Page 15 of The Rhino's Rose

“Of course. That’s so thoughtful.” I smile, nodding as if I understood the reason without being told. But it’s fake. The smile. The casual tone. I should accept that he’s never going to invite me to his bed for intimate reasons, but the wishing and hoping refuse to die. Even after five years of his polite rejections.

“What do you want me to get from your place?”

“Sorry. You’re probably exhausted from working hard in the heat all day, and my bath fiasco is messing up your life.” I attempt to sit up straighter to present myself in a more attentive way, and end uppresenting myselfinstead. As in, the loosely tied robe falls aside and the slippery nightie slides up my legs. I don’t have to look down at my lap to know that the peak of my pussy is playing peekaboo.

But I do look down. And so does Cornelius.

I scramble to tug the nightie into place, accidentally putting weight on my sprained ankle in the process, which results in shrieking and jerking in a way that fully exposes my naked lower parts rather than covering them.

Cornelius tosses a crocheted blanket over me as if he’s trying to smother a fire. Then he basically bolts from the room and the house, the back door closing sharply behind him.

I should be mortified. Humiliated. And part of me is, but the other part, the ever-hopeful part… she’s victoriously parading around inside me. Because before Cornelius played gentleman hero, he did three things.

He stared directly at my pussy.

He made the sexiest, hungriest, rumbling sound I’ve ever heard.

And he grabbed his cock through his pants.

Cornelius might notwantto want me, but his body disagrees. Tonight, I’m going to make sure he knows I want him, too.

CORNELIUS

Sleep is never going to happen.

I only have a guest bed because the previous owner left it behind. Any time I thought about getting rid of it, something niggled at me to keep it. Ridiculous, since it’s a single bed made for a human or some other smaller-framed creature.

Tonight, I learned why I felt compelled to keep the bed—so I could offer it to Rose. And now Rose is sleeping inmybed, infusing my sheets and pillows with her essence.

For what has to be the hundredth time since I lay down on the guest bed, I roll onto my right side. Then onto the left. Then my back. Some part of me overhangs the mattress no matter what position I try.

Then there’s my damn cock, which has refused to go down since I got an eyeful of Rose’s bare pussy. Gods, the sight of her. Pink and glistening. And her scent. I had to get away before I dropped to my knees and devoured her right there on my couch.

She would have let me, I know she would. She would’ve come on my tongue, then I would’ve buried myself to the balls inside her. We’d be truly mated. I’d be fucking her and making her come right now, instead of fighting a losing battle for comfort in a bed that would barely fit our child.

The child I’d plant in her belly when I unload deep inside her.

“Fuck.” There’s no way I’m avoiding the inevitable. Ishove my boxers down and take my cock in hand, gripping it hard as I begin to stroke. Wound as tight as I am, it won’t take long. Precum bubbles out of me, lubing my hand and making the sound of slapping skin fill the room. I pump my fist fast and hard, pulling the pillow over my face to mute the grunts I can’t suppress.

Images of Rose whip through my mind like an obsessed carousel. Her beautiful, fair face, shining red hair, soft curves, and that pink pussy I want to watch stretch around my cock as I slide inside her.

I groan as I erupt like a volcano, spurts of cum landing on my chest and rolling down my still-pumping hand. The last ripple isn’t even finished before my cock is on the rise. Jerking off is never going to satisfy the mating urge. As long as Rose is within reach, my cock will be ready for her.

I swipe the cum off my chest and wipe my hand on my boxers before snapping them into place over my straining, messy cock. As quietly as the creaking bed allows, I rise and move toward the door, grabbing a towel on the way out.

A quick pause at the master bedroom door reveals nothing but the sound of restful breathing on the other side. Good. Bad enough that I literally can’t get control of myself, but I sure as hell don’t want her aware of my obsessed state.

The snick of the patio door’s lock is sharp against the late-night silence. The glide across the track isn’t loud by any stretch, but noise I’d rather not be making just the same. After stepping outside, I leave the door openbehind me. A sleeping Rose won’t hear me out here, but I need to be able to hear her, should she call for help.

At the pool’s edge, I glance back at the darkened house, listening for any hint of alertness or movement inside. All quiet, thank gods. I strip out of the boxers and toss them under a chair, then descend the steps, careful not to make even the smallest splash as I maneuver to the wallowing area I built into the shallow end.

I lower myself so my shoulders and neck rest against the divot molded into the pool’s edge. The wallow won’t alleviate my endless yearning for Rose, but the moderately cool water soothes the physical heat that’s been building since she arrived at my door.

With my eyesight, looking out toward the forest that both my property and Garion’s back up to is like staring into an abyss, so I close my eyes and let my legs rise from the bottom of the pool. With my workdays, I’m rarely awake at this hour. Nature’s nighttime sounds fill my ears with their relaxing melody. I inhale deeply, pulling scents of earth, trees, grass, blooming flowers, and nocturnal wildlife into my nostrils. I don’t want to replace Rose’s scent there, but it’s best if I do, even for a short time.

I adjust my position to get better buoyancy, exhaling to release some of the tension that’s been coiled tight for the past few hours. The low sound of my grunt quickly dissipates in the summer night air.Past few hours?Not even remotely accurate. I haven’t been anything other than tense for the past five years. When a rhino finds their mate, they’re meant to act. Claim.Pleasure. Cherish. Breed. Denying my natural mating urges has been a daily battle.

After everything that happened tonight, it’s brutally clear that I’ve lost. Since I can’t follow through on my instincts, I can’t be around Rose. As soon as Garion is back, I’ll leave town.

---