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body.
    Leos and Jarix shook their heads. "This isn't right. We should recognize her."
    T'shnadar's voice came out of the ship's speakers. "Gentlemen, she has been taking supplements to hold off her heat. The chemicals have altered her physiology slightly. Her body chemistry is a little skewed. It will return to normal in the next two days."
    Zoe sighed as the computer, with her mother's voice, filled in all the blanks for them and amused the hell out of her other companions.
    She faced the three accusing males and winced. "I was going to tell you, I swear."
    Jarix shifted his hand back from claws to fingers and caressed the skin he had exposed. "Why do I think that you are lying?"

    Chapter Three
    Arousal started to override her chemical suppressant. She winced as lust caused a rush of honey between her thighs while Jarix traced the lion in black and gold embossed on her skin.
    "I think we will just leave you alone." Maasha and her mate gave them a wide berth and she jerked her head to get the others to follow her.
    Zoe was alone with her men and they were circling her with a lazy, predatory stride. Her senses were on edge, but the chemicals dampened her reactions. As she watched them, they shifted into their feline forms and wandered around her, rubbing against her thighs.
    They nudged and steered her toward one of the benches before resuming their other forms.
    She sat in her shredded gown and stared at them. "I really was going to tell you." Zoe waited while they assessed her from head to toe.
    Trin finally pronounced, "I thought your hair would be lighter."
    She chuckled and flicked at her dark honey locks. "It is a rinse. My eyes are a little freakish, so I wear lenses and dye my hair."
    Jarix knelt in front of her. "Take the lenses out."
    His earnest bronze eyes convinced her.
    She reached up and slipped the right lens off, earning a gasp from Trin and Leos. She knew that they were staring into a bright gold feline eye and when she removed her other lens, her vision resumed its usual acuity.
    Everything became brighter, motions caught her attention and her senses kicked into high gear. The leaves in the garden rustled in the winds generated by the fans, bringing a memory of her home.
    She sighed in relief and balled up the lenses. "I was going to stop wearing them anyway."
    Leos used a light touch to turn her head toward his. "How long have you hidden yourself?"
    "Only for the last four years. When I took a position at my father's design firm, I had to blend in." She laughed lightly. "A blender blending in, get it?"
    They smiled.
    Now that she had a chance to relax and enjoy their presence, she let herself actually look at them. Jarix had a scar that crossed his exposed chest on the right shoulder, ran across the left and down to his navel, disappearing into the waistband of his trousers.
    His skin was shades darker than her own, his hair a burnished bronze. His eyes were a golden green at close range. The mark of their set, the lunging lion, was set proudly over his heart.
    Leos was made in shades of gold, right to his eyes, while Trin had a hint of blue in his golden eyes and waves of red in his hair.
    They were equally well muscled but wore scars in different places.
    Zoe was curious but didn't ask where they had come from. It would be enough for her to learn it later, when they were safe.
    "Gentlemen, while this is all very charming and I do look forward to spending more time with you, this dress is a little drafty and I need to check in with T'shnadar to determine the level of pursuit that Dorsos has launched. He is going to be very excited if he survived the attack on his facility."
    Jarix nodded. "We will accompany you. Everything that concerns you concerns us and so, we will come with you wherever you go on this ship."
    She twisted her lips. She had been looking forward to some alone time to adjust to the overwhelming sensations that they were sending through her by their very presence.
    "Fine. First to my