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Fourth of July Sweethearts

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Written by Amethyst Mare / Arian Mabe

Commissioned by Duncan

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"It is going to be a night to remember!"

Hans sighed and leaned back in the armchair before the fireplace, which was stacked with logs even though it was early July. In fact, July the fourth. And Beth's family, like most Americans, were all set to celebrate in the peak of style that only they were used to. Their country estate set in rural US with excellent ties to the big cities - as long as the road links were - bustled with waiters and event staff, all primed and ready to receive their many guests of the evening. The line of trees bordering the long driveway, reminiscent of stately homes of times gone past in their little cousin of Great Britain, were draped with many lights, all twinkling sweetly as twilight wrapped the estate in her loving arms.

The bat, however, was yet to celebrate his first Fourth of July within the United States. And it was turning out to be just a little bit different to what he'd expected.

"Isn't it a little...extravagant?" Hans wrinkled his short, bat muzzle and waved a paw, trying to find the words to convey what he really meant. "I mean, I understand the holiday, but nothing seems to be as elaborate with my family. You have the whole, well, not quite the neighbourhood, but your father seems to truly have invited anyone who is anyone around here!"

Beth grinned.

"Father socialises. A lot. You know he's been in the military and ties there are strong - it doesn't matter how long you were there for, not really."

She paused, eyes flicking to the painting above the fireplace of her father in full military uniform. He'd been a Major General when the painting had been commissioned and progressed to Lieutenant General before his stint was up. Beth resisted the urge to salute the painting. For all her father was strict in their family life, he had a history to be proud of right at his back. He, for one, had not been idle when duty called. And she could only be proud of him for that.

"Did you bring everything you need for the party?" She asked, eyes flicking to his state of dress.

Although the bat presented himself nicely at all times, there was a certain level of class required for a Fourth of July ball and she pursed her lips critically, eyebrows raised. He took the hint and smiled charmingly, smoothly disarming any protests that may have passed her lips.

"Oh, of course, my dear." Hans stood and twirled on the spot. "I would not wish to embarrass you at such a high society event. I shall have my glad rags on and be dressed to the nines."

He spun and dropped into a sweeping bow, arm flung out to the side.

"For my sweetest and dearest should never be seen with anything but the cream of the crop and nothing else."

Against herself, Beth giggled, the wolfess covering her mirth with her paw. But it was too late - Hans had seen her giggle and grinned widely.

"Come on," he said, offering his paw to help her up. "Would you be able to look over what I brought to wear?"

He shook his head and gave a sheepish smile. For all his growing confidence with his sweetheart, sometimes the shy bat still showed through the more suave exterior. Beth tilted her head and gave a low, questioning "wuff". It was not as if he'd ever asked for her help to dress before.

By way of explanation, the bat spread his paws out, palms up, to either side of his body.

"I'm fairly confident that I have stepped up to the dress code in as mannerly a fashion as I am able. And I know you would not turn down the opportunity to do a little shopping if I have not quite managed to meet your expectations in this regard."

Beth smiled and dropped a kiss on his cheek, warmth spreading through her chest at how the insides of his large, bat ears turned pinker with her close proximity and touch.

"You know me too well. But will you ever stop being quite so formal with me?"

Hans held a paw to his chest, the wings extending down from his arms folded in close to his body.

"Oh, my dear Bethany," he said, eyes wide and using her full first name. "I cannot bear to imagine what you would think of me if I dropped every single one of my formal nuances!"

His lips twitched in the ghost of a smirk.

"It would be an utter travesty!"

Beth rolled her eyes, but could not wipe the smile from her muzzle. So caught up in their day to day lives, it had been a while since she'd seen Hans in such good spirits, what with all of his extended study. The bat was dedicated, but it did take a toll on the mind when undertaken without a break. Sometimes she wondered if the bat would ever choose to finish his education at all. He certainly had enough money to continue for as long as he truly pleased. Just like her family.

"Of course it would. Now, come on. Let me see what you brought along with you for the ball. There is a tailor who will come out to the estate on short notice if you need anything adjusting at all."

Thankfully - or perhaps somewhat disappointingly to Beth - Hans' attire was suitable enough for the ball, if not quite up with the latest trends that Beth would have preferred. She still had him suit up in his full outfit, if only to see just how well the tailored suit draped over his body, giving him shape and form that his regular, everyday attire simply did not seem able to capture. Licking her lips, Beth twirled her finger in an unspoken instruction, ears pricked; the bat obediently turned slowly on the spot, pivoting on one hind paw. How was it that he'd managed to find a suit that so wonderfully accentuated his fine rear without being overtly sexual? She'd never know, yet she could still appreciate the effect.

Beth, however, did not have the same issue with her attire. Everything designed for the female form was to show off one's best features while smoothly concealing the rest. Not that she needed any 'less than perfect' spots hiding; the wolfess would stand smiling at her own bare body - or dressed, for that matter - in the mirror for hours if left to her own devices. Some said that she was vain, but she would only have replied, if she'd even paid the comments any mind at all, that there were enough females that loathed their own bodies that she was making up for it simply as she was.

Self-confidence was becoming a rarer and rarer trait in furs of the female persuasion as they stepped further and further into a male dominated world. But Beth was certainly not one to let such an insignificant nuance get the better of her - oh no! Not a chance in heaven or earth.

She smirked at her reflection in the mirror and tapped the side of her muzzle as Hans undressed, changing back into his regular clothes so that his suit would remain fresh and pressed for the evening ball. Her outfit had been chosen by weeks - all designer, of course. She wouldn't have gone for anything but the best, as her sweetheart had said. She blushed minutely and tipped her muzzle away, even though the bat was not looking at her. He was getting to know her well: better than anyone else.

