“Hmm?” Connor asked. He contemplated the few small paintings on the living room wall that artists had given Carly as gifts. “Why me? Because I’m a cub. Not a threat.”

“A cub?” Carly looked him up and down. “You said that before. You can’t be much younger than I am.”

“Just turned twenty-two. That’s cub age for a Shifter. When I hit about twenty-eight, or maybe later, I’ll start my Transition, which I’m so not looking forward to, trust me. But after that, I’ll be full grown, ready to find my own mate. That part I’m looking forward to.”

Carly saw a young man, college-aged, lanky but tough, as tall as his uncles if not as bulked. When he was twenty-eight and looking for his mate, women were going to line up for him. She was surprised they weren’t following him around now, drooling.

“But I’m not a Shifter,” she said. “Why should you have to wait six years before you go out with a human woman?’

“I don’t. But I’m not in a hurry. Not having reached my Transition means I don’t have the mating frenzy yet. So, sure, I could go out with you, or whatever human girl took my fancy, and we could kiss and cuddle, and even have sex. But I wouldn’t feel the need to scent-mark you, hide you from all other males, and have sex with you until we both couldn’t walk, or until you started a cub. Whichever came first.”

Carly stopped. Her shoes still hung from her fingers, her feet enjoying the cool of her tile floor. “That’s what Shifters do?”

“Yep. Females as well as males.”

“So, Tiger was afraid that if Liam drove me home he might . . .”

“Drag you off to bed and sex you ’til you screamed? Aye, he was. Even though Liam has a mate of his own, and a little cub—Katriona; she’s so cute—to Tiger, he’s just another full-grown Shifter male, not to be trusted.”

“What about Tiger? I guess I don’t have to worry about this mating frenzy with him—he’s just been shot.”

“I don’t know.” Connor shook his head. “I can’t tell you lies, Carly. Tiger’s my friend, and I want to help him, but he’s dangerous. And tough. And not quite right in the head.” He touched his temple.

“He didn’t seem that scary to me. Although . . . see what a great judge of character I was about Ethan.” Carly heaved a sigh and walked on into her bedroom. “Be right back.”

She closed the door so she could shimmy out of the dress and into some comfortable shorts and a top. In her bathroom, she washed her face and hands, remembering that she’d expected to come home and cry and cry. Worry about poor Tiger had erased that need, but now that her immediate adrenaline rush had gone, she felt shaky and weak. And hungry.

“Want me to order some pizza?” she asked Connor as she walked out. “I’m starving. You can take one home with you. Least I can do.”

Connor had lounged back in her living room armchair and was flipping channels with the remote. “Oh, I’m not going home. When Tiger said, keep her safe, he meant twenty-four seven. Or at least until I take you back to Shiftertown.”

CHAPTER FIVE

As Carly stared at him, Connor looked away and skimmed through more channels. “Hey, you’ve got the sports package. Sweet.”

Carly grabbed the remote from him and clicked off the TV. “Twenty-four seven?”

“Come on, lass. I don’t get these channels at home. Shifters aren’t allowed. Been forever since I saw a decent football match.”

“You’re to stay with me until I go back and visit Tiger? I said I would. Doesn’t he believe me?”

Connor let out a slow sigh. “He believes you. If you’d lied, he’d know—if you lie about anything, he’ll know. He wants you protected. He’s old-fashioned, is Tiger, but he’s not wrong. I got the job because, like I said, I’m a cub and right now the only Shifter he trusts with you.”

“He wants me protected from what? My mama raised me to take care of myself, and I made it to twenty-six without a bodyguard. Why do I suddenly need to be protected?”

“Because he’s Tiger. He gets a little . . . focused. Besides, he scent-marked you. While that technically means other males have to back off, there are enough ass**le Shifters out there who still might try to steal you, now that they know you’re friendly to Shifters.”

“Friendly to Shifters? I didn’t know any Shifters until today.”

Connor gave her a tight grin. “And you didn’t run away screaming. That puts you ahead of most human women, except the groupies. And they don’t necessarily want a Shifter for a mate—they’re just in it for the titillation.”

“There are Shifter groupies?”

“Sure. They come to the bar Liam manages, or to the dance clubs, wanting to be with Shifters. Men and women alike. Shifters are usually game for a little grope in the corner, so the groupies go away happy. But they don’t want to move in with us.”

“Does Tiger think I’m one of those?”

“Don’t think so. Tiger doesn’t understand the groupies. He’s not interested. Besides, most of them take one look at him and flee the other way.”

“Why?” Carly sank to the sofa, still holding the remote. “Tiger’s big, so I suppose that could scare people, but he was nice to me. I know he went crazy in that hospital room, but he had three guys pointing guns at him after they’d chained him to the bed. I’d go crazy too.”

“He’s . . .” Connor moved his hands as though trying to find the right words. “He’s different from other Shifters. More . . . intense.”

“Since I don’t know much about Shifters at all, how am I supposed to tell?”

“People did bad things to him before he came to live with us. I can’t tell you about them until Liam says it’s okay, but trust me—bad things.”

Carly thought about the pain she’d seen in his eyes, wells of it that went deep. More pain than what he’d suffered today, much more. “Poor guy.”

“Huh. That poor guy is strong as a truck, lass. Tell you what, let me hang out and watch a match or three, and when you’re ready to go to Shiftertown, I’ll take you. I’m not in a hurry, give it a day, a week. As long as Tiger thinks I’m looking after you, he’ll be cool.”