Stray Cat Strut (4 page)

I pumped his cock again just to hear his
sexy purr before giving in to the urgency thrumming through me. I flipped the
top off the lube and squeezed a dollop into my hand. After nudging his legs
farther apart, I ran a finger down the crease of his ass and teased his
puckered entrance. Lucas purred. God, I loved that sound. It tugged at me deep
inside, made me hot. I dipped my lube-coated finger inside, stretching and
working him, enjoying each lusty purr my lover made.

Lucas shifted slightly and curled his fist
around his cock.

“Wait,” I commanded.

“Too slow,” he griped.

“You didn’t think so when you did the same
thing to me last night.”

“This about payback?”

I grinned but he couldn’t see it. “Nah,
it’s about pleasure.” I wasn’t lying exactly. I slid another finger inside and
pushed deeper, skimming across his prostate. Lucas hissed and my grin widened.

“I ache,” he complained when I kept
teasing.

Me too. I drew my fingers out and smacked
at Lucas’ hand when he tried to sneakily gain relief. I grabbed a condom and
rolled it on, greased up. “Hands on the rock in front of you,” I ordered.

Slowly Lucas obeyed, leaning farther
forward to open himself to me. “Yes, master.”

My loud snort rippled between us. No way
was he a submissive. That’s what made our relationship interesting. We were
both stray cats but strong, with the will to survive. I pressed the head of my
cock to his entrance and pushed inside, past the rings of muscle. Gently, I
worked my way in, pulling another sexy purr from Lucas. My cock jumped on
hearing the sound and in that moment, I knew. During the few days we’d known
each other I’d tumbled into uncharted territory. I loved him.

Without warning, Lucas froze. “Something’s
wrong.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Hell, I’d cut off
my tail before I hurt this man. I really did love him.

“Pull out.”

Shocked, I pulled back, separating our
bodies. My cock protested with a twitch, my balls aching. “What—”

“I’ve got to go.” Lucas fumbled with his
clothes and yanked them on rapidly. He sat to pull on his socks and boots,
laced them and ran off.

What the fuck? I didn’t understand. I
tugged off the condom, pulled on clothes and footwear. After packing everything
up, I grabbed the pack and sprinted after him.

The journey back to the SUV took half the
time. When I arrived, Lucas was prowling around the SUV in frustration. I
chucked him the keys and barely had time to scramble into the passenger seat
before he took off in a spray of dirt and gravel. We skidded until the wheels
gained purchase and shot from the car park. The drive back to Tekapo village
was fast. I kept my eyes closed when we slid around the hairpin bends,
especially those with sheer drops on my side. I learned something about Lucas
though. The man was a hell of a driver.

Instead of stopping at the lodge where we
were staying, Lucas kept going. He drove along a river that fed into Lake
Tekapo. I had no idea where the hell he was going and didn’t want to ask too
many questions while we were driving at high speed. I concentrated on the stony
riverbed and hoped like hell he wouldn’t try to leave the road and drive on
that.

Lucas stomped on the brakes. Thank God, I’d
put my seat belt on, otherwise I would have dived through the windscreen.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded.

Lucas switched off the ignition and leapt
out. “Leticia.” It was all he said before taking off at a sprint toward the
river and mystified, I followed.

Lucas paused, seemed to scent the air
before heading off on a tangent. I pursued as best I could, following Lucas’
scent trail when he raced out of sight over the crest of a rounded hill. With
no proper track, the footing on the tussock and stony ground was treacherous.
It was a wonder he didn’t break a leg at the speed he traveled. When I reached
the brow of the hill, I saw him with Leticia. They were near the banks of
another small stream. I raced to them, sliding over an area of loose schist. I
squatted beside him, gasping for breath, my lungs aching.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” I had a little
first-aid knowledge. I moved closer, intending to take her pulse. “How the hell
did you know?”

