Taken for the Tiger Read online

  TAKEN FOR THE TIGER

  ANNABELLE WINTERS

  Start Reading

  More Books from Anna

  Join Anna's Private Mailing List

  BY ANNABELLE WINTERS

  THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (USA)

  Curves for the Sheikh

  Flames for the Sheikh

  Hostage for the Sheikh

  Single for the Sheikh

  Stockings for the Sheikh

  Untouched for the Sheikh

  Surrogate for the Sheikh

  Stars for the Sheikh

  Shelter for the Sheikh

  Shared for the Sheikh

  Assassin for the Sheikh

  Privilege for the Sheikh

  Ransomed for the Sheikh

  Uncorked for the Sheikh

  Haunted for the Sheikh

  Grateful for the Sheikh

  Mistletoe for the Sheikh

  Fake for the Sheikh

  THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (USA)

  Curves for the Dragon

  Born for the Bear

  Witch for the Wolf

  Tamed for the Lion

  Taken for the Tiger

  THE CURVES FOR SHEIKHS SERIES (UK)

  Curves for the Sheikh (UK)

  Flames for the Sheikh (UK)

  Hostage for the Sheikh (UK)

  Single for the Sheikh (UK)

  Stockings for the Sheikh (UK)

  Untouched for the Sheikh (UK)

  Surrogate for the Sheikh (UK)

  Stars for the Sheikh (UK)

  Shelter for the Sheikh (UK)

  Shared for the Sheikh (UK)

  Assassin for the Sheikh (UK)

  Privilege for the Sheikh (UK)

  Ransomed for the Sheikh (UK)

  Uncorked for the Sheikh (UK)

  Haunted for the Sheikh (UK)

  Grateful for the Sheikh (UK)

  Mistletoe for the Sheikh (UK)

  Fake for the Sheikh (UK)

  THE CURVES FOR SHIFTERS SERIES (UK)

  Curves for the Dragon

  Born for the Bear

  Witch for the Wolf

  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (USA)

  AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE (UK)

  ANNA'S WEBSITE

  ANNA'S FACEBOOK

  ANNA'S GOODREADS

  ANNA'S NEW RELEASE LIST

  COPYRIGHT NOTICE

  Copyright © 2019 by Annabelle Winters

  All Rights Reserved by Author

  www.annabellewinters.com

  If you'd like to copy, reproduce, sell, or distribute any part of this text, please obtain the explicit, written permission of the author first. Note that you should feel free to tell your spouse, lovers, friends, and coworkers how happy this book made you.

  Cover Design by S. Lee

  TAKEN FOR THE TIGER

  ANNABELLE WINTERS

  1

  CHAOS AT THE CIRCUS

  CASABLANCA, MOROCCO

  Taken! I’m being taken by a tiger!

  Tracy’s bobcat snarled as she felt the tiger’s jaws close around the scruff of her neck, lifting her clean off her feet like she was a fluffy little kitten. But she wasn’t a kitten, and she tried to twist in the air and claw the tiger’s eyes out as the massive Shifter broke into a graceful run, bursting through the velvet curtains behind the circus with her in his mouth.

  “Put me down!” hissed Tracy, trying again to desperately claw at him. But of course nature had made it impossible for a cat being carried by the scruff of its neck to turn that way, and Tracy screamed in frustration as the scent of her twin sister faded while the tiger raced through the circus grounds. “Put me down and face me, you pussy!”

  “Sorry. Can’t do that,” said the tiger. He had a British accent, and his voice was calm, steady, like melting butter, and Tracy felt it melt her like butter. Her bobcat purred in approval as Tracy gasped. Was her animal enjoying this? Enjoying being kidnapped by a Shifter four times its size?!

  We aren’t being kidnapped, purred her bobcat. We’re being taken. Taken by our mate. Meow! Meeeeeee—owwww!

  Our mate?! Our mate?! OMG, our mate! Tracy thought as she felt the truth of what her bobcat had just whispered. She’d teased her twin about the two of them finding their mates in the romantic city of Casablanca, and now here she was, being carried across the threshold by a British Tiger Shifter with a voice like butter!

