Tiger Born (5 page)

“See what you made me do?” he whispered in her ear.

When he was empty and spent, he laid down, taking her with him. He pulled his dick free but spooned her ass. With a thigh thrown over hers, he pinned her in place. Sleep began to settle over him at last, and he shut his eyes.

“Stay, Deja. Don’t leave again. Stay with me.”

Chapter Four

Deja pushed her cart toward the back of the grocery store and perused the various meats on display. Her mood said steak, but her budget said chicken. She frowned comparing prices. If she didn’t want to depend on Heath to pay her bills, she had to live within her means. He’d already been pissed off when she’d chosen to leave his bed and their home the next morning after their night of hot sex, but he’d almost blown a gasket when she told him she would move into her own apartment rather than stay with his parents. Having her own place again meant sticking with the post office. Just thinking about it made her want to gag, but she refused to go back to Heath. Not yet. He needed to recognize that he didn’t rule her, and he needed to get a grip on his tiger. The man acted like she wasn’t dealing with this change too and that she should just fall in line. Well, she wouldn’t.

“I suggest the wings,” a woman at her side said. “They package them in bigger groupings, making you feel like you get more food for less money.”

Deja laughed. “Yeah, I’m not fooled.”

“Me neither.” The pretty brunette held out her hand, and Deja took it to shake. “Melanie Butler.”

“Deja Clark. Nice to meet you.”

They each selected their meats and continued side by side talking. There was something open and easygoing about the woman, and talking to her felt natural as if they’d been friends a while.

“So who are
you
seeing?” Melanie asked.

Deja stiffened. “Um, I’m not seeing anyone at the moment. Me and my boyfriend had a falling out.”

Melanie frowned. “I’m sorry. I know how it is though. I have had one string of bad relationships after another, so I’m not in that much of a hurry with Carter.”

Deja’s brows went up. “You’re dating Carter?”

“Yeah, you know him?”

She hesitated. “A little. He’s…”

Melanie blushed. “I know. He’s much older than I am, but like I said, I haven’t had much luck with men.”

Deja guessed Melanie to be in her midtwenties at the oldest, and Carter had to be pushing forty, if not there. Still, she saw genuine affection in her new friend’s eyes, along with uncertainty.

“I’ve told him I want to take it slow.”

“Girl, take it at your own pace whether he likes it or not. No one says you have to get married tomorrow. Do what’s right for you.” Now that she thought of it, Deja wasn’t sure if anyone in Siberia went through with the actual ceremony of a marriage. They lived by the mates thing or by the laws Ward had devised.

Rather than gain comfort from what Deja said, Melanie seemed to grow agitated. “Tell that to the shifter whose middle name is aggression. Wait, they’re all like that.”

Deja chuckled. “I guess you’re right.” She was about to say “we are” when another woman jumped into the conversation.

“It’s not just the men. It’s the females too.” The woman parked her cart alongside Deja’s and scanned their surroundings as if looking to see if anyone would overhear their conversation. Somehow, Deja knew whatever the woman was about to say would be offensive to her kind. “No one could compete with them, not when they might as well be whores.”

Deja clamped down on her teeth to keep the growl in. “Excuse me?”

“I’m serious,” the woman continued, not realizing her insult. “Take that one woman. What was her name…Tina! She’s a shifter, but she doesn’t have a boyfriend. I heard some of them say that’s dangerous because the men go nuts over them. She goes down to the bar practically every night to dance and flaunt herself in front of the men, but I hear she’s got her sights set on one man.”

Folding her arms over her chest, Deja waited for the gossipy bitch to say who the man was. Melanie didn’t appear to have the patience to wait.

“I’ve heard gossip about her too but not about who she wants. Tell us who. I hope it’s not my Carter.”

An expression of triumph leaped to life in the woman’s face, a superiority at knowing something neither Deja nor Melanie knew. She drew herself up to her full height, which didn’t reach much past Deja’s shoulder, and Deja considered flashing a little tiger teeth or claws at her.

“The alpha’s son,” the woman said at last. “And if you ask me, I think she’ll get him. She’s beautiful enough, although I hate to admit it. She’s got that aggression trait the same as the rest of them.”

