Josephine knew her life was in danger. Jared had her in the perfect position to rip out her throat. “Jared, please don’t hurt me,” she pleaded. Her small hands supplicated against his chest. She loved touching the defined muscles, the soft chest hair, and his smooth skin. “I can be good.”
He snickered. “I very much doubt that.” Then he sighed. “Have I hurt you yet?”
He moved a small distance away, not much but enough to remove the implicit threat to her throat. Jared excelled at the nuances of nonverbal communication.
She licked her lips. “No, not yet.”
Those remarkable topaz eyes captured hers, quiet and intense. “Thank you for not scratching me.”
From the expression on Jared’s face, she’d done more to win back his trust with that simple act than any amount of wheedling or scheming could have accomplished.
Josephine blinked and her lips parted. He healed so fast, she wasn’t sure he’d noticed. “You’re welcome.”
Jared’s voice dropped in a ploy designed to tempt her cat curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, “Want to know another secret?”
Her ears shot forward, tall and erect, and her tail lifted. “What?” Josephine asked in spite of herself.
Jared smiled and eased closer to her. He brought his lips to her ear and resumed his former position between her thighs. Despite her better judgment, Josephine opened for him, welcoming the return of those lean hips and the button fly straining against his erection.
He waited. He pressed against her, stroking his hands over the soft fur of her haunches, teasing her nipples with his chest hair. Josephine’s breath hitched more than once, coming faster until she felt lightheaded. Her tail crept around his thigh, twining there.
“What secret?” Josephine demanded, ever impatient.
Jared nuzzled her cheek, his lips lingering in a long kiss, and the tip of his tongue tasted her flesh. The gentle caresses were a bright promise and so very tempting, because Josephine craved intimacy more than anything. Too long denied a kind word or a caring touch. At the same time, he frightened her because if she let her guard down, he’d possess the means to destroy her more thoroughly than killing her.
“Jared?” Josephine grasped his face and pulled his lips from her skin to stare up at him. “What secret?”
He gave new meaning to wolf smile. He had such big teeth. “I’m not the only one aroused, little cat.”
Mouth open in shock and attempted denial, Josephine stared as he walked away.
Day 4
Jared quelled his annoyance as Josie paced past him for what must have been the thousandth time. Fucking crazy Siamese. The little cat went stir crazy about the same time every day, walking the floors, the bed, and the bars—every imaginable surface on which a cat did and did not belong. Bowing to the inevitable, Jared closed his book and set it aside. Evangeline was due soon for her daily feeding anyway.
Jared shifted on the mattress, seeking to ease the strain on his swollen cock. He resolved to wear looser jeans in the future. Lately, his attempts to read were for show. His choices were to stare at the pages or follow Josie’s every movement with all too transparent lust.
The springs of the cot released a sharp squeak as he sat up and Josephine reached the end of the cell. She cast a glance over her shoulder in sultry appraisal. Her position granted him a picture pretty enough for a magazine spread. She held her tail high, revealing a delicate pink slit and tight mahogany knot. The powerful muscles of her legs bunched as if preparing to leap.
Jared’s nostrils flared as he exhaled and fought to keep a cool head. Days of having her prance about naked under his nose—a juicy look-but-don’t-touch temptation—had convinced him of a new definition of hell.
The vampire’s impending visit filled them both with increasing tension. Jared cast the cat an uneasy glance. Would she keep her mouth shut? He had no way of predicting what the moody, irrational creature might do from moment to moment.
“Josie,” he called, keeping his tone soft. She turned toward him, head cocked and tail twitching. He patted the mattress beside him, inviting her to join him. Following a split second of hesitation, she leapt up beside him. He longed to reach out and scratch behind her ears to see if he could coax a purr but refrained. He didn’t want to push her.
“Are you going to tell Evangeline?”
Her ear flicked, but otherwise she gave no outward sign of reaction. “What if I do?”
“You will get me killed this time. I can deny being a dominant wolf. I can fake submission and I’ve got a measure of influence over Evangeline, but it’s tenuous.”
