The Way Home (4 page)

Susan knew from experience that his skin would be soft over the hard span of his muscles. There were several scars; she knew them by touch and feel and wanted suddenly to know them by taste. She wanted to explore him and to be explored. Never in her life had she been as turned on as she was now, and they hadn't really done much more than kiss. Her mind was having a hard time imagining the pleasure that awaited, in fact she was almost sure that she wouldn't be able to take it. And then his hand was between her legs and she was sure of it.

Susan came hard with just the slightest touch of his fingers, began the upward climb once more when he slid his hands up her thighs, urged her legs open wider. His touch was soft, the feeling of his calloused fingers against her clit tore a scream from Susan's throat. The slow climb building up to orgasm that she'd come to expect was suddenly express service. It hit her hard and fast and took her breath away as her body took on a mind of its own.

Her hands reached out for him, fingers slipping over smooth skin. “Houdini. Now.”

“Demanding much?”

“Don't tease me. Please don't.” Susan shut her eyes, tried to shove back the little voice of doubt that was now shouting in her mind. If the voice got louder, if she overthought this situation, she was sure that it would do damage to whatever it was they were building. She didn't want that. “Please.”

“I'm not going to tease you, Susan. Well, not right now at least. We've got plenty of time for that later. I just need to get to my pants.”

It took a second for Susan to realize why he'd want his pants. She was as rocked by the fact that she was ready to let him in her without even thinking of a condom as she had been by the orgasm. “At least one of us is thinking straight.”

“I love that you're not thinking straight.” He kissed her deeply, nipped down on her bottom lip, and then moved to where he'd left his pants. She watched him fumble his wallet, and while he swore, Susan couldn't help but giggle.

Her decision to vouch for Houdini, bring him into The Strays, had been the best decision of her life, because she'd never been this happy or felt this free. Nothing in her past could hold a candle to the way that she felt now, the way that he made her fee. Susan felt restless as she watched him roll the condom down his length.

He seemed to sense that, because he returned to her quickly, pulled her to the very edge of the dresser. Susan smiled up at him, too far gone to wait. She needed him. It was a compulsion, something she didn't have any control over, and she realized she didn't want to be able to control it.

Thoughts rushed through her mind so fast that she couldn't make them out, and then there was no more thought as the tip of his length pressed against her. “Yes.” Susan wrapped her legs around him, held tight so that he'd slide deeper inside of her. “Oh, fuck. Fuck.” Her arms went around his neck, fingers digging into his shoulders.

He responded by quickening his strokes, going deeper and harder. His breathing was rough against her ear, his face pressed to hers. The gesture had always sent a tingle for her, and now it  succeeding in making her body flood against him. For a moment she was almost embarrassed; this was all brand new territory for her. Houdini reacted with a fierce roar, his lips pressing against the curve of her neck.

Susan gripped him tighter with her legs, tight enough that her muscles were screaming, but it was all well worth it for the glorious feeling of being completely full of him. There was a ripple through her stomach.

“Come. Come all over my dick.”

Susan's eyes flew open. She'd never pegged Houdini for the dirty talk type; he was so sweet. There was no way for him to know how much she liked dirty talk—and other things she'd never admit to another person. “Harder,” she dug her nails into his shoulder.

He gave her harder, so hard that it was becoming difficult to breathe, and she didn't care. All she cared about were the feelings spiraling through her, threatening to explode. Susan let her hands move up to his hair, tugged hard and gave in to everything inside of her.

Houdini cried out, voice strained as he pushed as far into her body as he could go. Susan felt him grow inside of her and then everything was loose and liquid as a second orgasm rolled over her. Four times in under an hour. It had to be some sort of world record, or at least it was for her. Susan kept her face pressed against Houdini's neck as he stroked his hands over her back slowly. “You okay?” She felt his head turn and his lips press to her hair.

