“Usually, he intimidates to get his way,” Rene said. “Don’t you find him intimidating?”
“She doesn’t because I don’t have my eyesight and I can’t chase her down,” Gedeon said.
Meiling rose and his hand slipped off her thigh. “Now that your friend is here and the doctors are coming, I’ll take off. I need to get a few things. I don’t have much in the way of clothes for this kind of weather.”
“I’m going to talk to Rene about the third floor,” Gedeon said.
“She’s rolling her eyes.”
“She’d strangle him if she could fit her fingers around his neck. That Ming vase of yours is very much in jeopardy. Rene, I suggest you lock that thing up if you want it to survive my stay here.”
Gedeon knew she walked out, not because he heard her, but because he felt her leave.
“Mon Dieu, Gedeon, where did she come from?”
“I told you, she saved my life. A bomb went off, blinding me and bringing a branch the size of a small tree down on my leg. She came back for me. Got the branch off my leg, hauled my ass out of the jungle and called in a favor to fly me out of Venezuela. She’s good at what she does. She doesn’t miss the smallest detail.”
“How do you know she isn’t here to collect a bounty on you?”
“She could have done it ten times over. What does your leopard say to you around her? Does he feel she’s a threat?”
“No. He’s actually enamored with her. That was quite shocking. I’ve never had my leopard react like that before. It wasn’t as if he was reacting to a female in heat. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was a shifter. I’ve heard of a few women who seem to be able to calm leopards, not that mine is prone to temper. Drake Donovan runs a tight ship. I’m in his lair and he wouldn’t put up with my leopard throwing fits for a minute.”
“What would he do?”
“Most likely send me to Borneo, have me looking for a mate—the right mate. I’d go too. Drake’s a fair man.”
Gedeon knew Drake Donovan. Rene was right, Drake Donovan was a fair man. He was one of the few men Gedeon liked.
“I want to get workmen lined up to start on the third floor. I’ll need a separate entrance built. I’m going to talk Meiling into a partnership with me. I want her living here. The only way she’ll do it is to have an apartment of her own. She calms my leopard down. It’s the first peace I’ve had in years.”
“You can’t offer her a partnership because she calms your leopard down, Gedeon.” Rene was genuinely horrified.
“That’s not the reason. I’ve needed someone, but there was no one qualified. She is. She’s so damned intelligent I think she can strengthen what I do. I need you to do a little research for me, but it won’t be easy. There’s a Frenchman, a man by the name of Etienne. Very wealthy. Owns a private jet. We flew on it from Venezuela. He has two nephews. I only know their first names. Jules and Louis. I know I’m not giving you much, but you’ve worked with less. I need you to get as much information on them as you possibly can, especially the two nephews. Once you find them, I want to know where they are. I want to know who they talk to. Who their friends are. Keep track of them. It’s important, Rene.”
“Do you think someone can identify you?”
“Not me. She put her life on the line for me. She let them see her face. And they have a grudge against her.”
Rene sighed. “It’s my obligation to point out to you that she’s putting you in danger by being close to you, Gedeon.”
“You’ve done your duty, Rene. I want this woman for a partner. Get this information for me and find a good contractor willing to work extra hours. I’ll pay double time, but I want quality work.”
“Is she your leopard’s mate?”
“I don’t know. Her leopard hasn’t risen yet. It’s entirely possible. I won’t know until she goes into heat. In the meantime, I’m not messing up a partnership by fucking her. If something goes wrong, I’ve lost her, and I’m not doing that.”
“Gedeon, you’re not making any sense. If you think you can carry on the way you do with women right in front of her and that isn’t going to impact your relationship with her in any way, you’re wrong.”
“Why would it if we’re just partners? If we keep things on a purely platonic level?”
“Can you do that? You have no interest in her sexually?” Rene demanded.
“Someone’s at the door,” Gedeon said. He didn’t want to answer the question. Or the next one. He already knew Rene was going to ask if it would bother him if Rene went out with her. Hell yes it would bother him. But he would get over it. He had to. Their partnership had to come first. If she had a leopard and the leopard emerged and Slayer claimed her, that was a different story. In the meantime, Gedeon wasn’t taking a chance on losing the best thing he had ever been given. Sex was just sex. It meant nothing at all. But a relationship with someone like Meiling was a gift to be treasured.