Bijou licked up the shaft, swirled her tongue around the ridge and down under the head of his cock. His breath hissed out of him as she licked over the head and then pushed down, taking it into the heat of her mouth. The suction was tight and her tongue teased over his hard flesh. He forgot all about teaching her anything. There was no way he could allow her to explore much longer, not if he planned on being inside of her.

Her scent beckoned him, a wild call he couldn’t ignore, not even for the ecstasy of her mouth moving over him with such care. She was squirming, her hips undulating in desperation, yet she still did her best to please him.

He tugged at her hair, waiting until she looked up at him. Her eyes were nearly pure cat, glowing at him like two glittering jewels in the night.

“I need to be inside you, chere. Right now. There’s all the time in the world for you to pleasure me like this, but right now, I need something else.” He drew her up and pointed to the bed. “Kneel down there.”

Bijou did as he commanded without question. He knew exhaustion didn’t matter. Inhibitions didn’t count. She had no more choice than he did. All he could do was make their joining the most pleasurable and passionate he could.

In the end, as dawn crept in, and she finally fell into a fitful sleep, he had no real idea of how many times he had taken her, only that each time she had screamed in pleasure, her body riding his as he took them both to paradise again and again.

Remy looked down at Bijou sprawled across the bed, her skin marred with his fingermarks, and the teeth of his leopard. He’d marked her—claimed her in the manner of his people, a primitive ritual, but it served its purpose of warning off other males, and making certain the emerging female leopard accepted the male. Bijou Breaux was formally now and forever . . . his.

Chapter 7

7

“YOU really pissed off someone,” Gage said, hands on his hips, as he surveyed the damage to his brother’s apartment.

Remy noted with an inner smile that his younger brother had positioned himself protectively just a little in front of Remy. He knew without a doubt, if there was trouble, he could shove his brother out of the way, but it would slow him down by a second or two. On the other hand, it was a good feeling to know his brother had those protective instincts—for him.

“I guess I did,” Remy admitted with some satisfaction. He looked around the small apartment he rented in New Orleans. His home would always be the bayou, but it wasn’t always convenient to make his way that distance every night, so he kept a place closer to the police station.