“You do know I’m perfectly capable of putting on my seat belt,” she said, mostly because his head rubbed against her breasts, sending sparks of electricity straight to her feminine channel.

“Of course I know,” Eli said. “But then I’d miss a golden opportunity.” His fingers deftly undid two of her buttons and his mouth closed over her breast, mostly because he couldn’t resist her, but also to see her reaction.

She gasped and her arms went around his head, cradling him. That was all his Cat, not her leopard. She didn’t realize that she should have pushed him away. Been angry as all hell. She shouldn’t have been cradling his head to her while his mouth suckled her breast and his tongue pulled at her nipple. He used the edge of his teeth and felt her shiver. Perfect. She was born for him. If he had any doubts, which he didn’t, this would have proven his point. She belonged to him.

Reluctantly he lifted his head and brushed a kiss across her mouth before closing her door firmly. She looked a little dazed, a look he’d come to know and would forever want to see on her face. She was beautiful, his Cat, and she didn’t have a clue.

Her fingers went to the two buttons he’d slid open when he got behind the wheel. “Leave it, baby. I like to look at you.”

Again, she should have told him to go to hell and slapped his face, but instead, her hands dropped to her lap, her fingers twisting together. His shirt on her was open nearly to her belly button. He could see the curve of both breasts and the darker nipple of one.

“Fucking beautiful,” he whispered as he started the truck. And it wasn’t all about her looks, although she was beautiful. She suited him. She didn’t keep her body from him even though she wasn’t certain of them together. He hadn’t thought it was possible to find a woman who would take him as he was.

He reached over and captured her hand, bringing it to his thigh. He held it there, needing the closeness, wanting her to understand it wasn’t just about sex with her. He knew he made it seem like that, but truthfully, everything about her appealed to him and it had from the moment he’d laid eyes on her.

A man could go his entire life waiting to find that perfect someone – most gave up and settled. He wasn’t settling. She was the one. He’d known it instinctively, even before he knew she was leopard. Now he was absolutely certain. He was also certain, if he was Rafe Cordeau, he wouldn’t give her up. He would be hunting her. Cordeau was coming. Sooner or later he would find her, but she wouldn’t be defenseless anymore. Eli planned to teach her leopard how to fight just as he was teaching the woman. And Cordeau would have to go through him and his leopard to get to Catarina.

They drove along a narrow road toward the center of the property. He wanted her to see how beautiful the land was. It was important to him that she liked it. It would be her home and her leopard would want to run free here. Once she relaxed, her gaze was on the window and he was fairly certain she liked what she saw.

“This is good, baby,” he said softly, bringing the truck to a halt. He kept possession of her hand, bringing it up to the warmth of his mouth. “I don’t want you to be afraid. We’ll open the door…”

She shook her head. “I want to be outside. With the leopard.”

That surprised him. Clearly she was afraid. He studied her face. “Kitten, there’s no need to prove anything to me.”

She lifted her chin. “You asked me to trust you, Eli. I’m going to stand outside with a leopard, and if it attacks me I’ll know you’re full of shit.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “That isn’t even logical. A leopard can kill in seconds. You know that. Why would you put yourself in jeopardy like that just to see whether or not I’m telling you the truth?”

She didn’t answer him. In fact, her gaze slid away from his. His heart stuttered in his chest and he swore under his breath. She thought she was risking her life, and if he wasn’t telling her the truth, it didn’t matter to her. She had nowhere to go, and after the sex they’d shared, she knew she wouldn’t be sharing that with Cordeau. She’d rather be dead. He hooked his hand around the back of her head and pulled her in close to him.

“I’m telling you the truth, Cat, but your thinking is totally fucked up. You know that, don’t you? There’s always a way out.”

“Not with Rafe there isn’t. Let’s just do this, Eli, before I vomit all over the seat.”

He leaned close and kissed her. She tasted as sweet as ever. She wasn’t going to puke but she was scared, he could feel her body tremble. “We’ll do this then, baby, and you’ll see that it’s all going to be all right.”

10

ELI let his hands slide away from Catarina and, curiously, he felt the loss. She made him laugh more than anyone he’d ever met. She cooked for him. When he got in her space and put his mouth on her breast, she cradled his head to her. He loved the shy hesitation in her eyes and the way she was so honest about wanting to please him. He detested that he’d ever made her doubt him.

Eli yanked open her door. She already had the seat belt off. She hadn’t done up the buttons, leaving them just as he asked. His heart stuttered again. Who had a woman like this one? His hands spanned her waist and he lifted her out of the seat to carry her around to the bed of the truck.

“Take my shirt off, Cat,” he instructed. “A leopard has to stash clothes around the property just in case. I have to be naked to shift.”