Here There Be Tigers (31 page)

Without paying any attention to the others, she
rose and hurried to him, running her hands over his sides, looking
for evidence of the injuries. “You’re okay now? Are you still hurt?
Have the cuts actually healed?”

He tugged her close with a hand on the back of
her neck and kissed her soundly on the mouth in reply. Finally,
finally, her body let loose the tension that had kept her muscles
tight for days. She collapsed against him, wrapped her arms around
his waist, and hugged him close.

Cupping her cheeks, he leaned far enough back
to study her face. “You weren’t hurt, were you? They didn’t touch
you after we were separated?”

“
No, I’m fine. You?”

“
All healed. I’ll need some sleep
and food soon, to fully recover, but I’m good for now.” He looked
at Alexis and Irina and shook his head. “Irina…” The censure in his
tone was impossible to miss.

Irina shrugged, looking completely
unrepentant.

To Alexis, he said, “Thank you for
coming.”

“
For you, any time,
sweetie.”

The endearment reminded Nila that Mitch viewed
this woman like a sister, a sister with several children. Nila
looked closer at Alexis, for the first time trying to gage her age,
but like all the tigers Nila had met, she found it impossible to
guess.

Max interrupted her musings.

“
We should go now. All that running
around I did will only distract the others for so long.”

Without question, Irina rose and with Alexis
and Victor’s helped, packed up the gear.

“
Your ankle,” Mitch said. “Can you
walk all right?”

“
I’ll manage. Anything to get as far
away from here as fast as possible.”

“
Victor and Alexis got us a few
rooms in a small, off the trail motel not far from here. We’ll be
able to rest and make a new plan.”

“
I vote for Cancun. Or maybe New
Zealand.”

That earned her a smile. “They
are
heading into the summer in New Zealand.”

“
Perfect,” she said with enthusiasm,
which deflated a moment later. “Except I left my passport back at
your cabin.” She sighed, strangely disappointed. A trip with Mitch
sounded like heaven right about now. But only if she could get her
dad and grandmother out of the country, too.

Mitch rested his forehead against hers and
murmured, “Petrov has contacts all around the world, unfortunately.
He needs to be caught first. Then we’ll take a trip.”

“
Deal,” she whispered back and gave
him a quick kiss.

They cautiously left the cave, studying the
terrain as they moved. By unspoken arrangement, Nila and Irina were
surrounded by the others, placed at the center of a protective
circle. Since she was busy limping her way over the uneven ground,
Nila couldn’t really complain. The fact that Irina moved so
smoothly despite being pregnant left Nila feeling, once again, way
out of her depth. She was usually good in forests and jungles, for
a human.

They reached the cars without any incident,
which surprised her given the unending series of disasters over the
last twenty-four hours. Minutes later, they were bumping over the
back roads. Mitch stayed by her side in the back seat of Victor and
Alexis’ Jeep, his hand on her knee the entire time.

“
Eventually, I need to get Bill’s
car back to him,” she said quietly as they drove past a gas station
and tourist shop that looked like they’d seen better
days.

“
I’ll arrange it,” he said, his tone
neutral, but the hand on her leg flexed.

She stared at him as he concentrated on the
view from the side window. “Why are you bothered by
Bill?”

“
I’m not.”

Frowning, she decided this was a conversation
they need to have in private. Alexis and Victor hadn’t once spoken
since they got into the car and somehow maintaining the silence
seemed more comfortable.

They pulled into the parking lot of a small,
single story motel a half hour later. The place also looked like it
had seen better days, but it still had a sort of charm in the
peaked wooden roofs and intermittent flower boxes which separated
the sidewalk in front of the rooms from the gravel strewn parking
lot.

The thought of a bed was almost overwhelming.
Just last night, she’d been planning on roughing it in the
mountains for a few days. A hot shower and clean sheets sounded
like heaven just then.

Mitch let the others check them in, waiting in
the car until Alexis came out of the small office with their room
keys. They’d secured three rooms right next to each other and after
some debate, put Nila and Mitch into the center room.

Nila stumbled into the cool darkness with a
sense of overwhelming relief tempered by the knowledge that they
were only safe for the moment. But safe for now was better than not
safe at all. She turned to say as much to Mitch and found herself
pulled up hard against him, his mouth covering hers in a kiss that
drowned her.

She returned the passion, unable to do
otherwise as the need she’d been keeping in check last night came
roaring back at full force. Heat and an edge of desperation rose up
to engulf her. “I was so scared,” she said against his mouth. “I
wanted to help but didn’t know what to do.”

He nibbled the soft spot beneath her ear before
kissing his way down the column of her neck. “You weren’t hurt.
That’s all that matters,” he said before biting her shoulder none
too gently.

She moaned at the feel, the slight pain a
pleasure that sent heat and wetness between her legs. Her fingers
slid into his hair so she could hold him close, keeping him with
her. “No, that wasn’t all that mattered, Mitch. You matter. I don’t
know what I would have done if you’d been killed.”

“
Survived. Escaped.” He eased back
and held her face between his hands, keeping her gaze. “No matter
what, Nila, I want you to survive. To live. No matter what you make
of that life, what you want to be, so long as you’re safe
somewhere.”

“
With you,” she said, making sure he
saw her conviction as surely as she saw his. “Somewhere, anywhere
with you.”

“
Yes,” he said, fiercely,
possessively.

And his mouth was on hers again, his hunger a
match for hers. His hands moved from her face to her borrowed
flannel shirt and a sharp ripping sound made her pull back. He
flung the now ruined shirt aside and, without pausing, stripped off
the oversized sweatpants.

