get
involved.
A loud roar snapped his attention to the bar. Dare,
the cute bartender with pretty green eyes, looked ready to
shift. Steven searched the area wondering who could've
upset the even-tempered man. He usually kept away from
the sexy weretiger because he was incredibly attracted to
the man. Something drew him to Dare like a magnet to
metal, a sensation stronger than any he felt for the many
men he bedded each month. He searched the room for
whomever was giving the sexy man a hard time, ready to
take the bastard out. He might not want Dare for himself
but he wasn't going to let some asshole bother him.
Then the smell hit him. Catnip. That devious little
bastard had doused him in catnip powder like a damn chew
9
Denying Dare
Amber Kell
toy.
Shit!
He barely had the time to curse before his back hit
the floor as four hundred pounds of white Siberian tiger
knocked him over. Luckily, the tiger splayed over him with
only his front paws on Steven's chest. Once he was down, a
soft chuffing noise blew his hair away from his face.
Looking into those amazing green eyes, Steven
realized the sweet bartender had given himself completely
over to his beast and probably wouldn't be surfacing
anytime soon.
Damn it to hell.
Anthony was so going to pay for this. Steven would
have to be crafty so Silver didn't rip him apart.
"Hello, Dare," he said cautiously, hoping he could
reach the man hiding inside the enormous beast.
"Remember me, Steven? We're buddies." Not a complete
truth; he tried to avoid the cute kid because he was so
fucking tempting. He wanted a wolf mate, not a cat, no
matter how gorgeous, kind, and sexy…
He was so screwed.
A long tongue swiped up one side of his neck
leaving a streak of scraped skin behind.
"Ouch."
He got another amused chuff for his comment.
10
Denying Dare
Amber Kell
"Dare, get off of me. There's a good kitty.
Remember, you like me. Eating me would be bad." He
hoped like hell the cat understood him. The feral tiger
didn't give him much hope. In the corner of his eye he saw
Ben approaching the white tiger with slow, careful
movements. Sweat beaded his forehead as the young man
continued walking towards them.
Dare growled, crouching over Steven like an animal
protecting its kill.
"Back off, Ben," Steven hissed. "He's not going to
hurt me." He knew deep in his bones the bartender wouldn't
harm a hair on his head. Two pairs of hands reached out
and yanked Ben out of the way, Dillon and Thomas pulling
their mate to safety. He knew the younger man would get a
good scolding when he got back to his apartment. His
mates took Ben's security very seriously.
Confident the young werekin was protected, Steven
turned his attention back to the tiger pinning him down.
Another tongue lick bathed the other side of his neck,
sending a shiver of pain through his body.
The tiger's tongue hung out of his mouth, giving
him a dopey expression. He looked cute if you overlooked
the fact the big cat could rip a person apart with very little
effort.
"Listen, pal, Anthony has weird sense of humor. He
11
Denying Dare
Amber Kell
didn't mean anything by this."
"Mine."
The word floated into his mind, a word not his.
"No. I want a wolf," he protested. The objection
sounded weak even to him. At night, alone, he dreamed of
the sexy weretiger, but he wasn't about to admit it. There
was still a chance he could find a wolf.
"Tough."
"What do you mean, tough?"
Steven was afraid he knew exactly what the
weretiger meant. Dare was done dancing around their
attraction and had decided to keep Steven. He couldn't do
that. Could he?
Dare moved to the side and clamped his wide
mouth around Steven's arm. With a gentle hold at odds with
his mouthful of sharp teeth, the cat dragged him backwards
across the dance floor towards the elevators. Their audience
moved out of the way. Not one of them offered to help
Steven out. Most of them looked
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain