Page 8 of Stalked By the Zookeeper

The office is silent except for our heavy breaths and the distant sounds of animals settling for the night. My heart’s still racing, but a deep contentment settles over me as I pull Sabrina into my arms, feeling her curl up against me.

"Just stay here," I murmur, pressing my lips to her hair. She smells like wildflowers and something uniquely Sabrina—intoxicating and sweet. She nods against my chest, her body relaxing further with each passing second.

Heaven. I’m in heaven.

And I’m never going to let her go.

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.

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