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked, doing her best to control the excitement that was ripping through her cat’s body. She couldn’t turn and fight while being held like this anyway, so she might as well talk.

  But the tiger didn’t answer. He just kept going, barreling ahead until the circus grounds were left in his dust. They were on the outskirts of the city, and Tracy turned her head as far as she could to see what lay before them.

  “Um, I think that’s the ocean,” she said, her cat’s eyes going wide as the smell of sea-salt floated over on the breeze. “Are you crazy? We’ll both drown!”

  “Tigers are excellent swimmers,” said the Shifter. “How about bobcats?”

  “Cats don’t do water,” hissed Tracy. “Turn around, please. Take me back to my sister.”

  The tiger grunted, slowing down as it got to the beach, its breathing still calm and controlled, its heartbeat steady like a drum. “There’s no going back. Your sister will be safe with Darius. And you’ll be safe with me. We’re your mates. You know that, don’t you?”

  Tracy blinked, staring down at the golden sand of the beach as the tiger carried her along like she was a doll. Did she know it? Of course she did! But that still wasn’t a good reason to be separated from her twin, was it? There was no good reason to be separated from her twin. Not one. Not even this. Not even him.

  “Who were those men?” Tracy asked suddenly as the memory of those silent men who smelled like Shifters came back to her. Yeah, they smelled like Shifters, but Tracy couldn’t figure out what kind of animals they were! It was strange as hell. Confusing as hell. Terrifying as hell!

  “Shifters,” said the Tiger, a grimness in his voice.

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” growled Tracy, staring at the sand moving beneath her as the tiger carried her along. “And put me down, please. I won’t run.”

  “You’re lying,” said the tiger without breaking stride. “And I’m Everett, by the way.”

  Tracy sighed when she realized that yeah, she was lying. Hell yeah, she’d run! Right back to her twin sister! She sighed again, and then she snorted. “Everett? That’s quite a sophisticated name for a grungy, orange-striped beast. Your parents must have been comedians.”

  The tiger’s jaws opened immediately, and Tracy felt herself drop onto the hard-packed sand with a thud, her bobcat landing on its ass. “Ow!” she snarled, about to leap onto all fours to face her annoyingly calm captor. Or mate. Mate! OMG, he’s my mate!

  But Tracy couldn’t get up, because the Tiger was standing above her, eyes blazing deep orange, teeth long and sharp, startlingly white, like they’d been carved out of ivory by the gods themselves. He was beautiful, and although she hadn’t seen him as a man yet, she could feel the man inside him.

  Good, purred her bobcat. Because soon he will be inside you. Can we Change back now, please? That’s enough getting-to-know-you nonsense. Change back to the woman, turn around, and arch your back down and raise your ass like in that video we watched last month.

  “What video?” Tracy muttered, frowning as she felt herself turn bright red—if that was even possible for a bobcat. Then her eyes went wide when she remembered—well, kinda remembered—what her cat was talking about: A drunken night when she’d pulled up some filthy video on Lacy’s co
mputer, sending both girls rolling around the floor with laughter as they watched some amateur actress pretend like she was actually enjoying whatever the hell the guy was doing with his—

  “What’s your name?” came Everett’s voice from above her, and it took Tracy a moment to blink herself back to reality. Or whatever strange version of reality this was—with her being pinned down by a Tiger Shifter on a beach in Casablanca.

  “What?” Tracy whispered, feeling her cat mewling as it tried to retreat so the woman in her could come out.

  “Your name,” said the Tiger, grinning wide as it leaned in close and sniffed her like it could maybe smell her name out. Was that possible? Who the hell knew! Tracy hadn’t even seen another Shifter before today! “You have one, don’t you? Or do you and your sister just use pronouns to refer to one another?”

  “Pronouns? Do you even know what that means?” Tracy retorted, still on her back but now feeling a strange warmth roll through her body. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should be anxious, worried, tense, freakin’ the hell out after what had happened at the circus! Hell, her twin was missing! But she was feeling oddly calm, as if the tiger’s sense of supreme control was infecting her in the most beautiful way, making her believe that everything was all right, everything was perfect, everything was . . . meant to be?!

