“That’s not it—we’re loyal to our mates. I don’t know if it’s the animal instinct inside of us, or some kind of difference of genetics, but among mated pairs—committed to being together, not just fucking—cheating is practically unheard of. But we don’t always limit our pairings to traditional sets.”
She blinked. “You’re polyamorous?”
His lip twitched, but he managed not to smile at her very human way of looking at things. “That’s a good way to describe it. Females are much rarer than males, and our people rarely breed with nonhumans—not for anything other than, than…” He almost said the occasional fuck, but stopped himself in time.
A single brow rose. “One night stands?”
“Yes.” That was a nicer way to put it.
“But, that wasn’t exactly what Erick was proposing. Didn’t sound like it, anyway.”
He was relieved she didn’t ask why their women tended to number less than their men; he didn’t need to go into the gory details with her yet. The details about Erick would be difficult enough for a woman raised among humans to understand. “You have to understand. Erick was raised from birth to lead our people. He has always had that weight on his shoulders. His…priorities and the way he reacts to things, it’s all driven by that responsibility.” At her frown, he tried again. “We aren’t humans. Nor are we beasts. We’re something different. Our normal is your straight-up weird.”
“I don’t feel different.” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. “Well, I didn’t until this thing hit.”
“You may not have seen it because you didn’t know to look for it, but you are different.” He pulled her close and she wiggled against him, obviously wanting to do far more than talk. “We’ll speak of this later. For now…I can smell how much you need me.” When her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened, he added, “And I need you, too.” He took her wrist, and placed her hand on his fully erect cock. “Badly.”
“Oh,” she said. “I see.” The smell of her arousal deepened, and he lost his last thread of control.
He reached for her, but her arm came out, blocking him. A growl of frustration cut out of him, but he swallowed the sound.
“Will there be more changes? In me, I mean. I’d like to know what to expect.”
“Yes. But we have time. I will prepare you for them. Just not right this second.”
Her brows drew together, scrunched in confusion.
“I have to have you. Now.”
“Oh.” Her mouth dropped open. “This heat thing…it doesn’t just affect how I feel, does it?”
“No. It makes the men around you possessive. Makes them desire you. It kicks our instincts into even higher gear when we feel some sort of attachment. Getting near a mated pair when the female is in heat…well, men have lost their lives for simple misunderstandings. But it ensures our women are safe when they are at their most vulnerable.”
For some reason that didn’t seem to please her, and a frown creased her lips. But he wasn’t eager to chat about weretiger biology anymore. She’d been given enough information to absorb in one night. And he had to taste her. Touch her. Take her.
“Can we be done talking?” His voice was a growl, but he couldn’t help that. The scent of her arousal drowned him, and his cock was hard enough to break through his pants. Every instinct in his body thrummed with the desire to take.
Under his intense gaze, she softened. “God, yes.”
That was all he needed to hear. Without another word, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
***
There was nothing soft in the way Owen took possession of her mouth, the way his hands roamed over her body, touching and squeezing and rubbing. She mewled when his hand moved between her legs and cupped her mound.
Then he was lowering her to the floor, muttering that the bedroom was too far. He pushed his pants just far enough down to free his cock.
With care she no longer had the brainpower to appreciate, he slid into her. Slick with desire, her body welcomed him, offering no resistance.
“So good,” he ground out against her neck. “Hot. So hot and tight.” Again with care, he began moving.
Her body automatically matched his careful rhythm. But she didn’t want careful. For some reason, Erick’s face flashed in her mind. His hard, almost cruel features, and the way his gaze had raked over her. Pure lust.
No, Erick wouldn’t fuck her slow. He’d fuck her hard and fast, leaving her no option but to take what he’d give her. Dominant to a fault, he’d take her forcefully, just to show her who was in control. And she’d love every minute of it—she knew it, even if she could barely admit it to herself.
“Harder,” she cried, her sex clenching around him as her orgasm touched the edge of her senses. She dug her fingers into his ass, demanding he take her the way she suddenly needed to be fucked.
Owen bit her neck—not hard, he took care to not puncture her skin again, but hard enough to push her over the edge. The orgasm crashed into her, even as he thrust into her with abandon.
“Owen!” His name was wrenched from her lips. He cried out, body shuddering over hers, even as she felt his cock twitching inside of her as he came.
Owen stayed above her, cradling her body with his for a long moment. Then he kissed her damp forehead softly and rolled to the side. Before she could grasp that he’d moved, he’d pulled her into the crook of his arm.
“Should I get ready to go?” He’d said they needed to go, hadn’t he? Stupid, heat-fuzzied memory. The prospect of moving wasn’t likely, but she’d do it if she had to. In a bit. A while. Maybe in an hour or so her limbs would respond to her commands. Maybe.
“Later,” he mumbled.
She grinned against his shoulder. “Tuckered you out, did I?”
“Quiet now, woman. Resting.”
A small laugh escaped her, and she managed to prop herself up on one elbow to look at his face. Eyes closed and satisfaction radiating from every pore, he didn’t look like he’d be moving anytime soon.
