To Tempt A Tiger (26 page)

“Agreed. It’s possible Victor and Alexis will find something.”

“But just as possible they won’t.”

“Elizaveta knows Lei is responsible for this. She’ll make sure he’s taken down.”

“And in the meantime? If we bring Zoe back there, will he just try to take her again?”

“We have to go back. The elders haven’t actually—” He stopped short when what he was about to say sank in. “Sonofabitch.
Sonofabitch
.”

“What?” She frowned, glancing at Zoe who was still snoring quietly despite his hissed outburst.

“Zoe hasn’t been formally claimed as a tiger shifter yet, which means, technically, she isn’t covered by our laws. But because she’s a tiger shifter, she’s not covered under the ‘don’t kill humans’ law either.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning Lei timed the kidnapping perfectly. At the moment, Zoe is in a legal no-man’s-land—neither officially tiger nor human. And, technically, her kidnappers didn’t even try to kill her. Lei just arranged to have her turned loose in the wild. While practically speaking that could have been a death sentence for her, he can argue she might have been fine if she went tiger and was able to hunt.”

“She’s a baby. How often do I have to say that? Even baby tiger cubs would have trouble surviving without their mothers. He can’t possibly claim this was anything other than an attempt to kill her.”

“You saw the way they argue. He can turn this from a murder attempt to a simple test—just like Jameson called it. Fuck me.”

“So what are you telling me, Vlad? That he can’t be punished? That no one can do anything about the fact that he kidnapped a child with the intent of leaving her in the forest to die?”

He knew she was upset when she didn’t scold him for cursing while Zoe was in the room. That only made him want to curse more, but the truth was, legally, there wasn’t a lot that could be done. “The kidnapping, by itself, is a crime that will require some form of punishment, but because she wasn’t hurt and he’s an elder, he’ll get a slap on the wrist and a huge fine. Since he’s extremely wealthy, he can afford the fine.”

“He’ll be able to remain an elder?”

“Possibly. It takes a lot to remove an elder. Short of death.”

“So my daughter’s future standing in the tiger community remains in the hands of someone who tried to kill her, and there’s nothing that can be done about it? Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“I’m gonna kill him, then. Which one is he?”

“You can’t kill him, Rose. He’s protected by his position. Killing an elder is a death sentence.”

“I’m not a tiger. Your people don’t have any jurisdiction over me.”

“They’ll turn you over to human authorities.”

“Will they? Do they want his body autopsied to prove murder?”

“They’ll find a way around that.”

“Vlad Dubrovsky, I am not letting that man get away with this. Do you understand me? I want my daughter to feel safe, and she won’t so long as that man is allowed to remain in a position of power. Especially if that position gives him some say in her life. No. It’s not going to happen. We find a way. You call in favors. We pay bribes. We doctor tapes. I don’t care. Whatever it takes. Because if he’s not taken care of any other way, I will shoot him between the eyes just like I did Jameson.”

Vlad had no doubt whatsoever that she meant every word. And the part of him still seething from what had been done to Zoe was right behind her. He’d hold Lei down while Rose put that bullet into his brain.

But they couldn’t simply kill an elder without bringing down a world of trouble on their heads—and that would leave Zoe vulnerable. He couldn’t allow Rose or Zoe to get hurt that way.

“Give me some time to think about this. I’ll figure out a way to make sure he’s removed.”

“In the meantime?”

“We get Zoe formally accepted into the community so she’s fully covered by our laws. We call for an immediate vote—no more debating—because we can’t risk her remaining in this legal limbo. Since you’re human, no one can hurt you without risking an automatic death sentence under our laws, but we also need to make sure they don’t try to subject you to our mating laws.”

“How do we do that?”

He sucked in a breath and took a huge leap off a cliff. “Marry me.”

She stilled. Even her breathing paused for a heartbeat as she stared at him. He had to force his own breath in and out as he waited for her answer. A pang of fear moved through him—that she’d reject him, that she’d kick him out of her life forever. He had no intention of staying away from her and Zoe, even if he was only around to protect them from other tigers. But she could shatter his hopes for the future in that one moment.

