“He has had his leopard a long time. He must know things.”
Who knew Whisper would be the voice of reason? Meiling wasn’t certain how she could make her understand when she didn’t understand herself.
“I would want Gedeon for my mate if I could have him,” she confessed. “But it’s impossible. We talked about having a sexual relationship and both of us agreed it would ruin what we have together. He needs other women all the time. I would not want him to be with other women if we were together.”
There was a long silence while Whisper struggled to understand. I feel your absolute rejection of the idea but cannot understand why this would bother you.
Meiling sat on the edge of the bed, the towel in her hand. She wrapped her hair in the towel to squeeze out most of the water.
“It would be the same as if when you found your mate, he would insist on mating with other female leopards.”
Again, Whisper was silent while she thought about what Meiling said to her. You stay with the same mate all the time?
Did every leopard couple stay together after they mated through the first heat? She didn’t know. “The leopards I know only stay with each other. I always thought I would have that same relationship. I will have to ask a friend to answer these questions for us.”
Once again, she made her way into the master bathroom. Her hair was fine, but there was a lot of it. She had learned to comb it out as soon as possible to prevent tangles. Since moving to New Orleans and living at the house with Gedeon, she had allowed her hair to grow longer than she ever had. She’d always had very fast-growing hair and now it was nearly to her waist. Deftly braiding it, she secured it with a covered band and then chose clothes to join Gedeon.
Most times when she went down to his suite this late, she fell asleep, so she opted for a simple lounge suit. That always drove him crazy. He preferred she didn’t wear much in the way of clothes. In fact, if he had his way, she wouldn’t wear anything. Now, with Whisper rising, that was never going happen.
A burst of fury rushed over Meiling, shaking her.
I don’t think I would like to share my mate with another female, Whisper decided suddenly. I would want to kill her—and him.
Meiling was afraid of that—certain she would feel the same way. She kept her distance from Gedeon, never seeing him with other women. Never allowing herself to really think about that aspect of his life. In her mind, they weren’t together, and they never would be. He had made his needs clear from the very beginning of their relationship. There had been a clear line drawn and neither had ever crossed it. Now, for Meiling, everything had changed.
She held her hand out in front of her. It was trembling. Not with fear. Or trepidation. She trembled with that same underlying fury Whisper had experienced and shared with her. The edginess had started three months earlier in San Antonio, when they had worked the Atwater case together. When Lola Morales had turned so bitter, she had been willing to kidnap—and kill—a child because her love for a shifter had turned to hatred.
At first, Meiling thought the entire matter was just so disturbing that it kept her awake at night. But then she began to have heat flashes and moments of intense sexual desire. At the same time she found herself dwelling on Gedeon’s late nights at the club. It took discipline not to be angry with him, or worse—stalk him by going to the club herself. Some nights when he called for her to come to his suite, she was so filled with anger toward him she couldn’t allow herself to go. She spent those nights in a warm bath crying, or she’d go out to the swamp and run.
“I need answers, Whisper. I can’t afford to have Gedeon be my mate, and I have this terrible feeling that he is. Or that I’ve fallen in love with him. The real thing. If that’s the case, we have to get away from here very quickly. We can’t take the chance of his leopard claiming you. That would be a disaster.”
I’m going to sleep for a long while. I’m very tired. You can talk to Gedeon and ask him questions. I won’t rise and disturb his leopard.
“Are you certain?” Meiling didn’t want to take any chances.
I can’t stay awake even to help you.
Meiling felt the regret in the leopard. She was already as bonded to Meiling as Meiling was to her. A burst of affection spread through Meiling. She wrapped her arms around her middle to give the leopard a hug. “Go to sleep. We have time to figure this out. I’ll reach out to a friend in the morning and ask her questions. Maybe I’ll sound out Gedeon tonight and see what he has to say. I’m so glad you’re with me, Whisper.”