  Fate, whispered her bobcat impatiently. Congratulations, genius. Now can we get on with it? We are in heat, and the time is ripe.

  “The time is ripe? Ew! Don’t you mean the time is right?” muttered Tracy under her breath.

  Whatever, snickered her bobcat. You know what I mean.

  “Are you talking to your animal?” Everett said from above her, his warm breath making her whiskers flutter. “You know you can do that in your mind, don’t you? Inside voice. It’s very confusing when I’m asking you questions. Questions that you haven’t bothered to answer yet, I might add. Where I come from, that’s considered rude.”

  “And where I come from, kidnapping is considered rude!” snarled Tracy even though she was smiling inside, that feeling of warmth and security spreading through her like the sun breaking through the clouds.

  “A Shifter taking its mate is not kidnapping,” said the Tiger with a grunt. “And when he’s also saving her furry bum, it’s considered heroic.”

  “Oh, so you’re a hero now?” Tracy said.

  “Yes,” said the Tiger, his eyes twinkling as he sniffed her again and then slowly backed away so she could get on all fours. “Now, are you going to run if I let you stand?”

  “I dunno,” Tracy said. “We’ll have to see, won’t we?”

  “Dunno? Is that a word in the English language?” said the tiger, one eyebrow raised.

  “Where I come from, yeah. It is.” Tracy finally stood, her tail slowly moving from side to side as she looked up at the massive tiger standing before her. She wasn’t going to run, and they both knew it.

  The sound of the ocean came to her as the waves rolled in from her left. Her bobcat dug its claws into the sand and growled softly. It didn’t like the water. Not one bit. It was a mountain cat, and although the Rockies had streams and rivers and waterfalls, she’d always kept her distance, kept her fur dry.

  “Eliza,” said the tiger firmly, one eyebrow still raised. Then it grunted and nodded. “Yes, Eliza. That’s your name.”

  Tracy just stared, cocking her head as her claws dug deeper into the sand. “Wait, did you just . . . just name me?”

  Everett shrugged. “I asked you your name. You didn’t answer. I don’t ask twice. Eliza is now your name.”

  “OK, that’s just beyond rude! You can’t just name someone! And why the hell am I Eliza? Is that some ex of yours?”

  “Eliza Doolittle from Pygmalion,” said Everett with a grin. “You know, the famous play by George Bernard Shaw? It’s about a sophisticated Englishman who teaches a rude, uneducated girl how to speak the Queen’s English.” His grin broke wider. “He also teaches her some manners.”

  Tracy stared up at him, not sure if she was being insulted or teased. Perhaps both. She was about to snarl out a cocky response, but then the tiger just turned and walked away from her, heading straight for the ocean! She stared at the magnificent animal, wondering if she was dreaming or maybe even dead. Was he going to just disappear into the ocean like some mythical sea monster?! Had years of tequila and loneliness finally rotted her brain from the inside out?!

  “Um, you know I’m not following you in there,” she called after him, surprised at the hint of hope in her voice, like she wanted him to turn back and come bounding over to her.

  “Don’t worry, Eliza,” he shouted over the roar of the waves. “You won’t get your pretty little paws wet. I have a boat.”

  He has a boat, whispered her bobcat like that suddenly made it all OK.

  “OK, having a boat does not make this a good plan—whatever the hell your plan might be,” snarled Tracy. “Two cats on a boat? Is this a horror story or a romance?”

  “Have you ever read Pygmalion?” Everett called out as he walked right into the ocean. And just as the warm waters of the Moroccan coast lapped up against his orange fur, Everett Changed to the man, the transformation happening so smoothly and unexpectedly that Tracy purred out loud.