Hans did not notice the warmth in her cheeks and ears as they left the dressing room, Beth with a secretive smile stretching her lips. He'd almost been shocked that there was a private fitting room in the estate house, but had recovered himself admirably and swiftly. Although his family was wealthy, sometimes he forgot Beth's position in the grand scheme of wealth, even though it was her intelligence that set her right for her studies abroad.

But such things did not matter when the lovers were alone, out of bounds of all that would have only have seen them together for the power their joined status brought. Beth swallowed hard, darker thoughts clouding her mind as they wandered through the grounds, the grass soft beneath her hind paws, clad in sandals. Her sundress floated around her legs as they walked, paw in paw, a companionable silence lending peace to their surroundings.

Beth sighed and shook her head, catching the bat's attention. Hans gave her a questioning look, stretching out his arm to rest his paw on her opposite shoulder. She gladly stepped into his comforting warmth, his leathery wing resting down the length of her back.

"Is there something on your mind, dear?"

Beth winced and would have shaken her head if she'd thought she could've gotten anything past the bat. Hans brushed his lips over her hair, lips tickling the brunette strands as they padded lightly into the trees. The wolf groaned softly as delicious pools of shade flickered onto her fur and she stretched out her free paw, wiggling her fingers as if she could draw just a little more of the sun's warmth from them simply by spreading them out.

But Hans was still waiting for an answer - rather patiently for him - and she took a deep breath, breasts lifting with the expansion of her lungs.

"Has any more been said about..." She waved her paw vaguely, tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth as if she could trap her words behind it. "You know... The thing."

Hans pressed his lips together.

"I did not believe that was still on your mind, Bethany."

She cringed at his formal use of her name. The topic was a sore spot still, that much was sure.

"It's not something I can really get off my mind. You know everyone expects it to happen - sooner rather than later too."

Hans sighed.

"Our engagement is not official as yet."

Beth shrugged, rolling her shoulders back and tugging her paw from his grasp.

"Perhaps we should make it official? I'm not sure what sort of grief you're getting over it, but it's daily with me. I'm tired of it. I just want to continue with my studies and keep going as far as I can, but everyone expects me to have a husband already."

She eyed him, lips twisting.

"And, with how long we've been together, everyone expects it to be you."

Hans stopped, heels digging into the soft ground beneath the branches, the little copse allowing them privacy from an outside world that suddenly seemed too large for either of them to handle - or at least not alone.

Putting her paws on her hips, Beth scowled, pretty face darkening as she stood between Hans and the way forward.

"Why will you not make it official already?" She demanded, eyes flashing as her torso tipped forward. "We're as good as married already and I know that you, at least, will not try to make me into a housewife."

She wrinkled her nose at the thought and would have spat on the ground if she had not been a more educated wolfess. Hans parted his lips to speak, but Beth bowled over him, striding on with her words.

"It's a done deal already, unless there's something not telling me," she said, his words taking on a sharper tone. "So, what is stopping you from going to your father and making the announcement?"

She took a deep breath, eyes steely.

"We could even announce it today, if you found the nerve to. It would be perfect."

She stopped there, having said all that there was in the back of her mind to say. The bat closed his mouth and stood quite still, not even shaking his head, paws relaxed at his sides. Beth chuffed softly in the back of her throat in what was supposed to be a disapproving noise at his silence, but came out as a strangled sort of snort. The wolf winced and folded her arms, tapping

"Well?" She demanded. "Have you no words?"

The bat turned slowly to face her and advanced, steps foreboding as he backed her up to a tree. She briefly held her ground, but something in his eyes drove her back more than the encroach of his body, pushing into her space.

When she could retreat no further, the wolfess' breath caught, back up against the rough bark of a pine tree. What strain of pine the tree was beyond that she could not have said, but she swallowed hard as Hans rested his paw possessively on her hip, eyes searing with an intensity that she had not known he possessed.

Maybe her shy little bat had a side more confidence than she'd given him credit for. The wolfess fluttered her eyelashes at him. Yet she could not forget what had driven them to such a position. Likewise, she could not ignore the hardness pressing steadily through his trousers into her lower abdomen, demanding attention much the same as she had.

"Hans?"

She put her paws on his chest, spreading them flat, but did not try to push him away. The bat shook his head and ran his paws up from her hips to her waist, feeling the curves of her body as he hitched up her sun dress. Beth frowned, though every fibre of her being ached to turn around and snarl at him to fill her, demand every bit of what she deserved from him. Yet she could not ignore that he hadn't answered her. She clenched her jaw. Was he just trying to avoid the question?

"Hans, you haven't answered me," she forced out her thoughts, heart rate increasing to a frenzied beat. "Come now, Hans, I know this game. You can't distract me like this. I need to know what you are planning."

She paused to add additional severity to her following words.

"This is not negotiable."

Hans held her gaze, the flatter bit at the end of his muzzle twitching. Bethany inhaled deeply, filling her lungs for words that she did not yet know as the bat's paw crept insistently up her thigh. She laughed hollowly. Like that was going to distract her! She could play that game too!

"Bethany."

She shivered, words dying on her tongue as swiftly as they had been born, falling unsaid into what little space remained between them. His voice rolled over her, low and husky with bundled up emotion tight in his throat.

"Yes?"

She was almost afraid to push him. Almost. Not quite.

"I love you."

