Human Interaction (23 page)

The liger turned to stare at me for a long moment before moving away from his victims. Ambling closer, he held my gaze.

I searched but didn't see any major wounds, just smatterings of blood on his face, paws, and underbelly. Nothing appeared more serious than a hot bath couldn't fix.

"You okay?"

He licked my hand, his tongue rough on my palm.
Evidently kitty language for yes.

"Thank you."

In a flash, the cat disappeared, replaced by Meat in human form. The change not only provided clothes, but he lacked the previous blood stains as well. I reached for him immediately, holding him tight.

"I was so worried."

He held me just as snug, rubbing his cheek against mine. "It's gonna take more than two fledgling vampires to do me in, especially when they're after my… you."

I soaked in his warmth, his protectiveness, and felt cherished. A stiff wind blew through my jacket. I shivered with the cold.

"Let's get you home. You can call your boss and file a report of what happened along the way." With one arm wrapped around my waist, he escorted me to his car, settled me inside, then dropped in the driver's seat.

His gaze raked over me. "Mine."

For once, the word didn't send a spear of annoyance through me. Instead, a cloud of happiness floated in and settled comfortably.

Meat risked his life to defend me. Me. Sure, interspecies dating made for a bumpy road and living with an alpha would probably test anyone's patience, but boy howdy, the rewards of being with the shifter of my dreams grew plentiful. Drool-worthy body, muscles in abundance, exuding sex appeal, extreme confidence, and filled with an attitude of sensual teasing. To top everything off, he seemed to adore the boys, playing with them, caring for them, more than a lot of men would do in his shoes.

A woman could do much worse.

CHAPTER 23

After the ordeal at the art walk, we headed back to Meat's house. A double-dipped brownie sundae complete with nuts and a cherry sounded too good to pass up, especially when one's life had nearly flashed before their eyes minutes ago. Not to mention Meat needed a shower to rid himself of vampire cooties.

I walked into his home, heading straight for the kitchen. He stalled by grabbing my hand and leading me directly to the couch. Plopping down, my gaze met his, finding an all too familiar flicker in his eyes.

"I'm going to eat dessert. Double dipped sundae." Pointing out his earlier promise of tasty treats might curtail his thoughts.

He flashed a grin. "I have something else you might enjoy tasting and nibbling on."

So much for diversion.
I squirmed on the couch, shifting a bit closer to the armrest. After the awkward and uncomfortable incident earlier, I wasn't so sure sharing body fluids ranked high on my priority list for the day. Meat needed a scrub and I still shook from the earlier encounter. Besides, I'd already scarfed down a large lunch at the party and now really needed a double decked sundae. At this rate, I would require a larger sized wardrobe in a mere week. Not that I was using food to avoid sex. Instead, I'd decided Meat made me nervous thus, I ate.
Denial city.

He stood, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet. Strong arms wrapped initially around my waist before nimbly slipping under my blouse, finding their way easily to the clasp on my bra.

I threw caution to the wind. Sex now, shower later.
It's all good.

In turn, my hands grasped his shirt, tugging to get it loose from his jeans. He sucked in his belly, assisting my efforts. My fingers found their way under the material, reacquainting myself with the contours of his highly defined muscular chest and belly.

Yummy.
No wonder he made a good living showing off his body. Even lifelong nuns would drool over him.

Bending a bit, he sealed his lips over mine, opening wide to start a new game of tag with my tongue. I eased closer, throwing more passion into his kiss, nipping his bottom lip before soothing it with my tongue. He groaned in response, covering my breast with one hand, molding and caressing.

An impatient tapping noise broke into the moment. Meat stepped back, spinning around.

Sure enough, Misha stood in his living room. Her fiery red dress had a slit high enough to reveal the tops of her thigh. With just enough of a breeze, what she wore or didn't wear under the outfit would easily be revealed. The cleavage, in turn, dipped low, threatening to spill its contents with one deep breath. Marilyn Monroe in her famous scene, trying to modestly hold her dress down over the air vent, came to mind.

