Prince of Dreams (Stokehurst #2)(88)

“Emma,” he snapped, and she glared at him over her shoulder.

“Go away! I don't want to talk to you!”

“Why did Milbank call on you? What does he want?”

“He wants to be friends with me,” she said scornfully. “Nothing more.”

“Like hell,” Nikolas muttered, following her into the menagerie.

“Do not come in here, Nikki!” Emma's voice floated from the direction of the tiger's pen. “I want to spend a few minutes of peace and quiet with my…”

Suddenly there was silence.

“Emma?” Nikolas frowned, walking cautiously into the building. Then he understood why Emma was quiet. His heart stopped as he saw Manchu's pen.

Jake was in there with the tiger.

Eleven

N IKOLAS COULDN'T BREATHE or think, his body frozen with a kind of fear he had never known before. The locking pin to the pen's opening had been pulled out, and Jake had lifted the latch to walk inside. The boy stood at one side of the enclosure, while the tiger crouched in the center. Manchu grumbled in confusion and annoyance as he watched the small creature intrude on his territory.

Slowly Emma turned to look at Nikolas. Her face was pale, her eyebrows standing out in glowing red arcs. Her stiff lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but she too seemed robbed of the power of speech.

Emma's thoughts clicked at a speed a hundred times faster than usual. She forced the terror back and stared at the tiger, trying to assess his mood. She didn't like the intense focus Manchu maintained on the child. Such keenly patient attention could precede a sudden attack. His spray of white whiskers bristled as he approached the boy cautiously, one paw at a time. Although Manchu didn't have claws, he still had teeth—fifteen on each side of the skull, including long canines that pierced the neck vertebrae of prey to kill with speedy efficiency, and bladelike carnassials. A tiger had powerful jaw muscles to clamp down on struggling prey, either biting at the nape of the neck to sever the spinal cord, or crushing the throat until the victim suffocated.

For a creature of Jake's small size, Manchu would probably use the nape bite. But Manchu seemed ambivalent, and Emma realized with fearful hope that he hadn't yet committed to the attack. She attracted his attention with a cheerful whistle, striding to his empty scraps bucket and lifting it as if it were heavy with meat.

“Manchu!” she called, carrying the bucket to the far end of the pen, away from Jake. She stayed outside the enclosure, calling to the tiger. “Come over here, you handsome boy…come see what I have!”

The tiger obeyed slowly, padding toward her with a low-pitched, whiny meow. At the same time, Nikolas darted to the pen, lifted the latch, and slipped inside. Aware of the sudden entrance of yet another person in his enclosure, Manchu growled in frustration and whipped around, ignoring Emma's voice. Nikolas snatched his son in a bruising grip and carried him out, slamming the door shut just as the tiger reached it.

“Papa,” Jake cried indignantly, squirming to be free, “I didn't want to come out yet! Papa, let go!”

But Nikolas couldn't let go, only held the small body tightly and shuddered in relief. Emma dropped the bucket and leaned against a nearby wall, dizzy from the pounding of her heart and the flood of fear in her veins.

When Nikolas could speak, he set the boy down and sank to his haunches, staring intently into the small face. “What are you doing in here?” he asked, his voice thick. “I sent you upstairs to the nursery.”

“I didn't want to go there. I wanted to see the tiger.” Jake wore a defiant but unhappy expression, still not understanding the danger he had been in.

“You've been told never to visit the menagerie without Emma or me.”

“Manchu wouldn't hurt me, Papa. He likes me.”

Nikolas looked pale and grim. “You disobeyed me, Jake. I don't want to punish you, but you've left me no choice. You're not allowed to visit the menagerie for a month.” While the child protested and struggled, Nikolas turned him over his knee and delivered three resounding spanks to his backside. Jake howled and began to cry from surprise. Standing the child up before him, Nikolas spoke hoarsely. “That tiger is dangerous, as are the rest of these animals. You scared the hell out of Emma and me. I don't want anything to happen to you—that's why you must follow the rules we set, even if you don't always understand the reason for them.”

“Yes, Papa,” Jake sobbed, ducking his head to hide his tears.

Nikolas pulled him close, holding him tightly, and the child's arms came around his neck. “All right,” he murmured. “Everything's forgiven—just remember to do as I tell you.”

“Can I go play in the nursery now?”

Nikolas nodded, giving him one last, fierce squeeze. “Yes, you may go.”

Jake stood back and rubbed the tears from his eyes with small fists. He stared at his father curiously. “Why are you crying, Papa?”

There was a brief silence, and then Nikolas answered gruffly. “Because I hate having to spank you.”

A small, grudging smile crossed Jake's face. “I hate it too.” He ran to Emma and locked his arms around her hips, hugging her. “I'm sorry, Emma.”

Too moved for words, she ruffled his hair and kissed the top of his head before he scampered away. When the rapid footsteps faded, Nikolas stood and rubbed his hands over his face, sighing tautly.