Lucas smoothed his hand over her face and
turned to me full of anguish. “There’s a sort of telepathic thing when one of
us is in danger. I guess it’s because we’re littermates. Sometimes we just know
what the other is thinking. And no, she’s bloody not all right. That bastard
gave her FIV and hung her out to dry.”

Chapter Four

I gaped at Lucas in shock. FIV or feline
immunodeficiency virus was the feline version of HIV in humans. But I’d never
heard of FIV affecting anyone in the shifter community before.

“You can go if you like. I wouldn’t blame
you.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, man?
Why would I leave you?” I shoved him aside and took her pulse. It was slow but
not too alarming. I thought she’d recover once we warmed her. “We need to get
her back to the lodge. Is she on medication?”

“There isn’t any. Not that we can find.”
Pain threaded his voice. “I guess we’ll wait until she recovers and move on.”

I scooped Leticia into my arms and stood.

“Why are you carrying her?”

“Because you’re knackered,” I said. “Come
on. Grab her fishing line and bag. Let’s get her warm. There’s a blanket in the
SUV.”

Lucas ran beside us, toting her
possessions, confusion covering his face. “But aren’t you worried you’ll catch
it?”

I kept walking when Lucas would have taken
his sister from me. “From memory, feline AIDS is spread via blood and saliva in
bite wounds. She’s not conscious so she’s unlikely to bite me. She’s had plenty
of chances to bite me this week but she hasn’t.” I increased my pace and we
soon arrived back at the SUV. I climbed into the passenger seat, still cradling
Leticia in my arms. Tenderness swam inside me when I glanced down at her pale
face. The two siblings had wound their way into my heart and there was no way I
was going to walk away.

At the lodge, I took her to our room while
Lucas parked the SUV. To my relief she started to stir.

“Into the shower,” I said. I stripped off
her clothes and turned on the shower, pushing her beneath the water once it had
heated to a comfortable temperature. She was beautiful, although the large scar
on her shoulder appeared recent. It looked ugly, the edges uneven as if she
hadn’t received proper medical attention.

“Stop looking at me,” she snapped.

“I’ve told you before I’m more interested in
your brother. I just want to make sure you don’t fall on your pretty ass.”

Footsteps behind alerted me to Lucas’
presence. “Is she okay?”

“She’s conscious and whining about me
looking at her butt. You’d better ring the bed and breakfast to let them know
she’s here,” I said, instinctively knowing he needed to feel useful. “You
feeling warmer?”

“Yes,” she said.

I flipped off the water and handed her a
thick honey-colored towel. “Dry off while I order you some soup.” Although I
worried about her falling, I decided to let her dry herself. She didn’t seem
comfortable with me being in the room. “Use the robe,” I added.

I strode out to the bedroom where Lucas
perched on the bed and spoke into the phone.

“Is she going to be all right?” he asked
the second he’d hung up.

“I think so. How often does she get sick?”

“Not that often. It seems like a case of
the flu. But she’s been under a lot of stress lately and that makes it worse.”

“Ring room service and order some chicken
or beef soup,” I said. “Then you can tell me what happened.”

“Want to hear all the juicy details?”
Leticia asked, overhearing. Bitterness coated both her words and face. “I can
show you my medical records.”

“Leticia,” Lucas chided.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t left like Gerald
did,” she said, hanging her head.

“Gerald Baxter was her fiancé. He belonged
to a pride from near Cape Town. Leticia met him at a party and they paired up.”

“We had a lot in common,” Leticia said. “We
were both lawyers, both shifters. I loved him.” Tears glistened in her eyes,
making my heart ache for her.

“The male had a secret life.” Lucas took
over the story. “And his family had a few skeletons in the closet. Several of
the males mated with wild lions. Gerald’s mother was lion but she wasn’t a
shifter. Gerald liked the rough stuff and because of his higher proportion of
feline genes he picked up FIV.”

“We had a fight,” Leticia said. “He was
drunk and raped me. He ripped a chunk of skin off my shoulder, passing on the
infection.”

The bastard. I went to her and pulled her
into a loose hug. Anger pulsed through me at the thought of her pain. I pulled
away and drew her onto the bed beside Lucas.

