Posted by PK on November 13, 2001 at 16:21:53:
Sue smiled.
In fact, she did wonder about doing it again but was curiously uncertain about it and she
wasn't sure why. She had never missed feeding him again - it seemed cruel and would be
pointless since it obviously didn't work, and she couldn't starve him for long without
somebody noticing. Surely she couldn't be afraid? Perhaps she was on some level, now
she'd actually come close to the reality, but she didn't think it was that. If asked, she'd walk
into his cage right now. Maybe she didn't want to spoil the memory with an anticlimax. Would
it be the same if she wasn't expecting him to kill her? Maybe not, but surely it would be a
very jaded palate that found sleeping with a lion dull. Possibly she was simply worried about
being caught. The image came to her of zookeepers, like nuns at a convent school, bursting
in on them at midnight with torches and yelling "Caught you, you wicked girl!"
The idea of teasing or enraging Larry until he hated her revolted her. She had never liked
cruelty, and oddly enough she valued the lion's good opinion of her. Besides, she was fond of
him. She had to face the fact that there was no practical way of getting him to eat her. This
didn't stop her from playing the 'appetiser' game with visitors to the enclosure during the day.
Would he like that nice brunette for lunch? She had delicious legs. Who knows, maybe she'd
volunteer. Or she could start him off on those two cute little blonde girls, they'd whet his
appetite. How about the pair on that juicy looking redhead? He wouldn't want dessert after
that...
The next day she decided to have lunch with her lion. She knew that there were few visitors
these days, and anyone who saw her would probably assume it was just routine or none of
their business. Of course, it was strictly gainst the rules to feed the big cats from inside the
cage, but everyone was accustomed to her routine by now and supervision was lax, to say
the least. She had taken to wearing a T-shirt and cutoffs to work, which was not standard
zookeeper garb, but as she was an underpaid student temp and it was hot, nobody objected.
Either that or they couldn't bring themselves to make her cover her legs.
At feeding time, as usual, she went to Larry's enclosure with his meat in a bucket and her
sandwiches. Before she went in, she slipped off her T-shirt and her shoes and socks, just in
case she'd misjudged him. If Larry decided to re-evaluate her place in the food chain or his
affections, or the bucket of meat gave him ideas, she wanted to be ready. The bra could be
removed easily enough and maybe the shorts, if she got time. Shoelaces were another
matter, and the had a lifelong distaste bordering on horror at the idea of being eaten with her
shoes on. She experienced a moment of trepidation as she opened the door and looked
around - if she got caught doing this she'd almost certainly be fired - but nobody was about.
Barefoot, she padded into the lion's den. Larry was waiting for her and came towards her at
an unhurried pace. Sue's heart skipped a bit, but her voice was quite steady.
"Dinner's up, my friend." and under her breath, irrationally, "one way or another." Larry sat
down near her and waited for her to tip out his meal, which, after a moments hesitation, she
did. Sue stepped back a little to give him room. She didn't want to challenge his space while
he was eating and have him maul her by accident. He'd probably be sorry afterward, she
thought, and wondered if she was just anthropomorphising. She sat down and started to eat
her sandwiches, her heart and breathing now quite steady. Larry glanced at her briefly and
returned to his food.
Once he had he finished, he moved back slightly. Sue noticed that he'd left a piece of meat,
and he was looking at her. How thoughtful! She scooted forward, picked it up and took a
token bite, then tossed it to him, with "Thanks, but I'm not that hungry." Larry, honour
satisfied, gulped the rest down in one. Instinctively, Sue held out her bloody hands and he
came forward and obligingly licked her fingers clean. Feeling that it was only fair, Sue tossed
him her last tuna sandwich. He snapped it up like a dog eating a chocolate button.
That done, Larry lay down for his postprandial doze. Sue leaned against his back and basked
in the sun for a while. I wonder if this constitutes a dinner date, she wondered. If he sends me
flowers as well, I'm his. Just call me easy.
After lunch the other student cornered Sue near the storeroom. His face was strained and he
was clearly agitated.
"What the fuck do you think you were doing in there?" he opened without preamble.
"What are you talking about?" Sue was off guard and trying to temporise. What had he seen?
She was uncomfortably aware that she was blushing.
