Chapter Five
Willa could barely breathe, her gaze glued to the hallway where she’d lost sight of the brawling tigers. One of whom she’d let take her to bed not even thirty minutes prior. Her stomach rolled threateningly and she clenched tighter to the comforter in front of her chin. She barely even felt the prickling sting of tears of terror as they rolled past her eyelids.
What am I supposed to do?
Did she stay as she was, naked beneath someone else’s comforter, and pray she survived this night somehow? What if Ryker loses? She’d be dead by dawn for sure if Ryker lost.
Wait … why … am I rooting for Ryker?
Yes, he was the one she’d met—briefly—before the tiger-shifting madness began. And sure, he hadn’t done anything to her she hadn’t pretty much begged for. It hadn’t occurred to her to be afraid of him until … whatever that was happened. But that didn’t change the fact some veritable stranger had taken her to a place she was unfamiliar with, fucked her, and promptly become a freaking tiger. Fighting another man-tiger. Was this some sort of game? Was it an act?
A strangled, feline cry of pain echoed down the hall and Willa jumped in place.
Whether or not she could really trust Ryker remained to be seen. She knew she couldn’t trust the other one—whoever he was.
She had to do something.
Willa drew a deep breath and tore her stare away from the hall, trying valiantly to ignore the sounds drifting into the room. If she really wanted to survive, this was her best chance. Her gaze landed on her discarded jeans. She licked her lips as her body tensed and threw herself toward the foot of the bed. She went straight for the pants, opting to go commando in favor of saving a few precious seconds. But she drew up short when she looked down at herself. She certainly couldn’t run through town without some kind of top. Ryker had destroyed hers, a memory that still sent a shiver of delight down her spine.
This is a terrible time to be turned on, Willa.
Then she saw the large, men’s shirt rumpled on the floor. The very shirt he’d been wearing earlier. It would do. Without taking the time to second-guess herself, Willa moved and snatched it up. His intoxicating male scent washed over her as the shirt fell past her sides. Despite herself, she paused and lifted the collar to her nose for another sniff. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten how delicious he smelled.
Maybe she could trust him? Maybe she didn’t need to run?
And maybe the other guy will win.
It wasn’t worth the risk, no matter how amazing the sex had been. The next problem, though, had her coming up short. She could only see one way out of the room. Through the doorway the tigers had previously rolled through. No way would she be able to sneak past.
Willa pulled her stare away from the hall, hoping to find a window she could squeeze through, but her gaze lingered over a couple of dark crimson spots on the floor and her heart froze.
Blood… She’d nearly forgotten. Ryker, before he’d turned into a tiger, he’d been bleeding. He was hurt. And for whatever reason, the very idea of that made her want to cry. It made no sense.
A bone-shaking roar pierced through her emotional confusion as it filled the building, echoing off the walls. The sound was full of agony. Grief.
Lump in her throat, Willa moved back until the mattress prevented her from taking another step. She was trapped.
After a long, terrible second, a tall, broad, sculpted male stepped into view. He stopped barely a foot into the room, his naked body taking up most of the entrance. It was Ryker.
Sadness dulled his emerald eyes as he dropped his gaze.
The wound in his leg, the one that had bled on the carpet, looked like a recent scar now, emphasizing how little of this situation she really understood.
“I’m sorry,” Ryker said, jerking her back to the moment. He met her gaze again. “That wasn’t how I wanted you to learn my secret.”
Willa’s mouth dropped open, but she couldn’t remember how to form words. Did that mean he’d intended to tell her? Why…? And why did her heart beat a little faster at the notion?
“I understand if you’re scared,” Ryker said, obviously choosing his words carefully. “I won’t hurt you.”
Pulling in a breath through her nose and releasing it deliberately through her mouth, Willa hesitantly asked, “What … what happened? What is this? Why would you want to tell me something so … significant?” And why did she immediately believe him when he swore not to hurt her? Had she really lost her mind?
Ryker released his own breath, harsh and frustrated. “You’ve heard of werewolves?”
Willa felt her eyes widen. “Yes.” She didn’t live under a rock. Hollywood loved werewolves.
His Adam’s apple bobbed with a heavy swallow and he locked his stare onto her. “I’m a weretiger. One of the few remaining.”
