by Vella Day
He patted her butt. “We need to clean up. I have something to tell you.”
He glanced off to the side and then rolled off the bed. With stiff shoulders, he strode into the connecting bathroom. “What do you need to talk about?” she asked.
“Something I should have told you long ago.”
Shards of fear sliced her gut. This couldn’t be good. Well, damn.
7
Max hadn’t meant to scare Elise, but with the way she was taking her time dressing, it was understandable she wasn’t looking forward to their little talk. When she returned to the living room, he picked up her glass of wine and handed it to her.
He never should have bitten her without her permission, but he’d been so overwhelmed with need and lust that he’d lost it—plain and simple. As an Alpha, he should be ashamed at his lack of control, but as a man—or rather as a weretiger—he understood that she was his mate, and that he couldn’t lose her no matter what.
Her lips firmed. “Don’t tell me you’re married.” From the way her voice shook, it took a chunk out of his heart.
“Dear God, no. I’d never cheat.” As much as Max wanted to tell her that he needed to be with her, that she was his fated mate, it was too soon. It would be bad enough when he had to tell her about his deceit.
“Then what is it?” Elise scooted back on the sofa, as if she didn’t want to be with him anymore.
“There are things about me that I need to confess.”
She glanced around the room. “That you’re rich?”
“Well, yes, I am very well off, but that’s not what I want to discuss with you. I need to be totally honest with you about everything.”
“Go ahead.”
“My name is Max Tendor, and yes, I was your fantasy man.” Elise’s hand shook so hard, he slipped her glass from her fingers and set it on the coffee table.
“It was real then. Why didn’t you tell me? You acted like we were strangers, making me think I’d lost my mind.”
He’d rehearsed what he’d wanted to say a number of times, but now that he was with the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, those words sounded insufficient. “I’m sorry. I really am, but I wanted you to like me for who I was and not have high expectations of perfection, because I’m anything but.” Shit, that sounded lame.
“I do like you.” Her brows pinched. “Or at least I did.”
Max scooted closer but not too near. He didn’t want to spook her, but he also had to deal with her scent that was driving him crazy. “Do you remember when the tiger came out of the bathroom?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You said that wasn’t real.”
“I said it was real if you wanted it to be.”
Elise ran her palms down her pants legs. “Okay. What does that mean?”
“If I tell you, will you promise not to run?”
“Maybe.”
That might be the best he would get from her right now. “You witnessed Nikolai change a man into a tiger, right?”
Her pinched brows slowly rose. “Yes. Are you saying that the tiger that came out of the bathroom was real, or that it was a magic trick?” The escalation in her tone pained him.
“It was real.” Blood pounded in his ears as he watched her slowly put the pieces together.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is, and I was the one who changed into that tiger.”
“Oh, that’s rich. You expect me to believe that? I’m not that naïve.” She turned her head.
Max yearned to reach out and erase the lines marring her face, but he didn’t want to make things worse. “No, you aren’t. Did you notice how my eyes turned a shade of yellow and my teeth were sharp at times? I read the confusion on your face when that happened.”
“That was an illusion.” She dragged her palm to her neck. When she lowered her hand, blood stained her fingertips.
Oh, shit. “I can explain.”
“You actually bit me?” Her lips tightened into a thin line.
“Yes, but it was because I was so excited. We’re mates, Elise, and are meant to be together forever.”
She jumped up from the sofa. “Mates? I’m not some animal.”
“You will be once the full moon appears.”
Her gaze shot around the room and he feared she’d bolt. “What exactly does that mean?”
Max stood, needing to intercept her should she run. This time he clasped her shoulders and fought the urge to be with her again. “Let me start from the beginning. Please sit down. I’ll answer all of your questions. I promise.”
A myriad of expressions, ranging from anger to fear, passed across her face, none of which boded well for him. “This better be good.”
He doubted it, but it would be the truth. She eased back down to the sofa and he did too. “As I said, I’m a tiger shifter.”
“Prove it.”
He wasn’t surprised she would ask for proof. “I will in a moment, but first I want to come clean about everything I’ve done.”
She crossed her arms and huffed out a large breath. “What else did you do?”
“Let me give you some background. There are a group of men and women living on the edge of town who are all tiger shifters. I’m their leader—their Alpha. Once in a shifter’s life he meets someone who is his mate. No one quite understands how or why two people are paired, but when they are, we call them fated mates.”
Her brows rose as her chin jutted forward. “And you think I’m your fated mate? Boy, did you get the short straw.”
Once more the pain radiating from her wounded him deeply. “It’s true that we haven’t known each other for long, but I know we belong together. Elise, you’re beautiful, smart, and caring.”
She jumped up again. “That’s creepy. You don’t know anything about me.”
Max stabbed a hand through his hair. “If you think you’re so unworthy, why would I have gone to the trouble of setting up the hypnosis session and then bring you to Nikolai’s suite? I never planned on things getting so out of hand, but I became unraveled around you.” He didn’t think he’d win any points if he told her the other parts of his deception.
