Leopard 01 - The Awakening

tell she was getting edgy, wanting to rake at Brandt. The best thing was to be alone, somewhere quiet and soothing.
    Six
    Maggie woke unbearably hot, a soft cry of protest on her lips. Sheheard the echo of the haunting sound as she lay in the dark room with her heart beating too fast and her mind racing. The room was pitch black, yet her vision was remarkably good. Instead of reassuring her, the fact left her curling her fingers in the sheets. Her body had awakened her with urgent need, burning for relief so that she couldn’t control her restless shifting.
    It was only then that she thought to inhale. At once she went still, her stomach flipping and hot liquid heat surging through her body in instant invitation. She smelled fruit and the musky scent of a male. Her male. Brandt. She would know that masculine scent anywhere, a blend of outdoor and spice.
    She knew immediately he was as aroused as she was.
    Maggie moistened her lips. “What are you doing here?”
    “Looking at you.” The words were soft, seductive. Truthful. His voice came from the chair positioned in the deepest corner opposite from her. “Watching over you.”
    She smiled in the dark. “Do I need watching over?” The thought of his eyes on her, intense and burning, was a powerful aphrodisiac. She moved along the sheets, trying to get comfortable when every nerve ending was alive and sizzling with awareness.

    “You were moaning in your sleep. The sound tore me up.” Brandt was sprawled out in the chair, his long legs stretched in front of him, his eyes devouring her. He had positioned the chair at the best advantage to watch her. She was so beautiful, so real, lying on his bed, all lush curves and gleaming skin. He ached to hold her. To lap his tongue along her throat and in the deep valley between her breasts, to swirl it in that intriguing little belly button he had such difficulty tearing his gaze from.
    She belonged in the house. Here with him. The sight and sound of her, the scent of her completed him.
    He had to clear his throat of the unexpected lump clogging it so he could speak. “There’s fruit on the tray there if you’re thirsty or hungry. It was hot so I brought ice in the small insulated bucket.”
    Maggie sat up, pushed at the hair tumbling around her face. “You’re always taking care of me, Brandt.
    Thank you, it was very thoughtful of you.” She was thirsty and hot, her throat parched.
    Brandt watched as she reached a slender, bare arm through the mosquito netting and lifted a piece of mango to her lips. She tilted her head slightly, exposing the long column of her throat, smooth and vulnerable, to him. Her lips parted slightly, and he caught a glimpse of her small teeth, her tongue, before she took the fruit into her mouth. His entire body clenched when she sucked the juice from her fingers. Her tongue darted out to catch the last drop of juice on her lower lip. His hand dropped to his thick, hard arousal pulsing with hunger and urgent demand. A single sound escaped him.
    Maggie’s head went up. “Do you want to share with me?”
    Her voice sent jackhammers tripping in his head. He thought he would burst from his skin. “Look at me, Maggie,” he commanded gruffly.
    “You’re in the shadows. I can’t see you.”
    “Yes, you can. Use your eyesight. Look at me and tell me if you want me sharing with you.” There was a moody, edgy feel to his voice, one that sent a shiver of awareness down her spine.
    She pushed the mosquito netting aside and leaned forward, picking up another piece of mango as she did so. It took a moment to make him out, as still as he was in the chair. He seemed to become part of whatever his background was, a highly developed camouflage. Maggie could see him then, his powerful body draped on the chair. Entirely naked. Starkly aroused. He made no attempt to hide the pulsing staff thrusting upward from between his legs. He sat there, motionless, his brooding gaze on her, simply awaiting her decision.
    Beneath the thin tank top her breasts ached tenderly. A trickle of hot liquid dampened the sheets. He stole her breath. Just looking at him, so hungry for her, robbed her of air. Deliberately she licked at the fruit, knowing his eyes were on her. She sucked the piece into her mouth, followed it with her fingers.
    Maggie took her time. There was no need to hurry; she could see his reaction as she sucked the juice from her hand. His nails dug into the arm of the chair and his body jerked.
    She