by Johanna Rae
This nightmare differed from the others. Previously the dreams had been all about Jodie’s first change and the terror surrounding it. This time, Jodie found herself trapped in a dark enclosed space. Bit by bit the ceiling descended until the crushing weight of it made the air difficult to breathe. Real fear began to set in until Jodie’s eyes flew open and she woke up. Her relief was short lived when she discovered that she still could not move.
Rufus lay on his stomach beside her still dead to the world, his massive heavy arm draped across her chest. Though not exactly a hug, Jodie still didn’t feel thrilled to be waking up in that position. She couldn’t breathe and the more she tried to lift it off, the more he began to snuggle in. Snuggle? Oh heck no, this is getting way too comfortable.
“Rufus!” She hissed, not wanting to draw attention from anyone outside the room.
First one eye opened and then the other. Groggy and incoherent, he gazed at her for several seconds before he noticed where his arm had ended up. Jodie had never seen him move so fast.
“Fuck!” He shouted from the floor on the far side of the mattress, where he’d just leapt to. “I’m sorry Jodie girl, I didn’t mean to –“
Somehow Jodie managed to suppress the hysterical giggle trying very hard to burst out of her throat. “It’s okay, it’s okay!” She said, rushing to reassure him.
Still embarrassed, Rufus popped open one of the storage containers and hauled out a t-shirt to put on. He had it halfway over his head when he spun around and looked at her again. Dragging the garment down and pushing his arms into the sleeves, he started to grin.
“It’s morning.” He said, sitting back down on the mattress.
“Yes... it is.” She frowned with suspicion.
“Did you wake up during the night? I sure didn’t.”
Jodie gave a squeal of excitement and launched herself at Rufus, throwing her arms around his neck. “I did it!”
“You’ll be coming with me today, I’ll be waiting in my car when you’re ready.”
Jodie and Rufus both whirled to face the doorway, where Danny stood. There was no point in saying anything; he’d already started to walk off. Yesterday, the bland neutral tone of his voice would have gotten Jodie down but right now she felt too damned ecstatic.
“I did it!” She cried again, eyes shining. Lowering her arms from Rufus’s neck, she couldn’t hide her excitement.
“Yeah, you did, congratulations.” Rufus smiled back. “Now go get your ass moving before Danny decides to get pissed off with me for hugging you.”
Jodie tried to be serious but it just wouldn’t happen. Giving Rufus a chaste kiss on the cheek, she got up and started for the door. Turning and looking over her shoulder, she let out a satisfied sigh. “Thank you Rufus.”
Since Danny appeared to be in such a hurry Jodie didn’t have time for breakfast, her rumbling stomach would just have to wait. She skated through the kitchen, dragging her clothes on as she went. Eddie made a joke about it being good for Danny to have wait five minutes, bringing forth a round of laughter from the table. Jodie made a face at him, hooking a shoe onto her foot as she got to the door. Pulling the other one on, she raced out to the car, feet pounding the asphalt driveway.
Once seated and wearing her safety belt she turned her attention to Danny, who’d made no attempt to start the vehicle. “I thought we were in a hurry.”
Smirking, he shook his head, switching on the engine at last. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“You did that on purpose!” She fumed at him.
“You’re cute when you’re all flustered.” Suppressing another smile, Danny pulled out of the driveway and took off down the road.
Jodie had to restrain herself from commenting on that last statement, she knew he was just trying to bait her. Pulling down the sun visor, Jodie fussed with her hair in the make-up mirror and then sat back again.
“So where are we going?”
“I have work to do today,” his candid response gave no hint at all to what that entailed.
“You’re taking me to work with you?” Jodie knew that he didn’t mean the club and she couldn’t hide her amazement.
“Not all my work involves multiple globes and grade five clean up,” he said with a touch of resentment in his voice. “Since you seemed so keen to see who and what I am, I thought maybe you needed to see this side of my life too.” “Oh,” she said in a small voice.
An obstinate silence followed as they both refused small talk. Danny pulled into the driveway of a classy looking property, telling Jodie to wait in the car. Grabbing a file from the parcel tray behind the two bucket seats, he got out and made his way to the door.
