King of Diamonds (7 page)

Their artistic mother had gifted all her sons with portraits of each member of the family. Karn kept them all on his study walls, even his sister…one of the women who had taught him the uselessness of love and trust. Their mother had completed portraits of family members for each of the sons before she took ill. She never had a chance to start on a set for her youngest child and only daughter, Mikaela.

Karn scowled at the portrait of his traitorous sister. In the picture she looked so angelic, her face sweet and loving and so unlike what she had turned into.

It was just as well Mikaela had no pictures of the family. He oft considered taking down his sister’s portrait, smashing it to bits, flinging it into the fireplace and burning it to cinders. But perversely he kept her picture on his study wall, another reminder to himself to keep thick boundaries around his heart and to refuse to allow anyone to penetrate its barriers.

While he paced the length of his study, Karn’s thoughts continually returned to Annie. He kept seeing her brown sugar eyes, her nut brown hair, and her gentle smile. And her face…how beautiful she was when she reached climax.

She’s just another woman who could betray you,
Karn reminded himself. Yet instinctively he knew she was different.

Still, it frustrated him to no end that he couldn’t get the sweet wench off his mind. His cock yet ached and it had taken all his restraint not to throw his future Queen on the bed and fuck her many times over. Hell, he had almost taken her while she was bound in the bathing pool. He had no doubt that she wanted him, too, and he would have ensured she enjoyed the encounter.

But Annie deserved gentleness when they mated.

The first time.

It pleased him greatly that he would be the only man to thrust his cock into her core, to take her innocence and bring her fully into her womanhood. As beautiful as Annie was, it had surprised Karn to discover his future Queen was a virgin. But there was no doubt in his mind she was unaccustomed to a man’s touch.

What was it about the maid that stirred his protective instincts? That made him crazy with need for her?

Lust, you fool,
Karn all but growled to himself
.
That was all he would allow his mind and soul to feel for her. And of course he would protect what was his. After all, he was a weretiger, and all weretigers guarded their own with incredible fierceness.

But love…no.

Karn’s scowl deepened. He would not allow Annie to take residence in his heart. He would care for her, protect her, and mate with her, but he would not fall in love with her. Too many times his heart had been ripped to shreds, and there was no love left for him to give, save for a very few—his brothers, nieces, and nephews. Even with those members of his family he restrained his emotions. He would not allow himself to care so deeply again.

An odd sound met Karn’s keen hearing, even through the storm. He paused his endless pacing. It was a tiny noise, much like the mewling of Darronn’s and Alexi’s newborn cubs.

Yet there were no cubs in Diamond Hall.

Karn instantly shifted into a tiger, fur covering his flesh, limbs transforming into powerful legs, and sharp teeth bared to protect his kingdom. He bounded from the room and into the candlelit hallways toward the manse’s immense front doors where the mewling sound was loudest. When he reached the doors, he used his magic to open one and crouched, ready to pounce, should he need to.

A tiny creature sat huddled on the doorstep, drenched and shivering. The moment it saw Karn the tiger, the creature hissed, arched its back, and held up one paw with its claws bared.

Karn would have laughed had he been in his man’s form. He recognized the tiny beast that had peered through the path entrance. Annie had called it Abra, and had said it was her cat. Obviously the cat followed her through the path before it was sealed. Karn’s mate had seemed concerned for the creature, and he was confident it would please her to have her companion.

If Annie was forced to be in a loveless joining, then better for her to have something with her to offer comfort.

Not giving the creature a chance to run, Karn pounced and gently caught Abra by the scruff of her neck with his teeth, careful not to hurt her.

The cat gave a fierce, “
Yerowl,”
and tried to bat at Karn with her sharp little claws, but she was helpless in his grip. He turned toward the stairs after using his magic to close the door behind him.

Karn bounded up the staircase to Annie’s chambers. After he quietly let himself into her room and closed the doors behind him, he took the tiny beast to the rug in front of the fireplace.

