Bad Kitty (9 page)

His name fell from her lips for the first
time and it took all he had and all he was as the next in line
Alpha not to devour her on the spot. He had responsibilities to
keep and an image to project. Yet he still sank his teeth a
fraction into her flesh without piercing her skin and did the
unthinkable. He lapped at her fragrant skin for the taste he
couldn't resist.

Musk and honey flavored his tongue for a
brief moment before he closed his mouth around her flesh and
sucked. While he had enough control not to mark her with his bite,
he needed to mark her somehow nevertheless. This was enough for now
to offer a visible sign and a reminder to her who she really
belonged to. Eventually she had to learn he wasn't letting her
go.

She sagged against him and he tightened his
hold to keep her from falling. Several pulls later he released her
neck with a pop and buried his nose in her hair a fraction from her
ear.

"Say it again?"

"What?" she whimpered.

"My name."

"No."

"Say it," he commanded.

"Rafe," she whispered.

His gut clenched at the breathless word. He
had a feeling no matter how many times she said his name, it would
never be enough.

"I need to touch you."

"You are touching me." Despite her attempt
at sarcasm, he heard the slight tremble in her voice and the nearly
invisible shake of her limbs. His stomach tumbled at her reaction,
forever etching this woman in his mind.

"Bend over."

"Rafe." This time the word
came out like a small plea. She might have meant it as a no, but he
wasn't about to assume such a thing. There was no way either of
them could deny the connection sizzling between them.
Sexually
,
they
would be matched.

He placed his palm at her shoulder and
slowly slid down to the middle of her back. The heat of her skin
through the flimsy shirt she wore only encouraged him to keep
going. At the edge of the hem he hesitated until he caught the
telltale tremble that told him just how affected she'd become.

The wolf roared forward and wrestled him for
control. Rafe fought him back. This was no time to let things
spiral completely out of control. Still, the animal instincts rode
close to the surface as he dipped his fingers to the naked flesh
beyond the shirt.

He closed his eyes and held his breath. Dear
God. The simple touch of silky skin under his hand nearly drove him
to his knees.

Kitty whimpered and wriggled a few
inches.

"Shhh. Hold still or the wolf will go
insane," he pleaded.

Fortunately she listened to him for once and
stilled.

His skin itched and his
body ached with need outside his comprehension. He was beyond
playing with fire at this point. Still
,
his fingers caressed her backside
as gently as possible. The alarm bells in his brain tried to warn
him to stop before it was too late but he found her impossible to
let go.

A sudden shudder swept through Kitty and
Rafe dug his fingers into her backside to steady both the wolf and
the woman. He easily stood at the edge of a cliff and one false
move from either of them and they'd plunge headfirst into a
shitstorm of trouble. When he was satisfied he could go easy he
slid another few inches along the satin smooth expanse of her right
buttock. He'd pretty much seen everything there was to see when
she'd been injured but it didn't stop the craving to spread her
wide so he could look to his heart's content.

His original concern for her grave wounds
had managed to outweigh his desire, which kept him in line. Now the
only thing holding him back was a thin imaginary line that neither
he nor the wolf could afford to cross. A growl rumbled deep in his
chest—a simple warning from the wolf that he wouldn't tolerate the
shackles for long.

When his fingers reached the apex at the top
of her thighs he didn't stop to question or coax. He simply slid
between her lush legs and into the pool of moisture that awaited.
The rumble turned to a whine as his vision blurred around the edges
and the colors of the room blinded him with contrast.

So wet.

"Jesus, Kitty."

With those two words her silence ended. Her
whimpers fell one right after the other as she gyrated against his
hand. "Can't. Not right. Oh God," she cried, all while her body
sought more from him.

With her open and ready for him, Rafe nearly
lost it.

Have to stop. Have to
stop
.

He chanted the words in his head over and
over until his brain reengaged and he dropped his hand. They were
both under the influence of instincts that could easily rob them of
their senses. But the last thing he could tolerate right now would
be for her to regret this when common sense prevailed once again.
And it would, just as soon as he came inside the tight sheath he
knew waited for him.

Mating frenzy was nature's way of ensuring
the continuation of their race. Although nature obviously didn't
discriminate between species like their human halves did. Something
he'd do well to remember in situations like this. A child born
between them would be branded as a half-breed and shunned from all
but the most lenient packs. And Rafe's alpha was not known for his
leniency.

The shock of his thoughts had the effect of
cold water thrown in his face. Reality set in and he pushed Kitty's
shirt down and lifted her torso to a standing position.

"You're right, we can't." He waited for the
words to sink in for both of them while he held her close, her back
to his front. The tight fit of his jeans from the hard-on had not
eased and likely wouldn't do so for some time to come.

Kitty began to shake, first a little, and
then violently in his arms. He desperately wanted to turn her and
see the look in her eyes but he knew he couldn't. His resolve would
not stand up against desire or pain shining back at him.

"There are more clothes in
the drawers. Several of my nosy pack members have stopped by in the
hopes of getting some salacious gossip about what we're doing in
here. I figured the least some of them could do was bring you some
clothing that might fit when you needed it. Please pick something
out and stay completely covered. I don't think I need to explain
what's going on here
,
do I?"

She slowly shook her head with nary a
whimper despite the shakes quaking through her body. He hated to
think about the vile things likely running in her mind at the
moment. Whether she cursed him for stopping or starting in the
first place didn't really matter. Nothing she said could be harsher
than his own admonitions.

He fought the urge to fall into bed with her
and simply hold her. He wanted to whisper assurances in her ear
that all would be well. He doubted the realization of her true
predicament had set in yet. Not her injuries, the scars and not
even the trouble with Tanner. Speaking of... He needed to start
working the pack before the Alpha called him in.

