Her Tiger To Take (16 page)

Vladimir Dubrovsky. The love of her life. The
man she’d planned to marry.

The man who had accused her of cheating on
him and left her when he found out she was pregnant.

Rose blinked as the reality of Vlad being on
her doorstep sank in. He looked the same: dark hair, dark eyes,
sharp, sexy features, the perfect mouth, and a body designed to
make a woman’s mouth water.

“Hello, Rose,” he said. “I realize this is a
little…unexpected.”

His voice was still that deep rich octave
that had always made her shiver. She released a loud breath.

“Unexpected?” She wanted to laugh. She
grabbed his arm and jerked him inside. “Thank God. Get in
here.”

His wide-eyed shock might have given her some
satisfaction if she wasn’t so worried.

“Your daughter is sick,” she said, dragging
him into her living room. “The doctors can’t tell me what’s wrong.
What did you pass on to her? This isn’t anything from my side—we’ve
run tests and done the research. You need to tell me everything
about your family medical history.”

Vlad stood in her living room staring at her,
his head angled down slightly, his brow furrowed. He looked at her
like she was speaking a foreign language.

Her patience didn’t stretch this far. “Damn
it, Vlad, snap out of it. I need your help. What the hell is wrong
with our daughter? She’s hurting and I have to stop it. If you have
any information that will help, you need to tell me. Now.”

“This isn’t the reception I was
expecting.”

“I don’t have time for that right now. Can
you help or not? If not, get out.”

He shook his head, like a dog shaking off
water, and straightened. “May I see her?”

She hesitated. This man had abandoned them.
She hadn’t seen or heard from him in more than four years. She
wasn’t sure she wanted him around her daughter—even if he was Zoe’s
father.

But if he could help with Zoe’s pain…

“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” she
asked.

“I might. Is the pain cyclical? It comes and
goes? Does she complain her muscles and bones feel like they’re
stretching and aching? Has she ever said her body feels like it’s
coming apart?”

“Yes! The doctors have tried a bunch of stuff
and none of it works.”

“None of it would. May I see her?” he asked
again.

This time Rose didn’t hesitate. “Come on.” If
he could take Zoe’s pain away, she might just be able to forgive
him for breaking her heart. Maybe. She’d certainly stop wishing the
torments of Hell on him.

At the entrance to Zoe’s bedroom, she spun to
face him. The move brought them up close, and for an instant, her
breath caught. He still smelled like the most delicious thing ever,
spice and musk and male. She pushed the thought aside and pointed a
finger at him.

“Don’t scare her or hurt her. If you do
anything that pisses me off, you’re out of here. I’m too scared and
worried about her to put up with nonsense. Also, no cursing.” She
turned and walked into her daughter’s brightly decorated, white and
yellow room.

“Zoe. I have someone here to see you.”

“No doctors.” Zoe’s frown was set,
stubbornness in every cute, chubby little line of her face. Then
her body jerked and she moaned.

Rose forgot about Vlad as she hurried to her
daughter. “Baby, I’m here. I’m here. It’s going to be okay. I
promise.” She swallowed and brushed her daughter’s sweat soaked
hair from her little face.

“Mommy, it hurts.”

“I know, baby. We’ll fix it.”

“Zoe.” Vlad’s tone was soothing and soft. “My
name is Vlad. I’m not a doctor. But I might be able to help you.
Can I sit next to you?”

She glanced up at Rose, pain pinching the
skin around her beautiful dark eyes—eyes that had always reminded
Rose of Vlad. Rose nodded her approval.

Zoe looked at him. “You got a funny
name.”

He smiled, then very gently sat next to her
on the bed. “When the pain comes, does it feel like your skin is
stretching?”

She nodded.

“Do you…do you see any images in your mind
when the pain hits? Does anything pop up in your imagination?”

“Tigers.”

He straightened and sucked in a sharp
breath.

“What?” Rose asked. “What is it? Why are
tigers significant?”

