A Tiger's Tale

by Lisa Oliver

  “He hates your car,” Ra chuckled. He was feeling better with every swipe of the razor.

  “How can he hate that beast? It’s bought and paid for. I paid for that with my own savings and it’s never let me down.”

  “Simon’s a car fanatic. You watch, another week and that thing will look and sound in mint condition.”

  Seth muttered something about how the car was fine the way it was, but Ra ignored his grumbling. He splashed his face and grinned in the mirror. A lot of men suited scruff or a beard, but he wasn’t one of them.

  He turned, aware his cock was pointing at Seth, bobbing in excitement. “Are you sure you want me to get in there with you?”

  “Yes, unless you want me to lick that first?”

  Ra raised his eyebrows. Lordy, that’s tempting, but he’d been apart from his mate too long to be happy with a blowjob. Sliding into the water, taking care not to splash Seth’s face, he groaned as he realized how long it’d been since he’d showered. “Fuck, I must stink,” he said, grabbing a washcloth and gel soap.

  “Musky,” Seth said in a low voice. “I like it.” His hand ran down his torso and grabbed his cock. Ra quickly smothered himself in soap and then reached for another cloth. He’d wash Seth and see for himself if his mate was capable of the things going through his mind at a mile a minute.

  *****

  Seth needed Ra. It was that simple. While he didn’t have the overwhelming urge to bite his mate or plunge into his body, he was desperate to feel Ra in him. His rabbit, usually a timid creature, came alive in all things sexual and there was that nagging doubt that Ra might not want him, that Seth needed wiped from his brain completely. He didn’t have Ra’s confidence or his sexual allure and he needed Ra to prove his commitment with his body because the man was clearly hopeless with words.

  Unfortunately, Ra was a nice guy. His touch, washcloth only, was so gentle Seth wanted to scream with it. His massive dick, something Seth had worshiped on more than one occasion, was kept steadfastly out of Seth’s reach, although the dark mushroomed head was looking as desperate as Seth was feeling.

  “I’m clean,” he said at last, pushing Ra’s hand away. “Now, are you going to do something with that, or am I really that repulsive to you already. I’m not even showing.” Actually, Seth could feel a tiny bump in his lower abs, but it wasn’t noticeable, noticeable. He pointed at Ra’s cock bobbing in the water.

  “Babe, you have bruises all over. I want…I can’t…You’re hurt.”

  So will you be in a minute, Seth seethed. “It’s like this,” he said firmly, sitting up and shoving Ra back against the edge of the bathtub. “I need you in me. I’m not confident like you. Your cock inside of my ass is the only way my rabbit,” and my heart, but Seth didn’t mention that, “will understand that you still want me. Now, it might sound stupid, but we’re mated and I’m pregnant and fucking horny. Pass me the lube.”

  Ra looked at him like one would look at a rattlesnake, worried if it would strike. But his cock was still waving madly and after a moment’s hesitation, Ra reached over and picked up the lube.

  “I can do that,” he offered, handing Seth the tube.

  “I haven’t got time to wait for you to fart around,” Seth said, still feeling cross as he took it. “Apparently pregnant means hungry too. This gets much worse and I’ll be bouncing on you, eating a sandwich.”

  Ra’s laugh quickly turned into a cough, which he covered with his hand. Seth ignored him. Shoving lube in his ass wasn’t a graceful or easy thing to do, but he was determined. As soon as he knew he could accept Ra’s shaft without wincing because lord knows what the tiger would do then, he lobbed the lube over the edge of the bath and fixed Ra with his best glare. “You ready?”

  Ra looked sideways, up at the ceiling and then back at Seth. “Yes, although it might have been nice to get a kiss first.”

  I’ll give you a punch in the mouth if you like, Seth grumbled to himself as he moved as fast as he dared until he could straddle Ra’s legs. He wasn’t sure where his unaccustomed aggression was coming from, maybe it was the hormones, but Seth would worry about that later. For now, his need was in hand and…oh boy…it filled his hand beautifully. Ra bit his lip and fisted his hands on the edge of the tub. Seth could see the muscles in his neck straining as he edged Ra’s cock into his body.

