"It will be." He rolled her to her back. "Okay, bad girl. Show me what you got."

"In the missionary position? Are you kidding?"

"Then tell me what you want."

"You, on your back, big boy." Anica could hardly believe the suggestions coming out of her mouth, but she liked them.

He followed orders, rolling them both the other way in a tangle of sheets.

"We need to get rid of this mess." Scrambling to a sitting position astride his thighs, she wrenched the sheets away and tossed them to the end of the bed.

He laughed. "Won't you get cold?"

"Not considering what we're going to be doing." She leaned forward, deliberately dangling her b.r.e.a.s.t.s in his face as she opened the bedside table drawer and took out a condom.

"Oh, I like this already." He reached for the treats she so casually offered.

Before he could avail himself of the opportunity, she sat up again, the condom packet in her hand.

"Come back down here," he murmured.

She ripped open the packet. "When I feel like it. First I intend to get you suited up."

His golden eyes burned with eagerness. "I can do that."

"Yes, but I can do it better." Leaning down, she took his p.e.n.i.s into her mouth.

"Anica . . ."

After giving him some playful licks and sucks, she released him and sat back on his thighs again. "That was just for starters. See how much easier the condom goes on now?" She rolled it on very, very slowly.

A quick check of his expression told her that her technique was having the desired effect. Soon she'd have him crazed with l.u.s.t yet again.

"Come here." His voice was husky as he bracketed her hips and attempted to lift her up. "I want to be inside you."

"In due course." She gently removed his hands. "Keep these to yourself until I say so."

He frowned. "How soon will that be?"

"When I'm ready." She cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with both hands. "I'll now proceed to get ready."

This was uncharted territory for her, but a bad girl would have this in her repertoire, so she decided to try it. Squeezing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she pinched her nipples and moaned softly. A quick peek at Jasper encouraged her to go on. He was riveted.

Time for Act Two. Keeping one hand on her breast, she reached between her thighs.

His voice sounded strangled. "You're not really going to . . ."

"Yes." She gazed at him as she ma.s.saged her c.l.i.t. This was more exciting than she would have thought. Before long she was whimpering, moaning and writhing against his thighs.

"That's enough!" His hands seemed made of steel as he grabbed her and lifted her onto his c.o.c.k.

She should probably scold him for jumping the gun, but she was too busy enjoying the sensation of sliding down onto the most rigid p.e.n.i.s in the world. She'd take bets on it.

Her climax had almost arrived even before she took him deep inside her, so she knew it wouldn't be long. Bracing both hands on his chest, she looked into his eyes and rotated her hips. "Time to ride, pardner."

He gazed back at her, his eyes glowing with heat and his fingers pressed firmly against her bottom. "You are such a bad girl."

"Told you. Now giddyup."

"My pleasure."

And with that, the two of them rode off, whooping and hollering, into the most brilliant, mind-shattering sunset imaginable.

Later, as she lay slumped over him, wishing she didn't have to move, she turned her head just enough so that she could see the clock.

He must have felt her movement and guessed her intent, because he spoke without hesitation "What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

"The halfway point," he said softly. "d.a.m.n."

Chapter 17.

Jasper tried really hard to bask in the afterglow of great s.e.x. While he made a trip to the bathroom to get rid of the condom, Anica brought in the two beers they hadn't bothered with the night before, along with cheese and crackers and a bowl of chips.

Ideally they should be able to picnic in bed, then brush the crumbs off the sheets and go another round. Jasper figured he had until one thirty in the morning before he reverted back to cat status. He should milk that remaining time for all it was worth. He should also read his mail, but he'd put that off until the last ten minutes or so.

The thing was, during s.e.x with Anica, he'd forgotten about the time. Now he couldn't seem to think about anything else, and his good mood dribbled away like the sand in an hourgla.s.s. This whole deal was so unfair.

Why couldn't he enjoy this time in bed with Anica until morning, then get up, get dressed and go to his office? Why wasn't there a way to lift this blasted curse? As he swigged his beer his mind kept at the topic, worrying it the way Orion toyed with his felt mouse.

He'd seen Disney movies as a kid and watched his share of movies about magic as an adult. For every spell there was always a counterspell. For every poisoned apple there was true love's kiss. For every riddle there was an answer that would free the person trapped in the riddle's spell.

There had to be one in this case, too. He looked at Anica, who was happily munching on chips. She was the magic expert in this room. Besides that, she'd consulted with a witch and wizard who were supposed to be like tribal elders or something.

He couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding out on him. "Anica, I'm going to ask you straight out. Do you know what would lift this cat spell?"

She paused, a chip halfway to her mouth. Her deer-in-the-headlights expression gave her away.

"s.h.i.t, Anica!" He slammed his beer bottle onto the end table so hard it probably made a dent in the wood. He didn't care.

Leaping out of bed, he began to pace the floor beside it. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?" He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You're willing to screw my brains out, but you won't give me the most important information of my life. What's wrong with this picture?"

"But I-"

"Is it because you want to keep me tied to you? Are you afraid if I leave, I might come back at you for hexing me in the first place?" The ugly words spilled out and he couldn't stop them. "Or maybe you haven't had a good f.u.c.k in a while, and me showing up for a few hours every night is taking the edge off?"

Tears filled her eyes. "Stop. Please, stop."

The tears did it. He never had been able to deal with a woman's tears. He'd have been happier if she'd thrown the bowl of chips at his head, but of course she wouldn't do that. She might be getting more adventurous in bed, but he suspected at heart she was still very much a good girl.

