Tiger in Her Bed Revised Kindle (3 page)

“And?”

“Aren’t you even a little bit concerned?”

“No.”

He glanced at her again. She looked at him as if he were crazy. “I’m surprised you’re acting like nothing happened. Everybody in the office was hounding me nonstop. Especially your fangirls. Jesus Christ. They drive me nuts. I think I’m the most hated gal in the universe, right now. They asked me what I said to make you kiss me like that. I told them my memory was fuzzy. I didn’t remember much. What did I say to you?”

A pang of disappointment jabbed his heart. “You truly don’t remember?” He knew it was mainly the alcohol talking when she brazenly waltzed up to him at the New Year’s Eve party and planted a playful kiss on his lips. But then she whispered seven words that made his resolve crumble–the words he’d desperately wanted to hear all along:
Quinn, I want to be your mate.

To a human, it might sound trivial, but for a shifter like him, it was everything. Humans got married and divorced all the time. Mates were forever--the mantra his mother told him over and over since childhood.

His mother had been a widow for ten years since his father succumbed to his illness. But not a day went by that his mother had forgotten about him. She still set plates for dad at the dinner table. She chose the clothes he was going to wear in the morning, even though at the end of the day, they all went straight back into the closet. The memory of dad lived in her heart.

Vanessa wrinkled her nose, thinking hard. “No, I don’t remember.”

“I’m not going to tell you then,” he decided.

“Why not?”

“You need to find that out yourself.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll know soon enough.”

“I don’t get it. Did I ask you to kiss me?”

He only smirked.

“Did I blackmail you?”

“You don’t have dirt on me.”

“Then what it is? The suspense is killing me.”

“Patience is a virtue, Vanessa.”

She gave up. “Right. Quinn Alexander, man of mystery.”

He snorted. The traffic was bad but they’d still get to the airport on time. From JFK, they would fly straight to Denver. His family had a vacation home in Aspen. Since his father passed away, his family always had a get-together after the New Year when everybody wasn’t constrained by their schedules. His mother was born and bred a socialite; she was always busy with her galas and charity dinners.

His brother Trent was an intelligence office in the Air Force so he was rarely home. His youngest brother, John, was a music producer. He split between his residences in New York and LA. The few weeks after the holiday were the only time the family could find time together. That was why his mother had insisted she meet Vanessa this weekend.

Quinn was an introvert when it came to his personal life. So when the video of him kissing a girl surfaced, his mom pressed him to introduce her.

Vanessa cleared her throat. As if she was channeling his thoughts, she asked, “What did you say to your mom about me?”

“Hmm? I told her you’re my girlfriend.”

“Did she asked how long had we been dating? Where did we meet? Don’t you think we should come up with a story first? You know, coordinating our lies?”

“She knows you work for me. And you are one of our star employees.”

“You don’t seem very concerned about this. Don’t blame me if your mother finds out about our charade.”

“My mom’s just happy I’m bringing home my girlfriend.”

“Why is that?”

“I’ve never brought one home before.”

She gave him a weird kind of look. “Why?” she asked. “A man like you must have a lot of girlfriends.”

“None that I would take home to meet my mother.”

“Why is that? Wait, let me guess, they didn’t meet your parents’ standards.”

“It wasn’t like that. I just never met the
one
.”

“I never pegged you as a romantic.”

His jaw twitched. “What about you, Vanessa?”

“I’m not a romantic. I can tell you that.”

“Even a village idiot could see
that
.” A question sneaked into his mind. “What kind of guys have you dated in the past?”

“I’m not going to discuss my personal life with you.”

“We’re not at work. I’d like to know more about you.”

“There’s nothing interesting about me.”

“Let me be the judge of that. How many guys have you dated in the past?”

“Why, Quinn, that’s awfully personal.”

“I thought we’re having a discussion to establish our story. Don’t I need to know that kind of information?”

She cringed. “I don’t date.”

“Ever?”

“Not in the sense of a relationship. I hate complication and drama. I prefer to keep things simple.”

“So, you never had a boyfriend, ever?”

“I had one in college.”

“And?”

