“And there’s no more protecting either of you.” Particularly on guard due to those cryptic words and the strange absence of any enforcement of his punishment, Nathan treaded carefully but quickly as he entered the cave.
He headed toward the small room he’d been sleeping in earlier in the week to get his stuff out of its wardrobe, but he had to pass the ceremony hall. The Mating Ritual had already started and all the kitties had lined up in the room. Fifty-plus naked, hot and horny cat shifters in one room—Nathan held his breath so as to not overload his senses with all of their scents. He tried to move past them as fast as he could, but he ran into Justin Finland of all cats. Shit.
“Not easy to get through, eh, Dawson?” Justin chuckled. “They’re all excited. There’s a newcomer tonight.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan spotted the shrouded female standing against the wall at the back of the room, being greeted by all of those remaining in line. Almost all of them naked and in human form, and one by one they introduced themselves in traditional Pride fashion. Some of them shook her hand. Most of the men got close enough to sniff at her and allowed her to get a whiff of them. A few of them touched her hand or leaned in to kiss her on the face or to plant a quick smooch on top of her lips. “Great,” he mumbled.
“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
“Not really interested in this one,” he replied curtly.
Justin laughed. “Wow, you must have it bad. Suit yourself. Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“Out of here. I’m not staying.”
“Why not? Your status with the Pride is intact.”
“But my interest in the Pride isn’t,” Nathan said as he tried to move past.
But Justin blocked him. “Wait a minute, Dawson, you can’t just walk out of here.”
“The hell I can’t.” Nathan stormed by Justin and went into the room to grab his belongings from the wardrobe. He was still packing his bags when he heard council member Ava Mayer make an announcement.
“Okay, everyone has now been introduced to her as Cat and human. She’s made her decision and she’s ready to declare it now,” Ava said.
Several seconds went by in silence and Nathan had enough time to zip up his bag and mutter curses at the world for putting him in this uncomfortable situation. He was beginning to stick his arms into a shirt when he recognized the voice that spoke next.
“Hello everyone, it was nice to meet you. I’ve made my choice.”
Nathan froze stiff. Was that Sofia?
He moved to the doorway where he could see the shrouded woman. She was moving toward the center of the room and climbing the pedestal. Once she reached the top she dropped her cloak. Her long, wavy brown hair framed her toned shoulders, the brown nipples thick and pert in the center of large, chocolate areolas the size of half dollars, topping off a delicious pair of toffee-colored breasts.
It was Sofia Saldana standing there, naked and lovely and not on her way to the airport—but fully introduced to the Pride and now being admired by all the Weres in the room.
“Who do you choose?” Ava asked her.
“Him. If he accepts,” Sofia replied. Then she lifted her hand and pointed a finger right at Nathan.
Chapter Twelve
Sofia waited. As awkward as it was for her to stand there on that pedestal like a prized pooch at a pedigree dog show, there she was. Ready to fulfill both her obligation to the Pride for membership and claim Nathan Dawson as her one and only mate. Of course, if he would have her. She’d thought he wanted her, but then why was he just standing there now, staring at her like that? Had she been too presumptuous in thinking he wanted this too?
They made eye contact. His face was blank but she gave him a soft smile and an encouraging, loving bat of her eyes. Within the very next moment he was on the pedestal with her—his arrival so quick it caught her off guard and she stumbled backward two steps. Sofia gathered her composure, only to lose it again seconds later as the erotic ferocity of his presence bombarded her. The heat his long, perfect body exuded, the intensity of his hypnotic green gems, the recollection of that body underneath her, behind her, on top of her…
Maldito caliente. She swallowed hard and fingered a strand of her hair as the flutters overtook her.
“You’re going to be late for your flight,” Nathan said.
“Yeah, looks like I’m going to miss it.”
“But you have to get back to work.”
“I quit. Sent my boss an email soon after I left you.”
He blinked. “You did what?”
“Yeah I know, not very professional of me, was it?” Sofia chuckled. “I was hoping you could help me land a gig over at DodgeTech.”
“So you’re staying with us?”
“I’m staying with you.”
“It didn’t sound as if either one of us was really keen with the idea of doing other people in the Mating Ritual, so I thought I’d—”
“Supersede it with the Claiming Rite.” He finished her sentence for her.
“Right. This way, we can enjoy the benefits of the Pride and mate with each other to our hearts’ content, without anyone pressuring us to get freaky with the other cats.” The look he gave her was unblinking, and so intense she really began to doubt this was the right move. “Unless, you don’t really want to be claimed.”
