Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

her mother would assume her animal form and she could lie next to her, fingers tangled in her fur, feeling the extraordinary pleasure of being so close to something wild and powerful. Her father wasn’t a shifter, and the odds were against her ever being like her mother. At least she had Jake and she could rub her face in his fur and get her fix that way.
    Emma woke to the sound of laughter and several whispering voices. Conspiracy hung heavy in the air.
    She turned her head and saw them all lined up. The ones she loved. Jake, between Kyle and Andraya.
    He held a tray and they each carried a flower. She sat up. Jake grinned at her as the sheet slipped, revealing the curve of her breast, and she was forced to yank it up quickly. He set the tray down and handed her a shirt from her closet. It was a button-down, and she hastily put it on, doing up the buttons under his amused gaze.
    “We made breakfast, Mommy,” Kyle announced.
    Andraya nodded. “Breakfast,” she echoed.
    “It looks great,” Emma said. “Thank you so much.” Jake set the tray on her lap and she tried not to look dismayed at the strange mixture that looked like it might have eggs in it. “Did you two cook?”
    Kyle nodded solemnly. “Daddy helped.”
    “And he let you choose what you wanted to put in Mommy’s eggs?” Emma watched Jake’s face. He’d had fun. He’d learned to have fun, spending the morning with his children, letting them mix the ingredients into her eggs. She could see the lines of strain had eased and imagined him with the children on chairs, hunched over a mixing bowl, and Jake laughing to himself.
    “They were very certain of what goes into a breakfast scramble,” Jake said, trying to look innocent. He failed miserably.
    Emma’s heart melted at the mischievous joy in his eyes. He had never learned the art of teasing, yet here he was, two little chubby hands clutching his, all three faces beaming at her.
    “Aren’t you hungry?” Kyle asked anxiously.
    “I was just thinking Daddy should share this with Mommy,” Emma said, holding out a spoonful of the egg mixture.
    Both children looked at Jake expectantly. He stared at the gooey mess like it might bite him. “Daddy ate, remember?”
    “You’re always hungry and the children did such a good job,” Emma countered.
    “You have a mean streak in you,” Jake observed, perching on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to retaliate, you know.” Reluctantly he took the spoon from her.
    “I think I’m pretty safe,” Emma said, knowing his retaliations tended to be sexual. She smirked at him as the children watched him reluctantly put the spoon into his mouth.
    She held out the glass of orange juice as he swallowed so he could wash it down. Jake choked a little, smiled at the children and raised his voice. “Susan. Could you see if the nurse is here to watch the children while Emma showers?”
    He had that black velvet voice that insinuated all sorts of erotic things. Susan came running and caught each child by a hand. “I’ll take them downstairs.” She blushed to the roots of her hair, obviously thinking Jake wanted to be alone with Emma.
    “You can’t eat this stuff,” Jake said as soon as Andraya and Kyle were gone. “You’ll be sick for a week.” He took the tray from Emma and set it aside.
    She started to get out of bed but he stopped her, taking her hand. “I want to get married.”
    Emma looked up at him startled. “We just got engaged.”
    “I’m aware of that, Emma, but we have two children. Let’s just get it done. I can get us a license immediately and we can get a judge here and just do it. By the way, I have the papers for you to sign for the adoption.”
    Emma pulled her hand away and shoved the covers back, rolling away from him to the other side of the bed where she had a robe. She couldn’t think straight being nearly naked with him fully dressed. There was something too erotic about the way his eyes brushed over her skin and heated her body. Her brain just refused to function. She wasn’t going to say yes just because she wanted sex—and she did want sex. Just looking at him filled her with love.
    He was so lost. He’d admitted it to her. He fought himself over the growing feelings he had for her. She knew he wanted to keep his emotions in check and regard her and the children the way he did his possessions. His. He cared for them, protected them, provided the best for them, but he didn’t invest his heart. The problem was,