In the Arms of Fenris

Marty looked at the porch while he ran around a bit. There was a bit of food on the floor and that was it. No damage, or mess. She was amazed. Maybe she'd have Graydon talk to all the problem animals. No, probably wouldn't work, but she was very happy that Max was being so good. So far that is. She called Max in and went to get him a treat. She barely had the biscuit in hand before he sat and waited. He'd never done that before. She gave him his treat and he took it back to his pillow to eat. Marty refilled his food bowl and water dish and then went back into the main part of the house.

Graydon stood half dressed in the kitchen, just out of sight of the porch. "I take it that if we had bet, I'd have won?"

"Yes. I am amazed. Is this set, or will there be a major screw up in a week?" she asked.

"I am hoping that this is a permanent fix. I was rather forceful in terms of canine discussion last night. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there were the occasional backslide. You can't live the life he did for four, five years and not have some bad habits show back up from time to time."

"I agree. Thank you."

"Graydon walked over to Marty and put his arms around her. "You're welcome. Now, what are we going to do for breakfast? I'm starving," he said.

"Ummm..... We could go shopping for some groceries," she said.

"Now that's a novel idea!" he said with a smile. "Shall we go get dressed?"

"Yes," she said as they headed towards the bedroom. "Oh, that reminds me. Why didn't you shift back right away last night?"

"It takes a lot of energy, and I was tired before we started. On top of that, I was full of pizza, and when I got back up here I fell asleep."

"I know. I had to work rather hard to get you to move over far enough to let me into the bed. Granted, you were very nice to cuddle up to as I went to sleep."

"That's nice to know. I woke up around 5am and crawled under the covers. Oh, I want to stop by my apartment too while we are out. I need a change of clothing."

"Okay," Marty replied.

They got dressed, checked on Max one last time and then headed out to the grocery store. Marty's local market was full of people she knew. They exchanged greetings and received a number of odd looks. Marty was doing her best to ignore the looks.

"You do realize that by the end of the afternoon, that the local rumor mill will have us married, and me pregnant," she said quietly as they went up the cereal aisle.

"Well, I don't know about the first one, but we didn't use any kind of protection yesterday, and I'm not fixed," Graydon said in reply. He'd realized that they'd sort of skipped that part earlier and hadn't figured out how to bring the subject up delicately.

"Good thing that one of us did do something," she smiled.

"Oh?"

"Yes. I may not have sex that often, but I am on the pill. Normally, I'd have done the whole safe sex routine, but I figured that we could discuss that part of things later today," she finished.

"I'm clean. I get checked regularly, but we are rather healthy in general." "Good. So am I. Just cautious," she said.

Graydon smiled back at her and grabbed some cereal off of the shelf. They finished their shopping and made it almost back to the car without incident. As they crossed the parking lot, an ancient Chevy with a creamsicle orange paint job pulled in front of them. Marty groaned, and Graydon was trying to figure out why when he saw Vicky's hand pop out of the drivers side window and wave. They both waved back and then the Chevy pulled off.

"Oh gods! We've had it now," said Marty.

"Yeah. By the grin on her face, I think she just won a dollar bet," said Graydon.

"No doubt. There will be hell to pay next time we go in to eat. I guess it's a good thing we have food for a few days. I don't think I could cope with her or Ma Henry right now."

"No. I'd hate to think of what they'd do or will do when we finally show up," he said.

"Don't even go there. They'll save it for us no matter how long we delay. The bigger question is do we head in sooner or later?"

"Ummm... Later. I think we need to work out some things between us before anything else," Graydon said.

"I agree." Marty turned to the cart which was now next to the Saab and was waiting for Graydon to open the door. They loaded the groceries in and then headed home. They totally forgot about going by his apartment for a change of clothes.

Max was waiting patiently by the porch door. No mass destruction had occurred. Graydon let him out into the back yard and they left him to run around for a bit. Marty had started to put groceries away.

"Do you have any idea of how long it's been since I had this much food in the house?" she asked.

"By the dust on some of the cupboard shelves, I'd say at least a year."

"More like two. I just gave up at some point and decided that it was cheaper to eat out. The only thing I really stock is my tea and in the summer time, ice cream," she admitted.

