Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

anchored down. No one I recognized as a friend, but I’d seen him before, maybe in the French Quarter. I couldn’t place him, but his face was familiar. I knew I couldn’t just let it go, so I took a letter to the priest and asked him to get it to Bannaconni.”
    “So the bodies have turned up every couple of months. Could there be others?”
    “Of course. There’s a lot of water out there and alligators tend to eat anything they can find, especially if it’s rotting meat.”
    He tasted her soft skin, his tongue trailing over her shoulder, his lips following. He shifted position, keeping his hands on her shoulder as he partially shifted, allowing his leopard to emerge. He knew she would feel the sudden slide of thick fur against her skin, the hotter breath of the cat, but he was already sinking his teeth deep in the holding bite of the male leopard. He felt the female rise just below Saria’s skin.
    Saria cried out, throwing her head back, her body writhing beneath his, but his legs trapped her thighs, holding her down. Her breath was shocked, gasping, her body burning under his touch. His male lunged for the female. The moment he felt the female leopard’s acceptance, he shifted back, lapping at the punctures and pressing kisses along Saria’s shoulder. Breathing deep, he pressed his forehead against the back of her neck.
    “It’s done, honey. Your female will accept my male.” There was no way she couldn’t feel the urgent need of his body. He was pressed tightly against her, but he stayed very still, breathing away the lust that had risen sharp and fast and all too raw. He waited for her tears, for the recrimination he was certain would come. He refused to move from her, holding her close, trying to comfort her, when he knew he must have scared the hell out of her.
    She l beneath him, breathing hard, trying to still her hips as she pushed back against him, her breathing ragged. “Why was that so erotic when you did it?”
    He closed his eyes and breathed a silent prayer of thanks. Very carefully he eased his body off hers, retaining his hold so he could roll her over against his side, wanting to see her face. She looked up at him with an enormous, wide-eyed stare. Her eyes were nearly all gold, and she looked a little dazed. Her mouth was parted and she was panting a little. She looked as if she’d just been made love to.
    “I don’ understand what you do to me.”
    “Whatever it is, Saria,” he said softly, leaning down to brush a gentle kiss over her mouth, “I’m grateful. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
    “I felt her. She leapt toward you.” There was wonder in her voice.
    Drake brushed the silky tendrils of hair falling over her forehead back from her face. “You’re really beautiful, do you know that?”
    “No, I’m not. My mouth is too wide and my eyes are too big for my face. But thanks, you actually make me feel beautiful and I’ve never felt that before.”
    His heart did that strange stuttering. She was so candid with him. The leopard in him appreciated that she didn’t lie about her feelings. She might be struggling to understand, but she wasn’t hiding from the intense, almost violent attraction between them. He’d seen intense physical attraction between other leopards and he’d certainly felt his leopard’s reaction to women in the throes of the Han Vol Dan, but even he hadn’t been prepared for the brutal needs that seemed to consume them both.
    “You’re amazing in that you’re not running as fast as you can from me. I couldn’t blame you if you did.”
    She flashed a smile and sat up. “I think whatever this is that’s happenin’ to me, I’d be takin’ with me. I can’t exactly run from myself, now can I? In a way, I feel a little sorry for you. You’re sort of stuck with me, aren’t you?”
    He linked his fingers behind his head. She had no idea—yet—what or who she’d tied herself to, but he was going to make certain she didn’t regret her decision. He smiled at her. “I don’t think you need to worry about me, honey. I’m a big boy.”
    “Will the other male leopards be able to scent you on me?”
    “Yes. Including your brothers.”
    She made a face. “Ouch. They’ll have a few choice words to say to me—or you.” She sent him a tentative smile.
    “They can say whatever they want to me, but they’d better be very careful what they say to you.” His leopard growled low and mean. He knew his eyes had gone all cat. Possession edged