,in the next room

She jumped when he roared It wasn’t quite as loud as his panther roar, but it was still i

She bea and rose to her feet "Carlos?"

He eulped He was still naked No longer hard, but still lanced at her "I want to show you soave her a wry sround and put thee farther back in the cave"

"There’s soht here You just woke up from the dead"

"Yes" He buttoned the waistband of his khaki cargo pants "I hope you’re not disappointed"

"That’s not funny, Carlos I thought you were dead It nearly killed me It ful"

"I didn’t enjoy it much either" He rubbed a hand over his stoone," she whispered "How did you do that?"

He sat down to pull on his socks and hiking boots "That rumor about cats is true Were-panthers have nine lives"

Her mouth fell open "You have nine lives?"

"Actually, only five now" He tied the laces

"What? You’ve died before?"

"Yes Unfortunately, I’ the bucket" He picked up his T-shirt and grihtened her grip on the flashlight "You should have told me You scared the hell out ofto die" He walked over to his backpack and pulled out a fresh T-shirt "It’s not so And I don’t like to talk about it It feels like a giant failure"

Her anger wilted away "You didn’t fail You saved lanced at her and sht a real hero shouldhimself killed"

She smiled at him "You’re still here That’s what counts"

He pulled on the T-shirt, then motioned to her ropeto swing across in the ers arded her with a look of amazement "You didn’t need me You would have survived without me"

"That’s all it was Survival" Tears blurred her vision "I thought my heart had died with you"

"Catalina" He jumped across the ditch and pulled her into his arht Her flashlight lit up the ceiling

"Don’t cry" He kissed her brow and wiped her cheeks "We’re alive, and we have each other"

She rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart Carlos was alive

"Co her up into his arasped when he leaped across the ditch and landed neatly on the other side She squir the hell out of ility I’ caht off the ground and turned it on "Let’s go"

She followed close behind hi, narrow passage filled with rock formations

"Watch your step here" He ht down to see what he was avoiding It was a whitish puddle "What is that? Rainwater with chalk or li to look for drips

He snorted "That was frorearm "Oh"