Her chin went up. “You said how I wanted it was mine to say.”

He studied her face another minute. “Just say my name,” he reminded her.

Catarina nodded, and Eli shifted. It was not just fast, he shifted with blurring speed. He was so fast she nearly missed it because she blinked. One moment he was a large, intimidating man and the next he was a huge leopard. The head on the male seemed almost as big as she was.

There wasn’t time for panicking, she didn’t even scream, her breathing catching in her lungs and holding there, trapped. Gold eyes locked on her, smoldering, pupils dilated. So gold they were pure fire. Focused on her. Unblinking. Absolutely intelligent. Eli’s eyes. She would know his eyes anywhere.

The leopard was all roped muscle and thick, dark fur, a massive black panther. He looked… powerful. Invincible. Up this close she could see the shadowy rosettes stamped deep in the dark fur. She recognized a very efficient killing machine when she saw it.

She held her breath, hearing the roar of thunder as her blood pulsed in her ears. She felt her heart hammering hard in her chest. Strangely, there wasn’t the terrible fear that still woke her from a dead sleep, the other leopard snarling, rushing her, the eyes intent on her as prey. This leopard was just as deadly, but he was also Eli. She could see evidence of him there in the way his eyes watched her so closely.

Eli always watched her with the same intense stare. The way he looked at her, so focused, as if he could see into her soul, always thrilled and terrified. She felt both emotions right then as well.

Eli’s leopard took a step toward her, not the freeze-frame stalk of a leopard hunting, but a slow, measured step that brought the large cat directly in front of her. The way it positioned itself, it was almost as if it was a sentry, a guardian, seeking to keep her safe. She didn’t understand why this animal, every bit as large and intimidating as Rafe’s leopard, could make her feel so different.

For the first time, once the animal had taken up location in front of her, he broke his stare with her, turning his head and lifting it toward the air. She knew what he was doing, all those hairs, deeply embedded in tissue surrounded by nerve endings transmitted data to his brain. Like a guidance system, the information giving the exact location of vegetation and other obstacles so the leopard could move silently in the dark. The radar system also allowed him to find and identify enemies or prey quite easily.

Like Eli could. Or she could. She’d always known it wasn’t just about great night vision, that something else allowed her to move so easily in the pitch-black warehouse without ever falling over an obstacle, she just knew where everything was. She knew she could because she’d practiced. She hadn’t known how it worked for her, only that it did, but her warning system was a little spotty at times. It seemed to be growing stronger and she thought it was because she practiced so much, but now she thought maybe it was because her leopard was getting closer to the surface all those times.

It was impossible to be so close to such a large cat, a predator, and not feel the immense power and mystery. Yes, he was definitely a killing machine, the top of the food chain, but he was beautiful, magnificent even. Catarina shifted position carefully, pulling her feet up slowly onto the tailgate. She tried to be silent and stealthy, to not draw the cat’s attention. She wanted it to stay facing away from her so she could take in its amazing beauty without any fear, but the moment she inched one foot up, it swung its head around and the stare of golden fire locked onto her own.

She froze. Her heart stuttered to a halt and her breath once more became trapped in her lungs. They stared into one another’s eyes for a long time. Time enough for her lungs to burn for air. That long. Still, she couldn’t look away, mesmerized by the beauty and focus there.

The leopard shifted his weight and from his sitting position, jumped easily into the back of the pickup truck with her. He landed silently, just to one side of her, but all that muscle was heavy and she felt the truck’s bed settle for a moment.

She would not be a coward and call Eli’s name. It felt too much like surrender and she’d already surrendered her body to the man. She wouldn’t surrender her courage. She stayed very still. It seemed that as curious as she was about the large leopard, he was just as curious about her, extending his head toward her. The head seemed much larger up close than it appeared when the animal had been on the ground.

The leopard shifted position and involuntarily, her body jerked. The animal had to have registered her heart pounding out of control. Still, she wouldn’t give in, wouldn’t call Eli’s name. She felt the brush of the animal’s body against her shoulder as he moved behind her until she lost complete sight of him. She froze again, her entire body nearly seizing with fear. She closed her eyes, waiting for the terrible moment when she would feel his claws raking her back, his teeth puncturing her skin.

The leopard made a soft chuffing sound. It was quiet. Nonthreatening. She didn’t open her eyes. The animal moved against her back, rubbing his fur over the shirt she wore, his chin on top of her head. She was forced to take a breath before she passed out. She could smell him, his wild, exotic, feral scent filling her nostrils.

She wished for her leopard. She prayed for her leopard. “I brought you out here so you could be with him. Go to him. Let me slip away,” she whispered to the cat inside of her. “Save me.”

Eli hadn’t guessed what she was up to. She needed her leopard to emerge right there. Right then. If she could bring her out and keep her out, Catarina Benoit could disappear and she wouldn’t have to face either of the powerful predators who threatened her.