By the Light of the Moon

By the Light of the Moon: Chapter 11 of 13

That night Remus worked very hard at not thinking about the wolf and not reminding her that he was one. Instead, he made her dinner. He was not a cook by any stretch of the imagination, but he tried his hardest and got her to laugh at his creative cooking methods. With a couple glasses of wine and a few strategically placed candles, she'd relaxed into the strong-willed, easy-going woman he'd grown to love.

"You really are beautiful, you know that?"

She blushed at his words and gave him that look, her head tilted slightly to the side, her hair falling across her face, her eyes looking up at him. That sweet, seductive look. His heart raced as his pulse thrummed through him. As he set the dishes in the sink he felt her wrap herself around him from behind. Sighing, he leaned back against her, allowing the sweet sensation of her warm lips on his neck to send shivers down his spine.

"Merlin I love how you touch me," his voice was breathless. They hadn't made love since before the last full moon and he'd been dying for her touch. He hadn't wanted to rush her though. He wanted her to come to him. And here she was.

She turned him to face her and ran her finger along his lower lip. "I'm sorry I've been so off lately," she whispered, as her lips replaced her fingers.

"Shhh... just kiss me." He pulled her closer, trying his hardest to kiss her gently when he was dying to kiss her deeply, fervently. His breath had stepped up a notch and he could feel the desire coursing through his veins.

She broke their kiss and held him tightly. Sighing softly against his neck, she murmured, "Take me to bed, Remus."

In a move that surprised them both, he whisked her off her feet and carried her to bed. Soon he was ravaging her body with kisses as she squirmed pleasantly under his touch. "Remus?"

"Hmm?"

"Look at me."

He shook his head.

"Please?"

"Can't, sorry." He smiled, his eyes still closed, as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck, planting kisses up to the tender flesh of her ear.

She pushed him back. "It's okay, I promise. Just please, look at me. Please Remus. I want you. All of you. I don't want to wait. Not for this."

The pleading in her voice sent warning signals through his body. He cocked his head and looked quizzically at her.

"Let the wolf out. I- I miss him."

He shook his head. Every muscle in his body tightened in warning. He didn't want to risk it. If he let the wolf out, he might not be able to reign him back in.

"Please, Remus, I can't explain it. But I need him. I need you. All of you."

"But what if I scare you? What if you transform?"

She smiled that disarming smile of hers. "Well, if I transform that would definitely make things interesting."

"Perhaps, but, ah... well, I can't transform at will. And, well, I think I'll leave the she-wolf to the he-wolf if you don't mind."

She blinked, momentarily confused, before blushing furiously. "I didn't mean- I didn't think-" But when she looked back in his eyes, she saw the wolf lurking in the shadows.

He startled when her eyes met his.

"You see it, don't you?"

He nodded as words failed him. He could see the she-wolf clearly behind her eyes. He felt as if his breath had been pulled from his chest.

"It's okay. I promise."

He groaned, something deep shifting inside of him. She reached for him and every last shred of inhibition vanished. He couldn't have stopped the freight train running through him if he'd tried.

His eyes were closed but he was not asleep. He had never felt so alive in all his life. And so incredible. So complete. So right. He'd never given in to himself so fully, all of himself; the man and the wolf. He'd never thought the saying "werewolves mate for life" applied to him. He realized now that although he'd had sex with other women, he'd never mated before; there was a vast difference between human sexual release and mating. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he'd already sealed his fate with Amera the first time they made love; he just hadn't been willing to admit it then. He groaned, terrified to look at her. Terrified that he'd scared her or hurt her with his fierce intensity. Terrified of this new development. They had mated. Man to woman. He-wolf to she-wolf. There were no two ways about it. And there was no going back.

"Honey? Are you awake?" Her soft voice filtered through his thoughts.

"Mm-hmm."

"Open your eyes."

He held his breath, beginning to very slowly do as she asked.

Instead, his eyes bolted open as a four-legged mass landed squarely on his chest.

Her canine eyes were bright, her tail wagging. She'd changed on her own.

"Change Back."

She shook her furry head and gently nudged his chin with her nose in a playful gesture. Then she hunkered down, her front legs splayed across his chest, her hind end up in the air, tail wagging furiously. She barked, inviting him to play.

This was the not the nervous, submissive female wolf he'd encountered a few weeks ago. This was a self-assured lupine form of Amera. Smiling, he wrestled her to the bed, she on her back, her legs in the air. He tickled her furry belly, as she flailed, nipping playfully at him. With grace, agility, and a strength that surprised him, she sprung to her feet and bowled him over, nudging his chin with her nose. Tail still wagging, she settled on his chest and nuzzled her snout against his neck. In the whirlwind of an instant, Amera the woman was sprawled out across his body. Naked skin to naked skin.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling proudly.

"For what?" his nearly breathless voice asked.

"For giving yourself to me so completely. For trusting me. For loving me."

"How could I not love you, Amera?"

"Mmmm...." She was nuzzling his neck again, this time in human form. It drove him crazy when she did that. He sighed under her touch, surprised to feel his body respond to hers again so quickly.

"What changed?" he asked, curious as to how she'd gone from being terrified of him to wanting all of him.

"I stopped being afraid."

"And?"

"I was so afraid of losing control that that very fear was causing me to give up control."

He paused, considering his own lack of control around her, especially near the full moon.

"Amera, there's something you should know."

"What's that?" her eyes were bright and curious.

"We mated."

"I know, I was there."

"No, you don't understand. We didn't just have sex. People do that. We mated. There's a difference." A huge difference.

"Yes, I know." The look in her eyes was both easy and intense at the same time.

"What do you know?" he asked, certain she couldn't possibly understand what had just transpired between them or the implications of it, at least for him.

"Wolves mate for life."

She made the statement as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She laughed at the stunned expression on his face. Bending over to kiss him, she whispered against his lips, "I thought maybe we should mate again, to seal our fate, just in case once wasn't enough." With that, she slid herself over him, inhaling sharply at the intense pleasure that was him sliding deep inside of her. "I love you Remus Lupin. All of you."

"How do you do that?" he asked, barely holding on to the last vestiges of self control, his hands sliding up to rest on her hips.

"Do what?"

"Everything. This. And- and knowing what I'm going to- Oh god-" Her tongue was caressing his neck as she rocked against him. He couldn't think straight anymore.

"Knowing what your going to say before you say it?" she prompted.

He nodded, slipping into the rhythm she so seamlessly created between them. He was fading fast, losing interest in her words even as he struggled to hang on to them.

"The wolves talk," she whispered, leaning into him, meshing their hearts and souls, losing herself in him once again.