She tasted sweet. She tasted hot. Sexy. His. And she kissed him back. No hesitation. Drowning in him. Giving him everything. Giving him—her. His woman didn’t hold grudges and she could kiss like fucking sin. He felt her kiss go straight to his heart. Straight to his soul. Straight to his aching cock.

He lifted his head slowly, trailed kisses over her cheeks and up to her eyes, brushing the wet lashes. “Can’t take it when you’re hurt, baby. Breaks something inside of me, but this is my fault. I should have taken the time to go over those recipes with you. If you ever get hurt when I’m not close by, promise me you’ll call one of the boys to help you.”

She shook her head without actually thinking about it. Clearly she didn’t want to call one of the men to help her. She didn’t know it, but that was huge for him. He didn’t like the idea of any of the men holding her hand or wiping her tears. Still. She should have had treatment immediately.

“Why didn’t you call them?”

She shrugged. “It didn’t occur to me. I was waiting for you. If I’m being honest, I’m not that comfortable with any other man but you.”

He closed his eyes briefly. She definitely was killing him. He liked that more than a fuck of a lot. Way too much.

“And I wanted to finish the dinner. I might have burned my hands, but I think I did it right.”

She looked up at him with her tear-drenched eyes. Her long, feathery lashes. Her bone structure. His heart started hammering in his chest.

“Do you think you could try to salvage the dinner? Maybe finish it? I want to see if I did the salsa right for you. It’s important to me, Elijah.”

Something inside him broke. Shattered. Maybe it was his heart, because his chest actually hurt. Her eyes moved over his face. Her eyes. Green. Piercing. Exotic. So beautiful. But she could see inside him to the small, vulnerable spot he kept hidden. It wasn’t so hidden now. She’d exposed it to the world—at least anyone watching him would see it.

“You can kiss me again,” she said softly.

“I can kiss you?” he echoed, not really following her.

She nodded solemnly. “Right there is the reason I can overlook all your f-bombs and ridiculous temper. That look you have on your face, right now. It’s for me. It’s mine. I love you like that, Elijah, so much it’s terrifying.”

He stared down at her upturned face. That face. He wanted to wake up to that face the rest of his life and still, it wouldn’t be long enough. He was glad he was leopard, a shifter, living more than one life so he could find her again and again.