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~ WINTER'S KISS ~
~ Sexy Beast III Anthology ~

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The Tiger takes a Bride

Big game photographer Kasi Stewart returns to the mountains of Japan in search of a mysterious tiger that saved her during a snowstorm when she was a child. In his remote cabin, Yuki Shiratora, descended from a nearly extinct line of white tigers, leads Kasi into his exotic world of untamed sensuality.

WINTER'S KISS

10 years ago...

"If I save you, will you be my bride?" The voice was a deep velvety rumble.

Curled up tight against the trunk of a sweeping cedar in the middle of the forest, and half buried under the snow, Kasi opened her eyes. "Huh?"

Huge sky blue eyes burned like the hearts of flames in a huge black and white striped feline face less then a hand's reach away. It was a gigantic cat nearly the size of a pony. The frost-white fur banded with black was practically invisible against the snow falling just beyond the cedar's sweeping branches.

Kasi stared wide-eyed. A tiger? She struggled upright, her thick red wool mittens sinking into the snow. Her pale pink nylon parka whispered with her efforts to sit up against the cedar's trunk. I didn't know Japan had tigers.

The white tiger sat down on his haunches with a huff and loomed over her. "I asked you a question. It's only polite to answer."

Kasi blinked. The rumbling voice clearly didn't come from the tiger's mouth and yet she was sure it was the tiger that spoke. Well, she was pretty sure it was the tiger. A quick look around showed that no one else was near. She frowned up at him. "I uh... What was the question?"

The tiger flicked an ear back and his long tail twitched. "If I save you, will you be my bride?"

"Your bride...?" She frowned. What a strange tiger. "Shouldn't you be trying to eat me?"

The tiger's ears flicked forward. "Eat you?" His blue eyes closed briefly and he huffed, his long whiskers laying back. "I do not care for the taste of humans." The tiger hunched down and eased close, the gigantic paws settling to either side of her knees. "Even if I did, you are much too small to make a whole meal." His enormous nose pressed against her snowsuit, sniffing loudly right over her heart. "I need a bride, more than I need a quick snack."

Kasi rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "I'm too small to be a bride too. I'm only eleven."

The tiger lifted his head, the huge damp nose only a finger's length from hers. "You will grow."

"I suppose." She couldn't stop looking at him. He was so pretty. His fur looked so soft. She eased her trembling hand from her mitten. "Why does a tiger need a bride?" She reached up.

The tiger's gaze shifted to her hand, but didn't move. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not, but…" Kasi sank her fingers into the thick fur behind his ear. It was so warm, and incredibly soft. The longer guard hairs were coarse and slightly stiff, like heavy cotton, but right there under his ear it was like fine fluffy silk. "Can't you just marry another tiger?" She scratched.
The tiger's eyes closed and he pressed against her fingers. "No." A loud liquid purr erupted from him.

Kasi smiled. Wow… That had to be the loudest purr she'd ever heard. She took off her other mitten and reached up to scratch the underside of his other ear too.

The tiger's purr increased in strength, and volume. He lifted his chin and angled his head until her fingers sank into the fur at his throat. "More."

Kasi obligingly scratched his throat and her smile broadened. Big kitty.

"Does this mean you agree to be my bride?" His voice seemed a bit hoarse, almost breathless.
Kasi shrugged. "Sure, but you'll have to wait until I'm older to get married."

"Agreed." The tiger pulled back from her hands to gaze into her eyes. "Will you kiss me to seal our bargain?"

Kasi blinked. A kiss…? "Okay." She leaned forward and dropped a small smooch on his broad damp nose.

The tiger blinked, then huffed. "No, I want a real kiss."

Kasi snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can't give a real kiss to a tiger."

His ears flicked forward then one tipped back. "Ah…" He closed his eyes and his body undulated out of focus as though he was made of water. He slid back into focus, only this time he wasn't a tiger.

A boy in a white fur coat and tall black boots knelt over her. He stared down at her with huge sky blue eyes under straight black brows from only a breath away. Delicately pointed ears parted long, frost white hair that tumbled over the shoulders of his fur coat and spilled onto the snow. "How about now?" His voice wasn't nearly as deep as before.

