Josephine Young, heroine from A Cat's Tale by Melissa Snark

Please welcome, Josephine Young. Ms. Young please share a little bit about yourself.

Hi! My name is Josephine. My friends call me Josie. I'm a pure bred seal point Siamese cat. I'm also a shapechanger. I used to live with a little old lady from Pensacola before a vampire catnapped me. The blood sucker held me captive for three years as a blood pet. The vamp met with a dusty fate so I'm on my own for the first time in my life.  Independence is a little bit scary but I'm enjoying it.

Do you consider yourself unconventional, or is that just a label society sticks on you?

Unconventional? I'm a cat and a shapeshifter, so in at least one regard I'm different than other felines. But other than that, I enjoy all the things other girls do: endless hours grooming, long naps in the sun, a little bit of nip now and then. So yes, it really is a label society has stuck on me…

Do you embrace your uniqueness, or have you always just wanted to fit in?

Fit into what? I'm extremely limber. I can squeeze my body through any opening my head fits through, and as a cat, I'm not very large. So sure, I guess you could say that I can fit into almost anything… I'm very talented at getting into trouble too.

Who is your role model and why? 

I rather admire that Australian man on TV, the one who plays with crocodiles. He is absolutely fearless, and I just love watching him do crazy things. He inspires me. Someday, I'd like to wrestle a crocodile. It's too bad what happened to the poor man…

If you could do anything without concern for consequences, what would it be?

Give a werewolf a hot foot.

Is your ideal man as unconventional as you, or are you even looking for Mr. Right? 

My man is a werewolf, but he's not all that different from other wolves, at least not so I've noticed. I wouldn't call him unconventional. Snarky and something of a smart ass, maybe…  Jared is also a firefighter which resulted in unfortunate and really bad jokes when we first met. I won't go into details, but I'm sure you can imagine…

Any other dark desires or juicy details you'd like to share? 

I can't tell you or I'd have to kill you.

Please provide a bit of your story that showcases you at your best. 

Jared’s voice dropped in a ploy designed to tempt her cat curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, “Want to know another secret?”

Her ears shot forward, tall and erect, and her tail lifted. “What?” Josephine asked in spite of herself.

Jared smiled and eased closer to her. He brought his lips to her ear and resumed his former position between her thighs. Despite her better judgment, Josephine opened for him, welcoming the return of those lean hips and the button fly straining against his erection.

He waited. He pressed against her, stroking his hands over the soft fur of her haunches, teasing her nipples with his chest hair. Josephine’s breath hitched more than once, coming faster until she felt lightheaded. Her tail crept around his thigh, twining there.

“What secret?” Josephine demanded, ever impatient.

Jared nuzzled her cheek, his lips lingering in a long kiss, and the tip of his tongue tasted her flesh. The gentle caresses were a bright promise and so very tempting, because Josephine craved intimacy more than anything. Too long denied a kind word or a caring touch. At the same time, he frightened her because if she let her guard down, he’d possess the means to destroy her more thoroughly than killing her.

“Jared?” Josephine grasped his face and pulled his lips from her skin to stare up at him. “What secret?”

He gave new meaning to wolf smile. He had such big teeth. “I’m not the only one aroused, little cat.”

Mouth open in shock and attempted denial, Josephine stared as he walked away.