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  Lillian, he whispered her name tenderly along the edges of her mind. Please, don’t be embarrassed.

  Her body froze, and her energy signature fired in rapid pulses, reflecting her fear and confusion. His heart broke for her. He knew she probably thought that she was going crazy, but given Hayden’s visit earlier and the Purist’s aggressive behavior, he didn’t have the luxury of a lengthy courtship.

  Now that she was here, the only way to keep her safe was to make her understand, and in order to do that, he’d have to show her everything.

  Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared at him from beneath a fan of dark blonde lashes. “Am I crazy, or did you just…?” She trailed off, unable or unwilling to say it.

  You aren’t crazy. He touched her mind with his, and to his great delight, a wide grin cracked her oval face. He brushed his thumb along her jawline, and his stomach clenched with need as she pressed her slim body against him. “You are, however, spectacularly beautiful.”

  On a silent prayer, he allowed his eyes to shift into the glowing yellow eyes of his clan as he held her in his grasp.

  “Far fucking out!” She made a sound of awe and disbelief. “You’re the beautiful one.” Lillian removed a hand from his and brushed his hair off his face before cupping her palm against his cheek. “Your eyes are like the tiger from my dreams.”

  A low purr rumbled in his chest as she held his face. The feminine scent of roses filled his head, and in a blur of speed, he captured her lips and claimed her.

  She tasted like apples and honey—fresh and sweet.

  Lillian opened and moaned as she linked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He suckled from her lips and reveled in the touch of her tongue against his. He tilted her head, angling for more, wanting to taste every inch.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair and held him, deepening the kiss. One hand ran down her slim back and slipped beneath the waistband of her pajama pants. He groaned as his fingers brushed her ass, and his cock twitched as she teased his lips with her talented tongue.

  “Well, well. Look at what we have here.” Hayden’s smug voice cut through the fog of lust and sent Boris’s heart into his throat.

  He spun around, pushing Lillian behind him protectively as his eyes burned brightly in the darkness of the courtyard.

  Hayden stood on the other side, the glowing eyes of his clan glaring at Lillian and full of hatred.

  Lillian clutched Boris’s arms for dear life and peered around him. Isn’t that the guy you threw at me today? Her frightened voice touched his mind and loosened the knot of fear in his stomach. If they got out of this alive, he’d congratulate her later on being a quick study. His eyes are creepy as shit. They’re freaking black, but they glow like yours—sort of.

  “I knew you were lying, and my suspicions went into high gear when I bumped into this human.” His eyes glowed brighter as he sneered. “Pathetic.”

  Boris pushed Lillian farther behind him. “Get back, Lillian,” he growled as the instinctive urge to shift flickered along his skin.

  Hayden leered. “After I kill you, I think I’ll go ahead and fuck her.”

  ***

  Lillian backed away from the volatile situation as the cold hand of fear grabbed her by the throat. Looking into Hayden’s stony eyes, she knew he meant what he said—he’d rape her if he got the chance. She felt like she was in the middle of a bizarre nightmare.

  Her gaze flicked to Boris. He stood in a wide stance, ready for battle, as his hands balled into fists at his side. His tall, muscular body hummed with power, and the ropy muscles of his arms flexed with tension.

  “Verto,” he roared the unfamiliar word, and Lillian watched with pure awe and genuine fascination. For a split second, a wave of static electricity filled the air. Boris looked as if he was underwater, and in a blinding flash, his body erupted into the massive, striped body of a Bengal tiger.

  She clapped a hand over her mouth and backed into the cool stone wall of the courtyard as the mind-blowing scene played out. Even on all fours, he had to be taller than she was—far larger than a normal tiger. His commanding orange and black-striped body rippled with strength, and his long tail swished silently.

  He crouched low, muscles bunching as he let out a bone-shattering roar that shook Lillian to her core. Her frightened gaze jumped to Hayden, and in a similar flicker of static and energy, he burst into a giant grizzly bear.

  Hayden stood on his hind legs and bellowed into the quiet night. In a blur of stripes, Boris snarled and pounced on him as the two beasts rolled to the ground in a tangle of fur and claws.

