Fiona shivered, hating the pet names. When he said it, they sounded like insults.
“Or, is it kitten now?” James surged forward with so much speed, she screamed in fright, only to find he was upon her before she could blink. His hand shot over her mouth, pressing tight to her lips until she was forced to breathe from her nose. Her heart thundered in her head. She never imagined he would strike so fast. “Isn’t that what he calls you? Kitten?”
Fiona shook her head, trying to talk, but his hand muffled her words. His eyes flashed with a supernatural light.
“I saw you, kitten,” he spat. “I watched you spread your legs for him like a whore. Did you like him fucking you? Was his cock so much more than mine? Did he make your sweet body come?”
He’s crazy! Cade! Help!
She struggled to be set free, but James merely slipped his hand from her to replace it with his lips. He kissed her hard, as if he’d expected her to respond to him. When she pushed her lips tight, refusing him entrance, he growled.
“What? My kiss not good enough for you?” he spat. Thrusting his hips to her stomach, he let her feel his erection. She imagined he was naked under the lab coat. “My cock not good enough anymore? It was plenty good enough when you used to ride me every night.”
“James, stop—” It had hardly been every night.
“I’ll show you, you bitch.” His eyes were wild, almost insane as he studied her face and pressed a finger along the seam of her mouth hard. “I want you to act for me like you did for him. I want you get on your knees for me and suck me like you did him. Then you’re going to beg me to fuck you like an animal. Yeah, yeah…”
“No,” she began. He shook her hard. “We can’t. Not here. Someone will see. Please, James.”
As if coming from an impassioned haze, he glanced around the open section of the preserve. “You’re right.”
He took a deep breath and Fiona wondered if she’d made a mistake. Now she had no idea where he’d take her. At least here, someone might come and help her. But, she just couldn’t force herself to give him a blowjob. She didn’t want him anymore, realized she’d never wanted him. She’d just been lonely and looking for something James could never give her.
“Come on,” he ordered, jerking her arm and making her walk with him. “I know a place that’s perfect.”
Cade, Fiona thought. Please, help me.
Chapter Six
Cade pressed his hand to Mia’s throat. It had been slit open with a claw in such a way she should’ve died instantly. Rage and sorrow ripped through him. Mia didn’t have much of a chance in this life. After five years at the preserve, she’d only started to relax around humans. It was his presence alone that kept her calm. If he would’ve left, she would’ve gone berserk on the staff and would’ve had to be put down. So he’d stayed with her, because she needed him. And, when she needed him most, he’d let her down.
“She saved my life,” Viktor said, coughing, “and Eve’s.”
Cade fought back tears and nodded once to indicate he heard him. His fists clenched over the lioness’ chest. They were covered with blood. Viktor had a slashed chest, but would live. Unlike Mia, he had the ability to heal himself.
“Cade,” Eve whispered. “Please. We have to find Ricard.”
Cade’s head snapped up, his eyes glowing hot. The murderer was still out there.
Fiona.
His heart dropped. Fiona was still out there as well.
“Fiona,” Cade growled, turning toward the door mid-shift. His blood-stained paws hit the floor and he took off running, the white lab coat fluttering behind him. He picked up the man’s scent and his stomach clenched as he ran back toward his cage. That’s where he’d left Fiona.
Please let her have run off. Please let her have listened to us.
Cade skidded to a stop as he caught her scent. The smell was light, but he detected fear in it. Was it from seeing him shift? Or was it Ricard?
Oh, kitten, please be safe. I can’t lose you too. I can’t lose you. I can’t lose you…
* * * *
Fiona trembled as James pulled her through the preserve to a part she’d never been to—the forest. Her feet stumbled as she was dragged over a rope bridge. Wild grasses grew, rolling in the evening breeze, caressed by the orange light of dusk. The planked walk was sturdy, but seeing the creek flowing beneath her feet made her dizzy. James stopped, sniffing the air.
“We’re alone,” he said, his tone lowering with meaning as he glanced over her body.