But a sudden surge of energy hit her, and she managed to get up to her wobbly feet. Was the worst of the heat over? She certainly felt better, more like herself—but different. She grinned, and she took a step toward the bathroom. Only to be stopped by a hand closing around her ankle. She looked down at Owen, but his eyes were still closed.
“Where you goin’?” he said, sounding half asleep.
“Shower, big guy. You take a nap in case this heat thing comes back. I’ll need you at full energy.”
He cracked a smile, but didn’t open his eyes. Instead, he rolled over onto his side, and a small snore came from his throat.
She shoved a fist over her mouth to keep from laughing at the poor man. Not fair. He’d done most of the work, after all. Not to mention the fight with Erick. Wasn’t fighting supposed to be one of the most exhausting things a person could do? Figured that would even wear out a weretiger.
She turned the shower on and stepped under the warm stream, reveling in the heat.
A weretiger. She wasn’t even human, if Owen was to be believed, and she did believe him. Something inside of her had believed him even before he’d flashed his second face.
Frowning at the thought, she lathered up, pretending her breasts hadn’t just pebbled at the smallest touch of her own hands. Worrying over the heat thing could wait. She was intent on thinking through the weretiger thing while she still had half a brain working for her.
She’d never felt like she had a beast living inside of her, or anything like that. The urge to hiss at someone had never hit her, and to her recollection, she’d always been a dog person.
So why was she so sure he was telling the truth?
Maybe it was as simple as the fact that she’d never fit in. Her life had been spent trying her best to be who she thought she was supposed to be, but she’d always felt like an imposter—an impersonator.
The only parents she’d ever known were no exception. They loved her and she loved them
. And for the most part, they’d never had any real issues. Bob and Carol Clark were standup people, with nine-to-five jobs. They went to church every Sunday and had urged Daniella to go to school for business or law. Her desire to pursue art had been almost unfathomable to them. They’d forced smiles and supported her decision, but it had always been obvious to all of them that she wasn’t quite a perfect fit for their family.
Once, she would have readily blamed that on being adopted. But now…now she had a tiger with a crazier, but maybe more fitting, explanation.
And what a tiger.
Owen was everything she’d dreamed of—or he had been until he’d started acting like a jerk. Kind, intelligent, gorgeous. And with incredible taste in movies. Sure, he hadn’t struck Daniella as her type when they’d first met because he’d been so physically imposing, but she was more than a little aware she’d resisted any kind of attraction because she thought he was so far out of her league that he might as well be a dream.
She blinked into the shower spray, a sudden dread hitting her. Firmly, she pinched her own shoulder, hard.
“Ow,” she hissed softly. Okay, whew. Not a dream, then. But it was no wonder she was worried. Ending up with a man like Owen lusting after her was pretty unbelievable, but to have two men of that caliber fighting to have her…well, that just didn’t happen. Heck, such things probably didn’t even happen to super models all that often, let alone girls like herself.
The curtain flew open, and she screeched.
Wild-eyed, Owen stared at her. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine! Holy crap, give a girl a heart attack, why don’t you?” She threw the washcloth at his head, but he ducked and dodged it easily, sending it to splat against his bathroom wall.
“I heard you. You were in pain.”
She just stared, until realization hit. Heat traveled up her neck to her face, and she turned to face the shower spray. “I’m fine.”
“Did I hurt you?” The fear in his voice drew her attention back to him.
“God, no. Why would you think that?”
“I was…rough with you. And you haven’t even changed, come into your power. You’re nearly as weak as a human right now.”
“Thanks, I guess. I’m fine.” No way was she admitting she’d pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. That kind of thing could give a man a big head. “Really, Owen. I’m okay.”
He searched her face for a moment before nodding. “Then please, scoot over.”
“No way. You’ll totally hog the water,” she protested, but she scooted.
“I would never.”
“On your honor?” she teased.
He nodded gravely and stepped into the shower.
It took all of thirty seconds before she realized he’d lied. But by then, she didn’t care.
CHAPTER SIX
Daylight had peeked through the curtains by the time they’d settled into bed—and Daniella suspected the sun had been out for a couple of hours already. She was dead tired, and after agreeing with Owen that sleeping in his apartment—now un-lockable, thanks to his prime—wasn’t the best idea, they wandered over to her place to pass out. Even though her bed was queen-sized, Owen seemed to take up all the space. Luckily, he was more than willing to hold her—keeping her tucked against his body while they slept.
But when she woke, the bed beside her was empty. Still slightly warm to the touch, but empty. And night had fallen.
She blinked, searching the darkness for him. For half a second she thought it might have all been a strangely vivid dream, and her stomach dropped. Then she sat up to get a better view of the room, and her whole body ached with a mostly-pleasant pain. Her breasts were heavy and sore. And while she was a tiny bit sore between her legs—it had been a long time since she’d had sex, and never with a man as well-endowed as Owen—she could feel a different ache there as well.
The heat had calmed, but it wasn’t gone.
“Owen,” she called, keeping her voice pitched low for a reason she couldn’t name. Instinct, maybe. Or heck, likely just unreasonable fear. Her world had changed, shifted in ways she still didn’t understand, and it was no wonder she didn’t have her feet back under her yet.
