"Taken care of," she answered, grimly hanging on to her smile. Did he think she was an idiot? Of course she'd made certain Susan knew to keep Andraya and Kyle locked away in the nursery while they had company in the house. He was almost as bad as Jake. She'd lived with the security for two years, understood it and accepted it, but she didn't need a babysitter. She was not going to be humiliated by having Joshua follow them from room to room. He could sit in the kitchen and listen for screams if he was as paranoid as Jake. Jake had said in the house, not necessarily in the room.

The scent of fresh-baked bread permeated the house, and after a brief hesitation and quick warning glare at the telecommunications man, Joshua abruptly turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.

Emma turned her attention to the workman. He was short and stocky, with wavy brown hair and warm, smiling eyes. He looked so familiar Emma found herself frowning, trying to place him. "Do I know you?"

"Sort of." He followed her down the hall, staring, a little awed at the massive, beautiful rooms they passed. "We've bumped into each other in the grocery store, in the produce section. You helped me pick up my apples when I dropped them."

Emma laughed. "I remember, of course. You enjoy juggling."

His gaze flickered downward to her left hand, noted the absence of a ring as she waved him into a room. "Quite a house you've got here."

"Thank you." Emma loved the house, and appreciated anyone who recognized its beauty. "It takes quite a bit of care, but I love working here."

"I always wanted to see this estate. No one can actually get on the property without an escort. The grounds are incredible and the house even more so."

"It is a working cattle ranch," Emma explained.

"Is Mr. Bannaconni here much?"

Emma tossed a small smile over her shoulder, but didn't answer the query. Her loyalty was solidly with Jake, and as such, she never gave information about him to anyone. The smallest remark could end up in a tabloid, and Jake had enough people hounding him. In truth, he flew often out of the country as well as to the many states where he owned properties, but he always returned home to the ranch.

They passed the long, wide, sweeping staircase and the high ceiling where the bronze leopard sat amid climbing plants. She was pleased at Patterson's swift intake of breath. "This house is amazing. You must love it here."

"Yes, I do." And she took great pride in making certain it was clean. Jake insisted on cleaners coming twice a week, but she managed every day and it made her feel possessive and proud of their home.

She gestured toward the phone in the den. "This is where I notice the noise the most. The other phones have just a tinge, but this one is more pronounced."

Greg set his equipment down and watched as she perched on the arm of a chair across the room from him. "This may take a while."

"That's fine. I expected it to," she answered, her voice pleasant.

Greg snuck another quick look at her before returning his gaze to the phone cradled in his hand. "Are you and Mr. Bannaconni together? I didn't notice a ring, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference these days."

Emma stiffened. Was he looking for information for the tabloids? She tried to keep her voice light and casual. "I work here."

Greg shot her a quick, shy smile. "Well, in that case, there's a great movie opening at the theater tomorrow night that I was hoping to see. I don't suppose you'd want to go with me?" He couldn't make himself look at her when he asked her, rubbing at an imaginary fleck of dirt on the telephone instead.

Emma sucked in her breath. She'd never dated anyone, not really. Not before Andrew. But Jake had just taunted her, made fun of her actually, by telling her she'd never find another man because she didn't pay attention to men. Jake, Greg seemed young and uncomplicated, even tame. He certainly didn't stir her sexually, but she needed something, a change, a way to deal with the way Jake made her feel.

"If you don't mind me meeting you there, and it would have to be the late show," Emma found herself agreeing. She held her breath, suddenly hoping he would say no.

"Great!" An enthusiastic smile lit his eyes. "Tomorrow night, then."

Emma's heart thudded in alarm. What had she done? Jake had hurt her ego, and in a small spurt of defiance she had made a decision she wasn't really ready for. And it wasn't fair to Greg. She had no real interest in him. Her decision was really about being afraid of herself, of the aching needs she couldn't quite get free of. She wasn't herself lately at all, and her dreams were downright humiliating. Every single one of them was about Jake and things she had no real knowledge of and wasn't certain she really wanted to learn.

