I scowled down at the floor. "Yeah, and I nearly got myself a heart attack with you speaking up like that." I knocked my foot against the floor. "How thick are these floors, anyway?"
"Not thick enough for you to be-" Too late. My foot went clear through the floor and dangled in the air. I screamed and tried to pull it back, but no matter which way I turned it the foot wouldn't go back up the same hole. All the help I got from my hero was a wild cackle of glee at my predicament. "I tried to warn you," he wheezed through his laughter.
"And I'm going to warn you, watch out below," I snapped back.
"What? Why?"
"Because I can't get my foot out so there's only one way I'm getting downstairs." I don't know if I had better hearing then, or if it just really put on the breaks, but I swear I heard his heart stop.
"Don't do what I think you're-" Too late. I lifted my other foot and stomped that down on the rotted floor. The rest of me joined my trapped foot, but only for a second before me and a sizable hole in the floor tumbled down into the living room. It made for a hell of a noise and mess. I landed hard atop the broken boards with the heavy box on my gut. Thank god I had a lot of cushioning there. There wasn't any sign of my laughing hero. "You still alive under there?" I called to Greg.
"Yes, but that was really quite reckless of you," came his calm, muffled voice from beneath the rubble.
"Aren't werewolves supposed to be almost invincible?" I countered.
"Yes, but not impervious to pain, so would you mind getting off me?" he pleaded.
"You're not calling me fat again, are you?"
"No, honey, now please get off me before you crush what's left of my vertebrae." I felt so sorry for him that I burst out laughing, but got up, tossed aside the box and dug him out of the debris. He already looked better after his near-death experience with the silver bullet, except for the white dust all over him.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," I teased him.
"I just about gave it up, too," he quipped as I pulled him up. I rescued his chair, plopped him down near the fireplace, and used one of the broken boards to push the whole pile into a corner. He turned his head, cracked his head and winced. "Couldn't you have picked a better way to return to the room?"
"My foot was kind of stuck, and I didn't really want to go down that creepy hall again," I replied. I walked over to the box and opened the lid to find the same contents as the last one; clothes, food, and little trinkets. I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Did you hide all these boxes at the same time?" I asked him.
Greg shook his head. "No, just when I thought I'd need an extra place to hide."
"So you've been trying out for the Boy Scouts for a long time?" I teased him.
"Eh?"
"Always prepared."
"Oh, right, yes, I suppose I have. With my age I'd be one hell of an Eagle Scout by now."
"More like Grandfather Eagle," I countered. I grabbed some of the broken boards, went over to the fireplace and started a blaze.
"You're pretty good with fire," Greg complimented me.
"It goes with my hot body."
"That's an awful joke."
"Yeah, and kind of a lie."
"You put yourself down too much," he scolded.
"Yeah, well, at this rate Sphinx is going to put us both down even farther, about six feet under," I pointed out. I took a thick blanket out from the box and plopped my butt down beside his chair. "So what's the plan now? We keep running all over the state wondering when they're going to shoot us full of silver bullets?" I asked him.
"First we get me healed, and then we strike back at Sphinx and her gang," he replied.
"Sounds simple enough, but you forgot to mention the part where we both die horrible deaths trying to kill those gun-wielding guys," I pointed out.
"That's not really part of my plan."
"It will be if you want to go up against them."
"If we don't then we might be hounded by them for quite a while."
"That is a terrible pun."
"It was unintentional."
"I'm sure, but don't you have a better plan than finding them and us getting shot up?"
"You keep putting words into my mouth."
"I keep finishing your plan," I countered.
"I'd rather have a "And they lived happily ever after" sort of ending, and I have a plan to do it" he replied.
"Care to bring me in on it?"
"Well, it starts out with you walking into one of her other restaurants-"
"-with a rabbi and a preacher?" I sarcastically asked him. "Because if I'm going to be strolling into one of those places again I'm going to need a lot of prayers to stay alive."