And then his lips crashed into hers and all was forgotten, if but for a little while. His tongue flicked out against her lips and she moaned, welcoming him in as the lost lover he was. Too much distance had been between them, causing strife that should not have been. Bethany cursed herself for listening to onlookers and gave herself over to the kiss, wrapping her arms around Hans' neck and kissing him as deeply and passionately as ever. Her muzzle commanded him, despite him initiating, and she rolled her hips up to his hardness, need flaring up all too swiftly in the pit of her stomach.

Was there ever a time that she did not want him? Luckily, she was a wolf that was yet to be denied every bit of what she craved and more. She smirked, breaking the kiss breathlessly, a trail of spittle connecting their lips for a fleeting moment.

"And I thought you didn't want me."

"Oh, Bethany," Hans breathed, paw stroking her inner thigh. "I could never not want you."

The words came out oddly convoluted for the formal bat, but she wasn't about to call attention to them in the moment. His paw quested higher and Hans visibly started as his thumb grazed her bare pussy lips, already slick with her own arousal. Beth blinked innocently, though the grin stretching her lips wide did not portray her quite so well.

"Beth..." He groaned and pressed up, two fingers sliding all too easily into her wet sex. "You came out like this?"

"If you mean without undergarments, you would be correct there, sweetheart." Beth fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Do you not like it?"

"Oh, I like it very much, trust me."

The bat grunted as he pumped his fingers slowly, teasing the wolfess as he knew best. Arching into his touch, the wolf pulled her dress up higher, exposing her long, shapely legs and her completely bare lower half, undressed as such for his eyes and his eyes alone. The pine needles rustled in the breeze and she moaned breathily, air caressing her fur with as much finesse as a lover's sweet kiss after midnight.

Locking his lips with hers, he playfully battled with her tongue as he dragged his thumb over her clit, though it was a game of domination that he knew the wolfess would win. She only, after all, liked the illusion of him being in charge. Nerves thrumming with energy, Beth yanked at his trousers, undoing his belt with fingers that trembled from sheer untamed need rather than any sort of nerves. It had been a very long time - if ever - that Beth had worried about doing anything with her lover.

But Hans could tease too much sometimes. She broke the kiss with a low growl, fingers curled dominantly around the back of his neck. Her lover was holding out on her.

"You've got more than that in you, darling." Beth locked her gaze with his, commanding. "Show me."

Hans was getting better. These days, he only needed that little push to give her what she truly craved.

Driving her back to the tree, he let his loosened trousers drop to his ankles and tugged his loose underwear down just enough to free his shaft, balls tucked back inside his boxers. She caught a glimpse of fashionable royal blue - the colour was all the rage - that contrasted nicely with his smooth, brown fur before she was up in the air. Shoulders pressed firmly back against the tree, she gasped and clung to him, legs wrapping around his waist more from practice at the motion rather than conscious thought. Her body knew what to do even if her mind was still catching up.

"Beth..." He breathed, nose tucked under her chin. "I want you and only you. But I know that cannot be enough in these times."

Beth groaned and panted as his teeth grazed down her throat, blunter than she would have liked, yet still reminiscent of his lupine grandfather with that little edge of wolf in his nibbles. He wasn't one that looked like a hybrid, however; to most outward appearances, Hans Wolf-Scarff was a full blooded bat, even if the name did cause one to raise an eyebrow if they were not already in the know. Beth's breath caught as the head of his shaft, smoothly rounded and tapered, pressed up to her bare sex. The soft knot, which was yet to inflate, at the base of his shaft was a more acute reminder of this.

Capturing her lips in a deep kiss, he dug his fingers into her buttocks and slammed in. His length crudely penetrated her, needing no additional lubrication as her natural juices dripped over and slathered his achingly hard shaft. And, when they would have once grumbled and fumbled for him to enter her, the bat now knew her body well enough that all it took was a little dip and push of his hips to claim the prize both of them sought so dearly.

The wolfess panted and moaned into the kiss, back trying to arch even as she held onto her lover, pulled out and away from the solidity of the bark as he thrust. Growling passionately, the bat drove in fiercely, each and every thrust brushing the coarse fur of his crotch over her clit. Beth squealed and twisted, tail trying to wag and only managing to thwap softly against the tree at her back.

Seeking leverage for his thrusts, the bat broke the kiss breathlessly and eased her back against the tree, driving into her with the long, deep strokes that made her moan so beautifully. She didn't even care how rough the bark was on her back, bare shoulders rubbing into the uneven surface, as he thrust. All that mattered to her was that he kept thrusting, harder and deeper, until she was satisfied over and over again.

She'd never been a single round wolfess, after all.

Groaning and panting, Hans' hips juddered up against her, his short tail twitching madly. She would have smirked and teased him for being so close to orgasm already, his knot swelling and pressing against her pussy lips, if she was not also teetering on the edge. Shivering, she languished in the sensation of her muscles burning lightly, aching as she was ploughed so wonderfully. The strain of holding herself up for her lover while he hammered into her only added another more delectable edge to their lovemaking that made the skin on the back of her neck prickle delightfully.

Kissing her lips briefly, Hans gasped, his breath ruffling the fur on Beth's muzzle.

"I promise I will always give you everything I have, Bethany."

The wolfesss didn't hear him. Her body tensed and her eyes shot wide, a howl on her lips as orgasm snatched her up from her lover's arms. For a moment, she seemed not to be present in that little copse of trees, hidden but not hidden from the outside world. As her head spun in climax, she was barely aware of her lover bearing her down to the soft, moss-laden floor, his lips on her throat as he crammed every inch of his cock that he could into her. She cried out, begging without words for more - always more. For what wolfess would not adore such treatment from her sweetheart as and when she pleased? Anyone would have said that Beth had him well trained.

But she had to come down from her electrifying higher sooner or later and the wolf raked her short claws down Hans' arm, drawing his attention as he shuddered all too close to climax: she knew the signs.

