The Abduction

by Nichole Allen

  Ryan laughed. He wasn’t sure what else to do because what Adam was saying was weird and laughable but in some dark part of his brain, a part that he wanted to lock up, it felt kind of real. So, he laughed some more as the fresh beers turned up and his eyes were watering from laughter. He no longer remembered what he’d found funny and Adam was looking at him like he was about to call in the shrinks.

  “You’re a fucking panther shifter?” Ryan hooted with laughter and heads turned to observe him.

  “Don’t make me slap you, Ryan,” Adam said in a low menacing voice, a voice that only Ryan could hear.

  *****

  Adam knew that half the patron’s in the steak house were shifters but the other half were not and Ryan was losing it which posed the risk of the best-kept secret getting out. It was not acceptable, and he was getting some hard looks from family and friends. If he couldn’t stop the guy from acting crazy, he would have to pick him up and carry him out.

  “Stop it, this is your last warning,” he growled.

  “I’m sorry,” Ryan giggled.

  Adam picked up Ryan’s beer and splashed a handful in the guy’s face. He gasped and went very still. Adam handed him a paper napkin and Ryan dried his face. People began to look away, but they sat in silence for a while before everything in the restaurant felt normal again. With his super-strength hearing abilities, he could tell that their interest was waning and they could resume their talk.

  “Eat your steak, it really is the best in the city,” Adam said and Ryan picked up his cutlery. “So, all that I’ve said is true. If you turn out to be bat-shit crazy then we’ve got a problem but otherwise, we can deal, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ryan replied through a mouthful of steak. “Wow, this is good stuff.”

  “Enjoy it sweet-cheeks, this place will be a regular for you from now on,” Adam said feeling the rush that the meat gave him. “Shifters need more meat than humans but if you eat plenty your body will use the protein to build the perfect human body and panther body, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Ryan grunted, but the sarcasm was noted.

  “Listen, you can believe what I say or not but didn’t you wake up naked on Josie’s doorstep after running around the park like a crazy cat?” Adam asked. “Ryan, if you woke up naked outside with your clothes shredded then you shifted, okay?”

  “Okay,” Ryan said but with less sarcasm and less color in his cheeks.

  “So, I need to teach you how to control the shift because if I don’t, every time you smell something delicious, be it meat or female, you will shift and chase them.” Adam said.

  They finished their steak and Adam knew enough to give the guy some space to think. It was sinking in but he wouldn’t truly believe until he went through the shift while keeping his consciousness and that was what they were going to work on for the next few hours. When Ryan had finished his meal, he led him to the basement which was the safest place to train a new panther, away from humans. He locked them in.

  “Strip, you’ll need those clothes for the trip home. Unless you’ve acquired a taste for streaking?” Adam asked laughing.

  “Who was chasing you?” Ryan asked, removing his shirt and shoes.

  “Just drunk humans,” Adam replied. “You need to lose all of your clothes, they come off in the shift, anyway.”

  “I’m not getting naked with you,” Ryan protested.

  “I’ll go first,” Adam said and left his folded clothes on a chair. “Watch me closely.”

  Adam winked at Ryan and then shimmered under the fluorescent lighting. He kept his eyes locked with Ryan’s as he changed shape and tracked him as he scrambled for the door. He padded up to the guy who was locked in tight and nuzzled his stomach with his wet nose. Ryan tensed, flattened to the wall while Adam sniffed and rubbed his silky fur against the man. He smelled good, even with the overpowering stench of fear. He licked the man’s ribs, he tasted good too.

  He shimmered once more and stood human, naked, and incredibly close to Ryan. He couldn’t prevent the grin from spreading across his face. Ryan was fun, even when he didn’t mean to be, and he was cute. His cat may well have chosen the man after all. He watched as Ryan’s eyes traveled south and caught sight of his engorged manhood.

  “Oops, I think my panther likes you,” he said. “Your turn, lose the clothes or destroy them.”

  “No way,” Ryan said, still stuck fast to the wall.