"Greg, I'll go with you as a friend. Nothing more. If that's not what you want, then I'll have to back out. I should have made that clear." She kept her voice gentle, low, sorry she might be hurting him, angry with herself for getting into such a position because of pride and fear. It wasn't Greg's fault that he'd happened along at precisely the moment she would agree.

"I understand. It's all good," he said. "I'd like to go with you."

He sent her another brief grin, one that was strangely reminiscent of Andy's. Sweet. Not asking for anything. Friendly. Maybe he was just what she needed. Jake's personality was overwhelming, swamping her, chipping away at her resistance. Everything about Jake tore at her continually. His intense needs. His dark, brooding manner. His pain. His arousal. His orders and flashes of temper. The way he softened when he was with her. The way he lay next to her when he couldn't sleep and idly played with strands of her hair, sometimes touching her soft skin and sliding his fingers over her warmth as if she belonged to him.

Just thinking about his touch made her slick with damp heat. She took a breath, let it out and forced a smile, trying to understand what Greg was saying to her.

Greg explained every detail as he worked, his voice droning on and on, until she felt desperate. It was impossible not to think about Jake when she wasn't in the least bit interested in how the phone worked. She heard him call her name and looked up expectantly, embarrassed that she'd drifted off a second time.

Greg frowned as he looked at the phone. "What exactly are you hearing? Because the line appears clean."

"I don't hear it until I actually talk, or someone else is talking to me. If I'm quiet, it's not there. I had a couple of the ranch hands listen and only Joshua could hear it, but it really bothers me." It made her uneasy. The phone in Jake's office didn't seem to have the same problem on it. She'd gone into his sanctuary and checked herself, relieved when his private line appeared to be clear. She just had a bad feeling.

"Do you hear voices?"

Emma burst out laughing. Greg looked up, a little startled, realized how his question might sound and then joined her.

"The line appears to be clear. My equipment is showing a strong signal, but if you only hear it when you are actually speaking, we could be dealing with something like spy equipment." His eyes brightened and he grinned at her much like a small boy. "That would be cool. Could someone be spying on you?"

"I think you've been watching too many movies," Emma said, forcing another laugh, suddenly quite uncomfortable. Even the paparazzi were known to bug houses, and someone like Jake had all kinds of enemies.

Greg laughed again. "Well, it would certainly be a first if I ran across spy equipment."

7.

JAKE stood just outside the open door, his heart beating in his throat as he breathed away the need for the leopard to rise. In that moment, with Emma's innocent laughter ringing in his ears and the scent of her arousal filling his senses, he recognized that he was becoming dangerous. Something was very wrong. He should be in his office, locked away from all noise, never overhearing the play between a man and woman. He could hear the male interest in the man's voice, the innocence in Emma's tone. Yet she was definitely aroused, and that maddened him. He felt cruel, capable of viciousness. He hated that ugly part of him, the one that rose when he felt things too deeply, telling him, showing him that he carried the legacy of evil in his blood.

He knew he needed help. He would have to talk to Drake, find a way to combat the intense jealousy sweeping through him at the mere thought of any man around Emma. She had become an obsession, invading his thoughts every moment of the day, torturing his body with a permanent hard-on, massive and thick and so damned painful he could barely walk at times. Nothing he did helped, no woman sated him-he burned for Emma. Somehow she'd managed to turn the tables on his plan. She was supposed to be obsessed with him, but somehow it hadn't turned out that way.

He stood, leaning one hip casually against the doorjamb, waiting for her to look up, watching her face, the way her eyes shone, the way her mouth was so expressive. She stayed across the room from the man, which was the only thing allowing Jake to keep his sanity. The leopard was so close. His chest rumbled with growls, his throat ached with the need to roar. His teeth hurt from trying to hold back the change, the need to leap upon his enemy-his rival-and rip him open. And Emma. What he wanted to do to Emma.

