Alex’s heart raced so fast she thought she might pass out. Zatar’s hand scorched a path down her hip and over the top of her thigh. His dark eyes smoldered as he pressed his fingertips into the side of her leg.

“What are you thinking about, Alex?” There was a dare in his tone. A smile spread across her face as she gathered the courage to say what she was really thinking.

“I’m wondering what would have happened in your room if we hadn’t been interrupted.”

Her words hung heavy in the air. Zatar’s jaw flexed.

“Do you really want to know?”

She jerked her head into a nod under his incinerating gaze. Zatar tugged her by the waist, bringing her to face him on the desktop. He nudged himself between her legs, then lowered himself without breaking eye contact. Zatar pressed a kiss to the inside of her knee. A shiver wracked her body. She liked where this was going.

Zatar’s kisses trailed up her inner thigh. She tensed when he nuzzled her panties. The crotch was damp already. She couldn’t believe this was happening. They’d gone from making out to potential eating out in no time. Is this guy for real?

“You can’t be serious,” she breathed as Zatar pushed her legs wider. His devilish grin was all the answer she needed.

“Very serious.” He dragged his thumb over the fabric of her panties, just nicking the tight nub of her clit. She inhaled sharply, grabbing at the ridge of his shoulder. He was sturdy and steady beneath her. Nothing like her wobbly insides.

“You’re too hot to eat girls out,” she blurted. He sent her a look bordering on disapproving, and she rolled her lips inward. Why had she said that? The sexual anticipation apparently had disintegrated her mental filter.

“What does that mean?” He pinched the nub of her clit, and she jolted.

“I mean, most hot guys don’t know how to do it.” She inhaled shakily as he tugged at the crotch of her panties with his teeth. The heat of his breath nearly pushed her over the edge. “You don’t have to, you know? Because girls just fall all over themselves to sleep with you.”

“Hm.” He didn’t sound convinced. He dragged his tongue over her panties, leaving a damp trail. She shuddered beneath him. God, I hope that theory is wrong when it comes to him. “Maybe you should tell me whether you think I know how to do it.”

With dark eyes trained on her, he pushed aside the scrap of her panties and enveloped her clit between his plump lips. Her mouth fell open, and her thighs went tense. He caressed and licked and kissed and loved every inch between her legs, lavishing attention on the stiff peak of her clit before swooping down to press a tongue inside her. She knotted a fist in his hair, clenching her legs around his neck.

A moan escaped her. Something guttural and unhinged. Something very unlike her. Zatar returned to her clit and this time pressed a finger inside her, and then another one. Another moan got caught in her throat. She tipped her head back, arching her body toward him. Zatar pumped his fingers in and out of her pussy as he slurped at her clit. Her whole body tingled, awaiting the release that had been building for hours. Since the moment she laid eyes on him, really.

“Ohhh, my God.” Her breath hitched as he groaned against her, his tongue swirling and dancing just enough to coax a shuddering orgasm from her. Heat flooded her, made her rigid and ecstatic on the table as she came around his fingers. She couldn’t even gasp. Zatar laughed throatily. He slurped and then kissed his way out from between her legs.

She blinked lazily, feeling drugged and lost. Zatar stood, his chin shiny from the stint below. Stroking her cheek, he said, “So? What is the verdict?”

She stared at him way longer than necessary, simply unable to form or find the words. Finally, she said, “Uh. Great.” Great was the understatement of the century. She’d never come so fast before. And she’d never been eaten out in the middle of a zoo by a prince, either.

His knowing smile betrayed his satisfaction. “I’ll accept that.” He turned and retrieved her shorts, setting them down next to her on the table.

“What are these for?”

He laughed through his nose. “So you can get dressed.”

She shook her head. “Oh no. We’re not done here.” Clarity returned, leaving desire howling through her. If he could make her feel that good, she wanted to return the favor. She nodded to the chair in the corner. “Go sit down.”

Zatar recognized the ravenous gleam in her eyes. He imagined it must be on his face too. It had taken all his willpower not to stroke himself off after making her come. He could have spent hours between her legs, drinking in the scent of her, watching the pleasure crease her face.

“But take this off first.” Alex tugged at his robe, and he pulled it off in a fluid movement, laying it on the table next to her. Underneath his robe he wore a white shirt and simple linen pants. Her gaze danced up and down his body, a smile emerging on her face.

“And these.” She pointed her foot toward his pants, her big toe grazing his thigh. He unfastened the pants, letting them crumple to the ground around his ankles. He gobbled up the reaction on her face as she noticed the tenting in his boxer briefs.

“Oh my,” she whispered, pushing off the table. He reached out to steady her as she eased down onto her feet.

“Are you okay?” He grimaced, watching her put weight on the leg that was scratched. She sent him a chiding smile.

“I’m fine. Besides, all your pheromones cover up the sting. Now go sit down.”

She pushed at his chest, and he stumbled backward. Easing into the chair, she got onto her knees between his legs, the look on her face pure mischief. She pressed her hands onto the tops of his thighs, pushing the heels of her palms up toward his hips.

“You seem to have a specific destination.” He fought to keep his voice level as her hands circled the bulge in his briefs.

“Mmmm.” A wicked grin spread across her face, and she yanked his underwear down. His cock sprang free, the cool air and her greedy gaze making it twitch. She hummed in appreciation, wrapping her small hand around the base.