"No, with your big, beautiful body in a sleek dress and me waiting in the ceiling to drop in on them," he told me.
"Wait a minute, why do I have to be the decoy?"
"Because I don't look good in a dress."
"And I don't look good in bullet holes, but that's what you're asking me to wear. Besides, you're a better talker than I am, and look good in a suit."
"Point taken, but I'll counterpoint by pointing out that they know I'm smooth and you're-well, you're-"
"-we'll just leave it at 'not' and be done," I warned him. "But I see another flaw in your plan besides me."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Any idea where another of her restaurants is?"
"Not right now, but we can sniff it out."
"Sounds like a fun way to die, when do we start?"
"Like I said, we won't die, and after I heal."
"And that'll be in a few days?"
"At most. We'll take the truck back to the city, sniff around and make our move at night."
"Sounds simple enough. What couldn't go horribly wrong?"
"Well, Sphinx could fall in love with you."
"That's-that's just not right."
"Don't swing that way?" he teased me.
"No, she and her goons tried to kill me, a lot, so the last thing I want is a reverse Stockholm Syndrome."
"Good because I don't want to share you with anyone. It doesn't make me happy."
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you've already shown me what makes you happy."
Greg leaned down and his breath tickled my ear. "It made you happy, too."
I sighed and pushed him away. "Yes, yes, it was fun, but now we have to stop acting like horny teenagers long enough to let you heal," I pointed out.
"But making me feel better will help me heal," he teased as he slid down off his chair. The look in his eyes reminded me of our last playtime, so I hurriedly scooted back to the edge of the very small blanket.
"Come on, Greg, focus."
"I am focusing."
"I meant on healing."
He inched closer to me and a smooth smile slipped onto his lips. "But that's no fun."
"But it is better for you."
His voice was low and sultry now, and I felt heat rise within me. "Exercise is better for me," he cooed.
Greg's face was only inches from mine, but I couldn't turn away. "Y-you're evil, you know that?" I whispered to him.
"Evil has more fun, anyway," he replied just before he pressed his lips against mine.
I fell under his hot, seductive spell with all the abandonment of that horny teenager. He glided his hands over me and I eagerly pressed myself against his bare chest. The fire crackled in front of us, imitating the flames inside us as he lowered me to the blanket. I squirmed and moaned beneath his touch, wanting more as I gave way to the beast inside me. His groans deepened and became more feral, and the noises heightened my own need for his touch and the feel of his bare skin against mine.
His hand slid down and unbuttoned my pants. He parted the flaps, and reached inside to touch and tease me. I moaned and arched my back, pressing my swelling breasts against his chest. They pushed and strained at the front of my shirt, begging for release and to be savored by his hot, wet lips. Greg grunted and tore open my shirt with one hand. Buttons flew every
where, but I didn't care about anything but his mouth on my buds, suckling me like a starved man. I groaned and wrapped my arms around his neck. My fingers seductively toyed with his bulging muscles as I felt my own tense and tighten against the change inside and outside of me.
I could feel the beast growing inside me, and my body stretched and strained to change with it. My legs strained against my pants seams and my hands lengthened to slender claws. Greg tore the rest of my clothes off and covered me with his own naked body. His tight muscles enticed me with promises of strong thrusts, and he parted my legs and penetrated deeply into my hot, wet core. I squirmed and growled at his delicious intrusion into my body as we became one being with one intent: to make love as quickly and pleasurably as possible.
Greg started hard and fast, taking me with all the ferocity of our bestial nature. I whipped my head to and fro as he filled me with more than just himself. He gave me passionate delights that hummed through me in pleasurable flows. I came quickly this time and he shortly after me, and we basked in the warm glow of each others' fulfillment. Then he collapsed on top of me just like before.
"When am I supposed to get stronger?" I squeaked out beneath him.
"You should be stronger by now," he murmured, still in a daze from our love-making.
"Then you gained weight because you're still too heavy."
