by Renee Rose
Figures. I’m a freak of a human, so why wouldn’t my fox be broken? Foxfire, a shifter who can’t even shift.
I barely notice where Tank is driving until he parks on a forest road. We’re not in Flagstaff or near civilization.
“Come on,” he says.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going for a run.”
“Here? Now?”
“This is a national forest.”
“It’s almost dusk.”
He pulls his shirt off and tosses it in the front seat. “We’ll run in the moonlight.” He strips out of his jeans. My mouth goes dry. “You coming?” He’s almost naked.
“You should take your clothes off first. Less wear and tear. Trust me.”
I give him a small smile.
It’s chilly in the cool spring air.
“Come here.” He gathers me in his arms.
He’s so strong and warm. Super warm. After a minute, I relax against him.
“There you go, baby,” he murmurs.
I shut my eyes and melt into his strong arms. A barrier between me and the world. A girl could get used to this. If I’m smart, I won’t.
“You ready?”
“I can’t. I can’t do it.”
“I know. I stopped you back there with alpha command. You were panicked, and it wasn’t a good idea. But we’re safe here.”
Safe. With Tank.
“I don’t… I don’t know—”
“Call her, baby. Call your fox. Just relax.”
“What if she doesn’t come?”
“She will.” He dips his head and kisses me. When his lips break away, his eyes glint amber. “Now, Foxfire.” His voice holds that same authority he used before.
My body shivers at the order, and he steps away.
The world changes. The cold and my chilled flesh swirl away. I’m on all fours, low to the ground, but it feels right.
I blink at the giant black wolf with yellow eyes facing me. He trots over and licks my muzzle until the tingles are out of my limbs. I take a step, hesitate. Tank nudges my side.
And we’re off. Running. Sometimes Tank’s in the lead, sometimes he’s behind me.
I race, but I take many steps to his single loping stride.
I find a few tight places to hide, but he flushes me out.
The sun dies, and the moon rises. The chill bites through my fur, but it feels good. Makes me want to hunt and feast before burrowing and curling up in my den.
Wolf runs alongside, bumping lightly against my shoulder. He wants me to turn back. I feint and dodge him and keep running. He knocks me off my feet, stands over me. His growl rumbles through me.
I roll on my back, tilt up my neck, offering my vulnerable side in submission. He licks my face and raises his head. With a groan, he morphs into a man, still crouching over me.
“Come on,” he says. “Back to the truck.”
Still in fox form, I rise to my feet. For a second, I consider darting into the darkness. He couldn’t chase me.
A large hand grabs the scruff of my neck, and I yelp. Tank lifts me and fixes me with a dominant stare. I hang limp as a kit.
“Back to the truck,” he orders again, and drops me on all fours.
I trot beside him obediently, and hop into the truck bed when he opens it. After tugging on his jeans and laying a blanket over the cold metal, he climbs in after me.
“Shift, Foxfire,” he commands, and my body obeys. For a brutal moment, the world contorts, every inch of me changing with a shock of sudden pain that leaves almost as soon as it came. I hadn’t noticed the pain last time. When it’s gone, I lie on the blanket, my limbs jerking with the sensation.
“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs, but doesn’t touch me. I’m grateful. My skin is so sensitive.
He pulls out a meat stick, holding it for me to take a bite. He hands me a water bottle and finishes getting dressed while I sip.
Finally, I find my voice.
“Cold.” I shudder.
He sets my clothes down beside me and pulls me into his arms.
“You did good, baby.”
Twenty minutes later, I sit at a picnic table inside a barbecue place while Tank orders. He comes back carrying enough food for six people, including extra containers of meat.
I grab one immediately and dig in without bothering to add sauce. “So good.” My fox is happy. Tank follows suit, eating steadily through a container of meat then starting on a sandwich. He throws away the buns. If anyone’s watching, they must think we’re half-starved hikers on some crazy high protein diet.