A well-dressed man answered and they talked for a while, partaking in what appeared to be pleasant conversation. Danny showed him the file and he read through it. When he’d finished, Danny handed him a pen and he signed some of the papers. Danny shook his hand and came back to the car, sitting the file on Jodie’s lap before he started the engine again.
Knowing that he wouldn’t have handed it to her unless he intended for her to look at it, Jodie opened the front cover, staring at the shifter equivalent of immigration papers. The man had recently moved to the area from Ireland and had needed to file official registration with ISIC. Closing the cover, Jodie gave a wan smile and slid it back up behind her head onto the parcel tray.
Their next three stops were similar to the first one, with Danny either delivering or collecting paperwork, sometimes acquiring signatures. By the time they got to the last house, Jodie felt like an insurance salesman and thought she’d heard wrong when Danny told her to get out of the car. Deciding to be compliant, she straightened her clothes and followed him to the door.
A pleasant faced woman in her late thirties welcomed them inside. The exhaustion evident on her face almost masked the soft beauty that she possessed, she sorrow in her eyes giving hint to a bigger picture Jodie was not privy to.
“Jodie, this is Delia Murchison,” Danny said as he sat down at her modest dining suite. Delia brought a tea tray, sitting down with them while Danny continued. “Her son has been going through his transition. She has no husband or clan in town, so we’ve been checking in to make sure they’re getting by okay. A newly turned teenage shifter is a handful for one person.”
Jodie offered a sympathetic smile, trying to imagine what that must be like for a mother to go through. She wondered which animal Delia turned into, that one person would even be enough. Thinking about the damage she’d inflicted upon Adam and Rufus, Jodie found that she needed some air, so after excusing herself, she went to sit on the front porch.
Through the rise and fall of Danny’s and Delia’s voices, Jodie tried to seek refuge in a couple of deep breaths. I’m doing great right? I’ve learned to halt the change and I’ve gotten through a whole night without my leopard rising once. Why on earth am I freaking out?
She didn’t have to ponder it long. Jodie hardly had time to register the shouts from Delia and Danny before a young guy burst out of the house. Having not expected Jodie to be sitting on the steps leading down from the porch, he tripped over her, stumbling down to the path.
“Stop him!” Danny yelled from inside the house.
Acting upon instinct, Jodie jumped to her feet in seconds. By the time the guy had caught his balance, she’d reached him. Tackling him face down to the ground Jodie held him still by sitting on the back of his knees and holding both arms behind his back, it felt like something out of the movies. She glanced up just as Danny and Delia shot out of the house onto the porch. His jaw dropped when he saw Jodie had successfully detained the escapee.
“What?” She huffed in annoyance. “You said stop him!”
“Well yes,” he spluttered. “But I didn’t think you actually would.”
They spent another twenty minutes talking to Delia and her son, trying to convince him not to bolt again. He had at least one more night before he would be safe to leave the house unaccompanied, it wasn’t worth ris
king tragedy just to go and hang out with his human friends.
“You’re full of surprises honey, you know that?” Danny mused as they drove off.
“I could take offense to that,” she muttered, scowling and sinking lower in her seat.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he chuckled. “I need to check in with Leon sometime today, do you mind if we do that now?”
“No not at all,” Jodie shrugged.
They found Luke mowing the lawn when they pulled into the driveway. He’d taken his shirt off and tucked it into the back of his pants, sweat glistening on his skin. Jodie wondered how much of that could be attributed to the slope of the lawn and effort required, or if it had anything to do with the withdrawal symptoms from his addiction.
She wondered how he’d been coping with the alcoholism now that he had returned to everyday life. He grinned and gave them a wave, putting her mind at rest. Luke’s anger would not be an issue that day.
Trouping into the house, Jodie and Danny called out a greeting, finding Penny in the kitchen washing dishes. More than happy to see Jodie, she dried her hands and hugged her daughter, shepherding the pair into the living room. They sat down on the couch where Leon appeared to be taking a nap and Penny went back to the kitchen.
