Jumped Up and Bit You

Dedicated to my friend Hellion, who likes Dani as much as I do.

“Oof!”

Sam flinched and groaned at the ruckus someone was making in the hall, disturbing him from the first decent sleep he’d had in weeks.

“Shhh. Shhhhh. Shoosssshhhhhhh…” More stumbling. A rattling of keys, either someone trying to find the right one or cramming them back into their pocket.

“Cripes,” he muttered, sitting up and grinding the heel of his hand into his eyes. He stretched until his joints popped and retrieved a white cotton tank. The hardwood floorboards felt cool against his bare soles as he ventured out from his room.

He saw someone three doors down swaying on their feet, which were unfortunately clad in high-heeled boots that thumped loudly with every step. He heard a half-smothered giggle escape their lips. Tall, he noticed from his vantage point in the shadows. Female.

She was trying to key her way into one of the remaining single rooms in the wing reserved for teachers and senior team members. Shan and Kitty were both out of town, and Rahne was noncommittal about when she’d be back in the house when he’d casually asked.

Dani.

Her silhouette was distinctive, willowy and slender with lush black hair hanging past her waist. Faded, broken-in jeans lovingly hugged her ass and long, tapered legs. Sam sighed.

He didn’t want to turn on the light and risk annoying anyone else from the glare. He heard her giggle again; she seemed to be talking to herself. And shushing her invisible companion, even though she was the one making all the noise?

“Shit,” he hissed under his breath. “Dani? Chief? That you trippin’ in here so late, gal?” She spun on him, looking startled and guilty at first, but her faced settled into a bleary smile.

“Spirits! SAM! Sam, Sam, Sam…Guthrie,” she hiccupped, waving at him, keys still in hand. He winced at their loud jangling as he hurried forward to help her with the door.

“Girl, ya sound torn up. Look at ya. Whatcha been drinkin’, young lady?” he demanded sternly, but laughter danced in his blue eyes. She didn’t protest his firm grasp of her arm as he prized the keys from her grip and inserted the correct one into the knob.

“Mmmmmmm…lemme think a sec. Hoooooooooo!” she tittered, bumping into Sam and every piece of furniture in the room as she stumbled toward the bed. “Damn, I’m fucked up!” she crowed. “Shitfaced!” she announced gleefully. “Don’ look so down in the mouth…Sun…shine,” she chided him. “An’ don’ look at me like that. Like…I’m drunk.”

“But ya are. Yer sauced, Chief. Pe-yew!” He fanned the air with his palm. She smelled like a distillery.

“What’d I drink…y’asked what I drink-ed,” she slurred, holding up her fingers and ticking off phantom shots. “Lemon drop. Lemon drop. Purple hooter. Lemon drop. Buttery nipple…”

“Damn,” Sam muttered. She was gonna be hurting in the morning, and he didn’t envy her. But there was something girlish and vulnerable in her demeanor.

Dani wasn’t “girlish.” Ever.

“…purple hooter…” she continued.

“Ya already said purple hooter.”

“Yer…makin’ me…lose count, Sammy. Eeerrrgh…nipple…navel, fuzzy navel.” She burped, a long, low, guttural sound that would have made any truck driver proud. “’Nother nipple,” she added, “I think.” To Sam’s horror, she didn’t look like she’d finished counting.

“How did ya get home, Chief?”

“Rachel. Threw me in a cab. Threw some money at the driver. He smelled funny.”

“Pot callin’ the kettle, gal.” He moved to her desk and rummaged through her drawer. She scowled at him.

“What’re ya doin’ – HIC! – Guthrie? Quit goin’ through…oof…my shit.”

“Ya got any aspirin? Ibuprofen?”

“Why, Sammy? Did ya hurt y’self?” she crooned, and her face became the picture of contrition. “Oh, Sammy, m’so sorry, baby! Poor Sammy! How’d y’hurt y’seffff…” She bowed her head into her hands. “Room won’ quit movin’,” she complained. “Errrrgghhh…”

“Ya gonna make moose noises like that all night, Dani?”

“S’not the sound mooses make. S’more like thisssss….” She sat up, tipped her head back, and - well, he could only describe it as bugling. Loudly. Sam’s eyes went round with a mix of shock and chagrin, hastily hurrying over to hush her.

