A Life Less Pink

by Zenina Masters

  Cori knew what he was talking about. It was a warm swelling in her emotional areas. Affection and heat all mingled together to create something new.

  She idly kicked her legs and enjoyed the feel of the sun against her back. What she really wanted to do was to strip off, shift and go for a walk in the lake.

  Artur closed his book and set it aside, kneeling and removing his shirt. “It is too nice a day to spend it in human shape. Join me?”

  She chuckled and pushed herself upright, removing her dress, folding it neatly and then shucking out of her bra and panties. Without looking at him, she waded into the water and pulled her bird out from within.

  It always felt so strangely unnatural to be fluffing feathers in front of strangers, but she walked out until she was knee deep and then turned to watch Artur as he followed her lead and waded into the water, transforming with every step.

  He was slightly shorter than she was, but his limbs were all of a sturdier make. She circled him, fluffing out her feathers and using her neck to examine him from all angles.

  His beak was straight and strong, perfect for spearing small fish in a marshy area. They were built similarly for two species that evolved a great distance apart.

  When she finished her examination, she took a few steps away and minimized her heat loss by lifting one leg up and pulling it out of the water and to her underside.

  His eyes blinked rapidly as he eyed her with one side and then the other, turning his head and clacking his beak. Artur stretched out his wings and flexed them, one by one.

  The white feathers with black tips were clean and snapped as he opened and closed them in a hypnotizing rhythm.

  She turned her head from side to side, to take in the pretty display with an appreciative eye.

  He was dancing for her. He bent his head back and clacked rapidly before he straightened.

  She mimicked his moves, standing on two legs for balance as her long neck bent to touch her head to her tail.

  When she straightened, she was a little dizzy, but he clacked again and her feet wanted to move.

  She gave into it. He clacked, and she extended her wings to dance. She shuffled rapidly around him, wings out. He continued to provide the rhythm and he extended their wings, so they danced.

  It was a peculiar blending of species’ behaviours, but it felt right, and more than that, Cori felt her pulse in far more places than her chest.

  The water was frothing around them by the time their mating display was complete, and Cori was exhausted. They rested, head to head, necks touching, until she started to preen his feathers for him.

  He worked his beak along her neck, and her inner human squealed at the ticklish feeling. She nipped at him to stop him and moved toward the bank, becoming human on her way out.

  His arms came around her, and he lifted her from the lake with a rush of water. She gasped as the world spun around her until her feet touched the ground again.

  With him in the water and her on the bank, she was slightly taller than he was. With an impish grin, she leaned in and nibbled at his lips. As he responded, she threaded her fingers through his hair and held tight while the heat between them soared.

  When she dropped her hands down to his shoulders, she could feel the slight difference in skin that marked his tattoos. She pulled away and moved back so she could see him.

  “You want to look now?” He seemed frustrated and the rod of his erection gave her an inkling as to the cause of his clenched jaw.

  She laughed. “Now is better than later.”

  “Why?”

  “Because smart women go information hunting before they completely give in to their own impulses, and I am a smart woman.”

  She took in the dramatic images of storks throughout history from all different cultures. Some were cartoonish, some were dramatic works of art and others were abstract. She laughed. “You really like storks.”

  He shrugged. “It seemed like a safe topic to focus on. Owls would have just been confusing and flamingos would have been baffling without context.”

  His hands were on her waist, and he slowly stroked upward toward her breasts. It seemed she had her focus and he had his.

  She trailed her fingers across long limbs and flight paths while he teased her breasts and nipples with a delicate touch.

  Cori could feel herself getting wet as he touched her slowly and nibbled at her shoulder. Between the mating dance and knowing that he was enthralled with her body, she was feeling appreciated.

  Sighing in surrender, she gave up her study of his artwork and turned her attention to simply feeling.

  Cori kissed him again, and Artur groaned in relief and left the lake, tumbling her through the grass until he landed on top of her with her thighs on either side of his hips.

  The prickle of the grass against her skin was a strange tease in comparison to the slow stroke of his muscles against her breasts and belly.

  The taste of him was heady; it brought to mind the freshness of wind on water and the bright flavour of green. Someone else might have tasted of male, honey and a hint of coffee. She tasted the flavours of the marsh that she loved in her very soul.

  He rolled with her again, and the texture under her back was now the soft expanse of the picnic blanket that he had been drawing on.

  Cori rocked herself against him, trying to line up the heated bar of his erection with her opening. She twisted against him and finally broke free of his grip, turning to her back under him.

  She heard his jaw snap but felt the heat of him entering her a moment later. Cori dug her nails into the blanket and braced as he thrust into her with his arm around her waist to hold her tight.

  She rocked back against him and hoped that his human form had more stamina than the average avian.

  The drag and surge of his cock inside her was hypnotic; he moved against her, with her, and inside her with sharp flexes of his hips.

  She whined, hissed and pressed back against him, bucking and trying to take him deeper.