“Gerald must have known the truth would
come out. He jumped in first, spreading rumors about Leticia having FIV and
giving it to him. He called off their engagement, made a big deal about it.”
Lucas jumped to his feet and started to pace, his steps agitated. “He spread
rumors. Our pride…our pride is a conservative one. They were having a hard
enough time accepting me but Leticia—”

“They kicked us both out,” Leticia snapped.
“We were forced out. Our relations in Perth refused to have us.” She bowed her
head, covering her face with her hands. “No one wants us.”

Her whisper hung on the air. Lucas cast a
frustrated and uncertain glance at me before resuming pacing.

I grabbed the phone and rang an order
through for soup. “Get into bed, sweetheart. Keep warm.” I felt her forehead.
It was warm, but not too hot and her color had returned. Once she was in bed
and the soup had arrived, I glanced over at Lucas. He didn’t look much better
than his sister.

I took the tray from Leticia and helped her
settle. “Will you be okay if I take Lucas for a drink?”

She reached out and touched my cheek before
tucking her arm under the blankets again. “You’re good for him. I haven’t seen
him so happy for ages. I wish…” she trailed off, a flicker of pain bringing a
frown. “I’ll be fine. I just want to sleep.”

“We won’t be away for long. I promise.”

Leticia’s expression was intense. “Do you
keep your promises?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” I said, maintaining her
gaze. “I keep my promises.”

I dragged Lucas off to the bar, even though
he protested every step of the way.

“Leticia needs sleep,” I said.

“How do you know what my sister needs?”
Lucas snapped.

I released his arm and opened the door to
the lodge bar. I shunted him over to a private table near the window and pushed
him into a seat. “I don’t, but I’ve come to care for her. Both of you. I’ll get
the drinks.” I strode over to the bar, taking a deep breath. Lucas hadn’t
reacted, hadn’t even moved a muscle when I said I cared about them both. I
sighed heavily, my gut roiling with disappointment. Hell, what had I expected?
We’d only known each other for a week.

I ordered a couple of beers and a plate of
chicken sandwiches because we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. A wave of
homesickness engulfed me. I wished I could talk to Felix and Leo Mitchell.
Frowning, I picked up the beers and headed back to the table where Lucas
slumped in his chair.

“I’m going home. I’m handing in my notice
and going home,” I announced, placing a handle of beer in front of him.

“I’m pleased for you,” Lucas drawled, South
Africa heavy in his tone. “You’re lucky you have a home to return to.”

I sat and leaned back in my chair. “You’re
coming with me, Lucas. And Leticia,” I said before he had a chance to speak.

“I—” Lucas broke off, his mouth opening and
closing so much he reminded me of a fish.

“Things are slackening down at work. They
can do without me now. I’m taking you home.”

* * * * *

“I don’t think this is a good idea,”
Leticia said from the rear of my SUV. She leaned forward between the seats,
worry puckering her brow.

“It will be fine,” I said when I turned
left. A right turn took us parallel to the railway tracks with the Middlemarch
pub on the other side of the road. At least I hoped it would be all right. I
pulled up outside the doctor’s house.

“I don’t want to see a doctor,” Leticia
protested for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

“He might not want to see you either,”
Lucas said, earning himself a chiding look from me.

I leaned over and kissed him. “Either way,
we’ll work it out,” I said. “Wait here and I’ll go and see Gavin. I won’t be
long.” I exited the vehicle, leaving tension behind. In truth, I took tension
with me as well. Even though I knew our shifter doctor Gavin Finley well, I
couldn’t be sure how he’d react to looking at Leticia as a patient. I picked up
the brass knocker and rapped it against the door. The sound on the television
lowered and footsteps approached the door. It opened.

“Gavin.”

“Saul! How are you?” Gavin’s grin was broad
and I didn’t read anything apart from genuine pleasure at seeing me. “Come
inside.”

