Pretty Kitty (5 page)

Pure evil shone in his eyes, malevolence so fierce her heart nearly stopped with fright. She tried to say something but she was suddenly incapable of speech.

“Thought you’d got away from me, didn’t you, bitch?” he spat. His fingers grabbed her face, digging into her like steel claws. “It’s been no end of trouble to find you.”

He pressed his mouth to hers, demanding a kiss. When she tried to close her mouth, he squeezed her face harder. “Open, damn it. I want my tongue in there.”

Aisha tried to keep her mouth closed but his painful grip forced it open and his tongue thrust into her with brutal force. She tried to pull at his arms, to break his hold on her but his strength was too much. Her stomach heaved and she was afraid she would vomit into his mouth.

When he broke the kiss at last, he slapped her across the face so hard her ears rang. “You’re mine, you ungrateful bitch. I took you. I marked you. You belong to me.”

“You raped me,” she cried. “Right as I was coming into my first heat. You left me unable to shift, an outcast among my own kind. How could you be so cruel?”

“If you just hadn’t fought me so hard, I could have made it wonderful for you. We could have mated and none of the rest would have happened.” He slapped her again. “I’m going to have to punish you for that, Aisha. Then I’m going to fuck you every way possible so you’ll know once and for all who you belong to. And it isn’t that bastard bartender you took home with you last night. I have something special planned for him.”

Oh, gods. Max.

She couldn’t let him hurt Max but what could she do? She had never felt such pure evil in her life or felt so helpless in its powerful grip and it frightened her to such a degree she couldn’t think straight.

Grabbing the neckline of her dress, he yanked on the material, ripping it nearly all the way down. Her bra was next, heat flaring in his eyes as he looked at her naked breasts.

“Maturity becomes you, Aisha. Your breasts are gorgeous.” He gripped one so hard with his fingers it brought tears to her eyes, but the pain was nothing compared to the vicious twist he gave to her nipple. He laughed at her discomfort and pulled the nipple into his mouth, viciously biting it.

Aisha swallowed the scream, knowing the sound would only incite his blood.

“Let’s see the rest of you,” he snarled, shoving her down on the couch.

Holding both of her hands in one of his, he tore the last shred of her dress so it fell away, then ripped her panties with one stroke. Using his legs to shove hers apart, he stared at her exposed pussy, his eyes glittering with hunger.

“Oh, yes. You’re definitely ripe.”

Bending slightly, he shoved two fingers roughly inside her cunt. This time she couldn’t help the cry of pain that fell from her. He was rough and everything he did hurt unbearably. She had no idea how to stop this, but she was afraid he’d kill her if she didn’t.

When he yanked out his fingers and lifted them to his mouth, licking them, she took a deep breath and forced a smile.

“M-Maybe you were right, Gunnar.” She tried to still the trembling in her voice. “Maybe I just didn’t give you a chance. M-Maybe now that I’m older, I know you were right.”

He stared at her, his face expressionless.
“Yeah?
Why the sudden change of heart? Wasn’t the bartender enough for you? Didn’t all those other strays you took home satisfy you?”

Whatever he saw in her face enraged him because he slapped her again, raking his nails across her skin.

“Please,” she begged. “Don’t do that again. I’ll be good. I promise. I-I can make it good for you.”

Max, Max, Max. Where are you? Can you read me from a distance?

“Damn right you’ll make it good for me.” Yanking up the shreds of her dress, he wound it around her arms and hands, immobilizing them. He used the scrap of her panties to tie her ankles together. “Can’t take a chance you’ll run while I get ready, bitch.”

Aisha struggled against her bindings as Gunnar unbuttoned his shirt, his violent gaze locked on her thrashing body. He was grinning at her with pure malevolence when they both heard the doorbell ring.

“Aisha?”
Max’s voice.
“Honey, I gave you my key. You need to let me in.”

Gunnar’s hand stilled. “Ah,” he said. “The bartender comes to fuck you, slut.”

The doorbell rang again and again. Then they heard him pounding on the door.

“Max,” she screamed. “Be careful.”

“Aisha?”

“Be careful,” she yelled again, trying to leverage
herself
upwards.

