The Purrfect Predicament (Australian Shifters) (5 page)

"What has that got to do with anything? So she likes to read."

"Bro, pay attention, she reads romance books, capture fantasies? Heck, she told me she wanted a hero to slay her dragons and carry her off and ravish her, just like in her books."

A grin replaced his frown as Hamish got with Andy's idea. "We become her heroes and sweep her off her feet. She wants to be ravished, she said that?"

"Oh, yes, I wouldn't miss hearing something like that. Face it; she's in hiding, living off the grid. This way we get to protect her, turn her back into a woman, and properly take care of her; and you know the rest. Once she's happy and feeling safe, we'll tell her the rest, about us being shifters and all that. It'll all fall into place."

"Or become one big cluster fuck."

"You, Bro, are way too negative, you see that's why the chicks used to dig me better than you."

Hamish groaned. "No more other chicks, she's our one and only now."

"Oh, I know that. I don't want any other. Hummm, I can't wait to get my hands on her breasts." Andy licked his lips.

"Mind off your dick, shit for brains."

Andy snorted, "Yeah, say that after my brilliant plan."

"Not so brilliant yet, we have to get River on board with this. As our Alpha, he has the right to veto the plan."

"Oh, he'll be on board once we tell him what we're facing with Juniper. What an awesome name. Juniper, our beautiful Juniper."

"Fine, Ted swapped us his jeep and took the Ute back to town." Hamish handed over the keys and started to pull off his own clothing. It was his turn to go in and be with their mate. Damned if he'd let Andy have all the pleasure.

"I'll organize it with River and have a plan in place, be ready in the morning. When we do this, we'll have to be quick. Not that I doubt we'll have any problems in this area."

"Make sure it is cleared with River. If we bring a kidnapped woman back to Black Town without his say so, I'll hand him your balls not mine."

"Ooh, ouch, Bro, don't sweat it. Go snuggle up with Juniper. I don't like leaving her alone, for even this long, oh, and she loves to cuddle."

"Got it." Hamish handed the last of his clothes to Andy before summoning up the change, it rolled through him. Blinking through his Panther's eyes, he gave a growl and a flick of the tail before leaping over the fence without even touching it.

"Show off." Andy called quietly, his chuckle faded as he strode away.

At Juniper's back door, he changed back to human form to let himself in and locked the back door, before returning to his four-footed state.

He nosed his way through the small house, only to find Juniper thrashing around on a mattress on the floor, in the throes of a nightmare. Her body trembled and tears leaked from the side of her face.

Damn, she was beautiful, even with short black hair; he could see the soft femininity in her features. His, theirs.
mine, my mate.
She was theirs to protect. Damn Andy for being right, she did have some strong demons in her past they needed to battle if they were to have a chance with her.

"No, please, no I won't tell…don't, don't, no!"

Hamish growled, crawling onto the mattress beside her, nudging at her side and licking her face. She tasted so fucking sweet, he breathed in her sweet lilac scent.

Wake up baby girl, come on beautiful, you're safe now.

She gasped and her eyes opened, bolting upright. Her big, pale green eyes were shining with tears in the darkness. He nudged against her again and purred his reassurance.

"Oh, Andy." She flung her arms around him.

Damn. Hamish wanted to change and pull her into his arms, hold her tight against his chest. Tell her everything was going to be alright. It broke his heart just as much as it did Andy's. She needed them.

Every doubt about Andy's crazy plan vanished. They weren't kidnapping Juniper, no, they were rescuing her.

"I'm glad you're here." Her voice, barely a whisper, filled with heartbreaking sadness. She hugged him close.

He purred loudly.
We're here for you now, baby girl, now and always. Soon you'll be safe, with us, forever.

Chapter Four

Warmth surrounded Juniper, as she slowly stirred. Hummm, it felt so good, something soft and purring was pressed against her side. A smile curved her lips up as she opened her eyes, drew in a deep breath and lifted her hand to run it through the Panther's soft fur.

She yawned; her sleepy gaze falling on the Panther nestled into her side.

"Good morning sweetie."

His purr grew louder as he lifted his head, gazing at her, before rising up onto his paws to nuzzle in, pushing against her t-shirt covered breasts.

She giggled and rubbed his head and neck with both hands. "What is it with you and my chest, huh?"

It felt strange, yet nice waking up with a big kitty in her bed. She loved his affectionate nature.

"It's a good thing it's Saturday; no work today."

The big cat lifted his head and licked his lips, staring at her in a…something was different about Andy this morning, she was sure, but couldn't pinpoint what it was.

I'm being stupid, my over active imagination playing tricks on me.

"I guess your owner will be here soon to collect you." She sighed as sadness weighed heavily on her heart. Strange, she'd only had Andy in her home one night and already the thought of him leaving hurt more than it should.

He brought her a strange sense of comfort and safety she'd never thought she'd feel again. But keeping him was impossible.

"C'mon, big fella, let me up, I need to get dressed before Mr. Sinfully Sexy turns up for you. At least I'll get one last glimpse of male perfection before I'm dragged back to reality."

Andy yawned, stretched his back in a low arc, like a, well, a cat. He stepped off her mattress, his paws padding softly on the bare wooden floors. She threw back her covers and sat up, placing her feet on the floor.

Lifting one leg she rested it on her knee to examine her blisters. "Damn, I can't afford band-aids this week, let alone new socks and shoes. Even from a thrift store."

Andy moved in and licked the sole of her foot, making her bust out into a fit of ticklish hysterics. "Don't lick my feet, silly cat; I haven't had a wash today." He growled, lifted his head and instead licked her face.

She shoved him back, still laughing as she climbed to her feet. How long had it been since she'd laughed like this?

