A long-buried instinct remembered the playful invitation. Rachael got slowly to her feet, and, ignoring the warning throb in her leg, leapt to the ground below. At once the large male leopard nuzzled her, rubbing his head and body along hers. His tongue licked over her fur. He pawed her, even bit at her gently with his teeth. Rachael returned the signs of affection, rubbing her smaller, sleeker body along his. She touched her nose to his and licked his fur. The sensations were amazing to her, even her rough tongue provided her with information.
She turned and ran, looking over her shoulder in a blatant invitation to follow her. He was fast, a blur of motion, nearly crashing into her as he matched her pace, turning her so that she ran in a different direction. Rachael, deep inside the leopard’s body, laughed and cleared a fallen tree trunk,
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waited until he joined her and pounced him. They rolled over in the soft vegetation, scrambled to their feet and raced off again. The male shouldered her several times, knocking into her so that she ran in the direction he chose.
They splashed through two puddles, sending up wide sprays of water. They nuzzled each other beside a large fruit tree with a hundred flying fox watching them from above. The two leopards rolled in the shadow of tall trees and chased a herd of barking deer for a few minutes. Always he rubbed his body along hers, nuzzled and licked her fur, urging her to keep moving when she would have lain down.
Her leg was burning, her sides heaving from the wild, playful fun. Twice she tried to crouch on the ground, indicating the need for rest. Both times his heavier shoulder struck hers. She snarled at him. He snarled back and pressed into her, nearly knocking her down. He was enormously strong. Rachael began to grow apprehensive. She was limping, doing her best to keep weight off her injured leg. Still he pushed her on. She looked around her and realized she recognized the area. Rio had brought her back home.
Snarling, she whirled around, ears flat, swiping at him with her paw. He was lightning fast, dancing away from her, and then running flat out, knocking her off her feet so she lay on the ground trying to regain her breath. At once he was on her, pinning her down, his teeth driving into her shoulder. He held her still and simply waited.
Rachael knew what he wanted. What he was demanding of her. He wanted her back in her other form. Stubbornly she growled at him, grimacing to show her displeasure. The position of submission angered her, but it also left her feeling vulnerable and afraid. She tried to wait, but she knew he wouldn’t give in. His teeth bit down harder into her shoulder, his hot breath fanning her neck.
Furious, Rachael reached for her intellect, her human brain, her human body. Rio might have the upper hand as a
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male leopard, but he wasn’t going to boss her around as a human woman. She should have seen that he was circling back to the house. She should have recognized what was in his mind and taken steps to stop him.
Already she could feel the change start. She didn’t want it. Didn’t want to go back to human form and face whatever was going to happen in her future, not after running free in the forest, but it was already too late. She felt it first in her head. The need for her human body. She felt the contraction of muscles, the sudden burning in her leg. She heard a cry escape her throat, half human, half animal as the pain in her shoulder increased.
Rio released her immediately but didn’t make the mistake of stepping away. The huge leopard stood over her as she thrashed for a moment in the miracle of the change, then sprawled beneath him in human form. She lay on the ground, facedown, her shoulders shaking slightly, and he knew she was crying. He touched her with his muzzle, rubbing along her back to reassure her.