Kasi frowned sourly. Pretty white hair or not, boys were pains in the butt. "I think I liked you better as a tiger."

He smiled, showing the points of small fangs. "I'm still a tiger, but this is me too."

She lifted her hand and brushed her fingertips along the double set of midnight blue stripes that marked his cheekbones and disappeared into his hairline. "Are these tattoos?"

He blinked and his smile faded. "You can see them?"

She snorted. "They're on your face; kind of hard to miss."

He rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He leaned closer, setting his forearm above her head against the trunk of the cedar. "I'm waiting for my proper kiss."

Kasi winced. She'd never kissed a boy before. "Do I have to?"

The nodded solemnly. "We're betrothed. We're supposed to kiss."

Kasi sighed. "Fine, whatever..." She leaned up to press her lips briefly to his, then leaned back. "Better?"

He looked away frowning and licked his lips. He nodded. "It will do." He sat back on his heels and grinned. "For now." He shivered briefly. "Oi, it's cold!"

Kasi smiled. "Is it? I don't feel it anymore." What she did feel was sleepy.

The boy stared at her, his blue eyes wide. "You don't feel it?" He curled his lip and tisked. "Idiot! When you don't feel the cold is when you die!" He shimmered out of focus and became a tiger once more standing on all four paws, right over her. "You will go home right now." The tiger's voice was achingly loud in her head.

Kasi leaned forward but couldn't find the energy to actually get up. She fell back against the tree. "I'm too tired."

The tiger's eyes narrowed and his long tail switched. "You will go home." He reached down and caught the fur-lined hood of her pink snowsuit with his monstrous teeth. He backed up, pulling her.

Kasi rocked forward onto her knees and was dragged up on her feet. "Hey!"

The tiger released her. "I will not lose my bride the same day I get her!" He stepped past her tree, turned around, and then laid down in the snow right next to her. "Get on. I will carry you home."

Kasi stared at the tiger's long narrow back. "Get on…?"

"Yes." The tiger flattened his ears and flicked his long tail. "Are your ears frozen as well as your sense?"

Anger warmed Kasi's blood and she snapped fully awake. "My ears are just fine, thank you very much!" She leaned over the tiger's back and eased her leg over.

The tiger turned an ear back. "Oh, so it is only your sense that has frozen?"

Kasi gripped the tiger's fur tightly. "My sense is just fine too!"

"Is that so? Put your head against my neck, and hold on tight to the fur on my shoulders."

Kasi laid down along the tiger's back and grabbed a double handful of white fur. "Okay."

"Good." The tiger lurched up onto his front paws, then up onto his rear paws. "So, it was sensible to run away during a blizzard?"

Kasi rocked hard, but somehow stayed on. She was too angry to let go of his fur. "I wasn't running away! My Dad's been transferred back to America and I…" And she didn't want to go back to America. She wanted to stay with Obaa-chan, her Japanese grandma. She closed her eyes tight. Well, okay, so maybe she was running away. She sniffed. "I just wanted to…think."

The tiger moved out from under the tree and into the blinding white of the snowstorm. "Could you not have found a warmer place to think?"

The tiger's long strides rocked her from side to side. Kasi pressed her cheek into his fur. He was so warm. "I wanted to see the house. I… I meant to go back, but I couldn't see through the snow."

The tiger's ear twitched in her direction. "The house?"

"Yeah, the big house up on top of the mountain with the red pillars." Her hands tightened in the tiger's fur. The house that everybody said wasn't there. She had no idea how they missed it. It practically took up the whole top of the mountain.

The tiger stiffened under her, then strode forward. "You can see the house?"

Kasi scowled and twisted her hands in his fur. "I'm not making it up, it's really there!"

The tiger huffed. "Yes, it's there, calm down."

Kasi blinked. "You can see it too?"

The tiger shook his head. "Of course I can see it, but humans aren't supposed to be able to."

"Why not? Is it supposed to be invisible or something?"

"Or something." The tiger snorted. "Can you see other things that no one else sees?"

Kasi groaned. "Oh, I see stuff all the time. Dad says it's because my mom, my real mom, was an Irish fairy." She sighed. "Everybody else thinks I'm crazy." Everyone except Grandma.

The tiger tilted an ear back toward her. "Your mother was a faa-ri?"

