Chapter Five.

Zandy liked that Tiger made her feel petite and womanly in his arms. He carried her as easily as he'd said he could and wasn't even out of breath when they reached their vehicles. No one seemed to have disturbed them. He didn't halt until he gently placed her on the hood of his Jeep. He tossed the folded blanket off her lap and over the windshield to land inside the vehicle.

He smiled. "We are back at the beginning. Here I stand and you are sitting in the same spot as when we first kissed."

A smile tugged at her lips. She was more than a little amused and touched by his romantic streak. It also impressed her. "I like this time better."

"Why?"

"No one interrupted us."

His striking blue eyes stared deeply into hers. "Meet me here again tomorrow after work. I'll bring food and we'll have a picnic."

It was a bad idea but she refused to say no outright. She was falling for the guy big-time and it would end badly. It was a weakness of hers to get involved with men too fast. He seemed too good to be true and she knew how that worked out. Badly, and divorce lawyers cost a lot of money. Not to mention the dreaded phone call to my family to tell them I screwed up again. She nodded anyway. She just couldn't resist Tiger but she didn't need to worry that he would ask her to marry him. He didn't seem the settle-down type of man.

"Okay. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Just you."

"I can do that."

He cleared his throat. "Good. I might be a few minutes late after your shift ends but wait for me. I will come."

"Okay. Are you going to close the road down again to make sure no one goes searching for us when they spot our cars?"

"I'll think of something." Amusement flashed in his gaze and he stepped closer.

She nodded. "I better get going. Lunch was a long time ago and I worked up quite an appetite."

He chuckled. "I still think you should go home with me."

"Don't tempt me."

"I don't want to make you sore either. I definitely would if I took you home."

"I just told you not to tempt me."

He threw back his head and laughed. His hand came up as he caressed her cheek. "Thank you for waiting for me today. I was afraid I would return to find you gone. It would have greatly disappointed me."

"Me too. That's why I stayed and waited."

"You are very unique and wonderful, Zandy."

"So are you."

He moved suddenly and his mouth brushed hers. She kissed him back. The purr that rumbled from him made her instantly hot and horny as memories flooded her mind of what he could do to her body. He shifted his hips and moved between her thighs until the hard length of his trapped cock rubbed against the seam of her underwear as she spread her thighs wide to make room for him. Zandy wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. She wanted him again and it felt as if he wanted her too.

His hands cupped her breasts and squeezed. She moaned against his tongue to encourage him. One of his hands lowered down her stomach and fisted her skirt to tug it up her hips. She shifted her ass, helping him bunch the material around her waist to get it out of the way. His hand slid between her thighs to hook a finger in the band of her panties and she felt them jerked out from under her ass. He easily tore them off.

Excitement gripped her. It wasn't just the danger of them being caught-no one had ever torn her clothes off her body before. It was a fantasy he'd just made a reality. Her nails dug into his shirt and she wished she could touch his skin.

Tiger tore his mouth away from hers to break the kiss and she opened her eyes. There was something wild-looking about his eyes in that moment when passion flared through them. Eyes were the window into someone's soul-she believed that-and his were promising hot sex.

His hand left her thigh and gently pressed between her breasts. He pushed her flat on her back over the hood of his Jeep. The trees had shaded it and the feel of cool metal against her bare ass was a little naughty. She really liked it. She liked him.

His hands gripped her hips and tugged her closer to him until she should have worried about slipping over the edge. It didn't concern her since she'd wrapped her legs around his waist when they'd kissed. He slid his palms upward, shoved her shirt up until it bunched over her breasts and his gaze lowered.

"Beautiful," he rasped. "But this is in my way."

She gasped when he gripped the center of her bra and tugged. It didn't stand a chance against his strength as it broke apart and freed her breasts.

Zandy panted a little as he leaned forward, cupped her breasts again with his bare hands and his mouth opened over her nipple. He sucked it into his mouth and she felt his teeth clamp down on the skin around the taut tip. He didn't hurt her but he had a good grip. She felt a second of fear, knowing if he bit down it would hurt. Instead his tongue started to slide across her nipple and he sucked on her harder.

She gasped. It felt as if her breast and her clit were connected. Her fingers slid into his hair to keep it out of the way, while making sure he didn't stop. She breathed his name, "Tiger..."

