She frowned at him. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

His hands framed her face. “No. Of course not. I just want you to be very sure of the reality of loving me. It won’t always be wonderful.”

“Like finding dead bodies in a garden or having to kill someone?” Her voice cracked and she scowled at him. “I know exactly what I’m getting into, Conner. You haven’t exactly soft-soaped it. I met you while you were on an assignment, remember? That didn’t turn out so well for me. I’m not a princess caught in a fairy tale. I’m a real-life woman who has a brain and can figure out consequences.”

“Have you figured out what it will be like living with me? The man? The leopard?”

She reached back and touched the bite mark on her shoulder with trembling fingers. “That’s one thing I do know. You’re not a mystery there, Conner. You like your way when it comes to sex.”

“In all things.”

She laughed at him. Amusement sparkled in her eyes. “Really? In all things? I don’t think so. I think you care about what I want, what makes me happy. Even in sex, you want me thinking of your pleasure, but while I am, you’re thinking of mine. You don’t see yourself nearly as well as I see you.”

“I know I love you, Isabeau, with every breath in my body, and I wouldn’t survive you leaving me. I had an endless fucking year without you, and I never want to go through that again.”

Isabeau smiled and leaned into him, her tongue sliding over his shaft. She took her time, lapping at him lovingly, while his hands settled in her hair and stroked caresses. She was answering him in a way no other woman would think to do and his heart nearly burst with love for her.

She took her time, making certain that he heard her—that he knew exactly what she was saying—shouting—in silence to him. She was aware of every shiver of his body, every tiny nuance, as she took care of him, bringing him back to his semi-hard state. She sank back and smiled up at him. “I’m going to go clean up and fall into bed and sleep for hours. Do not wake me up.”

He knew he would. And he knew she knew it. Her smile was like the cat that ate the canary. She knew exactly what she did to him with that mouth of hers. With the way she loved him. He watched her walk away, and for the first time, she seemed comfortable with her nudity in front of him, her hips swaying provocatively, enticingly.

“Little minx,” he whispered and lay back on the bed, lacing his fingers behind his neck, satisfaction humming through his veins. She made him feel on top of the world. She made him feel—magic.

He contemplated the ceiling, his body languid and sated, stretching like the cat that he was. She came back into the room, her body fluid and graceful, very feminine, and both he and his leopard admired her as she crossed to his side and sank down onto the bed.

Conner lay on his side, one elbow propping him up while his other hand stroked caresses through her wild mane. She was right about her hair. The strands had dried into a riot of curls he found intriguing. She usually wore her hair sleeker, hiding her untamed look. He liked her wild side.

“I’ve been thinking, Isabeau,” he murmured, watching the moonlight play across her face. “Neither of us have family anymore.”

“You have a brother.”

It was an unexpected body blow. “I do. I didn’t think about that aspect—of what I’d be asking of you.”

Her lashes veiled her eyes. “And what would that be?”

“Well, of course I have to take the boy in. Raise him myself. He’s only five years old. If you were with me, I’d be asking you to be a mother to him.”

She made a small sound, much like a sigh. “I’m way ahead of you, Einstein. Of course we’ll raise him, what else would we do? Your mother would haunt us forever if we didn’t. Besides, I’ve met him. He has your eyes and mop of hair. He’s a darling boy. Now go to sleep.”

He continued to play with her hair, watching her breathe. The long expanse of her skin looked soft and tempting in the moonlight. The ache in his groin was pleasant, not painful, and he rather enjoyed just lying there, his body spooning hers, his cock tight against the crack of her butt, his thighs pressed against hers. This would be his nights. Isabeau in his bed. He looked down at her breasts, the nipples soft and inviting. Someday a child of his would nestle there and feed and it would be the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Marry me, Isabeau.” His hand left her hair to cup her breast, his thumb brushing lazily back and forth across her nipple, knowing he was sending tiny sparks of arousal straight to her clit. He kept his touch gentle and undemanding.

She kept her eyes closed. “I already said I would. Now go to sleep.”

“Marry me tomorrow, Isabeau,” he whispered, his hand stilling, his palm curling around her breast to just hold the soft weight.

Her lashes lifted then. She blinked and turned her head enough to look over her shoulder at him. “Tomorrow?”

“I want you to be my wife. Neither of us has family—other than the boy. The team is our family. The doc could arrange it for us. My guess is this valley is made up of leopards. The doc would only settle where his expertise would help his own people. I want to know that you’re waiting for me at the other end of this thing.”

She rolled over slowly and pressed her hand to his face. “Conner. I love you. I know what you have to do to get those children back. And I know it makes you feel dirty and not worthy of me, but it makes you more so. Don’t you see that? You’re an extraordinary man to risk what we have for the safety of others. I meant what I said when I told you I stand behind you one hundred percent. You tell me what to do to help you and I’ll do it.”