Liars and Tigers (11 page)

"I told you, I do not
need anyone. Are you deaf?"

Alex stood to look down at
her from his six foot one frame. "No. I'm not deaf, but neither am I
buying this lie you have told yourself. For once in your life you are going to
let someone care about you without calling the shots. You are going to let
me
take care of you! You are going to
see that this wall you have erected around yourself is hurting you, not saving
you. You are going to let me be a real part of your life."

"Fuck you, Alex. I
never invited you into my life, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you take
over because you think I am weak. Get
out
of here!" she yelled, throwing the closest thing she could reach straight
at him. Jack had warned Alex of her deadly aim, but he wasn't prepared for the
alarm clock to hit him square in the jaw, cutting his lip.

Slowly, he lifted the back
of his hand to the injured area and brought it down, seeing blood.
"Seriously, Misha? You could have broken a tooth, or blinded me."

"I'm sorry! Just go
away," Misha cried.

Alex shook his head.
"No, that is the problem. You aren't sorry. I have done everything I can
to make you feel welcome and cared for. I have been honest and considerate
toward you. What have I done to deserve this treatment other than tell you how
I feel?"

"You're a pervert. You
lured me here for this and used Rodin as bait."

 
"I'm a not a pervert by any means.
Yeah, I like to play in the darker realm of sex, and believe in a chain of
command within my home life, but I am as normal as you are."

"You are a fucking
pervert," Misha hissed again. "A vile, despicable son of a…"

Alex stood still and looked
down at her, his eyes dark. "I have been more than tolerant with your
tantrums, but I've heard enough from you. I demand an apology right now. I
don't deserve this horrendous treatment."

"Screw yourself, Alex.
If it wasn't for Rodin, I would be packing up and leaving this very
minute."

"Whether you like it or
not, I have grown to truly care about you. I think I might even be falling in
love with you, despite this bitter, sharp tongue of yours. Because I do
care," he took a single step toward her, "it is about time that you,
my sweet Tiger, learn a valuable lesson. I don't put up with hissy fits, having
anyone throw objects at me, or refusing to apologize properly for their
actions."

"I am out of
here," Misha hissed, getting up from the bed and stomping toward the door.
A low growl escaped Alex's throat as he grabbed her arm. Effortlessly, he swung
her across his lap and yanked her pants down to expose her pale, milky round
bottom, framed by a tiny black thong.

"No more of this
behavior. Liars and Tigers will be bared, and thoroughly spanked in this
enclosure," Alex stated, sending the flat of his hand harshly against the
soft, unmarred mound of her right cheek.

Misha shrieked. "Oh My!
Stop! It hurts!" she yelled, as his work-hardened hand delivered another
painful smack to her left cheek. "Rodin! Save me!" The tiger cub
merely yawned and watched, his tail twitching.

"You like being a
Tiger? There are plenty of stripes to be had where these come from. Lie to me
again, or throw something at me, and the stripes will be delivered by my belt
or a switch," Alex lectured calmly as his hand cracked along the center of
her posterior, making her yell out again to stop. "This will not only mark
your beautiful little ass, but will mark the beginning of a new relationship.
I'm claiming you, Tiger. Playtime is over. I've tracked you down and will make
you mine. The hunt is finished. You need me as much as I need you, and you will
admit it right here and now."

"You can't force me to
say anything, you bastard!" Misha howled.

"I can force you to
admit the truth. I see how you look at me. Even if you don't want me, there is
no excuse for this horrid behavior. Not anymore."

Determined to prove how
serious he was, Alex began a full-fledged assault upon Misha's nether cheeks
and upper thighs, his fingers leaving trails of crimson marks and blazing heat
along her delicate flesh. Misha recoiled, writhed and attempted every means of
escape, but he was much too strong for her. Spank after spank sent waves of
pain through her body, and she fought desperately against giving in to his
lesson.

"You will submit, my
dear Misha. Let yourself go and be free," Alex ordered, focusing his
attention on that sweet, soft place at the very bottom of her cheeks, promising
remembrance of this event every time she tried to sit for the next few days.

"I will NEVER… submit,
to you… or anyone," Misha bellowed, feeling her body betray her as her
eyes released another downpour of tears. "I don't need anybody. Not
ever…"

"Let go, damn it!"
Alex commanded, quickening his rhythm and force.

Misha screamed
"No," then broke into a low, guttural sob. Alex landed four more
spanks to her thighs as she laid limply across his strong, muscular lap. He
rested his hand upon the shiny, deep red globes, stroking the thrashed skin and
feeling the searing heat rising from her bruised and tender bottom.

Misha sobbed pitifully into
the legs of his jeans, gripping his calf like it was an anchor that would keep
her from losing herself in the ocean of excruciating agony. Alex surveyed his
work. He had been thorough. As Misha trusted her instincts about gaining the
trust of frightened animals, Alex trusted his own as well. Indeed, his hunt was
over and now it was time to start taming his little Tiger.

Ever so gently, he lifted
her to sit on his lap, with his arms wrapped securely around her bare waist.
Misha was as aware of her half-naked body as she was the fiery burn that
radiated from the top of her bottom to the middle of her thighs. Unable to
resist his hold, she yielded to his strength and leaned into his chest. Her
sniffling turned to hiccups as he gently dried her tears and rocked her in his
arms, just as she had rocked the infant tiger so many times.

"What are you thinking,
baby?" he asked quietly, as he felt her snuggle closer to him.

"I don't want to talk
about it."

"This silence is going
to stop this instant. I can't allow you to continue to hurt yourself this way.
Now tell me what you are thinking. Just mind your manners."

