With Extra Cream

by J. Hali Steele

  If things didn't go right, he could transgress. Transgressors were Kind who became addicted to human blood, and they gorged themselves on flesh and blood. It was also thought that having no reason to live could push a cat over the edge. If that happened, the Reign would hunt him down like a rabid animal and disembowel him. They wouldn't have a choice. Damn it.

  Not all cats were Kind, but Jag's ancestors had become trapped by fate in this web of horrific bloodlust. Today was the first time he wished he could have been just a cat. Jag didn't know what to say to Leron. “Don't worry about me. Somehow I'll get through this. It'll be okay."

  "Yeah, well, good luck, bro. I wish I could help you."

  "Hey, Leron, don't tell the guys in the Reign or anyone until I work this thing out, okay?"

  "Sure, Jag, you have my promise."

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Three

  Jag hadn't driven the Lotus for a while. The time had come to take it out for a spin. He loved his Esprit model. It needed to see some open road. He started the car and the engine purred like a cat. He backed out of his driveway and turned toward town.

  By the time he arrived, the parking lot of Coffee Swirl was filling up. Someone backed out of a spot in front, and he swung into the space and shut off the engine. He'd almost forgotten how great the car handled.

  Jag sat at his usual table so he could watch Barbara no matter where she went in the shop. As she moved from behind the counter, he could see she had a full apron on today covering a pretty green dress. The same one she had worn in their dream last night. Only she would be thinking it was her dream. Her hair hung loose in soft curls which reached her shoulders. She seemed nervous when she approached his table.

  He noticed she wore makeup too. Damn, she's beautiful. She took his breath away. The last thing he needed right now was another hard-on, but he had one. It might as well have had a seat beside him. It had become a regular visitor to the Swirl too.

  He wanted to taste her lips again. Jag tried to restrain himself. But the way her hips swayed when she walked toward him sent him into overdrive. Her legs were so long, and he remembered how they felt wrapped around him. All he could think about was running his hands up her thighs again.

  Barbara had watched the low-slung sports car pull into the space. She'd wondered who drove a car like that and what it'd be like to drive it.

  Her fingers absently massaged a sore spot on her neck. This morning, when she'd reached into the back of her closet, a shoebox had fallen and hit her shoulder. It had left a mark in the exact spot her dream lover kissed her last night.

  She'd inhaled sharply when Jag stepped out of the car, and Crystal had come over to see what had grabbed her attention. “Holy cow! Barb, you better rethink your stand against him. He must be loaded."

  "Money isn't everything."

  "Yeah, but it helps things along the way.” Crystal then went back behind the takeout counter.

  Barbara watched Jag take a seat at his normal table before she walked over. She felt herself getting wet. Damn. What was it with this guy? Why did she feel pulled to him? Why was he in her dreams? “What can I get for you, Jag?"

  "Hi, Barbara, I'll have the usual."

  She surprised herself by liking the idea that he watched her walk to the counter. Everything would be okay. Her imagination was working overtime and that's all it was. The dreams weren't real.

  Barbara returned with his caramel latte and sat a container of cream in the center of the table. “Extra cream in case I didn't use enough."

  "Thanks.” The smile that spread across his face tugged at her heartstrings. “You look lovely, Barbara.” Then she swore she heard him whisper, “Like you did last night."

  Barbara almost dropped the tray she held. Had she heard him right? The dream was real? Oh God! All those things she had said to him. What she'd done with him all those nights. He must think she was some kind of ... Shit, what must he think of her?

  Maybe she misunderstood. There's no way in the world that's possible. She gulped in air to calm herself. Calm down. You're not crazy and the dreams aren't real.

  "Barbara, I want you,” she heard him blurt out.

  "What do you think I am? Some kind of slut or something?” Her cheeks flamed. Because of the dreams, he thought she was an easy lay? Shit, did she believe they were real now?

  "Christ sakes! No. You're a beautiful, desirable woman. I want to take you out. I want to be with you."

  "You want to take me out?” Barbara was confused now. “Or do you want me? Which is it?"

