Sonia didn't like it. "Have you told Bastien? He might be flirty, but he's a good cop. You can see it in his eyes. He watches everything and everyone. I think that flirty, arrogant crap is a facade he wants everyone to believe."
Molly shrugged. "Maybe. In any case, I've been here awhile now. I told you what I'm running from. Are you going to tell me your story?"
Sonia pushed the empty coffee mug away. "My story is I owe Jerry a lot, and he needs me to go get an estimate on a really big job. We need it, and I'm going to land it for us." She saw the hurt in Molly's eyes and had to do something. "But I meant it when I said I wanted you to come out and look at my yard. I could use the input."
"Name a good time."
"Come tonight around seven. I should be off work by then, and I'll have dinner made. Anything you don't like?"
"I'm a total foodie."
"You look like a model. I wasn't certain you actually ate food."
Molly pushed back her blond hair. "I can put away an entire large pizza when I'm having a pity party."
Sonia made a face. "Girlfriend, any woman worth her salt can do that."
"And a tub of ice cream."
Sonia grinned at her. "Now that impresses me." She left the money for her coffee and a tip for the waitress. Women had to stick together, especially those working their way through the world on their own.
"It should, I was making it up."
Sonia found herself laughing, and it was the first time in a very long time. "I should have known. You have such a perfect figure."
"Um, Sonia? This isn't called a figure. I'm thin. You have a figure. I try, but I've never been able to put on weight easily. This sounds so stupid, and I never say it as a rule, but I just can't eat calories fast enough without my body burning them up."
"You try to put on weight?"
"All the time."
Sonia laughed again. "That's crazy. I'm always trying to lose. I guess we're typical women, Molly. We want what we don't have."
3
SONIA drove up to the Tregre plantation house slowly. It was several miles up the road from hers, deeper into the swamp and bordering the river as well. There was a high wrought iron fence, very ornate, surrounding the front of the property. A booth sat between the side of the lane going in and the one leading out. It looked like a guard booth, but no one was in it.
She drove her truck through the open gates and nearly stopped dead in the middle of the road. Even from a distance, the house was one of beauty and elegance from an era gone by. She thought her home was gorgeous, but this one was even more so. Clearly both had been built by the same architect. He'd been brilliant, using cypress, which didn't rot or get bug infestations as easily as most other woods. She could see that both the upper and lower stories of the house had long, wraparound balconies just as her home did.
Her truck moved slowly up the winding drive. The grounds were being manicured. There was activity everywhere around the outside of the house that she could see. Gardeners weeded flower beds and trimmed unruly bushes. Emerald leaves fluttered in the wind. The trees were thick and sturdy, trunks wide and branches curved, deliberately shaped. She slipped from her truck and took the path leading to the side of the house so she could peer into the side yard at the trees, making a mental note to tell the new owner about Molly's expertise in the gardening and landscaping world.
This was a leopard's paradise. Had Rafe Cordeau been a shifter? No, more than likely, the family that had owned the plantation all those years ago, when the trees had been planted and the branches forced to grow a certain way to create a highway flowing from tree to tree, had been shifters. Gatita would love this. Sonia was in the middle of creating just such a play yard for her leopard.
Feeling eyes on her, she took a careful look around and slowly lifted her chin so she could sniff the air. Her long hair and the hair on her body acted like a leopard's whiskers, sending out sonar and receiving information back. Her hair allowed her to feel slight vibrations in the air currents as they changed. She also could detect, even in the dark, just how close she was to anything or anyone.
Her sense of smell was good and gave her the information that aside from the gardeners, there were three men close by. She couldn't see them, and her eyesight was beyond excellent. She didn't like that the men could hide their presence from her. It was unusual, and anything out of the ordinary bothered her. Still, she was moving around the house of a client--a man of wealth who had taken back kidnap victims from their assailants. He was a man who must have made enemies. If he had a few guards, who could blame him? There were so many different males around, it was difficult to sort out all the various scents. Several were familiar to her, but elusive as they all ran together.