"Oh, heh, sorry." He rolled off me, but snuggled against my side. We were both a little furrier than normal and warm from our fun, so I was grateful for the heat. It was chilly without my clothes, and the fire wasn't all that warm yet.
"Is this what every night is going to be like?" I asked him.
"You're not regretting it, are you?"
"No, but my sore muscles are."
"They'll get into shape."
"Pretzel shape?"
"No, but that does remind me that we haven't eaten."
I covered my mouth to hide a yawn. "Or gotten any sleep," I chimed in.
"We'll eat, sleep, and-"
"-be merry?" I teased him.
He smirked. "But you just said your muscles were sore."
"They are, so let's stick with the first two and figure out our plan tomorrow." Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a long day.
Chapter 18
We woke up the next morning, drove to town, defeated Sphinx and her gang without a scratch, and lived happily ever after. Well, I wish. There were a few more bumps along the road, and on me, than I wanted. We woke up in the late afternoon groggy but rested. After we ate our fresh food from the thirty-year old tin cans, we walked outside to a nice, sunny day. Nothing could have marred such beauty except for noise, and Greg spoke up.
"It looks like I'm feeling well enough for us to face off against Sphinx and her gang," he informed me.
My face drooped. "Goody," I mumbled.
He smiled and patted me on the back. "Don't worry, this will be over quickly."
"Just like us walking in front of a firing squad?"
"Well, not that quickly, and not the same ending."
"That's what you keep saying."
"And that's what you keep doubting," he scolded.
"Call it a woman's instinct."
"Isn't your wolf instinct telling you something else?"
"Yeah, it's still hungry, and if I wanted to I could go hunt down a rabbit that passed by here last night."
"I'm sorry I asked."
"I'm sorry I answered."
Greg chuckled and turned me so we faced each other. He looked me straight in the eyes and grinned. "This'll work out, I'm sure of it."
He sounded so sure of it that I managed a queasy smile and nodded. "All right, all right, I'll believe you, but if you get me killed I swear to God I'll haunt you until your dying day."
Greg winced. "A fate worse than death," he teased.
"Yes, there's nothing worse than a spirited woman. Now when do we go commit suicide so I can get haunting?"
"Right now. It's a few miles to the city and the truck doesn't exactly glide across the road."
That was an understatement. The truck chugged along like a sick horse in need of a deathbed. The roads didn't help. I'd been so scared yesterday I hadn't had time to focus on the bumps, and now that I felt them I wished I was still scared. We bounced and bumped our way along a menagerie of Buick-sized pot holes and washboards that rattled us so hard I was afraid I'd fall apart before the truck. The trash and tools at my feet bounced and hopped up against the bottom of the dashboard. I grabbed onto the dashboard and glared at Greg over my tap-dancing teeth. "W-why are w-we taking the s-scenic r-route?" I asked him.
"Because it's the best way to avoid that Servino guy finding us. I'd rather not feel another of his silver bullets sear through my gut," he reminded me. "And stop that chattering, the road isn't that bad."
I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest. "Can't a girl be a little dramatic? It's not like there's anything going on right-" That's when we both heard a grinding of tires behind us, and we turned around in our seats to see Servino's sporty car coming up fast on us. He was eating our dust and making his own as he grinned over his stylish steering wheel.
Greg frowned and swung around to shift the truck into a faster gear. "You just had to say something, didn't you?" he teased me.
"Yes, and did you just put me through the scenic route for nothing?"
"I'm afraid so."
"I hate you."
"Love you, too, honey," he replied before he cranked the wheel in a hard left.
I slid along the seat and screamed, but that was cut off along with the rest of my air supply when my seatbelt caught me in the gut. Servino came up on my side and pointed at the ditch on the other side of us. I shook my head and shrugged, and he glared at me. I knew he wanted us to pull over, but I knew this cop didn't have a badge and was packing bullets we didn't want to try dodging.
