The Cats of Rhodes

I found Julia's hand and led her out of the jam-packed club, making our way through an avalanche of sweaty and swaying bodies, careful not to step on anybody's feet, smiling my apologies when I failed.

"Oh, that feels good!" exclaimed Julia when, our arms around each other's waists, we stepped out into the fresh and breezy night. I felt so tender towards her at that moment. I lowered my head and kissed her hair again.

"You feel good." I whispered and was surprised when she stopped and turned to me, her dark eyes serious and searching. Without another word, she slid her hands over my arms and interlocked her fingers behind my neck. Gently, as if afraid she might ruin the moment, she pulled me towards her and for the first time in months, we kissed. Really kissed. Not just a little peck or a passionate exchange of tongues during sex. We kissed softly and tenderly, her lips pausing on mine, neither of us moving. The kiss remained gentle, but we both seemed to cling onto each other with a little more intensity, as if afraid that at any given moment we might be separated and lost to each other forever.

"Come on," I finally said and wrapped my hand over her shoulder. I had forgotten how good it had felt to have Julia in my arms, walking together like we were a brand new couple. It felt wonderful and I savored every moment of it. We walked slowly, with deliberate steps, as if the time was of no importance. Occasionally, Julia's arm would reach over to me, and stroke my face or rub my stomach through the sweater. It was the kind of foreplay that I loved. We used to do that when we were still dating, unable to afford a car and had to walk for blocks from the parties we had attended, pinching pennies and avoiding the inviting stares of the cab drivers. We would turn each other on to the point of barely being able to contain ourselves and as soon as we walked into our apartment, we would pounce and still half dressed fuck like this was the last time either of us would be intimate with the other.

I tried to remain calm and center my thoughts on the simple pleasure of Julia's hands on my body, but I could feel myself growing hard and as I discreetly pulled my sweater lower over my waist, she giggled and looked at me, her eyes full of mischief. "Mr. Parker!" she whispered and wrapped herself closer to me. For once, I was grateful that the streets of Rhodes were almost deserted, a feeling of isolation strong, the same feeling that had me spooked over the past few nights when we were returning to our room from a late dinner or a few drinks at the bar. I felt threatened in those lonely streets, as if something sinister was lurking in the shadows and before I could defend myself it would have pounced and swallowed me whole. Of course, I did not share those particular thoughts with Julia. She would only have laughed at me.

The building where we had rented the room appeared in my sight as we turned the corner and I realized Julia's movements were becoming bolder. She pinched my nipples through the sweater and then her hand slid down my stomach and she softly cupped the pouch between my legs, which even through the thickness of denim I felt like there was no material between her hand and my skin.

"Julia!" I half-whispered, and moved slightly away from her. "Someone might see us." I said, always the sensible one.

"There's nobody around." She laughed and as if to prove me wrong, waved her hand in the air and turned her head from side to side.

"Well..." I hated myself for the prudish behavior, but I felt uncomfortable. "Someone might be looking out the window."

Her eyes darted across the closed shutters on the buildings around us and suddenly her demeanor became distant, almost dreamy. "At two o'clock in the morning? You think someone will be standing by the window, waiting for a drunken couple to make out in front of their house?" Then, she snapped out of the trans like state and gently punched me on the shoulder. "You're It!" she yelled and laughed out loud, and before I realized what she was doing, she darted away from me and ran towards the front door of our building.

"Julia!" I yelled after her and there was a flash of annoyance over her childish behavior. Then, her playfulness caught up with me and I ran after, not caring if anybody saw us. She disappeared inside the old house and for a second I was struck by a bout of panic. I did not know where it had come from or why, but I felt as if icy cold hands have reached deep inside my stomach and tugged on it. "Julia!" I yelled again as I rushed through the old, wooden front door.

"Psst!" She called out to me. I looked up the staircase but she was not there. Then, I saw the movement in the small nook under the stairs and there she was. Leaning against the wall, slightly slouched so as not to bump her head on the bottom side of the stairs, breathing heavily. "Come here..." she whispered.

