Awakenings 2: Instinct Read online

  With a doggy grin, she turned, abandoning her attentions to Vic, and licked at his muzzle. She bumped her head against his shoulder and then did it again. Joam got the hint and lay down on his side, exposing his bright red erection.

  Enid reached down and cupped his balls in one handlike paw, rolling them. Joam got even harder. Then she leaned over and ran her silky, hot varnal tongue up and down the length of his unsheathed penis.

  He flexed his hips, and she took him in her mouth, his rigid cock sliding over her tongue. She trapped him between the roof of her mouth and her tongue. The friction drove him mad, and he thrust harder, faster. The next thing he knew, Saffron was nuzzling and licking at his face, sending little ripples of pleasure cascading down his body to meet with the raging surf of his pounding cock.

  And then a pair of paws came down on his shoulders. Vic's musk combined with the others, a heady swirl that made Joam's mind swim.

  The warm, wet tip of Vic's penis brushed against his asshole. Joam's opening pulsed in response, but at the same time, the erotic haze in his mind cleared momentarily, and he realized that he was about to cross yet another line. Once he allowed another male inside him, there was no going back. There would be nothing of him that was for Blake and Blake alone. He did not want anyone but Blake to penetrate him.

  With a groan, he broke away from Saffron's licks and kisses, from Enid's intoxicating mouth, and Vic's commanding weight. He turned and grabbed Vic by the scruff of the neck with his teeth. Drunk with the smell of another aroused male, he put his forehands on Vic's shoulders.

  Vic signaled his willingness by widening his stance and raising his tail. Joam's cock, devoid of Enid's mouth, pulsed with need. Heat rolled off Vic's body, drawing him like a beacon.

  The first touch of the tip of his penis against Vic's opening seared him with delight. Joam rocked his hips forward and slid the rest of the way inside the other varnal's body.

  Tight, wet heat enveloped him, and instinct took over. Joam gripped the loose skin at the base of Vic's neck in his jaws, clamped his forehands over his shoulders, and fucked him hard and fast. He plunged in and out of Vic's hole, pounding him relentlessly.

  Vic howled in ecstasy, and Joam realized that the deep, guttural sounds he heard came from him. Before them, the females, having abandoned them, twined about one another, licking and stroking each other into a frenzy. The smell of their musk only drove Joam higher, and he slammed into Vic again and again, burying himself to the root in the other male's body.

  In human form, he would not have been able to keep up such a pace for long, but as a varnal, things were different. He could sense his orgasm, and Vic's, like a storm cloud hovering on the horizon, but unlike a human, helpless in the face of nature, Joam himself became the guiding wind that dictated where and when the storm broke.

  He chose to prolong their pleasure, reaching around Vic with one hand to run teasing fingers up and down the slick, rigid wetness of the other varnal's rampant erection. Vic whimpered and flexed his hips, striving for more contact, but Joam refused him, continuing to tease and tickle, working his way down Vic's shaft to his balls. They were drawn tight in their sac, further proof that Vic was every bit as close to coming as Joam. He traced featherlight touches across the pebbled skin and basked in the frantic, pleading tones of Vic's cries.

  So this was how Blake felt when he tormented Joam with prolonged arousal. He felt powerful. It felt good.

  He continued to fuck the living daylights out of Vic, pumping into his tight, needy hole until the other varnal's moans grew ragged with exhaustion and Joam's cock began to sting from the friction.

  He wrapped his fingers around Vic's slippery pole and shifted the angle of his hips so that as he thrust into him, he drove right over the spongy gland inside.

  Vic screamed as he came, pumping hot seed over Joam's hand. The convulsions of his orgasm rippled around Joam's cock, squeezing it almost painfully. The sensation, combined with the tidal wave of sexual energy rolling off Vic, swept Joam away into oblivion.

  He came to lying on his side, Vic curled in a ball beside him, cradled in his arms. Nearby, Saffron and Enid lounged against one another, lazy and sated in the aftermath of their own climaxes.

  Dawn turned the sky a pale blue, and birdsong sweetened the air. The four of them roused themselves and padded back toward the farmhouse.

