Page 31 of The Dire Reaction

“He said something about it being impervious to dysplasia. That just seems so crazy, doesn’t it?”

With a flush of acrid smoke, I flip the steaks and roll the potatoes around. Everything smells delicious. I’m glad I spent the extra time scrubbing to get rid of the lingering dirt smell.

She finishes her beer and fetches another out of the fridge, offering me one with a raise of her brow.

“Sure, and how do you like your steak? I should warn you, my grill doesn’t know how to cook well-done.” I dig a tray from the cupboard while she opens the beers.

“Rare has been my favorite lately.” Pursing her lips, she takes a sip from the fresh bottle.

“Mmm, good girl. That’s always been my favorite.” I can’t resist purring in her ear as I walk by. The burst of pink in her cheeks and the hot scent of her follows me outside where I hurry to gather the food.

Twisting the gas off, I balance the tray back to the table before depositing it to the wooden top.

“I can set the table, if you point me in the right direction.” Her cheeks are still pink. My jeans tighten seeing the lingering blush. I wonder if she’s reminiscing about yesterday. My goal tonight is to add another repertoire of memories.

Struggling to not bely my thoughts, I indicate the cupboard where the plates sit while I dig out toppings for the baked potatoes. Scattering shredded cheese, butter and sour cream near the resting steaks, I take a moment to admire her stretching to reach for the plates. Her ass is poking up while she stands on her tiptoes, a bare tease of skin showing at the small of her back and a wider swath revealing her smooth belly.

Just when I’ve nearly given in to the urge to wrap my hands around her waist and push myself against her, she lowers herself down victoriously with two dinner plates.

“So, I noticed that Alex’s room is dark?” she asks as she searches a series of drawers for silverware.

“Ah, yeah, he was transferred to the hospital so his doctor could assess him.” I have no interest in talking about Alex’s dick over dinner, especially dinner with a beautiful woman.

“Oh, no! I hope everything is okay?” We each stab a steak onto our plates. My stomach growls again, the savory smell nearly overwhelming me as juices pool along the rib of my plate. Unable to wait any longer, I slice off a piece, enjoying the carmelized crisp to the fatty edge. The smoky singe combined with the tender cut melts in my mouth.

She’s lost in the flavor, too. Her eyes half closed, a soft moan escapes her throat. Now, I want to hand feed her morsels of ribeye while I nibble at her honey center, just to see what new sounds I can work out of her.

“He seemed okay. Just different. I don’t even know how to explain it.” Trying to distract myself from images of Alex, I slice off a couple of more hearty bites of meat.

Watching her brows furrow, I’m tempted to rub my thumb between them to smooth the worried looking knot.

“What do you mean, ‘different’?” Sliding another steak onto her plate, she fixes me with her pale blue eyes. I don’t think I’m going to get away with being vague with her.

“After what you’ve told me? I’m guessing he caught whatever the bug is. But, he got it worse. He has the mutations.” I cringe. Visions of his face flicker behind my eyes.

“Really? That’s terrifying! Describe them, please?” Her eyes are so large as she begs me that I feel as if I’ll drown in the bottomless blue depths.

The beer isn’t as cold, but it goes down quickly, followed by another bite or two. My chair is quite a bit more uncomfortable. I find myself shifting to relieve the pressure on my tailbone.

I really don’t want to describe what I saw. And I think she sees me procrastinating.

“His whole body changed. His nose and mouth stuck out, like a snout. His ears are larger. They moved up the side of his head, even grew hair on them. His hands are more like claws, the fingers shorter and stubbier.” The more I talk, the more her jaw drops. I can’t tell if it’s surprise or abject horror she has on her face.

“So, his whole body was hairy? Like, it added hair? Or just made his existing hair longer?” She taps her fork against her napkin while she asks, then stabs another piece of meat while watching me.

“He has quite a bit more hair. Longer, darker. It covered his arms, belly and chest. He smelled like a dog.” The refrigerator is calling me for another beer. I grab two. I think she’s going to want another one too if this questioning continues.

“So, his face and hands changed. Did anything else?” She squints at me. I know she can hear my hammering heart as I delay responding. It won’t do any good to try and deceive her.

“Well—” I find the back of my neck itches miserably all of the sudden. “—he had other changes, too. His dick grew a sheath like a dog’s.” I have a sour taste in my mouth that takes nearly the entire third beer to remove. Stretching my leg out, I cage hers against the chair. The heat of her calf radiating through my jeans is a welcome distraction.

“Wait. What?” Her eyes seem twice their normal size. “Like, attached to his belly?” When I nod in affirmation, her cheeks pale.

“I heard on the news that there is a big pack of giant dogs running around causing havoc. Full blown dogs. People were saying they were wolves, but bigger.” The fleeing news footage they had shown was a bit scary. The wolves are the size of motorcycles.

“Oh, my god.” She covers her mouth, her hand shaking, tears welling in her eyes. “I did that? Those poor people!” Her delicate fingers press shakily over her mouth. I can feel her tremble against my calf, and it sends a shiver directly up to my cock. “There must be something I can do?”

“You didn’t do that. That footage was from downtown Chicago. There were reports from all over the country. The government and their bizarre experiment did it.” I lean over the small table, my reflection filling her eyes as I draw near. “But, if you insist on punishing yourself over it, at least let me help.” My voice drops as her eyelids do, fluttering over her cheeks.

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