Tiger Born (3 page)

Heath raised a doubtful eyebrow. “After? You put it away before too.”

“You want me to jump across this table and hurt you, don’t you, Heath Hunter?”

He spread his arms as if he would catch her. “By all means.”

Melly gave an exasperated sigh and shuffled away. She had staff that could have served them, but she and everyone else in the town gave Heath, and by association
her
, special treatment. Deja thought they probably shouldn’t push the woman so far with the lovey-dovey stuff. There existed more than one older shifter without a mate. She felt sorry for them and thinking about it, she understood why they would seek a partner in a human. If she didn’t have Heath, she’d be nuts with sexual desire. She’d probably get it where she could too.

While they waited for their food, Heath reached across the table and tangled his fingers through hers. “Hey, beautiful, why do I sense excitement in you?”

“Sense, huh?” She caressed his rough skin and found the callus on his thumb from years of working outdoors with his hands. “You’re in tune with your tiger now?”

Heath tensed, to her surprise. She’d only been teasing.

“I’m sorry. I was joking, baby.” She squeezed his hand. “I know it’s been tough accepting what you are and then learning how to deal. Working with Ward, who’s one hundred percent gung ho, can’t be a breeze either.”

“Ward is…” Heath shrugged. “Ward. But you’re right, the work isn’t always simple. I never intended to go into politics, or whatever you want to call running a town. He wants me to take on more responsibility and have the people recognize my status.”

“And you just want a ranch,” she guessed.

He smiled. “You know me well.”

“It’s been your dream forever. Did your dad say when he’ll get that land?”

“We couldn’t even discuss it what with all that’s happening right now.”

“What’s going on with that?”

“Later,” he said with firmness in his tone. “What’s happening with my woman? Is work going okay?”

Deja wrinkled her nose. “I asked to start tomorrow. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“What’s that?”

She hesitated and was relieved when Melly brought their food. Heath’s usual included a steak, a baked potato, and green beans. She had no idea how the man could put away so much heavy food at lunchtime and then go back to work with Ward. Deja took a bite of her burger and munched on a few fries before answering his question.

“I want to have kids. I want us to start trying to get pregnant.”

“No.”

“I think two or three would be great, and… Wait, did you just say no?” She must be hearing things. Of course he hadn’t said no. She looked into his face and noted the set turn to his mouth, the tight jaw, the narrowed eyes, and swallowed. Anger simmered low inside her. He might not have understood her question, or he might be distracted thinking about work, so he didn’t hear what she’d asked him. All these thoughts passed through her mind as she waited for him to elaborate.

“We’re not having children.”

Deja chuckled and sniffed. “You’re kidding. Baby, this is so not the time to be playing with me. I was thinking—”

“I’m sorry, Deja. The way things are with the tension between our kind and humans, and Spiderweb still in existence who knows where…” He shook his head. “I can’t guarantee any children we would have would be safe.”

“
We
will keep them safe. I will as their mother.” A sick feeling rose inside of her. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. A thousand thoughts had gone through her mind when she considered talking to him, but never outright refusal. He didn’t even act like he wanted them as Coreen claimed all shifters did. Maybe she’d been wrong. When she spoke again, her voice rose an octave. “I don’t get how you’re going to sit there and flat out tell me no.”

“It’s for the best—”

“Who says? You?” she demanded. “Not even a discussion. As if it’s all your decision.”

He frowned and wiped his mouth. “Deja, everyone doesn’t have to be in on our conversation.”

“Oh, please, even if I whispered, they’d hear, so what’s the big deal about me raising my voice a little? So, what, you’re working with the alpha, and it’s your way or nothing?”

“You know it’s not like that!”

She recognized he’d lost his temper but didn’t give a damn. She didn’t care who heard them arguing either. Truth be told, his attitude devastated her, and it was all she could do not to cry. Heath wouldn’t get the satisfaction, and neither would the nosy people staring in her face with no shame.

When she didn’t say anything, Heath touched his fingertips to hers as they lay on the table. A familiar zing raced through her system at his slightest touch, but she suppressed it and pulled her hand away.

