Romance Warfare: a Tigress' Guide to NOT Secure a Mate(17)

She thought she could feel his anger permeating through the phone. The silence stretched long between them. She swallowed hard. Oops, did I go too far this time? Adam was a proud male and he was a weretiger, plus he was some big shot for a multi-billion-dollar company. Big ego was something she shouldn’t be surprised about anyway.

She pushed past the fear clogging her throat and said softly, “I think we’re done here, Adam. Good bye.”

“We’re not done, Eva. Not by a long shot. I’ll see you in two days.”

The phone went silent when he hung up. Eva stared at it before finally thumbing it off and throwing it to bed. Sighing, she got up and cleaned her vodka-and-ice-cream-soaked pillow before slogging to the shower and finally rolling back into bed.

She’d see Adam in two days. Then she’d get everything straight. What happened eight years ago and what happened in Las Vegas twenty-four hours ago.

Then she was going to walk out of Adam Frost’s office and out his life.





Chapter Five


“Using jealousy to engage her reaction won’t work. She has means at her disposal to get even. Like spit in your coffee.”



“Adam. Adam!”

His head jerked around as he finally registered someone calling his name. Dean was standing just inside the doorway of the hotel’s gym, watching as Adam pounded away on the treadmill. He stabbed at a button and treadmill slowed to a stop. Stepping off, he grabbed a towel and rubbed it roughly over his dripping hair.

“Something wrong?” he asked Dean.

Dean leaned one shoulder against the doorframe and studied Adam with a curious gaze. “I don’t know. Is something wrong?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Adam tossed his towel into a hamper and headed toward the shower. Dean was right on his heels.

“Oh, come on, man. Eva took off and you’re as moody as teenage girl. What’s happened with you two?”

Adam turned and faced Dean, his shoulders drooping. “Okay, yeah. Something happened with me and Eva.” He looked away from Dean, not wanting to tell him exactly what went on last night.

Dean nodded at him, urging him to go on.

Adam sighed and looked up at the tiled ceiling before continuing. “Well, you know she was in heat, hell, every tiger in Nevada knew she was in heat, anyhow, she came to my room, ready to pounce on me for running off the tigers who were sniffing around. I guess, her heat just took over…and…she kissed me…and…we slept together.”

Dean guffawed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You dog! Damn, I should have paid more attention to the other tigers around and played hero. Maybe she’d have come and ‘talked’ to me instead.”

Adam shoved him away, not wanting to deal with Dean’s jokes right now. “No, that’s not how it was.”

“How was it, then?”

“I’m pretty sure, she’s my mate.”

Dean dropped onto a nearby bench, his mouth open in shock. “No. Shitting. Way.”

Adam rolled his shoulders. “Yeah, pretty sure. Listen. I think, maybe, I think I should marry her.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s the right thing to do, man. There’s a reason we were promised years ago. We’re both heirs, marrying will unite our clans into one powerful clan. It just makes sense. It’s the reason our grandfathers made the arrangement.”

“Do you love her?”

Adam’s face tightened. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Dean just shook his head. “So, you’re going to go to Eva and offer up a marriage because ‘it’s the right thing to do,’ not because you have feelings for her. That’s what you’re going to say? To a woman? To a weretigress? You’re just going to propose a business transaction. You’re a little bit stupid, Adam. No, sorry, you’re totally stupid, Adam.”

Adam scoffed. “Yes, I think it will work. Eva’s a rational girl.”

Dean laughed his ass off, attracting annoyed glances from people in the gym. “Uh huh, because that’s what every woman is looking for in a marriage proposal. Rationality. Boy, I can’t wait to see how this goes. I have to hand it to you, cousin, your love life is very amusing.”

“Maybe I should fire you when we return to New York.” Adam cast him a death glare, totally irritated.

“No, you won’t. You need me by your side to clean up your messes. Just like this one.” Dean stalked out of the door. “See you at the seminar.”

Adam cursed silently. As much as he hated to admit it, Dean was right.

***

Two days later. . .



Adam was twitchy. He was watching the door, waiting for Eva to walk in. When he called her earlier and arranged to meet for dinner, he was sure she wouldn’t take him up on his offer.

This was going to work. He was going to ask Eva to marry him, explain why it made sense for them to unite their clans. She’d have to take him up on his proposal. Their united clan would become the largest weretiger clan in the United States, she’d be wife to one of the country’s leading business tycoons, and rich to boot. She could pay for her sister’s college and apartment out of the trust set aside for the head wife of the Frost clan. Marrying Adam would be one of the most rational and sensible things for Eva to do.