Sitting behind a large pipe, Rumpleteazer spied on Munkustrap, jealousy burning hot in her eyes. Why did he give Jemima so much attention? It wasn't like she was his daughter or anything! Oh yeah, he'd ADOPTED her. "He must have really loved Demeter to have done that," Rumpleteazer thought bitterly, wondering why no-one ever did anything special for HER. "I'd never leave ya, not like SHE did." She muttered spitefully under her breath, almost hoping he'd overhear.
Cats could do that. Hear the smallest whisper if it were close by. He must have heard, but he was too busy listening to Etcetera, while the striped Angora cross complained energetically about how she could no longer bend over to put her dance shoes on and how keeping her creamy coloured fur tidy was becoming such a struggle.
Rumpleteazer sighed. Munkustrap's daughters were all younger than her, and yet they'd settled down and were starting happy families BEFORE her! It wasn't fair! And what was even more unfair was that the tom she wanted so badly was also the one who hated her the most.
He had less interest in her than if she were a pile of dog faeces, but she could still dream. She imagined him looking at her, giving her a smile like the patient one he now had on for his daughters. A kind of smile that would invite her to draw close and share in the pile of love, as though the sheer sight of her was enough to brighten his mood no matter how dark it was to begin with. But he never looked at her that way, so she had to be content with his rage and the occasional ticked off glare. It was better than being ignored.
It was early afternoon, a time when most Jellicles had completed their morning tasks and were ready for their naps; what was known as the afternoon recharge. Several queens had congregated on the tyre, talking lazily and cuddling up to their favourite Protector. Rumpleteazer kept her distance. She knew they didn't want her around, partly because she wasn't family, and also because of her reputation. No one liked a thief. But her sensitive ears could still pick up every word of their conversation, so she kept herself hidden and listened.
She bit back a tidal wave of envy as Munkustrap lavished his undivided attention upon his daughters, putting an arm around Victoria and Jemima's shoulders, while Electra and Etcetera leaned into him, all smiles and laughter and comparing bump sizes. Jemima was the only one out of them who was not pregnant, but it probably wouldn't be very long before she too was proudly showing her protruding belly to the world. It was enough to make Rumpleteazer feel sick to her stomach.
"Munk's the skinniest out of all of us- apart from you, sweetie."
The elegantly beautiful Bombalurina was reclining just above Munkustrap, her slender paw resting on her own moderately enlarged midsection as though subconsciously trying to protect it from something unseen. She winked at Jemima. "We won't have to wait long, I'm sure. The way Tumble looks at you, I'm surprised it hasn't happened already. And Vic! That has to be one of the neatest bumps I've ever seen! You can't possibly have three in there!"
The pure white Angora smiled and held up four pink-padded digits.
"Four? You were hiding one? Well, that does happen, doesn't it? I honestly can't believe you're about to pop, sweetie, you look simply divine."
"How's everything going for you, Bombi?" Electra enquired.
Concern was evident in the tiger striped queen's face, but Bombalurina merely scoffed. "What? This thing? It's sitting on my bladder quite nicely thank you. Thought I'd come out for some fresh air. It's so stuffy on the ward, the only fun thing to do is eat and have this thing use my ribs as a kick piano."
"She's big, I take it?"
"What did you expect, having a hunk for a father?" Bombi gave a pretend exasperated sigh, looking poignantly at Munkustrap. "Having expelled the competition, she's making full use of the extra space. Jenny says I'll have a job pushing her out."
"You talk about her like she's a cuckoo, Bombi," Etcetera lightly scolded. "I bet she misses her brothers and sisters. Mind you, I don't half get some squabbles going on in here sometimes. Can't wait till they're out and I can start dancing again!"
"We can all agree on that!" Bombi chuckled, laying her black gloved paw on Munkustrap's shoulder. "No offense, darling, but your offspring is making me fat and very uncomfortable."
Munkustrap smirked. "None taken."
"That's when you're meant to disagree."
His expression turned mischievous. "Who says I disagree?"
That earned him a slap on the upper arm. "Such a charmer."
Rumpleteazer had heard rumours that Bombi had complications with her pregnancy, but wasn't sure how severe. Word had it she'd lost kittens and now only had one left. No wonder she was so protective of it.
"Suppose I'd better get back before they send out a search warrant," Bombi said as she got up and yawned.
"Take it easy." Munkustrap reached out and grasped her paw lightly. Their eyes met and something passed between them, not spoken out loud.
Her smile slipped for a second as she spoke quietly, a very slight break in her voice. "I'm trying, handsome." But it was back on again in an instant as she withdrew her paw and waved to the rest. "Chao, ladies! Enjoy your siestas."
