Jungle Freakn' Bride (20 page)

The blush coloring her cheeks took him by surprise.
He’d gotten so used to her brash attitude, he’d not have thought she had it in her to react to praise.

“What happened to my curls though?” she asked
,
yank
ing at her now straight locks.

Chaob grinned. “I think the gods didn’t like the idea that one of their mighty felines would run around with curly fur.”

“I guess it would look kind of silly,” she admitted with a laugh.

With mirth lighting her eyes and
tilt
ing her lips, Chaob felt his heart swell. By all the gods, she shone brighter than
t
he sun when she smiled.
He could no more resist her allure than a moth
could
resist
the flame.
He closed the distance between them, intent on claiming those luscious red lips, but she danced out of his way.

“Not right now, big guy. I’m still not happy about how you tricked me.”

“Acat tricked you.”

“And you went silently along,” she chided. “But, I might be persuaded to forgive if you show me how to change in
to
this cat thing you keep saying I have inside.
”

Disappointed, he
fought to hold back a
sigh.
He couldn’t blame her for the curiosity. All of this must seem so strange to her. He needed to remind himself of that.
“
To change is simple.
You must simply relax and allow
your jaguar
to come forth.
Your body will do the rest
.”

Carlie frowned.
“That’s pretty vague
as instructions go.”

“
Perhaps you should try it before criti
c
izing.”

“
I wasn’t criticizing, merely observing.” She grinned. “I guess a manual is out of the question? Or an instruction video?”

He arched a brow.

She
shrugg
ed.
“Sorry, the whole concept of me changing into a
big ass kitty
still doesn’t seem real or possible.
And what happens to your clothes and stuff when you do shift?
”

“
Depending on your attire, it either falls off, shreds
,
or gets stuck. It’s why we choose to wear as little as possible.”

“But what about your bag?”

“We keep them light and wear them around our neck
s
when we need to travel long distances. The clasps on them are simple enough to work with our teeth so we can shove items inside if needed.”

“Can I get them in designer colors?”

“Is everything a joke with you?”

“No.” She sighed. “I’m stalling.”

“You don’t have to try this now,” he said softly
as he finally grasped what all her questions and derision meant.
His bold and brave bride was
frightened.

“No, I do. If, as you say, this is a part of me now, then the soon
er
I accept and learn how to do it, the better.
Will it hurt?”

“Yes.” He saw no point in lying. “
However,
it will get better as time goes on.”

“Great.” Her lip curled. “Okay, here goes nothing.” She clamped her eyes shut, fisted her hands at her side
s,
and her whole body tensed.

“Relax.”

“I am relaxed,” she replied through gritted teeth.

He shook his head
, a ghost of a smile on his lips
,
and moved to stand behind her. She only started a little when his hands reached out to touch her. She didn’t shy away
,
though, especially once he began to knead her taut muscles. He leaned in close to murmur in her ear. “There is no need to try so hard. Your jaguar is there. Can you sense her?”

Carlie’s breathing slowed. “I—I do actually. And I think she’s laughing at me. Or something. It’s like I can see her pacing in my head.”

“See? She’s close to the surface
.
S
he is just waiting for you to relinquish control.”

“But will she give it back when I want it?”

“You are
two and yet
,
one. U
ltimately
, though,
you are in control. She is just an extension of you. Your wild side. Let her come forth.
”

His bride went silent, but her body relaxed under his grip, her breathing even. And then it happened. Muscles shifted under his grip and he stepped away as Carlie gasped, then cried out as she morphed. Golden fur sprouted from her skin, covering her in a silken, sleek sheen. Moments later, his beautiful mate stood before him, whiskers twitching and tail thrashing
, a mournful meow echoing in the jungle around them as she made it through the pain of her change
.

“Hello, beautiful.”

His bride tossed her head, her bearing prideful, and with reason. Larger than most females in the tribe, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, she truly was exotic.

Moments later, she shifted back, naked, but she didn’t seem to notice that fact as she flung her arms around him.

“I did it!” she exclaimed. “I changed into my cat.”

“That you did,” he murmured, his arms coming around her, pressing her warm, naked body to his.

She didn’t need to tilt her head far to look into his eyes, a novel experience for him. “Thank you,” she murmured
. Then she kissed him
.

*

Despite the lingering pain of her transformation, Carlie couldn’t resist planting a kiss on his lips in her excitement. She’d done it. Changed into a jaguar! It blew her away
and m
ade her giddy
, so
when Chaob clasped her to him, his naked skin rubbing so deliciously against hers? Who could resist?

She devoured his lips hungrily, slipping her tongue into his mouth to wrestle wetly. Moaned as he cupped her ass cheeks, drawing her closer, his hardness pressing against her lower belly. Forget the fact she’d gotten more than her quota of pleasure in the last twenty
-
four hours, she wanted him again. Wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and ride him like a cowgirl until she saw stars.

