Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

claim—a male she wasn’t interested in. Saria wasn’t the type of woman to lead a man on and she was definitely attracted to Drake. He wasn’t misreading signals. Her brothers should have been protecting her. They had to know she was close to the Han Vol Dan, yet none of them were guarding her and they just allowed her to run around at night alone where anything could happen to her. He was beginning to form a very low opinion of her brothers.
    “I attended this lecture once, a woman who photographs the swamps and gets paid for it. I showed her some of my photographs and she gave me a couple of connections, places to sell my photographs.” Saria lifted her chin and gave him a look that basically said he could go to hell if he didn’t like it.
    He studied her stubborn chin. Yeah. That chin was going to be a problem in the coming years. She lifted it just so and his heart melted. The woman was going to get just about anything she wanted from him if he was ever stupid enough to let her know how much she affected him. He was going to have to work very hard to keep a balance between her wild spirit and his need to protect her.
    Saria ignored him and leaned toward Pauline. “When I contacted them, they both said they would pay for my photographs. I’ve made quite a bit of money. A lot is ridin’ on these photographs and I want to get them just right. One of the places wants a year-round pictorial of the swamp and if I can get it the way they want, it means a lot of money for me. I won’ have to hunt gators.”
    Drake groaned and put his head on the table. The thought of her hunting alligators was beyond his imagination. What the hell was wrong with the men in her family?
    “Can I see the pictures you took last night?” Pauline asked.
    The innkeeper was smooth, Drake decided. He sat up straight and speared another rice cake, looking casual, not letting on that he was considering shaking Saria and accusing the innkeeper of being a blatant liar. Pauline hadn’t missed a beat, but she wanted to know if Saria had been taking pictures in the swamp during the leopard fight. He would bet everything he had that Pauline would insist on seeing the photographs and she’d take care to examine the time stamp.
    Saria looked pleased. “Really? My brothers never want to see them. I wait for hours to get the right shot and when I do I’m so excited, but it’s kind of a letdown with no one wantin’ to see them. If you mean it, I’ll show them to you when we get back this evenin’.”
    “I’d love to see them too,” Drake said. “Since you grew up on the edge of the swamp, you probably have seen some very unusual things others have never had the privilege of seeing.” He leaned toward her. “You’re a very fascinating woman, Saria. How did you get into photography?”
    The warm admiration in his voice caused Saria to blush and Pauline to look at him again with open speculation, but he didn’t care. Everything about Saria fascinated him and he wanted to know more. The fact was, he was feeling very possessive of her and he didn’t much care who knew, not when she was managing to be so blasé.
    Saria sent him another mischievous smile. “I wasn’t exactly the type of child who loved school. I wasn’t used to anyone tellin’ me what to do and on beautiful days, I wanted to be in the swamp, not in a stuffy school room. Photography was the only thing that kept me there.”
    “You were a wild childthe,” Pauline confirmed. “No one knew what to do with you. Your pere paid no attention to business after your mere died. We all despaired of you comin’ to your senses.”
    Saria laughed. “You know what she means by that, don’ you, Drake? Every good Cajun girl should get married and have babies. Lots of babies. And they should cook and clean and do whatever their man tells them.”
    “What else do you want, Saria?” Pauline asked, genuinely confused. “Gettin’ married is a good thing. Your pere definitely needed to talk some sense to you.”
    “Too late now,” Saria said with a strained smile. “He didn’t have anything to say before he died and he sure doesn’t now.”
    Drake glanced at her. Her lashes were lowered, veiling her eyes. Her tone had been even enough, but there had definitely been an estrangement between Saria and her father.
    “He should have tanned your hide every now and then,” Pauline stated.
    Saria smirked, her good humor instantly restored. “I wouldn’ cook for him if he’d