At the door of the bed and breakfast, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and stroked her throat before he turned and stalked off into the night. She slowly opened the door and watched him go.
Shivering with over a decade of longing, she walked inside and nodded to the proprietor, Teebie.
“Did you find someone new, Rayna?”
Rayna walked up the stairs, “No, someone old, but if it works out, I will know what I have missed my entire hormonal life.”
“Good night, Rayna. Sweet dreams.”
Rayna groaned. Dreams were going to be vivid, hot and leave her shivering. Sweet was not in the cards.
Running into the stallion she had a crush on for most of her life was definitely unanticipated. She had never looked forward to dawn with more enthusiasm in her life.
Chapter Three
She was wearing her running leggings and her sports bra along with her sneakers as dawn crept over the horizon. Rayna checked her watch and started the five-minute time.
At three minutes and fifty-five seconds, she heard footsteps, and to her shock, Gregory came jogging around the corner. She grinned and met him at the street, starting a solid pace that he was forced to match.
It wasn’t like he could pass her; he didn’t know where she was going.
Her runs took her along the path in the woods, down past the edge of the pond, around the lake and through the meadow.
She paused next to a stream that had been elevated into a drinking fountain for their kind. “Care to stop for water?”
He nodded. “Ladies first.”
She cupped her hands, rinsed them and then filled them with water, sipping slowly and backing away from the water source. She had what she needed.
He moved in and mimicked her manners, drinking far more than she had and splashing himself.
She sat on a rock and looked around at the meadow and the open expanses where shifters were free to be themselves. “It is very beautiful here. Nearly as nice as my home.”
“I thought you had an apartment over a shop.” He blinked.
“Did some emergency research, did we? Naw, I have eighty acres just outside of town. It is a place to run, to chase, to enjoy.”
He blinked again, water droplets in his lashes glittered like diamonds. “You didn’t say hunt.”
“I rarely need to hunt. It is a developmental issue, just like otters learn to move in the water and find the right fish, I had to learn to stalk, chase and kill so that my instincts would not take over.”
“And I had to stand, walk, run and learn how my beast felt at any given stage in its life. Even hunger was a learning curve. I was never one for oats and hay until my beast took over one day. I had gas for a week after that.” He shuddered.
She grinned. “It beats waking up with blood and fluff on your lips. My beast is usually very tidy unless she wants to prove something to me. Then, she will paint me with blood and make me wake up in it.”
“Ouch. So, you were in danger of hurting your family?”
“I was in danger of hurting Leyline.” She rubbed her shoulders as they knotted with tension. “She told me you were going to propose, and I wanted to kill her and my beast did too. It wasn’t a battle; it was an exercise in restraint. I called for help, and she suggested that leaving the situation was for the best. I believe that she was correct.”
He nodded. “Shall we continue?”
She grinned. “Of course. That was just the warm-up. For the next bit, we run through those hills.”
“Lead on. This is more of a challenge than I have had in years.”
Rayna nodded and headed off on the path that would take them up and around the eastern edge of the Crossroads, around the settlement and down through town. They would need to stop for a shower, but breakfast would be welcome.
She let her feet pound the ground as they climbed, clambered and sprinted around barely-there paths. Her body flexed, twisted and burned by the time they arrived at where they had started.
“Would you two like to come in for breakfast?” Teebie was standing in the doorway, her blue skin glowing in the morning light.
“We are a little sweaty.” Rayna smiled.
A flash of light and they were both as tidy as when they had started; in fact, Rayna’s deodorant was even in place. That was some magic.
Gregory was looking around in shock. “What just happened?”
“She cleaned us up for breakfast. Come on. Her muffins are amazing, and the bacon isn’t bad either.”
He smiled and took her hand, pulling her toward the smell of breakfast. “Tell me, is she really blue?”
“Blue with a hint of purple. Quite pretty. She’s a djinn.”
“She is lovely, but she isn’t a shifter. Why is she here?”
“Oh, her aunt owns the place, and her aunt is a shifter.”
“What kind?”
“Dragon.”
He blinked. “Oh. Right.”
They walked into the dining room and took seats next to each other.
Teebie snickered and placed plates in front of them before she laid out an amazing collection of breakfast foods from eggs to pancakes to muffins and lots of bacon.
Honey was the main condiment, and Rayna used a lot of it. It was in her coffee, on her pancakes, across her bacon and drizzled in the muffins.
Gregory was watching. “I thought your kinds was supposed to be obsessed with meat.”
“And your kind is supposed to be herbivores, Mister Nine Slices of Bacon. You can’t look to stereotypes of species you haven’t met.”
He munched the bacon. “I still have a human half, and the human half likes bacon.”
“My human half likes honey. My inner beast likes bacon. I am satisfying both at the same time.” She grinned and winked at Teebie.
The blue woman sat at the table with them and smiled. “It was something she told me her first day here. She has fought for balance, and she achieved it.”
