wall, there were two closed windows. Besides a small rug in the middle of the floor, the room was otherwise featureless. The beds looked comfortable enough, well-stuffed with hay and down, and the sheets were crisply arranged on them.
“I’m sure it will be fine.” He tried to remember what alias Reese was using. “I’m sure Mr. Senom will approve.”
“Thank you, sir. We’ll see you for supper then?”
“Yes, I’ll be down in an hour or so. I just need to rest from the road.”
“If there’s anything else you might need, sir, let me know. Washroom is down the hall. I put the hot water in at sunrise and after dinner.” Gord stepped back into the hallway and prepared to leave.
Volle breathed in, and thought he caught the scent of a female on Gord. “Are you married, Gord?”
“Sir? Yes, five years.”
“Ah. Good for you, Gord.”
“Thank you, sir.” The bear looked faintly puzzled as he walked back down the hallway.
Volle checked for a lock on the door, and was pleased to find a deadbolt. He closed the door and locked it, then walked over to a window and opened it. The room was a bit stuffy and warm from receiving the afternoon sunlight, but the air outside was fresh and cool. He breathed it in, then went to lie down on one of the beds.
Time at the Academy was regimented and packed full of activities, and he had probably not been in a room alone for more than ten minutes at a time in his five years there. Savoring the privacy and the free time, he leaned back and put his arms behind his head. He let Seir and Reese melt away, and brooded again on how he would cope, going to live in a land where the one thing he loved most was denied him.
His tunic felt a little warm, so he took it off to relax. His eyes drifted downward, pulled by the hours of studying and the weariness of sitting in the carriage all day. In his half-dozing state, his paw slid down almost unconsciously to his trousers, trailing claws up and down his sheath. He imagined the highway-wolf crawling through the window and finding him in bed, not even on the pretense of robbery any more. He could feel the wolf’s paws guiding his own up and down the bulge on his trousers, loosening the ties at the front and sliding his paws down inside.
“It is forbidden, you know,” the wolf whispered to him. “But you are too lovely for me not to risk it.” Volle moaned softly, feeling his arousal grow as his erection slid out from his sheath under his paw. “All in black. How exotic,” the wolf said, sliding Volle’s paw along the fox’s deep black length. The coloration didn’t rub off on his paw as the soft pads slid up and down, even when they began to press more firmly. Volle gasped, and though his eyes were closed he could see the wolf leaning over him, dark brown eyes focused intently on his paw above a hungry smile. He could smell the wolf’s musk in the dusty room and hear his soft breathing over Volle’s own panting moans.
“If they catch us,” the wolf whispered in his ear, “we will be in terrible danger.” His paw impelled Volle’s to move faster still, in time with the trembling sensations that were overwhelming him.
“Mustn’t…get…caught…then,” Volle said, his whole body shaking with repressed desire. Only four days or so, but it seemed so long, and he hadn’t had a moment alone since then. His paw worked faster and faster, and his erection was so hard and so hot he could barely touch it. His back arched on the bed and he moaned a series of short, staccato gasps as warmth sprayed over his stomach and chest. His paw kept sliding up and down, getting slicker, until finally he was too sensitive to continue. He fell back onto the bed, panting heavily, keeping his paw curled around himself.
Of course, the wolf was not there when he opened his eyes. The only scent in the room, apart from the strong musk of his activity, was the damp scent from the river wafting in through the open window. He smiled and listened to