men, but this one, this man you choose, he is the most dangerous of any of them.”
She didn’t need him to tell her that. Jewel knew and had pulled back, trying to be cautious. Ania seemed to be running toward Mitya again. She feared the physical chemistry between the two of them was so explosive she wasn’t seeing straight. It took discipline to keep her hands folded neatly in her lap. She wanted to rub her temples. They were pounding, the headache probably from all the tears she’d shed the last few days.
A polite knock at the door indicated they weren’t going to have any more time alone together and Ania was grateful when Benedetto moved, opening the door to allow Evangeline to stick her head in, with her usual smile. Ania could see that she was worried and gave her a look that said to come all the way in, which, thankfully, she did.
Marzio rose at once. “I’m taking far too much of your time when you have others who would like to pay their respects.”
Ania rose with him and gave him a kiss on either cheek. His sons, to her astonishment, kissed her on either cheek, Alessandro holding her hands tightly for a moment.
“If you change your mind, call me, Ania. If this is your leopard’s first cycle, she will accept another male if the one she first chose isn’t right.”
Ania didn’t know what else to do, so she nodded. “Thank you, Alessandro. I really appreciate your interest in her.”
“In you,” he corrected.
She flashed him an uncertain smile and then watched as the family left, Benedetto closing the door behind them, leaving Evangeline and Ania alone with the Amurov bodyguards.
“Are you all right?” Evangeline asked. “I stood outside the door, so I could hear some of it, but the gist seemed to be they want you to leave Mitya and take one of them for a mate. Ashe texted Mitya, but told him your bodyguards were with you. He sent back a text that they had already informed him.” She sent Kiriil and Matvei a smile. “I’m baking something special for them.”
“I would have wanted you to bake them something special had they not informed Mitya. When this is all over, I’m hiring my own bodyguards loyal to me.” She glared at the two men.
Kiriil smirked. Matvei covered a grin.
Ania ignored them and threw herself back into the chair. “Sometimes I think I’m going crazy. Jewel seems to be a very popular leopard, and she hasn’t even emerged.” She tried not to sound bitter or resentful, but she couldn’t help it. She took the opportunity to rub her pounding temples.
“Honey, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Evangeline took the chair Marzio had vacated. “I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I genuinely want to help.”
“You know Mitya far better than I do. He seems so all-powerful. He wants instant obedience without question. He’s scary, Evangeline, but his leopard is worse. I’m supposed to just trust everything he says and does. I’m my own person. I’m not in the least bit a ‘yes’ kind of woman. How can this be right if we’re not what the other needs? Is the relationship only about the leopard?”
“I’m very much in love with Fyodor, and he is with me.” She rubbed her hand over her pregnant belly. “I can barely stand being away from him, and luckily enough, he’s like that about me.”
“And that could be all it is—pure luck. Fyodor fell in love with you because you’re you, Evangeline. You’re sweet and accommodating. You don’t question every little thing. I do.” She did because someone was out to kill her family. She did because Mitya had admitted that the men in his family had always killed the women they chose to have their sons. A little shudder went through her.
Evangeline leaned forward. “Honey, why would you think Mitya doesn’t love you?”
“It would be impossible in such a short amount of time. Love doesn’t happen that way.”
“Love can happen in all sorts of ways. In any case, how do you feel about him?”
“I don’t know.” Ania tried to be honest with herself. “I think of him all the time. I worry that he does dangerous things. He told me about his father, and that’s just plain scary. But there’s this terrible fear that just won’t go away.”
“Fear of what?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell if it’s me or Jewel. I only know when I think too much, I can’t breathe.”