Bisexual: Desired by the Tigers: Bisexual Menage Romantic Suspense (Menage, Shifters, Tiger, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Short Story) by Summer Cooper Read Free Book Online Page B

of water in the fridge. She grabbed the water reasoning it could be refilled so it wasn’t really stealing. She made her way upstairs and out onto the roof deck, grabbing a wall blanket from the linen closet on the way. She curled into one of the reclining deck chairs, pulled the blanket over her swig to the water and then let herself drift into sleep.

Chapter Two
    Axel Kehoe watched with amusement as Julie inched her way down the back porch roof. She’d been sneaking out of the house that way since she’d been twelve or thirteen. She didn’t seem to realize that once she was over the age of majority, her parents couldn’t stop her from leaving the house when she wanted to. Even in the dim light from the streetlamp, Axel could see that Julie was a good 50 pounds lighter than when she left town. He’d heard rumors of what she’d been through and it worried him. He should have never dragged her into that job and he had regretted it ever sense.
    Axel was a big man in his late twenties. Second in command to Eduardo Calzone, he knew that he must look bigger, harder, and badder than any of the other gang members if he didn’t want to be challenged on a weekly basis. So he had trained, and continued to train. His hard work paid off; Axel was known as the baddest of the bad in three states. Now he used his training to follow Julie as silently and lethally as a big cat. Not many would be able to see him in the shadows, and those who did would know to stay away.
    When Julie headed for the marina, Axel had known where she was going. He cut ahead of her, trotting down the town roads instead of following her along the river. When Julie found the porch window open it was because Axel had opened it for her. When she curled into the deck chair on the roof of the boathouse, he was watching her from the shadows.
    He was still watching when the sun rose high enough to rest on her face and she opened her eyes. She did not look surprised to see him but she gathered the blanket tighter around her and her mouth thinned into a grim line. When Axel came to sit on the foot of her lounge chair, she tucked her feet under, pulling her legs further away from him.
    “Axel,” she said. He could hear the pain in her voice.
    “Julie,” he said. “You’re back.” The pain in her voice stabbed at his heart. She had been his girl, his one love and he had failed her. He had not been able to protect her from himself.
    “It’s hard to find a job when you don’t have any skills,” she said, and he could hear pain and anger in her voice now too. “People in the city, they aren’t what they seem.”
    “Julie!” he started but he didn’t know what to say, there was nothing to say. He longed to take her in his arms, to hold her and stroke her hair and tell her how very sorry he was.
    “Axel,” she said, “what are you doing here?”
    “I’m trying to keep you safe,” he said. “Someone from the city followed you.”
    “I should’ve known they wouldn’t let me go that easily,” she said. She dropped her head and Axel had to stop himself from reaching out to her. “I don’t know what to do,” she despaired. “I can’t stay here forever. If you found me they could find me too.”
    “I have an advantage,” he said. “I know where you live.”
    “They’ll be wondering where I am now. Thinking they’ve lost me forever.”
    “Come with me. I’ll take you somewhere safe and then I’ll go tell your parents what happened.” He stood up and reached out his hand. She hesitated. He was about to lament; he thought he’d never earn her trust again. She suddenly reached out and took his hand. He pulled her gently to her feet and led her down to the dock.
    When they reached the road, Axel pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a gang wannabe. Then he slid off his hoody and draped it over her shoulders, with the hood drooping low over her face.
    “I can’t see where I’m going,” she said. “I’ll fall.”
    “I’ll make