Leopard's Rage Read online

  He inhaled her scent. Drew her into his lungs. This was an intelligent woman. He had done his own research on her when he had decided to hire her landscaping company to do the work on his property. Her father had a reputation among the shifters—he had for years. He had started the business as a very young man and didn’t have children until he was in his late forties. His wife had died in childbirth and he had raised his daughter alone. She’d worked at his side almost since birth.

  Sevastyan brushed up against Flambé’s arm as he passed her chair, his skin sliding against hers. There were instant sparks, a chemistry arcing between them. He was far too experienced not to know she felt it, although she tried to hide it. She kept her face averted and took a deep breath, biting hard on her lower lip. He smiled and continued walking to the small refrigerator behind the bar to get himself a water.

  “What type of plants were you thinking would look good around the front of the house? I like the way Mitya’s home always looks, beautifully kept, but easily defendable.”

  She turned her head toward him. She was so beautiful to him for a moment he couldn’t control the way his blood pounded so hotly through his veins. He needed to stay in control. Shturm was useless, going from purring to roaring his demands. Flambé and her little hussy of a female were in such dire straits, they were throwing off enough hormones to call in every male leopard for a hundred miles.

  Flambé was squirming in the chair and he was fairly certain if it kept up she would ask where his bathroom was just so she could try to find a little relief. That would only make it worse, but she didn’t know that. She also seemed a little out of it, as if she couldn’t quite follow along in their conversation. He didn’t know if that was from the potent effects of the female heat or the blow to the head. He wanted to examine that knot in her hair a little closer.

  One of them had to have a clear head. He breathed through the blood thundering in his ears and pounding hard in his cock. He wanted this woman to trust him. To give herself to him. To let him into her life. He needed that from her and taking her wasn’t the way to get that even if in this moment she threw herself at him. If he really was going to have such an unexpected gift handed to him, he wasn’t going to throw it away because he didn’t have enough control to handle her with care.

  She cleared her throat twice, frowning, obviously trying to follow the conversation. “There are so many beautiful plants native to this area that would look lovely in groupings around the front of the house. They’re low enough that they wouldn’t cover windows or in any way impede your ability to see anything coming at you.”

  Her voice was very low. Husky. It played along his nerve endings, slid down his spine and teased his cock as if she brushed her fingers and tongue over his sensitive shaft. There was no question this woman was the one for him. No one had ever affected him the way she did. Not with just the sound of her voice. He opened the water bottle, pausing there at the bar, taking the time to savor the genuine feeling she was gifting him with. For once his leopard wasn’t demanding blood or violent sex and he could just enjoy the beauty of wanting his woman because she was extraordinary.

  Flambé had her Bachelor of Arts, Masters and PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from UC Berkeley. She’d had so much experience from working with her father that she had excelled in the program. Her father only took jobs that allowed him to use local plants and designs that worked to sustain the environment and were pleasing to the eye as well. He was a genius with plants and it appeared his daughter followed in his footsteps.

  “There are flowers that bloom at different times of the year and succulents that don’t need as much water. I know of this lovely little star-like ground cover that once it takes root, takes very little water, can be walked on just like grass and yet doesn’t need the care grass does.” As she talked, enthusiasm crept into her voice. She definitely liked her job.

  “Do you do the planting yourself, or do you work on getting new clients and let your crew do the actual work on the properties while you supervise?” He moved away from the bar, again very casually, coming to stand beside her chair, letting the heat of his body blend with hers.

  Her cat went wild. Sevastyan knew because he was completely tuned to her now and he felt the animal in her respond to the animal in him. His male was big and mean. A fighter. A male in his prime. A perfect mate. Just what the female wanted and needed. Exactly what she was looking for in a mate. His leopard pushed hard toward the surface and Sevastyan let him come close, but held him at bay. The last thing he needed was for the big male to get loose. The female leopard reacted, becoming more amorous, pushing toward the surface as well, demanding to be close to the male.

  Flambé gasped and wrapped her arms around her middle, ducking her head, averting her flushed face from him. Her breasts were immediately pushed up beneath the thin silk of her blouse, nearly tumbling from her lacy bra. He could see she was fighting the feverish need crawling through her, the desperate cravings and urgent demands of her heat.

  “Is it too warm in here?” Sevastyan asked in his most solicitous voice. He bent down and very gently pushed back the damp hair on her forehead and laid his palm there, as if checking her temperature.

  The moment he touched Flambé, the two leopards went into a frenzy of need. His blood ran so hot he expected that at any moment he might burst into flame. He was used to controlling his brutal sexual hunger and nothing had ever been as bad as this. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for her. She clearly didn’t have the experience he had.

  At his touch, her red-golden-tipped lashes fluttered and then lifted. Her gaze met his. The natural sensuality in her shook him. He recognized several traits in her immediately—traits that guaranteed they would be compatible if he could win her trust. She was a natural submissive. He had been in that world too long not to recognize the trait when he saw it.

