by A. J. Wynter
Sergei’s room was just down the hall from her in the library wing. He’d been pompous enough to complain about his guest room, claiming the smell of musty books was keeping him up all night. When Kat reached his door, she didn’t bother knocking. Instead, she quietly opened the door, surprised to see him wide-awake reading a dusty paperback.
“I thought you hated old book smell,” she mocked.
“Please, come right in without knocking,” he responded.
“Why do you always sound like you’re mad at me?”
He didn’t respond. “I need to ask you a favor,” she said, closing the door slowly behind her.
“What’s the favor? And don’t tell me it involves Daman.”
Kat paused. “It involves Daman,” she murmured.
Sergei sat up in bed and sighed, debating whether or not he should hear her out. "Continue."
"I want you to come with me to the forest to find him. I need to apologize to him for what happened earlier between you and I.”
Sergei sat up straight and slowly put his book down, as a pained look came over his face. He looked into Kat’s eyes and whispered quietly, “Was it a mistake?”
“Of course it was,” she said quickly. “Just like the pool was a mistake…” her voice trailed off hesitantly.
Sergei took her hesitation as an opportunity and leaned in to kiss her. She heard her breath catch in her throat with surprise. He tugged her forward and onto the bed. She straddled him and they kissed in the stale lamplight. Her body remembered the feel of his kiss and responded before her mind could catch up. She was so turned on that she could feel her wetness soaking through her lace panties. 'Can he feel how wet I am through the sheets?' she wondered.
He grabbed her around her waist and flipped her over. She was now his prisoner. He pinned her hands to the bed and began to leave a trail of kisses down her neck. He raked his teeth up and down her collarbone, and bit the soft spot beneath her chin. Sergei noticed that she smelled like lavender soap; like she had just come out of the bath. The thought of her naked, her pink nipples peeking through the bubbles, made him rock hard. He lifted up her silky tank top, thrilled at the sight of her taut abs and perky breasts that were covered in goose bumps. He ran his hands up to cup her breasts. She wasn't cold, she was enjoying it. He pressed her breasts together to create a beautiful deep cleavage and rammed his tongue in between them. He bit her right breast and then sucked hard. She gasped at his roughness and arched her back, as if to ask for more. He continued kissing down her stomach while pulling down her silk pajama bottoms, noticing the dampness between her legs. He bit at the top of her panties while his hands continued to massage her breasts. She lifted her hips, signaling to him, and he tugged the lacy fabric down to give him better access to her hot sweetness. He then plunged his face between her legs.
Kat had heard about this, and thought that when a man finally went down on her she would feel awkward, but the moment she felt Sergei's warm breath on her pussy, any trepidation flew out the window. She pushed her hips into his face as he sucked on her lips, and breathed heavily on her clit. Sergei held one hand tightly on her ass and used his free hand to insert one finger into her wetness. She murmured her pleasure and he inserted a second finger, and then a third. She moaned and writhed as he picked up the intensity, thrusting his fingers into her while alternating between teasing her clit with his tongue and sucking madly with his mouth. Her moaning turned to panting, and the panting turned to screaming as she gushed her juices over his face. After she came, the sensitivity of having his face between her legs was too much. She pulled him up to eye level and kissed him as passionately as she could, exalting in her own taste on his lips. She had never felt anything like that. Her body was still tingling and the adrenaline and warmth that had coursed through her was still pulsating and shaking her body.
For the briefest of seconds, all thoughts about Daman had disintegrated. All she could see and feel was Sergei, with his thick hair and eyes the color of the night.
Sergei himself hadn’t seen it coming. He could see that there was something between Kat and Daman and that their pool encounter may have been his only shot to impress the Princess. When it was time to turn the lights out he’d found himself tossing and turning for hours. When the clock finally struck twelve, he gave up, turned on the light on and began reading a book. He’d barely gotten past the first page when Kat had entered his room.
He was supposed to be courting Kat, but he could see and feel the strength of the chemistry between her and Daman. And as much as Sergei wanted to hate Daman, he found himself longing for the company of a contemporary. He was the only other male tiger his age he had met, and he wanted to get to know him better. He had contemplated forfeiting his quest to win the Kat in favor of gaining a true pride and friendship with Daman.
I’ve definitely screwed that up. Daman will probably never forgive me for what happened, but making the her cum like that may have brought her back into my court.
Sergei held Kat close to him as he languidly stroked his rigid cock. Kat was slowly coming out of her orgasmic state and she slid down his body, trailing her hair down his chest as she took his cock in her soft hands. She had never done this before and wasn't quite sure what to do. She licked the sides from the base of his shaft to the tip. It was a little bit salty, but she didn't mind the taste. She kissed the tip of his manhood and took the tip into her mouth. Sergei groaned. She took it as a good sign, and pressed her head down more, attempting to take as much of him as she could into her mouth and throat. Sergei's hips rose and he grabbed a handful of her hair.
"Don't stop."
She pulled her head back and looked up at him while keeping his member in her mouth. His head was back and his mouth was open, producing gruff moans. Feeling her pause, he looked down at her, "Don't you fucking stop."
