Read Once Upon a Tiger for Free Online

He wasn’t allowed to run. More broken laws.
    What if she did run? She could simply go long enough for Victor to catch her… No. Still the problem of him being forbidden. The answer wouldn’t be that simple.
    Hell, she wasn’t even sure she was ready to have children, yet the only way out of the Run for her now was to be pregnant and mated. She’d avoided thoughts of family and a future. As a Tracker, death was always an option. She’d had to go after more than one insane tiger in the past. Insane meant unpredictable. Unpredictable could mean death.
    She hadn’t considered a family because she’d honestly never thought she’d have one. Now she had to consider it. Seriously. She thought of the Chernikovs, of the youngest boy, Mitch, only six months old when his mother committed suicide. Alexis had been sent for his father a few months later, but her every protective instinct had kicked in when she’d seen the boys. She’d taken them in, adopted them—if unofficially—and helped raise them. She loved them deeply.
    How much more would she love children of her own?
    The idea of her own baby actually grabbed her by the heart and squeezed. Tight.
    Huh. Who knew? She did want children. She wanted the family she’d never let herself imagine. She wasn’t sure she was ready for it, but she did want it and that was something.
    But if she were to have children, she wanted them with Victor. She couldn’t imagine creating a family with anyone else.
    The realization buzzed through her like an electric shock.
    It couldn’t work.
    She didn’t care.
    It would work because it was the only option.
    “Fuck the elders,” she murmured. Then leaned close and kissed him.
    Victor remained motionless for several long, torturous moments. She smelled his lust mixing with the scent of hers. The combination made her head spin. The need she’d tried to keep at bay took over. She pushed him back on the couch and crawled on top of him, pressing her body hard against his as she coaxed his mouth open with her lips.
    The moment their tongues touched, Victor’s resistance crumbled. His arms came around her, crushing her against him. Alexis moaned in pleasure. Yes, yes, yes. Him. Always Victor. Only Victor.
    She shoved the denim shirt off his shoulders, then ripped his white t-shirt down the middle, pushing the material apart so she could get her hands on his skin. Everything in her tightened like a spring waiting to launch. She scraped her nails over his chest, leaving light red lines. He arched against her and his hands tightened on her shoulders.
    She heard the material of her robe rip and smiled against his mouth. “I guess turnabout is fair play,” she said, “but you owe me a new robe.” Then she kissed him again.
    She moved enough so he could pull off the remains of his shirt without having to stop kissing her. Then she wiggled the tattered scraps of her robe off and settled her naked breasts against his chest. The sizzle of skin on skin contact made her clench and melt at once. More, more, more!
    His rough chest hair made her nipples harden into tight, needy beads. She fumbled at his jeans, popping open buttons while still trying not to lose the electric skin contact. He didn’t help, much to her frustration. Instead, he stroked her back and shoulders, her sides, then cupped her face. Her every nerve was alive and jumping. His touch soothed and excited, hurt and pleasured at once.
    He lowered his mouth to nuzzle her neck. An involuntary groan rose from deep in her chest. She arched against him, pressing hard, clenching her thighs against his hips to ease the tension. It didn’t help. Not when his lips were driving her insane.
    “Victor.” His name came out in a gasp as he edged lower, pushing her up until her small breasts dangled above him. He pulled a nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, scraping her sensitive skin with his sharp teeth. She threw her head back and gripped the cushions. Everything felt so much more intense,