"In the cage. With that bloody lion of yours. At feeding time. Ring a bell?"
"How did you..? I didn't see you..."
"I came looking for you. I thought you might like some company at lunch. What did I see?
your shirt and socks outside the bloody gate and you in there with that bloody lion."
This was bad. If he reported this she was out. Obviously he hadn't yet. Sue was at a loss for
a moment.
"I was just sunbathing, Mike."
"Are you completely out of your mind? That's not a muppet in there it's a full grown African
LION for Christ's sake. You could have been killed! I didn't say anything because I didn't
know what to do. If I'd gone in there it might have set him off."
"Larry wouldn't hurt me..."
"Larry? Larry? Who do you think you are, Joy Adamson? Sheena, Queen of the fucking
jungle? I don't want to report you but I'd better not see you doing that ever again."
Sue's discomfiture was steadily turning to anger and defiance. How the hell dare he tell her
how to deal with her Larr... her lion.
"So don't bloody look. If you want to report me, go ahead, dances-with-penguins.What I do
on my own time is my own fucking business, OK?"
Immediately she was ashamed. Mike was only concerned for her and now he looked shocked
and hurt, but she couldn't back down.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know you mean well, but I can handle lions. I was abandoned in the jungle
as a baby and raised by them or something. Yes, I'm Sheena, Queen of the jungle. I'm Dr.
Doolittle's daughter, I talk to the animals. Think what you like. I know what I'm doing. If you
want to snitch on me, that's up to you. Even if you do smoke in the bog every lunch break, I
wouldn't dream of saying a word. I don't work that way.Just leave dealing with the lion to me,
all right?"
And with that she shoved past him and went back to work.
By that evening her mind was pretty much made up. She was going to have a serious talk to
Larry about their relationship. Failing that, she was going to get laid. Or possibly eaten, who
knows? She shaved herself again, just in case. Be prepared, and all that. Besides, stubble is
uncomfortable and she liked herself that way now. She dressed in the loose, dark clothing
she used last time and set off for her date.
Outside the gate, she stripped off and went in. The air was a little cooler tonight, but not
unpleasant.
"Larry?" she called softly. "Honey, I'm home."
Larry came towards her more quickly than usual. Was this an attack or was he just pleased to
see her? Maybe he'd been waiting for her all these nights since the first time. He stopped in
front of her and sat on his haunches. Sue slipped down and sat in front of him with her legs
apart. She was a little worked up, but not afraid at all.
"This is where we sort things out, Larry." she said in a reasonable tone. "I'm beginning to
think you're never going to get the point. Okay, I may be crazy but I'm not stupid.I know you
don't understand a word I say."
Larry regarded her patiently. He was a good listener, she thought.
"Here's my problem. I came here the first time so you could eat me. You didn't. Why,
because you like me? Because you think I'm your mate? Don't you have a vicious bone in
your body?"
Larry blinked and maintained his companionable silence. He'd make a great psychoanalyst if
only I could teach him to say "How do you feel about that?" every ten minutes, she thought.
"The trouble is, I can't make you do it. I don't want you to be mad at me and I can't explain
what I want because you're a lion and you don't speak bloody English, do you? I thought
about wounding myself to give you the scent of my blood, but I just can't do it. Besides, you'd
probably try to lick me better and if I got seriously hurt I can just see you trying to defend me
from the ambulance crew, assuming anybody finds me and I don't just bleed to death. I don't
want to get you in trouble, anyway. You're not going to eat me unless I get somebody to chop
me up and serve me in a bucket, which is no fun at all. Would you know it was me? Would
you, Larry?"
Something burst inside Sue and she paused for breath. She noticed with shock that tears
were running down her cheeks. Why? She wasn't sad, was she?
Larry leaned forward and licked her face.
Sue laughed.
"You're right, of course." she said. "Let's fuck."
