Jazz Cat woke up quietly, except for the purr. It took him a moment to realize the purring wasn't his. He smiled as he remembered where he was and opened his eyes, his pupils widening in the half-light of early morning. It was too dark to make out much color, but he recognized the pink rosette pattern in the fur a few inches from his nose. He must have fallen asleep resting his head on her shoulder. 

There were worse ways to spend the night.

He had a gig that morning. A breakfast event across town for some charity or other. For once, though, he didn't feel like wandering the streets in the pre-dawn silence like he usually did. He ran his fingers gently through her fur and she made a warm, happy sound as she turned to face him.

"You never told me your name," she said sleepily.

"I didn't?" He gave the base of her tail a playful scratch. "What were you calling out last night, then?"

"I mean your real name." She swatted him playfully with her tail. "You said you go by Jazz Cat, but you never told me what your name actually is."

He purred at her and caught her tail, running his paw down it playfully. "Most people never ask." He leaned down to kiss her gently, smiling. "It's Cicero, actually. But nobody calls me that."

"Well, maybe I will." She smiled back at him. "Master Cicero. It's got a certain ring to it."

Jazz laughed and kissed her again. "Now that just sounds Victorian. Way too formal for a musician like me. Will you be here tonight? I'd like to see you again."

She nodded, running her fingers through his fur. "I'd like that too. Oh--" She looked up at him, frowning. "I won't be around, though. I have something I have to deal with."

"All right." Jazz nodded faintly, his own fingers curling idly between hers. "Find me when you get back? I'll be around." She nodded and he smiled at her, kissing her one more time before reluctantly rolling out of bed. "I wish I could stay, but I'm already late..."

"It's all right. I should probably be going too."

Jazz turned as the weight on the bed shifted and watched her slip out from beneath the covers, admiring her form as she stretched sleepily. He smiled softly, still purring.

"What?" she asked as she glanced at him over her shoulder.

"Nothing." He shook his head. "You move beautifully, is all." 

She shook her head, smiling a little, and bent over to retrieve her clothes from the floor. Jazz watched her get dressed for a moment before sighing and turning to his own clothes, dressing silently across from her. He stood and waited for her at the door, slipping one arm around her waist when she reached him.

"I really enjoyed myself last night," he said.

She purred at him, one hand absently slipping beneath his shirt. "So did I." She kissed him again and opened the door. "I'll see you when I get a chance."

"All right." Jazz let his hand trail over her hip as she stepped out of the room until she walked out of his reach, his tail circling his ankles slowly. It wasn't until her footsteps had faded that he shook his head, sighed, and walked out into the early morning stillness of the city.

~*~

"I recognize that look." The hedgehog behind the counter grinned at Jazz as he walked into the diner. "You have fun last night, Jazz?"

The tabby's grin spread across his face as he sat down. He was still purring, even hours later. "You know, Rosie, I think I'm in love."

Rosie chuckled and leaned over the counter. She was a comfortable-looking hedgehog, well-suited to the comfortable diner tucked away in a corner of the city. "You always were a hopeless romantic, even for a cat." 

Jazz shook his head, fiddling with a napkin. "No, I'm really falling for this girl. She's just... perfect."

Rosie looked the cat up and down for a moment before responding. "You mean it, don't you?" She slipped her order pad into a pocket on her apron and settled against the counter. "I can't say I ever pictured you going for a girl. I always thought you swung more the other way. What's she like?"

"Well, she's beautiful, for one thing," Jazz began, leaning back with a smile. "Her name's Rexana. She's a snow leopard, white with pink spots. Almost delicate-looking, although that's kind deceptive. But she's got... I don't know what. A certain je ne sais quoi. You know? Something about her." He shook his head. "I'm head-over-heels for her, Rosie. I wish we hadn't had to leave. I could've spent all day in bed, just being with her."

"Oh?" Rosie raised an eyebrow. "You've canceled gigs for less than that. What stopped you?"

Jazz shrugged. "She had to go too. I wonder what she's doing right now..."   