“DANI! SHHHHHHHH! Shush! Ya wanna wake everybody? What if the kids hear ya?”

“Pfffft. ‘Kay,” she conceded, clearly bored with trying to explain animal habits with him when he wasn’t a willing audience. Then she offered, just for good measure, “Wanna hear an elk?” Sam sighed.

“Maybe tomorrow, gal. Man. What a mess.”

“No shit,” she agreed, echoing his sigh and looking him over. “Where’s yer clothes, Sammy?”

“This is it. I was asleep,” he accused, relieved to finally find the bottle of ibuprofen gel caps in her second drawer. He pried open the cap and shook out two before returning the bottle to its hiding place. He nodded to her mini-fridge beside her bedroom window. “Got anything ta drink in there, gal?”

“Knock yerself…out, hayseed,” she giggled, waving at him to look inside. “Have some…if yer…thirsty.”

“Ain’t fer me, Chief.” He obediently jerked open the door and found what looked like a half-finished bottle of spring water. “Bottoms up,” he ordered, approaching her and holding out the pills.

“Like this?” she teased. Her smile was lazy and wicked as she hopped off the bed, nearly knocking him back, and bent over, waggling her fanny in his face. “Bottoms up!” she crowed again, heedless of any attempts to keep her silent.

And, in the meantime, treating him to a closer look at her bottom, shrink-wrapped in snug denim. Her curves were generous, toned and sleek; Dani’s body was willowy and slender, once a study in angles and gangly limbs. Dani the woman was a far cry from Dani the girl. She had a perfect ass. Sam’s mouth went dry for a moment, then began to water.

“Cut it out, gal. Straighten up an’ take these,” he nagged impatiently. She rolled onto her back again and stared up into his face.

“Why ya gotta be so zeereeus, Sssss-am,” she slurred. “Never jus’ kick back, an’ take a load off.” Her sloe eyes were drowsy but surprisingly clear, and they seemed to roam over him, eating him up. He felt a strange pang of embarrassment, subjected to such scrutiny. “Need t’get that stick out from yer butt,” she insisted. Her lips twisted back into that smile. She had an addictive smile. Perfect small, white teeth shone out from a generous mouth, wide and well-shaped, and she had a dimple in her right cheek. His mama would have called that a “lopsided smile.”

“Yer fallin’ down on yers tonight, Dani. Man, oh day, yer downright fragrant!” He shook his hand, rattling the pills in his palm. “C’mon, gal, don’t make me force-feed ya these!”

“Hmmph,” she pouted, blowing a tendril of black hair out of her eyes, where it promptly drifted back down again. “Yer a poop,” she complained. “Party pooper.”

“Yer pickled,” he retorted. “Be good an’ take these, Dani.” He set down the bottle of water on the floor and knelt beside her on the floor. His hand ringed her upper arm and tugged until she was upright but listing.

“Oooooo…” she winced, closing her eyes at the shift in her equilibrium. She gently shook her head and moaned, closing her eyes. Her breathing became shallow. Sam’s brow crumpled with concern.

“Dani…”

“Mmmph. Nnngh…” Sam recognized the sound of someone about to hurl chunks and didn’t need any further provocation. He kept her upright with one arm, stretched and reached for the too-small waist bin beside her desk. Her pallor was absolutely gray. “Oh, God…HUURRGGGKKKKLLLLL!” She bucked forward and emptied the contents of her stomach, reaching forward to cup the brim of the can. Her skin grew clammy with the effort, losing some of its hot flush. Sam kept a tight grip on his own stomach, wrinkling his nose at the sound, sight and smell. Alcohol fumes rose up and gagged him, but he mastered it, wanting to comfort her.

“Shit, kiddo…”

“BLUUURRRG!”

“Ouch. Gonna feel that one tomorrow…” He set the can down on the floor, loosening her tight grip on it as he gently scraped her hair back from her face. She spat into the can and panted, shoulders shaking with the effort. “Any better, Chief…oooooh. Never mind,” he insisted as she bowed her head forward and let loose with another round.

Her hair felt slick and soft coiled around his hand. “S’alright, gal. Yer okay. I know ya feel like heck, now. We’ll get ya straightened out.”

