Windfall

by Tempe O'Kun

  His mother paused just long enough to have stared down the laughter. “You’re an adult now, so I won’t lecture you, but you barely settled in before you took off again.” She paused, probably adjusting some aspect of the canning process. “The pack’s not the same without you. Thought I’d get some time around my son after all these years.”

  “I came home between seasons.” He looked out the window. When he’d signed on to Strangeville, they’d admitted the show represented a once in a lifetime opportunity. Living half a continent away to date an old cast member, though, would be a much harder sell. As he listened, he grabbed the brush from his room and gave himself a once-over; grooming always calmed him.

  “I was young too, you know: I’ve made impulsive choices in my day.”

  The phone buzzed on his cheek. He looked, still listening.

  Kylie Bevy: {You should come up here when you’re done…}

  His tail swayed.

  Pertinent arguments from his mom echoed through the mobile. “You’re sure you’re not just trying to cling to the glory days? What about college? You just bailing on that too?”

  A sigh from deep in his chest evaporated his desire to talk. “I’m not giving up on college. Lots of people take a break. Better than burning out and getting bad grades.” His free hand gestured into empty space. “It’s not like I’ve disappeared into the back alleys of Amsterdam; I’m in New England with people you know. And unlike on the show, I’m not sleeping on their fold-out or in some cramped spare room. I’m moving up in the world.” The husky chuckled, but decided not to mention he hadn’t exactly been sleeping alone.

  “I’m just saying we miss you.” She sealed another can. A shade of vulnerability reached her voice. “I miss you.”

  His paws carried him on an endless and automatic tour of the living room. “I know you miss me. I miss you too. And I’ll be home before too long; I promise.”

  “Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.” A slight growl entered her tone. “This plan of yours changes every time I talk to you.”

  He traced a paw along the top of the sofa. “Alright. Bye, Mom.”

  She gave a soft sigh. “Bye, pup.”

  Hanging up, he padded upstairs, wagging that he’d bought himself some time. Mom would cool down and, in the meantime, he’d have more adventures with Kylie…of various sorts. On the way, he double-checked she wasn’t still on the line.

  The otter checked everything was in place. Lights down, candles lit, soft music playing: perfect. A nervous giggle escaped her throat as she sat back on the bed. Her legs crossed and uncrossed as she wondered which looked more enticing. Her tail flowed over the covers, a cream-and-cocoa curve she hoped would lead his gaze to her rump.

  A creak on the stairs and he turned the corner into her room, still pondering his phone.

  In her sultry voice, she leaned back on her hands, lifting her breasts. “Hey Maxie.”

  “Hey, rudderb—” He paused and looked up, his ears going further and further erect. “You’re naked.”

  “Almost.” She writhed on the sheets, toying with the hem of his favorite old t-shirt.

  The insides of his ears turned an adorable shade of pink.

  Her hips rocked back and forth on the sloshing waterbed as she wiggled in anticipation.

  Max drifted close, attracted. He eased onto the bed, so big but so careful. One paw curled over her hip as the other lifted her chin to a kiss. Tension clung to his muscles, though it eased as her paws roamed his back.

  Her tongue slipped over his lips, then lapped at his own. The warmth of his mouth and the fur of his arms chased away the cold of the world.

  His fingers traced her thigh, then brushed the thin pelt over her slit. A cautious fingertip spread her, then explored just a little way inside her. He slipped in, one knuckle at a time. Breaking the kiss, he nosed under the t-shirt and began a tender licking tour of her nipples. Two fingers now sunk into her passage, stroking in and out along her growing moisture.

  She bit her lip at the delicate pleasure rolling through her body, hips rocking. Tail curling and uncurling on the covers, she arched under his powerful form.

  Heartbeats later, his lips began trailing down her body. Wide, caring paws spread her legs. His muzzle hovered over her naked crotch, eyes tracing her folds.

  The otter’s thick tail curled up a bit, trying in vain to cover her. Her knees slipped a little closer together as her gaze fell from eye contact under the weight of the moment. “You don’t have to…”

  A swish of his tail stirred the silence. “I know.” His claws combed her dense pelt to relax her. A playful gleam sparked in his eyes, even as a blush lingered in his ears. “I get to.” His sturdy white muzzle sank between her thighs.

