“Is it possible he’s doing Cortez’s bidding?” Rio ventured. “We have to at least take a look at the possibility that she knows about us.”

“No.” Isabeau raised her head, her gaze meeting Rio’s steadily. “He deserted Imelda and is coming after Conner. He’s got a twisted sense of right and wrong. It was okay to beat me, but not okay to rape me. I should accept him and we can live happily ever after, although he might have to kill Conner’s and my child. I think he has enough money to be satisfied and he’s already moved on to his next agenda. I made the mistake of marking him.” Her voice wobbled but she kept her gaze steady. “This isn’t about Imelda. We’re still clear to go.”

“You’re betting our lives on that,” Rio said. “A good way to kill Conner is to lure him into Imelda’s compound.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Isabeau denied.

“Why?” Rio asked.

“He has a sense of honor,” she replied.

The knots in Conner’s belly tightened even more. He didn’t want Ottila Zorba anywhere near Isabeau. “Listen, baby,” he crooned softly. “This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”

“I did something to him.” There was a frown in her voice, but she wouldn’t look at him. “He said my cat would accept him. And she didn’t come out to help me. She didn’t protest what he was doing.”

“We have venom in our claws.” He brushed kisses over her temples. “Zorba is trying to confuse you, to make you think that what you did entitles him to you, but he saw you and in his twisted mind, like any other common stalker, he thinks you have a relationship with him. He knows you’re my mate. He knows you’re married to me, but it doesn’t matter to him. Mates are sacred. No one touches another’s mate.”

He took her through to the bathroom and allowed her legs to drop to the floor, one arm holding her steady.

“I don’t understand, Conner. You said he has the right to challenge you.”

“You chose, but yes, an unmated female certainly has the right to choose her mate. She isn’t restricted to one single male until that choice is made. Ordinarily, mates look for one another, life cycle after cycle, but they don’t always. Your cat indicated she found his cat attractive, that’s all. But you are mated, and he has no rights at all to you. He knows that.”

“Then what does the venom do?”

He was afraid she’d ask. He busied himself tugging at her shirt, which she didn’t want to give up. She kept pulling the hem back down. Finally she covered her chest with her arms, preventing him from removing her top.

“I’ll do it myself, when I’m alone.”