Taken By The Tiger Read online

  He was close to me now, peering straight into my eyes as he stared at me. I could see the rage on his face again, and then it washed away.

  “I’m going to make sure that guy never lays a finger on you again,” he said, catching my gaze. My heart was pounding against my chest.

  “Why?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Daredevil’s brows crossed, his blue eyes deepened. He seemed startled by my question. Now that it was out there, there was no point backing out of it.

  “Why do you want to do that for me? I mean, you don’t even know me,” I said and he stepped even closer to me now.

  “I know you, Melody Christenson,” he said my full name. Driving the point that he had taken the trouble of finding out my last name. There were goosebumps on my skin as he brought his face closer to me.

  “Do you want to practice?”

  “Practice what?”

  “Your Vet Tech skills. On a real animal I mean. It’d be something cool to talk about in class. The tiger you looked at.”

  “You’d shift, here?”

  “Sure, why not?” He began to strip and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. That tanned skin. Those huge arms. But as soon as he was naked, his body began to contort. His face grimaced in what looked like pain. Orange and black fur sprouted from his body and claws emerged from his hands.

  It was amazing. Terrifying and amazing all at once. I couldn’t believe it.

  He was standing there in all his tiger glory. He stood perfectly still sans his rib cage which moved with each breath.

  I inched towards him with my hand outstretched until he butted his giant head against it. He was so soft. I couldn’t believe what we were doing. I pulled my hand along his neck and down his massive body. I looked at each paw and listened to his breathing. He was majestic. After another moment or so his ears twitched and he took off down the road running at full speed. Moments later he spun around and prowled back slowly, like I was his prey. I wasn’t worried though, I knew he would keep me safe. As a tiger or a man.

  As he got closer his body began to shift again and he was a man by the end he reached me. I lifted myself up on my toes and with a sudden move of courage, I flung my arms around his neck, just as his lips met mine.

  It was a soft, gentle kiss. He was slowly taking his time to rock me into arousal. His hands remained firmly on my face, while his tongue explored my mouth. Then when his hands travelled down to my ass, and he squeezed them tightly, I pulled away from him. Heavy and breathless with lust.

  Chapter 19

  Daredevil

  Melody was pressed up against the bike, and my tongue dove into her mouth again. I could feel her hot and squirming against me, her hips digging into me as she moved herself to match the rhythm of my plunging tongue. I pulled up the tank top she was wearing, flinging it aside so that it fell on the side view mirror and dangled there. I stared at her breasts, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. Pert and pushed up with the bra she was wearing.

  “You have a gorgeous body” I growled under my breath as I reached for the clasps of her bra and when it came loose, I tossed it aside too. Melody brought out the animal in me. I wanted to devour her. Possess her.

  Her pale skin shone in the moonlight as he arched her back over the bike. Her nipples were the color of dusty rose and erect and my mouth latched on the left one. My hand reached for the other one, squeezing and pinching and I delighted at the sounds of her moans. Then I licked her other nipple, rocking her as I sucked so that she dug herself deeper into me, reaching for my cock with her body. Her fingers reached for my hair, weaving through them and holding my face tightly down to her breasts. Her silky, pale, smooth breasts.

  She wanted a quickie, so she was going to have one.

  My hands reached down to the buttons of her jeans and I pulled the zip down. It was tight on her ass and I slid it down, pulling it over her thighs, while still sucking on her nipples, one at a time.

  Her panties came down next, all collecting around her ankles and I spun her around, pushing her down by her back onto the seat of the bike. Melody’s bright red hair was splayed on her back, bright against the contrast of her pale smooth skin and I ran my hands up and down her back, feeling the curves of her waist, the dip of her belly. She was presenting her ass to me, sticking it up in the air.

  I stroked my erect cock. Ready for her. With my fingers, I found the wetness of her pussy again. The sweet juicy folds of her hot core where my fingers went sliding in. Yeah, she was ready too.

  I reached for her hair, bunching it up into my fist so that I had her head slightly craned back. I wanted to be gentler with her, but I couldn’t. I was hungry for her. Her hands on my tiger’s fur had sent me over the edge. I wanted all of her, even though I already had her.

  I drove into her pussy, so hard that it made her go up on her toes and she released a slow deep moan.

  “Don’t stop, Daredevil, please don’t stop,” she begged and I smiled. I had no intention of stopping. With one hand on her back, I had her breasts pinned down to the seat of my bike as I shoved myself into her again. Then I smacked her ass and she moaned and moved her hips in a circular motion. She liked it hard. Just the way I liked to give it to her.

  I could feel her trembling. She wasn’t going to hold back this time. My hands released her and I found her hips. She looked gorgeous like that, her hourglass shaped bare back splayed on my bike, her red hair burning and bright on her pale skin, her breasts bouncing on the seat as I drove into her.

  “Keep that ass in the air, princess,” I growled and smacked her ass again, pounding her with force as I felt myself hurling towards the edge. The imprint of my hand on her ass was bright for a moment, before it started disappearing into her skin. She was moaning, moving her hips, close to coming.

