Tiger (New Species, Book Seven)

by Laurann Dohner

  He bent and grabbed the blanket, shook it, and turned to open it for her. “Here. I’ll help you dry.” What is wrong with me? He wasn’t sure but the desire to tend her was strong. A Species female would have hit him by now and never allowed him to coddle her in any way. Zandy stepped closer and he wrapped the blanket around her body firmly while drying the water from her skin. She didn’t even stare at him as if he’d lost his mind.

  He was pretty certain he had. The urge to just bend, toss her over his shoulder and carry her to his Jeep was strong. She was little and couldn’t put up much of a fight if he took her to his home. Images of tying her to his bed and using his mouth and hands to convince her to stay there made him step behind her to hide the fact that his dick had just hardened.

  Sex had never felt as good as it did with Zandy. She was amazing and giving. He bit back a purr, remembering how tight and hot she felt wrapped around his cock. Soft and wonderful. Her small body fit perfectly against him and made him feel completely male. His hands lingered on parts of her body while he continued to help her dry. He didn’t want to release her. The fact that she was submissive to him without him having to display aggression during sex left him reeling.

  No, she’s not anything like a Species. This is how it starts, he realized. Those poor males who ended up with human mates had to have felt what he did. Protective. Possessive. Maybe even blown away by intense feelings while sharing sex. That sobered him enough to back away from her and get dressed. This is probably the definition of broadsided. He had been broadsided by a small female with green eyes.

  His hands shook as he pulled on his underwear and pants. His interested dick protested being contained but he ignored it. He had bigger problems at that moment. He needed to figure out how to handle the situation and the emotions he’d never experienced before.

  Instincts were a bitch. He was more than aware of their constant existence, a side effect of being altered with those feline genes. He glanced back in time to see her bare body as she neatly folded the blanket and bent over to display her ass while reaching for her clothing.

  He closed his eyes and took calming breaths. The baser side of him wanted to just take her. Keep her. The human side of him knew it would be wrong to do that. The part of him that remained in the middle prevailed. He used logic and common sense. He didn’t know much about her. He didn’t need or want a mate. His duties took up a lot of his time and he’d be sidelined if he took a mate. Justice made sure all males were given safer jobs if they had families.

  Sometimes he lived at Reservation while at others he resided at Homeland. He also worked closely with the human task force. He enjoyed being around the human males and leaving the NSO occasionally. All that would change if he became too attached to a female and she actually agreed to be his mate. Slade managed to divide his time but his mate was a doctor whose job demanded she work in both locations.

  The whisper of a zipper made him open his eyes to watch Zandy finish dressing. She was human and wouldn’t fit in his lifestyle. He’d already bitten her and mounted her too roughly. He’d make a bad mate even if he were willing to consider the idea. It would also put her in danger but that worried him little. She’d never leave NSO if she were his and he’d make certain she was safe.

  Humans date. That option didn’t alarm him. That way he could have her without committing for life. If she was willing. He hoped the sharing of sex had been so intense due to the sexual frustration he’d experienced after the first night he’d met her. He’d wanted her but never thought she’d be in his arms again.

  Tiger knew he was clinging to that concept a little too hard but he could live with that because it didn’t unsettle him. Dating a human couldn’t hurt and perhaps it was the pent-up desire he’d had for her that had made their coupling so incredible.

  The female turned and smiled. His dick jerked, wanted her, and so did he. He knew he should force a smile in return to assure her everything was fine. He didn’t. Words blurted out of his mouth before he could stop them.

  “Why don’t you go home with me tonight? I have a private house on Reservation. You could share my bed.”

  He wanted to roar when her smile faded and she glanced at the ground instead of agreeing instantly. Rejection stung him as sharply as if she’d slapped him. Every muscle in his body tensed.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her gaze rose and met his.

  Anger and pain burned through his chest. He’d been torturing himself with thoughts about a mate but she didn’t even want him beyond the time they’d spent together. The idea that she hadn’t enjoyed his body as much as he had hers made him feel even worse. He knew he’d been too rough despite her protests and now he had proof. Shame wasn’t an emotion he suffered often but it struck then.

  “I mean, it wouldn’t be the best idea, right?”

  “Why not?” He worried about her answer but needed to hear it.

  “Well, for one thing, we have to pass the guards at the gate. I work for the NSO now and I’m pretty sure it’s probably against the rules to date other employees. Secondly, I’m new and it would just look bad if it got around that I spent the night with you on the first day of my job. Third, I don’t have an extra set of clothes. It screams bad impression when you wear the same clothes two days in a row.”

  Excuses. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He respected her for that and appreciated it. His pride was stung though, despite her kindness. It was another reminder she wasn’t Species. One of their females would have just told him he’d been too controlling and hadn’t placed her sexual gratification above his own.

  “I understand.” He finished buttoning his shirt, knowing he’d messed up. She didn’t even want to date him. “I’m carrying you back to your car.” He would make sure she wasn’t harmed by walking barefoot. “That isn’t up for debate.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. Are you sure I’m not too heavy?”

