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Teagan was at the door of Mr. Perry’s office, waiting for him to finish on the phone. He signaled her to come in and have a seat. The report she finished earlier that morning was in her hand. She suppressed a yawn as she sat down and waited patiently. Mr. Perry seemed a bit upset this morning. Normally, she could tune a conversation out, but she heard Max’s name mentioned and it grabbed her attention. It seemed as though he hadn’t made his appointment for his tour of the plant. The hotel said his bed was not slept in. It was a surprise that he didn’t tell anyone where he was going. Apparently, Mr. Perry had tried to call him on the phone several times, and his calls went unanswered.
Teagan put the report on Mr. Perry’s desk, and went back to her own cubicle. She grabbed her purse, turned around and bumped right into Sara. “Where do you think you’re going?” She asked Teagan.
“I have a doctor’s appointment. I almost forgot about it. I need to go now before I am late.” She tried to push past Sara but the woman didn’t budge.
“If I find out you’re lying, Teagan, I promise that you will be fired.”
Teagan ignored her and managed to get past. The place where she was headed wasn’t very far, even though she wasn’t sure whether he was even there. It was the place she mentioned to him, so there was a good possibility that he would be there. She had to start somewhere. There was no telling what had happened to Max, and she felt responsible for whatever he might have gotten into, since she was the one that mentioned the campground to him.
Her mind was blank. She drove on autopilot all the way to the office of the campground. Taking the steps nearly two at a time, she opened the door to the rental office. There was an older man at the desk, he smiled and asked her if he could help. She was almost out of breath, but managed to get out that she was looking for a friend of hers that may have come up here, quickly describing Max.
The man nodded and told her that there was a man that matched her description in cabin number six. Teagan thanked him and started to walk out. “Wait, Miss. I can’t let just anyone go back there. How do I know for sure you are who you say you are?”
Teagan pulled out her license and explained that it was very important that she find the gentleman that had rented the cabin. “I don’t know, Miss. How do I know you haven’t come here to do something bad?”
Teagan pleaded with the man, tears starting to run down her face. Worry filled her mind and she was getting more and more frustrated with him. Max could be really hurt, and the more time she wasted, the worse off he could be. Finally, the man was convinced that she was really concerned about the man in cabin six. “Fine, you can go back to the cabin, but I need to go with you.”
Teagan agreed to this, and the man drove her to cabin six in a golf cart. He took out a key and unlocked the door, stepping inside. Teagan was at the door when she saw the tiger lying on the floor. She let out a gasp and backed away.
“It’s all right. He’s a little beat up, but healing nicely. I’ve been taking care of him, and he should be back to normal in a day or two.”
Teagan was too shocked to move. This man was a psycho, and now she’d been put in a dangerous situation she wasn’t sure she could get out of. The tiger looked as though it had been wounded, but she wasn’t convinced that it wouldn’t attack her, given the chance. The man leaned down to the tiger and spoke softly, telling it that its friend was here to take care of it. Teagan was about a mile from her car and out here in a skirt and heels. There was no way she would to be able to run back to save herself.
The tiger’s eyes opened and there was something familiar about them. She had seen those eyes before. No, that was impossible. She was sure that she had seen those eyes before, and they were Max’s eyes. “What is this?” She finally got the courage up to ask the man.
“This is your friend all right. He has been hurt, so he can’t change back. However, I figure another day and he’ll have to strength to turn again.”
Teagan stared at him, not understanding what he was saying. “What are you talking about?” She asked him. Her words came out in a stutter.
“Oh my, you don’t know, do you? I assumed that because you were a friend, you knew all about him. You seemed so concerned.”
“I am concerned. You said you were taking me to see my friend, and you’ve brought me to a cabin with an injured tiger. Now, I’m worried about his life and mine.”
“Please come in. I’ll try to explain the best I can. You’re in no danger. I can tell he knows you and he won’t hurt you.”
“A tiger that knows me?” Teagan was more confused than ever. Reluctantly, she stepped over the threshold and went to the couch to sit down, never taking her eyes off the tiger on the floor. This was absolutely insane.
The man went on to explain that he heard some commotion last night and found a group of wolves attacking a tiger. “Damn werewolves are so territorial. I told him not to go deep in the forest; to stay close to the camp. I’m lucky I found him when I did. They could have torn him to pieces. I took him back here and stayed overnight with him.”
This was so hard to believe. It was the kind of thing she had only read about. Werewolves didn’t exist, but in legend. Teagan must be having a nightmare. She figured she would wake up any minute now as her alarm goes off, and she’ll be getting ready for work like any other day. Her eyes closed tight, she pinched her arm. When she opened her eyes, the man was looking at her strangely, and the tiger had its head up like it was also trying to comprehend what she was doing.
Teagan looked at the tiger lying there. It was hard to believe that this was Max. She was slow to stand, just in case this guy was pulling a fast one on her, and she would wind up being a meal for this animal. Taking a couple of steps, she stood next to the tiger. She knelt down and placed her hand on top of the beast’s head. His fur was so soft, unlike any other thing she had ever felt. Moving her hand over his head, she was sure that she heard the tiger purring.
