by Dakota Rebel
While I shifted in the seat, he got back into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small bottle of lube. He coated the condom with it before helping me hook my leg over the back of the seat, spreading myself as wide as I could for him to fit between my knees and still be able to move.
“You were a boy scout, weren’t you?” I asked with a smirk as he dropped the bottle on the floor next to his clothes.
“Yes,” he said, then stuck out his tongue at me. “And you should be grateful for it.”
He ran his slick fingers up the crack of my ass a few times before sliding two fingers inside of me. My back arched off the seat at the initial intrusion, which at the angle I was in, caused my hip to pop and the sound echoed in the car.
I dropped back onto the bench, and Rhys and I both started laughing. It was one of those moments that’s usually only shared between close lovers, people who have known each other forever, but with Rhys, it was starting to feel as if we had.
The laughter faded quickly as Rhys withdrew his fingers and positioned his cock against my asshole. His hands gripped my thighs as he slowly pushed himself inside of me. He was slow and gentle, and it was lovely, but I didn’t want him to make love to me. Later yes, forever even, but right then, I wanted him to slam himself inside of me until we both came screaming and clawing at each other from the pure pleasure of it.
“Rhys,” I growled when he was completely inside of me.
“Yeah?”
“Fuck me.”
His dimples flashed for a minute as he grinned down at me. His hips rocked back, then he was fucking me, hard and fast, his cock stretching me wide and his balls slapping against my ass, and it was exactly what I wanted.
One of his hands left my thigh to grip my member. He pumped his fist up and down my shaft at the same rhythm as he pounded in and out of my ass. My orgasm built up in my balls, and I hoped he was close, too. I wanted to come with him, but I wasn’t sure I could hold back too much longer.
“Christian!”
The sound of Rhys screaming my name pushed me over the edge. My back arched up again, and my ass clenched tight around him as my seed sprayed up my chest, hot and thick. His cock twitched inside of me as I fell back against the seat.
I gazed up at him and smiled at the expressions flying over his face. He looked pretty much how I felt, and I was relieved to know I wasn’t the only one confused by the entire situation.
He pulled out of me and reached behind him to open the door. The cool air over my skin made me break out in goose bumps. I hadn’t realized how warm the car had gotten. I sat up to lean against the passenger door while I watched him bury the condom in the dirt outside the car. He climbed back in and slammed the door with a shudder.
“Come here,” I said.
He climbed over and laid against my chest, resting his head on my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but I had a feeling that right then none of them needed to be voiced. They would, but for that moment, it was just us in the silence, and it was magical, beautiful and perfect. Just like Rhys.
Chapter Five
I woke up in a bed I didn’t recognize with the sun shining through gauzy curtains. I looked around and remembered where I was once I saw Rhys next to me with his arm flung over my chest. I heard Gran downstairs, clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, and suddenly, realized I was starving.
Rhys and I had stayed in the car together until it started to grow chilly again then decided we had better get inside. We had lain in bed talking in the dark until almost four a.m. He told me about spending summers in the woods with his gran, about his days in the Boy Scouts and about how much he loved his job.
I was happy to let him talk and deflected any questions he asked about me as much as I could. We were having such a good time; I didn’t want to spoil it by letting something slip that would scare him away.
A groan escaped my lips when I glanced at the clock and saw it was almost nine a.m. I thought about closing my eyes and going back to sleep until Rhys woke up, but Gran yelled upstairs for us to get down to the kitchen, so that idea was screwed.
Rhys blew out a sigh and blinked his eyes open a few times. He turned his head and smiled sleepily at me.
“Morning.”
“Yes, it is,” I said with a yawn. “Is she going to come get us if we don’t get up?”
“Yes.”
It was my turn to sigh. Rhys flung the comforter off us, and the cool air made us both a little more alert. We still wore our jeans from the night before, so I just threw on a T-shirt and smiled when Rhys did the same.
We made our way downstairs slowly, but the smell of coffee definitely helped with my consciousness. I sat next to Rhys at the table and thanked Gran when she poured us both cups of hot java.
“You two were out late last night,” she said as she walked over to the stove.
I blushed, and Rhys kicked me under the table. But when I looked at him, I was amused to see that he looked a little pink, too.
Gran pulled dishes out of the stove and set them on the table, and my stomach growled at the sight of all the food.
“Gran, you wouldn’t be trying to show off to Christian, would you?” Rhys asked as he looked at all the food she had cooked.
“Rhys Stone, you hush your mouth,” she said, snapping her dishtowel at him. “Don’t you believe him. This child has never left my table hungry.”
Rhys grinned. “Yeah, but you’ve also never cooked every bit of food in your pantry either.”
“There are two hungry men here,” Gran said in a this-conversation-is-over tone.
Rhys and I smiled at each other then started grabbing food from every plate we could reach. Gran had made bacon, sausage, eggs, two kinds of potatoes, biscuits, gravy, and there was stuff on the other side of the table I couldn’t see well enough to identify. She could have fed an army…or two twenty-something men.
