CoyoteWhispers (20 page)

Steve sucked on her breast, drew on the peak before scraping
the puckered bud with his teeth. He bit down. Pain and pleasure clashed and
Gordie flew into the abyss. Her breath stalled in her lungs, her mind
splintering in a million different directions as pure bliss saturated her
senses. The world spun and she found herself beneath him, his body slamming
into hers as muscles grasped greedily at his cock.

He rammed into her, pressed on her clit with every plunge
and propelled her over a second peak. Her name burst from his lips as he came.
His body bucked against hers, the spasms rolling from one to the other as their
orgasms joined as effectively as their bodies. Wave after wave of heat and
pleasure swamped her. She gasped for air and scratched at his back, desperate
for solid ground.

Gordie slowly drifted back to earth. Caught between Steve
and the mattress, she savored the feeling of satisfaction, contentment. He made
her feel cherished, wanted,
loved
. And with all those came strength.
Determination to have what should be hers. Take what should be theirs. She
wouldn’t walk away from him, couldn’t if she were honest.

“I love you.” The words surprised her. She hadn’t even thought
them and they’d tripped off her tongue as easily as her breath.

Waiting for a response just about killed her. He’d gone so
still and she wasn’t sure he’d taken a breath since she’d spoken. She pushed
against his chest but he was as movable as a brick wall.

Gordie sighed and slumped into the bed. “Say something.”

“I can’t. I’ve waited forever to hear those words. Let me
enjoy them a minute more.”

She slapped his arm. “You idiot. It won’t be the only time I
say them.”

“No, but this will always be the first time.”

“At least one of us is getting a first today.” Gordie
couldn’t believe the pouty voice she used. She sounded like a three-year-old
sulking about being denied a cookie.

Steve lifted his head and stared at her. “You’re pouting,
Doc. It doesn’t suit you. Besides, it’s not necessary. I love you. I’ve always
loved you. I will love you forever.” He leaned down and kissed her.

They took it slow, lips meshing, tongues sliding, they
rejoiced in the freedom of acceptance. When the kiss ended, Gordie opened her
eyes and stared at the naked need in his gaze. A growl echoed from deep inside
and she knew what she had to do. One final step.

“I want to run.”

He reared back. “It’s snowing.”

“I know. But I need to run.”

Rolling to his back, he took her with him. “You’ll have to
wait for the run but we could shift now. See what happens.”

Gordie curled into his side. “Would you mind? It’s been
months since I changed and I feel her clawing to be free. I’ve never had that
before.”

“Want to do it now or later? I’m thinking a nap might be
nice about now.”

“It can wait. She’s settled now that I’ve decided to run.”
Gordie yawned. “A sleep would be good.”

“Then sleep it is. We don’t have to be anywhere and with the
storm blowing like it is even if we did we wouldn’t be going. Look up.”

She glanced up at the skylight. The glass dome was
completely covered in snow. “Oh. It’s a bad one then.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we’ll be driving out of here anytime
soon, but if the snow stops falling we’ll take a run in the forest.”

Gordie yawned again. “Okay.” She drifted to sleep in the
comfort of his arms.

* * * * *

It took two days for the snow to stop falling long enough
for Steve to be happy about going outside. He’d put her off as long as he could
but he’d given in this afternoon. The sun was starting to dip toward the
mountain and he wanted to be inside before it dropped behind the ridge and they
lost daylight. They were in the garage. The house was locked up and he stripped
out of his clothes and shifted quickly to escape the cold.

Doc stood near the door. She wrung her hands and he thought
she’d changed her mind about running. She took a deep breath and grabbed the
hem of the sweatshirt she wore. In a flash she had the top up and off, and was
stepping out of her pants. It took her longer than him to shift, but not so
long that he panicked. Her coat was a mix of grays and whites woven in a
tapestry of thick strands.

Like her human form, her coyote was small, about half the
size of his. He trotted over, nuzzled her face and nipped at her side. She
danced away, danced back and he butted her with his head to get her moving. Her
bark surprised him but he answered and took off out the garage door.