Rayna blushed and looked down at her plate, focussing on her breakfast while Gregory stared at her. “You are joking.”
Balance between beast and human was rare. For most shifters, there was a struggle that would last their entire lives.
She shrugged and nibbled at her bacon. “I had to balance or start looking at my family as snacks. It was an effort over a week in the forest, but she and I came to an agreement. I would let her run a minimum of five times a week and she would curb her appetite for small, fluffy things.”
Gregory was blushing. “I don’t know that I could ever get to that point with my inner horse.”
“I know. One mare in heat and off you go.”
“It isn’t as bad as that.” He stabbed at his pancakes.
“I watched you in high school. It was pretty bad.” She grinned, and his expression cracked into laughter.
“It wasn’t great. Certainly not very pleasant for the females my interest landed on.”
She mumbled around a mouth full of muffin. “Must have been hard on your zippers, too.”
Teebie barked with laughter and refilled their coffee.
Pink flushed his suntanned cheeks. “Well, there was that as well. Now for you, why haven’t you found a match of your own yet?”
It was a loaded question for the Crossroads. “Well, I have been here for seven days, and while I have met plenty of men I was sexually attracted to, there are none that I wanted to build a life with. I am old fashioned where it counts.”
“You have been here for a week?” He was shocked.
“I know. I have blown their average of four days right out of the water. All of the staff is pulling for me.”
Teebie grinned, “We really are. While I enjoy having her here, it is becoming a little disheartening. We all want the best for our guests, and she just isn't having luck in finding her match.”
“I will continue dancing with frogs until I find my prince, Teebie. Don’t worry.” She sat with her elbows on t
he table and nothing but crumbs on her plate.
“Just dancing?” Gregory was leaning back and drinking his coffee.
“Yup. No sense in distracting them from a female that would actually want more than one night from them. As soon as they are deemed unsuitable by my inner cat, I extricate myself from them.”
“You are letting your cat pick your mate?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Of course. If she doesn’t like him, I am never going to hear the end of it.”
He nodded. “Very sensible. So, what are you up to this afternoon?”
“I was going to take a walk, visit the shop, get a burger, maybe see if the salon is open yet to get my nails done.”
“Since you are nearly an occupant of the Crossroads, would you take me on a tour?” Gregory smiled hopefully.
She chuckled. “Sure. How about we both change and I meet you outside the café?”
“Sounds good. Thank you for the breakfast, Teebie. It was amazing.”
“Anything for my special guests, and Rayna is definitely a special guest.” Teebie smiled and started clearing the table.
Rayna lifted her chin with a grin, “And I am also good at removing rodents.”
Teebie shuddered. “Don’t remind me. Those beavers were not happy.”
Rayna cackled and got to her feet. “So, Gregory, still up for meeting me at the café?”
He sighed and got to his feet. “It is a good thing that I know you, Rayna, or that rodent crack would have given me second thoughts about kissing you.”
Her inner beast perked up at that. She had been attached to Gregory since she had first seen him all those years ago. Her inner cheetah started to purr, and it was all she could do to show Gregory to the door and head upstairs to change into a long skirt, sandals and a loose top.
Rayna looked in the mirror and winced. With deliberate defiance, she removed the top and skirt to put on underwear. Propriety had a place in her life. It let her live alongside with humans and not constantly be attacked by defensive females who thought she was out for their males. Of course, sometimes she was, but it was never in front of the female.
She was many things, but she was never tacky.
Chapter Four
She sat on the bench outside the café and lifted her face to the sunlight. Her inner cat purred as she let the warmth bathe her. When a shadow crossed her path and blocked her happy sun spot, she scowled.
“Get that expression off your face, Rayna. Let’s go for that tour.” Gregory extended his hand and helped her to her feet.
She sighed. “It was a good beam of sunlight.”
“I know. Sorry.” He smiled and didn’t let go of her.
“Where would you like to start?” She swung their hands a little, unfamiliar with the sensation of having someone hold her in a companionable manner.
“Show me the shifting meadow.”
“Okay.”
They walked down the path back toward the Open Heart, taking a turn and walking up to the pavilions.
“Here it is. You can leave all your clothing in the cabanas and simply walk out in your shifted form. They are big enough to accommodate even you.”
He chuckled. “Would you like to go for another run?”
Her inner cat rose and flexed. “I think I could go for a bit of a sprint. Now?”
“We may as well burn off breakfast and make room for lunch.”
“Well said.” She chuckled and headed for one of the smaller structures. She didn’t need nearly as much space. She took off her clothing and shoes before she called her cheetah. It wasn’t much of a call, she was right under her skin.
Her cat burst forth, compressing her while it stretched her fingers and sprouted claws. Her tail lashed around, and she took her first few steps slowly until she heard the thud of hooves nearby.
In a streak of fur, she powered out of the cabana and through the meadow. The thud of hooves followed her, picking up speed and power as it crashed and pounded behind her.
