can be domesticated. The jungle cats are especially cute kittens…until they grow up. Then people find a full-size African lion on their hands and don’t know what to do with it. It takes special training to care for those animals, and without intensive seminars, the average person is totally at a loss.”
“You’ve had training, I take it.”
Jessica nodded. Tangled curls bobbed around her face. “Yes. I’ve also been taught to look for signs of illness. The local vet stops by once a month to check the condition of my animals.”
“I’m impressed.”
Startled, she glanced up. “I thought you disapproved of my exotic misfits.”
Devlin shrugged. “I didn’t say I was all that crazy about ranching next door to your zoo, but I admire your dedication, especially after I saw, firsthand, the handicaps of your charges. I guess a declawed cougar with a crippled hind quarter wouldn’t fare well in the wilderness. Kinda like a young kid fighting her way through the jungle on the streets, I suspect. Interesting similarity, I’d say.”
Jessica shifted uncomfortably. “Okay, Freud, so you figured out that I see myself in some of those animals, feel a strong kinship toward them.”
“How can I not? As I recall, you came at me with teeth bared the first time we met.” He chuckled good-naturedly, then winked in amusement. “Not that I wasn’t spoiling for a fight, mind you, because I definitely was.”
“You reminded me of a roaring lion. It was a learned response to fight fire with fire,” she replied.
Devlin set his empty plate aside, then came down on his knees in front of her. “How about if we get past our lousy start? I’m willing to admit you are nothing like my gold-digging ex-girlfriend. I sure as hell hope I’m nothing like your ex-fiancé.”
“I’ll concede that you aren’t,” she murmured.
He noticed that Jessica swallowed nervously when he got up close and personal. The room shrank to the space she occupied, stealing much-needed air and making it impossible for him to breathe normally. The woman was so darn appealing. Even when she didn’t look her best, she was still the embodiment of every man’s wildest fantasy. Devlin felt the impossible lure and wondered if he needed a refresher course in willpower to withstand the kind of temptation Jessica Porter represented. If Devlin hadn’t known it before, he knew it now. He was wading in over his head.
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