This countryside was beautiful, with far more trees than she expected. Eli said his leopard could run free here. She wondered what that would be like. What it would feel like. She suddenly had the desire to run free as a leopard, just to experience it. She was afraid, because she’d seen Rafe’s leopard and she knew the animal was even more dangerous than the man.

Even as a teenager, Catarina realized the leopard drove Rafe hard and it took a great deal of discipline and energy to keep that part of him under control. The leopard’s traits were definitely infused in the man and now, after seeing Eli and knowing what was inside of him, she knew his leopard drove him as well.

She paused in the act of stirring her sauce to press a hand to her stomach. Her leopard drove her as well. She’d been violent with Eli twice. More, she had practically forced him to have sex with her. She gained just a little sympathy for Rafe. Her sauce bubbled and she quickly began to stir it again. Leopards, like people, had to have their own personalities, and some had to be more difficult than others. More prone to violence. More alpha.

She glanced toward the open archway leading toward the master bedroom. The water had gone off. Eli would be with her again soon. His leopard was pure alpha, the same as Rafe’s leopard had to be. She couldn’t imagine the two men coming together in any kind of agreement. They would each view the other as a threat and would feel the need to neutralize that threat.

She fixed two plates, arranging them artistically, because for her, it wasn’t just about really good food, but good presentation as well.

Remembering the look on Eli’s face when he’d said that about losing her made her heart beat faster. He walked in when she was setting the plates on the table. He looked good. He smelled good. And when he smiled at her, he took her breath away.

She sank into the chair across the table from him, pulled up her bare feet and sat tailor fashion. “I hope you like it. I made us a skillet breakfast with hash browns and country ham biscuits. The beignets just came out of the oil and are very hot, and you have fresh coffee.”

Eli flashed another smile and something inside her responded with a warm glow. “You have no idea what a treat it is to smell food cooking in this house. I bought the place and nearly burned it down the first time I ever used that stove.”

“Someday I’m going to have my dream stove, Eli,” she said. “I’ve always wanted a Viking.”

He paused to eat two bites of the egg scramble. “This is heaven. Every time you get in a kitchen you produce a miracle for the taste buds.”