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JULIA returned to consciousness slowly, her mind still wrapped in a delectable drea
She was on her bed in the hotel It was night and the ere open, letting in the glow of ht and the balmy New Orleans breeze Beneath her lay ablack hair kissed his broad shoulders and chest, both of which were beaded with sweat As she rode hi her hips
Beside the bed, watching, his expression strangled and confused, was Gary Blond, buttoned-up, cheater, liar and all around heel, Gary He kept whispering the words, "You&039;re supposed to be at the hospital, Julia," over and over, but Julia barely spared hilance She was close, so close The one beneath her, the one inside her, the one who growled and snarled at her as hethatto me!"
Julia collapsed onto his chest, his possessive roar echoing in her ears as his hot seed filled her sex
"Julia?" A voice, fe to reach her, break in to her wonderful drea&039;s worryingcold on her face and gasped Body on fire, li, her eyes flickered open It took her several seconds to focus, but when she did fear gripped her The dreaone, and the wouess was a hospital bed, was a co black hair framed a beautiful, concerned face "Please don&039;t be scared"
"What&039;s going on?" Julia de ilanced behind her and Julia followed her line of vision Aand reminded her of someone Why couldn&039;t she reaze returning to Julia&039;s "It just takes a little while"
The effects? The effects of what?
Her heart started to pound
"Do you reently "Where you were before you Who you ith?"
Julia&039;s hands gripped the sheet that covered her Did she remember? God, she hated this Her mind felt blank Fuzzy as hell, but blank "I was at the hospital," she said, struggling to see past the white noise in her brain "I delivered a baby Garth It was a really difficult delivery, but everything turned out well" She squinted "It wasdown Gravier when I thought so into Ashe&039;s "Oh uy"
The woman inched forward on the bed, her eyes heavy with concern "Please I need you to stay calainst her ribs Caluy? The one who followed olden eyes" Her head began to pound and she winced "That sounds ied?"
"No" The wolanced over her shoulder "Listen, I&039;ll tell you Everything But I need you to promise me you won&039;t freak out until after I&039;m done"
How could she proer? Soht her here But desperation to know the truth, get any kind of infor "Okay"
"Have you ever heard of the Pantera?"
Julia frowned, struggling with the fog weighing down her roup ofpeople who live deep in the bayou," Ashe explained, her expression uneasy "They&039;re ruical powers and an ability to shape-shift"
Julia&039;s head continued to pound, cohest decibel level with her heart Maybe she was still lost in a dream Maybe she was in her hotel rooly dry "IBut what does that have to do with rabbed htened as she recalled the feel of his body against her own "This isn&039;t my hospital, is it?"
"Ma chere," called the aze on Ashe "Maybe I should talk with herexplain what has happened"
"No," Ashe insisted, her worried gaze locked with Julia&039;s "She&039;s here because ofelse" The woave Julia a small smile "The Pantera, the cat people you&039;ve heard about, are not a legend They live in the bayou, in a secret, sacred place called the Wildlands They are shape shifters"
Had she hit her head? Had the gorgeoushim? "I don&039;t believe you I don&039;t believe any of this" She tried to sit up again, and this time, her brain didn&039;t balk, didn&039;t feel like it wanted to explode God, she needed to get out of here, back to what she knew to be real
"You&039;re in the medical facility in the Wildlands," Ashe continued quickly "You were brought here For me To help me"
Julia inched backward into the pillows "I&039;ht? I had a breakdown over this shit with Gary?" She cursed again "Seriously, I can&039;t believe I&039; out and taking her hand "And don&039;t say that guy&039;s na your lips"
"You know Gary?" Julia asked, stunned What the hell was this? What had she got mixed up in?
"Parish told us about him What he did to you" Her eyes narrowed "Sounds like a real jerk"
Julia shook her head "Who the hell is Parish?"
