FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Hey, Lyle, you ever notice how people don't always get what they want, but then when they get what they need, they turn their noses up at it?" The question had been an idle one, but the youth knew his role and fed her the straight line.

"What do you mean?"

"Well ... look at gardens," the young woman said with a certain dreamy quality to her voice. "Everyone wants tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers, but all it takes is a little frost and they're done for. Get a little pigweed in your garden and all the things you want just get smothered."

"Rhea," Lyle asked in a tone that suggested his mind was wandering, "can you eat pigweed?"

"Bleh," Rhea made a face and then shook one hand in a so-so gesture, "sort of. I mean, you can eat it but it but it's kinda tasteless. Not like purslane, now there's a weed with some bite! It's a little sour and salty but it's good for you. Stems, leaves, flower buds ... toss 'em in a stew with some onions, garlic, and chicken and you've got a meal!"

"But," Lyle pointed out hesitantly, "don't you need the onions and garlic for that to work?"

"You don't really need the onions and garlic," the girl conceded, "but that stuff's pretty hearty ... and besides, that's not the point! Mrs. Miller planted lettuce and got a whole bunch of purslane, instead. Then, she blamed the whole mess on witches and plowed it under!"

"Well ... was it a witch who did it?" Lyle asked with the look of one who was bracing for a slap.

"No!" the girl snapped, and then her voice came at him like a stampeding herd. "The lettuce seeds she planted were too old and they didn't sprout! Then she tilled the soil and the purslane seeds that were already there were suddenly exposed to the sun and poof! Sprouts! Then that blight brain throws them out! We just got out of a terrible winter and people are hungry! She could have still made salads or even pickled that stuff for the winter but, no, it wasn't what she wanted so she just tossed it out! She should have made the best of what she had ... but instead she decided to waste it."

Rhea breathed hard as her indignation boiled her blood. It was taking longer than she would have liked for her anger to ease away so she decided to turn over onto her back and arch her bare breasts up into the moonlight. She peeked out of the corner of her eye to catch Lyle, whose dark gaze was wide and staring at the glow of her body.

He was naked too, of course. He usually was at this time of the night and she enjoyed the way his dark brown hair curled at the edges. Enthusiastic lust had already exhausted their bodies but they were still young enough to escape sleep and demanded the other's attention. Rhea raised one tired hand and let her fingers drift lazily over well-tanned skin and taught muscles. Lyle was smooth, rough, and covered in the marks of living in the wild.

"You know an awful lot about plants, Rhea," Lyle interrupted her thoughts when his wits returned.

"I really like them," Rhea admitted as she let her hand settle back to their blanket. One foot unconsciously found his and they rubbed together while her attention was drifting elsewhere.

"So, why don't you plant gardens and make potions?" he asked with a tilt of his head. "I mean, Baba Ginger is teaching you her trade, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Rhea nodded.

"So, why don't you give up the shepherding and take a job that won't drive you mad?"

"Fear," she whispered. They were quiet for a moment but Lyle's dark eyes did not waver. This time it was her turn to buckle under the pressure of a steady and willful stare. "If I start drying herbs and take up witching full-time then people will lump me into that weirdo category. Secretly, they'll come looking for answers to their problems but publicly they'll badmouth me and say how I'm not natural."

She pressed her lips together and then huffed out an annoyed breath. "Eventually someone will come to me for something I can't do and they'll hate me for it. Or maybe I'll give them a powerful medicine and they won't follow my instructions so they'll poison themselves. Then a bad harvest will come around or someone's animals will get sick and they'll all blame the witch. Then they'll all go to church and talk about how it's the work of demons, or something."

"So?" Lyle asked.

"So, I can't shrug off fire yet," Rhea told him seriously. "Maybe once being burned at the stake is no longer a problem I'll reconsider ... but for now ..." She trailed off and made a face.

"Lamb chop duty," Lyle finished with a smirk.

"Frolicking, fluffy, cute, and dumb," she agreed with a nod. "It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so bumbling! I've been learning how to talk to animals, a little, and these things are just so ... so ..."

"Mind-numbingly stupid?" Lyle offered.

"Yes," Rhea burst out, "exactly!"

The pair of them let the quiet seep back in. A strong arm moved around Rhea and she let him draw her close. She closed her green eyes to feel his presence with her other senses. Lyle had gone down to the river and scrubbed himself pink, before they met here. Rhea had done the same, but somehow he still smelled of musk, man, and the greenwood. I probably smell like sheep, she pouted to herself but he did not falter when he put his nose to the curly tangle of her brown hair and breathed deeply.

"Stay with me," she whispered.

"Always," he readily agreed. The power of his strength made her feel safe and she lost herself in that feeling.

"Liar," she chastised him without any malice. "You'll be gone after Darcy gives you your letters."

"Someone needs to do it," he told her with some regret in his tone. "I'm good at moving through the wild. No one can get to Callasus faster than I can."

"I know," Rhea pouted, "but it still takes you a week to get there and back ... and you know how I am about waiting."

"I know," he agreed with a smile in his voice. "It's one of the things I love about you."

"Can't you find something else to do?" she pleaded. "Can't you trap rabbits or something?"

"Probably," he admitted, "but you'd have to say goodbye to all of these muscles." He flexed and Rhea giggled as he pressed against her. A quiet moment began to stretch between them, as they cuddled, and then she felt something poke her.

"Oh-hoh," she teased him as a wicked smile filled her features. "I thought twice was your limit."

"Uhm ... well," he hesitated but she turned to face him.

