“Honey.” Catarina turned her head so she could press kisses along his temple. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m safe now.”

“You aren’t, you know.” He lifted his head, reluctantly sliding off of her. Immediately he turned on his side and swept her close, pressed her tightly against him, his arm an iron band around her waist. “Cordeau had partners. They only know he disappeared. They could decide you’re a threat to them. Most likely they will.”

“We’ve already decided that we’re going to let Jake and his people deal with them,” she replied softly. “Eli, I’m alive. I’m with you, exactly where I want to be. We have our home, a baby on the way and things are good.”

Eli pushed her long hair from the nape of her neck and kissed her there. He kissed his way over her shoulder to the much smaller puncture scars Cordeau had left behind.

“My leopard needs to run. She needs her mate. And I need to cook you breakfast. That’s important to me, honey. I want to wear your flannel shirts and nothing else. I need to be me again. And you need to be you again. Once our baby is here, there won’t be much kitchen table, on the bar or sink or out on the porch fun. We need to make every minute count.”

He smiled against her shoulder. She had the little sexy voice that managed to set nerve endings on fire without much of an effort.

“I’m buying more flannels.”

“You wouldn’t have to if you’d stop ripping all the buttons off. I definitely have to learn to sew.”

The amusement in her voice warmed him. Still. He sighed. “Kitten, I don’t know how much freedom I can give you right now. I bought a Jeep for you, a four-wheel drive. They’re going to deliver it any day now. I wanted you to feel like you could go anywhere you wanted to go, but honestly, I can’t let you out of my sight.”

He waited. Holding his breath. He hated that he was the needy one. That he knew he should give her everything she wanted, including freedom. She deserved it. She’d more than earned the right to make her every decision. But he couldn’t breathe without her.

Eli knew when it happened, the exact moment when the air had left his lungs and wouldn’t fully return. They’d taken her from him. They’d rushed her through the double doors and he’d felt her heart stop. Felt the breath leave her lungs. Felt her pulse still. It had been there inside of him. He knew she was being taken from him, and his world had changed. Everything had changed.