  “I could carry you in my arms all day,” he answered honestly. “Hold the blanket and I’ll pick you up.”

  Zandy gripped the blanket as he approached her and didn’t protest as he scooped her up into his arms. Her scent tormented him. She smelled strongly of her distinctive scent but it was mixed with sex now and his own scent. Any Species male who came within sniffing distance of her would know they’d shared sex. That idea didn’t alarm him. It would warn other males not to approach her for sharing sex, if they were smart.

  Her arm wrapped around his neck and she peered deeply into his eyes. “Thank you, Tiger.”

  He wanted to kiss her but refrained. She’d made a choice and he had to respect it. He wasn’t an animal despite his urges to ignore her refusal to share his bed. He was a male. He wouldn’t force her to go home with him even if he wished she would—it wouldn’t be fair. She wasn’t strong enough to keep him in line the way a Species female could when a male became too dominating, though he’d never hurt her.

  “Thank you for today,” he said honestly.

  Chapter Five

  Zandy liked that Tiger made her feel petite and womanly in his arms. He carried her as easily as he’d said he could and wasn’t even out of breath when they reached their vehicles. No one seemed to have disturbed them. He didn’t halt until he gently placed her on the hood of his Jeep. He tossed the folded blanket off her lap and over the windshield to land inside the vehicle.

  He smiled. “We are back at the beginning. Here I stand and you are sitting in the same spot as when we first kissed.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. She was more than a little amused and touched by his romantic streak. It also impressed her. “I like this time better.”

  “Why?”

  “No one interrupted us.”

  His striking blue eyes stared deeply into hers. “Meet me here again tomorrow after work. I’ll bring food and we’ll have a picnic.”

  It was a bad idea but she refused to say no outright. She was falling for the guy big-time and it would end badly. It was a weakness of hers to g
et involved with men too fast. He seemed too good to be true and she knew how that worked out. Badly, and divorce lawyers cost a lot of money. Not to mention the dreaded phone call to my family to tell them I screwed up again. She nodded anyway. She just couldn’t resist Tiger but she didn’t need to worry that he would ask her to marry him. He didn’t seem the settle-down type of man.

  “Okay. Do you want me to bring anything?”

  “Just you.”

  “I can do that.”

  He cleared his throat. “Good. I might be a few minutes late after your shift ends but wait for me. I will come.”

  “Okay. Are you going to close the road down again to make sure no one goes searching for us when they spot our cars?”

  “I’ll think of something.” Amusement flashed in his gaze and he stepped closer.

  She nodded. “I better get going. Lunch was a long time ago and I worked up quite an appetite.”

  He chuckled. “I still think you should go home with me.”

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “I don’t want to make you sore either. I definitely would if I took you home.”

  “I just told you not to tempt me.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. His hand came up as he caressed her cheek. “Thank you for waiting for me today. I was afraid I would return to find you gone. It would have greatly disappointed me.”

  “Me too. That’s why I stayed and waited.”

  “You are very unique and wonderful, Zandy.”

  “So are you.”

  He moved suddenly and his mouth brushed hers. She kissed him back. The purr that rumbled from him made her instantly hot and horny as memories flooded her mind of what he could do to her body. He shifted his hips and moved between her thighs until the hard length of his trapped cock rubbed against the seam of her underwear as she spread her thighs wide to make room for him. Zandy wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. She wanted him again and it felt as if he wanted her too.

  His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed. She moaned against his tongue to encourage him. One of his hands lowered down her stomach and fisted her skirt to tug it up her hips. She shifted her ass, helping him bunch the material around her waist to get it out of the way. His hand slid between her thighs to hook a finger in the band of her panties and she felt them jerked out from under her ass. He easily tore them off.

  Excitement gripped her. It wasn’t just the danger of them being caught—no one had ever torn her clothes off her body before. It was a fantasy he’d just made a reality. Her nails dug into his shirt and she wished she could touch his skin.

  Tiger tore his mouth away from hers to break the kiss and she opened her eyes. There was something wild-looking about his eyes in that moment when passion flared through them. Eyes were the window into someone’s soul—she believed that—and his were promising hot sex.

  His hand left her thigh and gently pressed between her breasts. He pushed her flat on her back over the hood of his Jeep. The trees had shaded it and the feel of cool metal against her bare ass was a little naughty. She really liked it. She liked him.

  His hands gripped her hips and tugged her closer to him until she should have worried about slipping over the edge. It didn’t concern her since she’d wrapped her legs around his waist when they’d kissed. He slid his palms upward, shoved her shirt up until it bunched over her breasts and his gaze lowered.

  “Beautiful,” he rasped. “But this is in my way.”

  She gasped when he gripped the center of her bra and tugged. It didn’t stand a chance against his strength as it broke apart and freed her breasts.

  Zandy panted a little as he leaned forward, cupped her breasts again with his bare hands and his mouth opened over her nipple. He sucked it into his mouth and she felt his teeth clamp down on the skin around the taut tip. He didn’t hurt her but he had a good grip. She felt a second of fear, knowing if he bit down it would hurt. Instead his tongue started to slide across her nipple and he sucked on her harder.