  OMG, he’s magnificent, she thought as she felt her jaws hang open at the sight of her mate from behind. He was tall and broad, with thick black hair that kissed his shoulders as he stepped into the ocean. His back was like a pit of bronze snakes, the muscles shining in the sun as he bent over and reached for a boat that she hadn’t noticed before. Of course, she didn’t give a damn about the boat, because the sight of his naked, muscular ass flexing as he pulled the vessel up on the beach made her almost faint as her cat thrashed and mewled with pent-up frustration that was making it hard for Tracy to stay in animal form.

  “No,” she muttered, blinking as she suddenly remembered his question. “I haven’t read Pygmalion. What happens when the sophisticated Englishman teaches the rude country girl some manners?”

  Everett pulled the long, wooden boat up onto the beach and then turned to her, straightening his body and rising to full height. He was naked as the day, but completely without shame or embarrassment. In fact he was carrying himself with an elegance that Tracy was sure he’d display even if he were wearing a fitted tuxedo. He stood there in the sun, his yellow eyes burning with the fire of his tiger, one arm resting on the bow of the boat, his long cock hanging down between his legs in the most beautiful way.

  And then Tracy felt herself Change back to the woman, her own transformation coming through with a powerful gentleness that she knew couldn’t be stopped. Her breath caught as a sudden rush of fear whipped through the woman in her. Would he like what he saw? Oh, God, why hadn’t she cut back on carbs the past month like she said she was gonna do?! Would her mate be repulsed by her fat thighs and big butt?!

  But Everett just gazed at her, a slow smile breaking on his handsome face. With a flick of his eyes that Tracy knew was involuntary, like he couldn’t help himself, he took in her nakedness, and Tracy felt her heat rise when she saw how his cock filled out and stood straight up in a way that couldn’t hide how goddamn aroused he was. Immediately all her self-consciousness faded away, her insecurity disappearing as her feminine heat made her shudder with warmth. He was her mate, and she was his. She knew it. She felt it. She wanted it.

  “In the story, the sophisticated Englishman sees her for the woman she is, the woman she always was,” Everett said quietly, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her with a mix of playfulness and the most devastating sincerity. “And then he falls in love with her—rudeness, bad grammar, and everything else be damned.”

  Tracy felt her bare feet move as his words sent a ripple of warmth through her naked body, making her buttocks tense up as she caught a whiff of her own sex, felt her wetness begin to ooze from her slit. The warm wa
ters tickled her toes, but it didn’t bother her. She couldn’t stop moving towards him if she tried. She’d been taken by the tiger, and now all she wanted was to be taken again. Taken forever.

  She could see his cock throb as she got close, and when his masculine scent invaded her senses, Tracy knew she was ready. Her cat was purring like a wild beast in the background, taking delight in the woman about to do what had seemed would never happen. Her vision blurred as images of the two of them locked in embrace formed with a clarity that made it seem more than real, a vividness that made her moan out loud.

  Then she was up against him, and she could feel his hardness against her naked belly, his cock pressing against her dark feminine triangle lengthwise as he leaned in for a kiss, their first kiss, her first kiss. The first one that mattered, anyway. The only one that mattered.

  He kissed her hard and he kissed her deep, with an authority that she knew came from the stars above, the earth below, the open ocean, the endless sky. The kiss seemed to last forever, and it was only when her head began to spin from holding her breath did she pull away and gasp.

  He held her tight, smiling as her chest rose and fell against his. His lips were so close she could feel his breath on her nose and mouth, and she grinned in delight when she realized how crazy and wonderful this was! He didn’t even know her name, but yet they knew they were mates, that they were fated to be together, to grow old together, to live and die together.

  A spark of pure electric magic seared her from the inside as their lips touched again, and Tracy’s eyelids fluttered as she felt Everett’s hand cradle her neck, tightening as he pulled her closer, kissed her deeper, driving his tongue into her mouth as he pushed his hips against her crotch.

  The waves of the ocean roared in the background, and Tracy smiled and opened her mouth wide to receive her mate’s kisses. But then suddenly the sound of the waves was gone, like all the water had been sucked out of the ocean. Tracy blinked as she felt Everett pull back from the kiss, and then her eyes flicked wide open when she felt him go tight against her body.