“How long y’all been friends?” He sat down catty-corner from her and began ladling out the food.
“Since we were eight.”
“Got any brothers or sisters?”
“No.”
“Not a real chatty gal, are ya?”
“Exactly how am I supposed to expand on not having siblings? Should I cry?”
He smiled and held up a bottle. “Wine?”
“Please.”
“So you can say that word. I thought you were physically incapable.”
She watched him pour the white wine into glasses she was damn-near positive were Riedel Vinum stemware. Nice.
She definitely appreciated a man with taste.
“I say it when I feel it’s necessary.” She glanced down at the food he’d ladled out for her. “Macaroni and Cheese? Classy.”
“I pull out all the stops for my unwanted guests.”
“I can see that.” She took a bite, closing her eyes and letting the flavor roll around her mouth. “Oh, my God,” she finally bit out.
“Is that good or bad?”
“Good. Definitely good.”
The hillbilly grinned. “Why thank you.”
“Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“Momma. She taught all her boys to cook. She said with our attitudes, we could never expect a woman to stay very long.”
Angie’s head snapped up. Unlike her grandmother and her best friends, her parents’ love always remained in question. So, the fact that someone’s mother would say that to them bothered her.
Nik caught her look. “Don’t worry. She says the same thing about Daddy.” He sighed. “And Lord knows she still hasn’t gotten rid of him.”
Angie didn’t know if he meant divorce or murder. And she wasn’t about to ask.
Instead, she decided to change the subject before they got around to her family. “What do you know about Victoria Löwe?”
He shrugged. “Not much. Her Pride’s territory is out your friend’s way. Up near San Francisco, I think.” Angie had no idea lions lived so close to the Pack. “And I know she’s making lots of changes among the Prides. But the tigers don’t involve ourselves in too much of that Pride crap. Always seemed to me they brought that war on themselves.”
“I thought you were all part of a Cat Nation.”
“I guess. I mean, honestly, none of it is really my business.”
“It is now.”
“Well, you can blame my brothers for that.”
“You know, I don’t remember seeing you with your brothers. Exactly why did I end up here? Did they not have enough room in their trailers?”
Nik glared at her as he bit into a piece of bread. “Actually, they rolled dice for ya—and I lost.”
“They rolled…for…and you…lost!” She threw her fork down and started to get up, but Nik’s hand grabbing her arm stopped her. “Get off me!”
“Sit. Now.”
She didn’t have much choice. He had an iron grip. She sat back down but wouldn’t look at him.
“That was mean. I’m sorry.” He released her arm. “My momma raised me better than that.”
She finally looked at him. “So you didn’t roll dice for me?”
“Oh, no. They did.” He gave her that goddamn devastating smile again. “But I won.”
No. She’d never be able to control this one.
“As a matter of fact, you did win. And don’t you forget it.”
“Don’t worry, sugar. I won’t.”
Nik rolled onto his back, his arms behind his head, eyes locked on the ceiling, his cock hard, ready, and demanding satisfaction. Preferably from the hot piece of ass a few doors away.
He could smell her. She’d taken a hot shower and her scent now flowed through the entire floor. His mouth watered. His heart hammered against his rib cage. Christ, he wanted that little lady. He wanted her bad.
He closed his eyes, trying to sleep. But that was a mistake. As soon as he closed his eyes he saw her…with her head in his lap. Her mouth on his dick, her tongue swirling around the tip. Her cheeks hollowing out as she sucked him long and deep.
No. That wouldn’t help him sleep. He opened his eyes.
He wondered what she’d do if he sauntered on down her way and knocked on her door at one o’clock in the morning. Welcome him in or kick him in the nuts? Probably welcome him in only to kick him in the nuts once she got him in there.
A growl from underneath his balcony pulled him away from his fantasies about Santiago riding him like a cowboy on a buckin’ bronco.
His brothers. They wanted to go hunting. Not a bad idea really. Besides, as much as his brothers drove him crazy, he did love ’em.
They growled again and Nik laughed. They wanted to go hunting. Now. And they basically told him to get his head out from between Angelina’s thighs and get a move on.
Smart asses.
Well, anything had to be better than lying here all night pining for a woman who treated him like an annoying alley cat she couldn’t get out of her backyard.
He shifted while still in bed and slid out from under the covers. Bounding across the room, he leaped over the balcony. His brothers were already running, the scent of deer filling their heads, and he followed. Loving the feel of the cool Carolina night on his fur and the power of his people flowing through his veins.
Angie sat on the balcony staring out at the yard through the bars of the railing. Wearing an oversized sweatshirt she’d gotten that day and nothing else, she had her knees tucked up under her chin.
When the two tigers suddenly appeared, she almost dashed back inside, but she forced herself to stay put. She knew they had to be shifters. They roared at the house while simultaneously batting each other around with their enormous paws. Within a few minutes, another tiger she could only guess was Nik jumped down and the three ran off into the trees.
They were beautiful to watch. Their long, powerful limbs moving with such precision. It must be interesting to watch them hunt, to see them take down their prey. As long as that prey wasn’t her.