  "No, I don't want you ... well ... I want you, but that's not all. I want to get to know you. I ... oh hell, I don't know what I'm saying. Let me start over."

  "That's okay, I think I get it. You want to take me out. Isn't that what you asked me last night?” Now Barbara was fishing. She had to see if she'd heard him right about last night. Yeah, I'm touched. The whole thing was nuts. Did she want to know the truth?

  "Huh? Last night?"

  "You know? The dream?” Barbara couldn't believe she'd asked the question outright. Did she really want to know? Things like that didn't happen.

  "Uhh, what dream?"

  "Cat got your tongue?” She watched his face to see if he reacted to what she'd said to him in the dream. Maybe she had lost it, but she needed to know now.

  A buzz at the door drew her attention. It opened and a girl walked in followed by two guys that talked loud and acted cocky. They walked to the back and took a table near Jag's. Barbara composed herself and turned to take their order. “Good morning, what can I get for you?” she asked as she pulled her pad out.

  The girl ordered a tea, one guy ordered a black coffee and the third ordered a coffee with cream and sugar. A loudmouth smartass, he added, “Any chance I can get you to come with that, beautiful?"

  Barbara heard Jag growl and he started to stand up. She swiveled around and pierced him with her best warning look. Shit, had he actually growled? What the hell was going on with her today?

  "Jag, I can handle this.” She turned back to the table. “Mister, see the menu over the counter? That's all that's for sale here."

  "Hey, I paid a compliment to a pretty lady. Don't take offense, okay?"

  "Thank you for the compliment. I'll be right back with your order."

  Barbara was glad to get away. She needed to collect herself. She wished her grandmother was still alive. There had to be a reason for what was happening to her. Barbara had the sinking sensation the dreams were real.

  Jag watched her walk to the counter to place the order. Jesus, that was close. Everything had come out wrong and he didn't know how to fix it. He'd never felt this much need for someone before. He had to be really cool about the dream. Hopefully, he'd backpedaled enough to get out of the hole he'd damn near dug himself into. And the wise ass at the next table didn't help the situation any.

  He turned to face the young man. “You say anything like that to her again, I'll tear your ass apart. Got it?” His jaguar ripped at his insides and roared to be let loose. He struggled to keep the fur from running up his arms. Baring his claws here wasn't an option.

  "Hey, man, I apologized to the lady already."

  When Jag stood to his full height and stepped closer to the man's table, he saw the guy realize he'd made a big mistake.

  "Look, we're leaving. Come on, guys, we're out of here."

  "Good idea. And you probably shouldn't come back again.” His cat calmed down and purred.

  They practically ran over Barbara, who'd come back with their order. “Jag, what happened?"

  "Guess they decided to have coffee somewhere else.” He still had the smile of satisfaction plastered on his face.

  "You can't chase my customers away like that. This is how I make a living."

  "The guy was a jerk."

  "I can handle his type. It's yours that worries me."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The dream?"

  Damn, she was back to that. Thi
nk of something, jackass. “The dream. Yeah. Tell you what, have dinner with me tonight and we can talk all about your dream. How's that?"

  "My dream? Jag, I don't know..."

  "Come on, dinner at my place. Nothing fancy. You won't even have to change."

  "All right, but I want to get home early."

  "No problem. You close at seven, right?"

  "Yes."

  "I'll be here.” Jag was on cloud nine. She'd said yes!

  She'd said yes. Barbara was beside herself that she'd agreed to go out with him. There was only one word for that—crazy. It had been the innocent little grin on his face. It turned her heart over, and he looked so damn hot she couldn't stand it.

  What was she thinking? She was having freaky dreams about the guy and she couldn't stop fantasizing about how sexy he looked. Her temperature rose even now. Jeez! What was wrong with this picture?

  She was absolutely nuts, but Barbara wanted to go out with him. He'd gotten under her skin. So she had some weird dreams. He couldn't possibly know about them, right? This is too funny. The dreams had finally made her want to go out with him instead of stay away from him.