  “Come for me, Melody, come for me baby,” I said and she let out a final scream and then her legs trembled. I could feel her body jerking and her juices oozing out around my cock. Her pussy had clenched, making it even tighter and harder for me to drive in. Melody was panting, her movements slowing down but she didn’t stop moaning with pleasure. I smiled, happy that she had come so quickly, and then I exploded.

  When I was done, I stepped away from her abruptly. After the haze of my orgasm had passed, suddenly I felt like something was different. I had been with her three times already. And still I wanted more. This wasn’t enough. I should have been satisfied by now.

  My tiger wanted to claim her. Make her his mate. Shit.

  Melody looked sideways, her luscious hair falling over her green eyes as she tried to catch my eye. The tattoo on her shoulder stirred as she moved her muscles and I stared at her.

  What was happening to me? This was supposed to be a one time thing. Just to get it out of my system and sweep it under the rug before Dad or anyone else found out. And now I couldn’t stop looking at her, looking at how she moved her body, how she smiled. Since when did I care about making a woman smile? Since when did I care about how good my cock made her feel?

  Melody turned around and bit down on her lip, completely unaware of the panic running through my head.

  “Will you take me home now, Daredevil?” she said, in her soft sweet voice.

  Chapter 20

  Melody

  There were pizza boxes strewn around us in Nina’s living room. The TV was on, playing Runaway Bride and I was in the middle of painting a bright pink polish on her toenails. She was sitting on the couch with her hands propped up, waiting for the nail polish to dry.

  “So, he rides a noisy bike. What else can you tell me about him?” she was persistent. She’d looked out of the window when Daredevil dropped me outside the building, and I’d also left her a short voicemail the previous night to tell her I wouldn’t be crashing with them at Leo’s place.

  I looked up at Nina now, and saw her narrowing her eyes at me. I could sense that she was being protective. She had seen first hand what Maxwell was capable of doing, and it was natural that she was worried about
my choice of men.

  “He’s actually nice,” I said, carefully painting a coat on her big toe. I could sense her burning gaze on me and I looked up at her again.

  “What?” I said and Nina widened her eyes at me.

  “He’s nice? He wears a leather jacket, has millions of tattoos and rides a dangerous death machine!”

  “You saw all that in the middle of the night?” I retorted and she rolled her eyes at me. She wasn’t going to let my joke slide, she wanted all the details.

  “You’re telling me this guy is nice?” she asked and I sighed and looked down at my handiwork. I decided to give her something more. She was my best friend, she was the only family I had. If I couldn’t be completely honest with her, then who else could I talk to?

  “Yeah, he is. He was worried about Maxwell hurting me and offered to give me a place to crash. And I thought I’d give you and Leo some time alone,” I smiled at Nina, but she wasn’t smiling back.

  “So, you crashed at his place…and what else?” she’d cocked up an eyebrow. Then reached for a cold slice of pepperoni pizza from a box next to her.

  “And…” I began and she clapped a hand to her mouth, forgetting that her nail polish hadn’t fully dried yet.

  “You slept with him!” she cried, with giddy excitement. I smiled, blushed and went back to painting her toes. Nina was assimilating her thoughts.

  “Honey, you sure you know what you’re doing?” I heard her say, in a worried tone, and I looked up at her again. I wished I could explain to her just what Daredevil made me feel.

  “I know that I did what I felt like doing. You know that I don’t easily fall into bed with the first guy I meet. There’s something different about him, he makes me feel safe,” I said to her and her eyes softened.

  I had made a conscious decision to leave out the bit about Daredevil’s bloodied knuckles, and the rage in his eyes every time he was reminded of the bruise on my arm…and also of course, my suspicions that he belonged to a motorcycle club. I had a feeling that Nina wouldn’t understand. She would have the same preconceived notions that I had, before I started working at The Shifter Shack. That members of MCs were nothing more than rough thugs, criminals…Daredevil and his friends were nothing like that. They led a different kind of lifestyle, but I had seen firsthand that they operated on strict rules and principles, no matter how loosely they treated their women. Those women chose to hang around them. Besides, Daredevil treated me differently.

  I had a feeling that Nina would judge me for my decision to sleep with him, if she knew who he really was.

  “Was it any good?” she broke the silence in the room and when our eyes met, she could see just how good it was.

  “Did you come?” she asked, sputtering with excitement now and I stifled a giggle.

  “Repeatedly,” I replied and she shrieked.

  “You came more than once? Like you had sex more than once?” her questions were incessant and I laughed.

  “Both,” I told her and I could see the surprise in her eyes. I would have been surprised too if I hadn’t actually experienced it. Sex with Maxwell or the handful of guys I had slept with before…had been nothing like this. With Daredevil, it was raw and wild and I couldn’t get enough of him. Even now, while I was painting Nina’s nails, I could feel the way his cock had driven into me. I wanted more.

  I was done painting her toenails and Nina sat back on the couch, as I settled in on the floor at her feet. The pizza had gone cold by now, but I was ravenous and I ate my fifth slice, still hungry for more. I heard her sigh and I looked up at her.

  “Well, as long as you know what you’re doing and he makes you happy,” she said and there was that word again. Happy. I had thought I was happy with Maxwell, at least when I first met him.

