Animal Heart(37)

All six foot four of him.

He had been so caring, controlled, and thoughtful since her accident, and she couldn't stop herself from loving him to pieces as a result. And she got the feeling he was more than a little stuck on her too. She was waiting for him to make a move. It was his choice when and if he made it. She'd made her point last night. Said what she needed to say and showed him she cared. More than cared.

“You don't mind being left here do you? Please tell me if you do,” he asked, crouching down and stroking her head. She so enjoyed his touch. She hadn't realised how sensitive her head would be in wolf form. Reluctantly she put her paw on his arm and growled out, 'no, I'm okay'.

He began pulling her ears, over and over, his face nuzzling hers.

Oh my God, that is so arousing and erotic... don't stop...

She nuzzled into him in return, licking his ear, growling 'do that again', and he continued caressing her head and ears as she dissolved in wolf-like ecstasy inside.

“Are you sure?” he whispered. “I'll stay if you want me to, it's not a problem.”

She took a deep breath and shook herself, growling 'it's fine'. She didn't want to spoil his afternoon out with the pack, or deprive him of his much anticipated Mega Mountain burger. She wasn't hungry at all herself, and was quite content to lie down and sleep in here. Changing had worn her out. He hugged her around the neck tightly and touched the tip of his nose to hers before rising and leaving.

“Just a few hours, that's all. I'll be back before you know it.”

She flopped down happily on the floor, her head resting comfortably on her clothes, swishing her tail to and fro and yawning so widely that her jaw creaked. She ran her tongue over her long sharp canines in amazement. They were huge compared with her human teeth. Huge and lethal. He locked the door, called out goodbye once more, and a moment later she heard him drive off, leaving her in silence.



He drove back full of wild excitement. He couldn't wait to chase that cute little tail through the woods. In fact he planned to do it as soon as he could. He hoped she liked his wolf form as much as he loved hers. He wasn't beautiful like her, but he was well built, fast, and extremely powerful. He hoped those characteristics compensated for his lack of beauty.

In a couple of minutes he arrived back at the diner as the first round of burgers appeared. Betty nodded at him and called out, “Jimbo, get that other Mega done PDQ.”

He sat down with the others once more.

Despite her assurances that she didn't mind, he still felt guilty about leaving Maddy where she was, but he really didn't have much choice. Either they all went home, or she stayed safely locked up. He put those thoughts aside, determined to enjoy himself for a few short hours.

“How did it go? You both left in a real rush...” Shane turned and jokingly asked him. Everyone suddenly looked at him with a lot of smiling interest.

“Fine, just fine. No problems at all. She's locked up, sleeping it off, you know?” he said in an understated way as he sat and drank his coke, secretly smiling to himself.

“What's she look like then?” Jack leant across the table and whispered in his ear privately.

“Absolutely fucking gorgeous...” he whispered back.

“You lucky bastard!”

“I know!”

They all gazed out the windows in unison as they spotted Sergeant Filomountie, in her patrol car, driving down the street towards the diner. She turned and pulled up next to their truck and picked up her radio, having a long conversation with someone.

Why the Mayor and his wife were set on persecuting them, was beyond Aden. Surely they had a town to run, with nigh on a thousand population to watch over? The ranch wasn't even part of it technically, so why that little part of the world grated on them so, he couldn't fathom. The pair of them could ignore the dozen people miles away in Heart Mountain Ranch and get on with their lives as if they didn't even exist. He tried to ignore the growing unease he felt. It had been growing rapidly lately after their increasingly unpleasant run-ins. Bill Stevens was certainly a man with a grudge. A man determined to take him down. He needed to be careful and on high alert for anything unusual. Because he was quite sure something was brewing in the Steven's household. Something dreadful.

As if his worst fears were starting to come to life, Sergeant Stevens looked in their direction with an evil smile on her puffed out, pastry fattened face. She reversed out of the bay and drove off, her gaze riveted on his.

“Jeez, someone needs to check their attitude!” Verity announced, picking up her Big Betty and taking a bite.

Mmmm,” Aden murmured. “Their attitude isn't what's bothering me. But anyways, forget about her... Come on guys, we've a bar to visit and some pool to shoot.” At that moment Betty brought his Mega Mountain to the table with a big smile, and his appetite perked up rapidly with the beefy smell drifting up from under his nose. “Last one to finish gets to drive the lot of us home...” he chuckled.