"The idea of more children, or Emma at risk?" Eli watched him closely. He wanted children. A lot of them. He'd always wanted a family, and he wanted that family with Catarina. It hadn't really occurred to him that a man might lose his wife in childbirth. Clearly Jake had faced that nightmare already with Emma.
"I love the idea of more children, but I wanted to use a surrogate. Emma wanted to carry them herself. Emma won, but I don't sleep so good at night right now. Sometimes I just lay there next to her and listen to her breathe." While Jake spoke, he was looking through the sliding glass door to his woman.
There was raw, naked love there for the world to see. Eli wondered if he got that same expression on his face when he looked at Catarina. He certainly felt it. He felt stripped bare, his soul exposed, naked and vulnerable and it wasn't a comfortable state of mind for a man like him. He realized that was when he felt the most aggressive. The most dominant toward Catarina.
Already he didn't like being too far from her, but he enjoyed watching as she bent to check something in the oven and the two women immediately went into a discussion about how the moisture from the mushroom roast flavored the potatoes as they were grilling in the natural juices. It was all Greek to him, but he loved the way Catarina's voice was soft and excited and happy.
Andraya, Jake's little girl, came running into the kitchen, clutching a little stuffed leopard. Both women immediately turned toward her, Catarina automatically closing the oven door and blocking it with her body as she crouched down to be face-to-face with the child. Eli found himself smiling. She didn't think she was good with children, but she'd instinctively protected the child and crouched low to greet her. Yeah, his woman was going to be great with their children.
"Drake told me that the shifters in the rain forest talk to their girls about their leopards and how it all works. They don't want them to be afraid, and they don't hide the men shifting from them. We've decided to do the same with our children. Andraya has already seen both of us shift and she shows no fear when either of our leopards enter a room with her. She knows not to ever talk about it with anyone else. So does Kyle."
"I think I have to agree with you on that," Eli said. "Not knowing what was going to happen to her and thinking her leopard would be a killer like Cordeau's made Cat fearful." He took another drink of his beer, still watching Catarina smiling and accepting the little stuffed leopard, her face animated as she conversed with the child. "She was so courageous. Made me proud of her."
Jake laughed. "Eli, seriously. You didn't have to tell me that. I can see it on your face. I know you think you need to thank me for the invite to dinner, but I owe you one. I'm watching Emma and she's really happy. She needs a friend, especially now. I'm worried the doctor will put her on bed rest. She doesn't like anyone else taking care of us. With your ranch right next to ours, the two of them can go back and forth and it will be especially good to have Catarina occupying her time."
"Cat loves books. You have an entire library. I've ordered a number of books to surprise her along with a desk and laptop. Joshua and Trey are setting it up for me while we're here," Eli said, knowing Jake would know exactly what his crew was doing. Still, he liked the idea of saying it aloud--his secret surprise for Catarina. "She'll love it, but when she sees your library, I figure I'll be adding on to my house in a big way."
Jake laughed. "I'll make it clear she can use it anytime she'd like. Emma paints. She's really good. The first time she did anything it was for my birthday present. She had the boys help her put together a studio in the barn and she painted there in secret. I was a bit of a jealous ass when I found out." He grinned at the memory. "That woman of mine has a temper. She doesn't let it fly often but when she does, she's unpredictable."
Eli accepted the cold beer Jake held out to him. "Mine's got one too. Didn't know that, but I have to say, I like it. She's got attitude, and it comes unexpectedly."
"I intimidate powerful men and other shifters," Jake lamented. "But not my wife. She rolls her eyes at me."
Eli smiled. "Catarina's not there yet. She's still finding out she doesn't have to hide who she is, but it's coming." He took a long pull on the beer, his eyes still on his woman, on the child and the way the two laughed together.
Catarina straightened abruptly and indicated that the child should move away from the stove. She picked up the heavier bowls and took them to the table, preventing Emma from lifting them. She did it smoothly, so Emma wouldn't notice. He glanced at Jake. Jake noticed.
"Your woman is observant," Jake mused.
"Yeah. She pays attention to detail."
"Do you think she paid attention to detail in Cordeau's house while she was growing up?"
"That's the crazy thing. As intelligent as I know she is, as resourceful, it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago when we ran into your crew at the fence line and we were talking with Elijah that I realized she probably knows everything about his business and the people he does business with. Before, under Cordeau's roof, she was off limits, and they all thought she was just an uneducated mouse. Now, they're most likely thinking she's a threat to them."
"She is a threat to them if she can name names and pinpoint who's dealing what. There's a trail, Eli. She might just be the key to that trail."
