The only thing about that thought that didn’t sit comfortably with him was that he knew for a fact he wasn’t the only man in the room imagining the honey-cream flavor of her skin. The head of the Council of Others had made little effort to hide some very similar thoughts of his own.
Nic scowled and scanned the crowd to make sure the good-looking bastard had managed to find the exit. If not, Nic would happily escort him to it. Now that their engagement was official, by Tiguri custom Saskia belonged to Nic, completely. If the Felix De Santos didn’t learn to keep his salacious thoughts to himself, Nic would have every right and take every pleasure in pointing out the other man’s bad manners. With his fists. And maybe his claws. Possibly fangs. Once the tiger form broke free, no one could predict what it would take to satisfy the beast’s need to assert its dominance.
And those were the kinds of thoughts Nic most needed to get ahold of, he reminded himself. He forced a deep breath in and blew it out slowly. He shifted next to his fiancée until he could feel the warmth of her skin soaking through the fabric of his tuxedo jacket. The reminder of her presence beside him soothed his inner tiger and helped him regain control. He knew how little provocation it would take for the Council of Others to disregard the unspoken and fragile truce that currently existed between them and the Tiguri. After centuries of the absence of tiger shifters from most of America, no one knew quite what to make of the Arcos and Preda streaks’ decision to relocate both their businesses and their families to New York. It had made most of the Council a bit … edgy. If Nic wanted to keep the peace, he needed to keep a tight rein on his more primitive instincts, instincts his fiancée seemed to drag to the surface with unexpected ease.
“Well, I’d certainly call that a success,” Gregor Arcos crowed, rubbing his hands together with trenchant glee. “Very nicely done, my boy, if I do say so myself.”
Nic skimmed his gaze over the last few stragglers clustered in small groups in the hall outside of the emptied ballroom before turning to his future father-in-law. Behind them, catering staff had already begun dismantling the elaborate decorations. “The staff did an excellent job. I’m very pleased.”
“As am I,” his father said. Stefan nodded to Nic and Saskia, his patrician features looking almost relaxed after the well-received celebration. “You behaved just as I could have wished, Saskia. You were a credit to our family.”
Beside him, Saskia stirred, her shoulders straightening as she nodded at the elder Preda. “Thank you, Mr. Preda. I certainly wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone at such a lovely event.”
“Your father and I were very proud, Saskia,” Victoria Arcos declared. Nic had almost forgotten about Saskia’s mother. The woman tended to blend into the shadows behind her charismatic mate. “We only hope you’ll continue to demonstrate your value to your new family.”
Saskia merely smiled and inclined her head. Nic raised an eyebrow. Her family made it sound like they thought of her as a well-trained spaniel or maybe a schoolgirl who’d just navigated her first formal tea party at the age of seven when Nic knew very well that his fiancée had recently celebrated her twenty-eighth birthday. No one could doubt she was full grown, just as no one who really looked at her would doubt she would always behave with the grace and graciousness of a princess. He knew the practice of arranged matches like theirs was considered old fashioned—by everyone but the Tiguri, who considered the term “old fashioned” to be a badge of honor among their kind—but her family’s words made him feel like he’d just been transported into a BBC costume drama.
Slipping his arm around her waist, Nic drew his fiancée against his side and smiled at her parents. “My mate could never do anything less, I’m sure,” he said firmly.
“Ah, but she’s not your mate yet.” Her father chuckled, winking at them. “And I’m sure that’s something you’d like to get straight to work on, eh? You kids should go on home now. I had Saskia’s things sent over this morning. She should be all settled in by now.”
“Thank you, Papa.” Saskia leaned forward to brush a kiss against her father’s cheek, then settled right back at Nic’s side. The surge of satisfaction he felt at the action surprised him. “I’ll give you and Mother a call in the morning.”
“Not too early, I hope,” Gregor boomed, clearly amusing himself and earning a quelling look from his wife. “It takes effort to seal a mating. You wouldn’t want anyone to think you weren’t dedicated to the task, now would you.”
