Page 31 of Tempting the Tiger

Bachar and Sally sat at the back of the room and greeted guests as they approached. Almost like royalty Grace thought with a small smile. Emily sat beside Sally, writing down the names and the gifts that were presented to the couple. The hotel staff walked between the merrymakers, offering up finger foods the chef had made and the desserts that Grace had brought. She had made yellow macaroons, bite sized pecan tarts, and cherry turnovers as well as cupcakes decorated as baby lions. Even though she was by no means a chocolatier she had also made several different flavors of truffles. Something, she thought, for everyone. Sally had confided that the desserts that had been served on that first date with Keair had been made by a chef Keair had hired for the night—and had flown in from New York.

Outside, the large barbeque pits were smoking meats. The smell emanating from there was making Grace’s stomach growl. She couldn’t decide whether to give Sally and Bachar her present in person or simply slip it into the pile growing steadily at their side. While she had met Bachar on several occasions after she started seeing Keair, he was still an intimidating man—despite the way he so lovingly cared for Sally.

Grace sighed happily. She had made good friends with Sally and Emily. And with Keair.

She slipped out of the room and walked around the corner to use the restroom and freshen up. The evening had been fun and exciting. Before the shower, she had gotten the chance to speak with Sally about mating a shifter. The other woman had gotten so excited, Grace had been afraid she would go into labor then and there, even though she still had several weeks before the big event. Thanks to Sally, Grace now knew a whole lot more about the shifter community—and about her shifter.

Yes, she had come to think of Keair as hers. The past weeks had been the happiest of her life. They had done so many things together, learned so much about each other. He’d shown her his tiger, which she know knew was a huge step for a shifter, especially in the context he had shown her. And he had shared part of his past with her. A very important part. She knew there were other dark memories he carried with him, and she also knew she might never know them all. That was a shifter’s way—protect their mate at all costs.

Mate. Keair wanted her to be his mate. A huge smile lit up her face.

She quickly went about her business, humming softly as she looked at herself in the mirror. There was a sparkle in her eye that she’d never seen before. Oh, who the hell was she kidding? That sparkle was there because she was, for the very first time in her life, in love. In love with Keair. In love with a freaking tiger shifter!

She squeezed her eyes together and said a quick prayer. “Please, please,” she whispered to the universe. “Don’t let this end badly.”

When she came back out of the restroom, intent on finding Keair and telling him exactly how she felt about him, and that she was ready to be his mate—believed she was his mate—she pulled up short as she rounded the corner. He stood in the hallway surrounded by a group of individuals she had never seen before. He stood in the center, tall and proud. A mask of anger covered his handsome face. What was going on? Determined to help him she hurried forward. Until she heard the man beside him speak.

“Keair, you cannot continue to avoid your destiny. You must marry and you must marry my daughter.” He pushed forward a woman Grace hadn’t noticed before. A beautiful woman. A woman who was beautiful and shapely as sin. A woman who was Grace’s total opposite. A woman who obviously had the power to completely destroy Grace’s world.

Grace felt like she’d been stabbed. White-hot pain struck her chest. She thought for a moment she was having a heart attack. Then, she realized, her heart was simply breaking. Inhaling on a sob, she turned and ran, her way blurred by the tears in her eyes.

“Oh, no. Hell, no,” she murmured as she ran down the hallway. She was not about to let another man break her spirit.

The tears in her eyes and bright sunshine as she exited the hotel managed to blind her. Not that she knew where she was going. She had no car. Keair had sent one of the hotel’s vans to pick up her and the desserts she had made. A sob rose in her chest and she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. She was trapped. Trapped by her love for a shifter who was marrying someone else!

So much for her being his one true mate. Or maybe all that bullshit about shifters being faithful was just a big fat lie. She felt sorry for Sally who had no doubt been taken in by the fairy tales everyone had spread for the last ten years.

She thought about calling for a ride but realized the cost would be astronomical and she couldn’t afford it. Which made her even angrier that she couldn’t make a stealthy get away because she wasn’t rich and the man she was trying to run away from was—and a jackass. She spied a small, not so well-worn path in the back leading away from the hotel. Surely there was someplace she could hide until it was dark. Then, hopefully, she could go back inside and plead for a ride home.

Keair barely controlled his anger with Jermal as he literally pushed his daughter into his arms. Her touch felt like a thousand pins sticking him and he quickly disentangled himself.

The man and his entourage had cornered him just as he was about to join Grace at the baby shower. He’d been taking care of several important matters so Bachar could be with Sally. It was times like this that he did not envy his friend his role as alpha. Not that he wanted to be alpha. He did not.

The delegation’s visit had made that crystal clear to him. He enjoyed being Bachar’s second-in-command. He had no desire to be involved in the petty and irritating demands of a streak. Tigers, as he had told Grace, were very shellfish creatures and he did not have the patience to deal with such things. Especially now that he had a mate. A mate he could devote his life to.

Keair drew in a deep breath, knowing he needed to control his temper. “Sir, I am flattered that you wish me to become involved in your streak, but again, I decline the offer.”

“You are making a grave mistake. My streak is the envy of the south. Powerful, wealthy. And my daughter is beautiful.”

“I am sure all you say is true.”

Jermal snorted. “I have seen this human you say is your mate. She is—”

Keair’s hand was around the other tiger’s throat in a flash, his eyes so dark, the amber color was obliterated. The man’s bodyguards did nothing to stop Keair. The man had insulted a mate, something that was simply not done in the shifter world. A mate was prized beyond all treasure. “I suggest you stop there.”

The older tiger glared but gave a sharp nod of his head showing that he clearly understood the threat Keair presented. Keair let him go slowly. He straightened his clothing. “I believe it is time to leave.”

“I believe it is past time,” Keair growled, his arms crossed against his massive chest. It was all he could do not to tear the man to pieces. Or at least challenge him. But, that would mean he would then be obligated to take over the man’s streak. Because Keair would kill him for insulting his mate.

His mate. He needed to find his mate.

Striding into the dining room where Bachar’s and Sally’s baby shower was being held, he made his way quickly to where the couple was sitting. He could see in an instant Bachar and his lion were on edge. No doubt, Keair thought, because of all the people in the room. As Sally’s due date grew closer, Bachar’s patience shrank. He knew the other man wanted nothing more than to lock Sally away in his suite until the baby was born.

Even though there had been no more threats from humans involved in The Group, all the pride was on high alert. Sally had been kidnapped and taken hostage not so long ago. And now that she was pregnant with the alpha’s cub the danger has risen.

“Is he at least allowing them to give you their gifts?” he chuckled as he bent to kiss Sally on the top of her head.

Sally grimaced. “Barely. He growls and snarls when anyone gets too close.”