I endured his scowl for a long time. Then I sucked in another breath, felt the thick fur and warm body of the cub growing heavier in my arms as she drifted to sleep.
Jeez oh Pete, a white baby tiger was sleeping in my arms and she called me Mama and I heard her.
I stepped closer to Lahn, reached out from under the cub, curled my fingers around his hard thigh and tipped my head way back to look in his fierce eyes.
“Please?” I whispered.
He glared at me and he did this for another long time.
So I squeezed his thigh.
He glared another second then he jerked the reins of his beast, it sidestepped twice, Lahn reached way down, scooped me and Ghost in his arm and swung us up, planting my ass in front of him on the horse.
Was he…?
He barked something at the tiger man, the tiger man smiled and bowed his head, then Lahn wheeled the horse around and we were galloping back through the marketplace.
He was! He was letting me have the tiger!
Yippee!
I turned and, peering around his big body, I carefully waved at Diandra and Sheena as best I could while still keeping tight hold on my new baby.
They waved back. Both were smiling and both smiles were huge.
Then I straightened and looked up at Lahn who was staring impassively into the distance. He must have felt my eyes for his dropped to me and he pinned me with a glower.
I smiled at him.
His glower deepened when his eyes narrowed on my mouth.
I turned to face forward, settled on the horse and cradled Ghost.
He wanted to be in a bad mood, so be it.
Whatever.
I had a new baby tiger who could talk to me and thought I was her Loolah!
Not to mention some fun new bangles.
Yippee!
Chapter Seven
The Games
The tent flaps slapped open, I jumped, Ghost’s head came up, Teetru, Jacanda, Packa, Gaal and Beetus (who, every last one, even the reserved Teetru, squealed in delight at the vision of me and Ghost earlier when we rode up with Lahn to the tent, he dismounted, yanked me down and then remounted without a word or look and rode off), all surrounding me on the bed and playing with Ghost who also jumped and looked to the tent opening where Lahn was bending low to enter.
He stepped a step inside. Ghost jumped off the bed and scampered over to him, all furry white body and big paws. The baby tiger made it to her new Daddy, jumped up with two paws and clawed his hides.
Lahn stared down at the creature, crossed his arms on his chest, lifted his head and skewered me with a glare.
Oh hell.
“Vayoo,” he growled at me, I had no idea what that meant but Teetru and Jacanda started to push me off the bed.
It was night, I’d had dinner and I was guessing it was time for the games.
I got off the bed, sauntered over to my husband and bent to pick up Ghost who was now clawing at the rugs. She was heavy so I lugged her up and got eye to eye with her.
“Be good,” I warned.
She shoved forward, rubbed my jaw with her head, made a purry noise I knew was Loolah and I laughed and brought her close to give her a hug.
Then she was pulled from my hands and my head turned to Lahn to see him drop her on the ground.
“Lahn!” I snapped but his big hand came out and engulfed mine.
“Vayoo, Lahnahsahna Circe, boh,” he bit out, pulling me toward the tent flaps.
“Oh, all right,” I muttered then turned to the girls and called while waving, “Goodnight ladies. Take care of Ghost.” I pointed at the cub and got a bunch of smiles with waves and nods.
Then the tent flap slapped back and I followed Lahn through it. Or, more accurately, was hauled through it.
“I’m coming, I’m coming, slow down,” I called as I raced to keep up with his long strides.
“Mayoo,” he replied.
“I can’t mayoo, Lahn, jeez, you’re, like, six foot seven. You’ve got a whole foot on me. Every stride you take is two of mine at least,” I said to his back, he stopped abruptly and I nearly slammed into him.
He turned and glared down at me then said a bunch of stuff I didn’t understand but I’d been around guys long enough to know that when the end of what he said went up in a question, he was likely asking me something about females that even if I could understand him, and he me, I could never explain.
So I put my hand to his chest, leaned slightly into him, tilted my head way back and said softly, “That’s just the way it is, big guy, so,” I took my hand off him and pressed it palm flat toward the ground, “slow down.”
His eyes were riveted to my hand and he looked beyond unhappy. He looked, weirdly, pissed off.
Uh-oh.
Okay, maybe I was reading there were times to be The Tigress but when The Tiger was eager to watch a bunch of warriors beating the shit out each other, I should just hurry and keep up.
When he kept looking at my hand in that angry way, I took a precautionary step back, his eyes cut to mine then he moved fast. His arm shooting out, his fingers wrapped around my wrist, they tugged me hard and I fell into him just as he pressed my hand flat on his chest exactly where I’d placed it moments before.
I stared at him as his eyes stared at my hand just under the scratches at his chest and I felt my heart start to hammer.
Then he looked at me.
“Kay ahnay see,” he murmured and pressed my hand deeper into his chest.
I knew what that meant.
He was saying he liked it.
Oh my.
“Uh…” I mumbled, “good.”
“Good,” he muttered and I tipped my head to the side and smiled tentatively at him.
“Yeah… good.”
His eyes dropped to my mouth and his other hand came up, his calloused skin rough at my jaw, his thumb pressed hard against my lips.
“Kay ahnay see,” he repeated quietly and my breath stuck in my throat.
Oh. Wow.
He liked my smile.
Wow. He liked my smile!
I stared up at my warrior husband.
His neck was bent deep so he could look at me, his skin was firm and warm under my hand, his body the same against mine and his face, God… he was gorgeous.
Without thinking, I leaned deeper into him, my hand gliding up his chest, taking his with it, it went up, up, up to curl around his neck, his hand dropped and started to curve around my waist, the other one already there as I tipped my head far back, my eyes closing slowly as he lips got closer and then we heard, “Poyah, Dax Lahn! Poyah, rahna Dahksahna!”
Damn it all to hell!
My eyes opened to see his head, still close, was turned but he had not straightened away from me. I looked in the direction he was glaring and saw a warrior approaching. It was the grinning one from the wedding rite who was so pleased with his bride. He was grinning now too, looking no less pleased, in fact, infinitely more so.