And he wasn’t sure he’d ever recover.

Rose’s brain simply stopped working for the longest moment. Vlad had just asked her to marry him but not because he loved her. He asked as a way to protect her from his people, to ensure she wasn’t sucked into their machinations.

The gesture was both incredibly sweet and heartbreaking all at once.

She’d waited a long time to hear those words from him. When they’d been together, she’d imagined him asking her in so many different, romantic ways. In those dreams, she’d always said yes immediately. Later, after he’d left them, she’d pictured him returning, begging forgiveness, and asking her to marry him. In those fantasies, she’d turn him down flat with a great deal of glee at his pain.

Now…

She loved him. She forgave him. She was about to tell Zoe he was her father. He’d said before he wanted their relationship to lead to marriage. She wanted to be with him. She
wanted
to marry him.

But she couldn’t bring herself to say yes because he was asking for all the wrong reasons.

She didn’t want to say no either, though, so she gripped his hand and said, “Marriage is a topic we’ll have to discuss when things with Zoe are settled. I don’t want you feeling pressured into it to protect me.” She put her hand on his mouth when he opened it. “I’m not going to discuss it further now. When everything else settles down, when real life in all its perfectly ordinary chaos resumes, we’ll come back to this conversation. But it’s not something we can settle now.”

He glanced away and swallowed visibly, but she couldn’t read his expression. Was he hurt? Relieved? Reassured by her logic? Angry? He sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. When he faced her again, she still couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

He cupped her cheeks in his hands and said, “You’ve been through a lot. I understand. We’ll talk about this again when you’re ready. Now.” He took her hands in his, rubbing them gently. “We have another complicated day ahead of us tomorrow. You need your rest.”

He stood and held out his hands, helping her to her feet. She wasn’t sure how to feel about his asking her to marry him or his reaction to her refusal to discuss it. For some reason, both things caused an ache in her chest that felt suspiciously like hurt feelings.

She sighed. He was right. She needed sleep. She was acting ridiculous. And no surprise, given the day she’d just been through. She climbed into bed next to Zoe without taking off her clothes. The fire had turned the chilly cabin into a warm oasis, but Rose wanted to be ready to jump into a fight if need be. She was too on edge to fully relax her guard.

Vlad gave her a kiss on the head and wished her a quiet goodnight before settling back on the rug near the fire.

“Are you going to shift?” she asked.

“I was going to wait until you fell asleep so you didn’t have to watch.”

“I’ve been watching humans turn into tigers and back for a week now. I can take it.”

And she wanted to prove to herself, and to him, that they could be completely themselves with each other. She didn’t want him to hide his shifts from her. If they had any hope of a future, they couldn’t afford to keep secrets anymore.

She propped herself up on her elbow facing him, Zoe behind her and turned toward the opposite wall, still sleeping soundly.

He shrugged and stood, pulling his shirt off over his head. She tried not to react to the sight of him, all sexy muscles and gleaming skin, but watching him undress had never been something she could do without reacting. He was the sexiest man she’d ever known. She swallowed and tried to calm her suddenly racing pulse. It wasn’t a moment when they could take advantage of the ever-present chemistry between them.

That knowledge didn’t stop her from staring as he pushed off his jeans, or from imagining all the things she wanted to do to him when he wasn’t wearing clothes. She bit her lip to keep from suggesting anything. They’d have to go outside to fool around and it was much too cold out there. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d made love outdoors, but never in weather like this. And she just couldn’t do that in the same room as her sleeping daughter.

From the look in his eyes, he wasn’t unaffected by standing naked with her watching him. A glance at his now erect cock proved it. They hadn’t been together since Arizona. Only a few days ago, but already it felt like they hadn’t made love in ages. She clenched her blanket. What terrible timing. She should have looked away while he undressed.

She tried to tell herself to look away now. Nothing could happen and she was torturing herself, but her body didn’t do what she told it to do. Her body wanted to take him to the porch, wrap her legs around his waist, and fuck him hard and fast, until all the fear of the last few hours was wiped away under raw, raging need.