Danny gave Leon a pat on the head and he gave a loud hiss. With a quiet laugh, Danny got back up from the couch. “All right then, let’s get this over with. Shall we do it in the bathroom?”
Leon meowed and trotted off down the hallway, with Danny close behind. Jodie stared after them a couple of seconds and then turned to find her mother standing in the other doorway with a very strange look on her face. “Did he just take the cat to the bathroom?” “Uh...” Jodie stammered.
Fortunately Luke chose that moment to come back inside, distracting Penny from the situation at hand. After obtaining everyone’s beverage requests she bustled off back to the kitchen, leaving Luke and Jodie to get caught up. Even though Danny had come with a purpose, Jodie enjoyed the visit.
Luke had returned to the brother he had been before the alcoholism and lycanthropy. The way that they talked felt reminiscent of their teenage years, back when they’d been inseparable. Jodie hoped the worst had passed, that this more desirable Luke might be permanent.
They spoke of the girls and Jodie asked how Zach had been doing. A second awkward moment came when Penny noticed Danny and “Tiger” emerge from the bathroom together but they managed to change the subject that time too.
Jodie felt somewhat reluctant when it came time to leave.
Once back on the road Danny turned to Jodie and grinned. Though it lasted for the briefest moment, that one dimpled smile melted Jodie, threatening to turn her into that goopy mess which had become so familiar.
“I just have one more thing to do, then we can go back home.” Danny said.
Jodie smiled and nodded, looking out the passenger window at the scenery as they drove into town. Danny took a parking space in front of a prestigious shoe store, promising he’d be as fast as possible.
With her mind only half trained to Danny’s actions Jodie watched as he hurried off down the street. She didn’t really pay attention to where he went so until he returned a short time later with a large garment bag, it didn’t occur to her to wonder what he’d been doing.
Danny didn’t come right back to the car as she’d anticipated, instead walking into the shoe store. It’s a women’s shoe store, what’s he doing? Her interest piqued, Jodie sat forward in her seat trying to see inside the store. When Danny emerged, Jodie noticed the three bags he carried. What the heck did he buy?
Getting back into the car, Danny passed a garment bag to Jodie, speaking even before she’d unzipped it. “I couldn’t get the exact same fabric but I did the best that I could. The color is almost a perfect match though and I figured that would be the important thing.”
Wide eyed, Jodie dragged down the zipper and buried her fingers in the soft pale blue fabric. Her mouth formed an o-shape as she turned to face him. “You had the dress remade?”
He didn’t respond as he handed her the other two bags. Again, he hadn’t been able to get an exact match but in the case of the shoes it became an improvement. The heels Jodie lost during the dinner probably cost less than half the price of anything in that store, whereas the pair Danny had just given her were the most beautiful pair of shoes Jodie had ever seen.
All of a sudden she wanted to cry.
“The dress belongs to Ainsley.” Touched Danny had gone to so much effort to replace the outfit, Jodie had all kinds of gushy feelings. It hadn’t been what she’d meant to say at all.
“I know,” he responded in a husky tone. “... And I know it shamed you to ruin something that didn’t belong to you, so I hope she likes the replacement. The shoes and the necklace however, are yours.”
Jodie put the shoe back into the tissue filled box, and reached for the last gift bag. She withdrew a small velvet box and gingerly opened the hinged lid. Danny had chosen gold instead of silver, but the heart shaped pendant inside appeared almost identical. Jodie ran a fingertip over the polished surface and then prized it free of the jewelry tray. It flipped over in her hand and she saw that Danny had gotten it engraved. In small cursive lettering were the words ‘My Eros’.
That did it, Jodie turned into a snivelling mess. Tears filled her eyes as the shoe box slid off her knee when she clambered over the seat, necklace clutched tight in her fist. Her lips met his before she’d made it all the way to his lap, her arms seeking union behind his head. Passion now ignited, their leopards came to life, energies merging in an instant. Somehow there seemed to be no danger of changing forms; it was all about the seduction.
