They sat facing each other, steam rising up in tendrils that caught the sunlight from the window.
“Autumn Lane,” Grady said.
“Yes.”
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
CHAPTER 36
GRADY
That night, Grady wanted Autumn more than he’d ever wanted anything. He craved her.
He’d asked her to be his wife and she responded by bursting into tears of joy. He couldn’t believe it.
“Of course,” she cried. “Of course, my love.”
He lifted her out of the bath and lay her down on their bed. Destiny was already asleep and the fire had been burning gently all day. It gave off just enough heat and light to give the bedroom a warm, welcoming glow.
He looked down at his wife to be and felt his cock throb with desire as it grew to its full length.
“Fiancée,” he said, and got down on the bed in front of her.
He spread her legs and ran his tongue over her soft, smooth pussy. It was already getting wet for him and he wanted to enter, but he wanted to play with her first.
He flipped her over onto her belly and lay down on her back, putting his full weight on her. His cock lay between her ass cheeks and he stayed where he was, letting the heat of his body warm her.
He whispered in her ear, “I’m going to be a good husband to you, Autumn.”
“I know, Grady.”
“I’m going to take care of you for the rest of my life. I promise you that.”
She sighed in pleasure as his cock throbbed. It was ready for her.
He got up and ran his large hands down her back, gently massaging her neck and shoulders. As his hands got lower, she rose her ass slightly, and he massaged the small of her back. He cupped her ass cheeks in his hands and gave them a little squeeze.
“You’re the most beautiful thing God ever made,” he said. “You know that?”
“I know you think so,” she said.
“I do, because it’s true.”
He leaned down and ran his tongue along the crack of her ass. She shivered as it ran over her anus and she squirmed when it reached her pussy, which was wetter now, really ready for him.
He slid his tongue down her right thigh, over the back of her knee, all the way to her ankle and foot.
She turned over to look at him and he slid his tongue up her other leg, starting at the foot, running it along the inside of the thigh, over her pussy, over her navel, over her left nipple, her neck, and all the way to her lips.
Then he got up over her on his hands and knees, his cock hanging above her mouth.
She opened her mouth and he lowered the tip to her lips. She kissed it and ran her tongue around it, causing a tremble of anticipation to run through it.
Grady turned around, putting himself in a sixty-nine position above her, and leaned down and kissed her clit. It was glistening with wetness and he knew she wanted him badly.
She took the full length of his shaft into her mouth and the pleasure sent a fire through him. He let himself sink into her, his cock into her mouth as his face buried itself between her soft thighs. He stretched his tongue into her pussy, moving it inside her, stimulating her. She began to squirm and writhe and he sucked on her clit like it was the most delicious candy in the world.
She was soaking wet and he swallowed her juice, drinking it ravenously like a man dying of thirst. He ran his tongue over the soft, pink flesh and kissed her tenderly.
Outside, a wolf howled and it’s howl was met by another wolf.
He got up, pulling his shaft from Autumn’s delicious, warm mouth, and turned to face her.
“I heard one earlier,” she said to him.
He lifted her up to him, pressing her breasts against his chest, and kissed her.
“They’re celebrating with us,” he said.
She looked into his eyes and he saw the moonlight in them, coming in through the window.
“In a minute, come outside,” he said.
“What?”
He got up off the bed and made his way to the door.
“And bring the blanket,” he said.
He went outside and looked at the moon. The icy air was soothing against his skin. The moon was full and bright. His breath clouded in front of him. He worked quickly, gathering wood from the pile he’d cut and placing it in front of the cabin, close to where Autumn had jumped into the stream earlier.
He went inside and grabbed a burning log from the fire and used it to start a bonfire outside.
Autumn came outside when the fire was burning strong and laid the blanket out next to it.
“You ready to make this official?” Grady said, embracing her in his arms.
“Make our marriage official?”
“Yes, before God and before nature. We’re going to make love out here, and the wolves are going to know it.”
She looked into his eyes and grinned. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll see,” he said and lifted her up.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and as he stood there in front of the fire, he lowered her body down onto his rigid cock. He slid right inside her and he felt as if he was bigger than he’d ever been before. He filled her completely. It was a wonder his manhood could fit into a body as small as hers.
She clung to him, panting for breath as he began to slide in and out of her, fucking her where he stood.
As he continued to impale her, over and over, she grew more and more passionate, her mouth kissing his, kissing his neck, then biting his neck and ear.
When she bit hard he growled.
He pulled her tighter and as his climax drew nearer and nearer he pulled her on and off his cock more and more aggressively. At some point he fell to his knees, his cock reaching deeper into her than it ever had. He was stretching her out, fitting her body to his needs, and she cried out with pleasure and passion every time he thrust.
Each thrust seemed to go deeper into her than the one before.
She was sweating and he could see it glisten in the light of the fire. The moonlight also reflected on her skin, casting a blue glow over her.
“I fucking love the way you make me feel,” she panted.
