Pendant of Fortune (15 page)

Would he ever taste anyone else again? Did he ever want to? The questions fled from his mind as the hot shaft thrust harder into his muzzle, back and forth. He held the wolf’s tight rump in his other paw, feeling the movement of the tail as the hips pushed through his lips, the long maleness rubbing against his tongue and palate, moans and scent and the fingers on his shoulder all becoming sharper. The musky scent of sex filled his nostrils and muzzle, and moments later he heard a raspy howl and tasted the salty sweetness on his tongue as Streak shuddered and came.

Warm liquid on his tongue, warm hardness between his lips, warm body beneath his paws. The cold outside battered at him but could not get in. He swallowed, with difficulty, around the hard shaft, not wanting to let it go, and coaxed the last drops out of it with his tongue, while over his head ragged pants mixed with the wind’s gusts.

His black fingers drifted over the now-wet fur on the wolf’s sheath and sac, tracing furrows with his claws that the water held apart. Letting the spent member slide out from between his lips, over his tongue, he nuzzled the wet fur and licked it, tasting Streak, tasting the rain, and tasting the slowly fading arousal. The musk was still strong on his tongue as he sat back and then stood, smiling up at the wolf. Streak’s tongue still hung from his muzzle, but he drew it back in and gave Volle a warm kiss, pulling him tightly against him.

The embrace lasted for the space of several heartbeats. Finally, Volle drew his muzzle back and licked the water from Streak’s whiskers. “We should get back in,” he said. “We’re going to have to clean up for dinner.”

“
Or we could stay out here,” Streak said. “Just leave our clothes behind, live naked like animals in the mountains.”

Volle tilted his muzzle, flicking his ears to rid them of water. “But animals don’t get to eat roasted fowl and little cakes. And they don’t get to screw on perfumed sheets.”

“
Mmm. I guess we should go back, then.”

“
You should pull your pants up first. Otherwise the ladies will be all over you.”

Streak grinned at him, pulling his pants up over Volle’s paw and threatening to lace them up before the fox could get his paw off of the wolf’s sheath. Volle managed to extricate his paw, and crawled back through the hole, Streak batting at his tail as he did.

They found Tika still in the game room, reading over poetry with several other ladies. She gasped at their wet and scuffed clothes and fur. “You’re soaked!”

“
We went for a walk, and sort of lost track of time.” Volle lowered his ears and grinned sheepishly.

“
I’ll bet.” She eyed them. “You’ll have to use our bathroom to clean up. Tell Alcis to find you some new clothes somewhere, too.”

“
We can send down to Helfer’s place for them,” Volle said. “If someone goes on horseback, they can get there and back in time. I’ll do that on the way up. Thanks, Tika. We were hoping you’d offer.”

“
All right, all right, but hurry. Dinner’s in an hour.”

They stopped at the front gate to leave their request with Renaldo, telling him that they would be in Lord Tistunish’s chambers. Then they ran upstairs, ignoring the looks they got from the noble lords and ladies they passed.

Alcis’s frown was harder to ignore, but Volle tried anyway, winded and half-giggling. “Tika said we could use the bath. And we’ve sent for replacement clothes.”

“
Yes, sir.” The raccoon’s ears were half-lowered in frosty disapproval, but he led them to the bathroom anyway. “Please leave your clothes here, near the door. I will have them attended to.”

“
Thank you, Alcis.” Volle closed the door and grinned at Streak, who was already starting to strip. The bathroom was small and was powder-only, but that was okay; they had enough water in their fur. Beside the main basin of soft talcum was a shelf of three small bottles, fragrances to be added to the powder. The shelf above that one held two brushes, both wood, one with a mother-of-pearl inlay. They had been carefully cleaned of all residual fur, but Volle guessed the fancier one was Tika’s.

While he looked around, Streak had shed all his clothes. He grinned at Volle and wagged his tail, getting his hips into the motion. The black streak gleamed darkly against his wet white fur. “I guess I get to go first.”

“
Go ahead,” Volle laughed, struggling with the soaked laces of his pants. Streak climbed into the basin and lay on his stomach, rolling back and forth and watching Volle undress. Volle made a show of sliding out of his pants once he finally got them undone, turning and letting his shirt dangle over his sheath. Slowly, he unfastened his shirt, pulled it over his head, then dropped it by the door and clambered into the small basin on top of the wolf.

Streak giggled and struggled, easily overturning the lighter fox and rolling him in the powder. “Look at how dirty your fur is,” he said, rubbing powder all over Volle’s stomach while the fox squirmed and giggled. “Especially here.” His paw lingered around Volle’s groin, rubbing more gently there.

“
You’re filthy there,” Volle countered, bringing his own paw up into the wolf’s crotch and rubbing up and under his tail. “Got to get you all clean for dinner.”

“
Mmm,” Streak grinned, and leaned in close for a kiss, and they held that position for a nice long moment. Volle pressed his hips up against the wolf’s, feeling the stirrings of arousal again, though he knew they didn’t have enough time to do anything here. He wasn’t sure he had the energy anyway.

Afterwards, they took turns brushing each other off on the cloth in the corner, getting all the powder out of their now-dry fur. Streak was just working on Volle’s bushy tail when Alcis opened the door.

“
Your clothes have arrived,” he announced, setting them on the small stand next to the door and picking up the wet clothes from the floor.

“
Thank you.” Volle covered himself, but Alcis wasn’t looking.

“
Lord Tistunish requests a word with you before dinner, Lord Vinton.”

“
All right. I’ll be out in ten minutes.”

They dressed quickly and hugged before leaving the bathroom. Tika slipped in to freshen up before dinner, and Streak waited out in the parlor.

“
What did you want to talk about?” Volle eyed Tish warily. The wolf’s ears were down and his scent carried overtones of concern.

