by Cassie Power
She worked her hand on him for a few moments, knowing that it might hurry him. She was actually good on the foreplay, but it was so nice, just being the center of his total attention like she was.
Even the parts that normally ruined things a bit, like making sure he had protection, went very smoothly. She’d gotten it out in the light, so only had to put it on him. The thing had to stretch, a lot, but when she started, there were no complaints or awkward fumbles. Since she was the one doing that part she let herself be a bit impressed.
The actual event was intense. Not just the feelings inside of her, but what happened on the outside. Every bit of her was stroked and brought into play perfectly as she heaved. Her breath came more firmly, riding upward with her pleasure. The first time she arrived was probably close to as fast as it had ever happened for her. The second time came only minutes later. It wasn’t until she’d gone twice that he relaxed enough to do it himself.
Even that was artful. He did grunt, but it was a masculine thing, instead of of sounding like a wounded animal. Primal, but commanding. It was sexy, she had to admit. Enough so she wondered how she’d sounded through the whole thing.
Part of her figured that was a thing she didn’t really want to consider. There had been a bit of less than porn worthy screaming a few times.
Taking a deep breath, as he moved away from her, leaving her body, she had to smile. Which of course, Dan wasn’t going to see.
“So, that was fun.” She stopped then, and giggled. “Which has to sound bad. That was… Incredible. We need to do that again. Possibly as soon as you’re ready?” It was a bit needy sounding, but frankly, she didn’t care.
For this one, she was willing to do what it took to keep him.
There was shifting, which was, she realized, him taking care of the protection they’d used, then movement as he put that someplace in the room. There was a rustling of a plastic bag, which probably meant it had gone into the trash.
Then, clearly being a minor god in the bedroom, he got back into the bed, cuddling against her back. She felt small, but loved. That was different. Most of the time, after the deed was done, men felt a bit distant. Especially if it was just going to be a one night stand. This was close, but also loving still.
Rumbling in her ear, her new lover chuckled softly.
“That was, as you said, fun. I’d like to do it again as well. I’m just afraid that it will leave you too sore to move tomorrow, to be honest about it.”
She had to admit that parts of her were going to be sore. Her back, arms, legs and probably between them.
“I’m willing to risk it?”
That wasn’t going to be happening just then of course. She needed to catch her breath. Dan didn’t seem to need that though. Interestingly, when her hand moved out, he was hard again. Ready to go. Meaning he was actually holding back just to protect her. That got her to blink, then nod.
“Okay, so you really are superman? Good to know.”
Before she could show her appreciation, a blast of air hit the outside of the little cabin. The logs held fast, but the wind actually made a howling sound through the trees.
That got her to sigh.
“I bet that’s our secret signal to get dressed. Finding us both naked and in bed when they reach the bodies after the roof collapse would be embarrassing.”
“Right, it would. Well… We can go and sit on the sofa? We need to guard the fire anyway.”
That decided, they both dressed again, including putting on shoes, just in case they had to run outside. On the sofa, they did cuddle close. That was nice. Instead of making her feel like she was being catered to, or like he was needy. She felt protected. Part of that was down to how large he was. Even sitting he towered over her. His long arms held enough muscle to reassure her as well. On top of that, everything about him was just so balanced.
Even his sense of humor.
“Don’t worry, if any trees try to break in, we can just shoot them.”
It wasn’t funny as much as him being reassuring. Still, she had to give him the fact that he’d nailed it. The wind increased, already sounding fiercer than the night before. Inside she shook a little, but tried to not let that part show. No one wanted to sit in a dark room with someone whimpering for ten hours.
That got her to think for a moment. At most it was eight at night. That meant she’d just had the longest bedroom session ever, as far as things like that went. At least in her world. It was right, but most of it had been poor Dan trying to make sure she could handle things. The next time would be better that way. She knew what she was in for now, after all. It made a difference.
Still, to cover how she felt, she scoffed a bit.
“Like you can take down attacking trees with guns? We’d need to… I don’t know, really. What is it you do for magic? Salt? Iron? Um… Kill the magician?”
The words got a sound that was very nearly a hiccup. That or a shocked gulp.
The voice sounded pleased at least.
“Iron in some traditions. Salt for purification. Sage smoke as well. As for killing, well, that depends. If it’s happening right at the moment, then that should work. Long, complicated group work could take longer to break. Then you basically need to have someone powerful do the work for you. There are people for that, if you look hard enough.”
She nodded then. It was just small talk, not Dan admitting his secret belief in unreal things. If that was the case…
Well, she could deal with that, to get at the rest of the package.
“On the good side, you know that I’m not after you for your money. I make a decent wage… Um, how does the artwork pay? You mentioned Danson Meeres paying for everything? We could live on what I make though, right?” She winced in the dark, since that sounded way too advanced, considering they’d only known each other for two days. Not even that yet, she realized. Just over one.
It was brilliant of her to do that, of course.
Dan just laughed a bit.
“I bet we could. I do actually make my own money. I’m an artist, but I haven’t been a starving one in a long time. I even manage to pay my own bills. That thing about grandpa doing that part of things was just, you know, people expect that. Especially when I go out on things like this.”
