by Susan Hayes
Pay attention, or the only thing anyone will be eating is crow!
She adjusted her stride, locked her eyes on the wall, and went for it. Her foot landed squarely on the log, giving her the added reach she needed to grasp the top. She managed to walk herself up the vertical surface sideways, and when she got a leg over the top, she whooped in triumph. From there, it only took her a few seconds to haul herself up and hop down the far side. Thanks to research, Sergei’s advice, and YouTube videos, she could now tackle any obstacle on the course.
Her moment of euphoria was cut short when she hit a patch of mud and fell on her ass. Again. Frustrated, she slammed her hand into the sleet-soaked ground and bit back a snarl of frustration. Her vision turned red at the edges and she rushed to calm herself before her temper triggered a shift. The last thing she wanted was for Sergei to come around the wall and find himself face to face with an emotionally unstable unicorn. She wanted one dinner with him before he found out her secret and took the next off-ramp out of her life.
The red tint to her vision faded by the time the hot tiger shifter came into view.
“You and gravity are not the best of friends, huh? You okay?”
“Nothing hurt but my pride.” She looked up at the wall. “I did it, though!”
“Yes, you did. Well done.” He held out his hand, and she took it, happy for another excuse to touch him. His grip was firm, and his hands were warm despite the fact it was cold enough the sleet was changing to snow. Spring arrived a lot later to the Rockies than the coast where she’d grown up.
“Thank you for reminding me to look for another solution. I’m buying the drinks tonight. I think we’ve both earned it.”
His brows rose in surprise. “The academy has a liquor license? No one told me this place had a bar.”
“No bar. But I’ve got a bottle of Baileys in my room. I was going to suggest we doctor our coffees. I know I could use something hot and sweet right about now.”
“You live here? I thought most of the non-teaching staff lived off-campus.”
“They do.” She flicked a lock of muddy hair out of her eyes. “It’s all part of my strange tale. But for now, all you need to know is that I have Baileys. You in?”
“All in,” he replied, and something in his voice made her breath catch in her throat. The part of her that remembered being prey screamed at her to run, but the rest of her turned into a quivering puddle of goo.
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Race you back to the main building?”
“You’re on.” She grinned, noting he hadn’t called the place by it’s official name. The WANC, or Working and Administration Networking Core, was one aconym most campus visitors stumbled over at first.
“Go!” He released her and took off at a dead run. She chased after him, lengthening her strides until they were running side by side. The snow stung her cheeks and the icy air was almost painful to breathe, but she loved it. Exercise was one of the few things that kept her calm and centred. When she was running, she forgot about her problems. It was the only time she and her new form were entirely in synch.
They raced pell-mell to the front doors of the main building. Every time one of them increased speed, the other managed to match it, but in the end, Sergei claimed victory by a couple of steps. They stopped to catch their breath in the entranceway, keeping to one side so they didn’t block the flow of people coming and going.
“Not many people can outrun me in a sprint. I’m impressed,” Tabi said.
Sergei shook some of the water and sleet from his hair. “My cardio training includes outrunning things that think I’m on the menu.”
“But you’re an apex predator!” Sergei was a Siberian tiger. In his animal form he could take out almost any land animal on the planet.
“I am. I also can’t shift when I’m being filmed, or when we’ve got humans on the set. Doesn’t happen often, but it means I need to be ready to deal with trouble without reverting to tooth and claw.”
“I hear the instructors harp on that all the time. Shifting can’t be our default response to danger.” She shook her head. “My parents had another approach. They bought a huge farm on an island, far away from humans. It was basically one big shifter commune. Growing up, I was free to shift whenever I wanted. They wanted me to feel safe, so they didn’t tell me about the dangers of the outside world until I was almost an adult.”
“That had to be a shock for you.”
“It was.” She gestured around them. “When I applied for a job here, it was my parents’ turn to be surprised. They still don’t understand why I’d ever want to leave home.”
“Then they don’t know you very well. We’ve spoken for less than twenty minutes, and I can already tell you’re not the kind to stay home and live a safe, quiet life.”
“I’m a librarian. That’s a pretty safe, quiet career choice,” she pointed out.
“At a school that trains secret agents.” He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing the sodden strands back from his face.
“Okay, you’ve got a point there.” Without thinking, she reached out to wipe a trickle of water away before it dripped into his eyes. She left a smudge of mud on his brow, and she pulled her hand away in dismay. “Oops. I think I’m making it worse. Sorry.”
He caught her hand and held it gently in his. “I’m good with a little mud. In fact, I quite like getting dirty if there’s a pretty girl involved.”
She blushed so hard her cheeks felt like they’d been dipped in kerosene and set on fire. Thankfully, he released her and stepped away before she babbled something so stupid she died of terminal embarrassment.
He wasn’t done making her blush, though. “Where in this vast complex is your room? Please tell me it’s close to the guest rooms, so I can be a proper gentleman and see you to your door?”
“I’m in the general area, yes.” She was precisely six doors down from where he’d been assigned. She’d seen him walking down the hall not long after he arrived and peeked to see where he was staying. At the time, she thought that would be the closest she’d get.
