Her Tiger To Take (15 page)

“I love you,” she said against his temple.
“Thank you for facing the others, for being here.”

He eased back to hold her gaze, his green
eyes dark in the moonlight. “You’re worth fighting for, Tiana. I’ll
fight for you for the rest of my life if I have to.”

“We’ll fight together,” she said, holding his
face in her hands so he could see her intent.

“Together,” he agreed and kissed her.

Because there was snow on the ground, they
made their way to the cabin set aside for couples during the Run.
Tiana had barely noticed the cold for most of the night—her estrous
pumping her naturally warm temperature up even higher—but she was
happy to move inside, to the comfort of a large, soft bed.

They spent the rest of the night talking,
making love, and talking more. An intimacy Tiana had never
experienced with any other tiger came easily with Nick. He told her
about his meeting with the werewolf Adam. She offered her services
to Adam’s sister as a marketing consultant. Nick asked her more
about her work, and they talked more about his. They told good
stories from childhood and discussed the hazards of having
brothers.

As dawn approached, she finally found the
courage to admit her deepest fear to him—that she was damaged in
some way and that was why she hadn’t been able to connect with
anyone.

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” he
insisted.

“I guess I was just waiting for you.”

With the winter dawn still two hours away,
the cabin’s interior was lit only by a low burning fire, covering
the single, open room in dark shadows. The shadows made his sharp
features stand out more.

“I… I saw you six years ago,” he said,
slowly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Six years ago, I saw you at the elders’
compound. Caught your scent.”

She felt like she’d been slapped with a
pillow—enough of a shock to make her blink, but she was too
confused to actually feel anything else yet. “What? Why didn’t you
talk to me?”

“I knew I’d return to the Run for you, but no
tigress ever wanted me. I didn’t want to face that from you, so I
left. But…you’ve been in my thoughts ever since.”

“For six years?”

He shrugged.

She remembered his scent being vaguely
familiar when she’d first caught it four months ago. Had she
noticed his scent years earlier? Had her tiger picked him way back
then? She felt her mouth drop open and closed it with a snap.

“What?” he asked, his fingers idly combing
through her hair.

“I think I caught your scent back then. I
really have been waiting for you all this time.”

He frowned. “No. That’s not possible. You
never noticed me, and I got away from you as fast as I could.”

“My tiger recognized you, even if I didn’t.
You’ve been the only one for me for years. No wonder no one else
would do.” She glared. “You ass. I thought I was broken.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault. Blame your
tiger.”

She growled. Then she let her shoulders
relax. “I guess I can’t be too mad. My tiger does have very good
taste.”

He snorted.

“I just wish we hadn’t wasted so much time.
We could have been together from my first Run.”

“I didn’t know that at the time. Experience
had taught me otherwise.”

“If you’d given me the chance, I would’ve
convinced you.”

“That’s what I was always afraid of.”

She frowned and touched the furrows that had
formed between his brows. “I know you didn’t want to come back to
the fighting, but…is there something else?”

He let out a sigh. “The fights were an
excuse, an easy excuse. But not the real reason I’ve never tried
hard to get a mate.”

She watched emotion flow over his face,
things she couldn’t decipher. She pulled in his scent but even that
didn’t give her a clear idea of what was wrong.

“I ran away from you six years ago because I
knew from the first hint of your scent that I’d fall hard for you.
I couldn’t risk it.”

“Why?”

He met her gaze. “Everyone has always said
I’m just like my father. And they’re right,” he said. “I am my
father’s son.”

“No. You’re not like that at all,” she
insisted. “How could you think that?”

“Beyond the fact that I see him in the mirror
every time I look? Tiana, I know, deep down, I have more of him in
me than I’d like.”

She shook her head. “Nick… I don’t know your
father. I can’t make a personal comparison. But…”

He stopped her with a gentle finger on her
lips. “When I fought the werewolf alpha for you, when I thought you
were in trouble, I finally understood my father, really understood
what had happened to him. I don’t even remember the end of that
fight, not clearly. I went somewhere dark. If I lost you, I know
I’d go there again.”

