She knew at that moment tonight was going to be a wild one.
Chapter Five
With Karabi wedged between his body and the windowpane, Alex found it a lot easier to take in the frightening view of the city from the giant glass box. Her hands were under his suit jacket and she was rubbing his back, looking up at him. Although it was hard to make out her expression with that mask on, the way her mouth was slightly parted and her breath had quickened let him know that she was just as excited about the position as he. But he needed to get clarification on something first.
“So… Was that your boyfriend on the phone?” He had only heard part of the conversation but it gave him the impression she was talking to someone she’d been intimate with.
“No.”
“Girlfriend?”
She smirked. “Not this time. Ex-boyfriend.”
“He’s calling to try to get you back?”
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“I would if I were him,” Alex said. She smiled. “So you aren’t seeing anyone right now?”
Karabi shook her head. “Unless Musaka counts. I’ve been sleeping with him for weeks now.”
Alex laughed. “I kinda think that does count as a relationship. But I’m willing to share you with Musaka, so long as he doesn’t mind.”
“What makes you think I’m willing to let you have me?” Her voice slurred ever so slightly. It was almost unnoticeable but for some reason his ears seemed keen tonight.
“I’m single, relatively decent-looking, gainfully employed and naturally charming,” Alex said. “I may not be as muscular or furry as Musaka but I think I can compete. Plus, I believe you’re a little tipsy.”
She giggled. It delighted him to hear her laugh. “You’re just trying to take advantage of me because I’m drunk.”
“I’m trying to take advantage of you because I think you’re amazing.”
He took off his mask and let it fall to the floor, revealing his face. He needed her to see him, to see the desire, the passion in his eyes. Wanting to see her face too, he gripped the edge of her mask but she pulled back.
“No, don’t. Someone might see us.”
“No one’s going to come up here. I told the elevator operator not to let anyone else up here for half an hour.”
“Why?”
“I wanted some time alone with you.”
“How do you know he will comply?”
“Because I slipped him some cash to ensure he will.”
She grinned. “Okay, fine, so you’ve got me alone, Mr. Stalker. What do you want?”
Alex touched her face again and slowly lifted the mask up over her head, as if unveiling his bride. When it was completely off he dropped it on the floor next to his. They stared at each other for a long moment, not saying anything with their tongues but saying everything with their eyes, their emotions fully unmasked.
“I want you.” He waited for her response but she just looked at him, emotions he couldn’t read swirling within those big brown eyes of hers. “Is that okay?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I like that you want me. I want you too. I’m not so sure whether or not I want to want you, though.”
He smirked. “Still on the fence about me?”
“Yeah.”
He put his hands in her hair, stroked it for a moment. “Can I give you something to help you make up your mind?” He lowered his face to hers, his eyes wide open, watching her watching him. When their lips were a breath apart and she was still staring at him he laughed softly and she laughed back, their breaths intermingling, the awkward humor actually making the moment a little less tense. She pushed up on her toes to press her mouth against his and he pressed back. A soft, testing caress of each other. Her lips were so soft and moist, and really did taste like strawberries. He tightened his grip on her head and kissed her a little harder, sliding his lips back and forth against hers fully, the friction of their skin rubbing against each other’s, so wet, so hot it was creating a fire and putting it out repeatedly. When she finally sighed and closed her eyes, he closed his as well and gave fully in to the kiss.
She parted her mouth and he dove in, taking her tongue in his. He tasted the chocolate-covered strawberries and rose champagne on her breath, and he sucked and kissed at her as if she were his dessert. She felt so right in his arms. Soon she was holding him by the ears, pulling his face down lower to her, dragging the kiss deeper, much to his approval. Her hands pulled at his neck, then pushed off his suit jacket so they were free to roam over his back, then downward, all the way down until she was kneading his ass. He opened his eyes briefly to look at her and glanced around them at the tiny glass room. It felt as if they were literally floating above the city, making out amongst the clouds.
She unbuttoned his pants and quickly slid her small hand down his boxers. He hadn’t been expecting that but he welcomed it. Just the feel of her fingers against his skin made him shudder. When she took his erection into her hand and adjusted it upward so she could fondle it he groaned into her mouth and gripped her breasts, maneuvering one of them out of its bra cup and up out the top of her dress. He bent down to suck the stiff, caramel drop of a nipple while she expertly stroked his cock to its absolute max.
A low rumble started in his throat that was so gravelly and deep it surprised even him. What kind of noise was that? Don’t come yet, Alex, don’t come yet!
Damn. This woman had him strung out bad.
Alex hitched up her dress in his fists, lifted her against the glass and pinned her there with his pelvis between her thighs. When she lifted her legs, wrapped them around his waist and positioned her crotch right up on his erection he groaned aloud and closed his eyes. The moist heat of her sex burned him as he realized she’d already slid off her satin panties. Every muscle in his body was urging him to take her right then and there but the one iota of logic he had remaining told him that it wasn’t like him to be so anxious, and that this was unusual. Was he drunk too? No way. He had the tolerance of a frat boy. When he opened his eyes he was taken aback. Karabi looked blurry, like an apparition. Was he dreaming? He looked around. Everything looked blurry and then his eyes began to hurt as if he were looking into bright lights. But when he blinked a few times his vision returned to normal.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He chuckled. “I’m fine. You’ve got me on cloud nine, I think.”
