Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

She kissed his chest. His throat. Up to his jaw. Little kisses. Nothing sexual about them, but they struck at him with far more intimacy than he could stand. He was afraid to love her. Afraid once he admitted it, even to himself, Lazar would strike. She would always be his greatest weakness. Lazar would hate that Mitya had found happiness. Found a woman who would lavish him with love. Ania was that kind of woman.

If he let himself love her, if he gave her that, she would give him everything in return. A house full of laughter. Her complete trust. Her body. Her heart. Her soul. That was Ania. She didn’t do anything by half measures. He knew that by the way she cared for her father, by the way she practiced with a sniper rifle. She was thorough, seeing to every detail, and she’d be that way with him.

“Things are just a little too close tonight,” he admitted because he had to give her something.

She blinked, and he felt the long sweep of her lashes against his skin. “Can I take it all away for you?”

He closed his eyes and nearly groaned. His body stirred; he felt the heat moving through him, pooling in his groin, but he didn’t want her to do anything but sleep. He’d been rough. She didn’t realize it, but her female leopard had made a big appearance. She was declaring to them she was definitely going to emerge. It would be rougher than ever, far more so, and Ania needed to be rested. Her body needed time to heal.

“I need to hold you close, baby,” he admitted. It was easier to think he just needed sex. He was a very sexual being. Oral as well, as most shifters were, maybe even more so than most. He liked leaving his mark on her. His leopard was oral, and he knew her female would take the cat’s teeth often, just like Ania took his. He wanted his relationship with her to be sexual, but it was more than that. It was this—the intimacy of holding her close. Talking to her in the night. Needing that as much as he needed her body.

He kissed the top of her head just as a prickle of unease slid through him. He turned his head toward the window. They were on the second floor and had the entire upper story to themselves. Her father had the master bedroom and his men stayed in the various guest rooms, by shifts, until their time to patrol the grounds. Annalise had moved to an apartment in the city.

The unease became more, spreading through him like a cancer. Dymka leapt at him, pushing at his skin, demanding to be allowed freedom. He ran the cat every night. He’d learned to let the leopard out to keep him healthy. Sevastyan and some of his other cousins allowed the leopards to carry out battles as long as they stayed in control. It kept them fit and helped to get some of their energy out, making them a little less of a constant handful.

With Ania and her female in such close proximity, Dymka had settled and Mitya had been at peace. Now the leopard was fighting for control. In a rage. Furious.

“Ania, get dressed, baby.” He shifted her out of his arms and was out of the bed instantly, pulling on clothes he could get off fast if needed.

She rolled over, frowning, looking at him.

“Don’t ask questions, just do it.”

She muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “bossy, much,” but she threw back the covers and was up, dressing hurriedly. He signaled to her to stay quiet and behind him as he began sliding weapons into various loops in his clothing. Texting Sevastyan and his men, he warned them that someone was close to the house. Each of the guards was expected to text a single letter of the alphabet in response to let the others know they were alive, well and alert. All but one texted back.

Mitya swore under his breath. The silent guard, Amory Binder, was one of the leopards Drake Donovan had recruited from Borneo. He was younger than Mitya liked, in his early twenties, and not as experienced as the rest of them. Mitya needed men to guard against Lazar and what he believed would be an army when his father made his move, so he’d taken the kid on.

He texted the others to check on the absent guard. Sevastyan sent several private messages to him telling him to take Ania and get to safety. He didn’t bother replying. Ania pulled a gun out of a small box she had under the bed. He watched her load it. She should have had it already loaded, but he wasn’t about to take up that argument with her.