Dawn Discovered

Jan bit her bottom lip as she watched Thomas disappear into the crowd. She slid through the dancing couples to her table. She didn't bother with saying goodnight to Ginger or anyone else. She slung her purse over her shoulder. Drained her glass of jack and coke. She should not be doing this. But, since when had she ever done anything she was supposed to do? She pressed through the crowd and slipped into the night.

Thomas walked the couple of blocks home. He knew Mack, the local sheriff, was out on the prowl tonight. Ready to fill his jail with drunks the way a fisherman fills his net with fresh catch. He was not going to be one of them. Public intoxication was forgivable. Driving while intoxicated was not. He'd seen too many near fatalities roll into his ER over the years to even risk it.

He stomped up the porch steps, ridding his tennis shoes of stray bits of dewy, mowed grass. He didn't bother locking the door behind him. He draped his shirt over the back of a wingback chair as he made his way through his dark living room. The front door opened behind him. Streetlights dimly highlighted Jan's shape as she stood in the entryway. Silently, she stepped through and closed the door behind her.

Jan shimmied out of her shoes and dropped her purse on the floor. Feeling the heat of his stare on her as she slid her arms free of her blouse. Carefully laying it across the back of a chair, her hands wandered down to the waistband of her skirt. Thomas mimicked her movements, unbuckling his belt and sliding his jeans down his narrow hips. She kicked free of the skirt and eased her panties over her hips. Not bothering to pick her discarded clothes off the floor, she unclasped her bra dropped it onto the heap. She stood before him, naked and burning from the heat of his stare. Staring back at him as he stood naked for her inspection. "I don't know what I'm doing here," she confessed breathlessly.

Thomas could make out the swell of her breasts and the hardness of her nipples in the scanty bit of light filtering through the living room curtains. He trailed over the sway of her hips with his eyes. She was made for him. Perfectly proportioned for his palms. They fit together like matching pieces of a puzzle. "Does it matter?" he asked. He took Jan hand and led her through the darkness to his bedroom.

He guided her to the edge of the bed. Exploring her body with his hands and tasting her lips with his tongue. His tongue darted into her mouth, slowly slicking over hers. Letting the heat of the kiss build to a frantic mating of lips, tongues, teeth, and mouths. He was hard and aching to take her. He wanted her. Gently, he lowered Jan back against the comforter. He pinned her beneath him, absorbing her warmth and allowing it to chase away the cold and darkness in his soul.

Jan stretched out across the smooth, cool surface of Thomas's bed. His warmth covered her and chased the chill away from her skin. His hands were warm, traveling the length of her body. Dazzling her with an array of sensations. He parted her thighs with his knee as his fingers sought out her most pleasurable places. His lips teased her breasts. Despite the coolness of the air conditioning, his skin was covered with a light sheen of sweat. He smelled whiskey and desperate hunger. She was the buffet he dined upon, consuming every inch of her.

She traced her own paths down his body, pleasuring him with her touch and teasing him with the promise in her kiss. Her tongue smoothed against his as the moment built between them. That was all she was giving him. That was all she was taking in return, this single moment, this night, and not one thing more.

Thomas reeled against Jan. Hungrily devouring her. Lapping up every bit she gave him in return. She was damp with need. Writhing against his touch. Bucking her hips and so eager for more of him. Her back arched as he took his time, teasing and blazing a trail of desire along her smooth, soft skin.

As embroiled by passion as she was. As aching and needful, painfully hard as he was, no words of affection or endearment crossed their lips. Words were a trap that would snare them in its steely teeth. She wasn't here to hear words and he hadn't invited her in to speak them. She offered none. And neither did he. This night was all that there was. All either one of them had to offer or was willing to receive.

Thomas paused for a second, tightening the reins on his passion. Using the brief interlude to push Jan to the teetering brink. He would not take the chance of becoming a father. He could not bring a child into the world with a woman he didn't love. He dreamed of the day he'd finally fall in love and make a son, or a daughter. Conceived, not in the heat of the moment, but out of love. He opened the package and slid the thin, slick condom into place. He hated the tight, confining sensation squeezing him and dulling the pleasure. But, the minor inconvenience was worth the major peace of mind the condom provided him.

