Bisexual: Desired by the Tigers: Bisexual Menage Romantic Suspense (Menage, Shifters, Tiger, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Short Story) (2 page)

Spying a bottle of bourbon he poured some into two clean glasses he found in the kitchen and came back to sit down.

By this time, Gail was certain the man, though beautiful, was absolutely insane and that he’d escaped from a mental health facility somewhere. She was trying to decide how best to get him out of her home when he started to speak again.

“So you were recently attacked were you? That’s how you became infected, you know? Did the Committee tell you? No? Oh, well, that’s how it happened anyway.”

“Excuse me, may I ask again, what you are on about? I was attacked last night, yes, but it was only a scratch, and it has healed now. No big deal.” Gail finally responded.

“Last night you say? Well, yes, that would explain your confusion then. I suppose you haven’t been contacted by anyone yet. Right then, to clear this up, let me demonstrate.” Jeremy stood up, and his clothes fell down to the floor as he quickly shifted into tiger form, and then back again.

Gail climbed deeper into her chair, pulling her legs up in front of her as Jeremy shifted. A scream started to build in her throat, fear filling her body with adrenaline as he shifted back into human form. Gail stared at the now naked man, and watched as he picked up his suit and tie and started to put the items back on.

“As you can see, I am not your average human, and neither are you now. You’ll be able to do this on your own once you get it under control, but your first time won’t be until the full moon. Unless you’d like a little taste now?” Jeremy said with a wink. “If you catch my meaning? No? Not interested at the moment? Yes, I suppose it can be bit disconcerting. Please do stop gawping; you’re making me uncomfortable now.” Jeremy settled back into his chair, clothes restored and tie situated correctly at his neck.

Gail could not stop gawping, even when he requested it. Her attempts at speech only came out as squawks, not really words, just sounds. Jeremy picked up her glass and put it back in her hand, telling her to drink. Gail slugged it down, figuring she’d need it before the night was over. In fact, she broke the thought off as she stood up, heading for the bottle still on the counter in the kitchen. She poured herself another and drank it down as well, pouring one more before she went back to her seat.

“Were-tigers are real? They aren’t just a fiction written up by comic books and romance novels?” Gail asked in a tremulous voice.

“Nope, obviously they are as real as you or I. I can shift again if you’d like,” Jeremy offered with a smile.

“No!” Gail shouted, “No, that won’t be necessary. So, I’m one of you now? That swipe I received last night was more than I thought it was then?”

“Last night, huh? Odd that they’ve sent me out so quickly. What happened exactly?”

“I was out with some mates in Manchester; some guy just drove by, swiped at my neck, and here we are.” Gail spoke simply, unable to believe that a quick swipe at her neck could result in such a complete upheaval in her life.

“Oh yes, someone decided to make you one of us. The Committee knows about all the were-people in the world. As soon as that little gift entered your blood stream, they knew all about you and decided on who your guardian would be. A strange situation. You should have been given a choice; your maker should have asked permission, that is the rule. We live in modern times now; we don’t make were-people against their will. The only instance of that being allowed is for people like me, who have been born into it by were-parents. Odd.” Jeremy looked thoughtful for a moment then carried on.

“So yes, here I am, at your service. But don’t be a nuisance, I don’t have a lot of time for these sorts of things; I have a business to run you know? Now, are you going to be okay because if you are I have somewhere else to be right now? Oh, you aren’t, are you? I can tell from that look on your face. Come on now, it’s not the end of the world, and if you promise not to kill yourself tonight I can go on my way and come back tomorrow?” Jeremy looked hopeful but resigned.

“Oh no, do please leave if you have more urgent business than ruining my life. I mean, you’ve only just dropped a bomb on me so if you feel you’ve done your duty you can just toddle on down the street to whatever is more important. And I promise; I will not kill myself, that means I wouldn’t get the pleasure of seeing you again, now wouldn’t it, and I do love the idea of you having to lower yourself to come down to the estate for a little while and deal with this crisis. I understand you may be a busy man Jeremy, but my life has just been turned upside down. Do see yourself out please and forgive me if I don’t seem grateful, it’s only that you couldn’t have possibly been more rude or avuncular if you’d tried! Please leave me alone now and let me process this. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow, won’t I?” Gail’s voice rose, and so did she as she spoke, and her arm came up as her hand pointed at the door.

