Chapter Twenty-One
Still shaking, Gage hikes up his jeans, tucks in his shirt and buttons up his pants. Shocked at the violence and lack of control in which he took her, he whispers, “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?”
Pulling down her skirt to cover herself and zipping up her top she turns to face him. Afraid to touch her again, he keeps his distance, so Katrina moves in closer. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulls his head to hers and kisses him. Feeling like she’d been dropped in a desert over the past few years, she drinks from him, taking the kiss deeper until the smoldering heat between them ignites once more. Shaken to his core, Gage is the one who breaks off the kiss. He’d never felt anything so intense with anyone before, so he just stands there, waiting for her answer.
Smiling up at him, “You didn’t hurt me. I’m fine. Better than fine. I feel fantastic.” Relieved, but still shaken, Gage runs his fingers through his hair and looks down at her.
“Why don’t you put yourself back together, and I’ll get you out of here, okay?”
“Okay. Just let me get cleaned up and I’ll be out in a minute. Will you go out and watch the door for me to make sure no one comes in?”
Relieved at the opportunity to get away from her for a few minutes so he can clear his head, he says, “Sure. I’ll be just outside.”
The moment Gage leaves the room, Kat gathers her clothes from the floor, puts her panties back on. She washes her hands and face, reapplies some makeup, runs a brush through her hair, and slides her arms into her jacket. But, before leaving the bathroom, she takes her cell phone from her purse and texts Tony.
I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused 2nite. It looked like Gage hit u pretty hard. R u hurt?
Immediately, she receives a reply…No need 2 apologize, it wasn’t ur fault. Plz don’t worry about me. I’m fine. The only thing that was injured tonight was my pride. R u alright? That bastard didn’t hurt u did he?
Kat …Good I was so worried about u. No he didn’t hurt me. I’m perfectly fine. Tony…I’m glad. Do u want me to come pick u up?
Kat…No I’m on my way home now.
Tony…K I’ll meet u there.
Kat…No it’s l8t & I don’t want u on the road with all the drunks. Besides I’m tired and just want 2 put 2nite behind me. I’ll call u 2morro.
Tony…K. I’m glad ur safe. I luv u Kat.
Kat…Luv u 2 Tony. Gnite.
Tony…Nite.
Feeling guilty as hell, Kat slips her phone back into her bag, walks out of the bathroom and into Gage’s arms.
“Would you mind if instead of going to your place, you just took me home?”
“No problem. I understand.”
“No, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s alright Kat, I get it. I wasn’t exactly a gentleman tonight the way I dragged you off like a caveman, then stormed into the bathroom of the club and fucked you like an animal without a care as to where we were or what you wanted. I don’t know what got into me. I’m…”
“Wait…stop! You don’t understand. I want you to take me home not because I don’t want to be with you, but because I have a dog and he’ll need to be walked and taken care of for the night, but I want you to stay with me. God, I’m doing this all wrong. What I meant to say was, would you mind if instead of going to your place tonight, we went to mine? If you still want to be with me, I want you in my bed tonight.”
Not sure if he should be disappointed or relieved that she still wanted him, he runs his hands through his hair and grins, “That works for me. Come on, follow me. My bike’s out back.”
Heading to the exit, it is obvious the club has mostly cleared out. As they walk through, Kat notices the two bimbos still there, hanging out at the bar. Grabbing Katrina’s hand, Gage never looks in their direction as he leads her out the back door. Once outside, he hands her a helmet, starts the bike, and waits for her to climb on the back. Climbing on, she promptly wraps her arms around his waist, and they take off at top speed towards the beach.
Not wanting to have to explain how he knows where she lives, Gage lets Katrina give him directions. Once they arrive, he follows her inside and watches as Kat tends to Max. When she finishes she turns to find Gage, who has silently moved directly behind her. Putting his lips to her ear, he licks and nibbles at her lobe, then breathlessly confesses, “All I think about is you.” Before she can speak, he finds himself devouring her mouth with his. She manages to pull away from him only long enough to whisper, “Upstairs.”
Scooping her into his arms, Gage brings his lips back down on hers as he takes the steps two at a time. At the top of the stairs, he lightly kicks open her bedroom door. “In here?” he questions, playing dumb.
“Yes.”