  Kylie allowed herself a shiver of anticipation, head tilting back, eyes drifting shut as his soft breathing washed across her most tender places…

  Cold shot through her.

  “Eek!” She wriggled, knees squeezed on his ears. “Your nose!”

  “Thorry.” The husky looked up from between her thighs, peering over her bare breasts. “I, uh, don’t actually know what I’m doing here.”

  “Like I do?” She smirked, anxious. Anxious paws gripped the hem of the t-shirt. “Even I can’t bend that far.”

  He sank back down and licked with redoubled enthusiasm. As her legs relaxed, his tongue caressed her folds with eager interest.

  The otter lay back, head rocking from side to side, hips wiggling with abandon against his now-warm nose.

  Again and again, he licked along her slit, then pressed further. He delved deep, that long silky tongue curling up inside her. Every little wave of motion teased pleasure from her flesh.

  Her muscles clenched at the pleasure. Her breath caught. Tense teeth dragged along a trembling lower lip. When she could stand no more, she reached down to guide his lapping muzzle up to her clit.

  That silken tongue traced over her sensitive bud. Breath traced tender flesh. Raw pleasure raced up her nerves.

  Awash with pleasure, her body rolled upon the waves of orgasm. Her slippery walls clenched down on his tongue as his soft tongue rubbed ever faster on her nub, drawing out the climax as long as possible. Knowing her best friend enjoyed lapping up her juices compounded the exhilaration as her body tensed, arced, and at last flopped to the sheets.

  In a dreamy haze, she drew him up her body, slinking higher on the waterbed. Their kisses raced, one into another, just like their heartbeats. His paw slid under the old t-shirt to caress her breasts. She arched back, enjoying the feel of his rough paw pads on her nipples, then helped him pull the shirt over her head. Her own paws responded in kind: first relieving him of his shirt and hoodie, then his pants and boxers. At last, they lay together, naked, panting, and lost in each other’s fur.

  Strong paws traced her body, one drifting down to line him up with her entrance. Wet heat greeted her folds as his tip brushed them.

  “Wait.”

  He froze, concern in his arctic eyes. His weight shifted off of her and onto his elbows.

  Her paw touched his chest, rolling him to one side. “I wanna have you on the bottom this time.”

  The dog let her move him, waterbed sloshing beneath them. Kylie couldn’t help but lick her lips as her eyes travelled down his long torso, with its vivid black and white markings. As his tender blue eyes beckoned her, His paws waiting for her next move, raised and bent at his chest. His sheath was plump and heavy, crimson tip peeking out into the open air, begging for attention. Between his knees, his trapped tail tried to wag. He was hers for the taking, and she loved it.

  She crawled over the waiting dog. With a brush of whiskers, her lips met his. The kisses shifted to nuzzles and whispered breaths, then back to kisses. Their tongues traced together with velvet friction. His breath traced hot against her cheeks.

  Grinding up at her, he moaned into her open mouth. As she sat up, she could feel his tail swishing under hers. Those powerful hands stroked her pelt, exploring,
caressing. Ears flat, he looked up at her with a whine of adoration.

  Her paw wrapped around his sheath; her finger webbing brushed his exposed tip. She stroked him back and forth a few times and watched him writhe in pleasure against her water mattress, ripples traveling under the sheets. Hot precum dribbled against her webbing, which she examined for a moment. A lot like her own moisture, though this smelled muskier, more canine, and very male. Sweeping a leg over his hip, she wiggled down against his crotch and guided him into wet, welcoming folds. Slow and steady at first, she sank onto him. Having him inside her felt amazing, even more so with the slick combination of his saliva and her juices. “Oh yeah. Mmm…” A chitter of delight escaped her muzzle. “You feel really good in me.”

  He spread her wider until her labia met his sheath and eased it down. Only the slightest bulge hinted at the knot to come, yet she felt so filled, so loved. Those big white paws gripped her thighs, grinding her down against his hips with adoring whimpers. “Kylie! Mmmm! Oh…”

  Testing the waters, the otter rocked her hips a few times, adoring the feel of his hot length inside her. A smile spread over her muzzle as she heard his whines of delight get louder. She chittered with glee and bounced atop him in earnest. “Yeah… Mmm, fill me up, Maxie.”

