Free Leopard's Key by Marci Baun Page B

lose himself in those eyes. The very color was exotic in his world. The softness hidden in their depths was so very different from the cold, calculating eyes of the females in his clan. Beneath his fingers, her skin was soft and warm, and he fought the desire to caress her with his thumb.
    “Allow me,” he said, taking the keys. He needed to get a grip. He was here for information about his brother, not flirting with a female.
    “I can do this.”
    Dmitri shrugged. “I don’t mind. Besides, I have a few questions I wanted to ask you.”
    “About Kel?”
    “Yes. About Kel.”
    She nodded and stepped inside. “You have until I reach the third floor. Then you have to leave.”
    “All right. I’ll get straight to it, then. When was the last time you saw Kel?”
    She tossed him a glance over her shoulder and started up the steps. The skirt swished with each step, teasing his already heightened senses. His palms itched with the desire to touch her ass before she was out of reach. His body tightened. Not now.
    Human females were usually not to his liking. They were delicate and fragile, making it too easy to hurt one in the throes of passion. As he tried to remind himself how much he didn’t want her, he imagined the softness of the skin along her thighs.
    Leopard women came in two flavors: All business and the tease. Both wore tight skirts or pants. The business female covered her sensuality with a layer of civilization. The tease, on the other hand, wore the shortest skirts and tightest clothes she could, showing as much skin as was legal under human laws. Dmitri had always liked the latter. But this woman, this tiny, delicate human, enticed him with her layers of clothes. His imagination shifted into hyperdrive, creating an image of her dressed only in panties and her bra. White. She would wear no other color.
    “Why do you ask?”
    Jolted from his thoughts, he struggled to remember his question. Shit . “We haven’t been able to reach him. He’s missing.” His voice sounded rough even to his ears.
    “Missing? Since when?”
    “Two weeks. When did you see him last?”
    She hesitated, before continuing up the stairs. “Two weeks ago.”
    “The day he disappeared? Where?”
    “He came to my shop. We talked. He wanted to buy something special for his mother.”
    “And he chose a silver necklace?”
    “No,” she shook her head. “Look, why don’t you wait here and let me put away the groceries, and then I’ll explain the necklace.”
    “I’m not leaving, Hailey, not until I know the rest of the story.”
    * * * *
    Hailey studied the man, searching for something, anything, which told her if he could be trusted. Her instincts were usually good, but he was different. He radiated sexuality the way the sun radiated heat, and if she got too close, she just might get burned. She reached inside for that part of her she kept hidden from the world. Nothing. That could mean anything. Good, or bad. It looked like it was all up to her.
    Making her decision, she pushed past him through the door. “Come in. Let me put these away, and we’ll talk. Can I get you anything to drink?”
    “Ice water.”
    She nodded. “I’ll be right back.” She motioned toward the couch. “Have a seat.”
    Once in the kitchen, Hailey rested her hands flat on the kitchen table, her mind miles from her task. Kel had mentioned his brother the day he’d been in the store. Twins, he’d said. He hadn’t mentioned they were fraternal. There was a resemblance. Both men were tall and had dark hair. Both men were muscular and handsome. Dmitri held something inside of him his brother lacked. An aura of power and primal strength.
    If he asked her again about the key necklace, she’d probably tell him. And then he’d think she was a freak. Her mother called her psychic. Maybe. It didn’t matter. Since her ideas came only for jewelry, her skills were useless for anything other than creativity. Once they’d been more, but now, all she could do