The leopard was all roped muscle and thick, dark fur, a massive black panther. He looked . . . powerful. Invincible. Up this close she could see the shadowy rosettes stamped deep in the dark fur. She recognized a very efficient killing machine when she saw it.

She held her breath, hearing the roar of thunder as her blood pulsed in her ears. She felt her heart hammering hard in her chest. Strangely, there wasn’t the terrible fear that still woke her from a dead sleep, the other leopard snarling, rushing her, the eyes intent on her as prey. This leopard was just as deadly, but he was also Eli. She could see evidence of him there in the way his eyes watched her so closely.

Eli always watched her with the same intense stare. The way he looked at her, so focused, as if he could see into her soul, always thrilled and terrified. She felt both emotions right then as well.

Eli’s leopard took a step toward her, not the freeze-frame stalk of a leopard hunting, but a slow, measured step that brought the large cat directly in front of her. The way it positioned itself, it was almost as if it was a sentry, a guardian, seeking to keep her safe. She didn’t understand why this animal, every bit as large and intimidating as Rafe’s leopard, could make her feel so different.

For the first time, once the animal had taken up location in front of her, he broke his stare with her, turning his head and lifting it toward the air. She knew what he was doing, all those hairs, deeply embedded in tissue surrounded by nerve endings transmitted data to his brain. Like a guidance system, the information giving the exact location of vegetation and other obstacles so the leopard could move silently in the dark. The radar system also allowed him to find and identify enemies or prey quite easily.

Like Eli could. Or she could. She’d always known it wasn’t just about great night vision, that something else allowed her to move so easily in the pitch-black warehouse without ever falling over an obstacle, she just knew where everything was. She knew she could because she’d practiced. She hadn’t known how it worked for her, only that it did, but her warning system was a little spotty at times. It seemed to be growing stronger and she thought it was because she practiced so much, but now she thought maybe it was because her leopard was getting closer to the surface all those times.