Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers, #9)(129)

“I don’t want to make trouble for you,” he said.

She sent him a small glance over her shoulder. Yeah. She knew the Lanoux brothers were in the grove, pacing along beside them, and she didn’t like it one bit. She had to be the female his cat had reacted to. It made sense. He was reacting to the woman. The men were edgy with a stranger in their midst. That might be natural, but to actually challenge one wasn’t—unless a female was close to the emerging.

The Han Vol Dan, the period of time when a female shifter’s leopard as well as the woman were both ready to mate at the same time, was the most dangerous time for all shifters. The male cats became edgy and restless, combative and difficult to control. Drake studied Saria. There was no sign of a cat now, nothing that gave away that a female leopard could be hiding beneath all that glorious skin.

It took him a good few minutes before he realized everything in him—every cell, every muscle, everything he was—reached for her. Saria Boudreaux belonged to him and he was going to have to steal her right out from under the noses of every single male in what looked as if it could be a considerable lair. And he had to do it right in the middle of a murder investigation. No small task but there was no question, he was looking forward to it.

“What?” Saria glanced at him over her shoulder again.

He was grinning; he couldn’t help himself. It felt damned good to be alive.

“Nothing. Just enjoying the evening—and the company. You live in a beautiful place, Saria.”

She sent him a faint, pleased smile. “It is, isn’t it? Not many people appreciate it.”

He followed her contentedly, and with danger pacing close and the night closing in, he felt right at home.