Tiger Born

by Tressie Lockwood

  “The city near here?”

  She smiled with sadness in her eyes. “He was so angry, but handsome too. There was something about him that set my pulse to racing. I worked in a surplus store he decided to target for supplies.”

  “Hold up.” Deja laughed. “You married the man who robbed the store where you worked? How does that happen?”

  Pink tinged her cheeks. “The shifter appeal? It wasn’t as simple as that, and back then I saw that he loved someone else. Ward was a man broken in heart and spirit. I think just the fact that he needed to take care of his people kept him on his feet and nothing else. I fell in love with him on sight. It took some time, but eventually he let me in his heart.”

  “Do you ever regret it? I mean, I bet you miss your family.”

  She stood and began stacking dishes in the dishwasher. “I had little family. My parents disowned me when I refused to live my life their way. That was in Ohio. I’d been living alone in Texas for a few years.”

  “Oh, shucks now, Coreen, the rebel. Who’da thunk it?”

  The older woman chuckled and waved her hand. “That was a long time ago. I’m nothing more or less than Ward’s wife and mother to his children.”

  “You’re something special.”

  “Thank you. So are you.” The smile left Coreen’s face, and a frown creased her brows. “There’s a real species issue here, Deja. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is.”

  “I see it now.”

  “You heard my sons. They think they’re better than humans because they’re shifters. Makes no difference that they are, in a way, half-human too. And when I’ve visited the school, I’ve heard the other children talk and some of the parents. The younger generation believe they are a cut above because they were born that way. I’m just thankful Spiderweb didn’t try making children into shifters. Can you imagine the time they would have had living in Siberia? This was supposed to be a haven for their kind, safe from Spiderweb and safe from exploitation from the government. Now look at us.”

  Deja stood and retrieved the dishcloth from the sink so she could wipe the table. She’d declined eating breakfast, preferring to wait for Heath so they could go to the diner. “I’m starting to see what you’re saying. What I don’t get is why let humans into the town at all?” The offense in Coreen’s expression made her rush ahead to explain. “Trust me. I love humans. I still feel like one and only remember I’m not when some intense smell from a block away burns my nose, or I break an object a human woman shouldn’t have been able to. I’m just saying it’s risky letting them in. Spiderweb seems like they’re everywhere, and, aside from you, who, it’s obvious loves Ward with all your heart, I think some of the people I’ve met are just…well, fuck buddies. Oops, excuse my French.”

  Coreen hid a smile. “You’re right. One thing we can all agree on is that shifters have a really high sex drive.” The embarrassment in her beautiful face was clear. “The shifters could visit other towns and find someone for the night and not bring them home. They are fewer in number compared to other towns. However, they also have the instincts of the tiger.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning they crave someone to reproduce with.”

  Hope sprung to life in Deja. “Whoa, are you serious? Is that with all of them…I mean, us?”

  “As far as I’ve seen.” She shrugged. “On one hand, Ward knows it’s probably best for the shifters not to increase their numbers. After all, he has no plan to raise a race of unstoppable tiger shifters. He only wants a safe and happy home for those that already exist, far from the evil designs of Spiderweb, who created the creatures for their own reasons.”

  Deja caught on. “But the instinct of the tiger says have babies?”

  “Yes, and since most of the shifters are men…”

  “They have to go find women in the only place they can be found—among humans.”

  “Yes.”

  Deja strolled toward the door. “Seems like an impossible situation. I for one know the tiger refuses to be denied when she wants something. In many ways, I’m thankful. I have it easier than most. Heath and I are both shifters. We shouldn’t have much of an issue with staying on the same page. Thanks for explaining it all, Coreen, and don’t worry. I know Ward will figure out how to get this craziness resolved among the townspeople, shifter and human alike. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay, honey, and you be sure to tell me when I can expect grandbabies. I can’t wait to shower them with love and kisses.”

