Page 61 of Catch a Tiger

Her panic froze when Mylo sat up and pulled the coat off of her with smooth, practiced movements. He yanked up the sweatshirt too and tossed them both to the floor, his pale golden eyes so hauntingly patient.

It was like heknewwhat it felt like to be choked by humanity.

Dropping her gaze to his chest, she realized then that was what had happened – why his suit was missing.

“A fox,” she whispered, not daring to reach out for him until she saw how he reacted to that information.

“Afox.” Mylo actually reached forherthen, like he found that captivating instead of repulsive.

She flinched when his claws brushed against her ear, but she didn’t stop him when she was still too shocked he wasn’t yelling at her to get out.

“A little vixen.” Mylo smirked then, his tiger making an appearance when the pale gold started to glow. “Is that whereVixcomes from?”

Nodding was the only way to answer him when she was still trying to process this new development. “He took my name,” she reminded him. “He took everything from me, and now I have nothing to give you, but…”

He tucked her hair behind her ear, completely entranced despite everything he’d said to her.

“Mylo?” She placed her hand on his chest again, swallowing hard. This could be a mistake, but she wasn’t sure what else to do. “I know you’re lying.”

Instantly, his entire demeanor changed, and he mentally closed himself off, the tiger disappearing.

She just had to tell him. There wasn’t much to lose at this point, was there?

Vix cleared her throat and looked down at her claws. “I felt the pain in your chest when I asked if…if you didn’t want me. It was excruciating the way it echoed in mine…” she trailed off when his hand was suddenly wrapped around her throat, dragging her closer.

Mylo didn’t stop until his nose was pressed against hers. “And? Foxes can sense pain. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“No,” she agreed, the word so soft it was just an impression on his lips. “But the scent right here…”

Reaching out, she caressed his neck with her claw, careful not to break the skin.

“You’remine, Mylo. You smell like lemongrass and sunshine. The mate bond on you is such a dark chocolate I keep choking on it.” She smiled slightly, feeling like that matched his personality somehow but she couldn’t say why when she hardly knew him.

Suddenly, she was on her back, pinned to the mattress by her throat. Vix looked up, not the least bit afraid. No, the only thing she feared was him rejecting the bond and abandoning her.

“Do you think if I cut all the runes off your skin, your scent would come back?” Mylo asked, his deep growling voice a warning.

“It might.” Vix lifted her chin, giving him access to whatever he wanted. “It also might kill you.”

“Let’s give it a go,” Mylo purred, using his claws to slice through the alpha’s shirt. “A little death might do me some good.”

“I don’t want you to die,” she reminded him, lying still as he peeled the fabric off her skin until the top half of her body was completely exposed. “Besides, it’s summer’s job to murder winter, not the other way around.”

The tiger gave her a curious look she couldn’t decipher.

Vix closed her eyes when she felt his hand tighten on her throat. “You don’t want to believe I’m your mate, do you?”

Claws dug into her skin. “I don’t trust you,vixen.”

“You’re the one who convinced me to come here,” she reminded him. “Youare the one who’s been lying from the very beginning, playing such mean tricks…and you don’t trustme?”

Then he had her face pressed to the mattress and his teeth on her throat. Vix caught his jaw before he could bite down, digging her claws into his face as she tried not to give in to the sudden, overwhelming need to let him bite her.

It would feelso good.

“My pretty liar,” she murmured, feeling that vicious thing she tried to hide stretched when she scented his blood on the air. “You think you could scare me with mortal pain? I burned forcenturies, Mylo. You know nothing of true agony.”

His hands dug into her, bones threatening to snap but she wouldn’t let go of his face no matter how much pain he tried togive her. His growl became mangled when she wouldn’t release him, forcing the tiger to keep his teeth over her throat.

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