She blinked. What she’d just said could apply to her too. What would her parents want if they saw her now? Would they want her looking into their case, or would they want her to live?
They would probably want her to mate.
But she didn’t want to. And even if she’d decided she would when they died, being with Carter was making it harder and harder to think about.
“I’m sorry the day got ruined,” he said, sitting and pulling her onto his lap. His thick thighs were wide and sturdy, and she enjoyed resting on them for a moment as she put her head against his chest.
They’d only made love once together, but there was a closeness between them that had started before that.
When they’d been assigned together as partners and been surprised to find someone like them, someone equally honest, responsible, and trustworthy.
She ran a hand over his tie and then loosened his collar. “I can’t believe you threw yourself over me in the explosion.”
“Really?” he asked wryly. “How could I do anything else?”
“I suppose,” she said, “that’s what I like about you.” She ran a hand over his stubbly jaw, enjoying the rough texture there. “You know what I worry about?”
“No, what?” he asked in a low voice.
“I worry that after I leave, you’re going to be unhappy. That all you’ll do is serve the dragons for the rest of your life and never find any real happiness.”
He tightened at that, but simply looked at the huge bay window in their room. It was surrounded by floaty, silk curtains and looked out on the green grounds below.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Sometimes doing the right thing is happiness.”
“That sounds like a cop out,” she said, tracing a finger over the top of his chest and then undoing the top button of his shirt. Already, her wolf was growling for him again. It seemed the more she was with him, the more insatiable it was.
He put a hand over hers, stopping her from going lower. His green eyes looked like wet grass, deep and sparkly. “What if happiness isn’t possible?” he asked, clasping her hand in his. “What if I can’t have what would make me happy?”
Her heart pounded. By the way his body tensed around her, she knew he was talking bout her.
“Please, Carter. You’ll forget about me. You’ll find some hot female tiger…”
“There are no female tigers,” he said. “That I’m aware of.”
She bit her lip. “Carter… I…”
“I know,” he said, running a hand over her hair. “I’m not going to make it difficult. But don’t take issue with me doing whatever I have to after you’re gone. Don’t expect me to go off and be happy.” He sighed and rested his chin on her head. “You would have made me happy.”
“Hey,” she said, raising his head so he had to look at her. “I’m still here. I can still make you happy.”
“Is it worth being happy if you just have to give it up?” he asked, looking like he truly didn’t know the answer.
“It’s better than not being happy at all,” she said simply. Then she put her hand around his neck as she reached up to take his lips in a soft kiss. She felt his hard body relax against her, his hands snaking around her waist to hold her closer.
Just for right now, everything in the world felt so fucking good. What the hell was she doing? She knew it was wrong, but she kept taking steps toward him when she should have been walking away. But everything in her screamed for him. And the more she listened, the louder it seemed.
She couldn’t go back to how she was. One-track minded. Focused. All business.
Totally dead inside.
She woke up when he touched her, and she never wanted him to stop. When he did, she would go to sleep again. Leave this colorful, exciting world and go back to one that was dark and gray.
She was so close to finding out what she’d wanted, and now this had to happen, making everything suddenly not matter the way it should have.
She was falling in love with Carter.
It shouldn’t be possible, but it was easy.
She unbuttoned another button, revealing more of his chest. His breath caught as her finger grazed the hair there. So masculine, so strong. She let her fingertips feel the swell of his pecs, hard and velvety.
He was quiet, patient, waiting to see what she did. But she could feel the predator in him, sense the heat rising in the room the longer she touched him.
She didn’t care. She wanted him.
She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him from the chair and toward the master bedroom. Tonight, in this new and strange house, she wanted privacy.
The suite was beautifully appointed; the furnishings looked to be mostly high-end antiques. The carpet was inlaid with interesting patterns in rose on cream, and the curtains on each of the windows were heavy, embroidered with velvet accents and hanging with gold tassels. The whole place had a baroque feel to it, the bathroom most of all.
She could see it as she led him through the master bedroom and pulled him over to it.
“Wow,” she said, mouth falling open as she looked in.
He just nodded. “Dragons are a little obsessed with luxury,” he said.
She grimaced at that but decided not to start an argument about the dragons again. She could admit that maybe she didn’t understand them, but she didn’t like how they were using Carter.
The bathroom in front of her looked like some kind of water-based mini theme park. There was a huge tub, big enough to practically swim in, with sparkling granite stairs leading down into it. There was a group shower, with five showerheads, encased in glass and about ten feet long by five feet wide.
She wondered what people did there.
She didn’t think the dragons often had company.
“What’s up with the shower?” she asked.
He frowned. “I don’t know how much I should tell you,” he said. “But I will say this. Dragons don’t mate in pairs. They mate in triads.”
“Huh?” she asked, blinking wide. A shifter sharing a mate with another shifter? She’d never heard anything like it.