“Ooooooo,” she moaned as she rocked back and forth, then seemed to turn even greener at the sight of the bucket. “All right. All right, enough. Jus’ lemme lay back…” Sam shoved the stinking trash aside and leaned forward to catch her before she doubled over and fell off the bed. Her body was limp and still trembling.

“Shhhhhhh,” he murmured. “Yer in bad shape, huh?”

“Not as much fun…coming back up as it was goin’ down,” she declared. “M’sick.”

“Yer drunk,” he corrected.

“M’sick an’ drunk.”

“Yep.”

“Smell funny, don’ I?” she inquired, letting her head loll over his shoulder, resting her forehead against his pulse. Her hair tickled his nose and lips. Its light scent wasn’t unpleasant at all, even if she still sweated liquor through her pores.

“Smelled worse.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time, Chief. Worse than Lila after a bender,” he tsked in disgust. “Never understood why she got all tore up like this, either. Thought ya at least knew better than that, Dani.”

“Pfftt,” she hissed. “Do, too.”

“Not right now,” he scolded. But he absently rubbed her back in gentle circles, evoking a low, dreamy sigh. “This ain’t like you, Dani.”

“Ya dunno what’s ‘like me,’ buddy,” she groaned. “No…one…does. Ow,” she complained. Her temples throbbed, already making her feel the pending hangover before she’d even lost her buzz. Sam stopped mid-rub and carefully pulled himself back, peering into her face.

“Whaddya mean, gal? Ah’ve known ya fer so long, think Ah have a good idea what makes ya tick by now.”

“Bullshit,” she snapped, wiping his hands from her dismissively and edging back on the bed, back pressed against the wall. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes, and Sam thought she looked defeated and sad. She pulled her leg up to lean her arm over it and let it dangle. He feared for her sheets, not wanting her boots to get them dirty. She looked wiped out. “Don’ know me like y’think, pal.”

“Then tell me what Ah don’t know,” he suggested as he moved about the room to get her settled. First things first, he decided, was to chuck the noisome can.

“Don’ even know what m’favorite color is. Or that I hav’ ni’mares. Bad ones. What m’middle name is or my birthday. Or how I ssss-sprained m’ankle fallin’ off a horse when I wuz twelve.” She gave a long-suffering sigh. “Don’ know me. Don’ care. No one carezzzzz…” He paused in his chore to look at her. She was vulnerable. She sounded so defeated.

“That ain’t true, Dani,” he said softly. “Ain’t true at all. What makes ya think Ah don’t care?”

“Ne’er mind,” she grumbled, lolling her head back and opening her eyes, only to narrow them. “Go t’bed, Sam.”

“Ya woke me up. Ah’m up now,” he argued. “An’ Ah ain’t leavin’ ya like this, either. Get that thought outta yer pretty head.” He knotted the trash can liner shut and took the whole can with him to empty it. He exited the room, but not before she called after him.

“Sam…did you just call me pretty?” He paused at the door, turning back to study her.

“Ya heard me just fine, Chief. Sit tight.” He closed the door with a low click. She attempted to do as he asked.

Sitting tight was futile when her body had other ideas and suffered from the effects of lemon drops and gravity. She was passed out and slumped over the bed when he returned, her hair dangling over the side. He dropped the can and let the door swing shut, heedless of the noise.

“Oh, no ya don’t,” he insisted, rolling her over patting her hand. “Dani…wake up, gal. Yer in no shape ta sleep like this. C’mon, Dani! Up an’ at ‘em!”

“Piss off,” she muttered, cracking her eyes open into little slits.

“Gonna sleep with yer boots on?”

“Gonna die with m’boots on,” she boasted. “Jus’ like a good l’il…mutant.” He chuckled despite himself. She felt tugging at her legs and tried to fight him as he began to pry off one stiff leather boot. “Quit it,” she whined, but the cool air against her sweaty sole felt good, restoring circulation to her cramped toes. “MMmmmmmmmm,” she approved.

“Told ya.” She rolled and offered him the other foot. He cupped her leg under her knee and tugged the other one.

“Didja mean it?”

“What, gal?”

“When y’called me pretty?”

“Don’t usually say stuff Ah don’t mean, Danielle.” Her brow arched in surprise.

“Y’never call me that.”

“It’s yer name. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with it, either.” Strong, dexterous fingers kneaded her toes and the ball of her foot, and she gasped in pleasure at his grip. “Ah kinda like it.”

