[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

 What I meant was that you go upstairs and shift in the privacy of your room and I ll
wait to shift until we get outside. I ll even wear shorts until we get outside, if it ll make
you feel better.
His tone said he thought I was being silly and he was probably right. One day, I was
going to have to come to terms with the nudity issue, but not today. Today, far too many
things had happened to throw me into a state of chaos. Until I knew how I was going to
land from it all, I was going to be very, very careful. Too many things were stacked
against me, especially where this man was concerned.
Temptation got the better of me and I nodded slowly. A run sounded like just what I
needed. Running up the stairs, I closed the door with a firm glare at Warren as he
followed me up. Stripping and shifting only took a minute, but I jumped when the door
swung open. No one was standing in it and I stuck my head in the hallway to see Warren
www.samhainpublishing.com 69
Kaye Chambers
still standing against the wall beside it and the slim line of Cole s back heading back
down the stairs.
 Get a move on, princess; I want to see the sunset on the beach.
I padded after him with a snort. Reaching the stairs, I had an awful idea. Did I dare?
Gathering my quarters under me, I took a leap at him only to have him sprint down the
last steps and bolt to the door. Of course, I would have to land on the tapestry runner
protecting the hardwoods and slide into the wall at full force. Yowling, I sprang back and
took off after him. Evan saved him and I was going to have to talk to him about that.
Evan opened the door just as Cole got to it, letting him throw open the screen door on his
own to dash onto the porch. I bounded after him, careful not to break on the porch and
scar the wood. Landing in the yard, I turned to see the bright shimmer of his shift and the
black tiger bounding over the railing straight after me.
It didn t take much to spin out of his way and then I was off, racing wildly toward
the tree line in full view of the working crews. I didn t stop to see what they thought of
the chase, but dashed into the trees with Cole hot on my heels.
He was both bigger and longer than I was, so only my agility kept him from catching
me. Well, that and home field advantage. I d raced the paths through the woods a
thousand times or more, so I knew how to dart through the underbrush in just the right
places leaving him to double back or crash through thicker spaces. So intent was I on the
chase that I didn t realize we weren t alone until we reached the beach. The other tigers
were discreet and stayed just out of our personal space, but they were there. On some
level, I knew they were making sure we were safe while we played and was grateful for
it.
The sun was setting when I dropped down into the sand, giving up the fight. Cole
stopped to nuzzle my face with his and I had a moment where the sun was shining on his
black coat and the stripes stood out plainly. I admired the view until he dropped down
next to me, laying his head across my back in a companionable gesture.
Peace like I d never known flooded through me. Real tigers weren t really social
animals, but we were both man and tiger. My parents probably hadn t realized how
70 www.samhainpublishing.com
Tiger by the Tail
lonely I was because they had each other. I remembered watching them run together from
my bedroom window and now, I understood why they d been so happy.
It was a glorious sunset as only the spring could make it over the ocean. Finally, I
stood up and began trotting back into the trees. Cole hesitated, but followed. With tigers
fanned out in front of me and behind me, I loped back to the house. Paul was waiting at
the back porch to open the door.
Running up the stairs, I was acutely aware of Cole s silent presence behind me. Brad
opened the door to my room and closed it behind us. Suddenly, I didn t know what to do.
With a growl, I escaped into my bathroom and shifted there. Putting on my robe, I
stepped out to find him standing in front of the window with a pair of boxers low on his
hips.
 Where did those come from?
 Brad had them in here.
 A bit presumptuous of him, wasn t it?
I tried to keep my tone from being sharp but failed miserably. Cole glanced over his
shoulder at me while he leaned against the window frame. He d turned on my reading
light instead of the overhead, so the lighting was just enough to make his body full of
shadows and promises. It was as if he were putting himself on display for everyone to
notice.
Notice.
With a frown, I walked over and pushed him away from the window so I could look
out. Sure enough, half the workmen still packing up below were looking up. Frowning, I [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]