Tiger Magic su-5 Read online

  The same hunger flared in Carly. Tiger was sexy, he was gorgeous, and she needed some loving. Finding Ethan yesterday had made her feel like the most un-sexy, most unwanted woman on the planet. Ethan obviously found Carly inadequate, or why would he have needed to fulfill himself with someone else?

  When Tiger looked at Carly, she felt beautiful. She knew she cleaned up well, which was why Yvette had hired her to work in the gallery. But Yvette had always maintained that Carly had girl-next-door prettiness, not siren beauty. Fresh faced and sweet, not a temptress. Perfect for the female customers who came in with their husbands to buy art for their houses or offices. Ethan, come to think of it, also hadn’t regarded Carly as a siren beauty, which was what would make her the perfect businessman’s wife. Women wouldn’t be jealous of Carly.

  Tiger looked at Carly as though she were a sex goddess in a G-string. Like he wanted to make love to her for days. He’d looked at Carly like that from the first moment he’d raked his gaze over her on the side of the road. She’d asked him if he liked what he saw, and he’d said a simple Yes.

  “I was right about you,” Carly said now. “You’re a sweet-talker.”

  Tiger growled, not talking at all. He released her hands but only so he could push up her T-shirt and pop open the button of her shorts. The sheet fell from his backside, which was as gorgeous as the rest of him. Carly ran her hands over his buttocks, liking how firm he was, then up his torso again, hands finding the pockmarks from the bullets that had gone in, then out.

  Tiger’s next kisses were even hotter and more skilled; he adapted to kissing as much as his body was adapting to being shot.

  Need in his eyes, he knelt back and skimmed her shorts from her. Panties next, Carly helping, then Tiger tossed them both away, though her T-shirt remained pushed up around her shoulders.

  Carly lay back down, heartbeat speeding, ready for the man who excited her and was excited by her.

  Her breath left her when Tiger lifted her by the waist and flipped her over, drawing her up onto her hands and knees. Tiger pulled her hips back to the stiff cock that she glimpsed before her hair tumbled into her face. Good God . . .

  “Whoa, wait.” Carly squirmed away, turning to sit on the big bed, her T-shirt falling to cover her lap. “What are you doing?”

  Tiger remained on his knees, his cock pointing toward her—his long, thick, no-way-anyone-is-that-big cock. His brows drew down. “Mating.”

  “I know that, but why the back door? You’re really . . . big. You’ll kill me.” Carly would die happy, but he was going to be a tight fit.

  The cock dipped slightly. “If it will hurt you, then . . . I won’t.”

  Carly saw how much it cost him to say that. Tiger wanted her. He pulsed with it. She wanted him as well, with every pump of blood through her veins.

  “I mean we should take it slow,” she said. “Let me get used to you. Me with the soft bed cushioning my back, you easing on top of me.”

  The cock went completely firm again, but the look on Tiger’s face was one of confusion.

  Pieces of information clicked in Carly’s head—stuck in a cage, researchers, treated like an animal, given a mate. Not a girlfriend, or a wife, or a lover. A mate. Tiger hadn’t said whether the woman had been Shifter or human.

  “Are you telling me you haven’t ever done it front to front?” she asked.

  Tiger shook his head. “It was only the once.”

  “Oh.” The loneliness of his words struck her to the heart. “You make me want to hug you more and more. Come here. I’ll show you. You’re a quick learner, I said. Now you can learn this.”

  Tiger came to her so rapidly that Carly laughed. She stopped laughing when he took her down to the bed.

  “Now you’re getting it.” Her words ceased as he kissed her, his mouth firm, no longer hesitant.

  Carly wrapped one leg around his thigh, caressing his calf with her bare foot. She liked how he kissed her, mouth warm, taking but giving, knowing what he wanted and what she wanted. Tiger nipped her cheek, her neck, all the while his body shook as he held himself back.

  Carly guided him with one hand on his hip, parting her legs so that he could come between them. His skin was hot but smooth, his ass tight as he moved over her. Carly raised her hips a little, her one leg up and around his, encouraging him with her hands to come on inside.

  Tiger’s body heat covered her, and then his body. He brushed her tangled hair from her face, lips coming down in a long kiss as he slid inside her.

