Born Cheetah (3 page)

She was many things, but she was never tacky.

She sat on the bench outside the café and lifted her face to the sunlight. Her inner cat purred as she let the warmth bathe her. When a shadow crossed her path and blocked her happy sun spot, she scowled.

“Get that expression off your face, Rayna. Let’s go for that tour.” Gregory extended his hand and helped her to her feet.

She sighed. “It was a good beam of sunlight.”

“I know. Sorry.” He smiled and didn’t let go of her.

“Where would you like to start?” She swung their hands a little, unfamiliar with the sensation of having someone hold her in a companionable manner.

“Show me the shifting meadow.”

“Okay.”

They walked down the path back toward the Open Heart, taking a turn and walking up to the pavilions.

“Here it is. You can leave all your clothing in the cabanas and simply walk out in your shifted form. They are big enough to accommodate even you.”

He chuckled. “Would you like to go for another run?”

Her inner cat rose and flexed. “I think I could go for a bit of a sprint. Now?”

“We may as well burn off breakfast and make room for lunch.”

“Well said.” She chuckled and headed for one of the smaller structures. She didn’t need nearly as much space. She took off her clothing and shoes before she called her cheetah. It wasn’t much of a call, she was right under her skin.

Her cat burst forth, compressing her while it stretched her fingers and sprouted claws. Her tail lashed around, and she took her first few steps slowly until she heard the thud of hooves nearby.

In a streak of fur, she powered out of the cabana and through the meadow. The thud of hooves followed her, picking up speed and power as it crashed and pounded behind her.

Just to tease, she slowed her run and watched the large golden and dark brown beast draw even with her. His head was down and his legs were working hard to keep up with her. With a burst of amusement, she streaked past him and headed for the woods. In a few minutes of claws and flying bark, she was up in the tree as he approached, his liquid equine eyes looking for her.

She let out a
rawr
and he backed up, his beast showing whites around his eyes. With a lithe move, she was out of the tree above his head and on the ground next to him, shifting into her human form.

Being naked around other shifters was one of the most natural things in the world, but she still moved carefully as his hooves stomped and his head lowered.

Rayna put her hand out, and he snuffled at it, his ears easing into a less panicked position and his eyes no longer showing white.

“There you are, Daywell. Calm, calm.” She slowly stroked his long nose and ran her hands over his head, under his cheeks and chin before she moved to one side and stroked his neck.

His hide was so soft, she ran her hands over him and he quivered under her touch. The hair of his mane was coarse, and she put her fingers in it and clenched. His entire body shuddered. If this translated to his human form, he must have been going out of his mind when she grabbed his hair last night.

She stroked his barrel, got swatted with his tail and continued around to the other side for more touching and exploration. Her inner cat was inhaling frantically, learning all of the scents that he gave off. Hay, sweat and Daywell were all right there, and her inner cat was committing it to memory.

He moved his long head around and nudged her toward his back.

“You have to be joking.”

He shook his head and nudged her again.

“You really want me to ride you?”

He nodded, his mane flipping his hair over one eye.

“Lady Godiva, coming up.” She walked back to the left side, threaded her hand in his mane and part jumped and part pulled herself up onto his back.

He shivered and took a few steps for balance while she settled herself.

For security, she put her hands in his mane and held on. “If you are going to do anything, I am holding on.”

The snort was her only warning. He reared back, threatening her grip, and landed heavily in a sudden gallop that had his mane whipping back in her face and her legs clenched around his barrel in panic.

He picked up steady speed, and she eventually caught on to the rhythm. Her sex was pressed against his back, and she was rubbing against him in a disconcerting way. It was a similar feeling to being on the back of a motorcycle, but the friction was more direct.

Her body was humming with arousal when they neared the pavilions, but to her surprise, he wheeled and set off back to the far edge of the meadow. She was doomed. Halfway through the meadow, the friction against her sex sent her clit into overload and she began to shudder endlessly on his back.

