CARLOS AWAKENED TO a face full of dirt and the worst headache of his life.

When he was a child his mother had told him that one day he would go through a great metamorphosis. Growing up in the Woods with No Name meant that you were either poor or hiding from the authorities, and usually, it was both.

The predators survived, and so Carlos was taught that although his stature may be small he was as fierce as any lion shifter. And he had believed it, until one day he was walking along the grassy trail and was jumped by a bear shifter.

Bloodied and bruised, Carlos has made his way home only to find that his mother had been the first victim of the bear. He didn’t know why someone would harm such a gentle spirit, but he knew that if he was going to live he would have to be a hell of a lot scarier than a caterpillar shifter.

Carlos had worked tirelessly to transform his human body into a fighting machine. As he finished growing, he topped five foot ten and had packed on at least fifty pounds of pure muscle. The only issue was that when he shifted he was unprotected as a newborn babe.

This was when he started to study more about his shifter form. His mother had been adamant that he would have a great metamorphosis. And that is when Carlos realized that he must be something special. In the years following this realization, Carlos had traveled wide, gained a few friends, and a whole host of enemies.

But that great change that his mother spoke of was nowhere to be found. He didn’t give up hope, however, and knew without a shadow of a doubt that someday, sometime, he was going to show them all that he was so much more than what they thought.

Perhaps that was why he got the hairbrained idea to eat some of the mushrooms. Carlos wasn’t stupid, he knew they were poisonous. But in Wonderland things were not always what they seemed. It hadn’t been the first time when what seemed like the completely wrong choice ended up being the best choice after all. It had been a split second, knee-jerk reaction that he was now paying for.

“You awake Sleeping Beauty?”

Carlos contemplated picking his head up to answer the beautiful redhead. But considering that his head felt like it weighed about a ton he decided against it.

“No,” he groaned, dirt getting into his already nasty tasting mouth.

Carlos felt someone tug at his shoulders and then the world bounced and shook and an alarming rate before settling again. He blinked and this time he was lying on his back.

“Am I dead?” he rasped.

Mary Ann giggled, “If you were why would I be there?”

Carlos snorted, “There are angels in heaven, Red.”

And then it came back to him that he had called her that during his trip to the land of crazy.

“Can you tell me one thing?” he asked and saw Mary Ann’s worried face as she leaned over him.

“Are you alright, Caterpillar? You don’t look so good.”

Carlos was vain enough that he didn’t want to hear this beautiful girl tell him he wasn’t at his best. But the damn straight truth was that he felt like shit on a stick or crap on a cracker—maybe worse.

“Fucking fantastic,” he grumbled before a shutting of his eyes once again.

“Well, you and I were left behind because of your trip down the yellow brick road,” Mary Ann continued as if Carlos were listening intently.

This had his eyes popping open, “What do you mean—left behind? Are we free to go?”

Mary Ann’s smile had an immediate effect on Carlos. Heat raced through his body and his dick jerked in response.

“You are my prisoner now,” she teased.

Carlos wanted to tell her that she was welcome to do anything that she wanted to with him. Hopefully naked—preferable naked, and possibly with whip cream if they could dig some up.

“They went to the lake to see if they could get news about Hatter. Jay wanted to tie you up, but I promised to stay back and guard you.”

Carlos frowned, “I am bigger and meaner than you are, Red. How are you supposed to restrain me?”

She glanced down at his foot and he gave his leg a yank only to find that his ankle was cuffed to a chain that wrapped around a massive mushroom. What really irritated him was that if he hadn’t had been forced to eat the shrink me food he could have smashed that mushroom with two fingers.

But in his present state, it wouldn’t have mattered if it were the mushroom or the thickest tree in the forest. There was no possible way he could break free.

Carlos cursed and then cursed again just because it felt good and he was damn tired of being taken advantage of.

Mary Ann looked at him questioningly and Carlos remembered that he really didn’t mind being her prisoner.

“What are we going to do then, until they return, that is?” Carlos inquired.

Mary Ann blinked, “Do?”

Carlos sat up gingerly, ignoring the way that his body ached and strained against his efforts.

“Yes, do,” he continued, “We aren’t just going to stare at each other, they could be gone for hours, possibly days.”

Mary Ann inched closer to him, “Days?”

Carlos knew that he was exaggerating things a bit. But she smelled so damn nice and he wanted to have that sweet-smelling skin rubbing endlessly against his own.

“I mean, I will try and protect you the best I can,” Carlos let the statement drift off as he tugged on the chain.

Mary Ann scooted even closer, “What dangers are out there?”

Carlos laughed, “Red, we are the size of ants, pretty much everything in the forest is a danger to us.”

Her arm brushed his and, in an instant, Carlos had pulled her into his lap.

Mary Ann squealed and tried to move off of him. But Carlos was stronger and held her still.

“I need you to protect me,” he whispered into Mary Ann’s soft neck.

Her breathing hitched, and she felt her nipples begin to tighten. There was also the tale-tell erection poking into her ass to remind her that she was in over her head.

Mary Ann turned to look at him but hadn’t known how close their faces were. His lips brushed her cheek and she let out the softest of moans.

That was all the encouragement that Carlos needed. His lips crashed into hers and he kissed her. Mary Ann, startled by the intimacy tried to push him away. But if she were being honest, the attempt was half-hearted at best and the moment he swept his thick tongue into her mouth.

Well, let’s just say that the seducer became the seduced.

Mary Ann flipped in his arms so that she was straddling his waist. Her pantaloons were a thin protection against his tented pants. Her hands slid into his hair and it was Carlos’ turn to groan out in pleasure. Mary Ann loved kissing and considered it an art form. She tasted him, savored him, and left no stone unturned until they were both panting with need.

His hands had crept from her ample hips to her waist and then to her breasts. She had firm high breasts that he longed to suck on. He wanted to know what they felt like inside of his mouth. Carlos wanted to know what the juncture of her thighs felt like against his tongue.

Fuck—he was in trouble.