She had to think for a moment, her head against his chest. His heart was powerful, thrumming loudly enough for her to feel, but slowly. Then, it was clear he was an athlete.
“I can see that, I guess. Neat then. You also didn’t freak out on me when I mentioned that part. Is it too early to talk about trying to keep you? It is, isn’t it? We’re snowed in, so you can’t escape that easily…” She smiled, since being a giant nerd about the whole thing wouldn’t really help.
There was no speaking for about half a minute, just snuggling. Finally, she hit at his chest, very gently.
“Um, you can’t really leave that hanging. Tell me that you were just relaxing in the glow of my admiration and not worrying about how to get rid of me…”
“It wasn’t that one at all. I’d like that, actually. It’s been a while, so I’m probably not the best boyfriend material ever, but I can try hard. No, it was… This storm, the one last night as well. I think that it might have been magical in nature. It… I understand that you don’t think that kind of thing is real, but I’ve seen the other material as well. The things that the Detroit group bring in. The L.A. crew as well. It’s impressive, but this kind of thing really can be related to human causes.” Then he went silent, sounding a bit breathless as he rushed through the words.
Instead of barking at him, which wasn’t really warranted yet, she tilted her head. It was still pressed against him, so he could feel it.
“I can’t agree, not having ever seen that data. I wonder if your grandpa would let me see it? Or is it all secret from the likes of me? I might debunk it or something.”
There was a deep inhalation that moved her bodily, but Dan didn’t jump or even tense that much.
“I bet he w
ould let you see it, if you want. Most of what we try to do is debunk things ourselves. The problem is that we can’t with all of it. Not that I do the work on that, all the time. Just on special things like this. I get impressions of things from my subconscious mind. You know, the stuff that most miss? This is very odd. Not just the pattern of it, coming back to back like this, either. There’s something in the air.”
What that was didn’t get explored. Instead Merry stopped and closed her eyes. After a bit, she simply had to admit that things were pretty strange.
“I do feel something. I did yesterday as well. I kind of figured that it was, you know, my deep and essential fear of dying?” She really did kind of feel that one as well. The outside world was screaming at them, with louder gusts that shook the whole house when they happened. It seemed like a fair idea, given that.
Merry hated dying, as a rule.
That and pickles.
Moving in a bit, she let herself relax, even if it did sound like the world was going to end and her new boyfriend was suggesting conspiracy theories about how magic, and no doubt the rest of the supernatural, really existed. It was a fine enough topic, actually. She was kind of up on the lore and all that, after all.
“What else is out there then? Not, I have to point out, that I’m saying I believe in that kind of thing. Not until I see evidence of it. That’s just a rule I live by. So far, so good, but I do try to have an open mind.” She wanted to, at the very least.
There was no sound for a bit. Just the beating of a slow heart. A few breaths that took forever to happen as well. She was taking three or four of the things to every one he was. That was a bit different. Comforting, though. Like he was nearly asleep.
Which, given the day before, was probably just the truth. That had to mean it was her turn to watch the fire all night. They really didn’t want to risk it going out.
His voice was a bit slow, when he spoke, as if he were parsing the information carefully. Also like he was talking to someone who might be a little slow. That, or very young. Either way she was going to be annoyed if he didn’t cut it out.
“There are many things. Magic, as I mentioned. Ghosts. Aliens. Beings from other Earths that come and go almost at random. Shape shifters. Things that we don’t talk about as well. Cannibals, which were mentioned between us, but also links to some of our highest government officials. Pedophiles who eat the children after torturing them. That… Well, most of the time it has to do with their religion. Some of them out there are pretty dark. Moloch worship and that kind of thing.”
Merry didn’t pull away, since Dan was her security blanket for the moment.
“Moloch… I know that one. The god of child sacrifice? Canaanite. Um… Something about politician summer camp?” That didn’t sound right, but there was a chuckle in response.
No denial though.
“Bohemian grove. Now, that one is probably an act they hold each year, instead of a real child being killed, but yes, the same god. They pretend to kill a person, normally a young woman, by burning her alive to Moloch, once a year. A lot of Republicans are involved in that. High ranking people. It isn’t even well hidden.”
“Oh. Well, that’s messed up. Not that supernatural, though. Unless they’re actually getting power from it somehow?”
“Not that I know of, but they do kind of rule the world, so maybe? We have footage of dogmen though, out of Pennsylvania. Bigfoot as well, from around here. Not the things you see on the internet, either. Very clear drone footage. Sasquatch, they really seem to just be an offshoot of humanity. Dogmen… Well, that one is different. Probably bleed over from another reality. The world is a bit bigger than most people think. Stranger as well. Not that you should get sucked in to thinking these things are real. Not without proof. I agree there.”
The voice sounded certain of what was being said. Just to save on problems, she nodded. Not agreeing with it all, but trying to investigate, rather than just doubt.
