CatOutoftheBag by Tatiana Caldwell Read Free Book Online Page A

too or she was being taken for a walk down
to looneyville. Either way, it was all insane.
    She sighed heavily. Using the open door of the wardrobe for
cover, she dropped the blanket and slipped the thin garment over her head. Once
she was dressed, she closed the wardrobe and glowered at Nathan. “I did not come
here to engage in some strange human-beast orgy in a dark cave, Nathan.”
    He drew back and furrowed his brows. “I’m not suggesting you
participate. Honestly, I’d rather not see you involved with anyone here who
isn’t me.”
    “Rather not?”
    “Well, as much as I’d like to, I can’t exactly stop you from
sexing anyone else if you wanted to. It’s always the female’s choice. If a
queen wants multiple lovers, the men are expected to cooperate and share.” But
even as he said this, his fists clutched tightly and his eyes narrowed with a
carefully restrained rage.
    “What’s a ‘queen’?”
    “It’s what we call female Werecats who are of fertile age.”
    “You seem angry.”
    “Sorry, it’s just that… I don’t really like the idea of
sharing. I’ve shared before, I mean, but—I’d really rather not with you.”
    Sofia leaned against the wall, studying Nathan carefully.
“But what if I don’t want to have sex with you?”
    He looked hurt. “You want to choose someone else other than
me?”
    “I mean—what if I choose no one? What if I just want to
leave here and go back about my business?”
    “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Sofia, I
need you to understand that, please. You don’t even have to stay. You are not a
prisoner here. But you are a recently triggered Late Bloomer, and the
adventure’s just getting started—you might want someone who knows what you’re
going through nearby to guide you right now. And I’d really like you to stay
with me.”
    Sofia closed her eyes and tilted her head upward as she
leaned back against the cold stone wall. Staying with Nathan sounded good. She
could get more explanations about what was happening to her, find out what this
was all about, get to know him better. Her body and heart were telling her that
everything would be okay, that she wasn’t alone with this affliction and there
were others who could help her through it. But logically it was all too
incredible. It was hard to wrap her mind around the idea that she was suddenly
a shape-shifter, that all of them were. Perhaps it’d be wiser to get out of
there and head straight for a hospital and ask for a brain scan. She stood
there without responding, conflicted about whether to stay or flee.
    He interrupted her deliberation. “What are you thinking?”
    “That I shouldn’t be even be on this mountain.”
    “So why did you come to the mountain?”
    She blushed. “For more of you, of course. You piqued my
curiosity, and no one’s done that in a long, long time.” Their eyes met briefly
and she quickly added, “But I’m not so sure whether or not that is a good idea
anymore,” before he got his hopes up too high.
    “Why not? Because we’re Weres?”
    “Because I still don’t know even one lick about you. Or
myself, apparently.”
    “Just say the word and I’ll gladly give you licks to get to
know. No need to stop at just one, though.”
    The way he was looking at her, Sofia believed he would. And
she believed she would enjoy every second of it. There was no denying the
chemistry between them. But this just didn’t seem like the right time. She
still had so many questions about her newfound condition, about him, about the
others. “I’m not quite comfortable with any of this yet. How about for tonight
we just sit here and talk, okay?”
    “Yeah. Let’s do that,” he said, nodding. “Tomorrow, I’ll
introduce you to everyone and we’ll get you started on learning the basics.”
    Sofia winced. “Can it be just the two of us? Someplace
private and, like, not here? I would really prefer not to have anything
to do with any of the others just