The wolf cocked his head to one side, studying her actions intensely. He looked like someone trying to grasp an important concept, Kiera thought. He also looked bedraggled and completely adorable.
“Come with me,” she said to him. “We can look at the fire later. Right now, I want a more thorough bath–let’s get into the bathing pool.”
The Monstrum, like their more humanoid Kindred brethren, believed in having huge soaking tubs in all their domiciles. Accordingly, when they had built Kiera’s home-dome, they had added a huge, luxurious bathing suite that included a bathing pool big enough to swim in. The water was continuously cycled so Kiera wasn’t worried about having fur floating in her bathwater–it should be safe to take her new pet in with her as long as he wanted to go.
“Come on,” she said to him again. “Do you like to swim? I mean in clean water–not that slimy algae stuff,” she added.
She didn’t know why she was talking to him like he was a person. Usually she baby—talked all her animals, including her ancient, elderly cat, Rufus, who was probably hiding right now because he smelled a new animal in the house. But with the wolf, it just felt better to talk to him in a regular tone of voice.
And it seemed to work, since he appeared to understand what she was saying. He nodded his huge head and made a soft chuffing sound that sounded affirmative.
“Good, so you do like to swim. Well, let’s go swimming and get all cleaned up,” Kiera told him.
She led the way into the bathing suite–which had a fitted paving stone floor that was heated from underneath by the same hot water that flowed through the bathing pool. It meant she never had cold feet in the morning, which was nice–especially since the temperature dipped so sharply during the nights here.
The bathing pool was inset into the floor and had a shimmering, nearly invisible cover over it so you couldn’t accidentally fall in. Kiera tapped it with her toes and the shining cover slid into the small crack in the floor where it was stored when she was bathing.
The water appeared to be deep purple, thanks to the smooth stones that lined the bottom, and the surface rippled gently with the motion of circulation and filtration. All around the edge of the pool, vegetation was growing. There were several trees with long, willowy branches covered in beautiful pink and purple flowers that trailed in the water as well as beautiful tall grasses that smelled like night—blooming jasmine.
There were even some very strange—looking flowers that Iyanna had put there just for her when she was helping to design this part of the home-dome. These plants or “pleasure blooms” as they were sometimes called, grew smooth, cylindrical flowers in varying sizes.
“What in the world are those?” Kiera had demanded, when she first saw the waxy cylinders. “Dildo plants?”
Because that was what they looked like, honestly–long, waxy dildos in different sizes.
Iyanna had burst out laughing.
“Basically, yes,” she’d said. She went on to explain that the Monstrum used these plants for “self—pleasure.” There were also broad red blooms that sucked as well as the dildo blooms which were good at thrusting. Most of the Monstrum warriors used the sucking blooms, because there were almost no Monstrum females, except for a few elderly priestesses who lived in their Sacred Grove aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship.
“Don’t be afraid to use them,” she’d told Kiera, when she expressed skepticism at the idea of allowing a plant to “fuck” her. “They’re nicer than a vibrator in a lot of ways–some of the little sucking ones will go for your nipples and…other areas, if you let them. You’re really going to love it–thank me later.”
Kiera hadn’t been sure at first, but she’d always been a curious person who was willing to try anything once. And after a few weeks in the home-dome, she was using them almost every night.
She found that Iyanna was right–the pleasure blooms were much better than a vibrator. And just because she had a new pet was no reason not to use them tonight–she really needed to blow off some steam after the long day she’d had.
But first she had to coax the wolf into the pool.
“Okay, boy–we’re going to get in now,” she told him as she began shedding her clothes.
The wolf, who had been studying the surface of the water with what appeared to be concern–now turned his full attention to her. His golden eyes went wide, and he looked her up and down–almost like a human man would.
“Hey, what are you staring at, huh?” Kiera asked playfully. “Don’t make me feel self—conscious now.”
But she was only joking. She had a big behind and big boobs and big everything else too–she was a curvy girl and had decided long ago to make peace with that fact. In her twenties she’d starved herself and tried to get the “perfect shape”, but she was way past that now. Her body was healthy, and she was happy and if some man didn’t like her generous curves well, that was just too damn bad for him.
The wolf looked away at her words, almost like he understood, and Kiera laughed again.
“Oh, such a gentleman!” she exclaimed. “Well come on–let’s get in the bathing pool.”
She grabbed the handrail at the far end of the pool and stepped slowly down into the warm water with a happy sigh. She’d been chilled to the bone after all that washing and spraying outside and the steamy pool felt wonderful on her cold skin.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she said, motioning to the wolf. “Come on in. The water’s wonderful.”
The wolf put his head to one side again, as if considering her offer. He still looked bedraggled and wet, and she knew he probably needed to get warmed up too. She was just beginning to think she would have to get out of the bathing pool–which she did not want to do–and coax him in when, with a loud “Whuff!” he finally jumped into the water.
“Hey–there you go!” Kiera laughed as he dog—paddled over to her. “Here, come with me.” She gestured for him to follow her and swam over to the deep end.
There was a broad seating area under one of the weeping—willow—type trees that was big enough for two–even if one of them was a very large wolf. The water came up to her waist here and the slender, flowering branches trailing in the water made a kind of natural cave where she could relax against the side of the pool and just take it easy.