Crossing the room, he puts her down next to the bed. She strips off her jacket and drops it on the floor. Reaching forward, she pulls Gage towards her, winds her fingers through his hair, presses her body to his, and begins kissing him for all she is worth. Sparks fly as the heat between them rapidly rekindles. Towering over her with his tall, lean muscular frame, Gage moves forward, backing her into a bedroom wall.
Placing his hands on her bottom, he lifts her and she wraps her legs around his waist as they kiss. Exploring his body, Kat runs her hands down the back of his neck, across his shoulders, over his bulging biceps, and across his chest while they both grind the lower half of their bodies against one another. He is hard and she is wet. He wants to be inside her and she wants to feel him there.
“Put me down.” Backing up to allow enough room between his body and the wall, he gently places her down.
“It’s time to get out of these clothes. I want you to strip me.”
Giving her a sheepish grin, Gage does as he is instructed and starting with her top, begins stripping her down. At the base of her neck, he uses his mouth to slowly move down her body, kissing each curve and dip as he goes. Reaching the top of her bodice, he takes its zipper between his thumb and forefinger, lowering it ever so slowly, inch by painfully slow inch, while following it down with kisses and his tongue, teasing and tempting. Her top, now completely open, is easily peeled away and dropped to the floor. With one swift move, he shocks her by grabbing her breast and devouring its nipple. Her body tingles all over, but before she can catch her breath and relax into the sensations she is feeling, he moves to the other side and roughly takes her other nipple into his mouth, sucking on it hard, then licking it gently, before scraping his teeth over the puckered tip and starting the process all over again. The constant change of sensations has her mind swimming in ecstasy.
Lifting his head in both of her hands, she looks down at him and begins begging, “Hurry! Get me out of these clothes and fuck me. I need to feel you inside me. Please hurry.”
Pleased at her reaction, Gage takes his time, thoroughly kissing her. Moaning into his mouth she purrs, “Please!”
Not able to stop himself from smiling, he teases, “You need to wait. I’m not done with you. It’s okay baby, we have all night.”
Katrina thinks her body will explode with need. She wants him now! Reaching down behind her, she grabs the zipper on her skirt, ready to tear it down to finish undressing herself. But before she can, Gage grabs both her hands in just one of his and lifts them above her head, pinning them to the wall.
“No. I want to finish unwrapping you myself.”
Spinning her around so she now faces the wall, he keeps her hands pinned down with his left hand while he uses his right to lower the zipper at the back of her skirt. It drops to the ground. She’s now standing before him in a black lace G-string, with her ass thrust out at him and a pair of black, five-inch heels. God she is the sexiest thing he’s ever seen. His hands itch with the need to feel her. So, grabbing first one side of her ass and then the other, he satisfies his urge.
Splaying his legs to help adjust his height to hers, he leans in and rubs his stiff, hard cock, still waiting to be freed from his jeans, against her naked ass. She writhes and squirms against him, wanting more than he was currently giving. Pleased with himself, he urges, “What do you want?”
“I want to cum. I want to feel you inside me and I want to cum all over you, so please give it to me now.”
“Well, let’s get rid of these then.” Reaching down with his one free hand he slides her G-string down from her hips, over her ass cheeks and down her long legs where they too, hit the floor. She’s now completely naked, other than her shoes, and he reaches under her from behind and finds her wet heat, plunging two fingers deep inside her. Her breath catches at the unexpected intrusion and pleasure floods through her like water from a broken dam. The need that fills her has her greedily moving up and down on his hand and pushing back against him, grinding on the fingers inside her.
“Mmm, yes that’s it, I need to cum.”
“No. Not yet,” he says removing his fingers. He releases the grip on her hands just enough so he can turn her around so she is facing him. Kissing her mouth, he mumbles, “I’m going to lick you, taste you, and put my tongue inside you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
“Oh god, yes. Please Gage, you’re going to make me cum so fast when you’re doing that to me.”
“No Katrina. Not until my cock is inside you.”
“I don’t think I can wait….please, Gage.”
“Yes, you can darlin’.” Placing his mouth to her breast, then sliding down to her stomach and dipping lower, he asks, “What’s this?” as he rubs a finger over her tattoo.
“Hmmm, oh, I forgot about that. That’s my new tat.”