Nathan opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but Justin and Cassandra climbed up the steps to the pedestal just then.
The leopard-shifter winked at Sofia then grinned and handed the claiming collar he was holding to Nathan.
Nathan lowered his brows. “You knew she was about to do this, didn’t you, asshole?”
Justin snorted and nodded. “Helped her work through it. Are you going to take this collar or what?”
“Hell yeah I am,” Nathan laughed as he took the necklace into his hand.
“You’re a lucky cat, man.”
“I know.”
“Don’t think this makes us friends or some shit like that though.”
“Hell no, of course not. You’re still a hotheaded asshole,” Nathan replied with a grin. The laugh Justin gave was a genuine, hearty one.
It was so strange to see those two standing before her like this—amicable and naked, together. Justin winked at Sofia before he descending the stairs and she gave him a warm smile. Once he left, Sofia turned to see Nathan giving Cassandra a questioning look.
“The council approves of this?”
Cassandra nodded. “It benefits the entire Pride. They approve. I approve.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You sure? You seemed pretty adamant about me—”
“Mating with someone tonight?” She smirked. “Well, you will be. I told you I was certain of it.” She leaned in close to him and whispered something in his ear. Then she smiled at Sofia and handed her the second claiming necklace before leaving the platform.
“What did she say to you?”
“She said she knew there was no way I would refuse mating tonight, once she realized that I was in love with you.”
Sofia’s mouth went dry and her tongue went numb for a moment. He’d said it so plainly, as if it were a simple matter of fact. Nathan was in love with her?
“What makes Cassandra think you love me?”
“Probably the fact that I’m in love for you, for one.”
Her cheeks grew hot and her heart did a double flip in her chest. “A fact that I didn’t know, but apparently she did?”
Nathan chuckled. “She also put me through sort of a test, I believe. I didn’t see it at the time, but…” He snorted. “I take it I passed.”
“Mmm. So does that also mean you want to be collared?”
“By you I do.” He fingered the pendant on the collar he was holding thoughtfully. “Only if you really want to be claimed by me, and aren’t just doing this because you think this is a compromise with the Pride.”
“No. I want you,” Sofia confessed. “I have from the very beg
inning.”
“Good.” Nathan clasped the necklace around her throat. It wasn’t too heavy but it hung a bit loose.
She smiled as she reached up and placed the necklace she was holding around Nathan’s neck and clasped it behind his nape. She fingered the back of his neck and then his shoulder blades, trailing her hands down his skin, tracing his collarbones and moving her fingers over to the metallic rendering of the symbol that represented the Leo sign that rested against his breastbone. “Why do they even call these collars?” she asked. “They hang too loose.”
“When you’re human they do,” Nathan said before his body morphed and the muscular, handsome, green-eyed cat stood before her.
What was a necklace on the man was now a well-fitted choker against the thicker neck of the animal. Sofia found herself beaming proudly at the collared beast, now property of Sofia Saldana. She shape-shifted as well, just to join him in the experience of being truly collared.
They nuzzled each other’s noses and Sofia rubbed her head against Nathan’s neck, her purr intermingling with his, before she found herself nestling against the neck of the man—who was sitting on the floor of the pedestal with a growing erection.
“Lose control again?” she laughed once she shifted back.
“No, just getting impatient. We’re at the Mating Ritual, and this is a Claiming ceremony. There’s supposed to be sex.”
She laughed, both with relief and a bit of nervousness.
“I’m serious,” he said. And he looked it, too. “You ready?”
“This is crazy, you know.”
“What is?”
“This ritual. This Claiming Rite. Performing it with you, when I hardly know you.”
“You keep saying that,” he scoffed. “But already you know more about me than most any of my other so-called friends and family. And I feel closer to you than anyone else in my life.”
She beamed. “Me too. I want this, Nathan. But to be honest, I’m still sore. You know…from earlier.”
“Is that so?” Nathan pushed her down gently upon the carpeted platform. “Show me where it hurts. I’ll kiss it and make it better.” He kissed her tenderly on the mouth, sucking her bottom lip between his. “Does it hurt here?”
Smiling, Sofia shook her head no. He trailed his lips down her chin, underneath it, down the length of her neck. He suctioned his mouth on the crook of her shoulder in a warm, wet, hungry suckle. “Here?”
“No, not there.”
