Page 41 of Tiger's Quest
“Mera sakha sundara.”
I dabbed my lips with a napkin and asked if he’d like to help me make dessert. Ren pulled back my chair and followed me into the kitchen. I was ultra-aware of his nearness, especially as he kept finding reasons to touch me. As he put away the sugar, he stroked my arm. When he reached around me to set the vanilla on the counter, he nuzzled my neck. It got to the point where I started to drop things.
“Ren, you’re driving me to distraction. Give me a little space so I can finish making the dough.”
He did, but stayed close enough that I had to brush up against him when I put away ingredients. I shaped the cookies, dropped them onto the pan, and announced, “We now have fifteen minutes until they’re done.”
He grabbed my arm and yanked me up against him. The next thing I knew, the timer went off and I jumped. Somehow, I’d ended up on the kitchen counter locked in a passionate embrace. One of my hands was in his hair; his silky locks were twisted around my fingers while my other hand had apparently grabbed a fistful of designer shirt and was slowly mangling it. His freshly pressed shirt was now crumpled terribly. Mortified, I released my unruly grip and stammered, “Sorry about your shirt.”
He snatched my hand back, pressed a kiss on my palm, and smiled wickedly. “I’m not.”
I shoved him away and hopped down. Pushing my finger against his chest, I said, “You’re dangerous, pal.”
He grinned. “It’s not my fault that you’re intoxicated by me.”
I gave him a look, but it didn’t faze him at all; he was too pleased with himself. I took the cookies out of the oven, and turned to get the milk. When I handed him a glass, Ren had already downed one very hot cookie and was on his second.
“These are delicious! What are they?”
“Double chocolate chip with peanut butter filling.”
“They’re the second best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
I laughed. “You said the same thing at dinner.”
“I recently readjusted the ranking.”
“So what ranks first now? Is it still peanut butter pancakes?”
“Nope—you. But it’s close.” His smiled dimmed. “It’s time for me to change, Kells.”
I felt a slight tremor go through his arm. He kissed me sweetly one more time and then morphed into his tiger form. He moved over to the stairs, leapt up in two strides, and headed for my bedroom.
Ren made himself comfortable on the throw rug near my bed while I changed into my pajamas in the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I knelt beside him.
Putting my arms around his neck, I whispered, “Mujhe tumse pyarhai, Ren.” He started purring while I pulled my blanket over me. I hadn’t seen the tiger half of him since he showed up on Christmas Day and I’d missed him. I wrapped my arms around him and stroked his soft fur. Snuggling next to him, I used his soft paws as a pillow and drifted off feeling at peace for the first time since I’d left India.
On Saturday, I woke up in my bed clutching my stuffed white tiger. Ren was straddling a chair and resting his head on his arms, watching me. I groaned and threw the blanket over my head.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. You know, if you wanted to sleep with a tiger, all you had to do was ask.” He picked up the toy tiger. “When did you buy this?”
“The first week I got here.”
He grinned. “So you missed me?”
I sighed and smiled. “Like a fish misses water.”
“It’s nice to know I’m so necessary to your survival.” He knelt by the bed and brushed the hair away from my face. “Did I ever tell you, you’re the most beautiful in the mornings?”
I laughed. “No way. My hair is a mess and I’m in my pajamas.”
“I like watching you wake up. You sigh and start wiggling. You roll back and forth a few times and usually mumble something about me.” He grinned.
I leaned up on my elbow. “So I talk in my sleep, huh? Well, that’s embarrassing.”
“I like it. Then you open your eyes and smile at me, even when I’m a tiger.”
“What girl wouldn’t smile when you’re the first thing she sees? It’s like waking up on Christmas morning to the best present ever.”