  “Oh fuck, yes.” All Seth’s agitation, his bunny’s concerns, and even his hunger melted away as he sank down, relishing the sensation of fullness only Ra could provide. Without agitation clouding his eyes, he could see the controlled strength on Ra’s face; the way he tormented his lip and the furrow between his eyes. Relenting, because honestly, anger wasn’t something a rabbit like him could hang onto for long, Seth leaned forward and whispered against Ra’s lips, “I missed you so much.”

  That seemed to be the cue Ra needed. His arms felt firm, yet gentle across Seth’s back and the man kissed him as though he was starving. Seth’s blood boiled; he couldn’t move much, the muscles in his legs wouldn’t let him, but he rocked his body as best he could, spurred on by the rumble in Ra’s chest and the tension in his mate’s thighs. In an embarrassingly short time, his balls tightened and he cried out with relief as his balls emptied. Ra’s mouth moved to his neck and Seth leaned his head to one side…waiting…craving…there!

  Ra’s teeth slid through his skin and Seth’s heart soared, his pulse raced and his balls made another pathetic attempt to empty. Ra moaned around his skin and Seth was conscious of his release coating his insides. Calmness enveloped him; all was right with the world, and for the first time since their disastrous outing at Cam’s, Seth believed it just might be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ra stifled a moan as he heard Seth rustling about. In the four days since he’d been ‘forgiven,’ Seth had been a sexual dynamo and Ra’s poor cock was feeling a wee bit sensitive. Embarrassed though he was to admit it, he wasn’t sure he could get it up again for at least a few hours. He braced himself for a hand on his hip or something to indicate Seth’s interest, but what he heard were feet on the floor.

  Good, he thought, I’ll just pretend to be asleep and maybe he’ll bring me food. He kept his eyes closed, images of grilled cheese and bacon running through his head, when he heard the unmistakable clump of boots. Seth didn’t need them to make toasted sandwiches.

  “Where are you off to?” He demanded, rolling over, his sleep pretense forgotten.

  “Oh, you are awake,” Seth’s quirked mouth suggested he knew Ra had been faking it.

  But Ra wouldn’t be distracted by that mouth…or those dimples…shaking his head, he asked again, “where are you going? I’ll give you a ride.”

  “No need,” Seth said, grabbing his backpack off the floor. “I’m due at the library in twenty minutes. I’ll take my own car seeing as I’m not sure what time I’ll be finishing. I have to pop into my apartment too, grab a few things and give Mrs. Hooper back her key and I promised the doc I would call in there so he can see if my ribs have healed. I’ll see you this evening.”

  “The library!” Ra sat up in bed. “You can’t…go without breakfast,” he amended quickly when he saw the glint in Seth’s eye. “Farriday said you had to make sure you didn’t miss any meals.”

  “Nice save,” Seth laughed. “Liam made me sandwiches to take with me. See you later.” Blowing a kiss, he sauntered out the door.

  Ra flopped back on the bed. Something’s not right here. Seth doesn’t have a phone, Barney wouldn’t be expecting him to work now he’s back with me. Not with a baby on the way.

  Ignoring the pang Ra felt at the idea Seth didn’t want to be with him again, he snatched his phone from the bedside table. Three outgoing calls; Barney, Farriday and another number Ra didn’t recognize which was probably the store, all made within the last hour. His eyes narrowing, Ra hit Barney’s number.

  “Seth,” Barney’s voice was low and calm. “I told you not to worry about it. Your job’s safe whenever you want to come back.”

>   “It’s Ra,” he growled. “Are you telling me, my sneaky rabbit isn’t due at work in twenty minutes?”

  “Shit.” Barney’s voice lost its calm vibe. “Hey, Ra. I am expecting Seth in about twenty minutes, yes.”

  “But he’s not coming into work?”

  “Er…that would be a no. But,” Barney added quickly, “Seth will be with me, he’ll be perfectly safe and I’ll make sure nothing happens to him.”

  “What’s going on?” Ra felt his teeth drop.

  “Maybe if you’d stop fucking him and start talking to him for five minutes, you’d find out.” Barney ended the call.

