Chapter 13: Dallas

Every single time I did something, there was always a linger, be it a lingering stare, a lingering touch, or a lingering smile. Every time I was around Autumn, I felt this drastic pull to her being, and when the linger went on for too long, she would pull back. I could see it in the way her skin blushed where I touched it, and I could hear it in her voice when it involuntarily got smokier when I was around. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, but she denied it every time I attempted to acknowledge it. It made the creature within me squirm, impatient and frustrated.

I brought her cabbage soup and slowly worked her up to solid foods, and after the first week of her recuperation, she was eating my homemade macaroni and cheese. I ran her baths every evening and made sure to keep her favorite bath salts in stock, and whenever she started racking up dirty towels and laundry, I made sure to wash and dry them with fabric softener so they would be comfortable against her skin when she slept. Her body was still tired, and we were still changing bandages on her head, but little by little, I saw the Autumn I remembered emerging.

I constantly had to remind her that she needed assistance walking down the stairs and that we could always watch a movie in her room. Whenever we watched a movie though, by the time it was over, she was always slumped over in my lap, dead asleep in my grip.

I watched her breaths rise and fall numerous times over the course of that first week. Studying her up-close only added to the beauty I saw in her face. The light crow’s feet emerging around her eyes only added to the wondrous time etched on her face, and her skin was even softer than I imagined. For all the times I’d woken up alone and without her, I made sure to be there-- holding her close and keeping her safe-- for whenever she woke up from those naps.

A part of me wanted to watch her stretch and groan with sleep, and a part of me didn’t want her to feel as lonely as I felt whenever I woke up alone. Even if she didn’t think I deserved better than that, I knew she did.

“You hungry?” she would croak upon waking.

“Whatcha in the mood for?” I would ask.

She’d throw out a few suggestions that would make me chuckle, like steak and potatoes, lobster and noodles, hibachi stir fry and a stiff drink. Then we’d settle on something easier for her stomach, like soup, rice and beans, or the occasional reheated cabbage soup broth.

“It’s just so good,” she’d say, gulping it down.

I couldn’t help but watch her lips wrap around those glasses and that bowl. She was so beautiful, even in her bandaged state, and it killed me to think that she had been in serious danger without me around. It was no one’s fault, and Lord knows I don’t blame anything but the snake for it, but I had come within millimeters of losing her, and the only thing it did was make me pay attention to her more.

Like when her hips swayed when she walked or when her hair billowed when she turned around.

Hell, she even managed to puke gracefully.

But one night, I saw it in her eyes. One night I rushed into her room because I heard her calling out for me. Being a shifter, my hearing was naturally better than most. But since Autumn moved in, I had been hyper-alert, practically hearing every move she made just so that I could know immediately when something was wrong. When I got to her room, she was thrashing around, half-naked and tossing her covers in the midst of a nightmare. I sat on the edge of her bed, desperate to get her to stop moving around so damn much. She still had a concussion from what the doctor said when he had come by the day before, and strenuous movements were still too risky for her.

“Autumn,” I said strongly, “Autumn, wake up!”

“Help! Dallas!” she yelled.

“Autumn!” I roared, nerves almost triggering my shifting. I took a deep breath to calm myself and then grasped her shoulders, shaking her lightly. When her eyes finally flew open, she darted up and wrapped her arms around me.

“Oh, my God,” she breathed.

She was trembling, and all I could do was hold her close. I turned my lips into her face and peppered her cheek with kisses, and when I caught my tears with her lips, I began running my hands up and down her back. I tried to not pay attention to the fact that her bare tits were pressed against me, but I could feel them puckering against my naked chest even as I sat there comforting her in the middle of the night.

“You wanna talk about it?” I asked. But she shook her head no. Then she turned her lips into my neck and lightly grazed her teeth against my skin.

“Autumn…” I warned, feeling myself growing underneath my flannel pajama pants. If she didn’t stop, I’d have some serious problems restraining myself.

“Oh, Dallas,” she sighed. Her fingernails lightly dug into the skin of my back, and I had to bite back the groan rising up in my throat. When she pulled away, her eyes flicker to my lips.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

“Yes. I always am when you’re around.”