~*~

As it happened, Rexana was currently grumbling to herself as she waded ankle-deep in an unexpected swamp, a few kilometers into a forest just outside the city. She'd changed out of the dress she'd been wearing the night before and was clad in a somewhat more sensible tunic, although the sandals were, admittedly, not the best for swamp travel.  She pulled her foot out of the mire again with a squelch, only to put it down in the same patch of bog a few feet later.

"Monsters, sure," she muttered. "Too wet for for land monsters and too dry for aquatic ones. What've these people been getting terrorized by, algae with teeth? I better get paid for--" she froze suddenly, listening.

There aren't many sounds in a swamp, and most of them are squelches of one sort or another. It can be tricky at times to tell the difference between the squelch of a swamp just being a swamp and the squelch of, say, something big, green, and unpleasant sneaking up behind you.

Rexana had very good ears.

She turned slowly, her fur standing on end as she gathered frost around her hands.

~*~

"I think she's a freelance mage," said Jazz. "At least that's the impression I got from some of the stories."

Rosie nodded, her chin resting on her hands and her elbows on the counter. The diner was the sort of place that saw most of its business between midnight and sunrise, and so in the early afternoon it was just her and Jazz. "Now, go back just a second," she said. "She called you 'Master Cicero?'"

"Mhmm. But nobody really calls me Cicero, so--" he broke off. "Wait a second--"

Rosie giggled, briefly seeming twenty years younger. "Jazz, you really are an idiot."

"But--" Jazz blushed, uncharacteristic of him. "No, I mean--sure, that could--what, really?"

"Jazz, you hang onto this one." Rosie tapped the counter for emphasis, still grinning. "She sounds like the best thing that's ever happened to you."

Jazz frowned. "What, just because she's offering that?"

"There's plenty of people out there I'm sure would love to be your pet." Rosie shook her head and went on before Jazz could interrupt. "No, this is because she called you 'master' and you didn't even notice. It takes a special kind of love to be that stupid." 

Jazz thought that over for a moment. "You think so?"

Rosie laughed. "Cicero Cat, you go find that girl and take her up on her offer. She's going to change your life. Oh, and Jazz--" She grinned. "Let me know how it goes."

~*~

The thing behind Rexana was, as it happened, green and unpleasant, but it wasn't nearly as big as she had expected. It was about half her height, in fact, and it almost resembled a sampling, albeit a somewhat more reptilian one than most trees were. She tilted her head, hesitating, unsure if it was what she was looking for.

Then the swamp around it erupted with a circle of wet, fleshy vine-like tendrils and she grinned. This was the one.

Focusing her magic and cooling the air around her, Rexana darted forward, trails of mist following her hands as they condensed the water in the air into frost. She ducked under a few tentacles and pounced at the monster's body, bearing it the ground with the momentum of the leap. Anything that lived in a swamp would be easy to freeze and dispose of safely, and then she could collect the bounty and be on her way.

Except that for some reason, the beast wasn't getting any colder as she willed her ice magic into it. She frowned and tried again, a small ice storm starting to whirl around her as she sent a gale of arctic sorcery at the monster.

Still nothing.

Starting to panic now, Rexana flung herself away from the beast as it got its balance and stood up, her fur dusting over with snow as she readied more magic. She never got a chance to try it, though, as a tendril intercepted her in midair. She yelped as it wrapped around an arm, pulling her back towards the beast, and a second tendril secured itself around her ankles to hold her up in front of the monster. The tendrils had a slimy, organic feel to them, half plant matter and half flesh. She shuddered in distaste as they began leaking a thick, off-white goop into her fur.

This was not turning out to be her day.

~*~

Jazz sat on the balcony and combed his fingers past his ears thoughtfully. It was starting to occur to him that he had no idea where Rexana had gone that morning. He'd found his way back to her apartment without getting lost more than a couple of times, but after getting there he didn't really have a plan.

He could wait for her to get back, but that seemed to be defeating the purpose somewhat. Besides, as smitten as he was, he wasn't quite that desperate.

His reverie was broken as a feline mix of some sort padded out onto the balcony.

"You were here last night," she said. "Are you looking for Rexana?"

Jazz nodded. "Yeah. Do you know her?"

