Shifters Unbound [5] Tiger Magic by Jennifer Ashley Page A

males.”
    “So, Tiger was afraid that if Liam drove me home he might . . .”
    “Drag you off to bed and sex you ’til you screamed? Aye, he was. Even though Liam has a mate of his own, and a little cub—Katriona; she’s so cute—to Tiger, he’s just another full-grown Shifter male, not to be trusted.”
    “What about Tiger? I guess I don’t have to worry about this mating frenzy with him—he’s just been shot.”
    “I don’t know.” Connor shook his head. “I can’t tell you lies, Carly. Tiger’s my friend, and I want to help him, but he’s dangerous. And tough. And not quite right in the head.” He touched his temple.
    “He didn’t seem that scary to me. Although . . . see what a great judge of character I was about Ethan.” Carly heaved a sigh and walked on into her bedroom. “Be right back.”
    She closed the door so she could shimmy out of the dress and into some comfortable shorts and a top. In her bathroom, she washed her face and hands, remembering that she’d expected to come home and cry and cry. Worry about poor Tiger had erased that need, but now that her immediate adrenaline rush had gone, she felt shaky and weak. And hungry.
    “Want me to order some pizza?” she asked Connor as she walked out. “I’m starving. You can take one home with you. Least I can do.”
    Connor had lounged back in her living room armchair and was flipping channels with the remote. “Oh, I’m not going home. When Tiger said,
keep her safe,
he meant twenty-four seven. Or at least until I take you back to Shiftertown.”

CHAPTER FIVE

    A s Carly stared at him, Connor looked away and skimmed through more channels. “Hey, you’ve got the sports package. Sweet.”
    Carly grabbed the remote from him and clicked off the TV. “Twenty-four seven?”
    “Come on, lass. I don’t get these channels at home. Shifters aren’t allowed. Been forever since I saw a decent football match.”
    “You’re to stay with me until I go back and visit Tiger? I said I would. Doesn’t he believe me?”
    Connor let out a slow sigh. “He believes you. If you’d lied, he’d know—if you lie about anything, he’ll know. He wants you protected. He’s old-fashioned, is Tiger, but he’s not wrong. I got the job because, like I said, I’m a cub and right now the only Shifter he trusts with you.”
    “He wants me protected from what? My mama raised me to take care of myself, and I made it to twenty-six without a bodyguard. Why do I suddenly need to be protected?”
    “Because he’s
Tiger
. He gets a little . . . focused. Besides, he scent-marked you. While that technically means other males have to back off, there are enough asshole Shifters out there who still might try to steal you, now that they know you’re friendly to Shifters.”
    “Friendly to Shifters? I didn’t
know
any Shifters until today.”
    Connor gave her a tight grin. “And you didn’t run away screaming. That puts you ahead of most human women, except the groupies. And they don’t necessarily want a Shifter for a mate—they’re just in it for the titillation.”
    “There are Shifter
groupies
?”
    “Sure. They come to the bar Liam manages, or to the dance clubs, wanting to be with Shifters. Men and women alike. Shifters are usually game for a little grope in the corner, so the groupies go away happy. But they don’t want to move in with us.”
    “Does Tiger think I’m one of those?”
    “Don’t think so. Tiger doesn’t understand the groupies. He’s not interested. Besides, most of them take one look at him and flee the other way.”
    “Why?” Carly sank to the sofa, still holding the remote. “Tiger’s big, so I suppose that could scare people, but he was nice to me. I know he went crazy in that hospital room, but he had three guys pointing guns at him after they’d chained him to the bed. I’d go crazy too.”
    “He’s . . .” Connor moved his hands as though trying to find the right words. “He’s different from other