A Jaguar's Mate

The bionic stranger who had kidnapped her did not tire, which made sense, after all bionics had no lungs to struggle with the intake of air, no muscles to be overtaxed by constant motion. He had been running for over an hour now, maintaining an impossible speed, 25 miles per hour if she were to guess which meant they were far from any search the police might be conducting. They were now in the mountains and it would be a while before any search was conducted this far. He had a knack for finding a path through the most difficult terrain, choosing a way no mere man could follow. His skin which should have been chilled was warm against her body, the play of muscles beneath her cheek lulling her numbed mind.

It made no sense, his speed and even breath suggested something not human, even the temperature of his skin in the chilly mountain air but the movement beneath her cheek, upper body and thigh were all too human. Was he a freak like her? Is that why he knew her name? Maybe there was a freak data base or website, like freaksrus.com where they were all registered. Or with her luck he was a government lab rat engineered to find her. Either way she was screwed, she had no idea where he was taking her and by the looks of it no human had ever been this way. As bad as that was it wasn't the worst of it.

Maybe it was his strength or maybe the musky wild forest scent of his skin or maybe even the way he held her with all the tenderness of a man who knew his strength but chose to protect. Whatever it was, something dark and forbidden unfurled inside her, some need that had long ago been suppressed she had no recollection of it. Her blood sang with innate knowledge, a cry primal and fierce calling to the man who held her. It was as if she knew him, had known him beyond time and a part of her awoke to him, for him. Despite her mind's numbness her body reacted to his, with every step he took his bare chest rubbed against her bare arm and the side of her breast with her other arm rubbing against his. Her thigh brushed against his lower stomach too near his aroused member to cause increasingly potent pyrotechnics in her stomach. She had to resist the temptation to wiggle just a bit, enough to brush against him, enough to rub a nipple against his chest. The temptation to free her hand and caress the expanse of smooth hard skin she could see was compelling, focusing her mind when she should be thinking of escape.

What was wrong with her? She knew the Stockholm syndrome took longer than an hour to set in so it had to be her own special psychosis, Aageosis, no that did not sound right. Aage syndrome was much better, the diagnosis for people who took a shine to their abductors and wanted to devour every inch of their delectable smooth skin. Not to mention the inappropriate sense of humor. Was it the magic of his deep hypnotic voice? Kidnappers should not have such melodic voices it was too unfair, what hapless female victim would stand a chance? Or maybe it was the sincerity she thought she sensed in him or even those aqua eyes of his. Lord she was a mess; she couldn't even fight off her kidnapper. If, well not really if but when he raped her would it really be rape when she was getting so aroused?

Fear again froze her blood at that, the blood that had been heating up as she became aware of him, her body went rigid and he adjusted his arms about her. No, no matter how insane she was becoming she would fight to her death than let that be.

"Relax sweetheart, it will be okay."

Sweetheart? what right did he have to call her sweetheart? Bile rose in her at the implications, only a psychotic lunatic called his victims endearments, a man who pretended to know her and probably would soon be claiming they had a romantic relationship. What was wrong with her that she attracted creeps?

Aage had never thought keeping her body rigid would be so taxing, all too soon she was exhausted, her muscles painfully aching that she had no choice but to relax into him again. She had to come up with a plan to escape before she lost more of her sanity and so much more. The forest triggered long buried memories that battered against her already fragile sanity coupled with the situation she was now in she couldn't stop the scream that erupted in her mind.

"Aage stop." He commanded in a gentle voice and she froze again her mind going still.

Had he heard her scream? Was it possible? It couldn't be possible, O God she was going to die. A nudist android who could read her mind had been drawn to her by her own freakishness and was going to do who knew what to her. Death was preferable to any of the things running through her mind and she had an active imagination.

Yet she was disturbingly calm, the core part of her was serene even excited despite the efforts of her mind to slap it into some semblance of self-preservation. She could not exactly make a viable escape plan if a part of her was actually purring to be in his arms. The longer he held her, the more contented she became, that insane part of her taking over. In fact she felt something move beneath her skin; an itching need she had felt before, like something wild and animalistic lived under her skin and wanted out. She had always been able to control it, to push it back inside but now it would not have that.

