Alex followed Zatar and Timak on wobbly legs as her body struggled to reorient after the sudden one-eighty. Lust thrummed through her despite the change in directive, her pussy pulsing with unresolved desire.

She stared at the back of Zatar’s sturdy frame as the three of them wound along the paths leading to the zoo. She hadn’t imagined he’d be so firm underneath all those robes. His juicy lips had made it impossible to turn away. And the hardness he’d ground up against her. She stumbled, and Zatar turned with a look of concern. She offered a small smile, waving him off. Everything’s fine here. Just imagining what your cock looks like.

Never once in all her years of attending the rich, powerful, and famous had she ever even remotely considered hooking up with a client.

But Zatar’s sultry gaze and those mind-wiping kisses made it impossible to pass up this chance. Once the medicine was administered, she had one task and one task only for the rest of the evening.

She could barely see through the lusty haze as they came up on the enclosure. Alex moved on auto pilot as Timak removed the medicine from a package. Zatar waited with strained patience as Alex prepped the syringe and sanitized everything. Then she headed for Sala at the back of the enclosure; the lioness had barely moved an inch from where she’d been earlier that day.

Timak and Zatar came over as she knelt down at Sala’s side. She flicked the syringe once, pleased by the spurt of fluid from the top. Her cheeks flushed as she imagined Zatar’s own spurting syringe hidden away in his pants. Focus, Alex. This syringe is not a metaphor for a man ejaculating.

The bamboo mat rustled beneath her as she crept nearer. Sala didn’t stir—most likely dead asleep. And that would be better for the injection. Alex stuck the needle deep into her flank without a second thought.

A low growl emerged, and Sala stirred, pushing up to sitting while the medication sank into her. Alex grimaced as Sala’s angry gaze swung her way. And then the lioness swiped a paw at her; fresh claw marks bled bright and red on Alex’s upper thigh.

“Sala!” Zatar rushed over to his lioness, his eyes flitting between Sala and Alex’s leg. Alex grimaced against the burning pain as she finished the injection. She should have known to check that Sala was truly asleep before beginning the shot. She cursed at herself, withdrawing the syringe once it was empty. Damn sexy thoughts had interfered with her job. What’s gotten into you?

Zatar stroked Sala, who had calmed, while watching Alex with worry etched onto his face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Alex grimaced as she pushed to standing. Blood trickled down her leg. “I’ve gotten far worse scratches than this.”

Zatar clambered to standing, his heart hammering in his chest as he led her away from the lioness. Sala must have been scared if she swiped at Alex. And now Alex was injured. He just hoped the medicine did its job and all this trouble was worth it. Alex limped beside him as they exited the enclosure.

“Timak, please retrieve the first aid kit.” Zatar helped Alex sit on a nearby bench. She groaned a little as she stretched her leg out across the top of it.

Zatar analyzed the best course of action for treating her wound. After sterilizing the scratches, she would need a well-wrapped bandage. The wound sat high on her thigh, partially obscured by her shorts. She tugged the fabric further up her leg, wincing as she did.

“Here. We should move you into the zookeeper’s office.” He jerked his chin toward a small office just down the path. “You need to take those shorts off to make sure we wrap you properly.”

She snorted with a laugh. In a sultry voice, she said, “You just want me to take my pants off.”

He cracked a grin, looking behind them for evidence of Timak. “I want that more than you can believe.”

They shared a heated smile, and Zatar helped her to her feet. She leaned heavily on his arm as they hobbled toward the office.

Inside, the room was dark and cool. Zatar cleared off the desk before helping her sit on top.

“I can help you,” he said, pressing his hands to the top of her hips. “But we need privacy. I won’t scandalize Timak by having him walk in here while you’re indisposed.”

“Thanks for thinking of my honor,” she cracked.

He grinned, waiting outside for Timak to arrive with the first aid kit. When he returned with the big box, Zatar thanked him and told him that no further assistance was required. Zatar reentered the office, pulling the door shut behind him with a soft click. He flipped the lock.

“Now it’s time for the patient to undress.” Zatar set the kit down, eyeing her shorts. This wasn’t his preferred way of getting a sexy woman naked, but maybe they could make the best of it. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“If I can lean against you, maybe you can tug them off without touching the scratches.”

Zatar nodded, and she pressed her weight against him. As he unbuttoned her shorts, he realized he wasn’t breathing. He glanced up at her, finding her eyes on his hands.

“I’m going to take them off now. Let me know if it hurts.”

Zatar bunched the shorts and then pushed them down and over the scratches, Alex sucking in a breath. He rolled the shorts off and tossed them aside, trying not to stare at her lacy black panties.

“Okay.” His gaze darted to the sexy V of her legs. “Good to know this is what veterinarians have on underneath.”

A burst of laughter escaped her. “We have many secrets.”

“Now let’s bring your leg up onto the desk.”

She groaned as he slowly lifted her leg up and stretched it out flat on the surface. “It’s starting to really sting,” she said.

“I’ll be quick.” Zatar fished out the supplies needed to clean and dress the wound. While he cleaned the scratches, he said, “I’m sorry she swiped at you.”

“It’s not your fault. Or even hers. This is just part of the job sometimes.”

Zatar furrowed his brow as he concentrated on getting her bandaged up without making it hurt. “Sala came from a circus where she was abused. She wouldn’t even let anyone near her the first few months she was living with us. It took a lot of work to get her to trust me.”

Alex’s warm smile threw him off. He paused in his bandaging, an unexpectedly sincere moment passing between them.

“And now you’re the most important person in her life,” she said softly, her gaze dropping back to her leg.

“It’s true.” Zatar swallowed a knot of emotion. “And she’s the most important thing in my life too.”

Zatar covered each scratch with gauze and tape. Afterward, he looked up at her with a hopeful smile. “Better?”

Something in her gaze made his cock twitch. Being so near to her while she had so little clothing on set him on edge to begin with. He was desperate to finish what they’d started in his room.

A few moments of silence passed, broken only by the sounds of their soft breaths. Alex’s blue eyes rooted him to his spot. When he ripped his eyes away, his hand rested at her hip, fingertips edging under the lace of her panties.

A smile quirked her lips. “Much better.”