Eye of the Tiger (17 page)

She wasn’t so much angry as she was worried about Zak. There had to be a reason he’d reacted so strongly to what seemed like a perfectly good request. Almost to the door, she heard a sound come from the back. Lifting her head, she caught the alluring aroma of Zak, indicating he’d been there very recently. He hadn’t gone inside but around. Curious, she followed his trail. The gate didn’t have a lock on it so she hit the latch and opened it. Quietly, she entered the backyard. She hadn’t gotten a look at the space during her last visit. Other than the kitchen and bedroom she couldn’t really remember his home.

But as she walked along the side of the house the moist grass spread out in front of her. Along the back fence, rose bushes and other flowers lined the property. Turning the corner, she gasped.

A large tiger, who could only be Zak, was on his back with all four paws in the air. The animal must not have heard her as he was wiggling around like he was trying to scratch an itch he couldn’t reach. He was massive. Much bigger than her in shifted form. Which really wasn’t a surprise as tigers and cheetahs, while felines, were not closely related.

She took a step forward, trying to remain quiet.

Zak’s ears came up as he rolled to his stomach. His stomach was white but the long expense of Zak’s back was a brownish yellow. His stripes, throughout his coat, stood out in the bright light from the porch.

Abilene froze so she wouldn’t frighten him. She’d obviously surprised Zak. She met his yellow gaze before lowering her eyes. Zak’s gorgeous hazel eyes seemed to have bled away in his shifted form.

He opened his wide mouth, showing off his sharp teeth, and made a rumbling noise. She relaxed slightly. It wasn’t a sound of warning, but mostly curiosity.

“Hi.” She waved her hand. “I just came to check if you were okay.” She wanted to get closer to him—to put her hands on his fur and touch—but she didn’t dare move yet.

Watching his chest and neck, she also couldn’t take her eyes off him.

He stood, his shoulders reaching up to her waist. He took small, careful steps toward her. She dropped to her knees so she wasn’t towering over him. He chuffed, a happy sounding greeting, as he stalked forward.

She waited until he was close enough before lifting her face toward his. Ears twitching, he stretched out his neck so his nose was close to hers. Her hand was steady as she placed it under his chin. Scratching, she even shuffled forward a little to get a better angle. He chuffed again before leaning more weight on her. With just her arm she wasn’t able to hold him and they crashed down onto the soft grass together. Her on her butt with him practically lying on her lap.

She laughed, moving her palm to the top of his head to rub at his ears. She loved that and from his soft whine as he pushed harder into her, he must have too. Wow, she didn’t know why Zak wouldn’t share this amazing beast with everyone. But being able to touch him in his shifted form and knowing she was special brought tears of joy to her eyes.

When his tongue rolled out of his mouth as he flipped over to his back she even giggled. “You are beautiful,” she told him.

If he’d been in his human form, she was certain Zak would have scoffed. However, at the moment he only lifted one paw, claws still sheathed, and batted at her hand.

“Okay,” she said with a grin. “I bet you want a belly rub.”

As she proceeded to give him just that she noted his breathing picked up. Instead of calming him she seemed to actually be having the opposite effect. That was interesting until she picked up the faint whiff of his arousal. Oh, even as a tiger, Zak was showing her how much he wanted her. Pleasure and satisfaction flooded her. He might have been unsure about them shifting together when she’d mentioned it earlier but it didn’t seem like the animal part of him minded.

Abruptly he lifted up off her. She didn’t want the petting to end so she reached for him. He batted his head against her hand.

“What?” It wasn’t as if she expected an answer, but he needed to give her some kind of hint.

Zak pushed her hand out of the way before lowering his head to her stomach. Still confused, she let him push her on her back. Gently he nosed her shirt.

Did he want her to shift? “You want to see my cheetah?” she asked, hopeful.

He backed off and yes, he nodded.

Excited, she sat up and quickly began to undress. In her haste getting her pants off, she’d forgotten her boots. “Damn,” she mumbled.

He chuffed back and if she wasn’t mistaken he was laughing.

