Tiger Magic

“Me?” Carly said, touching her chest. “I don’t—”

“We’ll look after him just fine.” Liam took the piece of paper with the prescription and gave the nurse a smile that would make any woman melt. The nurse, middle-aged, hard-faced, experienced with difficult patients, held out a few seconds before she thawed.

“All right, then,” she said, her tone softer. “You call if there are any problems.” Now she spoke to Liam and Liam alone.

The soldier turned back, his frown even more formidable. “My commander told me to let you take him,” he said to Liam. The man obviously disagreed—strongly—with his commander, but he didn’t look the type to disobey orders. “But if there’s any more trouble with him, I’ll have to take him in.”

“Right you are,” Liam said, not sounding worried.

Tiger was already heading out of the room, pulling Carly behind him. Connor stepped in front of them and held up an armful of folded clothes that smelled newly washed. “You’re forgetting something.”

The nurses didn’t hide their need to stare at Tiger’s body. They’d seen their fair share of naked flesh, but Tiger was different.

He was all muscle, with a liquid tan on his torso and arms, pale below the belt. Large all over, but not too bulging, tight and strong rather than overly bulked. Tiger wore his nakedness casually—Carly noticed that the other Shifters hadn’t seemed to remember he was unclothed until Connor had stopped him at the door.

Tiger slid on the jeans and T-shirt without bothering with underwear. Connor insisted Tiger put on the combat boots he’d brought instead of going barefoot, and Tiger growled impatiently as he tugged them on.

Tiger kept hold of Carly’s hand as they walked through the corridor, down the elevator, and out to the parking lot. Patients and hospital staff stopped what they were doing and stared as the contingent of Shifters moved through.

Liam led, giving a smile and a nod to everyone he passed. The tall tattooed man with the shaved head followed him, drawing more attention. Behind him came Tiger and Carly, then Connor and Sean bringing up the rear. Kids stared, women’s lips parted, men moved to stand protectively in front of women and children.

No one said a word, but again, body language spoke volumes. The Shifters were feared. Even tamed, controlled, and regulated, humans sensed the violence barely contained. Humans pretended to despise or be fascinated by the creatures, but the adult humans who watched these Shifters walk by and out of the building exhibited basic, watchful fear.

Carly had never thought much about Shifters one way or the other. She knew the ones in Austin lived in the Shiftertown, which was out by the old airport, but she rarely had cause to drive that way in the course of her day-to-day life.

“Look at this car, Liam,” Connor said when they reached the Corvette. “Isn’t it awesome?”

“And not mine,” Carly said. “I need to take it back to Ethan’s.”

She stopped, the words sticking in her throat. Carly never wanted to drive up his driveway again, to see the house that she was supposed to have moved into next week. She’d never look at it again without experiencing a vision of Ethan, pants around his ankles, thrusting hard and fast into the woman on the counter.

A knife-edge of pain went through her heart. She gasped for breath, and then Tiger’s hand was on her arm, turning her to him. He laid a large hand gently between her br**sts, right over the hurt.

Carly looked up through tears at him. His golden eyes held sympathy, understanding. “You were never his,” he said.

“I guess not.” Carly tried to laugh. Tiger’s hand was warm, his touch over her heart soothing. The image of Ethan blurred, the pain still there but moving away from her immediate focus.

Connor broke in. “Hey, if you need me to drive the car back, I’ll do it.” He held out his hand. “I’ll be careful. Honest. Or, I can wreck it for you, if you want.”

“Sean will take it,” Liam said sternly. He looked around the little group. “And Spike.” His smile came back as he observed the six-foot-six, tightly muscled man with the shaved head and tatts all over his body.

Sean laughed. “Good choice. Can’t wait to watch this.”

Carly too would love to see Ethan’s face when first the handsome Sean and then the edgy biker-from-hell Spike emerged from Ethan’s beloved ’Vette.

Carly had to turn from Tiger to hand the keys to Sean. Tiger stayed next to her, not even a step away. “Be careful,” Carly said to Sean. “Ethan has powerful friends. I don’t want him arresting you for stealing the car, or for scaring him.”

“Don’t you worry about that, lass,” Sean said, closing his hand around the keys. “I’ll keep Spike on a leash.”

Spike growled, a wildcat sound, and showed his teeth in a smile.

“Sure I can’t come with you?” Connor asked hopefully.

“No,” Liam said. “I’m giving Carly a lift home—or wherever she wants to go—and you’re taking Tiger back to Shiftertown.”

“Carly stays with me.” Tiger’s growl cut over Liam’s order. His warmth covered Carly’s side, straight through the white dress that wasn’t so white anymore.

“Hmm.” Liam didn’t jump to tell Tiger to let her go. The others hung back as well, as though hesitating to come between a dog and his treat.

I guess it’s up to me.