Stripe Tease Read Free Page B

She stumbled back, tripping on her own feet and hitting the side of the other car hard. His two friends lost the smiles on their faces as they realized what she’d done. They went from happy to glaringly furious in two seconds. She tried to stand but slipped again. Then, before she had a chance to blink, a massive golden tiger jumped from the roof of a car onto the two men. The animal was huge, easily eight feet long. He slammed one of the guys on the ground, holding him down with a paw, and bit the other.
    Both men screamed. She glanced around, looking for the crowd of people that should surely gather from all the screaming. The sports bar across the lot had the doors open, blasting loud music. The sounds of patrons laughing and singing along diverted all attention from what was happening in the back lot of Charlie’s.
    Vanessa struggled to her feet, her knees shaking hard. She almost fell on her ass for a second time. She leaned into the car for support and continued staring at the large tiger in awe.
    He scratched one of the guys with his large claws and bit down hard enough on the other that she heard bone-crunching sounds. She made a face of disgust and searched her pockets for her keys. The ones she’d had in her hand just a few minutes ago. The tiger glanced over his shoulder at her, his big, golden eyes staring deep into hers.
    “Nice...ah...kitty. You’re a big kitty.”
    The tiger lifted his paw and turned from the two men toward her. They scrambled to their feet, one guy holding the other.
    “You should go,” she said to the big cat. “I know you’re one of those shifters.”
    She’d never been this close to one shifted, but she’d had a few friends date the wolf kind. Never the tigers. She had a feeling these were a lot more difficult to tame.
    The tiger didn’t pay her any mind. Instead he stared at her, licking his massive jaws. Before she could say anything else, the animal darted off into the woods of a large park filled with trees. Dammit. Shifters were a brand new problem she didn’t need in her life. Why did she have to have a damn soft spot for trouble?
    For a second there, she’d almost been home free, and then guilt ate at her. The tiger had saved her. She needed to make sure he was okay. And possibly, figure out if the tiger was the man sitting by the stage, staring at her. She’d been able to make out his features because the glow in his eyes captured her attention…and kept it.
    She ran after the animal into the entrance of the park she knew well. It was the only one around for miles. She swatted at cold, sweaty leaves and followed the brightness from the moon and the color swooshes up ahead. The tiger moved fast, but not fast enough. She wondered if he was hurt.
    “Come back!” She felt so stupid telling a giant tiger to come back. What she should be doing is getting the hell away from him, but was she? Nope. It appeared she had a death wish.
    She finally slowed down when she reached a slope in the park that led to a man-made creek. Vegas wasn’t known for trees and forests, so this was the closest the city got to nature, and it was amazingly taken care of by the local government.
    She stopped when she reached the water’s edge. The creek was small. Like a little kid’s pool, but she had no idea if it was deep or not. The animal stared at the water and then glanced up to meet her gaze.
    Her heart pounded in her ears, robbing her of the ability to think, much less speak. She recognized his eyes as the guy from the club. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times trying to get words out. Still, she made the effort.
    “Who are you?”
    The tiger remained quiet. He licked his nose, and though on a puppy that was cute, on this massive animal, it made her all kinds of uncomfortable. His body started to change before her. Bones and muscles pulled and shrunk so fast that if she blinked, she’d have missed it.
    The guy was tall, like damn tall and built like a Mack truck. She had