Lure of the Jaguar: Hades' Carnival, Book 7 Read Online Free PDF Page A

camera and she was frowning at him. Her blue eyes were filled with questions he couldn’t answer.
    Stavros turned and walked away. Agony ripped through him. It felt as though he’d torn out his heart and left it on the path behind him.
    If he thought for one second he could make her fall in love and agree to spend eternity with him before Hades discovered her, he wouldn’t hesitate. But her safety was more important than anything else. And if he had to walk away to save her, that’s exactly what he’d do.
    The darkness swallowed him. Once again, Stavros was alone. A single tear trickled down his cheek. He ignored it and kept going.
    Toni didn’t understand what had just happened. Stavros had sat quietly next to her for hours. She’d felt his gaze on her as she’d worked. His quiet presence had made something cold and hard inside her crumble away.
    She’d begun to trust him. To believe that he understood her in a way no one else ever had.
    She rubbed her chest. Her heart ached and she had only herself to blame. She knew better than to allow anyone to get close. But it had been so easy with Stavros. There was something about him that called to her in the same way the most elusive animals on the planet did.
    “Stupid,” she muttered. “He’s just a hot-looking guy. Nothing more.” She forced herself to look away from the path between the trees that had swallowed Stavros up, taking him from her sight. She was alone. “And that’s the way I like it,” she reminded herself.
    Her earlier pleasure over capturing the cougar was gone, and that pissed her off. This was what her entire trip had been about, and Stavros had stolen her happiness. No, even worse, she’d allowed him to take it.
    “Suck it up, Toni.” She looked around to make sure she had all her gear before heading back toward her cabin. She needed a shower after sweating for hours in the hot afternoon sun, and she desperately needed something to eat. Usually, she couldn’t wait to see the images she’d captured, but that sense of urgency was missing as she made her way back to her rental unit.
    She stopped at the edge of the clearing by the house and waited until she was certain no one was around. No matter what else was happening in her life, Toni was always safety conscious. When she was convinced she was alone, she hurried to the house, let herself in and locked the door behind her.
    Toni realized she was feeling slightly spooked, like something or someone was following her. She set her bag and camera down on the kitchen table, which she’d turned into a large workspace, and peered out the window. Nothing.
    She took a deep breath and slowly released it. There was nothing to worry about. She was just out of sorts because of Stavros. The man certainly blew hot and cold. One minute, he was kissing her socks off, and the next, walking away like she didn’t matter at all. She was better off without him.
    Toni kicked off her shoes and headed to the small bathroom to shower. It didn’t take her long to wash away the day’s sweat, dry off and dress in clean clothes. She didn’t linger. Now that she was home, she was eager to see her pictures.
    Still, she made herself a bowl of cereal before removing the memory card from her camera and sliding it into her laptop. She had several more memory cards in her camera bag but was eager to see the shots of the cougar.
    Her cereal grew soggy in the bowl and the sun sank in the west as Toni went through the photos one at a time. There was one in particular that caught her attention, and she went back to it again and again.
    The cougar was relaxed but alert. You could tell he was ready to explode at a moment’s notice. The predator was at rest, but the hunter was poised to kill. It was primal and raised goose bumps on her arms. This was the money shot. She knew it with all her heart and soul.
    Toni swallowed hard when she realized who the cougar reminded her of. Stavros. He’d reclined against the fallen tree much