“Yeah, you know, when you kidnapped me. I thought you and he were in it together, for the ransom money.”
Sloane shook his head, grinning wryly.
“So, you had no idea who I was?”
“Not a clue, at least not until my team turned up just now.”
Ray frowned. “Whydidyou kidnap me?”
Sloane winced and scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck.
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. But you have to understand that shifters only ever get one mate and honestly, I never even dreamed I’d meet mine. Not stuck here, so far away from—Well, never mind that, I guess it’s not important.”
He shook his head and pressed on before she could ask what he meant by that.
“Some shifters can go their entire lives without finding their soul mate. So when I found you, I was ecstatic. Then I saw that you were with that man, and my bear was furious. Our animals can be a bit possessive over our mates.”
“A bit?” she mumbled, raising a brow, but he just gave her a sheepish look and carried on.
“I came to talk to you, and that didn’t go very well. When you asked me to leave, I knew that if I walked away, or you did, I’d probably never see you again. I’m man enough to admit that I panicked.”
“Wow, this is…”
“A lot?”
She nodded.
“I can understand that. Come on,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’d better take you home before I worry everyone any more than I already have. That will give you some time to think about everything I’ve told you.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re taking me home?”
He frowned. “Well, of course. You didn’t think I’d keep you here against your will, did you?”
Honestly, she hadn’t known what to think. Sloane reached down to help her to her feet.
“I’m not a bad guy, Ray. Hell, I wish I could go back and start today all over again, I really do.” He frowned. “Although I’m not sure how I could have done things differently.”
“I didn’t really give you a fair shot, did I?”
“I can’t blame you. It wasn’t exactly smooth, even by my standards. And I suppose, with your father being who is he and you looking the way you do, you must get men come onto you all the time.”
She gave a sharp laugh. “Trust me, it’s the money they want, not me.”
“I don’t care about his money,” Sloane said, leaning forward and holding her eye until she couldn’t remember how to breathe. “It’s you I want, Ray. Now. Always. Forever.”
He broke eye contact, and she drew in a quick, shaky breath, but her head was still a little woozy. It wasn’t every day a gorgeous man who also happened to turn into a polar bear peered into your soul and whispered things like that.
“Come on, let’s get you home.”
Sloane still had hold of Ray’s hand and used it to pull her toward the door. If someone had told her when she’d been brought to the cabin that she’d be leaving it an hour later hand in hand with her kidnapper, she would never have believed them. But here they were. Sloane led her back to his jeep and helped her climb up to the passenger seat before rounding the vehicle and getting in the driver’s side. She had been so at ease as they’d walked to the jeep that she hadn’t even thought to worry about the alligators.
Sloane turned the jeep around then headed back down the narrow lane and a short while later, they were back in the heart of the city. She gave him directions to her condo, and he parked across the street. She’d been worried there might be a slew of reporters outside her building, but the road was clear. Maybe they were all waiting outside her father’s mansion, hoping to get a statement from him. That made sense.
Sloane reached down to grab her purse which was sitting on the ground near his feet, and handed it to her. “Have you got your cell phone?”
She nodded and fished around in her purse, and then shook her head with a sigh.
“No. It must still be at the bar.”
