by Sky Winters
“Seems that way,” he agreed. ‘I’ve got a spare key to my bike at home. Hopefully, they won’t steal it.”
“Hopefully. Those were my favorite jeans too,” she added.
“Come on. Let’s get shifted and get home before we freeze to death. My place is closer.”
“Let’s go,” she replied.
They shifted and headed back down the mountain, edging their way around the bottom of the woods and toward his house. The run was good for him, helping clear his head of the anger that was filling it now that the initial absurdity of the situation had passed. He decided to go back for his bike tonight if it was still there. Creeping up on the back porch of the small brick rancher he had purchased a year or so ago, he felt agitated, even as he and Lucy shifted back into human form again.
“Fuck!” he growled.
“What?” Lucy said, wide eyed.
“I don’t have any keys to the house. They were on the keyring with the bike key.”
“What now?” she said, sounding a little less amused herself now.
“Damn it,” he muttered, reaching down to pick up a sizable rock that made up part of the border around a row of shrubs around the edge of the house and throwing it through the glass window.
It shattered and he reached through it to unlock the door, pushing it open and reaching around to flip on the light with his hand before stepping inside. He scooped Lucy up and carried her across the broken glass to make sure she didn’t step in any of it and then sat her back down across the room. She stood there looking lost and awkward.
“Come on. I’ve got some old sweats you can wear,” he said.
Lucy went with him and accepted the black sweatpants and t-shirt he gave her. She slipped into them and looked at him, her hands extended to either side as if to model them for him. They were a mile too long, suited much more for his six two frame than her five four one. The t-shirt he had given her bore a single word if you could call it that. It just said “Jenius”
“Your mom?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said, feeling his mood lighten, but only a hair. “You up for going with me to get my bike?”
“Don’t want to leave it overnight?”
“Nope. If it’s still there, I want to get it home. If it’s not, I need to report it.”
“I’d like to hear that explanation,” she laughed.
He smiled and looked down at her feet, frowning.
“I don’t have any shoes that will fit you.”
“Get me a pair of thick socks and I’ll stay in the car.”
“Done.”
“Where is the Charger?” she asked as they stepped into the garage to find an older Jeep Cherokee parked inside.
“It belongs to the department. This one is mine.”
“You don’t need it for your new job, the Charger?”
“No. I have a new one now, well, new to me.”
“I like this better. You don’t look like a drug dealer in it,” she commented.
There was something in her tone that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he didn’t pry any further into the comment. Instead, he just let it lie as he drove them back out to the trail head. He was relieved to see that his bike was still there, leading him to believe that it had been pranksters out for their own little night walk through the woods who had stolen their clothes. He hopped on the bike and let her follow him back to his place in the car.
“You want me to take you home?” he asked.
“No. I don’t have any keys either. I’ll just wait until tomorrow and see if I can’t get a key from my landlord. I’m glad my phone was at least locked in your bike’s saddlebag.”
“Small favors,” I guess he told her.
She smiled up at him and the events of the evening melted away again. He kissed her and was soon forgetting all about how annoyed he had been when they arrived back at his place.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Lucy
Getting punked by a bunch of kids sucked, but Lucy could hardly complain about being forced to spend another night in bed with Ryan. He was so much more than anyone she’d ever been with. It wasn’t a love affair, but it was shaping up to be a helluva fling. It defied words, explanation, and was beyond her dreams with excitement.
They might be quick on the draw when it came to jumping into bed, but Lucy couldn’t help but feel like there was something more beneath the surface. Perhaps this was a love affair, after all, at least in one sense. It felt like something that would perhaps climb to the surface slowly, only breaking the dark waves as the night fell and the moon rose above it.
It was a lot like love when you are a teenager. You didn’t know what it was, what it felt like, but it was there, lingering – waiting, waiting as you fooled around in dark places. You got drunk at parties and made out in spare bedrooms. You got stoned and made out in a tent by a fall bonfire or on blanket on a secluded beach as the sunset.
All the time, the love affair remained silent, letting you think it meant nothing. It just felt good and you wanted more of that, you wanted more of your body feeling like it had left its earthly bounds and exploded into space before reconcentrating itself to go again. Perhaps it’s with a best friend or a familiar neighbor – someone unexpected. One day you’re playing records and finger banging on your parent’s sofa and the next, you realize that you want to do more of that, lot’s more and you want to do it with only one person.
Flings hit you in the face with lust, desire, orgasms for days. Love affairs sneak up on you and hit you in the back of the head when you least expect them. If you’re lucky, you wake up from the blow and realize it was exactly what you needed, but more often than not, you are just left with a fucking headache that won’t go away.
What Ryan was to her remained to be seen. He was already feeling like more than a fling, but she wasn’t sure he was the love affair type. For that matter, she wasn’t sure she was either. What she did know was that she was down for whatever happened and right now, he was sending every thought in her head into a spiraling whirlwind that clouded everything she could think of except how much she wanted him to bend her over and fuck her like she desperately wanted.