  Fucking him? Barney makes it sound like all this sex is my fault. I’ve tried to talk to him about the case…. Realization dawned. He’d been sex-duped. “Oh, you are a sneaky fucking rabbit. I’ll skin you alive when I get my hands on you.” Ra jumped out of bed and pulled on enough clothes to be decent. He stormed out of his room yelling, “YOU ASSHOLES,” as he thundered down the stairs.

  Liam poked his head around the kitchen door. “Did you have a specific asshole in mind or would any of us do?”

  “You all knew, didn’t you? You all know what Seth is doing today. Don’t lie.”

  “Ra, put your teeth away,” Simon and the others were in the living room. “Seth’s safe. He wanted to make sure you were too.”

  Seth wants me safe. What would…. “Is there a town meeting today?” He asked bluntly.

  “Yeah, there is,” Brutus held up a sandwich on a plate. “Sheriff said if we couldn’t keep you from causing trouble, we weren’t allowed to go. So we ain’t going. None of us.”

  “This is about the attack on Seth?” Ra knew it before Liam’s embarrassed nod. “And no one thought to tell me?” He threw his hands in the air in disgust.

  “Seth begged us not to,” Mal said quickly, “and no matter how angry you get, he’s right. You can’t keep your teeth to yourself and if you attack those fucking rabbits you’ll miss the birth of your baby.”

  “I fucking knew it. That fucking herd,” Ra tried to push his tiger back but he wasn’t having much success. Where was his head when all this was going on? Oh yeah, sex blissed and unresponsive because he’d been thinking with his dick.

  “Deputy Joe came around yesterday,” Rocky explained. “It was while you and Seth were making noises in the bedroom. He had the official notice, which I gave to Seth at dinner last night. The dinner he served to you in bed.” Ra remembered that and the sexy blowjobs they’d exchanged afterward. He thought his mate was a bit edgy then, but Seth was proving the master of diversion. “I told Seth about the lecture from Joe,” Rocky continued, “and he was scared you’d get banished, censured or locked up. He needs you to be with him for this baby business.”

  “So I called Barney and Trent,” Simon said. “Seth’s parents will be there too. Cam, the Hoopers, the whole town will show up. He won’t come to any harm. Surely you can see Seth, hell, all of us; we kept this from you for your own good.”

  “I get that you and Seth care about me,” Ra said gruffly. “I get that my tiger can be a loose cannon at times, and yeah, this whole attack business has upset me big time.”

  “Which is why we’ll all sit here and wait for the outcome,” Lucien said.

  “You can, but I won’t,” Ra turned for the door and then turned back. He didn’t need to see his friends faces to know they were worried. The air was thick with it. But he wanted to look each one of his friends in the eye.

  “We don’t know a lot about being mates, right? I’m fucking over the moon, I’ve found mine. I pray it will happen for all of you too. But I’ve already fucked up with Seth when we found out about the baby. I know that. You tell me what sort of mate I’d be, if I let my precious little bunny face his attackers alone, without standing by his side? You tell me how much of an asshole I’d be if I can’t control my tiger long enough to be supportive of my mate in a time of crisis.”

  His friends all looked at each other, then back at him.

  “This is that fucking crisis,” Ra threw out his hands. “Seth hates crowds. Hell, I never saw him at a town meeting before. He’ll want to shift. His attackers are going to spew vile things about him to justify their actions. He’ll have to listen to that crap. His first instinct will be to shift. Don’t you understand, I need to be there to support him?”

  “You can’t shift,” Simon warned. “You can’t yell, get angry or say anything, no matter how much you might want to.”

  Ra knew that was damn near impossible. He was quick-tempered and just as quickly got over it, but when he was angry everyone knew to stay clear of him. His tiger loved to fight and he shifted at the first sign of trouble. “Then you shift,” he said, pointing at Simon. “You shift, and you stay under my jacket with your fangs at my fucking throat. My tiger doesn’t have a death wish. He won’t take you on if you’re in striking distance.”

  “Are you sure?” Simon looked at the others who were nodding eagerly.

  “Shit, yeah, that would work,” Liam said excitedly. “I mean, there’s no law about shifting in town, right?”

  “And we get to go to the meeting, scare a few bunnies just by being in the room, not saying anything,” Rocky added when Brutus thumped him on the arm.

  “And we can all be there for Seth,” Mal said. “Damn, I wish we’d thought of this last night. Seth is going to be so surprised.”