Tank opens the last container, and my eyes light up at the rack of ribs. He waits until I’ve had my fill before he gestures for me to slide the container over. He picks through it, strips the rest of their meat, and gnaws the bones while I lick my fingers, content.
“Full,” I tell him, and he gives a satisfied grunt. He watches me as he finishes off the ribs, and I get the feeling he wants to devour me.
Happy shiver.
I go wash my hands and refill my drink. When I return, he snags me to his side. He sits straddling the bench, pulling me in so my back is to his front. I protest a little when he steals a sip of my drink, but mostly I lean back, content.
Outside the window hangs a swollen moon and a sky full of stars.
Tank is large and solid under me. His hand splays across my midriff, rubbing absently. I really like cuddling with him.
“I’ve never would’ve thought you were so touchy-feely.”
“Mmm. It’s a wolf thing.”
I smile to myself. Yeah, right.
“We like touch,” he continues. He speaks in a low voice because there are people around. I get a thrill of being included in the we.
“I’ve never been that into cuddling.”
“You’ve never been around your kind.”
“Will I ever be able to… make the change… on my own?”
“A little practice, You’ll be fine. This is harder for you, because you weren’t raised around your kin.”
“I’m glad I have you.”
He doesn’t say anything.
Ouch.
Right. He might be with me in this moment, but he makes no promises.
My stomach tightens, but I shrug it off. I’ll just have to take what I can get. “I had fun tonight,” I tell him.
He grunts. “You’re just as naughty a fox as you are a human.”
I grin at him.
He shakes his head, lips quirking.
“You gonna punish me?”
“Yep.”
Squee!
Chapter Seven
Foxfire
We find a hotel in town. “Wait here.” Tank heads to the lobby. I stretch and drink the rest of my water.
My door opens, and Tank offers his hand. “Time to get out, baby,” he murmurs. His voice is all sexy deep. I want to wrap it around me like a blanket. I love that he calls me baby, almost as I love seeing the conflict in his eyes when I call him Daddy. It’s one part pure lust, one part shock, one part guilt.
“I have to make a call,” Tank says as he opens the lobby door for me. “You gonna be good and stay put?”
“For now.” I shoot him a sly grin. I go to flip my hair back and end up pulling a few stray pieces of grass out instead. “I want to clean up, anyway.”
He nods and leaves me be. I decide to go full force, taking a mini shower and then carefully combing my hair.
The hotel has an old time-y theme, with pictures of pioneers and a few wagon wheels hung on the wall.
I eye the solitary bed. It’s a sturdy thing made of real wood, only missing a quilt. I should offer to get a separate room, but I can’t bring myself to suggest it.
Tank returns with his black bag and sets it on the floor while nudging the door shut with his foot. He rubs his face and then tugs off his shirt.
Suddenly, I’m wide awake.
“Damn. Are all werewolves so ripped?”
Tank glances at
his impressive self before grabbing a water bottle and downing it. “Yeah. Our metabolism does it.”
“You should turn Eclipse into a male strip club. You’d make bank.”
Tank frowns.
“Just saying. I’d work there… for free.”
“You’re not going to be looking at any other wolf,” he growls. “Not while you’re with me.”
I blink. I didn’t realize I was with him, but I like the sound of it.
“For example, flirting with that cop this afternoon. Big no no.”
I hide a smile, feign innocence. “But—”
“I mean it.” His stern naughty Foxfire gaze makes me shiver.
Werewolves are possessive. Good to know.
“In fact, flirting with anyone in front of me earns you punishment.”
I lick my lips. “This punishment. Am I gonna like it?”
His lips twitch. “Yeah, baby, you’re going to love it. You’re a submissive, through and through.”
“How do you know?”
His voice grows deeper. “I can smell your arousal from here.” He saunters slowly toward me.
I sit on the edge of the bed and twitch my legs together for relief.
