Born Cheetah (7 page)

Gregory held her close. “It was the same for us. We just took a while to get here.”

Laughter rippled through the room again while Raymond and Avedis asked questions about Rayna, and she, in turn, learned about her parents.

When Augusta came in six hours later to water the plants, she found them all seated around the dining room table, nibbling pizza and playing cards.

“Greg Daywell? Holy shit, Rayna!” Augusta rushed right past the room full of predators and gave Rayna a hug. “Leyline is going to freak out.”

Gregory sat back and smiled, “Leyline is going to have some explaining to do.”

Augusta hugged Gregory and looked at him. “I don’t believe it. Finally!”

Gregory laughed. “I know. I don’t move fast. Fortunately, following the herd took me to the Crossroads and that is where the love of my life was waiting.”

Rayna felt the warmth of acceptance from the group in her home. She hoped that meeting Gregory’s family went as smoothly.

Rayna giggled as they crept away from the gathering of Daywells. A riot would have been a better choice of description. Boisterous, agreeable and delighted with Gregory’s choice, she was welcomed with open arms and several challenges to race.

Gregory lifted her under his arm and sprinted into the barn, climbing up the ladder like an equine Tarzan.

Inside the hayloft, he moved to a stack of bales, and when he shifted behind them, there was a blanket on a bed of hay and a bottle of wine with two glasses.

“That is so thoughtful.” She laughed as he set her down.

“Don’t give me too much credit. My sister did this. She told me about it ten minutes ago.”

Feeling frisky, she went up on her hands and knees and flicked her hair back.

He groaned and fell to his knees behind her, stroking her skirt up her thighs. She heard his shocked cough when he discovered that she had already removed her panties and slipped them into her purse. He slid two fingers into her and groaned again when they came out wet. “Are you trying to make this the fastest fuck in history?”

She twisted and looked back at him through heavily lidded eyes. “Slow is for pussies, pony boy.”

Taunting him had been a mistake. The blunt head of his cock pressed into her, and he thrust forward hard and fast.

She was shoved forward and dug her claws in for balance as she held still for his barrage.

He reached between them and stroked her clit as he rocked back and forth.

She came faster than she ever had, trembling as her body tried to grip his, but he kept moving his hips in a rippling pulse that kept the internal shockwaves going on and on.

By the time she was almost wrung out, her body was waking again. It had something to do with the dress over her head and the blunt nails working down her spine.

Her teeth extended, and she let out a yowl as a second sharp pulse of pleasure ripped through her.

“Thank god.” He thrust into her and held his pelvis to her thighs. His cock jerked inside her, and he shook violently.

She grinned at his low, pained groan. He slowly slumped on top of her, bearing her down to the blanket. She felt him paw at her dress, and he pulled it down so he could nuzzle her neck.

Rayna sighed and used her shoulders to shove him to his side so that she could breathe a little more freely. “You are going to wear that thing out.”

He chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “But what a way to do it. I promised your parents that we would try for a baby before I started tax season.”

She twisted in his grip and scowled at him. “It’s September.”

“Well, we have some time, but I am still going to try.” He chuckled.

She sighed. “I have to love you for your work ethic. Now, which of your brothers should I race first?”

“Thompson. He needs to go down. He just doesn’t take the fact that you are one of the fastest creatures on earth very gracefully.”

She laughed. “I am surprised that your family was so accepting.”

“My mom always knew that I hadn’t brought the right girl home. The moment that she saw you, she knew that you were what I had been missing. Well, that and you promised all the Daywells discounts in
Creature’s Feature
.”

She smiled. “When all else fails, I am never above bribery.”

Her boutique was her current offspring. She had contacted a number of artists who did stylized animals and used their art to create posters, t-shirts, banners and all kinds of household accessories. It was a huge hit with the shifter community. They could either buy in person or mail order the animals they wanted and display them proudly in their homes.

The artists received fifty percent of the money after the production costs, so everyone was happy. Gregory hadn’t made it into her finances yet, but she had managed to rebuild half the spent portion of her inheritance. In a few more years, she would be able to leave her children just as much as had been left to her, if not more.

The Daywells and the Samuels were getting together to plan the official wedding for the human record keepers and the community. Sadly, for poor Leyline, Gregory and Rayna’s mating trumped the arrival of her son. Little Leonard was still a beloved nephew for Rayna, but he didn’t get the community acknowledgement that Leyline wanted. Rayna wished she could be more upset, but it just wasn’t in her.

Plans to spoil Leonard were already in place.

“Well, as fun as this is, I would like to race your brother through the meadow and kick his ass, if my legs will work after this.” She snorted.

“Your legs always work. It is my body that is in danger today. If I watch you run, I will want to join you, and I don’t want to get stuck again.”

“Well, it was your idea to turn onto a horse on the roof track. That was your bad judgement for the day. You will just have to live with it.”

He hugged her until she squeaked.

They shared the wine, and it turned out to be sparkling apple cider. No alcohol and good racing 1fuel. When someone came looking for them, he was sitting up against the hay bales and she was in his lap, using him as a recliner.