"Pull out before you knot me," she gasped out, words rolling from her tongue all in a rush. "I want to taste you!"

The words came out in a rush, unusually frenzied for her, but Hans still had a good few hard thrusts left in him before it grew too much for him - and he was going to use each and every one of those thrusts like they were his very last. Sweat darkened patches under the arms of his shirt, fancy jacket hiding the effect if not the slight, acrid stench. The scent of sex mingled with luscious grass and rich soil, Beth's nose twitching as he fucked her through her orgasmic high and back down to murmuring for more, arms flung out above her head.

Only when he could not hold back for a moment longer did he whimper and scramble back onto his knees, suddenly giving her his best impression of a deer in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. But Beth knew what to do - knew what she wanted to do.

Following him up, she dropped as low as she could, arm around his waist so that she could drag him in close to her waiting muzzle, lips parted in eager anticipation of the treat that was to come. She wrapped her paw around the base of his shaft and squeezed his full, pulsing knot - it was lucky he hadn't knotted her while it was still growing and soft - as the bat gasped loudly. He bucked his hips, putty in her paws, and whimpered as if it was his first time all over again as she slid her lips down over the head of his shaft.

Her own juices and salty, slick pre-cum spilled onto her tongue and she groaned as she slid her tongue down and around the length, cleaning up their mess as she prepared to make a bigger one. Taking him deep into her muzzle, the tip of his cock just tickled the back of her throat with the knot outside her lips, just enough for her to feel the size of him stretching her lips into a lewd, tight 'O'. The wolfess growled around his cock, letting the vibrations do their trick as she bobbed her head quickly, enjoying the feel of him sliding over her tongue. She'd never get bored of taking him in her muzzle.

The bat's fingers twitched, jumping from her head to her muzzle as her hair hung down, half-hiding the display from his yearning eyes.

"Ahhh... Beth!"

Hans groaned, words failing him when she knew he wanted to say more - much more. She would have laughed to hear him so ineloquent, if she was not more concerned with driving him to the peak of climax again and right over the edge.

And she got her wish in timely fashion. Suddenly the bat had his fingers wound into her hair and she dove down on his cock, squeezing the hard knot in her paw, as he spurted into the back of her throat. She swallowed quickly, trying not to let herself gag, but still her chest heaved, eyes wide as she could not quite keep up with the driving need of the initial spurts of virile cum, a white trickle oozing from the corner of her lips. Keeping her lips pressed as tightly around his length as she possibly could, the wolfess pumped and squeezed what she could not fit inside her muzzle, due to the knot, as her lover yelped and groaned out his pleasure.

When he finally relaxed, cock softening between her lips, the bat murmured sweet nothings to her, running his fingers through her hair over and over again. Beth allowed his cock to slip from her muzzle, lips gleaming with the hint of his pre-cum. The wolf let him enjoy the effect for a moment, snaking out her long, pink tongue to clean her own muzzle, leaving damp marks on her grey fur in its wake. Her eyes gleamed and she winked slyly as he groaned, biting his lower lip as his fingers twitched towards her.

Leaning in, she kissed him softly, letting him taste the cocktail of their coupling on her lips - just the faintest of samplings - and pulled back, tail wagging gently.

"Come on now, dearest," she said, affecting his newest term for her. "We have a ball to prepare for." She winked. "And we have delayed for far too long already. However will we explain our late arrival at this rate?"

She stood, letting her dress fall down to cover her modestly once more, although there was nothing that could be done about the aroma of sex and lust that hung around them. Brushing crumbs of soil from the back of her dress, she did a little twirl on the spot to ensure that she was as clean as she could be, offering Hans the same courtesy. She wouldn't have wanted her parents working out what they'd been up to, after all!

The bat smiled awkwardly, arm around her waist as they headed back to the house at a considerably slower pace, the conflict and doubt inside Beth at peace, at least for a time. Her tail wagged slowly as they walked, flipping into the back of the bat's legs with every second swing. Her jaw hung slightly loose in a relaxed smile as she rolled her shoulders, enjoying the feel of sunshine on her fur. The interlude with her lover had been exactly what she needed.

Still, she couldn't keep down a flicker of mischief, leaning in to whisper in his ear just as they came within earshot of some of the employed servants of the house, busy preparing for the ball that was swiftly approaching as afternoon lingered into twilight.

"I know we have the ball to attend and ensure we put in an appearance..." She paused, letting her words sink in. "But I expect more of what we just did later." She grinned. "Much more."

The bat started, eyes wide, and she giggled, paw coyly held over her lips.

"Are you up for the challenge, my darling?"

*

The ball was practically pre-destined to be a success, just like everything else Bethany's family did and they were not about to let their reputation flounder when it came to the crux of it. No expense was spared for the ball and the guests arrived on time, murmuring their appreciation of the fairy lights lining the trees, nature brought to a night time glow as the guests moved indoors. The ballroom was set up for dancing and delights, a banquet table lining one side of the room while servants mingled with the crowd, offering divine tasters for those who did not wish to perch and satiate their taste buds. No: for some, there was oh so much more to do than sit and eat!

Only many other things than the ball itself were on Beth's mind. As she shook paws and exchanged pleasantries with members of the upper social class that she had not seen in years, if at all ever, she kept a fixed, plastic smile on her lips at all times. The first time someone whispered about her soon to come marriage, she balked and recovered slowly, but after several in a row had made comments around making her into a nice young lady at last, she barely flicked her ears.