She didn't think it was quite right to let him make all the running, so she stroked his ears and
rubbed his head while he licked her belly and breasts. The roughness of his tongue on her
rigid nipples was as stimulating as ever. At one point he seemed to have her whole right
breast inside his mouth and she could feel his teeth. "Go on, go for it", she murmured, but he
ignored her, or took it for an endearment. After a while of pleasant mutual grooming she lay
down and spread her legs. Larry seemed to know what was expected of him and licked her
all over. Sue needn't have worried that it would be boring, even though she was fairly sure he
wouldn't kill her. She wondered if he really knew what he was doing or whether he just liked
the taste of her skin. In any event he paid particular attention to her crotch, as though he
really got some good flavours out of there.Things got confused after that. Once, by some
means, she managed to get a whole foot into his mouth which he took as a signal to lick it
clean. Sometimes she felt his teeth again, but he never bit. If Larry considered her behaviour
eccentric he kept it to himself. By any standards, it was pretty good foreplay. By the time he'd
finished, she was tingling all over and ready to pop. She got up on her hands and knees and
presented herself, rump twitching enticingly. The lioness position, she thought deliriously as
he nuzzled her between the legs. Will it catch on? For women about to be mounted by a lion
who may or may not eat them up afterwards. What to do for your last bit of fun when you're
caught on the veldt and you're going to be devoured. Don't be at a loss, be prepared! maybe
I should write something for the Girl Scouts handbook or one of those glossy manuals : "So
you're going to be eaten...." She quivered deliciously at the thought of it.
This time he entered her with ease and it seemed hardly rough at all to her, though Larry had
lost none of his vigour. Sue was a strong young woman and he wasn't trying to hurt her. She
was even able to thrust back at him and it seemed that he was taking more time than before.
Because he was sure of her? Sue wondered and then her thoughts dissolved deliciously into
ecstasy and she stared to yelp. She was not a quiet and decorous lover. She raised her head
and howled herself hoarse. It was barely a human sound at all. Larry moved on and in her
like a force of nature, a storm, and she bucked and rode with it.
Afterwards, when she arose in a post orgasmic daze, Larry licked her face and shoulders for
a while, and then turned and went to his spot. His head was still up and he was looking back
at her.
"Want me over there, sweetheart?" Sue asked. Larry lifted his nose and made a low noise.
"Of course you do. How cute."
Sue went over and curled up against his warm bulk, tucking herself under his foreleg, which
he moved slightly to cover her. He reached his muzzle down and snuffled her hair.
"Don't try grooming that." she advised. "Better hairdressers have tried and despaired."
No comment.
"Aren't you worried I'll leave you for a really bad lion? You know some women prefer
bastards. You don't think we're going to get married and raise a pack of were-kittens do you?"
Larry grunted softly. Sue settled herself down to sleep. And then -
Well, suddenly Larry leaned down again and bit Sue's head right off. Poor Sue! Then he ate
her, and he enjoyed every succulent bite. You just never can tell with lions. The end.
Just kidding. Sorry about that. Of course he didn't.
Sue slept peacefully between Larry's paws until dawn. I'd like to give you a tidy ending to
this, but there isn't one. Sue visited Larry more than once again, and he never did hurt her.
She often took her lunch with him and Mike did not report her. In fact he hardly spoke to her
at all and avoided her eyes. After the vacation she went back to University and resumed her
relationship with Jim, on a strictly no-strings basis. She even spent another night with her
lesbian friend Justine, who found she quite enjoyed being eaten by a lioness. Sue was getting
versatile in more ways than one. She never told either of them about her holiday romance,
but sometimes at night she dreamed of him and in those dreams he swallowed her up. She
always woke up from them feeling content, with perhaps a touch of bittersweet melancholy.
Larry missed her too. For quite some time he was off his feed and he paced about
impatiently as if waiting for something. He was surly with his keepers and they stayed well
clear of him. Finally they got him a nice young lioness, and though he was stand-offish with
her at first, she eventually won him over. Sometimes he still watches the cage door as if
expecting someone, but nobody knows what he dreams about.
Where is Sue now? I don't know. The last I heard she was planning a trip to Africa for her
next vacation, but it's anybody's guess what she' ll do there. You may hear about her on the
news. Or she may be that shockingly attractive woman you see walking down the street with
the lithe animal stride, the bold, confident eyes and the hint of mystery in her smile. Do you
ever wonder what's going on inside the heads of the women you meet? Do you really want to
know?
Trust me, it's a jungle in there.
Dedicated with love to Kate Bush, Alice Sheldon and wild women everywhere.