  Submissive, to Sevastyan, didn’t mean she was less than him, or giving in to him, it meant that she knew who she was and what she wanted. She would be able to give her trust and loyalty to those she believed in. She didn’t fight unnecessarily just for the sake of fighting. Having complete control wasn’t important to her.

  Clearly, Flambé was able to be at the helm of a company. Her landscaping business was thriving. She was bringing in members of other leopard subspecies from other countries in a desperate attempt to save them from extinction. She helped them to become citizens, provided an education in whatever business they wanted to learn and then set them up for success. She had to be somewhat adventurous to do any of that, as well as highly intelligent.

  “It is a little warm in here,” she admitted, sounding distracted.

  Again, her voice was husky, playing along his nerve endings. He found he wanted to spend time with her. Hours. All night. Watching her just like this. Hungry. Needy. Bordering on desperate. Looking at him with those eyes of hers. Sensual beyond belief. Filled with desire. Turning a dark green with lust as her gaze moved over his body and settled on his cock. He felt the heat of her gaze right through the material of his jeans. He didn’t attempt to hide his thick bulge from her. It was blatant. Nearly at mouth level. If she leaned forward and unzipped his trousers, she could wrap her lips around him. It would be a stretch, but just the idea of her trying sent more hot blood pounding through his veins and had his cock jerking and pulsing in anticipation. She looked as if she might just do it too, lean forward and unzip his jeans right there. She looked mesmerized, completely focused, her leopard so close she could barely function.

  He pressed the bottle of cold water with the drops of condensation on it against her neck. “Try this while I get you a cold cloth. I’ll turn on the air conditioner. I really hadn’t noticed the heat, but I tend to not really pay attention to the outside temperature much.”

  He was used to keeping his expression absolutely calm at all times. He stayed in the background. He could disappear there easily wi
th his stillness. He often appeared to be more civilized than his other cousins, even sometimes seemed to have a bit of a sense of humor. He had learned, over the years, to hide the terrible pent-up rage inside of him, the rage in his leopard that refused to leave either of them and manifested itself in brutal ways—fighting or in sex clubs.

  “Thank you. I’m afraid I’m not making a very good impression on you. I think my encounter this morning really shook me up more than I thought it did.”

  He was very aware that his touch shook her up. His closeness. She couldn’t stop staring hungrily at the bulge in the front of his jeans. Her gaze narrowed, centered there, and she even leaned forward just a small scant inch or so without being aware of it. Her tongue touched her lip, moistened it. He couldn’t move if he wanted to. His cock burned, was stretched so tight he thought he might burst.

  She squirmed, trying to ease the terrible burning between her legs. He had the control thanks to years of being a dominant. She had none. Her cat was giving her fits, raging at her in desperate hunger at the close proximity of her chosen mate. Her skin was beginning to glow. Sevastyan began to fear that her female was closer to the emergence than he first thought.

  Normally, a female would come close to the surface and then retreat, only to reappear a few days to a week later. Often an appearance would be so brief and elusive that a male leopard would barely catch the scent of a female. This was a very advanced appearance. Flambé’s leopard was close to emerging—too close to give him time for a real courtship.

  Sevastyan regretted that. He would have to change his plans. She needed care, especially with the kind of lifestyle she would be entering into with him. He was Mitya’s bodyguard and he always would be. They lived a dangerous life. There was no question about that. He would expect his wife, his mate, to live that life with him. He had no idea how being his wife would affect her business, and she obviously loved her business.

  Then there was the fact that he needed his woman to give him sex any way he liked it. Anywhere he wanted it. He knew that was the result of his screwed-up upbringing in the lair from hell. Having a woman for his own didn’t make that need go away as he’d hoped it might. He found the hunger grew deeper in him just being close to her. That was something she would have to live with as well.

  “You’ve made an impression on me, Flambé. More than any other woman I’ve ever met. I knew when I did the research on your company with you at the helm that I wanted you to continue where your father had left off here on the property. After having met you, I’m very interested in the woman.”

  He wanted to make that plain. No beating around the bush. His body was saying it for him, but he was determined that she understand he wanted her for who she was. “There is quite a lot about you on the internet and I read it all.” He made his confession hoping he didn’t sound worse than the man who had been stalking her.

  Her gaze jumped back up to his. She licked her lips again and then her gaze drifted down to his groin, as if she couldn’t help herself. One hand moved up to her hairline where the bump was hidden, as if it was hurting her.

  “I tried to do research on you.” She made it a confession, but her voice sounded a little vague, as if her mind was drifting along with her gaze. “There wasn’t much to find. There was hardly anything in fact. A little more on your cousins than you. I think your name was mentioned once.”

  Sevastyan forced himself to walk away from her, over to the switch that controlled the air conditioner. It was on the wall beside the bank of windows. As he crossed to the wall, just above their heads strobes went off along the upper corners of the room, letting him know that several people had tripped alarms set in the ground leading up to the house.

  He stood at the window, his wide shoulders framed within the glass. “We’re about to have company, plamya.” He glanced over his shoulder and then crooked his finger at her. “Come here. Tell me if this is your gentleman friend. He hasn’t come alone.”

