Fox Play (35 page)

As I began to shudder, I realized maybe I didn't care.

She made the orgasm go on and on, and just when I thought I was done, she raised me again, her mouth hot against my clit, and I screamed her name for the I-don't-know-how-manyth-time.

Lara collected me in her arms, and I opened my eyes long enough to see the smug expression.

"If you weren't so good at that," I gasped out. "I could be angry at you."

"But I am that good," she said. "You know, little fox, so are you."

I slowly caught my breath, wrapped in her arms. "I can't make you do that," I told her.

"Only because I won't give up enough control," she said. "If you ever dragged me out like that, I'd take control and take what I wanted from you."

"Someday, wolf. Someday."

She laughed and pulled me more tightly to her chest, and I drifted to sleep.

* * * *

When we descended Friday morning, I got the types of comments I was expecting, some combination of, "It took forever before I could go to sleep last night" to more direct speculation as to what it might be Lara did to elicit such vocalizations from me. I found it didn't bother me as much as it usually did.

I also noticed everyone seemed more relaxed than they had in a while and more comfortable with both Lara and me. I thought that meant something, and perhaps more than the joy of being in such a beautiful place; after all, we hadn't experienced the beauty up close yet.

My kitchen wasn't big enough to feed everyone at once, so we ate in shifts. They'd been eating for a while before Lara and I descended. The teenagers were all on kitchen duty, and they made sure everyone was properly fed. I was proud of them.

Lara then said, "I have business," and took Elisabeth and several enforcers with her. She refused to tell me what it was. "I'll catch up to you on the water."

I made everyone either show me a fishing license. Those who didn't have one I made walk into town and buy them. We also bought more fishing gear and met up at Benny's boathouse. Benny was greeted warmly and invited to join us.

"I think I will," he said. "I hired an assistant for the summer, and she can handle the boathouse for the day."

Vivian was the only newcomer to kayaking. She had tried to beg off, but we wouldn't have it. Benny taught her the basics. The kids wanted to work on Eskimo rolls, so I sat back and let Rebecca teach them. A few weren't getting it, so when Benny finished with Vivian, he paddled forward and began making suggestions.

We had a lovely morning on the water. Shortly before noon, Lara and Elisabeth connected with us as we were fishing for dinner. We caught a few fish, but when I tried to attach them to the back of Lara's boat, she told me, "Try it and you will suffer." I had Benny attach them to the back of my kayak.

After fishing, Benny surprised me. He led us into shallower water and then drafted June to help him set up an obstacle course, using floats and weighted lines for obstacles. He set up two parallel courses of a short one hundred yards. The goal was to weave in and out of the floats, paddle around the last one, and return. He intentionally set the floats up so they were not in a straight line, meaning you would have to weave, and each course had two cones that were so significantly offset you would have to take a dramatic turn almost backwards to navigate around it.

We ran race heats for an hour, the wolves all being very competitive. Everyone raced, even Chloe Lassister, Vivian, Benny and me. The course was short enough and complicated enough that Benny and I were competitive. I watched while Elisabeth distracted Lara, then Scarlett paddled soundlessly behind Lara's boat, deftly attaching the stringer of fish to the back of Lara's kayak with hardly a pause while gliding past. Lara didn't even notice.

"Alpha," Angel said. "You and I haven't raced yet." It was close, but Angel's turns were sharper and the fish provided just enough drag. Angel crossed the finish line a quarter boat length before Lara did. Lara didn't notice the extra drag.

Several races later, Benny asked her for a race. He ran an exceedingly good race, but he couldn't compete with Lara's strength, even with a small handicap. She won, but not by as much as she thought she would have.

Then she lost to Elisabeth, and a half dozen races later, to Rebecca.

"Lara," I said. "Do you think you've dragged those poor fish through the water enough?"

"What?" she asked sharply. She turned her body to look. I paddled to the back of the boat and pulled the stringer off. Lara glared at me.

"Don't look at me," I said. "I didn't put them there."

She looked around and spotted Angel trying to look innocent. "Angel," Lara said quietly. "Did you have something to do with this?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that," she said. "I haven't touched the fish, if that's what you're asking."