“Once I saw past his cute face, his intelligence and emotional level left a lot to be desired.”

That made him smile. “And are you seeing anyone now?”

“I thought you already knew that? Or were you bluffing?”

“I’d like to reaffirm my observations about you.”

“Uh-huh. You know I practically live in the office. I don’t have time to date.”

“Are you celibate?” He knew he was pushing it, but he was fucking curious.

“Ha! Do I look like a saint?”

Quinn waited for more but she didn’t seem inclined to share. She was puzzling and it only made him more frustrated. Even though she didn’t pay much attention to her personal appearance, men still looked at her. He knew that for a fact. She honestly had the prettiest smile, and her sense of humor put guys at ease. Once someone got to know her, it wasn’t hard to fall for her. Was she a one-night-stand kind of girl? She wasn’t a virgin, was she?

Her cell rang and it sounded like work. She talked on the phone for a minute.

“Who was it?” he asked.

“Stephen. There’s a bug in the Northmen 2 user interface. He’s already talked to the programmer about it, but I need to rewrite in Render Mania,” she answered.

“You can do it on the plane.”

After that, their conversation drifted into her current project. They arrived at the airport and boarded a plane to Denver. From Denver, he rented a car and drove to Aspen.

During the flight and the drive, Vanessa was busy working on her laptop. Quinn had never seen anyone so dedicated to work. She was different than any woman in his acquaintance. Most chicks always bored him to death with never ending chatter about themselves.

Vanessa only had eyes for her job. The job was her world. During her time with the company, she had created a render engine program that was beyond her time and had proven an invaluable piece of game engineering. Because she worked under the company when she authored it, her invention became Animatrica’s secret weapon. Suffice it to say, Vanessa was actually the one who made him and the company wealthy.

She tuned out her work when they entered Aspen. Somehow, she looked nervous. Probably the prospect of meeting his mom made her anxious.

“I probably should wear something more appropriate if I’m going to see your mom,” she said out of nowhere.

Quinn stole another glance at her karma T-shirt. A smile blossomed at the corner of his lips. “You’re fine the way you are.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“You know what? This might work. If I were shabby, your mom might not like me. And she would tell you you’re better off without me.”

He tsked. “She would do no such thing. My mom isn’t vain.”

“Any mother would want his son settled down with the most eligible girl out there, don’t you know that? My mom does.”

“Does she want you to settle down with the most eligible bachelor out there, too?”

“No, surprisingly. She has a low expectation for me when it comes to men.”

“Why is that?”

“She knows I’m the odd duck in the family. I have two beautiful sisters destined to lead easy lives. My mom has high expectations for them, but for me, she knows I’m smart enough to fend for myself.”

“That doesn’t sound fair.”

She let out a soft laugh. “Life isn’t fair. In a perfect world, everybody would look like supermodels, be rich as Croesus, and have an IQ like Einstein.”

That got him to smile. “I heard your mom is an actress.”

“
Was
an actress. She did B-movies in the past and then had some Broadway gigs. But these days, she’s a part-time acting coach and a full-time pain in the ass.”

“Trust me, I feel you. Is your father still teaching at Princeton?”

“How did you know? Never mind. Yes, he still teaches math. I think he’ll be teaching until the day he dies. Dad just loves teaching and being surrounded by students. He likes to enlighten the young, eager mind to the wondrous world of math. I’m the only one who likes math in my family. My sisters hated it and my mom can’t balance her checkbook, not if her life depended on it.”

“Neither can my mom. I have a feeling they would make great friends.”

“Don’t get any ideas. One overbearing mom is my limit. I already ran out of excuses to skip Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year, I was tempted to join a missionary in Ecuador when she announced she’d be having a
Great Gatsby
-themed Christmas party.” She held her thumb and forefinger together. “This close.”

Quinn threw his head back, laughing.

They entered Aspen city limits. As Quinn pulled the rental car into the driveway, he saw his mom’s Jaguar and his brother John’s Mercedes already parked in the open garage. He also saw Trent’s Harley Davidson. His middle brother, Trent, was having R & R from his current deployment in Kuwait.