His body, so hard, every muscle taut, skin too hot to touch, his cock so full and sensitive that every step he took was painful. He needed to . . . He just needed.

Emma looked up and her eyes met his. For a moment time seemed to stand still. Her gaze softened, warmed, and in that moment his heart squeezed hard and his stomach tightened. His fingers curled into his palm. He remained silent, afraid his voice would come out more leopard than human.

"Greg can't hear that hum I told you about on the phone line."

Greg? Who the hell was Greg to be called by his first name? Did she know him? The man was staring at him with that slightly awed look people often got in his presence. He showed his teeth without actually smiling. Maybe it came out a snarl. He didn't know and he sure as hell didn't care. Greg froze, so he must have snarled. He felt with his tongue for his canines. Did they feel sharper? He breathed to keep his leopard at bay.

"Joshua told me he heard it as well," Jake managed. He kept his voice low, but even so, he saw Emma flick him a worried look. He wasn't in any state to reassure her.

"Greg mentioned if the line was clear and we heard something it could be spy equipment, and you know how the paparazzi are always trying to get into the house."

"I can check the phone jacks for chips or recorders," Greg offered.

"Don't bother, my security can take it from here," he said, dismissing the man, and stalking away. He wanted the man the hell out of his house.

Jake didn't want to go. He had to go. He had to find Drake, to run, let the leopard loose where it couldn't do any harm. Breathing hard, he turned away from them, striding through the kitchen, stopping abruptly when he saw Joshua with his feet up on a chair, drinking coffee and eating a slice of freshly baked bread.

"I thought I told you to stay with Emma," he snapped.

Joshua jumped up so fast he knocked the chair over. "You said stay in the house and I'm here."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You've got some man in my home staring at Emma like she's the candy in a store, while you're fucking feeding your face. Throw the son of a bitch out of here and have security check the phone jacks again, not just with equipment, but visually. If they can't do their job, get rid of them."

"Fine, it's done," Joshua tried to soothe him.

Jake was pacing, swinging his head in agitation. His face had gone dark, his eyes clouding, going almost completely gold as his vision shifted from human to animal.

Grabbing the radio hanging at his side, Joshua spoke into it quickly before moving to put the table between him and his boss, barking out the orders for security to check the phone jacks visually and then calling to Drake for backup.

"Jake. Listen to me. Concentrate. You're in a thrall. A fit of madness. You have to fight hard against it. Come with me now. Let's get you out of here before it's too late." Joshua's own voice roughened, his vision changing to bands of colored heat. All senses immediately sharpened, heightened.

Jake heard him as if from a distance, the voice fading in and out. His muscles ached. His back bent. He wanted Emma underneath him, screaming his name. The image filled his vision and then his sight went red as he scented other males.

"Damn it, Drake. Hurry," Joshua called again into the radio. "I'm not going to be able to hold him by myself." He held his palm out toward Jake. "You brought me to your ranch to help you, Jake. I'm trying to do that. Go run. Let your leopard loose."

Thunder crashed in Jake's ears. His blood surged hotly, the need to claim his mate so strong he shook with it. The animal consumed him bit by bit.

"Your other is riding you hard. We don't want a fight in your kitchen." Joshua's own leopard rose to meet the aggression of Jake's. This was going to be a disaster.

The door burst open and Drake limped in. He hissed a command in the language of their species, one Jake couldn't understand, but the leopard did. "Jake. Go to the truck. We have to go now." His tone left no room for argument. The situation was going to turn ugly fast.

Jake glanced toward the room where Emma's voice could be heard, still murmuring softly to the repairman.

"Evan's coming to escort him off the property," Joshua assured.

Jake recognized he had little control and struggled to rein in the leopard, fighting for supremacy at least until he could make certain Emma and the children were safe. It was going to take both Joshua and Drake to control the snarling cat clawing and fighting for a kill. He tried to speak, but mostly what came out was a rumble of madness. "Emma." He couldn't-wouldn't leave until he knew someone was watching over her.

