Once You Go Anthro Ch. 08: Tilly

"Tonight's the night," Abeni said as we walked up to the bar. There was an air of absolute confidence in her tone, same as always, but I believed her anyway — same as always. Abeni had a way of making me believe that night would be the night. Something would click, I'd find the right person, and I'd notch my eighth anthro.

The Tipsy Tail, my new stomping ground. I didn't quite have the courage to try other anthro spaces yet; it was hard enough to hit on people and try to pick them up in a familiar space. Five weekends in a row of duds hadn't dampened my spirits. Well, they had initially, but Abeni told me it was a numbers game, and that was before accounting for the fact I was a human. Confidence, I had, but skill... Well, I was failing, but every failure was a learning experience, and that was okay.

Some nights, Abeni would come with me, but leave me to my own devices and watch, then coach and give tips after the fact. I did appreciate when she tagged along, because it felt like I learned a lot from her. It didn't hurt that on nights where we both struck out, we'd hang out after, and, a couple times, fuck.

As we headed inside, the zebra gave me a swat on the ass, a wink and a whinny, then sidled over to the bar to watch me in action.

I did, admittedly, feel a little silly in my get-up. Abeni had been insistent that I dress "cool," instead of throwing on a t-shirt and jeans like always. I'd slicked my hair to the side in a way she insisted was "sexy as fuck," but to me just looked like aging boy band singer. And she'd somehow found a black leather jacket I totally forgot I even had. It was from when SDSU had done Grease, and I'd been voluntold to work the lights. The crew had insisted I dress the part even though nobody could see me in the booth. I think they'd just thought it was funny that dorky Drew was wearing something besides a t-shirt and jeans, and I wasn't totally unconvinced Abeni wasn't thinking the same. But she'd said I looked, quote, "Hawt," and who was I to argue with my quest master?

Even for a Friday night, the Tipsy Tail was busy — some promo they were running. The flyer on the front door said "Hen Night," and naturally had a couple curvy bird girls on the graphic. Half off drinks for women from 7pm - 11pm. The place was packed, the light rock music barely audible over the din of conversation. I didn't recognize the bartender, a sexy sheep in a black halter with her wool shaved short.

I caught Abeni's eye, and she made a hurry-up motion as she grabbed her drink from the sheep and leaned against the wall. She didn't like watching me hem and haw over who to pick first, she liked watching me actually do something. It was a marvel how quickly she switched between infinite and infinitesimal patience.

Because of the promo, the crowd skewed heavily female. I tried my luck with a few people to no avail. Some laughed at my pick-up lines — which, admittedly, was the weakest part of my game — others refused to acknowledge me beyond a quick look-see, an eye roll, or a scowl. A hume in a bar with a heavily anthro clientele definitely made me stand out, but Abeni assured me most anthros didn't really care much about that since the Tail was very explicit in being a space for both — it was more that a lot of humans didn't care to mingle, even in San Diego, rather than this not being a place for my kind.

A couple conversations started to go somewhere, but then their friend or partner would show up, or a far more confident person would swoop in, and I wasn't overly keen on fighting a cougar for a pretty peacock spider.

"How's it goin'?" Abeni asked as I joined her at the wall. "Didja get a drink yet?"

"Not yet. And it's fine, I guess. I feel like I had a shot with that gazelle, but she went to the bathroom and didn't come back."

"That her?" Abeni nodded to the other side of the bar with a grin. "She seems like she's havin' fun."

She really did. The gazelle was making out with a bunny, a fox, and a snake, sometimes alternating, sometimes all of them going at it together.

"Guess so," I grumbled. "Drink?"

"Yo, Neph!" the zebra shouted down the bar at the sheep, who sauntered over. She was even hotter up close — although the rectangular pupils kinda startled me at first. But once I got over that, it was weirdly sexy.

"This your friend?" The bartender leaned over and put her muzzle in her hands, granting me quite an eyeful of cleavage. "Not bad — for a hume. I like the jacket."

