A Tiger's Bounty (3 page)

Jace drove the car down a long alley sandwiched between two large buildings, then exited out onto a city street she finally recognized. The drive to her place was quiet, punctuated only by the muffled sounds of traffic and bustling city around them and the purring of the engine as Jace palmed the wheel and moved through the city as if he knew it like the back of his own hand.

Amber tried to keep her eyes from wandering over to the view of his muscled forearms working the wheel.

When they arrived at her apartment building, Jace parked outside in the temporary parking on the street. He then got out and came around to open the door for her.

“This the right place?”

“Yup. Home sweet home,” Amber said, getting out of the car and raising a hand to shield her eyes from the rapidly rising sun bearing down on them.

“Mind if I walk you in?” he asked nonchalantly.

He has a funny way of getting rid of me
, Amber thought. It was like he was almost hesitant to let her go. Quite the opposite of most men she’d come across, who seemed to be devoid of chivalry these days and more than happy to leave her to get a cab or walk home herself.

“Sure. Thank you,” she replied, leading the way up to the entryway and unlocking the door. Once inside, Jace followed close behind her up the stairs to her apartment on the second floor, the cheapest, tiniest one-person studio she’d been able to afford.

Amber had tried roommates, but she always wound up with the short end of the stick when it came to cleaning the apartment or paying rent.

When they got to the door, she fumbled for her keys. Having such a tall, sexy man standing there in the tiny hall just outside her apartment filled her mind with wild ideas. It was as if there were an electric current in the air that passed between them, whether she was looking at him or not.

It wasn’t fair that this tall, ripped, gorgeous man had come out of nowhere, rescued her, brought her to his place, fed her, and was now acting more attentive than any date she’d ever had in her life. And no matter what his words said, she knew a guy like him would never want a woman like her. If she stayed around him any longer, she knew she’d get her heart broken from starting to hope for things.

Amber turned around to a pair of dark, orange eyes watching her intently.

“Thanks again Mr… Jace, for saving me like you did. What do I owe you?” she asked nervously.

“Nothing,” he responded curtly. “And it’s just Jace.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You saved my life. You must want something.”

For a moment, Jace seemed to ponder the thought without giving even the slightest physical indication of what it might be.

“I think I have something in mind,” he said, raising an eyebrow, his expression swiftly changing from nondescript to heated.

“What exactly?” Amber replied, feeling incredibly nervous and excited at the same time.

Jace paused. “A kiss,” he said simply.

Of all the things to ask for, that was it?

Was it technically giving someone a kiss if you wanted it too?

“From what I can tell, you’ve been thinking about it for a while now,” he said.

Had she been that easy to read? She could feel herself starting to blush at the thought.

In an instant, Jace’s arms pressed onto the door behind her, caging and surrounding her on all sides, but not touching her. It was thrilling, being encircled by so much muscle, so much
man
.

“I promise to make it worth your while,” Jace said, and Amber could swear she saw him lick just the slightest corner of his lips. At this distance, she could pick up his fragrance, spicy and masculine and exotic and heady, like something from the jungles of some far-off land.

“O-okay,” Amber stuttered, her breath catching in her throat.

Part of her wanted to invite him into the apartment right now. The other part had its heart broken one too many times, and it told her to run from this man. That he was too perfect for her. That it was all far too good to be true.

Jace moved closer, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath over her. He stood so impossibly tall, and him leaning over only made Amber feel smaller as his lips came so close to hers they brushed lightly.

Her entire body waited on the precipice of it all, eager and wanting and undecided all at the same time.

Amber felt like a sixteen-year-old about to receive her first kiss. Only she’d never felt like this about anyone else before, so that just made her a woman in her mid-twenties who’d never experienced that “first kiss” feeling before.

Right then, Jace’s lips closed over hers, warm and intense. That same electric intensity she’d felt before was there, only a million times stronger now. It made Amber feel so alive, so wanted by this man.

His kiss was soft at first, just the lightest amount of pressure. The promise of more. But as he deepened the kiss, Amber felt her body become more and more aroused. She moaned lightly as he pressed a little harder, a little rougher, strength radiating from him as she started to melt in his arms.

As if reading her thoughts, he laced a hand behind her neck, supporting her and making all the nerves on her skin where he touched cry out in excitement. As he held her, he kissed her even harder, and Amber opened her mouth automatically, just the slightest amount to see if he came in.