“James, let me go.” Fiona tried to pull her arm from his grasp, but claws as sharp as knives grew from his fingertips. They pressed into her skin, drawing blood. It beaded on her uniform shirt.
“I hated to leave you, Fiona,” he confessed, his eyes glowing. “You were so good to me.” He smiled, caressing her cheek. “Taking care of me, feeding me. Mm, and fulfilling my needs.”
“Yeah, while you took advantage of me!” she yelled. It was foolish to piss him off, but she couldn’t help herself. She was so angry with him for what he did to her. “You took everything I had!”
“It killed me to hurt you,” he soothed, pulling her to his chest and patting down her hair. “I know you’re mad at me, but I didn’t have a choice. Once I was better, I was going to come back for you.”
“What makes you think I’d take you back?” she demanded.
James stiffened. When he pulled back to study her, his eyes were hard.
“You would have,” he stated with confidence. He jerked her close once more. His tone softer, he gripped her tight. “You would have.”
Fiona’s eyes filled with tears and she blinked them back. This wasn’t the James she knew—this wild-eyed man. But then again, had she ever really known him?
His hands rolled down her spine and she bit back a sob. James moved to study her. She blinked harder, but couldn’t hide her fear from him. He frowned.
“It’s him, isn’t it? It’s your lion.”
Fiona didn’t answer. The overhead light flickered on him as the sun started to set. It cast an eerie light over his features, contrasting them.
“I watched you,” James said, his tone accusing as his face contorted. “I watched you fuck him.”
“James.” Fiona shook her head. “Please.”
Please, Cade.
“I bet you’re thinking of him even now, aren’t you?” He lightly touched her jaw. When she didn’t answer, he stuck a clawed finger under her chin. “Aren’t you?!”
“Only because you keep mentioning him,” she ground out. It was a lie.
“Get on your knees,” James ordered. “Do to me what you did to him.”
Fiona took his moment of distraction to run. She almost made it to the end of the bridge before he pounced on her back. Growling, she felt his claws ripping into her flesh.
“Ah!” she cried, as the white hot pain tore through her.
James roared, as she wiggled to be free. A paw swiped the side of her head, not ripping the skin, but knocking her momentarily senseless as she rolled on the planked wood. Her arm struck a post and she heard the babbling creek underneath her. Staying on her back, she groaned. James snarled and she watched in terror as a large tiger bared his sharp white teeth.
“James,” she whispered, her body sore. She struggled to sit up. Pain shot through her back and blood flowed freely from her wounds. Fiona wanted to cry out, to do something, anything to get him to stop but she couldn’t. She knew she was losing too much blood and didn’t want to think about the damage James had already done.
Suddenly, out of the darkening forest, a lion leapt through the air, roaring as he struck the tiger in the side. James fell. The lion looked at her and she saw a flash of familiar green in the yellow depths.
Cade?
“Cade.” Groaning, she fought to get up. She fell back on the wood, too weak to try again. Wet, sticky warmth flooded her back. She was bleeding badly. Her head spun, but she couldn’t take her eyes away as she watched Cade square off with the tiger. Jam
es slashed with his paw and Cade ducked only to counterattack with a strike to the tiger’s head.
Cade’s feline body moved with precision, graceful and fierce at the same time, each movement fluid and perfect. James’ style was rougher, as he mindlessly and viciously hacked and growled.
James drew blood as he struck Cade’s shoulder. Fiona moaned, frightened, as the tiger tried to bite the lion’s neck. James drew back, looking as if he was unable to bite through Cade’s thicker mane.
Cade leapt into the air, his body stretching out. The tiger went down. Cade’s mouth gripped James neck. Blood bathed them both as James weakened almost instantly. A gurgling sounded in the back of his throat. Breathing hard, Cade withdrew. His cat eyes found her.
Fiona’s vision was dimming fast. Her head swam even as her heart soared. Cade had won. He lived. His body shifted back to human form. She saw him crawling for her, his body dripping wet with James’ blood. His fingers reaching for her was the last thing she saw before passing out.