"Oh, thanks."

"Told ya," Abeni said.

I ordered a tail twister, got my drink, and started to sip it as I surveyed the rest of the bar with Abeni. It was then I noticed her. Tiny, black-furred, and all by herself. She was on the last stool at the end of the bar, the seat next to her unoccupied, which was kinda baffling, given how busy the place was.

"What about her?" I asked Abeni, trying to nod casually at the woman while sipping my drink, almost spilling the damn thing in the process.

The zebra cocked her head. "She's adorable."

"For sure."

"You should swoop in before someone takes that seat. Get you some rump!" She smacked my ass, then returned to sipping her drink.

"Get me some rump," I murmured to myself, then started for my target.

It was an effort to get to her, the place packed tight. I broke through the forest of tails and arms and feathers like an Amazonian explorer, until I finally came out the other side and into the small void around the anthro. Her large, black nose twitched. One of her ears, slightly triangular and situated on the side of her head, slightly perked, but she otherwise didn't move.

She was adorable. Her head was broad, its black fur shifting slightly tan at the end of her blunt, medium-length muzzle — the same tan color as the two little eyebrow-like patches above her small, dark eyes. A longish, stiff tail hung out from above the top of her black leggings. Her tight, low-cut navy blue shirt showed off a somewhat stocky torso with petite but perky tits. There was a white stripe across her chest that dipped in a curving line from her shoulders to her cleavage, plunging down in a sharp point between them.

Her head tilted in my direction, still not looking at me, as I took the seat beside her, though a smile flashed on her face. Two cute little fangs stuck down from the end of her muzzle, both gleaming in one of the roving lights.

"Hey there," I said. "What's a pretty thing like you doing all by yourself?"

Awful, but still miles better than the one two weeks ago — "I can't imagine how proud God was when he created a creature as beautiful as you." That one had almost gotten a drink thrown in my face, and frankly, probably should have. But Abeni had overheard and couldn't stop laughing, and had given me a mighty fine blowjob for one of the cheesiest pickup lines she'd ever heard once we got back to her place, so, could've gone worse.

"Oh, so I'm pretty, eh, mate?"

The huskiness of her voice surprised me, as did the Australian accent. It was a dangerous combination, and my brain immediately went to her talking cute and dirty to me while we fucked, and dear God, I hadn't needed something that bad in a while.

I recovered quickly from my brief fluster at her voice and flashed what I prayed was a suave smile. "Wouldn't've said it if it wasn't true."

"Good on ya." She took a sip of her beer, a Dragon's Milk, and turned toward me, elbow resting on the bar. She looked me up and down, muzzle twitching into a smile to reveal a bit more of those adorable fangs.

It was hard to tell what species she was. She kind of looked like a mix between a small dog and a badger, with a hint of rodent thrown in. Short, bristly black hair, that more broad, stocky, badger-like shape, but with the adorable features of a toy breed — a cute muzzle, big nose — and that touch of rat with her whiskers, her head shape, and ears. I'd never seen anything like it, and part of me wanted to ask, but I felt like it'd be a very hume move and I didn't want to put her off.

"I like yer jacket," she said after a moment. Then she took another sip and tipped the bottle toward me. "Tilly."

"Drew." I clinked my glass against her bottle. "Nice to meet you, Tilly."

"Mmm, I bet," she laughed. One of her longish, sharp claws tapped against her bottle as she continued to appraise me. "Are ya one'a them exoticists, then?"

I was about to refute it, but hesitated. Was I just having sex with anthros because they were exotic, something different and new? Well, new for me, at least. It felt like more than that, but I wasn't quite sure why it was different — so maybe I was deluding myself. To me, it felt like I was doing it because I wanted to connect, to meet people who were different from me, to expand my horizons. Plus, it was Abeni's idea, so was it really exoticizing? I'd barely wanted to do it at first. Or was that more justification?