  She gasped. It felt as if her breast and her clit were connected. Her fingers slid into his hair to keep it out of the way, while making sure he didn’t stop. She breathed his name, “Tiger…”

  He growled as he slowly released her breast when he lifted his head. Their gazes met. He reached up and his fingers encircled her wrists to tug her hands free from his hair. She let go and was stunned when he used his hold on her to lift her arms above her head until they rested against the hood of the Jeep.

  “Keep them there.”

  She nodded. He broke eye contact with her to peruse the length of her body spread out in front of him and growled again. His hands gripped her knees and he nudged them, indicating that he wanted her to release him. She freed his hips and he lifted her legs straight up against his chest and spread them enough to brace them at his shoulders.

  He reached down and she heard his zipper as he opened his pants. His gaze held hers. “I wanted to do this the first time you were here,” he rasped.

  She expected him to just enter her but Tiger wasn’t so easily predictable. His finger traced the seam of her pussy. She knew he’d find her wet and ready to take him but then he decided to play with her clit. She moaned as he rubbed small circles around the bud.

  “Tiger…” she moaned.

  “I’m right here.”

  Yes, he is, she agreed, reveling in the raw enjoyment of the pleasure he gave. She really wanted to touch him but he wanted her to keep them above her head. It was almost torture and her legs tensed, unable to take much more.

  “Please?”

  One of his arms locked across her legs to pin them against his chest and his gaze lowered between them to stare at her pussy. He adjusted his hips until his cock pressed against her. The feel of him entering her body broke her focus on his face and she threw her head back. He lifted her enough that her ass hovered over the hood and he began to fuck her in long, firm strokes.

  She moaned and could only feel the drive of his cock and him continuing to play with her clit. The overwhelming urge to come burned her from the inside out.

  “Faster,” she urged.

  He growled. “No. I’m in control.”

  Her wrists twisted and she clawed at the metal under her palms. Tiger suddenly thrust into her a little deeper and rocked his hips at a faster pace. He massaged her clit to match. The sounds that came from him were a mixture of a purr and a moan.

  “Come for me,” he ordered in a harsh voice. “Now. I can’t hold back.”

  He pressed a little harder against her clit and Zandy screamed out his name as she did just that. Her vaginal muscles convulsed from the force of her climax and Tiger threw back his head. A roar came from him that drowned out everything. His hips ground against her as he jerked with each jet of semen he shot into her.

  Zandy panted as she tried to recover and kept her eyes closed as Tiger eased her ass back down onto the hood of the Jeep. His hand slid away from her clit and he gripped her thighs, spread them and bent over her. His body settled over hers and he kept them connected by refusing to withdraw his cock from her body.

  “Look at me.”

  She stared deeply into his eyes, just inches from her own. His hot breath fanned her lips and she loved the smile he gave her. Her hands moved to cup his face. He turned his head a little to press tighter against her palm.

  “Hi.”

  He chuckled. “Hi.”

  “That was amazing.”

  His lips brushed across hers but he didn’t deepen the kiss. “You’re very sexy, Zandy. I can’t get enough of you. I was more careful this time not to be rough.”

  “I like it both ways.”

  He braced his arms on the hood next to her, caging her in his hold. She liked the feel of having his body over hers but wished her bare breasts and stomach were against his skin instead of the shirt he still wore.

  “What did you like best?” he asked.

  “I can’t decide. How about a rematch tomorrow so we can both decide?�
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  “Maybe I’ll come up with more to judge. It might take days to really figure this one out.”

  Days with Tiger sounded heavenly. She laughed. “It sounds good but I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk if we have sex this much every day.”

  His gaze became serious. “I can carry you. You won’t need to walk. It will give me an excuse to keep you flat on your back.”

  Damn. He’s charming and so handsome. Her fingers caressed his warm skin and explored his strong bone structure. His cheekbones were slightly prominent and so was his jawline. It gave him a very masculine appearance, which she appreciated. He waited for a response so she gave him one.

  “That’s true.”

  He pushed her hair away from her neck and he pulled her torn bra out from under her shirt to remove it. He tossed it over the glass windshield into the Jeep. Zandy watched him study her shoulder.

  “What are you looking at?”

  “Your bite. It’s not bleeding anymore.”

  “It’s fine. It was well worth the sex injury.” She grinned. “How is your back?”

  He didn’t grin back. “You are the first woman who’s marked me. Has a man ever bitten you before and marked you?”

  “I can’t say I’ve ever been bitten before.”

  Gentle fingertips probed the wound. “You will need to hide this. Someone will think I’ve mated you if they see this.”

  “Mated?”

  “It’s like marriage to my kind but we don’t divorce. You would be thought of as mine and I would be thought of as yours.”

  Shock reverberated through her. “All over a bite?”

  He smiled finally. “Species tend to bite sometimes during the sharing of sex but we never break the skin. There are only two ways this usually happens. I had to bite you to assert my control if we fought for dominance during sex or because I wanted to mark you to show other males you belonged to me.” He blinked. “I am sorry. I lost control and I wanted to completely own you in that moment. I wanted all of you.”