Evangeline was certain that wasn't the truth, but at least her leopard was back to her usual self. "Are you all right?" She found the sensor over the door. It was just that little bit too visible. Hidden, but not. That meant a backup.
Yes. The female gave the impression of stretching languidly.
Evangeline found herself smiling in spite of the fact that her body hadn't quite settled, her injured leg was on fire and her arm hurt like hell. She moved her fingers along the sides of the doorjamb where the wood was intricately patterned. The house had hidden passageways built into the walls. There were all kinds of hidden devices within the wood. Alonzo had told her all about the history of the house and how Antonio Arnotto had it built for leopards and with an eye to escape trouble.
Her fingers found the little hidden button in the middle of a swirl of golden wood. It was no more than a depression but she pushed down and instantly the hum stopped. She yanked open the door and went through. At once the night air hit her. There was little moon and a lot of clouds and it was cold, but she inhaled deeply, drawing the night into her lungs.
"Just what we need," she told her female and began to hurry across the open yard to the heavier brush. As she jogged across grass she scented the male. He was off to her left, a slight breeze warning her.
Evangeline angled away from him, put on a burst of speed and gained the maze of thick bushes and shrubs. Her leopard gave the impression of laughing. She was happy. They were in their element. She dropped low to the ground, winding in and out of the shrubs, turning sideways to slip through narrow openings. She moved fast, but avoided shaking branches.
The male came close to where she'd entered the brush. He stopped moving, inhaling sharply. He was in human form, but Evangeline could scent the wild in him. "Timur." The guard spoke into his radio. "We've got trouble out here. I think the female's loose. My male's going crazy. She's throwing off enough pheromones to call in every male for a hundred miles."
That didn't sound good. At. All. Evangeline swore, using every Cajun cuss word and phrase she'd heard over the years. She just was very quiet about it. Stop, Bebe. They'll track us for sure and I wanted some outside alone time.
It's not like I can control it, her female pointed out.
"Boss says track her but don't get close. His male is a fuckin' killer, Vitaly. I kid you not. That's his woman and you get near her, his male will tear you to pieces," Timur said, his voice tight.
The guard swore out loud in Russian, and Evangeline was fairly certain he said far worse than she had. She kept moving, a little slower, a little lower to the ground, trying to move with the wind instead of against it. She didn't want her female broadcasting to every male in the vicinity.
Not all me. You're fertile as well.
Great. She'd had unprotected sex like a complete idiot and she was fertile. She came to the edge of the shrubbery and found herself right at the very tip of the grove of trees. They were tall and thick and formed a dark, intriguing forest with the canopy high and the branches intertwined, forming a highway for leopards.
She knew exactly what she was looking at. Arnotto had deliberately cultivated the trees to grow for an emergency escape route. The dark was inviting, but there were a number of male leopards on the property. More than she'd realized just staying in the house. Alonzo was well protected, with a security force of leopards and soldiers that were human but loyal.
She was going to have to do her thinking on the run, not the best of circumstances, but sooner or later the leopards would corner her. Once they shed their human form, they could track her very easily. Without broadcasting pheromones, she would have stood a chance, even bet she had even odds, she knew she was that good, but not dousing everything she touched with "come hither" scent.
She wanted time with Alonzo. That's what it boiled down to. Time without men trying to kill her or going into heat and having their leopards take over. She needed a foundation with him, and she needed it to be solid if this thing between them was going to work. She had to trust him with more than her body. She had to want to be with him for more of a reason than wanting to be the one to give him something he'd never had before.
She melted the moment he was around. No, it was worse than that. Hearing his voice. Seeing his face on the screen. She had no idea how other women felt, but she always wanted to hold him close in her arms and offer him--everything. Was that even normal? She didn't know. She'd never witnessed a relationship between a man and a woman. She'd heard about it from Saria, but only in brief terms, and most were simply that Saria was crazy in love with Drake.
She found the wall surrounding the huge maple garden. It was well over six feet high and along the top of the winding wall a dragon curled his long body and tail as if guarding the interior. She crouched low, called on her leopard and made the jump over the wall. Landing easily on her feet she stood still to admire the breathtaking garden.
It was huge, with hundreds of maples, all different varieties, from dwarfs to rare to larger shade maples. The leaves were in all shapes and colors, and the bark on the various trees ranged from bright red and pink to a peculiar green. There were a few trees with the bark peeled off. She loved that look as well. Someone had created bonsai trees out of three of the dwarf trees near the pond and they looked spectacular. A long stream wound its way down several tiers to flow into the large koi pond.
Evangeline wandered down each stone path, admiring the layout of the garden and how tranquil it was. Whoever had designed it had placed a barrier in the form of the artistic wall to block any real wind. Trees wept into the pond. Cherry blossoms on several dwarf trees lit up the night with their beauty. By far, this was going to be her favorite place. She was in love with it already.
She could think here. She curled up in large body-sized pillows on the floor of the gazebo overlooking the koi pond. The pillows were made of a thick weave, were comfortable and invited contemplation. She listened to the sound of the water running over the stones as it fell to the pool below it. It was steady. Like Alonzo. Like his heartbeat and his incredible gift of a voice. She wanted steady.
