Rachael gasped as she felt him swell with victory, with the sheer pleasure of their joining, and she tightened her muscles around him, carrying them both over the edge. His voice blended with hers, a cry of joy in the darkness. They clung to one another, both reluctant to let go of the other.

A small flurry of leaves and a shower of orchid petals rained down from a branch above them and Franz tumbled onto the verandah at their feet. They jumped apart, Rio alert and ready, pressing her body against the rail in an effort to protect her. The bundle of fur rolled, bouncing off Rio’s calves. The small, clouded leopard dug paws into the floor and raked his hooked claws sharply over the wood.

“I looked for claw marks in the trees,” Rachael said, bending down to burrow her fingers in the small cat’s fur. “But I never saw any. Why do you rake claws in the house?”

“It’s more than marking territory. It’s the sharpening and disposing of old sheaths. It’s actually necessar y, but we’ve been taught not to mark our passing in the forest because it draws poachers. Let them think we’re gone, no longer here, and hopefully they’ll stop shooting us. We choose to sharpen and mark indoors where we won’t be discovered.” He grinned at her, looking suddenly boyish. “Fritz and Franz learned from me.”

“That’s right, you’re the mommy figure.”

“Hey now.” He toed the cat rubbing along their legs with his bare foot. “He’s lonely for Fritz. They normally go everywhere together. I was hoping they’d find mates and bring me back a kitten or two, but they don’t seem interested.”

“Your life is much more exciting,” she pointed out. “They get to brag to all the other little cats about their adventures.”

They curled up on the small sofa in each other’s arms, on the verandah, passing the night away, listening to the endless rain. Watching the white mist curl around them until it felt as though they were high up in the clouds. Rio held her in his ar ms. “I do love you, Rachael. You brought something into my life I never want to do without.”

She rested her head on his chest. “I feel the same way.”

Franz jumped up onto the couch, nosing the two of them, doing his best to burrow between their bodies. Rio growled at the leopard. “You’re heavy, Franz, get down. You don’t need to be up here.”

Rachael laughed. Rio hadn’t pushed the leopard off, instead, he wrapped his arm around the small cat’s neck. Almost at once, Fritz hobbled out onto the deck, yowled softly and rubbed back and forth against their legs.

“Someone’s a little jealous,” Rachael pointed out and moved as close as she could to Rio to give the cat room to get up with them.

“Don’t encourage the little demon. Don’t you remember he’s the one that took a chunk out of your leg?” Rio groused.

“Poor little thing, he’s just lonely and he doesn’t feel very good.” She helped the cat up so he was lying partially across her lap. “If we had a houseful of children, they’d be all over us too.”

Rio groaned and shifted until he found a comfortable position. “I don’t want to think about it right now. Go to sleep.”

“We’re going to sleep out here?” The idea pleased her. The wind rustled the leaves of the trees so that they fluttered gracefully around them.

“For a little while.” Rio kissed the top of her bent head, content to hold her, to sit on his porch with Rachael and the leopards close to him and the rain falling softly in the background lulling them to sleep.

He woke close to dawn, jerking awake, his mind and senses instantly alert. Somewhere, deep in the forest, a nightjar screamed. A deer barked. A chorus of gibbons gave a full-throated warning. He closed his eyes for just a moment, savoring waking up with her next to him, with the small cats cuddled close.

He hated to disturb her, hated to try to prepare her for the next crisis. There always seemed to be one and Rachael had gone through enough already. He wanted to protect her, make her life smooth and happy.

Regret in every line of his body, he did what he had to do. “Wake up,sestrilla. ” He kissed her face, her eyelashes, the corners of her mouth. “The neighbors are getting noisy on us.”

Rachael listened for a moment then wrapped her arms tightly around Rio’s neck. “He’s here.” There was sheer terror in her voice.

Rio inhaled deeply. He swept back her hair, his touch lingering against her skin. “It isn’t your brother.”

His tone was grim. He signaled the small leopard off the sofa.

“Then who?”

“Someone they know. Someone familiar to them. One of my people, yet one who doesn’t travel in my realm. Not one of my unit.”

Rachael reluctantly unfolded her body, stood on her own, yawning sleepily. She let her breath out slowly. “How far away?”

“A few minutes.” His hand slipped over her face. She felt it tremble.

Rachael caught his hand and held it to her breast, over her heart. “We’re in this together, Rio. Tell me what to do.”

“We’re going into the house and see to your leg. You’re favoring it and I see it’s swollen again from overuse. Then we’ll dress and straighten up our home and wait to see what he wants.” He reached past her to open the door courteously.

“Then you know who it is.”

He inhaled again. “Yes, I know him. It is Peter Delgrotto. He is of the high council. And his word is law to our people.”