Page 34 of Hoof It

Thirty Four

Chapter 33

Jimazu

I know my mate is out of our bed before my eyes even open. Her side of the bed is still warm when I stretch my arms out. I managed to wear her out last night, not stopping until she passed out. I grin to myself at the delicious thought of the way her walls gripped me even after her eyes fell closed. When I finally pulled out of her, my cock was coated in a mixture of both our releases. I can still feel it even now despite my cock being tucked away.

I scoot up the bed until I’m sitting and survey the room. The fire is low, but still keeping the room toasty warm. A deep inhale of breath tells me that my mate hasn’t been gone too long. Rising from the bed, I can still smell her citrus-salty scent, and I follow the strongest trail. It leads me to the bathroom, and it’s then that I hear her moving around in the water.

“Can I come in?”

“Always, Zu.”

My hand twists the shiny knob and the door opens. I’m greeted with the sight of my naked mate lounging in a tub full of steamy water. Her arms are draped over the sides of the metal tub and her hair is piled high on top of her head. Her eyes are closed and her lips are curved in a soft smile.

“Good morning, my beast.” Her head turns towards me and her eyes slowly open. My body moves to lean against the doorway, my arms crossed over my chest, but her next words stop me. “Join me?”

Darcy stretches out an arm, and before I realize what I’m doing, my body is moving towards her. One hoof at a time I step into the warm water, my mate scooting forward to make room for me to sit behind her. Once I’m situated with my back against the warm tub, my mate presses her back against my chest. My nose nuzzles into her hair, and my arms wrap around her. Her hands move to my arms and her entire body relaxes against mine.

We stay like that, silently holding one another until the water goes cold. Eventually, Darcy drains the water then places the plug back in and turns on the water again. I’ll never get used to having warm water on demand like this. It’s a remarkable feature to have. As the water slowly fills the tub, my mate reaches off to the side and picks up a bottle of soap. She squeezes some of it into a cloth draped over the edge of the tub. Holding it up for me, she turns her head and looks at me over her shoulder. “Would you mind helping me wash?”

Not one to turn down an opportunity to touch my mate, I take the cloth from her and scrub her shoulders and back before moving to her arms. She presses her soapy back against me so that I’m better able to wash her front. Tenderly, I use the cloth on her breasts and down her belly. When I reach the apex of her thighs, her legs fall apart. I dip the cloth below the water and slowly drag it across her clit. I doubt this is the proper way to clean this area, but the little sounds falling from my mate’s lips have me not wanting to stop.

I drag my nose up and down her neck as my hand continues to rub the cloth against her clit. With little warning, her body tenses up and her release hits her. Her head falls against my shoulder and I take the opportunity to slip two fingers from my free hand into her opening and stroke her walls, prolonging her orgasm.

She shudders against me, and my hands slow their movements. I don’t stop until she grips my wrists and pushes my hands away.

“Too sensitive.”

I drop a kiss to her forehead, then grab the bottle of soap and add a bit more to the cloth. I quickly wash the rest of her, and then myself. Patting her hip to get her to scoot forward, I carefully stand up and step out of the water. My fur is dripping water all over the floor, so I look around until I see a towel hanging. I pull it off the hook and quickly dry my legs and behind before turning to face the tub. I drop my towel onto the floor to soak up the water, then grab a second one and hold it out for her. My mate pulls the plug a second time, then slowly stands. She winces briefly as she steps out of the tub, and tries to cover it up, but I’ve already seen it.

“Sore?” I wrap the towel around her body.

Her head bobs up and down once. “A little. It’s a good sore, though. I don’t mind it.” Her words are followed by a soft smile, which is exactly what I needed.

“I wasn’t too rough with you last night?”

She nearly falls over with as hard as she shakes her head. “Not at all. I loved every minute of it. You did exactly what you said you would. You fucked me until I passed out. I enjoyed it, all of it. Don’t worry, Zu.” Stepping towards me, she takes my face in her hands. “Last night was perfect, my beast. And…” She hesitates briefly, her voice dropping to a throaty whisper. “Me passing out has me wanting to try something new next time.”

Her desire slams into me and I fight to keep my cock under control. “What’s that?”

My mate bites her bottom lip and her eyes glance anywhere, but at my face for a moment. I take her chin in my hand and lift her face. “Use your words, please.”

A soft groan escapes her, and she meets my eyes. “I want you to fuck me until I pass out, and then keep going after. I want you to fuck me while I’m unconscious. I want to come to with you still buried deeply inside me, chasing your own release.”