Her head spun and she quickly braced herself on the mattress behind her knees. “I’m sorry,” she said slowly. “You’re a … what? You expect me to believe that?” But hadn’t she seen it with her own eyes? Hadn’t she watched, helpless and frightened, as the stranger and Ryker both transformed from human to tiger?
“I know it’s a lot,” Ryker assured her, his deep, rumbling voice massaging her nerves from halfway across the room.
All at once she remembered, distantly, having compared a timbre in his voice to some kind of purr. As if that explained everything.
“Why … why tell me?” Willa finally asked. She forced her gaze to linger on Ryker’s this time, suspecting he’d just saved her life regardless of the details. She owed him that much.
His jaw tensed for a moment, but he didn’t look away. “Because you’re my mate.”
Willa hit her butt, nearly sliding off the edge of the bed. “I’m your what?” Had he taken a hard swipe to the head in that hallway? She shook her head before he could respond. “I’m your nothing. We haven’t even known each other for twelve hours. You couldn’t possibly believe we’re … soulmates, or whatever. That’s impossible.”
One of his lips twitched in that sexy, confident grin he’d seduced her with and he asked, “When you walked into that bar, did you believe in weretigers?”
He had her there. Of course. She scrunched her lips, refusing to admit defeat. “I still don’t buy it. Even if you were right—how could you know so fast?” Why the hell was that the question she was going with? This man was nuts!
Or maybe I am? Maybe the bartender spiked my drink with something other than rum? Could she be hallucinating the entire night?
Memories—images, sensations—from her time in Ryker’s arms flooded her mind’s eye and she swallowed heavily. She really didn’t want that to be a hallucination. She wanted to believe that somehow, someway, a soft-spoken, overweight woman like her sparked such a powerful, burning desire in a man like him. Though it did sound outrageous when she thought of it that way.
A warm, gentle, calloused thumb brushed the line of her jaw and startled her back to the moment. She found herself drowning in molten emerald.
“I just know,” Ryker said, his tone hushed and patient. “You’re mine, Willa. We were made for each other.”
Her mouth ran dry as more tears stung the backs of her eyes.
How could a man so sinfully sexy, so powerful and dangerous, want her? No. That wasn’t what he was saying. He wasn’t saying he wanted to be with her. He was saying they were destined to be together. That was heavier.
“I … I don’t know,” she whispered. “I’ve never really believed in that kind of thing.” She swallowed, flicking a glance to the hallway. “Where’s the other guy, anyway? Is this even a good time to be having this conversation?”
Ryker released a breath and straightened, letting his touch fall away. “Unfortunately, this is the only time. Nash is in the hallway. And we don’t want to be here when someone finds him.”
Vomit bubbled up in her throat. Willa choked it back and turned an undoubtedly mortified expression back to Ryker. “You mean he’s dead?”
Emerald gaze darkening, Ryker replied, “He’d have killed you if I held back. Maybe not today, maybe not this decade, but he would have. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Willa clamped a hand over her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks. He’d killed that other tiger guy for her? How was she supposed to live with that?
The bed dipped beside her, blocking her view of the hall, and a strong, warm arm curled around her waist. Another hand settled on her shoulder, tucking her into a muscular chest. “This isn’t your fault, baby,” he said softly. “Nash has been coming after me for a long time. I shouldn’t have let it get this bad.”
It was too much. She’d been emotionally unstable when she’d walked into that bar. Now there was a dead guy in the hallway and a weretiger talking about destiny with his arms around her. Her life had never been this remarkable. She didn’t know how to handle it. So she let the tears fall, not allowing herself to question the sense of security she found in Ryker’s embrace. If she expected to function properly in any sense of the term, she first needed to release some of the stress and confusion.
After a short stretch of time, Willa realized Ryker had bowed his head into her hair. He was nuzzling her neck and ear with his nose, reminiscent of what he’d done before Nash had interrupted them. The tender way he’d held her. Never, before tonight, had she ever been held like this.
Like she was a treasure. A precious, priceless, beloved object.
She’d always wanted to be held like this.
The thought helped to slow her tears and she curled her fingertips into his bare chest. “How do we … avoid being arrested for murder?”
Ryker took a slow, deep breath and eased back to meet her gaze. “We run.”