Wild (13 page)

“By Fabian?”

“You really ask too many questions.”

“I think I'm entitled. Especially now that I know you're a tiger.”

“Is that a problem?”

Was it?

 

CHAPTER 16

The question hung in the air, and Brody tried not to tense as he waited for her answer.

When he'd changed back into his man shape, a part of him almost feared turning around to face her. He loved his cat, thought his tiger side was amazing, but what would Lulu think? Sure, she hadn't run screaming from the battle, nor had she shot him when she had the chance. However, could she accept the fact he was both man and beast?

He had often heard it preached that fated females could handle anything, even the fact that their males liked to pee on things, scratch at trees, and shed on the couch.

The silence lengthened as he waited to see what she would say. Would she accept him, or would he have to seduce her until she forgot he liked to chase giant yoga balls wrapped in twine in grassy fields?

Her expression betrayed nothing as she finally gave him a reply. “I can't believe you're a freaking tiger. I mean, how the hell does that happen?”

“I was bitten as child.”

Her eyes widened in shock, and he could pretty much anticipate her next question. “You bit me. Does that mean I'm turning into a tiger?”

“No. Surviving the virus is rare, and the change only happens to men. Scientists theorize it's because of our Y chromosome.”

“People have studied you?”

“Can we talk about this later? I'm still waiting for your answer on accepting me how I am.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because you're my mate.”

She ducked her head, choosing to break their locked gaze. She struggled still with the concept but tried to hide it. “I guess now all those corny jokes you kept spouting make sense.”

“I tried to tell you.”

“No, you didn't. Comparing yourself to a tiger isn't the same as saying, ‘Hey, Lulu, I'm a shape-shifting feline.'”

“Complains the girl who neglected to tell me she was a cop working undercover to get dirt on my boss.”

“I eventually admitted it.”

“Just like I showed you my cat. So are we even?”

She shrugged before grinning. “I guess. But, now what, Garfield?”

He didn't even try to hide his shudder. “Are you comparing me to a domestic breed? I'll have you know I'm a Siberian tiger. A rare and majestic species.”

“With a giant ego.”

“And tail.” He winked.

“Speaking of ego, are those dark roots I see at your temple?”

His fingers brushed the area in question. “I kind of have a stripe on the side. I've had it since I was a kid. I get it dyed to look normal.”

Lulu snickered. “Normal. There's nothing normal about a geeky tiger in an accountant suit.”

“You forgot to add who's mated to an undercover cop.”

“About that whole mate thing. I like you, but that doesn't mean we're like married or anything.”

“Are you going to torture me with dating?”

“Yup. And family dinners. By the way, did I mention all the males in my family are cops?”

He swallowed hard. Oh, would Fabian and the others have a field day with this. “You mean your whole family might try to arrest me?”

“Not my whole family. Only those who think you've committed a crime in their jurisdiction. My daddy, though, he won't arrest you.”

“That's good.”

“Because he'll probably try to kill you.”

Great. Just great. And enough.

The adrenaline from battle still hadn't worn off, and there she stood, defiantly eyeing him. Or was this her way of seducing?

Her eyes sparkled, and her lips tilted in a challenging smirk.

The minx.

He pounced and flipped her onto his bare shoulder. Completely bare-assed, he marched her to the stairs, pausing only a moment to snag his clothing as he went.

How nice of the bear to make their final confrontation somewhere close to a bed.

Picking the lock to her apartment wasted too much time, enough that he almost died—leaving him with very few lives—as Lulu, far from fighting his grasp, nibbled at his back.

“Can you hurry up?” she mumbled against his flesh. “I'd much rather be kissing something else.”

Those were the kind of words to make a man lose all sense as blood rushed to one zone.

He wasn't sure how they got into her apartment or how he ended up pressed against the wall. His mate sure had an aggressive streak.
Meow
. Whatever her methods, he certainly wasn't going to argue with the sight of Lulu on her knees, sucking the length of him with evident pleasure.