My eyes search hers, seeing just how serious she is. I should be turned off by her request, but I’m not. Quite the opposite, in fact. My cock is straining against its confines and I bet that if I pulled it out right now, the tip would be leaking pre-cum. “Little mate, you never cease to shock me,” I groan out. “If we didn’t need to head to the cave today, I would take you in the bedroom right now and do exactly as you’ve asked. I wanted to last night; it was a fight to make myself stop. Even this morning when I woke, my first thought was of how incredible it felt to be inside you after you passed out.”

Her hands move to my face again and she pulls me down to her own face. Our bodies move toward one another as our lips meet in a heated kiss. Her towel slips down, and her bare breasts press against my chest. I rip my lips away from hers as I pick her up. Turning, I press her back against the bathroom door and her legs lock behind my back.

“Gonna be hard and fast, little mate. Hold on.”

My cock pops out of the pocket and I easily slide it inside of her warmth. My fingers find her clit while my mouth latches onto her mark. My tongue and teeth tease the skin as my finger strokes her clit in circles. My hips thrust my cock in and out of her faster and harder than it has in days. Her hands stroke my horns, and it takes everything in me not to come when she whispers, “Just like that my beast. Come for me.”

“Not. Without. You.”

I follow up each word with a hard thrust, and before I know it, we’re falling into an orgasm together. My mate screams my name as her walls grip me tightly. It takes several long moments for the both of us to calm our breathing. My softening cock slips out of her, and my cum runs down her thighs. My head falls backwards and I huff out a laugh.

“So much for that bath.”

Darcy’s giggles join my own laughter. Her legs unwrap and I help her slide down my body onto wobbly legs.

“Jesus, Zu. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk.” Despite the annoyed tone, she’s grinning. I shrug then pat my own back. “Just means I’ll be carrying you. We both know you like when I do anyway.” I throw a wink at her then pat her ass. “Rinse off in the shower. I’ll go grab us a drink and something to eat.”

Darcy stretches up onto the tips of her toes, and places a soft kiss on my lips before turning towards the shower. I exit the bathroom before she’s even turned the water on. I search through the refrigerator, hoping to find another bowl of fruit. I see one, as well as a bottle of orange liquid. I remove the cap and sniff it. My nostrils flare as the scent of oranges fill them. I pull the juice out along with the bowl of mixed fruit. Opening one of the cabinets, I grab two bowls as well as two glasses. I split the fruit between both bowls, then fill each glass with juice. Once I’ve placed the cap back on the bottle, I put it back in the refrigerator.

Just as I’m placing the bowls and cups on the table, my mate steps into the room. She’s fully dressed and even has her boots on her feet. I push a bowl and glass towards her. “Eat. We have a long walk ahead of us.”

For a while, the only sounds are our chewing and the fire in the living room. My mate’s emotions are all over the place as she eats. I send her as much calming comfort as I’m able. We both eat slowly, enjoying our last few moments of peace in our home before we leave for several days.

Darcy pushes her empty bowl away just as I drain the last of the juice from my glass. Together, we take our empty dishes to the sink and she rinses all of them. I’m the first to break the silence. “What do you plan to take with us?”

She turns in a slow circle as she thinks, her finger tapping against her chin. “My backpack, my phone, the crackers, four or five bottles of water, and a couple blankets. I think I even saw a coat in the bedroom closet.”

Nodding, I move from room to room, collecting everything my mate listed. Arms full, I return to my mate. She laughs softly as she takes everything from me, one item at a time. She folds the blankets as small as she’s able, then shoves them into the bottom of her bag. The water bottles are next, followed by the crackers and other snacks I grabbed. She ties the coat around her waist, then slips her phone into a side pocket. As soon as she’s ready, she nods at me once and holds out a hand for me. Together we walk to the front door and step outside.

We walk side by side, hand in hand, for hours. We don’t speak much, rather we use the bond. Darcy has kept up a stream of stories about her childhood and growing up with Lexi. I know she’s nervous and trying to keep her mind off the possibility of what awaits us when we reach the cave tomorrow. I do my best to keep her distracted by asking questions. Before I know it, we’ve reached the point where we stopped for the night on our way to the cabin.