They kissed again, long and hard and deep, while Alex fumbled in his pocket for the condom he’d stashed there. When he opened his eyes the next time, the whole world looked different. Instead of blurry or normal, everything looked high-definition-TV crystal clear. He glanced out the window and almost swore the buildings outside looked closer, the snowflakes bigger.
He looked down at Karabi. She appeared the same but her scent was even more enticing than ever. His nostrils flared as the knowledge suddenly came to him that not only was she just as excited as he was right now but she was actually ovulating.
Now, how in the fuck did he know that?
Karabi took the condom out of his fingers and ripped it open, obviously eager to keep things moving forward. But Alex felt a sensation take over him and his body couldn’t wait for the condom. He humped against her, the underside of his cock rubbing furiously against her labia and grazing her clitoris, which had them both moaning and groaning in pleasure.
“If you don’t stop, I’m going to come like this,” Karabi said.
Alex felt as if he could come like that too. He was dripping pre-cum already as it was. “Go ahead and come,” he said.
“I want to feel you inside of me,” Karabi said and she slipped the condom onto the head of his penis and rolled it down. All the while he was still grinding against her.
And it was just in time too because Alex couldn’t stop himself from doing what he did next. Without hesitating for even a moment he pulled back, lifted her up higher in his arms and plunged deeply into her with one hard, smooth thrust. They both cried out at the co
ntact and they stayed like that for a minute, merged together and reveling in the sensation of their bodies joining as one. Then Alex pulled all the way out of her and thrust deeply back in, hard and slow, grunting loud and heavily once he was balls-deep, only to pull all the way out and thrust back in again. Karabi panted in rhythm with his movements, gripping tightly at the top of his arms to hold on. After four hard, slow, deep, full strokes Karabi’s vagina exploded on his cock with her orgasm, clutching and sucking at him as she whimpered in pleasure. By stroke six Alex was cursing under his breath, almost ready to come as well.
But then he felt something sharp in his mouth prick the inside of his lip and he tasted blood. It was his own tooth that had pierced him. He opened his eyes again and Karabi looked different—the world looked different. Everything was sharper but the colors were slightly off. He could hear Karabi’s heartbeat, smell his semen even through his condom. Even though his penis was still throbbing he pulled out of Karabi and let her fall to her feet.
“Excuse me,” he muttered as he stuffed himself back into his pants—still erect and with the condom on. He snatched up his suit jacket and backed away from her. She tilted her head at him with a worried expression.
“What is it?”
“I’m… I’m not feeling well.”
“What’s wrong? What are you feeling?”
“I think… I think I need to—” Something felt heavy in his stomach. Had he eaten something bad? He thought he was going to throw up. But it didn’t seem right to say that to Karabi right after having sex with her. “I’m so sorry, I need to run to the men’s room,” he blurted out as he was already turned around, dashing out of the box, sprinting down the hall.
There was a strange vibration in his chest. It was strong and loud and it felt as if some creature was going to come bursting out. Something huge. Alex could barely navigate himself down the hall, his senses were all off. Everything seemed too bright, too loud, too close. He didn’t need to go to the bathroom, he needed to get some air. Right now. He had no clue what was wrong with him but he knew he needed to leave the building. Fast.
He ran to the elevator and pushed past the guard at the door, knocking him down. By the time the guy got to his feet the doors were already closing. Alex pressed the button for the ground level and as soon as the elevator started moving, the entity pushed its way out of his throat, forcing him to throw his head back and open his mouth wide.
What came out was a roar. Alexander literally roared, like one of the lions in the zoo.
Whoa, I’m really taking this masquerade thing way too far…
Anxious to get outside, he pressed the button repeatedly, as if doing so would make it reach ground level faster. Then he watched in horror as his hands began to tremble and fur began to fully cover his fingers, palms and wrists. Their shapes were changing too, as if he were morphing into something else.
What the hell was going on? Had he developed some crazy disease?
He felt his arms and legs go unsteady and he dropped to the floor of the elevator. Then his muscles were as stiff as a statue’s and he cried out in terror. His limbs pulled him up on all fours, the hair on his body elongated and turned to orange, white and black fur, and sharp claws began to protrude from his newly formed paws.
When the elevator reached the ground level and the door opened, he lunged out, a full animal.
* * * * *
Karabi stood there for a minute or two, completely confused. What had happened? Was Alex drunk? The frightened look on his face, the way he’d bolted off, worried her. She racked her brain through all the possible things that could have just gone wrong. It was on the tip of her thoughts but she couldn’t quite grasp on to anything.
Concerned, she finally gathered her composure and straightened herself up. She stuck her feet back into her shoes, grabbed her purse and both of their masks and went to the nearby men’s room to check on Alex. But when she opened the door and called in there, she didn’t get an answer. She quickly slipped inside and peeked into all of the stalls. No one was in there. She checked the other men’s room on the floor. That one was empty too.