“A new tat? Now let me look at you,” he says as he backs up to get the full view. Gage can’t keep his eyes off of her. She is absolutely stunning. Her naked body is perfectly proportioned; lean, but nicely muscled. She definitely has a dancer’s body, with long legs that seem to go on forever. Then, just below her right hip, is the most amazingly beautiful tattoo he’s ever seen. The colors are vivid, and the design work, multidimensional. It almost seems to stand above her body instead of lying flat on her skin. Moving in to get a closer look, he is shocked at what is in front of him. Breaking out in a sweat and trying not to hyperventilate, he drops her arms and stumbles backwards.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Heart pounding so loudly he can barely hear her question; he takes a deep breath so he can answer, “Um, nothing.”
He can’t believe what he is looking at; an angel, the face of a beautiful angel with crystal clear aquamarine eyes is staring back at him. She looks like the angel from his nightmares. She looks like Kat. Kat with wings. The most beautiful white, fluffy wings he has ever seen. He didn’t think it was possible to obtain such an outcome with tattoo ink. Most white ink tattoos he’s seen look like scars or brands, but not this one.
The angel has long yellow hair that flows like it is blowing in the wind. Pastel pink, purple, and blue flowers with winding green vines are intertwined throughout her hair. Dressed in a long flowing deep purple and lavender gown which accentuates her figure, the angel holds cupped hands out in front of her, while sparkling blue sea water pours through them. A large moon shines behind her and at her feet lies a shiny black panther with bright green eyes.
What the fuck is going on? How can she know about his dreams? The Angel? The angel that looks like her. How can she know about him? Does she know he is a panther? Does she know he is that panther? The panther she has permanently tattooed on her body?
“Are you okay?”
Voice cracking like a teenage boy going through puberty, he answers, “Yes, fine.”
“Well, don’t you like it? Or do you not like women with tattoos or something?”
“No, that’s not it. Your tattoo’s very original, unique. Why? I mean why did you get this particular tattoo? Why choose an angel and…a panther?”
“Well, she’s not exactly an angel. She started out as a goddess. Then I got this crazy idea to surround her in these amazing white, feathery wings. I don’t know why I chose wings, it wasn’t part of my original design, but then it just felt right somehow, so I had them added to the design Bre drew for me. Why? Do you not like it? Are you religious or something? Does it offend you?”
Laughing now, “Ah no. After everything that went on tonight between us, do you really think I’m religious?”
“I guess not. Well, maybe if you were a politician.” she joked.
“Yeah well, I’m neither religious nor a politician.”
“Ok then, all I can tell you is I wanted a tattoo that I felt represented me. And believe me, I’m no angel, but the colors and flowers all have meaning to me. From the colors in the tattoo, to the moon, which has to do with dreams and the dream world, to the panther. Besides being beautiful, the panther is said to be representative of psychic ability, astral travel, and guardian energy. It’s also a symbol of the feminine, death and rebirth, understanding of death, reclaiming of one’s power, and a black panther is a spirit guide whose power is lunar, much like a shaman. One of these powers is said to be the ability to share dreams.”
Shaking his head to clear it, he says, “Interesting, but I’m still not sure what all this has to do with why you chose this tattoo.”
“Well, I know this is going to sound strange, but I had a few tarot card readings recently and some things came up that had me looking at my life. I’ve been making some changes, so I can reconcile who I am or was with who I want to be. It was also time to deal with some things in my past that were holding me back. Now, I’m trying to live for myself. I want to be able to dream again and go after what I want, instead of doing what other people expect of me. Bottom line, all the objects in my tattoo are either representative of who I am or who I want to be. My sign of the zodiac is an air sign, so I had Bre draw the goddess’ hair blowing in the wind. The color purple represents the element of spirit, which is one of the things I’m trying to find in myself again. The panther reminds me that I am reclaiming my power and it makes me feel strong and safe. I know that sounds strange. The wings are just beautiful and they make me feel like I can do anything, like I can fly, I guess. Well, you get the idea. I know none of this makes sense, but the individual parts of the tattoo serve as a reminder of where I’ve been and where I’m going. It just represents me, I guess you could say.
Still feeling unnerved by the tattoo and now the entire conversation, Gage’s only response is, “Umhmm.”
Wanting to put it out of his head for now, he grabs Kat’s arms, presses them both to the wall, and kisses her until he can no longer breathe. Scooping her into his arms once more, he carries her to the bed and strips off his pants while insisting, “The time for waiting is over.”
Lying in bed, moving together, they revel in the power of orgasm after orgasm. When they are both too drained to speak, Kat curls up around Gage and they drift off to sleep.