"I don' need him, Bebe," she murmured softly to her leopard. "When the heat isn't on me, I don' need him. But I want him. Very, very much. From the moment he walked into the bakery and didn't smile at me. Snuck looks, as if I wouldn't notice him starin' at me from behind the magazine. He's so gorgeous of course I noticed. And I wanted him."
He had been so remote. So aloof in the beginning. Those ice-cold eyes staring at her. Even then she wanted to melt all that ice. He was the thing of fantasies, and she didn't want a fantasy, she wanted the real man in the real world.
Even if he's a criminal? Her female always took the opposite side of the argument.
God help her, yes, even then. There was something about Alonzo that drew her right from the start and being around him only made that so much more. She liked everything about him.
Other than that he's a criminal.
Evangeline's breath hissed out of her lungs. "You're bein' deliberately annoyin' tonight. Goin' into heat hasn't improved your disposition one little bit." Her leopard brought up a good point, and that was even more irritating. What exactly was she doing, and what did she want?
Fyodor and really good sex.
Evangeline burst out laughing. She loved her female. Loved her so very much. Her leopard's amusement slipped through her mind. Warm. Comforting. Familiar. The smile faded and her heart began to pound. "I have to let him in all the way," she whispered. "He could hurt us."
You've already let him in. If he's not who he says he is, we're both going to get hurt. That's just life. Her female was pragmatic as always.
"Or dead."
Not that. They will always underestimate us. Her female suddenly went on alert.
Evangeline scented the big male, although she didn't hear him. She hadn't heard him clear the wall or pad toward her on silent paws. She turned her head and watched him come. He was huge. The biggest leopard she'd ever seen. He
was also beautiful, but battle scarred. His fur was long and thick, the rosettes larger than usual. She would know him anywhere by the ice blue of his eyes. Even if the gold spread through, letting her know what mood he was in, she would always know him.
She smiled. She couldn't help it. She knew he'd come and she was happy that he had.
16
DEEP inside the male, Alonzo crept up on Evangeline. He didn't know what to think or feel. Whether to be angry with her or just let terror take over that she might be running from him. Or fear that Amodeo had another hit man waiting for a moment just like she'd given him, presenting a target without a bodyguard.
She should never have taken such a risk. There are males everywhere. She's close to emerging and any of them could have been stupid enough to try to claim her.
His leopard was angry. He couldn't blame his cat. Neither ever expected to find a mate. Not. Ever. Evangeline had risked so much more than she realized. The men he surrounded himself with were good men. Loyal. The scent of her would send them all into a mating frenzy. His cat would have fought them to the death. More, so would the man.
The leopard was within striking distance of her. One rush and he would teach her a lesson she'd never forget.
Don't you dare. Alonzo took control of his beast. She's mine and you won't hurt her, no matter what she's done.
She's ours, his leopard corrected him. We are not going to lose either of them.
Evangeline turned her head toward the leopard and smiled. That smile. His smile. The one she reserved for him alone. She looked right into the eyes of his leopard and saw him. She wasn't afraid of his leopard because she trusted him. Alonzo felt that trust as an arrow straight to his heart. She had every reason to fear male leopards, and his was one of the worst. She knew that and she still remained calm.
Do you understand the gift she's giving us? She was terrorized as a child by a male leopard.
Show him to me and I will kill him.
"I knew you'd come as soon as you were finished with your business. I was waitin' for you." She patted the large pillow next to her. "I wanted to talk to you about my female, so it's good you're here in this form."
The leopard hesitated, one paw in the air, freezing in position as if he didn't quite know what to do. Alonzo had been in the act of shifting to human form. He'd come out looking for her immediately and hadn't brought a pack with clothes. He remained as a leopard, giving her the opportunity to see that his male would protect her as well as her female.
Be gentle. Earn her trust, he cautioned.
The big male moved slowly to Evangeline's side. The pheromones she was throwing off were so potent, Alonzo knew the female was rising very fast. She could emerge that night, early morning or the next afternoon, but it would be soon. It had to be soon because the soldiers closest to him were all male leopards. Evangeline in such close proximity was dangerous to all of them.
"Sometimes I can't stand being inside," she confessed softly. "I go runnin' when that happens. Or I sit on my porch. Sometimes I sleep outside."
He knew that much. He'd had bodyguards on her for the last few months and they'd told him about her penchant for running or sitting outside at midnight. He had never asked her about it because he hadn't wanted her to know he was watching her. That would lead to questions, such as why. And the why of it had been complicated then. He didn't want her to know about his life, or that by continually going to the bakery after he'd been named Arnotto's successor he was possibly bringing danger to her--and he'd been right.
Evangeline looked him in the eye again and Alonzo realized he'd been wrong. She was afraid of his male. Afraid, but resolute and determined to trust that Alonzo would make certain she was safe. This was her female's mate and she was determined to get over her fears. His heart contracted and the glacier, so thick inside of him, melted even more.
"I spent most of my life being hunted. Runnin' free in the swamp. Alone with just my female. She came to me when I was an infant. She got me through those toddler years. We had to hide over and over and be so quiet while he prowled around our little room deep in the swamp. We knew he searched for us and that he would kill us if he found us."
