Pleasure racked Eve with each stroke, pouring into her limbs as she began to tremble with her violent release. Her hand lifted, roughly massaging her clit as she was brought to completion. Viktor yelled a conquering sound as his seed exploded from his body, shooting in a hot stream inside her clenching depths. Her pussy squeezed him hard, milking him of every drop. Her loud cry joined his as wave after endless wave of pleasure coursed over her entire frame.
Viktor fell onto the bed next to her, too sated to move more than his hand over the small of her back as she lay face down in the mattress. Her heart hammered violently in her chest and her limbs were so shaky she was afraid she’d never move again. She moaned lightly, a sound of pure contentment as she angled her face to look at him. He winked at her and shot her a crooked grin.
“We really shouldn’t be pressing our luck,” she murmured. “We need to start using protection. I know I’m clean, but....”
“You have doubts about me?” he asked, and she could see that she had hurt him. “Do not have doubts. I am clean.”
Foolish as it was, she believed him. “Still, there is pregnancy.”
Viktor closed his eyes and shifted his face towards the ceiling. “You do not wish for children?”
“Well, I … I never really thought about it,” she whispered, not understanding the seriousness of his tone.
“I have already told you how I feel, Eve,” he said, not looking at her. “The rest of our lives is up to you.”
The statement was so simple, so honest. Eve shivered. But, instead of fear, she felt an entirely different sensation curling in her limbs, soaking her body once more for him. A smile came to her lips as she looked at his naked form, lying perfectly before her on the bed. His cock was only half aroused, but she bet she’d be able to change that.
* * * *
Viktor waited for her response, his blood racing so fast in his veins he was sure he’d never recover. The sex between them was great, but she said nothing of her feelings for him. Hell, who was he kidding? The sex between them was phenomenal. In all his years of living, he’d never felt the like. Her body responded to him with little provocation. It had driven him to near madness to smell her sweet, ready fragrance all night during dinner and not be able to pounce across the table.
It amused him some that she had tried to deny her feelings for him. He could tell each time her thoughts drifted to sleeping with him. She’d bite the corner of her lip and look perplexed, all the while staring at his cock protruding through his jeans. Gawd! But that look had kept him hard and aching all evening.
Instead of hearing her answer, he felt her hair brush over his chest. His eyes opened to see what she was up to just as her mouth came down to kiss his shaft. His body jerked, growing to instant life under her lips. He would not have thought it possible, but as she kissed him, he was ready to go again.
Eve sucked him until he was hard and ready. All he could do was lie back and let her. She looked at him through the long length of her lashes, and said, “You promised we’d do it again.”
Viktor groaned, helpless against her will as she straddled his hips. She controlled him, owned him completely, and there wasn’t a damned thing he could do about it. As she lowered her body on his to ride them to their next climax, he couldn’t speak. He was mesmerized by her thrusting body, so raw and passionate, and he could only hope--so completely his.
Chapter Seven
Eve yawned, refusing to open her eyes to the morning. Her body was loose, yet achy, and filled with a deep, sated contentment. Suddenly, a smile lit her face as she remembered the night before spent intertwined in Viktor’s arms. If anything, he was an accomplished lover.
To no small embarrassment, she realized they’d had sex nearly four times the night before--not counting the times she came by his mouth. She’d thought of protection once, but not again. She knew she should be worried, but with as good as she felt, she’d just have to save worrying for later. For the first time in her life, she felt reckless and carefree and she loved it. Smelling coffee, her eyes popped open and she sat up in bed.
“Finally awake?”
Eve blushed, turning to the bedroom door where Viktor stood against the frame. He looked like he’d just been waiting there, watching over her as she slept.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“About ten.”
Her face fell. “I’m late. I was supposed to meet the group four hours ago to begin the search for that new tiger. And I still have to find Midnight. I hope they didn’t try to go it alone!”