“I’m glad I’m not a dragon,” he said, pulling her close as they looked over the bathroom. “I could never share you. Not even if the rules said I had to.”
“Then how can they do it?” she asked, holding his arms.
“They have a bond we can’t really understand,” he said. “They’re paired young. I guess you can do a lot of things if you’re trained for it when you’re young.”
There was sadness in that, and she turned to touch his face. She’d never thought she’d get this far under his tough exterior in just a few days. But she loved seeing new facets of him. She didn’t think she could ever get tired of that.
She ran her hand over each line in his face, the ones on the side of his mouth, the crinkles at the sides of his eyes, the little thought lines between his brows. All the time, he watched her curiously, heat building between them as she thought about what she would want to do first.
Carter moved around her for a moment to turn on the tub. “Just in case,” he said. “It takes a minute to fill.” He grabbed a bottle off the counter and unscrewed the lid. Then he poured some purple liquid into the running water.
The water was rushing to fill the huge basin of the tub, and the sound of it filled the air, a thumping, primal rhythm as she looked at the man she would choose for a mate if it were up to her to choose.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, coming closer and running his hands under her shirt, gently lifting it. “I can’t help taking you if you do.”
“I can’t help looking at you like that,” she said. “Because I can’t help wanting you to take me.”
“We’re messed up, right?” he asked, lifting her shirt up and over her head and going to work on her bra, reaching around her, his finger deftly unhooking the clasp. He let the bra fall away from her and stepped back, eyeing her topless.
She was fit but curvy. She loved her body des
pite knowing it wasn’t the human ideal, because she’d been raised in a world where it was ideal. But it was also strong and capable and had carried her through everything.
And now he was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Yeah,” she said. “A little messed up. We almost got blown up today. We almost died.”
“What better time to remember to live?” he asked, working the button of her work pants. She stepped back from him, undoing them herself, and nodded at his own clothing. She wanted to see her powerful alpha naked.
“Strip,” she commanded.
A grin lit his face and he did as she asked, undoing the rest of the buttons in a methodical, deft manner that left her breathless and face to face with a stunning set of abs, a perfect male torso. At well over six feet four, Carter was impressive.
He undid his pants and stepped out of them, now only in a pair of blue boxer briefs that made him look like an underwear model.
She wanted to rip them off with her teeth.
“Easy,” he said, coming forward as she dropped her own jeans, leaving her in her underwear. He put a finger under the side and tore them easily off with one claw.
She wanted to know everything about tigers. How they could use their claws and teeth without shifting. How they came to be. How they claimed a mate…
“You’re mine,” he said, pulling her close, holding her possessively, a low growl in his voice that said his tiger was close to the surface.
It made sense. He’d fought another male for her, protected her with his life. He was doing all the things a mate would do, and it made sense he would feel ownership.
And she would let him. They could both live in that fantasy for a while.
“The tub,” she said, noticing it was mostly full and topped with fragrant, milky bubbles and steam. It looked amazing, the perfect thing after the day they’d had. She could finally scrub away all evidence of the explosion. She took his hand and led him to the tub. Taking her first step into the steamy water, she moaned at the experience.
“One second,” Carter said, suddenly alert and protective. “I’ll be right back.”
He strode away, and the next second, she heard a lock on the outside bedroom door turn with a click. Then he came back in and locked the inside bathroom door with a deadbolt. Then he looked around the room.
“Just want to make sure we have privacy,” he said. “Make sure there aren’t cameras. I mean, this is a suite that generally the dragons would use, so I imagine they have no reason to spy.”
She covered her breasts with her hands at the idea. She was now waist deep in the water, slightly paranoid.
He came toward her and pulled her hands down, baring her to him. The dusky tips of her breasts called to him, and he kissed each one.
“No one is watching. I assume Perry gave us this room for privacy,” he said. “I just can’t help but be paranoid when you’re around. I don’t want anyone to see you. Hear you, even.”
“How did he know we needed privacy?” she asked, arching to give his mouth better access to her nipples. His large hand supported her back.
“Because all I could think about was getting to make love to you again. When I make love to you, I feel whole,” he said.
She looked up into his eyes. They were that beautiful, glowing green again. His tiger eyes.
“I feel whole too,” she said, biting her lip. His eyes studied the movement, growing even hotter.
“Tell me what you want from me,” he said, moving his hands over her ample hips. “I’ll give you anything.”
She’d never thought she’d be in this moment. Carter Cunningham, stern detective, always in control. Asking her to command him.
It was hotter than hell.
“I want you to make love to me,” she said simply. “Like there’s no tomorrow.”
He cupped her face in one hand and kissed her, firm and rich and wonderful. “For all we know, there isn’t.”
She nodded. “For all we know.”
“But I’m not going to make love to you like there’s no tomorrow,” he said. “I’m going to make love to you like there are a million tomorrows. Like every moment I spend with you matters more because we’re going to have our lives together.”
