Opposites Attract

by Mary Alice Pritchard

  “Gage. Can I have a word with you?” She looked pointedly at Sarah and heard the growl in the little wolf’s throat.

  “I’m not looking to hook up, Sarah. I just need to talk with him.”

  Gage smiled, his gleaming white teeth bared. “Hop off Sarah. Give us some room.” He nodded his head at the empty seats across the table from him.

  Gail let Jason slide in first and she followed him. Sarah pouted but headed for the bar.

  “So what do you want to talk about?”

  “You’re aware of the body found outside of town the other day? The one they say was torn up by wolves?” She watched his eyes.

  “Yeah, what has this got to do with me?” He tore off a piece of meat on the plate in front of him.

  “I’m pretty sure they were weir.”

  “You’re shitting me! Why would you think that?” She had his full attention now.

  “A pack of weirs tried to kill Jason the other night. They stuck around while he was up in a tree. Why would weir chase another weir other than to attack?” She watched him. Nothing crossed his face but his eyes narrowed. He turned to Jason.

  “They chased you up a tree, what are you another bobcat? Lynx?”

  “Something like that.” He just smiled at the wolf staring at him.

  “If you’re right, we’ve got a major problem. Do you know who the guy was they killed?”

  “No, I was hoping you had friends somewhere in the morgue or the police department. I don’t, but we need to find out. It’s a good possibility it’s a weir and that means they’ll notice something different in his blood.”

  “Damn, we don’t need this. I’ll see who I can tag. In the mean time we need to warn the lesser weirs to watch their backs.” He sighed and shook his head. “We’ll have to find them and kill them. They’re dangerous for us and the humans.”

  “If we don’t, the humans will start shooting anything that moves out there.” Jason said.

  “Yeah.” He got up and nodded at them before he disappeared into the crowd.

  “So, will he get back in touch with you?”

  “Yeah, he has my number. He’ll call as soon as he knows something.”

  “What are we going to do if they decide not to help?”

  “They’ll help, but we might not like how.”

  Chapter Four

  “Hell no! You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not running with a common household cat. No way.” He’d expected her to balk at the idea of watching each other’s back.

  “Just listen, Gail.” He grabbed her by the wrist when she turned away.

  “Don’t touch me.” Her voice grew low with the hint of a growl. Jason dropped his hand.

  “Then listen to me. We can’t go out there alone and we have to run at least a few nights a week. All I’m saying is we watch each other’s back. You can climb just like I can, but it won’t do you any good if they catch you by surprise. I was just lucky the last time.”

  “So you think if we run together you can warn me if they come at us from behind? Are you going to run backwards?”

  “Come on. Don’t be snide,” he said. “I can smell them if I run further back than you and you can smell them if they’re ahead of you. It’s a good plan.”

  Gail paced in front of him, her eyes bright with anger. He watched her face as expressions flirted over them and knew the instant she’d decided to do it. Her lips thinned to a tight line.

  “We’ll try it, but if you can’t keep up, it’s your hide.”

  “Great, all I’m asking is you give it chance.”

  “I’ve heard that before.” She stared hard at him, her hazel eyes bright gold as her cat bled through. “As soon as this is over you go back to your little corner. Got it?”

  “I’ve got it.” He planned to win her over by then. He knew what he wanted and that was her.

  The idea of her writhing beneath him took his breath away. His cock hardened just thinking about it. He needed to convince her they would be good together. Jason figured it would be difficult the way she felt about his being a cat, but he wouldn’t give up.

  *****

  Gail all but slammed the door behind him. She couldn’t believe what she’d agreed to. “You’re crazy. That’s the only explanation.”

  Her body reacted to his and it infuriated her. Thoughts of him naked in bed, covering her with his body stirred her senses, and she cursed her traitorous body. She tried to banish the thoughts to the back of her mind, but they rebelled and she felt the heat build inside her. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had nearly a month before her next heat. It didn’t stop her breasts from tingling or the rush of longing. Her body wanted Jason in a bad way.