She leaned into my lips, tasting like the sweet tea she’d had with dinner. Her breath smelled of biscuits and honey, and the smell of her essence wafted from between her legs. I knew she couldn’t be jostled, and I knew I had to be gentle, but dear God I’d wanted her since the moment she crossed into my home, and damn it, I was about to be as gentle as I could if it meant feeling her against me again.

I slowly dragged my lips down her neck while I laid her back onto her bed. When I got to her nipples, I slowly pulled one between my lips. I felt her arch into me, and I slipped my hands underneath the small of her back, kissing down the clothed front of her body as my dick began to grow beneath the fabric of my pajama pants.

“You’re fucking beautiful, Autumn,” I murmured into her belly button. Her hands dropped down and wrapped themselves in my hair, and I knew exactly where I was headed. I slowly pulled her pajama shorts down and groaned when I realized she wasn’t wearing underwear. This woman was gonna be the death of me, and I was gonna enjoy every second of silence death had to offer as long as I got to sink my body into hers one last time.

Just once.

I spread her legs and watched her glistening pussy bare itself for me, and when I bent in to lick a thick stripe up her slit, she rolled her hips into my face. I ran my hands up her body before I found her hands, and when I interlaced our fingers together, it just felt right. Like the other part of my puzzle had been found and the picture was now complete and easy to identify.

My tongue had memorized every crevice and droplet of her cavern, and when I began to dance my tongue along her swollen clit, her body begin to pick up its thrusting pace. I buried my hands into her hips and held her to the bed, desperate to keep her as still as I could while her pleasure washed over her. Her thighs locked along my cheeks and her hands pulled me in deeper to her, and when I flicked her clit one last time I felt my dick beginning to leak through my pants while her entire body convulsed underneath my tongue’s ministrations.

Her juices poured into my mouth, and I gulped her down, desperate for one last taste from her fountain of youth before she’d force reality to set in again.

“Fuck, Dallas. Yes. Just… good god.”

Her legs collapsed beside my face, and my eyes fluttered up to hers. I could see how hard her chest was panting even while her body laid there, bare and covered in sweat just for me. I rose up and shoved my pajama pants down, freeing my rock-hard cock begging to be inside of her. When she opened her eyes, she simply sighed at me and smiled.

“I need you,” she whispered lightly, and it was all I needed. I dropped down onto her body and planted my hands on her head. When I lined myself up with her swollen pussy, I pushed in with no problem. Her eyes fluttered shut, and a groan fell from my lips. My balls were pressed against her ass, and slowly, I began to rock my hips into hers.

Her pussy was so tight and so warm, I made sure to keep a languid pace because I didn’t want to hurt her.

I just wanted to love her.

“Jesus, Autumn,” I whispered. Her hands flew to my back and pulled me in closer to her. I dipped my face into the crook of her neck while she panted in my ear. She lazily raised her hips to meet mine, and soon I could hear the telltale panting in her breath while she slowly climbed to the top. My dick was twitching inside of her, and my balls were pulling into my body, and all of a sudden her pussy walls were fluttering around me and sucking me deeper into her body.

“Oh, Dallas. God, don’t stop. Right-... right there.”

Her words of encouragement spurred me on, and I slowly picked up my pace. My body rocked against hers, and our skin slapped together, and pretty soon I reared back onto my heels and pulled her closer for better leverage. Her body was shaking and her tits were bouncing, and her fingernails dug into the meat of my thighs while her mouth peeled open in ecstasy.

“Yes! Dallas!” she cried out while her pussy milked me dry. I clenched my jaw and slammed myself deep into her before I filled her to the brim and spilled out onto the bed. My cum was dripping down the inside of her thighs, and I could smell our scents intermingled with one another, and when I dropped down beside her, she cuddled close to me and slid her leg within mine. I ran my fingers through her hair, and she gazed deeply into my eyes, and for the first time since college, I could fully admit to myself what was happening.

I could fully admit I was in love with Autumn.

And all I could do was pray to God that she was there when I woke up in the morning.