“Then I shall escort you there.” He offered her his arm in a gallant gesture that was totally out of place given their generally dishevelled state, but she took it with all the aplomb of a highborn lady of yesteryear. Albeit, a drenched and muddy one.
“Thank you, Lord Tiger.”
He chuckled. “My full title should be Lord Sergei, Tiger of Siberia, chaser of all things fluffy, and king of all he surveys.”
“In that case, you may call me Lady Tabitha, Defeater of walls, and disciple of thinking outside the box.”
He shot her a sidelong glance. “Still no hints as to what your other form is, huh?”
“Nope. No hints. We’re going to need liquor for that conversation.”
“We are?”
“Definitely.”
His voice dropped to a low, sultry rumble. “Hasn’t anyone warned you that it’s dangerous to tease a cat?”
“I thought you were supposed to avoid being too curious? Isn’t that a fatal condition for felines?” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. She didn’t flirt. Not well, anyway. Had she been possessed by a flirtatious demon?
He stopped and turned to face her. “Curiosity killed the cat.” He leaned until his mouth was beside her ear and dropped his voice to a whisper. “But satisfaction brings us back, every time.”
She uttered a sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeak. Not exactly sexy, but Sergei didn’t seem to care. He moved away, winked, and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
He’s just flirting. Guys do that. She reminded herself, but another voice was whispering from the back of her mind. And cats like to play with their food. Maybe we’re dessert. Manes and tails, she hoped so, but the odds were not in her favour. The incident hadn’t just changed who and what she was, it had killed her love-life deader than the dodo.
3
Sergei had been delighted to discover that Ta
bi’s place was only a few steps down the hall from him. Despite being on campus for weeks, he’d somehow missed her until now. Was he really that rusty when it came to noticing women? Maybe his mother was right… not that he would ever admit that. One word and she’d decide to help. He’d be hip deep in eligible women before breakfast the next day. Worse, they’d be his mother’s idea of suitable mate material. He loved his mother, but there wasn’t any room in his life for the kind of mate she thought he needed. A quiet homemaker whose idea of adventure was hosting a dinner party for more than three other people.
It was too bad he hadn’t met Tabi earlier. She was the first interesting woman he’d met in…he didn’t do the math. Too depressing. Unfortunately, he was leaving the day after tomorrow, which meant he wouldn’t have much time to enjoy her company.
“Bast giveth with one paw and taketh away with the other,” he muttered to himself as he towelled his hair. His schedule didn’t allow for much of a social life, something his mother brought up with alarming regularity.
He stretched again, doing a quick inventory of his aches and pains, and grudgingly admitted his mother had a point. At thirty-three, he was still in his prime, but sleeping rough for days on end and foraging for meals wasn’t as fun as it used to be… and neither was waking up alone. With that thought in the forefront of his mind, he set his phone to vibrate and went to find his date for the evening.
He knocked on Tabi’s door and was pleased when it opened barely a second later.
She looked stunning. Her long hair hung in waves over her shoulders, and now it was dry he could clearly see the deep blue and purple streaks that ran through her dark tresses. She’d worn a simple black sweater dress that came to mid-thigh, and leggings that…he grinned. Her leggings had tigers printed on them.
“Hello, again. You look lovely.” He deliberately let his gaze linger on her long legs. “Nice pants.”
Her brown eyes danced with merriment, but she managed not to crack a smile. “Thank you. I thought you’d appreciate them.”
Hell yes, he appreciated them. In fact, he was a little jealous of the tiny tigers. They were a lot closer to her than he was. “Very much.” He offered her his arm again. “Shall we?”
“Yes please. I confess I’m starving. I hope the ravenous hordes haven’t picked the place clean before we get there.” She took his arm, and he breathed in her scent. Soap and cosmetics, and underneath it, that same mysterious something he couldn’t identify. What was she?
“Have no fear, I’ve made arrangements. We’ll be well fed tonight.”
“Arrangements?”
“Mhmm.”
“No details?”
“Nope. Not unless you want to tell me what kind of shifter you are?”
“Sneaky, but no.” She patted her small purse. “Drinks first.”
“Brave woman, keeping a tiger in suspense.”
“I’m not that brave. I just…” her smile faded, and she turned her face away. “It’s all very new to me, and I’m not good at talking about it, yet.”
Whoa. How could her shifter side be new? Shifters were born, not created. Unless… “Involuntary experimentation?” There were more than a few mad scientist types out there, some living, some as dead as disco. The Mastermind and the Bunyip Instistute were two he’d heard about, but he knew there had to be others.
Tabi nodded but stayed silent. They were walking by a group of cadets and clearly, she didn’t feel like talking about it around other people. He was so distracted by Tabi’s distress he almost missed the way the cadets reacted to them. He was used to being noticed, it came with the territory, but none of them were looking at him. They were watching Tabi warily, and they all shuffled a little closer to the walls as she walked by. Odd.
He caught a few snippets of hushed conversation.
“That’s Stabitha.”
“Freak.”
“Psycho.”
