Her Tiger To Take (6 page)

“How the hell are you still single?” she
asked as she opened her menu. “I’m not saying I’m not grateful that
you are. But really, even in that small town there have to be
dozens of women trying to get in your pants.” She knew for a fact
there’d been more than a few, based on the stories she’d heard the
night before.

He raised his brows at her comment. “I’m not
sure how to respond to that.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not judging you or
anything. I’m just…baffled.”

“I’m too busy,” he grunted and held up his
menu.

Interesting answer. He was sex on a stick,
but he was avoiding relationships. The women from the diner had
confirmed he’d been single the entire five years he’d lived in
Eirene—despite some pretty creative attempts to change his mind.
The woman who’d draped herself naked across his workspace in the
diner was a particularly colorful attempt.

There was nothing wrong with him physically.
That had been obvious yesterday in his house. So, what was it?

“Do you not like human women?” she asked
quietly. The room was noisy so she was pretty sure they wouldn’t be
overheard, but she still pitched her voice so only another tiger
would hear her.

He frowned. “I like human women. I like women
just fine.”

“Yes, I got that impression.” She set the
menu aside. “So what is it, Nick? Why have you turned into a
monk?”

“I’m not a monk,” he said. Then shook his
head. “I’m single because I don’t want a relationship. And I don’t
date in Eirene because it’s too small a town for casual
flings.”

“So. You leave town to get laid, then.”

His cheeks actually colored and Tiana
grinned. He was charming in his embarrassment. She wanted to push
him a little more but decided she’d better give him a break—first
date and all.

“What are you going to order?” she asked
instead.

He rolled his shoulders as if loosening tight
muscles and went happily into a discussion of the food choices.
Listening to him talk about food was another kind of seduction. He
was passionate about flavors and interesting combinations. His
restaurant was mostly straightforward diner food, but he admitted
to occasionally adding something a little more adventurous to his
offerings.

“I could only convince a few dozen people to
try the black chicken on squid ink pasta,” he said with a little
laugh. “They all loved it, but it wasn’t on the menu for long.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never even heard
of black chicken before.”

“It’s ugly, but it tastes good. Like
chicken.”

“And I thought I was an adventurous eater.
Well, except for eggs. Anything to do with eggs…” She shivered. Her
tiger actually balked. When it came to food that only ever happened
with eggs.

“Tell me about your job,” he said as their
first course was served. “I feel like I’ve been doing all the
talking.”

“I like listening to you discuss food.” She
took a sip of her fennel apple soup and rolled her eyes. “Oh,
that’s good. The hazelnuts are a wonderful addition.”

He nodded. “My scallop is cooked perfectly,
too.” He looked around. “I can see why this place is so hard to get
into.”

“How’d you get a reservation last minute,
then?”

He shrugged. “I know the head chief.” His
smile held a touch of something like pride. “She started out as a
line cook at my diner.”

Tiana blinked. “The person who made this used
to work for you?”

“She’s fantastic, isn’t she?”

“Wow. How’d she learn to cook like this? And
if she can cook like this, why did she work in your diner? No
offense, but her menu is full of…serious cuisine. Like French
culinary school stuff.”

He laughed. “Believe it or not, she was a
naturally superb home cook who didn’t think she had the chops to
own her own place. She came to work for me after her husband lost
his job, and they were desperate for money. It took exactly one
dinner service for me to recognize what I had in her. And that I
wouldn’t be able to keep her for long.”

“How’d she get the money for this
restaurant?”

His cheeks colored again and Tiana found
herself leaning a little closer, her elbows on the table as she
studied him.

“I gave her a loan to get started. She paid
me back last year.”

“Why?”

He frowned. “Why, what?”

“Why did you give her a loan?”

“I… She wanted a restaurant and didn’t have
the credit for a bank loan. She was good enough to be really
successful. It was a smart investment.”

Tiana nodded. “Right. That’s why you did
it.”

“You changed the subject. We’re supposed to
be talking about your job now.”

“Fine.” She smiled. “But you can’t hide the
fact that you’re a good guy from me, Nick Chernikov. You’ve just
given yourself away.”

He rolled his eyes and turned back to his
plate.

She regaled him with the details of her job
after that. She was supremely proud of the work she’d done recently
with two small charity businesses, raising their profiles and
helping to increase their annual donations. She blushed and preened
at the same time when he complimented her efforts.

As dinner progressed, the conversation flowed
from work to books, books to movies, movies to skiing—he liked it,
she’d fallen a lot the only time she’d tried—and from skiing to
travel. They’d moved into discussions of places they’d each visited
when she recognized how carefully he was avoiding the topic of
family, his or hers. They didn’t talk about their people and the
political and biological issues plaguing the tigers. They didn’t
talk about anything too serious.

By the time dessert arrived—a delicious
concoction of chocolate and surprising chili spices—Tiana knew her
worst fears were pointless. Nick wasn’t an asshole. He was
everything she’d hoped he’d be: kind, passionate about his work,
loyal to those around him. Everything he showed her of his
personality meshed with the stories the townspeople had spent last
night telling her. He was honest, strong, a little too serious, but
when he laughed it was breath-stealing. Smart and stubborn in equal
measure.

And despite their limited time together, she
knew her heart was his.

There wouldn’t be any running in Russia after
this. There couldn’t ever be another man for her. She was done.
Completely, head-over-heels in love. If Nick didn’t come back to
the Run now…

She’d just have to face her future alone.

By the time they got back to her motel, Tiana
was about ready to toss her “no sex” rule into the dumpster. Her
hands actually shook with need and lust. When Nick opened the car
door for her, she tumbled out into his arms. She couldn’t help it.
Every nerve in her body screamed for contact, touch, the rub of
bare skin against skin.