  But it was a different kind of happiness with him, a haze of feelings which I interpreted as happiness. In reality, I was just happy to have a boyfriend, someone to come home to who were not my strict parents. I wasn’t happy to be with him. With Daredevil, I felt safe, I felt satisfied and I also felt anxious when he wasn’t around.

  “I’m happy,” I told her, not knowing what else to say. I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell her about him shifting in front of me. That seemed even more private that our sex life. What did we have between us? Was it even a real thing?

  “What about Maxwell?” she asked and I pressed my eyes close and tried to shove away that image of Maxwell standing over me, bracing himself for a punch. I was afraid of him finding me again. What else was he capable of doing? How far was he willing to take this?

  I could go somewhere, I thought. I would have liked to move out, just so that Nina’s life wouldn’t be in danger anymore, but where could I go? Where could I go that Maxwell wouldn’t find me? If I went anywhere, if I left town, it would mean that Daredevil and I wouldn’t stand a chance…of anything.

  “Oooh this is the good part. Richard Gere is going to make her eggs!” Nina clapped her hands excitedly and I stared blankly at the screen. I needed to find a way of just enjoying myself and forget about everything else.

  Chapter 21

  Daredevil

  The sound of the clock on the wall was loud in the quiet room. Dad was sitting across from me, behind his oak desk, his fingers steepled together. I knew Melody was safe at her friend’s house, I had just dropped her there. And when I returned to The Shifter Shack, I’d asked everyone to clear out the meeting room so I could talk to him alone.

  “What is it?” he asked, in a somber voice. He had judged from my eyes, from my demeanor that whatever it was, it was serious. He wasn’t in the habit of using my given name, at least not since I turned eighteen.

  I needed to come clean with him, at least him. Things were getting out of hand with Melody and he needed to know.

  “Melody Christenson,” I said her name and her red hair flashed before my eyes. For a moment Dad’s brows furrowed in confusion and then a knowing glaze washed over his face. I didn’t have to say anything else, he knew.

  “When?” he asked.

  “Couple of days ago.”

  “How many times?”

  “A few. She stayed over at my place.”

  Dad banged the table with his fists, clenched his jaw and then looked away from me.

  “You’re my son, Daredevil. The rules apply to everyone! But especially to you,” he barked and then settled himself.

  “I wasn’t on a mission to break the rules. This has never happened before,” I was speaking through gritted teeth and we glared at each other.

  “So, what are you saying to me?” he said and I fought the urge to drop my eyes to my hands. I needed to hold his gaze. I needed him to know I was serious about what I was saying.

  “She could be the one,” I told him and Dad ran a hand through his silvery hair and shook his head.

  “Your mate?” he growled and I clenched my jaw.

  “There is something about her.”

  “There is something about your mother too. These women bring us to our knees and weaken us!” Dad growled and I glared at him.

  “You don’t have to lecture me about your relationship with Mom.”

  “I love that woman!” he barked and I held my tongue. I knew he did. But he had made her cry. Over and over again. He might have changed his ways now, but I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Melody, the way he had hurt Mom. That was what I was really fighting.

  Dad was thinking, he was silent for a few moments and then looked back at me with his piercing blue eyes.

  “She’s been beaten up,” he said out of the blue and I had to grip the edge of the desk with my hands to not lash out at something. He had noticed the bruise on Melody’s arm.

  “I know.”

  “Do you know who did it?”

  “Her ex-boyfriend.”

  “He needs to be taken care of. If she’s going to be your mate, you have to make sure she remains that way. I don’t want any trouble over a girl. Handle it now before you get into anything,” Dad
said and I felt like I could breathe again. This was his way of giving me permission to be with her, and that was all I needed to hear. My tiger purred in agreement.

  I got up from my chair to leave.

  “Son,” he stopped me before I left the room.

  “She’s a good kid and I hope she knows that you’re not,” he said and I looked him in the eye.

  “She does,” I said even though I wasn’t sure if she did, or if she cared. I wasn’t even sure if she wanted to be with me. With everything else in my life, I had taken what I wanted, but with Melody, I wasn’t going to force her.

  xxx

  I left the meeting room, while already pulling my phone out of my pants. I dialed Melody’s number as I stepped outside the bar. It rang a few times, before she answered. Her hello was groggy, but I could hear the sound of the television in the background.

  “Melody.”

  “Hey…I’d fallen asleep. What time is it?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I need to speak to you,” I said, walking over to my bike. When I saw the side view mirror, I was reminded of the way her t-shirt and bra were dangling from it while I plowed into her. It made me instantly hard; just the thought of her body.

  “Okay, what did you want to talk about?”

  “You need to tell me your ex-boyfriend’s name,” I said and there was silence on the other end.

  “Daredevil…”

  “Just tell me his name, Melody. Don’t make this difficult for me,” I said, my voice deepening with anger. Dad was right. This asshole needed to be gone from the picture, before I could even think of having anything with her. My first priority was to ensure her safety, so that it wasn’t overwhelming all my thoughts all the time. My tiger prowled beneath my skin. He growled, frustrated by her silence.