  When he moved his arm from around her waist and stroked her clit, she let the heat and friction take her into a shuddering orgasm that pitched her forehead first into the blanket.

  Artur kept thrusting, and soon, he was shuddering behind her, his cock jerking inside her. She felt his lips on the back of her neck, and she could make out the smile in the curve of his mouth.

  With a groan, she relaxed under him and let out an oof as he flattened her to the blanket.

  He moved his hips and withdrew from her with one hand between them.

  She looked back over her shoulder and watched him remove his condom and tie it off before he placed it in a napkin in the wreck of their picnic. She propped up her head with one hand and rolled to her side with one leg bent. When he turned back toward her, his eyes lit.

  “Stay like that.”

  She watched him sketch her with long strokes of his pencil. When the cool air reached between her thighs, she had enough of lying still. Without a word, she got to her feet, walked back to the lake and dove in.

  When she came up, she was in deep water and paddling along in her pale pink feathers, giving him a long look over the bridge of her beak.

  To her surprise, he was still frantically sketching her with the look if intense focus in his eyes. She paddled around, dove a few times to the bottom of the lake and emerged, shaking out her feathers. Once she was a little looser and had burned off some of the energy that the sex had wound up, she paddled until she could stand and walked out of the water, changing while she walked.

  She wandered over to look at the images that he had drawn and the woman lying on her side with one leg drawn up had wings for arms and avian eyes. It was a shifter pinup if she had ever seen one.

  “Wow. Aside from your subject matter, this is amazing.”

  He grinned and flipped to the second picture of her standing in the water, in human form, again with wings for arms and feathers mixed in with
her hair.

  He stroked his hand up the back of her thigh while she stood there. His fingers were dangerously close to the vee of her sex, and she fidgeted slightly while she looked over the details of his sketches.

  Artur pressed a kiss to her hip. “I think I will enjoy having my own personal muse with me.”

  She snickered and ruffled his hair. Cori looked into his book and saw the other sketches of her, all with feathers or clawed feet. “I can see you are enjoying yourself.”

  “I promise to share my enjoyment.”

  “Good. This will be a partnership, and it will be equal or you will have to become a light sleeper.”

  “Threats already?”

  “So far I have seen plenty of inspiration on your part, and I will have to wait until I get home to work on it on my own. Once I find out how our lives will fit together, we will renegotiate.” She stroked her fingers through his hair.

  He took his sketchbook out of her hands and pulled her down into his lap. “I have never been good at negotiations. I tend to just give in and hope for the best.”

  Cori stroked his cheek. “That is not a bad strategy.”

  He chuckled. “So far, so good.”

  A couple wandered through the meadow, and Cori blushed but waved cheerfully as they continued on their way. “So, do we have plans for our last night at the Crossroads?”

  “I think we should do dinner and dancing. Will you do me the honour of accompanying me?”

  She grinned. “Let’s put some clothes on first.”

  Chapter Seven

  The dinner was perfect, the company was charming and when they walked into the Crossed Star, all eyes were on them.

  Cori whispered, “Why are they staring?”

  Spike followed them to their table and set their drinks down. “I believe they are waiting for you to take the floor. That was a lot of fun to watch.”

  Artur grinned. “Years of dance school. My mother would be so proud that some of it has stuck.”

  Cori shrugged. “It is what I do.”

  “So, will you do it again? The DJ is waiting for the flamenco request.” Spike snickered.

  “I suppose killing another pair of shoes on my last night here won’t be the end of things.” She didn’t mention that she had worn a better skirt for the dance tonight and her shoes had thicker heels this time.

  Spike nodded. “Thanks. I will tell them to let you enjoy your evening.”

  Artur cuddled up next to Cori in the booth. “It is odd to feel so popular.”

  “Why?”

  “I was a dork at school and had to spend evenings at my mom’s dance school, partnering the single ladies. When I finished growing, I put my mind to working out and tried to put the awkward days behind me. It was a few years before I realized that I had never been awkward, I just looked awkward. Appearance was only the smallest part of who I was and what I was.”

  The rush of emotional information stunned Cori. “Wow. I don’t know what to say to that. I just don’t like pink.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips. “It is all about knowing what you are and how you got here. Once you know that, there aren’t too many mysteries left that you need to solve.”

  She tried to ignore the flutter in her belly caused by the light kiss. She sipped at the chilled wine with intent to cooling herself down, but Artur didn’t let her fingers go and his thigh pressed against hers under the table. Oh boy.

  She was not going to cool off any time soon.

  After half an hour of cuddling and mild intoxication, he whispered, “Dance with me?”

  She blinked and steeled her nerves. She was terrified that any dancing they did would become akin to public foreplay. She knew her body was definitely inclined to follow that path without hesitation.

  Swallowing, she nodded and he changed his grip on her hand, leading her to the dance floor.

  The first song was slow, and Cori moved with him in a sway that took them around the dance floor and through the other dancers without incident.

  The music changed and another song came on with the throbbing beat of a tango. Artur looked down at her and waggled his eyebrows. “Shall we?”

