Isabeau had no idea what would happen when her cat emerged. She would never, under any circumstances, tolerate another woman near her mate. Conner shoved his fingers through his damp hair and stared up at the cabin, hesitant to go back in where his cat would react to the close proximity of the men around Isabeau. He was in for a long night. His body was not going to get a reprieve from the relentless urgent demands.

She had more power over him than she knew. On the nights he’d managed to sleep, he woke with the sound of her laughter in his mind. The image of her diving into water, looking over her shoulder, enticing him. His memories were mixed now, old and new. Past life and present one. All Isabeau. Everything good in his life was now simply Isabeau.

He’d been walking through the motions for a year. Hiding in the States. He’d heard her voice everywhere he went. His skin ached for the touch of hers. He couldn’t find a way to keep the blood in his veins from thickening and heating every time he thought about her—which was all the time. He hadn’t realized—until he saw her again—just how numb he’d been. Everything in him came alive when she was near.

Now he was faced with seeing her every day. Teaching her the ways of their people. How to protect herself in the rain forest. He had no idea how to stop wanting her. How to stop needing to kiss her and just try to be casual and indifferent around her. Not only did he have her and her emerging cat to worry about, but the kid was going to need training and looking after. He sighed. His life had turned very complicated, yet he felt more alive than he ever had.

Isabeau was close. Her warmth. Her scent. Her cat. He lifted his face to the rain and let it drop on his face, trying to cleanse his mind of her. She was swamping his senses. Driving out all sane thoughts until he was going to be useless to Rio and the others if he didn’t get a handle on his cat. And damn it all—he couldn’t blame the out-of-control emotions all on his cat. The man was feeling the same driving hungers—the same desperate need.

He’d fallen so hard for her. So fast. He’d been in too deep before he’d even realized she was burrowing into his heart and soul, winding around his bones and pressing her stamp deep into them, invading every blood cell until he couldn’t escape her lure. There was no way to free his soul once he’d fallen in love with her. He’d destroyed everything between them, shattered her in one horrible blow, but he hadn’t managed to disentangle himself from her in the process.