Blue was leopard. Well . . . maybe she was leopard. Remy considered the ramifications for her. Bijou had no idea who her mother was, and in any case, her mother, had she lived, would not have been able to tell her daughter about her heritage, just in case Bijou couldn’t shift. Bodrie was no leopard, and he certainly hadn’t known what he had in Bijou.

Female leopards didn’t emerge unless the human counterpart and the leopard both came into cycle at the same time. Only at that time could a woman’s leopard emerge for the first time. It was an extremely dangerous time for all male leopards. Blue would be extremely alluring and yet, if not ready, moody and edgy.

A few days ago, there in the store, Bijou’s eyes had changed from that amazing blue to a lethal glacier blue when Eulalie had kissed him on the cheek. Maybe Remy had wanted Bijou to be the one. He had all but given up looking for a mate, and now Bijou was back in his territory and in spite of the age difference, he couldn’t get his mind off of her. She was beautiful and intriguing. He knew she was intelligent. She was talented and had a good sense of humor. He liked being in her company.

He was man enough to admit to himself that he was a strong dominant and needed a woman who could stand up to him when he became too overbearing, as Saria often accused him of being. His career was important to him. He believed what he did made a difference and often he was gone long hours. He needed a woman with her own life, career and independence, yet one who would need him the way he would her.

Earlier in the week in Bijou’s company, without warning, his leopard had gone from a jealous, snarling lethal cat to . . . oh baby . . . there you are. The moment was gone, the scent of a female close to her time was gone, but for whatever reason—his cat accepted Bijou Breaux.

He scented his sister just before she stepped into the kitchen. Like him, she was silent when she walked, and she didn’t bother with the lights. She froze and turned very slowly toward the corner where the darker shadows hid him completely.

“Remy?”

“Why aren’t you sleepin’, Saria?” he asked.

“Drake’s not here. He left yesterday for Texas to see Jake and Emma. We were hopin’ to persuade them to come for a visit, but Emma just found out she’s pregnant and Drake says Jake is freakin’ out. The doctors weren’t certain she could ever have another baby. She nearly died in childbirth. Jake was adamant that they not have another child, but apparently birth control doesn’t always work on leopards.”

“Jake Bannaconni? Freakin’ out?” Remy shook his head. “That man is stone.”