Viktor said nothing as she hopped out of bed. Eve dressed in a hurry, too preoccupied to notice he watched. Then, pulling her hair back, she stopped beside him only long enough to take a drink from his coffee cup.
“Thanks,” she said absently, as she headed for the front door.
“Wait.” Viktor set his cup down and went after her. His hand shot out to stop her from leaving. His eyes softened to look at her. “I’m going with you.”
Eve paused, startled as she gazed up at him. Slowly, she nodded. “I suppose it would be nice to have another expert along if there’s trouble. These college kids don’t know what they’re doing half the time. Only, I can’t be responsible for you, so don’t get hurt.”
Viktor smiled. When she tried to pull away, he jerked her into his embrace and placed a firm kiss on her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise and she didn’t return the affection. When he pulled back, he flashed a devilishly handsome smile, saying softly, “Good morning, Eve.”
* * * *
Eve was angry. The volunteers had taken it upon themselves to split up into groups of two to try and find the new tiger. It would have been so simple for them to go to her office and wake her up, but no--they had to take matters into their own hands. Most of them could be called back by the two-ways, but a couple of the groups didn’t have two-ways as the Preserve had run out.
The first lost couple was found making out in one of the fabricated caves of a new section that was under construction. Needless to say, they hadn’t seen the new tiger. The last two missing volunteers were still unaccounted for. Eve frowned, gripping her two-way, as she glanced at Viktor.
“Anything?” she said into the handheld.
“Nothing yet,” came the answer back.
“They probably left to go hang out at the pizzeria, thinking I’d sign off on their hours,” mumbled Eve to Viktor. “I swear I need to hire someone just to keep track of them.”
“It seems like you could use a lot of help around here,” he answered honestly.
Eve narrowed her eyes to look at him.
Viktor held up his hands in defense. “I didn’t say you were doing a bad job, I just said you could use help.”
Eve relaxed, reading in his dark eyes that he truly didn’t mean anything by it. She nodded. “Perhaps, you’re right. But I hate to take away funds from the animals just to make my life a little easier.”
“I don’t think the animals would mind too terribly.” Viktor’s hand lifted to brush back a strand of her long hair.
Eve shivered at his nearness, too worried at the moment to wonder at their relationship. Something so familiar again struck her about his gaze. To her amazement, she watched it change, flickering and filling with a subtle gold. She started to open her mouth to speak, but stopped when movement caught her attention. Viktor tensed, spinning around to look at the forest.
“Get out of here, Eve,” he commanded.
Eve was too stunned to move. “How…?”
“Eve!” Viktor demanded, reaching behind him to grab her arm.
“Midnight?”
* * * *
Viktor smelled the presence stalking them from the forest. He had been waiting for Bartel to show himself. He hadn’t wanted to let Eve come looking with him, but she did know the back paths and he knew she wouldn’t have just stayed home without good reason.
He heard a twig break in the forest. Eagerly, he tried to push Eve back along the path. Bartel had co
me for him, not her. If he could just get her to run....
“Midnight?”
Viktor tensed, hearing the soft sound of her confused voice behind him.
“Oh, Gawd! Tell me it isn’t true. Tell me I’m crazy.” She didn’t move behind him and knew the stubborn woman had no intention of listening to him.
Against his better judgment, Viktor spun around to face her, putting his back to the trees and to danger. He grabbed her arms and shook lightly. “Eve, listen to me. It isn’t safe. I need you to go back. I’ll be right behind you.”
Eve stared insensibly at him, her shoulders jerking at the sound. The two-way fell from her fingers. “Your eyes … you … they changed. But, I don’t understand. How…?”
A loud roar sounded from the forest. Before Viktor could turn around, Bartel leapt from the trees. The tiger’s claws slashed through his arm. Eve screamed, reaching behind her back for a tranquilizer gun. Viktor threw her behind his back, trying to get her to run.
