Roar for Her: A BBW Paranormal Weretiger Shape Shifter Romance (Sassy Shifter Brides Book 4) (2 page)

“Not this again!” Julie started, throwing up her hands in exasperation and almost knocking the cup on the floor. “You two have been talking for ages on end over that app! Don’t try to hide it, I see you with your nose in the screen all the time. And you
must
like him, otherwise you wouldn’t get redder than a beet every time he comes up in conversation. You have the free time, you don’t have any commitments, and you live out of a suitcase anyway – why wouldn’t you go to Idaho and fly around for a few weeks with a gorgeous cowboy! Who knows, maybe they have a school there that needs someone to teach their kids not to be total assholes!” Julie finished with a flourish, giving Teresa a stern look. Teresa smiled in response, loving the way her friend got so fired up about certain things. Teresa always felt incredibly quiet and reserved next to Julia, keeping her fire well under the lid and avoiding causing any waves.

“But what if…“ Teresa started, only to be cut off.      

“No what-ifs! Do you like him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think he likes you?” Teresa hesitated for a moment, but when Julie tossed her a look that she sometimes used on badly behaving children, Teresa couldn’t help but straighten up and nod.

“Yes. Maybe.”

“Do you have anything better to do with your two-week vacation than get cozy with a scorching hot weretiger while doing the thing you’re passionate about? I’m referencing photography here, but if you want to do the other thing too, then I think it would be good for you!” Julie said, grinning. Teresa giggled, letting her body relax. It was good being around Julie. Her upbeat personality was infectious, and after the day Teresa had had, she could use a bit of happiness.

“No,” she admitted with a grin.

“Well, it’s settled then! In a week, you get to pack your bags and go meet this mysterious Slate of yours! And I want all the details, right away!”
 

CHAPTER TWO

Slate scuffed a hand through his reddish brown hair, leaning against the side of his small airplane and watching the traffic of the busy Boise Airport light up the afternoon sky. Well, busy for Idaho standards, anyway. The tall man smiled to himself quietly, peering at the commotion around him over the edge of his aviator sunglasses. Airports always made him feel at ease. Something about the abrupt, noisy madness of it all soothed him. A little chaos always seemed to fit him better than careful order. Still, there were rules to this mayhem, and he found something poetic in it.

Of course, he wasn’t going to deny that today he might just be feeling good for a whole other reason than the chance to stand in the middle of a Podunk airport, watching iron birds fall from the skies. One of those airplanes was carrying his precious cargo, and while he wouldn’t admit it to anyone other than himself, he was excited to get his hands on it.

No. Not hands on. Just companionship,
Slate reminded himself sternly, the corners of his mouth dipping out of the smile that had curved them. That was one way to ruin a party. He sighed, tucking his hands into his jean pockets and rolling his shoulders back. The restlessness that had become so familiar to him as of late wafted over him again, his quiet revelation taking the wind out of his sails a little.

Teresa was due to land any minute now, and quite frankly, Slate couldn’t wait to meet her in person.  Still, the thought of meeting her made his stomach turn a little as well. He’d been talking to her for a while now over SassyDate and from what he could tell, the woman could do no wrong. Everything she said matched what he was thinking, and her spirit and kindness made his tiger roar protectively at the mere thought of her. There was something special about Teresa Lopez that ticked all the right boxes with him, and he couldn’t have her. At least not yet. It was going to be pure torture being around her without touching her, but he was adamant about overcoming his animal and doing things right. His nose scrunched a little. He was not looking forward to behaving around the curvy, delicious and whip-smart woman. If he could have his way, he’d be all over her the second she stepped out of the airplane. But, alas, that was not how things could go.

