She stood on the stage and looked ethereal, beautiful and so not of the world, Remy hadn’t believed it was actually Bijou. Her hair fell to her waist, thick and glossy, the kind of hair a man got lost in. She’d been far too seductive to equate her with the gawky teen he’d caught glimpses of when she hung out with his sister. She was even more beautiful now.

Remy found he didn’t dare look at her, not if he was going to protect her. There was an undercurrent in the room his leopard sensed that kept the cat prowling close to the surface. It was an expectation, an awareness of danger. His belly was in knots, his muscles coiled and ready. He didn’t know for certain where the threat would come from, but it was safe to say, it would come.

Remy frowned as two of Drake’s men shifted positions. They were acting as bodyguards for Bijou, and he wasn’t entirely happy about it. Joshua Tregre had shaggy sun-bleached hair and piercing green-blue eyes. He was a man with a strong build, carrying the heavy muscles of their kind—a leopard—and he was fast. Very fast. Remy appreciated that trait, but he knew how dangerous the emerging of a female leopard could be, and just how difficult it could be on any male in the vicinity.

Elijah Lospostos was a steely-eyed, far too handsome man, with a wealth of gleaming black hair spilling into eyes the color of mercury one moment and as dark as night the next. He was tough and extremely dangerous, a good man to have on Bijou’s side—but he also was an unmated leopard. Drake had chosen both men to work at Bijou’s club on her nights to perform because they were dangerous and fast and could protect. The leader of the lair hadn’t known Bijou was leopard as well and that she was entering the Han Vol Dan.

Remy gritted his teeth and took a long, slow look around the room. What had the two leopards up front, close to Bijou, seen that he hadn’t from his position in the back of the room? He shifted, his gaze scanning the large overcrowded club. He spotted several male leopards in the room, not surprising because their lair was small, but most of the males were unmated and that added to the undercurrent of danger.

The song ended and the crowd went wild, clapping and stomping feet. Bijou smiled and gracefully made her way to Arnaud’s table as the band went into an upbeat, dance melody. A few couples bravely took to the dance floor while others sipped at their drinks and tried to work up the courage to ask for Bijou’s autograph.

Remy frowned as Arnaud rose to hold her chair for her. She shouldn’t be sitting with him, she should be with Remy—under Remy’s protection.