Mason walked into the room, admiring her sitting there before he took a seat beside her as she finger combed her freshly washed hair. Mason brushed her leg with his, stretching out on the makeshift rug to warm his tired body.
It was an old cabin, but was in fairly good condition. One interesting thing was the bathroom. It was open to the elements on one side. However, rather than indicating a poorly-maintained bathroom wall, Stacy had a feeling it was part of the design, because a small waterfall trickled over the rocks next to the bathroom, making a natural shower that drained down the angled floor and into the plants slowly creeping their way into the structure. Stacy had enjoyed the cold water on her skin after the heat of her adrenaline rush; she was sure Mason felt the same.
He lay beside her on his stomach, his bare backside kissed by the gentle light of the fire. Stacy felt that longing again, the inexplicable need in the face of life or death danger to ravish him right now. She trailed her finger down his back brazenly, startling when he chuckled.
“It’s pheromones. They’re pretty hard to resist.”
Stacy smiled. That explained a lot, though Mason didn’t seem the least apologetic.
“How do I avoid them?” she asked. Her voice was teasing, and Mason thought there was a chance that avoiding them was the last thing on her mind.
“You don’t, you give in to passion.”
Stacy looked into his eyes, searching his gaze for any sign that he was just joking. All she saw was the reflection of the fire in his eyes. A door opened behind them and Gabe emerged from the woods. He took in the scene before him and moved towards them, his expression unreadable as he knelt before Stacy on the rug.
He looked at Mason, “Did you tell her?”
“Yep, she doesn’t seem to care. I think it’s more than pheromones.”
Gabe looked to Stacy, her eyes heavy already as she imagined them writhing with her in ecstasy. “Are you sure? It really is pheromones. I don’t want you to regret it in the morning.”
Stacy smiled at Gabe, a tiny smirk pulling at her lips. “The only man who has shown interest in me in the last five years is Brad. Trust me, it’s not just the pheromones. She shot her hands out and grabbed a fistful of shirt, throwing the thin fabric over his head and drinking in his chiseled muscles.
Mason pulled Stacy into his lap, his shaft firm against her backside as Stacy kissed Gabe deeply. His hands dipped between her legs, stroking her gently, tearing tiny moans from deep in her throat while Gabe held her mouth in his. They hadn’t shared a woman since college, but Stacy was a little spitfire; they had their hands full with this one.
Stacy’s hips started to move as Mason’s finger delved deeper into her folds. Gabe brought his hands up to cup her breasts, rubbing her nipples between his fingers as he trailed kisses down her neck and back up.
Mason shifted beneath her, his hardness pushing at her opening as he continued to stroke her. Without a word, he slid gently into her, her body sitting fully on his lap, his finger stroking her into a frenzy.
Gabe continued to kiss her, dipping lower with each pass. She was in pleasurable agony by the time he finally took one taut nipple into his mouth and began to draw on it, his tongue rolling it around in his hot mouth. Mason moved his hips slowly beneath her, grabbing her hips and holding her in place when she tried to move against him. She wasn’t going to get there that quickly, he’d make sure of it. He’d been waiting to be inside of her since the first time he’d seen her. He was going to draw this out as long as possible.
Stacy’s breath was short, her head falling back on Mason’s chest as Gabe teased each of her breasts over and over. She was dying for release, practically begging them to bring her to the precipice so she could lose herself in the sweet abyss. But they took their time, driving Stacy insane with each thrust inside her; with every tug on her sensitive breasts. She begged her lovers for more, her voice a gentle whimper barely heard over the crackle of their modest fire. Gabe pulled away and looked at Mason who nodded. All at once, they pushed her further, Gabe’s mouth setting off explosions in her head a split second before Mason’s rhythmic thrusting pushed her over the edge and into thin air.
