Loving the Tigers (3 page)

“A nice way to put it is
loose.
More derogatory terms would be slut or whore.” She rested her forehead against the cool glass and shook her head at the sound of their approach. “Please don’t touch me. Let me finish.” She wanted to finish, yet wasn’t sure how.

“For whatever reason, when I was younger, I liked having sex with two men at once.” She laughed. “Maybe I should have said boys, because none of the males in Langston hold a candle to either of you. Still, they were
up
to the task, though I never found what it was I was looking for. It took me nearly a year to discover that guys don’t need to love you to have sex with you.

“It’s different for girls. At least it is for most of us. We think that a guy loves us when they have sex with us. That is, until they call us names and point and laugh at us when they’re with their friends.”

God, why did this have to hurt so much? Why couldn’t they just let her go so she didn’t have to relive her mistakes?

“But we would never—”

“Please, let me finish.”

“You
are
finished as far as I’m concerned.” Derek grasped her arm and turned her around. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you tear yourself down. What you did in the past is
in
the past. What you did only prepared you.” He gestured to Zach. “It prepared you for the two of us and we will never be anything but grateful.”

“Right.” She laughed. “Men are never grateful that someone else was there before them. It’s only a matter of time before you two decide you held yourselves too cheaply and you could have done so much better than me.” Tilting her head back, Kelly squared her shoulders and looked each of them in the eye, in turn. “I don’t want to be the one to blame for your unhappiness a year down the road. I can’t—”She sobbed. “I just can’t.”

Pushing her way between them, she rushed to the door and paused. “Don’t tell Jessi I’ve gone. Not yet. Let her think that we’re all headed to the cascade to live happily ever after. This is her time. Don’t ruin it for her. Just tell her not to change her cell phone number. I’ll contact her again when I’m ready.”

Opening the door, she ran from the room.

* * * *

Three months later...

Kelly stared out the window still lost in her memories. That chance meeting had changed her friend’s life. It could have changed hers, as well, if only she hadn’t chickened out. If only she could have trusted the two men who claimed to love her after only a day.

It had been too much, too fast. Besides, had they truly loved her, they would have found her, wouldn’t they? Turning, she studied the apartment she had called home for the last several months and knew her decision to leave had been the right one.

The first couple of weeks away from them had been hell. Worse than hell. Her stomach burned and cramped, and she thought she would die, if not from some virulent disease, or whatever it was they had called their
mating heat,
from the heartbreak of knowing they hadn’t cared enough to come for her, to find her.

Obviously, her decision had been the correct one, but being right didn’t keep her warm at night and it certainly wouldn’t take the place of her battery-operated toys that had seen better days—most of which had been thrown into the trash. There was nothing more frustrating than having one’s vibrator sputter out at precisely the wrong moment.

“You said I was your mate, that neither of you could ever love another.” Something wet hit the back of her fingers. She looked down, startled to see a second drop splashing against her skin. Reaching up, she swiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

“You both lied to me.” Reaching in her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and stared at it. She dreaded her monthly calls to Jessi. Every time they talked, Jessi attempted to get her to reveal her location. Maybe this time she would. It’s not like Zach and Derek would show up on her doorstep anytime soon. If they’d wanted to find her, they would have, she was sure of it.

“Hello.”

Kelly closed her eyes at the sound of Jessi’s voice on the other end of the line. “Hi, Jess! How are you doing?”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m talking to Kelly,” said the muffled sound of Jessi’s voice as she called out to someone. “Where are you?”

“Why is it that those are always the first three words you say when you find out it’s me calling?”

“Because where you are, is just about the only thing I want to hear from you, other than that you’re alive and well.” Jessi sighed. “You have to let Zack and Derek come for you. You’re the only person they think about. They’ve been searching day and night. Heck, Kell, no one even knows where
they
are. They just disappeared off the face of the Earth. Neither of them even answers their cell phones anymore.”

Great!
It would be safe to tell Jessi where she was. Kelly blinked back her tears. Wasn’t that what she wanted?

