Petting Them: An Anthology of Claw-ver Tails

by Tate James

  I didn’t know how long it’d been for Kazhar, but he wasn’t in a rush. I loved that he took his time. He didn’t just shove into me and bust a nut like ninety percent of the guys I’d dated. He worked that thick dick slowly inside me, easing his way deeper. Slow was good, but damn. I finally pushed back against him to hurry him along.

  Mistake. Huge. Literally.

  I clawed at Dharius’s chest, but I didn’t back away. It was too good.

  Kazhar gripped my shoulder in his jaws and I came apart. I thrashed between them as much as I could. I probably scratched Dharius’s chest and I’m sure I hurt their ears with my yell. The people back at the treefall probably heard it too. Not that I cared.

  Pleasure flowed inside me, sparking like the crystals. I quivered, trying to catch my breath, as Kazhar finally slid balls deep inside me. So fucking full. I couldn’t breathe. It was too much sensation. Solid rock muscle. Smoking heat from their skin.

  Oh fuck. The purr.

  Kazhar didn’t even thrust. He didn’t have to, not with his chest rumbling against my back, and Dharius’s vibration rolling up from my thighs. If I pressed my pussy flat against his stomach…

  I’d probably come again while yowling like an alley cat.

  I dropped my forehead down on Dharius’s chest and just drank them in. Their strength surrounded me. Their heat poured over me, keeping me warm despite the chill in the evening air. Kazhar was inside me. Connecting me to him and this planet and their tribes, even though it was all foreign to me.

  I could only imagine how good it would be to have Dharius inside me at the same time. And Marak.

  Ashamed that I hadn’t remembered my third prince until now, I lifted my head to check on him. If he felt left out or excluded…

  Marak sat back on his heels beside us, his eyes gleaming like blue flame in the night. He gave me a slow, sexy smile that made me shift against Kazhar.

  Which pushed his dick deeper.

  Which made me grind on Dharius’s thumb again.

  My breath caught on another whimper. They were going to be the death of me. But what a fucking incredible way to go.

  Stretching out beside us, Marak reached up to cup my cheek and leaned in to press his lips to mine.

  My three Tyger princes. All touching me at the same time.

  Kazhar slowly pulled out of me to the tip of that thick, magnificent dick, letting me feel every single inch. While Marak kissed me. And Dharius rubbed my super-sensitive clit with feather light touches that made me gasp and pant and shake.

  “Please,” I moaned. I didn’t want the pleasure to end, but it was also overwhelming. My clit was so damned swollen I probably wouldn’t be able to wear undies without wincing. Who the hell was I kidding? With men like this at my beck and call, I didn’t envision wearing panties too often. I’d be too busy tackling one of them for another round.

  My plea rattled Kazhar’s steady control. He growled against my skin, his teeth sinking deeper into the muscle of my shoulder. He slid back inside me on a deep lunge that made me boneless. I couldn’t remember ever giving myself over to someone like this. Just letting go. Surrendering to the massive surge of need and pleasure building inside me. It swept me out into the strange, new universe, spinning me out of control in a pink and orange sky.

  Kazhar let out a roar, though he didn’t release my shoulder. I felt every hot spurt of his come deep inside me. My greedy body seemed to gobble it right up and wanted more, more, more. Preferably Dharius and Marak and then Kazhar again…

  Though as he tumbled down against me and we cuddled on the pile of clothing, my body thought a quick nap would be best. I tried to stay awake. I wanted to make love to Dharius and Marak too…

  Dharius tucked my face up against his throat. “We have plenty of time, Tygress. Get some sleep and then we can begin round two.”

  My breath sighed out. I was surrounded by hot, naked, gorgeous men. Pleasure still rippled back and forth inside me like a gentle tide. I closed my eyes and allowed their steady purrs to carry me away.

  9

  I didn’t want to open my eyes, for fear the dream would end.