A deep sigh escaped him as she licked her lips, eyeing the prize. He’d been with enough women in this position, but there was something about Alex that set all his nerve endings on fire. His hips bucked slightly, as though unwilling to wait even a moment longer.

And then she dipped low, kissing the swollen head of his cock softly, very softly, before devouring him entirely. Soft lips gave way to damp heat. Her tongue caressed the length of him at a languorous pace. His thighs went rock hard as she pulled hard on him then slammed down to take all of him again, so deep that she choked a little.

When she pulled back, she had a smile on her face. The sight of her loving his cock, every inch of him, was too sexy to handle. He pushed his fingers through her silky hair, groaning low as she slurped and sucked at him. He tilted his head to watch her. This was a sight he could get used to. The beautiful blonde vet tending just one more beast in need. The thought made him smile.

But it didn’t last long. The heat and pressure of her velvety mouth wrapped around his cock pushed him over the edge. His abs went tight, and he arched his back. He grunted, heat knotting inside him.

“I’m going to come,” he warned. She mumbled something from around his dick; a second later his cock was spasming. Her bright eyes bore through him as she took the whole load in her mouth. When his body jolted with the last spasm, she pulled back, smacking her lips.

Bliss made lazy trails through him. He collapsed back into the chair, sighing. She squeezed his thighs, wiping at the corners of her mouth.

“So that’s not usually what happens when I get injured on the job,” she cracked, pushing to standing.

“That’s just how we do it in Kattahar,” Zatar said, a lazy smile covering her face. When she sent him a confused look, he realized his mistake. “No. That was a joke. I’ve never eaten out the visiting veterinarian before. Or received a blowjob from them, either.” He laughed at the relief that crossed her face. “I promise, you’re the first.”

She grabbed her shorts and winced as she lifted her leg. Zatar hopped to standing, tucking his softening dick back into his underwear. “Don’t hurt yourself. Let me help you.”

Alex steadied herself with his shoulders as he offered the leg hole of her shorts to step through. She gingerly put one leg through, then the other, waiting as he slid the shorts up her long, creamy legs. Once he’d tugged them into place around her hips, he smiled down at her, his heartrate skipping a beat.

“There we are. I must admit, I’m sad to see you clothed again.”

Her cheeks flushed briefly. “I could be talked out of my clothes again later. If you’re lucky.”

“But not after another injury. Please.” He slipped his pants on. Once his robe was settled around his frame, he offered his hand to Alex. “Let’s return to the palace. There isn’t much time before dinner is served.”

Zatar led her through the winding paths back toward the palace. They smiled at each other under the golden hues of the evening sun. Time seemed to slow as they drifted down the path, practically floating on post-orgasmic contentment. When the guards came into view, Zatar released her hand after pressing it to his lips in a quick kiss.

“I’ll let you go to your room. I have to check on some things, and I’ll find you before dinner.” He pushed her at the hips, sending her off down the grand hall. He watched her until she disappeared, and then hung a hard left toward his office.

As soon as he pushed open the mahogany door, he knew something was off. His skin prickled a warning. In the dim room, he spotted someone sitting at his desk. His father. One of his bodyguards stood in the corner. Zatar straightened his back, shutting the door quietly behind him before speaking.

“May I help you?”

His father cleared his throat, rolling a pen between his thumb and forefinger. “I wasn’t wrong, you know.”

Zatar sniffed, trying to mask his anxiety. “About what?”

“About the fact that you’re hiding a foreigner in my own home.”

Zatar’s stomach pitched downward as his father came to standing and stalked toward him.

“Who I’m sleeping with is none of your business,” Zatar countered as his father’s robes billowed behind him. The king stopped just inches in front of him, his face contorted into a scowl.

“It’s absolutely my business while you live in the palace,” he spat. “Everything you do is my business. You’re my son. And as my son, the prince of Kattahar, you are expected to uphold the values of this household and this country. Your dalliances with foreigners will cause a scandal.”

Rage burbled inside him, dissolving what little remained of his filter of deference. “A scandal? Me? If anyone’s causing a scandal, it’s you!”

A look of shock moved over his father’s face, and Zatar barreled forward. “Everyone in the country knows about all the sex you have. About how you disrespect your dead wife, my mother, by screwing anything that walks.” Zatar huffed, heat coursing through him. His heart beat so fast he thought he might pass out. This was a year’s worth of bottled-up emotions bursting forth.

“How dare you speak to me in this way.” The king was eerily still, his flared nostrils the only sign that he was at all affected by his son’s outburst. “I assure you, if you do not take care of the foreigner, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Like you handle the country? With complete neglect?” The words were flowing so fast he couldn’t even think about them. “Kattahar needs a little more attention than who I’m spending my time with and which girls you can persuade to join your harem. If you leave again to indulge your vices, just stay gone. Kattahar needs a leader, not a playboy!”

His father’s face went rigid. “You think it’s so easy running a country. Well fine.” He flicked his wrist in the air. “While I’m gone, you take over. You’ll see it’s no easy task. And when you fail miserably, everything crumbling around you, I’ll be sure to be the first to say ‘I told you so.’”

Zatar’s gaze flicked to the bodyguard. A witness. Satisfaction surged through him, and he said, “It’s official, then. The country is mine to lead as I please while you indulge your base desires.”

“Until you beg me to return,” his father confirmed. He brushed past Zatar, and the guard followed, leaving a tense wake behind them. The door slammed shut a moment later, and Zatar collapsed into his overstuffed office chair, drawing fast breaths.

That had been a long time coming. But he had no idea what came next.