Her lashes fluttered and she closed her eyes again. A small smile curved her lower lip. That fantasy lower lip he wanted to lean forward and bite.

“Seriously? Remy, I think it’s a little too late for either of us to think about that now. I know you want your apology to be sincere, but how could it be after the way we were together?” She frowned. “Or is that the way it always is when one has sex, because if so, I’ve been missing out.”

She had a point. Still, he wished he could have been just a little gentler initially. He winced a little at that, “when one has sex.” She didn’t say “make love” like every other woman he knew would have. He had definitely had savage, brutal leopard sex with her, but still . . .

He didn’t understand why her female hadn’t emerged and it worried him just a little bit. He was certain he was right about Bijou and her cat, he’d even felt his male reacting to what he thought was her female, yet Bijou hadn’t been forced to shift.

He pushed both hands through his hair and studied her face. There were shadows there and around her neck little smudges and love bites. The back of her neck had been marked by his cat, claiming her. She was sore, bruised and feeling guilty as sin. How did he explain her leopard to her?

“Sex will never be like that with anyone else,” Remy said honestly, “so you’re better off sticking with me.”

That faint smile appeared again. “Or I could be dead in a week after spending time with you.” A blush crept up her chest and neck. She still wouldn’t look at him.

He couldn’t imagine how she felt. She’d shed every inhibition and had absolutely no idea why. If he blurted out, “Hon, you’re a leopard, just like me,”’ she’d run for the hills and he couldn’t blame her. He should have tried to explain before they’d ever gotten started, but he was too far gone, too far into the frenzied thrall of mating.

“It would be a hell of a way to go,” Remy said, injecting humor into his voice. He could still lose her. She was out of her depth and fighting not to be ashamed of herself when there was nothing to be ashamed of.

“Wouldn’t it?” She tilted her chin. “Why haven’t you ever married?”

That was a loaded question if he ever heard one. He turned her around and picked up the spray nozzle so he could wash her hair. “I never found the right person. For me it was far better to be alone than to be with the wrong woman. I’ll never be an easy man to live with and my woman will have to put up with a lot, so there was no doubt in my mind I’d better find the right one if I was going to be with someone.”

He massaged her scalp, trying to ease some of the tension from her. The bite mark on the back of her neck was deeper than he had intended. He couldn’t help but lean forward and brush a kiss over the wound. She seemed to drift a little while he rinsed, towel dried and then braided her hair into a long, thick rope.

Bijou suddenly jerked away, turning her head toward him, her eyes wide with fear and shock. “Remy.” She said his name like a talisman, her white knight, the only man she could trust in a frightening situation.

He stood up quickly, pulling the drain on the water and drawing her with him. Taking her out of the water, he wrapped a towel around her. Her body shuddered, sensitive to the slightest touch. She moistened her lips and looked up at him, her jeweled eyes meeting his. “It’s happening again. I can feel it—a hunger spreading like fire through me. Is it you? Have you given me something like a drug? A chemical to make this happen? Have I turned into a nymphomaniac? Is it in my blood?”

He shook his head. “Don’ be silly. It’s none of those things. Just know that when it happens to you, it also happens to me. We’re in this together, Blue, and I’ll get you through it. Look at me, I had you not even an hour ago and I’m all jacked up again.”

Bijou looked at him with rapt attention, at the size of his cock, and he felt himself jerk in response. They’d had violent sex, and yet that didn’t matter. He knew she was sore. He knew her body needed rest. Hell. So did his. That didn’t matter either, it seemed. His wayward cock had a mind of its own, just as her poor abused body did.

He reached out and caught the nape of her neck, leaning a little toward her. “I sat on that damned balcony three nights in a row, so hard I thought I’d break into pieces if I dared to even move. I made up stories in my mind, all those erotic images of you kneeling at my feet, your beautiful lips wrapped around my cock givin’ me relief.”

She bit down on her lower lip, her blue eyes rising to meet his. The impact hit him hard, like a punch to the gut. The tip of her tongue came out and she licked at her lips as if the thought was intriguing. “I want to, Remy. I dreamt of pleasin’ you that way, maybe a million times, but I honestly don’t know how. I’m a fast learner,” she added. “I read books just in case you wanted me. I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“You could never disappoint me, Bijou. The key to being good at this is to enjoy it. If you do, and I know you want me like that and that you enjoy having me in your mouth, lovin’ me that way, anything you do will be perfect.”

“Would you help me learn? If you talk me through it and have patience . . .” She trailed off.

The hopeful note in her voice tugged at his heart. She was squirming again. The Han Vol Dan was so close and her leopard was definitely a very sexual passionate animal, just as his was. She wouldn’t give Bijou any relief, her heat driving her to mate.