It seemed that the sun shone dimmer, and the clouds rolled darker and gloomier with every second he spent thinking about his situation. In his early thirties, Sergei Morenkov, or Slate as he preferred to be known, had known that he couldn’t escape his heritage forever. There came a time in every Siberian weretiger Alpha’s life when he would have to make a choice – to find a mate or to live his life in relative solitude. It was called the Bonding. And all the signs were telling him that his was already starting. During a month of his life, a deep physical urge, an undeniable heat came over every weretiger male. It was as if a yawning darkness would erupt around him, dulling his world for a month or so until he found a weretigress to call his own.

The weretiger could think of little else during that time but the need to find a tigress that matched him physically, and unless he found his mate then, he would be left without an heir. It was simply how it went. If he did not bond with a mate, he could not have cubs in the future, with anyone. The Bonding signified both the weretiger becoming strong enough and ready to sire heirs, as well as stepping into the prime of his powers. The elders in Slate’s clan had often said that it was the one surefire way of keeping the weretiger race going, as the stubborn, willful tigers rarely got along in groups, and their desire for solitude didn’t make for great courting opportunities. It annoyed Slate to no end.

It had taken Slate a long time to come to the conclusion that he would rather be without an heir than succumb to the simple physical urge that he knew would take hold of him at one point, driving him to find a weretigress as his mate. For humans, the desire to have both a physical and an emotional connection with their other half was the most natural thing, but as far as weretigers went, it was the height of nonsense. And yet, that was exactly what Slate wanted – a partner, not a vessel to carry his young. If it meant that his line would stop with him, so be it. He had seen too many royal pairs who despised one another – including his parents – to want that kind of life for himself. The only reason they got together was to mate and produce young, living their lonesome, spiteful lives far away from one another in the meantime. It had taught Slate, the eldest of his family’s royal Alpha pair’s sons, to grow up fast and hard, and also to see that he didn’t want his life to take that path.

Ultimately, it had taken him far away from any weretiger clans and led him straight to Shifter Grove. There, he had found a place that would accept him in all his oddity – a proud, powerful weretiger with all the qualities of starting his own clan and becoming a strong Alpha, who instead chose to spend his time operating a small airline between Boise and Talloway Airport, the latter being more of a stretch of road and a shack in the middle of nowhere than a real airport. That was how he liked it, though. Flying gave him the moments of solitude he needed, and Shifter Grove provided the safety and support of a clan without having the same expectations. He loved feeling useful and contributing to building up the dream Deacon, Rake, Warren and the Wartooth brothers had begun. There had been plenty of bad blood after he announced that he would be leaving his clan, his father in particular telling him in no short terms that when it came to his Bonding, he would come back home, that he would have no other choice. Slate was determined to prove him wrong.

It had all gone swimmingly until his heat arrived in a flourish of aggravation and bouts of restlessness. Slate had felt it coming for a while, his good-natured demeanor turning sharper, and he started snapping at others in situations he normally never would have. At first, keeping away from others helped, but soon it became obvious that he wasn’t going to be able to weather it alone for too long. Deacon was of great support, the polar bear shifter having gone through times of difficult internal decisions himself after losing his mate ten years ago. But, after Deacon reunited with his love, Slate no longer felt comfortable intruding on their happiness. Not that Deacon wouldn’t have been happy to help him, it’s just that Slate didn’t want to bring his bouts of sour darkness into the happy bliss of the reunited lovers.

So, that left him with a growing urge to hop into his plane or helicopter, fly to the closest weretigress and ravish her until she could take no more. It didn’t really make for a healthy psyche. All weretigers knew that during the heat, the tiger could become dangerous to himself and others if left alone for too long. He needed companionship, a connection with someone until he found his mate or until the heat passed. While he couldn’t stand crowds during the heat, talking or being close to just one person would be enough to soothe his ragged edges until his world settled into a healthy equilibrium again. Considering his options, Slate had figured that the best thing to do was to get away from Shifter Grove for the time being, but to bring someone with him. That was where SassyDate came in.

