Cat on the Fence
Tatiana Caldwell
By the Tail, Book Two
The last thing Karabi wants after dumping her clingy boyfriend is a new relationship. She’s a Werecat shifter and romantic involvements with normal humans are challenging, to say the least. However, her clashes with the frustratingly hot new guy at work, Alex, are tinged with a lust that’s impossible to ignore.
Alex throws professionalism out the window the first time he gets Karabi alone, sexing her up atop Willis Tower. But unbeknownst to them he’s a “Late Bloomer”, a Werecat whose powers haven’t manifested until adulthood. As their first sexual encounter reaches climax he shifts uncontrollably.
Suddenly Alex is thrown into the dangerous world of Werecats and Rabid Werewolves. With each passing day his sexual voracity increases but unfortunately so does his feral nature. To give Alex the help he needs, Karabi must face the Pride and play by their rules—both of which she’s fiercely rejected.
A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave
Cat on the Fence
Tatiana Caldwell
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my friend Reena. You showed me that one can be their own person, free of the bounds instilled upon them in their upbringing, without forgetting or denying who they are or where they came from.
Chapter One
Karabi slammed the door behind her as soon as she stepped into the apartment. She strutted right past Rao’s glare and went straight to the coat closet. With pretend icy indifference she took off her snow-covered wool coat and hung it up, avoiding direct eye contact with her boyfriend. She knew that any moment now the paranoid, possessive, neurotic side of him was about to rear its ugly head. And she really wasn’t in the mood for it.
“Where have you been, Karabi Minstry?” Rao locked the door, then turned toward her with his arms crossed. The fact he was using her full name meant he was highly pissed.
She responded in a calm but firm tone. “I told you this morning I was going out shopping and to dinner with Felicia after I was done at work.”
“I called you three times.”
“Actually it was more like twenty.”
“No, it could not have been more than ten.”
She arched a brow and side-eyed him. “But you can agree that it was way more than just three, right?”
“It wouldn’t have had to be more than one if you would have answered. Or at least returned my call.”
“Maybe if you would have left it at just one, I would have called you back.” Karabi sat down on the couch and pulled off her black faux-suede boots, revealing the navy-blue, pink and gray argyle socks she was wearing. She couldn’t help but smile to herself a little as she wiggled her toes. Those socks were thick and fuzzy and came all the way up to her knees underneath her jeans—which were so well-worn they were fraying at the cuffs—but oddly enough she’d always felt sexy in them. In fact she’d felt sexy all day, until she encountered Rao’s slew of missed calls and messages on her cell. There wasn’t a damn thing Karabi Minstry found appealing about a possessive boyfriend with seemingly nothing better to do than dial her almost twenty times in a six-hour span. She knew she shouldn’t be as annoyed by it as she was. She should have been used to it by now. Rao always did this whenever she hung out with someone other than him. Didn’t matter who it was. She could have been out with her mother and he probably would have been just as upset. That was, if she were still talking to her mother.
“I was tending to the lion cubs at the zoo today and so I turned my phone off like I always do whenever I’m working with the animals. I didn’t remember to turn it back on until after Felicia and I were at the restaurant, and that’s when I saw all of your messages. By the time I’d listened to your third voice mail I was too annoyed to call you back.” Karabi had also turned her ringer off right then and there.
He shook his head. “Are you serious? That’s your explanation?”
“You know I hate feeling as if I’m being checked up on like that.”
“Well, you know I hate it when you don’t answer or return my calls.”
“Which we just established I won’t do if I feel as though I’m being pestered for absolutely no reason whatsoever.” She grunted. “The solution? Don’t pester me, and I’ll call you back. Problem solved.”
“That’s not fair, Karabi.” Rao came into the living room and sat on the loveseat across from her. “You were not answering while you were out with your ex. What was that supposed to make me think?”
Karabi shrugged, then picked up the remote control. “Why should it make you think anything? It was just two friends hanging out. Felicia knows I’m in a relationship with you and she respects that. I respect that. And I trust that you know I respect it. So I don’t see the problem.” She turned on the television and leaned back against the couch. The program on was about models and fashion, which were topics Karabi could not possibly care less about, but she was going to watch it anyway. Any distraction from her complete annoyance at her boyfriend was welcome.
Rao went over to the television and turned the volume all the way down. When he turned to face her his nostrils were flaring. “We’re not done talking about this.”
She stifled a laugh and looked directly at him for the first time since she’d gotten home. “What else is there to say?”
“How about an apology, for one? For intentionally leaving me to worry?”
She recoiled. “I won’t apologize for not giving in to you harassing me while I was out. You just can’t stand the idea of me spending time with anyone other than you.”
“No, I’m just not completely comfortable with my girlfriend being so busy while alone with her exes that she can’t be bothered to answer when I call.”
“Ex, not exes, Rao. Just one. You’re acting as if this is something I do all the time.”
“You did it ten times today. That’s plenty enough for me to be upset about it.”
Karabi sighed and rolled her eyes. This was exactly why she didn’t like to do serious relationships, even though she was almost thirty years old. Male or female. Older or younger. Platonic or sexual. Religious or atheist. Indian, like her, or not. Eventually they all got over-possessive, overprotective and overbearing.
