Page 7 of Homecoming

“Kat, where are you? I need you. Please… just let me know where you are. Give me a sign and I’ll come for you.” But disappointing realization creeps in—it was just an illusion, a rustle in the wind, and not the sound of her voice.

Quickly disappearing across the grass, he hurries along the pathway at the back of the house, and just like a ghost, he avoids the melee of people on the lawn and makes his return to the pool house.

It’s his sanctuary, away from the chaos and noise of the party.

Standing alone by the glistening pool, he stares into the still of the crystal-clear water, watching the small ripples on the surface. He takes a breath and soaks up the warmth of the sun on his face. It makes his skin prickle and as he now looks to the cloudless sky, he again listens to nothing. Nothing but…

“Darius… I need you…” With sudden clarity, the sound of Kat’s voice cuts through the sunlight and echoing sounds of laughter in the outside world and finally, he can hear her.

“Thank God!” His skin shivers as he feels her and as the scent of her hits him like a splash of iced water, his breathing slows almost to a stop. “Kat…” he calls out.

She is here and surprisingly close. Darius shudders as the familiar sound of her voice once again fills his head, and for the first time in what feels like a very long time, she calls his name.

“Darius…”

For a long drawn-out moment, he doesn’t move. “Kat… Where are you?” he whispers under his breath. There’s no reply, but he’s captivated by the memory of her scent—a sultry, sexy, lust-fueled scent that he could never get enough of. “Kat, I hear you. Where are you? Come back to me, baby,” he sighs under his breath.

There are many questions to answer and each seems like a fantasy competing for attention, but the one he chooses to play out this time is the one in which Kat sits alone in a hotel room: and wondering about their future together she waits for him—and him alone.

In the next moment, the image of her fades and she swirls away like a reflection washed out to sea by the high tide.

“No!” Darius cries out. “No, don’t go. Kat, I love you. Kat…” But once again, there is silence. He’s alone and with a loud curse, he throws up his hands in angry despair. He can no longer hear her. She’s gone from his thoughts and he’s left standing alone in complete silence, surrounded only by the memory of her voice.

Finally, even that fades as its sound wafts away to be with the midday shadows. But now, unlike before, he can still sense her.

She’s here... and she’s close.

Dariussighsashecloses the door to the pool house, shutting the squealing sound of fun and laughter outside. Pulling the cord on the blind that covers the large, slanted window, he hesitates for a moment to watch as a small group of wolf children run around the poolside, squirting Bud and Zak with their water pistols.

Where the pool was empty, it is now filled with a large group of people while a gathering of others continue to eat, drink, and have fun on the lawn. The sun is hot, and it’s an almost perfectly clear blue sky that he shuts out with a creak of the blind. The room falls into dimly shaded darkness and Darius sighs as he listens to what are now muted but playful murmurs of background noise.

He takes a moment to pause and combs his hand through his hair before he strips off his shirt. His skin is cold to the touch, but he can feel a warm flush of weariness and he doesn’t know if it’s the muggy heat of the day or the constant thoughts of Kat swirling around in his head.

There’s a cozy warmth to the temporary accommodation he’s been using to rest in, and as he removes his crisp designer shirt, he admires the curves of his torso in the mirror. The tone of his muscles reveals the dedicated hard work he's put in these past few months and Darius acknowledges his body is in the best physical condition it has ever been.

Continuing to stare at his own reflection he unfastens the polished buckle of his Italian leather belt and is suddenly startled by a noise in the bathroom behind him. He looks up and there in the doorway, naked except for a small white towel and her hair wet from the shower, is “Kat.”

“Darius…” she smiles with a hesitant grin, “how are you?”

“How am I?” He frowns, his mouth agape as he watches her sashay towards him. Her damp blonde hair spills over the bare skin of her bronzed shoulders; her face tanned and glowing as if she’s been out in the sun for hours. Her naked flesh still has a damp sheen from the shower, and the small towel wrapped around her body barely covers her large breasts; breasts he notes now seem a size too large for her.

“Kat, where in the hell have you been?” he asks with concern. “Does Digby know you’re back? If not, we should go tell him because I think he’s losing his damn mind. We’ve all been so worried. I’ll go—”

“Darius… Shh…” She holds a finger gently to his lips and motions him to silence before brushing her mouth against his in a kiss. “Not yet. I just want a moment with you, alone first. I want to enjoy the peace and be here with you.”

“But we should…” Darius smiles, staring at the tanned beauty before him. Naked except for the towel, he can’t help but notice the way those burgeoning breasts spill over the top of the fabric. Her wet hair smells fresh and clean: his soap and his shampoo, but still over it all, he can smell her. Kat’s distinctive smell he hasn’t smelled in so long. The musk scent of her body odor, of trees, grass, and jasmine, and there’s also something more animal—something more wolf.

“Alright, fine. I guess he can wait.” Grabbing her head, he pulls her forward and snakes his arm around her waist. He gathers her close and with his mouth pressed firmly to hers, he forces his tongue eagerly into her throat. A flurry of zapping energy fills him as Kat sinks against the firm taut of his muscled chest and kisses passionately over his lips.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much.” He smiles, drawing in the scent of spiced body wash mixed with her own sensual vanilla musk.

“I know, and I’ve missed you, too. Much too much.” Kat strokes a hand on his cheek and her fingers caress his hair. Her kiss is full of sweet tender passion and as she rolls her head back trembling in pleasure, her green eyes focus on his. “So, how are things? I mean, how has it been here—with you all living together at the commune?”

“Things are good. But they’ll be much better now that you’re finally home. I’ve almost finished the bookcases—the ones in the study but don’t worry, I didn’t dare to touch the books. I’ll need your help with them.” Darius stares deep into her eyes and smiles. The touch of her lips against his feels warm and as he tenderly holds her wrapped in his arms, he buries his face in the crook of her neck and brushes her shoulder with a kiss. “Mm… you smell so good. I missed this.” He grins as a needy and uncontrollable lustful ache fills the front of his pants.

The scent of Kat’s body entices and warms him from the inside and he’s aroused in an uncomfortable and almost pained way.

“You’re learning fast, Master Chief,” she smiles. “I meant learning not to touch my books. It’s a good step.”

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