Sonia moved back around to the front of the house, deliberately looking up at the structure, noting any signs of aging. The house had held up when so many others had rotted in the intensity of the humidity, heat, insect attacks and neglect. There were very few signs of insects or neglect. This house had been loved by those living in it. She liked that.
She went up the long, wide steps onto the porch. Like hers, this one was massive, covered and used by the occupants. She moved closer to one of the columns and touched the long rake mark made by a large cat. The mark was old. Even painting it would feel like taking away a piece of history. Most seeing that mark wouldn't realize it was made by a leopard. Most probably wouldn't notice it unless they were purchasing the house.
She used the old-fashioned doorbell. The sound was melodious, pealing through the house to get all the way to the back of it. At once a man opened the door for her. He was young, not more than thirty. He smiled at her. "Miss Lopez? I'm Evan. Mr. Tregre asked me to show you around. He's running a little late. I hope you don't mind."
She shook her head and moved into the huge spacious room that was the existing great room. The floors were nothing short of magnificent. All gleaming wood, spreading through the room like sunshine. Windows were abundant, almost from floor to ceiling, and the ceilings were high, just as they were in her home. The fireplace was stone, very, very unusual for that type of architecture. She thought her home had been unique in that feature.
"This is beautiful. I can see why he wants to keep it the way it was meant."
Evan nodded. "I'll take you to the kitchen first. There was a shootout there. A bomb went off just under the eaves outside in the back. It did a lot of damage. We thought we could repair it ourselves, but we had no idea the house was so old and required a gentler hand. I think we did more damage than repairs. We also discovered a problem with the plumbing. The electrical was brought up to date by the previous owner, but the plumbing is a problem."
She nodded. "That's not unexpected. A lot of these older homes are updated in some areas and not others."
Evan was pleasant, and he didn't flirt at all. She glanced at his left hand. No wedding ring. His gaze had moved over her from head to toe when he'd first opened the door, after that--nothing. None of the other men they came across flirted either. She'd never had that happen. Not ever. Two women were mopping the upstairs floors, and they smiled down at her. That was more notice than any of the men gave her. The rarity of that bothered her so much she was becoming uneasy. Evan didn't give off threat vibes. No one did. Still, the unusual was setting off alarms.
The house was larger than hers, and she followed Evan from room to room. He showed her every one other than the master bedroom, bath and office. Nothing else was off-limits. She noted all the damage she could see in each room. There were bullet holes in doors, and the master bedroom door had been replaced, but it wasn't authentic or even suitable to the period of the building.
The destruction outside where the blast had hit was considerable. In terms of repairing a beautiful historic antique such as the Tregre plantation home, the fact that a bomb had gone off and only the verandah on the top story and bottom, along with the side of the house and windows, had been damaged was a miracle.
She whistled softly and
touched the wood in awe. "This is amazing. Whoever planted that bomb knew what they were doing and directed the blast away from the house."
Evan's eyebrows went up. "You can tell that?"
She nodded. "I've worked with dynamite. The placement of this charge was very precise. Whoever planted it didn't want to injure the house."
"I agree." The voice came from behind her.
Sonia stiffened. She stared straight ahead. It wasn't just any voice. It was low, velvet smooth, carrying a hint of a command, and she would recognize it anywhere. It wouldn't matter how much time went by, she would always know that voice. His. Joshua's. She raised her gaze to meet Evan's eyes. That was the reason none of the men flirted with her. Joshua had told them not to. He was the ultimate alpha. Leopard. Shifter. Of course he owned this house.
They were standing on the terrace on the back side of the house, examining the damage. Evan faced her on the first stair just below her. She shook her head and deliberately stepped onto the step with him. "Thanks for showing me around," she said, taking the next step and then the last one. Her heart began to pound. She felt like the rabbit in the middle of a pack of predators. She didn't know about Evan, but Joshua was one. She didn't dare run, although every instinct told her to; she knew it would set off his prey drive.