“That’s a hopelessly romantic notion,” she said, gasping as his lips moved to her neck. He lowered them both in the water. They could sit on the bottom step and be up to their shoulders in the water. It felt amazing on her breasts and neck as he moved against her. His whole presence was so soothing and warm and protective.
Whoever settled down with Carter was going to be so lucky.
“I guess I’m a hopeless romantic,” he said. “When I actually find a woman I want.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hand over his on her cheek, feeling slightly guilty for putting him in this position, even if her body wasn’t guilty at all.
“I may not be your alpha forever,” he said. “But tonight, I’m going to make you wish I was.”
She swallowed. “Bring it on, tiger.”
He grinned.
10
Carter’s beast was raging inside, a huge cat pacing in a glass cage.
Make love to her but don’t love her. Protect her but don’t claim her. He’d given the possessive animal inside him so many mixed messages when it came to Amy.
But she was right. It was better to have some of something good than nothing good at all.
Her body was amazing, dark and curvy and beautiful against him. Each curve was a wonder, a supple, soft piece of her he could touch over and over. He ran a hand over her soft, feminine stomach and let his thumb dip into her belly button, drawing a gasp.
“You like that?” he asked.
She dug her fingers into his shoulder. “I do. But you need to be faster. Rougher.”
His expression tightened. “I thought you wanted me in control.”
She snorted. “I do, but…”
“No buts,” he said, turning her and pinning her against him, her back to his chest in the hot water, as his finger ran along the rim of her belly button again and she squirmed against him.
But his arms were around her like a vise, gentle but never letting go.
Her gorgeous ass wriggled against him, tempting him as his hand dipped lower in front, exploring between her legs. This was his. Every part of her was his. He was going to mark her in ways no one else could, make her body remember his every touch.
Make it so no man could ever catch up to him. He didn’t care that it seemed ruthless. She was his.
He stroked over her sensitive center, and she writhed. But she was fully supported by his other arm over her waist, completely trapping her against him. The floral scent of the steam around them only heightened the situation.
Her legs kicked in the water, and she moaned as he began to stroke again. Slowly, leisurely.
“You tease,” she gasped out.
“I want you to feel everything,” he said, parting her and dipping a finger inside. “I want to explore all of you. Find every part of you.”
“I want you to go faster,” she said, and he could sense tension building inside her.
“I want to go slow,” he said.
He leaned back so she could lean against him and used his other hand to tweak her nipple, just a little harder than usual. She gasped in pleasure. She really did like it slightly rough. Well, he’d give her whatever she wanted.
But he’d take his time, making her remember all of it.
“That…” She writhed more, helpless in the water as his hand played at her nipple and between her legs. “That is…”
“Good, right?” he asked, kissing her ear and making her gasp again. “Can you feel me everywhere? I want you to think of me as the water, touching you everywhere at once.”
She let out a little whimper as he slowly circled tighter over her clit. He was already getting better at knowing exactly how she liked it. The amount of pressure, how close she wanted
him to be before she squeaked out in shock.
His other hand lazily pinched and released her nipple as his hand played between her legs, working her into a slow, deep frenzy. His mouth found a sensitive part on her shoulder, and she sucked, knowing it would make a mark, but not caring as she writhed in his arms.
“So hot,” he said. “So incredibly hot.”
“You’re driving me crazy,” she rasped out. “I can’t even breathe. I do feel you everywhere.”
“I’ll be here when you go,” he murmured and then pressed his finger down over her in a tight motion that finally sent her careening over the edge.
As she went, he held her, hearing each cry, each spasm of muscle, each expression of shock as she rode the wave. He kept her safe, banding her against him so she could fight the pleasure all she wanted, but it would still find her. And he hoped, in the hot water around him, she felt fully secure, fully surrounded.
When she was done, she went slightly limp in his arms. But before he could start again, he heard a low growl, and she turned to face him.
Her eyes were slightly wild, her she-wolf just beneath the surface. Pheromones filled the air.
“I can’t wait any longer,” she said hungrily, her skin still glowing from orgasm.
And he couldn’t wait to answer the hunger inside her. He picked her up by the thighs and lifted her in the water. Then he plunged inside her, sliding into her slick sheath in one easy motion as she growled in pleasure.
He was seated deep inside her, her arms round his neck. He could still feel the pulsing aftershocks of her pleasure. Being inside her warm, tight channel was the closest he would ever feel toward home.
He would never take another woman after this. So he had to make sure to lock every moment with her in his memory, to sustain him in the years of lonely work that were ahead.
She seemed a little more patient now that he was inside her. She growled softly and worked against him, but his hands were under her thighs and he was in control.
“Shh,” he said. “Be patient.”
A Tiger's Treasure (Tiger Protectors Book 2) Page 9