She imagined her mouth on his skin, his thick cock buried deep in her body, his intoxicating scent enveloping her, his husky voice whispering wicked words into her ear… She was so close to braving the cold to be with him, she started to push the blanket down.

Finally, he took mercy on her and turned around. Except that wasn’t much better because now she had an excellent view of his ass.

This wasn’t going to work. She rolled over and faced her sleeping daughter. She’d just have to watch Vlad shift another time. But she would do it. If they got married, if they were going to be partners for the rest of their lives, she wanted no secrets between them.

As she closed her eyes, she realized she still held the biggest secret of all close to her heart. If she wanted full honesty, she’d have to admit how she felt about him. She’d have to take the risk and tell him she loved him.

And hope he returned the feelings.

Chapter Eighteen

The trip back to the elders’ compound was infinitely more relaxed than the drive away had been. To give Zoe time to adjust and settle, they took their time, stopping for lunch at a fast-food restaurant, letting Zoe play in the snow at a rest stop. The drive up to the Mate Run territory had taken them a few hours. They took most of the day getting back to the compound, pulling into the parking lot at twilight.

Alexis met them at the door leading into the main building. “She’s okay?”

Rose nodded. “She’s still a little shaken up, but she was very strong and brave.”

“The Trackers with you have reported in so I got the gist. What happened to Jameson has been deemed ‘appropriate punishment under the law’ so you’re good on that count.”

“There was ever a question?” Rose asked, a very slight growl in her voice. This wasn’t the human world where vigilante killing might be prosecuted. This was a deadly world that required brutal strength. She would have gone to war if they’d tried to hold her and Vlad accountable for what she considered justice. “Do they know what was intended?” She was vague because of Zoe, but she needed to know what the elders had heard.

“They do. The tiger who witnessed the exchange with Jameson reported everything that was said. Dev is one of the best and most experienced Trackers working. His word is above reproach.”

“What does this mean for Lei?” Vlad asked.

They moved slowly down the corridors toward the guest wing as they talked. Zoe hugged Rose tight and refused to get down and walk, but Rose wasn’t inclined to let her go either. She wanted to ask for different rooms as well, but she wanted Vlad’s question answered first.

“That is…causing a dilemma,” Alexis said.

“Because Zoe’s not covered under our laws yet,” Vlad said.

“You figured that out? Yes. Her position in the community is still unsettled so there’s debate—”

Rose groaned loudly at that word.

Alexis flashed her a smile before continuing. “They can’t decide whether to charge this as an attempt on a human or a tiger shifter female.”

“What’s the difference in punishment?” Rose asked.

“Attempts on tiger females carry a much more severe sentence than attempts on humans, even though success at…what was intended with either tiger or human carries the same ultimate penalty.”

Rose worked through that in her head. Since they were talking vaguely, because of Zoe, she wanted to make sure she understood. Vlad had told her killing a human was almost always a death sentence crime. So that must mean killing a tiger female was a death sentence crime as well. But attempting to kill a tiger female resulted in more severe punishment than attempting and failing to kill a human.

That didn’t make much sense to her. “Why the difference for attempts, when success carries the same punishment?”

Alexis shook her head. “Legal wrangling and complicated contingencies that aren’t really logical, but they are on the books. Basically, attempting on a tiger female is considered worse because they’re so rare and humans aren’t. If the attempt on a human isn’t successful, there’s no threat to the community—or at least very little threat compared to what would be posed by a human investigation into that ultimate result. The elders figure the punishment for completing that crime is enough to keep the community in line. Female tigers are so valuable, though, they don’t want even the attempts to look like a reasonable idea.”

“That still doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

“I know. But that’s the way the law stands.” She gave Rose a contemplative look as they turned down the corridor toward the guest rooms. “Actually, all those laws have to be reworked now. Humans like you are, in a very real way, as valuable to the community as any tiger female. Looks like more debates are in order.”