As if that one growling word made sense, Drake snapped an order at Joshua. "Get Darrin in here. Tell him to call up two other hands and guard the house with the kids and Emma until one of the three of us gets back." Even as he spoke, he ushered Jake out of the house.

Jake could barely walk, his body so heavy and throbbing, so aroused that every step was painful. The leopard fought him every inch of the way, trying to get back, to circle around Drake, snarling menacingly, using mock charges to threaten. Drake snarled back, his own leopard shepherding Jake. Joshua helped the moment he was able, careful to keep a distance as Jake paced back and forth, the growls rumbling louder and more ferocious, but, in effect, herding him toward the truck.

The biggest danger would occur in the close confines of the truck. Drake and Joshua had to rely on Jake to stay focused and hold his leopard at bay until they could get him to the far side of the ranch where they could let him run free.

Drake slammed the door once they had him caged inside the cab and leapt into the driver's seat. "What the hell is going on, Joshua? I'm not around the house, but this is definitely a thrall. Is there a female close?"

Joshua shrugged. "Only Emma. I've been around her dozens of times and she's never triggered my leopard. Although . . ." He trailed off, glancing at his boss.

Jake breathed harshly, his chest rising and falling in an effort to hold back the change. His skin hurt, shrinking, far too small to cover his frame. He tore his shirt off as the itch spread and something alive ran just under the surface. His brain was filled with a red haze, a dark-edged rage and fierce hunger for one woman. He was consumed with Emma, with the desire for her body, with the need to make her his. He hated every male, desperate to destroy them, understanding the cruelties of his parents as the cat enflamed him beyond sanity.

Fighting it, he hung his head, panting, his mouth full of teeth, his heart savage, his body in lust. He broke out in a sweat, wanting to caution Drake to hurry, but he couldn't speak, didn't dare open his mouth for fear his muzzle would be completed. They were miles from safety, barreling over the track to take them to his hidden sanctuary, and Drake and Joshua, the two men he could call friends, were trapped in the small cab of the truck with him, risking their lives to save everyone on the ranch.

Trees and lush foliage resembled a cool, exotic forest where his leopard was free to run in safety without the threat of killing cattle, harming cowboys or being seen. Drake watched over him there, helping him learn to shift on the run, as well as learn the way of the leopard people and how to cache clothes and supplies every few miles just in case.

The atmosphere in the truck remained tense while fur rippled over Jake's body and claws burst from his fingertips. He shuddered with the effort to hold back the change.

"Fight it," Drake snapped, his words a command. "You have a strong will, Jake. To be leopard, you have to be strong, to be in control at all times, whether you're in human form or leopard form. You're responsible for all actions in both forms."

Joshua swore under his breath. "We were taught from the time we were young. We had the benefit of the elders at all times. How could he possibly be prepared for the thrall? Most of us can barely hold back our leopard, and we've trained for years. He's going to kill someone."

"No, he isn't," Drake said, his voice firm. "Do you hear me, Jake? Fight for control. When you shift, you'll think he's stronger, but he's still you. The core of you. You dictate to him. He'll want to kill any male within miles of his female. That's natural, very normal, but the feeling will be stronger than anything you've ever known, any hatred, any rage, a murderous need that rakes at your gut and roars in your belly. You have to control it. If this happens and you're near your woman, it's a thousand times worse, and you have to be careful what you do to her. The instinct to conquer and dominate is overwhelming. Control is everything. Do you understand me? Nod your head if you can hear me and comprehend what I'm saying."

Jake shredded the leather on the seat, the rumbling in his chest deepening. He nodded his head, trying to absorb the importance of Drake's statement when every bone in his body seemed to be cracking and splintering, every muscle tearing and every cell screaming in demand for Emma. He knew it was Emma triggering this violent storm of fury. She filled his mouth with her taste; he felt her flesh next to his, was desperate to bury his cock deep inside her. To pound mercilessly. To sink his teeth in her neck and force her to submit completely to him. To admit she belonged to him and only him. Emma.

