199 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
199 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
Aidan's Muse
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Mt. Dunn blossomed brighter in fall than in spring. Vibrant reds and
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oranges burned the countryside for about a month each year. Aidan came to
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the land each year to escape his job. Work in a the Lexington county
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office threatened to drown the aspiring writer. Once a year he retreated
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to the family cabin to sort out his thoughts and hammer another fistfull
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of pages.
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He liked nature but loved the solitude more. This year he broke the
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silent habit by the edition of a silent partner, Bear, a black
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chow/dobberman mix. She looked more like a barrel chested lab. He hadn't
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planned on her company but family had a way of messing up any plans he
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made.
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"I can't take care of Bear anymore, Aidan." He nodded. "I told you
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the trailer was too small for a dog, sis."
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"It's way too small," said Chris, "Especially with the new baby. And
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I'm worried she might hurt him." Aidan nodded. "If you want me to take
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her, I will." I wish you would ask me direct, sis.
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"Would you?" Chris's eyes lit up.
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"Sure." Aidan put his feet on the coffee table. "I had
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wanted her in the beginning. Shit, sis. It was I that named her.
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Remember?"
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"Than can you take her this evening?"
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Aidan shrugged. "I guess so."
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"Good," she said. "Because she's in the car."
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Aidan jumped up. "You left her in the car?!" He ran to the door.
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"It's eighty-five degrees outside!"
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"I cracked the window." said Chris, following him.
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"Yeah, but you've been here an hour!" he shouted, as reached the car.
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Quickly he opened the door. A large black dog stumbled out the car,
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panting heavily. Aidan scooped her up in his arms and carried her into
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the house to cool air.
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He filled a bowl full of cool water for her then turned to his sister.
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"You could've killed her like that, Chris. What in the hell were you
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thinking?"
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"I cracked the window." Aidan shook his head. No hope for you,
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sis. Bear gulped down the whole bowl of water. "I'll give you more in a
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few minutes, Bear" he said, patting her on the head.
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"I've got to go, Aidan."
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He glared at her.
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"And you don't have to worry about her making a mess on the floor.
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She isn't in heat anymore. She's not dripping."
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"You means she's not discharging?"
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"Uh-huh," Chris answered. "So you don't have worry about any of
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the strays around here getting her pregnant."
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Aidan shook his head. "When a dog goes in heat, Chris, it isn't
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over just because she stops `dripping'. Now's when she's most---"
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She cut him off. "Okay whatever, bye. Thanks Aidan."
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And so Aidan had a pet. He saw no reason not to take her to Mt.
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Dunn. Her barks would punctuate his silence. The extra company would be
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nice too. He wouldn't have to just talk to his computer.
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The cabin was a good mile's walk from the road. He parked his
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sedan and grabbed his pack in one hand and his laptop in the other. Bear
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followed behind for a moment then raced off ahead of him. Aidan had to
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call her ever half a minute or so.
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"I should've brought a leash." he sighed. He would've
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brought one had he seen the need. The nearest neighbor was four miles
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away. This wasn;t the city where leash laws were required. He didn't
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bring a pooper scooper either. Dog crap was biodegrable. What was the
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problem in the country?
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Despite the cool weather, Aidan dripped with sweat by the time he
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reached the cabin. "I've got to get into better shape," he said, fumbling
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with the keys. Bear raced in as he opened the door. The cabin was dank
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and dark. He fumbled with the light switch, wondering why the light
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wouldn't come on before remembering that the only power the cabin had was
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from a bank of car batteries and a gas powered generator.
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"Batteries must be dead." he sighed, setting his stuff down in the
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dark. "I bet Robbie's been here." His brother usually left the cupboards
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empty and the power drained.
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Aidan went to the kitchen. The drawers were in their usual disaary
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after Robbie's visit. Aidan had to search five minutes for a flashlight.
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He turned it on. "It still works. I don't believe it."
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"I'll get gas tomorrow," he sighed. It took him another five minutes
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just to find the matches. During this whole time Bear had used the
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"outdoor facilities" and then settled in for a nap on the bearksin rug in
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the main room.
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Aidan lit an oil lamp. There was only a milimeter or two of oil left
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in the bottom. He found no refills. There were no candles either.
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Robbie had used all those too. He looked at his watch. It was too late
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in the day to go back to town.
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"I guess I'll have to light this place with the fireplace," he
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sighed. "Hope you don't mind the heat, Bear." I'll go get supplies
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tomorrow. He then began working on a fire. Dead leaves made good
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starter. He piled on dried twigss and few larger branches. With a match,
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the leaves took on brighters reds and oranges then curled black. The
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twigs burned. Larger sticks were piled on and then finally a log. He
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then made an effort to unpack. When all was finished, the sun had gone
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down.
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Bear was up and exploring the cabin, going from room to room,
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memorizing the scent of every wall and piece of furniture. Aidan thought
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it was odd she did not do that the first time she entered the house.
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Maybe she did whule he was busy. He looked down at the bearskin rug. It
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looked so soft and comfortable. Aidan yanwed.
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"Go to write." he said, stretching. "Then make dinner."
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He opened up his laptop computer. The screen flashed white as he
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turned it on. The machine went through its
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start up and ten seconds later, asked for a password.