  Deja’s turn to be embarrassed, she ducked her head, and scrambled out of the room. She’d been too transparent about her longing to get pregnant. Being no different from all the others of her kind, she ached to have kids, and knowing the need was shared by all shifters, she looked forward to discussing it with Heath. They just needed to decide on how many.

  * * * *

  By the time Heath called Deja to tell her he would meet her at the diner, she was starving. She arrived ahead of him and pulled up to a spot just outside the door. “Lucky,” she said, deciding to take the fact that she didn’t have to park across the street on the community parking lot as a good sign. Coreen had lent her the use of her minivan since she didn’t have any errands, and Deja had grocery shopping to do. Usually they did it together, but Ward and Coreen were going to be spending some much-needed alone time together, and the boys were spending the weekend with friends. Deja planned to cook a nice meal for her man.

  The diner, Melly’s Kitchen, was built like a cute little house as if one were visiting a friend rather than a restaurant. The interior, just as inviting, sported wooden tables covered in airy blue cloths and the chairs were made comfortable with flowery cushions. Each setting included a small bouquet of real flowers, which Melly refreshed regularly. To top off the atmosphere, the food tasted so good “it makes you wanna slap yo momma,” as some of the older women liked to say back in her hometown. Deja sighed thinking of home and then shoved the sad feelings away. This was not the time to get down.

  She found a table near the back of the restaurant after weeding through the other patrons. Used to the small-town atmosphere, she waved and called greetings by name to practically every person in the room. She might not have known Frank, but she knew darn near half the town—or at least those that frequented Melly’s place.

  In her seat, she ordered sweet tea for herself and Heath. Being close to lunch, she figured he wouldn’t want coffee. Melly brought the tea along with a dish of warm bread and butter, and Deja dove on it. “Oh, girl, you’re a life saver,” Deja mumbled around a mouthful.

  Melly chuckled. “I’m glad to help, Deja. No Heath today?”

  “He’ll be here.”

  Shouted greetings from several corners brought her head up to see that Heath had just walked in. Deja’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. How long would it be until her reaction to him wouldn’t be so violent? Sometimes it seemed like she couldn’t take a good breath without him, which was ridiculous. He paused inside the door and scanned the restaurant. She waited, watching him and seeing what almost looked like desperation to find her. Were his emotions just as wild when it came to her? They locked gazes, and he started moving again, heading toward her. Deja was aware Melly spoke, but she couldn’t make herself concentrate on the woman.

  Heath stopped at the table and reached for her chin. She tilted her head back in expectance. Their lips touched, and the world slipped away. Her eyelids fluttered closed, her breath caught in her chest. A chill brought goose bumps to her arms, but then a fire ignited deep inside, threatening to burn the two of them up, the building, and anyone within fifty feet. Heath’s tongue delved between her lips. She answered with a hungry moan and let him in. Her pussy pulsed with need, and she ached to feel his fingers threading deep into her channel to satisfying the ache to come.

  All too soon, Heath backed off, and then as if hurtling from miles away, sound returned to the world around her. Catcalls and whistles pierced the air. Melly stood at the side of their table gri
pping her apron with white fingers while her face glowed beet red. Short of breath, she fanned her face. “Well! That was some hello, huh?”

  Heath looked around at her. “Oh, hey, Melly. Uh, sorry. Keeping my hands off of her, even in public, isn’t something I’ve mastered yet.” He dropped into the chair across from Deja.

  Deja curled her lips to the side. “You better not be trying to master it.”

  “The usual?” Melly prodded them both.

  “Oh, yeah, thanks, Melly,” Deja told her. “A mushroom cheeseburger and plenty of fries for me. I can’t believe how I can put it away after changing.”

  Heath raised a doubtful eyebrow. “After? You put it away before too.”

  “You want me to jump across this table and hurt you, don’t you, Heath Hunter?”

  He spread his arms as if he would catch her. “By all means.”