“Now... where are you?”

“I’m in Rhode Island.”

“Rhode Island? What the hell are you doing there?” Jessi screeched.

Kelly pulled the phone away from her ear. “Hiding out. I thought you knew,” she said dryly.

“What made you decide to finally tell me?” Jessi lowered her voice. “Have you changed your mind?”

“No. Not really. I mean...” She bit her bottom lip. “Don’t you think if they wanted to find me, they could?”

“Maybe they’ve been giving you some space.”

“For all these months?” She snorted. “Come on, Jessi, you can’t really believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe other than now that I know what it means to be mated, I know that being apart from you has to be killing them.”

“Being apart from me can’t really kill them,” she said with a laugh. Then her heart skipped a beat. “Can it?”

“I have no idea,” Jessi replied with a sigh. “All I know is that I’ve seen a few tigers, and a few of the people from another town called Paradise, while they suffered from the mating heat and it wasn’t pretty. And...” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “They said they’ve had to kill a few of them.”

“No!” Kelly gasped. “Why would they admit to such a thing?”

“Apparently, they go crazy or something, and attack their mate, or others. They become dangerous and must be eradicated before they call attention to the others of their kind.”

Crap!
What should she do, now? Kelly stuck the tip of her thumb in her mouth and bit the nail. “I—I don’t want them to die, Jess!”

“She’s finally told Jessi where she is.” Zach ended the call to his voicemail and glanced at Derek.

“Where?”

“Jessi didn’t say. I think she wants me to call her back.”

“Bribery, huh?” The right side of Derek’s mouth kicked up in a half grin. “What are you going to do if she’s bluffing?”

“What
can
I going to do?” Zach shrugged. “It’s not as though she doesn’t have two mates who would rip us apart if we attempted to take her to task for lying.”

“True.” Derek sighed and lifted a brow. “So... are you going to tell them, or should I?”

“I’ll do it.” After all, they really should tell her best friend that they’d found her nearly eleven weeks ago and had been staying nearby to both protect her and to be close when she finally changed her mind and decided they were right for each other. Zach took a swallow from the drink in front of him and glanced through the window. “Shit!”

“What?” Derek turned his head to follow his gaze. “Well... I guess your phone call is going to have to wait.” He laughed with a shake of his head. “We’re both going to be too busy explaining what the hell we’re doing here, for the next few minutes.”

“You got that right.” Zach took another pull from the glass of iced tea and wished it had been something stronger. Unfortunately, the diner across the street from Kelly’s apartment didn’t serve anything stronger than coffee, tea, and soft drinks.

“What do you think brings her over here, today?” Not once in the last few months had Kelly stepped one foot in the place. In fact, they’d never seen her eat in a restaurant since they’d found her. She’d grown thinner. While still curvy and beautiful, she had lost the fullness they loved. She’d also lost something else. Her smile was different now than it had been before. Maybe she’d lost her joy for life. He pressed his lips together to hide his reaction when her stormy hazel eyes stared into his.

“Uh-oh. She just saw me and she’s pissed.”

“Can you blame her? She’s been hiding from us and here we are.” Derek tipped his glass back, draining the contents. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my drink tossed in my lap.”

“Good idea.” Zach followed suit, drinking the last of his tea.

The bell on the door jingled as it slammed open and she stalked through the door, her temper clearly written on her face.

“Ha, ha!” A man at the bar chortled. “Someone’s in the dog house. That’s for sure.”

“Shut up and mind your own business.” Kelly stopped and glared at the man until he stopped smirking.

“Just funning around.” Turning back to the bar, he waved to the waitress. “Check, please.”

It took every ounce of self-control for Zach to remain where he was. Now that she knew they were here, he wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and kiss her fears and worries away. Just one sniff of her wonderful scent, sent his heart into overdrive and the mating heat—which had been simmering in his gut for the last three months—turned to a boil, once again.