  I’d just had the most incredible fuck of my life. A fantasy I’d never even realized I’d wanted. Not just two, but three men. At once.

  Granted, two of them had only touched me, but when I woke up, I was going to make sure and get their dicks inside me too. Would they be as big as…

  My brain stuttered, trying to remember his name. Or even my name for that matter.

  Where am I?

  Sudden panic made me tense.

  Go back to sleep. Don’t you fucking dare wake up, Kimber. Go the fuck to sleep!

  Desperately, I clung to the dream, trying to stay there in the warm nest of my Tyger princes’ arms and legs. I’d checked the portal. It was real. I’d even grabbed my glasses.

  I reached up and felt my face, but there weren’t any glasses. I was sure I’d grabbed them. Why hadn’t I put them on? Had I lost them?

  Had I lost my Tygers?

  A sob escaped like a startled hiccup.

  No. This can’t be happening. I can’t…

  “Shhh,” someone whispered against my ear. “I’ve got you.”

  “No, I’ve got her,” another man retorted.

  “You had your turn. At least give her the chance—”

  “I will,” the first man butted in again. “It’s her choice. Always.”

  Kazhar. I’d know that grumpy, matter-of-fact voice anywhere.

  Soft, tender lips grazed my temple. “It’s all right,” the man crooned. Dharius. I was sure of it, though I couldn’t seem to get my eyes to work. “We’re here. You’re safe.”

  “Dream,” I finally muttered. Why wouldn’t my eyes open? Why was I so fucking tired?

  I stretched, letting every muscle in my body lengthen. I ached in so many delicious places that told me yeah, it’d been good. Damned good. I groaned at the memory, but it came out strangely. It didn’t sound like a groan.

  In fact, it sounded like some kind of animal.

  Had I made that sound? Me?

  “We’ll help you control it,” Kazhar said. “It’s normal to shift the first few times without conscious effort.”

  Shift. Like move? All I’d done was stretch so hard my spine popped. I’d never made that kind of sound before.

  Concentrating fiercely, I finally got my eyes open. Kazhar smiled back at me, his hand stroking over my face. “There. See? All is well, Tygress. We’re still here. It wasn’t a dream.”

  “Then why do I feel so strange? I don’t feel…”

  Something moved in my peripheral vision, drawing my attention from his face.

  A tail. A fucking tail. White and black striped.

  For a moment, my brain froze, gears grinding helplessly. Then I remembered the dream that wasn’t a dream. I’d woken up with Tygers before, when I’d first arrived here. I remembered now.

  I turned to see Marak’s Tyger…

  But the man smiled back at me, his incredibly blue eyes shining like sapphires. “You’re gorgeous, Tygress. We haven’t seen a white Tyger in at least three or four generations.”

  “Five,” Dharius clarified. “Even the Prime Alpha, your mother, carried the normal orange and black markings of Dhalmaria, though darker and lighter Tygers used to be common before the Sitti decimated our tribes.”

  Wait one fucking minute.

  I looked down at my body.

  White fur. Black stripes.

  I blinked stupidly at myself. What the ever-loving fuck had happened?

  I tried to scramble up to my knees, but I didn’t have knees. I flopped and struggled up to my feet. Er, paws. Big fucking paws. Huge. I lifted one to see the claws and shredded the bedding like it was a spider web.

  The last thing I remembered was making love and then cuddling in the clearing. But now we were back in the treefall room. I recognized the massive bed. But I didn’t remember coming back here. I didn’t remember shifting into a motherfucki
ng tiger…

  On his knees before me, Kazhar gripped my face in both his hands. “Kimber. It’s alright. We’re here. You’re safe. Trust us. All is well. Control your breathing. Yes, that’s it. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. You’re safe.”

  “What happened?” I whispered. At least I could still talk, even in a Tyger body.

  “It’s common for the first transformation to happen while sleeping or after sex. The mind relaxes, allowing the beast to emerge. I’m sorry, we should have warned you.”