Oh, yes, she laughed, covering her fake smile with a paw that only very slightly trembled. Wouldn't that be something, but, oh no, she was so very much enjoying her studies and it would be a shame to stop when she had so far to go. They chuckled politely enough with her, though the amusement did not sweep the distaste from their eyes; Beth did not fail to notice their disapproval and bristled. Hans squeezed her paw, directing her away from the crowd when he could, but everyone and anyone suddenly seemed intent on having their say. Beth ground her teeth and smiled.

Everyone seemed to have a better idea on how she should spend her life.

Beth scowled at the back of a back of a retreating wolf - she'd been told they were distantly related - and his simpering wife, hanging on his arm like an accessory around a fur's neck.

"What is their problem?" She growled through gritted teeth, eyes like chips of ice in her fine, grey muzzle. "I don't understand why they simply cannot leave me well enough alone!"

Hans stroked the back of her paw soothingly, eyes narrowed in concern as he wound his arm around the narrowest point of her waist. Shaking him off, Beth stepped away, jaw clenched and a muscle jumping in the corner of her lips.

"Not now!" She snapped, voice lowered even though her ears fell back. "You know everyone's looking! Expecting things."

Her expression darkened.

"They're probably expecting us to make an announcement tonight. I have not been to one of my family's celebrations in many months."

Hans sighed and stepped in to her, his winged arms enveloping her in an embrace that even her frazzled mind and jumping pulse could not thrust away. With a soft little whimper, she leaned into him, turning from the bustle of the party that she'd been looking forward to for so long.

"Come with me," he breathed. "I think we need to take your mind off this, do we not, Bethany?"

Blinking, she shook her head and glanced back over her shoulder. Her parents stood with an elderly fox, glasses cupped carefully in restrained paws as they laughed open-mouthed at a joke he had supposedly told.

"I can't go. They'll all wonder where I am."

"Who cares?"

And then Hans has her paw in his, tugging her away from the party as easily as one of his siblings would tow around a rag doll, all dolled up for the day of play. Beth could have so easily resisted him, but the lure of getting away - anywhere else - from the party was too great and she let him direct her, ears pricked. She swore she heard someone calling after her, but laughed regardless, trotting after her lover like a love struck pup.

Sensing the change in her mood, Hans urged her on, a smile stretching his lips, and they dashed through the party as if they were being chased, his jacket flapping around his waist and her dress fluttering in the breeze they created. The fine silk whipped back and forth, but neither of them found it in themselves to care as they burst into the open and her heels sank lightly into the dirt. Night curled around them like a lover's embrace and Beth cried out softly in sheer joy at feeling the cool kiss of fresh air on her fur.

She shook her head. Why had she even wanted to go to that stuffy old party anyway? There was hardly anyone there their own age and times were much better with her lover anyway, her sweet Hans. She blushed, tucking a flyaway strand of hair back behind her ear. He made everything better, just by being.

Only when they reached the stone veranda - an outdoor balcony that stretched the full length of the house - did Hans slow his reckless pace and steady Beth along with him. The verandah had been designed in the early years. Rarely used, it had initially been intended to be a place for guests at the estate to take in the view and stretch their legs, although its use was dictated by the weather. Beth had found it a place to relax without the pressures of family, burying her muzzle in whatever non-fiction book had taken her fancy at the time without the inconvenience of interruption. It had been her special place and still was. Yet she'd never - not once - told Hans that.

Stumbling to a halt, she stared wide-eyed at the secret solitude that she now found herself in with her bat.

"How did you know?" She whispered, staring out to where the wind rustled over the silvery grass in the light of the moon. "You couldn't have - there's no way."

Hans smiled and lifted her paw to his lips, kissing the back.

"I knew you needed to be away. That is all I had to know."

Beth sighed softly and leaned into him, letting the cool air smooth the heat from her muzzle, make-up suddenly thick and cloying despite its light and tasteful application. She pushed down the urge to rub her muzzle vigorously to clean herself of it, knowing that it would only smudge into an almighty mess, the fur accents leaving lines through her fur that would be most unbecoming. In the distance, out near the copse of trees where they had taken leave of reality only earlier that day, the lake glimmered, surface dancing with a wind that played with the water like a favourite cousin.

But there were questions left unanswered.

"Why did you bring me out here?" She said at last, tipping forward as she took deep breaths, head spinning lightly from their headlong rush; it was not often that she broke from a walk. "I know the party was busy, but I was all fine, I promise. I really am."

Her words fell on deaf ears and Hans shook his head, winding his fingers through hers. He left space between them, however, so, if she'd wanted to, she could have pulled away at any time. Yet she did not.

"The party was not for you," he said quietly, ears twitching as if to catch sounds that even her sensitive ears could not hear. "It was for everyone else to enjoy. You do not have to be there if you do not want to be."

Beth snorted.

"Of course I do - everyone expects me to."

Hans stroked his chin thoughtfully, still close.

"I cannot recall a time when you did just what everyone expected you to."

Beth opened and closed her mouth, turning away with her lips pressed tightly together. Hans stepped back, ears twitching, and she shook her head, dragging her paw from his and folding her arms primly.

"Perhaps you do not quite, as yet, know everything about me, Hans."

The bat recoiled ever so slightly, trying and failing to hide the hurt that flashed visibly across his face. He shuffled the wings, folded down from his arms, uncomfortably, mimicking Beth's pose and unfolding them again as if he did not quite know what to do with himself. Beth sighed.

"It's not that... No," she relented, rubbing her forearm. "Perhaps the only expectations I'm taking heed of are not coming from those around me."

Hans blinked and tilted his head to the side.

"What do you mean, Bethany? Who else do you think is holding you to high expectations?"

