Wildcat Blues, Nalini Singh [the beginning after the end read novel .TXT] 📗

Tanner chuckled as he pulled away from the house. “You still have problems?”

“No, not these days.” She’d built her reputation, earned her stripes—and was no longer young or unsure. “And I never really had it with DarkRiver. They’re used to strong women—those work boots were a gift from the pack after a major project where I pulled an architectural solution out of thin air when we ran into an environmental issue no one had foreseen. Leopards had them custom made.”

Her lips curved. “The rush of finding the solution was enough, but I wasn’t about to turn down freaking amazing steel-toed boots designed to be protective and stylish.”

Tanner shot her a considering glance. “You really love your work.”

“Yes, I really do.” And she couldn’t do what she did out here; her specialty was in urban builds that catered to changeling needs while being welcoming to humans and—of late—Psy as well.

Frowning at the errant thought, she looked out at the wide open landscape around them, at the cows doing cow things, at the horses who hung out by the fence, watching the world go by, at the farm vehicles moving out in the distance. “Family members driving those?”

He shook his head. “No, Sam and Dad are on the other side of the farm, and Samara’s got a meeting with a supplier. We have a few permanent crew. They live in the white-painted red-shingled house you would’ve passed on your way in.” He raised his hand in hello to a man in a tractor closer to the road, but didn’t stop.

They drove on in a silence that wasn’t uncomfortable…but was filled with the kind of tension that only exists between a man and a woman who want to tear off each other’s clothes.

Zara blushed at the thought while trying not to stare at Tanner’s thighs oh-so-close to her, the heavy muscle pushing up against the faded denim of his jeans. When her eyeballs decided to disobey her commands, she jerked them up to his arms.

No help there.

The short sleeves of his black T-shirt revealed sun-kissed forearms ropy with muscle, his hands solid and blunt fingered. She could imagine how those hands would feel on her skin, imagine the slight abrasiveness of them, wondered if he’d be gentle or rough. She could go with either, depending on her mood.

She almost squirmed in her seat in anticipation.

Rein it in, Zara.

It was a harsh order from the sensible side of her, a reminder that Tanner wasn’t for her. Tally might’ve tried to play matchmaker, but she’d have been thinking a long term relationship.

Girl was crazy stupid adorably in love with Clay and wanted the same for Zara; the rose colored lenses of romance had apparently blinded her to the fact such a thing just couldn’t work with a city girl whose roots were buried in asphalt, and a farm boy who thrived in the open air and in the feel of soil between his fingers.

Then Tanner turned a corner and she gasped. Ahead of them lay a little slice of forest that made her wildcat’s claws prick her fingertips, the feline heart of her wanting out, wanting to run in the green. “Oh, I like that.” It came out a near purr.

“Part of the original forests that once covered the land,” he said. “Long gone by the time my parents bought the place, except for this little piece. They love it and, over the years, we’ve planted more trees in a bid to expand it.” He parked under the shade of a large tree with shiny green leaves as large as her palm. “You eaten?”

Her stomach rumbled right on cue. Super sexy there, Zara.

Chuckling, he said, “I’ll take that as a no. Which is good, because I packed us a picnic.” Then he reached across the seat and, when she made no move to tell him to back off, he kissed her.

Just kissed her. Just like that.

Moaning, she gripped at the soft cotton of his tee and sank into the kiss, into him. His lips were firm, his breath hot, the masculine burn of his body a welcome conflagration against her skin. And his scent. Oh man, she loved his scent, could burrow her face into his neck and just breathe it in for hours.

When she nipped at his lower lip, he said, “Cat,” in a deep voice that held so much affection that she melted.

One big hand landed on her thigh atop her dress. Her body sizzled. Then he pushed up the fabric to settle his palm directly against her skin and it was an electric shock right to the juncture between her thighs. Breathing hard, she broke the kiss. “Wow.”

His eyes glittered, color on his cheeks. “Yeah.” Another kiss, this one deeper, wetter, more intense. All tongue and demand. Her nip*les grew hard, her cat’s fur rubbing against the inside of her skin.

He was so big and she wanted him over her, his weight crushing her into the ground. She also wanted to jump on him and ride him into the ground herself. And that was just the start.

This time when they broke the kiss, Tanner said, “I thought a kiss would be a good idea, would break the tension.” His chest heaved, his breath unsteady. “I did not think that through. You’re tiny but boom, you hit a man hard.”

Overwhelmed by a wave of unexpected affection at this man who was so blunt in his appreciation of her, she stroked his jaw. “No. It was the right call. I was about to combust.”

He rubbed his cheek against her hand. “Yeah, but we didn’t exactly break the tension. I’m not sure I can walk.”

She found herself laughing at the self-deprecating comment. Nipping once more at his lower lip, she petted his wide chest before saying, “I’m starving.”

He raised an eyebrow.

And her cat lunged at him, utterly delighted. Because a man who could play? Oh yeah, he was her catnip. “For food.” She poked that gorgeous chest. “I’m saving you