To Tempt A Tiger (7 page)

Zoe nodded and scooted across the bench, leaving Vlad plenty of room. Rose watched in awe. Her daughter wasn’t exactly shy, but she did tend to be leery of new people. She held back, waiting to see if she could trust them not to be doctors. She wasn’t that way around other kids, but she needed time to get used to grownups.

Yet she was already as comfortable with Vlad as she was with her grandparents. Could she tell he was family? Or was it because he’d helped ease her pain without poking and prodding at her like a doctor would?

So many questions and there was no way to ask them without explaining things to her. As Rose watched her set some chips and a part of her sandwich in front of Vlad, she accepted that she was going to have to tell her Vlad was her father, sooner rather than later. Especially if he kept showing up like this. But how could she explain his absence all these years?

Admitting the truth to Zoe would mean allowing Vlad into their lives. Once her daughter knew, Rose wouldn’t be able to deny her access to her father if she wanted to see him. She was completely prepared to send Vlad packing and never let him near them again—for her own peace of mind. But if Zoe wanted her father in her life, Rose couldn’t say no to that.

Vlad glanced at her, his smile soft. “You’re worrying,” he said. “I could always tell when you got that crease between your eyebrows. You’re thinking too hard.”

“Lots to think about,” she said. Then she sighed and sat across the table from them. “Do you want anything more to eat?” She nodded at the bits of a meal Zoe was leaving for him.

“Don’t go to any trouble. I’m fine.”

“Where are you staying?” She hadn’t intended to bring that up yet, but once it had popped out, she realized she’d been worrying about it since seeing him on the front stoop. She didn’t trust herself around him. All her anger and resentment weren’t keeping her more lusty thoughts in check, nor were they preventing all those long ago feelings from rising up to taunt her. What they could have had, could have been, if only he’d believed in her…

She couldn’t trust her heart, she certainly couldn’t trust her body, and she didn’t trust him. They couldn’t afford to be in the same house together, not now, when so much hung in the balance.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said.

“You managed to get a room in one of the motels last minute?”

“I said don’t worry.”

She frowned. “You’re not thinking of sleeping in your car or something like that, are you? It’s freezing out there. I can’t allow that.”

“I wasn’t going to sleep in the car. But I don’t want to rent a room and give my credit card out, in case my brothers trace it. And paying in cash draws too much curiosity.”

“Your brothers could…find you that way?”

“Yes. I don’t think they can trace your cell, despite what I said to your parents—they don’t have nearly the same connections as my dad did—but you might be careful about using your phone too much.”

Great. One more thing to worry about. She shook it off to ask, “If you’re not sleeping in your car or at a motel, where will you sleep? Not outside? This is not great camping weather.”

“Won’t be a big deal. I have a…fur coat to keep me warm.”

She blinked as his comment sank in and she realized what he was saying. He intended to shift and sleep in the open as a tiger? “Is that…safe? What if someone sees you? Can you take the cold?”

“No one will see me. Yes, I can take the cold. Yes, it’s safe. Maybe safer than staying anywhere else.”

He met her gaze and she knew he was thinking of them staying under the same roof. Her pulse thumped as she got caught in his dark gaze. Yes, staying in the same house was definitely
not
safe. Tempting. Shockingly tempting. But not safe.

“If you’re sure.” There was a spare room, but she resisted saying that out loud until she could think through the repercussions.

She watched his gaze move over her face, dipping briefly to her breasts. That quick, discreet look warmed her cheeks. She was definitely safer without him in the house. How the hell could she still be this vulnerable to him? She tried to call up the anger she’d harbored for the last four years, but it was all mixed up with confusion now. Not nearly strong enough.

He’d helped pull Zoe out of an episode. Despite everything else, that single fact muted all her resentment, tangling it up with gratitude for easing her daughter’s pain.

She didn’t know how to feel about his explanation for leaving. She supposed she had to accept that he couldn’t have known the truth about Zoe being his. But part of her still thought he should have known, he should have trusted her. How could she ever get over the fact that in that most important moment, he hadn’t believed in her?

