by Vivi Andrews
Moira left shortly after to tend to her other patients—though from the sound of it, the infirmary was mostly occupied by rescued shifters since there had been so few serious injuries in the attacks handled by Lone Pine. No wonder the story of Dominec’s heroics was traveling like wildfire—it was one of the most dramatic tales of the day.
She turned her head to watch him. Her hero. She couldn’t seem to stop staring at his face, reassuring herself that he had made it through bullets and explosions and the biggest damn shifter she’d ever seen, so she was looking right at him when he opened his eyes and turned his head toward her.
There was such a wealth of feeling in his black eyes she found her own tearing up. She sniffled, hot tears running tracks down her cheeks in a rush.
“I’m not a crier,” she complained, but she couldn’t stop.
He started trying to shove himself upright, as if he would get up and come to her. Grace scrambled out of her own bed, going to him. Careful of his bandages, she crawled in beside him, gingerly adjusting herself at his side with a care for both of their myriad injuries. One arm closed gently around her shoulders and she began sobbing again in earnest, unable to stop the flow.
He rumbled with concern until she flapped a hand at him. “I’m fine. I’m just leaking. Ignore me. I’m being stupid.”
He eased back down then, holding her and mumbling inarticulate comfort as she bawled, as much with relief as anything. When her eyes finally ran out of liquid, she held onto him—careful not to squeeze too tightly—and concentrated on the feel of him, warm and alive against her.
“What happened?” she whispered finally. “The last thing I remember is you fighting the Sigma.”
“Tavio.”
She would have twisted to see his face, but her body wasn’t up to it. “The one you trained with?”
He grunted an affirmative. “He was crushed when the building came down—I didn’t stay to make sure he was dead. I had to get you out.”
She would tease him about his heroic reputation later. Now wasn’t the time. “Was he a friend?”
“We didn’t have friends,” he said. “But he was a good man once.”
“He could still be,” Grace whispered. “He didn’t want to hurt us. Did you see the collar? And there was something in his eye. Like a contact lens with something electronic on it. I think they were controlling him.”
Dominec’s arm tightened around her minutely. “We shouldn’t have heard him,” he admitted. “He gave us time to turn and react when he should have shot us without our ever being aware.”
“Then I’ll be sorry for what happened to him. Even if I was ready to shoot him in the forehead for what he did to you.”
Dominec made a sound that might have been amusement, but she was too exhausted to try to change her position to check if he was smiling.
They held one another for a long time, dozing in each other’s arms. Moira came by once to check on them, glowering disapproval when she saw Grace in Dominec’s bed, but Dominec gave her a look and she left without saying a word.
It was hours later when a pair of teenage nursing assistants paused in the door of their room, giggling and fluttering their lashes before they scurried off down the hall.
Dominec growled and Grace adjusted herself against his chest, finding a comfortable position where she could gaze at his familiar face.
“You’re going to be popular now,” she teased him. “I’ll be fighting off your admirers by the droves.”
“They’re annoying,” he grumbled.
“They’re in love. And I can’t blame them. Trust you to be totally sexy and badass even when you’re being heroic.”
“It wasn’t heroic.”
“You nearly killed yourself saving me.”
He tipped his head, like he would have shrugged but didn’t dare move his shoulders. “There was no other option. I don’t live without you.”
Wow. Okay, so maybe Dominec would never say the three little words everyone made such a big deal of, but she would never need them if he kept saying things like that. Beside, why would she need the words when he screamed his feelings with every action? He was the one who would always come for her. The one who would never stop fighting to reach her until it killed him—and maybe not even then. No one else would ever love her like that. No one else could, because they weren’t Dominec.
And he had dared question why she would love him. He’d dared to call himself a monster.
“There’s something I want to say to you,” she said, staring into the black eternity of his eyes. “I will never stop loving you. I will never stop coming for your heart. You are the other half of my soul, Dominec Giroux. I’m no princess. I understand that you’re a warrior and warriors have scars—and that not all of them are the ones we can see. But you, Dominec, you are perfect to me. Perfect for me. You get me in ways a man who defined himself by goodness never could. I can’t take kindness. I need you. Every dark corner of your soul. You asked me why? Because I have never loved anyone as I love you. And that will never change. Never. So take all the time you need to get used to it, because I will always, always fight for your heart. You don’t have to say anything. I don’t need words. But you need to know that there is no other option. I don’t live without you.” Neither of them had blinked during her speech, which flowed out on a tide of certainty, but now she smiled. “Okay?”
