Heated Summers

Chapter Six

 

Chapter Six

Ashlin

I was in agony. Pure, unadulterated agony.

Every single muscle and nerve cell in my body was rigid with tension, coiled tighter than an anaconda's tenacious grip on its prey. Flashes of relentless heat ripped through my body, travelling up my spine and digging its bastard fingers into the tender areas of my back, temporarily paralysing me. My pelvis screamed and ached worse than all the previous times combined. Drowsiness threatened to take me under its blissful wings but it hovered teasingly in the corner of my vision, keeping me at arms length while I struggled to deal with the woes of being a bitch in heat.

My animals were fairing no better than me. My wolf howled and yelped, feeling each individual slice of excruciating heat as it clawed through our body. She panted and whined, begging me to find someone to drag us out of this heat. My cougar was mewling pathetically, curling into a fetal position as if it would ward off the oncoming slaughter of Heat.

I was dimly aware of the tears streaming down my face. My throat felt sore and raw, and I knew that I was crying aloud, my mental pleas transferring to my mouth in pathetic cries. I could vaguely hear Jim's reassuring words and feel his brief touches but no solace was conjured from the caring caresses. Wetness dripping down the sides of my temples and I didn't know if it was sweat, blood or a damp cloth trying to cool my overheated body. Probably all three.

It continued on for days. Or, at least, that what it felt like. It could have been seconds, minutes, hours or weeks. Time was endless; it had no meaning in this place of pain. It didn't stop, and I was too far lost in the deep abyss of pain. All that lived inside of me was the Heat eating my insides. Slowly...excruciatingly...

At some point, amidst the never ending cycle of agony, I began to wonder. Ripples of energy tore through my body, refusing to let me forget my body was burning alive, but, I was able to gain a conscious understanding that it wouldn't last forever. That, however, only seemed to make it worse. Now I was beginning to count the seconds until I could breathe. The tight band wrapped firmly around my chest began to constrict, my lungs struggling to push out and take in air.

Antonio.

I screamed silently as a jolt of electricity zapped my spine. My back arched and my mind momentarily went blank, as if trying to block the unnecessary moment of pure anguish from my life.

Suddenly my eyes snapped open. I could sense him. He was everywhere. Every lungful I inhaled, I smelled him. With my heightened senses I could feel his worry and confusion, his indecision. And when I locked on those deep blues, desire was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted him to hold me. Some part of me knew - my animals knew - that this man could calm the raging maelstrom of emotions inside of me. Only his touch would drive away all the pain.

"Help...me..." I sobbed out the words on panting breaths. "Please!"

His arms wrapped around me and I swear on my mothers grave that I saw heaven.

                                                                ***

Antonio

The change in her body was immediate.

All the pent up tension in her body seemed to deflate like a balloon beneath his caring touch. The tight planes of her face thawed out, the lines surrounding her eyes easing back into smooth skin. Her rock hard limbs turned to jelly in his arms and a soft sound that sounded part sob, part sigh of relief, escaped her mouth. Her silver eyes slid shut and she promptly fell into a fitful sleep.