"Stop right there, Sonia." It was a command, pure and simple.
She glanced over her shoulder and kept walking. In the daylight, he was something to see. The man was drop-dead gorgeous. It didn't matter that he was hotter than hell, that sex with him was off the charts or that she wore his mark all over her body and felt him inside her with every step she took. She was leaving. Leaving. If Jerry wanted the job, he could get someone else to do it. Not her.
She felt a disturbance in the air and then he was in front of her, blocking the way. She halted so she wouldn't run into him, but she refused to back up even one step. Leopards could leap long distances, and evidently so could their human counterparts.
"Get out of my way."
"You're angry."
"You used Jerry to get to me."
He shook his head slowly, his blue-green eyes every bit as piercing as his leopard's. "I am in need of a contractor. Everything I told Jerry was the absolute truth." He gestured toward the house. "It's beautiful and damaged. I want it restored, but with more modern conveniences. It was Jerry who said he had just the person to do it."
"You followed me home." Her voice vibrated with accusation.
"Of course I did. I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I didn't make certain you arrived home safely. I followed you every morning."
Sonia didn't know whether it was the fact that she'd told him not to and he'd done it anyway or that she hadn't detected him that bothered her most. "That wasn't cool."
"Maybe not, but you were safe. I like your home. It's a smaller version of this one. I looked it up to see if another family member had that house, but I couldn't find much on the family that had both houses built. They were secretive." His eyes told her he thought the family were shifters, and she agreed with that assumption. It made sense. The tree branches that deliberately formed a highway in the grove the family had planted throughout the acreage leading from the large mansion to her smaller one suggested shifters.
"I need someone to work on the house, Sonia," he reiterated. "I knew you worked for Jerry, but if he hadn't been the one recommended for this type of restoration, I wouldn't have chosen his company."
She tapped the notebook she'd been documenting the damage in against her thigh. "I don't like surprises, and you've given me quite a few."
"You're wearing my mark and my leopard's mark. Your female accepted him. You accepted me."
She looked around quickly, but Evan was gone and no one else appeared to be close. "For seven nights. That was it. Through her heat. Okay," she admitted when he continued to look at her. "Our heat. I was as bad as she was. I don't know about you, but I don't especially want anyone to know about my leopard. Rockets went off, you're that good, but I'm not looking for a relationship. I told you that."
"You told me you were mine."
"I was. For seven days," she insisted.
"Not going without you, baby," he said, stepping closer.
He took her breath, just like that, leaving her lungs burning and her heart aching. The way his voice went even lower, that note that caressed her skin like fingers, the intensity of his eyes--all of it got to her. When he stepped closer, she was once again surrounded by his scent, enveloped in him until she breathed him deep with every breath she took in. She didn't know how he did it, but he made her feel safe when she knew she wasn't. Especially not with him.
She couldn't have him. She wasn't going there. Seven nights of bliss, in the swamp, hidden from the world had to be enough for her. He was safe. She was safe. Gatita was safe. Safety would be gone if they stayed together beyond those days. She'd always treasure them, think of them, maybe even fixate on them, because the kind of sex he'd given her was addicting.
She shook her head. "Look, Joshua, I really, really had the best time with you a woman can possibly have, I'm not going to lie, but it can't possibly go beyond what we had."
He reached out slowly, as if she might bolt if he made the wrong move--which was entirely possible. Everything in her told her she was in fight-or-flight mode. She stayed frozen to the spot, unable to run, unable to draw her leopard out to fight him. She just stood there, allowing him to take possession of her just the way he had in the swamp.
His palm slid around the nape of her neck, and her heart thundered in her ears. His fingers curled around her neck, right over her pounding pulse. She felt the whisper of his warm breath as he bent his head toward hers, and then his mouth brushed lightly over hers. Her sex clenched hard. Her breath caught in her throat in absolute anticipation. He didn't disappoint.