  2

  FLAMBÉ rose slowly but without hesitation, although she seemed a little wobbly, and crossed to his side. He slid his arm around her, pulling her beneath his shoulder so she could fit snugly into the window frame with him. He could have easily moved over to give her room, but he wanted to see her reaction to his proprietary claim on her. She seemed to accept him, just the way her leopard accepted his close proximity.

  The man coming toward the house was still a distance away and was striding boldly up the walkway, two men on either side of him. He acted as if he owned the property, and no one would ever think to oppose him.

  “He has more men with him. They’re hidden from view in the shrubbery on either side of the house. I’ve counted at least six, but most likely there are more.” Sevastyan was matter-of-fact. Calm. He kept his arm around her.

  A little shudder went through her body and she took an involuntary step back as if to get away from the window. At the same time, she tried to tug on his waist to take him with her. Her little leopard pushed very close to protect her. Shturm roared and clawed for freedom, raging to be set free to exact vengeance for the bruises and the injuries on Flambé.

  “You’re safe in here with me, honey,” Sevastyan assured softly, although he agreed with his leopard and wanted to do a little hunting of his own. “They can’t get in. Even if they did decide to shoot at us, the windows are bulletproof glass. I’ll text my team if need be. I want to see what they do. Who is this joker, Flambé? Now that he’s bent on attacking me as well, don’t you think I have the right to know?”

  Sevastyan could see it took effort, but Flambé pulled her gaze away from the big man coming up the walkway with his deliberate strides. She looked up at Sevastyan, meeting his eyes. Whatever she saw there reassured her.

  She took a deep breath before answering him. “His name is Franco Matherson. He and his brothers say they’re ‘big game’ hunters. They’re very wealthy. They’re really looking for female shifters. They ran across one of the female strawberry leopards my father was sponsoring. She was taking one last run as a leopard before leaving the country. It was silly of her to chance it. Matherson spotted her and nearly shot her just for her unusual coat. No one knew about red leopards so it didn’t occur to him that she could possibly be a shifter.”

  “So even though he’s a shifter, a leopard, he thought it was appropriate to kill a beautiful and different leopard that he spotted just because he could.” There was a wealth of disgust in him and it showed in his voice. What shifter would kill a leopard for its pelt? She was speaking the truth but it was also mixed with lies. He didn’t call her on it.

  “Right? He turns my stomach, just the fact that he would even admit that he was contemplating shooting a leopard because she had a strawberry coat. In any case, he tracked her to a cave. She went in as a leopard and emerged as a human. He knew immediately that she had to be a shifter. She just managed to escape him. He eventually tracked her here. Of course, she was gone and my father had died by the time he unraveled where she had gone to.”

  “But he found you and knows you’re a shifter.”

  She nodded once more, turning her gaze back to the window and the approaching man. He was closer, looking more arrogant than ever. Sevastyan had seen so many men like him. They thought their money somehow entitled them to anything they wanted. They bought their way through life. They took from people and intimidated and stepped on others to get their way. Like his father and uncles, they brutalized and even killed, knowing they could get away with it.

  Flambé had some knowledge of what and who Franco Matherson was. She was good at researching her clients and she most likely had done the same, researching the man stalking her. Still, there was something in her voice that told him something wasn’t quite right. She was either omitting something or not telling him the exact truth. There was more to the story than she was willing to divulge.

  Sevastyan assessed Matherson as he came toward them. He was d
efinitely leopard. It was in the way he moved. The play of his muscles beneath his skin. And he let his leopard out to fight. Most likely he pitted his leopard against wild leopards and enjoyed the battles. He looked like a brutal man, and he wanted Flambé. There was no question about that.

  Sevastyan slid his hand up to the nape of her neck, his fingers beginning a slow, soothing massage. “Do you know what he was going to do when he tried to throw you up against the car? Your leopard is close to emerging. She’s rising and male leopards want to claim her. This is her first rising and she’s looking for a mate. My leopard has confirmed that and he’s willing to mate with her. When you’re close to me, what does your female do?”

  “She acts like an idiot,” Flambé admitted, disgust in her voice. “She’s rolling around like some little sex kitten.” She pressed tighter against him, rubbing her body along his, mimicking her leopard but barely noticing she was doing so. She pulled away with a muttered apology, her face going red.

  He smiled down at her. “Don’t be embarrassed. The leopards can get us worked up. The chemistry between us without them is bad enough. With them, it’s off the charts. Matherson would have forced your female to accept his male.”

  The color leached out of her face. “How could he do that?”

  “If you were mine to claim, I would push the back of your shirt up so my leopard could coax your female to the surface. He would hold you still and they would touch if she agrees to his claiming. Once that happens, Matherson’s leopard would not be able to mate with her. He knows that. That’s why he’s tried so hard to keep you away from every other shifter. He doesn’t want your female to run across any other she might accept.”

  Flambé turned her body toward his, her front to his side, rubbing her body against his like the little cat she was, amorous, so naturally sensuous and provocative he thought his control might actually shatter. One leg wound around his thigh while her hand caught at his shirt, fingers clutching.