  And stopped. Carly’s eyes opened wide. She was certainly wet enough for him, slippery and wanting, but she tightened, the sudden ecstasy turning to an aching.

  “Wait.” She pressed her palm to Tiger’s chest, feeling his heart beating triple-time.

  Tiger pulled out quickly, kneeling back, the look on his face one of anguish. “I’m hurting you.”

  “Only because I’m not used to you.”

  At least Carly hoped that was the explanation. It would be a tragedy if she’d finally met a man who made her feel like this and they couldn’t consummate their relationship . . . or whatever this was. For once in her life, Carly didn’t stop to analyze her connection with a man. She wasn’t thinking about whether he was going to run off with all her money, or whether he’d dump her after a few dates, or what it was they were building together, if anything.

  She liked Tiger and wanted to be with him. Nothing more. No hidden agendas.

  “How about we try it me on top of you?” she asked. “That way I can guide things, ease in however much I can take before we go on.”

  From the look on Tiger’s face, it hadn’t occurred to him that this position was possible either. Carly seriously needed to work on his education.

  She got to her knees. “Lie down.”

  Carly pressed her hands to his chest again, and Tiger lay back on the sheets, his gaze never leaving her. The fading sunshine clearly showed the pink marks where Ethan had shot him, and more scars where the other bullets had come through. But the blood was gone, his skin whole again.

  She climbed over him, positioning her knees on either side of him. His cock was still stiff and long, Tiger waiting.

  Carly pulled off her T-shirt, breathing a sigh as the fabric left her now-itchy skin. She tossed the shirt aside and filled her hands with Tiger’s swollen cock.

  Large, but not unmanageable. She drew both hands up its sides, around the head, back down to his firm balls. His hair there was multicolored too—orange and black. She was falling in love with a man who was tiger-striped all the way down.

  The thought made her smile. Carly leaned down and kissed the tip of his cock.

  Two strong hands closed around her wrists. Tiger pulled her up, his eyes molten gold, his voice a growl. “Now. Do it now.”

  Yes. Carly wanted him with every thought, every breath. Tiger wanted her too, she saw, was afraid he wouldn’t be able to contain himself.

  Carly felt even sexier knowing he could barely hold it in for her. The fleeting thought of a condom ran through her head, but she knew one hadn’t been made that would fit Tiger. And she’d read somewhere that Shifters couldn’t give humans the illnesses that humans could give one another through sex.

  She leaned forward, her breasts brushing his chest, then lowered herself onto the end of his cock. The next fleeting thought was that Shifters could still get humans pregnant. But Carly was taking birth control—at Ethan’s insistence—and the worry about that seemed far away and unimportant.

  Then all thoughts about anything fled her head. Tiger was big. Unlike the startled halt when he’d been on top of her, this going-in was eased by Carly’s slowness, her slickness, her burgeoning need.

  Oh my God . . . That’s . . .

  I’ve never . . .

  The words welled up as Tiger slid into her, and Carly heard some of them come out of her mouth. She lowered herself more, Tiger’s cock opening her with blunt, hard pleasure.

  Carly’s hips rocked, her body wanting more
of him. Tiger’s hands went to her thighs, fingers pressing, and he let out a soft noise.

  “Tiger.” Carly’s exclamation came out a groan. “You are fucking marvelous.”

  Tiger held her in complete silence. Carly stretched, her breasts feeling heavy and tight. She pressed her arms over her head, fingers flexing, her head going back as she felt him rise inside her.

  She went hot all over at the same time gooseflesh rippled over her arms and legs. Her nipples darkened and tightened, one beam of sunshine snaking in from under clouds to bathe her in warmth.

  No warmth compared to the scalding heat between Tiger’s hips and Carly’s inner thighs, sweat collecting to slide to the sheets. Perspiration gathered on Carly’s face and beaded on Tiger’s upper lip.

  Tiger moved his hands from her thighs to the curve of her waist, holding her steady while he let his hips rock upward. Gently, gently. Tiger’s body still shook; he was holding back, afraid of hurting her.

  Carly’s heart ached for him at the same time her inner places swelled and tightened. He was so tender, this man people feared. He’d shielded her body with his and taken what should have been a lethal barrage of bullets so Carly wouldn’t be hurt.

