Page 37 of Tiger Born

“I sell drugs.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “Fantastic.”

“That was a joke.”

“Thank God. I can’t handle many more surprises.”

He snorted. “I do big corporate loans. I fund them. That’s my main nine to five job at least. I pick up side work here and there.”

“Side work doing what?”

“Whatever pays.”

“Okay, just making sure…you really aren’t a drug dealer, right?”

He laughed and pulled her close to him, gripped her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. “I don’t deal or do drugs. I barely even drink. I can fix a hell of a lot of things though, engines included. I just understand them. I get pulled out for tractors, big machinery, truck engines. Hell, I get brought in to troubleshoot for public transportation at least twice a month. I’m a worker. I had nothing else to do with my life in my off time with Stellan.” He shrugged. “Now that’s changed. Now I have you.”

“To do,” she joked. “Now you have me to do.”

He snorted and slid his hand to her ass and squeezed. “You’re going to get it again tonight if you don’t stop making your little jokey-jokes.”

“Are you going to claim me in your fancy house?”

“It’s not that fancy,” he disagreed half-heartedly.

But she’d seen the damn water fountain in his front yard and the circle drive in front of his house. “Nice try.”

“Are you ready to see him?”

“Him? I hope you mean Marsden.”

“Nope. Desensitization starts now.”

“I don’t want to be desensitized. I’m comfortable with my fear of him.”

“Not for you. For him.”

She scrunched up her face. “This is my literal nightmare.”

He cupped her cheeks and searched her eyes. “I am your shield. You’re safe. I swear it on my relationship with my brothers.”

“I’ve seen your relationship with your brothers. Swear on something else.”

He threw an arm over her shoulder and led her toward what looked like a huge red barn. “I swear it on your titties. I don’t play about those.”

That was better. He did seem to really enjoy them.

The closer she got to the barn though, something strange started to happen. Her mostly healed claw marks began to throb harder and harder, and then they began to hurt.

“Dame?” she whispered, pulling up the sleave of her scrubs. The scars were bright red and angry looking.

He ran his thumb over the smaller one, and she flinched at how much it stung. The smile didn’t exist on his face anymore as he dragged his attention to the open sliding doors of the barn. The soft glow of light from inside illuminated the gravel in front of it in a semicircle of gold.

“I can feel her,” a gritty voice said from the barn. “Bring her to me.”

Fully disturbed, Misty hid behind Dame as he led her into the barn.

She peeked around him to see a large cage in the back of the barn that looked like a prison cell, complete with cot, sink, toilet, and thick metal bars all around it. Marsden stood in front of the door.