"A bit." She shrugged. "She works odd hours so we don't cross paths often."

Jazz nodded again, waiting for her to go on, but she seemed finished. "So, do you know where she is?"

The feline scratched her ear, tilting her head to one side. "She was complaining about a bounty out in the forest recently. Something about monster sightings."

"Monster sightings?" Jazz raised an eyebrow dubiously. "This close to the city?"

The cat narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, don't look at me. She was the one griping about it."

Jazz sighed. He wished felines weren't so quick to take umbrage sometimes. "Well, thanks anyway. It's more than I had."

The other nodded absently and flicked her eyes significantly towards the railing Jazz was leaning against. He took the point and stood up, stretching, taking his time about it to make it clear that he was leaving anyway. Courtesy was one thing, but he was a cat, after all. Eventually he nodded to her and put his hands in his pockets, sauntering back down the stairs.

The forest, then. He smiled to himself, unable to keep the loopy grin off his face. He was going to see her again.

~*~

Rexana struggled as a tendril wound its way around her arms, pinning them together behind her back, but lifted off the ground as she was, she didn't have any leverage, leaving her entirely at the mercy of the mass of tentacles surrounding her. She couldn't even use her ice magic, not that it would have helped—for some reason she couldn't focus well enough to bring up her magic. She bucked in sudden surprise and shuddered as a thick, slimy appendage emerged from the mass and rested itself on her stomach. It paused there for a moment, leaking some sort of fluid from the tip that soaked into her fur and made her skin tingle, as if getting its bearings. Then it seemed to make a decision and began snaking its way up her stomach towards her chest. Despite the situation, the sensation of the tentacle sliding through her fur was undeniably erotic, and Rexana couldn't help but shudder as arousal began to spread through her. She gasped and arched her back as the tendril slipped between her breasts, and it paused again, turning to either side to prod them curiously. She grit her teeth and shivered again, and the tentacle raises itself up to slither over the top of one breasts and across the nipple. Rexana jerked in surprise and arousal against her bonds, letting out a gasp. The tentacles holding her in place tightened in reaction.

The tentacle raised itself up again, pulling away from her nipple, and two smaller tentacles emerged as if the first was calling them. The centered in almost immediately on Rexana's nipples. The captive mage's eyes flew open as they latched on, not to suckle at her nipples, but rather to simply pinch, pull, and twist. She started to pant as they wound their excess length around her breasts to squeeze, almost snake-like, constricting her breasts to bring her nipples into greater exposure. To her horror, Rexana found herself pressing her thighs together, her folds leaking fluids copiously. She groaned, half in disbelief and half in pleasure. She was going to cum already, just from the tentacles groping her breasts. 

Before she had a chance, though, the first tentacle pushed its way into her mouth. It must have finished its journey while she was distracted, making its way through her cleavage and past her throat to her muzzle. She nearly choked in surprise, but after a moment she managed to steady herself and take a few deep breaths in her nose. The tendril was still leaking some sort of cum-like substance,  and as it trickled down her throat, she felt herself growing warmer as arousal spread through her body. The substance must have been some sort of aphrodisiac. The tentacle gave a sudden spurt and Rexana's eyes widened suddenly as the cum really started to take effect--that stuff was strong. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she should really be working on a way out, but as the tentacles at her breasts gave her nipples another tug and sent a climax rolling through her, the thought was pushed away.

As soon as Rexana came, the tentacles went crazy. A pair of tendrils pushed out of the mass and went straight for her crotch, not even waiting for the next pair to wrap around her legs and pull them apart to begin pressing against her folds. The snow leopard let out a muffled yelp as her legs were spread open, straining against the tentacles, but she as well have been working against rope or leather for all the good it did her. If it wasn't for the aphrodisiac slowly filling her stomach, she would have been panicking by now, but as it was, she wasn't sure if she was squirming to get loose or simply writhing in pleasure as the first tentacle sank deep into her pussy. She arched her back again and pushed herself against it as best she could as she came again, moaning around the cock-like appendage in her mouth. She hadn't even finished cumming as the second tentacle wriggled its way into her folds beside the first. They began thrusting in tandem, one pulling out as the other squirmed in, and Rexana groaned and shuddered as waves of pleasure coursed through her. The beast still wasn't done, though--yet another tentacle was pushing against Rexana's tailhole, this one thicker than either of the ones in her pussy. She tensed for a moment, but it was leaking more of the goop that the one in her mouth was, and it turned out to be an excellent lubricant. The tendril pushed in easily, if a little forcefully, and Rexana nearly came again just from the penetration. She was having trouble thinking straight through the haze of lust now, and when the tentacle in her mouth began thrusting into her throat, she started sucking out of reflex, her throat massaging the tendril as she swallowed on it.

