Eli smiled, happiness bursting through him. His chest ached in the vicinity of his heart, and for one moment he found a lump in his throat so big he couldn’t talk. He swallowed it down and dropped his hand to the nape of her neck, massaging gently.

“You’re not going to fix me anything to eat, baby. You’re going to lay right here and rest. I was offering to fix something for you.”

She turned her head just enough to press a kiss into his belly. His cock jerked in reaction. His belly knotted and his breath hissed out between his teeth. Deep inside his heart stuttered.

“That was a nice thing to offer, Eli. Thank you.” Catarina rested her cheek back against his belly. Her hand slipped lower, her fingers smoothing along the column of his thigh. “I’m so tired I can’t really think. I like lying right here. You’re warm, and when I’m with you like this, I’m not afraid.”

This time she turned her head to look up at him. She looked drowsy. Comfortable. Beautiful. Her lashes were longer than he’d first thought, the same dark gloss as her hair, framing her incredible eyes. He couldn’t believe she was draped over him, her fingers idly stroking his thigh while she drifted, still a little dazed from the experience of shifting. He couldn’t believe she was his.

“Were you afraid?” he asked gently. He liked that she wasn’t afraid when she was with him. That said a lot. With Cordeau putting up reward money for information on her, she had plenty to be afraid of. She’d probably been afraid most of her life.

“Yes. But I knew you’d get me through it. And I wanted her to come out. I wanted to make certain she wasn’t a killer.”

Her hand moved back up to his body and once more she turned her head to press a kiss into his belly. He felt the sweep of her silky hair over his belly, along his thighs, and God help him, tangling over his cock. Heat moved through his veins straight to his groin. He had to admit, he liked waking up this way.

“She’s not a killer,” he said.

“No, she’s not. She was just as afraid as I was. Your male is a lot like you.”

There was the tiniest bit of censure in her voice and he found himself smiling. She was definitely annoyed on her leopard’s behalf.

“I noticed,” he agreed. His hand tightened in her hair. “He knows he has to keep his woman in line because she’s a little headstrong.”

Her laughter was muffled by his stomach. He felt her soft lips trailing little kisses along his belly. Lazy kisses. Gentle. Barely there.

“Are you implying I’m headstrong?”