Along Came a Tiger (Tiger Shifters) Read Free Page A

his mind. Sarah naked and laughing as she ducked behind a tree, teasing him, letting him get just close enough to almost grab her before spinning away and racing through the forest. The satisfaction he felt when he out maneuvered her. Her squeal of pretend shock when he caught her. The way she melted against him, hot and eager, as he lifted her off her feet and kissed her. Her smile against his mouth. The spicy flavor of her tongue tangling with his.
    She licked her lips, and Daniel almost groaned aloud. He dragged his gaze from her mouth to look her in the eyes. She blinked, the tears no longer falling, something besides sadness and anger in her expression. Her scent curled up around him, floral and spice, with an extra sweet tang of desire.
    Without meaning to, he leaned closer, the need to kiss her, to assure himself she was safe and alive was so strong he couldn’t resist. He felt the brush of her hot breath on his mouth before he realized what he was doing. Still, he didn’t back off immediately because he couldn’t make himself give up her nearness, her heat.
    He settled his hands on the doorframe with some half-formed intention of pushing back. Instead, the leverage gave him room to move closer, to let his lips just touch hers. So soft…
    In the distance, the sound of a passing car broke through his haze and reality punched him back to the moment. What the fuck was he doing? They were still too close to Williams’ house for this. Besides, he wasn’t even supposed to be with her outside the Run. Kissing her would be a dangerous mistake. Because if he started anything now, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop at just a kiss.
    With a grunt, he pushed away and closed her door very gently, his control stretched to its breaking point. Then he walked around the truck, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt to calm his emotions. He slid in behind the wheel and took a few deep breaths.
    A mistake. Inside the closed confines of the cabin, her scent wrapped around him with a tighter hold, and the smell of her desire mingling with his almost destroyed him. He closed his eyes, but it was useless. He couldn’t resist the temptation to face her.
    His gaze lowered to her breasts again, remembering the feel of them against his palms, the taste of them in his mouth. His palms warmed with the phantom feel of her, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to reach out and touch her. When he looked up, her lips were damp and slightly parted, her breathing heavy and deep. His groan slipped out and his hands clenched so tight his fingernails dug into his palms.
    Dangerous. Being with her, alone, now …so very, very dangerous.
    They needed to get on the road, to get away from this place. He desperately needed the distraction of driving. But he didn’t start the car for another long, tense moment as he held her gaze and let her scent wash through him.
    Finally, he faced the road, blinking away the haze of lust. Damn his lack of control. This wasn’t the time or place. She was angry and hurting. He was here to keep her from destroying her life by taking revenge—or worse, getting herself killed by a crazy man. And they were outside the Run. He risked any hope of a future with her if he gave in to his desires now.
    If they still had any hope of a future after tonight.
    She might hate him for preventing her from taking revenge. Something he would have to deal with. Right now, his priority was protecting her—from herself, from that psycho Williams, even from Daniel’s own needs. Her safety, her life was the important thing now.
    He strapped himself in, cranked over the motor, threw the truck into gear, and drove toward the highway. She was going to be even more pissed when she discovered he had no intention of taking her home to her Philadelphia apartment.
    The next few days weren’t going to be easy. Talking her out of trying to kill Williams was always going to be difficult, but the job was made worse by the fact