Just to tease, she slowed her run and watched the large golden and dark brown beast draw even with her. His head was down and his legs were working hard to keep up with her. With a burst of amusement, she streaked past him and headed for the woods. In a few minutes of claws and flying bark, she was up in the tree as he approached, his liquid equine eyes looking for her.
She let out a rawr and he backed up, his beast showing whites around his eyes. With a lithe move, she was out of the tree above his head and on the ground next to him, shifting into her human form.
Being naked around other shifters was one of the most natural things in the world, but she still moved carefully as his hooves stomped and his head lowered.
Rayna put her hand out, and he snuffled at it, his ears easing into a less panicked position and his eyes no longer showing white.
“There you are, Daywell. Calm, calm.” She slowly stroked his long nose and ran her hands over his head, under his cheeks and chin before she moved to one side and stroked his neck.
His hide was so soft, she ran her hands over him and he quivered under her touch. The hair of his mane was coarse, and she put her fingers in it and clenched. His entire body shuddered. If this translated to his human form, he must have been going out of his mind when she grabbed his hair last night.
She stroked his barrel, got swatted with his tail and continued around to the other side for more touching and exploration. Her inner cat was inhaling frantically, learning all of the scents that he gave off. Hay, sweat and Daywell were all right there, and her inner cat was committing it to memory.
He moved his long head around and nudged her toward his back.
“You have to be joking.”
He shook his head and nudged her again.
“You really want me to ride you?”
He nodded, his mane flipping his hair over one eye.
“Lady Godiva, coming up.” She walked back to the left side, threaded her hand in his mane and part jumped and part pulled herself up onto his back.
He shivered and took a few steps for balance while she settled herself.
For security, she put her hands in his mane and held on. “If you are going to do anything, I am holding on.”
The snort was her only warning. He reared back, threatening her grip, and landed heavily in a sudden gallop that had his mane whipping back in her face and her legs clenched around his barrel in panic.
He picked up steady speed, and she eventually caught on to the rhythm. Her sex was pressed against his back, and she was rubbing against him in a disconcerting way. It was a similar feeling to being on the back of a motorcycle, but the friction was more direct.
Her body was humming with arousal when they neared the pavilions, but to her surprise, he wheeled and set off back to the far edge of the meadow. She was doomed. Halfway through the meadow, the friction against her sex sent her clit into overload and she began to shudder endlessly on his back.
His speed lowered, and he took up a gait that bounced her hard against him and extended the orgasm until she was completely limp and hanging over his neck. He turned and walked back toward the cabanas at a slow plod.
While Rayna fought herself out of her afterglow, she took stock of the stickiness between her thighs as well as the abrasion on her skin. A shift would clear it up, but it was something to remember.
By the time they were at the small structures, she had her composure back. She combed her wild hair out of her face with her fingers and lifted her right leg over his neck when he stopped. Her legs wobbled but he stayed standing while she got her balance back.
She quickly shifted to her cheetah and back again. It wasn’t something that most shifters could do, but she was the master of the quick shift. The abrasion was gone, but she was still wobbling a bit as she walked toward the cabana. Hands gripped her and pulled her back against a very nude male body.
She shivered and looked back and up. “Hello, Gregory.”
His eyes were intense, and he kissed her, holding her jaw with two fingers to keep her face pointing toward his. His hand stroked the curve of her waist before he cupped her breast.
She arched into his touch and tried to turn toward him, but he held her hip to his with pressure from his body while his hand held her back against him.
Rayna welcomed his touch, the feel of his lips and tongue against hers and most of all, the body heat he was radiating.
His fingers gently stroked her nipple to aching hardness before he pinched, flicked and thumbed it again. Her body was a mass of sensation and longing. Half her body wanted contact; the other half was swamped with rising lust. It was the worst hot and cold moment she had ever had.
She tried to turn to him, but he held her tight. A frustrated snarl came out of her throat, and she heard him laugh. That was it; as much as she wanted him, she was not a source of amusement.
She shifted into her feline form and streaked for the cabana. She crouched on the ground and let her warning sound come from her throat when he tried to follow her.
He knelt in front of her, and he waited. It seemed he was good at waiting. “Come on, Rayna. I let you pet me. Turnabout is fair play.”
She stalked toward him, tail lashing.
“Calm down. I am not an idiot. If I try to touch you in that state, I will be pulling back an open flap of skin.” He sat, leaning against one of the posts.
She continued to crouch and lash.
“Let me tell you about why I went out with Leyline. I left a note in what I thought was your locker, but Leyline showed up. We started dating casually, but I never felt that spark. She told me that you had no interest in me and had handed you the note for you to answer.”
Rayna blinked and sat up in surprise.
“I thought that would interest you. It was only after you left that I cornered Augusta and got the whole story. We were both set up.”
She moved toward him and cocked her head before facing him while sitting next to his hip.
“You are very pretty. I have never seen you sitting still before.” He let her sniff his fingers. They smelled like grass and earth.
Born Cheetah Page 2