"I'm not using her to get Cordeau. I quit my job over that shit and it isn't happening again." There was a hard edge to his voice. He liked Jake, but he wasn't going to back down. He didn't have that in him. He'd protect Catarina even at the risk of his friendship with Jake and the other shifters.
Jake laughed. "You're too much like me. That's not what I meant. You're still thinking like a DEA agent. You have to think like a shifter."
"I'll kill Cordeau when he comes after Catarina. Won't lose any sleep over it and won't hesitate."
"I get that. Any of my boys or me would do the same. He's rogue. He's got to go. Probably have a couple of lieutenants that are rogue as well. We'll have to find out which ones. I'm a businessman. I go after wealth and businesses and take my enemies down that way. If your woman knows bank accounts and partners, if she knows the kinds of deals going down, Elijah, you and I can take Cordeau's empire apart bit by bit. The men he's in bed with won't see it coming and won't know what hit them until it's too late. They'll turn on one another. They always do when suddenly irrefutable evidence of their guilt is all over the papers and agents are on their doorsteps."
Jake leaned toward Eli, his eyes suddenly intent. Serious. Burning. "We hunt, Eli, just as you've done, but we do it our way. Join us. Let's start with Cordeau and his partners. You can sound Catarina out, see if she's comfortable helping. If she isn't, we'll still take them down. It will take a little longer, but we'll do it. You aren't going to sit on your ass in that ranch house, it will make you crazy."
"You offering me a job?"
Jake grinned and settled back. "As such. It's really Drake's operation. I'm the information man."
Eli knew Jake Bannaconni was far more than an information man. He was a wheeler and dealer. He was well known in business circles, and grown men cried when he turned his sights on them.
"I'll talk to Cat, but I'm not pressuring her. She has to make up her own mind. I promised her I'd never put her in that position and I intend to keep that promise."
Jake nodded and both men put down their beers when Emma opened the sliding glass door. Jake's gaze was on her face immediately.
She went right to him, leaned down and brushed a soft kiss across his mouth. "Dinner's ready. Cat fixed a couple of surprises. We exchanged recipes. I had so much fun." Her tone was honest and clearly she was conveying something to Jake.
Eli had the feeling she wanted him to take extra care with their guest. Jake was right when he said Emma was very astute. She had sensed how uncomfortable Catarina was and set about putting her at ease.
Eli rose and went straight to Catarina. Her gaze jumped to his as he stalked across the room to her, moving in close. Possessively. He hadn't been away from her for so long since he'd brought her to his ranch. His hand cupped her face, thumb sliding over her warm, satin skin.
"Missed you. Got used to having you right next to me."
She smiled at him and leaned into him. Giving him her closeness. Her fingers curled in the hair at the back of his neck and he was suddenly very glad that leopard's hair grew so much that most of the time his was a little too long. He liked feeling her fingers there.
"I'm having fun, Eli. Thank you for convincing me to come. Emma's . . . great."
"I want your mouth."
"We're not alone," she reminded softly, her gaze going from amazing blue to more blue violet.
"I want your mouth, and I don't give a damn who's around," he growled, just as softly.
Her mouth curved and she turned her face up to his. He was gentle, his lips brushing hers tenderly, his tongue teasing for just a moment before he pulled back, pleased with her. She gave him what he needed, in public or not. She let others know he was her man and that meant everything to him, although he was convinced he'd almost gotten the eye roll from her.
When he lifted his head, her eyes sparkled with happiness at him. "Can you believe this kitchen, Eli? The stove is like the best, although it's a commercial one. That convection oven is perfect. And a double oven? Love that." Her hand swept around the room. "Emma let me do some of the cooking and we sort of compared sauces and breads. Her breads are killer, but she'd never made beignets before. She has a killer fryer." The words tumbled out, nearly running into one another.
He found it interesting that she spoke in a low tone, as if sharing a secret with him. There was joy in her voice, and he knew Emma and Catarina had connected and bonded almost immediately. Both were lonely. Both took care of their men. Both were chained to dominant shifters. They understood one another. But she was still being careful, not wanting to be too loud about making a new friend.
"Emma cooks too?" he asked, inviting conversation. He wanted her to talk to him about Emma without being afraid.
He allowed his gaze to sweep the kitchen, noting the stove in particular and the pots and pans he'd overheard her saying she'd always wanted. He didn't really understand or give a damn why one skillet or pot would be better to cook in than another and he really didn't care, except that Catarina did--and that made it important. He didn't ever want to pass up anything important to her.
"She's a really good cook. And she bakes too. A lot of people love to do one or the other, but like me, she enjoys both. She has some great recipes. We cook different things, because I'm from New Orleans and she's from the west, but the more we talked recipes, the more we realized we liked the same things. We've decided to swap recipes."
He circled the nape of her neck with his palm. "I think that's great, Kitten."