“You can watch me change.” Susan blurted out the words before she could think better of them. Right there, in that moment, she wanted to give him something the way he'd given her something when he said he loved her. She couldn't tell him that, she wasn't certain she'd ever love again. She could give him this.

“Wait? What? Are you serious? I thought you didn't let humans see you change.”

“I don't. I'm letting you watch me. Just us. I don't want to make a thing of it.”

“When? How about now?” Excitement lit his eyes, and she knew that she'd made the right choice, even if it scared her deep down inside.

             
“I'm too tired to change right now. Sorry to disappoint you.”

“You didn't disappoint me. You couldn't. I love you, Susan.”

Chapter Four.

The last thing Houdini expected to see was a yard full of people when they returned to the house. There were cars on the street and in the driveway. The air had a hint of charcoal in it, as if someone had just fired up the grill. He felt Susan's grip tighten on his hand. “It's the pack,” she said in a low voice. “I recognize the scents.”

“I guess they found Adelaide.” Houdini could now hear the faint sound of a radio playing. What the fuck was going on? “Let's go in and see what's going on. Smells like someone's cooking.” He kept her hand in his as they approached the back yard.

The first person he noticed was Adelaide, and she noticed them as well. She was out of her seat and walking towards them while Houdini was still taking in the fact that this definitely looked like a party. “Hey, I was just about to come looking for the two of you.” She joined them and hugged them both. “Thank you for not stopping me. I knew that everything would work out.”

“And how exactly did that happen?” Houdini still wasn't sure why the pack would be in such a good mood with everything that was going on. They had as much to lose as everyone else.

“It happened on a technicality. See, whoever kills the Leader becomes the Leader. I was the one with Josiah when he died, he was suffering so. I couldn't let him die a slow lingering death from the wounds that Michael inflicted so I ended his pain as painlessly as possible. Michael tried to kill him, he didn't succeed. It makes me Leader. Of course, it wouldn't have gone down so easily if Michael were here but he's not and the pack wants a change.”

“You?” Houdini couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. It wasn't something that he'd ever expected to her. Actually, it was pretty genius and took away some of the power that they'd attributed to Michael. “Seriously?”
              “Seriously,” she was grinning from ear to ear. “Hence this party. So, have fun. Grab something to drink. Relax, though you're both already looking very relaxed. Something's changed with you, hasn't it?”

“Are you fishing or asking because you know?” Houdini questioned. Adelaide's way of knowing most things before they happened used to freak him out. He'd gotten comfortable with it after a while, came to rely on her opinion on things but since she'd been back with them, she'd mentioned several times that she no longer saw the way she once had.

“I'm fishing, but you've both got a definite 'just got laid' vibe going on.” She giggled. “Oh, don't get huffy, Houdini. It's a good thing.”

Houdini chuckled. “Yeah. Yeah.” From the corner of his eye he saw someone coming towards them. It was Caroline Davis. Most people just called her Caro, and she'd been Adelaide's friend since the first day of school. “Hey, Caro.”

“Hey,” she smiled at them all. “Adelaide, Shepard and Lina are ready to speak to you.”

“What are you meeting with them for?” Houdini questioned.

“To put together a treaty, a truce to give us enough time to find out what the connection is between The Hunters and Center City. A way that you can all stay here, get back to your lives,” Adelaide explained, a serene smile on her face. Houdini realized he hadn't seen her this calm, this at peace, since she'd come racing up to the house in Wyoming. Maybe she'd found her peace in finding the pack.

“Those lives are over and gone.” Susan spoke up. “Even if we stay here, it'll never be the same. Too many bridges were burned.”

“But this is home, Susan, this is where you all belong. I can't promise anything of course, but I'm going to try. I'm going to make it work. I need to keep my family whole.” Adelaide looked like she wanted to say more, but she didn't. “I'll catch up with the two of you later.”

Houdini draped his arm over Susan's shoulder, watched as Adelaide walked away. “Well, that's the last thing that I expected.”

