Page 27 of Fighting Furry

“What will I do now?”

“Come back with me to Mule Creek,” he said. “You could help me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don't need a pity job.”

“It's not a pity job. We've had some trouble lately. I don't want to fight, but as you said, it's a lot easier to remain a pacifist when everyone is afraid of you.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Nothing for you to think about now. Just know there'd be a place for you in the pack, a job. If you decide not to stay in LA, you'd be welcome in Mule Creek.”

I nodded, because I didn't see that I had any other option. Unless I stayed in LA, with a need to shift and an increasing amount of power I didn't know how to handle, and tried to find a new livelihood…It just didn't seem like a viable option. “I'll go back with you. At least until I get a grip on wolf-Julie and figure out what to do next.”

***

“This is a terrible idea,” Axel said. He looked sharp in dark slacks, a deep purple button-down, and a tie. His hair was slicked back, though stubble had already started to mar his smooth skin. He was a combination of rugged and smooth.

“It'll be fun,” I said. “It's our last night in LA, we should have a good time.” I was in a teeny-tiny dress that was the same purple as his shirt. Yeah, I'd taken him shopping so we'd be color-coordinated. He couldn't get into the club without a tie and I thought it would be fun for us to match a little bit. I'd told him we were going out because I wanted to say goodbye to LA in style, but the truth was I needed to get laid. That same nervous, itchy energy was rolling through me again and I knew a run wasn't going to cure it. I needed some action or I was going to jump Axel and that would be a bad idea for so many reasons. I couldn't actually name any of the reasons at the moment, which was why I was at a club with him, already scanning the crowd for my target.

“Does alcohol get me drunker than normal now?” I yelled to him over the music.

“The opposite,” he shouted back. “You'd have to drink a keg to get drunk.”

Damn it. I'd just order a soda and that should take the edge off enough for me to approach a good-looking guy. I'd had a one-night stand or two in my life, but it had always just kind of happened. I'd met someone out and we'd hit it off and decided to have some fun. I'd never gone on the prowl and I was a little nervous, or overeager. Either way, sugar should help. Before I could do anything, though, I needed to lose Axel.

I popped onto my tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “Why don't we dance?”

To my utter shock, he shrugged and led the way to the dance floor. I'd planned to lose him before we hit the dancing crowd, but now I was curious. Axel found an open space among the crowd of gyrating, twisting dancers and just started to shake it. I mean he literally started shaking his ass like he didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him. It was kind of adorable. I danced with him for two songs. He'd never win a dance competition, but he was fun, I'd give him that. I pointed toward the bathrooms and pretended to shout, then dove into the crowd. I went the long way back to the bar, pushing my way through the crowd and dodging drunks. I got to the bar and sank onto a bar stool with a sigh.

“You're a terrible liar.” Stubble grated against my cheek in the most delicious way. My thighs spasmed in anticipation. “What are you really up to?”

I huffed and spun to face Axel. “I need to get laid,” I whispered back, pressed close against him. I tried to ignore the way my whole body shivered at the contact. “I don't want an audience.”

“That's a horrible idea,” he whispered leaning in closer.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him, but he just shrugged. Good to know he wasn't interested in solving my problem. At least, my rational brain knew it was good, the rest of me was a teensy bit disappointed he hadn't jumped in and offered to help me out. He didn't argue when I ordered a soda and chugged it. And he didn't follow me when I headed back to the dance floor to hunt out a good candidate. I was glad he didn't follow. Really, I was.

It took me three tries, but I finally found a guy who wasn't gay, wasn't there with someone else, and was up for a quickie in the bathroom. I know, real classy. I was desperate, but not stupid enough to go to some stranger's place or bring him to mine. Plus, that might be awkward with Axel around.

The sugar had done its job and I was feeling loose and happy as I led the guy back toward the bathrooms. He wasn't the best-looking guy I'd ever seen, but he was smooth and leaner than me, his nails manicured, his clothes tailored. I pulled him into the men's room, since there was no line there and it seemed the better bet. Honestly, I'd never hooked up in a club bathroom, but if I was going to do it, this one was a good choice. It was clean and it was, mostly, empty. Some guy in a leather jacket fist-bumped my new friend and left quickly. I darted into a spacious and very clean stall and spun to face my new friend. He grinned like he was about to get lucky, because hello, and I waited to feel something for him. I'd been jonesing for action all evening, I couldn't even look at Axel without remembering that glimpse I'd gotten of his naked body when we'd undressed for our run.

Now, I faced my metro friend and I felt, well, I felt like asking if his Mom knew where he was. He hadn't looked that young on the dance floor, but surely he couldn't have gotten in if he was under twenty-one. He ran a finger over my cheek and leaned in close. My heart picked up its pace. This could be fun. He had pretty, almost silver, eyes and his lips looked like soft, pink pillows, without the irritating stubble Axel sported. At the thought of Axel, my libido kicked back into gear. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to metro-boy's lips. I really should have gotten his name.

It didn't matter, he kissed me back and I shoved him against the door to the stall, pressing my body into his, needing some full-body friction. His lips popped off mine and he gasped. He was really getting into this. I dropped my mouth to his neck and pressed soft kisses there. He tasted salty and warm and I had the urge to bite him. “Need. Air,” he gasped.

I looked up at him and realized I had pressed myself against him a little harder than I'd realized. I backed off and pulled my dress over my head, hoping he'd forget about me almost smothering him. His gaze dropped immediately to my breasts and his expression blanked. Breasts, they were nature's male mind eraser. He gripped my hips in both hands and pressed kisses along the edges of my bra, which was nice and all, but we were in a bathroom stall, there was toilet water just inches from my backside. It wasn't the place for slow love-making. It was the place for quick, meaningless fucks.

I unzipped his pants with one hand and untucked his shirt with the other. I slid one hand along the warm skin of his back, digging my nails in just a bit. With the other hand, I reached into his pants and grabbed his cock, which was a bit smaller than I was hoping for, if I'm completely honest. He groaned, but he must have choked on his spit or something, because the groan turned into this inhuman sort of whine. He stopped kissing me and grabbed my wrist. “Ow, fuck,” he said, or maybe he shouted. His face was red and I was getting the feeling this wasn't going the way I'd hoped. I released his cock and he cupped it in both hands like it was a tiny, injured animal. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asked. Then he unlocked the stall door and ran out of there like he'd just heard there was a sale at his favorite boutique clothing store. I sighed, put my dress back on and marched, past a man pissing at a urinal, out of the men's room, head held high.

Axel stood, his back against the wall, across from the men's room door. It was a bit quieter in the hallway to the restrooms, so he didn't have to yell for me to hear him say, “You scared that poor boy.”

I shrugged. “He was a wimp.” I started back toward the dance floor to find fresh meat. Metro-boy's reaction wasn't about me, and I was going to prove it.

Axel grabbed my arm and pulled me against him, my back to his front. He held me tight in his strong arms and that libido that had disappeared with metro-boy erupted like Vesuvius. Axel walked us backward into a dark corner, away from the line of women waiting to use the bathroom. “It will be the same with every human until you learn control,” he said against my ear, his voice raspy. One of his hands slid down until it was resting over my crotch. I bit back a moan and fought the urge to rub myself against him like a cat. “They can't handle you, but I can.”

I really couldn't remember why I shouldn't give into him, especially when he pulled me tighter against him and I felt his hardness. “What are you saying?” I needed him to repeat himself because my brain had stopped working.

“I'm saying I want to take you home and fuck you. Do you want to keep striking out here, or do you want to let me relieve the ache throbbing inside you?”

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