* * * *
Eve stumbled to the ground, only to hurry back to her feet. She watched in horror, as Viktor’s perfect body began to shift. His tanned skin filled with a familiar black fur. His body contorted, molding and changing its shape. Within seconds, Midnight stood before her, pitted against the aggressive tiger.
She blinked, trying to deny what she’d seen with her own eyes. It wasn’t possible. Men couldn’t change into cats. Cats couldn’t change into men. Viktor was Midnight? She trembled, tears filling her troubled gaze. The things she had confessed to him, the panther him. She had told him things she had never told anyone before! That’s how he’d known what she liked in bed!
Mortified by the realization and terrified by the two wild animals now stalking around each other in a circle, she began to back away. Trembling, she looked around. The gun had fallen to the ground and she tried to edge towards it without drawing attention to herself. Every fiber in her body told her to run, but she refused. She knew she couldn’t leave Viktor to fight the angry tiger alone.
Her breath caught as she reached for the gun. The panther and the tiger began attacking each other, batting their long arms, growling and snarling viciously. Eve dove to the ground. The tiger heard her and turned. She saw his large body leaping through the air, ready to strike.
Eve screamed, covering her face with her hands as she waited for the heavy body to fall on her and tear her apart. The blow never came. She heard a thud. Her whole body shaking, she slowly lowered her arms to the ground. Viktor stood over the motionless tiger. He’d torn the throat from its neck. Eve gasped, automatically crawling forward to help the dying animal.
As she moved, she stumbled over Viktor’s discarded clothes. She jerked as her hand touched them, almost as if they burnt her. Cautious, she reached to touch the fallen tiger. Her training bid her to help the creature.
“Eve?”
Eve froze. It was Viktor’s gentle voice behind her. She couldn’t look at him.
“Eve, leave him.”
“No, he doesn’t understand what he did. He’s just an … an animal,” she answered. Her fingers shook as she tore her shirt, trying to stop the bleeding. Even as the blood rushed over her fingers, she knew she was too late. The tiger was dead.
“Bartel knew exactly what he was doing,” Viktor said weakly.
Eve still couldn’t look at him. She needed time to think. “What’s going on here? Who are you?”
“I’m the man whose life you saved,” came a gentle whisper.
“I saved a panther,” she countered, staring at her hands. The veterinarian inside her mourned the life she couldn’t help.
“Eve, I--”
Eve heard a thump as Viktor fell to the ground. Spinning, she turned. He again was shifted into a black panther. He lay motionless behind her, his eyelids drooping weakly. It was then that she saw the large gash in his side.
“Viktor,” she whispered in worry. “Hold on.”
Without hesitation, she began tending his wound. The cut was deep, but after a few minutes of care, she knew he had a chance--if she got him back to her lab.
Crawling over to the two-way, she heard him make a weak noise. Her heart leapt into her throat and she could barely breathe as she called for help. As she spoke, she made her way back over to him. His golden eyes stared out at her, trusting and sad. Lightly she touched his face, and whispered, “Don’t worry, Viktor. Everything will be just fine.”
* * * *
Eve left Viktor in the lab to heal, instead of bringing him back to her office. His wounds were deep, but with a little time and care, he would recover. He’d lived through worse, he would live through this. The tiger was buried in the prairie by the volunteers. She recorded the incident as a rabid, abandoned animal that was already too far gone when she got there.
She left most of Viktor’s care to the staff, only doing what was necessary to assure he lived. His golden eyes followed her every movement, full of questions that he couldn’t ask. She realized he had always looked at her like that, as if something was on his mind when she talked.
Eve made sure she was never alone with him, not wanting to give him an opportunity to turn back. Once he was healed, she planned on sending him away. She never wanted to see him again. Well, if she was perfectly honest, she did want to see him again, just knew that she was too much of a coward.
As the days passed, she was all too aware of the confessions she had made to him when she thought him to be just a rescued cat. To her amazement, the fact that he shifted bothered her less than the fact that he knew her deepest desires, her darkest secrets. She’d told him things--embarrassing things. She’d changed in front of him, bathed in front of him, and for all she knew she could have touched herself in front of him. Eve was definitely mortified.
