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"Stop thinking about sex You'reme hard"

"You're always hard That isn'tand then bit her lip Why in the world did she have to have a sassy ht her sass and sht now, in the bedroom, it was far too intimate between them

"It's you"

Just the way he said it, his voice decisive Low Seductive She didn't need him to seduce her with his voice--she was already there

He pushed her tank up slowly Not fast Slowly She felt his breath on her bare skin Warhtly Seductively Every nerve ending in her body awakened She felt the pulse of her heart has His breath was closer Closer still Her lashes drifted down and there was one fleeting thought of self-preservation, but then his lips touched her Barely there A brush

Electricity arched through her Bright Hot A sizzling fire that sank into her veins and seeentleness was so unexpected, so unlike his dangerous deht of running, only of lying there, drifting into a world of pure feeling, her body not her own

Hisevery inch of her backbone She felt the nip of his teeth and the soothing lap of his tongue, but mostly, the whisper-soft touch of his lips on her skin The blood in her veins turned to molten lava, a slow spread of heat that turned her body to liquid pleasure

No one in her entire life had touched her with such tenderness Such exquisite gentleness She'd never had care, and this felt like caring There was no resisting Fyodor when he was like this She could barely believe it was the same scary man with the violent leopard she knew him to be

Fyodor pushed the thick braid of hair froether to warm the oil and then dropped the as he began to eline The first thing that comes to mind"

She answered before she could think about it, her voice drowsy Almost sensual Not hers "You'll take over and dictate I'll have no choice in my life No control"

There was a brief silence as he ed the oil into the tense muscles of her neck and shoulders "I won't pretend I'm an easy man I'm not Will I try to dictate to you? Of course Do I think you'll allow it? No You're a strong woe on so and I'll learn the same about you"

"You've already taken away choices" She didn't look at hi to keep her eyes closed so she could absorb the feel of his hands ht muscles It was paradise, another pleasure she'd never experienced

"Only one, devochka moya, you cannot run from me There is no escape You've been claimed The rest of it is all choice You can choose whether or not to love me You can choose to keep your bakery You havebetween us I cannot be far froe With you, he is cal for blood"

"I don' want to be wanted because I calm a leopard" Sheto a leopard, and right then she didn't want to He'd given her a glimpse into his childhood and that alone made her want honesty between them

"Do you think that's even possible, devochka moya? Because I do not I came to your bakery for you, not your leopard I may have suspected you were a shifter eventually, because of the way my male reacted, but not at first No, you are not wanted for your leopard alone, Evangeline"

Her breath hissed out of her lungs in a long, slow rush of confusion There was no denying the honesty of his declaration, she could hear it in his voice He wasn't saying he was in love, but he wanted her for Evangeline, not her leopard That made it even harder to try to find resistance when she really needed to His hands were a miracle She never wanted hie with caring He was so gentle He paid attention to detail

She hadn't known aover her skin, finding every place that hurt, releasing the tension until she wanted to cry with relief At the sa else, heat and liquid need Hunger that was pleasant, not sharp and terrible It built gradually, but wasn't so overwhel only added to the pleasure

"You want to keep your bakery I want to lock you up soet to keep your bakery because ityou safecertain you're happy does as well" He rubbeddown the center of her back and then flaring out to get every sore uards We'll make it work"

"Bulletproof glass?" she echoed She couldn't find the energy for anger, not when his hands were et aith it "The truck driving through my "

"Tih"

"I'll spit in his coffee tomorrow"

There was a sh to look up at his face There was that fleeting flash of amusement, as if every bit of humor had been stamped or beat out of hiave hi it to him

"Livin' with a violent man and an equally violent leopard" She blurted out the worst of her fears He needed to know because there was nothing to be done about that Nothing That was the deal breaker He could co else, but how did one fix that?

"Are you afraid of eline? Afraid that I'll hurt you?"

How could she anshen his hands were so gentle? Gave her so much care when no other hands ever had? But she was afraid Of him Mostly of his leopard "You said yourself that your cat hated every woman you've been with and wanted to kill them Even if he doesn't want to kill me, he's so scary He is You know he is Whatever made him like that doesn't matter It's what I would have to deal with all the time And noith her risin', I don' have any choice I don' want this relationship I don' know the first thin' about bein' in a relationship Or bein' with a man"

"That's your worry? That you won't knohat to do?"

She bit down on her lower lip hard to keep fro else She sounded like an idiot She just had to stop talking to him

His thu the tension there in spite of the fact that she was already stiffening beneath his hands again "Relax,Just stay still, keep your eyes closed and trust me"

Evangeline didn't like hi it most of the time, but theHe keptthe oil into her back and she couldn't help but relax beneath his h she let her lashes drift down

I her bare skin A blast of hot breath signaled the leopard was lying beside her, his face pressed against her shoulder The A It felt a little like heaven sliding over her skin, but at the same time, she kne close those teeth were The claws The male could kill her in less than a second

She held her breath Waiting for death Her female didn't react, didn't rise to protect her She felt the cat stretch languidly, a long slow rub and then she settled When her cat ca noise It was odd, not like a domestic cat's purr, but distinct and definitely a sound of pleasure

Her leopard coeline felt her movement, felt that moment of connection between the two cats It hit her hard on several levels She felt betrayed Her leopard had been her only companion since birth Her only real family No one else had ever shared her, nor had the cat

felt inclined to allow anyone to know she existed She'd been exclusively Evangeline's

Tears burned behind her eyes and she jerked her body, trying to get out fro Like Alonzo was big All roped e and instantly she felt the change Skin to skin Bare skin Hot Arms around her

"Ssh, Evangeline Don't fight me Just lie still and listen to me" It was Alonzo's breath in her ear, not the leopard's One hand bunched in her hair, the other ht didn't h lay over hers, holding her down

"He says she isn't quite ready to rise, but she's going into her heat We have ti"

"I don' want this I don' want either of you Not you, not your leopard" She pressed her body against the sheets trying to o, Alonzo, and don' come back"

He rolled, caught the sheet and pulled it up over the two of theeline You want me and I want you Your leopard has been claiht now, you're very tired and you need to sleep"

She squeezed her eyes shut even tighter, trying to o away She couldn't deny she wanted hih she was a little worried her heart was beco she wanted She kept her head turned away from him

You talked to him That was an accusation

He is my mate He wanted to reassure you