Nope, not thinking. Thinking Drew could get bent tonight. Cool Drew was here, and tonight was the night he was gonna get himself some rump. So, I flashed a hopefully cool smile, and said, "Nah. I like what I like. And right now, that's you."

Wasn't sure if that was genius or terrible or both, but it got a smile out of Tilly. And I swear I heard Abeni laugh, even from across the bar and through the din.

"Yer quite the charmer, ain't you?"

"Only when there's somebody worth charming."

She snorted and took another sip of her drink. "I'm not used to people tryin' to charm me. It usually goes a bit different."

Mysterious. But she didn't elaborate, so I didn't push. "Well, they're missing out. Someone as sexy as you should always be charmed."

Another flash of cute fang as she gave me a look of bemusement and... probably enjoyment? I sure hoped so. "Well then, I guess ya better charm me."

"Uh." Crap. I took a second to compose myself, smiled. "I doubt I could charm you anywhere near as well as you've charmed me, but I can give it a shot."

She gave a soft, amused bark and an approving nod — not quite a dog bark, a little higher-pitched, but with a slight harshness to it. "C'mon, ya can do better'n that."

I scooched the stool closer, elbow on the bar to mirror her blasé posture, and swirled my stirrer in my drink as I looked her in the eyes. "So, Tilly, what's a cute thing like you doing all by her lonesome? Seems like a lot of people made a very big mistake not trying to talk you up first chance they got."

A devilish grin, sultry and sexy, bubbled up, revealing more sharp canines. "I guess it must be my lucky day, mate."

"Hardly. Much more my lucky day, Tilly."

Her leg bumped mine, thick boot brushing against the denim of my jeans. She let out a soft, huffy laugh backed by a high-pitched bark for an undertone. "Better. What else ya got?"

So, for the next five minutes or so, I did my damnedest to woo her, flatter her. The deeper into the flattery I went, the more she turned toward me, her smile splitting wider with each compliment. When I floundered, she'd chuckle and give me a second to collect myself with a teasing smile.

Our seats were practically touching by the time I ran out of flattery steam. Her leg was against mine, her paw on my hand. Weirdly, it felt like her whole paw was one giant pad, no fur on the underside, just that slightly abrasive, spongy material like a dog's pads. Her claws, though slightly blunted, were still sharp, and pricked against my skin. She slowly dragged one across the back of my hand, leaving a faint white line in its wake. More of her teeth were flashing in that adorable smile, her eyes keen and intently locked on me.

I did my best to match her — rubbing my leg against hers, an arm around the back of her stool, occasionally touching her shoulder and feeling the stiff, bristly hairs beneath her shirt. I bought her another Dragon's Milk.

I was genuinely impressed that she only seemed slightly tipsy. I'd noticed the 11% ABV on the bottle, and after two a human her size would've been more than a little buzzed. She was laughing a little more, a bit more flirty, her noises a bit more animal — a couple sharp barks, a laughing, slightly grating yowl that had drawn several anthros' attention and made them shift away a bit, probably because the noise hurt their ears. Once or twice, she laughed loudly, muzzle open wide; it gave me a good look at her wide, spacious mouth. Two pairs of fangs, several smaller conical teeth between the fangs, and sharp, jagged molars like the ragged mountaintops of some fantasy villain's domain. But very spacious, my cock thought, even as it eyed the teeth with mild trepidation. Then again, Nanuka had been gentle, and there was no way Tilly could have anywhere near the potential ferocity of a polar bear — not this adorable little dog-badger looking thing.

After she finished her second beer, her paw slid to my thigh, claws pricking at my jeans as she gave me a squeeze. "I like you, Drew. Yer a bit of a yaffler, but yer not an annoying cunt about it."

"Thanks?" I still hadn't finished my drink, too busy trying to be cool pick-up artist Drew to remember to do anything but sip when she flirted back, but at her touch, I took a couple quick pulls to try to finish up in case this was going where I thought it was. "I like you, too, Tilly."