Gunnar turned towards the door just as it came crashing in behind the full force of Max’s weight.

Max took in the scene at once, his face filled with fury as he spotted Aisha restrained on the couch. When he saw the marks on her face and her breast, a growl like the fury of hell ripped from his throat.

“Stay away, bartender,” Gunnar said in a low, vicious voice. “She’s mine. I’m taking her out of here to finish what I started.”

“Fuck no, you’re not,” Max spat at him and advanced into the room.

With an unholy sound, Gunnar changed before her eyes. Where the man had stood, she now saw a mountain lion baring his teeth. The air around Max shimmered, his clothes shredded and in seconds he was in his panther form, a low growl vibrating in his throat.

Aisha wanted to do something to help, but she didn’t know if bound hand and foot as she was, she could change. For the moment all she could do was watch helplessly as the two cats circled each other.

Gunnar swatted at Max with a paw, but Max lithely evaded him, circling around, leaping on the other cat. Gunnar shook him off as if he was no more than a flea and raked a claw down Max’s side. Aisha gasped as a thin ribbon of blood seeped into the black pelt.

Max leapt sideway, reached out and dragged his own claws down Gunnar’s hindquarters, drawing blood from his foe. The air was ripe with the scents of animal testosterone and the metallic essence of blood.

The cats circled each other again, each looking for the right opening.
The best opportunity.
Aisha knew Gunnar was probably the stronger of the two, his strength fuelled by evil. But Max’s eyes gleamed with the rage that filled him and would give him the extra strength he’d need.

Aisha could barely breathe as she took in the tableau playing out before her, the two magnificent animals each seeking the other’s weakness. She struggled futilely against the material binding her, devastated at the possibility that Max might be the one destroyed. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it would leap from her chest.

Max snarled again, stalking the mountain lion, circling him. Watching, Aisha realised he was working Gunnar into a corner of the room, backing him up, trapping him in a narrow space. Then he leapt, his teeth sinking into Gunnar’s neck, his claws digging into the cat’s shoulders, an unholy sound roaring from his throat.

Gunnar scrabbled on the floor, leapt, twisted, turning in midair as he tried to dislodge the panther from his back, but Max simply sank his claws and teeth in deeper. The wild dance went on and on, Gunnar thrashing, heaving himself against the wall then rolling on the floor in an effort to gain back the upper hand. Such fury blazed in Max’s eyes, Aisha could almost feel the fire.

When Gunnar managed to twist around and partially dislodge Max, turning his head to sink his teeth into Max’s neck, Aisha felt her own rage bubbling up. No! She couldn’t lose Max. Not now. Not when…

Closing her eyes, she summoned her inner cat the way Max had taught her. For one long fearful moment she was afraid it wasn’t going to work. Then she felt it, the stretching of bones and skin, the claws bursting through at the ends of her fingers, her anger so strong it shredded the cloth binding her, and her cat broke free.

Sounding her own roar, she leapt through the air onto Gunnar’s back, biting him viciously.

The shock of her teeth sinking into him distracted Gunnar long enough for Max to break free and make his own assault on the enemy’s throat. This time he hit the jugular, ripping it open so that blood spurted everywhere.

Aisha hung on, not willing to let go until she was sure the fight was over. Gunnar fell backwards then rolled onto his side, Max’s teeth still buried in his flesh. His legs twitched, his tail switched once,
then
he was still.
Unmoving.

Dead.

Max lifted his head, his face smeared with the blood of his enemy. But the
rage was gone from his eyes, replaced by concern and…love
. Yes!

Aisha backed away from Gunnar’s body and sat on her haunches, waiting for a signal from the panther.

Change, little cat.
Now.

Without hesitation, she centred herself and in seconds was back in human form, facing a naked, human Max. He reached a hand out to caress her swollen, bleeding cheek, the fire back in his eyes.

“I’m fine,” she insisted in a trembling voice.
“Really.
He…didn’t do anything, you got here in time.”

“He’s the one, isn’t he?”

She nodded.

“Then good riddance.” He sighed. “I have some cleanup to do but first let’s get you taken care of.”