“Oooh!” Her body relaxed and she drifted on a euphoric cloud as he caressed and massaged her feet, pressing his thumbs into her ankles to loosen them up. Delicious sensations coiled in her stomach. “Sam?”

“Yeah?” There was something heady about watching her writhe like that, hearing her make those sounds in her throat.

“What’s up with you an’ Lila? An’ Tab?” He stopped rubbing. She wanted to protest, but his eyes pinned her, tension tightening his lips and creating a tic in his jaw.

“Nothin’.”

“Okay.”

“Whaddya mean, ‘okay?’ Why do ya wanna know, Dani?” He toyed with her foot, giving her big toe a tweak.

“Why you just let them leave.”

“Because they wanted ta leave.”

“You loved Lila.”

“She wanted ta go her own way.”

“Tabitha loved you.”

“She slept with mah best friend. Ain’t that difficult ta tell why that didn’t work.”

“So that’s that. You’re alone.”

“Ah’m single. Ain’t the same as bein’ ‘alone.’ Why ya bein’ so nosy yerself, Chief?”

“Cuz you’re nice. Too nice. F’r them.” This time his scowl was dark, and he let her foot drop, jolting her from her reverie.

“Think it’s time ta call it a night, Dani.”

“You know I’m right.” She rolled to support herself on her elbow. She looked tousled; her voice was plaintive. “You’ve always been the good guy, Guthrie.”

“Ya act like that’s a bad thing, gal.”

“It’s not. But Lila, and Tabby…uh-uh. Not for you.”

“Yer such an expert, huh?”

“I know you pretty well, Sam.”

“Do ya, now?”

“Lila and Tabitha both wanted you to rescue them. And both of them kicked you to the curb every time you tried.” He reeled back as if she had kicked him. His jaw worked while he digested what she said, and confusion turned quickly to anger.

“Ya don’t know what yer talkin’ about, Dani!”

“Think I do,” she hiccupped. “Wouldn’ know when a ‘good girl’ liked you even if one jumped up and bit you in the butt,” she accused. “You an’ Bobby. Always gotta go for the troublemakers. Rahney worshipped the ground you walked on, but did y’notice her? I think not,” she concluded.

“She just had a crush.”

“You just had a crush on Lila. Boomer had a crush on you. A crush can turn into…whatever,” she gestured impatiently, “if you just act like you know it’s there. An’ that it’s…real.” Her voice took on a stubborn edge, something he’d grown accustomed to during their friendship. She wore her game face, despite being intoxicated.

“What about you, then, Chief?”

“What ‘bout me?” she shot back, challenge written in her eyes.

“Ya don’t seem like a poster child fer findin’ Mr. Wonderful, gal. Well ran dry of good guys?”

“Please,” she snorted. “Spent most of m’time here with you guys blendin’ into the wallpaper.”

“Shit…” he muttered. “Don’t think like that.”

“Maybe if I were more like Lila and Boomer, and had more flash and shook my tail under everyone’s nose, and acted helpless, I’d have a good guy falling at my feet, too.” The weight of her words seemed to choke her once it sank in what she’d said out loud.

“Fine. That’s fine. Enough, already, Dani, Ah get it. Here.” He ruthlessly shoved the pills at her again. “Take ‘em and go ta bed.” She opened her mouth to say more but was halted by his grim, hurt expression. His hand was close to her face, nearly touching her mouth. Her breath tickled his skin before she nodded. Her fingertips scraped his palm as she took the pills and pressed them into her mouth. He handed her the bottle and let her take a few pulls to wash them down, taking it from her when she was finished. “G’night.”

“M’sorry,” she murmured. “Sam…m’sorry. Shouldn’t have said that ‘bout you an’ Lila, or Tabby.”

“Nope. Sure shouldn’t have. Because ya don’t know me like that, gal. G’wan, go t’sleep, Dani.” She watched his retreating back. His posture was stiff, but his body was still familiar, lean and well-muscled, like someone accustomed to hard work and discipline.

“Sam?”

“Yeah, Dani?”

“Thank you. For taking care of me.” He sighed and turned back when reached the doorway. Somewhere down the hall, someone had turned on a light to make their way to the bathroom. The light shone upon his short blond waves and illuminated his features, softening them. He looked like a wounded angel. Silence yawned between them for several seconds before he turned to make his way out.