She writhed and bucked, thin cries tearing from her throat as the worked her body past climax and into something more. Her nerves were on fire, her body spent, as they continued. Just when Stacy thought she couldn’t take any more, her world exploded into fireworks, rapid and numerous as they went off like the grandest of finales. Stacy felt Mason lose himself finally as she sailed over the cliff, her body feeling pleasure like she never had before. She fell forward and into Gabe’s waiting arms.
Gabe pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and the pleasure kept wracking her body, even in Mason’s absence. Gabe stroked her burning flesh gently, her muscles twitchy with the tender contact. When she finally calmed, she looked at Gabe and blinked as if waking from a deep sleep, then she smiled. She held a hand out to Mason, silently inviting him to come to her. Gabe laid her out on the rug and the two nestled in around her. As she fell into a deep sleep, Stacy had the fleeting thought that Gabe hadn’t had his release yet. She tumbled into darkness, her last though that next time, next time she’d make it up to him.
***
The next morning, Turk dismounted and walked towards the trail ahead. They were definitely getting close. One giant paw print was encased in the damp ground beside a group of rocks buried in the trail.
Someone was careless,
he thought. He walked over to Brad and pointed out the direction the print was facing. Suddenly excited, Brad started talking about a fairytale cabin carved into a mountain just the other side of the Oregon-Washington border. He’d seen it once when he was younger, after spending the summer hiking with his father. The cabin had faded into obscurity, its location forgotten by many, but Brad knew exactly where they were. He led the way, followed by Turk.
They were at least 20 miles out from the cabin, and the trail was rocky. But, with any luck, they would hit the cabin while they still had daylight. Perhaps, Turk thought, I didn’t waste my time bringing Brad along.
He watched the man expertly guide his four-wheeler down the trail. Would he see it coming or would he be surprised when Turk’s bullet tore through his head? Turk would find out later, after the fool led him to the remote cabin in the woods. Until then, he needed him alive. Because now, he was a help. But later he would be a witness, and that was something Turk did not want.
***
It was afternoon, and Stacy sat in the middle of the floor, stretching her tired muscles while she waited for the men to return. They’d left about an hour ago; Gabe going circling around to the south to see if Turk was on their trail and Mason heading north. She’d been concerned, but both had assured her, that on foot it would be another day or so before Turk could find this cabin, and that she was safe. They were right, Turk was only human; not some magical being that could fly through the air.
Or a tiger-shifter or anything like that.
Stacy laughed at her own joke. What a turn her life had taken in the last 24 hours.
She was sitting quietly when she heard footsteps come up what was left of the walkway. It sounded like both had returned. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stood to great them.
Brad opened the door and stood for a moment in stunned silence. Stacy blinked.
Brad?
And then she saw him, mud spattered and smelling of fuel and forest. Stacy turned and ran, heading for the bathroom. Brad ran after her, while Turk stood there, laughing. Stacy ran into the bathroom, engaging the tiny latch to lock the door. It wouldn’t hold, but it might give her a precious few seconds to get away. Stacy passed under the waterfall on the open side of the bathroom, and slid into the narrow crevice, pushing with all of her might and praying she didn’t get stuck. She released all her air and gave one final shove, falling onto the forest floor outside the cabin just as Brad burst through the flimsy, locked door.
She looked around and realized that she’d made a terrible mistake. The box canyon behind the cabin was straight up and at some places, pitched outward. Even if she was prepared to climb, there was no way she could get out of there. In the only opening stood Turk, huge grin on his face that somehow didn’t look even remotely friendly. He had her, and he knew it.
He leveled a gun at her, shouting across the short distance do her. “Don’t try anything and we’ll all get out of this alive.”
Stacy flipped him the bird. She knew he had no intention of letting her live, and she wasn’t going to just roll over and make it easy. To her right, Brad was crawling over the wall, his hiking boots making a soft thud as he landed on the other side. He looked up and saw Turk with his gun aimed at Stacy.
“What the hell are you doing?” Brad began advancing on Turk, his quick temper already spinning out of control. Stacy was
his
girl and nobody—
Bang!