“Hey now.” She pointed a finger at him. “You be nice.”

His rough tongue came out and licked her hand. She shivered in response.
Mmm, the possibilities.
But first she had to transform.

She stood and was finally able to remove the rest of her clothes. Zak made a couple of circles around her before he nudged her hip. This was what she had wanted, but now that it was time to shift, she was a little nervous.

Abilene wasn’t scared of Zak or anything like that. It just meant a lot to her that she was able to share this experience with him. Dropping her head forward, she took long, slow breaths. The change took her over.

She shook and blinked her eyes open when she was fully transformed. Zak was directly in front of her, lying on his stomach with his chin on his front paws. She stretched out her muscles before giving a big body shake.

He climbed onto his feet as he lowered his head. He was much bigger than her, but Abilene actually liked that. She slid along his body in greeting while he rubbed against her. Zak was solid muscle and being able to push and nudge him gave her a real thrill. He chuffed. She chirped back, both of them talking in their own way.

The fur along his chest was softer than that on his back. Cuddling close, she wanted to get as much scent on him as possible. The lick she received in return could only be approval.

He used one large paw to guide her stomach down onto the ground.

His lawn was thick and full. She curled her feet under her as Zak lay down by her side. She’d still be able to reach his face and neck in this position.

Running her tongue over his ear, she made him twitch.
Hey, he liked that.
She began to groom him, paying close attention to his ear, face and chin. He relaxed further, lowering his head to give her more room to work. When he closed his eyes and started to purr, for her it was the most amazing feeling in the world. Crossing one of her smaller limbs over his, she glanced down at their difference. He had a long thick stripe on his leg which contrasted with her small teardrop spot. She was also lighter in color, her tan coloring bright against the brown of his coat.

So different but connected all the same.

She resumed her bathing of him, just letting him relax next to her body.

Zak didn’t think he’d ever had someone so lovingly attend to him. With the memories of his father and uncle so fresh on his mind, he’d been terrified when he’d first spotted Abilene.

It was actually the tiger that had recognized her acceptance first. They were of one mind, of course. It wasn’t like his animal form had different thoughts, but the tiger side of him relied more on instinct than brains. A great need to touch her and have her human hands on his fur had driven him to make the first move. Abilene had responded with ease. Her fingers had felt like heaven. And once he’d known his tiger was as content as he was, he’d decided to take a chance.

She’d wanted to shift together earlier and now they could. He had already been in his other form. He hadn’t hurt the fragile human and had no desire to fight. When she’d started to follow his direction and transformed, Zak had had a touch of regret that he’d kept this form of bonding to himself. Jamie would have been strong enough to keep Zak under control. Cody had the ability to fly away if need be.

Instead of allowing himself to enjoy what was a part of him, he’d resisted shifting.

Now he lay on his back lawn with Abilene as she gently groomed him. And her tongue was not only giving his human brain ideas but his cat’s body was responding. Pulling away slightly, he bumped his nose against Abilene’s playfully.

She responded by wrapping a foreleg over his neck, leaning her weight on him. He rolled the two of them gently, mindful that he had to be careful with his size. When she was on her back he head-butted her stomach before leaping away.

Abilene would be quick in her current form, so it wasn’t like he could get away. With agile movements, she was on her feet and hopping toward him with the cutest chirping sounds.

He laughed and swiped a paw at her before darting away.

She cut him off. Zak used his bigger form but remained gentle as he brushed past her. Abilene was right on his flank as they covered the yard in long strides. He cut right before turning left, even though he knew she would be better at cutting from side to side. Her agile body was made for this kind of play.

His tiger wasn’t much of a runner. He really wished he had some big trees in his yard so he could leap up. Maybe that was an investment he needed to make soon.

Abilene knocked his back legs out from under him, sending him rolling.

Zak recovered quickly, jumping back on all fours.

Abilene crouched before chirping again. She took off and he chased her this time.

They played for what seemed like hours but what was probably more like twenty minutes until Zak was tired and collapsed where they’d started. Abilene sat by his side, her breaths coming out hard.