~0~

Her sleep was heavy but troubled. True to her words, she had nightmares. Detailed, exhaustive and relentless. Months of adjusting to being back in the Institute, this time assuming responsibility for several dozen students instead of leadership of a small team made her question herself and her abilities.

She dreamed of Black Eagle and of losing her parents, when they left on their hunting trip and never came back.

She dreamt of clashing teeth and the bear that whispered to her of her doom since she was a little girl.

She crept back through the landscape of nightmares that weren’t even hers, pulled from the other peoples’ subconscious and thrown out into the open. All of them bit at her. She rode their terror with them every time, fighting not to let it consume her.

She walked back in time to the first moment she’d met Rahne, and then to her first taste of their psychic and emotional link when she shifted into a wolf. She’d never experienced trust and love that deeply before or ever since. Her subsequent betrayal when she seduced Josh, knowing Dani was his guardian, burned her to the core. All she remembered was Rahne’s back riding away from her, long red hair whipping in the breeze. They were both too stubborn to back down.

And then she’d hurt Sam.

~0~

Sam didn’t fall back to sleep. He lay awake journaling and re-reading an old Ray Bradbury anthology until his eyes grew heavy, but his thoughts never slowed down.

He didn’t want to admit that she was right. Lila and Boomer had pushed him away every time he tried to save either of them from themselves.

Lila’s brash sass and confidence drew him like a moth to a flame. She was exciting. She was forbidden, older and more experienced. He felt like a kid with a shiny new toy, finally being able to play with it after admiring it for weeks in the shop window. Beneath the gloss, she was still a girl at heart, loving and full of need. But it was never enough for her to stay in one place, or even one planet, for that long before she grew restless.

Tabitha had “Save me” practically tattooed on her forehead. She challenged him from the moment they met, the push-pull give and take, bantering, shouting matches of two kids that tease each other on the playground to cover up the real deal. She talked a big game, but Sam loved her softer side once her walls fell down. He refused to accept that he was just a father figure. Her passion for him was real, but it became tainted once shared. He didn’t’ even hate Bobby. Not much. He just hadn’t been there.

Dani read him like an open book, and it scared him.


~0~


Dawn:

Nature’s call woke her and made her taste metal and cotton. Her head felt like she was smuggling logs in it as she rose groggily from the covers.

“Owwwww,” she moaned pitifully. Served her right. And then everything came rushing back.

Sam. Shit.

She rubbed her eyes and felt pillow creases in her cheek. She finally peered down at her sleepwear, realizing she’d fallen asleep in her clothes from the night before. She felt stiff and uncomfortable, covered in an invisible layer of grunge. She stank.

Time to face the music, and the cruel daylight.

Every bone in her body protested as she stood, weaving to keep her balance as she left her room, bath towel slung over her arm. No one else stirred in the hall as she made her way toward the wing’s bathroom.

The suite was large and spacious, containing four dormitory-style shower stalls and a row of sinks. The overwhelming scent of shower gel nearly gagged her, but she managed to sit down on the shower bench in the biggest stall so she could shuck her top. She scratched her scalp, moaning at how good it felt, and she hung her towel on the small hook, making short work of the rest of her clothes.

Dani yelped as she stepped into the spray, initially too cold and jarring her, intensifying the headache blooming to full intensity. She hadn’t turned on all the lights, hating the glare. The suite was only dimly lit, throwing a strange cast over the porcelain and tile.

Her muscles sagged beneath the hot water pounding her back, and then her front as she turned and leaned her forehead against the cool wall. It ran in runnels through her hair as she pondered her talk with Sam. When she essentially raked him over the coals…

“Shit,” she hissed again. “Shit, shit, shit.” She reached for the pump of the shampoo dispenser and discharged a large gob into her palm, lathering her masses of slick black waves. Her and her big, fat mouth.

She took her time, contemplating and washing herself clean, swishing her mouth out with the spray to rid herself of the cotton mouth. The sticky, grungy feeling washed its way down the drain, but her guilt remained. Sam was one of her oldest friends and was always in her corner. He didn’t deserve what she’d said.

But she wouldn’t have said it, if she didn’t somehow mean it. Or if it hadn’t been building for a long, long time.

It hurt, to see him hurt.