"Can't blame ya," she laughed, another sharp bark punctuating it. "I'll be honest. Can I be honest?"

"Of course."

She leaned in closer, whiskers tickling my cheek, paw sliding to my inner thigh, her breath hot on my face and smelling pleasantly of the beer — coffee, chocolate, maybe some vanilla? "I'm bloody curious how good of a fuck you'll be."

I gulped down the rest of my drink before I slid my hand down her back, fingers stroking her hip and earning me a pleased expression from the anthro. "Only one way to find out I suppose."

That was good. Cool, suave, playful, with that slight bit of arrogance. Maybe I was getting the hang of this. Perhaps I had talent.

"I suppose," she said. Then, with a little tease, "Do ya think you'll be game for it?"

I tried to figure out what cute name to use. Darling? No. Sweetheart? Nah. Baby? Hmm... too much, too soon. Sweetie, maybe? Indecision wracked me, and I knew I couldn't pause for long, so I just went with a quick, "Til, I'm more than game."

Seemed like it worked, because she gave another of those huffy bark-laughs. She pulled a small clamshell purse from her pocket and aggressively slapped a few dollars on the bar, startling a few nearby anthros — the prey ones in particular giving her a nervous look. Tilly, for her part, seemed pleased with herself, glancing at those she'd startled with a sharp grin.

"I'm gonna pop to the loo, back in a tick. Meet ya out front?" She waggled her whiskers at me, claws teasing my arm as she stepped past and into the sea of anthros that seemed to part for her — even some of the bigger pred species.

Damn strange.

I fished out a few dollars from my wallet and left them atop Tilly's, then headed down to Abeni, who was making the most suggestive face.

"Aaaaaand?" she asked.

"Sad to say..." I sighed. Her expression softened with a rueful smile, and as she started to reach out to console me, I followed up with a sly grin and, "I'm gonna have to be leaving you early."

"Oooh, boy!" A quick flash of annoyance was followed by a fist pump and shoulder punch I tried very hard not to wince at. "What'd I say? What'd I fucking say? Tonight! The goddess of Luck herself told me you'd be dick-deep in 'thro." She wiped away a fake tear. "You always tell yourself they'll grow up some day, but it's such a blessing every time you see it."

I lightly shoved her. "Fuck off."

With a derisive whicker at my attempt, she said, "Please don't bring that weak-ass game. She don't look delicate."

"No, she doesn't. Do you know what she is, by the way?"

"No clue."

"You don't know?"

"Dude, do I look like a damn biologist to you?" She snorted, shrugged. "Some kinda badger maybe?"

"Yeah, that's kinda what I thought. But it's like... I dunno, like she's some hybrid of-" Abeni shot me an annoyed look, and I quickly added, "I know hybrids aren't a thing. Maybe we could ask Neph?"

"'We'?

"Fine. I could ask Neph."

"You could — hear me out, this is a bit out there — but you could just ask the actual anthro herself. I know, I know, madness."

"It wouldn't be weird?"

"Christ. We only been doin' this, what, five months? It's fine as long as you ain't weird about it like you're bein' now."

"I guess. I'll let you know if I find-"

"When."

"When I find out. If you care."

"Course I care." She put a hand on my shoulder, then brought me in for a quick hug. "Seriously, Drew, I'm proud of you. You have fun. And I expect a full report tomorrow. Gimme them juicy deets."

"Sure thing, boss," I said as we separated.

Glancing out, I saw the sea of anthros part once more, the bow shock heading our direction before Tilly popped out. She gave a quick jaw snap at a passing pigeon, whose feathers fluffed as he scurried aside. The snap was loud enough I could hear it from twenty feet away over the din.

Tilly sidled up to me and put an arm around my waist, her other paw on my chest. "Who's yer friend, mate?"