He had never had so much fun. The tension and stress from earlier had disappeared and he felt free for the first time in his life. He would be forever grateful for Abilene showing him he could still be with others in his tiger form. Meeting Abilene had turned out to be such an unexpected surprise. Not only did she keep him aroused and craving more but she had opened his eyes to what his childhood fear had kept him from.

As much as he was enjoying their fun he needed to actually say the words to her. With a heave of his body, he stepped a few feet away and started to change back. She began to follow suit.

He couldn’t help the grin on his face as he stood in front of her, both of them naked and excited. He reached for her and she came willingly into his embrace. “Thank you,” he whispered. “I can’t tell you how much that meant to me.”

“I was afraid you’d get mad I followed you. I just wanted to talk but when I saw your other form, I couldn’t help myself.”

“No”—he cupped her face—“I’m glad you did. I’ll tell you my story some other time but just know that you helped me tonight.”

Her grin was stunning. “Really?”

Bending so he could kiss her, he answered against her mouth, “Yes.” He pressed his tongue against the seam between her lips, forcing her to open for him. Drawing her tongue to meet his, he sucked and nipped.

Abilene pressed closer. Her full round breasts were trapped against his chest while he ran his hands down her sides to grasp her hips. He rocked his body into her, dragging his cock over her stomach, applying a teasing friction. She hummed for him, and he swallowed the sound as he continued to attack her mouth. Her arms came up around his shoulders to hold on tight as he started to lower their bodies to the ground.

He covered her body with his. Felt the softness under his harder bulk as he covered her. He trailed his kisses down her chin, following the path of her slender throat. She arched, granting him better access.

He knew it was impossible, but he could have sworn at that moment that he could taste the cheetah hidden behind. That hint of wild excited him.

Zak rocked his hips, brushing the head of his cock against her pussy.

“Yesss,” she hissed.

He wanted to take her but not yet. Palming her full breasts before tonguing the tips, he shivered as she cried out.

Arousal sparked up his spine. It was hard to hold back, however he had something to prove. Sliding lower, he paid close attention to the dip in her stomach before nibbling on her hip. Using his right hand, he rubbed through her folds to press into her. She bucked up.

Chuckling against her flesh, he peered up at her.

What a picture she made. Head tilted back with her hands buried into her curly hair, tugging. Oh yes, he was playing her body well. Keeping two fingers deep, he sat back on his heels.

“Turn over,” he ordered.

She complied, having to crawl and maneuver since he refused to remove his digits from her pussy. Once she was on her hands and knees, he laid his body back over hers. He wrapped his arm around her hip to continue to pump his fingers into her. He dragged his cock through the crease in her ass.

“I’m going to fuck you, hard,” he told her.

She pushed back. “God! Please!”

“You’re going to take it—take me—and just when you think it’s too much, I’m going to demand more.”

She whimpered. Damn, that was music to his ears.

Starting at her shoulders, he ran his nails down to her hips. Her moan filled the backyard.

He gripped her hip with one hand while grasping his cock with the other. Scooting forward, he teased her folds before slowly pushing in. He slid through her wetness in one smooth stroke.

“Zak!”

“Yeah, baby.” He didn’t normally use pet names but he couldn’t help it. This connection between the two of them had him doing and imagining all kinds of new things.

He pulled out almost all the way before thrusting forward. Then did it again and again.

Her hands tore at the grass as she rocked back to meet each plunge of his cock deep inside her pussy. His pulse sped up and he stared down at her flawless back. Clasping her hips tighter, he increased the power with which he rode her. This wasn’t about making love. He’d show her that later in bed.

This was primal—to show her that she belonged to him and him alone.

The slap of their bodies was animalistic and raw. He thrust deep while rumbling. He propelled deeper, faster, chanting her name until she exploded, screaming so that the neighbors could most likely hear.

Her inner muscles clamped down on his cock, but still he rode her through her climax.

She went lax, but he wasn’t finished. He had a promise to keep.