Tiger Tail: Shifter Romance

by Sky Winters

  “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve been attracted to you too, despite your poor behavior and lack of professionalism.” She tweaked his nose playfully.

  “Well, if you think that was poor behavior, just wait and see what I do next,” he told her, pulling her back to him and kissing her eagerly once again.

  Words fell away as an animal passion began taking them over, every bit as primal as that of the creatures that roamed about them in the dark. She felt completely safe and wanted in his capable arms as they explored one another with wild abandon.

  “You’re beautiful,” he breathed against her skin, pulling her tighter to him.

  Tabitha closed her eyes, drinking him in with her senses. His smell, his taste, the way he felt touching her. It was like no one she had ever felt before. She had never felt anything like it with her ex-fiancé, not even close. How could it be that she could be so in tune with a virtual stranger when she had not experienced anything near this level of intimacy with a man she had been about to marry? It occurred to her again that being left at the altar might have been the best thing that could have ever happened to her.

  Then, all thoughts of the past drifted from her head and she was lost in the present, moaning quietly as Matt began to peel away her clothes. His hands were gentle, despite their surface roughness, as he pulled her t-shirt above her head. His mouth fell upon the top of her breasts as he began to unfasten her bra, pulling it off her arms, releasing her breasts to be cupped by his hands, his mouth finding its way to her nipples.

  “Your breasts are utter perfection,” he said quietly, teasing one of her delicate pink nubs with his tongue and teeth. Her back arched toward him as he sucked and bit at her nipple even as his hands drifted down to unbutton her pants and slip them away from her hips and down her legs. His kisses drifted downward toward her panties, planting soft kisses along the elastic band.

  “I love your hands,” she mumbled, completely lost in him.

  “They are more than happy to roam freely,” he told her, slipping his hand into the soft material of her underwear and slowly sliding a single finger up and down across her clit.

  “Yes. Right there,” she told him, arching upward toward him as he increased the friction.

  Tabitha let out a cry of delight as his hand slipped further down, his fingers sliding inside of her, growing increasingly adventurous in his exploration. She could feel his erection pressing against her leg and she wanted him inside her more and more each moment. Her body convulsed as his manipulations brought her to the first in a series of orgasms that seemed to only spiral exponentially with each thrust of his fingers.

  “Smashing,” he muttered, moving upward to kiss her again as he slipped out of his pants. As he entered her for the first time, he groaned into her mouth, a sound of pleasure that created a perfect symphony with her own. Her hand drifted upward to touch his chest, trailing small circles of delight in the shape of infinity back and forth as she moaned beneath him.

  “I could spend a lifetime inside of you,” he whispered in her ear and she felt herself melt even more against his powerful body, lost in how he felt inside of her. Her cries of ecstasy echoed against the tent walls as he buried himself into her repeatedly.

  “You feel amazing. Don’t stop,” she panted.

  Matt’s hips rose and fell in a horizontal dance that met her own with a grinding motion. It felt like he was impaling her, taking everything from her and she gave it to him freely. Their bodies were a whirlwind of ecstasy as everything fell away but how their bodies felt combined.

  “I think your body was made for mine,” he moaned, his hands on her breasts, cupping them, massaging them as he fucked her with increasing rapaciousness. She loved how he took what he wanted, but somehow made sure she was getting what she needed, as well. His groans coupled with her loud cries of ecstasy, oblivious to what they might draw attention from outside the tent.

  Digging her fingers into the bedding beneath her, she drove her hips up hard to meet his. Her body was on the edge of an explosion that felt like it had built up to atomic mass and was about to blow up the universe around her. A long guttural moan came from somewhere deep within as she shattered violently against him and almost collapsed from the weakness it left behind.

  “That was incredible to watch. I want to taste it,” he told her, pulling free of her and lowering his head so that he was between her legs. She twitched a bit as his lips met her now incredibly sensitive clit, lapping at her juices that flooded down her thighs. He took his time, seeming to enjoy the way she tensed and jerked each time he came into contact with her delicate folds. She felt her body giving in to him, shattering with yet another orgasm that he lapped up feverishly before bringing his lips back to hers, kissing her with the taste of their lovemaking on his tongue.

  He pushed himself into her once more and Tabitha dug her fingernails into his back, dragging them downward, scratching him as he pounded into her like a wild animal. It felt like she was being fucked by more of a demon than a man and she found that she adored the rough way that he used her body, enjoyed taking her for his own. He seemed to last forever, fucking her deeply beneath the full moon that shone brightly above them. Finally, clasping at her naked flesh, he came inside of her, flooding her with his seed.

  Matt rolled over, collapsing beside her for a moment wordlessly as they both lay there staring up into the darkness of the tent, breathing heavily. After a moment, he rolled back toward her, gliding his fingers along her skin in tiny circular patterns similar to what she had made earlier on his chest.

  “That felt amazing,” he told her, kissing her lips and looking down at her from the shadows.

  “It truly was. I think we should do it again,” she said boldly.

