Sunlight burst behind his eyes. He merged with her. Into her. Floated with her across the sky. He forgot where they were. There was only Saria and her soft skin and hot mouth. He kissed her again and again. Exchanged soft breath. Turned to ragged gasps. They were flying. Soaring. He shifted her more closely into his arms, fitting her against him so that she was snugly against the cradle of his hips. The movement rocked the boat, so that he had to balance them both. Ruefully he lifted his head, astonished that he’d been so lost in the haven of her soft mouth.

Saria pressed her forehead to his, both hands on his shoulders. “So it is real.” Her eyes were wide with a kind of dazed shock he found endearing.

“Very real,” he agreed. “And I don’t want you to forget it.”

“It’s a little scary,” she admitted.

He framed her face with his hands. “I know it is, Saria. I know I’m asking a lot from you to trust me with this, but I’ll see us through it. I won’t let you down.”

She studied his face for a long time. Around them, the water lapped gently at the boat and a large bird took flight, the sound of the wings surprisingly loud as the creature lifted into the air. He could read the trepidation on her face—but also the resolve. His woman wasn’t going to run, not like the birds taking to the air around them; she would see it through no matter how frightened she was. Each show of courage added another string into his heart.

Drake slipped one hand into all that silky hair, bunching it into his hands. “They won’t give you up easily, Saria. You have to know that. This is a small community. Every female is valuable. Amos Jeanmard sacrificed his own happiness for his people. I believe he is their leader, but he isn’t holding them together the way he once did. Sooner or later a younger leopard will challenge his right to leadership. If that happens before your leopard emerges, he could potentially change the rules on us. In any case, he will expect you to stay with your lair and mate with one of the males here to preserve the shifter lineage. Should a younger male challenge him, he may set the others on a course to reacquire you.”

“And you’ll fight them all.”

“I have experience they don’t. And my team will be joining us. They’re all experienced in battle.”

“They’re my friends and family,” Saria pointed out.

He brushed his lips gently over hers. “I’m a leader, Saria. We don’t ever sacrifice our own kind needlessly. I will do my best not to allow this to get out of hand, but they won’t take you from me.”