But they considered Boris a freak of the highest order. A tiger who clung to one mate no matter how hard she fought. They didn’t seem to like Natalia too much. Thought she was a rich snob, like Broyna did, but they didn’t think she was any different than the rest of them when it came to sex and relationships. But as soon as Boris saw her, when they were only twelve years old, he decided she would bear his cubs and be his mate. By the time he was twenty-one, he’d already gotten Natalia pregnant with Nik. Ban came a short time after. And finally the twins. Due to complications during the birth of Alek and Kisa, Natalia was unable to have any more children. The family felt certain, or at least hoped, that his obsession with her would end. That he’d move on to other females that could still breed.

He didn’t. He had four children and seemed more than happy with that. He never left her. Never gave her up. Terrified any male that got within sniffing distance. And although their days consisted of her telling him to get the hell out of her life, they spent their nights together in the same bed.

Everyone, however, hoped his children would be more like the rest of them. But after the way Nik kissed her in front of everybody, they now seemed pretty confident he took after his daddy.

Angie, however, didn’t feel nearly as confident about Nik’s feelings toward her. He wanted her, but that could be because she was simply a fresh pussy in his house. But his wanting to wait for sex, and his incredibly sweet goodnight kiss kept confusing her. And although he made it perfectly clear his kind wanted nothing more than a fun romp in the hay, Angie couldn’t help but feel something very different might be going on here.

But what concerned her more than anything? That she cared. She cared whether Nik might be falling for her. She cared whether his family liked her. Hell, she cared whether the man was happy or not. Her. Angelina Santiago.

Angie cared when she never had before, and that absolutely freaked her the fuck out.

***

Nik checked the house. Now that he had Angie staying with him, he didn’t like taking any chances with her safety. Once he felt it was secure, he shifted and headed out to check his property. He knew his brothers were around too. They’d taken it upon themselves to make sure his grounds were safe.

It didn’t surprise him that they felt as responsible for her as he did. Because they were. They’d taken her from Marrec’s Pack. But he couldn’t be angry with them anymore. Not really. If it hadn’t been for them, she wouldn’t be here. Sleeping in his house.

He owed his brothers for this one. He owed them big.

***

Angie, unable to sleep, rolled out of bed. She took a quick shower, put on a long T-shirt, and headed to Nik’s office on the first floor. She opened the glass doors that led outside. The fresh smell of pine assaulted her and she suddenly felt like one of those women in the floor-cleaning commercials.“Shifters… now with a pine-fresh scent.”

She laughed and went to his desk searching out another magazine, thinking she could read a little while before heading back to bed. She grabbed an issue of “GQ” and plopped down on the couch. She liked how Nik had this room set up. With a desk and seriously comfy leather chairs. But also another enormous couch like the one in his living room facing a set of French doors, looking out over his backyard. She wondered if he spent a lot of time in this room. She wondered if he laid on this couch as a tiger. It had to be one of the biggest, sturdiest couches she’d ever come across. Also the most comfortable.

Instead of turning a light on so that she could read the magazine, she continued to stare out into the Carolina night and enjoy the couch. Before she knew it, she was out cold.

***

Nik shook his head and trotted back home. If his brothers wanted to chase rabbits like a couple of cubs that was on them. He had a warm bed waiting for him and the delicious smell of Angelina Santiago to keep him company. Much better than rabbit.

But the three of them had done a complete sweep of the area first and all his markings were still strong. Any that weren’t, he refreshed. As he approached the house he saw his study door stood open. He knew he left it closed.

He burst into a full-out run, coming to a sliding, crashing stop when he saw Angelina asleep on his couch. She must have woken up after he put her down for the night. She’d showered and wore a T-shirt. He padded closer to her to make sure she was okay, and she suddenly moved in her sleep. Her T-shirt rode up a bit. Enough for him to see she wore no panties.

His big tiger head crashed into the floor, his paws covering his eyes. What is this woman trying to do to me?

***

Angie woke when she heard cardinals singing outside the study doors. Still slightly dark out, she realized that she’d slept the rest of the night in Nik’s study. She wanted to be out of there before he woke up since she was half naked. She tried to move and realized something pinned the entire lower half of her body to the couch.

She took a second to let her eyes become accustomed to the lightening darkness and propped herself up on her elbows to look down the length of her body. That’s when she saw him. His huge tiger head resting on her lower abdomen. His giant forearms spread across her legs, pinning her to the spot. The rest of his furry body comfortably situated between her thighs and across the couch.

She figured this could be the one thing that pushed her back into therapy.

Nik’s eyes slowly opened. He looked around the room, then his big head turned to look at her. His gold eyes blinked.

Too weird. Too weird. Too weird. Even for her.

As she tried to scramble out from under him, he shifted. Back to human. Suddenly she had Nik the man between her legs. And now she didn’t want to go anywhere.