His speed lowered, and he took up a gait that bounced her hard against him and extended the orgasm until she was completely limp and hanging over his neck. He turned and walked back toward the cabanas at a slow plod.

While Rayna fought herself out of her afterglow, she took stock of the stickiness between her thighs as well as the abrasion on her skin. A shift would clear it up, but it was something to remember.

By the time they were at the small structures, she had her composure back. She combed her wild hair out of her face with her fingers and lifted her right leg over his neck when he stopped. Her legs wobbled but he stayed standing while she got her balance back.

She quickly shifted to her cheetah and back again. It wasn’t something that most shifters could do, but she was the master of the quick shift. The abrasion was gone, but she was still wobbling a bit as she walked toward the cabana. Hands gripped her and pulled her back against a very nude male body.

She shivered and looked back and up. “Hello, Gregory.”

His eyes were intense, and he kissed her, holding her jaw with two fingers to keep her face pointing toward his. His hand stroked the curve of her waist before he cupped her breast.

She arched into his touch and tried to turn toward him, but he held her hip to his with pressure from his body while his hand held her back against him.

Rayna welcomed his touch, the feel of his lips and tongue against hers and most of all, the body heat he was radiating.

His fingers gently stroked her nipple to aching hardness before he pinched, flicked and thumbed it again. Her body was a mass of sensation and longing. Half her body wanted contact; the other half was swamped with rising lust. It was the worst hot and cold moment she had ever had.

She tried to turn to him, but he held her tight. A frustrated snarl came out of her throat, and she heard him laugh. That was it; as much as she wanted him, she was not a source of amusement.

She shifted into her feline form and streaked for the cabana. She crouched on the ground and let her warning sound come from her throat when he tried to follow her.

He knelt in front of her, and he waited. It seemed he was good at waiting. “Come on, Rayna. I let you pet me. Turnabout is fair play.”

She stalked toward him, tail lashing.

“Calm down. I am not an idiot. If I try to touch you in that state, I will be pulling back an open flap of skin.” He sat, leaning against one of the posts.

She continued to crouch and lash.

“Let me tell you about why I went out with Leyline. I left a note in what I thought was your locker, but Leyline showed up. We started dating casually, but I never felt that spark. She told me that you had no interest in me and had handed you the note for you to answer.”

Rayna blinked and sat up in surprise.

“I thought that would interest you. It was only after you left that I cornered Augusta and got the whole story. We were both set up.”

She moved toward him and cocked her head before facing him while sitting next to his hip.

“You are very pretty. I have never seen you sitting still before.” He let her sniff his fingers. They smelled like grass and earth.

He stroked her cheeks, dug his fingers into the fluff that framed her features, and he carefully caressed her ears. “You are so soft.”

She purred.

He shifted slowly and ran his hand down her from her skull to the base of her tail.

Her purr increased, and she started to lick his chest with her scratchy tongue.

The nipple on his chest hardened as she licked it. She continued to lick at him while he petted her. The moment he stopped, she stopped.

She had worked her way down to his belly and the arch of his cock was just brushing the side of her head. When he stopped, she stepped away and turned human again, blinking at him with a smile.

“That was getting weird.”

She laughed. “Just because horses can only manage so much foreplay doesn’t mean that smaller quadrupeds have the same issues.”

“Well, you are very good with your tongue.”

She grinned. “Thank you. Cats use them for everything.”

“So I have heard. I have never experienced it on that scale.”

“I apologize.” She crossed her ankles and smiled brightly.

“You are not really apologetic.”

Rayna shrugged. “Not really. I am rarely sorry for my actions. I believe in standing by what I have done.”

Gregory smiled. “I am very glad to hear you say that. Shall we head off for lunch and have a long overdue chat?”

Rayna got to her feet and grabbed her panties. “I will be ready in a minute.”

