Cat on the Fence

by Tatiana Caldwell

  And he rather liked the feeling.

  Chapter Four

  Karabi watched as the guests paired up and danced to the music. They were on the ninety-ninth floor and spectacular views of the city lights and the lake could be seen from every single one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the entire outer wall of the room. The red-and-white cloths on the tables and the soft lighting gave the room a very intimate feeling. It was way more romantic than she’d ever imagined a zoo ball in a skyscraper during a Chicago winter to be. Then Alex walked by in his sharp suit with a tiger-striped tie and a fake tail to go with his tiger mask, and her stomach did a giddy somersault.

  Something wasn’t right. The way Alex made her feel and behave just wasn’t normal. Her mental alarms were going off but she wasn’t clear on what exactly her instincts were trying to tell her. That Alex was the one? Or that he was not? She’d never met a man who confused her feelings like this. Or at least she couldn’t remember the last time one did.

  He unnerved her and she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as though he was doing anything threatening. Inappropriate maybe, yes, but she wasn’t exactly an unwilling participant. But he frightened her just as much as he excited her. The only other man she could remember making her feel like that was her father, whom she hadn’t spoken to in years.

  But Alex was nothing like her old-school, patriarchal, ultraconservative father. Alex knew when to play it professional and when to let down his guard. He was open and free with his sexuality. Unafraid to let it be known exactly what he wanted, with enough command to make it hard to tell him no but without forcing it or pushing his will upon others. Her father on the other hand was closed-minded, hard to read, ruled his home with an iron fist and did nothing but push.

  So what was it about Alexander McClellan?

  Karabi had been intentionally avoiding him all evening. Not completely, however. Enough to keep from having an awkward confrontation with him but not enough that he was entirely out of her sight for long. She felt uncomfortable when he was nearby, yet somehow uncomfortable still when he was too far away. After that elevator ride…whew, she wasn’t sure what she should say—or do—to him.

  “How do you like my costume?” he asked when they crossed paths at the deserted bar.

  “Not bad. You’re a tiger, I see.”

  “I am. Down to my boxers,” he said. She let her gaze drop for a second to his crotch. I’d like to see that, she thought but didn’t say aloud. Things had already gone way further tonight with this guy than she’d intended. “So you’re a cheetah, huh?”

  She grinned inwardly. “Yeah.”

  “Cheetahs move fast, that’s their defense mechanism, right? Is that why you keep running from me?”

  “Cheetahs also use their speed to catch their prey. Maybe I’m chasing you?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, that can’t be it. You wouldn’t have to chase me. I’m ready to throw myself at your feet.”

  She blushed and walked off with her plate. He made her feel like a silly little girl. And Karabi was not a silly little girl, befuddled and out of sorts. But the way he looked at her, touched her, spoke to her… She was falling fast, like a fool. What good would it do her to get so close with another person whom she couldn’t fully be herself with? Could she be herself with Alex? With anyone? She felt as if she could but was she right? For a while there she’d thought Rao might be the one too. Maybe her problem was that she kept falling for humans when she wasn’t human herself. Perhaps her father was right and she needed to find a Werecat to settle down with. But she’d sworn off the Pride and all things Were years and years ago, and she just couldn’t see herself letting go of her convictions to return to the Pride begging for a mate or two. So what was it that Karabi really wanted?

  She didn’t know. But she did know that Alexander McClellan was at the top of the list.

  * * * * *

  Alex wasn’t going to let Karabi get away this time. It was getting close to the end of the party and so if he was going to make another move he needed to do it now. He grabbed a plate with a fudge brownie square and went to stand next to Karabi, who was alone in a corner of the room with a saucer full of chocolate-covered fruit. For a moment he thought she was going to evade him again. Instead she stayed put and kept her focus on her dessert.

  “Do you treat all the guys you like this way?” Alex asked her.

  “What way?” she asked before she picked up one of her strawberries. Alex watched with utmost attention as she carried it to her mouth, wrapped her lips around it and devoured it.

  “Leading them on,” he said, trying his best to stop imagining those lips around his cock. “Playing hard to get.”

  “Who says I like you?”

  He grinned. “You like me.” His grin broadened when he saw her smile too.

  “I treat the girls I like this way too,” Karabi said.

  Alex arched a brow. “You go both ways?”

  “I prefer to say I’m an equal opportunist,” she said. “Does that bother you?”

  “No. Should it?”

  “It bothers some. My last boyfriend had issues with it.”

  “Meh, some people are closed-minded like that,” he said with a shrug. “I think it says more about themselves and their lack of self-confidence. As for me, well, I happen to think it’s kind of hot.” The way her eyebrows shot upward, Alex began to worry that his honest response might have offended her. But then he was reassured by the devious chuckle she gave him.

  “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” she said.

  “So how do you think the event’s going?” he asked between bites of his brownie.

  “It’s going very well,” she said. “Everything is going so smoothly. Great turnout too, for such a short notice.”