"I know you bathe yourself, but people need soap and water, you know." She wandered into the kitchen and filled the large kettle, placing it on the stove.

"Thirsty, sweetie?" she filled one of the bowls from last night and placed it on the floor. Andy gave it a few licks before sitting back still watching her. "If you're hungry, I'm afraid you'll have to wait till your owner comes to collect you. You ate last night's chicken factory. No wonder you're so big if you eat so much. Can't say the same for me; I thought eating less would guarantee I would lose weight, but no, still a tubby lump of lard."

Andy's sudden growl came low and menacing, startling her. "Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?" His growling stopped and he moved in again rubbing himself around her legs.

"You are acting strange today, not that I know how you normally act." The kettle whistled, and Andy stepped back as she quickly turned off the heat.

"You stay out here; I'm just going to have a wash." She carried the kettle in to the little bathroom, but Andy just followed her and sat in the doorway watching.

An uneasy feeling settled over her, the way his eyes watched her.
I'm being stupid again; he's just a big curious cat.

"You just like being around people." That had to be it. Doing her best to ignore his eyes on her, she went about her task.

Having no hot water sucked, but she couldn't afford to pay water heating bills as well as the power and rent. She filled her larger bucket and added some cold to make it lukewarm. She stripped off her t-shirt, stepped into the little tub and grabbed the wash cloth and soap, dipping it in. She made sure it was sudsy, before running it over her skin. It took several dips, dampening her short hair. She rinsed out the cloth in cold water and used the fresh warmer water to wash off the soap. She lifted the bucket, pouring the remaining warm water over her head.

She sighed, feeling clean again. Her skin prickled, and she shivered at the cooler air against her wet skin. She stepped out of the little tub and grabbed the old thread-bare towel. She squeaked as a big nosey cat suddenly jumped up knocking her off balance. He darted around, and she fell backwards on him, breaking her fall, before she hurt herself. Her rounded arse hit the cold floor as the cat scooted out and loomed over her with his furry body. She squealed as the hot wet sensation of his raspy tongue slid over her right nipple.

"Oh my God, no! Bad kitty, bad Andy!" He ignored her as his questing tongue lapped at the water droplets, hungrily moving from breast to breast. His licks sent spikes of confused pleasure shooting through her, centering on her clit, making her pussy dampen.

This was bad, perverse! Every kind of wrong. She regained her senses enough to shove heavily at his head. He stopped licking her breast and took a step back. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh fuck!" She bolted upright as he suddenly shoved his nose right between slightly widened legs, his tongue slid between the folds of her sex.

"No!" She went to push at his head. Andy's growl was low and dangerous. Juniper froze in sudden fear. "Please don't." Her whisper came out soft and breathless.

He pulled back and sat. He raised his head and licked his chops, his intense gaze on her face for a moment before it dropped back down to the junction of her thighs. He tilted his head then moved up against her body, rubbing against her, once again acting like the tame domestic cat.

"Did your owner train you to do that? Is it some sick game?" Shaking, she climbed to her feet, more embarrassed at how her body had reacted than anything else.

How the hell can I get turned on by an animal, it is…just, so…so wrong.

She hurried to the bedroom and quickly pulled on underwear and her jeans. When she reached for the bandages to suppress her breasts, Andy was there again. He jumped up and snatched them between his sharp teeth.

"Hey those are mine, I need them!"

He growled and shook his head. "I swear you understand what I'm saying."

The cat dropped her bandages between his paws and glared back at her, as if daring her to try and take them.

"You are becoming more trouble than you're worth!" Anger rolled through her. She could forgo the bandages today, but couldn't go anywhere with her breast swinging free. She didn't have any bras. Oh, what a mess!

She grabbed her vest and tugged it over her head and grabbed the ugly blue plaid shirt from yesterday, glaring back at the big cat. "Your owner should be here soon and you'll be out of my life. I can go back to…"
Sadness, loneliness, and constant fear.

As if on cue, a knock sounded at the door. Andy turned and trotted out of the bedroom. Forgoing shoes, as they hurt her anyway, she found her thick glasses on the kitchen bench and hurried to the door, un-hitching the chains before swinging it in.

"Hello beautiful."

He leaned against the door, dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt molded against his upper chest, displaying muscular shoulders and guns for biceps. Her heart went into overdrive.
Wow
.
He was amazing. Even with the reflective shades covering his eyes, it didn't detract from the mouth-watering sexiness of Hamish Brown…hang on, something was different, the way he stood; his confident smug smile. She quickly clued in.

"You're not Hamish."

"A gold star, sweetheart, I'm Andy. Despite what my older-by-two-minutes-brother says, I'm by far the better looking one."

Juniper gaped at him. They were both deliciously sexy, and damn the men knew it. But hang on a moment.

"You're here to collect your brother's Panther."

"Yes, that and something else." Andy suddenly stepped into her space, forcing her to take a step back. The black bag he'd been clutching he tossed towards the cat. It landed at his feet with a loud clank on the floor.

Andy's scent invaded her senses as she breathed him in. Warm, spicy and slightly woodsy, oh boy, that was something she could easily become addicted to. Why did he have to smell so good? "Everything we need is in there, hurry up Hamish."

"Hamish?" She glanced at the Panther. "But I thought—Hey!"

Andy lifted the thick-framed glasses from her face. She gasped as he tossed them onto her couch. The predatory look in Andy's eyes made her back up another step, till her back hit the wall. His right hand flattened against the wall, right by her head, caging her in.

Her eyes widened in sudden fear and trepidation, her mind and body clashing at the feel of his heat pressed against her.

"You may be able to fool everyone else, but Hamish and I are not fooled by your act. We know who you are."

Oh God, no, he'd found her.
Panic welled, making her chest tight, her breathing rapid
. Run, run now!