  The dog gasped and gripped the bedcovers. His canine bulge swelled, slipping in and out of her sensitive folds. It stretched her, teased her, filled her with eager need. It got tougher and tougher each time to press him back inside.

  With her rudder for leverage, she thrust hard against him, biting her lip as his knot battered her entrance. She tried not to smack his balls with the thick base of her tail—he’d always been so careful with her, like he was afraid he’d break her. Despite being half his size and not a canine, she craved his knot. The idea of him being so close, being so deep, as intimate as two beings ever could be, added tender ferocity to her thrusts. His friendship, his love, his heart, his knot: she wanted every bit of Max. “Harder! Give it to me! Yeah, right there!”

  Hind paws braced on the foot of the bed, the husky humped up at her. His teeth set in restraint, careful not to hurt her. Those paws gripped her hips, strong as her desire. Always so protective. His touch drifted down, massaging his soft-furred sheath against the back of his firm bulge.

  The waterbed threw off their motions; she’d have to get used to having someone else involved in her antics under the covers. Palms on his chest, she slammed down and pressed hard. She thought loose thoughts, relaxing her muscles against the tension of delight. His knot edged inside her with great effort, little by little. Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, that they’d have to try again another day, it popped into her. She gasped and felt his bulge settle inside her. Her folds closed behind it, sore from stretching. His bulge throbbed larger inside her, expanding to fill her. With a shudder, she soaked in the unexpected sensation of him swelling to fit her just right, like they were meant to fit. A shared moan passed between them, accompanied by a pulse of fresh fluids.

  He bucked under her, eyes closed, muzzle frozen in a silent howl of passion. A second throb raced up his shaft, this time joined by a flush of heat inside her. Another hot bloom followed the first, then another: hot, thick husky passion.

  A blush simmered under her fur. He’d knotted her. Now he shot load after load of his seed into her waiting and tender passage. She felt it well up around his cock, trapped inside by the tie they shared. The idea, and the incredible reality of it, sent her fingers in frantic circles over her clitoris. Pleasure built upon itself to dizzying highs, then cast her off the edge into a world of roaring sensation and wet heat. A cry of orgasm shook the dim room; only a moment later did she recognize it as her own. Unabated, her hips ground down on his, his sheath bunched up against her hot and tingling labia, his shaft buried so deep inside her.

  Heartbeats racing, they together panted for an endless moment. His paws fell to the bed, the surface of which rolled in waves that echoed their enthusiasm. He looked up at her with pure canine devotion, tongue lolling out the side of his thick muzzle.

  Still straddling her lover, still bound by that exotic bulb of flesh, she felt his hips grind up at hers. Kylie took full advantage; she wrapped her arms behind his neck and showered his face in kisses, stroking her fingers through the soft, thick fur behind his ears, reveling in every little happy sound she drew from him. She brushed her nose along his cheek and the side of his muzzle, kissing his smile. She flashed him a giddy grin. “My Maxie.”

  His warm gaze shone her way, eyes lidded with post-coital drowsiness and deep satisfaction. Strong paws caressed her ribs. He angled his muzzle up a fraction and brushed his lips against hers. When the kiss faded, his voice rose in a gentle murmur. “Who else’s would I be?”

  She flushed with pleasure and pride, then nuzzled further into his fur with a delighted squeak. Not bad for an otter who couldn’t find her wiles with both paws. In all her life, for all that they’d uncovered, she’d never felt safer.

  — Chapter 18 —

  The Gateway

  Wrapped in each other’s arms, the lovers cuddled in sleepy satisfaction. Long after the knot had gone down and slipped free, Kylie kept her face buried in his chest fur. Together they breathed and drifted between wakeful snuggles and dozing. She shivered whenever he shifted to make himself comfortable or lifted her chin for a long, lingering kiss, which teased his soft fur across her hypersensitive flesh. The slow, sensual cuddle kept the embers of passion lit through the dreamy haze. Kylie knew it would only be a matter of time before the tension became too much and they made love again, and for once she was happy to wait and let it happen, to savor the simple pleasure of being in bed with her best friend and lover.

