He had to get himself in hand. She was too young, innocent and inexperienced for a man like him, yet he knew with every single cell in his body that she was his mate. He turned off the water and toweled off. He told himself he was prepared for tears and recriminating looks. Maybe she’d try to walk off the job. He paused. Suppose she already had? What if she’d run in the early morning hours? If she’d gone home to her five brothers there was going to be hell to pay. They’d smell his scent all over her and they would come looking for a rogue leopard, and they’d be out for blood.

He dressed quickly and hurried down the hall to the room he knew Saria had slept in. He could hear the shower running. Some of the tension in his belly eased and he stood for a moment breathing deeply in the large circular library at the top of the stairs before he made his way down to the main sitting room. If Saria hadn’t run from him, he had the chance to court her, to make her see she hadn’t made a mistake in choosing him.

In the meantime, he was going to have to conduct a dance with the innkeeper. She had heard the leopard fight the night before, there was no question about that. She’d also removed all evidence. Did she suspect him? He would have scented her had she been close enough to identify him before or after he shifted. Her perfume was distinctive, a blend of several fragrances, predominantly lavender. He found it unusual and pleasing, not sweet and cloying like so many others.

Right now, the aroma of coffee and breakfast drifted through the house, guiding him straight to the formal dining room. Several silver warming trays were centered in the middle of the ornate table and three places were set.

Pauline Lafont looked up from pouring freshly squeezed orange juice into wine glasses. She looked up with a smile when he entered.

“Good morning, Miss Lafont,” Drake greeted. “Quite the commotion last night. I have to admit, it felt a little like being in Africa.”

The innkeeper frowned. “I should have warned you the alligators get quite loud some nights. I didn’t notice they were worse than usual, but I take a sleepin’ aid.”

Drake’s eyebrow shot up at the blatant lie, but he played his part of the city man not quite used to the noises in such a rural setting. “Really? You didn’t hear that horrible cat fight last night?”

The older woman shook her head. “We don’ have a large feral population here. The gators keep them down.”