“
They stink of other males,” he
said. “You’re mine. From now on, you carry my scent. I’m the only
man you’ll ever smell like again. Do you understand me?”

“
Yes, yes.” She couldn’t argue with
something she wanted so badly, too. “And you’re mine. No more Mate
Runs, no more running.”

“
Yes.” He lifted her off the ground
and carried her to the bed.

She’d barely landed on the surprisingly
comfortable mattress before he made short work of her panties and
bra. Then he was naked too and she couldn’t keep her hands from his
skin, his body, every inch of him. She kissed his side, where he’d
been injured, confirming he was well, then licked farther down
across his hip bone. He smelled fantastic, better than she would
have expected, and she realized he’d washed away the remains of
blood and sweat at the cave, leaving only the deliciously male
scent of him. She pulled in a deep breath, taking his scent into
her.

When she took his cock into her mouth, he
arched under her, his hands fisting into the sheets, his thighs
clenching beneath her breasts. She loved him like this, seeing him
as overwhelmed as she felt. She teased him, licked him to please
herself, then she straddled him. Leaning forward to place her lips
against his as she slowly lowered herself onto him, taking in each
thick inch of him. When she moved, he met her, their hips rocking
together in a steady, measured rhythm, drawing out the tension,
letting her savor the slippery friction.

She hugged him close as they moved, afraid to
let go. Here, now, he was solid and real. Alive and unhurt. And
hers. All hers.

For as long as she was allowed to keep
him.

The stray thought got swallowed up in sweat and
passion as she refused to think about anything but the moment.
Kissing his shoulders, his neck, she tasted and memorized,
imprinting everything about him.

When her orgasm hit her, she screamed his name.
He came a moment later, holding her hips tight against his as his
head arched back against the pillow.

She collapsed against him as both their bodies
relaxed, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight,
kissing her cheek and the top of her head.

She came awake suddenly, surprised to realize
she’d fallen asleep. Sheepishly, she rose to look at him. She was
still sprawled across his chest, and he still held her.

“
I fell asleep,” she said. “I’ve
never done that before.”

“
Fallen asleep after
sex?”

“
Not instantly without even
realizing it. While a man is still inside me.”

He smiled, but there was a tension in the
smile. “You’re exhausted. I’m not surprised. I probably shouldn’t
have started this until after you’d slept. But I couldn’t keep my
hands off you a minute longer.”

“
You should definitely
not
have let me sleep first. I needed this, too.” She frowned. “I
wasn’t asleep long, was I?”

“
About ten minutes.”

She nuzzled her face against his shoulder,
still embarrassed. When he chuckled, she released some of that
discomfort and met his gaze again. Something in his expression made
her stop to study him more closely.

“
What’s wrong? Did I offend you,
falling asleep like that?”

“
No.” He laughed and patted her ass
affectionately.

“
Then what’s wrong?”

“
Nothing.”

“
Don’t. No lying allowed when we’re
naked in bed together.”

“
Lying is allowed when we’re
dressed?”

“
No, not then either.”

He smiled, but his gaze shifted to her mouth as
he ran the pad of his finger across her bottom lip. “Don’t get
upset,” he said.

“
That’s a terrible way to start!
What am I supposed to not get upset about?”

“
I really, truly, from the depths of
my soul,
hate
the idea of you being with another man. Even
in the past. Which I know is stupid since we didn’t know each
other. But…” His jaw tightened. “I swear every time you mention
Bill’s name, I feel like my head is going to explode.”

She straightened a little. “You’re jealous of
my former lovers?”

He rolled his head to the side and stared at
the bathroom door. “I know I don’t have the right. But…”

“
But…”

He shifted under her.

She put a hand to his cheek and turned his face
so he had to look at her. She gazed at him, waiting for him to
continue.

“
You’re mine now. That doesn’t mean
someone won’t try taking you away from me. The other male tigers.
Human men.” His voice dropped. “I can’t stand the idea of losing
you.”

Something in her chest lightened, leaving her
feeling centered and settled in a way she’d never been before.
Smiling, she leaned in and kissed him.

“
I love you, too,” she murmured.
“Surprising, isn’t it?”

His nod was full of emotion.

“
So you know, I’m not going
anywhere. You’re stuck with me. We’ll see whether you consider that
a good thing in a few months.”

“
A very good thing,” he said in all
seriousness before cupping her face between his large palms and
drawing her down for a long, slow kiss.

They napped until sunset, woke to bodies
already eager for more sex, made love then showered, all in a sort
of blissful calm Nila was afraid to ruin with talk of their next
step. To her relief and disappointment, Mitch brought the subject
up as they crawled back into bed from their shower.

“
I’ll see if Irina or Alexis have
anything you can borrow to wear. I’m going to burn the clothes
those cubs loaned you.”

“
Fine by me,” she said. “Shame we
can’t stay naked here for the next few days. Or weeks.”

He ran a finger across her collar bone, a sexy
little lift at the corners of his mouth. “I will be very happy to
keep you naked for weeks on end as soon as conveniently possible.
You still smell like the best thing to ever exist.”

She sighed when his hand closed over her breast
and he gently toyed with her nipple. But the reality of her scent
kept her from fully losing herself in his touch this time. “How far
away will they be able to smell this estrous scent?”

“
They’ll only have to get within a
few miles.”

“
Fuck. I feel like I’m wearing a
flashing ‘
here I am
’ sign.”

“
Under normal circumstances, that’s
not a bad thing.”