His voice turned her heart over. It was amazing to her what that tone could do. She immediately became aware of her breasts because they ached and her nipples scraped against the soft flannel of the shirt she wore. Little fingers of desire teased her thighs, and if he asked, she’d have to admit she was getting damp for him. With just his voice. How far gone did that make her?
“Well, it’s true. You gave that to me, Eli. I’ve been so afraid for so long that I almost don’t know how not to be. But you took that away… mostly.” She had to add the last because she was being strictly honest with him. She still couldn’t quite make herself look at him.
“I don’t want you ever to be afraid, Cat. Not anymore. We’ll make you safe. The more you know about self-defense, the better you are with a gun and other weapons, the more you feel you’re in condition, the safer you’ll feel by yourself. My male will teach your female how to protect herself, but always, always, know I’m going to defend you and protect you with my last breath.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. He looked – invincible. Maybe it was that strength in him. She saw him naked, all the flowing power, the roped muscles and easy, fluid way he moved. He was fast, and when he shifted, he could do so on the run. His presence made her feel safe, but more than that, she liked that it was important to him that she learn to defend herself. He wanted her strong. He wanted her to feel as if she could survive an attack. That meant something to her.
Catarina cleared her throat. “There really isn’t any information on shifters so after I learned about Rafe, I studied leopards. They mate and then the female raises her young alone.”
Eli didn’t make a sound. He waited in silence. He knew it was an effort on her part, he could tell by the way her body stiffened, but she forced herself to turn around and face him, to walk toward him with his coffee, but she studiously looked at the floor while she did so.
“Baby, are you asking me a question? Because if you are, I need your eyes on mine.” His voice was low, but it held a clear command.
Her lashes fluttered and then her gaze jumped to his. He took the coffee. It smelled almost as good as she did. He couldn’t resist smoothing his hand over her bare bottom again. Just having her standing there so close made him hard. He knew it wasn’t all about how she looked, or even the fact that she was a wildcat in his bed. There was far more to it than that.
It was this. Her bare ass, no panties under his shirt because he’d asked it of her. It was her inexperience, her shyness, yet her willingness to learn from him, to let him guide her and teach her the things she wanted to learn. Her trust in giving him her body – that trust – in spite of his earlier betrayal of her. How could he not be so in love with her that it hurt? How could he possibly be with her and not know she was his world and always would be?
“I suppose I am. How do shifters handle that sort of thing?”
“Shifters mate for life. Over and over. They find one another and they choose each other. I would never leave you, or take another woman. When you carry my child in your belly, baby, it will only make me love you more. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyes began to move away from his and toward the floor. She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Keep your eyes on mine. You hide when you avoid someone’s eyes. You’ve practiced it enough, for years, obviously, but there isn’t a reason to hide anymore. I want to know what you’re thinking, so you look at me not the floor.”
“I’m thinking you’re extremely bossy,” she snapped, her eyes coming back to his.
Deep blue. Flirting with anger. That made him hard too. He’d seen her a lot of ways, but anger wasn’t really one of them. Hurt, yes, anger not so much.
He grinned at her and then took a sip of coffee. “My woman makes a great cup of coffee, and she has a temper.”
“Why would that make you happy?”
“Best kind of sex there is, baby. Make-up sex.” His grin widened when her eyes turned a deep blue and flashed at him. There was just a hint of a smile in the midst of her mad.
“You do know you can be annoying, don’t you?” she demanded.
“I think you’re a little grumpy because you haven’t had your coffee and you just woke up.” He stepped close to her, crowding her, inhaling her scent. She could strip him bare, right to his soul, with her eyes. She just didn’t know it and he thought it best that she never did. “What is it about having babies that scares you, Kitten? Talk to me. Let me help with that.”
Her eyelashes fluttered, but her eyes didn’t leave his and there was an instant melting around the region of his heart. He admired her courage.
“I’ve never even held a baby, Eli, let alone taken care of one. I’ve never been around a child. I don’t know the first thing about raising children.”