Circus Wolf (23 page)

Sadly his fatal flaw, his willingness to protect and
even die for her, had failed to release him. And likewise, her willingness to
die for him hadn’t released her. He couldn’t let the ancient curses’ hold on
them destroy their chances for happiness. He was ready to let go of the tight
rein on his emotions and allow himself to accept he could love this wild
beautiful creature in spite of their dissimilar species and in spite of the
fact she wasn’t, and never would be, the quiet homemaker he’d dreamed of
meeting. She was better; she was a woman beyond his hopes and dreams, a wild
creature who had excited his blood and touched his heart. Somehow they would
solve the inner species problem. Fighting to ignore his injuries and the pain
of each jostling step, he ran toward the circus grounds, hoping Tigra could
accept him as he was, with all of the dangers and problems connected with their
duality.

****

Tigra rolled over in bed
and groaned, hurting everywhere. She reached for Hugh

The sheet beside her was cold. Maybe he was in the
bathroom. In a daze, she thought about how far they had come as a team. They’d
butted into each other’s flaws, each of them seeking independence, but they’d
conquered their problems and little by little, with Hugh’s love, she had
overcome her loner nature.
She’d
learned to trust her judgment, assert her authority, and risk alienating her
circus buddies. She was strong before but she’d become stronger—now she was
truly worthy of the title Queen of the Tigers.
She’d
helped Hugh overcome his belief he was merely in the world to help others.
While that was the best part of his nature, she’d finally convinced him he
deserved to have a special love of his own. Now,
she
wanted to be that love.

She threw off the covers
and called to Hugh.
Silence.
She made a carafe of
coffee and then without even pouring a cup, she
paced her caravan, wondering if Hugh had gone to the
cave alone. They were a team and if he went there, she wanted, needed to
accompany him. Why had he left without a word? They had important things to
discuss. They had sacrificed themselves for each other and almost ended up dead
for their willingness to forfeit their lives for each other. But their
readiness to die hadn’t freed them of their curses. What if Hugh went back to
check on the burial site and Skully had, by some vampire magic, risen from the
ashes?

Chapter Twenty-Four

Scarcely able to breathe, Tigra fought
shivers of foreboding. She grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, heading for
the hills. Struggling for control, she breathed in the morning scents as she
fought the jostling neck pain of each step. She scanned the line of the hills,
watching for the entrance of the savage cave of death and hoping their heinous
ceremony had succeeded. Ahead the swirling, steamy waters lay sparkling in the
hazy sunlight. The cave was just beyond the next ridge.

Suddenly, like an apparition, Hugh
appeared and ran toward her, arms open. The sun came from behind a cloud and
its luminous glow traced over the strong lines of his lupine features, lining
them with silver. She inhaled his feral scent and when he called her name, she
melted inside. He was alive. While the wind whistled around them, he drew her
into his arms and stared down at her. His feral silver-gray eyes blazed with
determination.
He bent and kissed her. While not deeply probing, it was nevertheless, a kiss
full of promise. She didn’t want him to stop.
“He held her away. “What are you doing out here?”

 
“I came to find you. Is everything all right?”

 
“I pray it will be.” His breath feathered over
her face.

 
“What does that mean?”

 
As usual, he exuded this raw, hard-edged
sensuality that made thinking a struggle. With a concerned heart stronger than
her passion, she looked up at his etched face. He drew her over to the pool
edge and then gently urged her down beside him. “I need to get some things off
my chest,” he said in a ragged voice.

Their gazes locked. She swallowed and
fought the turbulent electricity soaring between them and attempted to organize
her thoughts.
“Me, too.”

“I’m irrevocably in love with you,
Tigra.” Her heartbeat quickened at his words, his deep, rich tone, and the love
glinting in his eyes made her heart reach out for him. “I was willing to
forfeit my life for you. And I’ll willingly keep putting it on the line for the
rest of our lives to keep you safe.”

She closed her eyes, reveling in his words. “I feel
the same protectiveness toward you.”