"Not that I'm complaining," Rhea teased as she let one hand trace his muscles, "it's a compliment ... really." Her fingers went lower until she felt the slimy bits of their last two tumbles. Most of it had dried but she could feel the traces of her still on him. A little growl emitted from Lyle's throat as she took him in her hand and it took very little coaxing to return him to fullness. "Oh my," she breathed, "what a compliment."

"Rhea," he huffed, and his lips pulled back slightly, showing his canines, "you ... you're ..." The scent of his arousal heightened and she felt a thrill pulse through her. He was reacting because of her. No one else was allowed to touch him like this and she could see the strain of the beast beneath the surface.

"Oh, that reminds me!" she said suddenly and she drew away from him. Distance caused cool air to breathe on their heated parts and the longing part of her man bobbed drunkenly at her absence. Rolling fully away from him, Rhea reached into her pile of clothing, fumbled for a moment, and then retrieved a small polished blue-white stone, about the size of a marble, with a hole clean through the middle. A thin strip of leather would allow it to be a bracelet or necklace.

Rhea held it up to him and his eyes fixed steadily to it. "What ... is it?" he asked as he trembled to stay a gentleman.

"It's a piece of moonstone," she told him with confidence. "Mother Luna's rays made solid ... a gift to us who are willing to collect her blessings and hold them close. She keeps our secrets, calms our hearts, and shows us the path when we're lost in the dark. I mixed a bit of my moon-blood into the leather when it was being tanned so that you can always find your way back to me."

Lyle's eyes were huge as she placed the stone in his hands. He trembled a little as he called her name once more. "Rhea."

"Yes?" she teased as she moved slowly to press herself fully against him.

"You ... you ..." For a moment he looked like me might weep but then there was a flash of amber in his eyes as they locked with hers. "Mine!" It had come out as an oddly possessive snarl and he lunged forward. A strange mixture of excitement and fear swirled through Rhea's stomach as his teeth found her throat. The light nip did not pierce her skin but his suckling lips were sure to make a bruise.

"Hah-haah ... yeees!" Rhea gasped as goosebumps ripped to the surface. Lyle growled something else but it cut off as their lips pressed together. Warm tongues penetrated the other's mouth as they tasted and touched. Hunger moved Rhea forward and pressed him to the ground. Rough nails dragged along the firmness of his chest as she straddled his body. The power of his passion pressed up between her legs but she decided to torture for a time.

Wet lips kissed his as the lower set glided along his length. The hunger in his blood caused him to thrust up at her, but she did not yield. Restraint filled his face as he held back ... for her, but it was an agony. The thrill of such power made her feel special; and she rewarded his self-control.

A great exhalation hissed out of her as she took him inside of her. When she settled firmly onto his body, she marveled at how full she felt. He was big, but not too big ... strong, but not too rough. Every bit of him quivered in a needy hunger and she was his only relief. The power was hers.

Slowly she began to move. Heat and sweat mingled, smoothed their skin, and made it slippery. The body began to yield, making his passage easier. She drew him into her sweet spots, moving carefully but losing control as she began to bob faster. Something about the way he struck her insides did not allow her to last long, and soon she felt a familiar tension. Like a boiling cauldron she frothed and then boiled over. Ecstasy asserted itself as a passionate moan and she cried out to the moon and stars.

Several deep breaths brought her back to his arms and their mouths came together. Then he was moving again. "W-wait," she gasped and he stopped. "I ... I need to-" Her words cut off in a shudder of sensation but he understood. Turning to one side, Lyle let her roll off onto the blanket. Then his lips kissed her legs and his hands gently rolled her onto her back. A torturous breeze made her squeal as his breath cooled her sex. "Oh ... you ... ahh-haaahhh!"

The length of his warm tongue lapped at her thrice and then a solid pressure thrust up into her once more. Rhea arched her back, threw back her head and screamed. Lyle paused for a beat before continuing to worship her body. Strong arms lifted her onto his lap but he moved at his own pace now. Soft lips found one breast and sucked at the nipple. Jolts of electric heat tore through her, gathering together in her belly before spreading out through her limbs at the speed of thought.

Vision cleared slowly and Rhea found herself on her stomach. Lyle's weight came down along her back and pinned her in place. His girth pressed against her folds once more and her needy body drew him in. Muscles clenched, pressing against his intrusion, but she was slick with need and did not want him to stop. Potent muscles flexed, ramming him forward. Lyle slammed into her back side in a rhythm of his choosing.

"Oh, yes," Rhea called out to him, "that's it! Take me you animal! You dirty ... dirty beast!" Lyle growled more deeply. Snorts and snarls rumbling through their connection as he pounded her like a wolf in rut. His teeth gripped the back of her neck and she felt his arms start to tremble. Muscles flexed through his body and she knew what was to come.

Lyle roared, his mass filling her up and twitching with release. All of his tension flooded into her body and Rhea felt her own lust carry her over the edge. His heat seared her nerves and she shivered. Every part of her world turned white and danced with stars. All was suspended in the flex of straining muscles ... and then they relaxed.

The weight of his body pressed down on hers. Rhea could feel Lyle heaving with deep breaths, the effort of his needs having driven him to exhaustion. Sweat and seed mixed together, dripping out of them, running across tanned skin, and gathering in pools. A light nip tugged at her shoulders and then a loving kiss sucked at the back of her neck.

"Gods ... you beast," Rhea whispered, and she felt his chuckle ripple through their connection. She was too sensitive and she whimpered. It sounded as if he wanted to apologize but it just made him laugh more. When he finally withdrew, the chill of night washed over her glistening skin. A moment later they were on their sides and he curled himself around her.

"Mine," he whispered in her ear. "My Rhea."

"Mine," she whispered back, holding his arms and entwining their fingers. "My Lyle."

Then the power bled out of their universe and they let themselves fall into sleep.