She ignored me, crossed her arms over her endowed chest, and centered those hateful blue eyes directly on Meat. "I need you." The tone smacked of an order with immediate compliance expected.

I sighed.
Here we go again.
Irritation rushed to the fore. The jealous walking sex popsicle on a stick wasn't about to ruin another night with Meat.

"Get out of here, Misha." My mouth fell open at Meat's words.

A shocked expression flashed over her face before she gathered herself. Obviously, she'd never even considered the possibility of rejection.

Her chin lifted as she glared at him. "I said I need you." When he didn't move, she tried again, "It's that time."

"No." He denied her, stern and abrupt.

"No?" She stomped her foot on the hardwood floor, the clang announcing her changing mood from impatience to icy fury. Her glare alone would stop Genghis Khan in his tracks.

Meat advanced to stand directly in front of her. "I told you last time to find someone else." His fists clenched at his sides as he growled his displeasure.

Misha's eyes narrowed. A perfectly executed pout followed. "But Tyger, you know how hard my life has been." She purred, sidling closer to him, her hand lightly stroking from the middle of his chest down to the waist of his jeans. "I don't trust anyone but you."

He pushed her hand away. "I've smelled other males on you, Misha. I'm not as stupid as you think." He snarled, his voice deepening as he pinned her with his angry stare.

Not concerned, she waved absently. "Human males. You know I need you to handle my heat."

Enough of the drama already.
I stepped around the coffee table, preparing to smack her upside the head and probably get bitten in the process. Meat could hold my hand through the series of rabies shots later.

"Shy is staying. Misha, you're leaving." He shot me a glance before turning stormy eyes back on her.

She looked at me in astonishment before snarling back. "You would choose her over me?"

"Yes."

"Over her dead body."
What is it with other species and their wish to destroy me tonight?

Without warning, a large spotted cat leaped in my direction, knocking me hard to the floor. Yelping, I managed to land on my back, tucking into a fetal position and covering my face to protect it from the sharp claws already digging into the soft skin of my belly.

A loud roar full of rage ripped through the living room. The cat was forcefully lifted off me and tossed across the room as if she weighed nothing more than one of her high end pumps. I took advantage of the freedom to scoot into a sitting position and ease backward toward the cover of the couch, pausing when I glimpsed the large cat I'd seen earlier stalking toward the smaller jaguar.

He easily outsized her by three times. Smudged black stripes stood out from the tawny basecoat color, much more easily seen in the brighter lights of home than the dimmer parking lot of earlier. Long curved claws clicked with each step on the floor, used to slice through flesh and bone.

Rumbling noises came from his throat, she answered in kind. Sliding to her belly, she spun, placing her rear to him, her tail flicking in agitation or maybe in invitation.

I blinked at the scene from Wild Kingdom playing out before me.

Still in kitty form, Misha elevated on her hind legs, making her wishes easily known. Just when I thought Tyger would cover her, giving her what she wanted after all, he sidled to her left, roared fiercely, and slapped her hard in the side with his dinner plate sized paw. Misha whimpered, remaining in place until he repeated the action. Only then did she slink on her belly toward the door before disappearing from view.

With her gone, the huge cat's attention turned toward me. I squeaked, managing to stand on unsteady legs. His eyes sparked with emotion. I couldn't decipher if his gaze flickered with anger, sexual lust, or something else.

A low purr came from his chest as he sauntered my direction, growing in decibels as he rested that huge head against my stomach. My hands automatically reached down to run through the soft fur.

"You're quite large, aren't you?" I whispered, enjoying the feel of his pelt. Without the blood splatters, the gorgeous fur beckoned to be touched.

What sounded almost like a laugh interrupted the purring for a brief moment.

My face burned as I realized how the sex fiend must have taken my statement. "You're a very large, very bad kitty."

He rubbed his face against me again, blatantly asking for more physical attention.

My heart melted a bit as I relaxed into the stroking. "Yeah, you know I'm right. But, I guess, just maybe… this once it's okay." I grinned down as he released a frustrated grumble. I kissed his nose, scratched behind his ears. "As much as I'm enjoying this, are you going to change back any time soon?"