With her social standing she was never ordered to do anything, and in any other aspect of her life she would've been offended. But his rough tone only made her want to suck him harder. She continued sucking, taking his cock deeply into her mouth before pulling back. She guessed it wasn't quick enough, because Sergei entangled both of his hands in her hair and thrust her head up and down. She continued sucking as he pushed her head, the sucking sounds getting louder and juicier as she salivated over his cock.
"Can you take it?" he uttered.
She didn't know what he meant, and she didn't know how he expected her to answer while her mouth was filled with his pulsating cock. However, it became clear when his hips bucked and he filled her mouth with shot after shot of warm salty cum.
Kat swallowed his load and crawled up his body to kiss him. She thought that two mouths that had just done what they had should be un-kissable, but it was anything but. The smell of her juices on his lips, and the taste of him in her mouth made her want to do it all over again.
He freed his hand from the tangled mess of her hair and patted it down, as if he was petting an animal. She nuzzled into his neck, kissing him gently, and he held her tightly until she heard his breath slow and his hold on her loosen. She looked up at him as he was sleeping and felt more confused than ever. Was she technically still a virgin?
She slipped out of his embrace and found her clothes. She crawled up the bed and whispered to him, “I think we should look for Daman now.”
“Right now?" he asked, awakening from his peaceful slumber.
He felt a little betrayed and hurt that their passionate encounter had only temporarily made her forget about the other tiger. He had hoped that the physical connection between the two of them would be enough to lure her away from her emotional connection with Daman.
“It's just that I feel bad about how we left things earlier. He's easier to find at night because I know he will be in the forest.”
Sergei's interpretation of Kat's intentions was way off. Something had changed in her in that moment of awakening. Kat had started to realize that her position would afford her any privilege , she would be able to do whatever
and whomever she wanted. Her orgasm with Sergei had made her hungry for more, and she was now curious to see if Daman would be able to please her the way that Sergei had. This new feeling of power was freeing in a way she’d never experienced before. She was drunk on it.
8.
Sergei and Kat entered the forest at half past one, after first making sure that the palace guards were in between patrols. Sergei instructed Kat to remain cautious and to keep her eyes and ears peeled for any potential danger, as he got on his hands and knees and transformed. Though she’d seen him this way just a few hours ago, it still shocked her to see the brilliant blacks and blues of his coat, shining in the moonlight. She scratched the space behind his ears, thrilled by the deep purr that her touch brought out. She had no idea that big cats purred the same as little ones.
“Let’s head in the direction of the waterfall first."
He nodded his big cat head and began to lope forward, his huge paws padding silently on the forest floor. The forest was thick and dark green, with pools of moonlight spilling through the gaps in the trees. Even though she was with Sergei, she felt on edge. There were other animals living in the forest that she’d never seen before. She knew it was ridiculous to be scared. After all, there was a tiger walking next to her. Shouldn’t she feel completely safe?
Sergei felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was developing intense feelings for Kat but didn’t know what to do about any of them. It left him feeling very vulnerable and he didn’t like it. The right thing to do would be to propose and lock her down. His father had already given him a ring, an old family heirloom, and it would be easy enough to ask her. But there was also the question of how Daman would play into all of it. How could he maintain a friendship with Daman and at the same time, win the heart of this woman?
In the distance, two poachers greedily watched the pair through night vision binoculars as they walked through the forest. It was a couple—a man and woman that had been poaching in the area for the past two years, specializing in hunting rare animals. Several times, the armed forces had tried to capture them and each time they had failed. The woman went by Raven—a fitting name for such a dark, dangerous personality—and the man’s name was Gunner. They were a pair of Americans who were hungry for money, not giving any thought to the conservation of animals or endangered species. To them, a Siberian tiger was a once-in-a-lifetime catch, and a big paying one at that.
Raven had been the first one to spot it. She’d never seen a tiger with such a rich coat of fur. It was black and blue, like a soft bruise, and it would definitely fetch them a huge sum of money. Walking beside the magnificent beast was a pretty young girl, dressed in expensive silk.
Raven elbowed Gunner hard in the ribs. "Do you see that?"
"Mmm," he responded, while trying to keep as quiet and still as possible.
"The only people around here who have the resources to tame a beast like that are the Emerald family. How are we going to shoot the pet of the Emerald heiress?"
"You’re thinking too small. She could be valuable, too," Gunner responded, a greedy look in his eyes. He picked up his rifle and carefully followed the duo through his night scope.
“Should we go for them now?” she asked.
“Not yet. Let's see where they're headed."
They didn’t have to follow for very long. The tiger and the girl stopped at a magnificent waterfall. The tiger seemed to want to go for a swim, pushing her with its head towards the pool at the base of the waterfall. Raven carefully strained her eyes; she was curious, it seemed to her that the girl and the tiger were communicating. She half expected the tiger to begin speaking, but shook off such foolishness. As tough and cold-hearted as she was, it would make hunting more challenging having to kill something that could speak back to her.