Beth took a deep breath, flicking her gaze up to the moon shining high above before gathering her nerve to reply.

"I expect more from myself."

"Bethany..." Hans softened and took her paws, insisting on folding them warmly in his own. "You should not expect so much from yourself." His brow furrowed. "Although I cannot fathom what on earth more you could possibly expect from yourself when you've already achieved so much."

Beth smiled minutely and leaned into him, relaxing into the beat of his heart as she laid her head on his chest. The contact did not entirely soothe her frazzled nerves, but it did something to slow her whirling thoughts, bringing some sense back to the forefront of her mind.

"I hold myself to the highest expectations in how I treat my life and how I treat others," she said softly. "I must. For what else am I if I cannot be the ideal image of myself?"

"Bethany, my dearest... You are already your ideal self. And no one else - not even yourself - will ever, ever be able to take that away from you."

Bethany blinked and rubbed the back of her paw carefully across her eyes, conscious of smudging her make-up even as she hid the moisture pricking at the corners of her eyes. The world around her swam, blurred by emotion, and she muttered under her breath as she swept the tears away. Curses! She would have sworn at herself if she had not held herself to a higher standard, a more personal way of being. Words would not quiet the flood of emotion rushing forth from her heart while the stars twinkled absently above.

Looking up at him, she licked his chin, ears folded back in a sudden show of shyness. But how could she be so shy when she had known her sweetheart for so long? She supposed there was always a new side to a lover or even a friend to be uncovered - something that was a most pleasant surprise on that very night.

"Thank you, Hans. I truly think I needed to hear that."

The bat smiled at her like she was the only other fur in the whole wide world.

"That is why I am here, Beth - for you."

He kissed her softly on the lips, an unusually chaste kiss for the two of them. But when he pulled away, Beth leaned into him, eyes earnest and wanting. The bat smiled and winked, struggling to twitch his eyelid into the motion. Beth would have giggled, if he was not already parting his lips to speak.

"Come with me."

Without waiting for her reply, the bat took her paw and led her away, a definite purpose in his stride. He knew where he was going even if she did not as yet. It quickly became evident, however, as he trotted down the steps from the veranda to the pool tucked away at the back of the estate, which they had walked by on their way out around the grounds that very afternoon. The moonlight glinted enticingly off the water, the little hut at the far end, barely visible in the darkness, yet she knew where everything was like the back of her paw.

Beth blinked at the shimmering lights of the pool, illuminated from the interior with a thin strip of what she supposed were very expensive underwater lights. Yet another unnecessary, if admittedly beautiful, expense that she could appreciate when it was not coming from her own pocket. Beth fingered her gown, admiring its silken fall. Coin was better put to use in what she could show off and take with her, wear and embody as a physical reminder of what exactly money could do for a fur.

The subtle reminders in her studies were for her and her only.

"Why here?" She asked, rubbing her thumb absently across the back of his paw. "I like the pool, but it's too cold to enjoy now."

Hans ducked his muzzle shyly.

"I had some idea on how I may warm you up."

Beth's cheeks flushed, a grin suddenly stretching her lips wide.

"Oh, when you put it like that..." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, letting the shiny waves fall down her back. "How could I ever refuse?"

Once, the bat would have been hesitant and stepped away, tried to get her back to the bedroom, but not anymore. When Beth stepped into her lover's arms, she was right there to embrace him, lips crushed to his in a passionate kiss. His paw was already up under her dress as she moaned into the kiss, uncaring of the fact that anyone could have walked in on them at any time. Her head spun. Hans was right. Since when had she cared what others thought? And why should she care so much about things that weren't even real?

And then Hans was bearing her back and back and back until her calves bumped into something firm. She slid down and landed on what was quickly revealed to be one of the sun loungers, legs spread and wrapping around the bat's waist as he kept his lips on hers.

"Hans?"

She started to speak, but could not form the words as his paw stroked her inner thigh. The bat's fingers crept higher, brushing the silk of her undergarments that would soon to be revealed as matching her formal attire. The dress crumpled beneath her, but Beth could not bring herself to care.

"Shush, my sweet," he breathed, his words barely a whisper on the breeze. "Allow me to treat you as you deserve to be treated. There is no room left for any more expectations tonight or any other night."

He smiled, lips pulling up genuinely.

"This night is solely for you and for me and you and me alone."

The bat tugged her underwear to the side, head under the skirt of her dress as he flicked his tongue out against her soft pussy lips. Beth grunted and rocked her hips up to meet his eager tongue, relishing in the sensation. As much as she enjoyed taking control, dominating her lover and teasing out his orgasm so that she could swallow every drop of his seed, there was something sweet about having her lover so well trained that he knew what she wanted him to do without her asking him to do it.

The wolf moaned and twisted, fingers digging lightly into the fur atop Hans' head for grip, though she didn't need to keep him in place. Her heels scrabbled on the paving slabs as she just barely suppressed a howl, tail trying to wag against her legs. But she was a wolfess with needs and her lover did so like to tease, drawing her out to the edge and then taking her back into waves and waves of pleasure.

_ _

"Oh, Hans..." Beth moaned, bucking up to his muzzle as he drove his tongue into her pussy. "I need you so badly, just push in already!"

The bat pulled back with one eyebrow raised, paws curled around her thighs even though he certainly did not need to keep her in place.

"With someone like me, how could you not need me?"

Her heart surged; he'd grown cockier. She grinned fiercely, but he returned her smile more slyly, his short muzzle damp with her juices.

"Must you have a penchant for public spaces, though?"

The wolf stretched out on the sun lounger, shivering as it creaked beneath her weight.

"However else would I have this thrill of being with you? And you're the one who started this, may I remind you!"