Angie finger-combed her wet hair. Except for Sara, Miki, and Marrec, there was no one else to tell she was okay. That dangerous shapeshifters hadn’t killed her. Her parents didn’t know she’d been missing and she wasn’t really sure they’d care. Last she heard, they were on a dig somewhere in the Sudan. Two scientists who had just enough love for their work and each other. Angie had been an accident from the beginning and eventually they couldn’t even pretend to care anymore. They left her with her grandmother and every once in awhile they’d stop by to remind her she had parents.
She remembered her parents coming to visit when she turned ten. They’d promised to take her away on a family vacation. Instead, they spent thirty minutes telling her why they couldn’t. She listened with absolutely no emotion while her grandmother slammed pots around in the kitchen and cursed in Portuguese. But Miki and Sara were there too. They didn’t say anything, but she soon learned their silence was a very, very bad thing.
Sara limped into the kitchen and returned with a glass of what looked like milk and orange juice. A revolting mix. While staring at Angie’s parents, Sara handed the glass to Miki, who gulped it down in two big swallows.
Three minutes later, Miki staggered up and over to Angie’s mother and projectile vomited all over the woman. Twice.
To this day, her mother wouldn’t even mention the two women who had become such an integral part of Angie’s life. And until the day she died, both Sara and Miki always had a place at her grandmother’s table.
Angie’s anger-management counselor seemed convinced her issues with physical contact were due to her parents’ lack of affection. Perhaps, but knowing that didn’t make it better. Or make any of it hurt less.
Although she knew she was too old to worry whether her parents cared or not, she did. Still. After all this time.
Angie laid her head on her knees and sighed. She didn’t feel lonely often. But when she did, she felt
it all the way to her bones.
She looked up as Nik—at least she really hoped it was Nik—burst out of the trees. He sprinted across the backyard and took a wild leap up to her balcony. He didn’t clear it, but clung to it with his big claws and forearms. His giant tiger head dipped over the railing as he looked at her.
So stunned by his return and launch at her balcony, Angie didn’t move or run for her life. She simply stared up at him. She’d never seen a tiger this close before. She couldn’t believe how enormous he was. His gold eyes glinted at her in the darkness and his huge tongue hung from his mouth.
“Is this your way of saying good night?”
He dragged that big tongue across her cheek.
“Dude! Disgusting!” But she laughed in spite of herself and immediately let go of her sadness.
One paw released the banister and he hung off the side. He stared through the bars of the railing and it took her a moment to realize he was staring at her. Well, her and her no-panty-wearing ass.
“Hey! Eyes front, cat!”
He again gripped the banister with both paws and let out a weird sound through his nose. Like two big puffs of air. Strange, but she got the feeling it didn’t mean anything bad. His head came farther over the banister and he quietly waited. She had the feeling he wouldn’t leave until he got what he wanted.
Praying she would get her hand back intact, Angie reached up and ran her fingers through his fur like she’d done with his hair earlier that day. She kept it up for about three minutes, just petting him, lost in the feel of his fur against her fingertips. Eventually, he made that puffing sound again, licked her wrist with his dry, rough tongue, and released the banister. He fell back to the hard ground, but landed on his feet. He turned to look at her once more before bounding off into the trees.
She had no idea what had happened, but she did know her hard nipples, wet thighs, and that damn thumping noise were freaking her the fuck out.
Chapter Six
Nik didn’t come back. At least, she never heard him if he did. Around eleven in the morning, she rolled out of bed and scrounged up a bowl of cereal, made a fresh pot of coffee, enjoyed two cups and the newspaper before throwing on a pair of denim shorts and a T-shirt, and heading out to the backyard. She draped herself onto a lounge chair and dialed Sara.
No answer on her cell. So she tried Miki.
“Yeah?”
“Hey. It’s me.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, come on. You’re not still mad at me.”
“No. I’m not.”
“But Sara is?”
“She’s mad at everybody. Zach, Conall, me. The universe.”
Angie grimaced. It took a lot to piss off sober Sara. But once done, the woman wasn’t satisfied until someone lay bleeding and crying.
“Well do something.”
“Do what? She won’t even talk to me. She’s pissed. I mean p-i-s—”
“Yes, Miki. I know how to spell pissed. I can actually spell it in several languages.”
“I still have you beat by two.”
“I’m sorry but Klingon and Elvish don’t count.”
“Says who? Klingon is really tough.”
“Miki, hon, I really need you to focus.”
“Yeah. Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t get too fuckin’ comfortable.”
“Am I the only one who sees the big picture here? Hyenas are trying to kill you. True, there are many who have wanted to see you dead, but these are the first that have actively tried.”
Miki snorted. “Look, I do understand. And I appreciate you caring and all.”
“But—”
“There’s no but. I mean, I did do a little research on this Vorislav guy last night and found some pics of him and his brothers on his company’s web site. And imagine my surprise when I realized he’s the guy from the airport. But, of course, I’m sure that has nothing to do with you staying there so comfortably.”
Fucking, researching bitch!