“Okay. I was pretty much thinking of dogmen as a Pennsylvania thing. You know, hill folk with a bit too much moonshine or Oxycodone in their system to tell the difference between their neighbor’s dog and a half man creature?”
“Yeah. I can see that, but most of the people that see them are halfway sharp and at least that sober. Right now, I think the twin problems with magic are the big issue. These storms, the windows. Those raccoons. The air is filled with something odd. Magic, I think. I could be wrong though, so we need to stay ready for anything. There must be half a dozen or more types of beings that can use the stuff. Including humans.”
She thought for a moment, figuring that her new honey was trying to play with her a bit. They were in the dark and the storm had come up really suddenly.
“Okay… The twin problems? That they can do things we can’t and… you lost me there.”
He cleared his throat then.
“Well, that anyone would be paying particular attention to us at all. If they are. The storms could be random, but the window missing like that seems pretty focused. The raccoons might have been sent in to use their eyes, but they also might have just wanted our tasty bread. Really, they might have even been sent in as a joke, or prank. The same as you were saying before. Possibly for the same reasons. We can’t know unless we can find them.” He stood up, displacing her, to move forward toward the fire.
It caused her to notice how much her back was starting to stiffen up.
“Well, being stuck here will make that simpler, I guess. Unless we get hit with days of this mess. That will probably kill us, won’t it?” She didn’t like the bit of tremor that came into her voice then, but it was driven by an honest fear of death.
“Not really. We may have to dig ourselves out, but we have wood for a few days in here right now. The roof is good and lets the snow slide off. The more we get buried, up to about eight feet, the less the winds will affect us. We won’t get that kind of weather though. It’s either natural and there just won’t be enough moisture, or magical and whoever is doing this is putting a lot of power into the whole thing. That will leave them tired. Or could. I also can’t imagine anyone coming for us in this. It’s too much. Maybe a nomad, but this isn’t them.”
Merry could get that one.
“Wait, they can use magic, too?”
“Oh, sure. Shapeshifting is related to that kind of thing. Plus, there are those stories about how they come with big storms like this. Sometimes days of them. But… This isn’t the right kind of thing. It feels wrong.”
“How would you know that?”
There was silence again, for a long time.
“I’ll tell you, someday. Not right now, if it’s the same with you? It isn’t the kind of thing anyone wants to hear about in a dark room with a snow storm raging. Trust me, it isn’t any of the people.”
He stiffened then, on the last word. Just after it. Covering by standing all the way up, warming his hands over the metal stove. That meant something. It was the first time he’d called them anything except nomads. Then, almost every tribe in the world referred to themselves that way. It was the single most common name really. The people, or something like it.
“We can manage that. As long as you aren’t lying and there are fifty of them outside. I’d rather die fighting, if that’s the case.” She half expected him to act serious about her words.
That didn’t happen.
Instead he lit up.
“Nothing like that. I could be wrong about the storms being strange even. It seems right, which means nothing. I’ve been wrong before. Still, I wasn’t kidding about the nomads. If it were any of that kind, we’d be fighting, or dead. Well, or we would have won already.” Turning, he looked at her. At least she figured that he had faced her. It was hard to tell in the dark, but she could kind of make out where he was, somehow.
Then he laughed.
“I really know how to win a woman over, don’t I? Assure her that we’re not in that big of danger, since we aren’t dead yet? I bet all the men te
ll you that, don’t they?”
It actually wasn’t true at all. Most of them just handed over a phone number, or said that they should get together the next time she was in town, then forgot about her. There hadn’t been any other nifty tales about savage cannibals at all.
“You’re still trying to win me over? I thought you kind of had me already.”
That was a bit on the raw side, but she didn’t take it back. It was true, after all. In more way than one.
The sound that came from him was gentle and slightly pleased.
“Things don’t really work that way. If you want to win a heart, you have to do it over and over again. Anything else and it will get away. We should talk about something cheery. You do Christmas, don’t you?”
That one was a bit loaded, but the kind of thing that she had to share up front.
“Not really. I used to. We do a party. You know the crew from the show? A lot of us don’t have family to be with. My mom kind of has her own life. My father was just some guy she’d met. Douglas, I think. Obviously, he wasn’t totally white. Pale though. I don’t know what else. Probably Hispanic?”
That one wasn’t the truth, but most people likely accepted it. Her eyes were too Asian looking for that to be true though. It was easier than going over the whole list of things that could be, since knowing wasn’t really going to happen.
“We used to do that, when I was little. Christmas. Mom finally met someone about ten years back, when I was off at college. Rene. He’s all right, but has his own kids to do things with, so, they do that.”
Instead of saying he felt sorry for her, there was just a nod.
“You can spend it with me, then? I have a little place down south. In Oregon, not anyplace too warm. By little I mean more rooms than this place by a few.”
His voice had gone wry and funny on the last line.
“Hmmm?” She sounded both tense and sleepy. Not grumpy though. It was just the storm and the prickly feeling on her skin. It was better when he was holding her. So she patted the sofa. “Hold me? Also, what’s with the funny voice there? How little is it? I’m good with sharing a bed. Or we could use my place. That could be fun.”