"No, I am asking what role you played."

"Maybe it was my idea," she said in a small voice.

"Scarlett!" Lara bellowed. Scarlett actually cringed. "Good one." Lara laughed. "I didn't even notice you doing it. Michaela, Scarlett has just offered to drag the fish home with us. She and Angel will be cleaning them."

"I'll drag them," Scarlett said. "But for the love of all that is fishy, please don't let Angel clean the fish. She butchers them."

We ran a few more races then headed home.

* * * *

We had a lovely late afternoon and evening hanging out at my house. Eventually everyone wandered off to their beds, and I let Lara lure me to ours. Our lovemaking was gentle. I was only a little vocal.

Saturday morning, we went kayaking again, intending to kayak until lunch and go sailing afterwards. Vivian begged off. "I haven't used those muscles before. But I'll meet you for sailing later."

Everyone was in a good mood. We skipped fishing. With Benny working the boathouse and Vivian staying at my house, I was the only slow one, and I wasn't exactly slow. Aaron and Rebecca set up a distance race for the wolves, four miles round trip with me as the judge for the finish line. I quietly told Chloe she could hang out with me if she wanted, but she wanted to race. Aaron won with Lara second and then a huge pack that was too close to call. The teenagers lagged the adults by a few hundred yards. It was a close race between Derek and Angel; most of the other teenagers came in on an extended line, and far in the back, Chloe Lassiter paddling for all she was worth, her older sister Abigail paddling along next to her, cheering on her little sister.

Shortly before they reached the finish line, Abigail tipped over. It was intentional, but no one was going to tell Chloe that. Chloe crossed the finish line, Abigail successfully rolled upright after a few tries, then she paddled last across the finish line. I was proud of both of them.

With everyone in high spirits, we headed back.

Sailing was far less dramatic than the last time. I knew everyone by now and didn't feel a need to hide. We sailed for a few hours then rafted together and swapped people around between the two boats we had rented. At the end of the day, Lara and I sat together at the back of the boat, watching two of the boys trying to chat up Abigail. She was flirting with both of them. It was cute. I sighed, leaned back, and closed my eyes. Lara pulled me against her, and I leaned over to kiss her check. "Thank you," I told her. "I really needed this."

"We all did," she said.

"Where did you go yesterday?"

"I just had some business to take care of."

"That's evasive."

"Yes, it is."

I sighed and cuddled under her arm.

Sunday we left, and I felt calm and relaxed. This time, I knew I wasn't saying goodbye, but instead "see you later" to my house.

Rematch

We increased the size of the Wednesday poker game buy in to two thousand dollars. I had a bad night and then a good night, and suddenly I had the buy in I would need for our upcoming rematch.

Everything else was coming together as well. Greg's group set up cell phone surveillance around Duran's compound, and we began listening in to a lot of his calls. They weren't pretty. He was leaning even harder on his people, threatening them if anyone else "committed mutiny" has he put it. Another enforcer disappeared, and Greg's people photographed two more driving out of Chicago heading south.

Durian's hold on his pack was effectively broken, and it was only a matter of time before something drastic would happen.

Something did. He set up a voice call with Lara to which the rest of us listened.

He was tense and gruff. "How is business, Durian?" Lara asked, a glint in her eye.

"You worry about business in Madison," he said. "I have Chicago well under control."

"Of course," she said. "I was only making polite conversation. Are we still on for poker next week? I thought perhaps you would care to stay overnight at the compound instead of a hotel in Madison."

"That last hotel wasn't very good," Durian complained. We could hear him thinking. "Yes, but if we're coming to the compound, I'll need to bring more of my own enforcers."

"Completely understandable. I'm sure you'll keep them well in rein, just like I do with mine. How many did you wish to bring? Six?"

"A dozen," Durian said immediately.

Lara didn't respond immediately seeming to consider it. "That's not an honor guard, that sounds like an invasion force, Durian. If you distrust us that much, maybe we should call this off."

"Perhaps twelve guards is overkill," he agreed instantly. Ten might be better."