“You’ve shown that in aces. Neither of us put our
lives in jeopardy to free ourselves from the curses, but we hoped for it. My
desire to have it all didn’t change my overflowing, uninhibited, and
unrestricted love for you. And I want you, curses and all, and pray you can
accept me as I am—a werewolf…a lycanthrope.”

Feeling a grin tugging at her lips, she said, “I
accept everything about you and I’m willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary
for us to have a life together.”

“Are you sure you can live with who and what I am for the
rest of your life?”

She felt her heart thudding against her breast. “Our
diversity will keep things interesting.”

He blew out a gust of air. “Even bringing children into our
relationship?”

She knew he loved children as much as she did.
“Of course.
We can adopt.”

He drew her to him and she melted into a kiss she realized
seconds later, she would remember for the rest of her life because it seemed to
trigger the magic.

She watched in awe and fascination as the ghostly wolf
within Hugh vaporized, escaped his nostrils, and then hovered over the steamy
waters as though waiting for something. A thrill went through her—his
no holds barred love for me has cured him.

Joy for him soared through her. And then another miraculous
thing happened, on an exhale, vapor surged from
her
nostrils. A ghostly tiger joined the wolf and they disappeared
into the steam rising from the water.

“My God, did you see that?” Hugh asked in awe. “I think our
love opened a door few people ever walk through. A door where curses disappear
and love is forever.”

****

When Vance, aka Skully, didn’t show up for the night’s
show, Coleman reported him missing along with Billy Cornwell. When Officers
Gonzales and Tanner came out to the grounds to get the particulars, they didn’t
get excited about Billy Cornwell being MIA, but they were as livid as Coleman
was about Skully’s disappearance. They hinted something in the aerialist DNA
made it imperative they talk to him again immediately. Gonzales said he’d
already put an A.P.B., all points bulletin, out on him. Hugh remained silent,
relieved the officers weren’t questioning him or asking more questions about
his brother.

****

The next day, Hugh, Tigra, and Madam Mystic had a quick
meeting about their secret. “Then we’re all agreed, to go on with our lives,”
Hugh said. “We must accept we were forced into a war that to save the two of
you, and for the sake of the innocent people he would have killed in the
future, required eliminating Skully.” Tigra and Madam Mystic nodded solemnly.

“No regrets, ladies,” Hugh said. “Even if the police could
have pinned the theft and murders on him, he would’ve managed to escape. He’s
done so in a number of lifetimes. We did what had to be done to assure he’d
never violate and kill another innocent young woman.”

“You’ve made your point, Hugh,” Tigra said. “So let’s move
on. On another subject, sort of, Coleman has fired both Cornwell and, not
knowing he’d dead,
Skully
. He said he’s through
giving repeated chances to people who just walk off the job without notice.
He’s already hired both men’s replacement. And another piece of news, he isn’t
selling the circus to that corporation that’s been bugging him. Instead, he’s
taken on a partner. And she’s bringing in the capital the circus needs to grow
and flourish.”

“She?
Let’s see if we can get a
bit more info on that,” Madam Mystic said and waved a hand across her crystal
ball. After a few seconds she gave a sly smile. “If I’m reading the spirits
right, this partnership might involve more than just business.”

Tigra laughed. “Well, I hope you’re right. A soul mate
might keep him busy and out of my hair. Speaking of keeping him busy, he’ll be
gone all afternoon with the new partner, and he wants me to welcome the new
hire. I’d appreciate it if you two would to help me make the guy feel welcome.
His given name is Bradley Duce Johnson. His aerial stage name is Midnight
Prince.”

Madam Mystic laughed. I wouldn’t miss getting a look at a
character with a moniker like that.

****

Ten minutes later the three of them were at the vehicle
entrance with a banner that said WELCOME. The sun posed high in the azure blue
sky and puffy clouds hung over the mountains, while a warm breeze ruffled their
hair and fluttered the banner.

Suddenly the noise of the crowded arcade behind them was
drowned out by the roar of a Harley Davidson Road King.