  She took a deep breath, and they began to move to the music, steps came out of long practice, but she enjoyed the tango on a level she never had before.

  As Cori gripped his thighs and slid down and then up, she heard the other shift their feet, and when he whirled her to place her leg around his hip, gasps could be heard.

  The twist and spin, stroking and parting with the challenging stalking, it all filled Cori with so much joy, she nearly burst. After all this time, she had found a partner who could match her on the dance floor and off it.

  When the tango was over, she stood plastered to him with sweat gleaming between them on all exposed skin.

  “A little breather, perhaps?”

  Cori nodded at the good idea, and they left the dance floor to those who had been inspired. She blew air up to her forehead and gasped for breath. “I have forgotten how much the tango takes out of you.”

  “You give yourself completely to the dance, which is why it drains you. It is an admirable trait.” He nuzzled her hair.

  “Thanks. I throw myself into everything I am passionate about.” She winked at him.

  He chuckled. “And I couldn’t be more grateful.”

  They settled at their table again and their drinks were replaced.

  Spike whispered, “Any chance of a flamenco tonight?”

  Artur whispered, “Give us half an hour.”

  Cori settled against him and let the throbbing of her body quiet. She shivered when the sweat cooled, but now, she didn’t feel self-conscious about snuggling up to Artur.

  Spike brought over two glasses and a pitcher of water with little bits of fruit floating in it. “Rehydrate.”

  “You heard the lady. Drink up, Cori.” He handed her a full glass, and they cuddled together while they drank their way through the pitcher.

  She finished her share and excused herself to hit the ladies room. When she returned to the bar, women who were trying to haul him onto the dance floor surrounded Artur.

  Cori stiffened her spine and walked up to the table, “Hey, sexy, care to dance?”

  The women scattered and he grinned.

  “You have to come with me to some of the trade shows.”

  “We will discuss it later; for now, you have not answered my question.”

  He put his hand in hers. “Yes, I do care to dance.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t want another partner.”

  She led him to the dance floor and nodded to the DJ. He grinned, and she nodded to Artur. “One more, just for them.”

  His eyes were sparkling as they separated when the first strums of guitar music began. “Last time at the Crossroads.”

  She gathered handfuls of her skirt and began to stomp, swish and flare her steps to the music, working her way toward and past Artur with dismissive hauteur.

  He kept time with staccato clapping, and soon, they were stepping and stomping around each other with their feet flying faster and faster. Finally, they moved together until the music reached its conclusion, and once again, they stood locked against each other, chests heaving and bodies gleaming.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, holding him against her until the applause and catcalls broke them up.

  He whispered, “I think we should take this to a more private venue.”

  Cori grinned and grabbed his arm, hauling him out of the bar and into the street. She tugged him all the way to the Open Heart.

  She pushed his shirt up his chest and licked her way from navel to his pecs. He unzipped her dress and slipped it over her shoulders while she lapped at his body. He ran his hands over her back, unclasping her bra before stroking it off her and onto the floor.

  Her dress was around her waist, and she still hadn’t gotten his shirt off. She yanked his
shirt toward her, and when he bent forward, she kept pulling. She stumbled back when the shirt came free and gave him a rueful look. “I am going to have to do that standing on a chair or something.”

  “You could have just asked.” He laughed.

  She sauntered up to him and put her hands on his hips, slipping her fingers into his waistband. “I could have done a lot of things. I prefer to improvise.”

  With careful motions, she stroked her way toward the button and zipper while nibbling at his neck and resuming her tasting of his skin.

  He shoved her dress down around her ankles, and she was left wearing her panties and a distinctly aggressive urge.

  She opened his trousers before steering him to the edge of the bed. Cori shoved them down with a chuckle and knelt briefly to take his cock in her mouth for a few strokes. When he was clenching his fists, she wrapped a hand around his left knee and pulled sharply, letting him fall back to the bed with a gasp and a bounce.

  The bed and breakfast included condoms in the bedside drawer, so she took one and carefully opened it before rolling it down the length of his shaft. With him prepared, she skimmed out of her panties and kicked them and her shoes free of her feet.

  She settled over him, wedging the wide head of his cock against her opening before she rocked her hips and he began to slide in.

  Artur gripped her hips and held her while he arched under her. He flexed his hips until he was finally seated and she could feel the fabric on his thighs under her butt.

  Cori looked down at him, and he had an intent look on his features. She leaned forward, pressed her hands to his chest and started to rise and fall on him with increasingly stronger pulses.

  She groaned and grunted as she got closer to release. The dancing had been the best foreplay ever. Cori gasped when he cupped her breasts and shivered violently when her nipples were flicked and squeezed one by one.

  When he leaned up and sucked on her breasts in turn, she squeaked as his teeth ratcheted up her tension and his altered angle pressed him to the spot she wanted him stroking most of all.

  She moaned and bucked as she came, clutching his shoulders and holding onto him for dear life.