Denying Dare by Amber Kell Page B

get
    involved.
    A loud roar snapped his attention to the bar. Dare,
    the cute bartender with pretty green eyes, looked ready to
    shift. Steven searched the area wondering who could've
    upset the even-tempered man. He usually kept away from
    the sexy weretiger because he was incredibly attracted to
    the man. Something drew him to Dare like a magnet to
    metal, a sensation stronger than any he felt for the many
    men he bedded each month. He searched the room for
    whomever was giving the sexy man a hard time, ready to
    take the bastard out. He might not want Dare for himself
    but he wasn't going to let some asshole bother him.
    Then the smell hit him. Catnip. That devious little
    bastard had doused him in catnip powder like a damn chew
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    toy.
    Shit!
    He barely had the time to curse before his back hit
    the floor as four hundred pounds of white Siberian tiger
    knocked him over. Luckily, the tiger splayed over him with
    only his front paws on Steven's chest. Once he was down, a
    soft chuffing noise blew his hair away from his face.
    Looking into those amazing green eyes, Steven
    realized the sweet bartender had given himself completely
    over to his beast and probably wouldn't be surfacing
    anytime soon.
    Damn it to hell.
    Anthony was so going to pay for this. Steven would
    have to be crafty so Silver didn't rip him apart.
    "Hello, Dare," he said cautiously, hoping he could
    reach the man hiding inside the enormous beast.
    "Remember me, Steven? We're buddies." Not a complete
    truth; he tried to avoid the cute kid because he was so
    fucking tempting. He wanted a wolf mate, not a cat, no
    matter how gorgeous, kind, and sexy…
    He was so screwed.
    A long tongue swiped up one side of his neck
    leaving a streak of scraped skin behind.
    "Ouch."
    He got another amused chuff for his comment.
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    "Dare, get off of me. There's a good kitty.
    Remember, you like me. Eating me would be bad." He
    hoped like hell the cat understood him. The feral tiger
    didn't give him much hope. In the corner of his eye he saw
    Ben approaching the white tiger with slow, careful
    movements. Sweat beaded his forehead as the young man
    continued walking towards them.
    Dare growled, crouching over Steven like an animal
    protecting its kill.
    "Back off, Ben," Steven hissed. "He's not going to
    hurt me." He knew deep in his bones the bartender wouldn't
    harm a hair on his head. Two pairs of hands reached out
    and yanked Ben out of the way, Dillon and Thomas pulling
    their mate to safety. He knew the younger man would get a
    good scolding when he got back to his apartment. His
    mates took Ben's security very seriously.
    Confident the young werekin was protected, Steven
    turned his attention back to the tiger pinning him down.
    Another tongue lick bathed the other side of his neck,
    sending a shiver of pain through his body.
    The tiger's tongue hung out of his mouth, giving
    him a dopey expression. He looked cute if you overlooked
    the fact the big cat could rip a person apart with very little
    effort.
    "Listen, pal, Anthony has weird sense of humor. He
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    didn't mean anything by this."
    "Mine."
    The word floated into his mind, a word not his.
    "No. I want a wolf," he protested. The objection
    sounded weak even to him. At night, alone, he dreamed of
    the sexy weretiger, but he wasn't about to admit it. There
    was still a chance he could find a wolf.
    "Tough."
    "What do you mean, tough?"
    Steven was afraid he knew exactly what the
    weretiger meant. Dare was done dancing around their
    attraction and had decided to keep Steven. He couldn't do
    that. Could he?
    Dare moved to the side and clamped his wide
    mouth around Steven's arm. With a gentle hold at odds with
    his mouthful of sharp teeth, the cat dragged him backwards
    across the dance floor towards the elevators. Their audience
    moved out of the way. Not one of them offered to help
    Steven out. Most of them looked