She’d been with Rao for almost two years now. Longer than any other romantic relationship she’d had this far. She’d even given him the key to her apartment a few weeks ago—something completely uncharacteristic of Karabi. But she’d grown unexpectedly quite fond of the tall, thin but well-defined butterscotch-colored man with thick, jet-black waves of hair. He’d been persistent in his pursuit of her and extremely romantic in gesture. Plus he was highly intelligent. Rao Chaudhuri had founded a successful IT consulting firm and spoke three different languages fluently, and Karabi was a sucker for intelligence, patience and passion.
“This is silly,” Karabi said. “There’s nothing for you to be upset about in the first place.”
Rao looked at the ceiling as if searching for a clue there. “You were out with your ex, Karabi! It’s got to be in the book of relationship rules or somethingthat you don’t ignore your significant other’s call while you’re out alone with a former lover.”
Karabi winced and cringed inwardly. There was that detested word. Rules. A lifetime of serious personal baggage came bubbling to the surface. “Please don’t talk about rules when addressing your relationship with me, Rao. My life is not a game, there are no fucking rules. You know I hate that kind of thing.”
He put up both his hands in a peace offering. “I know, I know… Sorry about that. Look, the point I am trying to make is that I have a very valid reason to be upset.”
“No you don’t, Rao. You’re making a muc
h bigger deal out of this than it is. This isn’t about Felicia being my ex at all. You get like this whenever I go out with anyone. Remember right before Thanksgiving break, when I went out for drinks and pool with my boss and coworkers? You called me five times that night. And around Halloween, when I stayed at the zoo past normal hours to hand candy to trick-or-treaters, and then stayed later to help clean up afterwards? I had seven messages from you when that night ended. Seven!” She threw up seven fingers in emphasis. “People in normal relationships do things with other people all of the time, Rao. And believe it or not, some people actually turn off their phones while they are busy. It shouldn’t be this hard for you to understand that.” She flicked her hand in the air as if to physically dismiss the subject.
“But it’s different with you. You’re bisexual.”
She lowered her eyes at him. “And?”
“You’ve had sex with some of your female friends.”
“So what? I’ve had sex with some of my male friends too. That doesn’t mean I have to always have sex with them. Being bi doesn’t mean I can’t hang out with anyone without having sex with them.”
“How would I know what it means, when you are so secretive about it? You never invite me to hang out with you and Felicia, and you don’t answer when I call. How can I not worry that you still are having sex?”
Her jaw dropped. “Really, Rao? You’re really worried that I’m fucking other people behind your back?”
“Not other people exactly—just other women, maybe.”
“Why would you think that?” She was bewildered.
He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? I can’t exactly give you whatever it is you get from women.”
“And you think that’s what I want?”
“I think you don’t really know what you want, Karabi.”
Karabi moaned in frustration and buried her face in her hands. So there it was. After all this time, he didn’t trust her. Simply because of her sexuality. It didn’t have anything to do with whether or not she answered her phone—he’d obviously already had it in his mind that she couldn’t really be faithful.
Ouch. Now Karabi could admit that she either was, or at some point had been, many things. Afraid of commitment. A loner. Promiscuous. Lustful. But never, ever had she been dishonest or accused of being a cheater.
That hurt.
That was also the final straw. Now she was going to have to really be the bad guy. She hated to have to do it but enough was enough. When she lifted her head to speak, her tone was somber. “I think you should go back to your own place.” It was a good thing now, she realized, that she hadn’t agreed to him breaking the lease on his apartment.
He lowered his head and voice. “Come on now, Karabi. How about we just sleep on it? Maybe we’ll both be in a better mindset to discuss it tomorrow.”
“No, I don’t think you’re understanding me. I think we should take a break.”
His brows furrowed together and his mouth gaped open. “What?”
“We should go on a break. I could really use some space. I think you could too.”
“But—why?” he asked. “Do you want to see other people?”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with other people, Rao. This is about you and me, no one else. You want me to be someone I am not. And I’m feeling…smothered and untrusted.”
Rao moved to sit next to her on the couch, taking her hand in both of his. “It’s not that I want you to be someone you’re not, it’s that I want you to be truly honest with me. Always.”
She pulled her hand away, frowning. “If you think that I’ve been anything other than honest with you, then you do not know who I am. Not even after two years. Which is exactly why we should end this.”
“So do you mean—take a break for a little while, or break up as in…forever?”
Karabi took a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly through pursed lips. “I don’t know. I can’t speak on forever. We’ll see, I guess. But for now, yes.”
He shook his head repeatedly. “No, Karabi, don’t do this. I’m sorry, I—”
“No need to be sorry, Rao. It is what it is.” She stood and went over to the door. “It’s late. I have to be at work early tomorrow, and I’m very tired. You should get your toothbrush, razor and whatever else you need that’s here and go home now.”
She waited there while he pulled himself off the couch, got a plastic bag out of the kitchen and went into the bathroom. He came out a couple of minutes later and grabbed his coat from the closet. He plodded to the front door and paused to look at her, his eyes big and heavy like a sad puppy’s.
