First Down

by Paula Mabbel

  In one delicate movement, he inched off her panties, and rolled up next to her, kissing her with all of his passion, outlining her lips with the tip of his tongue. Annika was so distracted by the feel of Kyan's mouth on her own, she didn't even notice as he let one hand drift down her body, and then down to her pussy, where he slipped two long fingers deep inside her warmth.

  Annika's body rose and fell with every twitch of his skillful fingers, as his thumb pressed expertly against her clit. She felt the first wave of an orgasm overtaking her. Annika had never been touched with such cunning before, with such a luscious and unbridled knowledge of what her body needed. She was beginning to feel desperate for the ultimate release.

  Yet, Kyan wasn't done playing with Annika, not yet. With a wolfen smile, he pulled his hand away from her pussy, licking her delicious taste from his fingertips as Annika watched, enamored. Kyan enjoyed the look of pleasured pain on her face as he teased her, his beard drifting over her skin, making her shiver.

  Kyan moaned softly as he ran his tongue slowly over each facet of her body: her shoulders, her arms, fingers, collarbone, each breast, pausing only to suck fervently on her erect nipples, then in zig-zags down her belly, and finally burying his nose in the soft curls between her legs. Kyan barraged her with luscious flicks of his tongue. He explored her inside and out, providing Annika with a delirious rapture she had never known.

  She undulated underneath Kyan, fighting the oncoming deluge of her orgasm, but losing. She began begging, desperate, hungry with the desire to feel Kyan inside of her.

  “Kyan, I want you. I beg you. I want you to fuck me. Please, do it...”

  Kyan raised his eyes to meet Annika's, his face echoing her own need. But he was still toying with her, controlling her, and he wanted her to fully submit to him.

  “Tell me how badly, Annika. Tell me, baby.”

  Annika lifted her head, fought against the pain she was feeling in her neck, tried to focus on the pleasure instead. The combination of the two gave her a strange sort of surge in her sex. She whispered out,

  “I want you now, only you. Forever you. Please Kyan. I need you.”

  Kyan was up the length of her body in one felt swoop, his rigid cock sliding against her leg as he moved. His movements were lightening, rolls of thunder, and with a passionate kiss, Kyan slid the length of his long, hard cock inside of her. Annika wasn't a virgin, but never before had a man felt so perfect inside of her, as if he were meant, only for her. Every throb, every movement of his long, exquisite cock in her welcoming pussy, brought on another rush of euphoria.

  As Kyan drifted in and out of her, all of Annika's self-consciousness, all of her fear over the way she looked, disappeared in a wave of pure love. Kyan took her in with nothing but adoration, and he couldn't stop touching her, every part of her. She saw herself through his eyes, and she felt more beautiful than she had in her entire life. Annika felt her own orgasm washing over her, and Kyan knew he wasn't far behind. As his hair drifted across Annika's face, he whispered softly in her ear,

  “I'm coming. Come with me. Now.”

  With one final thrust, Kyan and Annika exploded in a tidal wave of ecstasy. Kyan's deep voice growling in pleasure only amplified Annika's orgasm. Her whole body descended into shivers, as Kyan collapsed on top of her, the sweat of their pleasure becoming one, as their bodies were.

  Annika couldn't explain it, but she couldn't even get a word out. All she could do was whisper, “I love you,” before she fell into a deep sleep, her head settled softly on Kyan's soft muscular chest. Kyan listened to Annika's breathing as she drifted off. Before he fell asleep himself, he sighed in her ear,

  “You're mine, Annika. Forever and always.”

  *****

  When Annika woke up, the afternoon sun was pouring in through the picture windows in her apartment, letting her know she'd probably slept a little too late. At first, she had no idea what had happened. But then, she felt a soreness in her muscles, and dizziness behind her eyes that brought the whole previous night rushing back to her.

  Kyan...

  Annika sat up in a daze, her eyes blurry from too much sleep. She looked all around her apartment, but there wasn't a trace of Kyan anywhere. Annika jumped up from her bed and slipped on her robe, hoping she might find Kyan in the bathroom, but there was no sign of him there either. All she found was Monica, hiding in the bathtub, looking far more stressed out than usual.

  Annika wandered back into the living area, and was surprised to find that all of the dishes had been cleaned up, and the leftovers from the night before packed away in the fridge.

  How did I sleep through all of that?, she thought.

  She was just about to crawl back into bed when she found a note, scrawled on a napkin, tucked under a washed wine goblet.