Tabi hunched her shoulders and kept her eyes on the floor in front of them. Sergei wanted to smack the bunch of them into the middle of next week. He settled for growling in warning while fixing them with a stare that had been known to send wild grizzlies hightailing it into the trees.
Once they were alone again, he reached over to cover her hand where it rested on his arm. “That happen a lot?”
“All the time.”
“Have you spoken to Director Cooper about it?” If she hadn’t he would. Those cadets were training to protect all shifters. What kind of agents would they be if they were biased against the ones they were supposed to be helping?
“You mean report them? No. I wouldn’t do that. It’s just words, right? Words can’t hurt me.”
He knew that wasn’t true, but he didn’t argue with her. He’d have a word with Director Alyce Cooper before he left and let her know there was a problem. Odds were good she already knew, but it couldn’t hurt to point it out. “Forget about them. They’re not on tonight’s agenda.”
“Want to tell me what is? I still don’t even know where we’re going.”
“To a private dining room across from the cafeteria. It’s just you, me, a three-course meal, and your illicit stash of Bailey’s.”
“Just the two of us?” Her relief was so evident it was all he could do not to stop right there and hug her.
“No one else. Unless you’d like a chaperone?” He raised a hand. “I swear I’ll be a gentleman, at least until dessert.”
That garnered a small smile. “Only until dessert, huh?”
“I get a little wild once chocolate is involved.”
“Me, too. And yes, I’m fine without a chaperone. In fact, it will make it easier to tell you the story. I don’t talk about it much.”
They made it to the small dining room he’d requested without further incident. He walked her to her chair, pulling it out for her and everything. The room was small and only modestly furnished. A few round tables, chairs to seat maybe a dozen people, and not much else. Their table had a simple black table cloth on it, with the same standard dishes and silverware they used to feed the masses next door. Dinner had been delivered, too, and sat on a room service style cart next to the table.
“I didn’t know this room even existed. I usually eat in the main hall or take a tray back to my room. Then again, I’m staff. I don’t think the kitchen would be thrilled if I asked for VIP treatment like this.”
“There are some perks to my job that I admit I enjoy more than I should.” He pulled a couple of emergency candles out of his back pocket, lit them, and then held the ends over his lighter long enough to soften the wax before sticking three of them together on a plate. “Tada, mood lighting.”
“Very nice. You should offer to teach a special MacGyver 101 class for dating.”
He shook his head. “Duct tape and dating preparation are two things that should never be uttered in the same sentence. Besides, the cadets are supposed to be here to learn, not chase tail.”
“You think so? From what I’ve seen, they’re pretty good at multitasking.” She pulled a small bottle of Baileys Irish Cream out of her purse and set it on the table. “As promised.”
Tabi paused to pour a generous portion of liqueur into two mugs and then filled them to the brim with coffee, adding a dollop of fresh whipped cream from the cart.
He raised his mug in salute. “What shall we drink to?”
“New friends?” she suggested.
He considered that for all of a nanosecond before rejecting it. Too limiting. You didn’t get naked and wild with friends, and by Bast’s fluffy tail, that’s exactly what he wanted to do with Tabi. “To new beginnings.”
“I like it. New beginnings.” She touched her mug to his, then took a sip. “Oh, that’s good.”
He would have agreed with her, but his ability to form words keeled over and died as she swiped her tongue across her lips to catch a stray bit of cream. Neurons misfired in his brain, all the blood in his body flowed south, and he forgot to breathe for a few seconds.
She looked at him and frowned in concern. “Is yours alright? Did I add too much Baileys?”
He managed to suck in a quick breath before he turned purple. “Great. Just great.” He took another sip, then set the mug down and got to his feet. Fuck subtle.
He walked around the table to her, leaned down and met her gaze. “I need to kiss you right now.”
“You do?”
He cupped her cheek in his hand. Her skin was soft and heated beneath his fingers. The desire to pull her in close and kiss her until she was breathless was almost more than he could take. First, he’d kiss her, then he wanted to get her naked and whisper dirty things in her ear so he could watch her blush all over. “More than anything. May I?”
Her eyes darkened with desire and her lips parted as she breathed her next words. “Yes, please.”
That’s all he needed. His lips brushed hers and his senses exploded. She was soft, warm, and tasted of whipped cream and peppermint toothpaste. He drank her in, and the more he experienced, the more he wanted her. He speared his fingers into her hair, drawing her head back so he could take their kiss deeper. He nipped at her lower lip and she parted her mouth with a soft moan that rolled through him like the first warning rumbles of an avalanche. He plumbed the depths of her mouth as her hands roamed over his chest and shoulders, soft touches that made him wish they were already naked so he could feel her fingers on his flesh.
His phone buzzed, but he ignored it. Whoever was calling him could leave a damned message.
He took her hands and held them, coaxing her to stand. The moment she rose from her chair he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. Better.
Her fingers stroked through his hair and down the back of his neck. The sensation made him quiver and sent another jolt of lust straight to his cock. The things he wanted to do to this woman…
“Sergei…” she whispered his name against his lips.
“Do you want to stop?” He hoped like hell the answer was no, but he had to be sure. This hadn’t been what he’d intended when he’d invited her for dinner, but now he’d had a taste…