Jan appreciated Thomas's careful nature. Always concerned for her health and safety, and for his. She was protected against pregnancy. She didn't want a moment's worth of passion to result in bringing a child she wasn't ready for into the world. Someday, maybe she would be ready. But, not any time soon. She had too many other things on her plate to consider becoming a mother. Someday when she found someone that she was crazy in love with who loved her in return. Then, she'd let nature take its course.

Thomas slid into Jan. Her warmth enveloped him and gripped him. She was slick, hot, and wonderfully responsive. Meeting his every thrust. Matching his pace and rhythm with eager enthusiasm. Rewarding him with sighs and shudders of pleasure and giving him pleasure in return. Her hands splayed across his hips holding her still. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as he pumped and dove into her depths.

Jan opened up for him. Gripped at him. Her legs wrapped around his hips pulling him closer. He was so good. His body was hard against hers. He filled her. Pleasurable sensations rocked through her body, curling her toes. She hung on and let him send her to the brink. Thrusting and rocking against him with needy bucks of her hips she tumbled over the steep edge. His hands gently cupped her face as he kissed her and sailed over his own rocky edge, right behind her.

Thomas shivered as the surges of pleasure rocked through his body. He kissed Jan tenderly. Relishing the feel of her lips against his and the heat of her body wrapping all around him. He slid free. Holding her close as he rolled onto his back. Dreamily enjoying the feeling of her fingers as they tickled across his chest.

Jan rested her head in the crook of Thomas's arm and traced patterns across his chest lightly with her fingertips. Enjoying the warm feel of his skin beneath her cool fingers. She snaked her hand lower. He was semi-hard in her palm. With a few gentle strokes and a little coaxing, she had him fully erect. His body tense against her, his hips bucking in time to her strokes as she readied for another round. She knew where he kept the condoms. Clumsily she fumbled along the top of the nightstand until she felt the slick package beneath her fingertips. Still working him and gripping him tightly, she opened the package and slid the condom onto him.

Thomas shuddered in utter delight. Jan wanted more and he was willing to give all and anything she wanted. Her thighs sandwiched his hips as she lowered her body onto his length. He reached up to knead her breasts as she rocked against him and bathed him in a shower of decadent pleasurable sensations. He gripped her waist, slowing her pace and dragging it out. His fingers splayed across the warmth of her dangerous and sleek curves. She worked magic with her hips, moving in slow, erotic circles, grinding her body against him. He reached his fingers to tease the swollen nub of flesh at the apex of her sex. Getting her there, getting himself there as his body responded to the pleasure he gave and she took from him. Rocking her body faster, encouraging her, begging for her to come for him, he gritted his teeth against his impending orgasm. With gasps of sheer lust, Jan rode him hard and relentlessly, teetering on the brink of her release.

Jan threw back her head. Her back arched as Thomas reached up to pinch her sensitized nipples. Her limbs buzzed with each new wave of pleasure that rolled through her core to spread out, filling her. She kept pace with the demanding clench of Thomas's hands and the buck of his hips as he drove deeper inside of her. She rested her weight against the strength of his shoulders. Her fingers dug into his flesh. Marring it with tiny crescents from her nails. The release hit her hard, sending her into spasms of ecstasy and thralls of sheer joy. Thomas was right there with her, gasping and shuddering beneath her weight. Exhausted and utterly spent, she collapsed onto his chest. Kissing the curve of his neck lightly with her lips. Her hair draped over their bodies, covering them in a thick, dark, curtain.

Thomas pulled the comforter over their naked skin, cocooning their bodies in a soft layer of goose down and the warmth of flesh against flesh. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, lost in a tangle of walnut brown hair and sighed in contentment. Words rushed through his head. But, he did not give into his need to fill the comfortable silence with their babbling nonsense. He closed his eyes and let himself feel. He felt the sensation of her breaths whisper across his chest. Felt his hand in her soft hair as his fingers smoothed through the satiny strands. Sleep came and snatched him up quickly, whisking him away. The moment was over.