And then Hans was on top of her, nuzzling into her neck, his breath washing hotly over her fur. He ran his paw up under her dress, hitching it up around her hips. Beth shuddered, arching up into him as his hardness ground into her inner thigh. It would have been so easy to lay back and let him cover her with his body, thrust in with every ounce of masculinity he possessed and take her as she needed to be taken. But Beth held herself back, lips pulling up on one side in a characteristic smirk.

She had more in mind to do with the sweet brown bat.

Squirming out from beneath him, the wolf blew him a kiss and darted away giggling, skirts flapping about her thighs as she taunted him into the chase. He blinked, startled, but pushed himself up and threw himself headlong into an ungainly run, flitting by the lights glimmering off the surface of the pool. Beth squealed, uncaring of anyone who may have been outside to hear her as the party rose to ever greater heights within the confines of the estate mansion itself.

"Catch me if you can!"

Taunting her sweetheart with a flick of her grey tail, Beth raced around the outskirts of the pool hut, bare hind paws pounding the paving slabs. Mosquitoes buzzed by as she pretended to flee, a grin stretching her lips wide, and Hans grunted as he strove to keep up the chase. As she looped around into a darker patch secluded between the trees and the back of the hut, she slowed just enough for him to catch her, feigning distress at finding herself, once again, back in his arms.

"Oh no," she murmured, eyes wide in mock fear. "Whatever am I to do? The big, bad wolf...has been caught!"

Hans chuckled and rolled his eyes, lips nipping playfully at the fur at the base of her throat.

"Oh, as if you did not wish to be caught by me, my dearest one."

Beth answered that with her lips on his, letting him bear her back against the small wall that bordered the pool area, the stone rough through her dress. He wasted no time in taking what she had flaunted before him, however, and spun her about, yanking at his belt. Beth's ears flicked back, trees rustling before her, and she moaned as his cock pressed up under her tail. It grazed the pucker of her tail hole before dropping down to its rightful place, the slick tip nuzzling into her folds - back where it belonged.

Groaning, she leaned over the wall, fingers curled around the rough top as she arched back into him.

"Take me," she breathed, her eyes sparkling with all the fire that her words did not convey. "Just looking at you teases me as much as my body lures you in, Hans. I need you!"

The bat was not about to deny her. Holding her hips gently, all it took was a practiced roll of his hips to slide his shaft into her dripping pussy. No additional lubricant was needed when she was so wet and Beth moaned lustfully, ears slanting back to her lover as he matched her moan with his own.

"More," she breathed, head ducking down as she used every bit of leverage she had to push back onto him. "Take me! Harder!"

Groaning, Hans bobbed his head against her shoulder, arms encircling her waist to press his chest down against her back. His hips juddered up to her as he gave her every inch of what she craved, throwing the weight of his body behind his thrusts and trusting his needy wolfess to support them both. Beth's arms burned and the wolf howled as he drove into her, very nearly sending her spiralling into climax right then and there. The wet, lewd sounds of their copulation echoed across the deserted pool and Beth licked her lips, imagining that she had an audience of jealous peers there, watching her lover breed her as only he could.

The stone rubbed roughly against her paws as each thrust jerked her forward, her tail pushed up over her back. She wagged it weakly back and forth, tickling Hans' chin, and grunted like an animal, wanting nothing more than exactly the treatment her lover was giving her. His knot swelled slowly at the base of his shaft, tugging and pulling on her pussy as he thrust. Each pull of his shaft from her tight cunny teased that growing knot over the nub of her clit, drawing the skin taught enough for an extra dose of electric pleasure to zap her senses.

More, she needed more. The light of the stars and moon danced off the surface of the pool, lending a natural air to the artificial lights as pleasure flooded her senses. She didn't care if anyone from the ball had a window open to hear them and could only throw her head back and howl like a wild wolfess as orgasm crashed over her, a tidal wave of sensation that could not be held back.

Hans fought to hold her as she twisted and writhed, heels scraping for purchase and balance suddenly thrown inexplicably off. Hans slammed into her, refusing to stop and drawing out her ecstasy as much as she possibly could, each driving slam of his thick shaft sparking off greater shots of pleasure. The wolf dug her short claws into the wall, scratching off layers of polish that had been so carefully applied, and rolled her head back as her legs trembled.

Why was every time even better than the last with Hans? The thought was gone almost as soon as it appeared, her focus shifting to the bat's orgasm, rapidly approaching. She, after all, knew all the signs and, even though she swayed weakly on legs that no longer wanted to support her weight, she only desired to give Hans every bit of pleasure that he had just given her.

Panting heavily, Beth rolled her hips back, allowing him to seal his swollen knot inside her before it was too large to fit, locking them together until the deed was done. She'd expected him to keep thrusting into her just like that, but, somehow, he managed to draw her away from the wall, lowering her down to the floor slowly. Arching her back on all fours, Beth grunted with every sharp, short, deep thrust, the bat as deep as he could possibly go. He demonstrated surprising flexibility - beyond what she would have thought him capable of, if asked to speak frankly - and rocked back onto his buttocks, his back hitting the ground with a dull thump.

She didn't have breath with which to ask whether he was all right after what seemed to be an unprecedented tumble, curled her legs beneath her body as he held her down on him. Beth flushed, muzzle tipped back to the full, round moon as he took her hard and fast - just as she liked it - with her buttocks on full view in what she could only say was the reverse cowgirl position. Beth giggled breathlessly to herself. So he had been listening when she'd told him about wanting to try that!

