Leopard 05 - Savage Nature

of courage added another string into his heart.
    Drake slipped one hand into all that silky hair, bunching it into his hands. “They won’t give you up easily, Saria. You have to know that. This is a small community. Every female is valuable. Amos Jeanmard sacrificed his own happiness for his people. I believe he is their leader, but he isn’t holding them together the way he once did. Sooner or later a younger leopard will challenge his right to leadership. If that happens before your leopard emerges, he could potentially change the rules on us. In any case, he will expect you to stay with your lair and mate with one of the males here to preserve the shifter lineage. Should a younger male challenge him, he may set the others on a course to reacquire you.”
    “And you’ll fight them all.”
    “I have experience they don’t. And my team will be joining us. They’re all experienced in battle.”
    “They’re my friends and family,” Saria pointed out.
    He brushed his lips gently over hers. “I’m a leader, Saria. We don’t ever sacrifice our own kind needlessly. I will do my best not to allow this to get out of hand, but they won’t take you from me.”
    She licked her bottom lip, betraying her nervousness. “I’ve never . . .” She trailed off. “You might be very disappointed.”
    His heart skipped a beat. “Never?”
    She shook her head. “Growin’ up here, everyone feels like a brother. I don’ feel anythin’ other than affection for them. No . . . fire.” Her gaze met his steadily. “Like with you.”
    He wao wrap her in his arms and comfort her. She was struggling to accept her leopard, the chemistry between them and her loyalty to her lair. She didn’t see her lair as her own yet, but he knew that was a huge part of her worry. He was a virtual stranger to her, one she had extraordinary chemistry with, one she instinctively trusted, but he didn’t make sense if she thought about it too much. She had accepted they would have sex, but she wasn’t allowing herself to think beyond that.
    “I won’t be disappointed, Saria. Many men have a selfish desire to know his woman is his alone. I’m no different.”
    She frowned. “And if I’d been experienced?”
    “I would have reaped the benefits. Either way, I win.” He brushed her mouth again. He loved the feel of her soft, full lips.
    “I don’ think there will be many benefits as it is. Although I think my leopard is a freakin’ hussy.”
    He laughed. “She’ll have no problems, but perhaps we’ll take it a little slower so the next time she pushes her way to the surface, you won’t be so shocked by her.”
    “Is there slower? Every time you touch me I feel as if I’m burnin’ up.”
    The honesty in her was astonishing. He found her perfect. Saria wasn’t shy or backward, and she would approach sex and passion as she did everything else.
    She burst out laughing, her fingers tightening on his shoulder. “You’re lookin’ at me as if I’m somethin’ very special. You have no idea what I’m like.”
    He flashed a quick grin. She didn’t know him either. “Isn’t that the fun part? Learning about one another? I already know to look before I step into a shower or bathtub in case you’ve given me a present.”
    “Fast learner,” she said and made her way back to the front of the boat.
    He couldn’t help but admire the way she moved in her snug-fitting jeans. She was very fluid. Her leopard had been close most of her life, without her awareness maybe, but her coordination was too good, her reflexes too fast. She’d craved the wildness and freedom of the swamp when most women would have rejected the humid, very dangerous environment. She’d thrived, living off the land and learning to avoid the dangers.
    Birds were everywhere, tall egrets walking gracefully along the shallower waters. Other smaller birds flitted from branch to branch. Each called, sang or scolded as they searched for food in the cool gray mist. The sun had begun to rise, turning the entire swamp into shades of gold and red muted by the dense fog.
    “This area starts the beginning of the Tregre lease,” Saria called to him. “They have nine thousand acres and you can see how wild it is. This is probably the thickest vegetation in the swamp. This section of the swamp was never clear-cut. The growth is original.”
    “Tell me about them.”
    She sent him a quick look and then turned her attention to navigating. “They’re one of the oldest