When he reaches me, he grasps both my knees and shoves them wide. “This pussy.” He stares at the apex of my thighs as if he could see through my jean shorts. The jean shorts that I should’ve left in Tucson, because I’ve been freezing my ass off at the much higher elevation of Flagstaff.
I fall back onto my elbows. My breasts lift and fall with my panting breath. “What about it?” I whisper.
He crouches down and gets eye level with the seam of my shorts. Leans in and uses his teeth against my most sensitive bits. “This pussy is wet right now just because I’m bossing you around. Isn’t it, baby?”
“Yes.” I say it on an exhale, so it sounds like a gasp.
He stands, pushing my knees back so they roll up to my shoulders. I lie flat on my back, offering up the goods like a submissive pup. He looks down at me, eyes glowing amber. “Show it to me.”
“Wh-what?”
“You heard me. I want to see that pussy begging for her punishment.”
OMG. Did he just personify my pussy?
I’m beyond turned on. There’s a rushing sound in my ears; my vision is going hazy. I fumble with the button of my jean shorts.
“Good girl,” Tank purrs.
Flicking it open, I wiggle the fabric down my legs.
“Are you… are you not wearing underwear?” he asks in strangled voice. Apparently he didn’t notice when we stripped to shift. He takes over when my shorts are mid-thigh, pulling them the rest of the way.
“I don’t like them.”
“I should punish you just for that. Naughty girl. Keeping that bare pussy so close to me all day long.”
“That makes no sense, wolf-boy.”
“That’s it, little fox.” He scoops his forearm under both my knees and pulls them up and to the side. I’m confused until his hand claps down on my now exposed ass. I squeal. He lands a few more swats, one on each side and one in the middle.
Holy mother of god! In this position, he can spank not just my ass, but my pussy, too, which protrudes between my legs.
His lips quirk up, and I know he’s noticed the moisture leaking from my foxy bits. He brushes his thumb lightly over them.
I jerk, every nerve ending lit up and sensitive.
“Are you beginning to see how this works, little fox?” He strums my bits again.
I’m forgetting my own name. “How what works?”
“Who’s on top here? And who’s on the bottom?” He smacks one cheek a couple more times, but he’s far more interested in making me shiver and tremble as he pets between my legs.
“I’m not ready to concede anything.” My voice sounds shaky and, considering my position, I don’t think he’s buying it. “I-I still have rights.”
“What rights?” He smirks. “I’m bigger than you.”
“That’s not fair.”
“That’s how it works. I’ll treat you right, baby. If I give you orders, it’s for your protection, not because I have a hard on for control. Dominant wolves want to protect the weak.”
“So you do want to protect me?”
“I have to protect you. It’s a compulsion.”
Disappointment spears through my haze of lust. It’s what I feared—he doesn’t want to be here with me, he’s just honor bound.
“So, when I give an order, you obey.”
“Yes, Daddy.” My tone is a touch snide.
He lifts my knees higher and delivers several more smacks, harder this time.
I yelp. “Tank—”
“It’s okay, baby. Take your punishment, and I’ll take care of you.”
“Please,” I gasp when he smacks particularly hard. It’s not so much I can’t take it, but I am super-duper turned on and don’t quite know what to do with that.
“You gonna be a good girl?”
“Yes, please. I’ll be so good.”
“You gonna do what I say?”
“Yes, big man.”
“Fuck,” he mutters. His cock bulges in his jeans. I’m not the only one affected by this.
He stops spanking me but rests his hand on my bottom, squeezing absently.
“Fuck,” he repeats. “I can’t believe you aren’t wearing underwear.”
He rubs his thumb over my slippery flesh and finds the sweet spot. He uses the lightest feather-touch along my aching bud. I suck in a breath, and he stops.
“Did I hurt you?”
“Uh no. It’s just—” I’m so sensitive. I was working and focused for so long, my foxy bits were ignored. “It’s been a long time.”
“Baby,” he murmurs and lowers my ass back to the bed, releasing my knees.
