She could do this. She could think her way out of this, or at least hit on some kind of a plan. Part of the problem was Eli. He did more than just melt her body every time he looked at her. She still remembered sweet. Worse, he still gave her sweet. He treated her as if she mattered. He didn’t need to look after her the way he did, but then he’d done it before, drawing her in, only to stomp on her.
Eli had tons of experience when it came to sex, she at least recognized that. She knew she could be somewhat submissive. It was impossible not to be, raised the way she was, but it didn’t make sense that she found his commanding voice so absolutely compelling. Each time he gave her an order, delivered in a low, sexy tone, her body went up in flames. Was that something to do with being a shifter? His cat dominant over hers? She didn’t know. She didn’t know why she liked caring for him so much. Or why she liked obeying him when they had wild sex. She just didn’t know.
She slipped from the tailgate, caught up his clothing and brought it with her back to the cab. Her gaze slid to the ignition. He’d left the keys in the truck. She’d been fairly certain she’d noticed that little detail, and if she noticed it, he had. So, what was he playing at? Testing her? If so, she ought to drive back to the house and let him walk home. She bit her lip, for the first time finding a little humor in the situation. That was, if she could find the house and if she could figure out how to drive.
She climbed into the relative warmth of the cab. The sun shone through the windows, warming the leather interior. She took the keys out of the ignition and stared at them, before folding each item of his clothing carefully and setting them on the backseat in plain sight.
She was exhausted from all the sex and trying to figure out a future. Her leopard was no help, sleeping or something rather than giving her any clues as to what to do. She went through the glove compartment and found a set of handcuffs, but nothing else that might give her something to get an advantage over Eli.
Catarina found herself shivering at the thought. He wasn’t the kind of man to cross. Not in the same way as Rafe; he wouldn’t kill someone and tell her their blood was on her hands, but he’d make it known he wasn’t happy. She wasn’t certain she wanted to find out how.
The leopard stretched its legs, running along the road and winding through the trees, but always in a tight circle that kept the truck in the center. He detoured when the scent of three men he recognized drifted from just over the edge of his property line. His acreage butted up next to Jake Bannaconni’s estate. His neighbor was a billionaire with oil on his property, and twice he’d mentioned to Eli that he was certain there was oil on his property as well.
Eli hadn’t cared much one way or the other. Not then. He had plenty of money from his trust and a job that kept him gone most of the time. Still, if Bannaconni said there was oil, there probably was.
He’d met the man through a mutual friend, Drake Donovan. Eli had spent weeks with Drake in the Borneo rain forest, and Drake had taught him more about shifters in those few weeks than his father had ever had a chance to teach him. Bannaconni had somehow tracked him down, explaining Drake needed a bone graft from a shifter, that if he didn’t get one soon, he would never shift again and they’d lose him. Eli had immediately volunteered for testing and had been compatible, grateful he could repay Drake for his friendship and knowledge.
He’d refused to take the considerable sum of money Bannaconni had offered him, but he’d let it be known he was interested in acreage out of the way where his leopard could run free, and to call if they stumbled on anything suitable. Bannaconni contacted him the instant the property next to his came up for sale.
Eli had a lot of respect for Jake Bannaconni. He could have purchased the prime real estate and added it to what he already had, especially suspecting oil on it, but he’d let Eli know it was coming up for sale and when Eli was interested quietly arranged the sale and hid it under multiple layers of his own corporations.
It was Jake’s wife, Emma, whom he emailed when he was coming to the property. She personally didn’t stock his fridge, he knew better than that, but she had the supplies bought and delivered. The Bannaconnis were good neighbors and Jake certainly deserved a heads-up that a rogue would eventually be coming their way.
He shifted as he got closer. As a rule shifters weren’t in the least bit modest, but he was always careful to know who was close by before he allowed himself to be seen.
“Jake?” he called out the moment he identified two of Jake’s men with him.
Joshua Tregre and Elijah Lospostos were two of Jake’s shifter crew. Eli knew them both fairly well. They’d come from Borneo with Drake to work for Jake. Eli knew Drake was now living in New Orleans but was still very tight with Jake and these two men.
“Eli?” Jake called back.
The three men moved closer to the property line.
“I’ve been out for a run,” Eli warned them.
They didn’t hesitate. “I’ve got a spare pack,” Joshua said. “Do you want a pair of jeans?”
“Seems silly just for a short visit. I’ve got my mate in the truck and she could decide to take off any minute,” Eli said.
“Not happy about being your mate, I take it,” Jake said, stepping through the foliage. He was a big man, like Eli. Like all of them, they were built with the roped, powerful muscle of their kind.
“No, can’t say she is. She’s got a rogue after her. Not only is he very dangerous, but he’s built himself a large crime network. He owns just enough cops to get information very quickly.”
“You got a name?” Bannaconni asked.
“Rafe Cordeau.”
Elijah made a soft sound, a kind of warning growl at the back of his throat. “He’s a bad one, boss,” he said. “Rumor is that he likes to bring his enemies to the swamp and let his leopard hunt. I heard a whisper that he lost his most prized possession. She with you?” His mercury eyes met Eli’s. “Because if that woman is the one he’s been looking for, he’s going to come at you with everything he’s got to get her back.”
“I’m well aware of that. I’ve been chasing this bastard for over two years with the DEA and haven’t gotten anything on him that would stick. Every time we had him, our witness disappeared right from under our noses. Every safe house we put them in was found and penetrated, nothing has worked. Now I know why. I had no idea he was a shifter.”
“He knows to stay clear of Drake’s lair and the Boudreaux boys in the bayou and swamps. They’re all in law enforcement in some capacity and Cordeau wants no part of them,” Elijah said. “Drake married into that family, and he runs a tight lair. I’ve had a couple of sit-downs with Cordeau. It was tense, to say the least. My uncle was in power back then. The two of them did business together. Since I’ve returned to the States, he’s put out a few feelers.”
“I’ve got to take him down,” Eli said. “If I don’t, my woman will never rest easy again.”
“You can’t keep a shifter locked up,” Jake said, watching him close.
“I have no intentions of locking him up, Jake,” Eli said, knowing his eyes had gone cool and watchful. His cat surged close. He’d been close all along, but the thought of meeting Cordeau and taking him out permanently had his cat raking for freedom.