Making love to a stranger was one thing. But a stranger she really knew nothing about? Who had been told everything there was to know about her? It didn’t seem fair.
However, despite this, she did miss his presence. She missed the feeling of having someone else around in the lonely office. She missed how she felt when he touched her. It was strange to think that she’d only known the man for a few short days, but she felt as if she knew him longer. She felt connected to him in a way she’d never felt connected to anyone or anything. And, whereas she was not attracted to his panther form, she did feel a special friendship with it that transferred itself onto the man.
Eve shook her head. If anyone could read her thoughts, they’d think she was crazy.
Pushing open the lab door, she turned to make sure the student volunteer was behind her. The kid nodded his head, grinning in an absentminded frat boy sort of way. His head bopped to a tune only he could hear as he sang to himself.
Eve hesitated. It had been two weeks since Viktor fought the tiger. She bit her lip, knowing it was time to let him go. His golden eyes turned to her, and she could see darkness swirling in them, begging her to give him a minute alone with her. She lifted her chin and refused to send the boy away.
Her fingers trembled as she examined his wounds. He healed fast and she assumed it had something to do with what he was. After a half hour, she nodded at the volunteer.
“He’s ready to be released. Take him out to the South field and let him go,” Eve said.
“But … Dr. Matthews?” the boy said, surprised. “You always release the animals yourself.”
“Don’t worry about him.” Eve glanced at the boy, almost ashamed that she couldn’t remember his name. Then, nodding her head in encouragement, she said, “He won’t hurt you.”
“Well … ah … no, I guess not,” the boy said. He turned to grab a leader off the wall.
Eve turned to Viktor and, without looking him in the eye, quickly whispered, “I want you to leave and don’t ever come back here. I want nothing to do with you.”
Viktor made a small movement of protest, standing up on the table with a low rumble in the back of his throat. Eve turned, nearly choking on her tears. She waited long enough to hear
the boy attach the leader around the panther’s neck. When he had Viktor well in hand, she left the lab without a backwards glance.
* * * *
Viktor left the Preserve. Eve couldn’t believe it. A small part of her had hoped that he’d see through her bravado and come to her, despite her being a coward. He didn’t. He just left and Eve was crushed.
A month went by without a word. Slowly, Eve integrated herself back into work, attacking her job with a renewed force, staying up until all hours of the night so she wouldn’t have to go back to the office. She gave notice on her apartment lease and paid a mover to go in and clean it out. It wasn’t hard since everything was still in boxes.
Her mother came to the office a few times, horrified by the news of her moving completely to the Preserve. She’d even convinced her to go on a few blind dates. Eve did it, if only to keep the woman from nagging. The men were polite, kind, self-absorbed. Every time she thought about letting them have a simple good night kiss, a twinge would begin in her stomach, quickly rolling into a debilitating cramp that would last most of the night. She missed Viktor, both forms of him, and longed for him with every beat of her heart
Eve sighed, glancing sadly around the long cement clearing of the lion’s den. The den was populated with only two cats--the female she now tended and a male who paced next to them as if worried about his mate. It was hard to concentrate on work, but she forced herself to get back to the task at hand. Lifting the lioness’ paw off the ground, she studied the small cut she found. Acting on a thought she’d been toying with, she glanced around to make sure they were alone before looking at the lioness. Quietly, she whispered, “Are you a … do you shift … change form?”
A low chuckling sounded to her side. Eve dropped the lioness’ paw and spun to where the lion had been pacing. The lion was gone, but in his place was a naked man crouched on the ground, staring at her. He had incredibly chiseled features, a broad muscular body, and long blonde hair that spilled to his waist.
Eve blinked in surprise, turning to eye the lioness that had backed away from them. Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t speak. She’d taken care of the lion for nearly five years now, after he’d been found roaming the countryside without a sign of an owner.
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