With four tentacles thrusting into her various holes, it wasn't long before the monster started cumming, although each tentacle came independently. The one in her mouth went first, bulging heavily like ripe fruit before a thick spurt of the aphrodisiac cum oozed down her throat. The substance sent a sudden, burning arousal through Rexana and she began to grind against the rest of the tentacles penetrating her as well as she could, cumming even harder than before as she strained against the organic bonds holding her in place. The motion set the rest of them off and they began to cum as well, their thrusts speeding up frantically as they began to pump the feline full of seed. Rexana's stomach began to feel fuller and heavier as the cum filled it, but she barely noticed, lost in yet another climax as she shuddered against the tentacles filling her body from every angle.

She'd lost track of how many time she'd cum by then time the tentacles were through with her, the tendrils finally pulling out of her and leaving her panting and leaking cum. She groaned as they deposited her unceremoniously on the ground. A dim thought was beginning to flicker in the back of her mind--didn't tentacle monsters tend to eat their victims when they were done with them? The thought began to take root, but she was too exhausted to even turn to face the beast as she heard what she was certain had to be a vegetative mouth opening.

And then Jazz was there, hissing at the monster and brandishing something burning. Through glimpses and snatches out sound, Rexana watched the tabby fend off the green tendrils and back it into a corner of the clearing, then finally send it sinking away into the darkness. She let out a sigh of relief as Jazz dropped his torch into the swamp with a hiss of steam and turned towards her, crossing the swamp to the downed mage's side.

~*~

"Well? What happened then?" Rosie asked, leaning forward. They were at a booth this time, sitting down as Jazz told his story.

Jazz hesitated, glancing to one side before continuing. "Well..."

~*~

Jazz knelt beside Rexana, trying to ignore the scent of arousal and aphrodisiacs in the air. "Rexana?" He placed a hesitant paw on her shoulder.

"Mmrf..." Rexana rolled weakly onto her back and opened her eyes. "Jazz...? I think you saved me..."

Jazz nodded and held out a hand. Rexana struggled to her knees without it, although she out a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. She took a moment to catch her breath, then looked up at Jazz and smiled.

"Thank you," she said, and she leaned in to kiss him deeply.

Jazz started to purr at the touch of her lips, returning the kiss and letting his paws slide down to her hips, but his purr caught in his throat as he tasted the aphrodisiac cum still coating her mouth. The purr picked up again a moment later, though, and he broke the kiss, breathing hard.

"If you really want to thank me..." he grinned. "It'll take more than a kiss."

She looked up at him in confusion for a moment, and then her eyes widened in comprehension. She let on paw trail down his side, across his thigh, and come to rest on the bulge in his pants. He nodded, purring deeper, and stood slowly to let her unzip him. He raised his paws to her head and ran his fingers gently through her hair as she reached into his pants and pulled out his shaft. She let out a quiet gasp. With the monster's potent cum still suffusing the air with its arousing scent, Jazz was already rock-hard and had actually grown a few inches. She looked up at him, stroking his member slowly, and he smiled back down at her.

"Go on, kitty. Don't be shy."

