She didn’t flinch or pull away as he half expected her to do. She had to be a little sore. There was blood and semen on her thighs, evidence of her first time, and she’d been incredibly tight. He was a large man and he’d felt the stretching of her body.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Saria, I tried to be gentle.” He had been so close to the edge of his control, a shocking first for him.

“Silly man. You didn’t hurt me.” She glanced down at the steaming water. “You aren’t plannin’ on throwin’ me in there, are you?”

“Not this time,” he admitted. He lowered her feet first until she was standing. “It’s going to feel good, honey.”

“So would sleep. And while I’m sittin’ in here, you can entertain me. You aren’t sleepin’ while I’m takin’ a bath.” Saria sank down into the hot water and sighed with pleasure. “You’re right, it does feel good. You really are incredible, you know.”

“I wish, honey, but the sad truth is, I’m selfish. I want to wake you up tomorrow morning or maybe an hour or two from now.” Drake laughed and nudged her legs over. “I’m coming in with you.”

She leaned her head back against the porcelain. “I’ll probably drown, or we’ll soak the floor, but I’m fine with that. This is very relaxin’. Maybe I can sleep right here.”

He placed her feet in his lap and began a slow massage under water. “Go ahead, Saria, I’ll carry you back to bed.”

“Tell me where you grew up,” she encouraged, opening her eyes to look at him through her long lashes. “I think you would have made an interestin’ child.”

“I come from a lair in the Borneo rain forest. Children there are pretty much taken care of by everyone. We run free and have no idea we’re learning skills that will come in handy later on in life. Survival, hunting, basically, all the things you learned here.”

“School?” she asked.

“Mandatory. We have teachers in our villages and then later we are required to go to outside schools. We’re encouraged to travel to other lairs in search of true mates. That keeps our lair strong as well as the others.”

She frowned, sitting up a little straighter. Her breasts floated temptingly and Drake stroked one creamy swell to the darkened tip. Her nipple hardened under his touch.

“Is that what we should have done? All of the children when they grow up, search out other lairs?”

“Of course. Bloodlines get weak or they marry outside the lair and produce children with leopards who are unable to shift.”

Drake knew he sounded distracted, but she had beautiful breasts. He leaned forward, cupping the slight weight on one palm and drew her nipple into his mouth. His cock jerked, and a warm, pleasant feeling of exquisite happiness filled him. This, then, was how it should be. He knew the terrible craving for her would rise, an urgent, almost brutal need, but there was this—comfortable—right—relaxed contentment.

She ran her fingers through his hair. “I love the way you look at me, Drake.”

“Good, because I love looking at you.”

“You make me feel beautiful.”

“You are beautiful.”

She made a small derisive sound in the back of her throat. “My mouth and eyes are too big for my face. And I’m sort of . . .” She looked down at her body and made a face. “Curvy.”

His thumbs slid over her nipples, sending a shiver through her body. “You’re so responsive—and I love your curves.”

She wiggled her toes. “I rather like that foot massage you had goin’ . If you’re gettin’ all hot and bothered again, I’m sleepin’ through it this time.”

“Clearly I’m going to have to improve my skills.” He took her foot back in his hands. She looked exhausted—happy—but exhausted.

“I don’t think improvin’ your skills is a good idea. You’ll kill us both.” She closed her eyes, a small smile tugging at her mouth.

He didn’t want her to fall asleep in the tub, but the water was still hot and he wanted her to soak a few more minutes. “Would you mind filling me in on some of the families? The shifters, those who are part of the lair. I need to know what they’re like.”

She opened her eyes enough to peek at him. “Like who? I didn’t know anyone other than my brothers were shifters. I didn’t even know the Lafont family had shifter blood in them. As secrets go, they’ve all been good at keepin’ them.”

“There’s one family that leases from Jake and no one has mentioned them,” Drake said. “Can you tell me a little about them? The last name is Pinet. No one has mentioned them at all and that makes me wonder. I need a complete list of suspects.”

Saria made a derisive sound in her throat. “You can cross them off your list of suspects. They have a big family, very close and lots of fun. Good people. Mr. Pinet was there when you fought Amos for leadership.”

“I didn’t fight him for leadership, I fought him for you.”

She shrugged with a litte smirk on her face. “Whatever. Mr. Pinet was there, but not his children. The three older boys, Charles, Leon and Philippe, are serving in the military, so they’re not even around here at the moment and they just aren’t like that. Mr. and Mrs. Pinet have a daughter, Sabine, who went off to college this year. And the two younger boys are still in high school.”