No! She needed control, she needed space, she needed to put whatever was unfurling in her back inside, and she had to hold it in. Strength poured into her veins, panic filled her mind and she struggled harder than she had before, her arms straining against his as she screamed her denial. Being kidnapped was one thing, a person could be reasoned with, the possibility of rape was only that and even her unexplainable behavior likely had a perfectly good explanation but what was rising in her was too much. Too foreign, too strong, too wild, too uncontrollable. Heat raced through her veins, pain ached her joints, her bones feeling as if they were being elongated and shrunk. Her skin itched abominably, the hairs on it feeling coarse and raised. That there was even hair on her skin scared her, she had had her body hair lasered off. She could hear her bones cracking, feel her jaw shifting as her lower teeth protruded further out than her upper ones. Her screaming voice deepened until it sounded more like a growl of pain.

She wanted the arms around her gone, the hot skin felt hotter than a brand, for the same reason she wanted to be held forever. She snapped at him even as she rubbed herself against him, a primitive need to fight him and entice him arose. With age old instinct she had never had she clawed his side with nails that were now claws and he instantly let her go. Before she even started to fall her body sprang up like a tightly wound coil that had suddenly been let go. Gaining more height she twisted in midair, her limbs tucked neatly about her then she landed lightly on her feet, not even needing to bend her knees.

She was more aware than she had ever been. The light night breeze felt sensual against her heated skin. She read the messages it carried, the rustling restlessness of the trees, the soft crooning of birds settling in their nests, the flutter of a night owl's wings and the scent of its feathers, the musky warm scent of huddled deer, prey.

Shock brought back a measure of her sanity, horror at the overwhelming desire to hunt them, to taste the hot bloody meat of a fresh kill. She could even hear the heartbeats of her prey, knew they were about two miles west of her. She knew where west was despite the darkness and her previously faulty sense of direction and she could see as well as she did during the day. His musky scent seemed magnified, irresistible calling to dark needs she had never guessed at. His flavor tantalized her tongue despite that she had not tasted his skin, reminiscent of a yearned for treat she had half forgotten. It was an erogenous temptation that assaulted her senses, drawing her to him against her better judgment. She yearned like she never had, ached in secret places she had never known to ache.

He raised his nose and sniffed the air and she knew he could scent her arousal. His body hardened even more the muscles of his chest seeming to enlarge, to become more defined. His savage beauty became sharper within the primal need awakening between then. Her own body softened readying itself for him and a purr vibrated through her. This was what she had long wanted, what had been missing for so long. The freedom and the knowledge she had him where she wanted, that he was hers at last. It had been too long, he had been gone too long and for that he would pay. She would bring him to his knees; torture him as only she was capable. Yes, his strength meant nothing, his power insignificant to what she could make him do. She was an enchantress, irresistible and powerful in her need. He was cursed and blessed to respond only to0 her. Ancient knowledge told her she had all the power, held him in thrall like a slave awaiting his mistress' pleasure.

She circled him with feline grace, her hips rolling a taunting rhythm daring him to approach. Her feet fell on the forest floor with perfect balance, a testament to her readiness. He would have to prove himself worthy of her, worthy of the right and strength to take her. She was queen and having abandoned her he had no right to assume anything, no right to touch her. It was her place to test him, to judge his substance and decide if he lived or died.

With preternatural speed and grace she spun away from him and ran. Her feet found the safest place to fall, a path where none was, instinct had her finding and passing through the most difficult trail she could make. She avoided brushing against anything knowing not to leave her scent about or disturb nature. She ran with freedom, confidence and joy. She ran with all the speed she had never known she had, she ran away from any human habitation. The wind was to her back so her scent could not be carried to him and as much as she could she found rocks to step on where the barest touch was unlikely to leave a lasting scent.

