He had every intention of taking her upstairs – he really did – and slowly making love to every inch of her, but veered to the brown sectional in the great room when she dragged her nails up his ass to his back. He carefully dropped her onto the sofa and stood next to her, looking down. The laughter that had begun when she landed on the cushions died in her throat when she saw the way his cock stood out, hard again, and the look in his eyes. She brought her knees up and together in an instinctual defensive posture.
He looked at her as if he were a hunter and she his prey.
"Take off your clothes." It wasn't a request, it was a command, his gentle teasing tone from just minutes ago long gone. He climbed on the couch, kneeling at her feet and stroking his cock. Charlie blushed, her eyes riveted to the movement of his hand, and Damien wondered at her ability to be both experienced and naive, tough and soft. She quickly pulled her t-shirt over her head and dropped it on the floor next to her. Her bra followed in short order and she glanced up at his face, shivering a bit at the look in his eyes. "Cold?" he asked with a smirk, catching her body's reaction.
She arched her eyebrow at his arrogant tone and smirked right back. "Why? Do you think you could warm me up?"
Damien reached his free hand around her legs and unbuttoned her shorts, tugging them down just a bit, exposing the top of her plain white cotton panties. "I think I can do better than just warm, my love. I think I can make you hot," he whispered, running his fingertips on top of the waistband of her panties. "Take these off." Charlie raised her hips and slipped her shorts and panties off in one motion, dropping them on the floor next to her t-shirt and bra.
"I can smell your arousal, my love," Damien said, leaning forward and grabbing her feet, moving them to either side of his thighs. She pressed her knees together and he laughed, parting them easily with his hands. He inhaled deeply, his brow furrowing as his nostrils flared. "And blood. Why do I smell your blood?"
"You can smell that?" Charlie gasped, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Part of being a wolf, dolcezza."
"It must be my foot." She lifted her leg, trying to swing it over his shoulder so she could look at her foot, but somehow managed to kick him in the head instead. "Ow! Shit! Sorry about that," she said, laughing at the look on his face even as the pain lanced through her foot. "Just call me 'grace'."
"Nice kick," he said, chuckling as he grabbed her ankle and lifted her foot up to his gaze. There was a little blood seeping, most likely from when tried to stand on it earlier. He carefully peeled off the butterfly closures, dropping them onto the coffee table before he laid her foot in his lap gently, caressing her calf. "Will you let me help you?" he asked softly.
She considered playing dumb to see how he would explain what he meant by help her, but decided not to. "You mean help heal it as your wolf?"
He nodded. "Anna told you?"
"She said you could lick it and it would help it heal faster." Her voice was small, slightly unsteady.
"Don't be afraid, my Charlotte."
"I'm not," she smiled at him. "But...it's something new. I think nerves are allowed."
He smiled at that, laying her foot on the back of the couch before scooting himself back a bit. "It won't hurt." She smiled and nodded, watching him closely. His muscles seemed to shimmer again, his skin at first appearing loose around him as his body shrank back on itself, then growing taut as he thickened. She could feel the couch sagging a bit under his weight as his face changed, his ears growing, his nose and jaw pushing forward as his skull appeared to both elongate and square a bit. Thick, glossy black fur sprouted all over him and he shook his head, sneezing.
"Gezundheit," Charlie said a little breathlessly. She didn't know which was more beautiful, his wolf or his transformation. Damien stood on all fours, and she looked into his eyes, relieved to see that even as his wolf, his eyes were the same deep brown that bared everything to her. She laid back, hands at her side and grabbing the cushion, waiting for him to move. He sat back on his haunches, turning his head towards the foot propped on the couch and slowly licked the bottom of it from her heel to her toes. Charlie gasped, unprepared for the erotic feel of his hot, muscular tongue against the bottom of her foot. He licked her foot again, slowly, and Charlie bit back a moan, closing her eyes and turning her head. "This is so wrong," she said under her breath.
Damien snorted softly and wagged his tail at her words and Charlie chuckled, not looking at him. He licked the cut, slowly dragging his tongue along its length, and it began to tingle, as if a really low level electric current was running across it. He kept licking at it slowly, not pausing between licks and slightly increasing the pressure with each pass. That tingling hum was increasing and – to Charlie's mortification – traveling from her foot straight to her sex. Damien could smell her getting aroused and increased his ministrations to her foot, his eyes on her face as she bit her bottom lip.
The sensations generated by his tongue increased, and she started gyrating her hips slightly in time, unaware of moving at all. Even though there was no need for him to continue – there was no further benefit at this point – Damien did anyway, tormenting Charlie by slowing his tongue down to glacial speed. A low moan came from her throat and he wagged his tail, giving her foot one final, thorough lick from heel to toe. He could see how wet she was and he shifted slightly, the couch groaning beneath him.