  Barbara wanted to taste those lips, feel his cock pressed against her body. Buried in her body. Her nipples hardened as she thought about it. Would one night out be too bad? It might lead to another and another. She'd gotten way ahead of herself. Had she made the right decision?

  She decided to tell Crys she'd be unable to go to her place because she was going to Jag's for dinner. At least someone would know where she was in case something went wrong.

  * * * *

  Jag had everything ready. Wine, candlelight, music, and two steaks thawed, with all the fixings for a great salad. He'd make sure she didn't want to leave early. Damn, he hoped she'd want to stay. He could already see her brown hair spread across the pillow in his bed, her legs opened invitingly. He already tasted her. And now his new best friend, Mr. Hard-On, was back again.

  "Great job, man, you have to pick her up in less than an hour and you can't walk straight.” Now he talked to himself. He was as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof. What the fuck with all these crazy phrases? Any smart cat wouldn't be caught dead on a hot tin roof. It had to be her. She had him all mixed up and he couldn't even think straight.

  "Yo, dude.” Jag heard Leron come in and spun around so quickly he forgot about his swollen cock.

  "Whoa, man, are you happy to see me or what? That's nasty, Jag."

  "Shut up, Leron. I don't need your shit right now. I've got a date.” Jag was unable to contain the smile that spread across his face.

  "About time. I'm worried about you. I'll get out of your way then. I stopped by to tell you there's transgressor action in the area. It might be partnered up with a vamp. Keep your eyes and ears open, okay? Let Patrik know if you come across anything."

  "Yeah, thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.” The last person Jag wanted to deal with right now was the lofty ass Reign leader. That lion was one crafty mother, and his vamp powers were deadly. Jag smiled at that thought. A deadly vampyre.

  "Hey, Leron, can I ask you a question before you go?” Jag wasn't sure how much his friend would know about mating or draga dreams but he didn't know who else to turn to right now. Patrik wasn't top on his list even though his daughter had been one of the first to mate with a human.

  "Sure, what's up?"

  "You ever hear tell of ... I'm not sure how to put this. But Barbara ... she dreamed about me before we dreamed together. When we were together in our dream, her past dreams sort of all washed over me. She still thinks they're not real. I've never heard anything like it.” Jag didn't want to give away anything personal. Especially about his mate.

  "Some weird shit, man. Never heard tell of that. She's human and no way should she have the connection without you. If she was Kind, you could enter her mind during the change. The only other way there should be a mental bond is if you've shared blood. Have you talked to Patrik?"

  "Hell no, and don't mention it to anyone else."

  Leron blinked in surprise. “I wouldn't do that, Jag."

  "I know, I'm just concerned. It's probably nothing."

  "You're not asking for advice but you need some. You're going to have to talk to an Elder sooner or later."

  "Yeah, well, I'll see how things pan out. Anyway, I have to go pick her up from her shop."

  * * * *

  "Do you mind coming in while I feed the cat?"

  "Not at all.” Jag looked around. “Hey, this is a nice neighborhood. I like your house."

  If she were asked, she'd say he didn't miss anything. Almost like he cased her place. “Thanks. Come on in and meet Big Guy.” Barb hoped he liked cats because hers was part of any package deal. She couldn't be with anyone who had a dislike of cats. Ever. Big Guy's name should have been Picky. He didn't like anybody. What if Big didn't like him? What would she do? Damn. She couldn't believe the path her mind had jumped on. Package deal. It was highly unlikely things would move in that direction. Barbara had too many questions.

  She unlocked the door and had to push her way in. Big Guy would hear her come home and sit right there. He'd wait for her to nudge the door a couple times before he moved, after which he'd beeline right to the kitchen for his meal. Barbara knew Jag watched her use her hip to give it a couple of pushes. He probably wondered what the hell was in there. He followed her in and she closed the door.

  "Big Guy,” she called. “Come here, I want you to meet somebody."

  Barbara saw Jag's eyes grow large as BG bounded around the corner and jumped smack dab into his arms. He was tabby gray and weighed about twenty-five pounds. Her cat purred and rubbed his facial musk glands all over Jag's chest.

