Leopard's Run (Leopard People 10)

“How well did you actually know Evangeline before coming here?”

She ducked her head, cursing under her breath. He had a right to know. She’d brought trouble with her. “We met at a little café up in the mountains where I worked as a barista. She was camping for a while in the hills there and she was alone. We naturally gravitated toward each other. Our first encounter was actually at a creek where she was washing up. We got talking and I found out she needed a job. They needed help at the café, so I told her to apply and I’d put in a good word for her.”

She glanced up to find his gaze fixed on her face. The cold one. Ice-blue. Glaciers of blue. A little shiver went down her spine. He was wholly focused on her, but this time, it wasn’t sexual, or at all friendly. This time, he wasn’t asking because he was interested so much as because he was looking out for his sister-in-law.

Ashe couldn’t help the way her heart beat faster. Danger. Why did she find herself running right toward it all the time? What was it about adrenaline that made her such an addict? She wanted to feel this way, exhilarated, alive and not quite safe. It was playing with fire, and she knew better.

“Ashe,” he prompted.

She deliberately shrugged and forked more stir-fry into her mouth. “This is good. You’re a really good cook, and I could get used to coming home from work and watching you put together meals. There’s something magical and mesmerizing, watching you take a few ingredients and put them together to make something to eat this good.” She flashed a small smile at him. Coaxing that look off his face. “Maybe I’ll even learn to do the chopping for you.”

She nearly got a smile from him, but the ice didn’t melt from his eyes. She knew it wasn’t going to be that easy, and she was glad. She didn’t want easy. She wouldn’t respect easy. Timur wasn’t a man she could push around. She should have known it because Fyodor was a force to be reckoned with and Timur didn’t allow his brother to push him around.

“You can drop the sweet act, baby. You were talking about your relationship with Evangeline. I need to know everything.”

Ashe gave an exaggerated sigh, but she was secretly happy he was pushing her to answer. “There isn’t much to tell. We were both alone and we gravitated toward each other. She was from Louisiana, and I was from the Appalachian Mountains. We spent time together, but I was careful not to tell her my secrets, and she didn’t tell me hers. We were both aware we weren’t sharing important things, but it didn’t matter. We both understood we couldn’t.”

She shrugged again and took another bite. The meal really was delicious. She kept her eyes on his face, which was laughable, because he gave nothing away. It was as if he wore a mask and whatever went on behind it wasn’t for the world—or her—to see. And she wanted to. She wanted to be that woman, the one who knew him inside and out. He was offering that to her, or at least he was offering her …What? What was it really? Sex? The sex was better than good, but what else did he offer?

“Don’t,” he ordered softly.

She raised an eyebrow. “Don’t what? Worry that if I stayed I’d never have any more of you than I do right this minute? Of course, I’m going to worry about that. We barely know each other. You’ve expressed fear that you’re a psychopath. You’ve threatened to find me if I run. These are not things conducive to making me want to stay with you.”

“I was hoping the food would help.”

For a moment they stared at each other, and then Timur laughed. The sound was unexpected, and it struck at her, piercing her heart as surely as if he’d thrown a spear. His face lit up and the blue flames in his eyes danced. The sight took her breath away. She could listen to that sound for the rest of her life. She knew it was hers. His laughter was for her. She held that to her. She’d dreamt of having a man of her own and he was always dangerous and brooding. He presented a mask of indifference to the rest of the world, but for her—and their future children—he would be different. He would share fun and laughter. Just like this moment.

“The food helps,” she admitted when his smile had faded.

“Tell me more about Evangeline and you.”

“There isn’t much more to tell. She left after a few weeks. I could tell she was restless and wanted to go back to wherever it was that made her feel safe. I know that feeling. I sometimes can’t breathe because I feel so exposed.” She looked around the room at the heavy drapes she’d added to the house.