But the bat could not hold out for all that much longer and it was with a low, needy groan that he rocked up into her for one final time. With his knot tying them together, he could not jerk or tremble away as he grew too sensitive, her pussy rippling and clenching around his shaft, milking it for every drop of cum she lusted after from him. She leaned back into him, feeling every hot spurt of cum as it warmed her pussy, the tight seal of his knot ensuring that not a single drop oozed out around his shaft. Beth sighed happily as the bat twitched beneath her.

If they had been in the bedroom, it would have been the perfect moment for Beth to relax back against her lover and enjoy the afterglow, brimming over with emotion that could not be contained for much longer - not even with the distraction of sex on her lips. The wolf ran her fingers down Hans' still clothed chest, toying and playing with the buttons of his shirt. One by one, she undid each of them while the bat was practically comatose, eyes half-lidded and jaw slack in pleasant exhaustion.

"Beth..." He murmured, once his senses had at least somewhat returned to him. "What are you doing?"

The wolfess would have purred if she had been able to, but, as it was, she rumbled a soft, playful growl.

"Come now..." She said with a grin, giving an experimental wriggle of her hips to see just how firmly they were tied together. "I have something I want to try!"

"Beth!" Hans yelped, digging his fingers into her arms to hold her down. "You cannot pull away

"So formal," she teased. "I'm sure I can if I'm careful about it. We can't stay tied together like this all night, after all."

With some patience and contortion on her part, she eased herself off his cock as his knot slowly softened, letting the fat bulb pop lewdly from her stretched cunny. His cum drooled from her entrance, a visible reminder of their risqué copulation, and Beth chuckled warmly to herself as she stood. Twisting about to reach the back of her dress, she fiddled with the clasps, though only a glance was needed to acquire Hans' help. Her dress slid to the ground, pooling around her heeled hind paws, and she stepped delicately out of the mess of fabric and her shoes, standing bare but for her undergarments in the cool night air.

She batted her eyelashes at Hans, a frisky grin playing on her lips.

"Perhaps that pool is not so cold after all..."

Stripping herself of her bra and panties - it was almost a shame to remove a garment that showed off her curves so beautifully - she tiptoed to the edge of the pool and only then looked back to see if her bat was following. She laughed aloud, the sound as carefree as she had ever heard herself, to see him stripping already, the jacket and shirt tossed from his body as if they had become too cumbersome to wear.

Although he shivered, he took her paw in his and kissed her cheek as they stood on the edge of the pool with not a scrap of clothing remaining between them. The wolf's fingertips tingled and she clenched and clenched her free paw reflexively, unable to wipe the grin from her muzzle. Her make-up would run, but she no longer cared.

"Ready?"

The bat nodded and, together, they leapt for the pool.

Opening up to welcome them, the pool struck them icily, hair and fur floating away from their bodies. The water closed over Beth's head and she kicked for the surface, tugging Hans with her as she gasped and giggled, the cold water a refreshing shock to her system. The closeness of his body, however, swiftly warmed her and she nuzzled into his neck as they swam from end to end of the moderately sized pool, dancing and playing between the underwater lights. Surprisingly, with his wings, Hans swam like an otter and she was soon panting, striving and failing to keep pace with him. There was always something new for her to learn about the bat.

Admiring the form of one another's bodies, they flitted back and forth through the water, stealing gropes and kisses like younger furs in hasty moments, intimacy behind drapes that could be pulled back at any moment. But they could go to her room at any time and had no reason to be risking it all out in public, only for their lust and love for each other. It was, after all, one of the things that would ever draw them closer and closer together.

When her muscles were warm and a pleasant exhaustion thrummed through her tired mind, Beth hauled herself from the pool, wet fur clinging to the shape of her body. She flopped onto her back and stretched out, her arms above her head. It did not take long for Hans to join her, water streaming from his wings as his soft cock hung down against his upper thighs. The bat kissed her neck and lay down with her, though he had very different intentions than she in relaxing. But what kind of lustful wolfess would Beth be to refuse his attentions?

Moaning softly, Beth stroked his head as he kissed his way down her naked body, lavishing attention on her breasts as he passed. His lips pulled and tugged at her nipples and she arched up into his touch, throat vibrating as she growled. But he did not stop there and continued down to the thicker fur around her crotch, tongue seeking the nub of her clit that was already full and engorged with blood, just waiting for his touch.

"Hans," she moaned, back flat on the smooth, cool slabs as he, once again, nuzzled up between her thighs, seeking her sweetness through the damp fur that clung to every one of her curves. "I want you so much... And not just like this. I want you forever and always. Why can't we have that?"

Hans wrapped his arms around her hips, holding her still as he pushed his tongue inside her, tasting her through the thick mess of his cum, most of which was dripping out of her. Lavishing attention on her clit, he stalled for time, but eventually came up for air with the words that he was always going to say.

"Soon. We'll announce it soon. I promise, Beth."

The bat flushed, the insides of his ears darkening, and looked down at her thighs, rubbing her fur in small, soothing circles. Unconsciously, Beth relaxed into his touch and whimpered, the fires inside her already burning for more. And the bat had learned very well how to give her more and more.

Arching up from her hard 'bed', the wolfess groaned partly in ecstasy and partly in relief to hear those words from his lips at long, long last. She had no reply for him bar the grind of her hips up to his eager muzzle, semen running down her pussy lips and soaking into her fur as she cried out in barely restrained ecstasy. Life loomed ahead of them and, for once, the wolfess welcomed it with open arms, her lover at her side.

Hans dug his fingers lightly into her thighs, pinning her down the best he could as the wolfess stifled a howl.

They would have their life together, regardless of what the outside world thought. And that was all Beth wanted from her sweet, loyal bat.

What more could she have wanted for?