“I fucking adore you with a passion that could destroy the world,” he growled in her ear, and thrust himself so far into her they both cried out and neither of them knew any longer if it was pain or pleasure.
His orgasm came like thunder crashing in the sky.
His cum poured into her forcefully, jets of semen that would have flown feet into the air had she not been there to catch them. They shot into her and every jet caused her to cry out.
He fell back on the blanket and she stayed on top of him, writhing and fucking, forcing every ounce of pleasure, every drop of cum, from him.
And as they came, as the orgasms washed through them like raging forest fires, all around them the wolves let out merciless howls into the night sky. It was thrilling and terrifying. There must have been hundreds of them out there, all howling as if they knew precisely the moment of climax.
When his orgasms finally ended, Grady gasped for breath, sucking the night air into his lungs as if starved for oxygen. The fire was raging, sending red embers high up into the sky toward the stars.
And Autumn was clinging to him so tightly, tighter than he’d ever felt her, and she was crying.
Tears of pure love.
“I adore you with a passion that could destroy the world,” he said.
CHAPTER 37
AUTUMN
The next day, Autumn felt like a new person. She felt like she’d been filled with a confidence and power that she’d never known before. She no longer felt afraid of the things that had frightened her before.
“I’m going for a walk,” she announced after breakfast and Grady nodded.
“I’ve got to take Destiny to the doctor in town for her check up,” he said. “I’ll bring back something for lunch.”
It was a clear, sunny day and the
last of the winter snow was melting rapidly. It wouldn’t be long before the entire forest turned green with life. She watched Grady and Destiny leave and then put on her coat and boots and started making her way down the road toward town.
It felt good to be out in the forest and she wasn’t even afraid of the fact that the wolves were in the area. After what had happened the night before, she felt somehow as if they were on her side, as if they were family now and wouldn’t hurt her.
They’d accepted her and Grady.
She knew exactly where she was headed too. Somewhere she’d been meaning to go but had lacked the courage. The Raven’s Nest.
She felt strange as she marched down the long driveway of the hotel, and her mind brought her back to the night she’d first arrived. She’d been a different person then. A girl, frightened and timid. Now she was a woman in every sense of the word, strong and loved and sure of her place in the world.
The Hildegards must have seen her approaching because they both came to the front door to confront her as she approached.
“What can we do for you?” Mr. Hildegard said, not a trace of friendliness in his voice.
“You’re here to beg for your job back, aren’t you, you filthy little slut,” Mrs. Hildegard said.
Autumn looked up at the two of them and for the first time felt sorry for them. For how lonely they must have been, and how desperate they were to steal money from a girl who was working for them. Not for the first time, she wondered what had happened to their daughter, but this wasn’t the time to ask.
“I’m here to collect my pay,” she said.
Mrs. Hildegard laughed. “Oh you are?”
“Yes,” she said, standing her ground.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll pay you for,” Mr. Hildegard said. “I’ll pay you to get down on your slutty knees and suck my cock.”
Mrs. Hildegard thought that was the funniest thing she’d ever heard and burst out laughing.
“That’s right,” she said. “Get down on your knees the way you were always supposed to.”
“You were hired for one thing and one thing only,” Mr. Hildegard said.
“One thing?” Autumn said.
“Your aunt told me I’d be in your panties inside of two weeks. That’s why you were here. And you never spread your legs so much as a single inch.”
Autumn shook her head in disgust. Where had they gotten such ideas? Had Aunt Shirley really led them to believe all that? She couldn’t imagine her aunt doing that, but then, when she got jealous, Aunt Shirley was capable of anything.
There was a chill in the breeze and Autumn looked up to the sky. Menacing storm clouds were rolling in from the mountains.
“Just give me what you owe me and I’ll be on my way,” she said.
Mr. Hildegard spat on the ground. It was clear he had no intention of doing the right thing. Mrs. Hildegard seemed to be enjoying the showdown. No doubt, she hadn’t liked the fact that Autumn had escaped without giving her a chance to get in a few final insults.
“I’m not leaving without what’s owed to me,” Autumn said.
“Wife,” Mr. Hildegard said. “Go get my shotgun.”
Mrs. Hildegard stepped inside the hotel and came back a moment later with a big, old fashioned shotgun. It looked like it packed quite a punch.
She handed it to her husband and he aimed it at Autumn.
Autumn sighed. She took a deep breath. She knew what the old Autumn would have done, she’d have done the sensible thing and walked away. But this wasn’t the old Autumn.
She started walking toward the Hildegards. Mr. Hildegard put his finger on the trigger but Autumn didn’t slow down.
“Go ahead,” she said. “Try it.”
At the same moment, a wolf howled from the forest just beyond the hotel grounds. It gave a strange emphasis to Autumn’s words, as if it was backing her up, and Autumn felt as if maybe it was.
From the look on the Hildegards’s faces they felt the same way.
“There’s no need to get threatening,” Mr. Hildegard said, his voice faltering.
Autumn thought it was ironic that the man with the gun should say that, but she didn’t allow the expression on her face to change.
“Go and get me my money,” she said.