"This is Abeni. Abeni, this is Tilly."

They sized each other up. A quick flash of something approaching discomfort breached the zebra's muzzle, quickly replaced by a bright smile. "Nice to meet you," she said. There was a slight edge in her voice I couldn't place. Almost nervous, but that wasn't her. Jealousy, maybe? She really wasn't the type for it though.

Tilly's smile was more of that slightly cocky, teasing smirk. "Same."

Whatever was going on with the zebra, it evaporated and self-assured Abeni stepped back in with a brighter smile. "I love your accent. You an Aussie?"

"Tassie, actually. Are ya his special friend?"

"On occasion."

I was shocked how openly she'd admitted it, especially in front of the woman I was about to go home with. But Tilly just nodded, then winked up at me. "He any good?"

Abeni whinnied a laugh, then took a sip of her drink. "Sorry. Spoilers."

I really had to let go of all these damn hume sensibilities. I was doing better, but clearly still had a ways to go.

Tilly tutted and gave my hip a stroke. "I guess I'll have to find out the bloody hard way."

"Guess so," I said, putting an arm around her. "I'll see you later, Beni."

"Have fun, you crazy kids. Off you go." She made a shooing motion, and Tilly and I headed out into the cool San Diego night. When I glanced back, there was a look of deep contemplation merged with a slight worry on Abeni's face as she stared at us. Then she shrugged to herself and went back to talking with the sheep girl.

*****

I really did intend to ask Tilly's species, but just about the second we buckled up in the backseat of the Lyft, she grabbed a fistful of my shirt and pulled me in for a ferocious kiss. The coarse hairs on her muzzle tickled my face, her whiskers caressing my cheeks as she hungrily mashed her lips against mine and made soft growling noises and her long, soft tongue wriggled into my mouth.

The driver, a human man, cleared his throat softly, and I started to reluctantly pull back, but Tilly grabbed my head with both hands and yanked me back down for more making out before I could offer the guy a sheepish eye apology in the rearview mirror. She huffed hot into my mouth, the aftertaste of her beer mixing with the aftertaste of my drink.

The driver chuckled under his breath, then turned up the radio a little as we headed toward Tilly's place in El Cajon.

At some point during the ride, her paw slid onto my crotch to trace the hardening outline of my cock against my leg. She was dangerous with those claws, applying just enough pressure so I could feel it enough to shudder; and with each shudder of mine, she'd chuckle low.

I didn't have the nerve to grab her breast with the driver able to see us, but I let my hand roam over her sides, her legs. The leggings were made from pretty thick material — they'd have to be, I suppose, to deal with coarse hair like that — but I could still feel the prickle against my palm even through the fabric.

As I kissed her neck, I whispered, "I can't wait to get you out of these."

Her paw cupped the back of my neck, giving it a squeeze. "Don't worry, you won't."

She was right. Within a few minutes, we'd pulled up to her place. I made sure to tip the driver a little extra, and she all but dragged me to the front door, cursing under her breath as she fumbled for the keys. Her breathing had gotten a bit more ragged, tense, until she finally managed to get the door open and yanked me inside after her with surprising strength.

"Shoes," she said curtly, deftly removing her own boots.

I barely got mine off before she was back on me, more aggressive now, her pint-sized body pinning me against the wall as she stood on her tiptoes and pulled my head down to meet her. She was panting, squirming, her paws seemingly undecided between being on me and ripping off my jacket.

Finally, she pulled back and harrumphed. "Take it off, big guy."

"You weren't kidding."

"I bloody well wasn't. Ya got me real hot an' bothered."

"Yeah?" Damn, I'd have to wear this jacket more often. I cleared my throat to take some of the goofy pleasantly surprised tone out of my voice. "You got me pretty revved up, too."

Tilly smirked as she started to wiggle out of her leggings. "I could tell." She took a deep sniff, whiskers twitching with a grin. "More than a little bit."

