“Did I say something funny? Because you’re smirking and it isn’t very nice.”
“Yeah, you said something funny. Kitten, we didn’t just have sex. That was off-the-chart sex and you know it. I look at you and get hard. You look at me and burn between your legs. You think I don’t know when a woman wants me? We’re going to have sex, as you so delicately put it, often and in ways you can’t imagine in your wildest dreams. So it is very important that you are comfortable being naked around me. And comfortable talking about sex, what you like and what you don’t.”
“I don’t like you smirking and being so sure of yourself,” she said. Her blue eyes flashed a deep violet that only made her all the sexier to him.
“At least you know your partner knows what the hell he’s doing. You’re in good hands.”
She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against the tub. “I don’t trust you, Eli. I really don’t. I don’t want to be with someone I don’t trust. It was a mistake having sex with you. I couldn’t help myself. I take full responsibility for throwing myself at you, but that doesn’t mean I want to repeat the experience.”
He made a low sound in his throat, somewhere between a growl and a laugh.
Her gaze jumped to his. “I don’t. Maybe my body does. I won’t lie to you about that, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show restraint and learn control.”
“You do that, baby,” he said, still amused. She had no idea how much she was turning him on with her nonsense. She didn’t know the first thing about a wildfire out of control, and that was what they were together. But she’d learn and he was going to have fun teaching her. “In the meantime, while we’re here in this house, you can lose the panties and be very comfortable.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can see you’re going to be difficult.”
“I’m not trying to be, Cat, but seriously? You think this is a onetime shot?”
She nodded slowly.
“So when I put my mouth between your legs you’re not going to start pleading with me to be inside of you?” he demanded.
Color swept up her neck to turn her face a pretty pink. Her eyes went bright. Hungry. Her legs moved restlessly beneath the water. “I’m not expecting you to put your mouth between my legs.”
“You can’t give a man a taste of all that honey, baby, and then try to take it away from him. It doesn’t work that way. I want to eat you alive. I’ve got the taste of you in my mouth and it isn’t going to go away. I’m not going to be able to be inside you for a little while, a few hours or a day or two so that means I have to sate my desire on your taste. And you’re going to learn what to do with my cock in your mouth.”
“I’m not your sex slave, Eli,” she snapped. “I told you. I don’t like you. I don’t trust you. I don’t even know who you are.”
“Well you’re finding out fast, aren’t you, Kitten,” he said.
Eli leaned his hip against the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. Steam rose from the tub, wrapping her in mystery. A light sheen covered her skin, giving her a glow. Her leopard had subsided for the time being. He knew because his leopard wasn’t pushing him so hard. A female leopard rising several times close to the surface and then settling was fairly standard.
That was hard on the female human counterpart, but he intended to take good care of her. In the meantime, he had a lot to make up for.
“Are you hungry?”
“Can you cook?”
“Not really.” He admitted with a grin. “I told you the truth. I tried to give you who I really was, Catarina, not some bullshit made-up man. I’ll try to cook for you though.”
She smiled a genuine smile for the first time. “Do you actually have groceries?”
“I called my neighbor and she sent a supply over. I asked her to pick up an espresso machine as well and some coffee beans.”
“Give me a few more minutes and I’ll see what you have. I enjoy cooking, and it will hopefully get your mind off sex long enough for me to reason with you.”
“I doubt that, but I’m willing to give it a try,” he agreed, mostly because she really did look as if she wanted to make breakfast. And he liked her cooking.
“Why did you do that to me?” she repeated.
He sighed. “I told you, baby. It’s my job. No one really knew what you were to Cordeau. No one knew why you were in his home or why you left. There were rumors and speculation. I think most people thought you were part of his organization, at the very least his lover. I knew the first time I saw you that you weren’t either.”
“Still, you came after me. You lied to me. I thought you were my friend. You worked hard to gain my trust and then you betrayed me.”