that morning before they’d come to his work. The moment he gathered her against him, he felt his male leopard’s smug satisfaction.
They did not like another female touching us.
Sevastyan felt a little smug himself even though Flambé all but pushed off his chest to get away. She might not ever be one of those women who was overly demonstrative toward him in public. He resisted catching her red topknot and tugging her head back so he could take command of her mouth and light a match to her dynamite. Instead he brushed a kiss on top of her head.
“Have fun with Ania, baby,” he murmured.
FLAMBÉ followed Ania down the hall, past her office to the very end where the back door leading to the garage and gardens were. She found it really quite lovely, but wished she could implement a few changes. The pavers were perfect, the darker colors showing off the flowers and bushes with their variegated leaves, but the path wasn’t quite wide enough and needed more of a definition. She would plant some more lacy vines going up trellises and the low fencing around the walkways leading to the garage.
“Are you all right, Flambé?” Ania asked as she stepped back to allow Zinoviy and Vikenti, the two bodyguards, to enter the garage while she stayed waiting for them to ensure no one was lying in wait to harm her in any way. Two other bodyguards, Trey Sinclair and Kyanite Boston, remained with them. They kept their distance, facing away from the two women, scanning the grounds around them, all senses enhanced by their leopards. Ania ignored all of the them as if she wasn’t aware they were hovering close.
Flambé refused to allow Flamme even close to the surface, although she would have felt safer. The bodyguards were too close and the female was getting far too near her heat. Flambé’s body already was so sensitive to touch without the added hormones of her female, she didn’t dare allow her to rise even for a moment with the men in close proximity. It would be a disaster for everyone. She had no doubt in her mind that Sevastyan would murder any male that challenged him for her—and they would if Flamme or she became seductive.
“Yes, I’m just uncomfortable.” She kept her voice as low as possible. Leopards could hear about five times better than humans and sometimes, depending upon the shifter, even better. She was careful, but she knew the guards probably heard her—and scented her. It was impossible to cover the scent of a female in heat, no matter how she tried.
“We’ll be inside in a minute and the guards will stay outside,” Ania assured.
They waited in silence, Flambé studying the way Ania cradled her wrist. The cast was slim and one that could be removed when necessary. It seemed very unlikely that a leopard could break her wrist. She tried to imagine various ways it could happen and none seemed too likely.
Eventually, Zinoviy and Vikenti returned and gave Ania the go-ahead. She flashed them a smile and hurried inside but didn’t close the door. “I love my space. No one comes uninvited, without my permission, unless Sevastyan says we’re on lockdown for a reason,” Ania informed her. “I told Mitya I wanted a place to design my own cars, work on engines and just disappear for a few hours without feeling like I was getting swallowed up in his world.”
“This is your dream? What you want above all other things?” Flambé asked. She’d been out to the garage with Ania several times before and had seen the drawings and custom works, but often wondered if Mitya had given her the job to push her into staying close to home.
Ania nodded and indicated the room built mostly of glass off to one side where several comfortable chairs formed a cozy circle. “Let’s go in there. I like that room. I chose everything in it. The carpet, the chairs, the privacy drapes, all of it.”
“Why do you have privacy drapes if no one comes in here?” Flambé asked curiously, following Ania around car parts and the engine hanging from the complicated pulley system.
Ania, a slight flush on her face, gestured toward the very comfortable chairs as she closed the door. “There are times when I welcome my husband’s visits. Sevastyan or one of the other bodyguards is never far away. We can get a little crazy sometimes.”
Flambé curled up in the soft blue of the chair. The fabric