  Pleasure seeped through her, joy so hot she was sure her blood was on fire. Tiger watched her in silence, his eyes Shifter gold, his face quiet.

  He was a beautiful man, strong, good-hearted, protective. She remembered him with tiny Katriona, how incredibly gentle he’d been with her.

  He was as gentle with Carly now. Tiger held her, sweat trickling from under his palms down her skin, the sunlight moving from Carly’s body to Tiger’s face.

  Breathtaking. She rested her hands on his chest now, the hard flatness of it dusted with dark hair streaked with gold and orange, his nipples as tight as hers.

  The look in his eyes was one of wonder. Tiger marveled at what they did, Carly rocking on him, fire rippling from where they joined.

  The fire grew, blocking all thought. The sun continued to slip away, the room changing from sunlit to flooded with red and gold, and then to twilit. She and Tiger rocked together, sealed to each other, Tiger higher in Carly than she’d imagined she could take him.

  Tiger growled and clasped her shoulders, tugging her down to him. She went, kissing him while she lay full length on top of him, with him still inside her.

  Tiger kissed her in return, licking into her mouth, tasting all corners of her. Carly tasted him too, learning him, loving the texture, the heat.

  Their mouths were still together when Tiger’s growl turned to a snarl. A wild darkness whipped through Carly, one that made her cry out, her body tight, so tight. Waves of pleasure so incredible she wanted to weep tumbled over her, and she rocked her hips against Tiger’s, wanting more and more. As she hit the top of the highest wave, shouting his name in pleasure, Carly felt Tiger’s seed flood inside her.

  The last of the dusky light died, and darkness quickly filled the sky. Through the open windows, Carly saw stars prick out, but they couldn’t compete with the beauty of Tiger’s golden eyes.

  * * *

  “Shite, I missed the exit again.” Liam stepped on the accelerator and shot down the freeway. He’d have to get off at the next exit, loop around, and try again.

  “You should have let me drive,” Spike said from the passenger seat of Dylan’s truck.

  Dylan had sent them off four hours ago in the predawn coolness, looking a little satisfied that he wouldn’t be the one dealing with a table of full-of-themselves gobshite Shifter leaders and Dallas roadways.

  “No, I need you to navigate,” Liam said to Spike. “You’re a tracker. So track.”

  Shifter leaders were allowed one backup person at the meetings, all acknowledging that a roomful of über-alpha Shifter males could grow dangerous very fast. Therefore, each Shifter could bring one bodyguard, and Liam had chosen Spike.

  The bodyguard had to be neutral though. Not the same clan, pack, or pride as the leader. The bodyguard also couldn’t be in line to be a Shiftertown leader, so that the bodyguard didn’t get any ideas of taking out the man above him while they were alone. If Spike offed Liam, Spike wouldn’t win by it. Liam wouldn’t win by it either, but Sean would take over the Austin Shiftertown and punish Spike.

  Not that Liam had any worries about Spike. The six-foot-six, tattooed biker with the shaved pate was a jaguar who’d recently found out he had a cub. The new dad thought of little else but small Jordan and Myka, Spike’s new mate.

  “You missed this exit too,” Spike said in his quiet way.

  “Shite.” Liam had been busy trying to get around a slow cement truck, and the off ramp had whizzed past. “They’ll decide something asinine before I get there, like we all have to wear T-shirts that say ‘My Other Animal is a Penguin.’ And my vote would have been the tiebreaker against.”

  Spike didn’t laugh. “Take this one,” he said pointing to the left.

  “What one?”

  “There!” Spike shouted. “Left exit. Now.”

  Liam dove across two lanes of traffic, earning honking and lifted fingers, and drove off the ramp. This exit looped them around and poured them back in the opposite direction, where Liam ran into a clump of traffic.

  “Damn it.”

  “You know, you suck at driving,” Spike said.

  “Watch it, jaguar. And it’s not true. I’m a master at handling my Harley.”

  Spike grinned. “Yeah, I just bet you are.”

  Liam said something in Irish that would have earned him Spike’s fist in his throat if Spike had understood it.