Jan leaned up on an elbow and stared down at Thomas. He looked peaceful and content. Lost to a world of dreams. His lips pursed and his brow furrowed as if he were in thought and then relaxed. She wondered what it was that he dreamed of. If by chance, she was in them. She should go. Get out now. But, the night so long and empty, stretched out before her. And his bed was full, with the two of them in it. Surely she could afford herself a bit of luxury, sheltering against her loneliness in his arms for a little longer.

No, she couldn't. She didn't dare. Sliding out of his arms, she tucked the covers tightly around him. Bending, she brushed a patch of stray hair away from his forehead and gave him a light peck on the lips. "Goodnight, Thomas."

She padded through the house and gathered up her abandoned clothing. Pulling her skirt over her hips as she shrugged into her blouse and buttoned it closed. Stuffing her bra and panties into the side pocket of her purse, she stared into the dark and inhaled Thomas's scent. Gathering her composure, she picked up her shoes and padded barefoot into the night, making sure she locked the door tightly behind her.















































Chapter 23

Hunter held Gina in his arms, resting her body against his chest. Lovingly, he stroked her bare shoulder. Making love in a sleeping bag in front of a roaring campfire what could be more perfect? He could not think of a better way to spend a quiet night with just the two of them. "You know, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you."

Gina closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat of Hunter's heart as it thrummed against her cheek. "Nor I for you," she answered. She couldn't begin to fathom the depths of love he felt for her. She only knew that she basked in it. She could only hope she gave him enough of hers in return. The enormity of his love chased all her demons away. And in his arms, she felt whole again.

The breeze rustled through the trees. Cricket song and the throaty bellow of bullfrogs created a symphony of life all around them. The fire crackled and lit the night with an orange glow. Stars winked down at them. And the moon kissed the dark with her silvery kiss. The wolves were out. Hunter could feel them. The power of their calling surged through his body like an electrical current. He could hear them. The haunting echo of their calls spoke to him. He would not answer. Again. He gritted against the sound of their voices. So familiar, his family cried out to him, begging him to join them. He would not. "Never forget, you are everything to me."

The wolf surged beneath the surface of his skin. His body ached with the force of his restraint. He focused on Gina. Her gentleness and softness permeated the borders of his mind. Easing the beast that roared inside of him. His fight had only just begun. The pull of weakness was starting to tug at his limbs. The world was beginning to fade. He could no longer hear her heart beating though he sat next to her. He could not detect the subtle changes in her scent that keyed him into her moods and thoughts. She was every bit as beautiful. But, he could not view her with the same clarity he had a day ago.

In trying to keep her, to become like her, he was losing the parts of himself that he loved the most. He had never realized how much he relied on his heightened senses to interpret the universe around him and how acutely the loss would affect him. He was only at the tip of realization of exactly what being human was like.

His digital watch made a chirping sound. A new day had arrived. Hunter desperately pressed his lips to hers as he clung to her body with his hands. He hid his burgeoning weaknesses well from her view. "Good morning, Gina Klein," he whispered against her mouth as he drank her in.

"Good morning, Hunter," she breathed against his lips. Receiving his kiss and offering her own. The fire was warm and cheerful. Their bodies wrapped tightly in a thick, soft blanket. They were nestled, safe and warm, in this little world of their own creation. But, Gina had a sense of foreboding, that as right as things seemed to be there was something wrong in their little world and it was about to collapse in on their heads.

Dena shivered against the gusts of cool air, chilling her from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes. "I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," she grumbled. It was cool and damp, this deep in the woods and dark as pitch. Unseen branches snagged at her clothes. Animals scurried out of the reach of the beam of the flashlight barely managing to cut through the darkness. The ground was slick with dew. She questioned Blake's sanity. And she questioned her own for letting him talk her into this.

Blake snickered and led the way with his trusty flashlight. Tromping through the woods with Dena trailing close behind, gripping his belt loops tightly. "The view is spectacular. I've got a thermos of coffee ready when we reach the bluffs."

"And what if I have to pee?" Dena slipped, losing her footing on a root.

"Sucks to be you," Blake snorted. Clutching her arm to keep her upright, the beam of the flashlight made wild patterns in the night sky.