He ignored her questions and focused on Zoe.
“I’m going to talk you through breathing and things to think about
that should help ease the pain. Okay?”

Rose glared. Positive thinking wasn’t going
to help her baby.

“I want you to take a long, slow breath,”
Vlad coached.

“Can’t. Hurts.”

“I know. But this will help. I promise. One
long deep breath, and imagine the way your arms feel when you feel
good.”

Zoe nodded as she tried to take a deep,
stuttering breath.

“That’s it. Good girl. Now close your eyes
and concentrate on how your whole body feels when you feel good.
How your two legs feel. What the shoes on your feet feel like. What
it feels like to wiggle your toes against the inside of your shoes.
Got it?” He looked up at Rose. “What’s her favorite toy or game?
Something that involves physical sensation.”

Rose snatched up Zoe’s special blanket and
handed it to him.

“I want you to imagine feeling your blanket
against your fingers,” he continued to Zoe. “Do you remember what
if feels like? Concentrate on the soft material against your
skin.”

“She sucks on the corner,” Rose put in.

Vlad nodded. “Remember what the corner feels
like against your lips, on your tongue. How the blanket feels when
it touches your cheek.”

As he talked in slow, rhythmic, soothing
tones, Zoe’s breathing evened out and the tight lines around her
eyes and mouth eased. Her little body relaxed and her shoulders
slumped.

“Feeling better now?” Vlad asked.

She opened her eyes and smiled. “Better. I
tired.”

“You rest, baby,” Rose said. Vlad stood and
Rose tucked Zoe into her bed, making sure she had her favorite
blanket in hand. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

She nodded, then looked up at Vlad, her dark
eyes narrowing toward sleep. “Thanks for taking the pain away.”

“You’re welcome.”

Rose felt tears pricking her eyes and
sniffled them back. She didn’t like Zoe seeing her upset, not so
soon after an episode. She motioned to Vlad, and they left Zoe to
sleep.

In the living room, Rose stood for a long
moment just staring at the pale carpet and breathing deeply. She
felt so drained she wanted to sleep, too.

But first, she had some things to discuss
with Vlad. “Sit.” She motioned to the couch. “You want something to
drink?”

“No.”

“Why are you here?” She dropped into a chair
opposite the couch.

Vlad sat, his brow creased. “I’m not sure how
to start.”

“Let me start then by saying thank you for
helping Zoe. If you can tell me how to do that, I’d appreciate it.
Then you can leave again.”

Vlad scowled. “I can’t leave you.”

“You did before.”

“That’s not what I mean. It’s… This is a
complicated story.”

She raised her brows, too tired to argue with
him about the past.

“I was expecting a different reaction to my
being here.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “I thought you might slap
me.”

“Maybe if Zoe hadn’t been in the middle of an
episode I would have.”

His mouth lifted in a little half smile, and
Rose’s heart thumped hard. Damn him, how did he do that to her with
just a smile? She hated him. It didn’t make sense that she could
feel anything else for him, especially not this longing.

“I should start with an apology,” he
continued.

She snorted. “Little late for that now.”

“It’s offered anyway.”

“Why?”

He paused before saying, “I have reason to
believe I was mistaken when I left.”

She gave him a deadpan stare that would have
shriveled a weaker man. “Really? What led you to this
epiphany?”

“Discovering I had a half sister I didn’t
know about. Seeing the state Zoe was just in confirmed my
suspicions.”

“How does you having a sister make you
rethink your accusation that I cheated on you?”

“I was telling you the truth when I said we
couldn’t have kids. At least, the truth as I knew it. You and I
should not have been able to conceive a child. Because of that, I
was left with no alternative but to think you’d been with another
man.”

“We did have a child. I didn’t cheat on
you.”

“I believe you now.”

“Why now? Why didn’t you believe me then? Why
were you so convinced we wouldn’t be able to have kids? You hadn’t
had a vasectomy and there was nothing wrong with me.”

