She rolled her head to look at him. He was staring at her with those fabulous brown eyes. She’d always loved his eyes. And his voice, God, she loved listening to him. The longer they talked, the deeper his voice seemed to get, to the point that now, every time he said something, the sound caressed her and sent little tingles of excitement through her stomach.
The clock over the mantle dinged quietly, three in the morning. She sighed. She needed to sleep. She got so little as it was, she really shouldn’t have stayed up this late. When a yawn popped out, she covered her mouth and grimaced. “Sorry. Guess we’ll have to wait on the rest till tomorrow night.”
“We have time,” he said.
“A few days. Then I have to get home, where your brothers will be able to find us if they still want to.”
His silence spoke volumes.
“Wouldn’t it just be better to…pretend she’s exactly what you thought all those years ago?”
“Rose, you know she has to learn to shift.”
“Yes, yes. I’m not talking about that. Once she learns, she can control it, she won’t be in pain, and she can get on with being a little girl. Why do we have to tell the tigers about her at all? If no one knows about her, she won’t need the protection of tiger laws.”
He frowned a little. “We can’t hide her nature forever.”
“Why not? You said you can’t sense her the way other tigers can sense each other. She can sense you, so we teach her to avoid people who ‘feel’ like you. And even if she encounters tiger shifters, they won’t be able to tell she’s one. She can just go on with her life as if she were human.”
“What if she wants to meet other tigers? What if she goes looking for that community, but because we’ve kept her hidden, she has no protection from it? What if, despite all our efforts, they find her anyway?”
Rose wanted to throw something. It wasn’t fair. And yes, yes, life wasn’t fair. But for Zoe it should be.
“Rose.”
He leaned closer and gripped her hand. The contact sent a little tremor through her. She stared at their linked fingers rather than meet his gaze.
“Rose, I’d love to keep her safe from my world. To keep her hidden and protected and never let anything bad anywhere near her. Ever. But someone will eventually figure it out. If not my brothers, then someone else. It’s better if we control her introduction to the tiger world and ensure, through protection from the elders, that she’s safe there.” He touched her face with gentle fingers, forcing her chin up so she had to look him in the eyes. “I promise I will do everything in my power to keep her safe.”
His sincerity shined with a fierceness that surprised her. His jaw was firm, his lips set in a hard line. She could practically feel his determination through his fingers on her chin and the hand holding hers.
He meant what he was saying. At least in this moment, he meant every word.
Before she thought better of it, she leaned in and kissed him. Whether out of gratitude, relief, or simply because she loved the taste of him, she wasn’t sure. A little of all of that. Plus a bit of desperation for something normal amidst the upheaval. They’d always been good at lust. The way his lips felt so right against hers was something she could grab onto as solid and real.
She edged closer, angling her head to better the contact, and he opened to her. The instant her tongue brushed against his, her body flamed to life with a passion she’d been afraid she’d never feel again. Lust as strong and intoxicating as it had been before all the hurt and anger and betrayal.
It felt so good. So right.
She tunneled her fingers through his thick hair, savoring the feeling and texture, melting against him when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She wanted to climb onto his lap and take and remember and give. The thrill of the moment, the rush of adrenaline was like a drug to her—it always had been—and she was beyond desperate for that simple, uncomplicated sensation that washed away everything else.
He changed positions and before she knew it, she found herself sitting on his lap, just as she’d wanted, their kiss turning into something serious fast. The feel of his erection against her hip heightened her need. Everything about this felt so damned familiar, as if four years didn’t separate this moment from the last time they’d been together. She wiggled closer and swallowed his groan with so much satisfaction it was like a mini-orgasm all by itself.
She hadn’t been with a man since Vlad, so the feel of strong hands stroking along her spine and over her hip left her weak with wanting. Familiar, but new. She remembered what it felt like to just be a woman in the arms of a man she wanted. She hadn’t felt this release and freedom in so long. And it would be so, so easy to forget the real world and just wallow in his heat. Her body felt heavy and lush, ready for the sensation of his warm palms on her bare skin. Even the thought of it made her thighs clench.