“Baby,” he whispered, and his tone had dropped so low it rumbled, sending pings of desire straight to her pussy. She squirmed in her chair, it being too early in the day for him to get her hot and bothered. Besides, he’d pissed her off. She glared at him, and he sighed. “Deja, I don’t want us to argue. We’ve been through a lot, and we haven’t been in Siberia that long. Things are still unsettled. I’m trying to feel my way into being the alpha’s son, working in a position I never dreamed of. In a couple of days, we’re moving into our own house.”

She’d lost her appetite and stirred the remainder of her fries in ketchup but didn’t bother eating them. Heath told the truth. Working with Ward meant a lot to him because he never knew his real dad, but the capacity of the job didn’t appeal. Heath craved a ranch, but no land for his own was available yet, not close enough to be considered a part of Siberia. They needed a rezoning for that, and apparently getting it handled took longer than Ward expected.

“So you’re not saying forever?” she ventured.

Heath didn’t answer, and she peered up from her plate.

“Heath?”

He slid his chair back and pulled bills from his wallet. He placed way more than enough money on the table for the food. “It’s not a good idea, Deja. Take care of lunch, and the rest is for grocery shopping. I’m going to be late tonight.”

When he stood up and leaned over to kiss her, she turned her head. He frowned, and after a few moments, he turned and left without another word. Deja ducked her head pretending to count the money when Melly shuffled over.

“On the house, sweetie,” she said.

“Thanks, Melly.” Before she made even more of a fool of herself, Deja surged to her feet and made a beeline for the door. The first tears didn’t plop onto her cheeks until she was well on down the road.

Chapter Three

A week later, Deja approached her favorite stool and frowned that someone already occupied it. She stopped and scanned the only bar in Siberia. The place was a good size, given that half the citizens of the town frequented it, and Jake was the head bartender. At the moment, he seemed to be the only one working and looked harassed. She shook her head in disbelief when he handed over a beer to a patron and almost seemed to have a heart attack when the man’s fingers brushed his. The shifter glared at Jake, making him quail all the more, and she went over to rescue her friend.

“Hey, Jake, how’s it going tonight?” She sat down. “You aren’t the only one here, are you?”

“Gabby’s in heat, whatever that means,” he grumbled.

She laughed. “You know what it means. If she was here, things would be a lot worse, or so I hear. Anyway, don’t tell me you’re still terrified of my kind. Come on, man, how can you live among us feeling this way?”

He popped the lid off a bottle of beer and slid it across the counter to her. With a hurried expression on his face, he swiped an arm across his forehead, trying to get the slick, overlong hair out of his eyes. Looking at him, she would put him at twenty-five, but Jake had told her he was pushing thirty-three.
Good genes and not hard on the eyes at all.

“I guess you could call it a phobia. My head tells me there’s nothing to be afraid of, and I’ve even met some really nice people I know wouldn’t hurt me, but tell that to my body, which shakes every time. I feel like an idiot.” He glanced down the bar at a couple of more rowdy patrons. “Then there’s the ones that are not so nice. They tease me, telling me they can smell my fear.”

Deja followed his line of sight and recognized the two idiots he referred to. “Don’t worry about them. They’re all bark—growl? hiss?—and no bite. They know if they try anything, Ward will have their balls in a sling.”

She took a long drag on her beer and sighed after she swallowed the cool liquid.

“What about you, Deja?” Jake fixed clear gray eyes, full of interest, on her. “What are you doing here on a Friday night? Shouldn’t you be at home with your mate?”

“Mate,” she repeated, and Jake seemed even more alert to her answer. She changed the subject. “Damn, I hate my job. This was my first week, and I feel like if I have to go back there on Monday, I’m going to throw up. Either that or die of boredom.”

He leaned on the bar, facing her and ignored a couple of people trying to get his attention. “You really don’t like it? I thought the pace would be perfect.” A glass shattered somewhere nearby, and he jumped. “And the peace and quiet…”

“That’s exactly what I don’t like about it. Gah, no one sends mail to Siberia, at least not much, and almost no one sends anything out. If they have to contact each other, they do it by strolling on over or calling. It says something when I can run the entire place all by myself and not break a sweat. So boring!”