  Blake awoke in the predawn hours, his neck stiff. He'd fallen asleep on the couch. The television was airing the farm report, and beside him, Jimmy rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Some babysitter Blake was, letting him stay up all night. “Sorry, Jimmy. I guess I nodded off.”

  The look Jimmy gave him now was different from the vacant expression Blake was used to seeing.

  “Jimmy?” said Blake.

  Jimmy seemed to really see him now. For the first time, Blake saw intelligence in those eyes. “The tea,” he said.

  Blake opened his mouth to ask what about the tea, but just then the latch to the front door clicked. Jimmy glanced at it, his expression suddenly fearful and then, in the next instant, vacant. He went back to rocking.

  Blake got up as the varnals filed in. He was about to announce Jimmy's breakthrough, but he caught Jimmy looking at him from the corner of his eye, and something made him keep silent.

  * * * * *

  The varnals piled through the doorway, and instantly, Joam transformed. Naked, he hurried to Blake and took him in his arms. The heat of his body seeped through Blake's clothing. Instinctively, Blake relaxed in his embrace. And then Joam shifted his hips, and Blake felt his hot, hard cock press into his hip. “Let's go upstairs,” he whispered in Blake's ear.

  Over Joam's shoulder, Blake saw the other varnals shifting, and Jimmy, still sitting on the couch, face blank, humming and rocking. He wanted to talk to Joam about what had happened just now, but somehow, he didn't want to do that with the others here. He nodded and let Joam lead him upstairs.

  “So how was it?” asked Blake once Joam shut the door to their room. “Did you do anything?”

  Joam kissed Blake on the lips. “I fucked Vic,” he said. “He wanted to fuck me, but I wouldn't let him.” Joam turned, pressing his ass against Blake's groin. “That's just for you.”

  Blake laughed. “Well, it doesn't seem to have slowed you down any.”

  “No.” Joam turned within the circle of Blake's arms and flexed his hips again, sliding his big, hard cock up and down Blake's belly. “If anything, I just want you more. I want to share everything I felt with you. I want you to feel it too. And now, finally, it'll be safe for you.”

  Joam's arousal fueled Blake's own. His cock stiffened, and he ran his hands down Joam's muscular back to cup his tight, round ass, pulling him closer, pressing their engorged erections together.

  The feel of Blake's cock inside him was so right, Joam gave thanks to whatever instinct had prompted him to stop Vic from fucking him earlier. After such strenuous sport with the other varnals, he'd expected to be exhausted. On the way home, all he'd hoped for was to curl up beside Blake in bed, cuddling and kissing before dropping off to sleep. But that's not how it worked out at all. The moment he came in the door, still in varnal form, and caught a whiff of Blake, he was on fire again, as if he'd never had sex before in his life.

  Fortunately for him, Blake had really meant it when he'd said he supported Joam's extracurricular activities, and he responded to Joam just as if they were still monogamous. Now, Blake's cock in his ass was Joam's entire world. His concerns about Blake's feelings, their relationship, his varnal powers, and whether he could control them all vanished from his mind as he relished the sensation of being completely filled, completely loved.

  Blake pulled out and slid back in again, driving right over Joam's prostate. Joam curled his toes and whimpered. His cock was so hard, it felt like it was going explode at any moment.

  Blake gripped Joam's hips tighter and quickened his pace. There was no teasing tonight, no holding at bay the union they both seemed to need so desperately.
“That's right,” Blake panted. “Come for me.”

  Joam's balls drew tight against his body, and the now-familiar tingling gathered in his belly. Joam pushed back against Blake's driving cock, relishing the feel of it stretching him wide open.

  “Yes,” breathed Blake, and he placed a kiss between Joam's shoulder blades.

  And suddenly, Joam felt every fiber in the weave of the bedspread beneath him. He smelled Blake's sweat, his arousal, and the cinnamon tea he'd drunk after dinner tonight. He heard Blake's heartbeat and his own and the whispered tones of a conversation taking place downstairs in the living room.

  No. No, this couldn't be happening. Not again. Joam fought for control. He fought to maintain his human form but felt it slipping away from him even as his own orgasm ripped through him, carrying away every shred of willpower he possessed.

