Eternal Hunter (Night Watch #1)(20)
Author: Cynthia Eden

He returned to her as a man. Naked, dripping wet. Erin met him at the door, an oversized towel in her hands. Her gaze darted over him. Thick muscles, eat-me abs, thick curling hair at his groin—

Oh, wow.

“Got away.” Dark and rumbling. Still more beast than man.

Her gaze snapped back to his face. To those electric eyes. She held out her towel, licked her lips and swore she tasted him. “Was it…him?”

Stupid question. Who the hell else would have decided to come in her house at close to three a.m.?

Erin cleared her throat. She’d finally managed to stop the beeping of the security system, but she couldn’t get the image of Jude’s shift out of her mind.

A tiger. A white, beautiful, scary-as-hell tiger.

She hadn’t guessed, hadn’t even considered…

A white tiger.

Different shifters had different reputations in the Other world. You knew not to trust a hyena or a coyote. Those bastards would turn on anyone.

Wolves—dangerous. Sometimes psychotic. Great killers.

Bears were pretty easygoing, unless you got between them and a meal.

But white tigers were the rarest of the shifter breeds. Bloodthirsty. Relentless. Incredibly powerful.

Perfect. Yes, the more she thought about it, the more perfect Jude became for her.

He can match me. I won’t hurt him.

Maybe she should be afraid. When she’d seen him in tiger form, perhaps she should have been scared. He could rip her body open with a swipe of his claws. Use those razor-sharp teeth on her.

But she wasn’t afraid.

Seeing his power and his strength— no, she didn’t fear him at all.

But she did want him.

Jude kicked the door closed. Water dripped from his hair and trailed over his face. “Yeah, I caught his stench.” He flipped the locks into place.

Her breath jerked out. If he’d caught the scent, it had only been because the bastard out there let him catch the smell. She knew the other shifter could manage to control his scent. He’d sure masked the scent before.

But for the stalker to come after her like this… two nights in a row. He’d never come after her so quickly before. Not back to back.

“He got away, this time.”

He was good at getting away, every time. “Did you see him?”

A shake of his head sent water droplets flying. “He was too fast. Don’t know what beast that ass**le carries, but he’s fast. ”

And strong.

And out there, waiting in the darkness. Planning his next move.

Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone?

“You’re mine, Erin. Blood, bones, and beast—all mine.” Words he’d spoken to her that terrible night. Growled in the darkness.

Erin shook her head, trying to drive the voice from her mind.

“You okay?”

She licked her lips. Stared at him. You’re mine. The ass**le’s voice rang in her head.

His? The hell she was.

The towel dangled in her hand.

Blue eyes glowing with need swept over her body. Jude wanted her.

She wanted him. Why fight it anymore? She wouldn’t hurt him.

He couldn’t hurt her.

Her heart shoved against her chest. She dropped the towel and went straight to him.

“Erin, what are you—”

She stood up on her toes and grabbed the back of his head, sinking her fingers into that wet mane and pulling his mouth down to hers. Then she kissed him. Mouth open, tongue seeking, hunger pounding through her.

His c**k pushed against her. The rain hadn’t done a thing to cool his arousal. The ridge was long and thick, straining, and she rubbed against him.

Tonight, she’d get wild.

A growl rumbled in his throat. His tongue swiped against hers, and his hands wrapped around her. Big and strong.

Her ni**les tightened into stiff points. Her panties grew damp. And Erin knew she needed a bed.

With an effort, Erin managed to tear her mouth from his. Hard to do, because the guy’s tongue was freaking magic. “Come upstairs with me.” She didn’t want to take him down there. Not with the memory of blood just a few feet away.

Upstairs. Safety.

And a big bed they could wreck.

They would wreck.

The beast stared out from his eyes. “Don’t tease me, sweetheart. I’m not the kind of guy you can screw around with.”

He was exactly the kind of guy she wanted to screw around with. Erin caught his hands. “I want these on me, everywhere.”

Mine.

Hell, no. Not that sick bastard’s. Her body was her own, and tonight, she’d give it to Jude, and she’d take the pleasure he gave her.

I can’t hurt him. A reassurance that played again. He’s strong.

Not human.

Tiger.

“Come upstairs,” she repeated, her voice soft. She took his right hand and trailed the fingers between her br**sts. “Come to bed with me.”

She felt the tension in his hand. The leashed strength. “I can’t…do soft and easy. Not tonight, not after a shift.”

The beast still coursed through him.

Erin smiled. The beast within was exactly what she wanted. “Good.” She turned from him and stalked toward the stairs.

Silence thickened the air behind her.

“One minute you’re telling me to keep my hands off, now you—”

She jerked off her camisole and tossed it behind her, not bothering to look back. Can’t. “Now I want them on me.”

The wood of the stairs seemed cold beneath her feet. Clad only in a pair of white bikini panties, Erin climbed the steps.

Almost to the top. He hadn’t moved. He wanted her, she’d felt his lust rising against her, but he hadn’t moved.

I need you. Tonight, she needed him more than she’d ever needed another.

Erin glanced down. Her claws were out, sharpened points. She could smell the scent of her own arousal in the air and knew he had to catch the scent, too. For a male shifter, the fragrance of a female shifter’s need was rumored to be nearly impossible to resist. While she wasn’t fully a shifter, she’d still thought—

The stairs shook when Jude raced up them.

A smile curved her lips.

Erin reached the landing. Her bedroom waited. Inside, the lamp on the nightstand poured out soft light. Her curtains were drawn over the windows. The bed sheets were rumpled.

She took one more step forward.

Jude pounced.

His arms caught her, lifting her off her feet, and spinning her around. His eyes, blazing, too brilliant, trapped her. His mouth took hers.

Yes.

Fear wasn’t in her mind, not then. No memories. No nightmares. Just him.