Tiger (New Species Book Seven) Read online

  His words sank in and she realized she didn’t hate that idea. Oh no. Don’t go there. He is asking you to hide the mark, which means he didn’t intend to do it. Remember that. “Well, I think you successfully owned me there for a while.”

  “It goes both ways. There is nothing but you when you are in my arms.” His eyes narrowed and all traces of humor fled. “You’re dangerous, Zandy.”

  “Me?” It was her turn to laugh as her gaze took in those massive arms next to her and the broad chest that blocked out the world above her. “You’re the one who’s really big and strong. I’m not dangerous in the least.”

  He suddenly gripped her face and moved closer, until they were nearly nose to nose. “You are very dangerous to me. I’m not the type to take a mate, Zandy. I never want to be tied down that way. I enjoy my freedom after the lifetime I have spent without it. A mated male lives for his female. I’ve seen it firsthand. The males want to kill any other males who go near their females. They can’t sleep without their females in their arms. They go insane at the thought of losing their mates. We scent imprint our mates. It’s…” He stopped talking.

  “It’s what?” She was curious. “I’ve never heard anything about this.”

  “We get pretty much addicted to her scent after we claim a female. We need them to smell like us and we need their scents on us. The mated males can’t stand having the scent of other female on them once they imprint their mate’s scent. If a male has imprinted a female he can’t share sex with another one. If his female were to ever share sex with a male I think the mate would go completely insane and kill anything in his path blocking him from the male who touched his mate. He would definitely tear apart a male who touched her. It’s…” He paused. “Scary as hell and something I never want anything to do with. If I were ever interested in taking a mate, you would be her, Zandy. That’s what makes you dangerous because you make me consider it.”

  She was really shocked. “I’ve been married and divorced twice, Tiger. I’m not cut out for marriage obviously since I seem to suck at it. I got really hurt by them. I swore I’d never put my heart out there to be stomped on again. The idea of allowing someone to become my entire world scares me.” She wanted to be honest. “I am so drawn to you that it’s not funny and you’re amazing. I just don’t want to get hurt.”

  “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we?”

  She nodded, unable to disagree. They were both strongly attracted to each other but neither of them wanted to become too involved for their own reasons. She respected that about him and instinctively knew he understood about her reservations too.

  “I want you to meet me here tomorrow. I don’t know how long this can last but I know I want to see you again,” Tiger said.

  “I’ll be here after work.”

  “I’ll bring a picnic.”

  “I should be going. I really am hungry.”

  He grinned. “So am I. It will be dark soon and we missed dinner.”

  They silently stared at each other until Tiger finally lowered his face enough to brush his lips lightly over hers. He eased out of her body to separate them and helped her sit up. Strong hands gripped her hips to lift her down to the ground.

  He let go with a reluctant expression. Zandy fixed her clothes, minus her bra and underwear. She forced a smile she didn’t feel. It was time to go but she hated leaving him. It just felt wrong to walk away and that assured her she really needed to get in her car.

  “Bye. See you tomorrow, Tiger.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Sincerity shone in his eyes as he righted his clothing and dug her keys from his pocket.

  She took them and had to force herself to turn away from him. The urge to spin back around, throw herself into his arms and ask him to take her home with him was there. Damn. She climbed in her car and refused to look at him again. It was too tempting to ask him to spend the night with her.

  She glanced in the rearview mirror as she drove away. Tiger stood where she’d left him, watching her. A sigh of regret passed her lips.

  It dawned on her halfway home that she hadn’t retrieved her torn underclothes. She’d left them with Tiger. A groan escaped her lips and she hoped he remembered to toss them away.

  She stopped at the only fast-food joint in town with a drive-thru, not feeling up to cooking. It was a relief when she let herself into her house, collapsed on the couch with her dinner and reflected on what had happened. No. I don’t regret it, she decided. She just hated the strong desire she felt to know where Tiger was and what he was doing. Is he obsessing over me too? “Damn.”

  Zandy knew she’d made the right decision to go home. She couldn’t let herself get too attached to Tiger. She didn’t want her heart broken and the last thing she needed was to fall in love with a man who clearly didn’t want a relationship any more than she did. They had that in common.

  * * * * *

  Tiger stood still long after Zandy’s car disappeared from his sight. The urge to leap into the Jeep and chase her was strong. He battled his instincts and finally won. He turned and noticed her discarded, torn panties. He reached down, fisted them and shoved them inside his pocket.

  The sight of her bra on the passenger seat when he got in the Jeep made him sigh. He’d totally destroyed her undergarments but didn’t regret it. He picked up the soft material and put it in another pocket. Moments passed as he sat there trying to figure out how his life had gotten so complicated by an attractive little redheaded human.

  He knew he needed to return to Reservation but the officers would know in a heartbeat that he hadn’t been hunting if they got a whiff of him. He reached down and dug out the emergency bag from under the seat where he kept a spare set of clothes. He carried it back to the stream, glanced at the flattened area where he’d spread out the blanket and memories assailed him.

  His hands were jerky as he stripped everything off, removed the fresh clothing from the bag and shoved his used ones inside. He sealed it and walked into the chilled water to wash off her scent.

  He used handfuls of moss to scrub his skin. He dunked his head under the water and stayed there for as long as he could hold his breath before he broke the surface again. That would take care of any lingering traces of her scent.

  Tiger climbed out of the stream. He stood there in the fading sunlight as the strengthening evening breezes dried most of his skin. He shook his head to help dry his hair faster. It would be wet but no one would question it.

  The trip back to his Jeep was fast and he replaced the bag under the seat. He’d have to wash his clothes when he arrived home to remove her scent from them. He started the Jeep and returned to Reservation.

  “You didn’t find any more idiots?”

  Tiger shook his head at the officer. “It was all clear. Just remember to warn the next shift that more of them may be out there.”

  “Will do. Good evening, Tiger.”

  “You too, Smiley.”

  He waved and drove to his home. He liked the cabin he had been assigned at Reservation a little better than his house at Homeland. It was more secluded. He didn’t have any immediate neighbors and it was far enough from the Wild Zone that he wouldn’t have to fear any of the males harassing Zandy.

  A growl tore from him over that reason. Zandy had refused to come home with him so it wasn’t a concern that any of those males would pick up her scent. No one would come investigate why a human was near unless one was actually there. He parked the Jeep, removed the bag, stalked inside his house and went directly to the laundry room.

  The scent of sex and Zandy hit him when he opened the bag. His eyes closed as he inhaled and his dick instantly hardened. He wanted her again. Now. A growl rumbled from his throat and his eyes jerked open. He slammed the clothes on the dryer top while he dumped soap into the washer then he threw the shirt in the machine. He paused when he gripped his pants.

  He needed to toss away her destroyed underthings but he decided to wash them first to erase her scent from them. He dou