Waking Her Tiger Read Free

either drop the mask or hold it tight.”
    “You are joking.”
    “I am not. Their other senses get a conflicting reading and they get confused and aggressive. We just learned about it because no one has bothered to ask before.”
    “Right.” Maddy heard him sigh . “She is smaller than I thought.”
    “It is only because you are a giant. Now, self-control and go back in.”
     
    Maddy straightened and patted her aunt’s shoulder. “They are coming back in. Let’s just get this over with.”
    When the two entered, the man obviously fey and the woman trying to look human, it now made more sense. Neither was what they seemed. Once she accepted that, she could ignore the blaze of fury that their magic ignited.
    “Mr. Yffa, would you care to take that tour?”
    He blinked and inclined his head. “Yes, Ms. Black, I would.”
    She headed out of the office, grabbing her vest and helmet.
    Maddy beckoned him. “This way. I am not taking you into any secure areas unless you have been authorized by security, so we are going to the offices first.”
    “You are seriously having me submit to a security check?” He was amused.
    “Yes. My job, my regulations. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
    Aggie gasped at the bald statement, but Mary Alice had a delighted grin that Maddy could see through the plate glass of the office wall.
    She glanced at him and raised her eyebrows in challenge. He inclined his head.
    “As you like, Ms. Black.”
    “Regulations are regulations.” She found the largest hardhat for him, and he put it on with a grin.
    His smile looked slightly wrong in his features. She shook her head and led him through the service areas still under construction until they could take their helmets off and tuck them under their arms.
    When they entered the security office, everyone froze.
    “Toby, I need a security check on Suran Yffa of the fey court.”
    Toby was frozen at his desk.
    She whistled sharply. “Toby!”
    He jerked and cleared his throat. “Suran Yffa?”
    She nodded. The other officers in the room were staring at the fey in their midst. Fortunately, Toby could skim through the data files with all the grace of an otter.
    He printed off the security clearance and generated a tag for the elf to clip to his suit. It was a priority visitor’s badge. He could go anywhere in the airport with it.
    Maddy looked down at her badge. He had better clearance than she did.
    She turned to Suran. “Well, if you want a complete tour, you are better off with one of our security guards.”
    His lips tightened briefly. “I am sure they are very capable, but Mary Alice speaks highly of you.”
    Maddy sighed. “Right. Well, thanks, Toby.”
    She left him trailing after her out of the security office before entering a service hallway that was largely unused. Maddy turned on him. “What did you want to see?”
    He smiled. “You are direct.”
    “And you are hiding what you look like. Next comment?”
    “I have been asked to convince you to go to the Crossroads. The fey there are going without glamour and you might be able to find your match.”
    She cocked her head. “Why would I want to have a fey as a mate?”
    He looked around and gestured at the airport at large. “If this is a sample of your people, I believe that you need a bit more of a challenge in your life.”
    “You don’t know anything about me.”
    Suran gave her a slow smile. “I know that you try to defer to those of greater age than you, but they all look to you for protection and guidance. You try to go through the motions of regulations, but you have to push those around you into doing your will and it is tiring.”
    Maddy blinked. It was an impressive assessment considering she had known him for ten minutes. “Fine. You know some things about me, but I am not leaving my people today to chase off to the Crossroads.”
    He inclined his head. “I understand. The king will be taking his private plane from gate three through the airport, and