  I'll find you.

  I love you.

  K

  Annika couldn't explain what it was about the note that made her feel so safe, but she did. Somehow she knew, nothing in the world could ever harm her again.

  *****

  The weather had turned again, but this time, it was far colder than it should have been given the month. Because of the unseasonable cold, and the fact that the theater was showing a Bogie and Bacall double feature, the theater was full for another evening. But, one of the college kids in town wanted some extra hours, so Annika let her take the booth, which meant all she had to do was show up to lock the door.

  She'd stayed in her apartment all night, hoping to hear from Kyan, but he didn't even call. Rather than wait around for him, though, she decided to go watch the last film of the night, The Big Sleep. That meant she wouldn't get out until after midnight, but Kyan seemed to be kind of a night owl anyway, so maybe he'd be waiting for her when the film ended.

  The film ended, the theater emptied, and the kids working all went home, but Annika decided to dawdle around a little longer and do some inventory. Unfortunately, it didn't take as long as she had anticipated, and she was done in less than hour. Once all of her options for distraction were tapped out, she resigned herself to going back home, and left the theater, locking up the doors with a sigh as she wrapped herself tighter in her peacoat.

  However, she wasn't a few steps away when she got that same feeling again, the feeling that something was wrong, that she was being followed. Only she knew it wasn't Kyan. Annika tried to convince herself that the same thing couldn't happen twice in one week, but then, out of the shadows, he was back. The man with the knife. Except this time, his face and neck were covered in bloody, bandaged wounds, as if he'd been mauled by a wild animal.

  Annika got one look at him and took off as fast as her short legs could carry her. She didn't even know where to run; everything was closed and she didn't want to lead him back to her apartment. Despite being flooded with panic, she took a moment to be grateful that she'd worn sneakers tonight, instead of dressing up as she had the night before. But she knew she could never outrun the man. He was so much bigger than her, and faster. She'd barely gotten a block away from the theater when she felt his hands grab hold of her arms and yank her back, dragging her to the pavement in a dizzying thud.

  The man stared down at Annika with blinding contempt. She tried to scurry away backwards, but he reached down and grabbed her ankle, preventing her from moving.

  “You think you can sic your dog on me, and that will protect you? Well, I hate to break it to you missy, but he didn't get me good enough. And now you're going to pay,” he snarled.

  Annika couldn't fathom what the man was talking about.

  “My dog? I don't... What do you mean? I don't have a dog! And YOU attacked ME! What right do you have...”

  The man cut her off, waving the same giant knife in her face again. Annika wasn't going to let him hurt her a second time; she began kicking at the man's legs as hard as she could, while doing everything she could to dodge the man's attempts to cut her. She was just about to take a chance and scream when she heard that same howling wolf she'd heard the othe
r night, but it sounded as if it were so close, she could have reached out and touched it.

  And then, it was there. Standing right next to her on the sidewalk, was the most beautiful white wolf Annika had ever seen in her life. It was like nothing she could have even imagined, white as snow, with eyes greener than the spring grass. It stood next to her, at the ready, its teeth bared, its deep growl shaking her to her core.

  Annika felt like she should get up and run, but then the wolf looked at her, and something in its eyes made her feel secure. There was something almost familiar about the way he was looking at her. She felt as if the wolf was staring right through to her very soul. Annika was so lost in the moment that she didn't realize the man who had been threatening her with the knife just moments before had taken off down the street at top speed. Before she had a chance to register anything, the wolf took off after the man, its lean, muscular legs flying faster than she could fathom.

  There was no way Annika was going to be left behind again. While her logical mind told her to go find somewhere to hide, her heart told her to run after them. She wanted to know where the wolf had come from, where it was going, and what it was going to do to the man once it caught him. So she crawled to her feet and ran as fast as she could manage, her lungs and the pain in her neck pushing back against the speed at which she was forcing her body to go. But she couldn't stop, not now.

  She could just make out the shape of the wolf in front of her, its beautiful white fur giving it the look of a cloud streaking across the sky. Annika felt as if she'd been running forever when at last, she reached the edge of the forest that surrounded Maryville. The wolf was gone, as was the man, but she heard a howl fill the night air, and it was enough to give her a direction. Annika began pushing further and further into the woods, until at last, she reached a clearing, bathed in moonlight.

  And she couldn't believe what she saw.