When he brings his fingers back between my legs, I catch his hand, pressing my fingers over his. I show him how I like it, not that he doesn’t seem capable of figuring everything—and then some—out on his own. “Please don’t stop.”
“I won’t stop.” His voice sounds even deeper than usual. “Play with your breasts,” he orders.
I relinquish my pussy to his care and slide my hands up inside my T-shirt, under the cups of my bra. Imagining my fingers are his, I pinch my nipples, tugging them, giving a little pain with the pleasure.
I lose my inhibitions and rock against him.
“That’s it,” he murmurs. “Take it, baby. Take what you need.”
“Fuck,” I gasp. “I’m gonna come.” I rock my hips harder, grinding against his fingers as my orgasm washes over me.
“Stay where you are,” Tank commands, standing up. I sprawl before him, my legs spread. He tugs me to the edge of the bed. I wrap my legs around him as he pushes his jeans down just enough to take his cock out and jack it slowly.
“Tank…”
“Touch yourself.”
My hand creeps between my legs, and I do as he commands.
“Tell me when you’re close.” He catches my ankle. “Spread your legs wider. Give me a show.”
My head rolls back at that. Fuck, obeying him is so hot.
“Tank—”
“You close?”
I nod.
“Stop, and take off your shirt. I’m gonna mark you. Not permanently, just with my cum.”
I don’t know what permanently even means, but damn, that’s hot. I strip my shirt and bra off and scoot closer to the edge of the bed.
“Touch yourself again.”
I do, keeping my eyes on his massive rod. His hand wraps around it, but mine barely fit.
Arousal stabs through me, and I moan.
“Don’t come. Not yet,” he growls.
“Please—”
He jacks faster. “I mean it, baby. You come before I do, and I’ll spank your sweet little pussy.”
Suddenly, I’m close, too close. Right on the brink. “Tank—”
He gives a deep groan. I crest again as he paints me with
his seed.
“Fuck,” I pant.
“Fuck,” he agrees.
I laugh, but he’s serious as he reaches out and smears his spend over my breasts. “Good, baby. Stay.”
I sag back on the bed as he heads to the bathroom. The tap runs, and he returns with a cloth and cleans me. I smell like him. I love it.
I start to rise, but he stops me. “Stay.”
“I want water.” Seems like I’m thirsty all the time now that I’ve found my fox side.
“I’ll get it.”
I sit up anyway, if only to admire the taut ass of the man who just gave me the best orgasm of my life. He returns and I drink the water then test my wobbly legs on the floor. I’m relaxed, like I’ve had a full body massage. Spanking and orgasms. Miraculous.
Tank cleans up by rubbing a wet towel over his face and body. I know this is just a romp, but I can’t help imagine what it’d be like to wake up next to this guy every morning. Not to mention go to bed with him every night.
I might not leave the bed.
But he’s made it pretty clear he’s not interested in a relationship. And he just purposely didn’t go all the way with me, which means he’s holding back for a reason.
“Hey.” I touch my foot to his leg. “Can wolves get foxes pregnant?” It’s my old defense mechanism. Say the thing that will make them run. It works.
He goes still.
“Kidding,” I say quickly, but it’s too late. When he turns, his expression is blank. The walls are back up.
“Foxfire—”
“Tank, I know this is all for fun.” He looks annoyed at being interrupted, but I barrel on. “No strings attached. I’m not expecting anything long term.”
He watches me carefully. Werewolves can smell lies. Well, I’m not lying. I spread my hands and make my case. “I’m rebounding, remember? I just broke up with… with… um…” What was his name again? I sit blinking at Tank for a moment, drawing a blank until, finally, I remember. “With Benny. We were together for two years, so… yeah, that’s a long time. Whereas this—” I wave my hand between us. “This is just for fun.”
I hold my breath, waiting for him to confirm or deny. This isn’t more than a passing fling… is it? Even if our chemistry is explosive, and I’m starting to lean on him.