Pinned to a gurney, unable to move, while needles and tubes stretch from his body to bags of fluid and machines that are beeping and monitoring all his vital functions. Green fluid being injected into him— fire, ice, excruciating pain as his body becomes fluid; bones, muscle, skin morphing, liquefying, more blinding pain, then light. A warm yellow light, an angel with aquamarine eyes appears, hovering above him, her lips are moving, but he can’t hear what she’s saying. The dream changes and now he senses arousal. His, hers, he’s touching her bare skin, tasting her, whoever she is…he moves down her body, they’re both ready to make love; again, the angel appears, she’s somehow different this time, real but not real…the tattoo, she’s a tattoo, Kat’s tattoo.
Panicked, breathing heavily, Gage awakens, sitting straight up in bed. Disoriented in the dark, he quietly gets up. What the fuck? Where am I? As his eyes adjust to the light, he realizes he’s not in his bedroom at home. Looking down, he sees a mane of blonde hair, the naked body of a woman lying on the bed asleep. Realization hits him. He’s with Kat. He’s still at Kat’s beach house. Not wanting to wake her, he silently makes his way to the open glass doors and out onto the balcony.
Standing nude in the moonlight with sweat glistening on his skin, he throws his head back, letting the breeze from the surf wash over him. It happened again, the dream, or at least part of it, only this time it was different, shorter, and some new details had appeared. The green color he always saw before…it was some type of fluid being injected into his body. Then the angel appeared, and instead of waking up, the dream changed to being in a state of arousal with whom he now knew was Kat and her tattoo. He didn’t know what it all meant. He still didn’t understand where the dream came from, or why Kat, who he never saw before that day in the airport, was the face of the angel from his nightmares. Even more puzzling was the fact that she had a tattoo designed with an angel and a panther. A black panther. It had to be more than mere coincidence, but how? It was downright eerie.
Still not able to make sense of it, Gage stares out at the ocean. The moonlight, shining down on the water, makes it look like rolling sheets of glass, and the soft sound of the waves lapping against the shore had a calming effect on him. Happy that his breathing is finally steady and he is feeling more like himself, he thinks it might be nice to go back inside and wake Katrina with a little foreplay as he rejoins her in bed.
Turning to make his way back into the room, a subtle movement in the sand catches his attention. Using all his senses, including the nonhuman ones, he realizes someone is out there. No…not some ‘one’, but some ‘thing’. Something is out there, watching him. Sniffing the air, he picks up the scent of an animal. Not just any animal, but a predator; like him.
Wanting to catch the uninvited guest by surprise, Gage slips back into the entrance of the bedroom. Making sure Kat is still fast asleep, he quickly changes form, willing the painful process of his bones, muscles and sinews to reform at rapid speed while at the same time, he becomes covered in sleek shiny black fur which spreads over his entire body. His eyes change, becoming bright green and cat like; he grows a tail, paws with long, sharp claws, and his ears change shape, becoming pointy. Coming down on all fours, Gage swiftly skulks out onto the second floor balcony. Making sure he keeps the element of surprise, he bounds over the rail and into the sand below. Sensing danger, his prey makes itself known when it jumps up from where it blends in with the sand and takes off running.
Gage takes off after it at top speed. It is a cat, another panther, only this one is smaller, more slender in build than he and pure white in color, from what he can see of it. What is it doing here? Why is it watching him? Is this the same beast he sensed the first night in the club with Kat? Is this the predator that caused him to break away from Kat when they were about to make love in The Pit? He doesn’t know, but he sure as hell is going to find out!
Not only is Gage larger than the other cat, he is faster as well. Without much effort, he is upon it. Leaping through the air, he lands on its back, taking it down. They roll over and over through the sand, growling, clawing, and biting at one another while they both try to gain an advantage over the other. Again, Gage is the stronger of the two, so he comes out on top. Frustrated that he can’t question his adversary in panther form, he considers changing, but then he will be the one at the disadvantage if the white panther doesn’t change to human form, too. He knows if he’d been the one bested, he wouldn’t change back, so he has to assume the intruder won’t either.