He sighed. “This looks like it would be fun to watch, but I get the feeling that you would leave without me.”

“You would be right. Shoo.”

She stepped into her sandals while she slipped her bra on. Multitasking had always been a skill she possessed. She had never given a blowjob while doing her taxes, but she imagined that it was only a matter of time.

Rayna was still snickering as they sat in the booth at the café. “Your shirt is inside out.”

He let out a snort, whipped his shirt off and pulled it back on after exposing the muscles she had so recently been licking.

Her pulse started in her crotch and heated her blood.

She had to admit that time had improved on him. The lean chest was now wide and muscular, his neck thicker and the definition in the muscles made her wish they were back in the cabana and she had just jumped him.

Why was she bothering to hold herself back? Her inner cat was clawing at the inside of her mind in an effort to get out and take him for a test drive. She held it back out of long practice, but the damned thing had never been this persistent before.

“Rayna? Rayna, what would you like to drink?” He waved his hand in front of her face.

Rayna smiled at the server and asked for a glass of water and a cherry soda, then she stuck her tongue out at Gregory.

“Don’t tease, Rayna. Now that I know what it feels like, that is far more invitation than insult.”

She laughed and put her hands on her menu. “I rarely tease. I flirt, I play, but I don’t tease.”

“Good do know. Now...let’s pretend that we don’t know each other. This is a first date.”

She raised a brow. “A first date where I rode you naked across a field and licked you until you asked me to stop?”

He cleared his throat, and his eyes took on a heavy-lidded aspect. “Right.”

“Well, my name is Rayna Baker. What is yours?”

“Gregory Daywell.”

The drinks arrived, and she ordered a salad with chicken while he opted for a burger and fries.

“Well, Gregory, where did you grow up?”

“A small town.”

“Large shifter population?”

He grinned, “The largest shifters were my parents and my brothers and sister. Most of the locals were otters and ducks.”

“That is amazing. I grew up in a similar community.”

He blinked and was wary when he asked, “Were you and your parents the largest predators in the region?”

She bit her lip. “No. My parents died when I was ten months old. Car accident. I was raised by my parents’ best friends, the Samuels.”

“Cheetahs?”

“Otters. It was a good thing that I was a late shifter.” She grinned. “Things could have gotten messy.”

“Wow. Okay. Any questions for me?”

She nodded. “Sure, why did you come here? A guy like you could have any girl for the asking, human or otherwise.”

He inclined his head. “Thank you for the cockeyed compliment. I haven’t found a woman who feels right yet. I thought I met one when I was still in school, but she was young and we were thrown off by the machinations of another.”

She took a sip of her cherry cola. “Really? That sucks. How did that happen?”

“Well, I didn’t find out the details until a few months after it was too late, but when I slipped a note into the girl’s locker, her older sister opened the locker and stole the note. Because I hadn’t put a name on it, she said I had put it in her locker and that her younger sister wasn’t interested in herd animals. When the girl I meant to give the letter to left town, their other sister explained things, but by then, it was too late. She was gone, and I was too gutless to go after her.”

She sipped again, slowly. “Why?”

“She had enough confidence for someone four times her age. I was always in awe of her mastery of herself and those around her.” He took her hand and rubbed her palm with his thumb. “I have hoped that one day I could meet her again and we could start over. I have fobbed off my family as long as I could and here I am.”

She coughed to cover the lump in her throat. “That seems a good reason.”

“What about you?”

She blushed. “Well, my older sister just had a baby shower and a transporter showed up with instructions from my mom. My original mom. If I was still single at this time in my life, I was to have an unlimited account and all the time I needed to find a man that my beast and my brain could agree on. It has been quite tricky. There was only ever one man that we were in consensus on and my older sister stole him.”

“She borrowed him. He is now firmly in your possession.” He clenched his fingers over her hand and lifted her fingers to his lips.

“Ah, but do I get to keep him?” Her tone was wistful, even to her own ears.