Saskia colored at her father’s crude words, and Nic fought back the urge to snarl. Everyone there knew that by Tiguri custom an engagement merely signaled an intent to form a mate bond and that the union wouldn’t be sealed, wouldn’t become the equivalent of a marriage, until Saskia became pregnant. Just like the bond wouldn’t be considered permanent until she gave birth to a healthy cub. No one had to point that out, especially not so crudely. The unexpected protectiveness Nic felt toward Saskia made him want to strangle her father for embarrassing her in front of both their families.
Fortunately, his father stepped in before Nic could act on his anger.
“Yes, the young couple should be given their privacy,” Stefan declared, his voice firm and only slightly tightened in irritation. “I know my son has made every effort to prepare his den for his new mate. He should take her home and show her.”
“Gladly.” Nic smiled down at Saskia, forcing thoughts of her parents out of his head. She made a much more pleasant thing to focus on. “Shall we?”
She nodded on a deep exhalation, and for the first time Nic noticed the faint shadows of exhaustion under her bright blue eyes. He was feeling pretty tired himself. He should have realized how exhausting the past week since the betrothal had been for his fiancée.
“Yes,” she breathed with a tired smile. “That would be wonderful.”
“I’ll have the car brought around.”
Stepping away from her, he beckoned to a staff member and gave instructions to contact the valet desk. Behind him he could hear the stilted conversation between Saskia’s family and his father, and Nic felt guilty at his relief that his share of it was nearly over. You would think that in a community as small as the Tiguri, with barely fifty families left, the sense of shared history and shared culture would draw them closer together, but it hadn’t. Maybe it was because tigers were solitary animals, but the Tiguri just weren’t good at building community, much less maintaining it. For that reason alone, the Council of Others should know that no Tiguri would want to get involved in the intricate business of Others politics. That would be like a hermit running for president—not only wouldn’t he get any votes, but also he wouldn’t know what to do with them if he did.
It took only a few minutes before a staff member alerted him that his car was waiting, and when he did Nic made short work of extricating himself and his fiancée from their parents’ company and whisking her toward the lobby. He collected their coats from the concierge, helped her into hers, and guided her into the back of the black sedan with maximum efficiency and minimum fuss. Within moments, the driver had pulled away from the curb and eased his way into traffic. Nic relaxed back into his seat with a sigh and watched the twinkling lights of the city move past the tinted windows.
The interior of the car was silent for several moments, just the muffled sounds of motor and city and the occupants’ quiet breathing. Then Saskia spoke softly. “I’m impressed.”
Nic turned his head, his keen night vision having no trouble making out her delicate features. “Impressed?”
“You decided it was time to leave and had us out of there in under six minutes. If I’d tried to manage that, it would have taken me fifteen. Easily.”
He heard the soft echo of amusement in her voice and flashed her a grin. “It’s all about planning, timing, and execution.”
“And ruthlessness. I admire that.”
Both remained quiet for another long minute.
“You’re different from how I remember you.” Once again, Saskia took the first step to breach the silence. “At the time, I thought you were already all grown up, but now that I can see the man you’ve become, I realize how silly that idea was.”
“You were … what? Eight? Last time we saw each other?” He watched her face, tried to read her expression, but all he could see was the tranquil blue of her eyes and the soft cream of her skin. “I’m sure at the time that nineteen seemed ancient.”
She smiled. “Not ancient. Just … impressive.”
He chuckled in spite of himself. “My nineteen-year-old ego thanks you for that.”
Nic watched while she turned her gaze forward and stared unseeingly at the front of the car. The driver remained silent and anonymous behind the barrier of smoked glass, but Nic doubted Saskia even thought of him. Her attention all seemed focused inward, as if she barely even realized she wasn’t alone. It was quite a kick to the ego. In the past, when Nic had taken the odd moment to envision having a mate he’d somehow never expected that she would be able to dismiss him so easily from her thoughts. It irked him, especially as often as his thoughts had turned to her in the last few hours. Which he also hadn’t expected.