  He and Blake tumbled into the whirling maelstrom together. Blake's energy poured into him, and his own release poured over Blake's hand. He tried to stop, but he might as well have tried to stop a hurricane. The force of their ecstasy carried them with it, and when it was over, Blake lay still, unconscious.

  * * * * *

  “Won't you at least eat something?” asked Saffron, standing in the doorway.

  Joam shook his head. Refusing to take his eyes away from Blake's still form to look at her. “No.”

  “You haven't eaten or slept or bathed in two days. This isn't doing anyone any good, Joam.”

  He took a deep breath. She wanted him to do something. All right, then. Joam stood and turned to face her. Saffron flinched back at the look in his eyes. He walked slowly toward her as she backed up into the hallway. “You said screwing around with you would help. You said you'd teach me to control my powers. You said you'd teach Blake how to live with a varnal. What have you done? Nothing!”

  Vic appeared at the top of the stairs and came to Saffron's side. “You're not being fair, Joam.”

  “We understand that you're upset,” added Saffron.

  “Upset? Of course I'm upset! Nothing you've shown me has done a damn bit of good!” He pointed at the room where Blake lay. “That shouldn't have happened! Why did that happen?”

  Vic and Saffron exchanged a glance. “We don't know,” said Saffron.

  “You don't know? But you're supposed to be teachers. What good is any of this if you don't even know what you're talking about?”

  “That's enough,” said Vic. “Calm down.”

  Joam crossed the hallway in quick strides. “Why should I?”

  Vic pulled himself up to his full height, stared Joam down. “Because if you don't, I'll make you. We're all upset about what happened to Blake, Joam, and we'll figure this out, as soon as you stop acting like a child.”

  They stared at one another for long seconds. At last, Joam considered what Blake would want him to do, and he was pretty sure it wasn't throw a temper tantrum at the only people who had ever helped them. He took a deep breath and a step back.

  “Okay,” said Vic. “I've been doing some research. Why don't you freshen up and meet us downstairs in the kitchen, and we can go over what I've found?”

  * * * * *

  “The problem may be that you are still holding your varnal nature at arm's length,” said Vic. He, Enid, and Joam sat around the kitchen table. Saffron pressed a tall glass of cinnamon tea in his hands and sat down next to him.

  In the middle of the table sat an enormous tome, at least six inches thick and bound in leather that was cracking with age. The gold leaf that embossed the cover was faded to illegibility, not that it would have mattered to Joam. The language the book was written in was not English or any other human language.

  Vic turned a page of the volume and read, “The varnal who denies her nature is doomed to be ruled by it.”

  “But I did what you said. We had sex. I've been practicing shifting. What else am I supposed to do?”

  The others all exchanged looks. Finally, Enid said, “You haven't practiced tapping Blake's energy.”

  Joam's stomach knotted. “What?”

  Enid looked nervous, but Vic gave her an encouraging nod. “I made the same mistake. I thought that by avoiding drawing from him at all, I was protecting him. But…”

  Silence reigned as Enid trailed off. Joam shook his head in confusion. “I don't understand. You're telling me that in order to protect Blake from being drained, I have to drain him?”

  “Just a little bit at a time, so that you can learn how to control it.”

  Joam stood up, not bothering to push his chair back first. It fell to the floor with a loud clatter. “And you've done such a good job of teaching me control so far.”

  Vic and Saffron looked at each other helplessly. “We've never had a case like yours before,” Saffron admitted.

  “Most varnals start experimenting sexually a lot earlier than you did,” said Enid, a note of apology in her voice.

  Joam fought for calm, but the thought of deliberately draining Blake was so repugnant, his stomach churned. “Why didn't you tell me this sooner?” he asked, suppressed anger suffusing his voice.

  “We knew you'd have a hard time with it,” said Saffron. “We didn't want you to reject everything we said. I thought if we built up to it, you might be able to accept the truth better, but now—”

  “Now, we can't put it off any longer,” said Vic.

  Joam swallowed against the bile rising in his throat. They were right. If the first thing they'd told him was to practice drawing energy from Blake, he would have left that very day. Even now, with everything he'd been through, the compromises he'd already made, he couldn't accept it. He shook his head. “I can't.”

  “Can't what?”