Trained to injure, maim, and kill without thought or remorse, Gage isn’t averse to taking this bastard apart right here on the beach, then feeding what’s left to the fish, if he has to. The beast beneath him struggles to get free. With claws out, he takes a swipe at it. The white panther screams in anger and pain as streaks of blood paint its white coat. From its back, it takes a swipe at Gage with its front paw and barely makes contact, brushing his nose, but not causing any damage. The beast, now frustrated, is snapping its jaws in the air, trying to lunge forward far enough to sink its teeth into him, but to no avail. Struggling beneath him in an attempt to right itself, it kicks its hind legs up, landing a clawed foot across Gage’s hind leg. Now even angrier, Gage decides to go for the jugular. He’ll apply just enough pressure to make this bastard change so he can get some questions answered before he disposes of it. If that doesn’t work, he’ll finish the job by sinking his teeth all the way into its neck and with a tug, tear its throat out.
He doesn’t know why this thing is here, but this can’t be good. Someone either put out a hit on him or this thing had some other reason for seeking him out. Whatever that reason was didn’t matter, for it to have found him, spied on him, followed him to Kat’s house, and now appear in beast form instead of human form, was all he needed to know about its intentions. He decides the white panther will not make it off this beach alive tonight. With lightning fast speed, Gage has the other panther’s throat in his mouth. Clamping down with crushing force, he is ready to end its life, when the scent of Katrina, along with the sound of her voice calling out his name, catches his attention. Easing up and turning his head towards the beach house, he can see through the darkness that Kat is standing on the balcony, looking out into the night searching for him.
With Gage clearly distracted by Kat, the white panther takes the opportunity to kick out and roll, knocking him off. Before he can recover, the beast takes off running. All his instincts tell him to pursue, but before he can, Kat’s voice rings out into the night, again calling his name. Turning towards the sound of her voice once more, he decides he can’t leave her unprotected. What if, to get to him, the white panther circled back around and went after Kat while he was hunting it? What if he didn’t get to her in time? He knows he would never be able to live with himself. So instead, he heads back towards the house, staying in the shadows as much as possible. Changing to human form, he enters the water just south of the beach house that precedes hers. The water is warm as he swims out, then parallel to the shore, paddling towards Kat’s house and back onto shore. As he steps out of the water and heads up the beach, he knows the moment she spots him.
“Hey, what are you doing out here this time of night?’
“I was warm and couldn’t sleep. Decided to take a swim.”
“You do realize you’re out on the beach without any clothes on?”
“Yeah, I know. It’s dark out here and it’s late. Besides, I didn’t bring a suit, and you’re not my size,” he says with a sultry grin. “So I decided to go in wearing my birthday suit. Why don’t you get down here and join me?”
Thinking that it might be fun, she calls out, “I’ll be right down.” Heading downstairs to the set of glass doors at the back of the house, she strips off the sheet she had wrapped around herself, unlocks the door, and steps out into the sand. Before her eyes can adjust to the darkness, Gage is standing in front of her. Sliding his arms around her, he kisses her with his salty wet lips. God, he tastes so good. The moon is full and it shines down onto the water, reflecting light in every direction. Kat stands back and, for the first time, takes a good look at Gage in the nude. He is beautiful. His long, dark wet hair hangs just above shoulder length. The sharp angles of his face contrast with his full lips; his big, green eyes shine in the moonlight and are surrounded by long lashes and dark brows. His body is muscular and tight, and he is tall, with long arms and legs. The only marks on his body are a tattoo that tears across his ribcage on one side and some sort of wound on the other. Running her fingers along his tattoo, she notices how interesting it is. It looks like tear marks from some animal that tried to split his ribs. The ink is raven black, but has a deep purple hue to it in the current light. “I like your tattoo. It’s really different. I haven’t seen one like it before.”
“That’s because it’s not a tat, it’s a birthmark. I’ve had it ever since I can remember.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just so different I thought you had it intentionally done.”
“No, and it’s okay, you’re not the first person to assume it was a tattoo.”
“Well, what happened over here?” she asks, running a finger along his knife wound. “You look like you’ve been injured.”
“Yeah, it’s nothing. It’ll be fully healed in another day or so.” Taking her hand, he leads her to the edge of the water. Using his night vision, he takes a quick sweep of the beach and surrounding area to make sure his visitor is gone. Once certain, he leads her into the surf.
When the water reaches Kat’s midsection, Gage devours her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip, using his tongue to encourage her to open to him, and fueling the passion between them once again. As the waves gently push and pull at them, he whispers, “Wrap your legs around me, Kat.” She does as she is told, sliding down on him, and taking his length deep inside her. They make love in the ocean, then again lying on the edge of the sand, with waves gently lapping over them. When they finally go back inside, they shower, curl up on the white wicker couch on the bedroom balcony, and watch the sun come up wrapped in each other’s arms.