Bad Kitty by Eliza Gayle Read Free Book Online

himself sinking into the warm depths. For a few seconds he
held his breath while he watched her pink tongue poke from her
mouth to lick her lips. "Hurts so much," she whispered.
    "You need to shift," he insisted.
    Her eyes grew wide with obvious alarm he
didn't quite understand. "Can't."
    "Sure you can. Don't worry about me, I've
pretty much already figured out the truth."
    Her small gasp confused
him. He'd given her no reason to be alarmed. "You're safe
here . I swear.
You can shift and none from my pack will get past that threshold
unless I allow it."
    A breath later her nostrils flared and her
eyes widened even further. He watched the recognition dawn across
her features as she figured out her predicament.
    "Wolf," she hissed. Despite the jagged cut
across her left check she managed to scowl at him in a familiar
amount of disgust. It wasn't easy for their clans to get along.
    The air in the room
shifted, pulling him from his thoughts and the pungent scent of
fear filled the space around him. The impulse to react flooded
through him as he fought to remain perfectly still. Her fear called
to him. The wolf whined in his head. If she so much as moved he'd
have to chase her and prove his dominance over her. The wolf would
allow nothing less. Fortunately for them both, the harsh scent of
her pain overrode the fear. Rafe shook his head to clear his
confusion and focused on her emotions. She was in agony and the
longer she laid there , the worse it got.
    "Forget the wolf. I can handle him. Shift,"
he demanded.
    "I can't," she cried.
    A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye
and tore at Rafe's senses. He didn't understand why she wouldn't
shift and this feeling of helplessness made him feel like shit. "I
promise. No one will hurt you. But if you don't shift soon you
won't heal and then you'll end up dead in my house. So far beyond
the treaty line none of your kind will come looking for you. Is
that what you want? To die among us wolves?" His voice had a hard
edge to it, more so than probably necessary, but he needed her to
obey.
    "Promises are nothing but lies."
    Despite not knowing her at all, her response
pissed him off. He'd offered her his protection and he wasn't
accustomed to anyone not taking him for his word. A renewed flare
of arousal rushing through his blood caught him off guard. The
contradiction of the entire situation fueled the need for her
trust. Her compliance became paramount. The wolf demanded it.
    "I don't lie. You may not
be in safe territory , but as long as you're in my house you are safe." He tried to speak softly
but her pain affected him as well. Instead he snarled at
her.
    "Hate the fucking safe zone anyway," she
choked. "I would rather die."
    "Strong words from a woman now lying on her
death bed."
    "Fuck you. I didn't ask you to save me," she
spat.
    "Don't tempt me," he
warned. She had a mouth on her that riled him to no end. Unbidden
images flooded his mind with a multitude of things she could do
with such a filthy mouth. He growled, probably more at himself than
her , but she
didn't know that.
    Anger rolled from them in
thick waves, filling the room with tension. Along with
it , Rafe added
some shift magic, allowing some of his features to change and
elongate. Hair grew on his face. His teeth lengthened. By God she
would obey him.
    The woman in front of him didn't cower in
fear. Instead she bared her teeth and hissed.
    Mate. His inner wolf thought it again .
    No. Unacceptable. He refused to believe what
the wolf insisted on. He waited and hoped. If only she backed away
or made a move...
    Rafe lifted his head and howled. The sound
rattled the furniture in the room as well as the windows.
Frustration coiled inside him and then she moved. Her magic reached
out and brushed him. He jumped to his feet and curled his lips at
the golden colored cougar now residing in his bed. The woman had
disappeared and the cat had taken over. He should have been
offended at the sight of her but instead his erection grew.