Midnight Ash (A Blushing Death Novel) by Suzanne M. Sabol Read Free Book Online Page A

for the pain, a large, snarling tiger stalked toward us in a calm and self-possessed stride. Its movements were grace mixed with the lithe roll of a predator. I wanted to bolt like any normal person would in the face of a fucking tiger but I didn’t. I stood my ground.
    I couldn’t outrun either of them. My muscles tightened, filling my body with adrenaline as tension spread through me and my blood thundered in my ears.
    Rationally, I should have been more afraid of the giant tiger standing at her side but it was the small woman in front of me that sent my pulse racing. Jesus Christ, she was scary and I couldn’t even say why.
    A brush of heat pressed against my thigh in a long swipe of fur, power, and maleness. I glanced down, not daring to keep my eyes from the petite woman just out of reach in front of me. Hell yeah, I had my own little beasty, although not so little.
    Fuck you, tiger lady!
    A large silver-furred wolf sat beside me, prim, proper, with a snarl curling his jowls. My lips curved into a malicious smile I felt in my bones.
    The wolf’s head, the size of a watermelon, reached my chest. He evaluated me with the clearest blue eyes I’d ever seen, filled with understanding and something human as he growled, a deep ferocious sound that reverberated through his chest. If he’d directed that growl at me, it would’ve made me piss my pants. The tiny ninja, however, didn’t even flinch.
    Ours, that other voice whispered through my mind.
    The wolf’s silver coat shimmered in the candlelight, his silken fur was long and shaggy as if made for the harsh winter of the Siberian tundra. His blue eyes almost twinkled under the soft light and I was caught for a moment in their depths. They were the same blue of the Caribbean Sea, bright, clear, warm. I wanted to reach out to stroke his fur, feel its thickness between my fingers. I reached out toward him and found my knife already snug in my hand.
    I’m dreaming. Oh, thank God. She can’t kill me in a dream. Right? I hadn’t moved to grab my knife. I knew that in my gut. Good thing my subconscious came prepared.
    The tiger plopped his large ass on the ground, swishing his tail back and forth as he sat next to the tiny woman, brushing his face against her hip. I thought for sure that he’d knock her over but she stood tall and firm, like a tree anchored in the ground. The tiger watched us, his eyes narrow slits of swirling orange, green, and black as he sniffed the air in front of him, sizing us up.
    “You will not be so easy to kill as they suspect.” She spoke in a surprising high-pitched, very feminine voice that seemed disjointed from the power that still prickled along my skin. Her accent was sharp and halting, Japanese maybe. She looked from me to the wolf beside me with what I could only assume was annoyance. Good! I didn’t want to make the big baddie too comfortable.
    “I’m sorry to disappoint everyone,” I said with a sarcastic bite to my words and a sardonic smile. One day that tone was going to get me killed when I pissed the wrong person off but for now, it worked.
    The werewolf beside me huffed as if he agreed with me.
    “Men underestimate us. I do not,” she said in an even, almost pleasant voice. She bowed again, the meet-and-greet over evidently. Her eyes never left mine. I took it as a sign of respect that she considered me dangerous enough to keep her gaze on me. I did the same.
    She stroked the tiger’s head, scratching behind its ears like a pet. We stared at each other for a moment or two, our gazes locked in a badass showdown. I had no idea who was winning; I just knew I couldn’t lose. The wolf growled low in his throat beside me, rippling the fur along his back and vibrating against my leg as his haunches rose. A small smile crested my lips. My wolf was done waiting and so was I. I sank my hands deep in his thick, coarse silver fur behind his ears and let the fullness of it slide between my fingers.
    Mine, that voice whispered in my