“So?” Her blue eyes never blinked. Josie stared at him, expression cat-blank, and he saw more of his own soul reflected in her luminous eyes than hers.
“If they push me too hard then I will shift,” Jared said. His topaz gaze was stern. “You might get yourself killed too.”
“She might reward me,” Josie taunted.
Jared’s fists started to clench and he forced his hands to relax. He throttled the impulse to threaten or terrify her into compliance. Both tactics had already been tried and failed. Besides, he wanted…needed her trust.
“And she might kill you,” Jared retorted. “Like she intended to before I bartered for you. She will hurt you, the same as yesterday.”
The cat stirred. He’d managed to provoke a reaction. Her eyes flashed and her head whipped around toward him. “You keep claiming you asked for me to protect me, but I can tell you’re lying, Jared. There’s more that you’re not saying!”
Deliberating, he stared at Josie, and then decided to go out on a limb. He needed to win her trust and so far his endeavors had fallen flat. “Okay, yes,” he said. “I have a use for you. You’ve been here a long time and you understand how things work. I need your help to get us out of here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Still lying,” she hissed. “You want me for more than that.”
Confusion left him quiet and contemplative. Then, finally, the light bulb came on and he grinned. “I want you, Josie,” he said and laughed. “I want you just for you, because you’re gorgeous. And more than that, I admire your spirit and your fire.”
Josie appeared poleaxed. Her entire body temperature shot up, the result of a deep blush. Rarely, if ever, did he manage to catch the cat so off-guard. “You’re telling the truth,” she said, still staring at him with suspicion.
“Of course I am,” he said. “Look at you. You’re a walking wet dream. What straight guy wouldn’t want to hit that?” He aimed a pointed look at her backside. The cat turned to follow her tail as if it were a separate entity.
****
Josephine glanced down, watching her long dark tail twitch to and fro, as though with a mind of its own. Then she looked further and harder, considering her feminine curves, muscular limbs, perky breasts, and pretty pussy. Her only covering was her fur.
His appreciation provoked such pleasure that it was all she could do not to purr. Jared’s skill for disarming her defenses scared Josephine to death. “That’s it?” she said with an irritable swish of her tail. “I’m gorgeous?”
Jared threw back his head and laughed, warm and silky, causing her fur to ripple. “You’re smart, clever, and infuriating too. Is that enough or do you want more?”
“I want to get out of here.” Josephine looked anywhere but at his face, afraid to show how much the praise meant.
“I do too,” he agreed.
She stared at her hands again. “Even if you escape, you won’t take me with you.”
Jared sat up, startling her. Most of the time, he took great care not to make unexpected movements around her. She squeaked as his hand caught her wrist. Fingers under her chin forced her to meet his gaze.
“Who betrayed you, Josie? Who hurt you?” His expression was compassionate. He breached her defenses and shattered them. Josephine trembled and stared at Jared with tear-filled eyes.
“His name was Nate,” she said. “He was a coyote and he was here
before you. I helped him get away. He promised he’d come back for me.” Her tears spilled over. “He lied.”
“Oh, Josie,” Jared murmured. His kind eyes held sympathy. He released her wrist but only to secure a grip on the back of her head. She resisted but the wolf pulled her onto his lap and cradled her head against his chest. “I’m so sorry, pussy cat.”
She knew from long experience that she could not overcome his strength. So she acceded and rested against him, allowing the tears to come. Unbidden, a connection opened between them. His energy washed over her, like the lapping waves of a lake, soothing and warm. Her skin tingled from scalp to toe, as if every part of her body had fallen asleep, and yet she sizzled with vitality.
“I won’t leave you behind, Josie,” he whispered, rocking her. “I promise.”
“You will,” she insisted, small and stubborn.
“Are you going to betray me again?” Jared asked.
“No, never,” she said, clinging to him. He’d shown her the first real kindness to come into her life in years. She couldn’t repay him with another betrayal.
