He put a little pressure on her shoulders, silently commanding her to kneel. “I’m a very good teacher,” he told her hoarsely.

He was not going to last long, his passion rising to meet hers. He would have to be inside of her soon. The thrall was on both of them, not just Bijou, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking her again and again, no matter the cost to either of them.

Who could resist the sight of Bijou, her long hair falling around her soft skin, on her knees looking up at him with dark desire in her incredible eyes? He needed her mouth wrapped around his cock. He was already dripping in anticipation.

Her breasts rose and fell, her nipples harder than ever. She wanted this every bit as much as he did, and that had him nearly falling to his own knees. He nudged her knees a little farther apart with his foot, enjoying the reality of her rather than an image. Her body was open to his, needy like his, and she licked her lips again as if she couldn’t wait to taste him.

Already he could scent her call, that wild lavender honey wafting up from between her thighs to tease his senses and drive him insane with need all over again. She was leopard, she would take to every passionate, erotic lesson he gave her. He let her look her fill and then he caught her hair in his fist and urged her chin up. “Explore with your tongue. Get to know me. Every part of me. I belong to you, so take your time and enjoy yourself.”

He wasn’t altogether certain he could give her that time, but he found he needed this from her. Her hands touched him tentatively at first, stroking little caresses that made him want to growl. Then she touched with more confidence, testing his weight, his girth, holding his balls and rolling them gently. He threw back his head at the first stroke of her tongue. Featherlight. Velvet soft. He wasn’t going to survive this night.

He used the back of his hand to gently caress the sides of her face, encouraging her as she built up her courage. It was all he could do not to force himself to thrust his cock into her mouth. Fire burned over him when her tongue stroked and licked and then she sucked at his heavy sac. This wasn’t going to work, not when she was so sensuous and obviously into pleasing his every whim. He would never last.

“Blue, I need your mouth around me. Suck on me hard.” Now his voice was nearly gone, just a hard command that was more growl than voice.

Bijou licked up the shaft, swirled her tongue around the ridge and down under the head of his cock. His breath hissed out of him as she licked over the head and then pushed down, taking it into the heat of her mouth. The suction was tight and her tongue teased over his hard flesh. He forgot all about teaching her anything. There was no way he could allow her to explore much longer, not if he planned on being inside of her.

Her scent beckoned him, a wild call he couldn’t ignore, not even for the ecstasy of her mouth moving over him with such care. She was squirming, her hips undulating in desperation, yet she still did her best to please him.

He tugged at her hair, waiting until she looked up at him. Her eyes were nearly pure cat, glowing at him like two glittering jewels in the night.

“I need to be inside you, chere. Right now. There’s all the time in the world for you to pleasure me like this, but right now, I need something else.” He drew her up and pointed to the bed. “Kneel down there.”

Bijou did as he commanded without question. He knew exhaustion didn’t matter. Inhibitions didn’t count. She had no more choice than he did. All he could do was make their joining the most pleasurable and passionate he could.

In the end, as dawn crept in, and she finally fell into a fitful sleep, he had no real idea of how many times he had taken her, only that each time she had screamed in pleasure, her body riding his as he took them both to paradise again and again.

Remy looked down at Bijou sprawled across the bed, her skin marred with his fingermarks, and the teeth of his leopard. He’d marked her—claimed her in the manner of his people, a primitive ritual, but it served its purpose of warning off other males, and making certain the emerging female leopard accepted the male. Bijou Breaux was formally now and forever . . . his.

7

“YOU really pissed off someone,” Gage said, hands on his hips, as he surveyed the damage to his brother’s apartment.

Remy noted with an inner smile that his younger brother had positioned himself protectively just a little in front of Remy. He knew without a doubt, if there was trouble, he could shove his brother out of the way, but it would slow him down by a second or two. On the other hand, it was a good feeling to know his brother had those protective instincts—for him.

“I guess I did,” Remy admitted with some satisfaction. He looked around the small apartment he rented in New Orleans. His home would always be the bayou, but it wasn’t always convenient to make his way that distance every night, so he kept a place closer to the police station.

“He really tore up your apartment,” Gage said. “I don’ think there’s anythin’ left.”

“I don’ keep anythin’ of value here,” Remy replied and took a long, slow look around the sitting room of his apartment.

Everything was smashed. His end tables, his lamps. The television set that had been on the wall was shattered, leaving a huge hole in the Sheetrock. The couch and recliner cushions were slashed and the stuffing torn out.

“I’d say he was in a rage,” Gage said. He glanced at his brother. “What did you do?”

Remy shrugged. “I kissed a girl.”

“I hope she was worth it,” Gage said, and stepped back, closer to his brother in order to peer into the bedroom.