  He grinned. “I wholeheartedly agree.” He pulled her to him, kissing her with such intensity that she felt like she was on fire.

  The second time was much slower, softer. Matt was, hands down, the most incredible lover she had ever known. It was sad to think this might be only a brief fling in her life, as someone like him was definitely someone she could see herself getting used to having every day. He was nothing short of phenomenal in bed, or, in this case, in tent.

  They fell asleep entangled in one another’s arms. She was aware of the wetness between her thighs, a mixture of their climaxes left behind as witness to their pleasure. Ordinarily, she would go to the nearest sink and wash herself, but with him it felt so natural and she found that she enjoyed the way his scent remained on her skin.

  Lying there in the dark of the tent, listening to him breathe contently by her side, she fell asleep peacefully for the first time in weeks. Prior to the wedding, it had been jitters. Afterward, she had been too discontent to drift off, her mind going over everything that had been said or done between the two of them prior to his failure to appear at the church. Had there been signs that she had missed? Had she done something to make him feel like he couldn’t go through with a life with her?

  Tonight, though, there was none of that past a cursory consideration of how at ease she felt with the man lying by her side. It was if it was all washed away simply by his touch, the way he kissed her, the way he felt inside her. Her thoughts quickly drifted away as she fell asleep, grateful for whatever respite this was that had been granted to her from her own thoughts.

  Chapter Five

  Tabitha was startled awake in the early morning hours by Matt’s hand planting firmly over her mouth. She attempted to struggle, but he held her down, bringing his opposite hand to his lips. Still foggy with sleep, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on and she was terrified. Last night was intense, had he crossed over into something much more sinister? She struggled against him until he leaned very close, his voice barely audible.

  “Tigers outside,” was all he said.

  Her eyes flew wide open as she began to understand what was happening. She nodded and he took his hand from her mouth, sitting up.

  “Don’t say a word. I�
��ll be right back,” he told her quietly.

  Tabitha wanted to protest, but she knew she should keep quiet as instructed. Instead she shot him a look that told him he shouldn’t go out, but he just smiled at her and climbed from the tent, carefully closing it behind him. She could hear him speaking to them outside the tent and it drew her curiosity but she didn’t dare look out.

  “Hello, guys. What’s going on here? This isn’t a place for you. Understand?” he was saying

  There was a loud growl from one of them that made her skin crawl, her body jangling with nerves on edge. Did he really think he was so in tune with them that he could just go out and speak to them, send them away?

  “That is no attitude to have. I tell you what. Walk away and I won’t hurt any of you. That isn’t what I came here for. I’m just here to observe, nothing more.”

  There was another loud growl and something scraped against the side of the tent. Tabitha looked up to see a small rip where one of the tigers had apparently managed to get a claw into it.

  “Now, that just wasn’t nice. I guess we’ll have to settle this another way,” she heard Matt saying.

  There was a strange sound that she couldn’t even begin to describe. It sounded like ripping flesh and she found that she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Had they attacked him? This wasn’t happening. And when they were done with him, what would become of her out here all alone? Surely the rangers would look for them when they didn’t show up at their rendezvous point, but that was another day away and she would have to somehow manage to survive another night here alone. Of course, that was assuming they didn’t come after her when they were done with him.

  The deafening roar she heard next was so loud that it seemed to rattle the poles holding up their tent. It was followed by a howl of pain, but not from Matt. One of the tigers was making the sound. Had one of them turned on the others? She hadn’t heard anything else from Matt. Was he dead? Were they fighting over his carcass? Oh God, oh God, oh God, her mind babbled in terror like she had never experienced before. What had possessed her to come here?

  It seemed like the encounter went on forever, with howls and growls that made her skin crawl. She looked around the tent for a weapon, fishing around in his bag for his knife before realizing he kept it hanging on his belt. She had noticed it there earlier. He had gone out naked, so his pants were here somewhere and so was the knife. Feeling around, she finally found his belt and worked her fingers toward the leather sheath that hung from it.

  Suddenly, there was silence and then Matt stepped back into the tent with a huge smile on his face. He appeared completely unscathed and she stared at him in disbelief. What had gone on out there? Had he really been able to talk to them, reason with them?

  “Come out here. I want you to see these guys,” he said.

  “What?” she asked incredulously.

  “It’s okay now. I’ve reasoned with them and they’re all calm. I want you to be able to see them up close.”

  “You’re shitting me,” she replied, just knowing he was yanking her chain again.

  “No, not at all. Just wrap the blanket around you and come out,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything hurt you.”

  Tabitha stared at him in disbelief as she slowly got to her feet and ducked out of the tent, following him as he walked toward the front of the jeep. He was still completely naked and didn’t seem concerned about being vulnerable to a pack of tigers at all.

  “Guys, this is Tabitha. She’s not edible and she won’t hurt you. I just wanted her to be able to meet you,” he laughed

  Tabitha shot him a look that reflected how surreal this entire situation felt to her. One of the tigers approached her and she flinched, preparing for the worst. These were wild animals and Matt was obviously bat shit crazy. She couldn’t pick a sane man to get intimate with to save her life apparently. Her head shot back toward the tiger as it sniffed her fingers and then lightly nuzzled her hand, allowing her to pet it.