“I’m gonna take you with me. That’s a promise you can count on, Josie cat.”
The energy moved again. He surrounded her, dwelt within her and without, making her feel safe. Josephine might have panicked except she had no sensation of drowning or obliteration of self. There was completeness and comfort.
“What is that?” she demanded.
Jared stiffened. To her regret, the elusive feeling vanished as if into thin air. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Wolves are pack animals. We connect with one another.”
“I’m a cat,” Josephine said in a rich over-statement of the obvious. His apology stung. Did he mean to imply she wasn’t good enough to connect with?
Jared sighed. His fingers caught her twitching, angry tail and soothed the fur. “Don’t kink your tail, Josie. I wasn’t trying to offend you. I just didn’t want you thinking I was trying to control you.”
“Oh.” She crouched in his lap and crushed the desire to ask him to open to her again. She would not beg.
Her inability to trust seemed so petty and petulant when compared to Jared’s courage. “I’m so sick of being afraid. I’m such a coward.” She rubbed her eyes, attempting to scrub away the tears.
“I know you are. But you’re not a coward, Josie. You’ve survived three years in this hellhole. That took courage. Believe me, I understand.”
Josephine shook her head. “I don’t know how you can, Jared. You’re not afraid of anything. Not even dying.”
“I don’t like flying.”
“That doesn’t count. A werewolf worried about damaging an airplane is like an elephant afraid of crushing the scales.”
Jared chuckled. “Touché.”
“Name one thing you’re truly scared of. I dare you.”
He hesitated. Subtle tension passed through his muscular frame, then he lowered his head. “I worry about the people under my protection getting hurt.”
Josephine drew back to meet his gaze. “You mean as a fireman—the people you’re trying to help.”
His topaz eyes were inscrutable. “Yeah. That’s what I mean,” he agreed. He lied.
Hours later, she lay awake wondering why he’d chosen to lie about that, of all things.
****
Just after sundown, Evangeline arrived in her usual fashion. The vampire drank from Jared’s arm and the werewolf once again submitted. Josephine watched the entire exchange with a horrified fascination, feeling like a bystander at a train wreck. She understood better than ever how Jared fooled the vampire. He chained Evangeline with a primal animal magnetism, the seductive energy he wielded to both awe and dominate.
Jealousy ate at Josephine until Jared turned his head away from the feeding vampire and stared at Josephine with eyes so cold it chilled her blood. His expression revealed callous hatred—directed at her. Her precarious trust in the werewolf collapsed. Frightened senseless, Josephine flattered her ears and crouched as far from reach as possible.
Once she finished feeding, Evangeline dabbed at her mouth with a linen handkerchief. The vampire’s malevolent gaze turned on Josephine. “Why isn’t the cat dead yet, Jared?”
From her corner, Josephine emitted a slick hiss and her fur bristled, standing on end. As fast as she was, there was nowhere to run. Then, to Josephine’s confusion, Jared stepped between her and the vampire.
The werewolf lowered his head and captured Evangeline’s gaze. “She’s the only thing I have to fuck in here,” Jared growled.
Evangeline’s face twisted with disgust. “Don’t be crude!”
“I’m sorry,” Jared apologized with soulful eyes. When he tried, the werewolf could employ his good looks with devastating effectiveness.
“It’s just that I’m bored,” Jared complained. “When are you going to let me out?” He offered a seductive glance from beneath lowered eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to feed from my throat, Evangeline?”
The vampire laughed. “Be patient, my wolf,” she teased. “Two more nights, I promise. I’m throwing a little soiree and inviting some friends over so that I can show you off. I’ll bring you out of the cage then.”
“Oh, wonderful,” Jared said, projecting boyish excitement. “I just love parties.” He waited until Evangeline departed with her minions and then spun, pacing hard and restless. He thrummed with contained violence.
Josephine watched him with a sinking feeling in her stomach because she knew his opportunity to escape would come sooner than expected. She lay awake all night worrying. When the vampire fed, Jared looked at Josephine with pure hatred. He might even believe they were okay, but deep down he despised her for betraying him.
