To Love a Stray Ch. 07

"No more kicking or hitting or I will stop, drag you out of my car and gaffa tape you to the roof!" Edwin warns angrily.

"So shredding his fancy shirt is okay?" I ask with raised eyebrows.

"Rosy," Chris warns but I can hear the laughter in his voice.

"Ok, I'll behave but I want ice cream." I announce. I can hear Chris smothering his laughter and a snort from Edwin.

"And you got to let us buy you heaps of stuff for kicking me!" Malcolm orders.

"I might consider one thing you like and that's all." I tell him dryly.

"I thought all females where supposed to love shopping," Edwin comments.

"Oh I generally do but it's your father's money and I am sure there are strings attached to it." I say dryly.

"You know I'm not going to even try to explain how things work because you're going to believe what you want or think the worst anyway!" Edwin snaps angrily. I sit looking out the window for the rest of the drive, Edwin's words making me wonder. Was I closing my mind simply because I didn't want to see anything good in clan cats?

* * * * *

I look at the wealth of clothes laid out on the bed, clothes I had let the toms urge me into choosing. Though I must admit there were several pairs of jeans I had simply had to have, soft-brushed denim that would be sheer luxury to wear. I jump nervously at the loud knock on the door.

"Come on, hurry up!" Timny calls and I grimace as I hear him head back to the lounge room. The toms want me to try the clothes on and show them. I glance at the half a dozen different tops, two pairs of cut offs and three pairs of jeans and shake my head deciding I'll show them two outfits and that's all. I quickly change into a pair of jeans and one of the tops before opening the door and heading for the lounge room.

"Now you look like someone cares about you," Edwin says in approval as I turn slowly to let the toms look at the outfit. I head back to the bedroom and change into the cut offs that come to just above my knees and a top that buttons down the front before heading back out to the lounge room.

"What about the other cut offs? I want to see them, my leg's killing me." Malcolm complains. I frown at him, the other cut offs were his idea and as much as I would like to get out of trying them on he had been limping since getting out of the car. I head back to the bedroom and exchange the cut offs pulling the others on, they are much shorter but I like the way they feel on and head out to the lounge room once again.

"Nice," Edwin says in a low purr and I don't miss the look in his eye. I sit on the lounge between Malcolm and Chris and Malcolm flinches when I swing my legs up onto the lounge but I rest my feet in his lap and grin at him.

"You can rub ointment into my feet since you made me hurt them on your leg." I tell him.

"You just want a foot rub." Malcolm chides but reaches for the ointment Doc had left while we were in town.

"I liked the other cut offs," The voice from the kitchen startles me and I gasp as I turn and look over the back of the lounge to see Steven leaning against one side of the doorframe while Micah is standing back a little way in the kitchen.

"They really hugged your butt," Steven grins. "I see you been letting the boys spoil you."

"We're trying," Edwin says and I glance at him to find him watching me, "and Rosy is being pretty good about it. Aren't you Rosy?"

"It was the prawn chips and ice cream." I say loftily even as a smile tickles at the corners of my lips.

"That reminds me Rosy, isn't there something you got to take?" Chris asks from beside me. I frown at him as I think about the amount of tablets I need to take to rid myself of any parasites I may have picked up eating fresh kills.

"A couple of you sit on her and I'll shove the tablets down her throat, she tries to bite me and I'll bloody well bite her back." Micah growls.

"I'm not sitting on her. My ribs and legs don't need to be matching sets." Malcolm grumbles.

"Oh give me a glass of water or juice and I'll take the damn tablets." I say and lie back on Chris' lap and let Malcolm take my feet into his hands.

I know by the way he holds both feet he doesn't trust me not to try to jump up and try to escape taking the tablets I have already admitted to hating. A large hand soon appears over the back of the lounge and I take the glass of juice and hold my other hand out for Edwin to put some of the tablets in, the first lot of tablets go down easy enough but when it comes to the rather large and foul tasting two to prevent tape worms I pull a face and try to sit up.

Chris takes hold of my shoulders and refuses to let me sit up, I frown at him but tilt my head back and drop one of the tablets down the back of my throat and swallow desperately. The second one follows quickly on the heels of the first and I try to sit up, I am immediately helped up and I drain the glass of juice hurriedly.

"Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!" I shudder and grimace at the after taste still left in my mouth.