“You planned that?”
“Every last detail.”
Her hand covered her mouth as she paced in front of him. “I must have looked like an easy mark, though I don’t know what you had to gain by tricking me.”
This wasn’t going very well or even close to how he had hoped it would. “I wasn’t trying to gain anything other than to be able to spend time with you. I wasn't looking for financial gain. I have everything I need. More than I need. In fact, I’m worth billions.”
“What?”
“That’s just money. What I don't have is you, and right now that’s all that matters to me.”
Her mouth opened as she lowered her arm. “Why didn’t you tell me when I was in that suite that you were—”
“Richer than sin? That I own this casino? Jeez, let me tell you why. Because every woman I’ve ever met wants me for my money. But you didn’t. I thought what we had together, or rather what we still have now, was real.”
She stilled, as if his words were finally sinking in. Even if they were, when he told her that he’d turned her into a shifter, she’d probably never want to see him again.
“I’d thought so, too, but I’m not so sure anymore.”
* * *
Elise was in shock. Now she wished this was a dream, one that she’d wake up from and not remember anything. It didn’t matter that Max Tendor had been everything she’d ever wanted in a man—everything that is, except for being a liar.
A pain stabbed her neck, reminding her that he’d bitten her, and she rubbed the area again. Hadn’t she read that human bites were dangerous? “Should I go to the hospital for a tetanus shot?”
“No. Tigers bite their mates all the time.”
As much as she wanted to argue that there were no such things as mates—or tiger shifters for that matter—she kept quiet, kn
owing it wouldn’t do any good to argue with him.
“I need to warn you that your body is going to change,” he said. “I can help you with the transition.”
“A transition—what, like I’m going to turn into a tiger too?” An incredulous chuckle escaped; however, she didn’t find any of this funny.
“Yes.”
“You have to be kidding.” She held out her palms in an attempt to keep him at bay. “Okay, this is downright spooky. I need to go to the hospital for some antibiotics.”
“You can’t.” He actually sounded scared. “Humans don’t know about our kind.”
“I’m not your kind.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “You are now. Whether you like it or not, you will shift into a tiger at the next full moon.”
He looked so serious that she couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I get it. Samantha and Regina must have hired you to pull this trick on me.” She shook her head. “Here, I thought they were my friends.”
“This isn’t a joke, Elise. I understand this is all new to you, that you might not even like me anymore, but I will show you that we are made for each other.”
In bed maybe. “I need to think about this.” This time she refrained from any sarcasm.
Max eased off the sofa but kept his distance. “When you start to change, you can’t be with your friends.”
“Really? Where am I supposed to be?”
“You need to be with me at our compound in the desert. Every full moon, most of us go out for a run in our tiger form. When a human is turned, that person will shift on the first full moon whether they want to or not. It can be scary, but I can help you.”
“Not that I’m buying this, but what if you’re caught? You said people don’t know you exist, that weretigers don’t exist.”
“We’re careful.”
Elise backed up, not wanting any more to do with this crazy man. Sure, he made her feel like a woman, and she was a bit honored that he’d chosen to pursue her, but all this talk of shifting freaked her out. “I need to go.”
“Don’t you want to see me shift?”
“Not anymore.” It would mess with her head way too much if he did turn into an animal. Hell, she’d probably want to pet him.
She grabbed her purse and raced out, hoping he didn’t follow. As soon as she stepped into the elevator, she leaned back against the wall and worked hard to keep the tears at bay. Her eyes burned and her heart ached.
She might be able to forgive him for the hypnosis trick, but telling her all those lies about shifters and mates was so over the top that she could never pardon him. Her expectations about what they might have had in the future had soared high, and now he’d dashed them.
By the time she reached the lobby, she’d composed herself somewhat. Not wanting to share her humiliation with her friends, Elise hightailed it back to her room. No doubt, they’d come find her around dinnertime.
Needing to wash away Max’s scent from her body, she jumped in the shower and scrubbed as hard as she could. As her anger built at his betrayal—or perhaps at her own vulnerability—she swore she had more arm hair than usual. Clearly her mind was playing tricks on her. When she gritted her teeth, she accidentally bit her lip and blood dribbled down her chin.
“Oh, fuck it.”
She turned off the shower and stepped out. Elise would have to tell Samantha and Regina that she wouldn’t be stepping foot in The Winning Streak ever again, since she didn’t want to take the chance of running into Max. They’d have to find another place to hang out if they wanted her to join them.
After she put on a different pair of jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt, her curiosity got the best of her as to when the next full moon would occur. Not that she was buying into the whole shifter thing, but she had seen a tiger when she’d met Max. Of course, when she’d stepped out of the closet, the animal was gone. It was possible the animal’s trainer came and retrieved his prize animal.
Just as she found out the full moon was the next day, someone knocked on her door. Darn. One of the girls must have wanted to see where she was. Why they hadn’t just texted her, she didn’t know. Hopefully, it wasn’t Max.