As soon as he killed the engine, John ran onto the porch and waved his hand back and forth like an overexcited golden retriever. “Yo, Quinn. What’s up? About time; we’re about to fire up the grill.” John must have been very loud because Quinn could hear his voice through the closed window.

“Is that your brother?” Vanessa watched John with appreciation. “He looks very nice. And approachable.”

“And I’m not?” Irritation crept into his tone.

“Not in the slightest,” she said, deadpan.

“If you’ll get to know me, Vanessa, I’m actually a nice guy.”

“Right. And the Pope is actually a Buddhist.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“You do know your nickname in the office, don’t you?”

“I’ve heard plenty. Which one are you referring to?”

“Lord Demon.”

“I heard that. Am I really that bad?”

She wagged a finger. “I plead the fifth. For the sake of my job. After all, you blackmailed me into playing your girlfriend.”

He gave a non-committal shrug. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“That’s funny, especially coming from you. Just how desperate are you?”

“Vanessa, you have no idea.”

*  *  *

Quinn’s mom was a beautiful, slender woman around fifty-years-old, with short silver hair, and she wore her Chanel suit like she was born for it. Vanessa could see where Quinn and his brothers inherited their good genes. She was warm and friendly, totally defying Vanessa’s expectation.

“So you’re Vanessa.” Quinn’s mom hugged her. “My son has told me a lot about you. You’re the genius in the company. I’m Savannah. I believe you’ve met John, right?”

“Ah, yes.” Vanessa fidgeted. “Hello, again.”

“And this is Trent. He just got home today from Kuwait. He’s in the Air Force. He has two weeks off from his deployment.” Savannah introduced her to a slightly younger version of Quinn. While John sported longish hair, Trent had his hair shorn close to his skull like Quinn. He also looked intense and serious, unlike John, who brimmed with an aura of debonair confidence.

Trent shook her hand. His grip was firm. “Hello. So you’re the girl who made us ridiculously wealthy. Have you asked my brother for a raise, yet?”

“Should I?” Vanessa looked at Quinn innocently.

“Definitely. I’m surprised you haven’t been poached by other studios. I bet you received plenty of offers,” said John. “If you ever want to expand your horizons, I know some people in MGM and Paramount.”

Quinn cleared his throat. “Vanessa,” he cut in unhappily, “is happy with Animatrica. Aren’t you?” He placed his hand on her shoulder possessively.

Vanessa was intrigued with what John said. “MGM, you said?”

“Vanessa,” Quinn warned her.

“I’m happy with Animatrica, and Quinn is a great boss.” Vanessa gave two thumbs up.

John and Trent cracked up.

“She’s a riot,” said John.

“I like her,” said Trent.

“Why don’t you show Vanessa your room upstairs and wash up, Quinn? Then we all can have dinner together,” said Savannah.

“Good idea, mom.” Quinn herded Vanessa toward the stairs. “Come with me,
babe
.”

That was a cringe-worthy moment for Vanessa. Having Quinn call her “babe” was freaking weird. She’d never fantasized about him in a romantic way before that New Year’s Eve party. To her, Quinn was associated with sarcastic remarks, plenty of glaring, and all-out overtime bonanzas. Did he even date?

She shut herself off from the incorrigible speculation of the girls in the office whenever they gossiped about Quinn’s private life: what kind of girl he liked, who he was dating, what was his hobby? On and on… She had better things to do and there was not much time in a day to get stuff done.

Now that she got to see a different side of Quinn, she must admit she was intrigued. Really, what type of girl
did
he like? Was that man even capable of showing affection? This was Lord Demon she was talking about. He breathed fire and cried acid.

Babe.

All of a sudden, she wanted to laugh so badly.
Babe.
She felt her face slowly cracking from her attempt to squelch her giggle down too hard.

Quinn took one look at her and was instantly irritated. “What’s wrong?”

“Humph…”

“What’s so funny?”

“Sorry. Is this my room?”

“
Our
room.”

The second floor of Quinn’s family vacation house boasted a vast living space with a baby grand piano as a focal point. The cream-colored walls and pastel-toned décor brought cheeriness into the room despite it being the middle of a dreary January winter.