She didn’t want to make light of his fears,
but she couldn’t imagine Nick going on a killing spree and
abandoning his children, even if he were grieving. “Two things.
First, you’re not going to lose me—not for a long time and not if I
have any say in the matter.”

He smiled a little. “You can’t make any
promises.”

“I know life is precarious, but I won’t be
going anywhere willingly. You’re stuck with me now.”

“I’m not complaining.”

She kissed him, then said, “Second, I’m going
to demand you make a promise to me. When we have children,
if
something happens to me, your first concern needs to be
our kids—they’ll need their father. You understand that better than
anyone. So you have to promise me that you’ll be there for them,
look after them, for me.”

He swallowed visibly. “I’m not sure I can
make that promise.”

“Why?”

“I…” He blinked and frowned. Then he sat up
and scowled at the dark bedroom walls.

She studied him by that low firelight, the
flickering of orange and red dancing across his features. Part of
her wanted to launch into more talk, to fix this problem so he
stopped worrying. But as with returning to the Run, he had to make
this promise to her of his own free will. She held her tongue,
barely, and waited while he thought seriously about what she’d
asked of him.

Finally, he looked back at her. “I’m worried
I’ll break this promise, Tiana. I don’t want to. Losing our father
the way we did was as bad as losing our mother. We were essentially
orphaned. I never want to do that to my own children, which is why
I never thought to have any. But with you, I want the family, the
future, the hope. So…I will promise you that if anything happens to
you, I will stand by our children first and foremost. I’ll make
sure they’re looked after and have my support. I can’t promise I
won’t want to lose myself in grief. But I’ll…I’ll try, for
you.”

She let out a breath and hugged him. This
wound of his, his family history, would take time to heal. He
wouldn’t be convinced he wasn’t his father overnight. He’d have to
learn to trust himself as much as she trusted him. But they had
time—she had time to work through his fears with him. And they
would.

“Now,” she said, leaning back and cupping his
face in her hands. “I have to warn you.”

“What is it?” He sat up a little and held her
shoulders.

“I want five kids.”

“Five?”

“At least.” His eyes widened so much she
grinned. “I want a huge family, Nick. Does that scare you?”

He met her gaze and shook his head. “The only
thing that scares me now is losing you.”

“You won’t.”

“What if, after years with me, you get tired
of me and kick me to the curb?”

“Don’t do anything to make me kick you to the
curb,” she said very seriously.

His expression relaxed and he smiled, a sexy
little half-smile, as he pulled her close. “Five kids, huh?”

“At least. I’m used to a big family. I like a
big family.”

“I can get used to that. With you.”

She kissed him and hugged him close. “I love
you, Nick.”

He eased back and stared at her a long
moment. “I’ve been afraid to love for a long time. I’m still
terrified I’ll do something… But I love you, Tiana. I’m prepared to
take the risk. For you. For a future with you.”

He kissed her again and made love to her
again, and Tiana’s world fell into place.

The last day of their three days together,
Nick woke to Tiana sitting up in bed next to him. He loved waking
up next to her. He wanted to do this for the rest of his life.

He intended to do this for the rest of his
life. Only one thing would delay that.

“I’m going to hate saying goodbye to you,” he
said. “Not sure I’ll be able to wait until your next cycle to see
you again. I will, but it’s going to be tough.”

She frowned a little. “This is my last Run,
Nick. I thought I made that clear.”

He sat up, a thread of panic tightening his
muscles. “I don’t understand. I thought… You said you loved me. You
want five children.”

“I do.” She cupped his cheek. “But I’m not
running anymore. Three years is enough.”

“Tiana, until you’re pregnant, you have to
run or we can’t be together.”

She gave him a funny look, then a soft smile.
“Take a deep breath, Nick.”