Eyes shut, her face flushed, her lips slid back and forth against the taut skin of his cock. The suction and pull of her mouth had him sitting on the brink, struggling not to spill too soon.

She braced her hands on both his thighs, the tips of her fingers digging into his flesh as she bobbed her head.

Pure torture.

Absolute pleasure.

He couldn't handle any more. He dragged her to her feet, plastering his mouth to hers, stealing her breath with a hot kiss.

Her arms wound around him, tight, and her tongue met his in a wet clash. He hoisted her, loving her softness against him but loving even more burying his hardness within her.

She took him with a cried, “Brody.” How sweet his name sounded coming from her lips. How hot she wrapped him within her sheath. How decadently she rode him, bobbing her body on his shaft, a friction to make him dig his fingers into her buttocks.

Together they rocked and shuddered, their breathing coming in fast pants. He'd already marked her once, but he couldn't resist placing his mouth against his previous claim.

“Bite me,” she urged. “Bite me as I come.”

How about when he came? He thrust one last time into her heat, clamped his teeth, and rode the wave of his orgasm, an orgasm that was almost painful in its infinite glory.

It went on and on, probably because she came at the same time, the quivering of her sex pulsing around his cock, fisting him and drawing every ounce of pleasure it could manage.

And to his surprise, it wasn't Brody or his tiger that whispered, “Mine.”

Lulu had finally succumbed to fate.

 

CHAPTER 17

Waking up with a gun pointed at your face? Never good, especially when the naked woman beside you squeals, “Daddy!”

Shit. Especially since the father of his mate seemed none too pleased at finding him in her bed.

“Who is this?” Father dear, with the cropped red-and-gray head, flinty, cold eyes, and I'm-going-to-kill-the-defiler-of-my-daughter stare, didn't lower the gun. He cocked it.

“This is Brody. My, um, fiancé,” she said, a touch too brightly.

Her father didn't buy the act either. “What the hell is going on, Lulu? First I get this call from that murdering A-hole that busted out of jail that he's got you. Then I get here to find you, instead, in bed with some guy you're calling your fiancé?”

“Peter was taken care of, thanks in large part to Brody here.”

“This boy took Peter down?” Dubiously said. The other man eyed him, and Brody got the feeling he didn't fare well in the assessment. “What precinct does he work out of?”

“He's not a cop, Daddy. He's an accountant.”

“A what?” The gun, which had dropped, rose again. “What the hell are you doing getting engaged to a numbers guy? You know a pencil pusher isn't going to save you when the apocalypse comes.”

“The apocalypse?” Brody couldn't help but question.

“Yeah, did I forget to mention that not only am I descended from a line of police officers but they also think it's just a matter of time before the zombie apocalypse hits? You should see the storerooms they have on their properties.” Lulu couldn't help a hint of red in her cheeks as she told him.

Meanwhile Brody bit his inner cheek, lest he laugh as her father elaborated. “It's coming. Scientists are eyeballing that meteor, the one they say is going to miss earth by a sliver, but I know better.”

And to think he worried she'd find his tiger heritage hard to accept. She came from even crazier roots than him. “So the zombies are coming? Well then, I'd better make sure I stock up on supplies, sir. I wouldn't want Lulu here to go without.”

“My girl needs more than food. She needs a man who can protect her.” The disdain was clear.

Brody refrained from rolling his eyes, but he did get defensive. “I can protect her.”

“You look like you're fit enough, but still, trust my baby girl to a yuppie?”

“Brody's not a yuppie. He's a tiger wearing accountant's clothing.” Lulu snickered.

Tired of the aspersions on his virility—because of his geeky addiction to numbers—Brody sprang from bed. Too quick for human reaction, he twisted the gun from Lulu's dad's hand and tripped him so he hit the floor. He pointed the weapon at the man's forehead.

Then he held his breath as he waited.

Would the guy freak for getting taken down by a white-collar nerd or would he …

Laugh. “Well, I'll be damned. He might not be a useless pencil pusher after all.”