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"W'er'dna." he whispered. Bear cocked her head, listening to the key
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clicks. Aidan pulled up his word processor and opened chapter ten of
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_Hellwarren_. He had to write the scene in which he planned Cheyana to
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fall in love with Dark Horse. How could he change the mood to one of love
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when the Winterkeep of the Wolf-Cynn had been razed and most of the tribe
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slain? The words would not come. Aidan just stared at the blinking
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cursor. Minutes passed. He yawned, typed a sentence, then deleted it.
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"Damn it." he huffed. Bear, now curled up on the rug, looked up
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in. "I can't think." Aidan said. Bear sat up and dog smiled, her jaw
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open, brown eyes refelcting the firelight.
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Aidan looked at her. "What?"
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She leaned against his knees. Aidan smiled and began to pat her
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head. "I don't have time to play right now," he sighed. She leaned
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closer when he pulled his hand away.
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He tried to type but the right words wouldn't come--and Bear wasn't making
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it any easier. The room was already too hot from the blaze in the
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fireplace. Bear yawned.
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He clicked shutdown on the screen menu. "I'll write--" he
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stretched and yawned himself, "Write later." Aidan set his computer aside
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and laid down in front of the fire. Bear took her place beside him on the
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rug. He tried to go to sleep but could not. Cheyana's situation would
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not leave his head. And the fire was too hot. Aidan stripped off his
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smelly tee-shirt and jeans.
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The air felt much cooler as he lay there sleepy and spread eagled
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on the bearskin. Write later, he thought and closed his eyes. A cold
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nose in his arm pit startled him. Bear wanted to know these other smells.
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"Stop it." he said, pushing her away. Bear circled him then came
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up between his legs and buried her nose in his crotch.
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Aidan jerked up and kicked her. "No! Bad dog!" he yelled as she
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yelped and retreated into the darkened kitchen. He could see her eyes
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glowing from the firelight.
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"Bad dog." he said again, and rolled over feeling like a shmuck. Bear did
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not come back into the room.
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I hit the dog, he thought. She was only smelling me and I kicked
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her. Aidan remembered how his sister and her husband treated the dog.
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They were always hitting Bear for going in the trash or getting in front
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of the television. Robbie was no better. And both his brother and his
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sister hit their children way too much. I'm no better than them, he
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thought.
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"C'mere Bear." he called. She came halfway into the room then
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crouched. "I'm sorry girl."
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She whined.
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"I'm sorry girl."
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She wagged her tail but came no closer.
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Aidan rolled over and went to sleep, still feeling like a shmuck.
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He awoke once because of the heat. Bear had joined him while he
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napped. She slept curled against him, her nose near his crotch and her
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rump in his face. Aidan could smell her musk. He moved his head away.
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"So is that what male dogs like?" he whispered. He thought of how it
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compared to the pungeant scent of his last girlfriend. Their smells were
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similiar and he chuckled to himself thinking that if Tracy had smelled
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like Bear, he wouldn't have mind sixty-ninening with her so much. God,
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you're a freak, he then thought, closing his eyes. He didn't want to wake
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until sunrise or just a little before.
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The second time he awoke from a dream of tender sex with a
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beautiful woman. He remembered running his fingers through her closley
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cropped hair. He remembered the wonderful smell of her sex, of burying
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his face in her--and her scent lingered--and her scent was Bear's.
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My animal instincts, he told himself. Pheremones. And he could
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still smell those pheremones. Bear lay on her side, curled enough so the
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her nose was close to Aidan's crotch. He could feel her hot breath on his
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erection, could feel himself wanting but stopping himself.
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"Pheremones," he said. Bear's nose touched his cock and then he
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felt her tongue lapping at him. He rolled on his back but the tongue
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followed and felt so good--so different then a blow. With one lick
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carressed from his balls to his glans, tasting his pre-come.
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Aidan tried to lay back, tried to just lay still but he had to
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take some part in this no matter how he wanted to remain blameless. If I
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just let then I've done nothing wrong, he reasoned. She woke me up in my
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sleep. And still he could not lay back like he did with Tracy.
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Aidan rolled back on his side so Bear could better do what she was
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doing and so he could take in her smell again.
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He put his face between her thighs. Her belly burned warmer against his
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cheeks than any other lover. Then he took his first tentative taste. The
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fur around her swollen vulva tasted brackish but her smell drew him
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deeper. He parted her puffy black lips with his fingertips and tasted her
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again. It wa far sweeter than he expected. So began a feast. Bear
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twitched and rocked her hips. Together in their circle they were like a
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giant yin and yang. Polar opposites, joined as one, male, female, man,
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and animal. And Aidan realized that they were really not all that
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different. Not at the moment of passion. Together, they were one.
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Their lovemaking went on late into the night. Aidan held her at
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last, letting his arms be the tie that she would've had had he been a dog.
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An embrace would have to suffice. Then he let her go and went out to
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watch the sunrise alone. She did not follow, content to sleep in front of
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the dying embers.
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Aidan looked at the colors expecting to be somehow made brighter
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by his realization. They were the same. It was not the world that had
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changed but him. There was still all the guilt for what he had done to be
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dealt with. For now he felt like writing.
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The words came reluctantly but once they began they did not stop
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until Cheyana had seduced her forbidden lover. After thier act there came
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shame, for they had violated the taboo. She was his adopted sister and
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through their lust they found thier love. Now they had a quest to break
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their bonds of familiy so they could be together without scorn. That was
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the direction the book would go.
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Bear came and nudged Aidan away from his writing. It was then
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that he knew. He too had a journey.
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