Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

brothers. They had obviously quickened their pace to catch up.
    Beside her, Drake reacted so subtly she couldn’t put her finger on what he did, but the air charged with tension and he seemed at once dangerous, not at all the easygoing man he first appeared. His gaze settled on the two men and didn’t waver. She felt the difference, felt him coiling in readiness, and suddenly she wasn’t so certain anyone was safe with Donovan. His eyes glittered with menace and he very gently but firmly lifted her by the waist and put her behind him, facing the two brothers alone.
    Dion and Robert were nearly as bad, splitting apart to come at Drake from either side, looking like professional fighters instead of the amiable men she knew them to be. She was fast losing control of the situation, the tension filling the air so thick it could be cut with a knife.
    “These are my neighbors,” she reiterated. “My friends. ” She curled her fingers around Drake’s biceps as if that might hold hi back. His body was warm, no, hot. She felt the ripple of muscle beneath his skin and an answering heat pulsed between her legs.
    Drake hesitated, and then, to her relief, she saw him flash a brief smile. His eyes were as focused and she noticed that his body still shielded hers, but some of the tension in him eased. Not tension, she corrected herself—the Lanoux brothers generated that—but certainly Drake was coiled and ready should an attack come.
    “Dion.” Saria projected more friendliness than usual into her voice. “How are you? What are you doin’ in town?”
    “I could ask the same question of you, cher ,” Dion greeted, stopping just a short distance from them, his gaze running over Donovan, sizing him up. Apparently whatever he saw, he didn’t like, because there was no friendliness whatsoever.
    “I’ve got a guide gig.” She willed Dion to understand it was lucrative and he’d better not blow it for her. “Drake, this is Dion Lanoux and his brother, Robert. They’re close neighbors. Dion, Robert, this is Drake Donovan. I’m going to show him around the swamp and bayou.”
    “Really?” Robert’s eyebrow shot up. “Why?”
    “Robert!” Saria was appalled. “Mind your own business.”
    “You don’ mind, Donovan, but I need to speak with Saria a moment,” Dion said smoothly, and held out his hand to Saria.
    She felt a sudden surge of power running beneath Drake’s skin. Her eyes jumped to his face. He was looking at Dion, not Robert, and there was something very deadly in his expression. “Saria.” His voice was very soft. “If you’re afraid of them, you don’t have to go with them.”
    He knew. She had thought she’d been so clever and careful. She’d hidden terror from her own brothers, from her neighbors, and yet this total stranger within minutes of meeting her, knew. She forced a smile, a little impressed that he was obviously willing to fight off both brothers on her behalf. “No, even though they clearly have forgotten their manners, they’re friends.” Maybe if she said it enough times, both sides would stop posturing and play nice.
    Ignoring Dion’s hand, she stepped around Drake, or nearly did. He shifted his weight slightly, cutting her off. His fingers just barely trailed down her arm to her wrist, settling with infinite gentleness. “You’re absolutely certain, Saria? I assure you, there’s no need to protect me.” He gave her a faint grin.
    Her heart nearly stopped and then began pounding. He was so gorgeous. And the way he touched her, feather-light—she felt it all the way to her bones. Heat rushed through her veins and she swallowed hard, trying not to give in to sheer physical attraction.
    “You’re wrong about that,” Dion said, glaring at the sight of Drake’s fingers loosely forming a bracelet around Saria’s wrist.
    She followed his annoyed gaze and had to fight to keep from blushing as she pulled away and very firmly stepped around Drake. “You could have used the phone, Dion,” she said, “if it was so necessary to get in touch with me.” She walked ahead of him, but stopped where she could keep an eye on Drake and Robert. If the twins had planned some underhanded sneak attack on her customer, she was going to let them know once and for all that she could take care of her own.
    “Do your brothers know what you’re doin’?” Dion hissed between clenched teeth. “That man is dangerous, Saria. You’re in over your head.”
    She tapped her fingers on her