...Jâden purred deep in his throat and rubbed the side of his face against the edge of the door. Ahhh. That felt good, but it wasn’t enough. The scent of the female beckoned to him and he batted the door wider with his head and jumped from the cage. She stumbled backward and landed on the bed.

“Remember, no matter what your nose tells you, I’m not food. Got that?” Her words made him want to smile.

He attempted to shift into his upright form. After a low buzzing in his ears, nothing happened. The effort only drained him. Jâden realized his body wasn’t yet capable of transforming after the extended hibernation. No matter. He could wait. Now that he was safely in her possession, there was no reason to hurry, other than his strong instinct to mate with her.

Instinct he could control; he wasn’t an animal.

Keeping his gaze focused on hers, he padded forward, stopping only when he reached her knees. He dipped his head and raised the edge of her gown, sniffing the exposed skin of her ankle. She shifted restlessly. “Don’t bite my leg, all right? Nice kitty.” She sounded all breathy. “Maybe I shouldn’t have let you out yet.” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Oh, Creator, you’re a carnivore, aren’t you?”

He heard the fear, but focused on the scent. This close to her, it was stronger. More pungent. Luxuriant. He nestled against her entire leg, lifting the gown with his head until he reached the bare skin of her knee.

“You are going to eat me, aren’t you?”