Karen Kelley: The Jaguar Prince

Her body began to tremble so hard she could barely steer. The community park was only a block away. As soon as she came to the entrance, she pulled in and parked.

By now her body was shaking so hard she could barely catch her breath. She shifted the car into Park, then turned the key off before bringing her hands to her face.

“Oh, God, this isn’t happening. It can’t be.”

It wasn’t so much about Rogar being in her apartment, as it was the fact that she’d always felt different from everyone else. Not because she was an orphan, either. She’d always known there was more to it. What if she was as crazy as him?

“No, no, no!” She laughed hysterically. Was she really going to buy his story that she was part alien? Really? It was too preposterous. There was no such thing as aliens from other planets.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

She screamed and turned so fast she almost got whiplash. Her heart pounded inside her chest as she looked at the uniformed officer standing outside her car.

Just a cop. She’d thought it might’ve been an alien come to whisk her off in his spaceship and poke her with…probes or…something.

He motioned for her to roll the window down. She nodded and turned the key until she had power, then pushed the button to bring it down.

“You okay, miss?”

She nodded. He reminded her of Ben, very fatherly, gray hair, and with concern on his face. If the officer continued being this nice, she would totally lose it.

He suddenly sniffed. “What’s that odor?”

She sniffed.

Bleh! She knew exactly what it was. “Tuna fish,” she squeaked, then cleared her throat, and in a clearer voice, continued. “I guess I forgot to take it out of my car.” A few days ago.

He stepped a foot away from her car. “Do you mind stepping out of the vehicle?”

“Well, actually, I was just going to the clothing store…”

“Miss, it wasn’t really a question as much as it was an order.”

“Oh.” She opened her door, and got out. “Is there a problem?”

His demeanor had rapidly changed from concerned officer to suspicious officer. She barely kept herself from sticking her arms in front of her and telling him to take her to jail. Just lock her up, and throw away the key. That’s the way her day was going.

“Stand straight, then bring one finger to your nose, then repeat with the finger on your opposite hand,” the officer told her.

It took her a second to figure out why he was asking her to touch her nose. As soon as it dawned on her, her back stiffened. “You think I’ve been drinking!” Oh, God, this was priceless.

“Miss, just do what I asked,” he said the words slowly, as though he were talking to a child.

“Well, fine.” She stood straight, touched one finger to her nose, then the other. She repeated for good measure. “Would you like me to walk a straight line, too? I can, you know.”

Damn it! Could her day get any worse? She glanced toward the street. A gray land yacht was slowly going down the road. Oh, no, her landlady. Great! Just great!

“Your eyes are red-rimmed, and you were weaving before you pulled into the parking lot. It’s called probable cause,” the cop told her.

She sniffed, her bottom lip trembled. “Because I was crying, and I didn’t want to run over anyone, so I pulled into the parking space here, and I just wanted to get myself together so I could go shopping because he needs clothes and…”

“Boyfriend?”

“Alien from another planet.”

The officer frowned. “Yeah, some men can be jerks and you wish they were on another planet. I bet by the time you get home, he’ll be ready to apologize. Most men usually realize they screwed up.” He sighed. “My granddaughter just broke up with her boyfriend. ’Bout your age. You remind me a lot of her. She’s pretty, too, and could do a whole lot better in the man department.”

“You think I’m pretty?” She sniffed.

“Know so.” His face reddened. “For a kid, that is.”

Okay, she felt a little better. “Thank you.”

“Dry those eyes now, and when you’re out shopping for him, buy yourself something nice. If he doesn’t straighten up and act right, just call me and I’ll set him straight for you.”

“Thank you, officer.”

He walked back to his car and climbed in. She got inside her car, remembered the sandwich, and carried the brown sack to the Dumpster, dropping it inside. Ugh! It was pretty rank.

She kicked it into high gear once she was inside the store. She kept imagining Rogar causing all sorts of problems. He could destroy her things while she was gone. Not that she had that much.

By the time she arrived back home, which was still standing, and she would be eternally grateful for that, she had convinced herself that DeeDee was the prankster. Why else would she call early this morning? DeeDee thought sex was the cure for everything, and Callie needed to get more of it. Which Callie thought was crazy, of course. Not that she was a virgin or anything.

That was another area she knew she was different from everyone else. She would never admit it to anyone, but sex just wasn’t that great. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the hell out of it, though.

Where was this fever, this uncontrollable passion everyone spoke about, or that she read about in her books? If it was out there, she certainly hadn’t found it. She really had her doubts that she would ever have an out-of-control sexual encounter.

She turned the key off, and as soon as the car finished coughing and sputtering, gave its death rattle, then died, she grabbed the packages off the backseat and went inside.

All was quiet.

Too quiet.

Had he left? Maybe he hadn’t existed in the first place. This might go back to her thoughts that insanity probably ran in her family.

An unexpected flash of disappointment swept over her. He’d been really sexy, and it had been cool watching him transform into a powerful jaguar.

Right there, that should tell her something. No one could change form. She’d imagined the whole thing. And now she had all these men’s clothes. Callie supposed she could donate them to the shelter. For now, she let the bags drop to the sofa, then walked to the bedroom. She glanced toward the bed. It had been a great fantasy.

She turned to go back to the other room just as the bathroom door opened. She screamed.

“I apologize for scaring you. I washed,” he said. “It wasn’t the same as standing beneath a waterfall and letting the water cascade over me, but it was pleasant.”

Oh, right, she wanted that image in her head! She could see he’d taken a shower, his hair was damp. Rogar had no right to be this hot. Not when she knew what she had to do. Her line of charity had gone way past the limits of her comfort zone.

Not that it would be easy. A lock of his hair fell forward. It looked sexy lying on his forehead. Her gaze wandered down his body, the hard ridges, the six-pack abs. Thank God he had on the towel or she would be tempted to ravish him.

“I’ll get your clothes.” She hurried out of the room and grabbed the bags, taking them back to the bedroom. He still stood by the bathroom door looking like a friggin’ god that had come to Earth to tempt mortal women.

She tossed the bags on the bed. “As soon as you’re dressed, we need to talk.” Without waiting for his reply, she hurried out of the room.

Callie paced the living room while she waited for him to join her. She turned when she heard his footsteps. It was so not fair that he looked almost as good with clothes as he had without them. The dark slacks fit him as though they were tailor-made. She’d chosen a maroon knit shirt and a size ten shoe. She’d guessed at the shoes.

“Do the shoes fit?” She pointed to his feet.