  “Whatever, relax and think about that cute little Josie. Remember the feeling when everything becomes sharper and more exciting that’s the beginning of the change. Imagine chasing her, pouncing on her, tasting her skin. Think about how good it would feel to lick her, think about that sweet little smell that was drifting up from her skirt earlier,” he said.

  Ryan shimmered and stood before him on all fours. He was a sleek cat, not as bulky as Adam was. Ryan’s trousers had busted at the waist and he stepped out of them and what once had been boxer shorts. It looked like he was going home naked again. Adam stroked his fur, it was silky and new. He knelt down and rubbed the fur under the panther’s cheeks causing him to purr. Ryan’s panther sniffed him and then licked him, a sign that they would be friends and that he trusted him, or at least he did in his panther form.

  When Ryan shifted back to human form he was covered in a silky sheen of sweat and sporting a fantastic hard on. Panthers were pleasure seekers and Ryan’s panther liked him just as much as he liked Ryan, in both forms. Ryan was mortified and grabbed his boxer shorts but found they were destroyed to the point of uselessness. Adam did like to be right and he had warned the guy.

  “Well, I’d love to do this all night but I have work in the morning and so do you. So, I guess I’ll take your naked ass home,” Adam said grinning.

  “What?”

  “I warned you, you didn’t listen,” Adam was now the one giggling.

  Ryan wrapped his ripped trousers around his exposed bits and followed Adam up the stairs and out the back entrance. Adam took his time opening the car doors, leaving the embarrassed man to stand around under the streetlight. It made him happy, cats were playful creatures and his had found a new favorite plaything.

  *****

  Josie ran to her window to watch the pair walk through the park. Adam had made her feel desirable and womanly, in every conceivable way. When she’d raced up the stairs to her apartment, she could feel the steady throb from between her legs and that just confused her a little more. Adam was built for strength with bulky muscles and wide shoulders and Ryan had always been of the cuddly build, but not anymore. Ryan was lean and firm, and she wanted to feel those ridges on his abdomen. She really liked being sandwiched between the pair of them.

  When they disappeared from view, she spent several hours trying to think of anything but the two strong men. She tried to read. she tried watching television, and she checked her email three times. Her brain was on a single track and it was making her feel hot and restless. She had even spent time daydreaming through every conceivable fantasy where she could end up in between them, naked. This was not usual behavior for her and she didn’t know how to deal with it.

  She finally managed to convince herself that Ryan was in trouble of some kind and needed her. He had spent half the day staring at her and he had walked her home. He needed her and she should go to him. She put on her clothes and then removed them again. She didn’t want to wear her work clothes, or dress up and risk looking desperate but her slouchy sweats were not an option either. In the end, after wrecking her wardrobe, she stood in front of the mirror in tight-fitting jeans and a pastel sweater. Understated, classy, and comfortable, or at least that was the look she was hoping for.

  The park was a dark expanse of unknown and she was glad that she’d gone with the running shoes. She took off at a pace that could be described as a really fast jog. She didn’t want to look nervous, but it was practically her middle name. When she arrived, she stood at the end of the walkway that led to his door, plucking up the courage to knock. And then a familia
r voice cut through the silence.

  “Ah, I can explain,” Ryan said from the top of the stairs.

  She looked back at him and gasped. His hair was tangled and his shirt was untucked because there wasn’t anything for it to be tucked into. He was clutching what looked to be the remains of his work trousers in front of him. Of all the scenarios she had imagined this was not one of them and she couldn’t help but stare with her mouth gaped open.

  “I need to get inside,” Ryan said edging around her.

  He opened the door and went through, flashing his scrumptious behind. She was still staring until she realized that he was holding the door open for her. She stepped in and he shut the door, leaving them closed in and occupying the tiniest space. He smelled good, and he was close enough to touch but she didn’t dare move.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower and find some clothes that are not ripped,” he said trailing one finger down her cheek. “And then I’m going to find us a beer each.”