Lulu, who'd come up behind him and draped a robe around his shoulders, chuckled. “Oh, you'd be surprised at what he hides, Daddy. There's a tiger under that skin.”

A tiger indeed.
Rawr
. He might hide his awesome feline from most of the world, but not Lulu. His mate now knew all of his secrets, just like he now knew all of hers.

The fact that he was mated to a cop might make life challenging, but love didn't care what side of the law she was on, and neither did he. Lulu had caught this tiger by the tail, and he, for one, hoped she never let him go.

 

EPILOGUE

Strolling along the riverbank after the cleanup at Lulu's place, Fabian silently cursed. The damned bear behind all the shit happening had gotten away. Even worse, he apparently had a grudge against him.

Problem was Fabian didn't understand why. Perhaps that cop Lulu would have some answers, but that would happen only once Brody let the girl out to breathe.

The tiger was pretty upset at her capture and was now focusing on reaping the rewards of rescue.

As for Fabian, as twilight descended, he had his driver drop him off by the river that ran through the city, out to the outskirts where it flowed through his property. He often used this river route to clear his mind and see if he could puzzle things out.

Only rarely did he come across people, the occasional fisherman or picnickers or couples making out by the water in the moonlight, so he didn't think much about the murmur of voices from around the bend. Usually he would have avoided them by detouring through the woods, except something they said caught his attention.

“Just toss her in the river. Let the fish have the body.”

Toss something into his river? Fabian had donated to too many charities and community events to clean up the water to have some miscreants ruin it with their murderous pollution. Not to mention, the last thing he needed on a midnight swim was to bump into a corpse.

Also, who the hell had sanctioned a kill and disposal on his turf?

My town. My rules.

Sniff.

Damned bears again. They were cropping up all over the damn place.

Two of them against his wolf?

Sounds like good exercise.
His inner beast did so like a challenge, and Fabian liked to personally remind encroachers not to mess around in his town.

Slipping off his shoes, he treaded on bare feet toward the voices. A stand of trees and a slight hillock blocked his view of the speakers, but at the same time, the foliage and incline provided concealment as he sneaked and stripped his clothes.

“Shouldn't we kill her first before dumping the body?”

“Why bother? With her hands and feet tied, she'll sink like a rock.”

Speaking of rock, one rolled out from under his foot. He'd let himself get distracted, and now the repercussion was the noise alerting them to his presence.

“Someone's out there.”

“Or it's just some forest creature. This is protected parkland.”

“Whatever, let's get this done. Toss her in the drink, and let's hit the bar for some beers.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Before Fabian could barrel from the shadows, there was a splash, and he faced a choice. Go after the miscreants or save whoever sank in his river.

He played the part of Good Samaritan.

And to think the rag sheets call me a cold bastard.

Definitely cold. The water wasn't exactly warm when he hit it. Nor was it illuminated. He dove from the top of the hillock into the spot where the ripples radiated, relying on luck to help him find—

Aha! His fingers brushed spidery strands of hair. He stroked downward, and his hands encountered squirming flesh.

The body quieted at his touch, as if sensing he'd come to help.
Yes, help.
His wolf seemed particularly keen on playing the role of savior. Unusual.

Fabian wrapped an arm around a distinctly female waist and used his feet to flutter and scissor his way to the surface. His head broke the water, and he pulled in a fresh breath.

The woman he'd rescued gasped and coughed, expelling water and sucking in air. He tread the surface for a moment while she regained some sense of composure.

When she did finally draw in one smooth breath, it exited almost as quickly with, “Who are you?”

Before he could answer, it was followed by, “Who am I?”

And then the bullets began peppering the water.

 

WILD PASSIONS

Kate Douglas

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am so lucky to have an absolutely terrific crew of beta readers. Sue Thomas, Kerry Parker, Jay Takane, Ann Jacobs, Rose Toubbeh, Karen Woods, and Lynne Thomas—thank you so much, ladies, for making me look a lot better than I could ever manage on my own. If my readers knew what you see first, they'd thank you, too!