"What can I say, Til? Sexy thing like you? Can't be helped." Grinning, I added, "I can't wait to go... down under on you."

She let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumped as a wry smile graced her snout. "No."

"Heard that one before, huh?"

"Once or twice, mate. Once or twice."

So much for smooth operator. Still, I'd given it a shot. Every stupid-ass come-on was a learning opportunity or some shit like that.

Chuckling, Tilly kicked her leggings to the side, then grabbed the bottom of her shirt before pausing. "Quick question. Yer all right if we get rough, yeah? I'm bloody needy, and I can't stand soft and tender when I'm like this."

Before the quest, old Drew would've balked at that. Roughness was for assholes who mistreated their partners. But I'd since come to learn, Moko being especially informative, that fun and roughness weren't mutually exclusive. I'd gotten plenty handsy with the slippery brat — spanking, fucking her with her own tail, pounding her — plus a couple nights of tail tugging and mane pulling with Abeni since, so I felt a lot more comfortable saying yes than I would've even just a month ago.

"No problems here."

"I'm not jokin'. I don't think ya could break me even if you try," she snickered. "But I'll try not to break ya too bad, if yer okay with that?"

"I think I'll be all right," I chuckled. Cute little thing like her? Uh-huh, sure. "Just mind the claws."

"We'll see," she said slyly.

I shrugged off the jacket while she yanked off her panties. My cock squirmed in my boxers as I caught sight of her dew glistening on the hairs between her legs. I debated stripping slower, but it felt like foreplay was off the menu, so my shirt quickly followed.

She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and yanked upward just as I was starting on my jeans. My hands froze mid-fumble with my button. I squinted, just to make sure I was seeing what I... Well, not what I thought I saw, because I was genuinely baffled, but what I was actually seeing.

Right about where her belly button would be on a normal mammalian anthro was a vertically elongated opening, like someone had grabbed her navel from the top and bottom and pulled until it left a slightly open six-inch oval slit. The hair around it was less dense, revealing thin, wrinkled pink lips that reminded me a little bit of inner labia.

She started to huff-laugh, her paw sliding down to circle the elliptical opening. "Something caught yer eye, has it?"

Slowly, I looked up to meet her bemused gaze. "What...? What species are you, exactly?"

"Like I told yer friend, I'm a Tassie."

"I don't..."

Tossing aside her shirt, she started to close the distance, fangs bright in her small living room's lights. "Ya really didn't know? Bloody hell, mate, are all you humes this dense?"

I searched her face. The stocky build, dangerous-looking teeth, that edge of a harsh yowl in her tone at times, the Australian accent, her... pouch...

"Yeaaahhh, there it is," Tilly snickered.

"You're a-"

"Mhm."

"But you're so-"

"Sexy?" She finished undoing my jeans for me and yanked them down till they pooled around my ankles. "Don't you worry, Drew, I live up to expectations." Paw gripping my half-hard cock, she gazed up at me with a hungry grin and dragged a claw along my sternum. "You got yerself caught by a genuine Tasmanian devil, mate."

"Ah. Heh. That's, uh..." I took a breath, straightened up. It wasn't like all anthros were archetypes of their species. Sure, they sometimes had traits of their feral cousins, but that didn't mean Tilly would be a ferocious beast with jaws that could crunch through bone. She'd been fun and flirty the whole time. Sure, maybe that was why she'd been able to part crowds, reputation preceding her or something, but species wasn't destiny.

I cupped the back of her neck and stroked the coarse hairs. "Lucky me. Though, you seem like an angel."

Dear God, I was so glad Abeni didn't hear that. I could be reincarnated a thousand times and still not live that one down.

Tilly, for her part, only slightly chuckled. She backed off a bit, then beckoned me to follow her. Her tail stuck out stiffly behind her, and I admired a couple white patches of fur on her plump ass.