"Uh-huh." She yawned into the tiger's fur. "She died when I was little." She yawned again.

"Do not fall asleep!"

Kasi groaned. "But I'm tired."

The tiger lengthened his stride. "Hang on tight I will have you home very soon."

Kasi frowned. "You know where I live?"

The tiger huffed. "I know everyone and everything on my island, Kasi-chan."

~ 1 ~

Kasi Stewart jolted awake. She'd fallen asleep in broad daylight. Jet lag was obviously catching up with her; that and her poor sleeping habits of late.

She straightened from her slump on the deck bench of the chugging ferry and rubbed her eyes. The damned snow tiger dream again. It wasn't a bad dream, but ever since her twenty-first birthday it had gotten to the point where her childhood fantasy was the only dream she had anymore. Even the smallest of naps conjured visions of white fur and blue eyes.

She groaned. Damn it, why can't I dream of something else? Anything else? Booze didn't work, sleeping pills didn't either. Nothing stopped the tiger from walking in her dreams. At her wit's end, three weeks ago she'd finally called the one person who seemed to have all the answers to the strange things in her life, her Japanese grandmother.

"Come back to Japan, Kasi-chan. This is where it began. This is where it will end."

Kasi tugged her long sleek black ponytail free from the hood of her silver gray parka and turned to look over the rail. The sea was steel gray and choppy with foam-crested waves. The sky was a hard bright blue. The rich salty scent of the sea was almost…comforting. Her gaze was drawn to the forested island the ferry was passing with its lonely snow-covered mountain peak.

While the rest of the country was blooming with spring, Rishiri Island at the very northern tip of Japan was still wrapped in winter. Her destination was even further north, to the tinier island of Shido. It was also crowned by a small mountain, but it wasn't on any map.

The ferry's steam whistle wailed, announcing that they were approaching the dock. The few other passengers began to gather on the deck.

Kasi unzipped her large square shoulder bag and checked her camera equipment out of sheer habit. Her very first camera had come all the way from Japan, accompanied by an amazingly well-timed phone-call from Grandma. "If what you see is real, it will appear on film. If it is not, it will not." She had chuckled dryly over the long-distance connection. "Of course this does not mean anyone will believe the pictures are real, but you will know. You will know."

Kasi nodded. She did know. She had reams of film to prove it. She'd brought a whole album of her findings just to show her grandma. Her best pictures were of a violet and scarlet appaloosa mustang that the Native Americans called the Rain Horse, a giant Finnish reindeer with three sets of antlers known as Grandfather Winter, bringer of snowstorms, and a huge French wolf with scarlet stripes she had been told was a loupe garou, a werewolf.

No one else would ever believe her photos were actually real, but that was alright. Grandma knew.

Everything in her bag was in order. She'd only brought her favorite Nikon and the barest essentials for development. She didn't need much more than that for this trip. She wasn't going there as a professional photographer to capture wildlife on film. She was on a mission to retrieve her sanity from a dream that refused to let her go.

The ferry's whistle blew again.

Kasi stood up and settled the strap to her heavy bag on her shoulder. Her gaze drifted back across the water to the island barely visible through a haze of fog. She took a deep breath and released it in a whisper. "It's just a dream. There are no tigers in Japan."

"Oh, but there are tigers in Japan." The deep rumbling voice purred from right behind her. "But very few have the eyes to see them."

She stilled in alarm. She'd spoken her statement in English. The masculine reply had also been in English. The fine hairs on her neck rose. The voice was frighteningly similar to the one haunting her dreams, only deeper and far more mature.

A tall, sleek, broad-shouldered man stepped from behind her wearing a heavy black wool overcoat open over his off-white cable-knit sweater and well-worn black jeans. He moved to her left, toward the railing and dropped a battered brown leather back-pack at his feet.

The dark-haired, dark-eyed man lounged against the ferry's rail resting on his elbows only inches from her. Long, straight black hair was pulled back in a loose tail that spilled down his back, very nearly to his waist. He turned to face her and regarded her with midnight eyes. The elegant shape of his jaw, high cheekbones, and fine straight nose gave his face an aristocratic air that was completely spoiled by the lush sensual fullness of his smiling lips. "Things aren't always what they appear to be."