Nausea rolled over Deja’s being. She had to suck in several breaths to keep from hurling the light breakfast she’d eaten that morning. Just because rumor had it that this Tina person wanted Heath, didn’t mean she’d get him or that he even wanted her. Deja’s self-esteem wasn’t so low that she’d stand by and let that skank take her man. Then again, she wasn’t sure where the two of them were or if she needed to move on. Either way, it was apparent that neither of these two ladies recognized her, which kind of stung. She began to wonder if Melanie even knew she wasn’t human. Deja and the rest of the shifters could smell a human easy, but the humans had no such capability.

The woman, whose name Deja hadn’t caught, nodded her head and continued to run her mouth. Deja interrupted, “So the fact that
Heath
, the alpha’s son, has a mate makes no never mind at all?”

“Mate?” She rolled her eyes. “They use those ridiculous terms, but I don’t believe it. After all, they were manufactured in a lab, right? How could there be this one person that’s for them, and they bond together so tightly, they never want to cheat? How unrealistic and unlikely is that?”

Deja’s claws did come out this time, and she curled them into her palms, hoping no other evidence of what she was showed in her face. “You know you have a lot of attitude when you’re talking about the shifters. Why are you even here in a town founded and run by shifters?”

The woman’s face turned red, and Melanie touched Deja’s arm. “Hey, she’s just frustrated like a lot of us sometimes. No big deal, Deja.”

If the woman looked upset a second before, at the mention of Deja’s name she appeared about ready to faint. “D-Deja?”

Yeah, bitch, Deja.
“What of it?”

“Y-you’re his mate, the alpha’s son.”

Melanie reddened now. “You’re not human?”

Deja peered from one face to the other and then scanned the store. “This was the closest grocery store to where I’m staying. Don’t tell me we’re down to segregating the stores because I’mma have a problem with that.”

“Of course not,” Melanie rushed to say.

Deja curled her fingers around her shopping cart, and both women’s gazes dropped to stare at the claws. Sighing, Deja steered her cart ready to walk away. “Whatever. Have a nice day.”

Melanie caught up with her, leaving the other woman gaping after them. “Wait, how about we have dinner together tonight, if you’re not busy.”

Deja stopped in surprise. “You want to be friends? You get that I’m a shifter, right?”

“And I’m dating a shifter. So what?” Melanie shrugged. “I think you can give me some insight into dealing with Carter.”

Deja chuckled. “Don’t count on it.”

“And I need a friend. It’s not easy with my own kind either.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “You get that all the time. If I bitch and moan about something, it’ll probably be about my job and about my ever-widening hips like normal.”

A crack of laughter burst free from Deja, and she put her hand up to cover her mouth. Just talking to Melanie made her anger dissipate, and her claws receded. “Okay, sure. We can do that. Let’s pick out what we want to eat while we’re here, and we can fix it together at my place. You can help me break it in.”

Melanie’s brows lowered, and an expression of confusion came into her eyes. “You don’t live with Heath?”

“Uh, no. See, we all have relationship issues. Now you know I’m not the one to give you advice.”

“Well, I guess we can commiserate together then. I’m thinking we need to add some alcohol to the menu.”

“Girl, you already feeling me.”

* * * *

Deja felt her friendship with Melanie was going well, and they’d had a few nights hanging out together when Ward had assigned Carter to work nightshift on patrolling the town. Tonight, however, Deja had been summoned to the alpha’s house to have dinner with him and his family.

She’d considered turning Coreen down when she called, but no one told Ward no. She worried that if she did come to the conclusion that she and Heath were done, she’d have no special treatment from Ward. He did not tolerate disobedience, and she’d felt his power. Turned on disciplining
her
as one of his own wasn’t something she relished, so she chose to go to dinner. If he pushed to get her and Heath together again, she’d speak her mind and walk out. Coreen assured her that wouldn’t be the case.

“Will Heath be there?” she’d asked.

Coreen took a few seconds to answer and at last sighed. “Yes, he will, and he knows you’re coming.”