Rexana nodded and took the tip into her mouth, drawing a soft moan from Jazz. His fingers tightened in her hair, but he didn't pull her towards him, letting her work at her own pace. He moaned again as she slipped off and ran her tongue over the length, one paw lifting from his thigh to cup his balls, and a trickle of pre began leaking from Jazz's shaft. She lapped it up eagerly and he shuddered in pleasure. Purring deeply, Rexana began to stroke him again, bringing her mouth back up to the tip, and she wrapped her lips around him. He closed his eyes as she began to bob her head up and down. She paused every so often to catch her breath, slowly taking more and more of his shaft into her mouth, until finally she took a deep breath and let the tip of his member push into her throat. It was all Jazz could do to keep from cumming as she swallowed, her throat massaging his member, trying to take more of him into her mouth. She eventually pulled off, gasping, and she looked up at him.

"Is this... a more suitable... thank-you?" she panted.

"It's a wonderful start," he replied.

Rexana smiled and slipped his shaft back into her mouth, suckling gently as she worked her lips over the length. He entered her throat again and he moaned, throbbing with arousal, and Rexana began to slowly work him in deeper. He hissed in pleasure as he felt his climax approaching, twitching inside her throat, and she let out a muffled moan around him. She swallowed another inch and Jazz bucked involuntarily in pleasure. As the motion pushed Jazz deeper into her throat, drawing a surprised mrowl from the snow leopard, her nose pressed against his stomach and he came hard. Rexana struggled to pull back out of reflex but Jazz held her in place,  his body tense as his balls released their load into her throat. He panted hard as she squirmed for a moment, seeking air, but once she managed to take a breath through her nose she began swallowing hard. Jazz groaned as her throat squeezed around his cock, prolonging the orgasm, and he pulled her harder onto his shaft, panting. Rexana pushed against him then, struggling to pull away, and he released his grip to let her off of his member. She gasped as she pulled off and reached up to wrap a paw around his cock to help him along, and the tabby growled in surprise as his climax intensified, spraying another rope of cum across Rexana's face. She took a moment to catch her breath, and just as Jazz thought he was nearly done, she pulled him back into her mouth, swallowing his length in one motion. He gasped and jerked in surprise, cumming hard into her throat again, bent forward and thrusting into her mouth. They stayed like that until he finally tapered off, breathing hard, and took a step back to slip out of her mouth.

"Gods..." He panted. "That... that was..." He trailed off as Rexana pulled him down and kissed him again.

"Are you satisfied?" She asked softly, smiling.

Jazz smiled blissfully and kissed her back, purring. "More than satisfied, kitty. You did an excellent job." He slipped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. She hugged him back, purring as well, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You know what, kitty?" Jazz said softly. "I think I love you."

Rexana lifted her head and smiled at him, kissing him again gently. "I know," she said. "I love you too."

~*~

"You know, Jazz, you tell a good story."

Jazz grinned, looking up and purring. "I do, don't I?"

Rexana nodded, smiling, and slipped her arm through Jazz's, leaning against him. Rosie smiled to herself as she watched them, sitting back in the other side of the booth. "You know what would be nice, though?" Rexana asked.

"What's that?" Jazz leaned down to nuzzle the smaller feline, smiling.

"If next time, you could actually do that instead of being all noble and rescuing me."

Rosie broke into a small giggling fit at that. "What?"

"He didn't even cop a feel," said Rexana, bapping Jazz with her tail. "He just scared off the tentacles and took me home."

"It didn't occur to me," protested Jazz. "I was worried about her."

Rosie shook her head. "Jazz, I've said it before, but it still holds: You really are an idiot."

"Well." Jazz gave her a sheepish grin, putting an arm around Rexana. "You're probably right. But I think it worked out okay."

"Could've worked out better," grinned Rosie.

"Oh, it will." Jazz started to purr deep in his chest as Rexana leaned her head against his shoulder. "The night's still young, after all, and we've got big plans." He jumped suddenly, as if someone sitting next to him, for example, had slipped a hand under the table and done something adventurous. "I think my kitty's getting impatient," he said. "We should be going." He slipped an arm around her waist and they stood. "You know something, though? I'm gonna take my time with this, do everything right. I don't feel like I'm a hurry." He smiled at Rexana and kissed her softly on the lips. "I plan on spending a lot of time with this girl." And with that, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of the diner.

Rosie grinned and settled back in her seat as she watched them leave. "You know," she said to no one in particular. "I see good things for those two."

~* Thank you... and good night. *~