it or even trust it, especially with a man like Sevastyan.
She paced for a long time in the room he’d given her to stay in. He was being so nice to her. Sweet, really. He didn’t have the reputation for nice—or sweet. He didn’t look it either. His eyes were as cold as they could get. When they drifted over her, she found herself shivering in both anticipation and trepidation.
She’d always intended to seduce him. She’d wanted to have sex with him. That had been her intention from the first moment she saw him. But she realized the moment she saw him up close it would be impossible to seduce a man like Sevastyan. He seduced women. It wasn’t the other way around. Now, her leopard had taken charge in her weakened state and tied them to him.
She touched the lump on her head. She’d been hit a lot harder than she realized and Flamme had taken advantage. That wouldn’t happen again. She couldn’t let her leopard out until she figured out what to do. Her heart didn’t want to slow down no matter how hard she tried to get her breathing under control.
Her leopard had begun to rise a couple of weeks earlier than she’d admitted to Sevastyan, although she hadn’t recognized what was happening, only because she was always desperate for sex. She’d tried to be satisfied with a man she’d known for a short while. He’d asked her out a few times, but she just wasn’t interested. She’d faked it and that made her feel terrible, especially since he thought they were really compatible, but the sex left her burning for something more. She had a string of one-night stands with human males she picked up in bars, all totally unsatisfying—and horrible. She detested herself, especially when they wanted her number and she refused to give it to them.
She was lucky enough to get a call from a man named Cain Dufort, who owned a very successful business—a private, exclusive club—and wanted her to come in for a consultation. She would have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, as it was a sex club for clients with unusual tastes. She didn’t care. She wasn’t someone interested in outing others’ personal sexual preferences. She loved her work and if the owner needed work done, she was happy to design whatever it was he needed.
The job wasn’t outdoors as she first thought. He wanted a beautiful oasis in the middle of his club. His concept was that he would have drinks served in a garden of paradise. It would be glassed in so those relaxing could enjoy the shows taking place in the various rooms if the curtains were open, or they could just talk with their friends while they relaxed.
Flambé had never been inside a club like the one Cain owned. The moment she was escorted into his office, she knew he was leopard. She recognized the roped muscles and the focused eyes. He carried authority easily, something she reacted to. Even wearing her power clothes, she had to fight against his pull and her natural submission. She knew her reaction to him was caused by the type of leopard she was. She kept her chin up and met his eyes when they talked, not allowing her gaze to stray around to the unusual but beautiful artwork he had in his office. She had glimpsed the pieces as she had entered, and knew they were originals, artwork most likely from Japan, depicting the fascinating practice of Shibari—a rope tying of men and women.
He had taken her around, shown her rooms where there were all kinds of equipment, things that made her ache inside, made her sex flutter and her panties go damp. He showed her racks of instruments as well as benches and wooden crosses, things she had never seen before. There were ropes of various colors and textures. She worked at keeping her breathing even and her heart from pounding. For some reason, she really responded to the rope. This place was exciting and amazing, when she’d been so certain she would never be in the least bit interested in such things.
Cain had looked at her speculatively and asked her if she had ever considered any of the practices. She shook her head and answered honestly that she hadn’t. He immediately invited her to come in the evening and watch from his office, where she would be safe and no one would see her or know she was