“Owen?” she tried again, shoving the covers off. She hurried to her dresser and pulled on a pair of loose, cotton shorts she used to sleep in, and a black camisole. Even the soft cotton and loose material teased her nipples, brushed her most unsatisfyingly between her legs.
She sighed. Maybe Owen would be up for another round. A nice, slow, gentle round. Just as soon as she found him.
Just the thought of the man who had been her friend, then her enemy, and finally her lover made her press her thighs together to try to relieve the sudden ache. He was so gentle with her, so loving. Yet, all man. All tiger—not that she was ready to consider that fact too closely quite yet.
The kitchen was quiet as well, and no lights had been turned on in the apartment. Of course, that wasn’t exactly unusual given the amount of light that seeped through her curtains even when they were closed. Even now, when it was dark out, because of the streetlights surrounding the building.
Besides, for all she knew, Owen might be able to see in the dark like the cat he was. She grinned at the thought. It was hard to imagine—not that Owen didn’t have a little beast in him, but she’d never have guessed the wildness lurking in him would be greater than that of any other virile, masculine man.
Erick, on the other hand…
The weretiger prime was more beast than man, if she didn’t miss her guess. Something dark lurked in his eyes, and unlike Owen, he felt…different. Like he was a monster who just looked like a man.
Her sex clenched and she bit her lip. No. No way she found that attractive. It was just the heat. That’s it. She just needed to find Owen and he’d take care of the heat issue, stat. And she could forget about his weirdly alluring prime.
Where the heck was he?
Maybe he’d gone to his apartment, for clothes. Or food. That was likely, since she wasn’t sure she had anything edible other than ketchup in her fridge.
But wouldn’t he hear her if he was only a thin apartment wall away, calling for him? Heck, he’d heard her tiny little “Ow” in the shower after she’d pinched herself. The man—weretiger—had crazy good ears.
Telling herself that the heavy pit in her stomach was silly, she squared her shoulders and opened the door to her apartment. Nothing jumped out at her when she stepped into the quiet hall, nor did anything seem amiss in Owen’s apartment.
Except for the fact that he wasn’t there.
“Chill out,” she muttered to herself. “He wouldn’t just up and leave you.”
Great, now you’re talking to yourself. She shook her head.
Maybe he’d gone to the store. Yes, that made sense. She had no food. He was normally stocked up, but maybe he didn’t have whatever he’d want to feed a hungry woman in heat. Heck, pregnant women ate weird shit all the time. Yeah, she wasn’t pregnant, but being in heat had to wreak all sorts of insanity on the hormones. Any second now, she’d want peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.
“Check on the car, dummy,” she muttered again, then cursed under her breath. Owen was really going to think she’d gone off the deep end if he left her alone for a few minutes and she was already conversing with herself.
After taking a second to grab a pair of slip-on shoes she kept by her front door, she headed for the back of the building, which was where Owen always parked his little pickup.
She rounded the corner to the side of the building where he parked his truck. The roar warned her before she could even make out the shapes beneath the streetlights.
Too late.
The three men circling Owen didn’t look like anything scary at first glance. Two were nearly Owen’s six foot height, though both were a bit slimmer. The other was much smaller, almost waif-like and definitely not an inch over five-six.
But it was Owen’s reaction to them that m
ade fear spike in her chest. He watched them warily, trying to keep them in his line of sight as they circled. Blood seeped from a new gash under his left eye, and he was avoiding putting weight on his right leg. She’d thought he’d been beat up after fighting Erick, but he’d looked damn good compared to how he looked now.
The other men didn’t look much better. One was bleeding steadily from his nose, and the shorter one’s neck had a large gash. The third she couldn’t make out as well; he stood in the shadows. But the way he stood appeared off, like he favored one side.
But none of that was what halted her in her tracks. Owen’s shifted face did that.
She bit back a gasp, but it was too late. The slight man turned his head to look at her. Something about the way he moved was off somehow—wrong. Almost robotic. He smiled at her, revealing long fangs, and she knew.
Vampire.
Holy crap.
“Run, Daniella!” Owen’s voice cut through her shock, and she met his desperate gaze. “Run!” he commanded in a loud roar that barely came out as an understandable word. He waved an arm, a gesture for her to leave, and her eyes locked on the fur and claws that had taken the place of his human hands.
Run, he’d said. But there were three of them—what if Owen needed her help?
Owen knocked the larger vampire onto the ground with a full-body kick that didn’t look humanly possible—and probably wasn’t—and was reaching for the second vampire. If she stayed against his wishes and one of them grabbed her, she could ruin everything. Owen would never forgive her. Worse, Owen would never forgive himself if she got herself killed. And she didn’t know how to shift, or if she could yet. How much help would one practically human woman be against vampires?
With a painful ache pressing against her chest and bile crawling its way up her throat, she ran. Adrenaline pumped through her body, making her move so fast she felt like she was flying. She ran without thinking. Without looking around. With the almost debilitating fear that she was being chased. When she couldn’t run anymore, she paused to lean against a tree, daring a look back. Nothing.
Howl & Growl: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set Page 33