  The voice came from the doorway. Joam looked up to see Blake leaning against the frame, bleary-eyed and sporting a terrific case of bedhead.

  He ran to him. “Babe!”

  Blake, warm and wonderfully alive, let Joam take him in his arms and hugged him back. Joam breathed deep, taking comfort in Blake's smell, his warmth, his love.

  “So, uh, I guess it happened again?” asked Blake. “How long was I out this time?”

  Joam held him tighter. He tried to answer him, but his throat closed up. Tears pricked at his eyes, and he closed them.

  “Two days this time,” said Saffron, behind him.

  “Wow. No wonder I'm thirsty,” he said.

  Joam got a grip on himself and guided Blake to a chair. “Here, I'll get you some water.”

  But Saffron was already at the fridge, pouring a tall glass of cinnamon tea from the pitcher. “Give him this. It'll help him replenish his electrolytes.”

  The rest of them stared at Blake as he drank down the tea. He looked up and saw them all looking at him. He laughed and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

  “I'll get you more,” said Saffron, taking the glass from him and returning to the fridge. She paused in midstride, pointing at Joam. “And you drink yours.”

  Joam swallowed past the lump in his throat and nodded.

  “You gave us quite a scare,” Vic said to Blake.

  Blake nodded. “I guess so. The last thing I remember was… Never mind. Anyway, sorry.”

  “You don't have anything to be sorry for,” said Joam. “It was my fault. Again.”

  Blake shrugged. The look he gave Joam was clear-eyed and full of love. “You didn't do it on purpose. It's not your fault either.”

  Joam's tears returned. This was impossible. Blake loved him, trusted him. He couldn't keep putting him in jeopardy. At the same time, he knew that severing their bond would hurt Blake terribly. Break his heart as much as Joam's. Still, it was better than the alternative. “Blake. It's time we looked into severing the life bond.”

  With those words, the happiness drained from Blake's face as if Joam himself had drunk it up. “The severing ritual? I don't—”

  “That might not be necessary,” said Saffron.

  Joam wanted to choke her. “We don't need any more false hope.”

 
Bewildered, Blake looked from Joam to Saffron. “If there's any alternative to severing our bond—”

  “There is, but it's not without its own risks,” said Vic.

  Blake nodded. “Okay.”

  “No,” said Joam.

  Blake turned to him. “How can you say that?”

  “You've taken enough risks already. I couldn't live with myself if you died… or ended up like Jimmy.”

  Blake tilted his head to one side. “But they're my risks to take. Shouldn't I have some say in the matter?”

  Joam stared at him, speechless.

  Blake went on. “So far, this has all been about you, Joam. Oh yeah, when I get knocked out everyone's very concerned, and I know how troubled you are by it, but the emphasis all along has been on your challenges and your feelings should anything happen to me. What about me? It's my life, my body. And as for our bond, that's just as much a part of me as it is of you.”

  Joam didn't know what to say.

  “We think that if Joam practiced drawing off small amounts of your energy, he could learn to control the process, so that in the heat of the moment, he could refrain from sapping all your reserves,” said Vic.

  Blake nodded. “That makes sense. Let's try it.”

  “No!”

  “Joam!” Blake barked.

  Startled, Joam paused with his mouth open.

  Blake glanced at the others. “I need to talk to Joam alone,” he said.

  They nodded and filed out of the room.

  Blake drew his chair closer to Joam's and rested one hand on his knee. “Let me explain something to you. Look at me.”

  Reluctantly, Joam met his eyes.

  “I've been a street hustler since I was fourteen,” said Blake. “Sex was business. Sometimes I enjoyed it, and sometimes I didn't, but there was never anything like love in it for me. Until you. That first night, when you came to the hotel room dressed in that ridiculous suit and presented me with a deck of playing cards because you don't give a guy flowers but you wanted to give me something, like I was someone to be courted and not a common street whore—” He broke off and shook his head. “You touched something inside me I thought had died the night my folks kicked me out of the house. And after we made love for the first time, I remembered what it had been like, before I was forced to fend for myself on the streets. I remembered dreams and aspirations I'd forgotten about until then. Your love brought me back to myself, Joam. I won't go back to the way I was before I met you, and I won't give up the hope of a life together. Not without a fight.”