- bowls of raspberries, mango, and pineapple,
- cold lemonade with ice,
- delicate cookies scented with honey.
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Help yourself, Nika.
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How do you know my name...?
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I know all about the guests. But I want to know more about you.
The heat in the Safari Park was unlike any she had experienced.
Soft, fragrant with palm trees, water, and sweet fruit, as if the entire world had paused in a hot, golden breath.
Nika had just arrived at the luxurious hotel at the center of the vast Safari—white buildings, glass walls, private pools, vegetation so vibrant it was hard to believe it was a real place and not a photograph.
She put on comfortable shorts and a T-shirt. She was walking among tall, flowering shrubs, admiring the exotic leaves and strange flowers, when she turned onto the path leading to the pool area.
And then she saw him.
On a wide, soft lounger, just beneath a palm tree, lay someone she initially mistook for a model for some sunny photo shoot.
A young man, tanned, with yellow-and-black-spotted cheetah ears and a long, flexible tail that swished lazily in the air.
His eyes were half-closed. He yawned with a delicious, long purr, like a large cat. He lay there so comfortably, as if the whole world had to wait for him to get up.
Nika wanted to leave quietly so as not to disturb him, but his ears twitched—gently, alertly.
Then he lifted his head and looked directly at her.
Golden eyes, a little wild, a little amused.
“Hey. You. Girl,” he said quietly, but in a tone that couldn’t be ignored. “Me?” She paused, uncertain. “Come closer. They don’t bite.” His tail lightly thumped the side of the lounger, as if inviting.
Nika approached slowly. The hybrid extended his hand and pointed to a large, green leaf lying nearby.
“Will you wave this at me like a fan?” “Uh… I can, but why?” “Because it’s hot,” he replied with absolute sincerity. “And you look like you're doing it gently.”
Nika snorted softly. And he added, as if stating the obvious:
“I'll pay a lot.”
She nodded.
The hybrid settled more comfortably, and Nika began fanning him with a leaf.
The breeze she created was cool and pleasant—he seemed to genuinely enjoy it.
His golden eyes closed in bliss.
His tail rose and fell slowly, as if in rhythm with the caress of the wind.
“Mm… yes. That's good,” he purred softly.
Like a cat exposed to the sun.
He was surprisingly calm. Oddly impressive.
And yet… vulnerable in his laziness.
When she finished, he handed her a small, elegant envelope.
“For your trouble.” “You didn't have to…” “You did.” He grinned broadly. “For such a soft fan, only you get a bonus.”
Nika, embarrassed and still unaccustomed to such generosity, gently said goodbye and walked away toward the hotel.
But she didn't notice that the hybrid had already stood up.
He continued to stare at her.
A few minutes later, she entered the marble lobby. She was about to go to the reception desk when she saw a familiar shadow in the corner of her eye—and her ears twitched above the chair next to her.
It was him.
He stood three steps behind her.
As if there was nothing strange about it.
“You… following me?” she asked quietly.
“Mhm,” he replied carelessly. “This is my hotel.”
Nika froze.
“Your hotel?” “And where do you think I got my private pool?” He stretched slightly, his tail twitching slowly. “I own the Safari Park.” “Oh… oh.” “Don’t say ‘oh’.” Say: Safari.**
The name sounded like a soft, sandy murmur.
He moved a little closer.
"I saw you looking at the plants. Would you like some fruit? Or maybe something cold? I'll show you around. I have the best sweets in the entire savannah."
Nika opened her mouth, but he had already waved a waiter over.
In a second, there were:
Samuec looked at her as if all this were an obvious gift.