  Downstairs, glass shattered.

  Max’s ears shot up.

  She clutched him, then scrambled out of bed and into a t-shirt, vest, and shorts.

  The dog, meanwhile, jumped into his blue jeans, then opened the door and peered down the staircase.

  Footsteps. Clanks. The thump of closing cabinets.

  Heart racing, Kylie flipped on the lights. She spied through the stair railing and saw a beaver poking through the contents of their living room. A very specific beaver, in fact: the town handyman. “Joe?”

  He looked up and walked nearer the stairs, meeting her gaze with oily ease. A shattered dish lay at his feet. His gait consisted of pained jerks and hyperextensions. “Hi, kids.”

  “It’s the middle of the night! What’re you doing here?” Kylie brushed loose locks of hair from her face. “If—if this is about the remodeling, Mom’s gone.”

  “Just looking for something of mine. I doubt she could help me find it.” Joe smiled a little wider. His eyes never left hers. “But you will.”

  Max stepped off the stairs and stood at his full height. Two meters of solid canine, corded with muscle and prickled with hackles, towered over the beaver. His eyes narrowed at the rodent.

  With a jittery look around, the otter padded down to the landing. “How’d you get in?”

  Wearing an inoffensive grin, Joe jingled the ring of keys on his belt.

  With the hope of letting Max get the drop on him, Kylie slunk past a shattered lamp and around the beaver’s back. He looked pretty rough. His clothes were ripped, but free of blood. Her eyes met his, trying to draw his attention but stay out of reach. “You okay?”

  “Oh, had a little accident…” With a genial smile, he stroked the missing straps of his overalls. “…but I’ll be just fine.” He chuckled, which spread a gash on his flank. The wound exposed, not wet gore, but obsidian plates within.

  Blackness crept in the edges of the lutrine’s vision.

  He hunched, a strange bulge writhing under his shirt. A claw burst forth and pinned her to the wall.

  Max dove at the plump beaver. Ivory fangs shone around a snarl.

  The rodent’s arms folded out into claws. One flicked out and flung the dog across room.

  With a crash, the canine knocked
the easy chair over. Breath yelped from his lungs. Wheezing, he got his feet under him, paw clutching his side. Ears flush to his skull, he circled the grinning handyman.

  The beaver stretched to tower over Max, potbelly vanishing as he unfolded new limbs from inside his arms. His head tilted, eyes glinting amber. His chin lifted. A third eye winked and glittered under his jaw. “Give back my equipment or she dies.”

  Head ducked, shoulders forward, a deep growl echoed from the husky. “What?”

  “I thought you Bevys had finally gone and changed. I thought you’d leave me be.” His tone oozed warmth and cheer, like giving directions to a lost tourist. “Either you go fetch my things or I kill you both and search the house.” His grip tightened. His head pivoted backward to the husky. “I’ve waited too long. I’m leaving this rock tonight.”

  “Don’t do it, Max.” Kylie struggled against the wall and tried to pry loose the talons around her neck and shoulder. “It’ll kill us as soon as we give it back.”

  The dog stood and squirmed against her command.

  “It’s wearing Joe!” The lutrine struggled in vain against the obsidian claw. “You really think it’ll just leave us alone?”

  “Oh, I’m the same old Joe, miss.” He looked straight up, or at least his muzzle did. With all his shifting and jostling, he resembled less a beaver and more a beaver-shaped leather bag, stretched taut over something rigid and writhing within. One jagged claw doffed his ball cap so the bottom eye watched Max while his top two locked on Kylie. “Don’t make killing you the most efficient way for me to fix this.”

  She put on her best scared-idiot-girl expression. It didn’t require much acting.

  That polite smile remained, frozen on the Joe-creature’s face. Its head tilted down, just a little, toward her. Two of his eyes stayed cheery, the new one under his chin an ember of rage: all three stayed locked on hers. His upper lip rose to reveal a third, sniffing nostril. “Smells like you kids were having a little fun. I’d hate to ruin the evening with a gristly murder, but I’m afraid I’m just plum out of patience.”