Charlie felt him move and exhaled a long, shaky breath. "Dear lord, cowboy, you could have warned me about the side effects," she said, her voice unsteady. "I'm not complai – Damien!" she shrieked as she felt his tongue – his long, wide, muscular tongue – lick her from her ass to her clit. She opened her eyes to see his tongue snaking out from his muzzle as he lowered his head for another lick. "Damien....please...this is...oh god," she breathed as his tongue made another pass, this time probing inside her pussy a little before continuing up and flicking her clit. "This has to be illegal," she moaned as he licked her again, his tongue entering her a little more then continuing up to her clit. "Or against the Humane Society or something." She heard him give a snort at that before another long lick of his tongue across her pussy had her panting. "But fuck...it feels so good," she said, giving up her protests and opening her legs wider for him as his tongue began its travels again, dipping even further into her with each pass before flicking her clit a few times, reducing Charlie to a writhing, moaning mess within minutes.
"Oh god, please, Damien," Charlie moaned, her orgasm close. "Make me come, Damien. Please." He concentrated on her clit, flicking his tongue over it rapidly. "Yes! Oh fuck yes! There! Right there! Please!" she cried, but he stopped before she could come, raising his head and making Charlie cry out in frustration. She opened her eyes to see him change back to his human and lunge on top of her, hooking his arms in the bend in her legs and sinking into her in one graceful movement, filling her completely and sending her into an orgasm so intense it blotted out anything and everything else. She went rigid, her back arched off the couch and wrapping her arms around his neck, her breath caught in her throat.
Damien felt her pussy clamp down on him and started to jerk his hips, pushing them both higher as he started to come inside her. Charlie sucked back a big breath and cried out incoherently as her body shook from head to foot. Damien pressed his mouth to hers, capturing her sounds as his cock began to relax inside her, twitching in response to the flutters and spasms of her cunt.
He released her legs and propped him self up on his elbows above her as their kissing gentled. She wrapped her legs around his, resting her ankles on the back of his thighs. They lay that way for a while, kissing and whispering words of affection and praise softly to each other as their bodies cooled.
"Say it again, Charlotte," Damien whispered against her lips, making her giggle.
"I love you, Damien." He raised his head and smiled at her. Her hair was plastered to her head, there was a smear of dried blood on her cheek, her lips were swollen and there was black fur stuck to her skin
by her own sweat.
He didn't think she could get any more beautiful than she was at that moment.
He kissed her again, deeply, stroking her tongue with his, as he pulled out of her. She whimpered a bit before breaking the kiss and looking at him seriously. "What's the matter?"
"Lisa told me what would happen if you left here, Damien. She told me how bad it would be for you, how it would kill you."
"Charlie-" he began, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.
"No. I'm not mad. Or not really, anyway. I was so deeply humbled by what you would be willing to give up for me, by the offer you made me last night. It showed me just how important I am to you. And now, knowing what it really means..." She cupped his face, smiling at him, her eyes shining. "I never knew what it was to be so loved." She kissed him softly. "But you have to stop doing shit like that."
"Shit like what?" he asked.
"Giving me half the information only."
"I wanted to make the offer to you without any further strings attached to it, Charlie. I didn't want anything affecting your decision," he explained, raising himself up and sitting back on his heels.
She sat up, scooting her hips back and crossing her legs. "I would have felt awful if I had asked you to leave not knowing what that would mean for you, what it would do to you." She sighed, smiling to herself at the way Damien's eyes fixated on her breasts when she did. "You have to trust me enough to tell me everything."
"I really just didn't want it to influence your decision."
"I understand that. I really do. And I appreciate why you did it. But don't do it again. It's not fair, and if you love me like you say you do, you have to trust me, too."
He looked at her closely for a minute before answering. "You're right. And I do trust you, my love." He turned to sit back, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "I have just been so afraid of losing you. Everything was so uncertain, and I didn't know what would scare you off or hurt you."
"Fair enough," she said, smiling at him. "But there's no more reason for uncertainty, okay?"
"You're staying," he said quietly, almost reverently.
"I...yes, Damien. I'm staying." She took a deep breath and blew it out, pursing her lips. "I decided to stay when I woke up next to you and it made me happy." She smiled at him. "Before I learned what making you leave would mean, so you don't have to worry about it having undue influence on my decision." He gave a soft chuckle at that. "Promise me, Damien, that you will tell me everything from now on, that you won't withhold stuff from me again."
"I promise." He watched as Charlie studied his face in the fading light, her eyes tracing his contours and valleys. She had a far-away look in her eyes and a tiny smile on her lips. "What were you thinking just now?"
"Oh, I was...it...it's hard to explain, Damien." The golden light coming in through the windows from the setting sun hit all the natural highlights in her hair, infusing the dark brown with rivers of copper and gold.
"Try."
"I'll tell you over dinner," she said.
"Charlie," he whined.
"I'm hungry."
"Alright," he said with a sigh. "I'll have dinner brought to us. No cooking tonight." He stood up, stretching, and turned to help her up.
"I'm going to run upstairs and clean up a bit," she said, going up on her toes and kissing the corner of his mouth. "I'll be right back down."
