Chapter 22

Squatch.

Eugene was the father of her fake identity. Her real father’s name is Vincenzo. Still, that was the safe word she knew I didn’t have to respect. In here, where it was soundproof, I wouldn’t have to respect red, either. I hoped she didn’t say it though, because there was a good chance I’d stop if she used that safeword.

But she hadn’t. She’d used Eugene — her way of telling me she couldn’t possibly take anymore.

“You have no choice, Kitten. I’d planned to go to either twelve or fifteen at a minimum. My choice. Not yours.”

If I went to a round of twelve, she’d have taken seventy-five strikes. Probably enough, but I had a feeling she was going to need perhaps one more round after. I wouldn’t know for sure until I’d given it, though.

I didn’t let her find her composure this time. Three times, I’d given her enough time to be calm, to rise above the pain before I lashed her with more. She probably needed it now, but then I’d have to give her even more strikes to get her where I wanted, so I pushed forward faster than before. While she was still frantic from the last set.

When these twelve were over, I brushed my hand over her bottom. It was the first I’d touched it or soothed it. My hand had been on her back or shoulders before this, but I needed to feel the heat so I could gauge how much more she could take.

Next, I rubbed my hand over her head, neck, and stopped when it reached her upper back, where I’d been touching her since she asked for the contact. Her breath came in gasps between the sobs.

I checked in with my wolf. I’d have been fine to stop after the round of seven, but he’d needed more. He was mostly okay now, but I wasn’t certain Kitty would feel it was enough. We were doing this for her, after all. If she thought I backed off because she safeworded, she’d think the whole event didn’t count. I couldn’t risk that.

So, one more round, and I was going to give her fifteen this time. Not the thirteen she’d expect.

I put more muscle into every strike. Harder. And then harder still.

The last three strikes were the worst I’ve ever given her. If she wasn’t so warmed up, it probably would’ve broken the skin. I was a little surprised it didn’t, even with her ass primed and ready for it.

And then I did something I never do during punishments. I stripped my jeans off, pulled the lubed plug from her ass, and fucked her ass. Hard and fast. No mercy. Brutal.

But her screams changed from those of overwhelming pain to overwhelming bliss. We’d talk later about why she was going to get an orgasm after punishment this time — because she’d asked for it when I’d said it wasn’t going to happen. She’d needed it. I had, too, but this wasn’t a normal punishment session. There’d been no folding of the clothes when she kneeled. We’d just been talking.

I fucked her through three intense orgasms before I finally let myself shoot off deep in her ass.

And then I was quick to cut the zip-ties from her wrists and ankles, and the rope holding her to the bed. I’d had to link them in a chain at her feet because she isn’t as long as the bed, but I only needed to cut the first and last.

“Don’t change yet,” I told her. “Five minutes. Maybe ten. I need to hold you and comfort you first.”

She nodded, and cuddled into me while I rubbed her wrists. They’d bled in a few places. I’d known they probably would. Zip-ties are harsh.

I rubbed her bottom after I’d soothed her wrists and ankles. I wanted to spend time with her tiger, but I wished I’d said we would wait until morning for her to change. I wanted to hold her like this through the night.

But the hamburger meat was probably already in the hallway, waiting for us. I’d placed another order for steaks and fries, and told them I’d let them know thirty minutes before we were ready for them. The restaurant would be open until three in the morning, and it was only ten at night. We should be fine.

I held her ten minutes and kissed her eyebrows. “Okay, Kitten. I can’t wait to meet your tiger. It’s time.”

“Yeah. It is. I’m sorry I had to keep her from you.”

“No more. I want to see all of you, Kitten. Want to get to know you in both of your forms.”

She’d seen my wolf. At some point, we’d need to let the wolf and tiger out at the same time, but not tonight.

This night was for the man and the tiger.

She went to the bathroom first, which seemed odd, but when she came out a few moments later, my heart stilled. Her eyes were iridescent blue, a color you should only see on butterfly wings, or glazed pottery, or the finest fabrics. Hiding those eyes was a travesty, but I understood why she had to. No one’s eyes were that color naturally.

She went to the door, opened it, and pulled the meat inside. It was in four large containers, and she lined them up side-by-side and took the lids off.

I expected her to say something before she changed, but she leaned down, as if she was going to touch her toes, and then the shift just happened, like a wave. A sparkly, magical wave.

And I couldn’t believe the tiger before my eyes — so beautiful it took my breath away.

If I’d had to name this tiger, I’d have called it a copper tiger. The part that’s usually orange was copper, the part that’s usually white was gold, and the part that’s usually black was kind of a burnt brassy color.

A good portion of a tiger’s face is white, which meant most of her face was gold. Shiny, metallic gold fur, glistening in the full spectrum lighting. These rooms were designed for humans and shapeshifter to possibly have to live in long term, in the case of an emergency, so the lighting was important.

“Can I touch you?”