Oh God, Emma, where are you? Are you safe? Be safe. I need you. He took a breath, fighting for sanity, fighting to keep her safe in spite of his every need. No! Stay away from me. What the hell is happening to me?

His eyes burned. Fear beat in his veins. He wasn't going to live through this without killing someone. The need rose up like a tidal wave, swamping him, shaking him-worse, the need to cause pain, to hurt someone, as this hurt, this terrible, driving obsession. His stomach lurched, roiled, wanted to heave at the idea that he could be so twisted, so disgusting as to want to torture someone, that he could perhaps derive any kind of pleasure or satisfaction from another's pain. He may as well be dead. He would be dead before he allowed himself to harm Emma or the children, before he became like his parents.

His sides heaving, his body bent, taking him to the floor of the truck. The walls were too close, the cab too small. He fought to keep the leopard at bay. A few more miles. What was Drake doing?

"His eyes are completely gone," Joshua reported. "I don't know how the hell he's holding on. We've got to get him out of the truck."

Drake stomped down harder on the gas pedal. He was going far too fast for the road conditions, but risking an accident was a better choice than finding himself locked in a small area with a fully grown, enraged male leopard in the midst of a thrall. Drake's own leopard was fighting for supremacy, ripping and clawing in an effort to protect him. Twice, his stiletto-sharp claws emerged and retracted. He hadn't shifted since he'd been shot and the doctors had reconstructed his leg, leaving in a metal plate. There was no freedom for him or his leopard.

He jerked the wheel around and slid into the stand of trees just inside the preserve. He yanked a tranquilizing rifle from the rack at the back window and bailed out, Joshua following suit on the opposite side of the truck.

Inside the truck, Jake's body contorted as he tried desperately to shed his jeans, his claws tearing them into strips. He kicked the torn material away as the change took him, the ropes of muscles doubling, tripling beneath the thick rosette fur.

Drake backed off from the rocking truck, moving out and away from the trees. The hope was that Jake would force his leopard into the forested area. If he allowed the leopard free rein, the male would go for his mate, and they'd have no choice but to tranquilize him to keep him from killing any human males in close proximity to Emma.

Drake hoped it didn't come to that. To dart a leopard was no easy task, and it came with consequences. Often the heart of a big cat simply couldn't take the drugs and shut down completely.

The large male leopard went crazy, throwing itself against the walls of the truck, ripping at the seats and slamming into the windows until spiderweb cracks appeared in the windshield.

"He's gone, Drake," Joshua warned. "Out of his mind. You'll have to take him when he tries to bolt."

Drake stubbornly shook his head. "He's strong."

"If Emma is his mate and she's starting into the Han Vol Don, and they've been mated at least once before in another cycle, the thrall will be too strong for a novice. You don't know what's inside him, Drake. You said yourself his parents were bred from a corrupt bloodline. He's dangerous. There could be a massacre."

"He'll do this."

"He's never heard of the Han Vol Don. How can he understand what's happening to him?"

"He'll do this," Drake repeated. "I know him. His strength. His determination. He'll control his leopard."

"Damn it, man. You're betting your life."

The truck rocked again and the leopard stuck his head out the open door. It went eerily silent. Still. The fur was dark with sweat. As if sensing a threat, birds fell silent and insects ceased all sound. The leopard lowered his head, golden eyes staring at Drake with focused intent.

"He's locked on you, he's locked on you," Joshua warned, tearing at his own shirt and tossing it aside. He yanked off both boots, keeping his eyes on the leopard.

The leopard leapt from its still-standing position, clearing a good six feet or more, touched the ground and sprang a second time.

"Shoot him," Joshua implored, tearing off his jeans and kicking them away. He took two running steps and began shifting as he sprinted toward Drake and the leopard.