He growled as he slowly released her breast when he lifted his head. Their gazes met. He reached up and his fingers encircled her wrists to tug her hands free from his hair. She let go and was stunned when he used his hold on her to lift her arms above her head until they rested against the hood of the Jeep.

"Keep them there."

She nodded. He broke eye contact with her to peruse the length of her body spread out in front of him and growled again. His hands gripped her knees and he nudged them, indicating that he wanted her to release him. She freed his hips and he lifted her legs straight up against his chest and spread them enough to brace them at his shoulders.

He reached down and she heard his zipper as he opened his pants. His gaze held hers. "I wanted to do this the first time you were here," he rasped.

She expected him to just enter her but Tiger wasn't so easily predictable. His finger traced the seam of her pussy. She knew he'd find her wet and ready to take him but then he decided to play with her clit. She moaned as he rubbed small circles around the bud.

"Tiger..." she moaned.

"I'm right here."

Yes, he is, she agreed, reveling in the raw enjoyment of the pleasure he gave. She really wanted to touch him but he wanted her to keep them above her head. It was almost torture and her legs tensed, unable to take much more.

"Please?"

One of his arms locked across her legs to pin them against his chest and his gaze lowered between them to stare at her pussy. He adjusted his hips until his cock pressed against her. The feel of him entering her body broke her focus on his face and she threw her head back. He lifted her enough that her ass hovered over the hood and he began to fuck her in long, firm strokes.

She moaned and could only feel the drive of his cock and him continuing to play with her clit. The overwhelming urge to come burned her from the inside out.

"Faster," she urged.

He growled. "No. I'm in control."

Her wrists twisted and she clawed at the metal under her palms. Tiger suddenly thrust into her a little deeper and rocked his hips at a faster pace. He massaged her clit to match. The sounds that came from him were a mixture of a purr and a moan.

"Come for me," he ordered in a harsh voice. "Now. I can't hold back."

He pressed a little harder against her clit and Zandy screamed out his name as she did just that. Her vaginal muscles convulsed from the force of her climax and Tiger threw back his head. A roar came from him that drowned out everything. His hips ground against her as he jerked with each jet of semen he shot into her.

Zandy panted as she tried to recover and kept her eyes closed as Tiger eased her ass back down onto the hood of the Jeep. His hand slid away from her clit and he gripped her thighs, spread them and bent over her. His body settled over hers and he kept them connected by refusing to withdraw his cock from her body.

"Look at me."

She stared deeply into his eyes, just inches from her own. His hot breath fanned her lips and she loved the smile he gave her. Her hands moved to cup his face. He turned his head a little to press tighter against her palm.

"Hi."

He chuckled. "Hi."

"That was amazing."

His lips brushed across hers but he didn't deepen the kiss. "You're very sexy, Zandy. I can't get enough of you. I was more careful this time not to be rough."

"I like it both ways."

He braced his arms on the hood next to her, caging her in his hold. She liked the feel of having his body over hers but wished her bare breasts and stomach were against his skin instead of the shirt he still wore.

"What did you like best?" he asked.

"I can't decide. How about a rematch tomorrow so we can both decide?"

"Maybe I'll come up with more to judge. It might take days to really figure this one out."

Days with Tiger sounded heavenly. She laughed. "It sounds good but I'm not sure I'll be able to walk if we have sex this much every day."

His gaze became serious. "I can carry you. You won't need to walk. It will give me an excuse to keep you flat on your back."

Damn. He's charming and so handsome. Her fingers caressed his warm skin and explored his strong bone structure. His cheekbones were slightly prominent and so was his jawline. It gave him a very masculine appearance, which she appreciated. He waited for a response so she gave him one.

"That's true."

He pushed her hair away from her neck and he pulled her torn bra out from under her shirt to remove it. He tossed it over the glass windshield into the Jeep. Zandy watched him study her shoulder.

"What are you looking at?"

"Your bite. It's not bleeding anymore."

"It's fine. It was well worth the sex injury." She grinned. "How is your back?"

He didn't grin back. "You are the first woman who's marked me. Has a man ever bitten you before and marked you?"

"I can't say I've ever been bitten before."

Gentle fingertips probed the wound. "You will need to hide this. Someone will think I've mated you if they see this."