I slow down my steps until we’re almost fully stopped. “Want to stay here again tonight?” Darcy looks around and realizes where we are. Her face turns towards the sky and it registers that the sun is beginning to set. Her head nods several times. I help her slide her backpack off, and once it hits the ground, she unties her jacket from her waist and slips her arms into it. Turning, I search for wood to light a small fire. I hear my mate moving around as she lays out the blankets into a bed.

Fire successfully lit, I rise and stretch as much of my body as I’m able. Feeling better, I move to where my mate is seated near the fire. She’s eating crackers and has an apple in her lap. After I sit on the ground near her, she hands the apple to me. Taking it with a muttered, “Thank you,” I take my first bite. It doesn’t take me long to finish the tart fruit. My mate holds out her hand and I see that it’s full of the crackers. She drops them into my waiting palms and I eat those as well. We each drink a bottle of water when we’re done eating.

My mate stands. “I’ll be right back.”

My eyebrow raises as my head cocks to the side.

“I need to pee. I’m just going to be right there.” She points to a tree a few feet away. I nod once, and she walks away.

Only a few moments later, she returns to my side, fighting a yawn. I separate the top blanket from the bottom one, and my mate bends down to remove her boots. Together we slip into our makeshift bed. Her coat makes odd sounds as she scoots closer to me. The material brushes against my chest and I find that it feels nice. Odd, but nice. As much as I’d prefer for my mate to be naked in my arms, it’s grown too chilly now that the sun has set for that.

“I already miss the house.” Her whispered voice breaks the stillness of the night around us.

“As do I. After only a couple of nights, I already miss our soft bed. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to sleep on the ground again after tonight.” My arms wrap tightly around her and she nuzzles her head against my chest. An exhausted sigh leaves her and we both fall silent again.

My last coherent thought is sent to my mate, “I love you. No matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll face it together.”

* * *

I’m the first to wake the next morning. I crack one eye open just enough to see that the sun is still below the treetops, though it’s at least an hour past sunrise. Darcy is still asleep, her mouth open just slightly. Her breaths fan across my chest, warming it. As I attempt to stretch, she stirs awake. A long groan leaves her before her eyes even open.

“Definitely missing our bed. Fuuuuuck. I think a rock has been digging into my ribs all night.”

She slowly opens her eyes and shifts to a sitting position. Her arms stretch above her head, her fingers wiggling. Her back arches and I hear multiple pops. She groans in satisfaction before twisting her head from side to side, which causes more pops and snaps. Another groan, then she turns her entire body towards me. My eyes are wide and blinking rapidly, and it makes her laugh. I sit up, stretching my own back in the process.

“We only have to sleep on the ground one more time. Then never again.”

“Thank god. I don’t know how people do this all the time, Zu. There are people out there that happily camp out and sleep on the ground.” She shudders in what I can only call disgust.

“I must admit, the thought of sleeping on the ground every day sounds terrible. And I’m part animal. My kind slept on the ground each night. I didn’t sleep on a bed for the first time until I was an adult. I do not miss the days on using the ground each night. Thank Pan for soft beds.”

Her head has been shaking the entire time I’ve been speaking, her top lip curled upwards. Finally, she moves to stand and slip her feet into her boots. She ties them quickly before leaning down and kissing my cheek. As she walks towards her tree, she tosses a quick smile over her shoulder. I take that as my cue to stand and pick up our bedding. I fold the blankets the best I’m able and stuff them back inside her bag.

I find my own tree and relieve myself, and as I’m returning to the fire, Darcy is sitting down. Her legs are crossed and she’s munching on an apple. She tosses one to me, and I eat the entire thing in only a couple of minutes. We drink some water, then my mate stands and faces me. “Ready?”

Grabbing the long stick nearby, I separate the logs in the fire so that it will die out. I hold out my hand, and she places her own in it. We walk for several more hours, occasionally talking, but mostly staying quiet. The sun has finally climbed above the treetops by the time we make it to the edge of the clearing. We both stop walking, seeming to have had the same thought.

“Let’s wait here. I’m going to text Lexi and see where they are.”

Rather than voice a response, I squeeze her hand and nod. Her phone is pulled out of her pocket and her fingers fly across the screen. She presses the side of the device, causing the screen to go black and together we wait. Lexi doesn’t make us wait long before she replies, and it lights up my mate’s screen. Darcy visibly exhales in relief as she reads Lexi’s reply.

“Lex said that everyone is in place, and we’re good to move towards the cave. She said to walk normally, Mat is nearby waiting for us. Lexi’s dad and his men have the clearing surrounded, so if Mat tries to approach us, we’re safe.”