Angie no longer felt any anger toward Sara and Miki. How could she? Miki had been right. If this had been either Sara or Miki, she wouldn’t have been nearly as nice. When she told Zach she wasn’t the nice one of the three, in no way had she been joking.

But she could also understand wanting nothing more to do with her or her crazy friends. Because they were part of the package. Part of her. They were as much family to her as Alek and Ban were family to him. Not a lot of people understood that. The Pack learned but Sara didn’t give them much choice. And Marrec always knew. But Nik would probably never understand.

Angie shut off the water and stepped out, quickly grabbing a towel and drying off. As she towel dried her hair, she debated whether to try Nik’s sisters one more time. But she wasn’t sure she could handle anymore unanswered phone calls. It was starting to hurt her feelings.

Her own cell phone went off. She wrapped the towel around her body and rushed back into her room.

“Yeah?”

“It’s Derek.”

She fought her desire to cry in frustration. “Well? What did you find out?”

“Not much. Not a lot of tiger info flowing around.”

“That is not what I want to hear, Derek. He’s out there. You need to find him.”

“And exactly what do you need a tiger for?”

“That’s none of your goddamn business what I need a tiger for. I just need you to find this one.”

Angie heard a noise from below her window. She walked over quickly and looked down. Half the Pack as wolves ran out the back door and disappeared into the trees. What the hell are they hunting? Christ, did Nik’s people show up to do a little dog damage? And was there anyway in hell she could stop the bloodshed?

“All right. All right. Calm down.”

“No, Derek. I won’t fucking calm down. Just do what I goddamn asked you to. How hard can it be to find a seven-hundred-pound tiger?”

“All right, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

It felt good to finally have someone to kick around a bit. And safe because the man wasn’t in front of her to kick around in person. No jail time! “No. You’ll call me back tonight. Understand?”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“Don’t give me that yeah, yeah bullshit. You’re being lazy.” Angie turned away from the window. “He’s probably right under your…eep!”

The words died in her throat as she came face to face with one pissed-off hillbilly.

Chapter Seventeen

“I’m sorry? What was that? Right under my what?”

Angie stared at Nik. His gold eyes, hot on her, swept down her body and back up again. She suddenly felt like a stripper. A really hot stripper who had stolen his wallet.

“I gotta go, Derek,” she could barely force the words out.

“Okay,” he chuckled. “I’ll call you later.”

“No. Don’t bother.”

“Yeah, but you said…,” she shut the phone closed.

She still didn’t know Nik well enough to read the expression on his face. He sized her up almost like an animal wondering what you were doing on their property just before they went for your throat.

Barely stopping herself from flinching, she allowed Nik to take the phone from her hand. He carefully placed it on the dresser. Then he casually shrugged himself out of his leather bomber jacket, letting it drop to the floor. Angie debated whether she should make a break for it. She couldn’t read his face. Couldn’t judge his expression. She wasn’t scared, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t wary.

Nik stepped closer to her and Angie’s stomach clenched. Simply having him near her turning her insides to liquid. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off her, studying her face as if he hadn’t seen her in two years as opposed to a mere twenty hours.

He leaned in, rubbing his cheek against hers. She held herself perfectly still, expecting more, but he did nothing else but rub his head against hers. Like the big cat he was. She allowed herself to relax a little. Allowed herself to simply feel him against her. She instinctively rubbed him back, slow circles against his neck and chin.

She felt him against her. Knew he was safe and well. And Angie’s sense of relief nearly blinded her.

Good God, I’m in love with a hillbilly!

She closed her eyes tight against the enormity of her realization, willing herself not to panic. Willing herself not to blurt out her feelings like some pathetic female.

What nut case falls for a guy after knowing him for less than a week anyway?

You know, besides my two best friends?

Nik’s right hand reached up, touching her cheek, sliding down her throat, and gliding down her body. His fingers moved over the towel, brushing her breast. Angie sighed at the contact, her hands reaching up to slide around Nik’s shoulders. But, with a sudden and vicious snarl, he pulled back from her. He looked feral again. Like that night he’d come charging through her window.

Uh-oh.

Nik’s outward calm ended. His hand, so gentle moments before, grabbed hold of her towel and snatched it off her body. He looked down the length of her and growled low. She felt that sound all the way inside her pussy, reverberating against the walls of her womb.

Grabbing her arm, he dragged her over to the bed, snatching the top bed sheet from it. He lifted her up by the waist and threw her facedown in the middle of it.

“Hey!”

Nik ignored her, quickly ripping a strip from the bed sheet. Angie struggled to get up, but he wrapped the Egyptian cotton around her wrist and the end to the bedpost.