The second she did so, his tongue thrust inside, deft and hot. He stroked with incredible precision, as if he knew exactly where to touch her that would make her the wildest with desire. She draped her arms around him, and he wrapped his free arm around her, pressing her into him, the entire length of his body covered in hard muscle that she could almost taste.

Amber didn’t know how long the kiss lasted. She only knew when he finally did withdraw, leaving her wet and wanting more, her body rebelled against it. She felt weak in the knees and leaned back on the door behind her just to stay upright.

“Looks like we’re even now,” Jace said with a smirk. But his eyes showed just the slightest hint of hesitance despite his normally perfect poker face.

Amber’s mind filled with all kinds of crazy thoughts. Like asking him out. Like saying she wanted to see him again. Anything to keep this from being the last time she saw this mysterious, sexy man.

But who was she kidding? She didn’t even know his last name. But she didn’t care. It all just felt so right that she couldn’t ignore it.

“My card is in your purse if you ever need me,” Jace said, turning to walk down the hall, his gaze lingering on her for a prolonged moment before turning fully and heading toward the stairway.

I need you now
, she wanted to say
.
But Amber could never say that out loud. Putting yourself out there just made you vulnerable to the wolves. And in Amber’s experience, men really were wolves.

Finally, giving in to resignation, she opened the door to her apartment and went inside.

She took one look and shrieked.

J
ace wasn’t
ready to end the kiss. Wasn’t ready to say good-bye to the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Wasn’t ready to give up on the possibilities that his heart wanted to explore, but his mind refused.

There was no place for a woman in his life. Especially not a woman like Amber, who was all curves and beauty and eyes that went on for days, eyes he could gaze into forever and never get his fill. Or lips that begged to be kissed, hips that sought to be held.

He’d scented it on her, known how aroused she was by the kiss. He was glad she wasn’t like him, or she would have scented it on him as well, despite his feeble attempts at playing cool.

Every time he considered going back on his decision, turning around and claiming her for his own, his mind reminded him of all the terrible people he came across on a daily basis. Shifters that were more dangerous than someone like Amber could ever fathom, let alone deal with like he had to.

No, his choice was made. One kiss and that would have to be the last he saw of her.

That was until he heard a voice screaming at the top of its lungs from the direction of her room at the end of the hallway.

In a flash, Jace whirled around and sprinted toward the sound. He cleared the fifty or so feet from the stairwell to the door in seconds, his mind racing with horrific possibilities of what might have gone wrong. Were there home invaders inside at this very moment? Was she hurt?

He reached the door and swung it open, glad it wasn’t locked, and saw Amber standing in the center of her living room, terror in her eyes as she looked up at him.

The house looked like a tornado had passed through it. Only, upon further inspection, it was clear it hadn’t been the result of any natural disaster.

Vases had been thrown against walls. Her coffee table was in splinters and the small dinner table in the tiny attached kitchen had been split down the center. The door of her fridge had been ripped off its hinges, and most of the cabinets were ripped off the wall, exposing unpainted wood and screws.

Jace didn’t even want to know what her bedroom looked like.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize someone, or multiple someones, had been here recently. And from the random savagery of it, coupled with the fact that even her largest appliances had been manhandled like tinker toys, it had clearly been shifters, probably Brenner’s friends or family.

Amber ran up to Jace, and he threw an arm around her, clutching her possessively against him as he surveyed the scene.

She was trembling, and Jace loosened his grip slightly and looked down at her. He’d not been in the situation to comfort a woman like this in a very, very long time, but he put an arm around her supportively all the same, hoping it would help calm her.

“How did this happen? Who did this?” Amber asked, fear obvious in her voice. “Why?”

“Your wallet. Did anything in there have your address on it?”

Amber thought for a moment, then responded. “Yes, I had a little card with my contact information in case it got lost.”

“The men from last night were probably the ones that came here, though I’m not sure why,” he said, knowing that wasn’t completely true.

Jace couldn’t tell her it was his fault they were after her now. That he’d turned in a wanted criminal and his friends and family were now probably on the warpath for revenge. Not yet at least. He didn’t want her to be more scared than she already was.

He did know he’d protect her. With his life even, if it came to that. That somehow he’d make it right.

“What should I do?” she asked. “Call the police?”

