Rose, Charlotte - Bayou Famine [Shifters of Alligator Bend 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

“Surprised you can be so sure about that after what you went through.”

Armand shrugged. “It ain’t like everyone in the world is lurkin’ around, waiting to capture me again. Nobody at the aquarium knew I was actually a shifter. Far as they know, my gator self just disappeared. No need for me to worry any more than the rest of you do.”

“Fair enough. Okay, you test the salinity again. Call out the numbers to me, and I’ll record them.”

“Or we could just ogle that woman who just stepped off the boat.” Nelson’s voice had a slightly choked tone that Armand had never heard before.

Armand looked up to see a stunning woman step onto the dock. Her skin had been deeply tanned by the sun, and her dark, wavy hair was shot through with highlights. Now he understood why Nelson’s voice had sounded strained. Armand was shocked his friend had been able to talk at all. He wasn’t sure his own voice would work.

Suddenly, though, he felt a rumble deep in his body. He instantly knew what was happening, but he didn’t know why. His mother had trained him well not to let the shift overtake him. Yet his gator half was starting to consume his body. He tried to take deep breaths and focus. Armand trained his eyesight on the woman on the dock, thinking that would be an effective challenge for his energy. But that only seemed to make things worse. The change surged through him even faster than before.

Struggling to fight the transformation that was pounding through his system, he turned to Nelson for help. But Nelson was already half-gator, his skin tough, his teeth long and sharp. As Armand watched his friend complete the change, he felt his own body take over, felt his claws form, felt his gator take control.

* * * *

About an hour into the tour, Narcisse woke to the lively sound of Harry’s voice. “Okay, folks, we’re going to pull into this dock area for a little bit and have a little nature demonstration. Please remember to stay on the dock at all times. Do not, I repeat, do not wander away from the group. The swampland is a very dangerous place.”

Narcisse was so content with the rocking river and warm sun that she almost hated to leave the boat, but she also didn’t want to miss whatever was happening outside. Steadying herself on the wooden planks, she looked out on the water to the two men who appeared to be working.

She was vaguely aware of Harry’s voice going into a discussion of bayou wildlife, but couldn’t draw her gaze away from the two men on the small fishing boat. Both were tall, but one had a deep tan and black hair. The other had lighter skin and golden hair. The men were shirtless, and both had well-chiseled chests. To her surprise, Narcisse found herself wanting to dive into the water, swim across, and touch them. She wanted to explore the ridges of their muscles, to find out what their flesh felt like against her fingertips.

Suddenly, though, the darker one changed. His nose elongated into a powerful snout, his teeth grew longer, and his skin became leathery. Narcisse shook her head, but there was no denying what she was seeing. The first man had turned into an alligator, and his companion wasn’t far behind him in the transformation.

The second man, though, was even more startling. He was still turning into an alligator, with a powerful tail and menacing teeth. But this one had skin that was so white it was almost translucent, and his eyes turned red. Narcisse sucked in her breath at the sight.

As both men suddenly changed shape, their boat capsized, spilling them into the water. Immediately, the gators surfaced and began smacking their heads on what had formerly been a smooth-surfaced pond. Then they started slamming against each other, battling over some unseen object.

Narcisse wasn’t the only one who noticed. Another woman from the tour group seemed to have been paying attention, and she started screaming.

“It’s—It’s okay, everyone,” Harry called. His voice was weak, and Narcisse’s stomach clenched at how unconvinced he sounded.

Harry continued. “To ensure everyone’s safety, I’m gonna be canceling this nature demonstration right now. We’re uh, we’re gonna move on with the tour, but we can’t stay here.”

“What’s happening?” a middle-aged woman screeched.

“Ma’am, I don’t know, and I don’t have time to answer.” Harry sounded more panicked with each passing second, and his skin had gone white. “P–p–p–please return to the boat in an orderly fashion. M–move along now.”

“They were men! And now they’re gators!”

Harry began to shake, as though he’d been able to put what he’d seen out of his mind until just then. “G–g–get in the boat, everyone! I mean it, now! I’m gonna get us all out of here.”

Nobody, however, was orderly. Narcisse, who had been standing near the middle of the crowd, suddenly found herself squeezed by two dozen other bodies all trying to be the very first one onto the boat. As she tried to maneuver through the crowd, she lost her footing, and fell to the ground. Struggling to get around the cluster of feet, she had to roll away to avoid being trampled in the confusion, and found herself precariously close to the edge. She was one careless kick away from rolling into the water.

Suddenly, however, Narcisse was surged by a powerful sensation that she wanted—no, needed—to be in the water. She wasn’t interested in getting back on that boat and continuing with the bayou tour. The boat, ultimately, would only take her back to New Orleans and her friends. And a few days later, she’d end up back in Houston, with the regular life that made her miserable.

She knew what she saw. Two grown men had transformed into alligators before her very eyes, and she wanted to figure out what had happened and why. She didn’t know how she’d get back to New Orleans, but at that point, she didn’t care. This was the chance she had been waiting for all along, the chance to experience something amazing and different.

