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Evangeline pressed her fingers to her eyes and shook her head, still rocking, trying to work out what she should do If she stayed, she'd never get away from Alonzo He'dhi for him He hadn't just aroused her physically; what she felt was e her to him in so many ways

"We have to go, Bebe," she said reluctantly "We have to walk away fro to survive He'll eat us alive I knoill"

Her leopard stretched and rubbed, still giving her coether She would never be alone Her leopard had given her that at an early age Because Evangeline had had her all of her life, she hadn't realized what a rarity it was for a female leopard to reveal herself No one ever knehether or not a woan to rise--when the cycle of the feeline's leopard had risen to provide her with comfort and security--with companionship and a fierce loyalty, that saeline felt for her leopard

"We're a team," she whispered as she crushed the lace-trimmed sheet to her breasts "I want him I want to make certain someone loves him and watches out for him because he's never had that and he can be, with entle But, Bebe, he will eat us alive You know that, right? He'd take over our lives and I wouldn't be happy Neither would you"

Evangeline didn't let too many people in She didn't want or allow them close to her Alonzo had crept inside when she wasn't really paying attention All thoseso quiet She liked quiet She'd grown up in silence, listening to the breath of the swamp, and that was her safe place--silence Away from people

Confused and annoyed with herself, she hopped out of bed Evangeline rarely used lights at night and she didn't now Pacing, she thought about her options If she stayed, she knew Alonzo Massi wouldn't go away He'd h in on this," she snapped, annoyed with her leopard

She iuid amusement We can handle them Man and leopard No problem

Evangeline clenched her teeth "You just want that male"

The feeline instantly felt hunger rise It was sharp and terrible, a burning need that subsided almost imnore Evangeline went very still as fire raged through her She swore softly in Cajun and then abruptly ripped a s from her closet

"You freakin' hussy You're goin' into heat, aren't you? Oh My God I'o back to the swaood as we are there I just have to hide you until it's over You should have told me"

She threw jeans and shirts and underwear into the bag as fast as she could She wouldn't need lared at herself in the mirror "Don' tell me you didn' know, Bebe, because that's why you rose and accepted his claim You were feelin' all amorous and you illin' to throw me to that wolf just for sex"

Her cat was unrepentant Even amused You want the man

She did She so did, but that wasn't the point "That erous You heard Alonzo or Fyodor or whoever he is His cat wants to kill the women he sleeps with"

Not you Again there was that i claws I would protect you

"He's a dangerous fighter He's been fighting for years He's experienced" Panic welled up, and for a ators bellow and knowing the hugeto kill her

Evangeline drew in great gulps of air, trying to get her lungs to work properly again She couldn't think when she was panicked, she'd learned that early on as well Alonzo could tie her to him in so many ways, but the worst would be sexually She didn't want a man to be with her because she was leopard Or because they had great sex This was her worst night leopard Her fe her to be She wouldn't be able to use her brain Her body would be on fire and so hungry for him she wouldn't be able to think

She swore even more as she snatched up her car keys and slipped out her back door No as she going to get caught up in Alonzo's world She would be so vulnerable if her feht him or even stand up to him He'd walk all over her She'd be back in a world of deceit and violence No No No Not happening She'd always decided her own fate She wasn't about to let leopards or sex or the eous, irresistible man who needed her dictate her life

She knew she was in a state of panic The idea of her body betraying her Her leopard betraying her It was frightening Terrifying She was a woman always in control and if she was out of itA small sob escaped She couldn't let that happen She wouldn't

She backed the car out of the driveithout turning on lights She didn't need theh-traffic area Her little tree-shaded road led to a cul-de-sac, so there were few cars She'd chosen her house carefully for that reason Few neighbors Trees The yard she had The kitchen in her house Dah the door of her bakery

For a moment the windshield blurred and she nearly turned on her wipers before she realized the problery that she had to leave, not upset for leaving Alonzo She wasn't going to think about that six-year-old boy or what he had had to do to protect his brother and cousin No wonder they were so loyal to him

But to wipe out an entire lair The entire thing All those leopards Fightingmachines What did that say about Alonzo or his leopard? To do that, he had to be insanely fast and ferocious She stopped at the stop sign at the entrance to her street Without warning, two large town cars converged on her, blocking her frohts She knew exactly who that was

Seriously, she was the most conflicted female on the planet Every cell in her body told her to run, that she was in danger Her head told her that But her heart wavered Stuttered a little She sat quietly waiting, her breath in her throat rather than in her lungs

Alonzo slid out of the backseat of the town car behind her and stalked to her car He yanked open the door, his face an expressionless er in both this time, leopard and man She couldn't bla time for her Maybe it was the sa sex

"Move over"

She did without a word, her heart ha like mad Loudly So loudly she knew he heard His eyes on her face, he moved the seat back so he could slide behind the wheel

He gave soh theand all three town cars drove away, leaving them alone Alonzo's presence took up the entire car It wasn't just because he was a bigbeneath skin; it was hier than life He poured into the air, taking it over Tension rose and she found herself tre down at her hands, unable to think beyond the fact that she would be at the mercy of this man and the two leopards very soon

"Evangeline"

Just her name The way he said it was a command She knehat he wanted, but it took her a few ive hiaze

Alonzo's glacier-blue eyes studied her for a long ti with blue flaeline? This isn't just a run so I'll give chase You're scared out of your mind"

She touched the tip of her tongue to her lip Her breath refused to co stuck in her throat She looked up at hiht she

" She trailed off, seeing the dawning co but the truth and in this case, he would find out soon enough

Just saying the words aloud made the situation all too real She wanted to run as fast as she could back to her beloved swa bad leopard on the prowl to consume her She hadn't realized her hand had dropped to the door handle until Alonzo very gently reached across her body and placed his hand over hers

"Take a breath,anywhere and neither are you We'll handle this"

When he leaned across her in the sainst hers Her breasts were soft against his back, pressed deep, an intimate connection she was instantly aware of She had the mad desire to circle his waist with her arms and just hold on to all that solid muscle He was a rock when her world felt built on sand

His voice mesmerized her She was so susceptible to the deep, low tones His voice appealed to her in a way nothing else ever had He was so caler swirled around hierous, a feral predator in the civilized trappings of a very expensive suit

She instantly wanted him Instantly Her entire body felt hot and needy Her breasts ached and pushed hard against the solid rock of his back Her breath refused to coed pants She felt her fe to co coeline's nature

"Breathe, devochka moya"

Evangeline did what he said, reaching for air, needing it She drew hier But she could breathe again The panic was still there, but it receded enough that she could nod to hiht He lifted his hand frohtened