He considered and rejected several conversational forays while the limo cruised along the short distance from the hotel to their new home. Nic considered it new himself. He’d only moved in a week ago. His father had been the one to suggest that the new couple should have a place of their own, rather than a section of Stefan’s admittedly enormous home. In essence, Nic had chose the new place with Saskia in mind; only he hadn’t actually had
her
in mind, just an image of her—an anonymous female figure he’d pictured only as she related to him. His fiancée, his wife, his mate, the mother of his cubs. Now he found himself confronted with an actual person, and he no longer felt sure about what he should do. Should he speak? About what? Or should he keep silent and respect her privacy? Did what he did right now even matter? Presumably, they would have a few decades together to talk, to get to know each other. There was no hurry, was there?
While he debated with himself, Saskia sat silent beside him, her breathing calm and even, her face impassive. The only thing that gave a hint that the thoughts under her serene façade might be half as tumultuous as Nic’s was the way her fingers tangled together in her lap, twisting and worrying the large diamond he’d given her just this evening. She made no move to take it off, just spun it around her slender finger as she stared out the tinted windows of the car.
“I should apologize.”
Her words cracked the awkward silence, echoing in their automotive cocoon in spite of their soft volume.
“For what?” Nic asked, frowning.
“For my bad manners.” She turned to face him then, and he felt her gaze on him almost as if she’d run soft, warm fingers across his cheek. “I never thanked you for my ring. It’s beautiful.”
His gaze dropped to the four-carat cushion-cut diamond on her hand, seeing the lights from the city outside glint off the brilliant stone. When he’d picked it out at the jeweler’s, Nic hadn’t thought about how it would look on her pale, delicate hand, but he had to admit, it looked right. As if it belonged. He liked seeing it there.
“There’s no need to thank me.” His voice came out gruffer than he intended, a low rumble in the dark. “It suits you.”
“Still,” she murmured, her gaze dropping to the ring. “I do love it. Thank you.”
Before he could react, she shifted in the dim space, leaning forward and catching him off guard as she pressed her soft, warm mouth to his.
She might as well have punched him in the gut.
It overwhelmed him. He felt as if he’d slipped into a black hole, drawn by the gravity of this woman. Her soft lips, her warm breath, the rich, sweet scent of her skin, surrounded him, sent his senses whirling. Instinctively he reached out to steady himself and instead caught her upper arms in his hands and groaned. His fingers kneaded the pliant flesh, drawing her against him as he wrestled for control over himself and the unexpected kiss.
He felt her start with surprise when he parted his lips against hers, sensed the instant of hesitation, then the softening of her muscles against him. She had meant the kiss as a gesture, he realized, not an invitation, but she hadn’t taken into account his reaction to her.
He
hadn’t taken it into account, either. Nic had known his fiancée was a beautiful woman, had seen photos at the beginning of the engagement negotiations, and had felt confident that he would have no trouble when the time came to consummate their relationship. What man wouldn’t find appeal in the idea of Saskia Arcos in his bed? He had expected to react to her, to want her once they ended up alone together, but he had never expected to need her.
It gnawed at him like a craving, a mindless, stomach-clenching need that grabbed hold the moment he felt the brush of her lips against his own. Her initial touch brushed against him fleeting, tentative, but he couldn’t let her escape. His hands drew her to him even as his lips firmed, pressed, parted over hers. As her hesitation melted, she shivered against him and leaned into the pressure, her mouth softening and yielding to his. He swept forward to claim, to taste, to conquer.
She tasted of champagne, bright and yeasty, of the raspberries that had decorated the dessert plates, sweet and tart, and of herself, warm and rich and intoxicating. Nic felt his own breathing catch, and the beast inside him stirred. Head lifted; nose scented; fangs gleamed. Inside him, hunger stirred and claws flexed as anticipation built. He could already feel the stirrings of excitement that preceded the hunt. He sensed the growing awareness, the narrowing focus. He pressed into the soft figure in his arms and let the adrenaline course into his veins. His tiger had scented a potential mate, and it intended to claim her and mark her as his own. The fact that they still rode in the back of a chauffeur-driven car didn’t even factor into it. The beast wanted, and the beast would take.
Two