“Don’ stop, Remy. I’m burnin’ up. You can’t stop.” She nearly sobbed her plea.

Remy brought himself up short. He wanted to stay locked inside of her more than anything, but he knew he was being a selfish ass, letting go of all control when she needed him most. He took a few deep calming breaths and went motionless, still buried deep. She squirmed, her muscles clamping down hard on him, hot as fiery hell, so tight she was practically strangling him. He could hear the roaring in his head and felt his leopard pushing and raking, snarling to be let free.

“You have to listen to me, Blue. This is important. I can’t keep gettin’ distracted when you need this information. My leopard is rakin’ at me, desperate to get at yours. She’ll be emergin’ any moment and we have to allow them to be with one another. In fact, there’s not goin’ to be any real way to stop them. Mine chose you, chose your leopard. He’s so crazy for her, and I’m just as driven for you.”

Bijou went still. Very still. Her breath caught in her throat as she repeated his words in her mind. He really believed what he said about the leopard.

“I should have explained more to you. The shiftin’. How it’s done. It’s just that every time I get near you I can’t resist havin’ you.”

She moistened suddenly dry lips, slowly lifting her head from Remy’s shoulder to look into his eyes. They glowed a piercing green, much like a cat’s in the dark. Her vision was strange, banded with color, as if she was seeing through heat binoculars. “What do you mean, your leopard is crazy for mine? You’re with me because you think your leopard wants mine?”

Her heart pounded hard in her chest. Of course it was all too good to be true. Remy didn’t love her. He barely knew her. What had she been thinking? The fairy tale? Happily ever after? He was talking about pure sex, not love. She was an adult and she knew better.

“Of course,” Remy said. He frowned as she slowly dropped her legs so that her feet touched the ground. He grinned at her, holding her to him by her buttocks. “The added bonus is the crazy sex.”

She couldn’t even blame the whole thing on him. She’d been a willing participant. More, she’d practically torn her clothes off and then his. She would have done anything at all for him and to have him. She stepped away from him, allowing him to slip out of her. He was still hard, leaving her feeling empty and lost.