Kasi's breath hitched and her belly gave a little wet clench of interest. He was freaking gorgeous. She frowned slightly. His voice sounded familiar, but she didn't recognize him. Abruptly, her temples gave a slight throb and tingles erupted in the back of her skull. She winced. What the…? The only time she felt that odd sensation was when she was about to see something strange, something weird, something…legendary.

The guy leaned closer. "Are you all right?"

She lifted a hand to wave him away and winced with the ache in her temples. "I'll be…" She froze, staring and felt the world tilt a little to the left.

The dark eyes gazing at her with keen awareness under slanted black brows bled to blue-silver. A double set of midnight blue stripes appeared on his cheekbones and disappeared into his hairline. Dark hair lightened from the temples outward to show black streaks threading through a frost white mane. Delicate points tipped his ears and rose to part his white hair. His jaw-line and cheekbones refined, lending his face an exotic elegance and almost feminine grace.

Whoa… Kasi's couldn't stop staring at him. The graceful Kirin had been utterly breathtaking, but he was painfully beautiful, especially with all that snowy hair.

Snow-white hair… Her heart slammed in her chest. She knew that white hair, those ears, and those markings on his face. Oh my god…

His smile melted away. "What is it?"

Kasi couldn't quite find enough air. It can't be him; that was a dream! Was she still dreaming? She subtly pinched herself and flinched. The man's new appearance didn't change. He was really there. He was real. She decided to take grandma's advice. When in doubt, smile. She pasted on a smile.

He frowned and turned toward her, leaving one hand on the railing, his body moving in a smooth roll of muscle. "You've gone pale. Are you going to faint?"

Kasi swallowed and eased away from him, her smile widening to a grimace. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic… She was used to seeing strange things, but usually from the far end of a telephoto lens, not close enough to touch - and be touched.

His nostrils flared briefly and his frown deepened. "You're afraid?"

Afraid? A nervous chuckle struggled to escape her throat. She was scared shitless. She'd gone on this vacation to avoid therapy, but right at that moment therapy and a bottle of prescription drugs wasn't looking so bad after all.

"Calm down." He lifted a hand tipped in curved blunt claws rather than fingernails.

Her eyes focused on the long claws and froze. Her heart slammed so hard in her chest she was convinced it was about to break free. Calm down? How the hell was she supposed to calm down? He had freaking claws!

His gaze followed her gaze to his hand, then back to her face. "Crap… You can see me." It wasn't a question.

Kasi's gaze snapped to his sky-blue eyes. See him? Was he saying that no one else saw him this way? She released a small breath. Of course they didn't. No one ever saw what she saw.

He turned to face her and straightened, raising both hands, the fingers spread, the pale claws tipped in black, and curved. "Don't scream."

Scream? Annoyance cut through her panic and her brows furrowed. She'd never screamed in her life. Yelled maybe, and cussed definitely, but she did not scream. And why the hell was she just standing there? She turned away from the rail, away from her walking, talking dream, away from him.

"Wait." He lunged around her, his outstretched arms blocking her flight, his coat flapping open in the sea wind. "There's no need to be frightened."

Kasi jerked back from him, her spine making hard contact with the ferry's railing. She stared up, and up. He was a full head and shoulders taller than she. Her bag slid from her shoulder and thumped on the deck by her feet.

He moved closer and framed her with his arms, his hands gripping the rail on either side of her. The heat from his body washed over her. "I'm not going to hurt you. Talk to me."

Her eyes widened. Talk to him? And say what? 'Hello tiger?' She choked back a completely inappropriate chuckle. The warm aroma of his body, clean, fresh, and masculine drifted to her, distracting her thoughts. He was so close. He was so beautiful. She'd never seen anyone, or anything so utterly exquisite, and yet so very masculine. The speed of her heart eased, though it continued to pound. Her belly fluttered and moisture pooled.

He smiled, revealing slightly oversized incisors. "You don't smell scared now."

Smell…? Anger flashed through Kasi, freeing her tongue. Exotic or not, he was still a man, and much too close. "Back off."

He grinned, not bothering to hide his long teeth. "Oh, so you can talk?"

A small group of passengers in hooded parkas and carrying backpacks wandered nearby.