Sam heard the low spray of the shower and the patter of water hitting the floor tile, underscored by someone’s moans of…pain? Relief? The voice was familiar.

Dani. Shit…

He trekked into the adjacent room and availed himself of the toilet stall, hoping she wouldn’t hear his flush. The room filled with steam and the scent of shampoo. He knew she was paying for her binge big time.

He just hoped she was okay.

He coached himself. Just walk out that door. Be polite at breakfast. Last night never happened… He was already heading for the door…

“Shit,” she muttered into the spray. “Shouldn’t have told him that. Stupid, stupid Dani!”

Okay. He hadn’t been expecting that…

She sank to the shower floor, leaning back against the wall and hugging her knees. She just let the spray hit her like that, accepting it like a benediction.

“I wish I hadn’t said it,” she moaned miserably. Her voice seemed to bounce back off the walls at her, accusingly. Scolding her.

That was how he found her. His silhouette loomed, casting a shadow through the shower curtain. “Ya okay, Dani?”

“Oh! Shit! Scared me, Guthrie!”

“Sorry,” he offered. “But are ya okay?”

“Yeah. Kinda. I think so…”

“Ya didn’t fall…”

“No.”

“Ya sound like yer on the floor, gal.”

“Yeah. Heh. Yeah, I am. Just resting.” Sure she was. Her heart, in the meantime, was drumming loud and hard in her chest, pulse racing at how close his voice was. Betraying her, her nipples pebbled against her thighs where she had them drawn up against her. Drat. Her skin tingled. She was naked. Naked, wet, and starting to flush. The heat rising under her skin was a sharp contrast to the cold tile at her back and beneath her.

“So ya don’t need any help?”

“You’ve helped me enough…shit. That sounded all wrong. You’ve done a lot for me already, Guthrie.” His shadow moved; he’d hunkered down next to her, the curtain the only thing separating them.

“Maybe I haven’t, yet, gal.” A wave of confusion pricked at her.

“What?”

“Ah think ya had a point when ya told me that Ah didn’t know ya as well as Ah thought. Ah might not’ve liked it much, but some of what ya said hit the nail on the head. ‘Bout some of the things Ah didn’t know about ya. ‘Bout us ignorin’ ya. Takin’ ya fer granted, gal. An’ maybe a little of what ya said about Lila and Tab.” She cringed and felt shame color her cheeks, knotting in the pit of her stomach.

“I’m so sorry.”

“So’m I.”

“I was drunk! But that doesn’t make it all right.”

“Why didn’t ya say any of this before? How long have ya felt this way, Dani?”

She sighed heavily before something inside her cracked. “Longer than I thought.” She felt a faint draft of air as the shower curtain drifted aside by about an inch. She met Sam’s robin’s egg blue eyes and soft look of apology, not worrying about her nudity in her current position. Her privates were easily shielded by her curve of her spine and her arms as she hugged herself. And in their line of work, they’d often seen more of each other than most people who went to the same school.

But her skin was rosy and glowing from the heat of the shower. Her hair was glossy and wet, plastered to her back, tendrils clinging to her cheek.

“I said something rotten last night, about how ya haven’t exactly –“

“You were right. I was mad. It was true.” His face was sober and probing as he sighed.

“Ah had no right ta say that. Ya’ve never laid yer personal life out in the open, and who ya spend it with ain’t anyone’s business or up fer comment. Ah’m sorry.”

“I don’t have much of a personal life to comment on.”

“Stop that.”

“S’true.”

“Don’t talk like that about yerself.”

“Just bein’ honest.”

“Naw. Yer just talkin’ bad ‘bout someone I care about.” Dani suddenly heard her heart pounding in her ears and she licked her lips, drinking a bead of water. Her eyes resembled onyx chips. Her lashes were damp and spiky as her gaze flitted over his features. Same old Guthrie. His boyish good looks matured into the face of someone you could rely on and trust with your secrets.

“You’re full of it,” she scolded.

“Learned from the master,” he teased. She noticed the spray was bouncing up from the tile, gathering in the fine golden hairs on his arm.

“Asshole,” she tsked, grinning. “You’re getting wet,” she observed.

“Water’s coolin’ off,” he countered. But something in his eyes burned. Electricity flared between them, raising the hairs on his nape and tightening his loins. Her skin was supple and irresistibly bare, bringing back the recent, tactile memory of her body pressed against him while she caught her balance and breath.

