Leopard's Run (Leopard People 10)

She laughed softly. “I love being with you, Timur. You’re so unexpected.”

“Will that be enough for you when I’m ordering you around?”

She shrugged. “That all depends. I don’t mind your orders if they’re for my protection or someone else’s. I love that about you. I love that you’ll watch over our children and your family with that fierce side of you. I won’t love it if you start thinking you can control my everyday life. I will always be me. Always, Timur. If you really are in love with me, then you’ll realize controlling me would ruin everything we have, or could potentially have.”

There was truth in what she was saying and he hoped he would always have the wisdom to know when to back off from trying to control his environment.14TIMUR was head of security for Fyodor, but he was also his brother. Tonight, with Ashe at his side, he was Fyodor’s brother—seemingly. He dressed accordingly, but the clothes he chose were easily gotten rid of, should he have need. He would be walking a fine line, convincing Ashe and Evangeline he had the night off and was simply enjoying a meal and getting to know Evangeline’s family.

Evangeline had been with them long enough to know they were suspicious of her brother, so tonight he had to convince her all suspicion had been allayed and she could relax, her family was out of danger. He knew Ashe was exhausted and she didn’t want to go, she even suggested that maybe resting up for the next round with Godiva’s heat would be a good idea, but he needed her there as a distraction.

The truth was, he detested using her that way, but he had to put Evangeline’s fears to rest as well as put her family members at ease. He was not an easy man and he knew it. He made others uncomfortable. He didn’t fit in at dinner parties. He didn’t know all the right forks to use and he didn’t care to know. Fyodor could handle all those things. Still, Timur dressed with care. He would do whatever it took to make certain his loved ones were safe, even if that meant deceiving them, and it was never easy to mislead a leopard.

Ashe walked in looking as if she had just stepped off the cover of a magazine. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. Her hair fell in a waterfall around her face, tumbling down her back, thick and shiny. She had the kind of hair that begged a man to run his fingers through it. Her makeup looked nonexistent, when he knew she had spent some time getting it just right. It emphasized her large, exotic eyes, drawing attention to the dramatic sweep of her lashes and the unusual color of her irises.

Her lips were painted a darker mauve, accentuating the beautiful bow. His heart beat a little faster as she walked in. She wore blue jeans. He knew she didn’t have much in the way of clothes, and they’d only brought a small overnight bag, so she only had a couple of items of clothing to choose from, but with Ashe, it didn’t matter. The jeans hugged her in all the right places and the dusky rose-colored top clung to her curves.

“You look beautiful.” He breathed the words, shocked that he could actually speak.

“I don’t have much in the way of clothes for a dress-up dinner party. I wore the only dress I have earlier and it’s really more of a cover-up, not a dress. Evangeline assured me that this would be all right to wear.” She ran her hands nervously down her thigh. “What’s her family like?”

There it was, the beginning of a careful mixture of truth and deceit. Leopards heard lies. More than ever he had to choose every word.

“I don’t know. Evangeline wasn’t raised around her brothers, so she barely knows them. They’ve been pushing for a closer relationship and I think she wants to explore that.”

“Why wasn’t she raised with them?”

Timur took another breath and let it out. He was on much safer ground. “Her grandfather was a predator. He liked to abuse women, all women, especially family members. When Evangeline was born, he was told she died immediately. They took her to a cabin they had prepared in the swamp. As she got older she was left there alone, more and more.”

Ashe narrowed her eyes at him. “They left a child alone in the swamp?” Disbelief edged her voice.

He nearly laughed. The truth was unbelievable, and that was a good thing for him. He nodded. “They left her there to fend for herself. She got very good at looking out for herself and in the end, she wanted away from all of them.”

Ashe shook her head. “And now they want a relationship with her? Why? Because she has something they want?”