“Yes, well, I’ll see you tomorrow then. Here’s my card if you need anything else. I won’t be available until after midnight likely, and perhaps not after then, but you can try.”

Gail took the card, imagining just what types of things might keep him preoccupied after midnight. Probably dainty girls like Allison and Petra. Thinking of her friends, Gail sank down into the cushions of her couch, feeling the heat from Jeremy’s body there. The man was incredibly beautiful but simply impossible. Who even spoke like that now? He sounded like a complete tosser; she thought, then thought better of it. He sounded like the sexiest man alive but with that attitude, she’d never admit it. She’d cut her own tongue out before she’d stroke that man’s ego any more than it had already been stroked.

Going to her bed again, she pulled out her phone hoping to do some research about were-people. After seeing him transform, there was little doubt in her mind that they existed. She just wanted to know what was in store for her. She wasn’t pleased at the news.

Jeremy walked into the café Gail worked in the next day and stormed up to her. He looked down at her, anger apparent on his face. Gail looked up at him, amusement at his anger making her eyes sparkle. It was really too bad he was such an arrogant ass because he was seriously gorgeous, and taller than her, something that rarely happened.

“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at home?”

“Well, as you asked so nicely,” Gail paused to roll her eyes, “I’m working. What does it look like I’m doing?”

Gail thought it was obvious what she was doing but apparently not.

“You are my ward. My ward will not be seen working at some café on the high street. Follow me, immediately.” He walked out of the café, expecting her to follow him. When he turned back he even looked down, but then looked back up shocked. “What are you still doing back there? I told you to follow me.”

“Unless you’re planning on paying my bills for me, I’m going to finish making this cup of coffee for this customer, then I’m going to bake some biscuits for tomorrow’s shift. Afterwards, I’ll clean up and go home. I don’t see a man like you as the kind that wants to pay a woman’s bills for nothing, so I’ll be right back here tomorrow when it’s my shift as well.”

“I’ll gladly pay your bills if it gets you out of here.” Jeremy said with a completely straight face.

“Pardon?” Gail finally stuttered out after staring at the man for a moment.

“I’ll gladly pay your bills if it gets you out of this place, making coffee all day long for cretins. Nope, this is not the life one of my wards is going to have. Come alone, put your pinny down and let’s get out of here. I would like to take you somewhere.” Jeremy even clapped his hands, as if this would make her work faster.

Brenda, her supervisor, came up to Gail then, a wide smile on her face and her eyes dancing with joy.

“Girl, if you have the chance to get out of this place, grab it and hang on tight, and run with it. Go on now, get out. If you ever need to you can come back, but don’t look back or worry about us, we’ll be fine. Go on now, get.” Brenda was a forty-five-year-old African-American from the Deep South, as she liked to call herself. Gail would miss listening to her talk, her no-nonsense advice, and her smile. But yeah, lately her life had taken on a dream quality; she wasn’t sure it was all real, maybe she was hallucinating, but for a moment she was going to run with it and see where it took her. Just for a moment anyway.

“Alright,” Gail said as she handed Brenda her pinny, grabbed her bag from under the counter, and took Jeremy’s proffered hand. “Where are we going then?”

“You’ll see.” Jeremy said with a smile.

Jeremy led her out to a sleek black sports car; she didn’t even know what kind it was, but it had a strange emblem on it. She refused to stroke his ego and ask him what it was. She folded her tall frame into the sleek, low car, and tried to keep her mouth closed. The seats were smooth, buttery leather and seemed to mould to her contours. When he turned the car on, the radio started, one of her favourite songs playing through the speakers. She laughed, enjoying the moment, the luxury that she’d never experienced, and turned the radio up.

Jeremy looked over at her, for once enjoying what his wealth had bought him. She so loved the car and the radio, two things he’d never really appreciated. He just expected everything to work, to do its job, and he’d never really taken a moment to think about what he had. Maybe he had a lesson to learn here, after all. He’d spoken with the Committee insisting they replace him, that he was far too busy to babysit a baby were-person. They then insisted his assignment was an attempt to teach him a lesson and to expand the number of guardians available. He’d not quite understood what they meant at the time, that he had a lesson to learn, but maybe Gail’s pure enjoyment of things that he took for granted was lesson number one.