She went to the elevator. “Did you see a man with a tiger tie go by here?”
“Yup,” the guard said. “He went down in a hurry. Pretty much knocked me over to get on the elevator.”
Huh. Karabi traversed back to the ninety-ninth floor where the party was and checked the restrooms and break areas there. No sign of Alex anywhere.
Figuring he might have gone all the way downstairs, she descended to the ground level. Alex wasn’t in the lobby. At that point she figured he must have left the building. She went outside and looked up and down the block, shivering and teeth chattering without her coat. No sign anywhere of the man who just took her over the edge on The Ledge. She traveled all the way back up to the observation deck, checked the entire floor and then the floor of the party again. A half hour passed and still no sign of him.
Shit. Karabi didn’t know what to think. Did he get food poisoning? Did he pull something while he was banging her? Did he remember a wife he’d forgotten? What if he was really, really sick somewhere, needing help? Nah, she concluded. Truly sick people didn’t go bolting down hallways like Olympic runners with erections. Perhaps this was a sign she should go home. The party was almost over anyway. This was the universe punishing her for getting so intimately involved with someone else so soon.
She grabbed her coat and took the other elevator to the ground level, taking off her shoes to give her aching feet a much-needed break for the ride down. While on this one she noticed a pair of men’s black dress shoes left there haphazardly. Some guy was in as much of a hurry to get out of his shoes as she was, apparently.
Karabi walked out into the brisk air and looked around. She didn’t see any available cabs out right away. The weather wasn’t too horrible even though it was quite late in the evening. There were a couple of inches of snow on the ground and a few flurries falling from the sky. Too cold to just stand around waiting for a taxi but not too cold to walk a little until she found one, so she headed east toward Wells Street and started strolling, which was all she could manage after wearing those horrible shoes all night. Besides, she could use some fresh air to clear her head for a bit.
Once she made it to the end of the block she noticed a bundle of clothing on the ground. When she looked closely she saw it was a suit and a tie with tiger stripes, and a worn condom lay nearby. Wait. Were these Alex’s clothes? Karabi froze and her heart squeezed in her chest as she feared something awful must have happened to him. She sniffed at the air. For the first time ever she wished she’d honed her hunting skills instead of shunning most things Cat. As it was, she had a great sense of smell but a terrible time separating one scent from another and identifying the source of the aroma. She did know that in addition to a countless number of humans, some exotic animal had been here. It smelled feline. Wild. She smelled something else too she couldn’t immediately identify, which sent her skin crawling. What in the hell was going on? She contemplated taking off her clothes and going Cat so that she could investigate better but decided against it once she imagined the potential drama of someone spotting a cheetah walking down Jackson Boulevard.
Karabi crossed the street ahead and then traversed over to the left side of Jackson Boulevard when she spotted a pair of tiger-striped boxers up farther east on the sidewalk, and so she continued in that direction. It was then that she saw the fresh paw prints in the snow. But the paw prints weren’t a cat’s. They looked canine but they weren’t a dog’s either. She stopped when the prints turned right into the alley between two tall buildings. No way was she about to go down an alley by herself at this time of night. She’d have to go get some immediate help with trying to find Alex if he had been attacked by some animal.
Some animal,she thought. And then it occurred to her. What if Alex was the animal? The more she considered it, the more sense the possibility seemed to make. Other than with Felicia, Karabi hadn’
t spent much time at all with other Werecats since she’d graduated from the private high school that was all Were and left her parents’ house over a decade ago to study biological science and zoology in college. Could she have been that out of touch with her own kind? She would have thought she’d recognize another full-blooded Werecat working alongside her every day, sexing one in a window box. Unless he wasn’t a full-blooded Werecat or something like that. Then she heard the howl of what sounded like a very large wolf nearby and she went completely stiff.
Unless he wasn’t a Werecat.
Even more disturbing was the low growl she suddenly heard approaching from the alley. Her instincts told her to hoof it but her curiosity and concern for Alex conflicted. She stood perfectly still and listened, waited, until she saw the wolf with golden eyes emerge. He was no ordinary wolf, she knew that for certain. He was huge, bigger than a man even, with a thick coat of gray-and-black fur that seemed stretched over human muscles. He walked toward her and contemplated her with an arrogance and intelligence that wasn’t anything like the wolves at the zoo. Didn’t even smell quite the same. When he looked up at her she could almost swear he was grinning. She wasn’t certain if the grin was in kindness or in threat. Either way, there was just one question she needed to ask him.
“Alex? Is that you?”
The creature’s expression didn’t change at the mention of the name, and the low growl continued. He just stood there for a moment and continued to look at her. She raised her gloved hands and tried talking to him again, feeling slightly foolish. “Alex, if it’s you, it’s okay. You don’t have to hide—”
But then the wolf’s growl turned into an outright snarl and he stood fully upright on two legs like a man, well over six feet tall. Then he lunged right at her.
* * * * *
Karabi opened her mouth to scream but instead a loud, threatening hiss came out as she leapt straight up from the ground several feet and landed off to the side of where she was standing before. It amazed her a bit that even while still in human form, her Cat instincts continued to work.
Cat on the Fence Page 5