With a quick movement, Karn pinned the cat so that she couldn’t move. He proceeded to lick Abra’s wet fur like he would one of his own cubs, even though he never intended to bring any into this harsh world.

Gradually Abra relaxed as he licked her fur, and soon she began to purr as she warmed from Karn’s cleaning and from the crackling fire.

While he attended to Abra, Karn was intensely aware of the sleeping woman mere feet from him. Her breathing was soft and on occasion she murmured in her sleep. His desire for her had never waned and he wanted nothing more than to shift into his man form and slide into bed with her.

What is she dreaming?
he wondered. Was it about him? Or perhaps her family, of Alexi and Alice.

Why do I care?

When Abra was clean and dry, the cat drifted off to sleep. She was obviously worn out from her journey from the path to the mansion, and likely she had spent time trying to find a way in before she positioned herself at the front door and cried out for Annie to come to her.

Karn thought about carrying Abra to Annie’s bed, but he didn’t want to wake the sleeping creature or his sleeping mate. He stretched out beside Abra, keeping the little beast close to his chest and sharing his warmth.

As he grew sleepier, an errant thought slipped through his mind. He wished it were Annie that lay beside him, rather than her cat.

Annie stumbled in the darkness, the storm raging all around her. Wind pulled at her hair and clothing as if an attempt to rip all from her body. Her hair was drenched and water ran down her face and seeped into the neckline of her cloak. She clutched Abra tight to her chest, beneath the water-repellent traveling cloak, keeping the cat relatively dry.

Abra trembled every time lightning crashed and thunder boomed, and if Annie didn’t have such a tight hold, she was sure the cat would flee in terror. Annie prayed they wouldn’t be struck by lightning. If only she could find shelter.

“Go back to the mansion,”
her inner voice said, but she ignored it.

They neared the moors, and soon Annie would be the tallest entity around, surely drawing the next bolt of lightning. She needed to crouch down and hide amongst the grass—something!

Abruptly the storm ceased.

No lightning, no thunder, no wind, no rain.

Only an eerie silence prevailed, somehow more frightening than the storm.

Annie straightened and blinked, slowly looking into the darkness. Over her shoulder she could see warm yellow light from Diamond Hall’s windows, beckoning her, telling her to return.

Abra hissed from beneath the traveling cloak. Hair prickled at Annie’s nape.

Slowly she turned back to face the moors…

Her heart ceased to beat as a hideous beast rose up from the grass…

Annie woke with a start. Her heart thumped and she wanted to scream. Her dream world warred with reality, both blending and confusing her as she struggled to place where she was. Gradually everything came into focus, and she realized she was staring up at a rose-colored canopy and she was in a rosewood four-poster bed.

Not her own simple bed with the brass headboard.

Part of her dream was real then. She was in Diamond Hall…and good heavens, she’d given a man fellatio last night.

Annie clapped her hand over her eyes. Her cheeks burned and a warm flush stole through her at the thought of what she’d done, and what he’d done to her, too. All of her mother’s rantings came rushing to her mind all at once. How sex of any kind outside of marriage was bad.

But Annie was intelligent and mature. She was living in the new millennium. What made a woman feel wonderful and special was a
good
thing. Not something to be ashamed of.

Gradually her breathing calmed and she rolled onto her side to look at the fireplace. This time she didn’t know whether to scream in terror or shriek in happiness.

There was a very large black and white striped tiger stretched out on the hearth. Even without her glasses she had no problem seeing that he was watching her with intense midnight eyes.

And curled up in a tight ball on the tiger’s back was her calico cat.

Abra was sleeping on top of a tiger.

Annie couldn’t look away from the tiger’s gripping black gaze. A gaze that seemed familiar. On the beast’s upper right shoulder, one of its black stripes had a diamond shape in the midst of it, one similar to Karn’s tattoo. It occurred to her then that she’d seen a tiger in her painting, before the man had appeared.

That must be it. This tiger is Karn’s pet.

She hoped.