Graydon turned to her with a smile. "So, that's why there was a nearly empty container of ice cream with a spoon in it in the freezer?" he asked. As he turned, he held up a small cardboard cup with a spoon sticking out of it.

"Awwwgh! You would find that! I thought I'd finished that months ago." Marty's face was turning red as she took the container from him. She salvaged the spoon and dumped the container in the trash.

Max barked outside, and Graydon went to the back door. Max was just barking at birds, so he left him alone. Graydon turned to see Marty trying to reach up to put something in a high cupboard. He walked up behind her and took it from her hand. He put it on the shelf and then closed the cupboard.

"You know, I could help if you'd let me," he said.

Marty looked up at him with a sigh. "Yeah, but I'm not use to having others in the house, let alone around long enough to help."

"Well, maybe you ought to get used to it." He turned and went over to the table. He pulled out a chair for her. "We need to sit down and talk about some things."

Marty walked over and sat down. She wasn't very good at this type of thing. "I know we need to talk. I'm still sort of blown away by the last day or so. What do you want to do?"

"It can't be just what I want. It has to be what we want. I know what I'd like, but it's only part of this whole thing," Graydon reached over and took her hands in his. He liked being able to touch her. She squeezed his hands with hers.

"Okay, since you won't say what you'd like, I'll start. Logically, we could continue on with our separate lives and just date, have sex and share Max. As far as I'm concerned, that isn't much better than being single."

"No, it isn't. And that isn't an option that I'd vote for," said Graydon.

"Alright. I can't see me moving into your apartment. No yard, and I'd have to go back to paying rent."

"You own this house?" he asked.

"Yes. Bought it about five years ago. All I owe are yearly taxes, insurance and utilities. But back to us. Would you be comfortable moving in with me?"

Graydon's first impulse was to holler 'Hell Yes!', but he was watching her body language and also smelled a bit of fear coming from her. "I would be very comfortable moving in with you. However, how do you feel about that?" he asked, hoping he'd opened up the right spot for conversation.

Marty took a deep breath. "Well, I see it as a much better way to handle everything. I just worry that we might be rushing things. At the same time, I'd be all for moving you in here this afternoon if we could find a truck."

"That reminds me, we forgot to go by my apartment. If you'd seen it, you'd not worry about needing a truck. Most of my stuff would fit in one trip with the Saab. Maybe two. I'm not a possessions heavy type," he said moved a little closer to Marty. "Now why are you hesitant about us moving in together?"

Marty looked at him and then down at their hands. "I'm... I'm thirty-five, don't want children, and have never seen myself as the marrying type. I don't want to give you any false hopes or misleading ideas," she said. "And... I've always been better with dogs and horses than men."

Graydon smiled. "Okay, confession time. "I'm not into marriage either. Children? No, I'll leave that to my sister and our two brothers. As for age, I'm forty-two."

"What? Forty-two? You certainly don't look that old. I don't believe it," she said,

Graydon smiled again as he pulled out his wallet. He took out his drivers license and handed it over to Marty. She looked at the birth date, did the math and looked at him as she handed it back. "Okay, I was wrong. Wow."

Marty was quiet for a moment. She stood up and walked over to the window to see what Max was up to. He was running around the yard chasing a moth or butterfly. No holes in the yard either. She sat back down. "Graydon," she hesitated.

Graydon reached over and touched her face. "Marty, may I move in with you? With the understanding that we don't want to marry or have children, and that I'm an ancient old fart who happens to be a werewolf?"

That made her smile. "Yes." She stood up, came round the table and wrapped her arms around him as she kissed him. His arms felt good around her and that scent. Oh... she didn't dare get distracted right now.

They locked Max back up on the porch and headed over to Graydon's apartment. He opened the door, and the smell of sour milk hit his nose. "Oh gods! I didn't think that it would go off so fast," he said as he grabbed the pint of milk out of the fridge and poured it down the sink. He ran water and cleared out the sink.

Marty looked around. "You were right when you said that you didn't have much. I think your computer is the biggest item in the whole room. And even it isn't very big," she commented.

"No, and if I had my way, it would be a laptop. I just haven't had time to upgrade to one I like. Do you have a computer?" he asked.

Marty nodded. "It's in the spare bedroom. Nothing great, just enough to let me do email and cruise the web. I never have time to do much."

