He forced himself to roll off of her. The moment he was out of her body, he felt alone again, an ache instantly, a need to be connected physically to her. It was all he had with her and he knew it. Having sex, even great sex with her, didn’t mean their problems were solved. He’d betrayed her and that betrayal had gone deep.

“I’m going to run you a bath. If you don’t soak in hot water, you’ll be sore.” She was going to be sore anyway. Leopard sex was savage at best. Brutal most of the time. His leopard clawed and raked for his mate. She wasn’t ready, but that didn’t stop the fierce cat from driving Eli to cement the relationship. Who was he kidding? He was a rough man and he liked sex hard and wild.

He pulled up his sweats and padded across the room to the master bath. He left the door open, keeping his eye on her while he ran the water as hot as he thought she could stand. She didn’t speak, but he felt her eyes on him.

“What is it, baby?” he asked as gently as possible.

She looked upset, and he didn’t blame her. She was dealing with too many things at once.

“Why? Why did you use me like that?”

For a moment he thought she was talking about sex, but when he looked at the expression on her face, the raw hurt there, he knew what she meant. Her question was a potential bomb. How could he answer that without her feeling even more betrayed? He had betrayed her.

Eli was acutely aware of what she’d said about making the choice between Cordeau and him. She wanted honesty. She even deserved honesty. He sat on the edge of the tub and kept his eyes on her face even while one hand trailed in the water to make certain it wasn’t too hot for her.

“Looking the way I do, Cat, rough and mean, gives me a certain edge in the kind of work I do. Being a leopard helps me to have a better than average rate for arresting and prosecuting very bad men. What I’m saying is, I go undercover a lot. I live undercover for months at a time. Most of it is bad. Most of it sucks. You live in the dirt long enough, baby, and it rubs off on you.”

“But you believe in what you do.” She propped herself up on one elbow, watching him just as closely as he was watching her.