Prince of Cats (2 page)

Look away damn you! 
She cursed herself even as she
tore her eyes from the Cat and realized that her hands were still stroking down his long lean frame.  She quickly
released her hem,
dropped her hands to her s
ides and her eyes to the floor.  Slaves were never to raise their eyes from the floor, and it was unheard of for a slave to even consider
speaking to
a Cat
, let alone
touch
or even look at
one.

Shaking her head at her loss for words,
she
couldn’t even formulate a title to tie to her apology
,
as no slave had e
ver addressed a Cat directly.  Meekly
she offered the only
title she was permitted to use.
“Master, please forgive me
.
I meant you no disrespect
. 
I
…
,
”  Her words were cut off as the
Slave Master
’s opened hand
collided with the side of her face sending a
blinding
pain through her
that caught her off guard
and sent her sprawling on the dirt covered
ground.
   

Raising
her head d
efiantly to glare at the
Slave Master
, Neomee
debated on punching him in his manhood. 

The
Slave Master
eyed her incredulously, “You disrespectful.
.
.
,
”
he again
slapped her upturned face.

Just take the punishment! 
Neomee knew the entire dining hall was watching the spectacle.  She was trying with all her will to coax herself into being submissive but was so angry that it was a losing battle. 

Slowly rising to her feet
to stand between the towering Cat and the menacing
Slave Master
, she licked at the trickle of blood that was seeping from the corner of her mouth.
  She knew she should have stayed cowering on the ground, but it wasn’t in her.

“I apologized
.
I
t was an accident.”  She
finally lowered
her eyes and
fought to keep
them locked
on the floor.

The Slave Master barked,
“It was an accident
?  I
s this how you address me
?”

Leaving her chin low, Neomee raised her eyes to
scowl up
at the
Slave Master
.  Seconds passed and she refused to
supply the term
‘master’ that he sought.

“I’ll show you who’s
in charge.”  Angrily, the
Slave Master
lifted his hand to slap Neomee a third time, but just as his hand was about to
collide with
her cheek it was halted.

The Cat
standing behind
her
caught the
Slave Master
’s hand before it could connect. 

“Prince!
”  As if jus
t now recognizing the Cat behind
her, the Slave Master’s tone grew apologetic.
 
“
Please forgive me.  I only seek to punish this impudent slave for her great disrespect to you.”  The
Slave Master
was bowing repeatedly in a disgusting display of submission.  “Please
Prince
.  I
f you permit I shall take her to the quarters where I
promise you Prince, her
punish
ment will be
severe for having interrupted your
evening
meal.
”

Prince?  Great!  O
f course he’s a Prince.  I wouldn’t spill wine on just any old Cat now would
I?
 
Neomee’s frame was
taut
with tension as
she
wondered if the Cat was in fact a Prince or if that was the title g
iven to all
Cats
.

“Leave it.”  The Cat’s growled command left the
Slave Master
confused.

The
Cat
dropped the
Slave Master
’
s arm and crossed to stand
directly in front of
her
as if to s
hield her from the
Slave Master
’s view
.
Neomee couldn’t see
the
Slave Master
over the Cat’s
massive frame. 
She eyed the three black stripes painted down the expanse of
the Prince Cat’s
impressive
back.  She knew t
he stripes accompanied by the speckles painted on his broad shoulders were distinctly similar to the pelt pattern of the king cheetah. 

The
Slave Master
reached around the
Prince
and grabbed Neomee roughly by the arm, “Yes Prince!  As you wish
.
”

The
Prince
Cat
locked strong fingers around the
Slave Master
’s
wrist.
“Leave her
!
”

“
Princ
e, yes!  Yes, my Prince.”  The
Slave Master
backed away from the Cat and exited the room.

Neomee was actually trembling when the Cat turned to face her. 
Startled by his quick movement, she sucked in a breath before she realized she was staring.  Quickly, she dropped her head and focused on the floor. 
She didn’t raise her eyes as the Cat
lifted
a large
hand to her cheek and slid it
down. 
Strong fingers lifted her chin
, forcing her eyes to
m
e
et his. Then his
index
finger swiped
across her chin to
wipe the blood that
trickled
there. 
Neomee slowly backed away a
s the
Prince
lifted the bloody finger t
o his mouth and
sucked the blood from the tip.
 