“What are you two doing here?” she said as she stopped by their table, her toes tapping against the checkerboard-tiled floor. “You’re not supposed to know where I am!” She stomped her foot. “I can’t even blame Jessi for telling you, can I? Even if she called you right after our conversation, there’s no way you could have gotten here in less than an hour.” She narrowed her eyes, meeting each of their gazes in turn. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long,” Zach replied and slid toward the window. “We haven’t even ordered yet. Care to join us?”

“Now you’re being deliberately obtuse.” She waved her arm. “You know what I meant.”

“If you want to know how long we’ve been in Rhode Island,” Derek replied. “We’ve been here quite a while.” He also slid toward the window, leaving her space to sit.

“How long is a while and how long have you been in the Newport area specifically?” She frowned at them each in turn. “And stop smiling at me like that. I didn’t come in here to see you. I was out of milk and just happened to see you sitting here while I was crossing the street to buy a cup to go.”

“I’m not sure what you mean. Smiling at you like what?” Zach grinned as she sat down next to Derek and huffed out a sigh.

“Don’t give me that crap.”

The waitress picked that time to bring a pitcher of tea over to refill their glasses. “Can I get you anything, sweetie?”

“I’ll just have whatever they’re having.” Her stomach growled and her cheeks bloomed red.

“Well, I’ll be having a bacon double cheeseburger, heavy on the bacon, add the works and a side of fries,” Derek said, his foot hitting his with more force than necessary.

“Same here,” Zach added. “And add a third for the lady. She looks hungry.”

“No!” Kelly cried as the waitress smiled and walked away. “I’m on a diet, damn it!”

“Not anymore.” He let his gaze wander over every inch of her that wasn’t hidden by the table. “You’re wasting away, baby, and we can’t have that. We need you strong and healthy.” He waggled his brows. “The stronger, the better.”

“Strong and healthy is one thing.” She scowled. “Fat is something else, altogether.”

“You are
not
fat. You have
never
been fat.” Zach slammed his fist on the table, making her jump. “Even if you were what humans deem overweight, you have never been anything less than perfect.” He narrowed his eyes. “Even now, when your curves are less than they once were, you are still perfect. You have always been perfect... for us.” He leaned back when the waitress returned with another iced tea and placed it on the table. “Thank you, Carly.”

“You’re welcome, sugar.” She gave him a smile. “Your burgers will be out in a few minutes.” She glanced at Kelly. “I had the cook make yours a single. You don’t look like you could eat much more than that. Besides,” she said with a wink, “If they’re paying, why not leave room for dessert?” Spinning around, the waitress headed back toward the kitchen.

“Thank you!” Kelly called out after the waitress before turning her attention back to them. “Okay, what are you two doing here? And why have you been in Rhode Island for several weeks?”

“You can’t guess?” Derek turned in his seat, resting his back against the window.

“It’s not because of me.” She shook her head, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “If that’s the case, why would you stay in town and not tell me you were here?” She shook her head. “Nope. I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, honey.” Zach leaned forward, took her hands in his and kissed each of them. “I’ve waited months to touch you again.” He closed his eyes and sighed, loving the way her soft, brown skin felt beneath his fingers. “We’ve been through hell sitting in this small town, watching you and waiting for you to want us.”

“I’ve always wanted you. That was never the issue.”

Tears filled her eyes and Zach immediately regretted his choice of words.

She pulled her hands from his. “Sometimes, I think I’ve wanted you too much.” Resting her elbows on the table, she covered her face and sobbed into her hands. “I’ve missed you. I—I’ve needed you, so much.”

“Then why didn’t you call us, or tell Jessi where you were?” Derek asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me
you
were here?” she countered, watching him intently.

“We wanted to.” Zach slid his thumb over the back of her hand. “You have no idea how much we wanted to tell you. But you wanted space. You needed to reach out to us when you were ready. We could only wait. Pressuring you was not the answer and it was not the message we wanted to send.” He gave her a one-sided grin. “Besides, it’s against our laws.”