“You can’t give a man a taste of all that honey, baby, and then try to take it away from him. It doesn’t work that way. I want to eat you alive. I’ve got the taste of you in my mouth and it isn’t going to go away. I’m not going to be able to be inside you for a little while, a few hours or a day or two so that means I have to sate my desire on your taste. And you’re going to learn what to do with my cock in your mouth.”

“I’m not your sex slave, Eli,” she snapped. “I told you. I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Well you’re finding out fast, aren’t you, Kitten,” he said.

Eli leaned his hip against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. Steam rose from the tub, wrapping her in mystery. A light sheen covered her skin, giving her a glow. Her leopard had subsided for the time being. He knew because his leopard wasn’t pushing him so hard. A female leopard rising several times close to the surface and then settling was fairly standard.

That was hard on the female human counterpart, but he intended to take good care of her. In the meantime, he had a lot to make up for.

“Are you hungry?”

“Can you cook?”

“Not really.” He admitted with a grin. “I told you the truth. I tried to give you who I really was, Catarina, not some bullshit made-up man. I’ll try to cook for you though.”

She smiled a genuine smile for the first time. “Do you actually have groceries?”

“I called my neighbor and she sent a supply over. I asked her to pick up an espresso machine as well and some coffee beans.”

“Give me a few more minutes and I’ll see what you have. I enjoy cooking, and it will hopefully get your mind off sex long enough for me to reason with you.”

“I doubt that, but I’m willing to give it a try,” he agreed, mostly because she really did look as if she wanted to make breakfast. And he liked her cooking.

“Why did you do that to me?” she repeated.

He sighed. “I told you, baby. It’s my job. No one really knew what you were to Cordeau. No one knew why you were in his home or why you left. There were rumors and speculation. I think most people thought you were part of his organization, at the very least his lover. I knew the first time I saw you that you weren’t either.”

“Still, you came after me. You lied to me. I thought you were my friend. You worked hard to gain my trust and then you betrayed me.”