On the Prowl by T. J. Michaels

the answering machine get it. Thoughts of warm water sliding over bare skin caused Justin’s face to pop into her mind. She wasn’t going to call him, so she called out to her spirit guide instead.
    ‘Come to me, Sapa.’ Delaine wiggled her toes in the thick fur on Sapa’s back when the lioness appeared underneath her feet, sprawled out on the carpet.
    * Wondering what our mate is doing? *
    “I am not,” she denied weakly, knowing she’d never successfully lied to Sapa before. And she did wonder what he was doing. On the fourth ring she picked up the phone.
    “Hello?”
    “Time for that rain check, beautiful. Pick you up in half an hour for breakfast?”
    Justin! Damn, speak of the devil. Her stomach started doing the jelly-jiggle thing at the sound of his sexy voice. She thought about the way her name sounded on his lips and all the jiggle went bye-bye. After all, it wasn’t her name. “Can’t. I’ve got just enough time to shower, grab a bite then make my hair appointment.”
    “You spend a lot of time at your friend’s beauty salon.”
    “So,” she teased, ready with a retort of how all women needed to be pampered.
    “I like it. Your hair makes me want to play in it.”
    Dayum! Not the answer she expected. And his voice was all smooth silk. Oooh, the quivering tummy was back with a vengeance. Sapa’s corporeal form stalked back and forth across the room, her tail swishing in what Delaine called her ‘happy ass’.
    “Well, if we can’t do breakfast would you allow a man to cook dinner for you?”
    Her eyebrows shot straight up. “Say what?” Boy did that slip! There was no way she intended him to hear the shocked tone in her voice.
    “Well, beauty, don’t you think you deserve to have a man cook for you?”
    “Is this a trick question?” she asked, smiling so hard she was sure all of her teeth were showing. Rolling over onto her back, her fingers trailed lazily over her bare breasts as she imagined his wicked grin and sumptuous kisses.
    “Why don’t you give me directions to your place? You can eat a little something while I drive over to pick you up. I’ll take you to your appointment, go grocery shopping and pick you up when I’m done. I’ll bring you back home, and we can have dinner. Sound good?”
    Good? Hell, it sounded better than good. He’d thought of everything and Delaine couldn’t find a single reason to object. And she certainly looked for one. Hard. Besides, no man was this damned perfect. Right?
    * Wrong .*
    ‘Hush, Sapa,’ she thought, sending the ultra-weak reprimand along the bond, grinning too hard to put any weight behind it.
    * * * * *
    Justin hung up the phone in his living room, slipped his arms into the sleeves of his heavy leather bomber jacket and headed out. Once in the car he flipped open his secure cell, unlocked the keypad and hit the speed dial.
    “Harris here.”
    “Derrick, it’s me. What have we got?”
    “You were right about the Sarah Ann woman. She’s tailing Delaine, but we don’t know why or on whose orders. We can assume Baker’s behind it, but we have no idea how he would have obtained any information about who we think Delaine is. We think she’s with Aegis, a front company for Interpol US operation. But she could be with any number of black ops orgs. Even ours.”
    “Uh-huh. Well, I’m on my way to pick her up now.”
    “Is that smart? I mean, she’s being tailed.”
    “Delaine’s got a tail, I don’t. Besides, I’ve already made the plans.” Hell, even if he was being followed, he’d still be tempted to show up at her house. He’d never admit it to anyone but Derrick in a million years, and only because they had ten years of trust between them. “This is hard for me to admit, Der, but I don’t know whether I’m coming or going with this woman. There’s just something about her. I mean, damn, the woman has everything a man could want. Smart, fit, beautiful. Hell, I even love her laugh.”
    “Her laugh? Are you on