What it Means to Have You

Almost... But Not Quite

Work was bustling, to say the least. It wasn't even one yet, which is when we normally got the huge rush, but the place was already splitting at the seams with people. I'd also turned away more fake IDs than I had all month. Must be some kind of high school event going on this week. One that requires every damn underage teen within ten miles of this place to try to get it tonight. Rolling my eyes, I sent in the last of the people old enough to actually go inside, then took a deep breath to try to relax. The line had shrunk, and now the only people I saw slowly trickling in were regulars, so I didn't bother carding them.

"Good evening, Naggy."

The slick, sensuous words made my skin crawl in distaste immediately. It was odd, to say the least. Tawny stepped around my left side, squeezing between where I stood and the entrance. I nudged him slightly to be sure he wasn't going to cause problems with the traffic coming and going from the building, then stared down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Good evening," I said with a bland, uninterested voice. It was a shock to me after all the times I'd had him that I didn't even want to touch him then. He was still gorgeous, though, standing a perfect five foot eight inches tall with smooth, rosetted blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like a literal angel... but had a thing for lying beneath devils. The guy could sweet-talk his way into your bed in seconds, and if somehow that didn't work, he'd get you into the alleyway next to wherever you were even quicker. So when I just greeted him, it was obvious that I'd taken him by surprise. Hell, even I was surprised. But as soon as I thought that, I saw a flash of what Kine could look like beneath me in bed, splayed out and panting for me.

"I knew you were just joking!" Tawny said as he leaped up, hugging me with his arms and legs as his mouth began to nibble at my right ear. Even with him nearly grinding on me and messing with one of my weak spots, I didn't feel anything at all. Well, that wasn't completely true. I did feel dirty and like I was cheating on Kine.

"Get off."

Even as I hissed the words, I was quickly undoing his legs from around my waist, then removing his hands. When he dropped back to his feet, he had a confused pout on his face and his hands moved to his hips.

"Alright, buddy, you better start explaining. Someone steal all of your catnip or something?"

He knew I was a shifter, of course, since he was as well, but while I was a calm jaguar, he was a snippy ocelot. They were known for having little patience and finicky attitudes, and Tawny definitely fit the bill to a T.

"Listen, Tawny. I'm sorry, but I'm done."

I was about to finish that sentence with "I have a mate now", but I had a feeling that would only spur him on further to get under my skin and in my bed. I was notorious for never having found a mate when jaguars usually did fairly fast. It just sort of happened for most of the other big cats in the area, but I'd been single and basically taking out my sexual frustration on Tawny or any other horny cat shifter I could find for years. Being one of the stronger cats in the feline population in the city had its benefits in that category, but I was done sleeping around.

I thought he would simply leave at that since I was dominant to him, so I turned my attention back to my job, only to feel him begin to rub his face against my back. Oh you sneaky little bastard. He nearly got my jaguar out with the blatant act of disrespect, but I couldn't just shift on the sidewalk, even if he was scent-marking me. Thankfully my boss came out a moment later and told me he'd take the door so I could go on break. Perfect.

Immediately I swung around and grabbed Tawny, tossing him over my shoulder before stomping into the alley a few yards away. For once, there weren't any drunk people in it, passed out or sucking each other's faces off, so we actually had a little bit of privacy. When I stopped walking about halfway down the alley, Tawny squirmed out of my hold and dropped to the dirty ground, landing in a crouch with a content purr. I bit my lip to keep from rolling my eyes as he straightened and licked his lips teasingly... making my stomach turn with the urge to vomit.