  Marak leaned against my side and Dharius stroked his big palms down my back soothingly. It felt incredible, like always, but also different. My Tyger senses felt every little twitch of each sensitive hair. And their scents…

  Fucking hell, I’d thought they smelled good when I’d been a human, but now, they smelled like the finest chocolate cake on a silver platter. I licked my lips, er… jaws? Teeth? Whatever.

  Kazhar’s eyes heated, his lips quirking in a sensual, knowing smile. “Would you rather shift back to human form first? Or experience Tyger mating with teeth and claws?”

  Um. Duh. “Bring on the Tygers.”

  My three princes shifted into their gorgeous animals. I watched them hop down off the massive bed one by one, and then gave an experimental hop of my own. Not used to my own strength, I went sailing over their heads and landed in the pile of pillows and cushions where I’d assumed the cubs would play.

  In this form, I realized the claw marks were much too high on the walls for kids.

  Gulp. This must be the Tyger bed.

  Watching Marak and Dharius prowl toward me, all I could think was “hell, yeah.” I was going to leave some claw marks of my own on them, the floor, the walls. Whatever I could sink these babies into.

  If this was a dream… then I never wanted to wake up.

  The End

  Read Their Vampire Queen, starting with Queen Takes Knights.

  About the Author

  To read more from this author please follow on Amazon:

  Amazon.com/Joely-Sue-Burkhart/e/B0046HNTEW

  Or visit her website:

  www.joelysueburkhart.com/

  THE MISSING WOLF

  PART ONE

  G. BAILEY

  Description

  I’m Anastasia Noble, and shortly after moving to college, my life changed forever.

  I became a familiar, bonded to a wolf for life and arrested simply for existing.

  I woke up in the famous Familiar Empire community where I have to learn to bond with my wolf, or I can never leave.

  Never again see those whom I love.

  Bonding is my only option, if you could even call it an option, but add in familiars going missing every week, plus being stuck in a cabin with three mysterious, attractive, male familiars and their maddening animals...this is not going to be easy.

  17+ RH

  Prologue

  Anastasia

  "This is the oldest part of the university and where most the lessons are. In the welcome packs sent to your old homes were the links to an app which is a map. It will help you find your lessons," the tour guide explains before opening a door out of the old corridor and into another one which is more modern. There are lockers lining the walls, white-tiled floors, and spotlights in the ceiling. “Every student gets a locker here which is perfect for storing books and anything you don't need for every class."

  We walk down the corridor, listening to the guide explain the history of the university when suddenly there is a burning feeling in my hand that comes out of nowhere. I scream, dropping to my knees as I grab my hand, trying to stop the incredible pain. I rub at my pale skin as it burns hot, yet there is nothing there to see. The pain gets worse until I can’t see or hear anything for a moment, and I fall back. When I blink my eyes open, I’m lying on the cold floor, hearing the chatter of students near me. No one is helping me, oddly enough, and they sound like they are far away. Every part of my body hurts, aches like I’ve been running a marathon.

  “She’s a familiar. Has anyone called the police?” one person asks as I stare up at the flickering spotlight right above me.

  “We should leave, she could hurt us. Who knows where her creature is!” another man harshly whispers. I lift my hand above my face almost in slow motion. My eyes widen in pure shock at the huge, glowing, purple wolf tattoo covering the back of my hand where it burned. It stops at my wrist, the fur extending half way up my fingers and thumb. The eyes of the wolf tattoo glow the brightest as I realise what this means.

  “I’m a familiar.”

  1

  Leaving the past behind

  Anastasia

  I stand still on the side of the train tracks, letting the cold wind blow my blonde and purple dip-dyed hair across my face. I squeeze the handle of my suitcase tighter, hoping that the train will come soon. It’s freezing today, and my coat is packed away in the suitcase, dammit. I feel like I’ve waited for this day for years, the day I get to leave my foster home and join my sister at college. I look behind me into the parking lot, seeing my younger sister stood watching me go, my foster grandmother holding her hand. Phoebe is only eleven years old, but she is acting strong today, no matter how much she wants me to stay here. I smile at her, trying to ignore how difficult it feels to leave her here, but I know she couldn't be in a better home. I can get through college with our other sister and then get a job in the city, while living all together. That's the plan anyway.