  Hayden wrapped Boris in a crushing bear hug and rolled his long body beneath his bulky frame. Snarling his rage, Boris sank a mouthful of sharp teeth into Hayden’s shoulder and slipped from his grasp. Bleeding heavily, and with a low rumbling growl, Hayden dropped to all fours and bellowed again at Boris.

  Seconds later, Boris, with glowing yellow eyes burning brightly in the night, leaped onto Hayden and pinned him beneath his massive paws. His lips curled back as he lowered his enormous head, his long, graceful whiskers inches from Hayden’s snout.

  Boris roared as he raised his clawed paw to deliver a final blow, but in a rush of electricity, Hayden vanished into the night.

  Lillian didn’t move. She remained glued to the wall with one hand covering her mouth, and she wasn’t sure if it was to keep from screaming or simply because she didn’t know what else to do.

  Boris turned toward her, panting and clearly exhausted. He stood in his tiger form and locked his yellow eyes onto Lillian. He padded toward her slowly, still breathing heavily from the battle, but his muscular feline body radiated raw domination.

  He closed the distance until he was about a foot away. Lillian had never been this close to a tiger anywhere other than in her dreams, and even though she knew this one was really Boris… it was unsettling and a tad surreal.

  Standing on all fours, he lowered his head and nuzzled her belly as a low, rumbling purr built in his throat. Lillian placed one shaking hand on his head and sighed as she ran her fingers through his silky coat.

  He was stunning. Silk over steel. Powerful. Protective.

  She ran her palm along the back of his head and over his ears, but when she came across a sticky wet spot, her awe was swiftly replaced with concern.

  She held up her hand, and even in the dim light of the moon, she could see the blood.

  Before she said a word, static filled the air, and Boris shifted into the devastatingly handsome man he’d been before. Except now his clothes were torn and bloody. His hair fell over his face as his eyes flickered, shifting to the warm hazel eyes she’d first looked into this morning. He wavered, and for a second she thought he was going to pass out. She had the ridiculous urge to shout “Timber!”

  “We have to get away from here,” he bit out. Boris scooped her up in his arms and whispered, “Verto.”

  Energy rushed around them with a warm breeze as the world spun out of focus. In a flash of light and crackle of static electricity, they were standing on a moonlit beach surrounded by palm trees.

  He placed Lillian onto warm sand and wavered before grabbing her hand and pulling her toward a small house on the hill. He moved quickly and led her up a beaten path. She looked around as they raced toward the cottage, and as far as she could tell, it was the only sign of civilization.

  They climbed the three steps to the bamboo door, and Boris wavered again. Lillian grabbed him around the waist and looped his arm around her neck.

  “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” She pushed the door open with her hip and helped him inside. The lights came on the second they entered, and Lillian paused when she saw the interior. The cabin consisted of one room, and it was practically a duplicate of the apartment in New Orleans.

  She kicked the door shut and got him seated on the edge of the bed.

  “I’m sorry, but I had to get you away from there,” he whispered urgently. “I can’t let them find you.”


  “First of all,” she said, looking around. “Where is here exactly?”

  “It’s a small island in the South Pacific that my family owns.” He wiped blood away that had dripped into his eye. “We should be safe here. No one else knows about it. Not even our clan.”

  “So… you just wished us here?”

  “Not exactly,” he grunted as he inspected the gashes on his arm. “We imprint on a location or a person and can follow that imprinted path back.”

  “Oookay.” Lillian shook her head, trying to take it all in. “Why did that guy want to kill you, and why are you still worried?” She looked in the drawers for a first aid kit and found one in the bathroom. “That bear guy is dead… isn’t he?” Her brow furrowed as she knelt in front of him and opened the kit. “He disappeared… so I thought you killed him.”

  “No.” Boris shook his head and grimaced, touching the wound behind his ear. “He used our power of visualization to transport himself somewhere else, as I did for us. Believe me,” he bit out. “I would’ve killed him if he hadn’t done that.”