"Your feet are a mess," Malcolm remarks as he gently massages one foot.

"My shoes got wet and I didn't stop to take them off or dry them out." I mutter as I lay back and enjoy the foot massage.

"They'll be right once I shift," I pretend not to see the glance between Edwin and Malcolm and sigh as I close my eyes and relax. I hear both Steven and Micah come around into the lounge room and open my eyes for a few moments to see where they seat themselves before closing my eyes once again.

"How long has she been here? Did one of you catch her unaware?" Micah asks

"She turned up just after dark last night," Edwin answers.

"She came back of her own free will?" Micah queries sounding surprised. "Is she coming into heat? She's not due until ..." his voice trails off and I slap him in the back of the head hard.

"Hey!" Micah growls angrily and glares at me.

"Mind your own business!" I snap angrily.

"Maybe I consider it my business," Micah purrs at me. I eye him nervously, I don't have Mitchell, Sam or even Dwayne to protect me and I feel very vulnerable as he eyes my prone body.

"You don't have to look at me like that; you're as safe as you want to be." Micah says when he meets my eyes. I turn my face away hurriedly and close my eyes as I lay with my face turned towards Chris's body. Malcolm keeps massaging my feet and slowly my tension leaches away until I find myself starting to drift off to sleep.

"I suppose she's got a full belly she is about to sleep it off, real little cat isn't she." Micah comments.

"Oh bite me!" I mutter and I am shocked when my hand is lifted and I feel teeth bite the base of my thumb gently. I jerk my hand away and sit up wide-eyed only to find Micah is watching me with a huge grin.

"You did invite me to bite you." He tells me. I get to my feet and head for the bedrooms.

"Chris I'm going to lie down on your bed and have a sleep." I call back over my shoulder.

"I'm staying here," He calls back to me.

"Just letting you know I'm going into your room." I tell him before disappearing into the room. I soon find I am unable to go to sleep and after about half an hour I come out of the room and head for the outdoors.

"Hey! Where you going?" Micah challenges as he gets to his feet.

"For a run," I answer without looking back at him.

"No shifting!" He warns and starts after me, immediately I stop and swing around to face him.

"Are you trying to prevent me leaving if I decide to?" I demand angrily.

"You haven't seen your ... toms yet." Micah chooses his words carefully as he makes his argument.

"Well stop trying to drive me away!" I snap and turn away to head outside.

"Wait for us!" Malcolm calls and I turn around angrily to face the quarters when I am nearly twenty yards from the door. I relax when Malcolm, Chris and Timny come out but no others.

"Where you going?" Malcolm asks as he falls in step behind me.

"For a walk since I'm not allowed to shift." I mutter angrily.

"Don't worry about Micah, he's just happy that your back and he doesn't want you disappearing again in a hurry." Chris says as he comes up on my other side.

"The way he was acting it wasn't me running off that he had on his mind." I mutter to myself angrily.

"Oh come on, give Micah a chance. He liiiiikkkkkessss you." Timny says drawing out the word.

"Shall we change the subject before I get pissed off and shift?" I demand.

"Would shifting involve take our clothes off?" Malcolm asks wriggling his eyebrows. I glare at him a moment before realising he is teasing me.

"You lot would have to turn your backs and close your eyes and keep them closed." I declare and resume walking.

"Where are we going?" I ask as we reach the tree line.

"You like swimming?" Chris asks.

"Yeah,"

"We got a neat swimming hole; you can strip down to your top and undies. We'll keep our underwear on just for you." Malcolm tells me.

"Don't worry I won't ruin your arsehole image by telling anyone you can be sweet when you want to." I shoot back.

"Why thank you," Malcolm says with a laugh. The swimming hole proves to be very good and I am soon having fun splashing with the toms forgetting to be self-conscious of the fact the water makes my top cling to my body or the fact that my shorts rest on the bank out of reach of the water.

I scream and giggle as they splash me or pick me up and toss me into the air to fall in the water, I squeal and run for the shore only to let one of them catch me and drag me back to the deeper water where I get dunked or help two of them dunk the other.

When I finally do climb out I sprawl flat on my back and lay in the dappled sun pleasantly exhausted, Chris comes out to sit beside me while the other two continue to muck around in the water.

"Seemed like you were having fun." Chris comments.