"What are you doing, Julia?" I whispered back and found an urge to put my hands on her body irresistible. I grabbed onto her shoulders and kissed her. Long and hard, my tongue exploring inside her mouth, meeting her tongue and sucking it, holding her close to me, as if she could bolt away again if I had not held her firmly enough.

I felt her hands slide down my body and then I heard the unmistakable click of the belt buckle and the rip of the zipper. She was undoing her jeans and the uneasiness that I had felt a moment ago returned. "Julia..." I whispered, but she put her finger across my lips as if to shush me.

"Come on..." she said and grabbed my hand, pulling it downwards. "Come on..." she repeated as I shook my head. "Just a little bit... please... I can't wait..." she said and her begging took me back to the times when as students we ran out of condoms and it was too cold to walk to the store and I was afraid to have unprotected sex, afraid I would get her pregnant and ruin everything prematurely. "Come on, Alex..." she moaned as her hot breath warmed my neck. She almost forced my hand inside her jeans and to my great surprise I realized she wore no underwear.

The skin between her legs was warm and soft. She was clean-shaven and aroused. I rubbed my fingers against her wetness. We have been in the club for almost two hours and the heavy cigarette smoke clung to Julia's clothes, yet, underneath I could smell her perfume, soap and I also detected her own scent. She smelled wonderful and I felt like on top of the world.

With my free hand I grabbed her around the waist as if she would have fallen had I not held her up. The fingers of my other hand entered her slowly, gently, as if I was afraid I might break something. In synchronicity with my fingers sliding in, she let out a slow and long exhale. It was as if she had only just let the air out after hours of holding it in, waiting for this moment when she could do it freely.

"Oh,..." she moaned quietly. "Oh, Peter. I've missed you so much..." she said and squeezed my shoulders harder. The position we were in was uncomfortable, but I chose to ignore the already aching muscles of my thighs, from being slightly bent in order to squeeze inside the low nook.

I slid my fingers all the way in, as far as they would go and then pulled them out, just as slowly as I had entered her. For a moment I pulled the hand away from her skin and saw her eyes snap open, full of confusion and even fear. Fear that I would stop.

"What do you want?" I asked in a husky whisper. Her eyes softened. "What, Julia?" I asked and again found the entrance to her being. "This?" I asked and slowly slid two fingers inside her wetness. "This, Julia?" I asked as I pushed harder than before, but still careful to keep control. My cock was throbbing inside my jeans and I felt restrained and uncomfortable. I wished we had made it to the room, but I knew Julia better than that. Now that we have started this, she would not let me go until she was satisfied.

Julia's eyes were closed tight, as if she was trying not to see what was in front of her, yet I knew it was a sign of concentration. She had told me once that often during sex or foreplay, she would close her eyes and relax, trying not to move a muscle and just wait for the orgasm to come. The first time she did that, I was afraid I was too clumsy and perhaps hurting her, but she reassured me otherwise. Ever since, I have come to love that look of whacky focus and found it quite arousing.

"Oh," she moaned and her legs almost gave way. Julia held on to me as if I was the only thing to keep her from drowning. Her body trembled against mine and were it not for the fact that we were practically in the public place, I would have given in and allowed my lust to take over right there.

Julia always was the wild one, not caring what people said, or who happened to be watching. I, on the other hand, have always been the voice of reason. The careful one; the party pooper, as she had called me lovingly, but often I wondered how much truth was in there, at least in her mind.

I could not stand half squatting down any longer. I dropped to my knees and pulled Julia's jeans all the way down. She spread her legs as far is she was able to, the restrains around her ankles preventing her to put one of her feet on my shoulder, as she liked to do.

I pressed my face against the warmth of her pussy and gently brushed her clit with my tongue. I have not done that in months, but I could still remember her taste. It was a taste that I loved and would drive me crazy, just thinking about I would go hard. Julia shuddered at my touch and again I felt she could barely keep herself standing. She put her hands on my shoulders and dug her fingers in hard. "Oh," she moaned again. "I'm almost there, Peter. I'm almost there..."