“I’ll warm it up.” She looked down at his boxers, revealing his tapered thighs dusted in a layer of dark blond hair, not missing the bulge stirring beneath the thin cotton.

“I’ll just git,” he answered hollowly, even though his dick pulsed and throbbed, making standing uncomfortable. More embarrassingly, creating a jutting knob he could use as a towel rack.

Her eyes swept over him then, perusing every inch and contour of his body before they landed on the evidence of his arousal. “No. Please.”

“Dani…” His lips froze as she stood and clutched the curtain. The rings slid across the pole in a clatter. “Aw, geez…” She was beautiful, raw and unmarred, naked as Eve. One slender hand reached for him, twining his fingers in hers.

“I need you to wash my back,” she pleaded. Her voice was husky and full of need.

“Not if ya were gonna get out soon, anyway,” he hedged feebly.

“You’re already wet,” she pointed out. It was true. His tank was spattered, darkening from the water as she gently guided him into the stall, stepping back to give him room. The cotton of his shorts grew transparent, molding against his swollen flesh. She looked like she wanted to eat him up as she backed into the spray and watched him. “And you’re already up.”

He squeezed her fingers and nodded, searching her face.

“Take those off, Sam.” She didn’t wait for permission before she closed in on him and clutched the hem of his shirt, peeling it from his fevered skin and flinging it out of the stall. She tugged the curtain shut, enveloping them both in steam. His boxers were a lost cause. He dropped them with a wet plop and stepped out of them nimbly.

Her first touch of his bare skin made him shiver, trailing her fingertips down along his throat, tracing his collarbones and the seam separating his pecs and ribs. When she teased his navel he gasped. Her body called to him, thrumming a low siren song within him.

There was scant difference in their heights. He only had to incline his head slightly to capture her lips, drinking hungrily from her. Oh, could he kiss. She didn’t question what appeal he held for the rock star or the petty thief. The kisses varied from hard to tender as he coaxed her to open more deeply for him. Sensation tingled in her nipples and pooled in her core. She burned for him.

His fingers tangled in her rich hair while his lips feathered over her jaw. They stood flush against each other, belliew brushing slightly as his dick assumed a life of its own, throbbing and twitching between them. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he ground against her, hands locked around her hips. They captured and built friction with the rasp of coarse curls rubbing him as she rose onto tiptoe to meet him. He began to thrust against her, seeking hot, slick refuge inside her, desperate to take her. He memorized her curves and the slope and dip of her spine, then her luscious ass with his hands, savoring it. She moaned her approval and suckled his lower lip. He took control of her instinctive hump against him, jerking her by the hips, up and down, harder against his stiff cock and abrading her clit. She bit his neck in the throes of desire.

Her cries gathered momentum and echoed off the tile. He reached back briefly to turn up the hot water dial and went back to the task of rubbing his plump head against the pearl in swirling strokes.

“Oh, yeah,” she whimpered. “Feels good! Don’tstopdon’tstopdon’tstop!” She bucked against him, adopting his rhythm, and she opened her eyes when his teeth gently closed over her earlobe, launching pleasure through every nerve ending. Arousal twisted his lips as he made her ride his cock, making her entrance slicker and more tender.

“Feel me. Tell me ya want me. C’mon, gal. Ah know it’s makin’ ya hot. Yer makin’ me crazy, Dani. So damned hot,” he rasped through his teeth. Her reply was to moan and thrash until his palm groped her breast, roughly kneading the modest, smooth handful. “Yer so damned fine, Dani.” He bent down to nuzzle her before tugging her coffee brown nipple into his mouth, latching onto it with his teeth and suckling her hard. Her back arched as she clung to him, combing her fingers through his hair before she leaned toward the shampoo dispenser. She pumped some into her hand and slicked it over him, lathering his crisp waves as he devoured her, swirling his tongue over her aching nub. Foam ran down his firmly sculpted body until he reached up and turned the shower head away from them, letting it hit the corner seam of the wall.

“Dani,” he grunted, grabbing her hands and pinning them back against the wall beside her ears, giving him unfettered access. He bathed each nipple in the heat of his mouth, each flick of his tongue stabbing through her pussy, tightening her walls.

