Or maybe it’s me he’s smelling.
The thought made her eyes fly wide and she suddenly wanted to cover herself with a towel. Could it really be that it was her that Buck was scenting? Had he smelled her desire when she let the pleasure blooms get her off? Or worse, had he watched her doing it–letting the blooms fuck her? Were male wolves visually stimulated the way human males were?
But it was clear from what she was seeing between his legs that he wasn’t really a wolf–at least, not one that had come from Earth. So what was he? And why was he acting like he was ready to mate?
“Buck,” she said sharply, looking at his face. “What’s going on here? Did you see me with the pleasure blooms?”
The big wolf hung his furry head and whined uneasily. He tucked his tail between his legs, just as he had after showering her with the slimy purple algae and looked at Kiera as if to say,
I’m really sorry–I couldn’t help it!
Or was she reading too much into this situation? Buck was so well behaved it really felt like he understood what she was saying to him. But maybe she was just lonely and fooling herself into thinking he was more than an animal.
“Look, never mind–I’m not mad at you,” she said, getting to her feet and shaking her head. “I’m not sure why you’re, er, in that state, but it’s not your fault, I’m sure.”
Buck whined hopefully and looked up at her–though he didn’t have far to look–and nudged her arm with his massive head.
“It’s okay,” Kiera assured him again. “Let’s just forget about it. Now listen, this is the dryer. It makes some loud noises, and the wind is going to swirl all around us but it’s not going to hurt us–okay? It’s just going to dry us off and then we can get ready for bed.”
Buck looked at her like he understood–she was really going to have to try and see how much he really did understand what she was saying–so she pressed the start button on the side of the dryer chamber’s wall.
There was a loud whoosh and warm air began to blow up from the grates on the floor and rush around them in a sort of mini tornado.
Buck whined uneasily at first, but Kiera put a hand on his head. She could feel him trembling all over, so she wrapped her arms around his shaggy neck instead.
“It’s okay, boy,” she reassured him, stroking his still—damp fur. “Everything is going to be all right–the wind won’t hurt us. It’s just going to dry us off, all right?”
Her arms around his neck seemed to calm the big wolf down. He licked her face with his long, taffy—pink tongue and made a soft whuffing sound, as though he understood.
Kiera couldn’t help noticing that he didn’t smell bad at all, even though his fur was damp. Most dogs smelled like–well, wet dog, when they got a bath. It wasn’t a pleasant smell at all. But Buck’s fur still smelled like men’s cologne with notes of fur and cedar and masculine spice she couldn’t quite name. If anything, the scent intensified when he was wet, making him smell even better.
It was nice to have a pet that smelled good, she supposed. His breath…his fur…all were completely unwolf—like. Not to mention what was going on down below. She shivered as she remembered the size of those two huge shafts. Even the smaller one was bigger than what her ex—fiance had been packing.
I need to do some research and see if I can find out what kind of animal he really is–since he’s clearly not an Earth wolf, she told herself. Maybe the Monstrum Mother Ship would have something about his species in their database. She’d have to contact Iyanna and ask her to find out.
In the meantime, though, it was time for bed.
Kiera was completely dry herself, but she spent some time ruffling her hands through Buck’s thick coat, making certain he got all dry as well. She noticed–when she looked between his legs–that his shafts had gone back into their sheath, which was kind of a relief. Having them poking out like that–all long and thick and red–had been really disconcerting.
She shut off the dryer and stepped out of the drying chamber, motioning for him to follow.
“Come on, boy–time for bed,” she told him. The big wolf followed her, padding quietly behind her as they left the bathing suite.
Kiera led him around the curving hallway, which was hung with pictures of her friends and family, to her bedroom, which was located around the back curvature of her home-dome. She dug around in her dresser until she found a big, oversized t—shirt made of the softest worn cotton which she’d had since college. She slipped it on, not bothering with panties, and sighed in relief.
Even the short walk from the bathing suite to the bedroom had her chilled all over again. The heated floor in the home-dome was nice and the rounded walls kept in body heat well, but the chill from outside still managed to get in and make her cold. Probably because she was a Florida girl and not used to cold temperatures at all.
She thought about getting a snack, but honestly, she was more tired than hungry. And she knew that Buck had eaten before she’d taken him home with her. Dr. A’flerzz had also given her a big bag of the protein kibble they had been feeding the big wolf, so his meals were taken care of for a while.
She yawned and looked at the big wolf.
“What do you say, Buck? Time for bed?”
As she spoke, she looked at her own bed–which was a king—sized living mattress that had been grown rather than made. All the Monstrum furniture was alive and growing–they simply coaxed the plants they used into whatever shape they needed.
Kiera had been skeptical of sleeping on a living mattress before she tried it, but the minute she laid down on the dense mat of interwoven vines, she’d realized it was the best bed she’d ever had. The vines were springy yet supportive and their surfaces were so tightly woven and so smooth, she never felt any lumps or bumps–just a firm, supportive mattress that seemed to move with her and mold to her body to give her maximum support and comfort.
She kept the mattress covered in a thin, silky sheet that allowed the vines to “breathe” and a warm, thick coverlet to keep out the cold.
