Trusting the Tiger: BBW Tiger Shifter Paranormal Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

back to the present. Karen was looking past him, back across the picnic area.
    “Not ‘miles away,’ huh?” she said dryly. “I thought you came stampeding over to me a bit faster than usual. Don’t act too coy, though. It looks like you’re not the only competitor in the field.”
    Jack spun around, his tiger roaring inside him, teeth bared. He wasn’t a jealous guy – at least, he had never been a jealous guy before now – but the hairs on his arms prickled as he looked across at Toni and the man standing over her.
    His first impulse was to storm over there and tell the guy where to go. He held himself back. He didn’t have any claim over Toni, particularly if he was deciding to ignore the mate bond and stay out of her life. He had no right to get angry over other men talking to her.
    There was a sudden movement; as Jack watched, his shifter eyes picking up every detail, something slipped from the man’s grip and fell to the ground. Jack had the strange feeling that whatever-it-was had been dropped deliberately, but the thought had barely crossed his mind when Toni bent to catch the object, and then dropped it with a cry, as though it had stung her.
    She cradled her hand, pain flitting across her face.
    Jack didn’t hesitate any longer. He covered the distance between then in a handful of long strides. Closer, he could clearly see the discomfort in Toni’s face and stance. It wasn’t just her injured hand; his tiger’s senses, more attuned than his human ones, zeroed in on her tightened nostrils, fast breathing and the tense muscles in her neck. She was more than just uncomfortable. She was on the edge of panic.
    Toni’s eyes jerked toward him as he approached and filled with an unmistakable look of relief. That was all the invitation he needed.
    Jack stepped in beside Toni, sliding one arm behind her to rest reassuringly on her lower back. He felt her lean backwards into him, almost unnoticeably, the slightest pressure on his hand.
    “Everything okay here?” he said calmly, though every muscle in his body was coiled to strike.
    The man was glaring bullets at Jack. A faint memory stirred in the back of Jack’s mind. Had he met this guy before?
    “That thing shocked me,” Toni snapped at the stranger.
    The man smiled, a smooth, easy expression that Jack didn’t trust an inch. “As I was saying before we were interrupted, Toni, it must have been static electricity—”
    “Oh, come on,” Toni scoffed. “Static electricity? I’ve got a niece and a nephew who’re both obsessed with pranking each other. Trust me, I know what static electricity feels like. It doesn’t hurt that much, and it sure as hell doesn’t leave a mark.”
    She held out her hand. The tips of her middle and index fingers were an angry red, as though they had been burned.
    Jack felt a growl start to build in his chest.
    The stranger either didn’t notice Jack’s rising anger, or didn’t care. He looked at Toni’s fingers and an entirely unconvincing expression of sympathy arranged itself on his face.
    “Oh, dear. I’ve a first-aid kit back with the rest of my gear, Toni, if you’ll follow me…”
    “We’ve got plenty of medical supplies back at the truck,” Jack interrupted, almost spitting the words. “She doesn’t need to follow you anywhere.”
    Jack stepped forward, his arm still curved protectively around Toni. He topped the other man by over a head. It wasn’t hard to stare him down when he was literally staring down at him, though he would have much preferred to straight-up stamp him into the dirt.
    His tiger was spoiling for a fight – and not just his tiger. This was one thing both halves of him agreed on.
    Come on, you bastard, talk back. Give me one reason to knock you down.
    The enraging, vapid smile returned to the man’s face. “I guess I’ll just see you around the camp, then.”
    “Guess again,” Toni said crisply, before Jack could get a word in. “You – oh, just go away , would you,” she