He frowned. That wouldn’t do anything. Most of the police were human and not very good against the type of monsters they were dealing with.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the window that led out onto the fire escape smashed and slightly ajar. They’d probably come in through the window early this morning, trashed the place, and left without ever unlocking the front door.

Which meant they could be back at any moment.

“Grab a suitcase or a backpack. Pack only the essentials. I’ll keep an eye out and see if they left anything behind that will give us a better idea of what happened.”

“Shouldn’t we call the police?” she asked.

“They’ll file a report, ask some questions, but they won’t do any real investigating since we don’t have any leads. The cops are out chasing down rapists and murderers. They won’t make time for something like this. Right now, our first priority is getting you somewhere safe.”

Amber took a deep breath and exhaled, steeling herself. “Okay. I guess you’re right. I just need a minute,” she said, releasing him and disappearing into her bedroom. As he poked around, he could hear her curse and swear. It just made Jace angrier and all the more eager to do in the people that had threatened her like this.

Even though it had probably occurred hours ago, Jace could still pick up the slight stench of wolf. Could tell there were three distinct scents, but all were similar, so they were probably related. To his surprise, none were familiar to him, so it wasn’t from the other two men that had been with Brenner the night of his capture. Jace guessed it was family members of his that had heard about it from his poker buddies shortly afterward.

Jace suspected half the reason wolf shifters were always so angry and violent was because there was always someone in their clan that had been stolen or murdered who they felt compelled to avenge. That’s why bear shifters, though bigger and stronger, were usually easier to take care of. They didn’t run in packs.

After a minute, Amber came out of her room wearing a dark-blue backpack and carrying a small duffel bag, looking harried.

“Sorry about your place,” Jace said, standing from the small pile of debris he was perched over, inspecting, and offering to carry her bags.

“Most of it was Goodwill and thrift store stuff anyway. I never had much to begin with. But it’s more the thought of it, you know? The fact that someone’s violated your space like this,” she said, surprisingly astute for someone who’d been through as much hell as she had in twenty-four hours. “They even thrashed my laptop for school. Thankfully, I back up all my files on the cloud or I’d be screwed.”

“You can use my laptop back at my place if you want,” Jace said casually as he insistently took her duffel bag and backpack. The last thing she needed to worry about was carrying her stuff or schoolwork.

“Is that where we’re going? Shouldn’t I just call a friend or someone I can stay with?” Amber asked, sounding hopeful for the first time since they’d entered the bedlam that was her apartment.

“No. My place is the only location I know for sure is safe. Until we figure out what to do next, I want to keep you near at all times,” Jace said as he headed out the door, waiting for her to follow.

“Don’t you have to go to work or something?” she asked, locking the door behind her with a mournful sigh and following him down the hall.

“Today’s my day off,” Jace said. In fact, any day was a day off if he wanted it to be. He was set for life, financially speaking. The dragons were to thank for that. But his job wasn’t about the money. It was about the hunt. About justice. About so many things he couldn’t even start to describe.

“Oh. Your day off. That’s convenient,” she said, a hint of cheeriness creeping back into her demeanor. Jace couldn’t help but be a little awed by someone who got back on their feet as quickly as Amber did.

They went down the stairs and got back into Jace’s car. He would have laughed about how quickly things had changed from how he expected them to go, if not for the fact that Amber was in danger and her place had been thrashed with extreme prejudice.

Soon enough, Jace would make the people responsible pay. And in the meantime, the tiger inside him couldn’t help but purr with satisfaction at the prospect of spending more time around this luscious, curvaceous woman that somehow had an effect on him that no other woman had before.

Maybe fate had more planned for them than even he could have anticipated.

“
I
thought
you said today was your day off,” Amber asked as they pulled into a small, dark parking lot behind an old bar on the first floor of a brick apartment building.

“It is. This is just one quick errand I need to run. And I imagine you could use a drink after a day like today,” Jace replied, putting the car in park after finding a large parking space.

“If you hadn’t been there to help, I would be in need of quite a few drinks. But yeah, it sounds like a good idea,” she said, following him as he climbed out of the car and headed toward the steps that led down into the bar.

At this point, Jace had to do everything in his power to avoid kissing Amber again like they had this morning. After they left her apartment, the rest of the day was spent meandering around the city either in his car or on foot. Going shopping with her to get a few necessities that hadn’t been salvageable in her apartment. Taking a stroll through the city park to get lunch at what Amber insisted was the best street food vendor for twenty blocks (and she’d been right too). Stopping by the library to drop off a few books she’d checked out earlier that week and then milling through ancient volumes of newspaper records for the heck of it.