  We lost our mum and dad in a car accident ten years ago, and we were more than lucky to find a foster parent that would take all three of us in. Grandma Dawn is a special kind of lady. She is kind and loves to cook, and the money she gets from fostering pays for her house. She lost her two children in a fire years ago, and she tells us regularly that we keep her happy and alive. Even if we do eat a lot for three teenagers. Luckily, she likes to look after us as I burn everything I attempt to cook. And I don’t even want to remember the time I tried to wash my clothes, which ended in disaster.

  "Train four-one-nine to Liverpool is calling at the station in one minute," the man announces over the loudspeaker, just before I hear the sound of the train coming in from a distance. I turn back to see the grey train speeding towards us, only slowing down when it gets close, but I still have to walk to get the end carriage. I wait for the two men in front of me to get on before I step onto the carriage, turning to pull my suitcase on. I search through the full seats until I find an empty one near the back, next to a window. I have to make sure it's facing the way the train is going as it freaks me out to sit the other way. I slide my suitcase under the seat before sitting down, leaving my handbag on the small table in front of me.

  I wave goodbye to my sister, who waves back, her head hidden on grandma's shoulder as she cries. I can only see her waist length, wavy blonde hair before the train pulls away. I'm going to miss her. Urgh, it's not like we don't have phones and FaceTime! I’m being silly. I pull my phone out of my bag and quickly send a message to my older sis, letting her know I am on the train. I also send a message to Phoebe, telling her how much I love and miss her already.

  "Ticket?" the train employee guy asks, making me jump out of my skin, and my phone falls on the floor.

  "Sorry! I'm always dropping stuff," I say, and the man just stares at me with a serious expression, still holding his hand out. His uniform is crisply ironed, and his hair is combed to the left without a single hair out of place. I roll my eyes and pull my bag open, pulling out my ticket and handing it to him. After he checks it for about a minute, he scribbles on it before handing it back to me. I've never understood why they bother drawing on the tickets when the machines check the tickets at the other end anyways. I put my ticket back into my bag before sliding it under the seat just as the train moves, jolting me a little.

  I reach for my phone, which is stuck to some paper underneath it. I've always been taught to pick up rubbish, so I grab the paper as well as my phone before sliding out from under the table and back to my seat. I put
my phone back into my handbag before looking at the leaflet I’ve picked up. It's one of those warning leaflets about familiars and how it is illegal to hide one. The leaflet has a giant lion symbol at the top and warning signs around the edges. It explains that you have to call the police and report them if you find one.

  Familiars account for 0.03 percent of the human race, though many say they are nothing like humans and don't like to count them as such. Familiars randomly started appearing about fifty years ago, or at least publicly they did. A lot of people believe they just kept themselves hidden before that. The Familiar Empire was soon set up, and it is the only place safe for familiars to live in peace. They have their own laws, an alliance with humans, and their own land in Scotland, Spain and North America.

  Unfortunately, anyone could suddenly become a familiar, and you wouldn't know until one random day. It can be anything from a car crash to simply waking up that sets off the gene, but once a familiar, always a familiar. They have the mark on their hand, a glowing tattoo of whatever animal is bonded to them. The animals are the main reason familiars are so dangerous. They have a bond with one animal who would do anything for them. Even kill. And I heard once that some kid’s animal was a lion as big as an elephant. But those are just the things we know publicly, who knows what is hidden behind the giant walls of the Familiar Empire?

  "My uncle is one, you know?" a girl says, and I look up to see a young girl about ten years old hanging over her seat, her head tilted to the side as she stares at the leaflet in my hand. "He has a big rabbit for a familiar."