  Damn, a common cat and her body ached for him. Her dreams the night before left her hot and needy when she woke up. There had to be something crazy with the moon this month for her to react to someone so outside her type. Neither of her partners stirred her like this except during the heat. She’d be dammed if she would give in to the lust riding her. Now she’d be close to him until the wolves were stopped.

  She stepped outside and after drawing in the fresh night air, walked into the woods and gave herself over to the change. They’d agreed to meet along the boundary between their areas, and when she saw him waiting a tingle ran down her back. Despite his being a common Tom, her cat liked him and wanted to play. She reined it in and after flicking her head at him, turned and ran. She purposely pushed ahead to run at her top speed. The black cat kept up despite her plan to outrun him. He wouldn’t slow down, and she knew he’d follow her wherever she took him.

  The scent of wolf hit her nose and she slowed, digging into the pine needles and soil to stop. She couldn’t tell at this distance if they were weir or just wolf. The cat slid in behind her nearly running into her. He sniffed and hissed beside her. Gail raised her nose to the air and tried to get a better idea of where they were, but the scent drifted around her with the breeze. They had to be ahead and a little left since the wind blew from that direction.

  The cat nudged her in the side to get her to turn back, and she retaliated by swiping at his nose. He hissed at her and pushed again. She turned around and ran at a slower pace back towards the edge of the woods. When she reached the spot she’d hidden her clothes, Gail threw herself into her change and dressed. She figured the little cat had gone home. Once she reached her back door, her thoughts centered on the wolves and if they were weir or not. She closed the door and nearly screamed when the black cat pranced into her kitchen behind her.

  “What the hell are you doing in my house?” She opened the door and shooed him. “Scat, go home.” Instead he raced between her legs into her den.

  By the time she had shut her door and walked into the den, Jason had started his change. The sleek black cat grew and lengthened with fur disappearing until he crouched on all fours, totally naked in front of her. He stood up and she gawked at the man before her. Black hair trailed from his chest to his groin and his shoulders seemed to stretch across the room. What drew her attention though sat lower between his legs. His cock grew before her eyes until she licked her lips and glanced up at him.

  “Um, why are you naked in my den?” Her voice came out husky with a hitch.

  “To talk about the wolves. Could you tell if they were weir? I couldn’t.” He walked closer to her and his scent overwhelmed her.

  “No. I couldn’t tell. I wanted to get closer.” She wanted to get closer now. His arousal called to her until she took a step closer to him.

  “You didn’t need to get any closer – to them.” He added the last part with heated eyes.

  “I can’t do this.” Gail fought her body’s reaction to him and forced herself to turn around and take a step in the opposite direction.

  “Do what?” His voice sounded closer.

  “This. Us. You’re a cat.”

  “So are you.” He sounded even closer.

  “We aren’t the same though.” Her voice wavered. Then he touched her.
/>   She stiffened but didn’t pull away when his hands ran up and down her arms in a slow caress. His mouth licked along the side of her neck to the curve of her shoulder and then he moved closer and the hard length of him pressed against her back. Her breath caught and she leaned her body back into his. He moved his hands around to cup her breasts underneath as if testing their weight. Heat rushed through her veins as he lightly ran the palms of his hands over her nipples beneath her top until they peeked and ached.

  He whispered into her ear, “I want you, and I can tell you want me. Don’t fight it. Just feel. Let me love you.”

  She balked and tried to step out of his embrace, but he held her with hands splayed across her pelvis and a new heat burned inside her. Her body, already wet for him wanted him inside her. He turned her in his arms and bent his head to hover just above her lips.

  “Say you want me. Let me hear you say it.” He ran his tongue along the edge of her lips and waited.

  “I – I want you.” She couldn’t believe she’d said the words. “I don’t know why, but I do.”