“Karabi.” His bottom lip trembled. “I don’t want this. You don’t really want this.”
His hurt washed over her, singeing her own pain. Why was she such a sucker for cute things in need? She closed her eyes and swallowed down the sensitive part of her that craved to play nurse to all the wounded, and worked to channel her inner lioness. “It’s not even about what I want or don’t want, Rao. To be honest, I think what’s more important right now is the fact that this is not what I need. I don’t need complication, I don’t need restriction and I don’t need rules. I do need my independence back for a while. We both do. So let’s start the new year off with a clean slate.”
“Karabi—”
She opened the door and gestured for him to leave. “Good night, Rao.”
He reluctantly left the apartment and she closed and locked the door behind him, pausing to lean against it for a moment as she tried to gather her composure. Had she been the bad guy tonight? She wasn’t sure but her heart felt heavy. As stoic as she could come off sometimes, she never enjoyed hurting anyone. But ever since she’d given him that key a few weeks ago the air had gone thin and the walls of her world began closing in. Expectations. Restrictions. Obligations. Limitations. She felt like one of the big cats in her zoo and tonight’s dispute had been the lock clicking on the door to the cage.
Back and forth she paced the living and dining areas of her apartment, fighting with her emotions. She was a little sad and somewhat offended but mostly angry. Angry she’d gotten so deeply attached to Rao. Angry she’d allowed the relationship to progress at a pace that she’d known all along was far too fast for her liking. Angry at the possibility that maybe she simply wasn’t built for love, just for passionate-but-short-lived flings.
In a way, Rao was right. Karabi wasn’t completely honest with him. There was one thing she kept hidden from him. From everyone. And most of the time even from herself. She raked her hand through her long, thick black hair, mumbling under her breath. Her pulse was racing and her ears were burning hot, and she could feel the paranormal meltdown that her stress was bringing on. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip, concentrating on remaining in human form. Times like this she wished she drank alcohol. Let it pass, she demanded of herself.
But she couldn’t let it pass. All of the conflicting feelings she’d kept bottled up inside were bursting to come out. It had been too long since she’d shape-shifted, too long since she’d let the Cat out. When she found herself kitty-crying—that mix between a wail, a growl and a purr—she knew the Cat was coming. Karabi turned off the lights, quickly took off her clothes and tossed them on the couch. Sure enough, within seconds her bare body grew tan fur all over it, and her hands and feet morphed into paws with claws. In less than a minute the transformation was complete and she paced over to the large windows of her apartment’s living room. It was the twenty-second floor and it was too dark for anyone to see a big cat standing in front of the window. She gazed at her reflection in the glass. She was in full-on cheetah mode—whiskers, four legs, spotted fur coat, the whole nine.
Rao didn’t know about the Cat. Or about Weres or shape-shifters at all, like most normal humans. Even if their existence was a broadly known and accepted fact, Karabi wasn’t so sure that Rao would have been able to deal with the knowledge. So what made her think she could have a serious long-term relationship with this man if she co
uldn’t reveal to him half of her true self? And since she had absolutely no intention whatsoever of ever dating a Were again, chances were high she’d never settle down with anyone at all. Perhaps it was obvious that she was meant to be a cheetah running solo.
She darted around the apartment several times, growling, leaping over furniture, intentionally knocking over the pile of mail on the counter and the aloe plant Rao had brought over. When she encountered the silk scarf he had given her last week at Christmas she tore into it with her large claws, shredding it to pieces.
Before she could inflict any more damage to her apartment, she ran into the bathroom. There she took her claws to the shower curtains that she’d been planning to take down anyway. Digging her claws deep into the fabric, pulling them downward, feeling the material rip and give underneath her was a rush and a comfort at the same time.
With all of that tension now worked out of her, Karabi ended her kitty-fit and shifted back to human form. She went and got her favorite pair of warm and fuzzy leopard-print pajamas and crawled into bed, feeling much better.
She’d forgotten how good it felt to let the Cat out of its cage.
Chapter Two
Karabi sat at the conference table with her arms folded. The two other seated staff members were listening casually to the speaker at the front of the room, occasionally nodding in agreement. But as far as Karabi was concerned, the man speaking was full of it. It had been two weeks since the breakup with Rao and Karabi had only just started to get over the emotional turmoil that interaction had caused her. Now here was another man—whom she’d just met and didn’t even know yet—who was getting fully under her skin.
Alexander McClellan was his name. And he was dangerous. He’d just been contracted as financial analysis consultant and was on the Operations Team for one quarter. As far as Karabi could tell, it was going to be a long, painful three months. From the moment he opened his mouth she knew he was trouble. This guy had the kind of amazing voice that was so seductive it made all of his ideas sound good, even his shitty ones. Kevin Green the operations manager and everyone else on the staff might have fallen for his charm and slick tongue but Karabi wasn’t going to. So what if he was kind of nice to look at. Scratch that—very nice. A lion was pretty to look at too but it still might bite her head off if she wasn’t careful when she entered its cage.
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