He moved in close to her, reaching to tuck strands of hair behind her ear, the brush of his fingers gentle. “You were courageous tonight, when the kid grabbed you. You didn’t panic.”

She flashed a tentative smile. “I knew you’d come. He was so shocked to see me there, at first I think his intention was to get me out of the line of fire, but just then Adan stepped out of the brush with his darts. I think it was clear that I knew Adan, and Jeremiah used me as a shield. He could smell the other leopards and knew he’d walked into a bad situation.”

“Are you making excuses for the kid?” Unable to stop touching her, he stroked his fingers down the long fall of silken hair.

“He’s pretty bruised.”

“He’s damned lucky he’s alive,” Conner pointed out. He took her elbow and tugged her back away from the edge. “Don’t defend him. He should have known better than to put his claws in you.”

“That wasn’t as bad as being shot,” she said, attempting a small laugh.

He didn’t smile—couldn’t smile. A few more inches . . . “That man is dead. Jeremiah is very lucky. I wasn’t in a good mood.”

Isabeau burst out laughing. “Really? I would never have guessed.”

He loved the sound of her laughter. He loved that she could laugh. Standing there battered and bruised with punctures in her neck, defending the kid who did it, he felt respect rising like the sun. The image struck him as pertinent. He hadn’t felt as though he was anywhere near the sun for a long time, and suddenly the world around him was bright again and that had everything to do with Isabeau.

He deliberately lifted an eyebrow. “Are you saying you think I have foul moods?”

“I think it’s entirely possible, yes,” she teased.

Something squeezed his heart hard so that he felt an actual pain in his chest. She wasn’t looking at him as if he was loathsome. It wasn’t complete and utter love like he’d seen in her eyes before, but it was a start.

Isabeau looked away from Conner’s focused eyes. He was looking at her with that possessive, hungry look that always made her so crazy for him. She wanted a truce, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. And she didn’t want to betray her father’s memory. She didn’t like being inside the cabin, so close to so many people she didn’t know. She hadn’t realized how comfortable she felt with Conner.

She’d thought she didn’t trust him, but the moment he was no longer at her side, she’d panicked. “The rain sounds different up here.”

He nodded without taking his gaze from her face. She could feel his eyes burning a brilliant gold right through her.