He did, panic still firing adrenaline through
his body. He focused on her delicious scent, the way their two
flavors mixed together to form a perfect combination, then caught
something…more. Something a little flowery, light, earthy.
Impossible to describe. Even his tiger wasn’t sure what the added
scent was immediately.

He frowned at her, and her smile grew.

“Nick, you silly man, I’m pregnant.”

His mouth actually dropped open. Surprise had
him blinking at her for long moments before what she said sank in.
“Pregnant? Already? But…that never happens.”

“Told you we had good chemistry.”

“It takes cycles, sometimes years, even with
couples who are in love. Mitch’s friend Max chased his tigress for
two years before they got pregnant. How…?”

“My body obviously knows what’s best for her.
I knew, the instant I caught your scent, you were the only man for
me. My tiger has apparently known this for six years.”

She scowled a little, and he grimaced. If
he’d had any idea she’d scented him all those years ago… Well, he’d
probably still have stayed away. He was thrilled Tiana was more
stubborn and single minded than he was—something he hadn’t actually
thought possible—because otherwise, he wouldn’t have this beautiful
future sitting in bed with him.

“We’ve just proved we’re perfect for each
other,” she continued. “In a way no one will ever be able to
dispute.”

His heart thumped hard as the implications
sank in. He didn’t have to keep running for her. He was going to be
a father. Tiana was pregnant. With his child.

“Marry me,” he said, taking her face in his
hands. “Marry me. Tomorrow.”

She laughed and kissed him. “I’ll marry you.
But not tomorrow. I want all my family there. And yours. And Jane
and Charlie and… Well, I think everyone in Eirene will want to
attend. I want the reception at your diner. We’d better wait till
it warms up a little, though, because the party will spill out into
the streets.”

“I can’t wait that long.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there. You’re my mate.
Now and always. The wedding will just be the party to celebrate
it.”

“I love you, Tatiana Loban-Gupta. I’ll do my
best to be a good husband for you. And a good father for our
children.”

“I know you will be. I’ve always known.” She
laughed and kissed him, and he hugged her close, savoring her
delicious, perfect taste.

“Told you we were made for each other,” she
murmured against his mouth before diving into another kiss.

Nick had never been so thrilled to be proven
wrong in his life.

Thank you very much for reading HER TIGER TO
TAKE. I hope you enjoyed Nick and Tatiana’s story. Whether you
enjoyed the book or not, posting an honest review somewhere online
is very useful for helping other readers find books they’ll
actually like. If you take the time out of your busy schedule to
post a review of this book, thank you very much. If you don’t have
the time, I still thank you very much for reading all the way to
The End.

For more on the Tiger Shifters please visit
my website:
http://www.katsimons.com

For an excerpt from Tiger Shifters #5, due
out in late spring of 2015, please turn the page.

CHAPTER ONE

Rose Callaghan growled at the knock on her
front door. Damn it, she didn’t have time for visitors right now.
If it was someone selling something or…well, pretty much anyone but
a doctor, she was going to slam the door in their face.

She considered ignoring the knock. Her
daughter was hurting and she didn’t want to leave Zoe alone when
she was in pain. But Rose also didn’t want someone pounding on the
door and disturbing them more.

Grumbling kid-safe curses on the way to the
entry, she considered trying the doctor again. Or maybe the ER.
None of it had helped in the past. No drugs could alleviate Zoe’s
bouts of extreme pain. No tests had uncovered a cause. No
specialist had ever been able to help.

After almost a year and a half of this, she
was considering some unorthodox options, things that would make her
family balk, but she was desperate. Seeing her beloved daughter in
pain was infinitely worse than any pain she might experience
herself, and she’d do anything to fix things.

The doorbell rang and Rose hissed a
not-kid-friendly curse. She trotted to the door and threw it open,
prepared to take the hide off the person disturbing her. Until she
saw the man on her front step. She froze, her mouth open, her brain
momentarily too stunned to work.