They ran. Sometimes he led, sometimes he followed. He chased
her, wrestled her to the ground and let her go. The air was clear and crisp,
the snow fresh and soft, and his heart pounded with the beat of his paws as
they raced back to the house. Steve slowed down to a walk and took the last few
feet to the garage at a stroll. Doc kept pace with him and they went inside
together.

She shook, water and snow flying every which way and he
quickly joined her. Even with their coats of fur, the cold was starting to
settle in. It might have stopped snowing and the sun might be shining but it
was still chilly enough to freeze them in moments if they didn’t hurry. He
shifted and reached for the towels he’d brought out before their run. Steve
dried himself and waited for Doc to change.

“Hurry up. It’s freezing out here.” He held the second towel
out for her to step into once she’d shifted to human form.

He watched her closely and realized something wasn’t right.
She’d lain down on her side and was panting heavily. Panic spiked but he reeled
it in and went to her. Steve used the towel to pat her down and soak up some of
the dampness. Her eyes drooped and it all fell into place.

Doc hadn’t run in months, hadn’t shifted in just as long and
they’d been out in the winter air for a good hour. She was too tired to shift.
He draped the towel over her and picked her up to carry her inside. Going
straight to the bedroom, Steve laid her on the bed and finished drying her.

“Have a sleep. You’ll be fine as soon as you’ve rested.” The
words were for his benefit as much as hers.

She yipped softly and licked his face. He tossed both towels
at the bathroom and crawled onto the bed beside her. Her coat drew his fingers
and he combed the fur behind her ears until her eyes closed and soft snores
came from her throat. The thought of leaving her never entered his mind and he
lay watching her sleep for long moments before drifting off himself.

* * * * *

The phone woke him. He sat up and reached for the bedside
receiver. Obviously the lines had been repaired this afternoon. He’d checked
before their run and found dead air. Steve glanced at the clock. Six thirty.
They’d been asleep about an hour.

“Hello.” He turned to look at Doc. At some point she’d
shifted back to human form and lay on her stomach with her head buried in her
pillow.

“Hey, Steve.” Kat’s voice came through crystal clear. “Just
checking the two of you are still alive up there.”

“We’re fine.” He sighed and leaned against his pillow.

“Thought you would be, but I promised Mom I’d call.”

“Doc would have rung but the lines have been down since
Christmas night,” he said.

“The crews have been working like mad to get everything back
up. Good thing I’ve got that generator out back or I’d have lost a truckload of
food these past two days.”

“The town lost power? Wow, it was a big storm.”

“Not real bad, more bad luck, I think. The big old tree over
near the substation came down, took out the power and they would have had it up
and running quicker if the snow had stopped falling sooner.”

“Anyone hurt?”

“No, nobody’s stupid enough to go out in this weather.”

He could hear someone talking in the background and Kat’s
whispered “give me a second”.

“Are you at the café?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, Mom and Dad are here too. We were wondering if you
guys would be able to head down here for dinner in the next few days.”

“Probably be another day or two and that’s only if the snow
holds off.”

“Well you’ll be pleased to know they’re not predicting
another storm until after the first of the year. Hang on a sec, Steve.”

There was some shuffling of the phone followed by what
sounded like an argument and then Mrs. Monroe spoke.

“Steven McKenna, you get yourself and my daughter down here
the minute you can. I want to see both of you within the next two days or I’ll
drive up there.”

More shuffling and Kat was back. “Sorry.” Her sigh sounded
like wind blowing through the line. “I tried to hold her off. She’s got some
bee in her bonnet about you two getting married on New Year’s Eve because she
and Dad are planning to leave on the first.”

“What?” He glanced at Doc, found her watching him intently.
“Um, I’m not so sure about that, Kat.”

“Not sure? That’s not what you said the other day.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m sure about the getting
married part, it’s the when that’s uncertain.”

Doc sat up and arched one eyebrow.

“Have you two even talked about a date?” Kat asked.

“Not specifically. Look, Kat, I’ll talk to Doc, but no
matter what your mother wants it won’t happen if Doc’s not ready.”

