Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

goes away.”
    A brief flash of amusement slipped through his bad temper. “Sure it does. If I tell you to quit worrying about something, it’s because I have it handled.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Really, Jake? Sometimes you make me want to be a twelve-year-old and stick my finger down my throat to gag myself. Do you honestly think you can order me not to worry and I’ll just stop?”
    “Sure. Have you ever known me not to handle a problem, especially one you were worried about?” He shrugged his shoulders.
    Emma planted her hands on the counter behind her and lifted herself up to sit. He did take care of any problem. Even if she mentioned it casually, he immediately fixed the least little thing. He did it so smoothly she often didn’t even notice. “This isn’t that kind of thing.”
    “All right. Spit it out.”
    Now that she had his attention, she wished she’d let him divert the conversation. She tried to choose each word carefully. “I’ve just been thinking about the future. I’ve been drifting along without any real plan. It’s so comfortable here and I’m not really looking forward to leaving.”
    Something dangerous crossed his face and she paused. He had gone very still, his lids dropping so that he’d narrowed his gaze. His eyes had gone completely golden, slipping into the absolute, single-minded concentration that she found unnerving.
    “Andraya and Kyle are as close as blood siblings. They love each other and they love both of us. If you found someone you wanted—”
    “Emma, this is such bullshit. You aren’t going anywhere. And I’m not finding anyone else.” He waved his hand dismissively.
    “We have to think about it. We do, Jake, whether you want to face it or not. The longer the children are together, the harder it’s going to be to break them up. The thought of losing Kyle is already more than I can bear.”
    “You’re not losing him because you aren’t leaving. What the hell has Susan Hindman been saying to you that’s gotten you all upset?”
    “It isn’t Susan, Jake. You’re legally Andraya’s father. I’m not Kyle’s mother. If something happened, I’d be the one to lose out, possibly on both of them.”
    He was on his feet, tall, enormously strong, towering over her, looking suddenly ruthless and a little cruel. Temper was riding him hard. “Okay, now you’re just pissing me off on purpose. What the fuck does that mean, Emma? Tell me what you mean by that.”
    She held out a hand to ward him off, but he kept coming, wedging his hips between her legs and catching both of her upper arms to give her a little shake. His fingers dug deep. His eyes looked like glittering jewels, hot and angry, his body giving off a blazing heat.
    “You’re the one who’s always telling me to think about the future instead of the past. It’s not like we can stay here like this forever. And then what happens to me? Don’t pretend you wouldn’t demand your rights to visit with Andraya.”
    Without visibly moving, his hand snaked out, hard fingers spanning her throat, allowing her to feel his immense strength. His thumb tipped her chin up so she was forced to look up at him. He was enormously strong, and it showed in his well-defined, rippling muscles and the powerful grip of his hands.
    “You aren’t leaving me,” he growled very softly. His gaze dropped to her trembling mouth and he made an effort to soften his voice. “If you’re so damned worried about your rights, let’s get John here tonight, now, and have him draw up adoption papers. You never brought it up, so I just assumed you knew you were his mother and that was the end of it. But if you need the legality of a formal adoption, then just do it.”
    “You still have the advantage, Jake. You know every judge.”
    A muscle ticked along his jaw. For a moment her heart nearly stopped. He looked more like a leopard than a man, a predator about to leap on and devour prey.
    “If you fucking want to get married, just say so and we’ll get it done along with the adoption. Whatever it takes to stop this bullshit about leaving. As my wife you’ll have the same playing field and I can pretty much guarantee that judges will like you better than they will me. And don’t give me crap about me finding someone else. If I was going to find someone, I would have already done it. For Christ’s sake, Emma.”
    “Well, what if I find someone else?”
    “How are you going to do that, locked in this house with two kids and