Turning, she quickly strode to the far wall to take her place among the slaves that
waited there
.  Typically the slaves would line the wall and stand quietly, eyes averted, until the Cats had finished their meal. 

Finding her place, Neomee filled in her position and turned to face the dining hall, eyes still averted
, body still trembling
.  None of the slaves
were permitted to speak or even move
.

A
chorus of murmurs rose in the dining hall as the Cats were finally able to
commence their evening meal. 

Standing against the wall, Neomee could still feel the
Prince
Cat’s
eyes
as they bore into
her.  She wondered if he still watched her or if the feeling was just residual from his earlier intense s
crutiny
that had left her feeling
oddly aware of herself
.

Several minutes into the meal, Neomee deci
ded enough time had passed.
S
he had to know.  Slowly, she let her eyes slide over to
the Cat…Prince
. 
Amon!
  Their eyes locked and again Neomee felt
a strange energy
coursing through her body.  The
Prince
star
ed back. 

Neomee knew she should look down, but could not.  What was that expressio
n he was wearing?  Anger?  Hatred? 
Pity?  No.  Neomee’s face paled with the realization as she tore her eyes away and looked down. 
Desire
.  Unmistakable, unbidden
, desire.
 

Granted she were a slave and the lowest form of life existing in the temple, hell even the scorpions were revered, but
slave or not she was still a woman
, and she knew desire when she
read it on a man’s face
. 

For the remainder of the meal, Neomee fought her urge to look back to the
Prince
, but she knew he never took his eyes from her.
 
She
bristled knowing
he still watched her
. 

D
inner seemed to drag on forever.
  Finally as Cats rose and began to trickle out of the dining hall, Neomee still refused to raise her eyes.
Starring down at her sandaled
feet
, concentrating too hard, Neomee’s head snapped up as the slave next to her inhaled sharply. 

Amon! 
The Prince Cat was approaching.  Quickly, Neomee dropped her gaze to the floor and even as the
Prince
stopped and stood mere inches in front of her, she refused to look up.  She could feel the tension in her fellow slaves on either side of her
and noted that they inched away
from her
.  Wringing her hands behind her back, her breath caught as the
Prince
leaned in an
d
sniffed her.

Whoa!
 

In the Temple, in the village, and in the outlying farms, the Cats were allowed to claim any female they chose.  The only
stipulation
was that the female could not already be claimed by another.  Other than that, the Cats cho
se their mates at will.  Neomee had heard that unlike actual Cheetahs, the temple Cats mate
d
for life, and once chosen by a Cat, a female’
s fate wa
s sealed. 

Maybe that wasn’t desire.  Maybe he’s just still really mad that I dumped wine all over him.
 
Amon, p
lease let it be anger
! 
Neomee’s heart skidded to a halt.
 
Did he just growl at
me?
 
What do I do?  W
hat do I do?

As Ne
om
ee fought to keep from trembling, her fear and anxiety gave way to anger.
 
Are you just going to stand here and let him sniff and growl at you?  It was
only
wine!

Angrily, Neomee raised her head and locked eyes with the
Prince
.
 
“I said I was sorry.  It
truly
was an accident
..
.
Master.
”

The
Prince
glared down at her for a brief moment before erupting into laughter. 
Neomee was not amused.  Still laughing, th
e
Prince
pulled a knife from it
s sheath at his waist, and held it
up in front of Neomee’s face. 
She sucked in a sharp breath and
backed up until she was pres
sed
into the wall.
 
I should’ve kept my mouth shut!

The
Prince
’s laugh died
away
and he placed his hand
against
Neomee’s
cheek
.  S
ave for the tremble that now wracked her body, s
he didn’t move.  The
Prince
slid his hand back, smoothing over her hair and down her long braid.
  He wound it around his large hand keeping his eyes locked on hers.
  When his fingers reached the bottom of the braid, he
held
it
up between
his fingers
and used his knife to cut off a
few
inch
es
at the bottom.  He dropped the braid and held the cut-off portion
of her hair
up to his nose and inhaled.

“
Mmmm
...
.”
  H
e smiled at Neomee
then
turned and strode from the room.

Chapter 2

At first Bray had been startled
then
highly annoyed
that
the slave had inadvertently dumped her jar of wine onto his lap.  But
when he’d stood to scold her, his reprimand caught in his throat.