Here There Be Tigers (12 page)

“
Lucky us.”

“
Actually, it is lucky. Now how are
we going to get there and change cars without letting the bad guys
realize what we’ve done?”

Without warning, and without signaling, Mitch
moved across three lanes and made an abrupt right turn. A few
blocks down, he turned again, and then again until she was so
disoriented she had no idea where they were anymore.

“
You might have warned me about that
first turn,” she grumbled as she studied the traffic behind them in
the side mirror. “But looks like you lost them.”

“
For the moment. They’ll find us
quick enough if we stay on the streets.”

“
We’d better get to Bill’s
then.”

Nila wasn’t entirely sure, but she could swear
Mitch growled.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

It took them until late afternoon to ditch the
truck at a safe distance from Bill’s, make their way to his house
with their new gear, collect the Jeep, and get on the road again.
Mitch was growly and irritable the entire time but she couldn’t get
him to talk about it.

The drive to the cabin was quiet and
uneventful. Mitch slept while Nila drove, which pleased her since
he’d barely slept since they met. She had no idea how much sleep a
tiger shifter needed, but he had to need more than six hours over
two days.

John’s place was tiny compared to the cabin
Mitch kept. It was a single story and from the outside looked big
enough for only one room. If she was here alone, the place would
seem cozy and comfortable. But the idea of being in such close
quarters with Mitch made her edgy.

The lust lurking between them hadn’t eased. In
fact, every time they happened to touch, another zing of
electricity moved over her skin and she had a hard time not
reacting. She’d been avoiding thoughts of spending time alone with
him in the middle of nowhere. Now, staring at the small structure,
her pulse started pounding as she faced the inevitable.

She slid out of the Jeep once Mitch decided
they were safe and headed into the cabin to investigate their
temporary home. The place wasn’t much more impressive inside.
Though there was a separate bedroom off the back, it was barely big
enough for the double bed and chest of drawers that were the only
furnishings. As promised, there was an indoor bathroom with a tiny
shower stall. The main part of the cabin contained a living room
with a couch and coffee table, an open kitchen, and a huge
fireplace taking up most of one wall.

Though it was small, the place was comfortable.
A bookshelf lined with books stood beside the fireplace, and a
radio sat on top of the mantel. Out of curiosity, she turned it on
to see if they got any channels. Soft music wafted out, filling the
room with life.

“
It’s nice,” she said with a half
smile. “Not huge, but nice.”

Mitch nodded without comment and went back to
the Jeep for their supplies. Well, at least she liked the
place.

By the time they’d finished unloading the car
and unpacking, it was full dark, and Nila found herself yawning
despite the low level buzz of energy in her system. She kept
glancing at Mitch, expecting…something.

They hadn’t been alone, outside of a car, since
his cabin two nights ago, and she’d been trying not to jump his
bones then. Now…now, she still wanted to seduce him. The longer
they were together, the less it felt like she was trying to hide in
sex. She’d accepted her situation—as much as she was able—and
wasn’t trying to forget. She just wanted Mitch, a lot, and it was
getting more difficult to keep her distance.

It was very obvious there was only one bed in
this place. They were going to have to discuss sleeping
arrangements soon.

She stood uncertainly in the middle of the
living room. She still had a lot of questions that needed
answering, but she wasn’t sure where to start. And the tension
hovering between them made thinking about anything beyond the
solitary bed difficult.

Mitch stood near the fireplace staring back at
her as if he couldn’t decide where to start, or what to start,
either. He had his hands on his hips and a frown creased his
brow.

Finally, he said, “I’m going for a hike around
the area. I want to check the territory.”

“
Now? It’s pitch dark.”

“
I won’t have any trouble
seeing.”

She blinked. “Are you going to…to change?” The
idea was both fascinating and horrifying. She wasn’t even close to
being ready to see that again, especially not with Mitch. But a
part of her was curious about the whole shape shifting thing. Did
it hurt? Was it hard to do or easy? What happened with his clothes?
Vlad had been naked when he changed to human. Would Mitch have to
be naked to become a tiger?

The idea of Mitch naked was a little too
distracting, so she immediately shut down that line of
thinking.

“
I’ll have an easier time studying
the terrain as a tiger,” he answered. “You’ll be safe here. But
lock up and stay awake until I get back. Don’t…don’t take a shower.
You should be ready for anything.”

“
Okay.” She hadn’t been thinking
about a shower, but now that he brought it up, she wondered if she
stank. With a half laugh, she realized she probably did and with
his sense of smell, it was no wonder he wanted out of the cabin.
“You be careful. Don’t go too far if you can avoid it. We can
explore more tomorrow morning.”

He smiled, giving her a soft quizzical
expression she couldn’t quite interpret. “I’ll be fine. You stay
safe. I’ll be back soon.”

Once he left—still fully dressed she noted—she
locked the door and went to the bookshelf to see if there was
anything interesting to read. She might as well keep herself
occupied.

Mitch returned several hours later, just as she
was starting to worry. She launched off the couch to face him when
he walked through the door. Fully dressed, she noticed, but his
hair was a little mussed, like he’d been running. He looked sexy as
hell and the closer he got, the harder her heart
pounded.

“
Everything is okay? You’re
okay?”

“
You were worried?”

“
Well, of course. There are
homicidal…people out there trying to kill me and that means you’re
in danger, too.”

“
Actually, Petrov will have to think
twice before killing me since my grandmother is one of the
elders.”

She dropped her shoulders and rolled her eyes.
“The guy is probably crazy. You said so yourself. You think he’ll
be bothered about who your grandmother is?”

