“The first time I entered the bakery I didn’t even realize my leopard had settled—that I’d been given a respite. It was only when I walked out that I knew. He went crazy. Clawing, raking, demanding he shift. He vied for supremacy. He’d never been that wild before and I had to fight to control him. I used every ounce of discipline I’d developed over the years. At first I thought maybe he was reacting to someone, but then, I turned and went back into the bakery.”

“I remember that,” she said, again revealing quite a bit to him without meaning to.

It had been the first time he’d entered her bakery and just seeing her, the impact of that on him had been tremendous. She’d stolen his breath. His hands had actually begun to shake. He knew. Not just for his leopard but for him. She was the one.

“You walked back into the bakery and looked at me. You looked very intimidatin’ in that way you have and I remember thinkin’ you were gorgeous but very cold and certainly dangerous. I asked you if you needed somethin’ and you said . . .”

“Yes.” He remembered. How could he ever forget? That moment had been etched into his brain for all time. He’d known she was the one, but more importantly, he realized that as long as she was around him, his leopard would be calm. He wouldn’t have to fight night and day just to keep the animal from killing someone. It had been a revelation that changed his world.

She nodded. “But you walked out.”

“The things I wanted from you were not fit for your ears.”

She blushed. Color swept into her face and she ducked her head, as if that would stop him from seeing it. He loved that little air of innocence about her. He was bringing an inexperienced woman into a nightmare world. No decent man wanted to tie a woman to him when he knew the kind of life she would be facing—and he’d tried to stay away. He’d tried to be content with just keeping his cat sane. But she’d kissed him. He wasn’t decent, and she kissed him. There was no getting rid of the taste of her in his mouth. The feel of her body against his. There was no stopping his cat from rising to claim what belonged to him—and Evangeline did belong to him. They both, man and leopard, recognized her. She was the real thing. Theirs. She belonged exclusively to them. And they were never giving her up.

“So even if your mother wasn’t your father’s real mate, she was your mother. That had to count for somethin’.”