Gunner decided to approach first. He gave Raven his gun and approached the pair slowly, with his hands raised in the air. As he entered the moonlit clearing, they turned at the sound, and immediately froze. The young woman’s eyes grew wide, full of fear and confusion. The tiger stepped protectively in front of her, emitting a low growl. He clearly had some kind of companionship with her.
“I don’t want any trouble,” Raven could hear Gunner saying in his broken Russian. “I just want to have a conversation with you,” he said, looking directly at Kat.
“Who are you?” She replied in English, coated with her thick Russian accent. “I’ve never seen an American around these parts before.”
“How could you tell I was American?”
“Your Russian is terrible,” she laughed, momentarily letting her guard down.
Gunner shrugged, taking a step closer.
“He’ll kill you if you get any closer to me,” Kat said.
“Somehow I doubt that,” Gunner said, and in one swift movement, he lunged forward and shot a tranquilizer into the tiger’s neck.
Sergei could feel the world spinning as he became dizzy. The sky looked like a misshapen egg and all around him there were monsters. He tried to crane his neck to look for Kat, but his muscles were contracting and strangling his bones. The only thing he could manage to do was try to call for help. Struggling, he carefully emitted a loud, painful wail, to try and alert any other animals in the forest of the danger. Even though he was a stranger to this part of the forest, he had the instinct to call for help and he had been well trained by his father for how to signal danger. It was the same call everywhere.
From deep within the forest, Dominic heard Sergei’s call of distress and frantically ran in the direction that it came from. Staying hidden in the shadows, he witnessed the male poacher tying ropes tightly around Sergei's paws, while the female poached kept her gun trained on Kat.
He knew that he would have to find backup. Frantically searching his territory, he was dismayed that he couldn’t find Daman anywhere. He let out a call to attract others of his kind nearby and they heeded the call. They quickly gathered around him in a circle.
“Where is Daman?”
“Probably off being human,” replied one of the smaller tigers. “He’s been kicking around that run-down apartment of his for the past few weeks, doing who knows what.”
“Take me there.”
The other tiger was too afraid of the human world to leave the forest, but managed to get Dominic to the edge of town and then gave him instructions on how to get there. Dominic bolted off into the night. He needed to find Daman before it was too late, and before one of his kind was lost to needless poaching. However, Dominic was more worried about Kat. His stomach turned at the thought of something happening to her.
Kat was draped over Gunner’s shoulder, her hands tied behind her back. He had given her a milder tranquilizer meant for small game, which had taken effect almost immediately. He smirked to himself as he traipsed through the forest. Raven had been worried it would be a difficult mission. They hadn’t needed to use any of their ammunition, and were still well stocked should the need arise.
They arrived at base camp after an hour’s walk, and quickly hooked up the trailer to an ATV. There was no way they would have been able to drag the tiger that far, and besides, the dragging would have ruined his valuable pelt. The camp was near a thin strip of river, camouflaged by large weeping willow trees. They couldn’t have found a better hiding spot. Gunner quickly headed off into the forest and returned with Sergei strapped to the trailer. The pair placed Sergei and Kat in separate cages, suspending them from branches the same way that they suspended their food, so it wouldn’t attract any bears.
“What if they fall?” Raven asked.
“Well, it will make our job with the tiger a lot easier, but it will be harder to get payment for a dead girl,” Gunner replied, adding a second knot to the ropes that held the cages.
They had no sense of right or wrong; poaching was the only thing they knew how to do.
When Kat awoke, her arms and back were stiff. She grimaced as she turned to her right, barely able to make out a dark form hanging in a metal cage
next to her. Shaking, she dared to look at the ground, and instantly became sick. She was locked in a cage high up off the ground—about twenty feet or so—and she wondered how the American had managed to do it on his own. He’d clearly had help.
This is all my fault, she thought to herself. If I hadn’t fallen for the two of them, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Perhaps I should have listened to mother and just married Sergei.
As Kat thought more about her involvement in their dire situation, she reasoned with herself. Although, had it not been for Sergei and I getting caught, the poachers may have caught Daman or others like him. The forest isn’t safe until they rid it of these monsters.
As she lay curled in the small metal cage, mourning her fate, Kat longed for Daman—both for the help he could give, and for his comforting embrace,
Below, she could see Gunner starting a fire. Kat thought it was quite foolish of him to be starting a fire in the middle of the forest, but then she noticed the small arsenal of weapons by his side. There were all sorts of guns she’d never seen before. These people had come prepared.
She needed to find a way to escape. And after that, she needed to figure out a way to keep both Daman and Sergei by her side.
Kat struggled to untie her wrists. The man had tied the knots tightly, and she was having trouble escaping the thick rope. It was digging into her wrists, and the more she struggled, the tighter the rope seemed to get.
She was so distracted working on the rope, that at first she didn’t notice the two dark figures approaching the camp site. What she did notice, however, were the pile of bones haphazardly tossed into the brush beside the campsite. Kat shuddered thinking about how many animals had lost their lives at the hands of poachers? They were selfish beings, wanting animal pelts and teeth for their own enjoyment. Sometimes she hated being human.