Reluctantly he released her and took a step
back. She didn't turn or make any other movements other than to
pull the shirt below the curve of her pretty little ass.

"Get dressed. We're going to have company."
With that, he turned and walked from the room. Outside the door he
stopped and leaned against the wall. His gut twisted and pain
ripped through him.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

His brain might be engaged but his body
clamored for the woman on the other side of the wall and apparently
no amount of common sense was going to change that.

Chapter Five

The minute Rafe left the room Kitty clutched
her stomach and dropped to her knees. Her womb cramped and her
heart raced wildly out of control. He'd had his hands all over her
and at the time she would have gotten down on the floor and begged
him to take her if he'd given her half a chance. Heat flooded her
face and neck. The embarrassment over her predicament floored her.
Hadn't she learned her lesson last time? When Kane was her sole
focus she'd been determined to do anything to ensure he mated her.
That had definitely not gone well for her. She'd learned a hard
lesson that begging a man for his love and affection was what weak
women did and she refused to be that woman anymore. When it came to
her currently non-existent or future love life, she had no more
tricks up her sleeves or any devious plans to get what she
wanted.

Instead she suddenly wanted a wolf and that
mortified her.

Somehow, his touch had
branded her. She slid her hand down her backside and felt for the
small indelible marks his fingers had left on her skin. She'd
likely bruise later and for some reason that made her equally sad
and happy. There was also the low throb at her neck where he'd held
her with his mouth. He'd marked her in multiple ways and then
suddenly came to his senses. How he walked away
,
she'd never understand. If it had
been up to her they'd be screwing right now. Her sex squeezed,
aching to be filled. His erection had pressed hot and heavy into
her backside and she'd been embarrassingly ready. His fingers had
easily found the proof of her desire, leaving her no option to deny
what she felt.

Not that she was exactly a
stranger to arousal. She enjoyed a pretty face and a warm body when
she needed it. But this had been different. Intense. Intimate.
Never in her life had she been so—so consumed. Good
God
,
the man was
going to kill her with need.

Enough.

She almost yelled the word across the room
before she remembered he hadn't gone far. Any noise she made he
would certainly hear. Sometimes the benefit of being a shifter
became a curse. A benefit when it suited her, a curse when it
betrayed her to the enemy. With some effort she stood and crossed
the room to the dresser. She didn't want to consider Rafe the enemy
no matter what her head said. The cougar had embraced the man,
despite the wolf. Or maybe it was the wolf that called to her. That
made no sense. But in his arms there had only been him and she
wanted it all.

Kitty sighed. No matter,
the whole thing was beyond fucked up. If she didn't leave soon...
No
,
the
consequences were too insane to ponder.

With a hard yank, she
pulled open a drawer and rifled through the contents. All men's
clothing that was far too large for her. She tried another drawer
and found a stash of frilly panties and bras.
Seriously?
Was this his idea of a
joke or had some meddling wolf done this? Kitty dug deeper and
finally emerged with a pair of camouflage pants and held them up.
They were not her size
,
but at least they had a drawstring she could use
to pull them tight around her waist. They'd have to do.

She also grabbed a black tank top and the
least frilly bra should could find. Satisfied enough with her
choices, she padded into the bathroom and leaned against the
counter to pull on the pants. One they were secured and she was
fairly certain they weren't going to fall around her ankles, she
turned toward the sink to get a look at herself.

There was no mirror
attached to the back of the cabinet. Someone had recently removed
it
,
as evidenced
by the light square where the paint behind it had retained its
original color.

What the hell?

Confusion contorted her
face in the form of a scrunched up nose. Kitty shrugged her
shoulders and reached with her left hand to turn on the faucet. A
splash of cold water on her face would do her good.
More like a bucket of ice
water
.

At the sight of the
mangled skin of her arm running from her elbow to her shoulder she
froze. Her body had healed through the night
,
but not one hundred percent. Where
the skin had knitted back together again during a shift, it had
left behind shriveled and mutilated flesh. Stunned, Kitty shoved
down the pants and lifted Rafe's too long shirt to discover the
same situation on her skin from hip to knee. She'd been so wrapped
up in her attraction to the wolf she'd hardly noticed her own body.
The poison the feline bitches had tipped their claws with had left
permanent markings that would never fade.

White-hot rage boiled through Kitty's veins.
Her vision darkened around the edges as the feline began to take
over. She snarled from deep inside, the action pulling at the wound
on her face. She stopped again. Her face.

As if her body had down shifted into slow
motion she lifted her hand and lightly touched her left cheek. The
same rippled skin met her fingers from the corner of her eye to the
side of her mouth. No. It couldn't be. The room began to spin and
Kitty had to grab the edge of the counter to steady herself. This
was not happening to her.

She stormed from the room
and into the closet next door. There had to be a mirror somewhere
in this godforsaken hellhole. She dug through stacks of clothing
and some boxes thrown in the corner to no avail. Her search turned
up nothing. She returned to the bathroom and pawed through the
cabinets hoping a handheld had miraculously been left behind. Was
this the reason the wolf rejected her? She was so hideous he'd had
to hide the mirrors so he didn't accidentally see her reflection.
Was she now the beast to his beauty? Great. That's all she needed.
To be part of some twisted
,
dark fairy tale.

Her hand paused from her search. Kitty
fought the despair rising inside her. When he'd had his hands all
over her he'd purposely faced her away from him. Obviously so he
didn't have to look at her. She hadn't realized... Until now.
Slowly she pulled her arm from the cabinet and reached up to her
face. Fear gripped her insides and held her back from again
touching the sore area of the left side of her face. There had to
be some mistake. Or maybe she was having another one of those weird
dreams she couldn't wake from.