She wasted no time. She was hungry, climbing on top of him on the sofa and straddling him as she kissed him feverishly. She could already feel the bulge of his rising cock pushing against her aching pussy. He kissed her back, his tongue lacing her own in an erotic dance that sent jolts of electricity from the tip of her tongue down to her center.
His hand slipped between her legs, teasing her clit as his other hand pushed her back to access her nipples. He pulled one of them into his mouth, sucking at it and pulling it with his teeth as she closed her eyes, cooing softly. He continued to finger her until she came, her juices running down his hand.
Pulling his hand upward, he drew wet circles around her nipples with his nail and then licked and sucked them clean again, offering her his fingers to taste herself. She licked them clean and then leaned forward to kiss him again, raising her body as he placed his hands on either hip to help lift her onto his fully erect cock and locking their bodies together as if he was a tab designed for the soul purpose of connecting them.
His hands remained on her hips, guiding her as she began to slowly ride his cock, enjoying long, slow strokes that filled her and stretched her exquisitely. He felt amazing like this, buried deep inside of her, and slipping fully in and out with each stroke. His teeth latched onto one of her nipples, pulling at it with his teeth until she was screaming loudly from the combination of the pleasure and pain.
His hips rocked back and forth, grinding into her, his cock buried to the hilt as he let her ride him, taking what she wanted from him. Her body shook as he took one of his hands off of her hip and placed his thumb on her labia, rubbing it until she could not stop the convulsions that racked her body and sent her into spasms of climax.
“God, yes. Oh, my God. Ryan!” she squealed, feeling light headed and fearing she might pass out at any moment. He didn’t stop,
milking her pussy until she had climaxed a half dozen times before suddenly pulling her up off of his cock and moving behind her, pulling her ass up toward him as she folded herself over the arm of the sofa.
Her body teetered there on the side as he began fucking her in long, steady strokes, his hands cupping her ass hard enough that she was sure she’d find fingerprints there later. She wasn’t complaining. He felt amazing and she had lost all sense of words, instead reducing to a begging, screaming mess that couldn’t get enough.
A stinging sensation crawled across her face as he raised his hand and brought it back down to slap her ass cheek, pumping into her harder with every thrust. His hand alternated from one cheek to the other, leaving hand shaped welts as he fucked her like a feral animal. She loved every bit of it. His roughness suited her desires perfectly and she soon found herself shattering into another orgasm as he found his own sweet spot and filled her with a warm gush of ecstasy.
They lay there for a few moments, each broken apart by their climax. Then he pulled free of her, scooping her up, carrying her into the bedroom, and laying her in the bed. He kissed her so tenderly it felt like she might cry, letting his lips linger on hers before gliding them slowly across her check and then down her neck, planting small kisses as he went.
He kissed her breasts, taking his time to enjoy each one as she swirled his tongue slowly around her hardened nipples before gliding further down to kiss her stomach and her thighs, still sticky with a mixture of their orgasms. His hands slid down her legs as if he were appreciating each inch of her and then he moved back upward, reversing the process.
“You are so beautiful. So perfect. I love fucking you,” he whispered into her hair before rolling off to one side and laying flat, pulling her over to lay her head on his shoulder. They lay there in the darkness, cuddled together in their post coital bliss until Lucy started laughing.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry. I just can’t believe that we ended up naked in the woods and had to shift to run home. What a ridiculous thing to happen.”
“Ridiculous is one word for it. They better hope I don’t find out who they are or they’ll get a much better feel for my displeasure.”
She laughed again and settled back into his arms. She could feel his breathing even out as he fell asleep with her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. She soon drifted off herself, putting the events of the evening behind her. Ryan awoke her the following morning, already showered, and dressed.
“I’ve got to get to work. Let me get you to your landlord’s so you can get to class.”
“Okay. Let me call her,” she said, reaching for the cell she had fished out of his bike last night when they returned. “Why are you in plain clothes?” she asked while the phone was ringing.’
“The promotion I told you about. I moved from being a beat cop for too many years to being a plain clothes patrolman.”
“Undercover, you mean?”
“No. Just not in uniform. It’s a rough neighborhood. People don’t want to be seen talking to cops. It just makes it less obvious, even though most of them still know who we are. From a distance, they don’t notice it as quickly. Or they just don’t run when you approach them.”
She nodded, just as her landlord answered from the other end. She told her that she had lost her keys and asked if she could stop by for a spare. The woman told her to come by her office and she’d leave one with the receptionist. Lucy thanked her and slipped back into the oversized clothes Ryan had loaned her, realizing she would have to go into the office in that and sock feet. Oh, well. The comedy of last evening wasn’t over yet.
After the quick stop off, Ryan took her home and waited until he saw that she had the door open. She waved for him to go and he pulled out of the driveway. She showered and got dressed for school, hurrying out the door at the last minute after spending way too long searching for the spare key to her car in an overflowing drawer she reminded herself she had meant to clean months ago. She only had one class today, but it was an early one.
