Taken By The Tiger Page 5

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, please just let me go. You’re hurting me,” I begged. I could hear Nina behind him, sobbing. I had dragged her into this, and now she had to watch her best friend being beaten up.

  “Where is the money?” Maxwell brought his face closer to me. He was baring his teeth like a wild animal and in that moment, I knew that he was capable of anything. I couldn’t move, my feet were frozen, I was dangling from his grip on my arm…trying to pull myself away.

  “I don’t have your money, Maxwell, I promise,” I cried, hot tears rolling down my cheeks.

  How had he turned into this? This was not the guy I thought I had fallen in love with. But maybe, I hadn’t known him at all. His nostrils were flared, he was flying high in a drunken rage and I had no idea how he had found me. I thought he didn’t know where Nina lived.

  “There’s money missing and I know you took it!” he barked again and shook me by my arm. His fingers were digging into my flesh and the pain was growing more intense. I was afraid of another punch, of a harder punch than the last time. I didn’t want Nina to be hurt, I didn’t want her to see what he was capable of doing to me.

  “I didn’t take anything, Maxwell, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I cried, trying to get the words out of my throat. Nina was still sobbing by the door, sometimes picking up the guts to scream at Maxwell to let me go.

  “You lying bitch. Tell me where you’ve hidden it!” he yelled and with his free hand, he pushed all the books and papers off the coffee table and they went flying to the floor. He didn’t let go of my arm though, and I could feel my strength weakening. Something had changed in Maxwell. This wasn’t just about some little cash, he was desperate about this money and I thought he was making enough at work.

  “I promise I don’t have it. Please, Maxwell, believe me,” I cried, sobbing wildly now. I tried to wriggle out of his grip again, which only made him tighten his grip on me. He yanked me to himself and I squealed with horror. His face was close to mine again, and I could see the rage dripping from his bloodshot eyes. He was capable of anything for that money. Why was it so important to him?

  “Tell me where it is before I bash your face in,” he threatened with a hissing voice through gritted teeth. I was crying, my body shaking with horror. He had bunched up his other fist, about to bring it crashing down on my face.

  “I’m calling the cops!” Nina yelled and Maxwell and I both looked at her. She was holding her cellphone up in the air and we could see she had dialed 911 on the screen. Maxwell’s grip on my arm weakened, giving me the chance to wriggle out. I backed away from him, stumbling on my books and I fell to the floor.

  “Leave now or I’m calling the cops!” Nina screamed again and I looked up to see that Maxwell was glaring down at me, his shoulders heaving with fury.

  “I am not done with you,” he growled, in a lower voice and just when I thought he was going to kick me, he turned around and walked away. When he got to the door, Nina cowered. He looked her straight in the eye and I could see that she was trying to glare back at him, to put up a show of confidence.

  When Maxwell stepped out, Nina slammed the door shut behind him, turned the lock and pulled the chain.

  My sobbing grew louder and she ran to me, kneeling down on the floor beside me.

  “Oh, honey, are you okay?” she asked and reached for my arm. Maxwell had left a bruise on my arm. My skin was bright pink and I could feel it throbbing with ache where he had dug into my flesh.

  Nina ran her fingers over the spot and I winced.

  “We need to put some ice on it,” she said and I tried to control my cries.

  “I’m so sorry, Nina, I shouldn’t have dragged this to your doorstep,” I said, my body quivering from the pain and shock.

  She got up to get a pack of ice from the freezer and returned with it and sat back down on the floor.

  “Are you hurt anywhere else, honey?” she asked in a cooing voice and I shook my head.

  “Nina…I’m so sorry,” all I could do was apologize and cry. More than feeling afraid for myself, I felt responsible for putting my friend’s life in danger. She looked up at me and dragged me close to herself in a tight hug.

  “We can’t stay here anymore, you heard him, he’s going to come back,” she said.

  “Where are we going to go?” I asked her, sniffing and trying to stop the tremors in my arms.

