Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

connect and let him know she where she was being taken. Did pride count when one’s life might be in danger? Was she really that stupid?
    Elle took a deep breath and let it out. The island was getting closer, and the pressure in her head increasing. It was now or never. She closed her eyes and blocked out everything but Jackson. The way he looked. Remote. Broad shoulders. Scars. Thick chest. Piercing eyes filled with shadows. Jackson .
    She whispered his name in her mind, sent it out into the universe.
    There was a brief moment of silence, as if the world around her held its breath. A dolphin leapt from the sea and somersaulted back under the glassy waves. Elle nearly screamed when Stavros jerked her from her seat. She hadn’t even sensed him coming up behind her.
    “What are you doing?” he bit out, his white teeth snapping together. Fury etched the lines in his face.
    He knew. Elle glanced toward his bodyguard. Sid knew too. They not only had natural barriers, but they were sensitive to telepathy. Both of them. She was in way over her head.
    “Sheena! Answer me.”
    “Let go of me.” Elle jerked her body away from him. “I don’t understand why you’re behaving this way.” Even Sheena, as calm and collected as she was, wouldn’t put up with being manhandled. Elle glared at him. “I’ve had enough, Stavros. I want to go home.”
    She was never going home again . The thought came unbidden but settled into her churning stomach.
    Once she set foot on that island, her life as she knew it would be over.
    Elle? Where are you? Stay alive, baby, any way you have to. Stay alive for me. I’ll come to you. I’ll find you. Do whatever you have to do.
    Jackson’s voice was warm, a soft, intimate slide into her mind—into her body. He felt like home. Like comfort. She wanted to fling herself inside him and shelter there. He must have heard or felt the despair in her—the fear.
    Stavros caught both of her arms and yanked her against him, giving her a little shake as he brought her up onto her toes. “You will stop this moment unless you wish Sid to put you to sleep. I know what you’re doing.”
    Elle. Answer me. There was a hard command in his voice, almost a compulsion to answer. She gasped when Stavros’s fingers tightened hard on her upper arms.
    “Don’t!” he warned.
    Had he heard? She doubted it. But he’d felt the energy vibrating and knew she’d received a response.
    Damn it, baby. Just fucking stay alive. Whatever it takes.
    Elle glanced at Sid. He held a syringe in his hand. She forced her body to relax, not wanting to go to his island unconscious. “You know about me.” She kept her voice even. Very calm.
    “That you are telepathic? Yes, of course. I felt it immediately.”
    “Well, at least I don’t have to try to explain that to you,” Elle said, spilling relief into her voice. “I hate hiding who I am from the world, but people think I’m crazy.”
    His fingers relaxed their hold on her, although she knew she’d have bruises. “You don’t ever have to hide from me Sheena. I’m very much like you are.”
    Elle studied his face. Stavros was just a little too okay with kidnapping her to be as clean as she’d first believed him.
    “We’ll talk at my home,” Stavros said, effectively stopping her questions.
    Elle remained silent, determined not to allow him to see that she was afraid. She let Sid help her from the yacht to the pier and then into the waiting car. The island was beautiful, lush and green under the late morning sun. She noted the way as they drove along the road up toward the villa.
    Once there, Elle turned gracefully on the rich leather seats of the chauffeur-driven car and extended her high-heeled foot out the door, allowing the slit along her glittering gown to slip open and reveal her shapely leg just for a brief flash as she exited the vehicle. Beside her, Stavros tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and guided her up the walkway to the enormous house that overlooked the sea. He stroked her fingers and she glanced up at him, sending him a faint smile before turning her attention to his masterpiece of a house.
    The structure was long and sprawling with multiple levels, nearly all of which appeared to have glass walls so the views could be seen from any direction. Since it was reachable only by small plane, helicopter or boat, the island afforded Stavros as much privacy as he wanted. She knew he was trying to impress her, that she had intrigued him, because