"I'll call for dinner and get something to drink. Wine?"
"Iced tea for me?"
"You got it," he smiled and watched as she turned towards the stairs.
"Hey," she said, turning back around. "I think someone promised to let me ride their Rocket III. Hmmm...who was that again?" she said, one hand on her hip and the other one tapping her temple. "I think it was some guy...let's see...tall, dark, kinda brooding...what was his name?"
"Clever, my love." He walked towards her, chuckling, until he was standing toe-to-toe with her. "We'll go tomorrow, alright? A nice long ride. Maybe have a picnic."
"I'll hold you to that," she said, looking up at him and poking him in the chest. She turned back towards the stairs but Damien grabbed her arm and turned her back towards him.
"It'll cost you, you know," he said, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her flush against him.
"Oh?" She batted her eyelashes at him. "What would you be willing to accept as trade for such a privilege?"
"I don't know...I mean, it's not as if I let just anyone ride my Rocket." She snorted at that. "But I think one deep, soulful kiss for every cc of the engine would be fair barter."
"It's 2200 cc, isn't it?"
"2300, actually." He smiled at her.
"That's a lot of kisses." She looked at him slyly and traced random patterns with her fingertips through the hair on his chest.. "How about if I owe you? I can give you one before you let me ride, and work off the other 2299?"
"Interesting proposal." He slid his hands down to her sides. "But I don't know. I mean, it would take you days to work it off."
"Yes it would."
"I don't know if I like the idea of being kissed by you for days."
"Oh really?" Charlie asked, looking up at Damien. His face was serious, but his eyes were teasing. "Maybe you could come up with something less distaste-" She was cut off when Damien suddenly kissed her.
"I don't think that would be long enough," he whispered against her mouth, making her giggle.
There was a knock at the door and a female voice called out, "Mr. Dimeo?"
"In here," Damien called, smiling at Charlie's gasp. She quickly grabbed her clothes from the floor and sprinted into the bathroom, barely limping at all now and slipping her tank top over her head as she went. "You don't have to hide, my love," he called after her as a thin young man brought in a huge tray of food. "Thank you, Cindy. That will be all."
"Mr. Dimeo," she said, bowing slightly. "Congratulations, sir."
"Thank you," he smiled at the slight young woman as she left. He picked up the tray and called out to her. "She's gone, Charlie, you can come out now and have dinner."
"It's here already? How did you – oh, right." He heard her sigh. "I'll be out in a minute," she called. He could hear the water running.
"I'll be in the kitchen," he said, walking through the entryway and stopping just inside the kitchen. He was looking at the stuff left on the counter and the remains of the plates and loaf of bread on the floor.
"Dinner smells good," Charlie said, coming up behind him.
"What happened?" he asked, carefully making his way into the kitchen and putting the tray on the counter.
"Huh?" She looked where he was gesturing to and saw the mess she had left earlier. "Oh. Sorry about that." She gingerly stepped into the kitchen and knelt down to clean up the shards of ceramic from the dropped plates.
"What happened?" he repeated, moving to the pantry to get a broom.
"I dropped the plates when I...uh..." she trailed off, looking at him with wide eyes.
"When you what?" he asked, kneeling next to her and putting his hands on her shoulders.
"I knew you were hurt. I think before...before anyone else here did." She scrunched her face up, concentrating on her thoughts.
"You knew I was hurt?"
"I knew something. I felt a burning pain here" she ran her hand from her right shoulder to her abdomen, stopping just to the side of her navel, the same place and pattern as the now faint scars on him, "and then suddenly I felt this sense of loneliness." She thought again for a moment. "No not loneliness, really. I guess aloneness would be better – is that even a word? It was like I wasn't really there, or the people around me weren't really there. And somehow, I knew it was you that was gone. That something had happened to you." Charlie looked at the mess on the floor and counter. "That feeling went away when you came out of sedation. Which was good. I...I didn't like that alone feeling," she shrugged, turning back to the broken plates and picking up the larger pieces carefully. Damien watched her, feeling swollen wit
h pride and possessiveness. "Oh no," she said after another moment. "Lisa was here when it happened. I was making us lunch and..." She looked at Damien.
"And what, dolcezza?"
"Well, I think I freaked her out, Damien. One minute I was fine and the next I was on the floor in pain, and-"
"She's fine."
"I should go explain-"
"It's already done."
"It is? How did...oh, that's right." She looked at him closely. "Can I just say how much I dislike being the only person capable of not doing that? I feel excluded."
"No one's excluding you."
"Oh, I know." She rose and carefully made her way to the sink, opening the cabinet beneath it and throwing the large pieces of plate in the small garbage can. "It's just that I am the odd man out here, cowboy." She brought the can over to Damien where he swept up, holding it for him as he dumped the rest of the ceramic and bread debris into the can. "The fact that I'm the only one not on the telepathic party line is just another way to bring that fact home."
APPETITE Page 26