I followed his rangy figure into the
lounge, nerves vibrating in the pit of my stomach. My throat and mouth were
suddenly dry. I swallowed, trying to relieve the sensation.

“Beer?”

“Ah, thanks.” I sat and immediately sprang
to my feet again, marching around the lounge while Gavin headed for the
kitchen. I prowled between two dark brown leather chairs, stopped to gaze out
the window at the neighbor’s house before returning to pick up a farming
magazine off the coffee table near one of the chairs.

“Here you go.” Gavin handed me a beer I
didn’t really want once I’d replaced the magazine. He sank into one of the
chairs and tipped his head back to regard me with intense green eyes. “How have
you been?”

I set the beer on the coffee table. “Gavin,
I’m really pleased to see you but I didn’t come for a friendly chat. I have two
friends waiting for me in my SUV—”

“Bring them inside,” Gavin said.

“It’s my boyfriend and his sister,” I said
bluntly.

Gavin didn’t even blink. “So?”

“Leticia is FIV positive. She needs to see
a doctor.”

Gavin straightened abruptly, a whistle of
air emerging between his front teeth. “Feline AIDS. I’ve never heard of a shifter
getting that before. You sure it’s AIDS?”

“So they say. They have medical records.”

“Bring them into the surgery,” Gavin said.
“I’ll meet you there.”

“Aren’t you worried about catching it?” I
asked.

“It spreads by blood and saliva in a bite.
She’d have to bite me pretty badly before I caught it,” Gavin said.

I nodded, relived and pleased at his
reaction. “One more thing.”

Gavin’s brows rose in a silent question.

“They’re lion shifters, not leopard like
us.”

“No problem.” Gavin shrugged and brushed
his dark hair away from his face. “Bring them inside.”

I felt like kissing my friend but I didn’t
want to scare him. I hurried outside and opened the driver’s door. “Gavin said
to come inside.”

“Are you sure?” Leticia asked.

Lucas didn’t move. “Does he know we’re not
leopard?”

“Yes to both. Come on,” I said. “I’ll
introduce you to Gavin then I need to make some calls.”

I waited for them to climb out of the SUV
before walking up the path to Gavin’s surgery. The door opened at my touch. I
stood back to let brother and sister enter and closed the door after me.
“Gavin, this is Lucas and Leticia.” I glanced at Gavin and suppressed a grin.
Judging by the dopey smile, Leticia had won him over already. “Can I use the
phone while you check out Leticia?”

“What? Oh! Yeah, that’s fine.” A faint tide
of red rose up his neck. “Leticia, can you sit up here please?”

I left them in the surgery and used the
phone in Gavin’s living quarters. I dialed, my nerves jumping to life yet again
while I waited for one of the Mitchells to answer.

“Hello?”

I recognized the sultry tones of Saber’s
wife Emily straightaway. “Hi, Emily. It’s Saul Sinclair. Is Saber there?”

“Sure is,” she said. “Where are you? Are
you coming home?”

“Emily, please. Can I talk to Saber? It’s
important.” I figured Saber was the best person to talk to since he was a
member of the council who made laws and decisions on behalf of the Middlemarch
black leopard shifter community.

“Saul, how are you?” Saber’s husky voice
drifted down the phone line.

“I have a problem,” I said, deciding it was
best to lay out the facts straightaway. “I have a couple of friends with me—a
brother and sister. We’re at Gavin’s surgery at the moment.”

“Why?”

“Leticia has feline AIDS.”

“Hell. Wait there. I’m coming over.” The
phone slammed in my ear.

I pulled a rueful face before setting the
phone down and heading back to the surgery. “What’s the verdict, Doc?”

“I need to do blood work. The results will
take a day. Hey, don’t look so worried, Leticia,” he chided. “I don’t see why
we can’t control your symptoms with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Keep the
stress levels down. From what you’ve told me, stress aggravates the condition.”

“Saber is driving over,” I said.

“Oh?” Gavin surveyed me carefully before
checking out Lucas in a similar manner. “Shit’s about to hit the fan, huh?”