Tigress for Two by Marissa Dobson

each other.
    He scowled at his cell phone vibrating on the edge of bedside table. He slowly lifted his arm from her waist, stretching to reach the phone. It was a text message from Ty. New development. We need you and Kallie in the conference room, twenty minutes.
    “Dammit.” Stroking her cheek with the tip of his finger, she stirred. “Kitty,” he whispered in her ear.
    Her sea green eyes, that he loved to gaze into, fluttered open before closing again. “Humm?”
    “I know you’re tired, but Ty has requested our presence in the conference room in twenty minutes.”
    Her eyelids shot open, fear clear in her eyes. “Why? What did I do?”
    “It’s okay. Ty just mentioned there was a development and they needed us.” He brushed her hair away from her face. “Don’t worry, whatever it is we’ll handle it. I’m by your side now.” He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
    When their lips parted, desire seemed to soften the sharp bite of her fear. “How can you do that?”
    “Do what?” He raised an eyebrow.
    “With one kiss you managed to wipe away my fear. Even if Ty would have cast me out of the clan because I didn’t tell them of my past, I know I’d still be safe as long as you were by my side.”
    “My Kitty, I promised I’d protect you and I’ll do just that and so much more. Trust me, I can be more than your protector and mate, if you let me. I’ll be your lover and your friend.” He kissed along the side of her face and stopped at her earlobe to breathe in her scent. She desperately needed a friend, even the loner in him recognized that.
    “I think you’ve already proven your skills as my lover, and we don’t have time for another round.” She kissed him again before scooting to the edge of the bed.
    He wrapped his hand around her arm, turning her to face him. “Kal, I know you still have doubts. Just give us time…that’s all I ask.”
    She stroked her fingers through his hair. “Don’t take this personally, please. It’s hard for me to trust anyone. When you’re betrayed by someone who was supposed to love you, it’s hard to open your heart again.”
    He rose from the bed and lifted her in his arms. “I know you’ve been hurt, and I’ll do my best to give you the time you need, but our beasts won’t let us hold our desire from each other for long.” He tipped her chin with his finger. “I have to know. Why would your father promise your hand in marriage when shifters mate? Rarely do any of us date before we find our mate. It’s pointless, and no one wants to fall for the wrong person. It’s torture to have your body belong to someone and your heart to another.”
    She frowned. “Dad’s mate was killed shortly after she had me, by a hunter. He said he’d never mate again. Her death nearly killed him. He didn’t want me to experience the same pain. He wanted me to have a normal life, and to remove the risk of losing someone the way he had.”
    “Why do you call her his mate and not your mother?”
    “She might have given birth to me, but the woman I considered to be my mother was human. It wasn’t until I started going through the change for the first time that I found out she wasn’t my biological mother, or what my father and I were. By then, he’d already made the marriage arrangement and I was starting to fall in love with my groom-to-be. My father deceived me. He might have thought he was making the decision out of love, but he was selfish. I was too young and stupid to know. But it should have been my choice.” She pressed her cheek to his chest.
    Sadness coated her and he wished he could rinse it away. “I’m sorry, love. He should have told you what you were long before then. Shifters raised outside of a community with no support normally experience life harder, especially the children when they have to attend a public school. By not telling you about your ability he could have taken away so many opportunities from