“
Did anyone see you?” He shot the question at Volle quietly.

At first, Volle thought he meant that afternoon with Streak. Before he could even wonder how Tish would know, he realized the wolf meant during his theft of the documents. “I’m pretty sure they didn’t. Why?”

Tish paced the room. “Dereath has a witness.”

“
What?”

“
A witness. He submitted a brief for the hearing today and it includes a witness. We asked around and he did bring a guest up from the castle. Another rat or something. We thought it was just his prostitute. Could it have been one of the servants from the palace? We tend not to notice them.”

“
Tish, I notice everyone. You know that.”

The wolf sighed. “I know.” His ears flicked back. “What could this person have seen?”

Volle shook his head. “I’ve no idea. I could swear there was nobody in the office. I mean, I would have smelled him. Or her.”

“
All right. Well, let’s not worry about it.” He rested a paw on Volle’s shoulder. “Just enjoy your dinner. I hate not knowing, though. Ah, ready to go down, dear?”

Tika had emerged from the bathroom and was gathering a few things from the bedroom. She had tied a pink silk ribbon over one ear to match the pink gown she wore. “You men are done talking?”

“
Yes, we’re ready.” Tish smiled and extended a paw through the doorway.

Tika took it. “Then I’m ready too. Let’s go down.”

They collected Streak in the parlor and proceeded down to the banquet hall, where nobles were already gathered. The two servants standing in front of the doors scanned the crowd, and a few minutes later, one raised his horn and blew a short call to attention. The other spoke loudly once the crowd had quieted down.

“
Lords and Ladies! His Majesty King Barris and her Majesty Queen Murinne welcome you officially to the King’s Annual Retreat. Their Royal Majesties hope that everyone will enjoy this time away from the palace, and return refreshed and relaxed.”

“
I’ll certainly be glad to get back,” a bear with her back to Volle muttered.

“
Lord Vinton and…guest.” The badger announcing the names paused before the last word as if unsure what it meant.

“
Just me?” Volle hissed to Tish as he started to walk forward. Usually the younger nobles were announced in groups.

“
Smaller crowd.” Tish grinned at him and shoved him forward.

“
I thought I got to be Lady Vinton,” Streak said as they walked toward the doors. His ears were partway down, and Volle thought,
he can’t be that upset about it
.

“
That’s if we’re officially mated.”

“
Oh.”

They passed through the doors as the servants bowed to them, and entered the small dining hall. The table had been cleared and re-set, and at the head of it sat the King and Queen.

Streak fell a step behind Volle as they walked up the table. Volle was afraid the wolf was going to hang back, but he kept pace. The royal couple looked up as they approached, and their expressions betrayed no emotion when they glimpsed the fox and wolf. Volle looked behind them, where the King’s personal servant and the head dining steward, a hare and badger respectively, stood, but their expressions were carefully neutral as well. There was no indication of the prevailing attitudes toward him.

“
Lord Vinton.” The King was wearing casual robes, still fancier than most things Volle owned. They were dark blue with white trim, velvet and lace, hanging elegantly off his frame. He also wore a simple silver coronet that offset the graying fur on his muzzle. His eyes were sharp and clear, betraying no emotion as they searched Volle’s.

Volle bowed deeply. “Your Majesty.” Behind him, Streak also bowed; he could feel the wolf’s muzzle brush his tail.

“
We are pleased that you chose to attend, Lord Vinton. We hope the outcome of your hearing will prove your loyalty.” If he believed the words he spoke, Volle couldn’t tell. The inflections were carefully neutral.

“
I have every hope that any doubts his Majesty has about my loyalty will be dispelled soon,” Volle said. “I have never wished any harm to his Majesty.”

Barris smiled then. “Enjoy the dinner, Lord Vinton.”

“
Thank you, your Majesty.” Alioran, the badger, stepped in front of him and guided him and Streak to a place on the table while the servant outside announced, “Lord Ikling and guest.”

Volle and Streak took their seats as Helfer and Laya were shown into the hall. The weasel gave Volle a harried-looking smile as he walked up to greet the King and Queen. Volle caught only a few words: “grateful for your hospitality” and Helfer’s reponse, “my pleasure to serve.” When they were done, Alioran led them to the seats on Volle’s right. Laya was about to sit next to him, but Helfer waved her to the other seat and slipped into the one next to Volle.

“
I hope I never see that Canis-cursed coyote again,” he grumbled. “Nine hours.
Nine
hours!”

Volle had been about to ask where Lyfar was, but it was obvious Helfer didn’t want to talk about it. “You spent the whole day with him?”

“
Not just with him: with him
and
his assistant going over every detail of the next eleven days.” He growled. “As if I’m supposed to know where to get a hundred fresh green plums this time of year. And when I tell them that, they act like I’m holding out or hoarding them for myself or something. You should have heard Jerish trying to catch me out.”

“
Catch you out?”

“
He’d wait until we were talking about something else and then casually say ‘So what about those plums, Lord Ikling?’ Like I’d suddenly forget and say ‘Oh, the ones in my bedroom?’ Gah!” He suddenly looked up and gave a friendly wave, and Volle saw Lord Alister and his assistant walking down the other side of the table. The coyote raised a paw in acknowledgement, but the mouse ignored him, more intent on the royal figures.

“
I don’t like that Jerish,” Helfer said. “Far too intent on meeting the King and proving himself. Alister’s good enough, if always overwhelmed. But that mouse…” He glared at the mouse’s back and then sighed. “I’m glad you’re here, Volle. If something like this happened and I didn’t have anyone to talk to, I’d have to go run around the palace five or six times to get it out of my system. Speaking of which, feel like going for a run tomorrow morning?”