I knew that even before she said it. It had been a long time since we were intimate but I could still remember the little signs that made me know when she was approaching an orgasm. My tongue gently brushed her clit a few times and I thrust my fingers inside her wetness, feeling her muscles contracting around them in a rhythm of her body swaying against my face. Julia's breathing became shallow and rapid, her moaning was hushed but still loud enough for an accidental passer by to hear it, should somebody happen to walk by the house with a wide open front door. My mind was split between giving my wife pleasure and listening for the sound of footsteps outside our hiding place.

Julia dug her fingers so deep into my shoulders it hurt. I slid my free hand around her hip and dug my own fingers into the soft flesh of her behind and pulled her closer to me. I wrapped my lips around her clit and sucked on it, firmly but gently. Her entire body waved in pleasure, she moaned and squeezed at my shoulders, her legs trembled and she kept her knees as far apart as she could. I am certain that were someone to watch this scene, it would appear quite comical if not exactly erotic.

Suddenly, her entire body shuddered; she grabbed me by the hair and pulled me even closer into her crotch, as if afraid I might stop what I was doing. From the awkward position I was in, I stole a glance at her face and found her staring squarely at me, her face an ugly mask of pleasure, her eyes open wide, her mouth hanging open in a silent moan, it was almost a face of a stranger. Then, she closed her eyes and spasmed in a wave of the ultimate pleasure. I pulled my fingers out of her and continued sucking on her clit until, unable to take it any longer she gently pushed my head away.

She leaned back against the wall, standing in a semi-crouch, careful not to hit her head on the steps above her, her jeans still around her ankles, her body visibly flushed and covered in goose bumps. It was noticeable even in the semi darkness that we had taken a refuge in. Julia continued to stroke my hair gently, her eyes now closed, trying to catch her breath.

Suddenly, I felt as if someone was watching me. I heard no footsteps or any sound at all, but at the same time, it seemed like everything was too quiet. I turned my head and felt the hair on the back of my neck rising and my hard on softening, both at the same time. On the threshold of the front door, there was a silhouette of a cat. It was sitting still, only its tail occasionally swept from one side to another, not in greeting, but rather in satisfaction, although from what, I could not tell. I could not see it clearly, as it was sitting just inside the darkness, the feeble light of the street lamp inches behind it. There was an odd golden hue around it, and so I guessed the cat must have been yellow. The cat was unusually big, bigger than normal, or so it seemed to me. From its silhouette I judged that its hair was long and fluffy.

"Go away!" I whispered towards the cat. "Go, get!" I said louder and Julia finally came to her senses. She looked around and as if unaware of what had been happening only moments ago, hurriedly and almost embarrassed pulled up her jeans.

"Leave her alone." She said to me, her eyes still on the cat.

"Piss off!" I whispered in half-loud voice and looked around me to find something to throw at the cat. An old brush that seemed like it could be used for scrubbing the floors lay just inches away from me in the corner. I grabbed it and without a second thought hurled it at the unwelcome observer in the doorway.

"No!" Julia yelled, but it was too late, the brush had already left my hand. I missed, of course, but not by much. The odd thing was that the cat did not move, not even an inch. It must have seen me throwing something at it, but it seemed as if it was confident enough that I would miss and did not bother to move, was not frightened of me at all. Then, it rose up slowly; slow enough as if to show me that it had chosen to move, not because I wanted it to. It arched its back and I could see its long hair standing on end. It hissed towards me and for a moment I was certain it would pounce on me, scratching my face in retaliation over my cruelty.

"You jerk!" said Julia and pushed me away, squeezing past me. My attention was distracted for a moment when I looked at Julia and as I turned my head back towards the cat, it was gone. I looked around, for a moment panicky that I would find it standing behind me, but there was no sign of it. I got up and felt my knees crack in protest.

"Julia!" I ran after her up the stairs, nearly falling over when the edge of my shoe caught on the stair. "Julia, wait!" I nearly screamed when all of a sudden, a man appeared next to me. It was the man who minded the house and I must not have seen him open the door. He just appeared and my rattled nerves betrayed me.

"Mr. Parker!" he said, his look stern as if he was a headmaster cautioning a student running down the hall. "A bit of quiet, please." I smiled apologetically and nodded. I hoped he thought I had just had a couple of drinks too many. He must have been used to that sort of thing, given that he rented out rooms all year around.