“He definitely knows you,” The man said. “I will leave the two of you alone.”
“Wait, you can’t leave,” Teagan’s voice screeched as she said these words.
“It’ll be alright, Miss. If he turns back, let him know there’s no charge for the additional day.” The man walked out and Teagan was alone. She grabbed her phone to call the office.
“Hi, Susan, this is Teagan. I need to let everyone know that I have an ill family member and I will be out of the office for a few days. Yes, I know I’ll have to talk to her. Go ahead and put me through.”
Teagan waited on the line, praying it would go to voicemail. No such luck, as a familiar voice came on the line.
“Hello, this is Sara Manfred. How may I help you?”
“Sara, this is Teagan. I have a very sick family member and I won’t be in for a few days. No, I’m not sure exactly how long.”
“Who is it?”
She took a deep breath and paused before answering, “It’s my great aunt. No, no one else can take care of her. She is on death’s door. Don’t tell me you’re going to be insensitive about my situation, Sara.” Teagan prayed that she was not putting it on too thick.
She could hear the disgust in Sara’s voice as she said it was fine. Teagan knew that she was going to pay for this later. Sara didn’t like doing her work, much less doing Teagan’s also. However, she couldn’t concern herself with that right now. Taking care of Max was her priority and nothing was going to stop her.
After hanging up the phone, she realized that she might be here for a little while, and all she had was the clothes on her back. “Great,” she thought, then moved to the kitchen area to check out the food situation. There was some food, but not a lot. Max had most likely only planned to be there a day, so he hadn’t bought many groceries. There was a store up the road, but she didn’t want to leave him alone in the cabin. Maybe tomorrow she could talk to the man in the office and make arrangements to get some more food.
“Are you hungry?” She asked, and then thought out loud that that he probably didn’t understand her. She was about to walk away when the tiger opened his eyes, lifted his head and nodded it up and down. Teagan was amazed that he could comprehend her, so she went back to the kitchen on a hunt for something appropriate for them to eat. There was a steak in the fridge that would work. She just couldn’t bring herself to give it to him cold and raw. It was silly, she thought, but then looked in the kitchen for some cooking utensils, and wound up making a rare steak for the both of them.
Teagan had a fairly good dinner. After putting most of the steak on a plate for him, she sat in front of Max. Her own plate contained steak, corn and mac and cheese. It was hardly a three-course meal at a five-star restaurant, but it was more than good enough for her. In the past, before she had gotten her current job, there had been nights where all she had had in her apartment had been ramen noodles. This was a definite treat for her.
There wasn’t much to do while she waited. There was no television or radio. Max’s laptop was on the table. She asked him if she could use it. The tiger nodded his head up and down again. Teagan promised that she wouldn’t go into anything other than the word processing program, so that she could get some work done. It wasn’t too long before she started to get sleepy. It had been a long day. After finding one of Max’s t-shirts, she changed into it and climbed into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
The next morning, she woke up to the sound of bacon sizzling in a pan. She inhaled deeply before getting out of the bed. In a haze, she walked to the kitchen. There was Max, back to his human form. He was wearing jeans with no shirt, and at the stove, cooking. Teagan breathed a sigh of relief.
“Your chest can get burned with grease cooking like that,” she told him.
He didn’t turn around, but he answered her. “Can’t be any worse than a wolf bite. Plus, I heal quickly.”
When he did turn around, there stood Teagan, dressed in only his t-shirt. Her bare legs seemed to go on and on. The shirt was just large enough to cover any panties she might have on. His body stirred at the thought that she might not be wearing any at all. He shouldn’t think of things like that. If he continued thinking that way, he was going to have a problem.
Teagan hoped that she wasn’t drooling. The man was certainly good looking in a suit, but he was incredibly sexy wearing just jeans. The picture of him as a tiger lying on the floor suddenly went through her mind, and made any lustful thoughts disappear from her head. She took a seat at the table and waited for him to finish cooking. It wasn’t a long before he placed a plate before her, and then sat down himself.
The breakfast was wonderful. Tiger or not, the man certainly knew how to cook. They ate in a comfortable silence. After the dishes were cleaned and put away, they both sat down on the couch. Teagan smiled at the thought of how his hand had brushed over hers as they were cleaning up. She wondered what his touch was like on other parts of her body.
“I didn’t expect you would discover my secret,” Max said, being the first to break the silence and broach the subject with her.
He continued by saying that he knew it must be confusing to her, and even a little bit scary. He assured her that it was all right, however, he desperately needed her to keep this between them. No one else could know what he truly was.
Taking her hand in his and looking into her eyes, he said, “Promise me you will not tell a soul about this, because it could be dangerous to both of us. People won’t understand and might hurt me. And if the other weretigers found out that it was you that exposed me, they would find a way to make you disappear.”
Teagan’s eyes went wide. He didn’t want to scare her, but he had to impress upon her how important it was to keep not only his secret, but the knowledge that shifters existed at all. He looked at her and all he wanted to do was grab her, pull her into his arms and hold her tightly against him.
“Um... uh... I have so many questions. I don’t know where to start.”