  “Yeah, we completely sold out of tickets, even had to turn people away. Between the ticket sales and the silent auction tonight, we’ve raised over three-quarters of a million bucks.”

  She made a low whistle. “Wow, well done, McClellan. I bet you’re feeling pretty proud of yourself right about now.”

  “Job well done by both of us,” he replied. “You helped make this a success. The theme was your idea, and folks seemed to love it. You and I make great partners.”

  She pursed her lips into an expression that appeared something between a smile and a duck face. “Maybe,” she said. “We should celebrate. Want to test your ‘great partners’ theory out on the dance floor?”

  Alex nearly choked on his last piece of brownie. “Good god, no. I don’t dance.”

  She laughed. “Everybody dances.”

  “Some much worse than others.”

  “So? It isn’t a competition.” She put her plate down and grabbed him by the hands, tugging at him.

  “No way.” He let her hands linger on his but remained firmly planted where he was standing. “I’m not about to embarrass myself in front of everyone.”

  “You’re wearing a mask. Nobody would know it was you.”

  “You’d know.”

  “Oh come on.”

  A waitress came by carrying a tray full of glasses filled with rose champagne. “How about we just celebrate with a drink instead?” Alex took two glasses and handed one to Karabi.

  She shook her head. “I try not to drink.”

  “Religious reasons? Or are you a recovering alcoholic?”

  “I get drunk too easily.”

  “That’s because you don’t drink enough.”

  “It only takes me half a drink.”

  “What’s wrong with that? Sounds lucky.”

  She shook her head. “I have nothing but bad luck when I drink alcohol. After two sips of that I won’t be able to walk straight. I can barely walk in these stupid shoes as it is.”

  “But you’ve got me here. If you stumble, I’ll catch you. I won’t let you fall.”

  She looked at that sinful mouth of his. “I’m all dressed up in a room full of people. I’d still be embarrassed.”

  “
You’re wearing a mask,” he said, using her very own words against her. “Nobody would know it was you.”

  “You’d know.”

  Alex laughed heartily. “Well, it’d be our little secret.” He put the glass in her hand. “Go on, have a sip. I dare you.”

  She took the glass and looked up at him, clicking her tongue. “It almost sounds as if you want to see me fall.”

  “I just want another excuse to put my hands on you.”

  “You need an excuse?”

  “I’d accept an excuse. I prefer your permission.”

  “I give you permission to catch me if I fall.”

  “Even if I was the one who pushed you down?” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “Pinned you to the floor underneath me and spread your legs? Kissed and touched and fucked you until you couldn’t walk straight? Do I have your permission to do that?”

  There, he said it. It wasn’t the smoothest line he’d ever delivered but with Karabi he didn’t feel smooth. He felt raw, masculine and animalistic. And damn it, he wanted her. No more pussyfooting around, no more chasing his own tail, no more playing coy cat and mouse.

  He was a tiger on a mission.

  * * * * *

  When Alex had finally cornered her, Karabi had been both regretful and delighted. Even the casual chitchat they’d attempted to engage in was dripping with lust and desire. She was telling the truth when she’d said she got drunk pretty easily. The last time she had a glass of wine at a party, she had to be carried off the tabletop she’d started dancing on. She couldn’t fathom getting into something like that here, during a work event. Although she sure could use a drink right about now.

  “Even if I was the one who pushed you down? Pinned you to the floor underneath me and spread your legs? Kissed and touched and fucked you until you couldn’t walk straight? Do I have your permission to do that?” Alex’s eyes bored into her as he spoke, his voice soft enough that only she could hear him but burning with an intensity that revealed the ferocious desire he kept barely contained.

  Karabi’s face flushed hot, and moist heat pooled in her sex. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, the tension between them obvious and thick, and she struggled to get her brain to formulate a response. She was about to say something equally forward and raunchy but her cell phone rang as soon as she opened her mouth. Saved by the bell!

  She excused herself from Alex’s company and scurried over to the small, open room away from everyone as she eagerly took out her phone. She frowned when she saw it was Rao. If she ignored it she knew he’d only keep calling and calling until she answered. She could turn her phone off but then she’d have to go right back to Alex, who she was only seconds away from throwing her panties at. Welcoming the excuse to avoid him for a few minutes, Karabi took the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Karabi,” Rao said, barely audible.

  “Hold on—it’s hard to hear you.” She went to take the private elevator up to The Ledge, the observation deck on the 103rd floor.

  “Hey. It’s me,” he greeted her again once the noise level dropped significantly.

  “I know. Hi, Rao.”

  “How are you?”

  She tried to put on a light, friendly tone as she stepped off the elevator onto the quiet observation deck. “I’m okay, Rao. What’s up?”

  “Nothing, I—” He went silent for a moment, probably gathering either his courage or his thoughts. “I just wanted to say Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  Karabi winced a little. “Thanks. Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.”

  “You’re at that Zoo Masquerade Ball at Sears Tower?”

  “Willis Tower.” She’d felt the need to correct him even though she preferred the original name herself.

  “Nice. Do you… Did you bring a date?”