  Melly gave an exasperated sigh and shuffled away. She had staff that could have served them, but she and everyone else in the town gave Heath, and by association her, special treatment. Deja thought they probably shouldn’t push the woman so far with the lovey-dovey stuff. There existed more than one older shifter without a mate. She felt sorry for them and thinking about it, she understood why they would seek a partner in a human. If she didn’t have Heath, she’d be nuts with sexual desire. She’d probably get it where she could too.

  While they waited for their food, Heath reached across the table and tangled his fingers through hers. “Hey, beautiful, why do I sense excitement in you?”

  “Sense, huh?” She caressed his rough skin and found the callus on his thumb from years of working outdoors with his hands. “You’re in tune with your tiger now?”

  Heath tensed, to her surprise. She’d only been teasing.

  “I’m sorry. I was joking, baby.” She squeezed his hand. “I know it’s been tough accepting what you are and then learning how to deal. Working with Ward, who’s one hundred percent gung ho, can’t be a breeze either.”

  “Ward is…” Heath shrugged. “Ward. But you’re right, the work isn’t always simple. I never intended to go into politics, or whatever you want to call running a town. He wants me to take on more responsibility and have the people recognize my status.”

  “And you just want a ranch,” she guessed.

  He smiled. “You know me well.”

  “It’s been your dream forever. Did your dad say when he’ll get that land?”

  “We couldn’t even discuss it what with all that’s happening right now.”

  “What’s going on with that?”

  “Later,” he said with firmness in his tone. “What’s happening with my woman? Is work going okay?”

  Deja wrinkled her nose. “I asked to start tomorrow. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “What’s that?”

  She hesitated and was relieved when Melly brought their food. Heath’s usual included a steak, a baked potato, and green beans. She had no idea how the man could put away so much heavy food at lunchtime and then go back to work with Ward. Deja took a bite of her burger and munched on a few fries before answering his question.

  “I want to have kids. I want us to start trying to get pregnant.”

  “No.”

  “I think two or three would be great, and… Wait, did you just say no?” She must be hearing things. Of course he hadn’t said no. She looked into his face and noted the set turn to his mouth, the tight jaw, the narrowed eyes, and swallowed. Anger simmered low inside her. He might not have understood her question, or he might be distracted thinking about work, so he didn’t hear what she’d asked him. All these thoughts passed through her mind as she waited for him to elaborate.

  “We’re not having children.”

  Deja chuckled and sniffed. “You’re kidding. Baby, this is so not the time to be playing with me. I was thinking—”

  “I’m sorry, Deja. The way things are with the tension between our kind and humans, and Spiderweb still in existence who knows where…” He shook his head. “I can’t guarantee any children we would have would be safe.”

  “We will keep them safe. I will as their mother.” A sick feeling rose inside of her. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. A thousand thoughts had gone through her mind when she considered talking to him, but never outright refusal. He didn’t even act like he wanted them as Coreen claimed all shifters did. Maybe she’d been wrong. When she spoke again, her voice rose an octave. “I don’t get how you’re going to sit there and flat out tell me no.”

  “It’s for the best—”

  “Who says? You?” she demanded. “Not even a discussion. As if it’s all your decision.”

  He frowned and wiped his mouth. “Deja, everyone doesn’t have to be in on our conversation.”

  “Oh, please, even if I whispered, they’d hear, so what’s the big deal about me raising my voice a little? So, what, you’re working with the alpha, and it’s your way or nothing?”

  “You know it’s not like that!”

  She recognized he’d lost his temper but didn’t give a damn. She didn’t care who heard them arguing either. Truth be told, his attitude devastated her, and it was all she could do not to cry. Heath wouldn’t get the satisfaction, and neither would the nosy people staring in her face with no shame.

  When she didn’t say anything, Heath touched his fingertips to hers as they lay on the table. A familiar zing raced through her system at his slightest touch, but she suppressed it and pulled her hand away.

  “Baby,” he whispered, and his tone had dropped so low it rumbled, sending pings of desire straight to her pussy. She squirmed in her chair, it being too early in the day for him to get her hot and bothered. Besides, he’d pissed her off. She glared at him, and he sighed. “Deja, I don’t want us to argue. We’ve been through a lot, and we haven’t been in Siberia that long. Things are still unsettled. I’m trying to feel my way into being the alpha’s son, working in a position I never dreamed of. In a couple of days, we’re moving into our own house.”