  “Take this off.” Lillian tugged at the T-shirt and helped Boris peel it from his chest. She couldn’t help but notice that his muscles had muscles. A smile curved her lips, and she let out a short laugh. “Jesus, you look like you’ve been Photoshopped.”

  Lillian opened an antiseptic wipe and turned his head to the side. “This is going to sting.”

  Boris grabbed her wrists and tugged her to him, so that his mouth was just inches from hers. “You don’t understand,” he said. “Hayden will tell the others about you, and they will kill you because you are my mate… and you are human.”

  Lillian sucked in a deep breath and tried not to think about the taste of him, but it was no use. It was tattooed into her memory the way the tiger was tattooed on her back. Inked. Stamped. A permanent ghost and reminder of what was and what could be.

  Still on her knees with her wrists firmly in his grasp, she brushed her lips over his and whispered, “Whatever I am… I’m yours.”

  That now familiar growl rumbled in his chest as his mouth crashed onto hers. His tongue demanded entrance as he devoured her greedily. It was a storm of lips, teeth, and tongues. She climbed on his lap and straddled him as she whipped her tank top off and tossed it to the floor.

  He groaned and took one nipple in his mouth as she arched back, threaded her fingers through his hair, and held him, urging him on. His hands gripped her hips, and with inhuman speed, he flipped her onto her back and pinned her beneath him. The predatory look in his eye made her wet and had her panting with need.

  His jet-black hair fell over their faces as he kissed her deeply. Everything about him turned her on. His touch, scent, sound, and fiercely protective nature made him the most desirable man she’d encountered.

  He broke the kiss and licked a seductive trail down her throat and along her collarbone as he pinned her hands above her head. Lillian moaned and writhed beneath him as the evidence of his arousal pressed against her enticingly.

  Boris brushed wet kisses along her belly as his fingers trailed down her arms and found their way to her breasts. He took the edge of her pajama pants in his teeth and dragged them over her hips. Lillian, needy and eager for his touch, helped him rid her of the annoying garment and kicked them onto the floor.

  He stood at the edge of the bed, appraising her naked body with a lust-filled gaze. He shucked his jeans, and she gasped at the sight of him. His cock jutted out from a nest of dark curls as he took it in his hands and stroked.

  Lillian moaned as she watched his hand run up and down the thick length. She put one hand behind her head and spread her legs as she brushed her fingers over her sex. She was wet and ready—she had been since she first laid eyes on him.

  Boris groaned at the sight of her touching herself, and she thought she’d come merely from the sound of his pleasure. Not yet, she thought. I want you inside me.

  Boris smiled as her voice touched his mind.

  He dropped to his knees, linked his arms around her legs, and dragged her to him. He licked and suckled her most sensitive spot as she held onto his head and bucked beneath his assault. The orgasm coiled deep inside, but sensing that she was about to lose control, he stopped and kissed her inner thigh.

  “You taste like honey,” he whispered. “But now, I want to know how you feel.”

  He captured her mouth with his, and he lay on his back, pulling her on top. Lillian straddled his hips and stayed poised above his hard cock. She rocked her hips gently and brushed the head with tantalizing, teasing strokes. Once… twice.

  Boris grinned and gripped her hips, pulling her down, and impaling her on his shaft. She cried out as he filled her more completely than any lover—had there been others? She could barely recall, but he would be the last.

  Lillian writhed and slid up and down the length of him faster and faster as she rode him furiously. The exquisite build of the orgasm raced through both of them, and as it exploded to the very edge, Boris’s voice touched her mind, heightening the experience.

  Nos es unus. Materia pro totus vicis. Ago intertwined. Forever.

  As his mind joined hers, Boris sat up and held her to him. He buried his face against her breasts as the pulsating pleasure of the orgasm rippled and throbbed to its end.

  Shaking, sweating, and limp with the afterglow of the hottest sex of her life, Lillian grabbed his face and forced him to look her in the eyes.

  “What the hell did you just say?”

  “It is our mating rite.” He kissed her throat as he remained inside her. “It basically means: ‘We are one. Mates for all time. Lives intertwined. Forever.’”