Rumpleteazer waited for everyone to disperse. As was often the case, Munkustrap was the last to leave, giving the area a final scan to ensure everything was shipshape before leaping confidently from the tyre. Quietly, Rumpleteazer got up from her hiding place and followed him. It wasn't easy. He doubled back on himself several times, clearly paranoid- or perhaps aware, that he was being followed. She lost sight of him among the junk piles. Luckily, she knew his routine and where he would be at this time of the day. After all, a Protector had to sleep sometime.
Clutching a large package to her chest, Rumpleteazer climbed to his den and crept nervously towards the front door, raising her arm to knock. She hesitated. Could she do this? The knotted wood stared coldly back at her, as though to remind her that she wasn't welcome.
She hesitated a few more times, then raised her paw in a more assertive manner. She COULD do this! Luckily, she didn't have to knock, because the door was suddenly jerked open.
He stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, his chest heaving with the effort, looking like a colossus with his huge arms crossed and his eyes freezing into hers like ice shards. Not for the first time, she felt very small in his presence. "Pro-tec-TOR?" She curtseyed. She couldn't help herself!
"What do you want?" His voice was low and intimidating, making it clear she was the very last person he wanted to see.
It chilled her to the bone, but she didn't care. She made her eyes go very wide and watery. "That's not very polite! Aincha gonna ask me in?"
He forgot how small she was compared to him. He tried blocking the door, his strong arm an impenetrable barrier, but she simply slipped under it. "Most kind of ya!"
Munkustrap threw back his head as though begging the Heaviside layer for assistance, taking a deep antagonized breath to try to calm his very last nerve. Of course, he'd had no intention of sleeping. He'd been doing his push ups; a minimum of a hundred before sleep, a minimum of a hundred upon waking. It helped tire him out and alleviate some pent up aggression, and thanks to her, he had a lot of it to deal with at the moment.
He shut the door. The last thing he needed was for someone to see him standing there with her. "What do you want, Rumpleteazer?" His voice was angry. He could be doing without this.
"What's wrong wi' Teazer?" She cocked her head to the side, trying to look innocent, then carried on looking around, almost daring him to stop her; blatantly trying to get a reaction out of him, invading his personal space, reveling in being in his 'tom cave.'
A mischievous smile crept across her lips as her eyes landed on his bed, which was no more than a quilt with an array of blankets. An acoustic guitar was propped against the wooden wall beside it, of which she couldn't resist plucking a few of the strings, creating a warm hum that cut through the chilly atmosphere. The tension in the room was so great it felt as though anything she touched might instantly freeze solid. "Nice gaff you got ere. Very... poshe," she commented as she made a great display of moving to the walnut bookcase and marvelling at the volumes. As if she'd never seen them before!
Munkustrap didn't know how many times Mungojerry and Rumpleteazer had broken into his den, but he always knew when they had. No door or lock was a barrier for either of them, and no matter how hard he tried to keep them out (which wasn't very) Rumpleteazer would come and go as she pleased, leaving nothing behind but her scent. Sometimes, she'd role in his sheets. He wouldn't realise until he was lying in them, inadvertently dreaming about her.
"Like your books, don't ya? What's Animal Farm about?"
Munkustrap didn't say anything, just stayed by the door, tail swinging, staring at her coldly as she scanned through his leather bound books and collection of classical records. Normally, he was good at being an asshole to people he didn't like or feel like speaking to. However, no snide remarks came to mind, even though she was in his den, pissing him off considerably with her mere presence, still wearing those ridiculous stockings. She didn't need to say why she was there, it was obvious. His nose told him all he needed to know.
Was the devil there to agonise him? That fiend clung to his back more often than he cared to admit. Sure, he was tempted, like a bear is tempted by honey into a trap. If he fucked her, that would be it. Reputation in ruins. But it wasn't just that. She was the kind of person who wanted what other people had, but didn't care to look after it once the excitement had worn off. Did she even KNOW that kittens were for life? He doubted it. "What's in the package?" The tone of his voice was accusatory rather than curious. He knew her too well!
She shrugged, still trying to read the titles on the book spines. "Oh, just a bit of Argentine joint. Can 'ave it if you want?"
He suddenly remembered he hadn't eaten. Not since yesterday.
"Well? D'you wannit or not? I can 'ear your stomach from over 'ear, so dan't bover tellin me you ain't 'ungry." Grinning a little too broadly, she brought the brown paper package over to the table, untied the string and unwrapped it, taking a long sniff. "Mmm. Cooked to perfec-TION!"
Hunger got the better of Munkustrap. He rolled his eyes and moved away from the door, slumping onto a chair beside the table, not bothering to be elegant about how he sat. This wasn't the ball. He no longer had to pretend to be the gentleman he knew he wasn't.
