Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

stronger than the last, so that her skin flushed and she wanted to tear her clothes off and rub her body against anything to relief the terrible pressure.
    “Susan, after the children finish and while I do the dishes, do you want to give them a bath for me?
    They like to play in the tub and it might keep them occupied for a few minutes until I can finish up and read to them.” And get everyone out of the way so she could find out just what was happening to her.
    “Sure. They’re good in the bathtub. I know where all their toys are.”
    Emma didn’t trust her voice. She wanted—no, needed—to strip, to get the weight of her clothes off her too-sensitive skin. She couldn’t stop moving. Her body was undulating with need now. The heat was building, the pressure on her most sensitive bundle of nerves causing her hips to seek relief. She wanted to cry with the ache between her legs.
    Emma kissed Kyle and Andraya on top of their heads and gratefully sent them upstairs. Hanging on to the sink, she hung her head, taking huge, deep breaths. She could barely walk, her feet aching, the knuckles on her hands burning along with her fingertips. She kicked off her shoes and dropped to the kitchen floor, crawling toward the intercom, terrified now, desperately needing Jake.
    Her body moved with a sensuous slide, her bottom lifting, her arms pushing back, as if her body was separate from her mind and she could no longer control it. She had the urge to touch herself, to trace the curves of her body, to find her burning center and alleviate the ache. Her mind screamed for Jake.
    She needed Jake.
    Outside the rain lashed at the windows and her pulse beat in time to the wild rhythm of the whistling wind. The fever built in her blood. Images of Jake filled her mind, naked, his body muscular, demanding, conquering hers. Not the lovemaking she craved from him, but something altogether different. Her pulse pounded deep inside as blood pooled and demanded. Her mind turned chaotic and her hands—oh, her hands—curling, bending, raking at the floor in frustration.
    Sobbing, she hit the intercom button. “Drake.” Her voice was different. Her throat ached. Was raw with burning need. There wasn’t a place on her body that didn’t ache. If the lacy material of her bra brushed against her nipples one more time, she might go insane.
    “What’s up, Emma?” Drake’s voice was tense.
    She knew he was working to secure the ranch for the storm. Everybody would be. She coughed, felt her hands sliding over her breasts, trying to ease the terrible ache and quickly pulled her hands down. “You have to come here. The kitchen.” And God help her if anyone else came. She had to have Drake tell her what was happening. She knew he was the one with all the knowledge of their species. She knew he talked to Jake. Her mother had never said a word about the change, but something terrifying was happening and it had to be her leopard.
    Minutes. Hours. Each wave of sexual hunger was worse than the last one. She was nearly sobbing when she heard the door open.
    “Emma?”
    “Drake.” Relief poured into her voice. She hadn’t realized just how much she was counting on him to help her. Once she understood, she should be able to manage the intensity of the need burning through her. If this was the way Jake felt all the time, she could understand his need for continual relief.
    “Emma, are you all right?” Drake entered the kitchen, took several steps in when the scent hit him hard. He halted abruptly, his fingers curling into tight fists. Deep inside, his leopard leapt and roared, raking at him, clawing deeply in an effort to get out.
    “Drake, you have to tell me about what happens to a woman when she goes into heat. Jake started to tell me about it, but I was so certain I didn’t have a leopard. You have to help me.”
    He studied her body from across the room, gripping the back of a chair, nearly crushing the wood, clearing his throat before replying, “You need Jake.”
    “I know I need Jake. He isn’t here, obviously, so you have to help me. Tell me what to do. I can’t stand this.”
    He grit his teeth, fighting down the urge to leap over the table and take her. “None of the men can come in here, Emma, including me. It’s too dangerous. Get the kids down for the night and lock yourself in your room. Don’t let Susan near you. Everyone of the men, leopard or human, is going to be affected by you right now. You have to stay away from