He didn’t return the smile. He just nodded, her tiger with his black eyes, black soul and unstoppable heart.
“Good.”
Chapter Fifty
The Pride Hall was filled with music and laughter as the countdown to midnight approached.
Grace and Dominec had both been released from the infirmary two days earlier, though even healing shifter-fast they were still moving with care for their injuries. Most of those who had hidden at Black Lake had rejoined the pride just in time for the new year—which promised to be brighter than ever.
The shifter alliance had broken the back of the Organization in a single decisive blow. There had been casualties on both sides, but the shifters could claim an overwhelming victory—thanks largely to the security systems all crashing on cue. Two of the Dead Presidents had been killed, though the others were missing and Mateo and Rachel were agitated because they hadn’t heard from Fiona Talent since before Christmas Eve.
Fifteen of the Organization buildings—including the one Grace had attacked—had been blown up, presumably by Sigmas sent in to clean up the situation. The explosions were dangerous in that they would invite investigations from human authorities which could expose their secrets if any evidence remained, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.
Many shifters in the new alliance—including the vocal Three Rocks lions—were in favor of coming out to the humans, but that decision had been delayed until they could figure out what to do with the surviving Organization scientists and guards now occupying a former Organization prison.
There were still a lot of loose ends to tie up and straggler cells to track down, but it was a start. And the alliance—uneasy though it might be—was prepared to do what needed to be done, with Lone Pine leading the way. Their numbers were bigger than ever, with still more shifter refugees joining their ranks.
It had only been days, but Grace could already tell she was going to be busier than ever with the new, larger pride. But now, for the first time, she had balance in her life. Her parents still didn’t understand her—there were only so many Christmas miracles a season could hold—but they had at least stopped looking at her with barely disguised pity. Now there was pride mingled with the confusion.
She had girlfriends now too. Patch and Rachel had thrown her an impromptu getting-out-of-the-infirmary party, which had left her with her cracked ribs hurting from laughing so much.
And then there was Dominec.
He knew she would never break,
but he would have her back. Always. He’d always been an obsessive son of a bitch. Now she was his obsession, but luckily she was crazy about him—stalker tendencies and all.
She swayed in his arms as the clock ticked ever closer to midnight. They were on the edge of the dance floor farthest from the speakers, which Dominec glowered at every time they played something other than a slow song. His hands were splayed on the small of her back, pressing her closer whenever she would try not to squeeze him too tightly.
“Adrian wants me to help him train the new recruits,” he said out the blue.
“You’d be good at it.” Even if you’d scare the hell out of half of them. “Do you want to?”
He shrugged, frowning. “I never thought about after. I never thought I’d get here.”
It was a conversation they’d skirted in various ways over the last few days. She knew he was still trying to get used to life without his vendetta. “And now?”
“I would be good at it,” he agreed, without a trace of false modesty.
She grinned up at him. “So you’re staying with Lone Pine, huh?”
He glared at her as if the idea of anything else was offensive. She loved to wind him up, to see if she could get more of those wildly poetic words from him.
“I love you, Dominec Giroux.”
He grunted.
She chuckled, tucking herself against his chest, twining her arms around him. His head bent until his breath whispered against her ear. This. It didn’t get any better.
And then it did.
“I will love you to the end of the world.”
Her breath left her at the soft words that kissed her ear. She hadn’t needed them, but those three little words sure sounded sweet. He lowered his mouth to hers, lingering for a lengthy kiss. He barely lifted his head to add, “And if anything happens to you, I will burn it all down.”
Grace grinned against his lips at the violently romantic sentiment before pulling him back into the kiss.
That’s my tiger.