  “Go ahead. She wants you to stroke her fur. Big cats like this love that as much as the regular household kind, but they rarely have enough trust in someone to allow it. They are accepting you as someone important to me and they won’t hurt you. Plus, you have a cat at home so they know you like felines.”

  “How do you know I have a cat at home?” she asked, trying to remember if she had forgotten mentioning it at some point.

  “I know a lot of things and so do they. They can’t stay long, so enjoy your time with them while you can.”

  It all seemed too weird to believe, but she found herself petting a tiger as several more approached, letting both her and Matt scratch their ears and stroke their fur. It was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced, excluding the way Matt had made her melt earlier in the night. Suddenly, one of the tigers’ heads snapped around, seeming to hear something in the distance. Mewing toward the others, it turned and trotted away, disappearing into the darkness. The others quickly followed.

  “That was insane,” Tabitha said, finally letting go of the breath she felt like she had been holding since waking up with a hand over her mouth.

  “They’re just big kittens at the end of the day,” Matt said with a shrug.

  “Were you talking to them out here?”

  “Sure. Why not?” He shrugged, pulling her toward him into a hug.

  “And they listened to you?” she asked.

  “Of course they listened to me. I have a way with these animals. They can be reasoned with as long as you know how to approach them,” he said.

  “And exactly how is that? Naked and unafraid?” she joked.

  “Something like that. Mutual respect. That’s all it is, really.”

  “Riiiiight,” she mocked.

  “No, really. That’s all there is to it. You saw for yourself how well it worked. They were perfectly docile when you came out here. I just needed to get them settled down is all. Now, they’re off to find food elsewhere and they won’t bother us again, at least not that bunch.”

  “Let’s hope another bunch doesn’t turn up,” she moaned.

  “The sun will be fully up soon. We need to get dressed and head out so we can get the jeep repaired and head downstream. We’ll make up some time on the trip so that we make our rendezvous point with the rangers as scheduled.”

  “Sounds good to me. I hope that tomorrow night we’ll be sleeping in a shelter and not out in the middle of the plains,” she said. She still had questions about what had happened, but she chose to just keep moving forward for now.

  “Doesn’t matter where you sleep as long as you are with me. I’ll never let anything harm you,” he told her.

  Tabitha couldn’t help but note how permanent that sounded. There was no addition of “while you’re here” or “before the trip is done” at the end. It sounded more long term to her. She immediately chastised herself for allowing such nonsense to enter her head. This was a fling, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less. To get attached to someone like Matt Helford would surely do her far more damage than she was willing to suffer so soon after the previous catastrophe.

  “I hope not, but I would still prefer some solid walls between the wild animals and my person, even if you can talk to them.”

  “Well, only the tigers. I used different tactics with other animals,” he said with a smile.

  “I’m afraid to ask,” she said.

  “You should be. Maybe someday I will tell you, but for now, we’ll just keep it a secret. Now, let’s get dressed and get going,” he told her, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips before ducking into the tent to retrieve his clothes.

  As he stepped inside, Tabitha couldn’t help but note the smooth appearance of his well-muscled back. She knew she had scratched him last night during the heat of the moment, long scratches that should have been in several places down his back. Looking at it now, they weren’t there. Had she perhaps just imagined that she’d scratched him that hard? She could have sworn she had
drawn blood, but there were no signs of damage on his skin.

  Looking down, she examined her fingernails. There it was, the telltale sign that she wasn’t just confused about it. Blood lay beneath her nails, his blood. So, where were the scratches? Standing there considering this, she was jarred from her thoughts by his voice from inside the tent.

  “You getting dressed, princess? Or are you waiting on a squire to appear with your glass slippers,” he teased.

  “Very funny,” she told him, dismissing her thoughts for the moment.

  Tabitha followed behind him, getting dressed and helping to pack things back into the jeep before they headed out to the shed they’d gotten it from. It took almost an hour in the terrain they were navigating, but they finally arrived. Matt busied himself looking for what they would need while she stood outside and snapped some photos of the beautiful world that surrounded them.

  “By the way, how did you know I have a cat? I don’t remember mentioning it to you,” she said, still wondering how he could know such a thing.

  “You had cat hair on some of your things,” he said. “Usually, only people who have cats don’t notice the way cat hair gets on things.”

  “Oh,” she said, feeling embarrassed about how often people must notice that when she no longer did.

  “Don’t be embarrassed. People are way too uptight about such things. If you look closely, you’ll find a bit of cat hair on me too.”

  “You have a cat too?”

  “Not like you do, but I spent plenty of time surrounded in cat hair, trust me,” he said as they began their hike back to the jeep with a bag of supplies in tow.

  Chapter Six

  “Alright, looks like we’re in business,” Matt told her as the engine fired up. It had taken a walk to the shed and back, plus another hour of tinkering, but he had gotten the vehicle going so they could continue their journey.