Chapter 7

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Sabrina

My heart still pounds against my ribcage, the echo of our moans barely faded in this hidden corner of the zoo. Bradley's intense blue gaze pins me under its weight, his tousled dark hair a halo in the dim light. Our breaths mingle, hot and fast. But then, he shifts, the rough pad of his thumb brushing a strand of hair from my forehead with an unexpected tenderness that belies the rugged strength in his arms.

"Sorry," he mutters, the word like a bucket of ice water.

"Sorry?" I echo, the single syllable sharp, bewildered. It slices through the afterglow, leaving me cold.

Does he regret this? Us? The question stabs at me, cruel and unexpected. We just shared something raw, primal. And now, he apologizes?

But that doesn't make any sense. The way he's looked at me all night. He was happy I was a virgin. The possessive things he said to me.

But hurt eclipses reason, and I bolt up, scrambling to collect my scattered clothes.

He reaches out, but I'm already sprinting away, barefoot and half-dressed, my chest tight with an ache that has nothing to do with desire.

"Wait, Sabrina!" His voice is a deep rumble behind me, but I can't face him, not now.

I don't see the warning sign until it's too late—the world tilts, and suddenly I'm falling, tumbling into danger, my scream lost in the rush of adrenaline.

The tiger pen. There's an entrance here in his office right above them, and I fell right into it.

"Shit," I curse as I crash onto the grass, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Panic flares—wild, untamed, like the creatures before me.

I've startled them by crashing right into their den. Their amber eyes lock onto mine, predatory and unblinking.

"Stay still," Bradley's command comes from above as he leaps down beside me, his presence a shield. He moves cautiously, a silent conversation flowing between him and the tigers.

It's like they know him, respect him. Their arched backs go down as he soothes them with a stroke of his hand. They glance at me one last time before lazily turning away.

Then Bradley's hand finds mine, strong and reassuring.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his voice low and laced with concern.

"Y-Yeah," I manage, though my legs feel like jelly.

"Look at me," he urges, and I lift my gaze to meet his. "I didn't mean to hurt you. When I said 'sorry,' it wasn't because I regret being with you. It's the opposite. It's because you were a virgin and I got too rough with you there at the end. God, if I hurt you, Sabrina."

He swallows hard, his blue eyes burning into mine. "I can't stop thinking about you, Sabrina. From the moment you started working here, selling those damn tickets with your smile that lights up the whole zoo...You're all I see, all I want. And I know I'm not good enough for you. Hell, I've got to be at least ten years older than you, and look at you and look at me. Shit, baby, you're way outta my league."

His confession wraps around me, more intimate than any caress. Bradley, the man who whispers to animals, who carries scars both seen and unseen, is laying himself bare.

"Obsessed might be the right word," he continues, a vulnerable edge to his normally steady tone. "And damn it if I haven't been watching over you since you got here, making sure every lion, monkey, even the damn flamingos don't give you a hard time."

In the dangerous embrace of the tiger pen, with Bradley's fervent gaze locked on mine, the world shifts.

And I melt.

Heat surges through me, his words igniting something primal and undeniable. My heart doesn't just melt. It's molten, reshaped by the intensity of his confession.

Bradley, with his rugged build and piercing blue eyes, is obsessed with me.

Me. The girl who spends her days dreaming of animal rescues and veterinary medicine.

"Bradley..." My voice is a breathless whisper, my body moving on its own accord as I close the distance between us. His arms are my sanctuary, and as I throw myself into them, the world outside the tiger pen ceases to exist.

His embrace is a fortress, strong and unyielding, yet there's a tremble in his hold, an echo of the vulnerability he's just shown. He's been watching me, wanting me, and here in this moment of raw honesty, I can't deny the thrill that courses through me.

"Obsessed, huh?" I tease, but there's no mistaking the adoration lacing my words. "Well, you've got competition, because you're all I can think about too."

He chuckles, a deep sound that resonates against my skin. "Is that so?" There's a possessive edge to his question, one that sends shivers of desire down my spine.

"Bradley," I say, our faces so close I can feel his breath mingle with mine. "I'm yours. Completely, irrevocably, forever yours."

"Forever's a long time, Sabrina. You better not say it if you don't mean it because swear to God, baby, I'm going to hold you to that. I'm not going to stop until I've got a ring on your finger and a baby in your belly."

My tummy does a little flip at his words.

"Good," I retort, my hands finding their way to the tousled dark hair at the nape of his neck. "Because I don't want a day without you ever again."

"Promise me," he demands, his gravelly voice like a caress.

"Promise," I breathe out, sealing the vow with a kiss that speaks of passion, commitment, and all the love I feel in my heart for him. "I love you."

His voice is rough as sandpaper as he buries his face in my neck. "I love you too, baby."