  “Mates. Tigers. Bears… oh my.” She grinned and ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m not sure about the whole forever thing, and as you are well aware, I’m human. Now granted, I may not be your plain old human, so that’s probably why I haven’t had a psychotic breakdown with the latest developments. I’m a psychic human and what most people consider a weird hippie or nomadic gypsy.” She placed a kiss on his nose. “But why don’t you tell me what you are… aside from a fucking rock star in the sack.”

  Chapter 4

  Boris lay naked in bed with his mate—his human mate—tangled in his arms, and he realized that he’d fallen hopelessly in love. Maybe he’d always loved her? It felt as if he’d always known her—she’d been a part of him from the day he was born.

  His mate was asking him for answers, and as much as he wanted to give them, he feared her reaction. Would she want to stay when she knew the truth? Could she love him once she knew that her life would be forever in jeopardy because of him?

  He adjusted the thin sheet and stared out the window at the sunrise as he gathered his courage.

  “I am Amoveo of the Tiger Clan, Bengal to be specific.” He played with strands of her wavy hair and noticed the way her heart now beat in perfect time with his. “And I have been waiting for you my entire life.”

  She stayed nuzzled in his arms with her head on his chest and ran her fingers over his stomach. However, she said nothing but merely waited for him to continue.

  “There are ten animal clans among my people, and all of us have one predestined mate. Until recently, we thought our mates could only be another Amoveo… but clearly, that’s not the case.” He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed her fingers before tilting her face to him and locking those bright eyes on her once again.

  His voice dropped to low, urgent tones. “Hayden is a Purist—one of many Amoveo who are dead set against humans breeding into our race and creating hybrid children. He and the others are making it their mission to wipe out the hybrids or the human mates.”

  “Human mates… like me?”

  “Yes,” he said gruffly. “They will stop at nothing and do anything to get to you—but I promise that we’ll find a way to keep you safe.”

  Boris sat up and dragged her into his arms. She hugged him and kissed his lips tenderly before pulling back
to look him in the eye. Her fingers fluttered along his neck as she let out a sigh. “I’m tired of wandering, Boris.”

  She got out of bed and threw on her tank top and pants before going to look out at the sunrise. She kept her back to him but continued speaking.

  “I’ve been a wanderer my entire life. I never felt like I had a home—until I met you.” She turned to face him, and he saw fierce determination in those big blue eyes. “I refuse to let anyone take that away from me.”

  She folded her arms over her breasts, and her chin tilted with resolve.

  “I say we go back to New Orleans and face it head on. No hiding or pretending. You kicked Hayden’s ass once, so I’m sure you could do it again.”

  “Are you certain?” Boris watched her carefully. “We—our union—and any children we have—may not be accepted by our people. Aside from the constant threat of assassination, we could become outcasts. Are you prepared to live that way?”

  “Really? That’s what you’re worried about?” Lillian pursed her lips as she crawled across the bed toward him. “Honey, I’m a palm-reading psychic, and up until a couple of days ago, I was living in my van. I’m pretty sure that I’m not in the mainstream… anywhere.”

  Boris let out a hearty laugh, took her face in his hands, and kissed her as he dragged her down onto the bed with him.

  “Then it’s back to New Orleans we go,” he growled against her lips. “Purists be damned.”

  As the sun rose over the ocean, he showed her how much he loved her and prayed for the strength to keep her safe. Human. Amoveo. It didn’t matter. She was his, and he was hers… forever.

  And he would kill to protect her.

  Check out the rest of the Amoveo Legend series

  Now Available

  Unleashed

  Untouched

  Coming November 2012

  Untamed

  About the Author

  Sara Humphreys is the author of the popular Amoveo Legend series, including Unleashed, Untouched, and the forthcoming Untamed (available November 2012 from Sourcebooks Casablanca). A graduate of Marist College, with a B.A. in English literature and theater, her initial career path was a professional actress. Her television credits include A&E Biography, Guiding Light, Another World, As the World Turns, and Rescue Me.