“Fiona, kitten, hold on…”
* * * *
Cade paced the laboratory as Eve stitched up Fiona’s back. She might have been a vet, but in her line of work she’d seen Fiona’s type of injuries before.
“Shouldn’t we get her to a hospital?” Eve asked, for about the fifteenth time in three minutes.
“Finn’s on his way with a doctor,” Viktor assured her. “You’re doing fine, sweetheart. Besides, Fiona’s not the same as other women anymore. She’s like you. She’s special. Regular doctors don’t know how to deal with it.”
“She looks pale,” Cade said, rubbing his hands against his temples. They were still covered in blood.
“She’s always been pale,” said a stranger’s voice. “Just like her mother.”
Cade turned to the doorway. Finn stood with an older gentleman. The man had Fiona’s green eyes but darker hair.
“Finn,” Cade said, nodding.
“This is Fredrick LaSalle,” Finn said to the curious stares. “Fiona’s father.”
“Where’s the doctor?” Cade demanded, worried.
“She won’t need one,” Fredrick said before glancing at Eve. “Dr. Matthews, I presume?”
Eve nodded.
“Thank you for taking care of my girl.” Fredrick instantly went to where his daughter lay stomach down on the operating table. He stroked back her hair. “I was afraid this might happen with that bastard.”
“Who?” Viktor asked. “Ricard?”
“James Ricard Hamilton,” Finn said. “He was part of a small group of men who believed they could harness the power of the cat.”
“A man made shifter?” Cade asked, not taking his eyes off Fiona. “There’s no such thing.”
“In the 1930s a group of scientists found a way,” Fredrick said, standing. “They called it the Feline Project. Only two men survived. One was fine, taking to the shifting. The other, Dr. Hamilton, took partially. Whereas the first subject lived as an immortal, James Hamilton’s transformation was different. He aged like a man, but could shift into cat. Though, eventually, his cat body began to show the age his human one did. As the years passed, he discovered that the way to keep himself young was to drink the blood of pure blood cats—those who didn’t shift.”
“Mia,” Cade whispered.
Fredrick frowned in confusion and glanced around.
“A lioness here that was attacked by Hamilton,” Viktor answered his silent question.
“I’ve been trying to track him down for years,” Fredrick said. “He went mad in his pursuit, needing more and more blood to sustain his youth. Then, when I discovered he was dating my daughter, I knew I had to act. Only I found out too late. I wanted to give her independence.” Fredrick touched his daughter’s cheek as Eve finished stitching the woman’s wounds. “I hoped that James robbing her blind was the end of it. I see now I was wrong.”
“And why send her here to work?” Eve asked.
“To make sure she was protected,” Finn answered. “Fredrick is an old friend and he came to me for help.”
“There’s one more of these guys out there,” Cade said, his lips tight. His heart ached for Mia, but he knew she’d moved on to a better place. This world had never really been for her. She was better off. But that didn’t stop him from missing her terribly. Seeing Fiona laying on the table, he took a deep breath. He loved her and he would be damned if he’d lose her like he did Mia.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about him,” Finn said, laughing slightly.
“And why’s that? What’s to stop him from coming here someday?” Viktor demanded.
“Because that man,” Fredrick paused, looking Cade in the eye, “is me.”
* * * *
Fiona moaned. Her body no longer felt ravaged by pain and fever and she was glad when she could breathe without her lungs feeling as if they were on fire. Opening her eyes, she got a flash of Cade’s naked body covered in blood. The memory of that moment had haunted her dreams, holding her in its delirious throes. Sitting up, her body weak, she glanced around. She was in her childhood bedroom.
How’d I get here? Dad? Cade?
Feeling her waist, she discovered bandages were wrapped tightly around her midsection. She pulled off her shirt and slowly began to pull them back as she crossed over to a mirror. Pajama pants hugged her narrow waist.
