Read NocC 017 - Caridad Pineiro - Night of the Cougar - Harlequin 2012-06 for Free Online Page A

her palm and the intense ripples of his muscles.
    “Get away,” he snarled. As her gaze met his, a weird glow erupted in his eyes, drowning out the emerald hues of his irises.
    She did as he asked, hoping to calm him by stepping away from the bed as he almost mindlessly jerked against the bindings, trying to get free.
    A moan erupted from him, followed by a deep growl.
    An inhuman growl, she thought, only a second before his body arched off the bed with unexpected ferocity. Before she could react, a pop sounded loudly in the eerie silence that had settled over the room. Another pop came along with his scream of pain and, suddenly, muscles heaved beneath his skin in odd, unsettling patterns like an earthquake ripping across the terrain.
    More pops and cracks came as a powerful transformation racked his body, shocking her into silence.
    The bed groaned and creaked as he thrashed up and down and yanked at the bindings. She worried, not knowing if it could withstand the assault as Galen pulled and jerked at the bindings. She worried that he might hurt himself, but with each second that passed, his body transmuted before her eyes.
    Maybe she was the crazy one, she thought, closing her eyes in the hopes the image before her would change, but as she opened them again, there was no doubting what was happening. She inched closer to the shotgun, praying she would not have to use it against her lover.
    Galen’s skin had been overtaken with soft, glossy fur in a tawny color, with hints of the reddish color in Galen’s hair except along his belly where the undercoat was a soft snowy white. His arms and legs had thinned somewhat, although his legs remained larger and more powerful. Lethal-looking claws had replaced his nails and his palms were now nearly black and had become the pads of a cat.
    The big cat prints she had seen in the snow outside.
    The only piece of Galen left was his face, but with a sudden burst and a loud, eerie howl, his nose pushed out to form the broad muzzle of the cougar. His beard elongated, assuming the tawny brown, white and strawberry-gold markings of a mountain lion.
    With a huffed breath, the last little change pushed through as his ears stretched to long, slightly rounded feline ears.
    Silence reigned again, broken only by harsh, fast breathing, both hers and his.
    She realized then that she was shaking with fear and dragged in a steadying breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
    The large mountain lion that now lay spread-eagled on the bed shook its massive head as if to clear a stupor from its brain. With a low rumble, it tried to move, but the ties blessedly held fast.
    Realizing that it was imprisoned, it mewled loudly and rocked from side to side, trying to free itself. It jerked against the ties and tried to snap at them with its teeth. The bed shook, rattled and squeaked, protesting the violent motions as the animal struggled over and over again to be free.
    Jamie feared either the bed or ties would break and set the animal free, but somehow they held during the long battle. Galen had done a good job designing his own bonds.
    Finally realizing it would not get free, the cougar growled in protest and quieted a bit, prompting Jamie to walk toward it.
    The cat glanced at her as she approached, eyes glowing with an intense green light. Another growl came from it, sounding almost like her name.
    Was it possible that some part of Galen remained in that beast, understanding what was happening? she wondered.
    Stepping to the side of the bed, she reached out and tentatively stroked the fur on the animal’s underside. So soft, she thought, and since the animal had not protested her touch, she deepened her caress, stroking up and down the lean muscles of its flank the way she would a cat.
    A second later a low purr erupted from the animal and beneath her hand came the vibration of that insistent sound. She continued with her caress, hoping to keep the animal calm.
    She didn’t know how long she sat