"Fine! It feels good to
be held like this, okay? No one has ever done this to me before. Not even
Jack."

"Spanked you or held
you?"

"Either one," Misha
admitted in a tiny whisper. "Jack sees me like I'm a sweet, naughty child,
but he never stepped up and did anything about it. And he is not a
cuddler."

"Jack loves you as much
as he would his own daughter. And I agree," Alex kissed her head and squeezed
her shoulders, "cuddling is not his thing."

After a moment of silence,
Misha whispered, "I'm sorry I threw the clock at you."

He lifted her chin to face
him. "I love you. From the minute you screamed obscenities in my face and
challenged my position, I loved you," he whispered, pressing his lips to
hers. "When you asked me to introduce you to session play, I knew that I
wanted you forever in my life."

"You can't love me.
Nobody can love me. Stop—" Misha's eyes widened, as he pressed his
tongue between her lips and she found herself responding to him. "I hate
you. I don't have a choice. I have to hate you…"

"You do have a
choice," Alex said, stroking the side of her neck with the edge of his
fingertips. He felt her shudder, and kissed the same spot. "Stop fighting
so hard and let me love you the way you deserve to be loved."

"I can't, Alex. I
can't!"

"Shhh, yes you can.
Don't be afraid," his voice was low as he coaxed her to relax,
"everything will be so much better now. Listen to your heart. What is it
saying?"

Misha opened her mouth to
his probing and slowly raised her hand to rest against his shoulder as she
returned the passionate embrace. "It's at peace," she whispered.
"Damn it Alex, you broke me."

"You were already
broken. Now, together, we can build you up to where you are destined to
be."

"This is so
wrong."

"Rodin doesn't seem to
think so. Even at his age, he would have protected you from me if he felt you
were in danger. Look at him. Tell me about his body language."

Misha glanced at the cub who
was on his side upon the floor, watching the couple with heavily lidded eyes.
He yawned and placed his head on the ground, and began to purr loudly. She
swallowed. "He's content and feels safe."

"Which is exactly what
you are feeling right now, isn't it?"

"You just love being
right, don't you, Alex?"

"Yes ma'am, I certainly
do," Alex smiled, kissing her again.

Alex gently covered Misha
with a sheet, smiling softly as Rodin crawled under it to lie next to her. He
was pleased to see that the little cub had been unaffected by the activities he
had witnessed. Alex had to remind himself that cats, in general, were very
rough in both their play and their mating. Instinct dictated his need to take
Misha in hand as a male tiger would have, asserting his dominance and
protection. He was concerned, though. She'd acted as though she had never been
kissed. The woman was twenty-eight years old, surely… Alex considered her
story. If, indeed, it was true, then maybe she had guarded herself from any
human intimacy. If so, he had a lot of work to do. First, a phone call.

"Yo, Boss man? What
gives?" Jack answered, turning his TV down.

"An explanation. I want
to know your involvement with Misha. From the beginning. Start with
Vegas."

"What did she tell
you?" Jack asked. "The Vegas thing happened eleven years ago. She was
just a little kid."

"She said enough to
make me want to hurt somebody. Out with it. And I want details," Alex
commanded.

Jack sighed, sharing his
side of the story, including gaining Sen. Hodges' assistance with getting the
acceptance to UC Davis. Alex was quiet for a moment once Jack had finished.

 
"So she was telling me the
truth," Alex stated flatly.

"If that was the same
thing I just told you, then yes. That's why I let her get away with so much in
the cages. I told you, she has the touch," Jack said quietly.

"I've known you since I
was a teenager. We've shared everything. How come you never told me all of
this?"

"You knew I worked in
Vegas with the tiger show. That was why you wanted me to come help you with the
reserve. There was no reason to tell you about Mish."

"But you pretended you
didn't know her when you guys met. Was that to protect her from me?"

"Why would I feel she
needed protection from you? If anything, I wanted to see the two of you get
along. I did not deny our relationship—in fact, I warned you that she was
a Tiger. That's how I also knew how to make her stay with you by using that
little cub. She didn't say anything about her and me because she was afraid you
would think she was favored, what with me being her supervisor and all. The
kid's got a lot of pride."

"Not right now she
doesn't. She's in bed nursing a very sore, red rump."

"Shit Alex, what
happened?"

"She shared about her
past, and I shared how I felt about her. It was not acceptable, so the little
hellion threw an alarm clock at me, after calling me several very unflattering
names."

"I told you she had
good aim. You should've listened." Jack chuckled.

"Where did she get
those scars on her thigh?" Alex asked bluntly. "She said she fell off
a chain link fence. I'm assuming she lied about that, too."

"The female white tried
to keep her from leaving the den the day I discovered her. Misha got raked
pretty badly."

 
"Holy crap. What happened when the
cats smelled the blood?"

"That was the odd
thing. I went straight to the cabinet for a gun, and returned to find the
female licking Misha's wounds. The child was terrified, and that tongue hurt
like hell, but she kept her cool. When the tiger released her adopted cub,
Misha was able to leave the compound. From that moment on, I knew that little
girl had a gift and I intended to nurture it."

"Do you know why she
won't wear a bathing suit?" Alex asked, wondering if Jack would reveal any
knowledge of the sculpting issue.

"Nope. You need to ask
her. So, during this interaction with her, was the cub around?"

 
"The whole time. He gave no response
except yawning. He's sleeping with her now."

"She's not going to let
him go. He's imprinted with her. They're bonded for life," Jack commented.

"Are you suggesting
that I allow her to keep him as a pet? He's going to grow to be at least four
hundred pounds and up to nine feet long! With four inch long teeth and some
nasty claws," Alex protested. "That is one cat that is not safe
roaming freely."