Running With The Tiger

by Bonnie Burrows

  She was enjoying herself, but she was done playing with him. Cambria slung her leg over his hip, opening herself to him as she slid down onto him. She couldn’t see his face in the dark, but she watched him anyway, enjoying the way the lightning illuminated his face at just the right time. His hold on his self-control was tenuous at best, and taking him inside of her hadn’t helped matters much for him.

  He moaned softly, burying his face in her neck and inhaling the sweet scent of her hair as they moved together in the confines of the sleeping bag. When he began moving too quickly, Cambria backed off, forcing him to slow down.

  She cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him gently.

  “We have all the time in the world,” she whispered the words, teasing him mercilessly.

  He didn’t answer, but his trembling breath told her all she needed to know. He was close, and the slightest movement would surely push him of the edge. She moved all the way against him, taking the entire length of him inside of her and stopping. She tightened her muscles around him, running her free hand over his backside and holding him there.

  Egan groaned, the need overwhelming him, but he held fast to his control. He had given her complete control, even though it took everything he had to maintain it. His body trembled and his breath was shallow.

  She used her leg over his hips for leverage and began rocking against him, drawing out his passion in quick, deep thrusts. He cried out, his moans drowned out by the thunder and the rain beating its own rhythm on the tarp above them. Cambria held him tightly as he climaxed, feeling the heat of him empty inside of her a moment before she lost herself.

  The orgasm rocked her body and she writhed against him with wild abandon. The climax ripped through her body with more force than she’d ever felt before, tear scream after scream of pleasure from her throat.

  The vibrations of the storm around them only intensified her pleasure, and she rode wave after wave of passion as the storm raged on.

  When her climax faded and she could think clearly again, she snuggled up against Egan. For the first time in her life, she felt completely free.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Blue eyes stared back from the review mirror as Tom sat in a parking lot a few hours south of the Georgia border. He didn’t move to get out at first, waiting for the last of the lunchtime customers to drive away before he got out of the car. The rest stop was expansive, with a sandwich shop, convenience store and a few showers that could be rented.

  When the final car pulled away, leaving only employee cars, Tom got out and walked towards the store. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain and doing his best to hide the slight limp as he moved. Walking briskly, he opened the door and slipped into the building. He went straight for the convenience section, picking out a set of black pants and a loose shirt as well as a towel and a shower kit. He took his finds to the cash register, making small talk with the pretty woman behind the counter. She smiled shyly and he returned her smile, flirting with her as she rang up his purchases.

  “This is neat,” he said, indicating the first-aid kit in a hard leather case.

  “It’s our best-seller,” she crooned. “You could go off the grid with that thing. It has everything you would ever need.” She leaned close, her voice just above a whisper. “This guy came in once and he’d been stabbed. He used the stuff in the kit to sew himself up.”

  “Did he now? Well, my dear, you’ve just sold another kit.”

  He placed the kit on the counter and flashed his warmest smile at her. She flushed prettily, all but batting her eyes at him. As filthy and exhausted as he was, he was still quite handsome and the young woman was not immune to his charms. He paid the rental for a shower and headed back to the back of the building.

  He looked around again, but he already knew the place was empty. He stepped into the first shower stall, setting his purchases on the wooden bench across from a full length mirror. Carefully, he removed his shirt, throwing it in the trash. He peeled the bandage off his side, grimacing as the wound oozed. He stripped out of the rest of his clothes, tossing those as well. His wound needed to be cleaned before he could do anything else to it.

  Tom opened the first aid kit, his smile wide. The cashier wasn’t lying, it had everything he would need and more. He grabbed the bottle of hexachlorophene detergent and his shower bag and turned on the spray, letting the water heat up before stepping in.

  The instant the water hit his wound was excruciating, but Tom kept quiet, steadying his breathing against the pain. Within moments, it had faded to a dull ache, and Tom went to work, pouring the antibiotic into his hand and gritting his teeth as he scrubbed the wound mercilessly. His knees grew weak and he allowed himself to sit on the second wood bench, which was in the shower stall. Slowly, the room stopped spinning and he was able to breathe again.

  Tom left the detergent on the wound, letting it do its job while he soaped up the rest of his body and washed his hair. Dirt and grime from the last few days pooled at his feet before rushing down the drain with the rest of the water. Steam filled the tiny space and little by little, Tom started to feel like himself again.

  When Laskin had revealed himself to be a shifter and all the fighting started, it was clear to Tom that things were about to get bad. He fled deeper the woods to lay low while things went to hell on the compound. But not before he saw the man in the woods, his hand clasped over Cambria’s mouth as he dragged her past the battle scene and away from where Tom stood.

  He was filled with rage, recognizing the man instantly as one of the tiger shifters the group had been hunting for years. But they were already too far away and he had to think of himself. He was in danger, so close to the action. When he turned and ran, he could hear the two tigers slamming each other into the trees and he heard the men shouting. More than one shot was fired, but the fight continued. Tom wasn’t about to get caught up in that mess, and he wasn’t going to die in battle for a shifter.