“Coming.” When she pulled open the door, her heart jumped to her throat. It was that red-faced devil man, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. It didn’t matter that he worked for Max; she wanted nothing to do with anyone connected to that man.
“Something’s happened to Max, and I need you to come with me.”
Her mind spun. She’d just left him. “What happened?”
“He was in an accident. He’s on his way to the hospital, and he’s asking for you.”
“An accident?” Oh, my God. While she was still angry at Max, she never wanted him hurt. She hoped her walking out hadn’t distracted him when he was crossing the street or something. Regardless that Max had lied to her, she had made love with him, and he’d made her feel special. “Let me grab my purse.”
She ran over to the bed, stuffed her cell inside, and rushed out. The red-faced man led her downstairs to where a limousine was waiting for them. “What kind of accident? How badly is he hurt?”
“He was crossing the street and a car ran a red light. They clipped his side. He might have broken a hip.”
She sucked in a breath. “How terrible.”
Both she and the devil slipped into the backseat. “Don’t worry. Max is strong and should recover.”
Wait a minute. Max claimed his kind didn’t go to hospitals because humans didn’t know shifters existed. That just proved everything he’d said had been a lie. Well, damn.
“You want a drink?” her escort asked as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey from a cabinet.
“No, thank you.” She needed a clear head.
Elise had just leaned back against the luxuriously appointed seat and looked out the side window when something sharp stabbed her in the arm. She jerked to face the red devil and spotted the syringe. “What did you do?”
A metallic taste raced up her mouth. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the man placed his hand over her nose and mouth, probably to keep her from screaming for help. Her pulse soared and adrenaline flooded her veins. She couldn’t breathe. Elise struggled and grabbed his wrist. No matter how hard she tugged, he didn’t let up on the pressure. Her muscles fatigued and her vision blurred. Why was he doing this? And why had Max ordered this man to harm her?
“You’ll never see Max Tendor again.”
She didn’t want to see him. Her heartbeat sped up as her body searched for oxygen. She tried to twist and kick him, but she couldn’t connect with his body. Hold on. Calm down and breathe.
As much as she wanted to alert the driver or hope someone on the streets would see what was happening inside the car, her fingers slowly lost strength and she could no longer hold onto the man’s wrist. Tears trickled down her cheeks as her lifeless arms dropped to her side and her eyes rolled back in her head.
8
Elise opened her eyes to a dimly lit room and groaned the moment she moved. Everything was spinning. Her head pounded and her body ached. While she wasn’t restrained, even sitting up took effort. The room was a bedroom, but it certainly wasn’t Max’s suite. The pink frilly curtains bordering the two windows attested to that.
Needing to find out where she was, Elise stood and waves of nausea slammed into her, forcing her to sit down on the bed. That damned red devil. He’d freaking drugged her, but why? He worked for Max, so his plan couldn’t be to ransom her.
It was dark outside, which meant she must have been out for hours.
“Hello?” Her voice cracked from her mouth being so dry.
She tried once more to stand and this time she succeeded, but the world seemed to be tilting. Before checking to see if the door was locked, she stepped over to one of the windows and pulled back the curtain. The vast desert landscape told her she wasn’t on the Strip anymore. The full moon was clearly visible and shivers tripped up her spine as she remembered all that gar
bage Max had told her about shifters.
Max, Max, Max. Why did you do this to me?
Elise turned around and studied what was in the room to help her figure out her location. The double bed took up most of the space. Given the number of the dolls on the shelves, the room belonged to a young girl. Max claimed he wasn’t married, but perhaps he had been in the past and had a daughter.
She fisted her hands and then immediately released her grip. Holy crap. She’d grown nails that were sharp enough to dig into her palms. Her blood pressure skyrocketed. Had she been here longer than a day? How else could her nails have grown so fast?
No, the moon was full, and she couldn’t have been there a month.
“Max, I want you to let me go,” she said out loud for the devil to hear, hoping he would relay her irritation to him.
“Where are you?”
She stilled, her heart pounding, and then she scanned the room for a camera or a speaker, but neither piece of equipment was in plain sight. “This isn’t funny, Max.”
“I know it’s not. Where are you?”
Holy shit. She hadn’t spoken that last sentence and yet he seemed to be answering her—in her head! Her stomach churned and she spun around. Why was he trying to drive her crazy? Was it because she’d basically told him to leave her alone? Her chest rose and fell so fast that she thought she might hyperventilate. Stay calm. She could figure this out.
Perhaps a camera was hidden among the dolls. She walked over to them and moved them around, hoping to find some evidence, but it could be anywhere.
Elise closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to push aside the severity of her situation. If Max couldn’t see her then he wouldn’t be able to respond. It might not matter, as he seemed to be in her head.
In case he could see her, she wedged herself on the other side of the bed and dropped down to the floor. See how well he liked that!
Wanting to test whether she was merely hearing things—as an aftereffect of the drugs—she mentally sent a message: “The devil man took me. If you wanted me so bad, you should have asked Nikolai to hypnotize me again. It would have been easier.” She felt stupid talking to herself, but she had to know what she was up against.