  Liam at last got the pickup oriented in the right direction, found the turnoff, and took it. Now it was just a matter of navigating through traffic, stoplights, and clogged one-way streets until they found the bar and pool hall where the Shifters had agreed, this time, to meet.

  Never in the same place twice. Good idea from a stealth standpoint, bad for finding the damned place.

  Liam parked the pickup behind the bar, approached the back door, and knocked. A greasy-looking man let them in through a tiny hall and a kitchen, pointing through to a large room that smelled of Shifters. Liam hoped the man with the oily hair wasn’t the cook.

  “About time,” someone growled.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The voice of the Lupine who’d spoken—Graham McNeil—rumbled in the too-small room. Not enough air in the room either, Liam observed. They’d all soon be gagging on the smell. Alphas feeling competitive had a fine scent.

  Eric Warden, a Feline and the leader of the Las Vegas Shiftertown, came forward to greet Liam. Liam pulled the man into a brief, tight hug, and Eric returned it, as strong as ever.

  They kept the hug short, greeting only, even though they’d become good friends, so the other Shifter leaders might not think they were forming an alliance. Shifter leaders, as a group, were paranoid.

  “Liam,” Graham said behind Eric.

  Graham was sort of co-leader with Eric of their Shiftertown. He condescended to return Liam’s greeting embrace, but the hug shouted that Graham would be just as happy to break Liam’s neck in other circumstances.

  “What did you bring him for?” Liam asked Eric, jerking his thumb at Graham. “I can’t believe he’s your bodyguard.”

  Eric and Graham had tangled in the past. Eric’s sister or son didn’t qualify to be Eric’s backup, but Liam was surprised Eric would venture out alone with Graham, who’d made it no secret that he thought he’d be a better Shiftertown leader than Eric. Eric usually brought Nell, a bear Shifter and his neighbor, whose glare could stop the most formidable Shifter in his tracks.

  “Didn’t trust him enough to leave him behind,” Eric said. He gave Liam his laid-back smile, but his jade-green eyes were sharp with watchfulness.

  “Good thinking,” Graham said, though his body language said, Fuck you.

  “Besides, he’s met Tiger,” Eric said, ignoring Graham. “And Nell’s busy with her new mate. Cormac, you know him. Those are the only re
asons I’d bring Graham. Graham’s afraid to fly, and he bitched about it the whole time.”

  “Huh,” Graham said. He was a big man with flame tattoos on his arms and buzzed dark hair, his wolf-gray eyes holding more intelligence than he let people see. “If the Goddess wanted me to fly, she’d have made me a bird Shifter. An eagle.”

  “Penguin,” Liam said.

  Graham frowned at him. “Penguins don’t fly.”

  “I know.”

  He growled. “Yeah, you’re funny, Irishman.”

  “Can we start?” The Shifter who’d called this meeting was a Lupine named Bowman O’Donnell, who ran a Shiftertown in North Carolina. He stood at the head of the table, impatient, his dark eyes fixed on Liam. His bodyguard was a lean, mean-looking Feline, with tattoos of cheetahs chasing themselves around his arms.

  Twenty other Shifter leaders and their bodyguards took up the rest of the room. Some slouched in seats as though they’d rather be anywhere doing anything but this; others were alert, eyes on Liam, interested.

  Liam hid a sigh, trying to make himself sit down and be calm, but he knew he couldn’t be. Tiger was his responsibility, and the other Shifters could scent Liam’s worry about this meeting. That is, if they could smell anything in a room full of Shifter leaders trying to out-alpha one another.

  Liam waved his hand in front of his nose as he took his seat. “Can we open a window?”

  Several of the other Shifters chuckled. Bowman didn’t look amused.

  “If we do this fast, we can get out of here into fresh air,” he said. “Or polluted air. Cities suck.”

  More laughter. Bowman’s Shiftertown was in the middle of tall pine woods in the hills. Liam had visited once and had been impressed by the place’s natural beauty. Bowman had gotten lucky.

  “So you have a Shifter living with you who can heal himself from gunshot wounds,” Bowman said. “We heard about the second shooting, and that this tiger Shifter basically grew himself a second skin.”

  Goddess, word spread fast. Liam and his family had said nothing, and Glory, as crazy as she was, could be trusted to keep secrets. So could Liam’s trackers.