"Yeap," I say with a broad smile. He grins back at me and brushes my hair off my forehead. I feel my body start to tingle at the look in his eyes and look away from him.

"How long will they stay in there?" I ask.

"Either until they get hungry or one of our phones goes off." Chris says as he stretches out beside me. I glance at him and try to ignore the way my body starts to feel as I remember him touching me last night, I stare up at the wisps of clouds through the leaves and try to keep my breathing even.

"You've gone all quiet." I hear the trace of concern in his voice and realise he's heard the way my heart has started beating faster.

I glance at him from the corner of my eye and he's watching me closely and I look away hurriedly. I don't want to notice how well muscled his shoulders are or the way they look all slick and smooth wet from the water, I feel my nipples tighten making my breasts ache strangely.

"What's wrong?" Chris asks softly and I glance towards him nervously then look away at the others in the water. "Rosy?"

"I'm going back in the water." I say jumping up and rushing into the water.

"Back for more are you!" Malcolm laughs at me and grabs me by the waist, before I realise what he is about to do he has lifted me level with his shoulders. He tenses and I hear him sniff before he tosses me into the water.

"Go cool off," He laughs as I stand up spluttering. Timny splashes me and I squeal before splashing him back, several times I look to see where Chris is but he's still sitting on the grass and I ignore him as I laugh and splash and play.

"Rosy seems to be having fun," I hear Chris say. I glance across at Chris to find he has stood and walked over to Malcolm who's checking his phone, I hear Malcolm laugh softly and I look away as he glances my way.

"What the heck did you do to make her run back into the water?" Malcolm asks so quietly I almost can't hear him.

"Nothing, she was fine one moment and the next she started getting agitated and ended up going back in the water." Chris says quietly. Malcolm starts laughing and I glance their way for a moment before turning my attention back to Timny in a hurry as he splashes me all up the back. I glance back towards the two toms on the bank and Timny catches me unaware dunking me as I look away from him, I come up coughing and choking while Timny grabs my arm and steadies me.

"Was she trying to catch a fish?" Chris laughs as both he and Malcolm join us in the water.

"Must have been." Timny says with a laugh. I splash at his chest and squeal as he splashes me back, I find myself thrown in the air by Malcolm and hold my breath before I hit the water.

I don't notice when Timny leaves the water and when I do finally notice his absence I realise that both Timny and Malcolm have left the water and are well away from Chris and me.

"You look like you were having fun," Chris says easily and I glance at him with a smile.

"Yeah. It was lots of fun." I say happily.

I feel something catch at my top and glance down automatically, Chris has hold of my top and when I meet his eyes he moves closer. I lick my bottom lip nervously and then his mouth is on mine, brushing lightly over my mouth a moment before he lifts his head. I blink up at him for a few moments then he lowers his head and this time when his mouth closes over mine his tongue traces the seam of my lips before gently slipping into my mouth.

I kiss him back enjoying the experience for a few minutes before he lifts his head, I push away from him and head for the bank. I can hear him following me and when I reach the grass he catches up with me in a hurry and pulls me to a stop, his mouth is much more demanding this time and I press against him as I slip my arms around his neck.

"Shouldn't we stop Chris?" Timny's question breaks into what is happening and I stiffen in Chris's arms, turning my face away from his.

"No leave 'em he won't hurt her or do anything she doesn't want him to do." I hear Malcolm answer quietly and I hear faint noises as they move away. I realise Chris has picked me up and is easing me down on to the grass on my back, I turn my face towards him startled but he smiles down at me and stretches out along side me. He strokes the side of my face gently for a moment before kissing me lightly and lifting his head to look down at me again.

"Not scared are you?" he asks softly.

"A bit ... but ..." I stop talking and bite my bottom lip and drop my gaze to his chest, "You didn't hurt me when you touched me last night." I whisper nervously.

"O ...k ... so you were awake." Chris says softly.

"I didn't know ... I thought ... I'd been ..." I stammer nervously.

"You thought you were dreaming because it felt nice?" Chris guesses as he lowers his head to kiss my neck.

"Yeah," I say with a nervous gasp and jerk slightly as his hand finds my breast, the sensations are as I remembered them and I hold still as he unbuttons my top and pushes it aside to uncover my breasts. His lips move down my neck leaving a pleasant tingling in their wake while his hand brushes lightly over my ribs, I gasp and jerk as it moves lower and Chris lifts his head to kiss me.