I ate until I thought I would burst. I leaned back in my chair and looked over at Rhys. He was staring down at the food on his plate, and I could tell he was thinking he couldn’t touch his fork again.
Gran clapped her hands, and we both looked up at her. I’d been seriously considering going back to bed, but she obviously had other ideas for us.
“Well, now that you’re all fed, I would appreciate it if you could give me some help around the house. I’m getting old, and there are things that I just can’t do anymore.”
“Ah-ha,” Rhys said with a laugh. “So this was bribery.”
“I would be honored to help out, Gran,” I said. “It’s the least I can do, considering you’re letting me stay here.”
“Thank you, Christian,” Gran said, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
“You two are disgusting,” Rhys said, but he was smiling. “What do you need us to do, Gran?”
* * * *
Gran had given each of us a list of chores she needed help with. The lists kept us apart all morning, with him fixing roof shingles and me rebuilding a fence around the backyard. It was grunt work, but it felt good to be out in the trees with the cool breeze. I couldn’t remember the last time I worked so hard I broke out in a sweat.
I looked up at the house but couldn’t see Rhys anymore. I figured he must have been working at the other side. I was heading back toward the house to get a drink when I heard Gran scream.
I ran as fast as I could, bursting through the door to see Gran covered in blood and huddled in a corner of the room. I turned just as the bobcat attacked me. His claws dug into my ribs, but I managed to get him off of me.
My clothes ripped as my muscles and bones rearranged themselves under my skin. Only it wasn’t skin anymore. It was fur. My body shifted into that of a large gray wolf. I howled through my muzzle and turned to the bobcat. His back arched, and the fucker attacked me again.
His teeth and claws sank into my flesh, and I screamed for Gran to get out. I wasn’t sure if she could understand me, or if I even managed to get the w
ords out, but I wanted her to get to safety.
The bobcat was screeching and gnawing at my back. I managed to shake him off and pin him to the floor. He swiped at me again, and I bit into his throat, tearing back hard enough to pull skin and thicker bits away from his body. I spit the meat to the floor and rolled off of him. I knew he would bleed to death, and I really didn’t want to see it.
I didn’t think about anything but getting out of the house. The fact that I looked like a giant wolf didn’t cross my mind. I suppose if it had, I might have shifted back to human form before limping out of the house. Then again, maybe not. I was bleeding and hurting and needed air.
I got to the bottom of the steps and turned to see that Gran had gotten out of the house. I stalked over to her to make sure she was okay, but Rhys’ voice behind me made me freeze.
“Stop!”
I turned around to look at him, and he shot me in the chest. I heard Gran screaming as I fell to the ground. It wasn’t silver shot, but I had sustained so many injuries, I knew I would have to change back to human form or I would bleed to death. I blinked hard a few times until Rhys came in to focus over me.
I had to concentrate harder than usual on the shift, but managed to do it before I completely lost consciousness. It hurt like hell as my bones snapped back into place and my skin healed itself over the wounds the bobcat had left on my wolf form. The worst was when the bullet expelled itself from my chest. I screamed from the pain before the world went black.
* * * *
“What do you mean you don’t know if he’ll be okay?”
“I mean I don’t know. Usually only silver bullets kill werewolves, but Christian was really hurt when you shot him.”
“Fuck! Christian, don’t die. Please don’t fucking die.”
“Language.”
I heard Rhys and Gran arguing around me as I struggled to get my eyes open, but I was so tired. A warm hand held mine, and I think I might have squeezed back, but I wasn’t really sure.
It was as if my brain had a fog around it, and nothing made any sense, nothing was quite real. Like that night in the car with Rhys. I fought to focus on that night. On the feel of him inside of me, him lying against my chest while I held him. As I wrapped my mind around more and more detail from the night, I started to feel like myself again.
“Rhys?” It was barely a whisper, but it was all I could manage at the moment.
“Christian.” His voice had moved closer. “Oh God, I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Apologize later,” Gran said from the other side of me. “Christian, honey, you need to rest. We need you better, okay?”
I think I nodded, but I couldn’t tell you for sure.
Hours, or maybe days, perhaps even weeks later, I woke up. I opened my eyes and looked around. Rhys sat next to me, my hand in his, and he slept with his head on my thigh. I raised my arm and ran my fingers through his hair. He moaned softly and pressed his cheek against my hand.
“Hey you,” I said. My voice was raspy from lack of use, but other than my throat being dry, I felt pretty good.
“Hey,” Rhys said sleepily. After a minute, his eyes snapped open, and he grinned at me, his dimples deeper than I’d ever seen them. “You don’t know how glad I am that you woke up.”
“I can guess,” I said, trying to laugh. “I’m pretty pleased myself.”
“Let me get you some water.” Rhys tried to stand, but I wouldn’t let go of his hand. He bent to kiss my forehead. “I promise I’ll be right back.”
