ALIEN SHIFTER ROMANCE: Alien Tigers - The Complete Series (Alien Invasion Abduction Shapeshifter Romance) (Paranormal Science Fiction Fantasy Anthologies & Short reads) Read Online Free

entire room. “What. Do. We. Do?”
    Anita was the first to speak. “I don’t think we can use force. He will use that against us. Israel was our only real ally there, and now it’s obvious that that’s gone.”
    “Are you crazy? We have to use force,” Bruce cut in.
    Anita blinked twice. There he was, challenging her again. “An executive order?” she demanded. “To do what, destroy our international standing for the next hundred years?”
    Bruce shook his head, not even deigning her fit to look at as he argued with her.
    For the first time, Anita felt like she was the only person in the room taking anything personally. She didn’t like it, but she couldn’t help herself. It was something with his voice, or his face, or his eyes…
    “No, a resolution,” he remarked.
    “So, you want to start a war?” Anita asked. Her heart was pounding against her chest, and for the first time in the two years that she had been the Secretary of Defense, she felt that she was standing at the front lines of a decision that could change the world forever.
    Bruce leaned into her in a way that made her feel like they were the only two people in the room. “A war is already happening. If we want to come out winning, we have to fight it,” he said curtly. 
    Anita had to physically tear her eyes away from him and focus on the president. She didn’t want this at all, but she couldn’t for the life of her come up with another solution. Horace, the director of the CIA, spoke up first, his strong, New Yorker's accent filling the room. “Look. We don’t have a lot of time. If we push for a resolution, we got backing. And just doing it might be enough to get Putin to back off. This doesn’t mean we have to go to war. It just shows that we’re willing to.”
    Jori spoke in a subdued voice. “We can sell it to the press. It’ll up your ratings and take everyone’s mind off of the train wreck that is the domestic situation.”
    The president nodded. “Bradshaw and Harrington, I need a proposal on my desk by tomorrow morning.”
    Anita gulped. She was about to spend the night with Bruce…. Drafting a resolution

Chapter Five
    Anita stood outside, waiting for Bruce and wondering how the hell she had landed herself in this situation. Soon enough, she heard his footsteps behind her. She turned to find him staring down at him. It was the first time she had noticed how much taller than her he was. Being around someone so big didn’t make her feel small, it made her feel safe…
    “So, how do you want to do this?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I honestly don’t even know. I’m completely against this, you know.”
    He chuckled as the two of them began to take an aimless walk. “How the hell did Holland appoint a pacifist to Secretary of Defense?”
    “Because Secretary of Defense is just that, a defensive position, not an offensive one. Only a pacifist can be trusted not to get those two confused,” she replied.
    He nodded. “So you admit that you’re a pacifist?” he asked.
    She shrugged. “I was in the military for almost eight years. Say what you will,” she said, shamelessly bragging about her resume.
    “Still a little young to be defending the free world,” Bruce muttered.
    Her lips shifted into a crooked smile. “I knew it. It was only a matter of time before you brought up my age to use it against me.”
    He shrugged. “You look like you’re skipping class, not helping run the country.”
    “Since when is looking young a bad thing?” she demanded.
    “Since you’re a woman in government.”
    Anita glowered, floored at his intelligent insight. “You’re right. I didn’t even think to comment on the fact that you look like you’re in your late twenties too. So what’s your story?” she asked.
    He scoffed. “Tonight isn’t about me.”
    Anita winced. She felt oddly embarrassed that she had attempted to make things personal, as if to find some common grounds between them, and he had rejected her