Smiling to himself, he pointed the car to the motorway, planning to turn Gail’s horrible new life into something she’d never dreamed possible. He looked over at her and took in how much she was enjoying the quiet but powerful acceleration of the car, the smooth gear changes, and the gentle roar of the exhaust. He really hadn’t noticed how wonderful this car was before. It was a status symbol, nothing more to him but now he was seeing it with new eyes. He drove the sports car masterfully, making it respond to his every demand and for the first time, he really responded back to the prompts the car was giving to him as well. Maybe he did need some re-evaluation in his life.

*** ***

Jeremy ended the day not sure if he’d ever really enjoyed his own wealth this much before. It had just been there his whole life, a means to get something done; having money was just a way to make even more money. Gail had shown him far more than he’d ever understood before, and she didn’t even know it.

Jeremy had taken her to some exquisite shops purchasing fine clothes, a new haircut, and other odds and ends, telling her with each purchase that the Committee would pay him for the purchases. He simply wanted to give her something nice, a complete U-turn from the man she’d met yesterday, but he wanted to give her something to smile about. He’d watched her at the shop, before going in. She’d looked miserable, pained, and ever so sad, standing there making coffee for a man who looked impatient and as dejected as her. He’d felt an urge to take her away from it all. So he had, for now. He wasn’t sure she was going to like the next part.

For her part, Gail was still working under the notion that this was all a dream. She was flat out somewhere, in a coma. Maybe she’d drunk herself into alcohol poisoning that night and this really was all just a part of her unconscious mind filling up the time for her? What else could explain it all? So she treated it all as part of the dream, with the occasional dose of reality trying to step in, but she’d push it aside, purchasing another bag or scarf, or bra, or sexy nightgown that she’d never wear for anyone because it was so absolutely scandalous and decadent. She had to admit, though, dream-Gail had some damn good taste. Looking at all the bags Jeremy now held, she wasn’t sure they’d all fit into his car. She couldn’t remember there being a back seat or a boot. Shrugging, she knew he’d find a way to get them home.

“Are you hungry?” Jeremy asked, hoping she was because he was starving.

“Sure, what would you like?” Gail said with a smile.

“Ever had French?” He didn’t want to be presumptuous but he didn’t think she’d ever been to a French restaurant.

“No, I can’t say that I have.” He led her out of the shop, back into the car, drove a few more miles outside of the town, and stopped at a dimly lit inn. It didn’t look like much, but the interior was tastefully decorated and doing a lively business. A few tables were empty and they were quickly seated.

Gail looked at the menu, unsure of what anything was. Jeremy saw her discomfort and asked her what meats she liked. She told him just about anything, she even enjoyed vegetarian food, and if he’d order for her; she’d appreciate it. She hadn’t bothered learning any foreign languages in school, figuring she’d never have a chance to leave the country anyway, and most French tourists didn’t bother coming into the places she’d end up working in so it hadn’t been high on her list of priorities. Gail wasn’t stupid; she was highly intelligent, she was just a realist, a poor realist with little hope of leaving the estate without a bunch of kids and a useless husband, so she’d avoided the one but was unable to escape the poverty she’d been raised in.

Reality was trying to sink in again and for the hundredth time that day she pushed it away, gnashing her teeth as she did so. Putting a fake smile on her face she looked over at Jeremy, wondering what his life had been like. He smiled at her, trying to get her to replace that plastic smile with a real one. Gail was a beautiful woman, he thought, especially when she smiled, her entire face lit up in unbelievably beautiful ways. Her body wasn’t bad either; he’d noticed throughout the day. She just needed clothes that enhanced what she had, not took away from it.

He watched the candlelight from the tapers on the candle playing over her shoulders and collar bones, thinking how he’d never noticed how attractive those parts of a woman were before, not until Gail, and wanted to see more of her. An image flared to life in his mind, of Gail, naked in his bed, her long hair splayed out over his pillows, her eyes inviting him to join her. He inhaled sharply and looked at the waiter bringing their food, not wanting to give himself away.