  She’d lost her appetite and stirred the remainder of her fries in ketchup but didn’t bother eating them. Heath told the truth. Working with Ward meant a lot to him because he never knew his real dad, but the capacity of the job didn’t appeal. Heath craved a ranch, but no land for his own was available yet, not close enough to be considered a part of Siberia. They needed a rezoning for that, and apparently getting it handled took longer than Ward expected.

  “So you’re not saying forever?” she ventured.

  Heath didn’t answer, and she peered up from her plate.

  “Heath?”

  He slid his chair back and pulled bills from his wallet. He placed way more than enough money on the table for the food. “It’s not a good idea, Deja. Take care of lunch, and the rest is for grocery shopping. I’m going to be late tonight.”

  When he stood up and leaned over to kiss her, she turned her head. He frowned, and after a few moments, he turned and left without another word. Deja ducked her head pretending to count the money when Melly shuffled over.

  “On the house, sweetie,” she said.

  “Thanks, Melly.” Before she made even more of a fool of herself, Deja surged to her feet and made a beeline for the door. The first tears didn’t plop onto her cheeks until she was well on down the road.

  Chapter Three

  A week later, Deja approached her favorite stool and frowned that someone already occupied it. She stopped and scanned the only bar in Siberia. The place was a good size, given that half the citizens of the town frequented it, and Jake was the head bartender. At the moment, he seemed to be the only one working and looked harassed. She shook her head in disbelief when he handed over a beer to a patron and almost seemed to have a heart attack when the man’s fingers brushed his. The shifter glared at Jake, making him quail all the more, and she went over to rescue her friend.

  “Hey, Jake, how’s it going tonight?” She sat down. “You aren’t the only one here, are you?”

/>   “Gabby’s in heat, whatever that means,” he grumbled.

  She laughed. “You know what it means. If she was here, things would be a lot worse, or so I hear. Anyway, don’t tell me you’re still terrified of my kind. Come on, man, how can you live among us feeling this way?”

  He popped the lid off a bottle of beer and slid it across the counter to her. With a hurried expression on his face, he swiped an arm across his forehead, trying to get the slick, overlong hair out of his eyes. Looking at him, she would put him at twenty-five, but Jake had told her he was pushing thirty-three. Good genes and not hard on the eyes at all.

  “I guess you could call it a phobia. My head tells me there’s nothing to be afraid of, and I’ve even met some really nice people I know wouldn’t hurt me, but tell that to my body, which shakes every time. I feel like an idiot.” He glanced down the bar at a couple of more rowdy patrons. “Then there’s the ones that are not so nice. They tease me, telling me they can smell my fear.”

  Deja followed his line of sight and recognized the two idiots he referred to. “Don’t worry about them. They’re all bark—growl? hiss?—and no bite. They know if they try anything, Ward will have their balls in a sling.”

  She took a long drag on her beer and sighed after she swallowed the cool liquid.

  “What about you, Deja?” Jake fixed clear gray eyes, full of interest, on her. “What are you doing here on a Friday night? Shouldn’t you be at home with your mate?”

  “Mate,” she repeated, and Jake seemed even more alert to her answer. She changed the subject. “Damn, I hate my job. This was my first week, and I feel like if I have to go back there on Monday, I’m going to throw up. Either that or die of boredom.”

  He leaned on the bar, facing her and ignored a couple of people trying to get his attention. “You really don’t like it? I thought the pace would be perfect.” A glass shattered somewhere nearby, and he jumped. “And the peace and quiet…”

  “That’s exactly what I don’t like about it. Gah, no one sends mail to Siberia, at least not much, and almost no one sends anything out. If they have to contact each other, they do it by strolling on over or calling. It says something when I can run the entire place all by myself and not break a sweat. So boring!”