The meat was in front of him, looking and smelling mouth wateringly good… but so was she. Looking at Teazer suspiciously, he picked up a small piece of meat and gave it a sniff.
"What? You fink I'd ruin a good piece of meat?" She exclaimed, looking affronted.
"I wouldn't put it past you. Why else would you be trying to feed me?"
"Dan't wanna see you wastin' away is all."
She rolled her eyes. "Look, if you're that bovered..." She grabbed a slice and stuffed it into her mouth, chewed and swallowed it. Then opened her mouth wide and stuck out her tongue. "There! 'Appy now?"
Still looking suspicious, Munkustrap popped the meat into his mouth. He wouldn't admit he enjoyed it, not in a million years.
"See?" She said encouragingly. "It's good, innit? Why doncha 'ave some more?"
He helped himself to another slice, tasting iron rich meat, but also something faintly herby. Too late, he realised she was staring at him in a most peculiar way, as though expecting something to happen and unable to contain her excitement about it.
"Hmm... It's not bad," he muttered thoughtfully as he picked his tooth. "Strange flavour combination."
"Oh, right?" She'd apparently been holding her breath.
"Yeah," he continued. "I'm not sure that nip goes that well with beef."
The expression on her face changed to confusion, then to sudden horror as he launched himself from his seat, grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back onto the table. The sound of her head hitting the wood made a dull cracking sound, the small gasp that escaped from her mouth was like music to his ears. "It's not what you think..." She barely gasped.
The drug was already having an affect. Her eyes were rolling slightly, her pupils dilated into black orbs. He suspected his pupils had done the same, but knew they wouldn't be as wide as hers. Classic catnip. "Nice try, Rumpleteazer. I'll give you a one for effort, but if having me drooling on the floor was part of your plan, I'm afraid you'll have to do better."
She still looked confused, disbelieving. "Why didn't...?"
"Why didn't it work?" Munkustrap chuckled, a vicious grin creeping across his features. "I'll let you into a little secret, shall I? Once upon a time, nip was my drug of choice. That was before I went for something stronger!"
For the first time in her life, Rumpleteazer was both shocked AND speechless. She mouthed things, but no words came out. She was clearly having trouble believing what he was saying and he found it faintly amusing, having the upper hand for a change. "But surely, he is lying? Munkustrap would never do drugs." Munkustrap mimicked her high voice and then switched back to his usual low, menacing tone. "Hard to believe, isn't it? But there you are, and now you know. We all have dirty secrets. Skeletons in our closets. That's one of mine."
Having gotten over the shock relatively quickly, Rumpleteazer suddenly looked defiant. "What if I tell?"
"You could," Munkustrap agreed. "Or I could kill you right now. No one would know, least of all care."
Rumpleteazer rarely got to see Munkustrap this up close. His entire body was built, taut muscles, the epitome of masculine beauty, adorned with a flowing cascade of silver and black fur that grew thickest from his chest down to the abs of his torso. She traced the bulging muscles of his biceps with her eyes, wanting so badly to touch them.
She knew she should've been terrified, not to mention hurt by his cruel words, but for the weight of his body pressing into hers, his musk in her nostrils, the pounding of her heart and a sense of her body opening up. She was completely wet.
You can have me right now, she silently begged. Any way you want. My body is yours.
If it wasn't for his iron grip pinned against her throat, she'd have tried to kiss him. It was torture, having his lips so close, yet so far. And as though to tantalise her further, she felt something harden, jabbing into her inner thigh. He was turned on by this?
She swallowed painfully and tried to hook her legs around his hips, trying to gain some sensation, her cunt pulsing desperately for him to fill her up and end her longing. "Do you think about it?" She ventured, sneaking her tail up his inner thigh, causing him to exhale sharply.
"Think about what?"
"Last year? You smackin' me arse. Cos I do. I think about it a lot."
He chuckled coldly, rubbing his thumb over the side of her jaw, his eyes hungry, like that of a predator deciding how best to finish off its prey. "You think I spend my time fantasising about a petty criminal and trickster? How stupid do you think I am?"
She was trying to shake her head. "I don't think you're stupid."
"Neither are you." Releasing her, he forcefully unhooked her legs and turned his back on her. "You know it would never work between us. For more reasons than one."
She stayed where she was, massaging her throat. She'd been rejected, the pain in her chest and emptiness in her loins far worse than the soreness in her neck and head. "I'll do anything..." Her voice was rasping, like paper. She sat up, her voice trembling even more. "I'll be anything you want me to be!" It sounded futile and desperate, but she didn't care.
He didn't need to see the tears in her eyes. He'd heard enough. The break in the voice, the emotional blackmail. He didn't need that shit. "Oh good. Then you can make yourself disappear."
"Munk please-"
He turned and snarled, gesturing where she should go. "Door's that way! Don't make me throw you out!"
