The Neko's Tail (Book 2 of Astara)

In the Heat

The pod hissed open, and Artemis waited a minute for Elias to wake from his malaise. There was nothing wrong with the neko. He had an anxiety attack, and there wasn’t much Artemis could do to stop those from happening.

Elias sat up slowly, scanning the room/ His eyes fell on Artemis, lighting up with a wary joy. Artemis wondered if he’d ever lose that fear in him.

“Hey, welcome back,” the tiger smiled at the neko.

He held out his hand, helping Elias out of the pod. It felt wrong, enjoying the neko’s body as much as he did. The tiger was tempted to hide Elias’ clothes, and make him walk around nude.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Artemis watched as Elias covered up that perfect body. He knew Elias could likely tell what he was thinking. Not only was his dick growing hard in his pants, Artemis’ tail was also waving through the air alluringly, despite his best efforts to control it.

‘Damn, he threw me into heat…’

“Can you help me lock down the ship?” the tiger asked huskily, trying to fight his urges.

Elias trembled slightly, nodding. He fled from the room, and Artemis growled. He wanted to chase the cat, throw him down on a bed and ride him.

There was no time for this…

The tiger fled to the bathroom, splashing his face with cold water. There was only one way to stop the emotions raging through him, but for now, the water would calm him just enough to get through the jump. The biggest risk would come from Elias. Artemis didn’t know the breeding habits of nekos, but if it was anything like the tiger’s own species, there was a chance he might put the neko into a heat just by being near him.

Spotting the neko walking down the hall as he left the bathroom, Artemis called, “Elias, I need you to stay in the cabin until we’re done with the jump.”

The tiger turned away before seeing if the neko would listen. He needed to trust Elias, and he needed to get through the jump before something disastrous happened.

The ship heated around the neko as he stared at the letters on the tablet in front of him. Artemis had assured him it was safe to use the tablet during a portal jump as long as he was careful, and Elias took advantage of that to try and take his mind off the tiger.

With no luck.

Artemis really wanted him; his tail made that apparent. But Elias wasn’t ready to let the tiger fuck him. He didn’t know if he’d ever be ready. On the one hand, the thought filled him with excitement, laying with Artemis, their bodies entwined in love. But the tiger was so much bigger than him. He just knew being taken by Artemis would hurt. And with the tiger on top of him, he wouldn’t be able to get away if something went wrong. He’d be trapped, once more a slave to someone’s whims.

But he wanted the tiger. There was no denying it.

Elias laid back on his bed, sweat pouring over his clothes. He was going to need a change when they cooled down. It shouldn’t be more than five minutes now, and then Artemis would be increasing the ship’s speed until they were cruising through space.

He couldn’t talk to the tiger about all this. Not while Commander Hawke was on the ship. Elias didn’t know what it was about the human, but he didn’t trust her.

But then, who did he trust?

And Elias knew instantly. Artemis. He trusted Artemis. The tiger wouldn’t hurt him. Not intentionally.

Standing, the neko set his tablet aside and left the room. Directing his feet toward the cockpit, Elias kept his arms tightly against his body, holding his tail so it wouldn’t touch the scalding walls. The door to the cockpit hissed open, and Elias saw Artemis tense visibly.