Graydon smiled. He grabbed his clothes out of the dresser and closet and dropped them into garbage bags for the trip. He put them in first to pad out the area before he brought his computer out. The monitor was the most awkward to place. Marty just stuffed bedding around it and shut the hatch.

Graydon looked around the apartment. He did a quick check of all the cupboards and drawers. Marty gave the bathroom a quick clean while he tidied up the kitchen area. They grabbed the eggs out of the fridge and the trash and shut the door. He walked over to the manager's apartment and gave him the keys after a brief chat.

"That's taken care of. The manager will see if it needs any more cleaning and will deduct the cost from what he'll have to refund me out of my rent and deposit," he said. They headed out towards the main part of town.

"That's fair. You haven't even been there a month have you?"

"No, just about three weeks. Barely enough time to get settled." Graydon turned down Marty's street and pulled into the driveway instead of in front of the house. "Once we unload this, we aught to go pick up your car. It's still at the diner."

"Oh,... I'd forgotten about it. Do you think we can get it without the Henry's seeing us?" she asked.

"We can certainly try." Graydon opened the back hatch and grabbed the computer monitor. He headed towards the house.

Marty grabbed a bag of clothing and unlocked the door for Graydon. It took about ten minutes to take everything up to the front upstairs bedroom. Not that he'd sleep in there, but it gave him space for his clothes and there was room for his computer too.

They let Max out for a bit. They put him back on the porch, and then headed over to the Dirty Spoon.

Graydon drove past the entrance and into the parking lot next door. Marty gave him a puzzled look. "If we drove straight in, Vicky would see us. This way, we have half a chance to grab your car without being observed," he explained.

Marty nodded. They got out of the car and headed towards her Volvo. Marty took one look at her car and groaned. There was no way to sneak off. The Volvo had been decorated with tin cans, paper flowers and a large sign that said, 'Just Got Laid!'

"Oh Damn!" she exclaimed. Graydon didn't know whether to laugh or groan. They were caught fair and square.

"Let's go in. There is no way to get any of that off without alerting Kenny or the Henry's. It can't be much worse inside. Can it?" he asked.

"I don't know." Marty took a deep breath and headed for the door.

There were only a few people in the diner when they came in. Vicky smiled at them and hollered into the kitchen. Then she escorted them over to their booth.

"We only came in to say we were taking the car home," Marty tried to explain. Vicky just smiled and walked away.

"I think we are in for it," Graydon said.

Marty nodded. A moment later, the Henry's and Kenny came out of the kitchen. Ma Henry had a small tray in her hand covered with a towel. She set it down and then handed Vicky a dollar.

"I told you there'd be a bet!" said Marty.

Graydon nodded. Neither one of them wanted to be the one to uncover what was on the tray. There was no guessing what it might be.

"Well, one of you going to look?" Asked Ma Henry pointing to the tray.

Graydon took hold of the top of the cloth and pulled it up. Then he started laughing. Marty looked and laughed too. Ma Henry had a smile across her face as did Vicky. Pa Henry was belly laughing behind the two of them.

There on the tray was a small cake. On the cake was a bridal cake top that had been altered. The bride figure wore blue jeans and a flannel shirt. The groom had a sports shirt on. Around their ankles were a bunch of puppies of various breeds.

Graydon finally stopped laughing long enough to ask Vicky what she called this.

Vicky smiled, and very proudly said, "a creamed bunny special with Fenris on top!"

The laughter started all over. When everyone had finally caught their breath, Ma Henry handed a knife to Marty so that she could cut the cake. Moving the figures carefully off the top, she cut into it to find that it was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Everyone got a piece, including Kenny. He liked carrots.

Ma Henry sat down next to Marty. "We were so surprised and happy when Vicky came to work with the news that she'd seen you two shopping at the market. Said you both had big smiles on your faces. So, we had to celebrate. We think of you as a daughter, Marty. We hope that everything goes well."

"And if you break her heart boy, I'll let Kenny eat you!" Pa said from the counter.

"Nope. Not in my plans. Besides, I'd hate to give Kenny indigestion," said Graydon.

"Have you moved in yet?" Vicky asked.

Marty wondered if they'd driven past the house. "Yes. We went and got all of his stuff just a bit ago."