Dena shoved at his back. "Get moving. I'm freezing my ass off." She gasped as she reached the edge of the woods banking the bluffs. A blanket of brilliantly twinkling stars dotted the velvet sky with their light. She picked out the constellations easily. Big Bear. Little Bear. Orion. Pegasus. She didn't know a plant from peanut butter. But, Blake claimed that tonight Venus was visible to the naked eye from the depths of space. "How beautiful," she whispered, craning her neck to take in more of the amazing star field overhead.

"Worth it?" Blake asked. Dena had complained, questioned, and whined all the way out here. So what? It was around midnight. She argued they should be in bed. He was a hair past middle age. But, that didn't mean he was ready for the nursing home quite yet. You died in bed. But, you didn't get to see a star show like this, tucked safely under your covers.

"Definitely." She gripped his hand as he led her to the edge of the bluffs. Locked arm in arm, they stared down at the dozing town below. Here and there clusters of light pierced through the deep cover of darkness and thick pine.

"Marry me," Blake said.

"I am."

"No, tonight. Right now. Let the stars be our witnesses. Let the trees stand as our attendants. I'm not talking about signing a piece of paper. I'm talking about joining our hearts and committing our lives as one." He sucked in a breath against the chill as he unzipped his jacket and pulled out a ring out of the inside pocket.

"I thought I lost that." Dena recognized the ring immediately. Her wedding band glowed dully in the thin beam of light cast into his palm by the flashlight. The tiny circle of pale yellow gold wasn't an elaborate or expensive piece. But, it wasn't the price tag that mattered. It was the thought behind it. "Where did you find it?"

"After you left. I found it in the soap dish beside the bathroom sink. You must have left it behind and forgotten it was there. I should have called you. But, I held on to it instead. I never gave up hope that you'd wear your wedding band again someday."

"What about you?" Dena asked "I don't have a ring for you."

Blake stretched out his left hand. "I never took mine off," he said. He turned the flashlight, casting the beam of light onto his ring finger. Dena's cool fingers stroked the band. At the time, they didn't have much money. The plain gold bands were the best they could afford. Both sets of parents were against the marriage. Said they were too young and making a mistake. But, they'd been so in love. They hadn't listened. Then, Claire came, life happened, and the divorce papers ended what their hearts had begun. Their marriage was over twelve years later. But, his heart hadn't taken the hint. He'd never stopped loving. Never gave up hope that deep inside. In that place where there was only love and life was a distant shadow. She hadn't stopped loving him either.

Dena held Blake's hand in her palm. She ran the tip of her index finger over his ring. The band was worn and scratched with time. His hands were different than they had been when she'd slid the ring on his finger and given her vow. The knuckles more pronounced, the skin looser and thinner, but his grip was just as strong. And his hold on her heart had never weakened. Tears blurred her vision. But, not even the misty warbling of the world could dull her sight. She saw the important things. She saw him. "I never realized."

"Say yes," Blake whispered. He gave Dena a gentle and loving smile. Holding her ring finger in his hands, he paused with her wedding band clutched between his thumb and index finger. This time, things were different. There were no doomsayers mumbling in protest. There was no one to tell them they were wrong. No one predicting that this was the biggest mistake of their lives. They weren't in a church. There was no preacher, no flowers, no white dress, or fancy cake. It was just the two of them.

Dena's hands were smooth. Her nails polished with a soft, pink polish. On her right hand, she wore a birthstone ring. The gold and the gem glittered in the beam from the flashlight. The charms on the bracelet he'd given her dangled from her left wrist. Time had changed this woman he'd fallen in love with. The years had shaped her in ways he could not begin to fathom. Experience had changed him too. The slow, inexorable tick of the clock kept right on ticking no matter how badly he wanted to freeze this moment in time. Dena's answer hovered on her lips. And he waited patiently for her to say one word that could change everything forever.

"Yes." The ring slid on easily. Fitting as perfectly as it did the day Blake put it on her finger all those years ago. Blake was not a man of poetic words or flowery prose. He was a man of action. Blake clasped her hand in his and lifted her ring finger to his lips to seal her answer and the ring on her finger with a kiss in exchange of a vow.