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Authors: Doris O'Connor
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licked a path up one arm and then the other. By the
time he licked along her neck up to her jaw, her hands fisted into his fur, not
to push him away, but to pull him closer. He rested his head on her shoulder,
and they sat like that for a while, until her heart rate slowed down and her
fists unclenched again. She moved, and he raised his head to study her
expression. She gave him a watery smile and stroked his fur. Hesitant
at first, and then with more surety. He leant into her caresses and
purred his approval.
She giggled, and he
licked her nose. Then swatted him away and laughed again.
"You know that this
is utterly ridiculous, right? I know what this is. I'm at home, having fallen
asleep on the couch, drinking that cheap wine my p.a. bought me for my
birthday, and I'm having wine-induced nightmares. I'm not really sitting in a
dungeon, talking to a fucking tiger. I'm not ."
Her voice rose on the
last word, and she shook her head with enough force to give her whiplash. Time to get back to his human self and to reassure her. They
needed to talk, and he couldn't do that unless he shifted back. His tiger
growled his protest; and Neeve pulled her knees back
up to her chest, and her expression grew wary. He showed her a toothy smile
that made her eyes widen, and he forced his tiger to retreat.
His bones cracked and
rearranged, his skin heated and his fur retreated, as the air around him
shimmered. With the familiar burn settling all over him, he crouched on the
floor back in his human form. The whole process took seconds, and unlike the
first time he'd shifted it was mostly painless. Back then he had howled his
distress at the forest floor, terrified of what was happening to his body. He
closed his eyes and pushed the distressing memories away.
The trembling hand on
his arm took him by surprise, and he looked up into Neeve's concerned gaze.
"Does it hurt? When
you do that?"
He smiled in an effort
to reassure her and covered her hand with his.
"No,
sweetheart, not really."
Neeve narrowed her
eyes and pursed her lips at his enigmatic response. An invisible weight lifted
off his shoulders, and he squeezed her hand. She wasn't freaking out
completely, so that was a good start. His smile deepened when she squeezed him
back, and her eyes darted down to his groin briefly before fixing her eyes on a
spot over his shoulder.
"It looks as though
it should hurt." She whispered the words, and Grisha used his free hand to cradle her face. A slight shiver went through her at the
contact, and her heart rate sped up again.
"So, let me get
this straight? You've just seen the man you thought at your mercy get out of
his restraints, shift into a tiger, and back into human, and your only concern
is whether it hurts when I do that?"
A slight flush crept
over her cheekbones at his husky words. She worried her bottom lip with her
teeth and shrugged her shoulders. Again her gaze briefly darted to his hardening
cock, and his heart clenched with the rush of affection swamping him at that
moment. She looked utterly adorable in her confusion, and good enough to eat.
The fading mark on her shoulder called him, and he gave in to instinct and
licked that spot. She gasped, buried her head in his neck and sniffed. His half
erect dick roared into life, and his tiger roared.
"Does it work like
in the books? Is that why you smell so good?"
"Do I?" He
chuckled when she pushed against him, and he let her go. Her green eyes
sparkled in anger.
"You know damn well
you do. What I want to know is whether you can turn that on and off at will and
whether you've used it to lure me into here and do goodness only knows
what?" She scooted back as far as she could before the door stopped her
and pulled her knees up again. "Because I don't know why I'm here, and
that would explain why you get me doing …"
Her voice trailed off,
and she flushed all over as she scanned the room behind them.
"Got you doing
what, sweetheart? We haven't really done anything, yet.
time he licked along her neck up to her jaw, her hands fisted into his fur, not
to push him away, but to pull him closer. He rested his head on her shoulder,
and they sat like that for a while, until her heart rate slowed down and her
fists unclenched again. She moved, and he raised his head to study her
expression. She gave him a watery smile and stroked his fur. Hesitant
at first, and then with more surety. He leant into her caresses and
purred his approval.
She giggled, and he
licked her nose. Then swatted him away and laughed again.
"You know that this
is utterly ridiculous, right? I know what this is. I'm at home, having fallen
asleep on the couch, drinking that cheap wine my p.a. bought me for my
birthday, and I'm having wine-induced nightmares. I'm not really sitting in a
dungeon, talking to a fucking tiger. I'm not ."
Her voice rose on the
last word, and she shook her head with enough force to give her whiplash. Time to get back to his human self and to reassure her. They
needed to talk, and he couldn't do that unless he shifted back. His tiger
growled his protest; and Neeve pulled her knees back
up to her chest, and her expression grew wary. He showed her a toothy smile
that made her eyes widen, and he forced his tiger to retreat.
His bones cracked and
rearranged, his skin heated and his fur retreated, as the air around him
shimmered. With the familiar burn settling all over him, he crouched on the
floor back in his human form. The whole process took seconds, and unlike the
first time he'd shifted it was mostly painless. Back then he had howled his
distress at the forest floor, terrified of what was happening to his body. He
closed his eyes and pushed the distressing memories away.
The trembling hand on
his arm took him by surprise, and he looked up into Neeve's concerned gaze.
"Does it hurt? When
you do that?"
He smiled in an effort
to reassure her and covered her hand with his.
"No,
sweetheart, not really."
Neeve narrowed her
eyes and pursed her lips at his enigmatic response. An invisible weight lifted
off his shoulders, and he squeezed her hand. She wasn't freaking out
completely, so that was a good start. His smile deepened when she squeezed him
back, and her eyes darted down to his groin briefly before fixing her eyes on a
spot over his shoulder.
"It looks as though
it should hurt." She whispered the words, and Grisha used his free hand to cradle her face. A slight shiver went through her at the
contact, and her heart rate sped up again.
"So, let me get
this straight? You've just seen the man you thought at your mercy get out of
his restraints, shift into a tiger, and back into human, and your only concern
is whether it hurts when I do that?"
A slight flush crept
over her cheekbones at his husky words. She worried her bottom lip with her
teeth and shrugged her shoulders. Again her gaze briefly darted to his hardening
cock, and his heart clenched with the rush of affection swamping him at that
moment. She looked utterly adorable in her confusion, and good enough to eat.
The fading mark on her shoulder called him, and he gave in to instinct and
licked that spot. She gasped, buried her head in his neck and sniffed. His half
erect dick roared into life, and his tiger roared.
"Does it work like
in the books? Is that why you smell so good?"
"Do I?" He
chuckled when she pushed against him, and he let her go. Her green eyes
sparkled in anger.
"You know damn well
you do. What I want to know is whether you can turn that on and off at will and
whether you've used it to lure me into here and do goodness only knows
what?" She scooted back as far as she could before the door stopped her
and pulled her knees up again. "Because I don't know why I'm here, and
that would explain why you get me doing …"
Her voice trailed off,
and she flushed all over as she scanned the room behind them.
"Got you doing
what, sweetheart? We haven't really done anything, yet.
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