“Same here.” She leaned her head against him. “This all seems so surreal.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling. We can say screw the party, head upstairs. I'll grab us some food and beer and we can just have a night of the two of us.” Houdini thought not only would that be relaxing, but it would be a fantastic way to get her naked again, in a bed this time.

“That does sound lovely and tempting, so tempting.” Susan sighed heavily. “But if we don't stay, at least for a while, it'll look like we're snubbing the importance of the event for the pack. Since we're technically on enemy territory, we need to play nice. And I am happy for her.”

“I am, too,” Houdini shifted to stand in front of her, leaned his head against hers. “How long is a while? I could really use a shower. We could really use a shower.”

“A shower sounds amazing. We just need to stay an hour or so. Something tells me that Adelaide won't be offended if we sneak off after that. Besides, we should stick around at least long enough to hear about this meeting.”

“Yeah, this has got all the markings of a cluster fuck.” And it did. The Strays' didn't play well with others, unless they were being paid; the packs looked down on them unless they needed something done they weren't comfortable doing. “You see Deke or Vera?”

“They're probably inside,” Susan looked around. “Do you think that we should try talking to them again? I mean, now that they found Adelaide maybe things can go back to normal or at least the way that they were.”

“Let's give them some time,” Houdini suggested. For as long as he'd known Deacon, Deacon had wanted to be Leader. He wasn't sure if it was because it was what he truly wanted or because he felt it was what was expected of him in Finn's place. Finn had been the number one contender, for the president patch and Leader. His death had left a space that needed to be filled, and Deacon tried to do just that. “Deke might need some time to get used to the idea that his baby sister is Leader. It's a dangerous job.”

              “It really is,” Caro spoke from behind them. “Deke and Vera went to Walmart to get more stuff for the party. The supplies here were a little meager.”

“We weren't planning for a few dozen guests.” Houdini had always liked Caro, she'd spent some time around the warehouse, and, if memory served, she'd hooked up with Fire quite a few times. “It's nice to see you. How have you been?”

“Oh, I've been great. Things in Center City have been just lovely, especially with Adelaide and Josiah gone. Really had some great times with Michael and his miscreants.” Her voice had a definite sarcastic quality to it, something that Houdini had never heard before.

Caro was a sweetie, the type of person who took in every stray animal they found and cooked full meals for families going through a rough time. She'd always been on the quiet side but quick with a smile and kind word.

              “I bet it was rough,” Houdini released Susan's hand, reached out and placed his hand on Caro's shoulder. “It's going to get better from here on out.” He didn't miss the way that she flinched from his touch, and he wondered just what Michael had allowed to happen between the time that Adelaide left and the time that they returned.

“Do you really believe that?” She let out a laugh which had nothing to do with humor.

Houdini watched her walk away, wished that he had something to say to make it alright or that there was something he could do to make it right. One thing was for sure, they needed to figure out what The Grievers had done to the pack, especially the women. His stomach turned as he thought of the younger women, the ones who were barely out of their teens, and what might have happened to them.

“Well, that was bitchier than I've come to expect from Caro.”

“I figure you'd be bitchy too with whatever The Grievers did to the pack before they took off.” Houdini hadn't let himself think of it before, but things would have had to get a lot worse than the fires around town for them to take off. “Fuck.”

“It was worse than we thought,” Susan sighed. “I think that I do need to get a drink.”

              “Yeah, come on.” Houdini took her hand in his, held tight. Most people they passed stopped to stare as they walked into the house. It took him a minute to realize that they probably didn't know he and Susan were mated, so them together was a shock.

             
There were more people all over the house, sitting on every single available surface. Pots were boiling on the stove; there were bottles lined up on the counter. Houdini grabbed one at random, poured two healthy measures into cups and handed one to Susan. She downed it in one gulp, held it back out for a refill.

Houdini filled the cup back up, took her hand again. “Let's find somewhere to sit.” They ended up back outside, this time in the front yard, where they sat on the grass underneath a large tree. “Yeah, this is super comfortable.” He watched Susan stretch her legs out.