  Laskin had fooled them all for years, and Tom wasn’t about to give up his life for a man who was everything he hated. No. Laskin would die at the hands of another shifter, and good riddance. He didn’t want to be anywhere near when that happened and he sure as hell wasn’t going to go to jail when the police showed up, which was a given, considering that Grace would likely escape in the melee if she hadn’t already.

  So he hid deep in the forest, plotting his next move and already dreaming of the moment he would be reunited with Cambria. Once the helicopters and the police showed up to arrest what was left of the brotherhood, Tom knew he’d made the right decision. He bedded down for the night, ready to wait them out until morning or later if he had to, then he would sneak away and go on with his life.

  It wasn’t until he woke up the following afternoon with a raging fever that he realized he’d been injured in the battle, caught by a stray bullet. Delirious and dehydrated, he made his way back into the compound, taking what he could from an outlying cabin before fleeing the compound. The antibiotics he’d taken, as well as the pain medicine, had brought his fever down and made the pain bearable. But he was still suffering.

  It had taken everything in him to keep pushing forward through the forest, circling wide to avoid the heavy police presence until he came upon an unlucky camper in the woods. The man never knew what hit him, which was good. In his weakened condition, the only way he could have killed a healthy, fit man was to come up behind him and slit his throat as he had done.. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

  Rummaging through his pockets, Tom hadn’t been disappointed when he pulled out a set of keys and a parking stub, showing the parking lot where the man had left his car. Tom dragged the man into his tent to hide his body, taking his supplies and heading down the trail to the lot. With any luck, wild animals would find the man before rangers did. Either way. Tom would be long gone.

  A loud bang pulled Tom from his musings. He tensed, poised to spring, but the noise was only someone in the hallway loudly banging trash bins around while t
hey emptied them. He smiled to himself. The cashier wasn’t very subtle, and was likely trying to be in the hallway when he emerged so that she had an excuse to talk to him again.

  Even filthy, injured and unshaven, Tom was a hit with the ladies and always had been. If she was already that smitten with him when he was unkempt, Tom could only imagine how she would fall all over herself to help him when he was looking his best. He would get what he wanted from the girl. Maybe a little more.

  A shaving mirror hung in the shower stall. Tom used it to shave, watching the grizzly stubble melt away, revealing the silky-smooth face he knew and loved. He blew his reflection a kiss, completely oblivious to his narcissistic behavior. He was a beautiful man. Everyone he encountered told him as much. There was no need to hide it from the world and himself. No, Tom embraced everything about himself without shame or guilt.

  He was loath to get out of the shower, but he had things to do. He rinsed quickly after washing his wound one more time. This time, it stung a little less. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Tom dried off quickly, wiping the steam off the full length mirror. He studied the wound, twisting and turning to look from every angle. The bullet had grazed him and he didn’t see any shrapnel embedded in his flesh.

  He opened the kit again, selecting a long needle and drawing lidocaine into the syringe and injecting it around the wound. It burned, but the blessed numbness was worth the pain. He set the needle and syringe back in the kit, testing the flesh around it before picking up the suture needle and forceps.

  Tom had stitched up many recruits over the years, but never himself. He wasn’t surprised when he excelled at it, tying off a neat row of stitches before spreading a thick salve over the wound and bandaging it once more. While he wasn’t very happy that his perfect body had been marred, he knew it would work to his advantage later in life. There was nothing an unsuspecting woman loved more than a bleeding heart story.

  He dressed quickly, disposing of his trash and gathering his things into the shopping bag. Looking around to make sure he hadn’t left anything of value or consequence behind, he stepped out of the shower area and to the bathroom door.

  The bathroom mirrors that lined the wall followed him as he went, clinging to his beauty when he stepped from mirror to mirror. He was pleased with what he saw. There was no sign of the hell he’d been through in the past several days, nor would anyone suspect that he was part of the bloodbath all over the news.

  He walked through the hall, a spring in his step. He felt human again, and ready for his next mission.

  But first, lunch.

  The same pretty cashier was standing behind the register, clearly bored with her day. When she looked up and saw him, she smiled brightly.

  “Are you here all alone?”

  “There’s a gas station attendant, but that guy sleeps in the back until I buzz him.”

  “Want some lunch?”

  The cashier looked around. The sandwich shop was in the same building, but around the corner and out of sight of the register. “I can’t.”

  “What if I brought lunch to you and we sat on the bench there? Then no one could come in without you seeing them first.”

  She twirled her hair around her finger, clearly considering his proposal. “Okay,” she said, bouncing a little with excitement. He stared at her breasts as they bounced beneath her tight shirt for a moment then smiled at her again and winked.

  She gave him her order and he returned within minutes, leading her out to the table and sitting across from her. He handed her a sandwich and bottle of cola, which he opened for her with a flourish. They talked between bites, and the woman told him her name was Britney and she’d just graduated high school.

  Tom made small talk with her for some time, polishing off his sandwich and wiping his face. He stared deep into her eyes as she talked, careful to keep his face light. She was boring him to tears and he was fantasizing about taking her right there on the bench and slitting her throat when he was done. The thought warmed him, and his smile softened. Britney mistook the expression for interest, reaching out and squeezing his hand.