Servino rolled down his window and pulled out his gun. He divided his attention between the road and the bottom of our truck, and that's when I realized he was literally aiming to blow out our tires. I glanced wildly around and my eyes fell on all the junk that littered the floor. I leaned down and scooped up an armful, then furiously rolled down the window just as he zoomed in on the tire beneath me. My hand fumbled for a weapon of choice, and my fingers wrapped around a rusted wrench. I grabbed his and lobbed the tool at Servino. It didn't hit him, but it made a cute little dent on the hood of his car.
His head whipped up to the front, and even with the noise of our two cars bumping along the road I heard him growl. He turned and glared at me, and this time he aimed his gun higher than the tires. The color drained from my face and I scrambled for more artillery. I lobbed everything I had at him and I must say that truck had an eclectic variety of junk. Old glass pop bottles, gum wrappers with ABC gum still inside, tobacco containers, and even a small stereo all flew out the window.
Servino didn't expect a bombardment of trash, and he swerved to avoid a few bricks I lobbed at his windshield. Unfortunately, he couldn't dodge the two-foot deep ditch on his right and his fancy low car couldn't drive over the hole. His front dove into the ditch and the radiator made the acquaintance of the dirt. His front crumpled like all the trash I'd thrown at him and white smoke plumed out from beneath his hood. Worse for him was he hadn't been wearing his seatbelt, and when car met earth he flew through the windshield and into the ditch.
Greg stopped the truck and we both got out in time to see Servino the Dust Monster arise from the ditch. His fancy suit was now brown, and he was so furious that I had to laugh at him. "Careful, your face might stick that way," I called out to him.
"You god damn monsters!" he shouted back. He patted himself looking for his gun, but it lay somewhere beneath the inches of dust in the ditch. Servino dove down and patted the ground searching for it, but Greg didn't give him time to cry eureka.
Greg stalked over to Servino, and the gang member looked up when Greg's shadow fell on him. Servino shrunk back when Greg grinned at him. "I think I owe
you for that shot yesterday," Greg reminded the man.
Servino cowered in the ditch and shook his head. "I was only following orders, honest! It was all Sphinx's doing! She was the one wanting you two alive!"
Greg raised an eyebrow. "Alive? Why'd she want that?"
"I-I don't know, she didn't say. Just told me to use them silver bullets on you and bring ya back."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to go visit Sphinx and ask her." Greg knelt down beside the ditch, and Servino yelped in fear. The man huddled with his back against the side of the ditch, but he inexplicably froze. "As for you, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
Servino's fright-filled face slipped into a sly grin. "I'll give you a whole cartridge full." Servino rolled to the side and his hand grasped a shape in the dirt. It was his lost gun, but he didn't get a chance to use it. With a speed greater than any human Greg leaned down and snatched the gun from Servino's grubby little fingers.
Greg stood up out of Servino's reach and popped out the cartridge. He snarled at the contents. "Silver bullets, so you weren't going to give me any chance?" Greg guessed. Servino was back to cowering, but now neither of us had pity on him. Greg separately pocketed the bullets and the gun, and glanced over to me. "You might not want to see this."
I stiffened and paled. "You're going to kill him?" I guessed. Servino let out a howl of fright and scrambled out the other side of the ditch.
Greg noticed Servino run, but continued to stare at me. "I gave him more chance than he gave any of his victims, and more than he was going to give to us," he pointed out. I nodded and looked away, but I could still hear. What I heard was Greg's feet pound against the dirt after Servino, and the man's scream cut short before it gurgled out to nothing. Then Greg was in front of me and he put his hands on my shoulders. "Come on, it's done. I don't like to see stupid creatures suffer." He led me to the truck and we drove out of there.
Chapter 19
We made it to the city at sunset and parked the truck in an abandoned parking lot beside a rundown apartment building. Neither of us bothered to lock the doors, I'd tossed all the stuff worth stealing at Servino. I glanced around at the dark city and felt a little overwhelmed. It was the smells and sounds that bothered me. I didn't remember the place smelling so horrible or being so loud.