out.'
'You mean you can hunt this hit man down and kill him.' She shook her head. 'I'm not going to let you do that. You hate what you did, killing the man who took your mother's life. You think it's so wrong of you because you can't be sorry he's dead. Rio, you're sorry you killed him. I know you are. You may not be sorry that he's dead, but you regret the way his life was taken. You aren't going to do it all over again for me.'
'It isn't for you.'
She smiled at him and pushed back the hair tumbling onto his forehead. 'Yes it is. It won't matter what excuse you come up with for both of us, I'll always know it was because of me and you'll always know it too. My troubles have nothing to do with you and you shouldn't ever have been made a part of them.'
'I bested him twice. He was forced to run and he was wounded. He'll have to come after me. Whether you're here or not, he'll have to come after me.'
'He isn't paid to come after you. Hit men work for money. They don't have very much in the way of feelings, Rio, at least not that I've ever seen. If you pay them, they do the job. It's simply business to them.'
'You're talking about human beings,' he pointed out. 'I'll make you something to eat while we discuss this. I'm serious, Rachael, he'll come here to take me out before he ever makes another attempt on you.'
Rachael watched him cross to the cupboards. There was total conviction in his voice.
'I wasn't going to bring up a talk about us, but now that you mention it… I've considered one of two problems a relationship might encounter. There's the whole crossing species thing. You didn't ask me if I was using birth control, Rio. Did it occur to you that if I became pregnant there might be a problem?'
Intent on making soup, he didn't turn around. 'There wouldn't be a problem, but I knew you couldn't conceive. Not the way we made love.'
'Really? Why is that?'
'Because you're one of us.'
Rachael lifted an eyebrow and regarded the broad expanse of his back. 'How intriguing. Why didn't I know this? You'd think my parents would have given me the information. Not that I'd mind running free in the forest though, that would be fun.'
He did turn around then and there was no answering amusement on his face. His expression was grim. 'No, you won't go running in the forest, Rachael. Not now, not ever.' The smoldering anger was back, a fierce black roiling that swept through him like a dark tornado.
Rachael's eyebrow shot higher. 'Nice to know ahead of time there seems to be a double standard in your society for women. I already come from one of those societies, Rio, where women are second-class citizens, and I didn't particularly enjoy it. I don't intend to join another one.'
'My mother wasn't second-class, Rachael. She was a miracle to anyone lucky enough to know her. And running free in the forest cost her her life.'
'It was a risk she took, Rio. You take it all the time. I took a risk when I let go of the boat and slipped into the rising river. It was my risk to take. In any case there's no point in arguing, I've never shifted into any other shape but this one. Well, sometimes my weight goes up and down a bit and as I get older I think it's redistributing and maybe changing my shape, but that's not what you mean.'
'You're one of us, Rachael. Drake knew it and so did Kim and Tama. You're close to the Han Vol Dan. It's why you get edgy and moody.'
'Edgy? Moody? I beg your pardon! I do not get edgy and moody. And if I do, it's only because I'm stuck in this bed.'
'Maybe that wasn't such a good description. I'm trying to be discreet.'
'Well forget discreet and just say it.'
'All right. But don't get mad at me. You're close to the change and with it you're experiencing a powerful sexual drive, much like a female cat going into heat.'
She threw the pillow at him. 'I hardly think I'm acting like a cat in heat. I didn't go after every male in the room.'
'No, but they wanted to go after you. It can be a dangerous time. You're putting out signals, both scent and body signals.'
'You are crazy.' Rachael glared at him. 'Are you trying to tell me you made love to me because I was putting out some kind of scent?' His back was to her again but she saw his shoulders shake. 'If you dare laugh, I'm going to let you know exactly what a woman getting hot entails.'
'I wouldn't think of laughing.' Sometimes lying was the better part of valor and the only way to save a man's butt. 'I made love to you because every time I look at you I want you. Hell, I want you now. I can't think straight when I'm around you, but you already know that.'
Rachael tried not to be mollified by what he said, but it was impossible not to be pleased. She rather liked the idea he couldn't think straight around her. 'Seriously, Rio, why would you even consider I'm any other species other than human?'
'I'm being serious. I'm certain your parents were exactly as I am. I think the stories your mother told you were all the stories told to our children to teach them their heritage. You must have heard your father call your mother sestrilla and that's how you knew the meaning of the word. The language is ancient and used only by our people, but it is universal to all of us no matter what part of the world we reside in. So even if your parents were born and raised in South America as I suspect, your father would have called your mother that at some time.'
'I can't remember my father. I was very young when he died.'
'Do you have memories of the rain forest?'
'Dreams, not memories.'
'The humidity doesn't bother you and the mosquitoes don't go near you. You aren't afraid in the silences or the stillness. Hell, Rachael, I walked in here as the leopard and you didn't even flinch.'
'I flinched. There was definite flinching. You're darned lucky I didn't die of sheer fright.'
'You were petting the leopard. You couldn't have been that afraid.'
'The soup is beginning to boil.' She made a face at his back. Maybe she hadn't been as afraid of the leopard as she should have been. 'Who wouldn't pet a leopard given the chance? It was a perfectly natural thing to do. I considered fainting, but I'm not very good at it so I thought I'd make the most of the opportunity. And,' she continued before he could interrupt, 'you have two leopards for pets, who knows if the big guy was part of the family. He walked in like he owned the place.'
He grinned at her. 'I do.'
'Well, I'm not in heat.' She tried not to smile back at him. It was difficult when he was standing there, leaning one hip lazily against the sink and looking incredibly sexy.
'A man can always hope.'
She managed an elegant sniff of indignation, taking the mug of soup he handed to her. 'How long before the hit man comes back?' It was a much safer subject.
'He could be holed up a couple of miles from here. It depends on how badly injured he was. He was moving fast and thinking the entire time.'
'Which means it wasn't that bad.'
'That would be my guess. Franz is scouting and I've sent out a couple of other friends, not human in case you were wondering. They'll raise the alarm if he shows himself within a couple of mile radius. If he's smart, he's laying low waiting for us to settle down.'
Rachael's heart jumped. 'You mean you think he'll be coming back tonight? Why aren't we getting ready to get out of here? I can make it. It's silly to just sit here and wait for him to shoot at us.'
'We're not just waiting for him, Rachael. We're fortifying ourselves and preparing for battle.'
'I don't want to battle anyone. You know the old fight-or-flee adage? I believe fleeing is the smart thing to do. There must be one of the native huts I read about where we can go.'
'He's a walking radar system, Rachael. He can track us, no matter where we go. If you don't want to shelter with the elders in the village then we have to face him.'
Rachael shook her head sadly. 'Everywhere I go, I bring death.' She looked away from the door. 'I'm sorry, Rio. I really am, that I brought this man into your life. I thought I could escape.'
'It was his choice to take this job. Eat your soup.'
Rachael sipped at the broth cautiously. It was very hot but she found she was suddenly hungry. 'I'm still trying