The tail swished. Conflict. She chuffed. Not really a roar, but the sound of a roar on both the in breath and out breath. Constant. Not terribly loud.

And then she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, looked up, and let loose with a roar that would’ve made my bowels release if I’d been human and in a jungle somewhere.

My kitten was a mighty tigress. I smiled at her, but it seemed to annoy her. “Do you want me to be afraid of you, Kitten? We both know you can probably eat me before I could manage to get changed, and even if I did, you’d likely win in a fight in this small room.”

She turned her back on me, her tail swishing.

And then she turned and leaped, landing with her feet on either side of me, pushing me back on the bed. I was surprised the mattress held. I knew the bed would — shapeshifter don’t scrimp when buying furniture we plan to have sex on.

I looked up into her huge mouth on her gigantic fucking head, and I stroked the side of her nose back towards her jaw.

“You’ll always be my Kitten, even when you’re a massive, irritated tiger. You should eat, Kitten.”

She did the modified growl/chuff thing at me again, and then did as I suggested and went to the other side of the room to eat. I walked into the bathroom and filled the bathtub with water. Not all animals want to drink after they eat. I wasn’t sure if tigers would or not.

I watched her eat, and then sat still and let her explore the room, sniffing every nook and cranny. She went into the bathroom but I didn’t hear her drink. When she returned, she was in human form again, and I could only stare in awe at her hair.

It was streaked gold, copper, and the dark brassy color, and it was longer than her butt.

The streaks were obvious tiger stripes, though I’m not sure how nature managed it in hair that long.

And her eyes were mesmerizing. I could fall into them and get lost.

“Oh, Kitten. It’s really a shame you can’t let the world see you like this. You have always been stunningly beautiful to me, but this is...” I stood and walked to her. “I have no words, Kitten.”

“I could be like this in the ambush. I only had to dye my hair when I travelled between ambushes, or when we got to go somewhere as a special treat.”

“Your mom came to you, right? You weren’t allowed to visit her ambush?”

“My dad and brothers all went with me to see her once every-other-year for a few days, so I could see that side of the family — grandparents and cousins. I was allowed to talk to them all I wanted on the phone, but we couldn’t video chat often, since the ambush didn’t want any images of us to get out. Every once in a while, we’d shave our heads and have a nice long video chat, and then change so our hair would come back.”

“I’m going to let the restaurant know we’re thirty minutes out from wanting our steaks. Will you color your hair tonight or in the morning?”

“Tonight. If the building should catch fire, or some other emergency happened, it would be bad if my hair looked like this.”

She had a wide toothed comb, and she squirted white stuff on the teeth and ran it through her hair a few times, then squirted more on the teeth and did it again.

“This is a bleaching solution. If I don’t do this, the tiger stripes are still obvious when I put the blonde on it. This breaks them up enough, you still know there are different shades of blonde, but you don’t see the original pattern.”

A different solution went on her whole head once she’d combed the first through, and we talked while it sat. She showered, got out, blow dried her hair, and then put the blonde dye on. It looked purple, but she assured me it would look like it usually does once it did its thing. She’d put her contacts in by this time, and I realized it was so whoever brought our steaks wouldn’t see the blue.

The food came, and she sat with plastic over her hair and a towel wrapped around the plastic, holding it all in while we ate. The smell had burned my nose and lungs and eyes, at first, but I’d turned the ventilation system on down here and it wasn’t so bad now.

Dawg had collected the empty ground beef containers when he brought our food. He’d also brought two six-packs of beer and two bottles of wine — the beer I prefer and the wine Kitty loves.

“These aren’t your brothers, right?” she asked. “I mean, they’re in a different chapter.”

“Still my brothers. I’m not as close to them as I am the ones in my chapter, but I’d still lay down my life for any of them, and they’re making sure we’re taken care of.”

“How did they know which beer and wine to bring? I didn’t hear you tell them.”

I shrugged. “Either someone remembered, or they made a call to Velvet to ask.”

She started to panic, afraid they’d done something stupid that might tell her father where she was. I wanted to be annoyed, but I reminded myself we were still building trust. I tried to tone down my annoyance so she wouldn’t hear it in my voice. “If they called Velvet, they did it on the app, not over an unsecured connection.”

I could see her relax. “Yeah. Sorry. You’re right. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Even if we told him point blank where we have you, he couldn’t get in here.”

“Maybe not, but there’d be a bigger risk the next time I’m moved.”

When we finished eating, she took another shower, blow dried her hair yet again, and then flipped her head upside down, brushed her hair straight, and cut it. She stood up again, brushed it some more, parted it down the center, pulled half of her hair around to both sides, and chopped at the bottom in angles. Finally, she parted it on the side like I’m used to seeing it, and cut it around her face, so it framed it.

She looked like the Kitty I was used to again, but it broke my heart that she had to hide her true beauty. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous like this, but she’s stunning with her hair natural and her eyes such a unique, magnificent shade of blue.