We kiss for a while before he lifts his head and trails his lips down my neck, I gasp and arch into his mouth as it covers my breast and he begins sucking gently. The sensations he causes as he turns his attention from one breast to the other and alternates between sucking gently, biting gently and licking soon has me moving restlessly. The hand that trails across my thighs has me opening my legs and I tense as his fingers slip beneath one side of my underpants, I am totally unprepared for the intense sensations that surge where he touches and I gasp as I spread my legs wider and grab at his shoulders. Chris lifts his head and kisses me, I whimper into his mouth as his fingers explore my dewy folds as I move my hips against his hand.

I pull my mouth away from his and gasp for breath as the intensity of the sensations build. I whimper and turn my head to press my mouth against his shoulder. The strong feelings well up and something tightens down low in my stomach, I am only aware of the sensations coursing through my body and I whimper wanting something I can't identify. Wave after wave of sensation bursts over me and I gasp as I close my thighs tightly on his hand, I whimper and allow him to push my thighs apart again as he continues to make the exquisite sensations bloom. When the last shudder of pleasure moves through me I open my eyes slowly and tense as Chris moves over me to lie between my thighs.

"No! No!" I cry in fright and push against his chest, he rolls away from me and I scramble into a sitting position.

"It's alright Rosy, I'm stopping, I've stopped. I promise I won't do anymore to you." Chris pants as he holds one hand out towards me in the universal signal for stop, I gasp as I pull my top closed trembling as I watch him.

"Chris! Time we headed back." Malcolm calls and I glance towards the direction where his voice came from but I see no sign of either him or Timny.

"Give me a minute!" Chris yells back and I look at him, he grins at me in a strained kind of way and takes a deep breath. "I'm not going to hurt you I promise, and we'd best get dressed."

I scramble backwards keeping a wary eye on him as I search with one hand for my clothes, as he pulls his jeans on over his jocks I realise he is still very aroused and yet he is not forcing himself on me. I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I try to control my fear.

"You alright Rosy?" I hear the concern in Chris's voice and open my eyes to glance at him; I look away quickly but give a faint nod.

"You weren't trying to hurt me." I state and my surprise is evident in my voice even to me.

"I enjoyed that as much as I hope you did, why would I want to hurt you?" Chris tells me softly. I stand up and pull my cut offs on before buttoning my top up; I glance at Chris and find him waiting for me.

"Come on, let's go find the others." Chris says and leads the way towards the trees. As soon as we reach the trees Malcolm and Timny appear out of the shadows and I realise with embarrassment that they probably were where they could see and hear everything that had happened. I am surprised there are no dirty comments and other than a concerned glance from both of them they act like nothing unusual has happened.

As we walk I dart embarrassed glances at Chris and can't help wondering what he thinks of me after I let him do that, a sick feeling begins to grow in my stomach. I'm sure we've just messed our friendship up and I grimace unhappily as I walk with my head down for a few moments.

"We'll catch up in a minute." Chris says as he catches hold of my arm.

I glance at him nervously and look away hurriedly when I see him watching me. Malcolm and Timny continue on without a word and I bite my bottom lip nervously as I wait for what Chris has to say.

"You okay Rosy? You don't want to shred me for what happened?" Chris asks softly. I shake my head slightly as I glance at his face and glance away only he catches my chin in his fingers and tilts my face up to drop a quick kiss on my lips. I blink at him in surprise and he grins at me.

"Feel better now? I know I do." He tells me with a smile.

"Yeah," I say softly and let him take my hand. We soon catch up to the others and when I try to pull my hand free Chris looks at me with a raised eyebrow and keeps a firm hold on my hand until I stop trying to pull free.

When we reach the tree line at the compound the three toms stop and Chris looks at me, I meet his eyes for a few seconds before dropping my eyes. He lifts his hand that holds mine, he gestures towards our entwined fingers.

"Are you alright with this?" he asks softly.

"What do you mean exactly?" I ask uncertainly.

"Not trying to hide what everyone is going to smell on us. Or if you prefer we can forget it happened and that's the end of it?" Chris tells me quietly. I stand there not sure what to say, I glance at his face uncertainly before glancing away.