Kasi eyed them. She'd bet her entire bank account they saw nothing more than a man and a woman standing very close together, in fact inappropriately close. Her gaze snapped back to his. "Oh, I can talk." She smiled. "I can yell too. Back off or I'll prove just how loud I can be."

His gaze narrowed but his smile didn't waver. "Are you threatening me?"

She bared her teeth in something that wasn't even close to a smile. "You bet your ass I am."

"Is that so?" His pink tongue flicked across his full bottom lip.

Her gaze followed the trail of his tongue despite her better judgment. He really did have the most kissable mouth, once you overlooked the fangs.

He snorted and his smile broadened. "Do it."

Kasi's gaze shot back up to his heated blue eyes. Do it? Anger surged through her. Did he think she wouldn't? Staring him straight in the eyes, she took a deep breath. What was the Japanese word for 'pervert'? Oh yeah, 'hentai'. She opened her mouth and shouted. "Hen-!"

He swooped down and covered her open mouth with his, swallowing the other half of the word. His wet slightly rough velvet tongue swept past her parted lips to brush against hers.

Kasi jolted with the invasion and stared eye to eye, shocked. He kissed me?

He stared right back, his eyes just as wide and apparently just as shocked. His tongue deliberately swept against hers slowly, and more firmly, as though examining her flavor. His gaze narrowed.

She grabbed onto the upper arms of his coat-sleeves to shove him back. It was like shoving against a tree. His arms were as solid as knotted pine under his sleeves and rooted firmly to the rails to either side of her. A small moan of frustration escaped her.

He pressed closer, apparently taking her small sound for encouragement. His head tilted to the side, his lips shifting against hers to fully cover her mouth. His eyes drifted half-closed and his tongue stroked hers as though tasting something utterly delicious.

Kasi pressed her tongue against his, parrying his explorations out of sheer self-defense, and reassessed her predicament. He was kissing her, and he wasn't showing any signs of stopping. But worst of all, he was good at it. She hadn't been kissed this thoroughly, or enthusiastically, since… Well, ever. It didn't help matters that he tasted clean, like fresh water with a slight hint of tea.

His hands lifted to cup her head and hold her in place against his mouth. His claws slid into her hair to lightly score her scalp, leaving delicious tingles in their wake. Abruptly, he sucked, drawing her tongue into his mouth.

Shivers washed down Kasi's spine and her knees weakened. She stopped trying to shove at his arms and clutched at his coat-sleeves to keep from falling at his feet. Her tongue came in contact with one of his blunt upper fangs. Curious, she probed with the tip of her tongue.

A rumble vibrated in his chest. It sounded like a purr.

Someone giggled.

Kasi's eyes snapped open. She didn't even remember closing them. Her gaze slid to the side.
A small tittering crowd of about eight or so people, possibly every passenger on the ferry stood facing them, all pretending not to watch. Hands covered mouths, whispers and gazes slid between them and each other.

Kasi's cheeks heated. Crap! The island's town was really small. Not a whole lot of people even knew the island existed, which meant all of these people probably lived on the island, or knew someone that did. It was only a matter of time before someone told grandma she'd been kissing someone in public. Crap! Crap! Crap!

Kasi focused on the man kissing her and fury filled her veins. Public displays of affection were no big deal back home in America, but in Japan, it just wasn't done - especially not with men one didn't know. The bastard had just publicly labeled her as a slut. She slowly raised her fist and punched him against the side of his head, hard.

He flinched and broke the kiss. "Ow!" He grabbed her upper arms and his gaze narrowed. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Kasi narrowed her eyes at him and her voice rasped out in a low angry whisper. "Who the hell do you think you are, grabbing and kissing people you don't know? Do you have any idea what you just did to my reputation?"

He smiled but his gaze remained narrowed. "But I do know you." He licked his reddened lips. "I'd know your taste anywhere."

The blood fled from her cheeks. "What?"

His smile returned and it was a touch smug. "Welcome back Kasi-chan."

Kasi-chan? Kasi froze. It's him…

He winked and his gaze shifted to the people gathered behind them. His palms slid down her arms to clasp both her ice-cold hands, engulfing them in his warm palms. He turned to speak in semi-formal Japanese. "Please accept my most sincere apologies. It has been a small eternity since I have seen my betrothed." He turned to face Kasi and his smile broadened. "I was overcome…with joy."