Though she still wanted to, she couldn’t quite hate him anymore. Beyond that, she didn’t know exactly how she felt. With Zoe, everything was so much more complicated. What if Zoe came to accept Vlad, and he left them again? Rose couldn’t risk that. Yet, could she really deny Zoe a chance to have a relationship with her dad if Vlad did stay?

She pulled her still-warm tea mug close and hid her confusion in a deep drink.

“We need to discuss Zoe’s…lessons,” Vlad said, breaking into her thoughts.

She blinked and looked up at him. “I haven’t decided…”

“It’s not a decision, Rose. She needs to learn how to do everything she can. It will help her.”

“Help me what?” Zoe asked as she moved some of the crumbs of chips in front of Vlad back to her paper plate.

Vlad faced her. “I want to help you get rid of your pain.”

Her eyes widened. “You do that?” Then her eyes narrowed. “Thought you said you not a doctor?”

“I’m not.”

“What are you?”

He chuckled. “Among other things, I’m an inventor.”

“What you invent?”

“I develop sports equipment. Things like better safety equipment for rock climbing, gear for rafting and parasailing, that kind of thing.”

“Like stuff Granny and Grandpa and Mommy do?”

He nodded. “That’s how I met your mother. I was testing a new cam my company was working on, and she happened to be climbing in the same area.” He glanced at Rose, his expression mischievous. “Testing out a new site for a future expedition, if I remember correctly.”

Zoe glanced between them, then looked at Vlad. “Where’d you go?”

“Utah.”

“I like climbing,” Zoe announced. “Mommy takes me.”

Vlad raised his brows, and Rose shrugged.

“She’s good at it. We use the gym by the offices, and she scurries up like a goat. She does the same thing in trees if I let her.”

“Climbing fun,” Zoe confirmed.

“I agree,” Vlad said, his expression soft.

Zoe yawned then bounced off the bench as if she wasn’t getting tired. She didn’t take a lot of naps anymore, outside of the sleep she needed after an episode, but since arriving in Alpine, she was often tired after lunch and napped for an hour or so. Whether it was the altitude or all the time spent outside in the cold, Rose wasn’t sure, but she knew Zoe was happier if she took that hour.

“Nap time?” Rose asked.

“No. Don’t wanna. Talking with Vlad.”

“I know, baby, but you’ll feel better if you nap. Vlad will still be here when you wake up.” She glanced at him for confirmation.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Not tired,” Zoe insisted, stamping her foot.

“Fine,” Rose said, “but if you get grumpy, we won’t be able to play in the snow this afternoon.”

Zoe paused to consider that. It rarely snowed in Phoenix, and hadn’t once in Zoe’s short lifetime, so the opportunity to play in the snow wasn’t taken lightly.

“Won’t get grumpy,” Zoe announced with a confident chin jut.

“Okay. Your choice.” As Rose cleaned up the remains of their lunch, she caught Zoe yawning again.

Vlad followed Rose into the kitchen, bringing the cups Rose hadn’t had hands for. For a strange, disorienting minute, Rose could
feel
what their lives would be if he hadn’t left—this moment as a family vacation they’d decided to take for fun, rather than to avoid danger. The sensory impression shocked a depth of emotion from her. It was so vivid and real. Like stepping into an alternate timeline. Hurt and longing, love and satisfaction all tangled into a complex mix she couldn’t sort out.

She shook off the thoughts and focused on putting the remains of lunch away, trying to ignore how right it felt having Vlad in the kitchen with her, helping her do the little domestic things.

To Zoe, she said, “Why don’t you go into the living room and color for a bit? I need to talk with Vlad.”

Zoe flounced off, but not before reminding her mother, “We go out into the snow soon.”

“Soon,” Rose confirmed with a smile.

Even with Zoe in the living room, Rose knew she’d hear everything they said. “This would be an easier conversation if she’d just nap,” she murmured as quietly as she could.

“Not tired,” Zoe yelled from the living room.

Vlad laughed.

“You want a cup of tea?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

Rose concentrated on putting on the kettle as she asked, “What else has she inherited?”

“Probably an excellent sense of smell and good night vision.”

