Nik didn’t want to walk through the back doors into his kitchen. He knew he’d probably find them there, eating his food and finishing off his sweet tea. No. Not a good idea to deal with those two without his morning coffee. It would be in everyone’s best interest if he made them wait a bit. So Nik went around to the side of the house, took a step back, and leaped up to the second-floor balcony. Clearing the railing with ease, he silently landed on the marble floor. With a couple of nudges from his muzzle, he opened the glass door and stepped into the hallway.
He needed a shower and coffee before his call. Man, did he need coffee.
So focused, in fact, on getting his coffee, it took Nik a good thirty seconds to catch the strange scent in his house. He slowed down, but kept walking, trying to locate its owner. Maybe his sisters had brought over one of their friends. Whoever she was, he just had to meet her. Anybody smelling that damn good was a must-meet, if not a must-have-in-your-bed. And the scent was so familiar, it must have been someone he’d met. So intense he started purring. Wow, he hadn’t done that in awhile. It felt good.
He walked past one of the unused guest rooms and stopped in his tracks, his tail twitching expectantly. He took several steps back and turned his head.
It was her. The tasty piece of ass from the airport.
His eyes roamed over her body. She sat up in the bed, the sheet tucked under her arms, and she had definitely been in a recent fight. Though she didn’t look too much the worse for wear. A few bruises. A few scratches. A good size knot on the side of her forehead. Yet nothing life threatening. Still…why the hell was she in his house?
She stared at him, her breathing coming out in shallow pants, and Nik suddenly realized he was still tiger.
No wonder she looks scared to death.
Nik shifted, making sure not to move too quickly and frighten her even more.
Leaning against the door jam, Nik crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Well. Hello, sugar.”
“Oh, shit…” she let out softly.
He grinned. So pretty. No. Pretty didn’t do it for her. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Astounding. Even those words were weak.
“I…I…” She shook her head, then the panic kicked in.
She slid off the bed and stumbled to her feet. She still had the sheet around her body, but she tripped over it and started to drop to the floor.
Nik moved quickly, going across the room and grabbing her around the waist before she could hit the floor. She moaned in pain and he held her gently, slowly slipping to his knees, her naked back pushing against his naked front. She was so weak, she couldn’t stand on her own.
“Breathe, sugar. Just breathe.”
He had to fight hard to keep his self-control. Not easy with her naked flesh pressed against his. And before he took hold of her, he spotted the sexiest damn tattoo in the middle of her back. He didn’t have a chance to get a good look at it, but knowing she had one set his teeth on edge.
“I’m going to be sick.”
Uh-oh. Well, that killed the libido right quick.
“Come on, darlin’. Let’s get you in the bathroom.” Each bedroom in his house had its own bathroom and he had never been more grateful. He stood up, bringing the woman with him and swiftly took her inside. He held her with one arm while he lifted the toilet seat cover and the toilet seat. Kneeling down again, he brought her with him, making sure her head hovered over the toilet.
“It’s going to be okay, sugar. Just relax.”
Moaning, she gripped the sides of the toilet and leaned forward. He was about to reach around and pull her hair off her face, when her head swung back, slamming into his nose. His brothers had broken his nose years ago, but this bitch literally knocked it out of joint. He heard the bone pop.
“Goddammit!”
Releasing her, he fell back to the floor.
He looked up in time to see her smoothly get to her feet, the sheet sliding off that sweet, sweet body, leaving her naked and oh so beautiful. With a coldness he’d never seen on a human not born cat, she turned and yanked the top of the toilet tank off.
“Wait—” was the last thing he said before she brought the hard, heavy porcelain down on his head.
Angie winced. She never wanted to hurt something that pretty, but it’s not like he gave her much choice.
Damn! When did tigers get involved in this little drama? She wrapped the sheet around her body and ran out of the bathroom into the adjoining bedroom.
She saw no sign of any of her stuff, but that wasn’t very surprising. She wouldn’t exactly expect them to leave her .9 out and loaded.
She ran out into the hallway, heading in the opposite direction from the one the tiger had been taking. She’d only gotten a couple of feet, though, when she skidded to a stop. Two other tigers sat quietly at the end of the hallway near a set of stairs. They looked at her, and she was positive she saw surprise on their cat faces. She knew that if they could register surprise they were at least partly human. Hell. She’d rather deal with real tigers. No ulterior motive except dinner.
“Shit!” She turned and ran down the other way. The hallway stretched long and sported two exits. Boy, this wasn’t just a house. This was a mansion. A very nice mansion. Shame she didn’t have time to enjoy it. She skidded toward another stop at the top of the stairs. Two women, chatting quietly, sat on the bottom step. They looked up at her, eyes glinting in the dim light of the stairwell, and frowned. Nope. They weren’t completely human either.
“Fuck!”
She tore back the other way, but saw the tigers loping toward her. She went into the first room she found, slamming the door shut behind her. No lock. Shit.
Angie desperately glanced around the room.
There must be a weapon around here somewhere.
“Oh, my God, Nik! What did that evil bitch do to you?”
Nik forced his eyes open to see his sister and cousin kneeling over him. “Help me up.”
They each grasped a hand and hauled him to his feet. He couldn’t let them go right away. Still too shaky.
“Maybe we should call the doc?” his cousin Reena asked as she used a wet washcloth to wipe blood off his face and out of his eyes.
“No. I’ll be fine.” He pulled away from them, slowly walking back into the bedroom. He looked over at the two tigers standing in the doorway.
“Shift. Now.”
The two tigers looked at each other. For a minute, Nik thought they might make a run for it. But they knew better. Knew he’d track them down and kick the living tar out of both of them.
They shifted to human and looked at their brother sheepishly.
He stared at them. “Why is there—” He stopped, putting his hands on both sides of his nose, and snapped it back into place. Nik closed his eyes against the pain. When he opened them again, both his brothers were trying to ease out of the room.
“Don’t make me come get you.”
They stopped and turned around.
“Where is she,” he barked. If he’d been more human, the crazy woman would have killed him. Luckily, his people were very hard of head.
“Your bedroom.”
“Great.” That’s all he needed. Some insane woman ripping up his bedroom. He pushed past his brothers and stalked down the hallway.
He’d just gotten in front of his door when his sister, Kisa, spoke, “Isn’t Granddaddy’s shotgun in your room?”