“Gonna taste ya, baby doll,” he spoke into her neck, nibbling her throat. “Then Ah wanna ride ya, hard an’ deep.”

“Yes! Oh, Sam, please.” She protested the absence of his mouth at her breasts until he nipped and licked his way down her narrow ribs and flat, taut abdomen, swirling the tip in her navel. She bucked and shook, clutching his hair in response. Her body succumbed to rapture and gave up all its secrets to Sam; she nearly came out of her skin as his lips steamed the throbbing, tight little pearl nestled in her coarse black curls. Her eyes widened. His tongue chased her as she wriggled and moaned, darting and flicking over her swollen lips.

“Mmmmmmmnnnhhhh…” His voice thrummed against her flesh as he lapped up the musky, tangy dew. He steadied her, locking her knee over his shoulder and letting her feet dangled against his back. He spread her folds and nuzzled his way deeper, feeling her arch and stiffen above him. She gasped and mewed his name, mingled with curses and prayers. Two thick, long fingers snaked inside, probing her slick heat and testing how tight she was. He gave her clit one final, hungry taste before releasing her, rising to kiss her hard.

“Ride me, Dani,” he rumbled over her lips. “Climb on an’ ride me like ya mean it.” He grasped her knees and lifted her up against the wall, encouraging her to wrap her long legs around his waist. He thrust hard and true, sheathing himself inside. She clenched around the sudden, stiff thickness stretching her. His breath rushed out of his lungs. “Aw, Gawd, Dani! Aw, Gawd! So…tight…shit!” he hissed as he gave up control and pounded into her while she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She felt his heartbeat through his back. His muscles pistoned and rippled, his body moving fluidly against her as they gave and took. Her back muscles protested the impact of the cool tile, but exquisite pressure and heat rocked her womb with each slam of his cock. His shoulders burned, but he couldn’t get enough of her.

“Gawd, Dani! C’mon, turn over for me! I don’t wanna stop! Ah wanna try that sweet tail of yers!”

“Oh, God, Sam!” she cried, locking eyes with him and nodding. “Don’t hold back!” Her legs slipped from his waist as he flipped her so she faced away from him. His hand ran down the length of her smooth back, fingernails lightly scraping over the bumps of her spine. “Now, Sam, PLEASE!” He grasped her hips and jerked them back until she bent over and released a harsh cry as he shunted inside. She braced her hands against the wall as he began to move. The change in position allowed him to move faster, withdrawing himself for long, smooth strokes.

“Shit!” he grated out, feeling her squeeze and constrict around him, her muscles beginning to spasm along his length. His dick swelled and began to cramp. He felt his climax approaching, promising to drain him dry.

“Aaaaaaaannggh! SAM! OH, GOD, SAM!” He flicked his fingers over her clit and jerked her upright, sinking his teeth into the side of her neck. He filled her. He caressed her. And his hoarse words in her ear pushed her over the edge.

“Sweet…Jesus, Dani! So damned fine, baby! So fuckin’ sweet! Aw, Gawd! Dani! DANI!” Tingles swept over her flesh as she broke, clenching around his shaft. She bucked back against him, feeling his pelvis rock against her ass. She cushioned him as he came a mere minute later, embracing her so hard she winced.

The drumming of the tepid water eased them into a post-coital stupor. Sam turned them so his back leaned against the wall and wrapped her snugly in his arms. They panted and clung to each other; Sam felt the soft press of her lips beneath his chin.

“You need a towel. Only brought one,” she apologized. He smiled against the top of her head, giving her a languorous squeeze.

“S’early enough yet that no one’ll catch me lookin’ like someone threw me in the pool.” He released her and retrieved his damp shorts, wringing them out as Dani shut off the tap.

“What were you doing up, anyway?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Something on yer mind?” He took the towel from her and began to rub her hair with it. She hummed with pleasure, not unlike a purring cat.

“You, Chief.”

“Good. Me, too, about you.” He wrapped her in the towel and folded her into his embrace, nuzzling her and kissing the tip of her nose. “Still not ready to start the day yet.”

“So, go back to sleep.”

“M’not sleepy.”

“Then just go back t’bed.”

“Said m’not sleepy,” she argued, but his warmth was addictive.

“Never said anything ‘bout ‘sleep,’ gal.”