A lol sounded, echoed throughout the room Julia hunched in terror, ready to throw herself off the bed Find escape But the voice at the door froze her
"I told you to stay out until we spoke with her" It was the man who&039;d called Ashe "ma chere"
"You spoke with her," came another male voice from outside the door "I heard it I refuse to walk the halls another goddamn second"
Julia&039;s heart dropped into her stomach She knew that voice, had just dreamt of that voice and the man ned it The man who had followed her froazed down at her like he&039;d wanted to consume her very breath Or was that part of her dream, too? She eased her hand fro to sort reality from fiction
But that voice resu, Julia?"
Julia couldn&039;t help herself She lifted her lids and her gaze shot to thetoward her Holy shit He was real Flesh and blood, and if it were possible, even eous than she remembered When he&039;d pulled her close on Gravier Street his hair had been back off his face, but now it hung loose and wild and sexy around his beautiful, scarred face Like before, he wore jeans, but instead of a T-shirt, he had on a black tank that revealed heavily muscled shoulders and arms
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at hied What had happened? How had she ended up here? And where exactly was she?
His dark eyes, eyes that had once been golden, grew concerned as he approached the bed "I&039;ht you here I&039;"
That she believed Her gaze ran up his body He was so tall, such a fierce presence beside her bed "What did you do to aze cut away for afor your mind And my musk, the one I used to try and calm you, is more potent than most Pantera&039;s I should&039;ve known" His eyes slid back to connect with hers once again "I apologize"
"Musk?" Julia felt suddenly exhausted It was like they were all speaking another language "What&039;s thishis expression "It&039;s ain
"-a scent to cal per
"You will be able to get up soon, walk-"
"Walk out of here?" Julia said, her pulse juainst her neck "I can leave?"
His eyes shuttered "I would not like that"
"Okay Go" Ashe pointed at Parish, then glanced over her shoulder at the other rowled, and the sound penetrated Julia&039;s skin and vibrated through her She practicallyrude and insensitive," Ashe said, her tone nearly lethal now She glared at theher I will explain things, woman to woman"
"You heard my female," said the other o, Parish"
Parish&039;s gaze moved down Julia&039;s body, then back to her face His nostrils flared "Fine," he muttered "But I&039;ll be back"
He turned and storht sasped, her blood suddenly fire hot in her veins Impossible She blinked, then stared hard at the eone, but she sworeNo She shook her head It was the drugs or the head injury or the story Ashe had just told her She did not just see the back end of a large cat where the olden tail
She let her head fall back against the pillows and closed her eyes, tried to cal After a moment, when she felt in control, she opened them and focused on the nearly empty room It seemed darker now, colder Julia frowned at her odd reaction She should be able to breathe easier with hione, shouldn&039;t she?
Still seated beside the bed, Ashe gave her an understanding, tight-lipped s They tend to be pretty protective And possessive Parish seems to think he&039;s responsible for you after how he handled things But don&039;t worry, Raphael will take care of that"
"Raphael?" Unbearable confusion tested the last of Julia&039;s patience She fixed her gaze on Ashe and repeated her question "Who is Raphael?"
"My"First, letIt&039;s confusing and ihed "I&039;m pretty sure my face had that exact saround out "That you were being drugged? That you were living in a dreaic truly does exist That the man I fell in love with is a puma shifter" She bit her botto is half huaze slipping down to the wo" Ashe grabbed Julia&039;s hand again, her eyes i "I&039;m scared I have no idea what to expect No clue as to how long I&039;ll be pregnant, what the gestational period of a puma/human hybrid will be" She sed "I want this baby to be okay And having a human doctor" She shook her head "I can&039;t believe Parish just took you without telling you anything"
Parish Just hearing his nahten This was madness A puma/human hybrid Christ This woman didn&039;t need an OB, she needed a shrink And I need to get the hell out of here before I&039;m sucked in further
"I know I knohere your head&039;s at" Ashe leaned toward her "And I don&039;t bla for some time"