Beauties and Beasts Pt 2

Chapter 164

Ryan's time for a date! It's his time to shine and boy, does he glow!

Ryan practically vibrated in his excitement. Shay to himself for a full night! And she insisted he plan the activities according to his knowledge of her! He scarcely knew where to begin, although Curtis had taken the elusive pampering day so that was out. Ryan was many things, but he refused to harvest the second crop of Curtis's. He reassured himself he could still do better as he carefully washed his body in the cool stream several yards from their house. No, his Shay deserved the most beautiful... the most breathtaking of experiences he could give her. And after a few weeks of scouting for the perfect location, he finally found it.

"You only get one night," Curtis hissed, puffing his chest and flashing his aura as much as he could without attracting Shay's attention. He'd interrupted Ryan's packing while Shay was busy saying goodbye to the snakelings. "I will be there before the high sun if you have not returned her. There is nowhere you can take her that I will not follow."

"I have no intention of taking her, First Mate." Ryan kept his ears from flattening although his tail still twitched at the Snake's close proximity.

Curtis noticed and smiled darkly. His eyes lost whatever light they had possessed as he bent down and moved his face within a breath of Ryan's. "Good. Although I've been wanting to paint some clay with your blood for some time, cat." He straightened and slithered away, flicking his tail at Ryan's ankle as he left.

He suppressed a shudder as Shay walked through the door, a slight frown on her face. "I still don't know if Freckles is going to listen to LazyBoi about the perimeters, but I can't stop their territorial squabbles forever, I guess. Maybe if I let them put up fences instead of peeing everywhere, they could see the boundary instead of smelling it." She seemed lost in the world of her babies and hardly noticed when Ryan transformed, nudging his head between her thighs to adjust her position on his back, her hands tightening in his fur as he jumped forward.

The cool scents of the forest soothed him, his nose sifting through the aromas of various vines, herbs, fruits, and animals, categorizing them as he passed. Spicy-sweet, like Shay after a passionate night: Hare's Bluff, used for soothing bruises and, when boiled into a paste with Smooth Leaf, aided in the reproductive cycle. Bitter-spicy, like Shay's anger when she discovered he'd hurt himself: used for extracting the impurities from water. The taste could only be removed with the powdered root of the plant, wisdom passed from Mother. Bitter-spicy-yet-cooling, the relief sweat on Shay's temples when she realized he could heal himself after an injury: used for..."

Her thighs clenched around his middle and he coughed a groan as he slowed.

"Bathroom." Without waiting for him to come to a full stop, she slid from his back and emptied her bladder in the bushes. "Stop listening, pervert."

Try as he might, he couldn't seem to make her understand how he had no power to make her a non-sound-producing animal, or make his ears and nose 'skip' over her as she did her business. He found it remarkably beastman of her, a grounding reality that connected his wonderful delicate prize to all of creation, to all the world. Within her stirred the seeds of an excellent Herbalist and the sooner she accepted the gifts she had to offer, the sooner she could stop feeling embarrassed about being herself.

She wiped her hands with some of the fermented juices Neara had been making. The smell almost overpowered even the dullest nose and he coughed as she slid back on. He wandered until the smell dissipated and he could get his bearings again. Shay chattered on his back about the different herbs she saw, occasionally identifying one before his nose could. He'd nod or twitch his ears when she got one right, eliciting a giggle. Gods, he loved that sound. She rarely let herself be truly free and pampered as she ought to be. If she'd let him, he'd build her the coziest home, filled with soft furs and sweet fruits and every day he'd bring her bread and jam and they'd make love until the sun rose again.

The thought of his mate sleeping in a pile of rabbit skins while he hunted for her sustenance caused his tail to tremble and he wrapped it around her waist to steady himself. if only she didn't need so much protection... if she were a beast herself, she might be able to... no, if she were a beast, he would have her be a small bird or mouse that he could carefully place in a lined pouch around his neck, to keep her with him forever. He walked carefully to practice, making sure his neck didn't swivel.

"What's going on down there? Is there quicksand? Or maybe they call it slow sand here." She snorted at her joke. "No, really, you're stiffer than usual; what's going on?"

The smell suddenly changed and he bucked her from his back, changing to his beastman form to catch her in his arms.

"Ryan! I hate when you do that!" She playfully slapped him. Or maybe it was full force... either way it didn't hurt.

"I'm sorry, my Shay, I only wanted to see your reaction face to face when I showed you the location for our date." And cupping her securely in one arm, he pushed aside the bamboo thicket to reveal a lush garden, with more fruit in one place than he'd ever come across before.

"Ryan..." her voice dropped and her body stiffened in his grasp. He knew from her heavy breathing how excited she was. "Ryan, it's beautiful."

He'd chosen the perfect time; right after midday when the suns finished converting the water in the plants to sugar, the air heavy with their scent. The canopies of the trees drooped, covered in thick nets to keep the birds and other vermin from infesting his mate's paradise. Her feet touched the soft dirt and she wandered to the nearest bush, leaves obscured under a mountain of pink berries shaped like a finger.

"Can I... eat this one?" She sounded so shy and unsure, he almost thought he heard Neara.

"My Shay," he spread his arms wide, "this is all for you to eat." In one smooth motion, he'd taken his large pack off and began setting up the picnic area, complete with her tea set so she could enjoy as many of the flavors here as possible. Neara'd even packed him several loaves of bread, which he was thankful for. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the wild seed flour to behave for him; his bread always came out flat or doughy in the middle, sometimes both.

Her teeth broke the thin skin and her eyes widened as the bitter-sweet taste coated her tongue. "Oh my heck, it's like eating a candied lemon peel!"

Ryan nodded, as he'd learned to do whenever she said something he didn't know about. He'd ask her about it later, when her stomach was full. He raised an eyebrow as she bent over again, backbone tenting her skin. Her fascination with remaining under-nourished confused him to no end. Shouldn't a female be plump and round, full of life and vitality, with round cheeks on both ends? He longed to see the glow of life although he tried to accept this was her preferred form and he should appreciate it as much as she wanted him to.

"Oh, they have my favorite peachy things!" She pounced on the high bush, dragging a branch down and biting a fruit still attached to its stem. Juice dripped down her chin. She giggled. "I saw someone do that in a movie." Her small hand wiped her lips although another drop trampled on her chin. "Not my favor..."

He couldn't help himself. He was at her side in a moment, cupping her face in his hands as he slowly drew his tongue over her chin. She shuddered beneath him and he flattened his palms to ground her. "You taste delicious."

"That's just... the juice..." Her voice made that pitch as if she thought this was a time for joking.

He let his hand trail lower, dragging his thumb across her ribs and hooking the pad of his thumb into her hip bone, curling his fingers around her back to pull her up and against him. His other hand angled her neck up so he could nibble at the sensitive skin on her throat. She moaned and vibrated against his lips.

Her hands flew around his neck and twisted themselves around his ears. She loved to feel them when they made love.

As she brought her face to his, he laid them down on the picnic blanket, smoothing away the bread and jam and taking special care with her teapot as she ravaged his face. She whined beneath his lips as he brought them down the curve of her throat and let his tongue dance downwards. "I know your flavor, my dear."