"Sorry." I said and nervously inched my way towards my room. "Sorry." I felt foolish and angry with Julia, and absolutely furious with the cat. I could kill that thing if I ever laid eyes on it. What began as an okay evening, progressed into something nice and sexy, appeared to be finishing off on a very sour note. I cursed my temper; I wished I did not throw that brush at the cat. Why did I allow myself to be so jumpy?

I entered the room just in time to see Julia angrily slam the door of the bathroom behind her. Well, I thought, no sex for Peter tonight. I took off my clothes and only then did I realize that I was actually drunk. The fresh air of Greek winter had me fooled for a while, thinking that the booze we drank did not affect me, but now, safely in the warm room, I realized I was exhausted, ready for bed, forget the sex.

A little while later, I felt Julia slide into bed and wrap herself in the cover, as far away from me as possible. Despite not feeling like having sex, I reached for her and found her dressed in a T-shirt. I touched her foot with mine and realized she was wearing socks, in her own secretive way a definite sign that she did not want to get intimate.

I rolled over and the entire world behind my closed eyes spun with me. For a moment I thought I was going to get sick, then, it must have been seconds later, I blacked out.

I woke up with the unrelenting sunrays tickling my eyes and feeling lousy, I forced myself to look around me. To my great surprise, I found Julia sitting by the open window, naked, her long hair lose over her back. I was going to caution her over showing herself like that to the world, when I realized what she was doing.

Slowly and with great care, she was licking her skin, exactly like a cat. She licked the back of her hands, and then arms in long, careful strokes, every once in a while pausing for a moment as if tasting herself on her tongue, or perhaps gathering more saliva in order to be able to clean herself better. She kept doing that, not looking at me, and it appeared that she was not even aware of the possibility that I might have woken up and was now watching her.

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up again, exactly like they did the previous evening when I found the cat watching us. When Julia suddenly turned towards me, I almost jumped away from her glance. I could have sworn that her light brown eyes took on a golden hue, almost yellow.

"Julia," I said and found my voice hoarse and weak. "What are you doing, baby?" I said and half sat up when she arose from the chair and slowly, gently swaying her hips walked towards the bed. I did not really want to admit it to myself, but I was afraid of her. I was terrified over the transformation that seemed to have taken place in her over the past few days and it had only just hit me now. Her eyes seemed slanted more than I remember before, the color was different, her hair, too was a lighter shade of honey and although she was always an elegant woman her walk now seemed almost cat-like. This was not my wife, not my Julia.

Slowly, as if calculating every movement, she pulled the cover off me and left me lying on the bed stark naked, slightly shivering in the morning cold.

"Baby," I whispered when she got on the bed and on all fours, like a big cat slowly approached me. "Jules?" I asked again, panic rising in my stomach. She kissed my nipple and then licked it gently. She looked at me with those golden eyes and I almost lost control over my bladder. I was terrified beyond anything I had ever felt before.

She began licking me just as she had licked herself moments ago. Slowly, systematically, first my face; the eyes, the forehead, the nose and cheeks. Then, she moved to my neck, giving it a little bite, but nothing that would hurt. She continued running her tongue down my chest, onto my belly, and I felt an involuntary vibration of my muscles over her gentle tongue strokes. Despite my terror, I was hard as a rock by the time she licked her way to my crotch. I reached for her with my hand, trying to stroke her hair, but she elegantly moved her head away and gave me the look that told me to remain still, just enjoy it.

It had struck me as odd how her tongue suddenly felt rugged, not smooth as it used to. Not that she had ever licked me like this before. But I knew that if I kissed her now and touched her tongue with mine, I would find it dry and sandpaper like.

Then, just before her tongue was to touch my cock, she paused and raised up on her knees, looking at it as if seeing it for the first time. She cocked her head to one side and then the other, as if she had just discovered something new, but fascinating. That behavior alone had in terror for my life, not to mention my cock. I realized how helpless I would be if she was to do something to me. Before I could have protected myself, it might have been too late.