so heady to him, had drifted on the wind, inciting his leopard and stirring his own proprietary need of her. He was aware of everything around them in the sense of looking out for danger, but he hadn’t taken the time to see what progress had been made on the overall landscaping of his property.
He paused on the large verandah, taking that moment to really absorb what Flambé and her crew had done in the eight hours they’d been working. More trees had been added to the grove already in place, extending it toward Mitya’s property as well as toward the house. Quite a bit of progress had been made in that area. Some of the trees appeared quite tall, quite mature, and he could see they had to use a small crane to put them in place. Already, the branches were thick and looped down or upward, but extended outward toward the next tree so a leopard could easily run along the limbs and leap from tree to tree.
“The place looks amazing, Flambé,” he reiterated. “You increased the size of our woods by at least another fourth.”
“By the time I’m finished with it, we’ll have doubled it,” she said, suppressing another yawn. “I think I’m getting old. I’m feeling every ache from shoveling dirt.”
His gut knotted as he used the eye scan for quick entry. “Babe, why in the world, when you have such a big crew, would you be shoveling dirt? You oversee things, give orders, you don’t do manual labor.” He took her inside, closed and locked the door behind them.
“When we’re putting in those bigger trees, everyone has to help, Sevastyan. You get them in as fast as possible. It’s just safer that way.” She sounded offhand, a little distracted.
“Go on upstairs and start your bath, Flambé. The chef left our dinner in the kitchen. I just have to turn on the heat. I’ll be right up. Make the water hot. You know how I like it.” He brushed a kiss on top of her head. He’d already programmed the locks on the doors to open with her retinal scan.
“I’m going to wash my hair,” she advised him. “I’ll start filling the tub after I rinse off.”
He nodded and watched her go up the stairs. She was definitely exhausted, not just from her working day. That had started early, before light even, but most likely from the short, unexpected appearance from her female leopard. Her muscles had to feel abused by the contracting and expanding as the cat pushed against her frame, testing her strength. Shifting could be brutal when one wasn’t used to it. He’d forgotten that.
The house was large, and there were two smaller houses on the property for his men and other possible staff, but Sevastyan didn’t particularly want anyone around once the day was over. He liked his time alone and since he’d found Flambé, he wanted his time with her uninterrupted. More often than not, he knew he would keep their play in the master bedroom, where he’d set up his domain. With no one in the house and no way to be surprised, he wanted to be able to utilize any room in the house when the mood struck him.
He was pushing fairly hard to get the construction done on transforming the two garages into one massive greenhouse so they could have a tropical garden. He had been thinking about what types of equipment he would want hidden amongst the plants. He liked the idea of waterfalls and streams. He wanted to have very comfortable chairs to relax in and many places to inspire his imagination for tying on the ground as well as in the air. Flambé looked beautiful in ropes and, although new at erotic bondage, she was more than willing to try anything with him. He also wanted a place for the leopards to relax.
She was soaking in the steaming bathwater when he walked in, barefoot and naked himself. He simply stepped into the tub and joined her, sinking into the water opposite her so he could watch her face as they talked. The hot water was working its magic. Her hair was wet and piled on her head. Her face was clean and free of all lines of worry. She looked hopelessly young, as she did sometimes, and very relaxed. Her eyes were closed and she smiled faintly when he joined her, but she didn’t open her eyes.
He circled her ankle and picked up her foot