She went hot all over at the same time gooseflesh rippled over her arms and legs. Her ni**les darkened and tightened, one beam of sunshine snaking in from under clouds to bathe her in warmth.

No warmth compared to the scalding heat between Tiger’s hips and Carly’s inner thighs, sweat collecting to slide to the sheets. Perspiration gathered on Carly’s face and beaded on Tiger’s upper lip.

Tiger moved his hands from her thighs to the curve of her waist, holding her steady while he let his hips rock upward. Gently, gently. Tiger’s body still shook; he was holding back, afraid of hurting her.

Carly’s heart ached for him at the same time her inner places swelled and tightened. He was so tender, this man people feared. He’d shielded her body with his and taken what should have been a lethal barrage of bullets so Carly wouldn’t be hurt.

Pleasure seeped through her, joy so hot she was sure her blood was on fire. Tiger watched her in silence, his eyes Shifter gold, his face quiet.

He was a beautiful man, strong, good-hearted, protective. She remembered him with tiny Katriona, how incredibly gentle he’d been with her.

He was as gentle with Carly now. Tiger held her, sweat trickling from under his palms down her skin, the sunlight moving from Carly’s body to Tiger’s face.

Breathtaking. She rested her hands on his chest now, the hard flatness of it dusted with dark hair streaked with gold and orange, his ni**les as tight as hers.

The look in his eyes was one of wonder. Tiger marveled at what they did, Carly rocking on him, fire rippling from where they joined.

The fire grew, blocking all thought. The sun continued to slip away, the room changing from sunlit to flooded with red and gold, and then to twilit. She and Tiger rocked together, sealed to each other, Tiger higher in Carly than she’d imagined she could take him.

Tiger growled and clasped her shoulders, tugging her down to him. She went, kissing him while she lay full length on top of him, with him still inside her.

Tiger kissed her in return, licking into her mouth, tasting all corners of her. Carly tasted him too, learning him, loving the texture, the heat.

Their mouths were still together when Tiger’s growl turned to a snarl. A wild darkness whipped through Carly, one that made her cry out, her body tight, so tight. Waves of pleasure so incredible she wanted to weep tumbled over her, and she rocked her hips against Tiger’s, wanting more and more. As she hit the top of the highest wave, shouting his name in pleasure, Carly felt Tiger’s seed flood inside her.

The last of the dusky light died, and darkness quickly filled the sky. Through the open windows, Carly saw stars prick out, but they couldn’t compete with the beauty of Tiger’s golden eyes.

* * *

“Shite, I missed the exit again.” Liam stepped on the accelerator and shot down the freeway. He’d have to get off at the next exit, loop around, and try again.

“You should have let me drive,” Spike said from the passenger seat of Dylan’s truck.

Dylan had sent them off four hours ago in the predawn coolness, looking a little satisfied that he wouldn’t be the one dealing with a table of full-of-themselves gobshite Shifter leaders and Dallas roadways.

“No, I need you to navigate,” Liam said to Spike. “You’re a tracker. So track.”

Shifter leaders were allowed one backup person at the meetings, all acknowledging that a roomful of über-alpha Shifter males could grow dangerous very fast. Therefore, each Shifter could bring one bodyguard, and Liam had chosen Spike.

The bodyguard had to be neutral though. Not the same clan, pack, or pride as the leader. The bodyguard also couldn’t be in line to be a Shiftertown leader, so that the bodyguard didn’t get any ideas of taking out the man above him while they were alone. If Spike offed Liam, Spike wouldn’t win by it. Liam wouldn’t win by it either, but Sean would take over the Austin Shiftertown and punish Spike.

Not that Liam had any worries about Spike. The six-foot-six, tattooed biker with the shaved pate was a jaguar who’d recently found out he had a cub. The new dad thought of little else but small Jordan and Myka, Spike’s new mate.

“You missed this exit too,” Spike said in his quiet way.

“Shite.” Liam had been busy trying to get around a slow cement truck, and the off ramp had whizzed past. “They’ll decide something asinine before I get there, like we all have to wear T-shirts that say ‘My Other Animal is a Penguin.’ And my vote would have been the tiebreaker against.”

Spike didn’t laugh. “Take this one,” he said pointing to the left.

“What one?”

“There!” Spike shouted. “Left exit. Now.”

Liam dove across two lanes of traffic, earning honking and lifted fingers, and drove off the ramp. This exit looped them around and poured them back in the opposite direction, where Liam ran into a clump of traffic.

“Damn it.”

“You know, you suck at driving,” Spike said.

“Watch it, jaguar. And it’s not true. I’m a master at handling my Harley.”

Spike grinned. “Yeah, I just bet you are.”

Liam said something in Irish that would have earned him Spike’s fist in his throat if Spike had understood it.

Liam at last got the pickup oriented in the right direction, found the turnoff, and took it. Now it was just a matter of navigating through traffic, stoplights, and clogged one-way streets until they found the bar and pool hall where the Shifters had agreed, this time, to meet.

Never in the same place twice. Good idea from a stealth standpoint, bad for finding the damned place.

Liam parked the pickup behind the bar, approached the back door, and knocked. A greasy-looking man let them in through a tiny hall and a kitchen, pointing through to a large room that smelled of Shifters. Liam hoped the man with the oily hair wasn’t the cook.

“About time,” someone growled.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The voice of the Lupine who’d spoken—Graham McNeil—rumbled in the too-small room. Not enough air in the room either, Liam observed. They’d all soon be gagging on the smell. Alphas feeling competitive had a fine scent.

Eric Warden, a Feline and the leader of the Las Vegas Shiftertown, came forward to greet Liam. Liam pulled the man into a brief, tight hug, and Eric returned it, as strong as ever.

They kept the hug short, greeting only, even though they’d become good friends, so the other Shifter leaders might not think they were forming an alliance. Shifter leaders, as a group, were paranoid.