Excuses. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He respected her for that and appreciated it. His pride was stung though, despite her kindness. It was another reminder she wasn’t Species. One of their females would have just told him he’d been too controlling and hadn’t placed her sexual gratification above his own.

“I understand.” He finished buttoning his shirt, knowing he’d messed up. She didn’t even want to date him. “I’m carrying you back to your car.” He would make sure she wasn’t harmed by walking barefoot. “That isn’t up for debate.”

She nodded. “Thank you. Are you sure I’m not too heavy?”

“I could carry you in my arms all day,” he answered honestly. “Hold the blanket and I’ll pick you up.”

Zandy gripped the blanket as he approached her and didn’t protest as he scooped her up into his arms. Her scent tormented him. She smelled strongly of her distinctive scent but it was mixed with sex now and his own scent. Any Species male who came within sniffing distance of her would know they’d shared sex. That idea didn’t alarm him. It would warn other males not to approach her for sharing sex, if they were smart.

Her arm wrapped around his neck and she peered deeply into his eyes. “Thank you, Tiger.”

He wanted to kiss her but refrained. She’d made a choice and he had to respect it. He wasn’t an animal despite his urges to ignore her refusal to share his bed. He was a male. He wouldn’t force her to go home with him even if he wished she would—it wouldn’t be fair. She wasn’t strong enough to keep him in line the way a Species female could when a male became too dominating, though he’d never hurt her.

“Thank you for today,” he said honestly.

Chapter Five

Zandy liked that Tiger made her feel petite and womanly in his arms. He carried her as easily as he’d said he could and wasn’t even out of breath when they reached their vehicles. No one seemed to have disturbed them. He didn’t halt until he gently placed her on the hood of his Jeep. He tossed the folded blanket off her lap and over the windshield to land inside the vehicle.

He smiled. “We are back at the beginning. Here I stand and you are sitting in the same spot as when we first kissed.”

A smile tugged at her lips. She was more than a little amused and touched by his romantic streak. It also impressed her. “I like this time better.”

“Why?”

“No one interrupted us.”

His striking blue eyes stared deeply into hers. “Meet me here again tomorrow after work. I’ll bring food and we’ll have a picnic.”

It was a bad idea but she refused to say no outright. She was falling for the guy big-time and it would end badly. It was a weakness of hers to get involved with men too fast. He seemed too good to be true and she knew how that worked out. Badly, and divorce lawyers cost a lot of money. Not to mention the dreaded phone call to my family to tell them I screwed up again. She nodded anyway. She just couldn’t resist Tiger but she didn’t need to worry that he would ask her to marry him. He didn’t seem the settle-down type of man.

“Okay. Do you want me to bring anything?”

“Just you.”

“I can do that.”

He cleared his throat. “Good. I might be a few minutes late after your shift ends but wait for me. I will come.”

“Okay. Are you going to close the road down again to make sure no one goes searching for us when they spot our cars?”

“I’ll think of something.” Amusement flashed in his gaze and he stepped closer.

She nodded. “I better get going. Lunch was a long time ago and I worked up quite an appetite.”

He chuckled. “I still think you should go home with me.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“I don’t want to make you sore either. I definitely would if I took you home.”

“I just told you not to tempt me.”

He threw back his head and laughed. His hand came up as he caressed her cheek. “Thank you for waiting for me today. I was afraid I would return to find you gone. It would have greatly disappointed me.”

“Me too. That’s why I stayed and waited.”

“You are very unique and wonderful, Zandy.”

“So are you.”

He moved suddenly and his mouth brushed hers. She kissed him back. The purr that rumbled from him made her instantly hot and horny as memories flooded her mind of what he could do to her body. He shifted his h*ps and moved between her thighs until the hard length of his trapped c**k rubbed against the seam of her underwear as she spread her thighs wide to make room for him. Zandy wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. She wanted him again and it felt as if he wanted her too.

His hands cupped her br**sts and squeezed. She moaned against his tongue to encourage him. One of his hands lowered down her stomach and fisted her skirt to tug it up her hips. She shifted her ass, helping him bunch the material around her waist to get it out of the way. His hand slid between her thighs to hook a finger in the band of her panties and she felt them jerked out from under her ass. He easily tore them off.

Excitement gripped her. It wasn’t just the danger of them being caught—no one had ever torn her clothes off her body before. It was a fantasy he’d just made a reality. Her nails dug into his shirt and she wished she could touch his skin.

Tiger tore his mouth away from hers to break the kiss and she opened her eyes. There was something wild-looking about his eyes in that moment when passion flared through them. Eyes were the window into someone’s soul—she believed that—and his were promising hot sex.