“What in the...?” she mumbled as her body was revealed. There wasn’t a scratch on it. Even her back, which she vividly remembered being ripped to shreds, was completely healed. There weren’t even any scars. In fact, she felt great—strong, alive, powerful.
She looked at her reflection closely. Her body looked tighter, as if she’d spent every day for a year in a gym. Slipping her pants from her hips, she found her legs were just as toned.
Nervous, she pulled the pajama pants back up and picked up her shirt. As she pulled it over her head, she heard someone approaching. She watched the door, expecting it to open. It didn’t. The sound of footsteps got louder and louder until she was forced to cover her ears. The latch moved and she smelled her father before he even entered.
“Dad,” she whispered, part in acknowledgement, part in confusion.
“You’re awake,” he said, smiling.
“What’s happened? I…” Her head twitched as she heard more footsteps approaching. They stopped and walked the other way. A servant, maybe?
“Fiona, darling, please try and listen to me,” Fredrick said.
Her eyes darted to him and she frowned. Had he been talking? She’d been so busy listening for more footsteps.
“I said, you’re changing. All you’re feeling is normal.” Fredrick held out his hand and stepped closer.
“Ch-changing?” Her voice was hoarse with apprehension and she cleared her throat. “What do you mean changing?”
“I should have told you a long time ago, but I never knew if my burden would be yours as well. When you were born, you and your sister, neither one of you showed signs of it. After a time, I thought maybe my altered genes had stayed with me.”
“Altered genes? What are you talking about, Dad? Signs of what?” Fiona lifted her chin, eyeing her father carefully. She saw every subtle shift of his features like never before.
“I’ve been in the lab, but all I can determine is the near death experience has triggered a dormant part of you. Your body wanted to survive and so my genes kicked in and became active.”
“What genes? What lab? You don’t have a lab. You’re a businessman.” Fiona shook her head. What was going on here? Was her father mental? Was she? Did she get transported to some alternate universe where nothing made sense?
“Shifter genes. And I’m a businessman now. I was a scientist, long ago, years before I even met your mother.”
Fiona...?
The sound penetrated her brain, making her stiffen. “Cade?”
“What?” her father asked.
“Sorry, nothing, you were saying?”
“A group of us discovered a rare
genetic disposition that created shifters—cats in particular. We worked for the government and had unlimited funding. Basically, we manipulated our own DNA to become shifters. For most it backfired. James and I were the only survivors.”
“James,” Fiona whispered, hit with a vivid memory of blood covered hands. “Cade killed him.”
“It’s for the best, darling,” her father soothed.
Fiona? Can you hear me? Is that you?
“What?” She frowned, glancing around. Cade?
“It’s probably just some maids talking in the other room. You’ll get used to blocking it out. Your survival instincts have kicked in and you’ll need some time to adjust.” Her father stepped closer. “Cade saved your life.”
“He was King. He’s a lion.” She studied her hands. They looked the same. Taking a deep breath, she was calmer than she would’ve imagined being at such a surreal time.
Though, thinking back, there were things about her father that only made sense with this sort of explanation. He never got sick. Once, on her fifth birthday, he’d fallen and broken his leg. She’d seen the bone. A week later she remembered him at a ball dancing with her mother. The leg had been all better.
“That’s why we never get sick,” Fiona said. “Not once have I had the flu.”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“What am I? What are you?”
“We’re a mix. We have immortality, enhanced senses, but we can’t shift. At least, I can’t and assume the same for you.”
“But, James shifted. I saw him.”
“His body reacted differently than mine. He got the ability to change at great pain to himself, but not the immortality.”
Fiona’s head spun. She took a deep breath, doing her best to accept all her father said with grace and poise. It was hard though.
Fiona, are you there?
She heard Cade’s voice but was just sure it was her imagination.
“What is it?” her father asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
“Nothing,” she lied. “It’s nothing.”
“Do you hear something? Someone?”
“What do you mean?” Fiona scratched the back of her head.
Carnal Instinct (A Ghost Cat Book) Page 7