Thompson came up the ladder. “Well, sis, I challenge you to a race. Are you up for it, or did my brother tire you out? You are so delicate after all.”

She looked up at Gregory, and he gave her a peck on the lips. “Go get him, Rayna.”

She rose from her supine position, shook out her skirts and headed down the stairs. She followed Thompson out into the yard where a group was gathered. She could see money being handed around, and Gregory sauntered up next to her and said, “My money would be on you, but I don’t gamble.”

“Aw, honey, this is a sure thing.” She nudged him with her hip.

She asked Thompson. “So, what are the rules of the race? Shifted start? Clothed start?”

Thompson blinked. “Clothed start is fine. We will run to the end of the field and back. Timothy is already down there, so run down to him and come back.”

A horse was indeed standing at the end of the field. She rolled her eyes and knew that they were going to cheat. Thompson and Timothy were twins and even their shifted forms were identical. They were probably going to switch so that one was fresh for the run back.

She nodded. “Fine, clothed start. Whenever you are ready.”

A Daywell cousin lifted a coloured cloth from his pocket and brought it down. “Go!”

Rayna flicked off her shoes, unclasped her bra through the dress, lifted the dress and bra over her head and she began her shift on the run.

She heard gasps and shouts as she started her run, her legs bunching and contracting with every step. She raced to the edge of the field, sprinted around the horse that reared at her approach, and then, she formed a blurred streak all the way back to her clothing.

Gregory was holding her bra out on two fingers.

She stepped into her shoes, slipped on her bra and pulled the dress on over her head.

The crowd was staring.

“I think I won, or was there something else I had to do.”

Gregory laughed. “You won, they just were shocked by the speed of your shift. You were halfway through the field before he had his hooves.”

She sighed. “I think I have had enough for the day. Can we go home yet?”

“Almost. The moms want you to pick out swatches.”

She grumbled but agreed. With her race complete, she went to deal with the greater challenge. Wedding plans.

* * * *

Avedis smiled brightly at the butler and entered the Harcourt house. Ystine was in the sitting room with tea.

Avedis sat carefully, smoothing her skirt. “Good afternoon, Ystine.”

“Good afternoon, Avedis.”

“I wish this was a social call, but I have to tell you something.”

“Yes?” Ystine raised her red-brown brow.

“If you go near my granddaughter, her husband, her child, her mentor or anyone near and dear to her, I will rip your throat out and spit it on your front porch.”

“Really? That is a little violent for you.”

Avedis changed her hands to clawed paws and she flipped the granite coffee table casually. “It really isn’t. Raymond had to keep me from killing you twenty-six years ago, but he isn’t stopping me now. I am queen of my pride and every lioness within three states will come when I call. We are hunters, we are killers and we protect our own. Remember that, you spotted bitch.”

She got to her feet and smiled politely. “You might want to get some club soda on that tea before it stains the carpet.”

She sailed out of the home and got into her car. The moment she was inside, the phone rang. “Yes, dear.”

“Is she still alive?”

“Yes, but I hope she will listen this time. I really don’t think she will taste that good.”

Raymond sighed. “Fine, now go home, and I will follow you. No turning around to finish the job.”

“Yes, dear. Pork chops for dinner?”

“Sounds lovely. See you later.”

The call ended and Avedis drove home.

* * * *

“Well, Avi didn’t kill her.”

Matthew sat and sighed in relief. “That would have been messy to explain.”

“Tell me about it. Ystine has been warned off but that is where it ends. Can you get away that day?”

“The fourteenth? Yes, I can make it. Are you sure she won’t mind?”

“Rayna knows that the female cheetahs are in control. She has invited you but don’t take the invitation home. If Ystine shows up at Rayna’s wedding, all hell will break loose and it will start in that long white gown.”

Matthew chuckled. “She has a lot of spirit. I miss that. Martha took every hint I could throw at her, but I still feel guilty about how things turned out.”

“She’s alive, healthy, has a good community and a good man. Also, she is making money hand over fist. That must be Martha’s doing, because it certainly wasn’t Niko’s.” Raymond shook his head with a smile.

Matthew got to his feet and left the booth at the pub down the lane from his home. “I will see you on the fourteenth. I promise to pick out a nice gift for Rayna.”

“Just be there, it is all she wants.”

The grandfathers parted ways, each brimming with pride at what the trickle down of their genes had produced. If she was the current example, the next generation was going to be a series of moneymaking dictators with lovely table manners. They hoped they would live to see them bloom.

Author’s Note

Born Cheetah
was a good way to explore how you could be born one thing, raised another and still find your own path after a bit of disaster and panic. I liked writing it.

The next book
Ocelot of Trouble
explores the life of a woman in such a rush to get through life that she stumbles over herself and into a handsome fox. He only intends to flirt, but when she spills a drink on him, twice...he’s hooked.

Thanks for reading,

Zenina Masters

www.zeninamasters.com

Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.

Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.