Joshua's lips rubbed against hers like a cat, back and forth. His tongue traced the seam of her lips and then his teeth were there, tugging at her lower lip, biting down slowly, sinking deeper and deeper until, shocked at the stinging pain, she gasped and he was there, sweeping in, taking her over.
Rockets went off. Colors burst behind her eyes. His hands were in her hair, bunching, fisting, holding her still while he kissed her over and over. Long, drugging kisses that took every sane thought she'd ever had. Kisses that reduced her to incoherence. To confusion.
His kisses alone made it clear her body belonged to him. She forgot where she was. That it was broad daylight and they were out in the open. She would have done anything with him right then because she couldn't think straight. Only feel. He hadn't touched her body. He hadn't done one thing but kiss her, and she was already slick with need. That exquisite tension was already coiling tighter and tighter. Desire built until she was kissing him back, making her own demands, stepping closer, pressing into him to feel that hot, hungry length of him tight against her stomach.
"Baby"--he breathed the endearment--"we have to stop or I won't be able to."
He didn't step away from her but kept his body pressed tightly against hers. She had the feeling he was shielding her from too many interested eyes.
"Who are you, Joshua?" she whispered, because her voice refused to do more than that.
"You know who I am." He caught her chin. "I'm your man. Your mate. Are we done with the protests, or do I carry you upstairs and convince you a different way?"
"Your arrogance is annoying."
A small smile played around the edges of his mouth, capturing her heart. "I have reason to feel arrogant now that I've got you."
She shook her head. "You don't understand. I'm not in a position to have a man. Don't you think I'd say yes, if I could?"
That small smile was gone instantly. Her heart slammed hard in her chest and then accelerated alarmingly. That hot, gorgeous arrogance was gone, replaced by cool blue-green eyes. The green, turbulent, like a sea--just as cold--the blue like the deep of an iceberg. His features were a mask she couldn't read, all masculine and s
cary. He'd gone from warm and sexy to cold and dangerous in the blink of an eye.
She'd been around dangerous men before, but they were out of their league next to Joshua. She tried to take a step back, her hand going protectively to her throat. He caught her arm in a firm grip, looked around him and then started down the path leading under the canopy of trees, away from the house and anyone who might overhear them. She wasn't certain she wanted to be alone with him.
"You're scaring me." Honesty was the best policy. In any case, her leopard could always hear lies, and she presumed his leopard did the same for him.
"You should be scared," he snapped. "This is bullshit. You have a problem with someone, you need to tell me and tell me now."
"I don't know you," she reiterated, forcing her body to stay still when it was determined to tremble. She had Gatita, and that meant she could protect herself from him, at least long enough to get away. "I can't just blurt out personal problems when I just met you--if I had any," she hastily tacked on.
"You didn't just meet me, and you just confirmed you're in trouble. You're mine, Sonia, and I take care of what is mine. I know this is new to you, but you're a shifter. We live by different rules than the rest of the world. You should know that. You had to have been born into a lair."
She shook her head. "I don't even know what that is."
His gaze narrowed, more focused than ever, if that were possible. His eyes were back to crystal blue, all green gone. She could see the leopard staring at her.
"I want to leave. Right. Now. I want to leave." She could barely breathe.
"He isn't going to hurt you. That would be impossible for either of us to do," Joshua said. "I might be impatient or even angry with you at times, but I would never hurt you."
The ring of sincerity in his voice calmed her. He couldn't fake that. She took a deep breath and pulled him down into her lungs. He smelled of the outdoors. All masculine. "I don't know the first thing about shifters. I didn't know I was one until my leopard showed herself in an extreme circumstance." She chose her words very carefully.
"Extreme circumstance?" he repeated.
She nodded. "She saved my life." She didn't elaborate. "I came here because she needed a place to run. I needed a place for peace."