  “We should go stay with Leo for a few days, just till things quiet down you know. Maxwell doesn’t know about Leo, so it’ll be difficult for him to find us there,” she said and I nodded my head, grateful that she had a boyfriend she could trust.

  “It’s too late tonight and he’s working, but tomorrow, go straight to his apartment after work. I’ll text you his address,” she said and we hugged again.

  What had I gotten myself into?

  Chapter 11

  Daredevil

  “I’ll go,” Beasty said. Church was over, and we were all sitting around our usual table at The Shifter Shack. Dad had just given us the go-ahead to investigate the fight clubs that The Claws were running.

  “You’ll stand out. Giant bear like you hanging around. Daredevil, Jordan and Ace should go,” Dad said, emptying the remnants of a bottle of beer down his throat. I nodded my head at him, just when Melody came into my vision. She was serving beer to a table in front of us, and even though she had pasted a smile on her face, I could see the emptiness in her eyes.

  I felt a movement in my pants when I saw her, but she looked afraid, or sad…or something. Then my gaze fell on her arm, near her elbow was a deep purple blotch which looked like a fresh bruise. I nearly shifted right then and there.

  I jumped off my chair and stalked towards her. She had just placed the tray of beers on the table, when I walked up behind her.

  “Outside, now,” I growled and she looked at me with her wide green eyes, her long red hair swaying as she moved. She could see the determination in my eyes and didn’t resist.

  I walked out of the bar and I could hear her following me. Outside, amidst the parked bikes, I whipped around to her and reached for her arm.

  “What the hell is this?” I growled, holding her gaze even though she tried to look away. There were bright pink spots on the tops of her cheeks, her green eyes looked dull. She was hiding something.

  “It’s nothing. I hurt myself,” she said and tried to pull her arm away. I let her go, but I wasn’t about to let it drop.

  “Who did this to you?” I growled in a louder voice and stepped towards her. She couldn’t hide a bruise from me. I knew a bruise caused by a tight grip on an arm when I saw one. Who was she kidding?

  “Nobody. I accidentally hurt myself,” Melody said and tucked in some stray red strands behind her ears nervously. She was refusing to meet my eyes. I reached for her chin and tipped her face to look up at me. When our eyes met, I felt a fire blazing in the pit of my stomach.

  “Trust me, Melody. Tell me who did this,” I said, in a softer voice. Aggression wasn’t going to work on her, I needed her to be honest with me.

  “My boy…my ex-boyfriend. He was drunk and angry and he found me at my best friend’s house,” she stammered with her words and I dropped my hand from her chin. I could feel the fury coursing through my veins. I had to grit my teeth so that I didn’t shift. I didn’t want to scare her even more.

  Some asshole had the audacity to lay a hand on Melody.

  My Melody.

  “Who is this asshole? I’m going to crush his neck,” I hissed, eyeing her with anger. Melody gulped and looked away from me.

  “No, please don’t. Just forget about it. He was drunk and I think he’s gotten in with a bad crowd. I think he owes someone money,” she said and I was shaking my head.

  “I’m going to find him and then I’m going to kill him,” I snarled and this time, she stepped towards me, hesitating right when she was about to place her hands on my chest.

  “He’s gone, I’m fine…Daredevil, please, just drop it,
” she said but I could hear the fear in her voice.

  “You’re not fine. Assholes like these don’t just stop after the first time,” I said and reached for her waist. Our eyes were locked, her gaze was soft, she suddenly looked less afraid. “Melody, I’m going to keep you safe, you’re going to have to trust me. I’m not going to let this asshole come anywhere close to you,” I said and her face grew even softer, she was about to cry. I could see her lips quivering. I knew she wanted to agree with me, she wanted me to take care of her but her pride was getting in the way.

  “You’re going to stay with me. I don’t want you staying anywhere he might find you,” I told her, and my hand on her waist felt warm. Just touching her made me weak and I didn’t want to feel weak in that moment. Melody dropped her gaze to her feet and nodded her head. She was going to come home with me.

  “And you can ask your friend to come too. She’s not safe in her apartment either,” I said and she looked up to meet my eyes again.

