Felix had just bent down to plant a seedling in the new hole he’d created when the hairs rose on his arms, the scent on the air lemon spice and something wilder, more feline. Skin heating, he busied himself using his hands to scoop out a bit more soil and put it to the side.
She crouched across from him the same as she’d done before, but instead of speaking, she placed a small pot between them. It was boat shaped with a pale blue glaze and planted in it was a tiny, beautifully shaped maple tree. He couldn’t help it; he reached out to touch the leaves of the masterful bonsai. He had nothing this stunning in his collection, having only begun to teach himself the art in the past year.
“I’m sorry.” It was a quiet feminine murmur.
Jerking up his head, he met the startling green of her gaze for a split second before breaking the eye contact. Dominant-to-submissive eye contact was difficult to hold at the best of times for a submissive; even more so when there was sexual desire involved.
“For coming on so aggressively yesterday,” she added in that voice with its slight husky edge that made his skin prickle. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. My only excuse is that I wanted to get to know the man who’s coaxing this entire area back to life.”
His wolf stirred, the human part of him intrigued that she’d mentioned his horticultural skill rather than his looks. He knew he was good-looking—it wasn’t something to be proud of, wasn’t something he’d achieved. It was genetic luck. But this, the plants, the earth? He’d earned this through sheer hard work.
“If you want me to back off, I will.” It was a solemn statement. “I hope you like the plant—one of the other soldiers mentioned you had miniature trees and I figured they must be bonsai. My dad’s into them.” She waited for a second before rising to her feet, and he knew she’d taken his silence as a response.
Desiree wouldn’t bother him again.
“Did you get it from him?” he said before he could stop himself.
It would’ve been far more sensible to let her go, but he couldn’t bear the thought that she’d believe he didn’t find her attractive. He’d heard that, beneath their tough skins, dominant leopard females were touchy about things like that. No matter how much he wanted to protect himself, it didn’t mean he had to hurt her.
A smile he could hear in her voice as she came back down on her haunches, the jeans she wore today taut over her thighs. “Yeah. He actually gave it to me for my birthday. I’ve been terrified I’d kill it the entire month it sat on the table in my aerie—I swear the thing chases me in my nightmares.”
His lips curved. “Won’t your father miss it when he visits?”
“Actually, I’m fairly certain he’s sorry he gave it to me.” Unhidden love in her tone when she spoke of her father. “It’s one of his babies, you know.”
Felix nodded, as attached to his own plants.
“I think he’d be much happier to know it’s with you.” Her braids brushed her thighs as she shifted a little. “He was talking the other day about how he approves of the plan you’ve come up with to reforest this region.”
Felix frowned. The alphas of both packs were aware of his plans, of course, but pretty much the only other person who had detailed knowledge of those plans was the DarkRiver ranger in overall charge of the flora in the leopard pack’s territory. Heavily built, with tightly curled black hair threaded with a bare few strands of gray, Harry was a gentle giant of a man. “Is Harry your father?”
“Yes.”
That meant Meenakshi, the petite former classical dancer who was Harry’s mate, and who’d dropped by with Harry a week earlier, was Desiree’s mother. He wondered what her parents thought of their dominant daughter, but that was a very personal question and he wasn’t going down that road with Desiree.
“So . . .” Desiree held out a hand. “Friends?”
Felix had soil on his hands, having not worn gloves because he loved the feel of the earth. He used the excuse not to touch her. Skin privileges were important and he didn’t want to initiate them with Desiree . . . because he was afraid that once he started, he wouldn’t be able to stop. And the line had to be drawn here,