All those years ago, he’d been very clear
about the fact that they wouldn’t be able to have children
naturally. He’d always seemed sad when he talked about not having
kids, and she really wanted them. But, he’d told her, if she wanted
them, she either needed to find someone else, or they’d have to
consider alternatives like adoption. She’d been prepared to adopt.
So long as she and Vlad were together, it hadn’t matter how they
built their family. At least not to her.

When she’d realized she was pregnant, she’d
been thrilled, thinking whatever Vlad had been told about his
ability to reproduce had been a mistake. She’d expected him to be
as excited as she was, and she’d even deluded herself into thinking
he’d propose then and there.

But he hadn’t proposed.

He fisted his hands against his thighs.
“You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you. But for
Zoe’s sake, you need to know the truth. Then we need to go
somewhere safe for a few weeks.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you talking
about? Why would we need a ‘safe’ place?” She straightened in her
seat, her exhaustion vanishing.

“I’m pretty sure my brothers have figured
out…about Zoe.”

“Vlad, you are as clear as mud right now.
What the hell?”

“Okay. The truth.” He leaned forward and met
her gaze steadily. “I’m a tiger shapeshifter. Tigers and humans
aren’t supposed to be able to have children. That’s why I thought
you’d cheated on me. Then I learned about my sister. Her father is
human, but her mother—my mother—was a tiger. Turns out, it is
possible for me to have children with a human woman. And if my
brothers learn Zoe is my child, they will try to kill her.”

Look for Tiger Shifters Book 5 in Late
Spring 2015

Tiger Shifters Series

Book 1: Once Upon a Tiger

Book 2: Along Came a Tiger

Book 3: Here There Be Tigers

Book 4: Her Tiger To Take

Book 5: Coming Soon – late Spring 2015

To the bit of literary license I took in this
book. Those of you familiar with Colorado have no doubt realized
there is no such place as Eirene on the road between Vail and
Denver. There’s no Eirene, Colorado period. I hope you’ll forgive
me for the invention. Typically, I like to stick to real locations
and places that actually exist. But I wanted to do something very
specific with Eirene, I wanted to build a certain kind of town, and
I didn’t want to take that kind of license with a real place and
risk insulting someone’s home. Thank you for understanding. We will
be seeing Eirene again in the series, so I hope you enjoyed your
visit there.

As a bit of trivia, I named the town Eirene
after the Greek goddess of peace. I thought that was very fitting
for a town of misfit toys looking for a place to belong.

I got the opportunity to work with new
editors on this book and I want to thank them very much for all
their help in bringing this story to its full potential. My sincere
thanks to Jena at Practical Proofing for her excellent insights.
And a huge thanks to Becky and the crew at Hot Tree Editing for
their sharp eyes and wonderfully supportive comments.

Additionally, I would like to thank my fellow
writerly cohorts: Kemberlee Lugo, Stacey Agdern, Leanna Renee
Hieber, Mala Bhattacharjee, Elizabeth K. Mahone, Lise Horton, Hope
Tarr, Stacey Klemstein, and Linnea Sinclair. A huge thank you to
you all, my dear friends.

Thank you to all the readers who keep
returning to the Tiger Shifter world. I am, as always, truly
grateful to you for your support.

Finally, I must thank my beloved family, who
continue to put up with me when I’m in the midst of deadlines and
mayhem. I couldn’t continue without the love and support of my
husband and two beautiful boys. I also have to thank my parents and
sister—they know why.

Thanks!

Kat Simons earned her Ph.D in animal
behavior, working with animals as diverse as dolphins and deer. She
brought her experience and knowledge of biology to her paranormal
romance fiction, where she delights in taking nature and turning it
on its ear. After traveling the world, she now lives in New York
City with her family. Kat is a stay-at-home mom and a full time
writer.

For more on Kat and her Tiger Shifters
books:

Website:
http://www.katsimons.com

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