  “Did you work every day this week?” he asked innocently.

  “I did. I have tomorrow off, though.”

  Her invitation was clear, but Tom didn’t take the bait. He didn’t have time to deal with the woman, though the image of her life force draining out on the mulch surrounding the bench would live forever in his mind.

  He squeezed her hand back, reaching into his wallet with his free hand before releasing hers to open the leather wallet and fish out a folded picture.

  “I can’t stay, but I was hoping you could help me, Britney. Have you seen this girl?”

  Britney’s expression changed. “Is that your girlfriend?”

  “Oh no,” Tom assured her. “She’s my baby sister. She was kidnapped earlier this week and I’m searching for her. I was hoping they came through here and someone saw them.”

  Britney grabbed the photo out of his hand and Tom fought the urge to punch her for being so rude. He smiled instead, giving her a moment to look the photo over. He could see the instant that recognition dawned on her. She looked up, watching the car drive away in her mind, trying to remember every detail so she could share her knowledge with Tom.

  “I did see her. It was the other morning, really early. I came to work at three in the morning and they were sitting in the car parked right there,” she pointed to the spot a few places down from where they were.

  “I was on my break, sitting on that chair by the restrooms. They used the outdoor restrooms, they didn’t even come into the building. I remember them because the girl was waiting for him against the car and he said he was surprised she didn’t run.”

  Tom squeezed her hand encouragingly. “Did you see which way they went?”

  “I didn’t, but I heard him say they weren’t stopping again until they hit Alabama.”

  An odd look came over her face, and she looked at Tom. “What’s happening to me?” She was beginning to panic, and he could tell she wanted to run.

  He laughed softly. He’d slipped enough Ketamine into her drink to tranquilize a small horse.

  “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt, but you won’t remember anything when you wake up. If you wake up.”

  Britney started to tremble slightly, her words slurring until they became a jumbled mess and then silence. After a few moments, only her eyes moved and her head slumped forward onto the table. Tom arranged her arms under her head, turning it to the side so she looked like she’d fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine.

  He sat beside her, his face inches from her so he could look deep into her eyes. It wouldn’t be long before she lost consciousness, but for now, she was still trying to make her lips work and her feet were moving. The movement was small and feeble, but she was giving it her all, fighting against the drug.

  “I like your spunk. If I had time, I would enjoy you now. You can’t imagine how much you would love making love to me for hours on end. But I have things to do.” He brushed her hair from her face and chuckled softly as a single tear slid from her eye. “Don’t cry. Maybe someday I’ll come back and we can have each other. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  She couldn’t answer, and Tom continued stroking her hair as he listened to her feet swishing over the tall grass beneath the table. No matter how hard she fought, she would soon be paralyzed. The light swish sound of the grass beneath her feet as she tried to force her body to get up and run away was music to his ears. People could say what they wanted about pretty girls with vapid personalities, but Britney was a fighter. Tom watched her for a moment longer before getting up to walk away. He could hear her moaning behind him, trying to cry out for help but unable to force her paralyzed muscles to work.

  He got into the car and cast one last look at Britney, slumped forward onto the picnic table, looking very much like she’d fallen asleep on her break. By the time the dinner crowd came calling, she would be coming to. U
ntil then, she was at the mercy of any passerby that happened along.

  Tom sighed. How he longed to spend some time with the beautiful woman, to watch her suffer and see if she lived through it. But he was on a mission and he had to find Cambria. He couldn’t let the shifter have her, and Britney was nothing to him.

  Cambria hadn’t gone willingly, of this he was certain. When he got his hands on that dirty shifter, he would make him pay for what he’d done to Cambria. But even if she’d fallen for his charms, he had to rescue her from the man. Shifters were known to be wily, and even the smartest woman could be fooled.

  The more he thought about his sweet Cambria, trapped somewhere with a tiger shifter of all things, the more angry he got. He had no right to take up with a human woman, and Tom hoped the man would fight when Tom finally found the pair. He would kill the tiger, maybe even taking a trophy to remember the experience. Cambria would be grateful to be saved and they would live happily ever after.

  But what if the shifter had cast a spell on her, winning her trust and convincing her that he wasn’t bad? Tom shook his head angrily, carrying on an internal dialogue with himself as he pulled away from the rest stop. No, she wouldn’t be fooled. She was too strong for that, he thought. She might trick the shifter into thinking that she’d been fooled, but she would hold fast to her beliefs and she would prevail.

  No matter what, he had to find her and take her away from the awful place and bring her back where she belonged. She and Tom were the only members of the resistance left that weren’t dead or in jail. If their anti-shifter movement was to continue, and all the tigers were to be eradicated for good, they were going to have to start rebuilding their army.

  Tom got onto the highway, heading northwest and after his woman.

  *

  Cambria stepped out of the tent, filling her lungs with the fresh scent of the recent rains. It had been raining almost nonstop since they’d arrived nearly a week before, and she was ready for some sunshine. The valley below was cut down the middle by what was left of the runoff, but the bison had already come out to graze, undeterred by the damp earth beneath their feet. Cambria was hoping that this was a sign that the rain was over for a bit.