He raised his eyebrows as he crossed to the
couch. “You’re right. Petrov won’t care if he kills me. But anyone
with him will have second thoughts. That’s one of the reasons I’m a
good bodyguard for you.”

“
You’re not indestructible, though,
are you?”

“
No.”

“
Then I have a right to
worry.”

He gave her another of those soft, quizzical
looks she couldn’t interpret.

“
Did you find anything?” she asked
to get past a growing sense of awkwardness laced with an
embarrassingly desperate need to throw herself into his
arms.

“
Nothing. The last tiger in the
immediate area was Max and that was several weeks ago.”

“
You can tell… Wait, don’t tell me
you guys…mark the territory?”

“
Tiger instinct.” He
shrugged.

“
Fair enough. So, we’re safe for the
moment.”

He nodded. “You should try getting some sleep
now. I’ll take the couch.”

She wasn’t entirely surprised by his offer.
Still. “We can rotate who takes the bed. If this goes on for more
than a few days, you’re going to get really uncomfortable sleeping
out here, given the size of you. I’m small. I’ll be more
comfortable out here. And really, I should take the first night on
the couch. You’ve barely slept since I met you.”

“
I’d rather the couch tonight. I can
monitor things better from out here.”

“
You
are
going to sleep,
right? You aren’t planning on staying on guard all
night?”

“
I’ll sleep.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Promise?”

He tilted his head to one side. “You’re so
funny.”

She wondered whether she should be insulted or
not when he reached out and ran a finger down her cheek. The brief
contact stopped her breathing for an instant, then her heart
started thumping hard again.

“
I promise to sleep. Better?” he
said, his voice lowered to a quiet, deep octave.

A shiver raced across her shoulders and down
along her arms. That voice was going to follow her into her dreams.
“Good,” she said.

Even after he dropped his hand back to his
side, she stood where she was, staring, knowing she should move
away and not able to make her feet cooperate. He smelled delicious,
like fresh air and woods and something very male. How was it he
could smell so good, even after a long hike?

She wet her lips and pulled in another deep
breath, trying not to be too obvious but unable to resist leaning a
little closer to him. She’d never been so grateful for her
heightened sense of smell. But then she wasn’t sure she’d ever come
across any smell as delicious as Mitch.

“
You want the bathroom first?” he
asked.

She blinked. This was ridiculous. She was
acting like a high school girl with her first crush. She smiled
tightly and moved toward the bathroom, stopping to collect a few
things from the closet on the way. She hadn’t bought a lot of
clothing, a few t-shirts and a pair of shorts, but she’d splurged
on a pair of cotton pajamas and made sure to get a supply of clean
underwear. The last of which was probably the most important thing
she’d purchased all day.

She closed the bathroom door firmly and tried
very hard not to indulge in a fantasy of Mitch joining her in the
shower. A few wet and naughty thoughts still managed to sneak
through, though, leaving her restless and edgy by the time she was
finished.

When she emerged, she left the door open and
motioned him toward it. “All yours. You sure you want the couch
tonight?”

“
Positive.”

He brushed passed her on the way to the
bathroom, and Nila’s entire body reacted, her muscles tightening
and her nerves jumping. She wanted to lean into him and taste every
single inch of his very hard, very sexy body. Swallowing hard, she
forced herself toward the bedroom.

When she heard the bathroom door close, she
released a loud breath. He hadn’t locked the door. That was a
temptation she wasn’t sure she could resist. She should warn him to
lock the door since he couldn’t trust her to stay out. But even
starting that conversation might lead to places best left
unexplored.

As she sprawled face down across the bed, she
tried to remember why she wasn’t going to jump Mitch the minute he
exited the bathroom. There were some very good reasons, she was
sure, but damned if she could remember any of them now.

Flopping over onto her back, she stared up at
the ceiling. This was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER
TWELVE

Nila woke blurry, restless, and exhausted the
next morning. Despite having the bed, she’d still slept badly. Her
dreams alternated between sexual fantasies of a very naked Mitch
and horrific nightmares of half-man, half-tiger things chasing her
through the woods. The combination left her out of sorts and in
desperate need of coffee.

A glance out the window confirmed the day was
cloudy; a nice change of pace from the glaring late summer sun. But
the muggy heat was already creeping in past the noisy window
air-conditioner.

Rolling out of bed, she stumbled into the main
room still wearing her pajamas, intent on making coffee and
determined to ignore Mitch until after that first cup—even if he
was awake and looking sexy and disheveled. What she didn’t expect
to see was an empty cabin. He wasn’t in the kitchen, the bathroom,
or outside on the narrow front porch. Frowning, she stood barefoot
on the steps leading to the front yard, scanning the area. The Jeep
was still parked where they’d left it the night before.

But no sign of Mitch.

Both annoyed and worried, Nila went back inside
to look for a note. He’d hardly have gone anywhere without letting
her know. He had to realize she’d worry. Was he that
thoughtless?

Then she spotted the fresh pot of coffee in the
kitchen. And beside it, a note scribbled on a paper
napkin.

“
Studying the terrain in the
daylight. Back by 10:30. Mitch.”

She glanced around for a clock and saw the time
on the small microwave oven above the stove. Ten twenty. Ten
minutes before she had to start worrying. She poured herself a cup
of coffee, took several reviving sips, then went to take care of
her morning business.

Mitch was standing in the kitchen when she came
out of the bathroom.

“
Anything new?” she asked, crossing
to her abandoned cup. The coffee was still warm enough to finish,
thankfully. She cradled the mug in her hands as she tried not to
stare at Mitch.