Jace usually gave himself a day or two off after a mission before he went back to work, but by himself, that usually resulted in working out incessantly or inane repetition of things like disassembling his gun or lock-picking various pairs of handcuffs.

But with Amber around, everything was so much simpler, so much more fun. And with the combination of her intelligence coupled with her killer body, Jace could feel his tiger very near the surface, wanting for the first time in his life something more than just the thrill of the hunt. The thrill of hunting a different kind of prey.

It didn’t change the fact that as soon as she was safe, they’d have to part ways. But in the meantime, this was certainly a change of pace for the bounty hunter.

The bar, named simply O’Dell’s (though O’Dell himself no longer owned the place) was more or less the same on the outside as it was on the inside. Old, or rustic, depending on how you looked at it. Most of the time, it was just a haunt for old-timers and retirees looking to chat with a few friends while they watched the game on the dim televisions. Occasionally, younger people would wander in, hoping for some action, but on the average, the place was pretty quiet.

Which was why Jace conducted his business here. That and because they had the best wings in the northern hemisphere.

When they got inside, Jace directed Amber to a booth off to the side. A quick scan of the place told him his contact wasn’t here yet, so there would be no harm in taking it easy.

As Amber sat, Jace couldn’t help but notice for the millionth time how perfectly curved her ass was in those jeans, and he felt himself getting hard at an image of him grasping it while pumping into her as she screamed his name.

Jace sat down quickly and grabbed a menu to distract himself.

“So why exactly are we at a place like this? There are a lot nicer bars uptown,” she said as she looked around at the aging, mostly sports-related decor of the place.

“A friend of mine lives around here. I meet with him every two weeks to go over a few work things, but it should be fast.”

This particular person was one of the main liaisons for the dragons he did jobs for. Since he’d just finished a mission, Jace was anticipating a short debriefing, nothing more. But he’d been surprised before.

Wherever possible, dragons liked to communicate via means that couldn’t be hacked into or that didn’t leave a paper trail. Like having one of their people come meet you in person.

“And what is it exactly that you do, Jace?” she probed, hoping for a straight answer.

Jace could tell she’d been trying to figure it out ever since she’d met him, asking offhand questions about what school he’d gone to or how many hours he worked a week, things like that.

But in spite of the fact that everyone that knew him (which was in reality only a handful of people) knew he was a bounty hunter and he loved his job, he couldn’t risk telling her. At least not yet. If she ran, she wouldn’t be safe.

That and he was far from done being around Amber.

“I work in extreme personnel reallocation for the private sector,” he said, hoping to sound convincing.

“Wait, what?” Amber asked.

“I just… Let’s talk about something else,” he said.

Amber just wrinkled her nose slightly but didn’t press harder. Instead, she changed the subject. “So you know basically everything there is to know about me at this point. Only child, terrible parents, emancipated myself at sixteen, worked odd jobs until I could finally save up for college, et cetera, et cetera. What about you, though? Do you have any family?” she asked while he gave their orders to the waiter.

Jace took a sip of the beer he’d ordered and considered what to tell and what not to tell. Obviously, the fact that he and his brothers were tiger shifters was off the table.

“I have two brothers, one younger and one older.”

“What are they like?” she asked, curious.

“The older one’s a cop, a detective actually. He works for the city. Wish they had more like him, honestly. The younger one’s a private bodyguard. Real quiet, keeps to himself mostly.”

“But that’s not what you do, is it? Guard people?” she asked, trying once again.

“Not until now at least. But I’m finding my first assignment to be pretty satisfactory,” he replied, pegging her with a wry grin that made her blush a little. He loved getting that sort of reaction out of her.

She just took a long swig of her beer to hide herself for a moment.

“So your brothers are both local. What about your parents?” she said after swallowing half the glass.

“No idea who my father is. My mother died when we were all young, so we grew up pretty close to each other. I see them now and then just to keep in touch.”

The truth was neither Jace nor his brothers knew anything at all about where they’d really come from. Tigers were extremely rare, and because of the unique ability inherent to cat shifters to hide their scent from other shifters, it made them difficult to detect by the general population and even harder to track.