  She paused for a moment, biting the corner of her mouth as she tried to determine how she wanted to handle this conversation. “I’m here with coworkers. Is everything okay, Rao?”

  “Yes, I just wanted to hear your voice. It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”

  “Yeah, it’s been over a month.”

  “I know. I wanted to give you some space.”

  She took a much-needed large swig of the rose champagne in her hand. It was strong but surprisingly tasty. “Rao, I told you the break wasn’t temporary.”

  “You also said that it you didn’t know if it was permanent either. I’d like to get together and talk soon, face-to-face. I miss you.”

  Karabi swallowed hard. She’d missed Rao as well but she hadn’t thought about calling him or felt the need to meet with him. There wasn’t anything she wanted to talk with him about. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said.

  “Not even as friends? Can’t we just talk as friends?”

  “You tell me, Rao. Can we just be friends?”

  He was quiet for a long, awkward moment. “I’m not ready to give up on us, Karabi.”

  She sighed heavily. “Rao—”

  “I mean it, Karabi. I love you.”

  For several seconds she didn’t know what to say. Did she still love him? Had she ever? “Rao, please don’t do this to me right now.” Karabi found tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t like hurting him. “I’m working.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you back tomorrow.”

  “I’m going to be very busy tomorrow.”

  “May I call you in a few days, then?”

  She threw her head back and shook it in silent frustration. But perhaps one last talk would help him find the closure he needed. “Sure, Rao. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Karabi hung up the phone and slipped it back into her purse with a heavy sigh. She stepped onto The Ledge, which was a glass box balcony that extended four and a half feet out from the Skydeck, hovering over thirteen hundred feet in the air. The view was breathtaking. She watched the snow fall above and around her, flurries of flakes raining down in crisscrossing directions as if partaking in a choreographed dance. Looking down and over at the expanse of the city beneath them, she found her eyes roaming toward the distance. Far, far out, seeking a wide-open space with few buildings and lots of grass and trees. Where she could roam free, sprinting as fast as she could, running from nothing and toward nothing at the same time, just free, pounding her feet—or better yet, her paws—against the dirt. She wouldn’t even mind the snow falling upon her fur coat. And again for the second time this month she found herself wanting to retreat into her Cat Persona for comfort. Instead she quickly downed the rest of the glass of champagne she still carried in her hand.

  Her heart rate increased both from the buzz due to the drink and Alex McClellan’s presence. Karabi heard and smelled him coming long before she saw his reflection behind her on the glass. He remained on the observation deck instead of coming onto the balcony with her.

  “Wow, so this is The Ledge? Crazy!”

  “Your first time seeing it?”

  “Yeah, this is my first time really being in the building, to tell you the truth. I’ve only been living in the Chicago area for a few months.”

  “You’ve been following me all night.”

  He nodded. “I have.”

  She turned around to face Alex. “Are you stalking me?”

  “I am.”

  “Why?”

  “That’s what tigers do when they’re after prey, right?”

  She laughed, already feeling pretty giddy. “Oh I’m your prey now?”

  “You always have been. You’ve been expertly evading me for weeks,” he said. He eyed her empty champagne glass. “Now that you’ve had a little to drink, maybe you’ll be easier to catch.”

  “Then come and get me.”

  He took another step forward and her belly fluttered in anticipation. But then he eyed the transparent floor of the window box and froze, eyes wide. “Wow—even the floor is glass?”

  “Yup. Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Hell no, not cool at all!”

&nb
sp; Karabi raised both brows. “What? Are you afraid of heights?”

  “When they involve see-through glass floors one hundred and three stories high…shit yeah!”

  She laughed heartily. “So the mighty Alexander McClellan is not made of steel after all, huh?”

  “I am. I just wish that balconies that are one hundred and three stories high were made of steel too.”

  She smiled and reached out a hand toward him. “Come on, tiger. I’ve got you.”

  He hesitated but he took her hand. She watched in amusement as the tall man trepidatiously stepped onto the glass, moving forward one small step at a time, light-footed, as if he were afraid he was too heavy for the glass. When she couldn’t take it any longer she gripped his hand and yanked him all the way inside. He tumbled into her, crushing her against the glass wall.

  “Gah!” he cried out, his eyes as wide as saucers.

  Karabi laughed out loud. “Big baby.”

  He laughed nervously as well, looking around at the view from the window. His arms were trembling a little and Karabi couldn’t help but put her hands on his back and rub him in an attempt to give him comfort. Damn, was she drunk already? She’d just gotten off the phone with her ex, a man she wasn’t even sure whether or not she was in love with, and now here she was rubbing on another man. When he stopped shaking he looked down at her, his lips slightly parted, his eyes burning behind the mask. She stared up, way up, into those eyes. Had he always been that tall? He felt so different tonight. He’d always been sex in a suit but tonight he seemed especially… What was the word she was looking for? Feral. She stared at those luscious lips that seemed hungry for her, and she licked her own, acknowledging her echoing hunger for him.