  *****

  The man who had attacked her was lying in the middle of the clearing, his throat all but gone. He had died before Annika had even reached the woods. And standing next to the man, naked and pale in the light of the moon, was Kyan. He was hunched over, his hair dangling down in his face, his face and hands covered in blood.

  Annika stumbled backward, tripping over her own feeling and falling hard on to her back. By the time she lifted herself up so she was sitting, Kyan was crouched in front of her, using his bare arms to wipe the blood from his mouth and beard. Annika opened her mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out. Kyan reached out to touch the hair that had come loose from Annika's ponytail, but she squirmed out of his reach, confused and afraid.

  Kyan took a series of long, slow breaths, as if he were trying to gain control of his heartbeat, before he spoke.

  “Annika, I should have told you. My family on my father's side... we're skin-walkers. Shape-shifters. And my spirit animal is the wolf. I'm so sorry, I just didn't know how to tell you.”

  Annika started running a lifetime of horror films through her mind: Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, full moons, silver bullets. Kyan could see her mind racing and reached out a hand to her, gently placing it on her leg, just as he had the night they met.

  “It's not the same thing as being a werewolf, Annika. I've seen the movies too. It's not the same thing. In Navajo, we're known as the yee naaldlooshii. There are many Navajo legends, some of which are true, many that aren't, but you must know, I would never hurt you. Never, Annika. I shifted to save you. I showed you, to save you.”

  Annika inched forward slowly, and stretched her fingers out to touch Kyan's long, silky hair, his full, manly beard. She tried not to look at the blood on his hands, tried to remember that he'd done it to save her. She moved close to him, and let her hand rest on the side of his face, as she looked deep into Kyan's eyes. They were the wolf's eyes, the same, kind eyes that had been watching over her for days.

  Annika slipped carefully out of her coat, then wrapped it around Kyan's shoulders. It wasn't remotely big enough to cover his broad form, but he pulled it as tight as he could around himself anyway. Then he sat down on the brush and the grass next to Annika, and pulled her close to him. All of the fear she'd felt before was gone. She just wanted to be nearer to him.

  “Do you forgive me, my love?” he whispered into her ear.

  Annika set her head on his shoulder, and stole a glance at the man who had twice tried to kill her.

  “There's nothing to forgive. I suppose I'm just a little... surprised. Are all of your brothers, skin-walkers too?

  Kyan nodded thoughtfully.

  “Every one of them. They all just have different spirit animals.”

  Annika nudged Kyan, “What are we going to do about... him?”

  Kyan took off Annika's coat and wrapped it back around her shoulders. She looked at him with concern in her eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of him leaving her again. But again, as if he could read her mind, he leaned down and kissed her tenderly, letting his forehead touch her own as he did. It was as if he were filling her with warmth from the top of her head down to her toes.

  “Go back in to town, go to the theater, and call the police. Tell them you think there may have been an animal attack in the woods. Don't say anything about me, or you being out here. I'll take care of covering the tracks, and I'll meet you back at your apartment. Just, get yourself to safety, okay?”

  Annika nodded nervously, and reached over for another kiss, before she jumped to her feet and started for the edge of the clearing. She allowed herself a quick look back, just in time to see Kyan drop to his knees. Before her very eyes, his body shifted and changed to become the gorgeous white wolf she'd seen on the sidewalk.

  She thought she must be crazy, but something about the sight of Kyan as a wolf, brought her more comfort than she could express. Kyan was her protector, her lover, and most of all, the only man in the world she could imagine spending her life with.

  If the worst thing about him was that he could change into a wolf, Annika thought that might be something she was willing to live with...

  *****

  Annika curled up on her bed when she got home, and fell into a strange, dizzying sleep. She was roused by a light knock on her door, barely audible, but it was enough to bring her around. Annika ran to the front door and flung it open, to find Kyan standing there, in a grey t-shirt, khakis, work boots, and a bowler hat. He looked tired, but his cheeks were bright red from the cold, and his smile was from ear to ear.

  Annika threw her arms around Kyan's neck and he lifted her up in the air, spinning her around as he peppered her face with kisses. As he ran his long fingers through Annika's hair, he grinned at her and handed her a small jewelry box.

  “Whadya say, baby? Will you spend the rest of your life with a wolf like me?”

  Annika kissed Kyan with every bit of passion she had within her, overwhelmed as she was by all of the emotion she was feeling for this strange and exceptional man in front of her.

  “I'm yours. Forever and ever.”

  Kyan picked Annika up and carried her into the bedroom as the light of the full moon sparkled and shined in the distance...

  *****

  THE END