When the time came, he would leave her behind.
Day 5
“What’s the first thing you plan to do when you get out of here?” Josie asked. She’d finished the meat and cheese, but left the bun and toppings.
In contrast, the werewolf ate everything in front of him and still managed to look hungry. Intrigued that Josie would breach the taboo topic, Jared decided to indulge her. He cocked his head. “Kill vampires.”
“I meant after that.” Delicately, Josie began to groom her paw and used it to clean her face.
The sight of her small pink tongue moving across her silken fur called to mind other unsatisfied hungers. Jared got hard watching her, forcing him to draw up his knees to conceal the erection straining against his blue jeans.
“Drink a beer.” Jared was sick to death of water and soda. Carl refused to bring him anything but, claiming Evangeline disliked the taint of alcohol in the blood.
“I’d have thought it would be to shower.” Her superior look was nothing short of catty.
Jared chuckled. “Okay, shower and then a beer.” He finished his French fries and eyed Josie’s unfinished food with predatory greed. With a sigh, she shoved the container toward him.
“What about you?” Jared watched her for any sign of fear or deception. It was risky but maybe he could use the ploy to convince the silly cat he was committed to winning her freedom as well as his own.
Josie stopped grooming. Her huge blue eyes got bigger. “I’d like to go to school or get a real job.”
Jared performed a double take. “You’re kidding?”
“No.” Her expression was dejected. “I’m sick to death of being someone’s pet or possession. My entire life, I’ve never been independent.”
She glared at him, expecting to be laughed at or mocked. Instead, Jared regarded her with renewed respect. “You should pursue that. What would you like to do?”
Her ears perked up and her tail lifted. “I’d like to drive race cars or become a dancer or maybe wrestle alligators like that Australian man on TV.”
Jared choked as he swallowed a mouthful of French fries. He coughed into his fist and tears threatened. “Crocodiles,” he said when he could speak again.
Josie stared at him. She did not blink.
“
In Australia, they have crocodiles.”
Her ears flattened and her tail lashed. “Whatever.”
“Josie, do you even know how to drive?”
She huffed. “No.”
Jared’s laughter subsided. “When we get out, I’ll teach you.”
Josie gazed at him, hopeful and distrustful all at once. “Promise?”
“Promise.” He crossed his heart.
She beamed and blushed and then changed the topic. “I’m sick to death of cheeseburgers.” She crunched the paper bag with appropriate passion and cast the crumpled ball between the bars.
Jared laughed. “I thought all cats loved cheeseburgers.”
“Internet lies and fabrications.”
“I’ll complain to the staff.” The werewolf disposed of his own garbage, scoring a slam dunk in the trash can across the hall.
“No, seriously,” Josie said. “Can’t you ask for chicken? Or fish? Anything but cheeseburgers. I’m ready to eat my own tail.”
Jared stood and his humor took a turn for the grim. “I guess I always have the option to eat a little cat,” he teased. It pleased him when the werecat regarded him with distinct irritation. A few days before, such a remark would have sent her into a panic. In a twisted fashion, it had become their personal inside joke.
“Asshat,” she snapped.
“Your bones would stick in my teeth anyway.” Jared grimaced and braced. They both knew what came next; he suspected he dreaded it more than she did. He closed his eyes and then opened them again and reached for her, securing a firm grip on her shoulders.
As if a switch had flipped, Josie erupted in loud hisses and growls, coming at him with a whirlwind of claws. Those feline talons connected with his chest and he ground his teeth, bracing for the familiar lancing pain, but trusting her to keep her promise. Instead of gouging him, she left behind light welts that began to heal immediately.
The scuffle continued for a while but it lacked the vicious conflict of days past. They were both creatures of supreme speed and sublime strength. The confrontation fell somewhere between rough housing and a courtship dance. Jared ignored the implicit eroticism and concentrated on the end goal.
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