The wind felt good on her skin, she was swift enough that her suitor was nowhere to be heard, cunning enough that it would take all the skill he had to find her. He had no chance where she was concerned, she was of ancient blood, powerful in ways his own wasn't and she would prevail. He had shamed her, abandoned her to pain when he was meant to protect her and for that she would last long enough to be free of him, long enough that she would prove superior and then his life would be hers.

After all a cat that could not catch and subdue his mate deserved death.

The thought was final, coldblooded, primal in its simplistic reason that it snapped whatever this confusion was from her mind. She could not kill anything, had freaked out the one time she had been asked to slaughter a chicken! Yet here she was contemplating cold blooded murder.

What was wrong with her, what had gotten into her? She knew even how to kill him, knew that if she lasted long enough to best him he would not deny her the kill. That made it so much worse, the knowledge that rose from depths within her she had yet to explore. Dangerous knowledge, vicious, chilling and logical. There was nowhere to hide from that brutal reality, no escape from what she was capable of.

Rage boiled within her, impotent and fused with a hatred that scared whatever sanity she still claimed. How could he do this to her, why would he awaken such horror in her. She was compassionate, kind and had never thought to harm anyone, had never suspected such brutality was in her. Fear became a living thing in her gut, a certainty of new unsuspected terrors that nevertheless were old. Fears of the uncertain path her life had irrevocably taken. She ran with the impetus of it, ran form the beast that was chasing her.

A roar of anguish sounded behind her giving her a burst of speed beyond the unnatural one she had achieved. Lord he had been toying with her, letting her believe she could outrun him, believe that she had left him behind when he had merely kept apace and hidden. He did not crush through the verdance, his footfalls were silent but now she felt him closing in on her, felt the futility of her own speed. She wove from side to side, jumped impossibly wide gullies but he gained on her. Sobbing with tears running down her cheeks she gave it all she had but it was not enough.

His arms circled her waist, lifting her off the ground so she wouldn't stumble. Had his arms been this hard before? She could have sworn they were now made of steel had his skin not been so hot, hers was chilled. She trembled uncontrollably sobs wracking through her painfully. He turned her to face him one hand manacling her hands together and holding them above her. She felt too weak to struggle, her sobs robbing her of any resistance she could have mastered. So close she had come so close and been caught, what hope was there that she would ever have another chance?

He stopped running then slammed her against a tree with commendable restraint. Commendable because she knew he could have crushed he bones instead of only bruising her wrists. He spun away from her with a raging cry. A cry that could only have come from an angry jungle cat. Flinching she tried to move away from the tree only to realize she could not, somehow her insane captor had immobilized her against the tree with her arms held above her. It was impossible, none of this could possibly be happening, people did not roar, she did not run faster than a car nor did she have delusions of grandeur. There was no was any of this could be real. Yet she stood facing a raging man with claws for nails, claws he was using to decimate the bark if a harmless tree as he screamed and growled to the heavens.

Where she had been shivering with impotence she now shivered in cold terror. All this rage he was unleashing was for her, because of her. It would only be a matter of time before she was the mess the tree was turning into. A matter of time before those razor claws would be cutting through her tender flesh and bones.

Snarling he turned to her and her heart turned to ice at the merciless coldness in his eyes. Nothing of humanity dwelt in those depths nor was their colour human. Where they had been aquamarine now they were an amber luminous sheen, eyes only cats and dogs were allowed to have, eyes that denoted madness in a human.

"Ye canna tempt me so Aage," he growled. "'Tis four decades since I've seen ye and ye donna know what they did to me. Four decades where the humans couldna do what ye have done this night." He paused to look deep into her terrified eyes and she could not breathe as she waited for him to tell her what she could possibly have done, "Ye have brought Liam McMorna over the brink of madness and now ye shall suffer for it."

Aage opened her mouth to scream but her voice caught at her throat as he grabbed the lapels of her blouse together with the straps of the bra underneath. With easy strength he tore them open to expose her heavy breast to the night all the time holding her captive with those eerie eyes of his. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt the cool air on her sensitive skin, as his hands cupped her lush flesh and his thumbs soothed her nipples. She wept silently as he broke eye contact to bury his face in the bounty of her flesh knowing there was no hope for her any more.