  She was shocked. BG never liked anybody. But he sure liked Jag. “He's never done that before. I'm sorry."

  "Don't be. I love cats.” He nuzzled her cat with his chin.

  He seemed to be a real animal lover and that made Barbara like him more. Thank God. Maybe Jag was the right guy for her. Big Guy sure liked him. “Let me feed him and we can be on our way."

  "Sure, take your time.” He put the cat down to go and be fed. The cat hopped right back in Jag's arms.

  "Come on, Big,” Barbara called. BG wouldn't budge. “I don't know what's wrong with him. He's always famished by now.” She didn't know what to do.

  "I have an idea. Why don't we take him with us? He can eat at my place."

  "I don't know..."

  "He'll be fine. Since he's stuck to me, you drive my car. I've got lots of cream at my house.” Barbara swore she heard Jag purr.

  "What?” She was shocked. “Drive your car?” Men never let a first date drive their car, especially one as nice as his.

  "Sure. Can you drive a stick?"

  "Yeah."

  "Okay, let's go. I'm hungry and there are a couple of steaks with our names on them."

  "Well, I guess ... let me grab his dinner.” Barbara remembered her dreams and how his mouth had felt on hers. That helped the decision. His hands had made her weak with desire. She got wet thinking about it.

  And she might learn something about her dreams.

  * * * *

  "You're a good driver.” Jag unlocked his door to let them in.

  "Wow, Jag, I've never driven anything like that. It was great. Thank you."

  He closed the door and sat Big Guy on the floor. He shot off and flashed by them seconds later in another direction. Jag had wanted to hurry home to have Barbara to himself. He was hungry for more than steak, and no little kitty would stand in his way. “Guess he'll explore for a bit. Let me show you the kitchen. We can feed him there."

  "I like your home.” He saw Barbara look around the room. Her eyes lit on two prints on the wall. “What do you do for a living?” Barbara asked as she examined the prints closer.

  He'd spared no expense in his comfort. Money was no object. The Kind took care of their protectors. Jag had the best of everything.

  What should he say? “I
'm in protective services. I'm a bodyguard.” That was believable. He was Reign, his Kind's protector, so Jag didn't lie.

  "That must be pretty exciting stuff."

  "Not really, you get used to it.” She'd run like hell if she really knew what he did, what he was. But tonight he'd court her. Make her see what a good cat he was. The vamp thing—they could deal with that later.

  They reached the kitchen and he stood against the butcher's block in the center of the floor. She was his draga. She would have to understand. Her dreams meant she felt something. He couldn't be feeling this way all by himself. Jag's cock nudged his zipper in anticipation. He decided to get started now.

  He reached out and pulled her into his arms, positioning her between his thighs. He kissed her softly at first. It wasn't long before his tongue delved deep into the recess of her mouth.

  She leaned into him and kissed him back. Her breath came in short puffs of warm air. Damn, she smelled good. Jag wanted more. She must feel his erection against her. The way she kissed him said she had the same dilemma. Her smell wafted around his head.

  "You taste so good,” he said as he lifted his mouth from hers. “I've dreamed of this for so long. I can't believe you're finally here.” He leaned down and trailed kisses down her neck. Something rubbed against his leg. Damn it. “Hey, Big, finished exploring, have you? You feed the cat. I'll grill the steaks. I've got salad fixings too.” Jag grabbed the steaks out of the fridge. He loved grilling. The kitchen was the only other room he used a lot besides the bedroom. He opened the door to go start the grill. Before he could close it, BG streaked by him into the yard.

  "Aww hell, Barbara, the cat ran out.” Jag was pissed. This would ruin the evening. The damn cat didn't know the area and he'd wander around out there forever, unless ... Shit, he'd have to go get him.

  "Jag, we have to find him.” She glanced around and called for her cat. “Big Guy, Big? Where are you, boy? Come on, BG."

  This could not be happening. “You wait here in case he comes back and I'll go look for him.” Damn cat. He'd show him a thing or two as soon as he found him. Jag disappeared into the woods. As soon as he was out of sight, his clothes vanished and he released his jaguar.