Taking a deep breath, Narcisse slipped off the dock, trying to avoid making a large splash. She didn’t want anyone from the tour to notice she’d fallen in and attempt to rescue her. Then she’d never figure out who these men were, or why they could transform. It seemed, however, that in all the confusion, nobody noticed that she was missing. Narcisse clung to one of the thin posts holding the dock up, concealing herself in the shadows until she heard the motor start and Harry begin talking. After what felt like an hour, the tour boat finally took off.

It wasn’t until the boat was out of sight that Narcisse began to consider that she’d made a mistake. She had no idea where she was, and the cell phone that was in her pocket had most certainly been destroyed by her sudden immersion. But it was too late now. Since she couldn’t change her mind, she decided to act. Steeling her courage, she began to swim out toward the sparring gators. Harry’s warning to keep her distance flashed briefly in her mind, but she felt compelled to swim toward them anyway. It was as though her body was being compelled by some force other than logic, and she had no choice but to follow its demands.

“Hey!” she called out. “Hey, what just happened?”

The gators, however, kept sparring. At this point, they’d moved a considerable distance from their boat. Narcisse swam to the vessel, righted it, and climbed in. Suddenly, she felt safer and became bolder.

“Hey!” she yelled again. “You can understand me, right? Hey, quit fighting and tell me what’s going on!”

Suddenly, one of the gators snapped to attention and started speeding toward her. Narcisse’s heart began to race, and she suddenly regretted coming out on the bayou tour. But just as she thought she was about to meet her demise, the gator stopped swimming and let out a bellow.

Narcisse had never heard such an intense sound before. It reverberated through her entire body, and the tremors settled in her cunt, which suddenly throbbed with more intensity than Narcisse could ever remember feeling in her life. Her whole body began to pulse with desire. She didn’t care that she was probably in danger. All she wanted to do was get laid.

The other gator swam up and emitted a bellow. Narcisse had to remind herself that she was facing down two vicious predators. Touching her aching clit was probably not the best strategy. Unfortunately, that was all she wanted to do. She stood and let the bellows continue to wash over her, pressing her hands hard against her hips so that she wouldn’t touch herself.

* * * *

Nelson struggled to regain control over his body. He had spent years learning how to maintain control over his shift. By the time he reached his twenties, he had mastered the ability to change between human and gator form at will. It had been five years since he’d had an unexpected switch. Now, though, not only had he shifted without warning, but he couldn’t figure out how to switch back. The territorial head slapping and fighting had occurred against his will. Even the bellowing didn’t seem real. He knew it was his lungs making those sounds, but he didn’t think he could stop if he wanted to. He wanted to talk to the woman who had climbed into his boat. Floating in the water and bellowing was not the first impression he’d hoped to make. Whoever she was, she probably preferred a more traditional, human form of introduction.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had arrived, Nelson felt the gator form leave him. His limbs lengthened, his teeth returned to normal, and his skin took on its regular texture and hue. Suddenly, he was floating naked in the water in front of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. Despite the confusion of shifting between forms without warning, Nelson realized his cock was completely hard. His whole body was pounding with lust for the woman who stood in front of him.

Glancing to his side, he saw that Armand had shifted back to human form as well. Cautiously, he turned his head to face his boat to gauge the woman’s reaction. To his surprise, she didn’t look completely terrified. She seemed confused, but she didn’t appear to be the least bit afraid of them.

“Hey,” Nelson said, unable to come up with a better opening line. “I know this looks weird, but I can explain every—”

He
was interrupted by the sound of the woman shrieking as the boat toppled over yet again. Armand, it seemed, had not wanted to try having a rational discussion about what had just happened. Instead, he’d tried to climb in the boat to join the woman, and in his haste, hadn’t thought about balance. Nelson realized Armand was probably at least as horny as he was, and that he was going to have to practically restrain his friend if they were ever going to explain things to this woman rationally.

The woman surfaced, and Nelson was relieved to realize she didn’t look angry. She seemed even more perplexed than she’d been before, but at least she didn’t seem furious. That was a start.

“Sorry about that—” he started to say, but the woman’s attention was immediately captivated by Armand when he swam up and kissed her. Nelson didn’t realize his cock was capable of throbbing any harder, but as he saw the woman embrace his friend and return the kiss, his cock ached even more.

As she pulled away, the woman still didn’t look angry. In fact, she looked ecstatic. Nelson suddenly felt that he was losing control of his body again. This time, though, instead of shifting, he paddled over to where she was treading water. Placing a hand on her cheek, he brought her into a kiss, sliding his tongue between her lips.

Electricity raced through his mouth and down the rest of his body. As her taste and scent washed over him, he brought his other hand to cup her soft ass. She returned the kiss, her tongue mingling with his, her fingernails digging into his hips.

He hated to pull away, but he knew he had to eventually. When he did, he found himself gasping for breath.

The woman looked at him with mischief in her eyes. “Your boat looks a little unsteady. Should we continue this over on the dock?”