I reluctantly let him go and watched him leave the room. I jumped when Gran spoke from the other side of me.
“Thank you for saving my life.”
I turned to see her sitting on a chair with her hands and a bible in her lap. She wasn’t crying, but looked as if she had only recently stopped.
“It was my pleasure. Well, maybe not pleasure, but I’ll never be sorry I did. I’m just glad I was able to get to you before you were more seriously hurt. Are you all right?”
Rhys came back and handed me a glass of water. I drained it completely and started feeling much better. I sat up and smiled at him before turning back to Gran.
“Oh I’m fine.” A couple tears slipped down her cheek, and I reached out to hug her. She fell into me and started to sob against my shoulder. “I didn’t even see Rhys coming.”
“Gran.” I kissed her head and tried not to laugh. “This is in no way your fault. I’m so glad you’re okay. And I’ll be fine. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. If I had been honest from the beginning, it wouldn’t have happened. Hell, if I had shifted back before stumbling out of the house… Please don’t blame yourself.”
She nodded and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief as she sat back in her chair. I turned to Rhys and saw that he looked on the verge of tears, too.
“All right, that’s it.” I threw the covers off myself and climbed out of bed. Thankfully, someone had put pants on me so I wasn’t standing naked in front of Gran. “I am fine. Honest. I’ve even been hurt worse than this. Rhys, you didn’t shoot me. You shot an animal stumbling out of your grandmother’s house covered in blood and walking toward her. Gran, you didn’t tell Rhys what I am because I asked you not to. And you were completely shaken and hurt, so it’s no wonder you weren’t exactly aware of your surroundings at that particular moment. Can we be done now?”
They both hugged me, their combined weight against me making me fall back to the bed and they came with me. We laughed, and I felt a twinge of regret. I hadn’t lost them yet, but when Rhys made me leave, I would miss both of them terribly. I should have known better than to believe I could have a real family again. But I was glad I’d gotten to feel loved and happy for at least a couple days.
“Well,” Gran said, standing up and fixing her apron back in place. “I’m going to run to the market. I’ll leave you boys to talk. I’m sure that should keep you busy for a while.”
She kissed my cheek and bustled out of the room, sniffling softly.
I took a deep breath and turned to face Rhys. There was no way to steel myself for his reaction, so I didn’t even try. I just looked at him and waited for him to start screaming at me to get away from him.
He looked at me for a few minutes, his chest rising and falling steadily and his face expressionless. I waited for him to talk first, then started to worry that he was waiting for me. I didn’t want to go first. I wasn’t even sure what I would say. Finally, he broke the silence, and I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I like you.” It sounded stupid even if it was the truth.
“If you like me so much, why did you lie to me?”
“I didn’t lie, not really.”
He gave me an eloquent look and I sighed.
“All right, I kept it from you because I was afraid you would freak out and take off. And I love you so much, I just wanted a couple more days with you. I swear I was going to tell you when we left here. Can you understand that? I know it was wrong, and I know that I hurt you, but that was never my intention and… Why are you looking at me like that?”
He was smiling, and his eyes were shiny. He wasn’t crying, but he could have if he’d wanted to.
“You love me?”
“Of course, I love you!” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “How could you not know that I love you?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t believe that you could love me back, especially this soon. I thought we’d come up here, have some fun then go back to our separate lives.”
“It is soon, I know that. The thing is, it only takes a moment to fall in love. I don’t think it matters if that moment is seven years after meeting someone or ten seconds from the time they come into your life. Falling in love doesn’t have to be gradual, does it?” I tried to keep my voice steady, but I wasn’t sure how long I could keep my tone even. “If you were looking to just go back to our lives like this weekend never happened, I do
understand, I guess. Is that what you want?”
“No, that’s not what I want.” Rhys took my hand and kissed the knuckles. “Christian, I love you. And if you can ever forgive me for shooting you, I’d like to give us a chance.”
“I love you, too. And I’ve already forgiven you. If you can forgive me for not telling you about my…affliction, then I definitely want to be together.”
He kissed me; it was soft and chaste but just right for the moment. We could do crazy, passionate sex later. Right then, I needed him to be my friend, to love me and to assure me that we had a future. He managed to put all of those words into one silent kiss I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
And we lived happily ever after…
What? We did.
About the Author
Dakota lives in Detroit, Michigan. She loves the city at night and the shopping during the day. She loves David Bowie and vampire movies, The Beatles and Dolly Parton. She is partial to pixie sticks and cannot stand nuts...in her food. She will always believe that pizza is the perfect food.
She is as much in love with her partner as she is with herself. And she will be the first to tell you how incredibly witty she is. She doesn’t believe in lipstick but won’t leave the house without eyeliner. She is fiercely political and can often be found ranting around her house and the internet on any given topic. She still won’t admit whether or not she really believes that vampires exist. And if you let her, she can convince you she doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle.
For more information about Dakota visit her website at www.dakotarebel.com or her blog at www.dakotarebel.blogspot.com.
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