He closed his eyes for a moment to block out the sight of her soft skin covered in dark smudges. She definitely was small for a leopard, although she carried the curves and hair, but her body type made her seem far too fragile for the rough sex and rough mating of shifters.

The leopards had been together all night. His male had claimed the female fairly fast, allowing her to run for a short while before taking possession. He was fast and vicious, serious about staking his claim. He was every bit as rough as Eli and just as controlling—even more so.

The two leopards had played hard and rough through the night and most of the next day. The male had been on the female every fifteen minutes or so, using his heavier frame to hold her in place and his teeth in her shoulder to pin her down. The love fest had gone on for hours, as often happened with leopards, all night, all morning and most of the afternoon. When Eli had finally managed to convince the male to bring the female back to the ranch house, it was already nearly sunset.

Eli smoothed his hand over her dark hair. Catarina was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. He’d carried her into the house and she’d fallen asleep in his arms. He’d run a hot bath and actually got into the tub to hold her in the water, hoping that would help to reduce soreness. She’d roused a couple of times to shift position and each time she moved, she moaned softly.

He held her while she brushed her teeth and then he’d slipped her under the sheet and climbed into bed beside her, holding her close to him. Sometime in the night, she had flung one arm around him and laid her head on his belly. He liked waking up with her there. He liked having their legs tangled intimately together and her mouth a breath away from his cock. He liked her warmth and her laughter.

“I’m a goner, baby,” he said softly, aloud.

She moved, stretching just enough to groan again and stop when her body protested. Her arm tightened around him. He felt the brush of her fingers along his ribs and the warmth of her breath on his skin. He even felt the flutter of her long lashes on his belly.

“It isn’t morning, yet, is it?” she murmured.

“It’s pushing nighttime, Kitten. The leopards were out playing all last night and most of today. We slept a few hours. Are you hungry?”

The pads of her fingers made lazy circles along his hip. The touch wasn’t meant to be sexual, but it was intimate. She traced along his bone and then into the defined muscle there.

“Not really, but if you are, I can make you something.”