Mr. Hildegard looked shocked by what was happening. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d allowed this girl to get the upper hand, especially since he was the one holding the shotgun, but somehow it had happened. He looked to his wife for support but she didn’t say a word. The wind had gone from her sails too.
Silently, Mr. Hildegard went inside and when he came back he was holding an envelope. He didn’t look at his wife but handed the envelope to Autumn. She checked inside and saw it contained the money she was owed for the work she’d done.
“Thank you,” she said and turned to leave.
She took a few steps back down to the driveway and then stopped.
She turned back to them. They’d never looked so pathetic and weak before.
Addressing Mrs. Hildegard, and thinking of her own mother, she said, “I’m sorry you lost your daughter. I don’t think I ever had a chance to tell you that.”
Mrs. Hildegard’s mouth moved to say something but no words came out.
CHAPTER 38
AUTUMN
Autumn felt triumphant but she didn’t have long to enjoy it.
As she walked home, the storm clouds closed in ever closer. First the wind picked up, then the rain, and before long she was in the midst of an all out storm. She’d been warned about them, the mountains giving up their last fight before they fully relinquished the winter, and the wind was fiercely cold. The rain had ice in it and Autumn wasn’t sure if it was hail or some other type of frozen rain that didn’t have a name in the part of the country she was from.
She started running back to the cabin, trying to shield herself as best she could from the weather. It was amazing how quickly it had come out of nowhere.
She realized how easy it would be to get lost, even in broad daylight. She was amazed she’d ever been found last time she got lost.
She kept running, and the only thing that kept her going was the thought of Grady and the baby waiting for her in the warm cabin when she got home.
She saw the light in the windows first, and as she approached the cabin, Grady came running out to meet her.
“I was worried sick. You shouldn’t be out here in this.”
“It was sunny half an hour ago.”
Grady picked her up over his shoulder and carried her the rest of the way back. She laughed but was glad of it.
When they got inside he put her on her feet.
“You must be frozen. Run a bath. I’ll shutter up these windows.”
Autumn did as she was told and brought Destiny into the bath with her as Grady put up the shutters. When she got out of the bath the cabin was dark as night. It was the first time she’d seen the shutters up and they didn’t let in much light.
She started lighting the fire as Grady tied down the loose things outside that could get blown away. When he came in he was as soaked to the skin as Autumn had been a few minutes earlier.
“I left the water in the bath for you,” she said.
Grady went to warm up in the bath and when he came out, she’d made tea. She also had some homemade apple pie heating up in the oven and was whipping cream to go with it.
The power lines were being whipped around and the light flickered.
“I better light some candles,” Grady said.
A few minutes later they were safe and cozy in their cabin, all locked up with the storm shut firmly out. The fires were burning, keeping the inside cozy and there must have been fifty candles lighting up every nook and corner and giving the whole house a magical, glimmering feel.
They spent the day playing games by the fire. They had a deck of cards and Grady knew a surprising number of ways to pass the time.
As the wind battered everything outside, howling through the tr
ees and sending snow flurries high into the air, they drank tea, ate pie, and played to their hearts’ content.
“You ever played strip poker?” Grady said after a suitable number of more innocent games had been exhausted.
“I can’t say that I have,” Autumn said.
It had gotten dark outside and Destiny was beginning to fall asleep.
“Well, if you heat up some of that delicious stew you made yesterday, I’ll show you how after dinner.”
She put a pot of the stew on over the fire and brought Destiny to her crib while it heated up. When she got back, Grady had served two bowls and cut some bread. They ate quietly, listening to the wind outside and looking into each other’s eyes for much longer than was strictly necessary.
“So,” Grady said as he ate, “when am I going to make an honest woman out of you?”
“You want to set a date?”
“Of course I do. I’ve got you on the hook now. You agreed to marry me. I want to seal the deal before you think better of it.”
Autumn laughed. “That’s one decision I’m never going to waver on.”
Grady grabbed her and lifted her on to his lap. They finished their stew and afterwards he got up and opened a cabinet above the sink which they both had an unspoken agreement was his. While Autumn was in charge of every other part of the kitchen, this one was Grady’s. He had a few snacks up there that they both knew Autumn wouldn’t like, nuts with strange flavors on them like hickory, jerky made from different types of game including bear meat and deer, a bottle of twenty-five year old scotch, pipe tobacco that she’d never seen him smoke, and a few dusty old bottles of wine.
It was one of the wine bottles that he brought down, and Autumn was sure she’d never seen anything that looked so old. The label on it was worn and faded and she could just barely make out a few French words and a date. The year was 1928.
“That is one fancy looking bottle of wine, sir,” she said, watching him from her seat at the counter.
“I bought this in France,” he said.
“I didn’t know you were in France.”
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know, missy.”
“There’s a lot about me, you don’t know,” she said.
He laughed and began carefully inserting a corkscrew into the bottle, being very gentle with it. He slowly turned the corkscrew and coaxed the cork out, being incredibly careful not to let it break apart.
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