Leopard's Prey

tension.
    “Come on,
chere
, before I make an ass out of myself,” he whispered against her ear. “You’ve done your job and gotten Lefevre through it. Let the gallery owners do the rest. Come home with me.”
    She lifted her head and nodded, completely dazzled by him, completely bewitched by him. She would always want to be with Remy, anytime, anywhere. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her off the dance floor. She kept her eyes down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, uncaring if they called her rude or haughty. She just wanted to go home.
    “Is this his latest sculpture?” Remy asked.
    Bijou blinked rapidly, trying to come out from under his spell and find her voice. She took a quick look around. He had halted to avoid running into a large group of people who clearly had cameras ready and wanted to ask for a picture with her.
    Remy shifted his body to put himself between her and the group. Bijou deliberately stared down at the sculpture with a look of enchantment and admiration on her face. She didn’t even have to work too hard to come up with the expression. She did admire and respect Arnaud’s work.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? He calls it ‘Giving Back,’ and for him it’s about life-forms returning to the Earth and once again becomin’ a part of it. Sort of his take on the universe and how it all works and how we’re all tied together in one form or another,” she explained.
    Remy moved around the sculpture just as she had. The gallery lights had been positioned in such a way that no matter where one stood, the focus was on Arnaud’s piece. “I’ll bet this carries a hefty price tag,” he murmured as he studied the images in the fall.
    “Hundreds of thousands,” she admitted.
    Remy shook his head. “You travel in some pretty expensive worlds, Blue.”
    She touched his face. “I
live
in your world. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”
    He caught her hand and tugged her closer. “Will you be happy with me, Bijou? Over time, as we get older and our life settles down, will that be enough?”
    For the first time he didn’t sound as confident as he always seemed. “Yes. I’ll be happy with a quiet life, but I seriously doubt that’s goin’ to happen for a very long time.”
    His cocky grin emerged. “I plan on keepin’ you pregnant, surrounded by seven boys, all as difficult as I am.”
    “Thanks.” She risked a look under his arm at the group of hopefuls waiting by the door. “They’re not going to give up, Remy. You want to go out the back? We’re not supposed to, but I don’ think the owner will mind. I know the way; I’ve been in the back with Arnaud a few times and I did happen to notice this dark closet that seemed just the right size . . .”
    He groaned. “Don’t tell me that.”
    He took her hand, turned her and they fled through the back, winding between the shelves and cupboard and tables to the back door laughing like two small guilty children. He pulled her out into the night and caught her by the nape of the neck, kissing her over and over.
    “Get into my car fast or we’re not going to have that long slow session of making love I promised,” Remy advised.
    She laughed softly, in no way intimidated. “That’s not much of a threat, Remy,” she told him, hiking up the hem of her gown with one hand and hurrying as fast as she could in her high heels. “I happen to know you have stamina. I can have my cake and eat it too.”
    He yanked open the car door for her. “What does that mean?”
    His voice had dropped an octave, making her shiver with anticipation. She waited until he’d come around to the driver’s side and had started the car.
    “It means I’m good at removin’ my clothes in your car, and I think we can make it as far as the bayou road before I start removin’
your
clothes. If you don’ want to drive
into
the bayou, and I don’t recommend it having been there once myself, I think you’ll pull over. We can do slow and easy when we get home.”
    He let out his breath and drove as fast as he could without putting them in danger. She reached under her arm and unzipped the gown slowly. He glanced sideways and caught the sight of the side of her breast. She slipped the long sleeves off her arms. The last traffic light before they left the city went red. Bijou held her gown over the tops of her breasts.
    “You know Gage is goin’ to stop us one of these days and find you completely naked.”
    The light changed and