  “There’s a pull between us, and no matter how hard we try to resist, it will keep pulling. I want to explore the attraction. Don’t you?” He lightly kissed her lips. Gail felt them tremble and she nodded.

  He ran his hands along her back before drawing her in closer and claiming her mouth with his. Her world turned upside down as he used his tongue to invade her. Running it along the roof of her mouth and then sparring with hers. The kiss seared him into her mind as surely as his touch, and she gave her body over to the sensations of his hands and mouth on her. Jason bit her lower lip and then sucked at it while his hands squeezed her ass drawing her closer until she wanted to rub her body along his erection. It pulsed between them.

  “Bedroom,” he said in a voice as passion heavy as hers had been.

  “End of the hall.”

  He swung her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom in long sure strides. When he gently laid her on the bed she wanted to protest his body’s abandonment. Instead she sat up and attempted to remove her top, but he stilled her hands and unbuttoned it himself. The material scrubbed at her tender nipples when he removed it. He moved to her jeans and soon had her totally naked and hot for his touch.

  His hands roved over her body, tracing every inch, and when they dipped to test her wetness she moaned and moved beneath him. He inserted two fingers and moved them until she writhed at the sensation.

  “You’re wet for me. I love the smell of you… hot and spicy.” He withdrew his fingers and took them into his mouth before kneeling over her and drawing her up to him. “This is real. We’re real.”

  He pushed at her with his cock and when he entered her, she growled low in her throat. He moved slowly with long strokes building the tension inside her until she pushed up to meet him stroke for stroke. When he moved in her faster, she cried out with the pleasure and wrapped her legs around his waist. She kept building tighter and higher until she wanted to scream with frustration. Still he held her at the edge. Just when she wanted to beg him to go harder, he rammed himself in her over and over until she screamed her release. His followed hers as he thrust into her one last time.

  She couldn’t breathe. Her climax left her spent and weak beneath him. He rolled off her and pulled her back against him, throwing one leg over hers. She could feel his heart pounding as hard and fast as hers, and his breathing fast and ragged blew lightly against her neck.

  “God, that was unbelievable.” He squeezed her tighter to him.

  “I can’t believe my body is so attracted to you. I’ve never reacted this way before.”

  “It’s more than lust.” He nuzzled the back of her neck, rubbing his face against hers. “It’s more than sex.” His hand lightly stroked her belly. “It’s not the heat.”

  “It isn’t. It’s just sex.” Her breath, nearly normal now, hitched at his suggesting they were mated.

  He growled and bit her shoulder. “No it’s not. You can’t deny the way you’re drawn to me. I’m so consumed by wanting you I can’t think at work. I need you close to me. You feel it. I can tell by the way your body reacts to mine when we’re in the same room.”

  “We can’t do this.” She struggled to get away from him and he tightened his hold on her.

  “We already have. Once mates give themselves to each other there’s no going back. You know that.” His tongue licked along her shoulder playing close attention to where he’d bitten her.

  “Stop it. I can’t think with you doing that.” She dropped her head to her chest and fought to separate her lust from her anger. “We aren’t mated.” When she pulled away this time he let her go.

  “Why are you fighting it so hard?” He propped himself on his elbow and watched her.

  Gail paced the room in angry strides. “You’re a cat for crying out loud! I can’t be mated to a common household cat.”

  “Isn’t that a bit prejudiced?” He rolled off the bed and stalked her. “You’re not that much bigger than a cat. In fact, you’re small for a bobcat.”

  “I am not,” she seethed.

  “What is so wrong that we’re mated? Why should it matter if I’m a cat?” He grabbed her arm and stopped her pacing.

  Gail pulled at him but he didn’t let go. “I don’t know. Because you should be dominant, not me.” She jerked away from him and crossed her arms.

  He stared at her and shook his head. “I would have thought you’d notice I am dominant. I may not be in my cat form, but I’m as a man.” He crossed the room and grabbed her with both hands. “You want dominant? I can give you dominant.”