Her soft admission broke Alonzo's heart, but it enraged his male. The thought of his mate helpless with a male leopard hunting her infuriated the cat. The amber eyes glowed with wrath and the big leopard abruptly moved away from Evangeline, pacing across the stone path to maple trees, where he smashed his giant paw through the leaves to send them up in a swirling tower.
Evangeline fell silent. Alonzo hoped that she realized his male was letting off steam and wouldn't harm her.
We won't allow anything like that to happen again, Alonzo assured. We took care of the threats to her.
You're still worried.
His leopard knew him too well for Alonzo to lie to him. He was worried. He wanted to keep Evangeline close to him until he knew for certain that Amodeo's contract had died with him. The man had been bold enough to send a crew to wipe them all out right on his home turf. That was insanity and Amodeo knew it. He would have had to have given orders to kill all of them, otherwise Elijah and Joshua would have retaliated if they knew for certain who had been behind the killings.
We'll keep her safe. Go reassure her.
The male swung back around and prowled right up to Evangeline. He rubbed his body along hers, scent marking her, making certain the other males in the area knew she was his. He wasn't taking any chances with her either. She held herself very still, not trying to move away from the big male. Her eyes widened and he realized she was in communication with her female. The animal was probably explaining what his male was doing.
When the male leopard settled, lying down, wrapping his body around her so that his thick fur kept her warm in the cool of the night, she let out her breath and relaxed again. "I didn't mean to upset you." Tentatively she sank her fingers into his fur and then leaned back against the leopard with a little sigh. "I think what I'm tryin' to tell you is that I lived almost my entire life outdoors in the swamp surrounded by danger. More than anyone else, you should know what it feels like to live that way. I want you to know that my female got me through that. She's beautiful and strong and she deserves a mate who will care for her and see her for what she is."
His male rubbed his large head along her shoulder and then looked her straight in the eye. Like Alonzo, he knew what she was conveying to him. She wanted him to know that her leopard was extraordinary. He knew that already. She'd revealed herself immediately when her human counterpart had been a baby and needed her. That alone made her special.
"The other thing I think it's important for you to know--" Evangeline said. She stopped abruptly and swept a hand through her hair. "Aside from the fact that I wanted time with you, Fyodor, so much more time before Bebe emerged, I needed to know you wanted me for me. Not just for her. I still need that. I've never been wanted. Not by my family. Not by anyone. I'm not tellin' you this so you'll be sympathetic. I want you to know how important it is to me to feel as if I am the one you want. Me. I foresee, in a long-term relationship, my self-esteem issues when it comes to you and me comin' up and givin' us problems."
Alonzo wanted to shift, to hold her close, but he would have been stark naked and she wanted to talk. There was no getting close to her while he was naked and not taking her, so he remained in his leopard form. The male nudged her gently with his muzzle and then rubbed along her shoulder as if offering comfort or reassurance.
Alonzo knew he had a few of those issues of his own. He wanted her to be as obsessed with him as he was with her. He needed her to want him, to want to make a home with him. He'd never had that and he desired it--with her.
"I also think it's important to tell you, because I spent so many years outsmartin' that big male and livin' in a dangerous situation, I know, no matter how much I tell myself that I want a normal, quiet life with a nice man, that just isn't true. No matter how much I try to be someone else, I'm still me. I'll alway
s be me. And always want you and whatever life we have together."
Alonzo couldn't stop himself from shifting. That revelation had to be hard for her to admit to him. She'd come outside not to run from him or to be defiant, but because she needed it. She felt most comfortable outside, and he understood a comfort zone. He also understood needing that adrenaline rush.
He found himself curled protectively around her back. He caught her face, turned her so she looked over her shoulder at him and then his mouth was on hers. Heat rushed through his veins, a fireball spreading hunger as he kissed her. He loved her mouth. Her soft, full lips, how velvet soft her mouth was, moist and hot and tasting like cinnamon and honeyed spice. He didn't give her time to breathe. To protest. He simply poured everything he was into her. Demanding she give him everything.
"Everything," he whispered against her lips. "I want it all from you."
"You have it," she reassured, reaching with one arm to circle his neck, holding him to her.
He kissed her again and again, losing himself in her taste. Despite the cool of the night, her body felt warm to him. Hot even, as if her skin were on fire. He closed his eyes for a moment, knowing her time was close. Too close. They weren't going to get what she so desperately wanted.
He lifted his head and very gently turned her toward him. He could see the knowledge in her eyes. The fear. She was trying to be brave, not to panic. He couldn't imagine what it must feel like for her. He reached around her and unzipped her jacket, tugging her arms out of the sleeves.
So terrible. She burns. Inside. Outside. Both of them. His leopard pushed closer to the surface. Desperate to get at his mate. The heat rose in the male leopard as well, answering the fire in the female.
Alonzo knew that was true because he was already burning for her. His cock was a steel spike, so hard and thick he felt his heartbeat pounding right through it. He cupped Evangeline's face between his palms. "She's close. Timur will warn the other leopards away. It's going to be rough, malen'kaya lyublyu moyo, but I'll get you through this."