  She watched his naked butt enter the bathroom and then remembered to breathe. How could this man wander the city naked and semi-naked twice in one week? What was he some sort of naturist? Half of her said run, run now and the other half said ‘I wish that door was see-through’ and she had no idea which side to listen to.

  “You can sit down,” Ryan said exited the bathroom wearing a low-slung damp towel and beads of glistening water everywhere else.

  “I’m not sure I should be here,” she said and stepped towards the front door.

  “Please stay,” he said, and she melted just a little.

  She found herself sitting on his sofa with a beer in her hand and he joined her after just a few minutes, looking less disheveled and not so naked. At least she wasn’t so distracted when he had clothes on; that was actually a lie, she was distracted because she could remember exactly what was under those clothes.

  “I’m not sure that I can explain, the nudity I mean,” he said finally. “I want to but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to, or if you would believe me, or if you won’t call the men in white coats.”

  “You could start with telling me why you were on my doorstep, naked,” she said sounding much calmer than she felt.

  “Okay, I tracked your smell. You smell really good by the way,” he said.

  “What?” She had made a mistake, he really was crazy, and she had put herself at risk just because her body wanted his body to come out to play.

  “There isn’t any way I can say this without sounding crazy, I’m sorry,” he said dropping his head into his hands.

  “Thanks for the beer,” she said and stood to leave.

  “No, wait!” He jumped up and fell over the coffee table, spilled the beer, and then fell onto the floor.

  “No, that’s not real, oh shit, oh shit,” she could hear herself mumbling.

  Josie’s back hit the wall about two-foot shy of the door and she started to side step towards it but the huge black panther that may or may not have been Ryan just a few seconds before came over to her. She pressed herself against the wall until it hurt. The cat sniffed her all over and then nudged her. She couldn’t move, she was trapped, and she had forgotten to breathe once more. She could feel her body lose sensation and her hearing went fuzzy. She knew she was fainting, but she had lost every ounce of control.

  *****

  “I didn’t mean to do it, it just happened,” Ryan said into the phone.

  The phone went dead, and he stared at it for a second. His lifeline, his mentor, Adam, had just hung up on him when he needed him most. He looked again at the unconscious woman on his sofa. He had shifted back quickly and picked her up from the floor. She had smelled like roses, and fear, and arousal. He didn’t know why he shifted and scared the hell out of her but once it was done, he couldn’t undo it; she couldn’t unsee it.

  She was breathing evenly, and he wasn’t worried about her physically but when she woke up and remembered what she’d seen it be would bad. She would scream and call the police, or the army, or whoever you called when supernatural creatures licked you. Once his cat was out of the bag, he would be locked up and studied, or put down. He blamed Adam, all of this was Adam’s fault.

  When a loud bang at the door brought him out of his thoughts, he briefly wondered if it was the police, army, or some secret assassin group but then he smelled the familiar scent that he’d come to associate with panthers. Adam hadn’t abandoned him.

  “Is this your answer to everything where Josie is concerned,” Adam said looking him up and down.

  “Shit, I’m naked again,” Ryan groaned and went back to his bedroom.

  “Come on little lady,” Adam was saying as Josie stirred in his arms.

  Ryan watched as her eyelids fluttered open and her pale blue eyes found Adam’s. Her scared look softened until she looked happy and that beautiful smell wafted up to meet his sensitive nose once more.

  The woman was killing him, he had to fight the desire to shift. Adam was smirking at him again and even though the guy had rushed out to help him he still wanted to smack the smug look off his face.

  “What happened?” She looked up at Adam with doe eyes and his stomach did a little jealous flip.

  Adam didn’t get the chance to answer because her eyes found him and widened in shock. He stepped back, he was losing her, and he’d only just found her. She was going to freak out and throw him to the wolves, maybe literally, who knew?

  “Do you trust me, Josie?” Adam asked in that smooth deep voice that oozed control and a sexiness that should have been illegal.

  “I do,” she said her attention fully on Adam.

  “I’m going to tell you a little secret and you’re not going to be alarmed because you’re safe with me, and believe it or not you’re safe with that idiot over there,” he said.