“It has nothing to do with that. I’m waiting for the Pack to get here. Then I’ll be back.”
“Well, they seem to be taking their sweet time, but I’m sure you’ll find some way to survive.”
“Oh for the love of all that’s holy. Look, I’m doing this for your—oh my.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Um…puppy.”
“Don’t call my baby that!”
Angie rolled her eyes. “I’m not, you garden gnome. I see an actual puppy.”
An adorable black lab puppy specifically, running through the grass of Nik’s backyard.
“Puppy? Why don’t you call him what he is? A mid-day snack.”
Her crazy friend was right. Tigers roamed this property. A cute little thing loping through the grass was really just a moving Snickers bar to these people.
Angie secured her phone to her shorts and made sure her headphones were on, then she moved across the grass toward the puppy while yelling at her best friend.
“All I’m doing is trying to protect my family. You think she’d appreciate it.”
“Aw, you consider me family?”
“That is the dumbest fuckin’ thing you’ve ever said. Of course I do!”
“Well, ya don’t have to get nasty.”
“Yes, I do. When you ask me stupid questions. You, Sara, and Marrec are the only family I have since my grandmother died.”
“The breeders still live.”
“Yes, but they don’t count.” She caught up to the puppy as it came to the very edge of where the lawn ended and the acres of trees and tall grass began. “Come here, cutie.”
She crouched low and picked the little beast up. “What are you doing around here, little one?”
“Maybe he’s suicidal.”
“Shut up.”
“How come you’re nicer to the dog?”
“The dog doesn’t make it his goal in life to piss me off.”
“This is true.”
The puppy squirmed out of her hands. “Shit.” She grabbed for him, but froze when she watched the puppy climb on top of the tiger less than five feet away from her. So well hidden in the grass, she never saw him. Her real problem? His markings were different from Nik’s. His ears bent a little differently. His eyes a little more slanted. This wasn’t Nik. Which meant she didn’t know how safe or unsafe she may be.
“Shit,” she barked again and scrambled back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh…” The tiger moved forward, his big body raising up out of the grass. He shook himself, the puppy tumbling off. He caught the little beast between his teeth by the back of its neck. Angie flinched. She really had no desire to watch a dog become anyone’s lunch. Really. But the puppy hung from the tiger’s mouth without any fear.
The tiger walked forward slowly, eventually dropping the puppy at Angie’s feet. She scooped him up and backed away until her ass sat back on the lounger.
The tiger watched her for several very long seconds. Then he charged into the woods.
“Are you still there?”
“What? Oh. Yeah. I’m here.”
“What’s going on?”
“Tiger antics.”
“Don’t ever turn your back on one.”
“Excuse me?”
“Tigers. They attack from behind.”
Angie closed her eyes on a sigh. “Good God, you’ve been reading.”
“It’s what I do. Research.”
The tiger returned, a rabbit in his mouth. Unlike the puppy, the rabbit didn’t fair too well. The tiger dropped the bloody carcass in the middle of Nik’s lawn, and looked at her expectantly.
Another tiger, this one’s marking different from Nik’s as well, wandered out of the woods. He caught sight of the other tiger. Looked at Angie. Then the dead rabbit. He turned and charged back into the woods. After a few moments. He trotted in with his own rabbit. A bigger one. He dropped it on top of the first one.
“Uh-oh.”
“What uh-oh?” r />
The two tigers glared at each other, and charged back into the woods.
“Something’s going on.”
“Something bad?”
“Not for me.”
They returned, each carrying a deer. One held a doe, the other a buck. They dropped their prey, roared at each other, turned and charged back into the woods yet again.
Angie giggled. “Dude, this is gettin’ weird.”
“How weird?”
“Well, I could be wrong but…I think I’m being wooed—tiger style.”
“What does that entail?”
“So far? Rabbit and deer.”
“What?”
The brothers returned, both carrying their own elk. They dragged and dropped them on the pile. Then one slapped the other in the head with his paw. The other hit him back. Before she knew it, they turned into a mass of snarling, biting, slashing stripes.
“What the hell is that noise?”
“Cat fight.”
“They’re fighting over you?”
“I don’t know.”
“They are so fighting over you.” Miki laughed. “Angelina and those mighty legs strike again.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“You’re wearing shorts, aren’t you?”
“Shut up!”
A third tiger charged out of the woods. Nik. She easily recognized his markings now.
Using his massive jaws, he grabbed one brother by the scruff of the neck, flinging him into the woods. The other went to follow, but Nik knocked him back with a well-placed paw. Then he chased that brother in the opposite direction.
“It’s all clear. Big brother handled it.”
“I swear, everywhere you go—”
“Oh, shut up!”
Nik returned. He trotted past Angelina, barely glancing in her direction and ungracefully belly-flopped into his pool.
Angie laughed again.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just Tiger-Nik jumped into his pool. Like that goofy fat kid in eighth grade swim class.”
“Well, I read that tigers love water. And they don’t purr.”
“This one purrs.”
“Really?” Angie could hear Miki “thinking”. “Interesting. Tigers are the one cat that doesn’t. It must be the human in him.”