Page 30 of Alistair

“Yeah, right.”

He pushed a button and then hurried to her, putting his arm around her. “It’ll beep at three seconds.”

She put her arm around him and smiled at the camera. Behind them, she could hear the elephants milling around and she was so tempted to turn and see what they were doing. The camera beeped and she focused and smiled, then had to blink a few times at the bright flash.

“Let me make sure it’s a good picture.” He moved back to the camera and she turned to face the paddock, where three elephants milled around. One was very close to the gate and let out a low grunt, which sounded a lot like a question.

“Do they have names?” she asked when Alistair joined her.

“No, the only one with a name is Tank.”

“They’re so cool,” she said. “All right, what’s the spiel for the elephants? I want the whole VIP tour experience. Even though I heard everything you said when you gave the tour to the kids, I still want the whole kit and kaboodle.”

He put his arm around her and kissed her temple with a chuckle. “You got it.” He spent a few minutes telling her interesting facts about the elephants and answered her questions.

When they returned to the Jeep, he said, “Next up is the wolves. They’re the largest group in the park.”

“Cool.” She waved at the elephants and one of them lifted his trunk. “Holy cow it looks like that guy is waving at me.”

Alistair cleared his throat and said, “That doesn’t surprise me. They’re used to the Jeeps, plus they know that I feed them and give them snacks, so he was probably hoping for an apple.”

“Aw, I bet he’s bummed.”

The Jeep moved away and headed down a dirt path to the next paddock, where a big pack of wolves were hanging out. After the wolves came the lions, then the gorillas, then the bears, and finally the non-predator animals including Tank the moose. After the picture, she watched through the bars as the deer and antelope roamed and Tank seemed to be supervising everyone.

When the tour was over, they returned the Jeep to Alfie, then headed to the aviary, where she got to meet Auden and Jess, who ran the sanctuary and hospital. Maggie was fascinated by the birds that called Angel’s Sanctuary for Birds their home.

“I heard you’re a teacher?” Jess asked as they reached the small open auditorium where they held educational shows about the birds.

“Yep. Substitute teacher.”

“We were just talking about creating a job for someone to lead some of the classes so we can do more of them.”

“That would be neat,” she said.

“We’ll reach out to Alistair if that ends up being something we can do.”

As they walked away, heading toward the petting zoo, she took Alistair’s hand.

“What do you think about maybe working here?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. She glanced up at him, smiling at the way the sunlight made his hair look like it had hidden gold highlights. The park’s polo shirt he was wearing fit him perfectly and highlighted his muscular arms and chest. Every time she saw him in that shirt, she wanted to peel it off him and explore all that sexy skin.

He swung her around and pressed her gently against a tree. She gasped and stared up at him in surprise.

“You’re the sexiest female I’ve ever met in my life,” he said gruffly. His hands were planted on either side of her, the cords of his muscles tight. Leaning in, he feathered kisses up her throat and let out a low growly sound. “You smell fucking amazing.”

She hooked her hands over his forearms as her body lit up. Tilting her head to give him better access to her neck, which felt like it was directly connected to her clit, she said, “You’re sexy too. I can’t help that just being around you turns me on.”

He chuckled and pulled her close for a hug, spinning to rest his back against the rough bark of the tree. “Precious Maggie, you are my whole world.”

She listened to his heart beating as she rested her head on his chest.

“You’re mine too.”

Alistair had never worn a tuxedo before, and he now understood why people reserved them for special occasions only: it wasn’t comfortable. While he could admit he looked dashing,handsome even, and according to his soulmate, he was “hands down the sexiest guy on the planet,” he wished he wasn’t wearing a bowtie that made him feel like he was being strangled or a jacket that made him feel like he was about to pop the seams whenever he moved.

Still, he’d gladly be uncomfortable to spend time with Maggie. She was wearing a one-shouldered dress in a color she’d called dusty rose, which her sister had picked out for her. The bodice was sequined and hugged her curves, and the skirt fell in layers past her knees. She looked amazing, but hell, he thought she looked amazing in anything she wore.

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