  He pulled her to the bed, throwing her on it before covering her with his body. When she would have pushed him off, he trapped her arms above her head and kissed her, devouring her mouth with his. The more she struggled the tighter he held her wrists and when she tried to knee him in the groin, he bit down on her shoulder hard enough to bruise her. She stilled beneath him.

  “Is this dominant enough for you?” He panted next to her ear. “I can force you into doing something you don’t want to do, but I’m not like that. I want you on equal terms or not at all.”

  He stood up and backed away from her with a sad look on his face. Then he turned and left the room. By the time she made it to the den, he’d started his change and by the grunts, he’d forced it too quick. He stood in his cat form and hissed at her before running out the front door he’d opened before he’d changed.

  ****

  Work the next few days did little to settle her nerves. Another body turned up on the opposite side of her woods. Gage’s call the night before worried her. The body belonged to one of the wolves she’d met at the bar. The wolf pack planned to stake out the woods to find the four wolves responsible. It meant she would need to limit her runs close to home. The full moon would be on them soon and it meant all weir would be out. It would provide a good opportunity for the rouge wolves to pick their prey.

  Added to the worry over the rogues, Gail ached for Jason. Her body yearned to feel him on her and in her. She fought it with everything inside her, but her cat wouldn’t listen to reason. She hadn’t seen him since the night they’d made love. She had to admit it was more than sex. Three nights had passed and her body burned until she couldn’t sleep or rest. She’d die before she crawled to him and admitted she needed him. And, if she didn’t do something, she just might die of need.

  “So do you believe it now?” Randy scooted her chair over to Gail’s cubical. “Another body.”

  “I don’t know, maybe, but it’s hard to believe wolves are attacking humans,” she hedged.

  “Maybe they’re rabid or something. That would drive them crazy, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Gail knew they couldn’t get rabies so they were just in it for the thrill of killing something larger than a rabbit.

  “So, you being careful over there aren’t you. I mean they seem to be somewhere around where you live.” She leaned in closer. “Don�
�t go out of the house at night alone. I’d hate to hear they found you in some field all mauled by them.” She winked and scooted her chair back to her cubicle.

  The girl had a morbid sense of humor. But she knew the advice was sound. Only she needed to run and the full moon that was less than a week away called to her already. The heat burned along her skin and in another day or two she’d need to sate it. She didn’t want either of her two partners though. She wanted Jason.

  ****

  The chair crashed into the door when Jason kicked it. His cat tore at him to go to her and make her see they were mated. His human side wouldn’t let him succumb to proving himself to her. His pride forbade it. The full moon’s draw called to him and he knew he’d need to run for the next four nights. He worried about Gail in the woods by herself and thought about trailing her to be sure she didn’t run into the rogues. She’d have a hissy fit if she caught him. Still, he couldn’t help the need to protect her. Like you can protect her against anything as a cat.

  Why did she fight their attraction so hard? He thought their love making proved his worth as her mate, but she wanted more and he didn’t think he could give her what she wanted. He didn’t use violence to mate. It just wasn’t in him. The thought of her with any of her partners grated on his pride and though weir often had more than one, mates did not.

  “Damn her and her racist ideas.” He kicked another chair but this one didn’t move and he growled at the pain in his foot. Something had to give or he’d trash everything in the house.

  He changed and streaked through the woods to look for her scent. He couldn’t let her roam alone. Not while the rogues were loose. Rabbits called to him, and he thought briefly of chasing it when one dashed across his path. The scent of his bobcat caught his nose, and he turned to follow it.

  He found her about two hundred yards into the woods. She crouched, waiting on something to move in the brush ahead of her. He listened and heard the faint heartbeat of a rodent as it cowered in the strand of bushes. He enjoyed watching her slowly stalk the animal as it backed away seeking a safer hiding place. When she pounced, the rodent flew past her and down a hole. She growled and dug at the hole until she became aware of him. He hadn’t tried to hide his scent from her.