He didn’t release her immediately, as she’d
half expected. In fact, he tightened his hold so she was pressed
against the full length of him. His gaze moved over her face and
zeroed in on her lips. She tingled under the intensity of his
look.

“You said ‘no sex’,” he reminded her in a
voice deep and rough.

“Yeah, well, I meant it at the time.”

“Now?”

“Still mean it. Just don’t like it.” She
leaned in and kissed him because she couldn’t resist.

A goodnight kiss was how a first date was
supposed to end, right? This was just part of the night. Not
pushing her resistance too far. Not breaking more rules than they
could recover from.

As soon as her lips parted, the instant his
tongue swept into her mouth and their kiss turned serious, all
thoughts of rules went out of her head. She ground her hips against
his and moaned when his hands moved to her ass to hold her close.
His cock was a hard, thick line against her abdomen, a temptation
that begged for her attention.

She ran her hands over his back and down to
his ass, squeezing tightly. His groan sent sparks of excitement
racing over her. She dragged her mouth from his to kiss his neck
and take in more of his scent. He was the most delicious thing
she’d tasted all night, and that was saying something after that
dinner.

He moved one hand to her breast while his
other stayed around her waist, keeping her pressed tight to him.
She hadn’t closed her coat, so he had as much access as her blouse
and bra allowed, but oh, how she wanted to feel his hand on her
bare skin. He rubbed his thumb over her nipple until it was a hard
little peak against her clothing. Her imagination filled with
thoughts of his mouth on her nipple and she shivered, rubbing
harder against him.

When he took her mouth again, she dove into
the kiss with an eagerness that might have embarrassed her with any
other man. With Nick this felt so natural, so electric that she
could only feel her need.

She wanted him so much she didn’t care that
they were in a parking lot. She barely considered that they might
have an audience. She simply didn’t care. She wanted to unzip his
pants, push her own trousers out of the way, and take him right
there, standing against his truck.

But the idea that there was a bed just a few
steps away struck her as much better. Could she resist him long
enough to get the door unlocked? If not, she’d pay for the repairs
from breaking the doorframe.

When she pushed him back, intending to pull
him to the room, he surprised her by dropping his hold and taking a
step back to put space between them.

“Goodnight,” he grunted, then hurried to the
driver’s side of the truck.

She barely had time to close her door before
he backed out and skidded away, leaving her standing in the parking
lot staring after his taillights, her pulse pounding, her breathing
erratic, her body on fire.

What the hell?

She was inside the room before she realized
what had happened.

She’d told him she meant it when she’d said
no sex yet. He probably thought she’d been pushing him away rather
than trying to steer him to her room.

The realization made her laugh. A shaky,
breathy, self-deprecating laugh, but still a laugh. He’d respected
her wishes, despite the power of that kiss, despite her own lack of
willpower. He was abiding by the rules she set.

Rules that would allow him to run for
her.

Hope and fear warred equally in her gut as
she went to the bathroom to change for bed. He wanted her, and a
part of him was keeping the option of the Mate Run open. But there
was a lot left unsaid between them…especially about family, and why
he had given up on the Run. His family history was complicated. She
knew the stories, but there was something more there holding him
back.

As she washed her face, she considered the
possibilities. Until they talked about it, though, she’d only be
guessing.

He wanted her. That was a good start. He
liked her enough to respect the rules she’d put in place for their
“dating”, which encouraged her more. But the shadow hanging between
them worried her.

She stripped off her trousers and blouse, and
then stared out the high bathroom window. She was too restless and
edgy to sleep. The motel backed up to the woods. She could use a
run. Her tiger needed to get out to release some of this excess
energy. She needed to clear her head, so full of lust and Nick’s
scent. Then she’d be able to think, to plan. To find a way to
overcome Nick’s resistance.

Yes, a run would be just the thing.

By noon the next day, when Nick hadn’t seen
or felt any sign of Tiana, he started to worry.

At first, he’d been grateful. It had taken
every ounce of self-control left in him to walk away from her last
night—run away, more like. He wasn’t sure he had enough control
left to resist her anymore, and he’d been deathly afraid that if
she walked into his diner for breakfast, he’d drag her back to his
place and fuck her until the world ended, no matter what rules
she’d set.

His body hadn’t stopped throbbing with need
since he’d driven away from her. Nothing helped, nothing stopped
the ache. She was so far under his skin now, he had to admit he’d
lost this fight.

He
liked
her. He’d known he would. His
tiger had been telling him for six years she was his. Her letters,
her emails, assured him she was the kind of woman he’d fall for.
He’d gone home last night and re-read everything, confirming all
his worst fears. Their evening together had sealed the deal. She
was…

She was worth running for.

Which made his situation that much worse. The
more he wanted her, the more he liked her, the more desperate he
was to keep her away from him and the darkness lurking beneath the
surface.

When he made it through the breakfast rush
without having to face her, he’d been relieved. He needed the
space, the time, to get his emotions under control. But by the time
the lunch rush started and he still hadn’t even sensed her, a
niggling worm of anxiety started to crawl through his gut.

She wasn’t at the motel. The place was just
beyond Nick’s ability to feel her, but he’d not-so-casually asked
one of his customers who worked the motel’s front desk. The man
hadn’t seen her all morning, but the maid had been in to clean the
room and it was empty.

So, she wasn’t at the motel. And she wasn’t
anywhere in town—he’d definitely feel her here. A few people even
asked
him
where she was, which meant no one else had seen
her all morning either.

Worry dug a hole in his gut and sent him
pacing the kitchen. Finally, after he’d burnt a second order of
fries, Jane called in one of the other cooks.

“You need to go find her,” she ordered. “I’m
sure she’s just fine. She probably went sightseeing in Vail or
drove down to Denver for the day—”

“She would have told me if she was doing
that,” he interrupted.