Abra blinked green eyes and stretched her body out along the tiger’s back and yawned. She was so tiny compared to the tiger she’d been sleeping on. Annie had the urge to grab a camera, take a picture, then paint the pair of them.

Abra rolled onto her belly and began kneading the tiger’s fur with her claws sheathed. A purr rose up within Abra, so loud Annie could hear it across the room.

Annie’s heart beat a little faster as she hoped that Abra didn’t let those claws out. Her cat would make a tasty breakfast for an irate tiger.

Abra gave another big yawn then bounded off the tiger. She strolled toward the bed and jumped up, landing on Annie’s legs. But there was no doubt Abra was ticked about being left behind. Tail twitching, the cat lifted her nose in the air and pretended she didn’t see Annie.

Annie couldn’t help but grin. She sat up in bed and scooped Abra into her arms. “I’m so glad to see you, Abracadabra, you little monster.” Annie closed her eyes and rubbed her face in Abra’s soft fur and smiled when the cat began to purr, obviously forgiving all transgressions.

Well, even if Annie was confused as hell, at least she had her cat.

Something large and hair-covered pushed against Annie’s arm. She froze and opened one eye to find herself face to face with the white tiger.

Chapter Five

Ice water chilled Annie’s veins as her gaze locked with the tiger’s black eyes. Her heart pounded and she squeezed Abra so tight to her chest that the cat stopped purring and gave a strangled, “
Mee-owwwrl.”

Both Annie’s eyes were wide. Still holding Abra tight, she scooted away from the tiger.

But the huge creature started to
change.
And not only did its features morph, but it rose up on its hind legs…and shifted into a man. White hair and black stripes to skin and long black hair and black clothing…to Karn.

Karn was a werewolf! Or make that
weretiger
.

He continued to stare at her with those midnight eyes, but Annie went from flat out scared to good and riled. She released her hold on Abra and the cat stalked away, jumped down and disappeared under the bed, obviously sulking at the rough treatment she’d endured.

But Annie crawled off the bed, stood just inches from Karn and poked her finger at his chest. “You scared the living daylights out of me!” She propped her hands on her hips and glared at the beast of a man.

Karn thought that his kitten was so adorable in her fury that he almost smiled. Annie’s brown sugar eyes sparked with fire and she held her chin high. The way she had jabbed at his chest and shouted reminded him of Abra the previous night…how the cat had unsheathed her claws and how her fur stood on end.

So Karn did the only thing he could.

“Don’t do that again, you half-excuse for a redneck kitty cat—” Annie was saying when he roughly caught her hair at her nape. Her words abruptly stopped as he held her in a tight grip, not hurting her, but keeping her from moving. She audibly caught her breath just before he pounced and captured her lips with his.

For a moment, she remained stiff, uncertain. Then, like a saber-toothed cat frozen for years in the ice of the Arctic and now finding the sun, she melted into his embrace.

Karn gently bit Annie’s lower lip and she moaned. The sensual sound made his cock rigid with lust. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and savored her sweet taste as he enjoyed the smell of her feminine musk and the vanilla scent of the bathing gel.

Her arousal came quickly and easily in response to his touch, building Karn’s own desires beyond his expectation.

Using his free hand to cup her ass, he pressed her tight along his length. She was warm and pliable in his arms, fitting so well in his embrace. And her kiss, the way she tentatively met his tongue with hers made him want her even more. How she nipped at his lip as he had done to her nearly drove him to throw her on the bed and fuck her fast and hard.

It took all his restraint, but he managed to pull away.

Annie’s eyes were closed, but then she blinked, looking dazed and flushed. Her lips were swollen from his kiss, her chest rising and falling as though she had just climbed a flight of stairs.

And that chest…his gaze lingered on her large, beautiful breasts, so easily seen through the sparkling gold fabric of her nightdress. Without even realizing what he was doing, he slid his hand from her hair to her breast and lightly pinched her taut nub. “Perfect,” he murmured as he brought his other hand from her ass up the curve of her waist and cupped her other breast. “My lovely kitten.”