On second thought, why not? Gripping his shoulders tight, she smiled against his lips when he didn’t even grunt as she hoisted herself onto him. How she enjoyed finally meeting a man who could handle her extra size. He caught on to what she wanted quickly. His
loincloth
proved no barrier to a cock intent on penetrating her sex. In he slid with ease, her channel already wet and willing.

God,
he filled her
up
. S
he loved the thickness and length of him
. The way he stretched her just right and knew how to rub that tip against her sweet spot. She groaned against his mouth as he bounced her with ease, his big hands controlling the motion, his legs bent and braced as he fulfilled one of her fantasies. It felt even better than she could have imagined, their upright position drawing him in so deep. She couldn’t help but nip his lip as her pleasure mounted quickly and peaked.

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” She yelled as she came, her fingers digging into his skin. Moments later, he followed, his breathing just as erratic, his cry of release making her purr, in her head this time, thank goodness. For a moment, they stood locked together, their hearts pounding in rhythm, their bodies slick with sweat and lust. He kissed her softly as she unwound her legs from around his waist and set her feet back on the ground. It was only as she stooped to retrieve her jungle
-style
string bikini that she felt chagrin at what she’d done.

What happened to locking her thighs shut? To punishing them for what they’d done?
Forget her elation over changing into a kick
-
ass cat.
Why did she waste time when she should be trying
to find her sister before someone could claim her? Ruth didn’t have the same kind of courage and strength Carlie did. She needed to be saved.
She needs me.
Angry at him for being so damned irresistible and
at
herself for having no restraint when he touched her, she tightened her lips. Time to stop acting with her hormones and start thinking with her head. With that in mind,
despite the churning in her stomach and the inner growl of her feline,
she curled her fingers around a rock, prayed she didn’t hurt him too bad
,
and came up swinging.

She didn’t miss her mark, but she winced at the expression of betrayal that flashed in his eyes before he slumped to the ground. Dropping to her knees, she placed her fingers on his neck searching for a pulse. Ascertaining he lived, if with a bloody bump and a surefire headache when he eventually woke, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

But her inner pet wasn’t happy with her at all. She snarled at her actions
,
which took Carlie aback.
I had to do it. Ruth needs me.

The reply she got in return was a jumbled sensation of anger and confusion. It seemed her beast liked Chaob. Liked him a lot
,
as a matter of fact
. But at the same time, she also understood the concept of family and protection. The kitty in her head gradually calmed down as Carlie, feeling imminently stupid for talking to herself, reassured her new pet. Once she’d gotten her to stop pacing and bristling, she tried to recapture what she’d done before and coaxed her inner jaguar forth again.

Holy freakn’ pain. Shape
-
shifting into a giant feline sure didn’t feel good, but she couldn’t deny how strong and invincible she felt once she did. Of less pleasure was the fact she couldn’t figure out how to carry her bikini other than in her mouth, Chaob having landed on the only bag.

Not wanting to waste any more time, she bit down on the fabric, certainly looking odd with the strings hanging down
,
and bounded off into the jungle.

Chaob hadn’t lied when he said she could smell and differentiate between scents, especially th
ose
of her lovers. Acat’s particular essence tickled her nose and proved easier to follow than she would have predicted. Initially
,
at least. Once he took to the trees
,
though, bounding from limb to limb, she struggled somewhat to recapture it, sometimes wasting precious minutes when she landed on the wrong bough, or when her lover for some reason left the heights for the ground.

She didn’t know how far she’d traveled or how long when a roar split the air. Her ears twitched as her kitty side gave her version of an
,
“
Uh-oh.
”
It seemed Chaob woke from his unexpected nap, and he wasn’t happy. She moved faster, growing more reckless with her leaps
,
p
aying less attention than she should have. Why bother? She felt invincible.

So
,
of course, Murphy and his damned law struck. She hit a bough and staggered as it moved. Slithered more like, probably because a thick snake was wrapped around it.
Shit.

Before she could jump away, the tail end of the serpent wrapped around her midsection, squeezing. With a meow of shock, she scrambled to escape, but the coil tightened around her and the snake wound another loop around.

Panicking, she didn’t think and switched back to her human form, not that it helped. With ineffectual fingers, she pushed and pulled at the scales that seemed determined to squish her into oblivion. Her chest constricted. Her sight grew dim. She gasped for breath.

A vicious snarl came to her through the
fuzzy,
buzzing noise
in her ears. Suddenly, she found herself free and falling. She hit the ground with a hard thud. Wheezing and stunned, she nevertheless managed to roll from her stomach to her back in time to see a large
black
jaguar, its teeth clamped around the thick neck of a snake
,
falling from the treetop, dragging
a
massive serpent with him.

Shaking his head, the mighty
ebony
-
furred feline
–
the feline
she recognized by scent as Chaob
–
kept his grip on the snake until with a final hiss, it went limp.
She closed her eyes in relief and didn’t open them again until a shadow fell over her
,
a
tense and annoyed shadow.

“Are you injured?” he asked tersely.

“A little,” she said in a small voice. “Mostly bruises.”