“Never asked her about the night vision, but her sense of smell is very good.” Rose thought about it. “She’s never asked for a night light. I suppose that could mean good night vision.”

“Or she’s just fearless, like her mom.”

Vlad settled against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed. The position emphasized the bulge of muscles in his arms and shoulders through the tight fit of his shirt. She was a complete sucker for his arms. That first meeting, climbing in Utah, she’d had a hard time not staring as he pulled himself up the rock face. Unfortunately for her distracted mind, she was soloing and couldn’t afford to lose her focus. She’d nearly gotten into trouble twice.

Being distracted by him now was going to get her into trouble, too. And she didn’t have any ropes to catch her if she slipped this time.

“So your brothers really believed you were trying to get back together with me?” It was probably the wrong topic, but she was curious and the question had just popped out.

He shrugged. “They knew some of what had happened between us. It’s a believable story.”

She blinked at the admission. “Before you knew about your sister, you wouldn’t have considered it, would you?”

He didn’t quite meet her gaze when he answered. “I never stopped thinking about you, Rose.” His voice was quiet and deep. “I…I don’t know if I would have tried to get you back before, but I never stopped thinking about you.”

She had to swallow hard around the lump in her throat. She sucked in a shaky breath and tried to ignore the rush of her pulse. “They think I cheated on you, right? Why would you want me back? Why
wouldn’t
I want you?”

His entire body stilled as she asked her last question and she realized she’d revealed something she hadn’t meant to.

“Could you consider taking me back?” he asked, so quietly she barely heard him.

“That’s not why you’re here.” Hedging and avoidance. She was embarrassed by her own cowardice, but she couldn’t help it. She had no idea how to answer his question. She still wanted to take him to bed, a lot more than she cared to admit. And those glimpses of the life they might have had kept haunting her. But she couldn’t get past four years of pain in a few days.

And that didn’t even take into account the fact that he wasn’t human. That his brothers supposedly wanted her daughter dead. That her daughter’s entire future hung in the balance.

She turned to make his tea. “Are you sure you can’t just teach Zoe how to do that thing you did with her the first day? You’re positive she needs to learn about the other stuff?” She kept her back to him as she asked, but her spine tingled with awareness of him.

“I can’t hide her from my people forever,” he said. “She’ll be safer if she understands everything.”

“I’m not sure how to tell her any of this,” Rose admitted. “She’s still so young.”

“It’s better that way. The young are adaptable. Chances are good she won’t even remember anything before this by the time she grows up.”

Rose wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “There’s a lot I don’t understand. You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“I know. I will. I think we should start by showing Zoe my other form.”

Rose spun to face him. “Oh no, you can’t show her that. She’ll be terrified.”

“Rose. I’m not going to change in front of her, not yet, but she’ll have to watch me change eventually so she knows it’s possible.”

Everything about that rubbed Rose the wrong way, even as her logical side recognized that he was probably right. “You had to…” She glanced toward the living room, then lowered her voice so much she wasn’t sure even Vlad could hear her. “You had to take your clothes off. That’s not appropriate in front of her.”

“I keep forgetting…” Vlad frowned. “With my people, nudity isn’t really a thing. We barely notice it, especially around family, because we need to be nude to change—unless we want to keep replacing damaged clothing.”

“You didn’t take nudity so lightly with me,” she murmured.

His expression changed again, his eyes darkening as his gaze moved over her body. With just a look, her pulse started pounding and the tingling excitement of lust tightened in her belly.

“With you, no,” he said, his voice rough and even deeper. “That wasn’t something I could take lightly.”

She swallowed hard. “We need to change the subject.”

“Yes.” He pushed away from the counter and edged closer.

The closer he got, the faster her breathing came, until she was practically panting. The part of her brain still functioning reminded her that her daughter was just in the other room. That didn’t seem to slow her pulse or prevent her from staring at his mouth. She watched him lean toward her, lowering his mouth to hers, and was helpless to move away. She didn’t want to stop him. She didn’t want to say no.

She’d never wanted a man to kiss her so much in her life.

His breath was hot against her cheek. She closed her eyes, anticipation making her muscles tighten. She felt the soft brush of his lips, once, twice, and then cold air.