After Warren and Deacon’s raving reviews of the app, Slate had taken the plunge and joined up. He wrote a no-nonsense profile, describing how he needed someone to join him on a bit of an expedition for two weeks in the spring, and how he would be a perfect gentleman throughout it. He knew he had to take a woman with him, as being around another man, especially a shifter, might spark irrational thoughts of him being a rival. A calm female presence that wouldn’t make his hormones rage like mad, was exactly what the doctor ordered. Of course, he hadn’t banked on the fact that during the time he was discussing the details of the trip with the woman who had caught his eye, Teresa, he would develop the kind of feelings for her he would only expect to have towards another of his kind.

Slate huffed out a breath, tracking the red tail tip of a familiar airline’s plane as it came in for the landing. That was Teresa’s plane. He didn’t need to see the plane’s code to know it was carrying the woman he couldn’t wait to meet for the first time. Any other time, his rational self would have taken a step back and asked him how he knew, but right now, that didn’t seem important at all. He watched with bated breath as the airplane came lower and lower until the tires finally hit the tarmac. Slate let out a breath he didn’t know he had been keeping in, and his wide shoulders relaxed. A small smile spread on his lips as he took off his aviators and tucked them into the breast pocket of his dark brown leather bomber jacket. He was just minutes away from seeing her, smelling her. The sun seemed to be shining brighter than ever.

Slate strode swiftly towards the gate the airplane was taxying to, having to keep himself in check to avoid running the distance. The plane was a small one, the kind where the cargo could be unloaded by one guy with a strong back. Slate made it to the plane before the door was opened for the passengers, but the cargo unloading had already begun. He gave a mock-salute to Joe, one of the ground crew he knew well, and before he knew what he was doing, he had snatched a large, heavy blue suitcase out of Joe’s hands.

“I’ve got this,” Slate said. “Belongs to the passenger I’ll be picking up.” He had no doubt that it was Teresa’s luggage. Joe shrugged noncommittally and turned back to his work.

Slate waited nervously as the door opened and the ramp was let down. A few people trundled down the steps, and the stewardess, a pretty blonde, waved at him. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d be picking up someone straight from the door of a plane, but it was certainly the first time he had felt nervous and out of breath because of it. Blood pumped quickly through his veins, and his heartbeat pounded in his ears, almost deafening. His senses were sharpened, and nothing escaped his attention. Like a beast on the prowl, he was ready to pounce at anything that could harm Teresa. When she appeared in the doorway, her wavy hair framing her face and her gorgeous brown eyes searching for a familiar face, Slate’s world stopped. Everything seemed to hang in place as he caught the first glimpse of the woman he had longed to meet. She was even more beautiful than he had imagined, though he had seen several pictures on her profile. That luminous, tanned skin, those breathtaking eyes and absolutely irresistible curves made his tiger and his human stand up violently and take notice.

Mate
. The thought came as suddenly as the understanding that it was just the right thing to call her. Every fiber of his being told him that she was the one – the woman for him. Something icy spread in his stomach, flipping his surroundings back into motion. Dumbstruck, he watched her come down the steps, waving at him with a nervous smile on her lips. He could smell her scent, it filled his nostrils and flowed through him, stronger with each step that brought them closer. How could he feel so strongly for a woman without even really knowing her that well? For a
human
woman at that? Slate shook his head, adamant to sort things out later. For now, he had to get his head back in the game and to get his precious cargo safely on his plane and away from all of this danger that surrounded them in a swirling vortex of gloom. He couldn’t quantify what exactly it was that he was so damn sure could hurt Teresa, but his possessive nature took hold with full force.

He plastered a smile on his lips and waved back at Teresa. Every moment she wasn’t in his arms was pure physical torment. He had to wonder why he wasn’t already running to her and kissing her like both of their lives depended on it. She stopped in front of him, and his breath caught. Slate wanted to touch her badly, to cradle her in his arms and never let go. The bright, slightly nervous look on her face made him even more eager to kiss her. With great pains, he reached out his big paw of a hand instead.