A single shot rang out and Brad dropped with a muffled thud, dead before he hit the ground. Stacy covered her mouth to trap a scream that threatened to escape as blood spilled out of the wound between his eyes and then stopped as abruptly as it started. Her eyes locked on Brad’s lifeless stare, terror welling up in her throat.
Turk continued yelling at Stacy, his words echoing in the canyon.
“They’re wanted for murder you know. The entire state of Florida is looking for them. They’re worth a cool ten million dollars, dead or alive. You should have seen the carnage in their townhome; some of my finest work. As soon as the authorities saw that they were registered shifters, they didn’t even
attempt
to follow the evidence. It wouldn’t have mattered. It took me months to formulate my plan, and when the perfect opportunity presented itself, I sprang into action.”
An angry roar sounded behind Turk, a short distance away. Turk didn’t even turn to see who it was.
“I’ll shoot her dead before you sink your teeth in me and you know it,” he shouted over his shoulder, his eye never losing its sight on Stacy.
Gabe walked out of the trees in human form, hands raised above his head in surrender.
“Go stand over there by Stacy.” Turk motioned with his free arm, still keeping the gun trained on Stacy. Gabe walked towards her, hands still raised above his head. As he passed in front of her, he winked.
How can he think about sex at a time like this? Really.
He stood beside her, one arm on her back. She was trembling, though he stood stock-still beside her.
Turk continued to boast, but a shadow in the woods caught Stacy’s eye.
Mason!
Not wanting to alert Turk, she looked down and dug her toe into the ground. She knew Mason would come after Turk, but what if he was too late?
A twig snapped and Turk spun around as Mason, in tiger form, charged. Gabe threw Stacy to the ground and ran towards Turk, shifting mid-leap as he closed the distance between them. Stacy lay on the ground, watching in horror as Turk aimed the gun at Mason and fired. He hit Mason in the shoulder; Mason shifted into human form in mid-air and hit the ground with a loud crack as his head bounced off of the rocky forest floor. Turk turned towards Gabe, but he was too late. With one final leap, Gabe landed on Turk, taking him down. The man screamed and then the forest was completely silent.
Stacy stood up and ran to Mason, who was lying unmoving on the ground. Gabe gave Turk one last swipe for good measure, though the man was obviously dead, before going to Mason. Stacy kneeled beside him and was relieved. He’d been shot, but the wound wasn’t fatal and the bullet had passed through.
He’d smacked his head on a flat rock, knocking him out briefly. Mason’s eyes fluttered and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision. Stacy sobbed in relief and threw her arms around him. He sucked in air as her hand passed too close to his wound. Gabe held out a hand to help his friend up and the three headed inside. They were slow as Gabe helped Mason stay upright.
“We have to dress his wounds and then head to a hospital for treatment. He can’t shift while he’s injured like that, so you’ll both ride-”
“They had four-wheelers. Stacy can ride you if she wants,” he winked at her, enjoying his own joke, “but I’m fine with a four-wheeler thank you very much.”
Stacy didn’t know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. This day had been awful, just awful. But they would survive, and thankfully, so would Mason.
***
Epilogue
Stacy sat beside Mason’s hospital bed as “breaking news” flashed across the screen.
“This is Larry Tisdell, reporting for Channel 4
Action News
. An anonymous source gave authorities what they needed to close a gruesome case that started in Florida and ended right here in Washington, in an abandoned cabin in the dense forest east of Seattle. Turk Creko, a bounty-hunter known for hunting down and capturing shifters, was found dead along-side Oregon man Brad Tucci. Shifters were initially suspected, but after going through Mr. Creko’s personal affects, it became apparent that the gruesome murder in a Florida townhome was perpetrated by Mr. Creko himself, in an effort to create a substantial reward for the capture of the two tiger shifters. Channel 4
Action News
is withholding their identities and the identity of their female companion—”