Rio frowned. “That should get us some help from your village . . .”
Conner spun around, the growl rumbling in his chest a clear warning. The sound burst from his throat, a fullthroated roar. “We will not go near that village. Let’s get this bitch done.” He spun on his heel and stalked across the clearing back toward the cabin.
Isabeau looked up at Rio. His frown had deepened and now there were worry lines etched into his face. “His father abandoned the child,” she explained. “You can’t let him go near that man.” In a way, she felt as if she were betraying Conner, but instinctively she knew Rio had the best chance of keeping Conner from doing anything rash.
“Thank you,” Rio said, as if reading her innermost thoughts. “I needed to know.”
Scent. Isabeau looked around her and realized the leopards relied on scent to judge emotions in situations. They could read a lot more than their human counterparts. All of them used their leopard senses even while in human form, which afforded them advantages in any situation. She needed to learn how to do that.
She followed at a much slower rate, turning over and over in her mind the expression she’d seen on Conner’s face. All the while she tried to recall his scent. What had gone through his mind in that moment? Resolution for certain. He was determined to get his brother and that meant . . .
She swallowed hard and stumbled a little. He’d told her he wouldn’t seduce Imelda Cortez. They were going to try another way in, perhaps using one of the others, but that look on his face . . . He’d made up his mind to use whatever means possible and he wouldn’t give the assignment to another—not when it was his own brother. Not when he believed his mother would expect it of him. Conner was going to do exactly what she’d asked of him—seduce Imelda Cortez.
Her heart squeezed down so hard it felt like something had gripped it in a vise. The pain was excruciating, so much so that she brought both hands to her chest and pressed hard, going down on one knee there on the edge of the trees. Bile rose in her stomach and churned, threatening to explode along with her protest. Her throat felt raw, her eyes burned.
What else could he do? What would she do? She wanted to scream a denial, to race to his side and rake at him with the claws of a cat for shredding her heart all over again. She’d let herself fall in love with him again. No, that wasn’t true. She’d always loved him. She’d wanted him to come to her for forgiveness. She wanted him on his knees pleading with her and in the end she’d forgive him and they would live happily ever after.
He was supposed to love her so much he would never think of touching another woman. When he’d told her he wouldn’t try to seduce Imelda Cortez, she’d been secretly thrilled. She’d wanted that reaction. She’d needed him to chase her, to court her, to prove to her that she was his love—his only love. The cat had complicated things. Now she didn’t know if it was the cat he wanted, or her.
“Isabeau?” Conner was beside her, his arm sliding around her waist, shadows in his eyes. His gaze moved over her inch by inch, trying to find the reason for the pain. “What is it? Let me see.” His hands went to her shirt as if he might lift it up to examine her chest for signs of injury.
She pushed his hands down and circled his neck with her arms, locking her fingers behind his neck. She loved this man with everything in her. Childish behavior had to be over, now, before it was too late and she lost him forever. She’d been living in a dream world, not reality. Yes, he’d seduced her for all the wrong reasons, but they had been right. They were right. If he felt for her half of what she felt for him, he couldn’t have stopped himself any more than she could now.
“What is it, Sestrilla?” he whispered against her ear, holding her close to him just like she knew he would.
She could feel the care in his touch. The strength, yet gentleness. That soft word he called her, foreign, yet so loving the way it rolled off his tongue. “Tell me what that means.” She laid her head against his heart, listening to that steady, reassuring beat. “I need to know what that means.”
“Isabeau.” She heard the sound of sorrow. The sound of a heart breaking.
“Tell me, Conner.” She refused to let him go, even when his hands so very gently were trying to pry her from him. She strengthened her hold and pressed her body tight against his. “I need to know.”
“It’s an ancient word in our world and means ‘beloved one.’”
Her heart turned over, settled, everything in her simply became clear. He’d always called her Sestrilla, long before the first time he’d slept with her.
“You’re my beloved too.”
She felt the breath he took. Ragged. Harsh. Deep. He rested his forehead against hers, his long lashes veiling his expression, but she could see the deep lines etched into his face. There was so much regret, so much sorrow, as if a great weight was on his shoulders, as if he’d already lost everything that mattered to him.
“You don’t understand, Isabeau,” he said gently.
She felt his voice inside of her, wrapping around her heart, sliding deep into her veins where heat rushed and her own heart pulsed to the tune of that smoky, hypnotic drawl.
“What don’t I understand, Conner?” she asked, her voice soft—loving.
He groaned and pushed into her forehead with his. “Don’t. Don’t, honey. I can’t live with losing you all over again. Let me just believe it was too late for us all along. It was over and there was no chance for us.”
“I brought you here under false pretenses, Conner. I’m not so innocent in all this. I needed to see you. I didn’t know Adan would know you from a drawing, but once I realized he could find a way to reach you, every single fiber of my being wanted to see you again. I made it happen. And deep down where I couldn’t look, I knew how you would feel about seducing another woman. I wanted to . . .”
“Don’t.” He put his finger over her lips. “Don’t say it. You don’t have to say it.”
She pressed her lips to his fingers. Stroked a caress with her tongue. “Yes I do. I wanted to punish you. I wanted to hurt you. I’m ashamed of that.”
“Damn it, Isabeau, do you think this makes it any easier?”
“It would if you’d let me have my say,” she nearly growled. Her cat actually jumped beneath her skin and she heard her vibrating in her throat.
She caught Conner’s faint grin. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he’d always liked her little flare of temper. She narrowed her eyes. “I mean it. I have something important to say and you could listen before you argue.”