But then, no doubt she would have awakened before a threat made it to her bedroom. He’d watched her over the months and he knew her instincts were damned good. The Breed instincts maturing inside her kept her on her toes.
And apparently, trusted him far too well; otherwise she would be clawing rather than stretching sensually beneath his gaze as the sheet cleared her body.
She could have worn one of those sexy nightgowns she owned, he thought in regret at the sight of the loose, sleeveless top and snug cotton pants she slept in. She even wore socks.
A grimace pulled at his lips. He’d have much preferred the sexy nightie, dammit.
Easing back from the bed and moving to the chair she’d placed next to the open balcony doors, he slouched back in the comfortable seat and just stared at her. He let his gaze caress her from her delicate face along the slender column of her neck to the rise of her breasts beneath the thin top.
Nice breasts. A perfect handful and his fingers ached to cup them, stroke them.
The many ways he could amuse himself with those lush, peaked curves tempted the control he exerted over his lusts. He wasn’t accustomed to restraining himself. Whether it be his need for sex or for blood, patience was used only when it made the game more exciting.
Restraining himself would definitely make this game more exciting. So far, maneuvering her into place, pulling the pieces into play and beginning this particular game had called upon more patience than even he had imagined he possessed. The question was, could he maintain it?
Focusing his gaze on her, he let his senses connect with the always alert part of her genetics that marked her as his and called her from sleep. Connecting with her inherent senses had always been particularly easy. Too easy.
? ? ?
Cat didn’t come awake slowly.
Her eyes snapped open, aware of the presence even before she’d awakened. Furious that her sleeping senses hadn’t awakened her sooner. Could they have warned her first? Hell no. She had to wait until he commanded her to wake up.
“So the cat’s awake.” The growl came from the far corner of the bedroom, directly across from the large bed. Slouched in the chair she’d positioned there for him, just to the side of the opened balcony doors, he watched her like the very dangerous feline he was.
The asshole.
“You’re late.” Sitting up as she slid her legs over the side of the bed, Cat watched him carefully. “I expected you the last night.”
White teeth flashed in the darkness of the room as he shot her a mocking smile.
“I was here.” The shrug of his shoulders wasn’t missed, nor was the latent confidence in it. He had to be related to Jonas Wyatt. The two were far too much alike.
“No doubt you were,” she snorted. “You’ve turned into a stalker, G. I hadn’t expected that of you.”
The racing of her heart gave lie to the casual attitude she’d adopted, she knew, just as the scent of her wariness would be easily detected by him.
His amusement was frightening.
Icy, watchful, predatory.
She didn’t like it.
“What did you expect of me then, little cat?” he drawled, shifting to lay his ankle on the opposite knee as he watched her with odd, amber-flecked green eyes.
Like Jonas Wyatt’s silver eyes, there were no black pupils to separate the color. And when rage filled every molecule of the Breed, that color would bleed into the whites of his eyes as well.
“I didn’t expect to wake up.” The admission wasn’t easy to make, but she had no illusions about her ability to fight the animal in front of her.
There would be no fight to it, it was that simple.
He only narrowed his gaze on her.
“You thought I would kill you in your sleep?” he asked with an arch of his brow. “I’d at least give you a chance to fight.”
The superior mockery in his voice assured her that he was well aware there would be no risk involved in allowing her a chance to fight. Only a moment to laugh at her.
“Well, doesn’t that make me lucky,” she snorted. “That’s really big of you, G, that you’d give me a chance to realize how helpless I really am. I appreciate the thought.”
She hadn’t expected that much, she realized. He could have easily sliced her throat in her sleep and that stupid heffer of a tigress inside her would have bowed down and let him without ever giving Cat a warning. Stupid Breed genetics.
“I assumed you would.” The mocking drawl just grated on her nerves and had those Breed genetics she so often cursed rising to the fore. “See what a nice guy I really am?”
Yeah, he was just a helluva guy, wasn’t he?
It would have been nice if the genetics she possessed could have risen when he first slipped into her room. At least given her a chance to run, maybe?
“Yeah, just a teddy bear,” she murmured belligerently.
A teddy bear.
A flash of memory, a ragged teddy bear, one eye missing, just big enough for a small child to wrap her arms around.