Free Drawing Deep by Jennifer Dellerman Page A

and teeth, regardless of how she smelled. His voice might have been a little rough when he said, “And that means...”
    Ria stood, her face taking on an animated glow that fascinated both man and beast. “If the forest was already thriving, then whoever built the ruin had to first dig out a massive hole and then begin the painstaking work of creating a solid structure within that hole rather than above it.”
    Santos cocked his head. “A cellar of sorts to store perishables?”
    “Possible, but that’s an awfully big cellar. You could store enough food in there to feed a large village, way more people than what the clearing suggests probably lived there, which brings up my next question. What did they do with all the dirt?”
    Santos blinked, caught between the enticing enigma that was Ria and the burgeoning curiosity of the ruin, her questions teasing the inquisitive nature of his cat. “I haven’t a clue.”
    Turning in a slow circle, she indicated their surroundings. “The land is pretty flat, right? No hills? Caves?”
    Brows tight in concentration, Santos mentally ran through the miles of land he knew like the back of his hand. “None.”
    “I thought not. Whoever created the oval ruin wouldn’t have needed to create it to begin with if the pit was, in actuality, a cave. Plus the ground would be hard stone, not dirt.”
    Now those dark brows rose. “The corners of the ruin are curved? Like the main house?” He flicked his thumb over his shoulder at the direction of the historical house he grew up in.
    Another nod, combined with a lowering of lashes that quickly lifted to reveal eyes gleaming with vibrancy. “Exactly.”
    “Do you think there’s a correlation? Is it the same stonework?” Interest peaked, not only in her findings, but in the excitement that flushed her face. He had a feeling she didn’t let her emotions loose much and he suddenly desired to see that same expression cross her features when she looked at him from a very different position. One under his own larger frame, hers soft and wet in warm welcome.
    Something of his lustful nature must of shown on his face because she swallowed, looked away. “It’s possible, but the brickwork between the two are very different. It’s impossible to tell how hold the ruin is without information on who created it.”
    Just her speaking made him nuts. His body became super aware, super sensitized, even as her scent messed with his jaguar’s senses. The mix of lemon, coffee and curry wasn’t exactly unpleasant, just strong enough to deter any desire for a stronger sniff.
    That thought made him take a mental step back. Obviously the herbs were working, masking her scent as Rome stated, but, if the mating heat was indeed in play – which he couldn’t discount considering his body’s visceral reaction to her – the herbs weren’t altering her scent, just doing as Rome said. Masking it. But masking it how deeply? On a cellular level or just below the surface?
    Taking advantage while her attention was elsewhere, he moved faster than lightening, bending to draw in a lungful of her scent from the vulnerable arch of her neck. Quick enough she only would have felt as if a delicate breeze whispered over her exposed skin, as evidenced when she turned her head sharply in his direction a second later. But Santos was already back in the same same relaxed pose, an innocent expression on his face. “So you don’t think there’s any connection between my parent’s home and what you found in the reserve?”
    Though suspicion flickered in her eyes, she went on to talk about her theories. Even as he listened, he took the time to separate out and analyze the myriad of scents he’d pulled off her. Filtering out the lemon, coffee and curry, he got momentarily tangled by the sweet musk of aroused female. Ria wanted him. Male satisfaction surged, but he couldn’t linger and relish. He had to push that aside and reach deeper, concentrate until...
    And suddenly