It took Danny several minutes to break free from the kiss, Jodie could sense through the bond that stopping was the last thing he wanted. She gave him a goofy smile as he placed a hand on her upper chest to keep distance between them.
“We’re in town,” he said, his voice rough. “And if you keep going like that, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop you. I have to drive us home now but please please don’t change your mind about this on the way.”
Chewing on her lower lip Jodie nodded, her eyes still aflame with lust.
Danny roared into the driveway and parked in the garage. He struggled to apply the handbrake and shut off the engine as Jodie pounced. She dove in his lap before he’d had the chance to think of anything to say, much less utter the words.
Her first kiss landed hard enough to bruise, her eagerness getting the better of her. Jodie’s lips wedged Danny’s mouth open, her tongue stroking his with urgent necessity. As their energies combined once more her hands went to his face, caressing each cheek and settling at his jawline. The scent of his arousal tickled her nostrils, thus removing any last chances of stopping what they had started.
Jodie’s hands slid outward, fingertips finding his silky caramel hair. Frustrated at the tidy ponytail at the nape of his neck, she gripped the elastic band and yanked it free. Danny’s hair spilled about his shoulders and with a soft moan, she immersed her hands in it.
By this time his arms were secure around her body, his breathing ragged. Kissing him again, Jodie moved to press herself against his chest and felt the hard bulge in his jeans. Her breath caught in her throat and she stopped, looking down between their bodies.
“Honey...” He gasped, gripping the door panel as she began to shift positions.
Danny would have said more but Jodie’s foot kicked the seat adjustment lever and the whole seat jerked backward. Falling on top of him, her hands slid inside his shirt and she began to yank the buttons free. Kissing her way down his chest as she wrenched the shirt off, Jodie’s impatient fingers worked the belt buckle. The hard muscled line of his torso felt warm beneath her lips, Jodie’s whole mouth tingled with each point of contact.
Moments later, Jodie grabbed fistfuls of denim as she fought to peel his jeans down. Danny raised his hips and despite the constricted space they were in, she ma
naged to get them down as far as his knees. Next her hands slid inside his underwear, fingertips teasing as she dragged the stretchy fabric down his body.
When she encircled his shaft. Danny let out an anguished groan. She squeezed a little, rubbing back and forth with her thumb. His thick length, so ready for her, belonged nowhere but in her grasp as she continued to pleasure him. Jodie could feel her own libido rising, but for now she was more than occupied with her task.
She stole another kiss from him as her hands threatened to drive him to the brink, her swollen breasts straining against her blouse, the hardened nipples abrading his chest through the cloth.
“I need you.” Her hot breath filled his ear as she nuzzled his neck, her hips thrusting rhythmically in time with the movements of her fingers.
His hands found her waist band and before Jodie could say anything further, Danny began to remove her pants too. It should have been awkward with the restrictions placed upon them in such a confined space, but no matter how much Jodie clambered about trying to help Danny get her clothes off, the heat of the moment wasn’t diminished. Not even close.
When it became evident that Danny would never get her pants off the way they were situated, Jodie scooted backward to give herself more space. Back in the passenger seat, she became unable to devote her entire attention to the task of undressing. Her eyes were much too busy drinking in the sight of his desire.
Taking his manhood in hand once more, Jodie bent forward and closed her lips around the tip. Wriggling out of the trousers one handed, her haste dissipated as her mouth slid down further. A low guttural groan came from Danny as Jodie snaked her tongue around his erection, flicking it back and forth across the vein on the underside. Sucking gently at first, then with more purpose, Jodie began to massage his sac. Danny’s hands found her back, unable to do more than glide up and down her creamy flesh as he succumbed to her attentions.
“The... glove... compartment...” he panted, the words almost indecipherable.
It took her a couple of seconds to comprehend the statement before Jodie reached over and opened it. Fumbling around, she found the foil wrapped package and crawled back toward Danny. Hair tousled and chest heaving, Danny watched on as Jodie struggled to rip it open. Impatient for things to progress, he snatched it off her and tore into it. Sliding the condom on, he turned his wild gaze upon her.