Evangeline turned her head toward the leopard and smiled. That smile. His smile. The one she reserved for him alone. She looked right into the eyes of his leopard and saw him. She wasn’t afraid of his leopard because she trusted him. Alonzo felt that trust as an arrow straight to his heart. She had every reason to fear male leopards, and his was one of the worst. She knew that and she still remained calm.

Do you understand the gift she’s giving us? She was terrorized as a child by a male leopard.

Show him to me and I will kill him.

“I knew you’d come as soon as you were finished with your business. I was waitin’ for you.” She patted the large pillow next to her. “I wanted to talk to you about my female, so it’s good you’re here in this form.”

The leopard hesitated, one paw in the air, freezing in position as if he didn’t quite know what to do. Alonzo had been in the act of shifting to human form. He’d come out looking for her immediately and hadn’t brought a pack with clothes. He remained as a leopard, giving her the opportunity to see that his male would protect her as well as her female.

Be gentle. Earn her trust, he cautioned.

The big male moved slowly to Evangeline’s side. The pheromones she was throwing off were so potent, Alonzo knew the female was rising very fast. She could emerge that night, early morning or the next afternoon, but it would be soon. It had to be soon because the soldiers closest to him were all male leopards. Evangeline in such close proximity was dangerous to all of them.

“Sometimes I can’t stand being inside,” she confessed softly. “I go runnin’ when that happens. Or I sit on my porch. Sometimes I sleep outside.”

He knew that much. He’d had bodyguards on her for the last few months and they’d told him about her penchant for running or sitting outside at midnight. He had never asked her about it because he hadn’t wanted her to know he was watching her. That would lead to questions, such as why. And the why of it had been complicated then. He didn’t want her to know about his life, or that by continually going to the bakery after he’d been named Arnotto’s successor he was possibly bringing danger to her—and he’d been right.

Evangeline looked him in the eye again and Alonzo realized he’d been wrong. She was afraid of his male. Afraid, but resolute and determined to trust that Alonzo would make certain she was safe. This was her female’s mate and she was determined to get over her fears. His heart contracted and the glacier, so thick inside of him, melted even more.