“You going out with us this Friday?” Sasha asked as they ate lunch at a nearby cafe after class.
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“You sure? You aren’t too busy wrapping your legs around that hot cop of yours? What’s his name anyway.”
“Ryan. Ryan Wilson. And no, I’m not too busy for you, ever.”
“Good to know. I’d hate to lose my best girl,” Sasha teased.
“Never,” Lucy replied.
She didn’t tell her about the events of last night. It was a funny story, but she was feeling tired for some reason and maybe even a little nauseous.
“Listen, I’ve got to go, Sasha. I’m not really feeling all that well this morning. I think I need to go home and lie down for a bit.”
“Okay. Anything I can do for you?”
“No. It’s probably just a bit of a bug or something. We were out in the night air last night, so I’m probably coming down with a cold.”
“Well, don’t pass that shit to me. I don’t have time for a snotty nose and fevers. Get home and get well before the weekend.”
‘I will.”
Lucy drove home. She had an epiphany as she drove, stopping by the pharmacy and buying a pack of home pregnancy tests. It might explain the nausea, but she was on the pill. Still, it was possible and it was better to know.
Stepping into the house, she immediately felt a sense of unease. There was something off. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there seemed to be some things that were just enough out of place to be noticeable. She told herself she was just a bit on edge between last night and now the nausea, but it seemed to be passing. Of course, that just led her to believe even more that it was morning sickness.
She went to the bathroom and took the first test, leaving it on the counter to process. Her phone rang. It was Ryan.
“You okay?”
“I think so, but I just have a feeling someone has been in my house.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing at all. It just feels like some things have been moved. I’m probably being paranoid.”
“Don’t take a chance. Call a locksmith and have them come out and change the locks.”
“That seems a bit much.”
“It’s better safe than sorry. We don’t know who took our things. It could have been pesky teens or it could be something else. Don’t forget what I do and that my job title puts me at a higher risk now.”
“It’s fine, Ryan. I’m sure it was just kids pranking us. I’ll be fine. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“I’ve got to go. We’ll talk some more about this later.”
Lucy ended the call. She didn’t like his tone. It was a bit too authoritative for her taste, almost as if he was telling her what she would and wouldn’t do. It didn’t set well with her at all. Returning to the bathroom, she was relieved to see that the test is negative. Maybe it was just a bug, she lay down on the sofa for a nap, but was awakened by the doorbell an hour or so later.
“Smythe’s Lock and Key,” the man told her as she cracked the door open. “Mr. Wilson sent me to change your locks.”
“He said you might say that. He told me to tell you he will feel better if you do,” the man replied.
Lucy sighed and pulled the chain off the door, letting him in. He was fast, changing the lock to the front, back and garage doors in less than a half hour. She expected a bill from him, but he just thanked her and started to leave.
“Don’t you need payment?” he asked.
“It was pre-paid by Mr. Wilson,” he told her, making a hasty retreat back to his truck and departing.
Lucy felt frustrated for a number of reasons she couldn’t quite sort out in her head. She was feeling all better now though, so that was at least something. Changing into running gear, she decided to go for a run, something she rarely did in this neighborhood. She was feeling bold for some reason today. It could just be the ang
er welling up inside her.
On her way back, she noted the same car that had been parked on the street before. There was a man inside. Who was he there to watch? There was no other explanation for his being parked there a second time without getting out. Just as she passed, he opened the door and stepped out. Lucy panicked, speeding up and bolting for her front door, where she fumbled with the shiny new key she had stuck in her pocket.
Glancing back, she saw the man leaning against his car, smoking a cigarette. She couldn’t quite make out his face from beneath the baseball cap he wore, but he didn’t seem to be really hiding. Perhaps he was just waiting on someone to come out from one of the houses. Still, she hurried inside and closed the door, pulling the chain across and leaning against it. Her anger turned inward at herself, frustrated with her own behavior and overreaction.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ryan
Taking his own advice, Ryan had the locksmith come over and change his own locks.
“It’s not going to do you much good to put new locks on the door when you’ve got a cardboard box taped over the broken window,” the man remarked.
“Very true. I couldn’t get the glass company out until tomorrow to fix that.”
“Well, hopefully you’ll be fine until then,” the man said.
The locksmith finished up while Ryan called Lucy. He could tell that she seemed a bit off but chalked it up to having had a couple of strange days. He kicked himself for getting involved with her. As much as he was into her, it wasn’t safe, not in his line of work and he was beginning to wonder if any of this had anything to do with that.
“What’s wrong,” he asked.
“Nothing. I’m just tired. I’m probably going to go to bed early tonight.”
She sounded weary. He tried not to read too much into it. She was likely just tired and it was coming across as more than that, but he really felt like there was something else.
“Did anything else happen, Lucy?”
There was silence on the other end and then a sigh. “Maybe,” she said.