Her face changed, her hurt turning to fury. Such empty threats, discarding her like she was nothing more than a piece of rubbish? NO ONE treated Rumpleteazer like that! Well... they did. But it only bothered her when HE did it. No. He was going to be sorry. He didn't scare her! She would show him she was more than just a piece of rubbish!
"Or what?" She provoked, her voice turning to a sultry whisper. "Big Protector gonna spank me?"
She didn't regret saying that, imagining the mental image she'd just placed in his head. To her disappointment, it didn't show up on his face. If anything, his expression darkened, turning colder than a granite block.
Tough nut, eh? Even the toughest nut can crack under the right amount of pressure.
"Think you're too good for me, do ya?" Wearing a succubus grin, she shifted her arse onto the table and spread her legs. Licking her lips, she stroked her paws down her thighs, signalling a clear path for him to stare at, which he couldn't stop himself doing.
She watched his Adam's apple move painfully. "Teazer, what are you doing?"
Wasn't it obvious? He might be strong enough to crush her ribs with a single arm, but he was still a male, still afflicted with the same weakness that they all were.
She could tell it was having an affect, but decided to up the anti a little. Parting her lips, she dipped her fingers into her glistening pussy, uttering a small moan and softly breathing out his name.
"Stop." It was a command, or was it pleading?
"You tellin me you don't wanna taste of this? You never did keep that promise of yours." She dropped to the floor, letting the words linger on her tongue while she moved closer.
His breath quickened. For the first time ever, Munkustrap felt helpless, as though the rug had been swept beneath his feet. Every attempt to remain calm was betrayed by his body, by his parted lips and hypnotized gaze. How was he to handle this? Now that she had him like a fly in a black widow's web, invoking things he struggled to keep buried, awakening a tormented hungry beast in him that was never truly asleep to begin with.
She was dangerously close, enough for her scent to fill his nostrils and make every nerve in his body come to life. "That's close enough," he warned her in a menacing voice, but she ignored him, moving to stand in front of him, allowing her breasts to brush against his abs.
He stared at her face, at the lips he could still feel on his, while she focused on his body, as though she was conducting the chaotic battle going on in there. He was aware of her beauty, or perhaps it was the catnip playing tricks on him? The dusting of freckles on her nose, her slender waist, her hips that had grown ever more shapely as the year passed. If he were a mindless savage he'd have pushed her to the floor by now and fucked her senseless in more ways than one, but he had to control himself; and he could, to a certain extent. As long as she didn't touch him.
Of course, she knew all his weaknesses. Smiling wickedly, she splayed her paw across his chest, feeling the soft warmth of his fur and the racing of his heart. She stroked down his centre, feeling his hard abs beneath her fingers, how the muscles flexed as they reacted to her touch.
There was hatred in his eyes. "Don't!"
"What's the matter? Afraid you might like it?" She meant to go lower, but was stopped by his paw that wrapped around her wrist, finding a nerve at the base of her thumb and pinching it, hard, pulling her hand away.
"Enough!" He spoke sharply.
"Ow! Munk, that 'urts! Fuck!" She cried out as he pinched harder, her face screwing up with agony as she tried to twist out of his grasp, her struggle against him futile. No matter how much she tried, he was infinitely stronger.
"I warned you, but you chose to keep playing games," he said through gritted teeth while he part led, part dragged her like a naughty kitten towards the door, dumping her, hissing and cursing, outside on the doorstep. Now there really were tears in her eyes, her face ablaze with fury as she got straight back up.
"Answer me one thing, yeah? ONE THING! You give em so much: Deme, Bombi, Jazzie, Tanti, Jenny, Jelly, Cassie... Why not me, eh?"
He gave an unpleasant laugh, her jealousy as obvious as an open wound. She was in pain, the kind that could only be released by friction and exchange of bodily fluids, and it served her right! "That's the problem, Teazer. You think of no one but yourself. Why would I want to fuck a dirty little thief and have her raise my kittens as criminals? Better you try for a common stray!"
She was struck by his words, reeling at the cruelness of them. She swallowed. "You know what? Maybe I will! You're a piece of shit, Munkustrap! What would Jazzie say if she saw you treating a queen like dirt?"
Was she still there? He showed her his fangs. "Give it up. You're not wanted here. Do yourself a favour and fuck off back to your pearls and don't ever come here again!"
"Don't worry I'm going! You won't see me no more, but you'll wish you 'ad!"
Turning her back so he wouldn't see her angry tears, she waved him her middle claw as she stormed off, presumably back to Victoria Grove.
Munkustrap glared after her, then shut the door, heaving a tremendous sigh. He'd gotten rid of her at last, hopefully for good! Why did he feel like shit all of a sudden?