“Talk about black, shiny, and gorgeous,” Madam Mystic said.

Tigra laughed. “Are you talking about the cycle or that
ebony glistening Adonis straddling it?”

Madam Mystic, wearing flowing burgundy slacks smoothed her
matching sweater and, thrust out her more than ample breasts. “All that,” she
said, her eyes alight with interest.

The biker pulled up and stopped next to them. He revved his
motor before killing it. Recklessness played in his insolent grin, his glinting
eyes, and in his powerful, muscle-rippling movements. He removed his helmet and
raked his hand through his kinky shoulder-length hair. “Thanks for the
welcome.” His gaze sized up Madam Mystic with a seductive up-down swipe. “I
think I’m going to like it here,” he said in a very low timber as he stowed his
helmet and locked his Harley.

Madam Mystic stepped forward with a huge smile and glanced
at Tigra and Hugh. “Listen, you two don’t need to stay any longer. I’ll surely
make this brother feel welcome. How about some ribs and corn bread, honey?” she
asked in her calypso accent.

Tigra laughed. “Great, we have some practicing to do before
tonight’s performance. I trust you’ll show him to his caravan and get him set
up for tonight’s show.”

“Don’t worry another second about him,” Madam Mystic said,
“I’ll take him under my wing, show him the ropes and, if he plays his cards right,
give him a sample of his future.”

****

A week later, Madam Mystic, who Hugh was surprised to learn
was a licensed minister, married them in the center ring while the circus crowd
cheered. Tigra wore a veil and a white lace scarf to hide her scars and he wore
a white silk scarf to hide his. Because they got married during their regular
show, his beautiful bride wore the wedding lace veil draped over the little
strips of imitation fur he loved so much and he wore his regulation black
leather tights. Neither of them minded giving up a traditional wedding because
by having their ceremony in the center ring during regular circus hours they
could share the event with their whole tinsel commune and all the circus fans
in the packed-full capacity stands. As a bonus his brother, Damon, and his
family attended, loaded with beautifully wrapped gifts. Hugh hadn’t given it
much thought before, but his new bride wasn’t just gaining a husband, she was
acquiring a whole family. The family she’d never had.

He’d never seen Tigra happier. At the gala reception, in
the center ring of the streamer and balloon decorated Big Top, it warmed his
heart that Tigra fit right in with, and could empathize with, his once cursed
family.

****

Tigra felt giddy as Hugh carried her across the
threshold of the caravan Bubbles and Madam Mystic had conspired to decorate
into a gauzy white and pink wedding suite. Elegant white and gold candles
illuminated the beauty and added to the magic she felt racing through her
blood. She undid her veil and tossed it across the room as she inhaled the
scent of dozens of roses.

She stared at her new husband.
His gaze deepened,
and he covered her mouth with his. Love and lust exploded inside her as he
increased the pressure and probed slowly with his tongue, raising sensual havoc
with her nerve endings.

He glanced around briefly. “The ladies did a great
job.”

“Terrific,” she said, wondering how she and Hugh
would manage to make the kind of love she craved past all of their injuries.

He
stepped closer to the already pulled down bed, and, looking into her eyes, he
gently lowered her, sliding her down against the hot, hard contours of his
chest, stomach, and thighs. By the time her feet touched the floor, her knees
were weak and
trembly
. She pressed against him,
inviting his passion, his power.
Pain
be
damned
.

Frantically,
they discarded their circus costumes. The tight, black leather pants fell on
top of her little strips of fur. Once in
bed beside her, and he
drew her into his arms. His bare chest pressed firmly against her pulsing
nipples. He looked down at her,
his warm breath mingling with hers.
“Relax,” he
whispered. “I’ll be gentle.”

His mouth closed over hers;
first softly like a summer breeze, then hot and demanding, like a Santa Ana
wind. She clung to the dizzying euphoria as his lips trailed down to the swell
of her breast.
His erection
pressed against her thigh, reminding her of their first dip in the steamy pool.