  “She’s staying with her boyfriend, at least for a few days and I was going to go there as well,” she said, in a small quiet voice and I had to do everything I could to not pull her into my arms and kiss her.

  Someone had touched her.

  Someone had bruised her arm.

  I was seeing red everywhere.

  My tiger snarled. I needed to shift. To kill something.

  “Let’s go,” I said and grabbing her hand, I led her to my parked Harley. I helped her on to the bike and then sat down in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, before wrapping her arms around me.

  That movement in my pants again. My cock had a mind of its own, even though sex was the last thing I was thinking of. I needed her to be safe.

  “What about my shift? Big D will be expecting me inside,” I heard her say, as I revved up the engine.

  “You can text him later and tell him you felt sick. Big D won’t mind. They are all very fond of you in there,” I told her, honestly. All Big D did was talking about these days was what a “sweet kid” Melody was and how much of a help she was to him.

  And right now, I couldn’t think of anything but getting her out of there and to safety. And being with me was the safest I could keep her.

  Chapter 12

  Melody

  “Nice apartment,” I said, looking around me. Daredevil was picking up discarded clothes and pizza boxes off the carpeted floor, and flinging them to a corner of the living room. The place wasn’t anything fancy, but it was well maintained enough for a single guy, especially a guy like him.

  We’d been relatively silent all the way to his apartment, and all I could think about was how I had my arms around him, how our bodies were grazing.

  “It used to be!” he said and we both looked at each other and smiled. “There’s a few claw marks on the walls from a party last year, but I can control him, promise.”

  He was right, I was safer here. In his apartment, with him. In fact, I hadn’t felt safer than this before and I walked over to the couch which he had just cleared out and sat down.

  “Thank you for this, Daredevil, you really didn’t have to do it,” I said, kneading my fingers together. I was being honest. He wasn’t exactly indebted to me to keep me safe. I was just some girl he almost had sex with behind a bar. He had no obligation towards me.

  He was standing over me now, looking down at my face and I could see that he was studying me again. In that same intense way he followed me around the bar with his eyes. That ebb and flow of desire returned to the pit of my stomach, and I licked my lips to control the tension. I knew how his fingers felt on my skin, on my pussy…and I couldn’t stop picturing him without his clothes on.

  Daredevil towered over me and I craned my neck to look up at him, and then, without another word, he used his finger again. To tilt my face up towards him. And then he kissed me. It was a softer, gentler kiss this time but he had engulfed me. His arms moved down, and he lifted me up by my waist. My arms wrapped around his neck, my legs wrapped around his waist and I could feel myself being carried, my back pressing against the wall of the living room.

  He rocked me, our bodies sliding up and down against each other and I heard him grunt, right into my mouth as his kiss grew stronger. Wilder.

  He thrust himself slightly, up against my outspread legs and even through his jeans, I got a pretty good idea of how big he was. It felt good. The brushing of his bulge against my panties. My skirt had ridden up my thighs and was now bunched up at my waist and as his tongue deeper down my throat, Daredevil rocked himself even more against me.

  “Those panties need to come off,” he grunted, pulling himself away from my mouth and with one quick motion, he had tugged it down, placing me back on the floor. He pulled my skirt down next and then in a rush, tugged my blouse up and over my face. Suddenly, I was in nothing but my bra and the heels I wore to work.

  Daredevil stepped back, as though he was admiring a piece of art he had just painted. He could see my pussy, even though I was pressing my thighs together. His eyes were riveted to that shaved spot between my legs. I had never felt so naked before, under his burning gaze. He was devouring me with just his eyes.

  “Those clothes need to come off too,” I said, growing impatient. I hadn’t seen him naked yet, I hadn’t even seen his chest. Daredevil smirked at me, a glimmer returning to his glacial blue eyes.

  “Demanding,” he said lazily and then, in the same slow motion, he removed his jacket, unbuckled his pants and tugged his t-shirt off.

