“If I don’t get it right the first time, Saria, I promise to spend hours, months, years, practicing until I do. You won’t have any complaints and if you don’t, believe me, babe, I won’t either. A man likes to know his woman is satisfied. In any case, I’ve noticed you tend to follow instructions beautifully when you want to.”

Saria laughed. “Okay then. If you’re sure. Take your bath and I’ll get a few things. Will we be goin’ out tomorrow?”

He nodded. “I want to get my bearings and talk some more to Remy as well as some of the others in the lair. But”—he planted another kiss on her mouth—“not so early this time.”

“I guess you do need to sleep in.”

“I wasn’t intending to sleep,” he admitted.

Saria shook her head, and left him. The tub was deep and wide. He made a mental note to himself that it was large enough for two. One thing about Pauline’s inn, it had plenty of hot water and he sank gratefully into the deep tub. Lacerations stung, but the water was soothing and he closed his eyes and let himself drift.

He was exhausted. It had been a long while since he’d had to fight leopards, and for a test of whether his leg would hold up or not, this had been a baptism by fire. He laughed softly to himself. His doctor had been very specific. Shift—but take his time. Go slowly. Feel the leg out. Make certain it held up before using it strenuously. Somehow he didn’t think he was following the doctor’s orders too closely. Yeah. He was fine. His leopard was fine. The world was right again—well, almost. When he considered there was a psycho serial killer leopard on the loose and an entire out-of-control lair to deal with—maybe things weren’t quite so right. But for now, for tonight, knowing Saria would lie beside him, he’d take whatever peace he could and be damned happy about it.

“Are you plannin’ on stayin’ in the bath all night?”

Saria’s soft voice pulled him out of his revelry. He’d drifted off, floating in hot water that had gone warm on him. He ducked his head under the water to rinse out his hair and came up looking for her. She stood in the doorway, dressed in a short tank top and small pair of boy shorts that clung to her hips and buttocks lovingly.

“You sleeping in that?”

She tugged at the hem of the shirt that didn’t quite cover her belly. “What’s wrong with it?”

“I’ll just have to take it off you in a couple of hours.”

“You want me to go to bed with you naked?”