  Josie glanced over at Ryan and nodded once more. Ryan wondered if Adam would teach him those smooth moves because it looked like he could sweet talk anyone off their feet and into bed at any given time. Hell, Ryan was feeling the vibe, and he didn’t swing both ways, usually.

  Ryan stopped listening to the hypnotic words Adam was saying because watching Josie melt into compliance was just as hypnotic. She absorbed the information like a sponge and didn’t flinch, laugh, shout, scream, or hit him once.

  “So, you’re not going to panic, everything is going to be okay,” Adam said and Josie nodded once more.

  “Damn, you’re good,” Ryan whispered at a volume that only a shifter could hear.

  “Don’t just stand there Ryan, get some beers all round,” Adam said, settling on the sofa next to Josie.

  Ryan grabbed three beers and by the time he’d walked back into the living room Adam and Josie were joined at the hip, arm, and leg. The best he could do was hand them a beer each and snuggle up on her other side and hope she noticed him. As soon as he sat down, however, he got a whiff of Josie’s special scent, the one that emanated from her pantie area.

  “So, now we know that Ryan likes to get naked, a lot,” Adam said smirking, again. “How do you feel about him?”

  “Well, I guess now I know what he is and why it happens; I know he’s not a pervert or an exhibitionist, so he’s okay,” Josie replied wearing that sweet shy smile.

  “I’m really glad you don’t hold it against me,” Ryan said taking her hand in his.

  Touching her skin seemed to have an effect on him and the more he did it the more he wanted her. She was addictive and he couldn’t help himself as he leaned forward and kissed her delicate lips. She didn’t resist, and he continued, even slipping his tongue into the softness of her mouth. He wanted to see her eyes, to check that she was okay with it and when he finally pulled away from her, her eyes were closed and Adam’s hands were on her.

  “Josie?”

  “I can’t help it,” she said breathless and dreamy-faced. “I always liked you, Ryan, way before you even noticed I existed.”

  “Then why are Adam’s hands feeling you up?” Ryan asked wondering why he
was enjoying the scene before him.

  “I don’t know but please don’t let it stop?” She gasped as Adam trailed kisses along her neckline.

  When Adam lifted his eyes to meet Ryan’s they were glowing as if lit from behind. Adam winked at him and then continued his ministrations to Josie’s body. She was whimpering with pleasure and when Adam lifted her sweater over her head, she let it happen. When Adam’s large hands ran down her dainty body Ryan figured it was time to join in and buried his head in her lace-clad cleavage.

  “Welcome to the shifter way,” Adam purred. “We live for pleasure.”

  “Mmmm…” Josie moaned and Ryan soon found he was naked again.

  When Adam’s strong hand grazed Ryan’s throbbing member, he experienced a jolt of electric pleasure. He arched his back and moved his body against the man, seeking the electrifying touch again. When Adam gripped him, he felt a whole new sensation that he’d never experienced before and that was when he realized that he no longer needed to be bound by human rules. He was free.

  *****

  Josie had woken up in Ryan’s bed, sandwiched between the pair of muscular frames. They were warm and firm and she felt safe and protected between them. When she’d tried to leave the bed Ryan had scooped her back and rubbed his body against her causing the most delicious friction. It didn’t take long for Adam to wake and join in and she thought she would burst with pleasure.

  Adam’s hands were big, calloused and hot. He ran them expertly all over her body, making every inch of her compliant and ecstatic. Ryan was more explorative; he wasn’t as practiced as Adam and his innocence and hesitance made her slick with desire. He explored every crevice and plain of her body until she was wracked with waves of orgasm, and then he would begin again.

  Her favorite part of their strange union was when Adam touched Ryan. It made her feel like she was viewing something secret and it drove her mad with lust for the pair of them. It felt like slow torture, squeezing the pleasure out of her inch by inch. She never wanted to leave the bedroom again, ever, but after beginning her morning with three orgasms she knew that at least two of them had to get to work.