Bullet Page 0,171

beyond that. “If he’s supposed to control all the tigers, are you really sure you want him flexing metaphysical muscle?” I asked.

“I enjoyed the floor show, though I thought the women were sent here for Jean-Claude, not you. I don’t do women.” She made it sound like doing them was somehow bad.

I caught movement and found Jade standing with Domino off to one side. She was looking away, down, her posture as if someone had struck her. Women weren’t my normal cup of tea, but I couldn’t regret anything I’d done with Jade. Even now I wanted to touch her, and I didn’t fight the urge. I just held out my hand and thought of the smell of her skin.

She smiled at me, and that one shy, pleased smile made it worth noticing her pain. She came to my hand and tucked herself in against me. In the heels I was enough taller that she was able to cuddle in against my shoulder the way I did to some men.

The look of disgust on the red tigress’s face made me smile. She didn’t like that I smiled at her. “I felt your power over the other tigers, but the red clan is made of sterner stuff.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“She’s Reba,” Victor said, “daughter of the Red Queen.”

“I expected your brother,” I said.

“Alex is out of the country on some journalist assignment. He’s catching a plane and disrupting all his plans because you and your master put out the call.” She made it sound ridiculous.

I looked at the men with her. One of them had long red hair spilling over his shoulders. It wasn’t as dark as Reba’s, though there was a touch of black to its edge. Hunter, that was his name, had hair the color they tell you is red in school. Again, humans didn’t have hair like that. His eyes were pure yellow and caught the candlelight as he looked at me. He raised his hand and gave a little wave and smile. I smiled back. I’d have rather had Alex, but I’d already slept with Hunter. He was one of the few in the room I could say that about.

“Don’t flirt with her,” Reba said, voice cutting like an angry whip across his smile. He stopped looking at me but said, “I thought that’s why we were here.”

“My mother made us come, but I’m the dominant red here, and that means if I say, no, it’s no.”

I hugged Jade and laid a soft kiss on her temple, then sent her back to Domino. I looked down at the weretiger in front of me. “I’ll be right back.”

I stepped out into the middle of the room, and I held my hand out. I understood now that it would have worked with everyone else I slept with in Vegas. I was ready for something a little less dramatic. “Hunter,” I said, “come to me.”

He smiled, and he started to do what I’d asked.

Reba told the other men to grab him. “Don’t let her bewitch him, too.”

My red tiger circled inside me, looking up, as if she’d have to climb to escape. She gave a low growl and sniffed the air. I echoed her and we both wanted the red tigers. We wanted people who smelled of home.

We, the tiger and I, looked at the other two men who had grabbed Hunter’s arms. They both had shorter hair. One had waves that promised if he’d grow it longer it would be like the other woman with her soft waves that fell around her shoulders. She and the first man had skin that was closer to human redheads, all peaches and cream, and the red of their hair held an orange undertone to it rather than a black. Their eyes were both nearly solid yellow. Siblings maybe, or close cousins, down to the similarity of bone structure that made their faces a little long through the cheeks. I realized that Hunter’s face had that shape, too, and his eyes were strongly yellow. How intermarried was everyone in their clan?

The second man had more difference to him. His hair was the palest red of all, falling around his ears in unruly curls and waves as if he were growing it out from the shorter haircut of the first man. Curly hair was always a bitch to grow out. There was always a stage where you couldn’t do anything with it. His eyes were gray with green in them if the light