Chapter One
Nervous, Dax Markson rolled his sweat-soaked, up, thankful for the February chill cutting the air. Bringing Zhara, his potential new mate, home to meet his family, or streak as his one brother loved to call them, had him edgy. His younger brother Fin wasn’t known for being subtle. Hell, his brother doubtfully even knew what the word meant.
Dax wanted Zhara to feel as at home here, as she did in their New York City apartment, and he’d begged his mother to have a talk with Fin. Make sure he stayed on the down low. His mother promised he’d be on best behaviour.
Yeah...right after shedding his clothes and streaking across the meadow his family’s lodge sat on. So, not what he wanted Zhara’s first impression to be before she became acquainted with his unique crew.
Tiger shifters, when single, tended to be solitary as they sought their mates. The last thing anyone wanted was two large, testosterone-driven males running into one available, fertile female. Yeah, claws would be out as the fur flew. Zhara might be his, but they hadn’t mated yet. His city-slicker mate would no doubt be a duck out of water at his parents’ farm.
They’d met over Christmas in New York. He’d sensed his mate close by. Found her and used the trick his great grandmother had taught him—met her in a dream, similar to astral projection. He broke the news about his shifter genes in a safe, controlled state of being. If she’d freaked, then he sadly would have walked away, leaving her assuming she’d experienced some wild, erotic dream.
For all the strangeness, she hadn’t. Zhara accepted him just as he was.
“Well, we’re here.” Dax caught the front doors opening to his family home and winced when the massive, wrestler-sized men barreled out, knocking each other over to get a glimpse of the woman their baby brother had drug home to meet the parents. He clenched his fists and fought the possessive snarl that caught in his throat and burned to get free.
“Wow, I had no clue your clan was this large. I mean, you did say you were from a big family, but dayum.”
Dax swallowed hard when a bead of perspiration, no doubt from her nerves being kicked up a notch as well, rolled between her breasts. The slow, clear, liquid slid, disappearing between the twins he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in and never return from. Zhara’s scent, silken mocha skin, and voice combined tortured him daily. Each day she’d merely awaken and he had to fight the instinct to grab her, toss her down, and take her from behind. At the very least, bend her over the sofa, kick her feet apart, and keep her at his mercy until he collapsed.
He would never have enough of Zhara. Never. On this weekend Valentine’s trip. he planned to prove that.
Zhara rubbed her lids, probably trying to awaken further from the nap she’d taken on the last stretch of the ride home. He wished his parents could have kept a lid on the news he was bringing a possible mate home on this trip, but no. While the entire clan hadn’t sprung through the door, he caught sight of his horny-assed brothers’ faces and a few others. Yep, a partial announcement had been made somewhere in the clan.
“They’ll love you. Don’t be so nervous.” Truth was, he worried some might like her too much. He’d done all right holding his tiger in check back in the city, a place where males had no clue what actually being one meant They didn’t cherish or protect their mates. Hell, they didn’t value how rich finding one’s mate made them.
Right now, here with these other men who did understand the power behind his precious find, Dax grew antsy and fought the wildness within which begged for release. He caught site of her toying with the hem of her skirt. Zhara wasn’t a girly-girl who, on a typical day, wore frilly skirts and blouses. She’d chosen such a get-up today. To meet his family. Worst time for her to do so, as the last thing he wanted was a throwdown with
Nervous, Dax Markson rolled his sweat-soaked, up, thankful for the February chill cutting the air. Bringing Zhara, his potential new mate, home to meet his family, or streak as his one brother loved to call them, had him edgy. His younger brother Fin wasn’t known for being subtle. Hell, his brother doubtfully even knew what the word meant.
Dax wanted Zhara to feel as at home here, as she did in their New York City apartment, and he’d begged his mother to have a talk with Fin. Make sure he stayed on the down low. His mother promised he’d be on best behaviour.
Yeah...right after shedding his clothes and streaking across the meadow his family’s lodge sat on. So, not what he wanted Zhara’s first impression to be before she became acquainted with his unique crew.
Tiger shifters, when single, tended to be solitary as they sought their mates. The last thing anyone wanted was two large, testosterone-driven males running into one available, fertile female. Yeah, claws would be out as the fur flew. Zhara might be his, but they hadn’t mated yet. His city-slicker mate would no doubt be a duck out of water at his parents’ farm.
They’d met over Christmas in New York. He’d sensed his mate close by. Found her and used the trick his great grandmother had taught him—met her in a dream, similar to astral projection. He broke the news about his shifter genes in a safe, controlled state of being. If she’d freaked, then he sadly would have walked away, leaving her assuming she’d experienced some wild, erotic dream.
For all the strangeness, she hadn’t. Zhara accepted him just as he was.
“Well, we’re here.” Dax caught the front doors opening to his family home and winced when the massive, wrestler-sized men barreled out, knocking each other over to get a glimpse of the woman their baby brother had drug home to meet the parents. He clenched his fists and fought the possessive snarl that caught in his throat and burned to get free.
“Wow, I had no clue your clan was this large. I mean, you did say you were from a big family, but dayum.”
Dax swallowed hard when a bead of perspiration, no doubt from her nerves being kicked up a notch as well, rolled between her breasts. The slow, clear, liquid slid, disappearing between the twins he wanted nothing more than to bury his face in and never return from. Zhara’s scent, silken mocha skin, and voice combined tortured him daily. Each day she’d merely awaken and he had to fight the instinct to grab her, toss her down, and take her from behind. At the very least, bend her over the sofa, kick her feet apart, and keep her at his mercy until he collapsed.
He would never have enough of Zhara. Never. On this weekend Valentine’s trip. he planned to prove that.
Zhara rubbed her lids, probably trying to awaken further from the nap she’d taken on the last stretch of the ride home. He wished his parents could have kept a lid on the news he was bringing a possible mate home on this trip, but no. While the entire clan hadn’t sprung through the door, he caught sight of his horny-assed brothers’ faces and a few others. Yep, a partial announcement had been made somewhere in the clan.
“They’ll love you. Don’t be so nervous.” Truth was, he worried some might like her too much. He’d done all right holding his tiger in check back in the city, a place where males had no clue what actually being one meant They didn’t cherish or protect their mates. Hell, they didn’t value how rich finding one’s mate made them.
Right now, here with these other men who did understand the power behind his precious find, Dax grew antsy and fought the wildness within which begged for release. He caught site of her toying with the hem of her skirt. Zhara wasn’t a girly-girl who, on a typical day, wore frilly skirts and blouses. She’d chosen such a get-up today. To meet his family. Worst time for her to do so, as the last thing he wanted was a throwdown with
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