And he'd obviously inflicted pain. He took a deep breath. "Hey, I'm sorry to make you cry. But, Anica, if you know how to break this curse and you're not telling me, then-"

"I can't tell you!" Her words were edged with anger and frustration equal to his. "If you think for one minute that I enjoy keeping you captive, that all I'm looking for is a love slave, then please never touch me again, because I can't imagine what sort of horrible person you think I am."

He wasn't about to tell her that his hunger for her defied all logic. No matter what he thought about her character or her behavior with the hexing thing, he couldn't seem to stop wanting her. It was life's little joke at the moment.

He wanted to despise her for turning him into a cat, but in the first place, she was a tough person to despise. He liked her. And in the second place, how was he supposed to hold on to his rage when his c.o.c.k wanted nothing more than to be eternally buried in her sweet p.u.s.s.y?

Instead of landing himself in that briar patch, he circled back to the first thing she'd said. "Why can't you tell me?"

She took a ragged breath and swiped at her eyes. "If I tell you, then the counterspell won't work."

"What kind of crazy deal is that? How am I supposed to know what to do if n.o.body-" The light dawned. "I have to figure it out for myself?"

"Yes."

"s.h.i.tfire." He swiped a hand over his face. "Can you give me a hint?"

She shook her head.

"How about if you write it on a piece of paper, I read it and then we burn it? n.o.body will know, right?"

"It doesn't matter if n.o.body knows. It's the nature of the spell that if you're told how to break it, you never will be able to."

His blood ran cold. What kind of h.e.l.l would that be? They'd both be doomed. They'd be tied to each other, neither of them able to live a normal life because he'd be a man for only a few hours every night, which would be just long enough to keep her from having a relationship with someone else.

Then another horrific thought came to him. "Suppose you accidentally tell me?"

"I wouldn't do that."

"What do you mean, you wouldn't? Let's say I keep showing up every night and we keep having s.e.x."

"After the way you've spoken to me, that won't be happening again."

Now, there was a sucker punch to the gut. The thought of being denied was pretty much unbearable. "Anica, I lost my temper. I shouldn't have accused you of using me for your own selfish purposes. You're not that kind of person. I know that. I'm sorry."

She didn't respond, just kept gazing at him as if he was something she'd sc.r.a.ped off the bottom of her shoe.

He could barely believe that this was the same woman who had lovingly given him the most spectacular b.l.o.w. .j.o.b of his life an hour and a half ago. Just thinking about that made his p.e.n.i.s stir.

Running his fingers through his hair, he wondered how to regain some of the ground he'd lost. Somehow, even though he was the wronged party, he'd now become the villain of the piece.

To his surprise he didn't like seeing her miserable, either. At one time, very recently, in fact, he'd imagined it would be quite satisfying to see her miserable. He'd pictured finding some way to ruin her business so that she'd lose all the money she'd invested. The punishment had seemed justified, considering what she'd done to him.

Yet now . . . maybe she was as much a victim of the situation as he was. She'd bravely tried to make the best of it by giving him some of the greatest s.e.x of his life. Then he'd accused her of doing it because she was desperate for a decent lay. Not nice.

He sat down on the bed. "Let's start over."

"Where did you want to start over? At the point where we were having a lovely mutual o.r.g.a.s.m, or at the point where you accused me of being a manipulative, scheming, not to mention h.o.r.n.y and pathetic b.i.t.c.h?"

He gazed into her eyes. "I was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d to say those things to you."

"Yes, you certainly were."

"You've given generously of your body, and I should fall on my knees in grat.i.tude. I should beg you to forgive me for being such an insensitive creep."

The corner of her mouth twitched as if she might be holding back a smile. "That would be entirely appropriate."

He took heart from that little twitch. "So I will." Sliding off the bed, he dropped to his knees beside it and gazed up at her. "Anica, please forgive me for acting like a total idiot. I've loved every millisecond we've had s.e.x, and after what I said to you, I completely understand if you kick me out of your bed. I hope you don't, but you'd be absolutely justified in cutting me off."

"Oh?" Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief. "Do you mean that literally?"

He scrambled to his feet and put both hands over his crotch. "I'm sorry, but not that sorry! Who are you, Lorena Bobbitt?"

Finally her laughter broke through. "All right, you're forgiven."

"Thank G.o.d." He climbed back in bed with her, took away the bowl of chips and set it on the table next to his beer.

"I was eating those."

"I know, but I was afraid you'd choke." He eased her back onto the stack of pillows.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's really dangerous to eat chips while I'm s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g your brains out."

He did exactly that. Anica didn't have a single brain cell working by the time he finished with her. That explained why she forgot to remind him to get out of bed and go read his mail.

He was the one who remembered it. They lay facing each other again, gazing into each other's eyes. He leaned over and kissed her softly. "You have my permission to open my mail."

"Sheesh, your mail! Let me go get it!"

"There isn't time."

She realized that he could see the clock on the bedside table behind her and she couldn't. If there wasn't time for him to read his mail, then it must be almost one thirty. Her heart squeezed.

"If anything's urgent, like a bill, just get out my credit card and pay it that way."

"All right." She was determined not to fall apart on him. After all, he'd still be here. He'd just be . . . a cat. She cupped his face in both hands. "Your beard's growing."

"Yeah. If I keep extending my time, eventually I'll have to shave." A shadow crossed his face. "If I keep extending my time."