Down farther his mouth traveled, visiting both of her breasts. He lapped at her nipples, which were tender and achy, yet still eager for his attention. He alternated between licking them and taking them into his mouth, suckling her almost as if he expected her to secrete something yummy. She was so sensitive and he sucked with such force that her eyes watered and her cries came out in tiny, choppy squeaks. When he pulled his lips away long enough to speak, his voice was thick and heavy with desire. “Does it hurt here?”
“No, but it will soon if you keep doing that,” she said.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be, I love it. I’m just really sore all over. Even my back hurts. Too much shifting these past few days.”
“Mmm. Turn around,” he said as he was already guiding her to her hands and knees. His big, smooth hands caressed her waist, massaged her hips and bottom for a while, before he moved to get on all fours behind her. He lunged forward and Sofia shuddered when she felt Nathan’s warm breath against her crotch. “Especially here, I bet?”
Sofia closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. “Yeah, especially there.”
First there was one gentle lick. Then two. Then three slow, deliberately teasing laps of his long tongue against her outer labia that had her sex throbbing with need. When his face made contact the fourth time, his tongue parted her lips, stroked against her inner folds and lavished her clit.
She yelped again, louder this time. Nathan paused. “Want me to stop?”
“No,” she breathed.
“Everybody’s watching,” he teased.
She glanced down and around the room. Everyone was watching her and Nathan, it seemed. Many seemed to even be getting off from their display. “I don’t care,” she said. “I mean I do… But I don’t, not with you. I don’t care if the whole world sees me with you. Not even from the first moment I met you.”
“Good,” he said as he dived back in. This time he held nothing back as he ate her with wild abandon. Gripping her by the hips, he held her in place from behind while he buried his face between her thighs, his tongue deep within her, employing his mouth as if it provided the salve to ease her pain.
And indeed, it was working. Sofia rocked back and forth on her hands and knees, humping against Nathan’s face as he ate her rapaciously until the fierce orgasm rose up and up, clenched her in its grip and then washed a surge of pleasure over her like a soothing balm of passion and fire. He kept his mouth on her as she came, drinking every last drop.
When her arms began to wobble weakly, Nathan moved to collect her on his lap. She fell against his chest, panting hard, and he held her tightly in his arms.
“Any better now?” he asked.
“Ay de mi. Yes,” she said. Even as she said this, his erection pressed against her thigh and her own libido roared in response to his. She kissed him, tasting her sweetness on his tongue intermingled with his own flavor, as she poised herself on his lap to mount him.
Carefully she lowered herself onto him, bracing herself on his shoulders as she eased him inside. Being that she was well lubricated and that she’d already received him twice recently, it was much easier to seat him this time. When he was all the way in, she bounced up and down a few times to get the fit just right, and they both cried out in pleasure when their bodies adjusted fully to accommodate each other.
“I could be in love with you too, you know,” Sofia whispered into his ear.
“Could be?”
“Could be.”
“I’m already madly in love with you. Have been from the moment I laid eyes on you.”
“And now I’m yours.” She rode him languorously, stirring the passion between them without completely shaking it up.
“You are mine,” he agreed. “All mine.”
“What are you going to do with me now that I’m all yours?”
“I want you to be my wife someday. Serve me warm milk, let me give you tongue baths, have you birth my kittens.”
Sparks of both lust and admiration shot through her as she pressed her mouth against his, inhaling his scent, as she used their joining to scratch the itch deep within her body, her heart, within her soul. Soon they completely forgot that there was anyone else in the room or in the world, and shouted out as they reached the pinnacle of pleasure and carefree bliss together.
About Tatiana Caldwell
Let’s see, what should I tell you about me? I’m an IT geek who happens to also be a vixen with an overactive imagination. I will write anything from programming code to smoldering erotica, so long as it involves brains or sex. Preferably both. ;)
I’m a published author of erotic romance in several sub-genres, including paranormal, fantasy, futuristic and science fiction. I believe love can happen not only any time or any place, but with anyone, and so my stories feature a diverse cast of characters.
When I’m not writing or working, I can be found reading; playing video games of all kinds; watching movies, anime and sci-fi television shows; exercising; spending time with my husband and children; or making complex spreadsheets.
Tatiana welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Cat Out of the Bag
ISBN 9781419939310
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cat Out of the Bag Copyright © 2013 Tatiana Caldwell
Edited by Beverly Horne
Cover design by Syneca
Cover photography by ArrowStudios/shutterstock.com
Electronic book publication December 2013
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