“Did you see them all watching us inside? It was like they were all waiting for us to jump each other or something.”

“We could have, if you'd wanted. Hell, we can give them a little show right now.” Houdini offered. “Come here and sit on my lap.”

“Would you be serious? We can't just make out on the lawn.”

“Why not? It's a nice night. I think you'd fit really well on my lap. Come on, now I've got to know.” Houdini knew not to push much further; she wasn't going to do it. He took a sip of his drink, set the cup back down on the grass. “I figure they didn't realize we were together so it surprised them.”

“You're probably right about that,” she rose to her feet, took the few steps over to where he was and then straddled him. Surprise rushed through him, but he wasn't going to complain. “Well, I guess that I do fit.”

“Yes, you do.” Houdini ran his hands over her back. “And you're chock full of surprises today. I love it.”

“Things just aren't easy for me, things like this.” She explained. “It's been a long time since I was in a relationship, a real relationship.”

“How long has it been?”

“Almost ten years.” She replied.  “We were engaged but we never got married.” She waited. “You're not going to ask anything else?”

Houdini didn't ask, or expect, for her to elaborate even if he was damn curious. “You'll tell me if you want to.” He slipped his fingers beneath her tee shirt, stroked the soft skin that he found there.

“We were together for a while, since college. He was pre-law, so he understood how much time I had to put into my studies. Things were... nice between us, until they weren't.”

“I'm sorry.” Houdini didn't like the dark look in her eyes, the same lingering sadness that he'd been seeing on and off for a while.

“I'm not.” She said quickly. “He's the reason I don't let any human see me change.”

“Why?” Houdini hadn't expected her to say anything else, especially not something so big. He sat up straighter, let his hands rest on the curves of her hip bones.

“He didn't know that I was different. I was really careful to hide it from him. I didn't change every moon, I held out as long as I could. I went for six months without the change once. It was horrible, I felt like I was being torn to shreds when it finally happened.”

             
“He didn't take it well when you told him?”

             
She let out a bitter laugh. “That's an understatement, a severe understatement. It was the worst night of my life. I'd thought that showing him, like I showed Vera, would ease him into it. It didn't. It completely freaked him out. We argued, screamed and shouted. He said I was disgusting, a filthy disgusting creature, and he took off. It was the last time I ever saw him. It was the last time that anyone ever saw him. His parents had him declared dead about two years ago, after he'd been missing long enough.”

“Jesus Christ. What do you think happened to him?”

“I don't know. Sometimes I think that he just vanished, but I wonder...” she sighed. “I wonder if he killed himself because of what I showed him. I should have known better. He had such a small view of the world, how could he accept me for what I am?”

“He was stupid,” Houdini cupped her face with his hands. “And he didn't deserve you if he couldn't see that you being different doesn't change who you are. It's part of who you are.”

“The things he said to me,” she shut her eyes. “I heard them in my head for a long time after. Like it or not, I hold some responsibility for what happened to him. If I hadn't told him, I don't think he'd have dropped off the face of the earth.”

“Hey, the choices he makes are his. If he killed himself, it's on him. If he got himself into trouble and someone did it for him, it's on him. You didn't make him do anything, Susan. He made the choices.” Houdini spoke in as stern a voice as he could manage. He knew about blame, of the toll it could take to carry it around, and in that moment he knew she'd been thinking about her ex lately. It was the reason for the sadness in her eyes, and it pissed him off. He didn't give a shit if she thought about him. That was normal, natural. He was upset that she was taking it so hard, even after all the years that had passed.

“Thank you,” she opened her eyes, he could see the gleam of tears in them.

“You're welcome.” He slid his hands into her hair, ran his fingers through the length of it. “And while I'm not glad he was a douche, I am glad that he's not around anymore. I'm glad that I am.”

“I am too,” she admitted after a moment.

“You sure about not giving them a show? Because I'm feeling very much like it would be a really great show.”