“Uh, yeah,” she said. “About that…” Her voice trailed away as he waited patiently for her to finish. But she didn’t know what to say. “I…uh…”

“You are confused and overwhelmed. Yesterday you were in Illinois where all made sense. And today…” He stepped forward and gently touched her cheek. It was a familiar gesture, but one she didn’t step away from. And where their skin touched, a tingling began that heated her face. “Today is the beginning of something very different. I understand, Tigress Tracy. I will wait until you are ready. I am just so pleased that you are finally here at the temple.”

She blinked, her words—her thoughts—abruptly blank. He was that suave. And while she stood there looking at him, a student entered the hallway. The woman glanced coyly at Stephen, her manner obviously flirtatious, and Tracy was abruptly surprised by a surge of anger. Stephen was here for her!

Tracy blinked. Except she wasn’t interested in Stephen.

She glanced back at the handsome man, seeing wealth and sophistication in his every breath. Better yet, he barely even noticed the other woman. His focus remained completely on her, and she smiled with feminine satisfaction. No, not feminine—feline. Feline satisfaction so strong she almost purred. So this was how the tigresses got their name. What she felt at this moment was very primal, very animalistic, and yes, very, very catty.

Tracy lifted the roses in her arms and all but shoved them at the other girl. “Can you put these in water please?” she asked, not giving the woman a choice. Then she turned back to Stephen. “Perhaps it would have been better to rest before meeting the Tigress Mother. She is a bit more than I expected.”

He grinned. “My first meeting with her was horrible. I spilled the tea all over my pants and she had me stand around in my underwear while they were cleaned.”

Tracy felt her eyebrows rise. “How old were you?”

He shrugged. “Fifteen. She was my, um, birthday present from my father.”

It took a moment for her to understand exactly what kind of present he meant. “Must have been some kind of birthday,” she drawled.

Stephen’s mouth curved into a slow, seductive smile. “Oooooooh, yeah.”

Tracy was equal parts intrigued and shocked. Who gave a tigress to a teenage boy? But before she could speak, he focused all his very potent attention back on her.

“Do you want to clean up before dinner? My chef has prepared the most perfect American meal for you, but there will be Chinese delicacies, as well. Anything your heart desires—”

“Whoa!” Tracy said, holding up her hand. “Your chef?”

He looked charmingly befuddled. “Of course. A new tigress is something to celebrate,” he murmured.

Tracy looked at him, trying to sort through her conflicting thoughts. There was little air in the narrow hallway, so she could smell the man’s cologne clearly. It was dark, carnal, and…and perhaps it wasn’t cologne after all. It was his own scent—as strongly masculine as the Tigress Mother’s femininity. And damn if Tracy didn’t feel a moistening deep in her core. She didn’t want to be interested in this man. She didn’t want to be charmed by his good looks, his obvious money, and most of all, the way he set her at ease. But she was charmed. She was also curious. Did he kiss like Nathan? Were all dragons this magnetic?

She lifted her gaze to his and without conscious decision, she licked her lips in enticement. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. Tracy had a split second to be shocked by her own behavior before Stephen closed the distance between their mouths.

He kissed her. He pressed his mouth to hers, teasing her with his lips, stroking her with his tongue, and yes, he did those same little nips that Nathan did. But Stephen had his own style—more possessive, more demanding. He took what he wanted from her lips, silently daring her to match his fervor taste for taste.

She didn’t refuse. She wanted to. Her thoughts were on Nathan, and yet her body was running the show. She returned the kiss, her inner tigress roaring to life as she abruptly shoved her hands in his hair and held him close. They were fused—mouth-to-mouth—fighting, eating, consuming one another without thought as to where they were or what they were doing. It was an act of the body devoid of mind, and yet it was so powerfully primal that she didn’t stop.

His hands were on her shirt, and if it had been a blouse, she was sure it would have been on the floor. But she was wearing a collared T-shirt, the one with her brother’s high-school name embroidered on the front, and it would not come off without being stripped over her head. Which meant they had to stop kissing. Which meant…

She broke away, jerking her shirt from his hands. Tracy stumbled backward, her breath coming in gasps. Gawd, they were in the hallway! And she had been a breath away from mating on the floor with him!

He swallowed and drew a shaky hand across his mouth. “My God,” he whispered. “You are incredible!”

She shook her head, not even knowing what she meant by it.

“It’s true then,” he continued. “You are a virgin. You must be. No one has—”

“Stop it! Just stop it!” she gasped.

Stephen swallowed and slowly straightened. He smoothed out his tie, readjusted his pants. She could see the bulge there despite the perfect tailoring. He was shaken, his movements betraying an anxiety she guessed he rarely showed. But in his eyes she saw an insatiable hunger—dark and predatory. It scared the hell out of her. Not because he so obviously wanted her, but because she felt an answering cry inside her. The lust had nothing to do with her mind, but everything to do with power calling to power—male energy reaching for female—and she hated it.

“I don’t even know you,” she panted.

“Tigress training is not about knowing one another,” he answered, his voice slowly readjusting from a husky rasp back to smoother, more cultured tones. “It is about power mixing, mating and—”

“Heaven. Yeah, I know. I’ve been there.”

“And you can go back,” he coaxed, stepping up before her again. Thankfully, he didn’t touch her. “With me, we can both go back to heaven many times. This I know.” He took a deep breath. “The hardest part will be keeping your virginity intact. That must be the reason you are so strong.”

“No.” She forced the words out quickly before she changed her mind. “I’m not an animal. No offense, but it’s not what I want. It’s strong, really strong, but I’m not a beast to be controlled by lust.” She looked up at him and saw him staring at her in dumbfounded shock. Then he closed his mouth, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgment.

“I forgot you are new to this. Such power…” He shook his head. “You are quite right. We must first get to know each other. Talk. You can attend some classes. Then we will speak again.”

She was tempted. Lord, how she was tempted. But primal power without emotion? Without a mind guiding it? “No,” she repeated. “I…I’m not doing any of this.”

He nodded, his eyes canted down. “As you wish,” he said. His tone and body posture said he was bowing to her wishes, but Tracy knew it was a lie. He was waiting, stalking, biding his time until the right moment to strike. And God help her, her belly tightened at the thought. Stalked by a rich, handsome man? How awesome was that?

“I…I think I’m going to the kitchen now. I think I need something to eat.”

He nodded again. “An excellent idea. And I shall find Nathan. He and I have some business to discuss.”

Tracy felt her breath trap in her chest. “Business?”

“Nothing important. I’m sure you have enough to handle right now without trying to sort through the complex financial matters of the temple.”

In other words, she shouldn’t worry her pretty head about it. Of course, he was right. She had no business poking her nose into their finances. Still, she stayed in the hallway, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as she tried to make sense of her thoroughly alien environment. “Nathan never mentioned anything about you and the business side of the temple.”