“I get that but you’ll have to tell it to Mom. The woman is
driving both me and Dad batty.” Kat dropped her voice to a whisper. “I think
she’s frightened Gordie will change her mind and run again.”

He laughed. “Doc has never run from anything in her life.”

“Yes, she has. She ran away after Anthony died and we didn’t
see her for months on end.”

Steve sobered. “Kat, she wasn’t running from anything. She
was running
to
something. Doc needed to find herself and she couldn’t do
that here.” He watched Doc as he spoke to her sister. Saw surprise cross her
face, fill her eyes.

“But what’s to stop her from doing that again?” Kat argued.

“Me.” It was simple really, love and trust would keep her
beside him. “Look, I’ve gotta go. We’ll call and let you know when we’re coming
to town.”

Steve leaned over and hung up the phone, never taking his
eyes off Doc’s. He couldn’t read what she was thinking but he knew she was.
That sexy over-thinking brain of hers was all but smoking as she tried to work
her way through his half of the conversation.

“How did you know that?”

“What?”

“That I wasn’t running away when I left here?”

He shrugged. “You’re not a coward, Doc. Running would never
occur to you.”

“But
I
thought I was running.”

“I never saw it that way. Before you married Anthony your
plans were to go away to school, it seemed logical to go ahead with the plan
after the accident. It gave you a focus, a dream you’d always had you could
make come true.” He reached over and threaded his fingers into the hair at her
nape, tugged her closer. “What other dreams do you have, Doc?”

Steve leaned in and kissed her. He flicked his tongue along
the seam of her mouth and applied pressure until she let him in. His caresses
were feather soft, not demanding, just offering. She had all of him, held his
heart—
his soul
—in the palm of her hand. Freely given, no strings. Take
it or leave it, her decision wouldn’t matter, he was hers until the day he
died.

He rolled her beneath him. Took the kiss deeper and savored
the feel of her body melting into his. Her breasts were crushed to his chest,
her nipples hardening as he rubbed against her. She moaned into his mouth and
he drew the sound in, swallowed it whole. They arched together, his sex pressed
to hers and the give became take. Neither of them had put their clothes back on
after their run so there was only skin on skin.

Heat and need rolled through him. Pulled his balls up tight
and made his cock throb. He tilted his hips, slid his length along her slit and
reveled in the moisture that coated his flesh. She writhed below him, her hot
folds gripping his shaft, dragging him deeper into the maelstrom of sensations
bombarding him.

Her mouth left his, her teeth nibbling a trail down his
chin, his throat. “Love me.”

“I do.”

“No. Make love to me. Now.” She bit his shoulder, her tongue
soothing the sting with one long lick.

Steve leaned back, stared down at the woman under him and
wondered if he could ever deny her a thing. “With pleasure.”

She spread her legs, wrapped them around his waist and dug
her heels into the backs of his thighs to pull him inside her. He flexed his
hips, brought his cock to her entrance and thrust deep. Her walls gloved him, scorched
him with liquid fire and drove him to the edge of sanity. Passion flared,
exploded in a burst of wicked wanting that stole every other thought from his
mind except claiming Gordie.

He drove into her again and again. Thrusting to the hilt and
withdrawing to the crown on each stroke. She bucked and thrashed, her body
meeting his in need and demand. Her teeth grazed his throat, sank into his
shoulder and he nipped at her ear, licked and sucked and bit until she moaned
against his skin.

“Steve.” Harsh, hot breath coated his neck. “I want.
Need.
”

“What?” he panted. “What do you need, Gordie, what do you
want?”

She arched under him and he sank deeper inside her, farther
into the inferno consuming them. Her pussy squeezed him, gripped and released
him in a punishing vise that stole his breath.

“
You
,” she screamed.

The orgasm detonated between them with such violence Steve
lost control. His hips jerked, his balls imploded and blasted shot after shot
of cum through his shaft. Fire licked up his spine and erupted to shower him
from head to toe in ecstasy. He collapsed on top of her, all energy incinerated
by their joining.

“
Fuck.
”