Dinner went well; they laughed with each other now that Jeremy had dropped his pretensions, his defences against the gold diggers and people looking for whatever they could get from him as had happened in the past, his snobbery and illusions and actually enjoyed himself for once. He’d spent so much time pretending, he’d forgotten that’s what he’d been doing all along. Gail’s innocent enjoyment of everything he gave her had opened his eyes.

After dinner he drove her down to the river, wanting to walk through the town in the moonlight with her. They were standing on the bridge talking when they heard a scream. Gail rushed down the street, watching as a motorbike sped off. The scene was so familiar it was almost like watching an instant replay of a few nights before. The girl stood with her hand to her neck, two of her mates looking at it, waving their fists at the receding biker.

Gail began shaking, reality finally intruding. It was all real; it wasn’t a dream, after all.

“Gail, look at me, Gail.” Jeremy implored.

“It’s re-re-reaaaallll! It’s all real isn’t it? What’s going to happen to me Jeremy? Will it hurt? Is it painful? Am I really going to live to be 200, 300 years old? How old are you? Oh my God, what’s been done to me?” She fell on the ground then, uncaring about the new dress she had on, her panic totally setting in finally.

“Come on now, stand up, be a big girl, we need to help this girl. Come on. Just for a moment, then I’ll take you home, and we can fall apart together alright? I know you deserve to fall apart right now, but we need to know who she is. This is being planned; I can see that much so come on, hold my hand. That’s it, follow me love.” Jeremy guided her up the street to the trio standing there, trying to decide what to do.

Jeremy got their contact information somehow, and called an ambulance for the girl. She was injured much worse than Gail had been, and they waited until the ambulance arrived. Afterwards Jeremy took her to his home, a grand old manor house, to his bedroom, and let her shake until she stopped. Then he gathered her in his arms, sent his assistant a text and told her to clear his schedule for the rest of the week, and fell asleep with the woman who made him feel complete in his arms. A single day, that’s all he’d known this woman, and already he felt she was a part of him.

There was a maniac loose, turning women into were-people. It was going to take some investigating, and Gail needed far more of his attention than to be brushed aside as he’d done to her last night. She was a big woman, but she’d had a hard life. This could be the thing that finally broke her. He wasn’t going to allow that.

*** ***

The next morning Jeremy learned that Julia, the woman attacked the night before, now had a guardian and was being moved to that woman’s house. He planned with the Committee, an investigation being formed to discover the identity of the Creator and stop them. He then disappeared, leaving instructions for gifts to be sent to Gail every day he was gone, things to let her know he was thinking of her. He left her a note, telling her he’d be back before she shifted the first time, letting her know that he was doing this for her, and that he didn’t want to leave but had to.

Gail read the note, a smile playing over her lips, as his latest gift appeared.  A woman to teach her how to apply makeup, not just someone to do it for her. He’d listened when she’d complained about having people do her hair or makeup then; she hated the process because they never showed her how to do it for herself. This woman was patient and kind, guiding Gail in the movements needed to get the desired results.

Gail sat back, looking at herself. Maybe she was beautiful after all, and dainty in her own way? Her eyebrows were delicate slashes over her eyes. Turning her face, she saw her nose was a thin line down her face, but not too thin, her lips full and sultry were now painted a deep red that highlighted her straight white teeth. She wondered if Jeremy would like the effects she’d created.

Smiling, she stood up and put on a new dress. Jeremy had sent word; he was coming home tonight. She’d stayed in his home, not returning home because she was afraid of being there on her own now. Allison and Petra had come to visit her here, gobsmacked at the luxury Gail had found herself in. Gail covered with a story of a distant relative dying, leaving her a small inheritance that meant she could also live in this house. She didn’t know how that was going to work out in the long run, but it would have to suit for now. It was the best fib she could come up with.

Gail went down to the kitchen, the brown silk dress flowing around her as she moved. She wanted to project an air of comfort, a welcome home. She knew what was coming in the weeks ahead, Jeremy had told her all he knew before he left, and she wanted to make the next few days peaceful for both of them. Especially after whatever he’d been through since he’d been gone.

She heard a car in the driveway and went to the front door, waiting for Jeremy to come in. When he entered she smiled, not sure whether to hug him or shake his hand or something else. The smile that broke across his face was wide and happy. He looked tired and haggard, his tie slipping out of his pocket as he held out his arms.