"Good. Well, finish up your cake. You've got things to do I bet," Ma Henry said with a smile and a wink directed at Graydon. With that, they went back to the kitchen. Kenny looked at the remains of the cake with longing.

"No Kenny, that's mine," said Graydon. He took his chunk and began to eat it.

Marty just smiled and shook her head. She was still chuckling over the Fenris part of Vicky's decorations. "Fenris...." she whispered towards Graydon wondering how Vicky had linked Norse mythology to Graydon.

He smirked. "Yes.... I know the reference." They smiled again and finished their cake. Picking up the figures, they said their goodbyes and headed out to the cars.

It took fifteen minutes to remove the decorations on the car. Marty got in and it started without too much of a fuss. She pulled out of the parking lot and Graydon followed her in his car. At the house, she pulled into the drive and he pulled up front.

Once inside, Marty put the figures from the cake on the mantle in the living room. Graydon let Max outside.

"I think another night on the porch and we can probably let him into the main part of the house for a night and see how that goes," he said.

"Alright. As soon as he's ready to come in, I'm ready to head to bed. It's been a long odd day."

"I agree," Graydon said and headed off to call Max inside.

Upstairs, Marty got ready for bed. She looked around for her nighty and couldn't find it. She was just about to pull another one from the drawer when Graydon wrapped his arms around her.

"I like what you're wearing," he said.

"You would. Then again, you eat people," she teased.

"Only if they ask really nicely," Graydon smiled.

Marty smiled as she turned in his arms. "Would you eat me?" she asked.

He smiled wickedly. Graydon lifted her up on the bed and then started to undress. Once he'd dropped the last of his clothing to the floor, he moved between her legs. He started kissing her ankles which made Marty giggle.

"I could have sworn I asked you to eat me, not tickle me," she said with a gasp as he moved up her leg and nibbled the fold behind her knee.

"I will. Just tenderizing you my dear," he said. As he looked up, his eyes flickered yellow. Marty swore his tongue was longer than it had been a moment ago. He worked up her legs until he had to move them farther apart to reach that triangle of curls he'd played with earlier. His tongue darted to the crease at the top of her thigh and tasted her. Salty, sweet and a hint of that body wash.

Marty tried not to squirm, but between his hands on her hips and that tongue moving closer to her clit. it felt too good. Laying back, she felt him move her legs farther apart and his tongue move between her lips. She was already wet and getting wetter with each lick.

Graydon was trying to take his time. The slight shift gave him better reach, and he used his tongue to his best advantage. Marty's hips bucked as she started to come. He held her down and intensified his tongue work. He alternated between her clit, her lips and the sensitive opening farther down.

Marty felt the heat build and couldn't hold still. Graydon tongued her and suddenly the orgasm washed over her. "Oh... oh... OH!" she screamed.

Graydon didn't give her a chance to relax, but moved up and in between her thighs. His erection nudged her lips and she arched towards him. He slid in easily. Graydon still marveled at her ability to take him all. No holding back. After a few more thrusts, he backed off and Marty rolled onto her knees. Putting his hands on her hips, he angled her so that he could slide in again.

"Oooph!" Marty gasped.

"You okay?" Graydon asked.

"This position puts you a little deeper. Just not expecting it."

"Alright, didn't want to hurt you," he said softly. Graydon moved slowly, so that Marty could adjust. He knew he was hitting her cervix. Her reactions and movements told him that she liked it. After a few strokes, he increased the pace. Marty began to push back against him with each stroke. He began to move faster. She felt so good as he grabbed her hips tight and pounded against her.

"Oh!" she squeaked. "Oh, yes... Oh god! Oh... oh...Ohmyohmyohmyohmyohmyoooooo!" she screamed as she came.

Graydon felt her spasm around his erection and couldn't hold back any longer. With a few fast thrusts, he came. The heat exploded up his spine. Low growls came from his lips. This felt so good.

Marty recovered and tried to lay down on the bed, but Graydon still had her wrapped tightly against him. Once he stopped spasming, he lowered the two of them to the bed. He pulled the covers up and shuddered as he relaxed. They drifted off to sleep. Marty woke up later, snuggled close to Graydon. He was soft and warm, and Marty realized that he had shifted. As Marty slowly drew patterns in Graydon's fur, she realized that she was comfortable sleeping in the arms of Fenris. Kissing his muzzle, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.