Deja had tapped a nail on her tabletop considering it. The night it rained, her entire being had cried out for Heath as if someone had cast a voodoo charm on her. Before she knew what she was doing, she’d found herself standing outside their house, aching for him like nobody’s business. As if he’d called her name, she’d felt his pull and had been forced to answer it. No one could tell her Heath didn’t have the alpha in him. He wielded the same power Ward did, and that scared the crap out of her. She asked herself, had she bent to his will while he ravished her body, or did she truly want to be there? In the end, she moved to her apartment. For a few nights, she expected him to draw her again, but the sensation never repeated. Her body continued to burn to feel his touch. How the hell would she get through tonight?

“Okay, fine. I’ll be there,” she had told Coreen and then ran out to shop for a dress that would say
“eat your heart out, you bastard.”

All too soon, the time came for her to arrive at Ward’s. Deja had chosen a simple minidress with a golden, abstract design over the front and solid black in the back. With short sleeves and extending to midthigh, the dress hugged her curves. She kept the outfit casual by pairing it with flat black sandals without pantyhose. Standing outside the door at Ward’s house, she second-guessed her decision. Her ass looked huge and round in this outfit, and it would only incite Heath to want her. If he pushed, she doubted she’d have the strength to tell him no when she wanted it so badly herself.

She raised her hand to knock on the door, but it opened before she could, and Heath stood there. His gaze roved her body, in an instant making her feel butt naked. The fire that leaped to life in the familiar baby blues said it didn’t matter what she wore. Deja licked her lips and put a hand on her hip. “Are you going to let me in, or what?”

One eyebrow rose, and he stepped back. “By all means.”

She had to squeeze to get by him, and she gritted her teeth when she felt the hardness at her side. Her elbow jabbed his gut almost by accident. Not even a grunt of pain brought her satisfaction.

“Deja, it’s so good to see you, honey.” Coreen walked into the hall with her arms outstretched. “Now that you’ve moved out and you’re working we never get to see each other. I miss our kitchen chats.”

Deja stepped into Coreen’s embrace and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry. I’ve been busy getting my new place together, but I promise I’ll drop by soon so we can catch up.” They linked arms as they strode toward the living room. “Guess what? I made a new friend, and she’s human.”

“Really?” Pleasure lit the older woman’s face. “What’s her name? I might know her.”

“You might. She’s Carter’s girlfriend. Melanie.”

“Oh, Melanie. Yes. Sweet girl. I’m not sure how long she’ll last though.”

Deja didn’t have time to question what Coreen meant by that because Ward interrupted their conversation, and she had to greet him. She hoped Coreen didn’t mean Carter was about to dump her friend. Melanie might not feel confident about where the relationship was going, but anyone could see she cared about Carter. If he hurt her, Deja would have a few choice words to say to him.

“Would you like a drink before dinner, Deja?” Ward asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She smiled. “Sure. Thanks.”

“I’ll get it.” Heath rose from the chair he’d taken across from her. She couldn’t help examining his body as he’d done hers earlier. Casual in dark jeans and a dark long-sleeved shirt, he looked sexy as hell and good enough to eat. She resisted the urge to bite her lip staring at the way the material strained against his well-toned muscles. Large hands with bulging veins handled the delicate glass as he mixed a cosmopolitan.

“Thanks.” She did her best not to allow her fingers to touch his when he offered her the glass, and he frowned, noticing. Deja took a sip of the refreshing beverage and looked away. For a few moments, he stood over her, and she waited for him to say something. He remained silent and then went back to his seat. While she didn’t want him too close, having him facing her was just as bad. His eyes seemed to bore into her, capturing her attention and making it impossible to stay focused on the conversation. “Will we be eating soon?”

“I’m sorry. You must be starving. I’ll bring out some snacks.” Coreen stood up. “We’re just waiting for Joe.”

“No, that’s okay. I can wait.” She stuck the glass up to her mouth and pretended to be lost in enjoying the flavor. What she wanted to do was down it and get a shot of something to calm her nerves. When she glanced up, she met Heath’s cool, calculating gaze, and her stomach knotted.
Damn, get a grip, girl. He’s the same man you’ve known for years.

Giving into the impulse, she drained her glass and walked over to the bar for something else. Heath spoke with his dad, but she knew he’d followed her movements. She poured herself a shot of tequila and drank it in one quick gulp.

“I don’t remember you drinking so much before.”