“You know that’s not my name.” He said it quietly.

Her small white teeth sank into her lower lip. Yeah. She knew. She was very observant. Her gaze shifted from his.

“Evangeline.” Just her name. A command. He waited. She took a breath. A second one and then her eyes lifted to his. His woman had the courage of a leopard. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s not possible, so you’re going to have to get over being angry about the cameras and the protection. You’ll have to get used to that.” He said it as gently as possible, but he meant every word. There was a slight shake to her head that told him she was still going to try to fight the inevitable.

“Leave the cameras for the time bein’ if they make you feel better, but this . . .” She swept her hand between them. “This isn’t goin’ to happen. Yes, I’m not goin’ to lie, because clearly you know I’m attracted to you. Very attracted.”

That honest admission cost her and he wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms to comfort her.

“But it can’t happen. Not for all the reasons you think either. It has nothin’ to do with you and what you’ve chosen to do with your life. It’s about me and what I can’t go back to. I won’t go back.”

Her voice trembled a little and that cost him. He didn’t like her scared, or hurt or embarrassed. Still, she was cute as all hell standing up to him.

“Back to what?” he prompted.

Her chin lifted. That little defiant gesture drove him wild—sent his leopard into a fury of need to claim her. To show her just whom she belonged to.

For one moment she struggled with her decision to admit she knew he was leopard. Or that she was. He saw it on her face, but then she shrugged and just committed.

“A lair. Never again. I don’ care what Joshua said, I have no responsibilities to any lair or any leader of a lair.”

He opened his mouth to deny she would be in a lair of any kind, but then realized that wasn’t true. His brother and cousin were leopards. He’d already acquired two more men from the Borneo rain forest, both leopards, men he could trust. Timur had sent for Amur leopards that had left the lairs right after they had. Technically, he was the head of the lair. The leader. She said she had no responsibilities to a lair.

“You didn’t ask for Joshua’s protection, or for anyone’s protection for that matter. Why not?”

She looked confused. Puzzled. “Why would I? I don’ want anything from them.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” he said truthfully. “But it would have caused complications. Come here.”