  “What time’s the meeting?” Ra asked.

  “Ten thirty,” Simon stood and started taking off his clothes.

  “Better get a move on then.” Ra smiled as his friends jumped up and grabbed jackets, boots, and keys. He might not be keen traveling with a snake wrapped around his torso, but at least his tiger would behave.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Seth fiddled with the strap on his backpack, his ears strained for the sound of bikes. It was hard to hear anything in the crowd, but it didn’t stop Seth trying. His stomach was churning, now would not be a good time to get morning sickness, and his rabbit was in go-hide mode.

  “I’m sure the guys kept him at home,” Barney bent and whispered in his ear. “Stop worrying.”

  “He’s going to be furious with me.”

  “You did the right thing. You’ve got the baby to think of.”

  As if summoned, Doctor Farriday pushed his way to Seth’s side. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I’m going to puke,” Seth said. The whole town turned up for the meeting. Shops were closed, businesses had “back in an hour” signs plastered up all over the place, which really wasn’t necessary because everyone was milling around in front of the town hall. Most people had given him a cheery wave or the thumbs up, but there was an equally somber group, members of the herd, who were trying to kill him with glares.

  “You’ll be fine,” Farriday patted Seth’s arm. “All you have to do is tell the people what happened. I’ve made sure there’s a chair for you on the stage.”

  “I’m not going to need that chair,” Seth said, his hand over his mouth. “I’m about to be killed.” He pointed up the road and it was like everyone heard the sound at the same time and turned. The unmistakable rumble of bikes filled the air; Six of them, cresting the hill at the top of Main Street, Ra in the lead.

  An excited chatter came from the crowd, but Seth was transfixed. He’d watched Ra for months before realizing they were mates. There was something about the confident man, his hair caught under a cap this time, handling his bike with ease, looking every inch the badass he was; the badass who was riding straight into trouble.

  “Well this meeting just got ten times more interesting,” Farriday grinned.

  “You don’t understand,” Seth said urgently “I didn’t tell him the meeting was today. He’ll get upset with the herd and I need him with me later. I don’t want him to get into trouble.”

  “Maybe you should have a bit more faith in your mate,” Farriday said, winking at him. “And is it my eyes, or has he put on weight recently?”

  Tilt
ing his head, Seth watched as Ra and the others got nearer. Ra was wearing his leather jacket, zipped up to the neck. He blinked, squeezed his eyes shut, and then looked again. “He’s got something on under his jacket.”

  “Too bulky for a sweater,” Farriday commented but that was all he had a chance to say. Rather than park down the road, Ra and his friends were making a point. The crowd parted as the bikes came through, right up to where Seth, Barney, and Farriday were standing on the steps. The sudden silence as the bikes shut off as though choreographed was deafening for a moment before the chatter from the crowd started again.

  “Hey, Seth, sorry we’re late,” Ra swung off his bike with practiced ease, his friends closing ranks behind him. He strode up the steps, turned to his side and caught Seth under one arm. Seth felt a lump, which moved as his shoulder slipped under Ra’s arm.

  “Insurance,” Ra whispered when he caught Seth’s eye. “I won’t let you down.” He pulled the side of his collar open slightly and Seth’s eyes widened at the sight of scales. Simon, it had to be Simon. He was the only one missing from Ra’s friends.

  Unexpectedly, Seth’s eyes filled. Ra was wearing a snake, just to keep his tiger under control. That had to be the most romantic gesture in the history of romance. He struggled to think of something profound to say – something that would encompass apologies, love and the pride that clogged his throat. But at that moment, the doors behind him clanged open. The meeting was about to start.

  /~/~/~/~/

  Ra refused to grin, but it was tugging at the corner of his mouth all the same. Seth had never realized how much the townspeople had taken to him as he was growing up. Now seated in the town hall, the divisions were clear to see. Most of the people were pro-Seth and included the Hoopers, Cam and his crowd, Trent and his brothers and people young and old who were carrying books as if in support of their pint-sized librarian. The other, much, much smaller group was herd elders. Six in all. Suits, sharp faces, and their haughty glares were clearly meant to intimidate. No one wanted to sit with the herd elders. In fact, people moved chairs so they didn’t have to be within scenting distance of them.