"Perhaps eight would be good," Lara proposed. "After all, your enforcers are so much larger than mine, and I can house eight so much more readily. But if you'd rather pay for a hotel, we can stick with that plan."

"Eight enforcers plus me and my sons will be perfect," Durian said immediately. How did this moron get to be alpha?

"Excellent. We'll have a lovely house for you. It won't be as grand as your house in Chicago, but we'll make you as comfortable as we can," Lara told him.

* * * *

We received one more group briefing before the big day.  Financially, the Chicago pack was in trouble. Individual members could recover from the damage Durian had been doing for the last several years, but Durian's finances were rapidly turning into a mess. Once we had started the hemorrhaging, his own pack members had helped him along, with more and more leaving town on no notice.  Two more enforcers deserted, and it looked like Durian couldn't have fielded the dozen enforcers he had wanted to bring even if we'd allowed it.

Greg's team intercepted a phone conversation between Durian and Avery. "We'll get the fox during the poker game," Durian said. "And afterwards our enforcers will rip through theirs; we'll kill everyone who might get in our way, including that bitch alpha and her sister."

After he played it, he said, "They are going to be in for a surprise."

We shipped the kids to Madison, staying with Hadley Smith and Harper Armstrong. Angel wanted to stay. Lara told her flat out, "No" and very quietly we needed her to set an example so we could get all the other kids to safety.

"All right," she had agreed. "But alpha, we know what is going on, and you better call us when it's all over. You personally. And I want to hear Michaela's voice, too."

Lara had agreed with warmth in her voice.

* * * *

Tuesday night, I lured Lara upstairs early. "I want to spend the night making love," I told her.

We did. I spent much of it screaming her name. I didn't care who heard.

* * * *

The kids left at noon, and I changed into the clothes I would wear. I wore loose clothing, a blouse and skirt I knew I could shift right out of without getting tangled. I had my knives on my forearms and two more strapped around my ankles. The skirt hid the ones on my ankles as long as I didn't cross my legs.

Durian's convoy arrived late at the compound in the afternoon. It was agreed that keeping me safe from eleven wolves was riskier than anyone liked, and I stayed in the school complete with a good percentage of Greg's enforcers. Lara's security was handled by our own enforcers. Greg and his operations team stayed in their headquarters, monitoring everything.

Lara showed them to the two houses we had available to them; both were used by visiting council members and were quite pleasant. Greg's folks thoroughly bugged the houses ahead of time, promising us we could hear if they dropped a pin, but that they wouldn't be able to detect his bugs. We would have liked to have had video as well, but we decided that might be too easily detected.

Lara hosted a picnic. I stayed out of sight in the school. I tried to work, but mostly I fretted.

And then, it was time. Elisabeth came to retrieve me, and I picked up two more enforcers outside the school. They were subtle, but if any of Durian's enforcers had tried to approach me, I would have been surrounded by my own protection team. Greg's wolves were just seconds away, ready to exit the school on a moment's notice; most of them were already in fur with a few still human so as to keep hands free and operate the radios.

Elisabeth led the way across the small parking lot to the barracks; we would be playing in the council chambers. I had my ten thousand dollar buy in ready and was insanely nervous.

"Elisabeth," I said. "Please tell me this is going to work."

"It will. You stay safe. Those are your orders. Will you follow them?"

"Yes, Elisabeth."

"I don't want to waste any enforcers to worry about you."

"You keep Lara safe, Elisabeth. I'll follow orders."

She nodded.

"There's a wrinkle," Elisabeth said. "I don't have time to explain. You will need to decide if you trust Lara."

"Of course I trust Lara."

A minute later found us inside the council chambers, passing two of Durian's enforcers matched by two of ours standing guard outside the barracks, and two more inside the barracks matched by two of ours. Inside the council chambers, I stopped and stared.

There were two hulking wolves standing against the far wall. Durian, Avery, and some huge wolf almost as large as Durian were talking to Lara and Vivian. Jared was not in sight. Eric was standing quietly against one wall. Elisabeth announced me before joining Eric.