“I know it’s difficult to believe that shifters exist. There are other tigers, but there are also those that shift into other animals, such as bears, wolves, lions and panthers. There are also other supernatural beings out there. We all try to blend in as much as possible.”
This was a lot to take in. For all of her life, things like this had been imaginary. They were the things of nightmares in one’s childhood. Vampires, werewolves, witches, they weren’t truly real. Now she was learning that all that was actually true. She didn’t know whether to be scared or intrigued, or both.
The closeness to Teagan was driving him crazy. He could smell her. His mind fantasized about running his hands over her body. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom so that they could make love all day long. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He leaned in and kissed her. Pulling back, he waited for her to run off, screaming. To his surprise, she didn’t do that. Instead, she kissed him back.
This was not something she should be doing. It seemed wrong on so many levels. However, she couldn’t deny the fact that she had been attracted to his man since the first time she had seen him at the meeting. His kiss made her come alive. Sparks of electricity flew through her body. All reason was thrown out the window as she craved more of his kisses, his touch; his body pressed against hers.
Max embraced her responsiveness, kissing her more passionately. He did not want to do this on the couch though. He wanted to take his time. He wanted to explore her body with his hands, and with his mouth. He took her hands in his and gently pulled her up off the couch, before leading her to the bedroom.
The desire to see all of her was overwhelming. As he kissed her, his hands reached for the bottom of the t-shirt she was wearing. Inch by inch, he lifted it up, slowly exposing her soft skin to his waiting eyes. Her body was even more beautiful then he imagined. Pressing his body to hers, his hands slid down her back and gently squeezed her firm ass. Teagan let out a gasp and moaned as he caressed her skin.
His touch was just as amazing as she had thought it would be. Gently, he laid her on the bed before lying down beside her. He wanted to touch her all over. He wanted to kiss every inch of her. He wanted to slide inside her and give her an experience she would never forget. His hands touched her face and she moved closer to him. He kissed her neck as his hand made its way to her breasts. He cupped one softly as his thumb moved over her nipple, just like he had done in his fantasy. When it was nice and hard, he moved his lips to it while his hand caressed her other breast. First, he kissed it, and then slipped it in his mouth, sucking gently. Her back arched, pushing more of herself into his mouth.
Teagan knew right away that this man was an expert lover. He had her so worked up with just a few touches and tender kisses. She watched him as he moved his lips further down her body. Her anticipation was growing, and just when she thought he would kiss her in the spot she most wanted to be kissed, he continued down her left leg. Moving over her, he kissed his way back up her right leg. The warmth of his breath was driving her wild. However, he still didn’t go where she wanted. Instead, he ran his tongue up and down her inner thigh, stopping just at the point where her legs met. This is torture, she thought, as he moved over to the other thigh. She was almost to the point that she was begging him.
Max knew exactly what he was doing to her, and loving every moment. He decided he didn’t want to torment her any longer. He ran his tongue over the soft folds of her skin, on the outside. It had been so long since she had been intimate with anyone that she felt she might explode with just a few movements of his tongue. He parted her inner folds and slipped further in, giving her quick licks.
Stopping for a moment, sensing she was holding back, he said to her, “Just let go, Teagan. Enjoy. Trust me, this is going to take some time. and I am going to make you orgasm over and over again.”
His tongue flicked over her and it was all she could take. Her body tensed as she cried out. Waves of pleasure washed over her. The feelings were so intense; no other man had gotten her to this point before. His tongue moved slowly at first, then came to a stop. He looked up at her and smiled before getting off the bed and removing his jeans.
He laid back down next to her. Skin on skin was what she craved, and he seemed to want it also as he pulled her on top of him. She could feel his hardened member pressing against the location where his tongue had just been. He felt her wetness and it got him even more excited. He was getting anxious but held back until she was ready. The wait wouldn’t be long. She wanted more from him and he knew it.
Teagan sat up, straddling his hips. His manhood was resting between her folds. Her hips rocked slowly as she was sliding on him. Lifting up a bit, she positioned herself over him and slowly lowered herself on top of him. Without meaning to, Max let out a growl as she took him all in. He watched as her hips gyrated on top of his pelvis. Now it was his turn to suffer as she took her time moving up and down, controlling the pace with her legs. Slowly, her body moved all the way up until he felt that he would come right out of her, then she’d move slowly back down, taking him all in again.
Teagan kept up the slow pace, building her excitement back up to a level where she knew she was on the verge of another orgasm. Only when she absolutely couldn’t stand it anymore, did she move faster. Max grabbed onto her hips and started to move her body as his hips came up to meet with her. Together they moved in such a rhythm that both of them were so very close to a climax. It wasn’t long, and she arrived at her peak. Once her orgasm started, Max could no longer control himself. He growled and held onto her hips, pushing as deep as he could into her as his body was electrified.
She couldn’t bring herself to move just yet, wanting to stay connected to him as long as she could. Her body slumped on top of his for a moment while they both caught their breaths. Gently, she rolled over and lay on the bed beside him. He looked at her with a warm smile and pulled her into his arms. This experience was so much more than the fantasy he had had while with Vanessa. He could have never dreamed it would be like this.