“Did you talk to Heath about it?”

What was with him bringing up Heath all the time? If Jake weren’t human, she’d have thought he sensed things weren’t right between her and her man. The problem wasn’t that he was gay either because she’d seen Jake checking out her cleavage more than once. He’d never overstepped his bounds, so she let him look. As far as she was concerned, Jake was her only friend in Siberia, a fact that made her miss her old friend Brenda from back home.

“I can’t talk to him.”

At Jake’s arrested expression, she rushed to explain. “He’s bummed about the delay in buying a ranch. It wouldn’t be fair to lay my minor issues on him, especially when he got Ward to pull strings in getting me the job.
Ugh!
”

“Here, have another drink—on the house.” This time he set a shot of Jäeger on the counter, and she thanked him before downing it in one swallow. The noise level in the bar rose to near deafening, and she turned to see what all the fuss was about. A woman had come in that Deja had spotted only from a distance before. Big breasts and long legs, she commanded attention. Almost every man in the place stumbled over each other to get nearer to her. This was the kind of woman who should bring a girlfriend to beat off the losers, but she’d come in alone and took to the dance floor right away. Her gyrating hips drew the opposite sex in droves, all drooling with hunger. Deja turned up her lips in disgust.

“Who is that?”

“An unattached female, which is dangerous around here,” Jake explained.

“So she doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

“Nope.” Jake poured two beers from the tap and slid them down the bar. The receiver slapped bills on the counter, grabbed the glasses, and rushed over to the woman to hold one out to her. She flipped her long blonde hair in his face and continued to dance.
Stupid
. Deja rolled her eyes.

“Of course she won’t choose just one guy with that kind of attention.” She glanced at her friend. “How come you know so much about her?”

He shrugged. “Everyone comes in here, and everyone talks.”

For a while, Deja watched the woman as she sipped on another beer. The woman was a cut above Candi Stapleton, the skank from her and Heath’s hometown. Candi had been stupid, but when this female shifter scanned the men in front of her offering alcohol and asking her to dance, Deja saw the light of intelligence in her eyes. Instant dislike tightened the muscles in her stomach, and she turned away. In the next second, she stiffened. Beneath the familiar odors of alcohol, sawdust, and sweat, she picked up a subtle hint of Heath. Any minute and he would walk through the door.

She drained the last of her beer, stood up, and hoisted herself to lean over the bar. After kissing Jake’s cheek, she grinned at him. “I gotta go. Don’t let these fools mess with you. If they do, you tell me, and I will kick their asses.”

A couple of the idiots raised their glasses to her, and she rolled her eyes and headed for the door. Out on the street, just as she’d known, Heath was there, and she approached him. “What are you doing here?”

His eyes narrowed. “I was looking for you. Why shouldn’t I?”

Not bothering to answer his question, she linked her arm with his and turned him around. “Let’s go home.”

They strolled in silence, communication lately strained. A few days ago, they had moved into their new home, but Deja was feeling like it was anything but a home. Heath worked all the time, and when he returned, they could hardly put together two words over the dinner table. Still, they were drawn to each other, or at least she knew she craved the sight of him. Despite the job, her days were long and arduous when she didn’t see Heath. Looking into his eyes and the way he touched her at night, she believed he felt the same. As far as she was concerned, it wasn’t enough.

Turning into the drive that led to their rancher home, she sighed, and Heath spoke at last when they stepped out. “I can buy you a car. You know money isn’t an issue. Tate left me with plenty. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll have someone pick it up and deliver it to you.”

She ground her teeth. “I don’t need you to buy me a car.”

He stopped walking and faced her. “Deja, don’t you think I can sense when you’re not happy?”

“Yeah, and you don’t give a damn!”

“That’s not true.”

She started to walk off, but he grasped her wrist and jerked her back. She stumbled into his chest, breath caught tight in her own. “It’s late, Heath.”

“You were avoiding me tonight. Didn’t even leave me a note to where you were going. I found dinner cold in the microwave.”

She glared at him and tried pulling away, but it didn’t work. “At least I cooked.”