page10 (1/2)

He'd waited for that ragged denial He knew she could He fucking loved showing her she could "You will, for ain, because I need it You didn't text me" She hadn't, and he had to make certain she couldn't live without him any more than he could live without her

He cla her open for his assault He took her up again So high Watched her carefully as he pushed her li warm air into all that heat "Now Give it to ed breathing He used his teeth and her body ca, her hs with the force

Joshua wiped his face on her thighs, dropped into a nearby chair and then laid his head on her abdo, the waves still strong enough for hi in air He turned his head and kissed her h it

She'd done that once or twice in the swamp and he'd loved it The caresses felt different, not sexual exactly, but entle, peaceful connection between them He wrapped his ar the swaers in his hair soothe the heat out of his body He wanted to lie with her at night He would put a bed on his balcony and sleep under the stars with her just to get this closeness he felt with her

He didn't kno long he held her, but it couldn't last forever and he knew it Her hand lifted and she shifted subtly to tell hi her body into a sitting position He handed her the red lace panties

"This is always going to be my favorite outfit" His marks stood out everywhere, and there was satisfaction in that "I'entle as I should be with you I try, and then the next thing I know, I'm completely out of control"

She pulled the stretch lace over her hips Just that littlewith the sway of her breasts, sent a jolt of heat through him

"It isn't just you," she admitted There was an unexpected shyness, as if she didn't quite kno to talk to hi you do If I didn't, I'd say so"

He nodded, relief rushing through hi you don't like" He adave him the truth when she was still uncertain of him

"I would"

"You weren't going to text er, didn't show in his voice "Sonia, you feel the same way I do I know you do You wouldn't react to me like this if you didn't It can't all be sex"

"Why not? Why can't we just leave it at that? Sex It's good Better than good" She shivered and rubbed her hands down her arms

Joshua realized the night had turned a little cold with the breeze rising to a wind He slung his arm around her and walked her toward the door Weather could change quickly, raining oneout the next The moment he stepped into her house, his leopard ild Wild He could barely contain the snarling beast Everyas the cat tried to force his way out

He thrust her away fro for supremacy

"What is it?"

"He set the words out His skull didn't fit in his skin, the pressure causing blinding pain His teeth filled histo be more

"It was Bastien Foret He came here to check on my friend Molly"

The absence of any indication of hesitation or lie saved the for takeover Not like that That battle had been swift and brutal He was angry with his cat Furious What the fuck did you think you were going to do? Hurt her? Hurt my woman? It was the first time he'd ever been truly incensed at his leopard

The cat backed down immediately Never I would hunt down and kill this man

He is innocent You reacted before she had the chance to tell us You would have killed an innocentwith you?

The leopard was silent as if trying to regain his formidable temper She will not commit to us She wants to take Gatita and run

Joshua's heart thudded, and he looked at Sonia She stood waiting, knowing he was struggling with his leopard, but instead of fear, she was un

"You act scared of me half the time, the ti his fucking ht have killed you" He was angry with his leopard, himself and the situation

She shook her head "Gatita wouldn't let that happen"

"Leopards have vicious teerous when they're angry"

"So can their counterpart," she replied, looking hiht in the eye

He didn't knohether she referred to him or to herself "Tell me why Bastien felt he needed to check on Molly She's the landscaper, right? I haven't been to her nursery, the gardeners have We're trying to use all local people, and she's very knowledgeable according to everyone around these parts Is so?"

"That's Molly's story to tell"

"So, so around hercountertops and a tiled floor "She's obviously confided in you If she's in trouble, I need to knoo things You don't have to be specific, just tellI can do to help You know I have certain specialties And if any of her problems leak over to you"

She ran her fingertips along the countertop "I think she's talked herself into believing she's safe when she's not"

His head ca about Molly, but she was also talking about herself He heard it in her voice He wanted to grab her, take her back to his hoht shimmered into his mind One he didn't want to think about, but had to consider Husband Could she be aze strayed to her left hand before he could stop it It was bare He needed her to trust hih to confide in him

"Are you thinking of running? My cat thinks you are It makes him uneasy and temperamental That makes me the same way"

Her lashes fluttered again, drawing his attention to the her exotic dark chocolate eyes She was looking down at the countertop as if it would so He refrained fro the silence stretch out until she finally sighed

"I don't knohat I' to do I can't be in a relationship with you"

His heart did an odd clenching that told hiht a relationship with hiether She wanted to protect hi, and he didn't like it at all

He took her hand, pulled her beneath his shoulder and kept walking through the kitchen One rooht into the next, just as it did in his ho room She hadn't yet restored this roo on the wall They were all of the swamp They were beautiful, and he stopped to admire them

Her fingers tightened around his, and his heart clenched hard in his chest He turned his head to look down at her "You really are afraid ofher to look into his eyes "I would never hurt you Shifters nized you the ed I kneas born to protect you To make you happy To love you, Sonia, like no one in this world has ever been loved Your leopard can hear the truth, so can you A you the truth?"

She didn't have a poker face Every thought h her mind was there on her face and in her eyes for him to see Fear was uppermost She wanted to believe him because she heard honesty, but she couldn't quite make

herself get there

"Give me a chance" He switched tactics "Get to know me Take the time"

"If it's just sex, I won't get my heart broken"

He knew that adave away "Words don't matter as much as actions Give me the chance to show you Ito be another woreat rooain, not fully renovated

"How?"

His heart steadied She wasn't going to fight him He needed that reassurance as much as his leopard did