About the Author
An Alaskan born and raised, award-winning paranormal romance author Vivi Andrews still lives in the frozen north when she isn’t indulging her travel addiction by bouncing around the globe. Whether at home or on the road, she’s always at work on her next happily-ever-after. For more about her books or the exploits of a nomadic author, please visit her website at www.viviandrews.com, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Look for these titles by Vivi Andrews
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Reawakening Eden
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Superlovin’
Serengeti Shifters
Serengeti Heat
Serengeti Storm
Serengeti Lightning
Serengeti Sunrise
Karmic Consultants
The Ghost Shrink, the Accidental Gigolo & the Poltergeist Accountant
The Ghost Exterminator: A Love Story
The Sexorcist
The Naked Detective
A Cop & A Feel
Finder’s Keeper
Naughty Karma
Lone Pine Pride
Jaguar’s Kiss
Taming the Lion
Hawk’s Revenge
Unbearable Desire
Tangling with the Tiger
Don’t miss these other titles by Vivi Andrews
When she’s in heat, there’s no cooling down…
Lone Pine Pride, Book 2
Wilderness guide and cougar-shifter Patricia “Patch” Fontaine has known the dangers of lone-shifter life since she was ten, when her parents mysteriously vanished. All grown up now, she thrives on her hard-won independence.
When rumors of a new rash of shifter abductions crop up, she’s forced to come home to the Lone Pine Pride for protection—right as the man she’s always secretly wanted is about to marry her best friend. And right as she’s going into heat.
Roman Jaeger values his role as Alpha heir apparent, but he isn’t thrilled about his arranged marriage to the Alpha’s daughter—especially when his bride is just as nonplussed as he is—but he’ll do his duty for the pride. Seeing Patch again challenges his noblest intentions. The wildness in her sets him on fire, and he can’t resist the chance for one last fling.
Both know a future together is impossible. But when chemistry and sowing wild oats grows into a need deeper than lust, their bond could threaten the very heart of the pride they both love.
Warning: This book contains a strong sexy Alpha-to-be, an independent cougar-shifter who knows her way around a lion’s heart, secret affairs, arranged marriages, politics, passion, and a pride full of lions and tigers and bears. Oh my.
Her betrayal is unforgivable. But their passion? Unforgettable.
Lone Pine Pride, Book 3
Hawk-shifter Adrian Sokolov made the mistake of trusting the beautiful Dr. Rachel Russell once—and wound up drugged, captured, and experimented on inside Organization Labs.
He isn’t about to make the same mistake again, but when she offers to help him escape this hell hole, he can’t say no. Her only condition? That he take her with him.
From the moment Rachel discovered her bosses’ true intent, she’s been secretly smuggling shifters out of the Labs. But now the higher-ups suspect they have a mole, and it’s time to flee—but not before she frees the golden-eyed hawk she was forced to betray.
When their escape goes wrong, Adrian wakes, confused and alone, in the safety of the Lone Pine Pride infirmary and realizes he may have left behind the one ally the shifters had within the Organization—the same breathtaking woman who invades his dreams.
Now he must face the Organization that destroyed him… before she pays for his freedom with her life.
Warning: This book contains betrayals, escapes, rescues, plots, double-crosses, a sexy surly hero, a heroine who deserves sainthood… and a pride full of trouble.
Their history? Complicated. Their chemistry? Incendiary.
Lone Pine Pride, Book 4
Ten years ago, Moira shared one hot night with the bear-shifter of her dreams, but when she took him up on his offer to join him at the Lone Pine Pride, reality landed with a thud. She quickly realized that he was only looking for a momentary distraction, not a happily ever after.
She’s been trying to get over him ever since, but no other shifter has measured up to the big bad bear.
When Hugo met Moira in a Yukon bar, he poured out his unrequited love for his alpha’s mate as he pounded down drinks. While Hugo remembers telling Moira he was emotionally unavailable, apparently she only heard his need for sexual healing.
He’s always felt guilty for unintentionally leading her on. But now that the woman he thought he wanted is finally available, he’s beginning to wonder if the one he really needs is the woman with whom he shared one incendiary night—then let slip through his fingers.
Warning: This book contains a stubborn old bear, mixed messages, mixed-up emotions, and lots of mixed drinks. Before reading, remember that the best cure for a hangover is NOT “hair of the bear.”
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They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Tangling with the Tiger
Copyright © 2015 by Vivi Andrews
ISBN: 978-1-61922-735-4
Edited by Christa Soule
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: August 2015
www.samhainpublishing.com