"Mated?"

"It's like marriage to my kind but we don't divorce. You would be thought of as mine and I would be thought of as yours."

Shock reverberated through her. "All over a bite?"

He smiled finally. "Species tend to bite sometimes during the sharing of sex but we never break the skin. There are only two ways this usually happens. I had to bite you to assert my control if we fought for dominance during sex or because I wanted to mark you to show other males you belonged to me." He blinked. "I am sorry. I lost control and I wanted to completely own you in that moment. I wanted all of you."

His words sank in and she realized she didn't hate that idea. Oh no. Don't go there. He is asking you to hide the mark, which means he didn't intend to do it. Remember that. "Well, I think you successfully owned me there for a while."

"It goes both ways. There is nothing but you when you are in my arms." His eyes narrowed and all traces of humor fled. "You're dangerous, Zandy."

"Me?" It was her turn to laugh as her gaze took in those massive arms next to her and the broad chest that blocked out the world above her. "You're the one who's really big and strong. I'm not dangerous in the least."

He suddenly gripped her face and moved closer, until they were nearly nose to nose. "You are very dangerous to me. I'm not the type to take a mate, Zandy. I never want to be tied down that way. I enjoy my freedom after the lifetime I have spent without it. A mated male lives for his female. I've seen it firsthand. The males want to kill any other males who go near their females. They can't sleep without their females in their arms. They go insane at the thought of losing their mates. We scent imprint our mates. It's..." He stopped talking.

"It's what?" She was curious. "I've never heard anything about this."

"We get pretty much addicted to her scent after we claim a female. We need them to smell like us and we need their scents on us. The mated males can't stand having the scent of other female on them once they imprint their mate's scent. If a male has imprinted a female he can't share sex with another one. If his female were to ever share sex with a male I think the mate would go completely insane and kill anything in his path blocking him from the male who touched his mate. He would definitely tear apart a male who touched her. It's..." He paused. "Scary as hell and something I never want anything to do with. If I were ever interested in taking a mate, you would be her, Zandy. That's what makes you dangerous because you make me consider it."

She was really shocked. "I've been married and divorced twice, Tiger. I'm not cut out for marriage obviously since I seem to suck at it. I got really hurt by them. I swore I'd never put my heart out there to be stomped on again. The idea of allowing someone to become my entire world scares me." She wanted to be honest. "I am so drawn to you that it's not funny and you're amazing. I just don't want to get hurt."

"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

She nodded, unable to disagree. They were both strongly attracted to each other but neither of them wanted to become too involved for their own reasons. She respected that about him and instinctively knew he understood about her reservations too.

"I want you to meet me here tomorrow. I don't know how long this can last but I know I want to see you again," Tiger said.

"I'll be here after work."

"I'll bring a picnic."

"I should be going. I really am hungry."

He grinned. "So am I. It will be dark soon and we missed dinner."

They silently stared at each other until Tiger finally lowered his face enough to brush his lips lightly over hers. He eased out of her body to separate them and helped her sit up. Strong hands gripped her hips to lift her down to the ground.

He let go with a reluctant expression. Zandy fixed her clothes, minus her bra and underwear. She forced a smile she didn't feel. It was time to go but she hated leaving him. It just felt wrong to walk away and that assured her she really needed to get in her car.

"Bye. See you tomorrow, Tiger."

"I'm looking forward to it." Sincerity shone in his eyes as he righted his clothing and dug her keys from his pocket.

She took them and had to force herself to turn away from him. The urge to spin back around, throw herself into his arms and ask him to take her home with him was there. Damn. She climbed in her car and refused to look at him again. It was too tempting to ask him to spend the night with her.

She glanced in the rearview mirror as she drove away. Tiger stood where she'd left him, watching her. A sigh of regret passed her lips.

It dawned on her halfway home that she hadn't retrieved her torn underclothes. She'd left them with Tiger. A groan escaped her lips and she hoped he remembered to toss them away.

She stopped at the only fast-food joint in town with a drive-thru, not feeling up to cooking. It was a relief when she let herself into her house, collapsed on the couch with her dinner and reflected on what had happened. No. I don't regret it, she decided. She just hated the strong desire she felt to know where Tiger was and what he was doing. Is he obsessing over me too? "Damn."