The burning returned with a vengeance, bursting over her like a wildfire out of control. She gasped and wrapped her arms around her middle, pressing the button to change the spray to gentle. She felt the female leopard writhing in need, unable to control the terrible heat driving her to the surface.
Along with the sensations of being desperate for sex, Meiling felt an itch covering her entire body. Her skin lifted like a wave as something pressed hard against the inside, moving fast underneath, adding to the unfamiliar sensations. Her jaw ached. Her skull felt too tight.
I’m hurting you.
“No, this isn’t hurting, exactly. I feel what you feel. The drive to mate.”
You don’t like it.
Meiling needed to do a better job of shielding her leopard. She was learning, but this was all a first for her as well. “It’s uncomfortable, just as it is for you. We’re in this together, Whisper. It’s necessary so you can emerge.” She kept her voice soothing. “We both want you to emerge.”
She placed both hands on the wall of her shower and let the water run off her skin. “I wish I knew more about helping you. I’ll talk to one of the women I met and ask her questions. She might give me advice.”
There were several women she’d met in New Orleans who were shifters. All of them had been friendly. Each had been very different. She didn’t have a close association with any of them just because she didn’t know how to have friends. She didn’t trust easily and most likely never would.
Drake and Saria Donovan owned the LaFont Inn. He also owned one of the largest international global security companies in the world. He was renowned for his business ethics and his ability to get a job done. He also was the head of one of the lairs in New Orleans.
Joshua Tregre was the head of another lair in New Orleans but was the head of a crime family. His mate, Sonia Tregre, had a reputation for restoring old homes to their past glory.
Meiling considered talking to either of the two women, asking them questions about their leopards’ first emergences, but she quickly discarded the idea. She would run into those women around New Orleans. They might ask her a question in front of Gedeon or another male shifter. That wouldn’t do.
Meiling sighed. She needed answers for herself and her leopard. Who else was there? She’d met Evangeline Amurov in San Antonio. They weren’t exactly friends, although Evangeline had been friendly enough. She didn’t seem like the type of woman to gossip either. She could ask questions as if she was asking out of curiosity. If Evangeline didn’t ask her a direct question she would have to answer honestly, she might get away with not telling her she had a leopard close to emergence.
Meiling hung her head down and breathed deeply, trying to get air to her leopard. Trying to breathe through the relentless sexual demands. “This is just the start,” she murmured aloud, more to herself than to Whisper.
I need my mate. I must find him soon.
Meiling closed her eyes. Could Whisper emerge without finding her mate? Could she just have sex with a leopard through her heat and then walk away because he wasn’t her true mate? Was it possible to be in love with one man while your leopard was the true mate of another man’s leopard? She had to get the answers to those questions immediately. No way was she going to end up like Lola Morales.
“We’ll figure it out,” she promised.
Sweat beaded on her forehead and the water washed it away. There was no keeping her hair dry, so she unpinned it and washed it. Everything, the most natural, familiar, everyday actions, seemed to be an erotic act. Lifting her arms over her head to rinse her hair, she became aware of her breasts shifting. She was small and had never considered that her breasts would be so sensitive. With every drop of water hitting her skin, she felt a fiery arrow darting straight to her sex.
Whisper rose close to the surface, pressing tightly against her, more for comfort than because she thought she could get out.
“It’s too soon,” Meiling said, more for herself than the leopard. It was too soon.
This time the disturbing sexual heat retreated quickly, leaving Meiling feeling restless and moody.
Why don’t you ask Gedeon?
The leopard didn’t exactly use the name Gedeon. She sent his image, making him appear very big and scary.
Your friend. You like him best.
“He’s my best friend,” Meiling admitted. “We talk about everything together.” She was careful patting herself dry, not taking a chance on stimulating her body any more that it had been. She could tell Whisper was very sleepy and would be fading soon. She hoped so. She needed a respite. The leopard did as well. Neither of them knew what they were doing, and the fierce sexual hunger had taken a toll on them.