  OHMYGOD. I could have squealed. My mind was reeling with the handiwork I saw in front of me. Chiseled, bulging muscles, tattooed arms and torso, a smooth chest like it had been carved out of stone, his washboard abs were perfectly aligned, his stomach flat. He pulled his briefs down, and my eyes darted to the girth of his muscular thighs and then that cock. That cock that made me literally weak in my knees. I hadn’t even come close to having someone as big as him before.

  He had a slight film of sweat all over his body, which made my mouth water almost immediately.

  “When you’re done looking, we can begin,” I heard him say, snapping me out of my thoughts. Daredevil had a grin on his face and he didn’t wait for a response, he lunged at me again and hauled me up, flinging me over his shoulder. I squealed and giggled with delight, forgetting everything else that had happened before this moment. All I could think about was him and me, and our bodies merged together.

  He was carrying me into a dark room…a bedroom…I could see a double bed, some posters on the wall, a stereo system on the floor…then I crashed down. He had flung me on to his bed and now he was climbing over me.

  This time when he was kissing me, down the side of my neck, I could feel the scratching of his stubble on my skin. He was working his way down and I arched up against him, holding the back of his head with both my hands. I wanted our cores to meet. His cock and my wet dripping desperate pussy, but it wasn’t time yet. He had something else in mind first.

  He tugged the confines of my bra away with his teeth and I watched him, his eyes focused on my face as he sucked my right nipple into his mouth.

  “Please…oh my God…” I didn’t know what to say, none of those words were making sense in my head, while Daredevil sucked and licked, like he was devouring a melting ice cream. Shots of electricity ran down my spine, directly from my breasts that he was being so attentive towards. He sucked on my nipple, till it was hard and aching with lust and just when he pulled his mouth away and I thought he was going to let me take a break, he nipped it, tugging my nipple with his teeth sharply, till I cried out with pleasurable pain.

  I could feel my pussy pulsating, my clit swollen and ready for him, wet and juicy. I was aching for him, for his cock which he kept just out of my reach.

  “Please,” I begged him.

  “Please what, Melody?” he looked up from teasing my nipples, his mouth cocked in a grin, his eyes glimmering with excitement.

  “Please, I need you inside me,” I heard the c
ry in my voice. Those words had never been uttered from my mouth before. I had never begged a man like this before, but my words had pleased him. Daredevil smiled, and reached for his thick engorged cock.

  I arched my back again, jutting my hips up towards him, inviting him in. Daredevil stroked his cock, glaring down at me with concentration and just when I thought he was going to enter me, he only touched the tip of his cock to my pussy. I groaned with impatience, pushing myself up towards him and he smiled again, enjoying me squirm underneath him like this.

  My head fell back on the pillows and my arms stretched out, gathering the sheets up in desperation. I could feel him thick and solid as steel, the head of his cock sliding up and down my pussy, teasing me with anticipation.

  “Say it again, princess,” I heard him say and my eyelids fluttered, I was beginning to feel weak.

  “Please fuck me, Daredevil. Do whatever you want, just fuck me,” I pleaded again. His cock slowly pushed deeper and I gasped. This was what I’d been waiting for, fantasizing about. I could feel my folds stretching, working to accommodate his whole length as he inch by inch slid deeper into me.

  He knew he was big, he knew I needed time and I was surprised by how thoughtful he was being. Daredevil had not struck me as the kind of guy who cared about whether his cock was too big for a woman to handle.

  “I want to see you touching yourself,” he said and I was only too eager to oblige. My hand flew to my clit, which I rubbed, keeping my eyes on him as he rocked himself deeper into me. Just a few more inches and he’d be filling me completely. It was an aching pleasure, which I wanted more of. He was taking it slow and I was grateful for it and now as I rubbed my clit, I could feel my body easing, my muscles relaxing even more.

  “You are so tight,” he grunted and quickly, he shoved my hand away from my clit and took over. His thumb moved expertly in circles on my clit, while his cock thrust deeper into me. He was inside me now, every inch of him and with my legs spread wide apart, I moved my hips to feel him in every part of me.