He craned his thick neck to look up at me. I swear the beast smiled. A second later, Meat the man, stood before me, naked as the day he was born.

"Ack!"

"Now what were you saying about me being large?" He grinned wickedly. I retreated. He stalked me. "How many men have you been with, Shy?"

"Ummmm." I held up one finger, trying to focus anywhere else, but my eyes kept slipping south on his hunky body.

He grinned mischievously. "Then you don't know what large is, do you?"

I blinked, not certain how we got on this subject or how to get out of it.

"How many have you been with?" I chewed my lower lip and tried to slow my breathing.

"A lot."

My eyebrows shot up. "Men?" Not that I minded any sexual persuasion but I found it odd that he would just talk about the men.

He shrugged. "A lot of women."

What did that mean exactly? Is one hundred a lot? One thousand? What about those men, anyway?

"How old are you exactly?" My brows furrowed as I tried to sort out all this information.

"Two hundred, give or take a few years." His hand reached out to wrap around my waist. "Don't worry. I do pretty well for an old guy."

That's what I'm afraid of
. I tried one final question in an attempt to pause the sexual happenings promised in his body language. "You aren't kinky, are you?"

He paused as his lips sought out mine. "Oh, you have no idea." He purred in promise.

"Huh?"

Too late. His mouth sealed over mine, keeping my tongue too busy to be able to toss out any more questions.

Next thing I knew, we were in his bed, and I somehow lost my clothes in the process of getting there. Meat slid over me, preventing me from pulling the sheet over my exposed body. His lips drew mine into a deep kiss, driving all thoughts of escape from my mind.

I bit my lip when his hand brushed gently over the fresh scratches, four lines across the lower half of my left ribcage. His gaze met mine as he leaned in, placing the most tender of butterfly kisses across the superficial scratches. In honesty, they were no more than what a normal house kitten would do in play. The wound stung a little, but wasn't anything really painful. He managed to haul the angry Misha off me in the nick of time.

"Hurt?" He paused to ask.

I shook my head, running my hands down his sides and around to the front of his wide chest.

He resumed his affections, moving steadily from the pink scratches to my bare stomach. I tugged on him, encouraging him to move back up. He accepted the hint, but took his own sweet time in returning to my needy lips. I nipped his neck, chin, and finally his bottom lip in reprimand. He simply released a low growl, his body moving marginally to the side, freeing his hands for further exploration.

Only when his hand cupped between my legs, did I wake from his spell. "Wait!" I pushed at his chest, ignoring his annoyed growl. "Stop!" My belly danced with nervousness and a hint of panic. Not like this when adrenaline rode us hard. I wanted more than a quick roll in the hay to release pent-up hormones.

Finally, he rolled to his back. Resting beside me, he covered his face and sucked in air. "What this time?"

I held to my resolve, going with my gut instead of my heart. "I'm not ready."

"Care to elaborate? I don't have enough blood going to my brain to muddle through a woman's thought process right now."

I sat up. "I want more than a quick roll in the hay to release the rest of our adrenaline. I want our first time to be… special." I needed to do one more thing first. Formally say good-bye to my late husband.

Meat blinked at me, his muscles relaxing by increments.

"Special how? Romantic dinner? Date? Movies in bed?"

"Movies?"

He rolled to his side, propping his head up on one hand. "Oh, I have lots of ideas for movies in bed."

The sparkle in his eyes warned me. My brow furrowed. "I'm not watching porn with you!"

"Why not? We might find a few tricks to try."

"No way." I rolled my eyes at his ever present horniness. "I meant special, special. Romance. Loving." I whispered dreamily. "An evening to remember for all time. Please?"

"For you, anything." His words held truth and sincerity.

I laughed, flinging myself into his arms. He rolled with my actions, settling me on top of his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and planted a hot kiss on his lips. "Maybe you are my knight in shining armor after all," I whispered.

Meat didn't answer vocally. Instead, he took control of the kiss, deepening it with feeling.

CHAPTER 24