That was scary to her. She was an emotional person. People mattered to her. They mattered a lot. She risked her life helping them. On the other hand, she knew that side of him appealed to her leopard. It was such a two-edged sword being a shifter.
Her arms itched and she rubbed her skin, glancing up at the sun. Sometimes if she was in the sun too long, she could burn fast and the itch was horrendous. Her legs itched as well and she rubbed her thighs, trying not to squirm. Blaise watched her closely. Not only Blaise, but his leopard, as if both were worried.
“You should probably go up to the house,” he suggested.
That suggestion set her teeth on edge. She was getting very tired of men ordering her around. She was getting tired of men in general. All of them. Even the three she was sitting with. And if the itching and sudden burning sensation along her nerve endings didn’t stop, she was going to scream.
“Do you have the photograph of Shanty on you?” Etienne asked.
Flambé nodded, refusing to clench her teeth. She didn’t look at Blaise. Instead, she unzipped the pouch on her belt and pulled out a picture of a strawberry leopard and three younger leopards trailing after it. Then a second photograph showing a woman with short red hair and two little girls and a boy, all holding hands and staring into the camera. All three men leaned into her to study the photos.
Rory’s shoulder brushed her arm, sending small electrical charges zinging through her bloodstream. Etienne leaned across her body and his shoulder touched her breast, the merest brush, but her nipples felt as if they’d burst into twin flames, so hot they’d melt through the material of her work shirt. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to bite down hard on her lower lip as Blaise put his hand on her leg, higher, toward her thigh for balance as he leaned in to look at the photos. His palm felt hotter than hell, an inferno traveling up her thigh to center between her legs in a burst of fire so hot she thought she might go insane. She could only breathe through it and hope no one noticed.
Blaise pulled his hand back and once again his gaze moved over her. This time speculation was there and she feared he had much more knowledge than she did—or the other two men.
“Really, Flambé, you need to get out of the sun,” he advised again.
She wanted to claw at him. She actually dug her fingernails into her palm, needing the bite to ground her. Her mind felt chaotic, her body heavy and inflamed.
“This woman isn’t from our lair,” Rory confirmed. “Clearly she has a mate. Where is he? Did she say?”
It took Flambé several moments to get her breathing under control. Fortunately, all three men had straightened up again and the fierce burning sensation was receding.
“We don’t know much at all,” she said, ignoring Blaise. “She was pretty hysterical when the team got to her. She said the poachers came and wiped out everyone. That was what she repeated over and over. She didn’t make much sense other than that.”
The three men exchanged another long look. She wanted to rake her claws right down their faces. What was wrong with them? Didn’t they have any compassion in them?
Flambé sighed. The burning sensation receded further, giving her some respite. “What is it? Just straight up tell me. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve never had so many men all of a sudden act like I can’t possibly figure things out without their help.”
“It isn’t that, Flambé. You’re trusting when it comes to our people. You think because there are so few of us and we’re hunted by almost everyone that we’re all going to help one another. That isn’t the case. It should be, but it isn’t,” Etienne said.
Rory nodded. “You have a soft heart. I was glad when I heard you were with Sevastyan Amurov. I know some of the others were against him, but you need someone strong to tell you no when you go too far. You don’t look before you leap.”
She was honestly shocked. She always planned everything so carefully. She did look before she leaped. What in the world was he talking about? “That’s not true. You’ve only known me a short while. I plan every rescue operation very carefully. Do you have any idea how