"Your betrothed?" A young woman in a bright pink parka clasped her hands together and squealed. "Oh! Shiratora-sama, how romantic!"

Shiratora-sama? Kasi felt ice wash through her veins. This exotic man was a Shiratora, a member of the family that owned the whole island of Shido? Oh my god… She had to work to hide her wince. He was a Shiratora and she'd punched him in the head! Grandma was going to skin her alive for such disrespect to his family!

The entire small group approached and started bobbing bows and offering their congratulations. Shiratora nodded and smiled at the small group, accepting their congratulations with casual ease.

Kasi blinked. Wait a minute, never mind that he was a Shiratora, he'd just told everyone that she was marrying him. Japan was one of the few countries where such announcements were practically legally binding. She pasted on a huge fake smile, leaned close, and spoke in careful, but soft English. "Your betrothed? Are you out of your mind?" She wriggled her fingers attempting to slide her hands from his grasp.

"Hm?" He turned to her, his fingers tightening around her hands, and his brows lifted. "But you are my betrothed."

The ferry's steam whistle blew twice, announcing that the ferry was about to dock. Their small audience wandered off waving and smiling.

Kasi glared up at him and tugged at her captured hands. "I can't be your betrothed. I don't even know your name!"

"Ah…" He delivered a devastatingly warm smile. "I'm Shiratora, you may call me Yuki."

Kasi felt that smile all the way down to her toes. Jeeze, that smile is lethal, and not because of the fangs. She swallowed hard. "Nice to meet you, Mister Shiratora." She kept her voice mild to hide the tremor that was trying to sneak in. "May I have my hands back, please?"

His smile thinned and hardened. "Call me Yuki."

Oh you sneaky shit! Calling him by his first name gave him permission to use hers. Forget respect, she should have hit the pushy bastard harder. She ground her teeth. Why the hell was she even bothering to argue? He was already using her first name, hell he was using her childhood name without her permission.

The ship's bell clanged, then a voice crackled over the loudspeaker in Japanese. "All passengers for Shido Island, please come to the forward deck to depart."

Kasi took a deep calming breath. "Fine, Yuki. Now may I have my hands back?"

"It took you ten years to come back to me, Kasi-chan." He snorted. "Give me one good reason why I should release you?"

Kasi lifted her brows and smiled with all the sweetness she could summon, which admittedly wasn't much. "I need to collect my camera bag." She rolled her eyes downward, leading his gaze to the large battered bag at her feet.

Shiratora frowned down at her bag, then turned to his other side and frowned at his brown leather backpack just two steps away. "Shit."

Kasi smiled up at him and waited, breathing calmly and evenly, forcing her body to relax.

Shiratora scowled down at her. "You realize there's nowhere on that island I can't find you."

Kasi broadened her smile. "Then you have nothing to worry about." She tilted her head to the side. "Right?"

Shiratora snorted. His gaze narrowed and a predatory smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "You're a little troublemaker, I can tell."

Kasi lifted one brow. "Oh? Look who's talking?" Her voice was very dry.

Shiratora chuckled and released Kasi's hands.

Her smile firmly in place, Kasi took a deep breath and rubbed her wrists.

Shiratora turned and took a step to the side, toward his bag.

Watching him carefully, Kasi reached down to snag her shoulder-strap to her bag.

He took a second step, and reached down for his battered back-pack.

Kasi bolted for the forward deck running low and fast, her ponytail flying behind her, thoroughly grateful that she'd thought to wear her sneakers.

"Kasi!" The shout was loud, and annoyed.

She practically flew past the man posted at the exit. Her heels thundered down the broad gangplank and she pounded across the gravel toward the small parking lot where Grandma had told her she'd be waiting. Screw her luggage, she'd come back for it later.

She spotted the small silver Subaru parked by the trees at curb and smiled grimly as she ran. Her heart pounded with excitement. He said he could find her did he? Well, she was a trained professional when it came to hiding from predators. Let's see him try.

WINTER'S KISS

Available ONLY in

SEXY BEAST III
Anthology

APHRODESIA
Erotic Romance
A Division of Kensington Books

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