“I can wait,” she told him. “Do what you have to.”

He shook his head.
“First things first.”

Propping the front door shut as best he could, Max took Aisha upstairs and into the shower, bathing her very carefully, his eyes angry and sad by turns.

“How could I let this happen to you?” he asked over and over.

“Max,” she repeated, “it’s not your fault. Why would we even think of him being here? I thought he’d forgotten about me a long time ago.”

He dried her off with a tenderness that almost made her cry,
then
wrapped her in a flannel robe of his. Pulling a first aid kit from the bathroom closet, he tended to her scratches, covering them with an antiseptic cream.

“Cat shifters heal fast,” he told her, “but we’ll help this process along. Come on. I want to get some ice on that cheek before I call my alpha.”

She was sitting in a big chair in the living room, still wrapped in the robe but also covered with a light blanket, holding the ice pack to her face when Max opened the door to a tall older man, bigger and broader than Max. The expression on his face was like stone until he spotted Aisha then it softened.

“
This her
?” he asked.

Max nodded. “Paul, meet Aisha McClellan. Aisha, honey, this is Paul Rodriguez, the alpha of my pack.”

“I’m so sorry about this,” she began as Paul moved across the room towards her.

He took her free hand and folded it into both of his.
“Nothing to apologise for.
It’s unfortunate that there are always these rogue shifters to deal with. I told Max on the phone he never should have waited so long to tell me about you.” He grinned and his face actually lit up. “Unfortunately, our Max is too private for his own good. He should have told us he’d found his mate.”

Her eyes widened.
“Mate?”

Max moved forward. “Paul, listen, I—”

“Oh, yes,” he continued. “It’s very obvious.” He lifted her hand and kissed the knuckles. “Let me welcome you to our pack.”

Aisha was stunned, speechless, as she watched the two men conversing in low voices.

Paul
nodded,
his face serious then Max helped her rise from the chair.

“I want you to go into the bedroom and wait for me,” he told her. “Paul and I are going to take out the trash. Then I’ll be back with you.” He grinned. “By the way, that was some exhibition you put on. Thanks for saving my life.”

“Max?” She stopped, refusing to move. “Wait. What Paul
said.
About being your mate.”

Max held her gaze with his. “I didn’t expect him to blurt it out like that. I mean, I wanted time to explain things to you, to—”

“Stop.”
She smiled. “I know what that means. And he’s right. I knew it last night and so did you.” She lifted on her toes and brushed her mouth against his. “I can make it to the bedroom myself.
Hurry.
I’ll be waiting for you.”

When she reached Max’s room she pulled the covers back, took off her robe and slipped beneath the covers, still holding the iced to her battered face. She had every intention of being awake when Max finally finished, but she was so exhausted from everything that her eyes closed automatically and she drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

“Good morning.”

Aisha opened her eyes to find Max’s face close to hers, his mouth curved in a smile. She glanced around the room to see the bedside lamp lit and the first edge of dawn through the open curtains.

“How long did I sleep?” she asked, wondering what time it was.

“Just a couple of hours.”
He trailed his lips over her face, placing soft kisses on
her
 
cheeks
, her forehead, even her nose and chin. “I should probably have let you sleep longer but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

She frowned.
“For what?
And what did you do about…the body?”

“Paul took care of it.” He licked her lower lip. “He wants me to bring you to a pack meeting Sunday afternoon.”

“Because?”
She knew the answer and couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice.

“I think you know why.”

His kiss this time was far from gentle, hungrier, more claiming. His tongue found its way into her mouth, sweeping the slick surface, gliding against her own tongue. One hand moved up to gently cup her uninjured breast, his thumb rasping back and forth across the nipple.

“I love you, Aisha.” His voice was rough with passion and heat. “I think I have since the first night you walked into the bar.”

“Oh, Max,” she sighed. “I love you, too. I never thought we’d get to this point.”

His hand slid between her thighs, probing her pussy, sliding along the smooth flesh. When he lightly pinched her clit, she jerked in response, heat rushing up through her body and every nerve thrumming with desire.

“I know the point I’d like to get to with you,” he told her.