I kicked off my pants and followed her from the fairly sparse living room to a closet next to a hallway. She pulled out a thin aluminum tube and turned to me. "Angel, eh?"

For my part, it took barely any effort to not apologize. Definitely progress in that space. I smiled and shrugged. "What can I sa-?"

The words weren't even fully out of my mouth when she yawned her maw, slipped the tube between her molars, and bit down. It crumpled immediately. The muscles of her jaw tensed, then her teeth clacked together as she bit through the metal, then handed the two halves to a very dumbfounded, perfectly still me.

"You were saying?"

"Huh," was all I could think to say. Well, I could think to say a lot of things as my brain screamed through a whole list of them, most of them some form of, "What the fuck?" and "Holy shit."

She held out her hand, and I handed her the two halves, which she put away before leaning against the door. "Little incentive to make sure you do a good job," she chuckled.

"You really didn't need to," I said as calmly as I could.

"Yeah, but it's bloody fun. Plus, now you know that chewin' through bone's a piece of piss."

Not all anthros played to type, but "not all" didn't mean "none," apparently.

I forced myself to take a step toward her, cornering her against the door — though somehow, despite my back facing open space, I was the one feeling cornered. I cupped a breast and her mound, fingers stroking over the slightly softer, less dense hairs around her pussy.

My fingers met soaked, hot flesh, her juices clinging to my fingers as I massaged her swollen outer lips with one hand and teased her stiff nipple with the other. "Damn, you're drenched."

Her head leaned back, a smile blooming on her muzzle as her jaws parted. She let out a moan — high and a little harsh, almost a yowl. Probably a good sound? Her tongue wet her lips, curling in seductive invitation. "Just yer fingers, eh?"

She was impatient. Good, I could use that. Tease her, get her worked up a bit more, regain my footing. I traced my middle finger along her slit, dipping in to glide along smooth flesh, up to her clit. "For starters. Then I think-"

Both paws grabbed my shoulders and pushed down. My legs buckled — she was damn strong for her size — but I managed to catch myself against the wall to keep from slamming my knees against the carpet.

A growl started in her throat. "Eat my cunt. Don't make me wait."

Despite the growl, there was desperation hiding beneath. Those twin tan patches above her eyes knit into something approaching need, and her breathing grew heavier.

"If you ask nicely," I said, and fully slid to my knees while she spread her legs.

She growled again, claws digging into my hair, but there was still a hint of that smile. "Please eat my cunt, you bloody tosser."

"Much better."

Tilly dug her claws until they scratched against my scalp. When I winced, she smirked. "Are ya still sure about gettin' rough? Think ya can handle it, Drew?"

The marks stung, but it wasn't too bad. They weren't bleeding. And, weirdly, something about it stirred something in me. Some of that Daddy energy from Moko she'd managed to dredge up. Edgy Drew, not willing to back down. Plus, she said she was all right getting rough, and I could do that. It'd be like Moko if she'd given as good as she'd gotten. Part of me was damn curious what that would be like.

"I'm game if you are, devil."

"Oh, bit of a rum'un, are ya now?" Her other paw found my head and shoved me forward, again with more force than I was expecting.

Her hairs prickled against my palms as I braced against her legs. Her scent — sharp, musky, slightly oily — smacked me in the face with its heady aroma. I set to work nuzzling and kissing her thigh, but she drove my face straight into her pussy, smearing my nose and lips against her as her claws raked the back of my head and she let out a relieved shuddery sigh.

With my thumbs, I spread her labia to expose her bright pink core and slick, warm flesh. I went straight for her clit, half-peeking from its hood, lips brushing against it, her juices smearing me. My tongue slipped out and swirled her bud, and she spread her legs wider, back braced against the closet door as her claws eased off of me, and her padded paws stroked my head.

She held me in place, grinding herself against me. Juices coated my nose, my lips, cheeks as I devoured her. I didn't bother with gentle or slow. We were both hungry, why deny it? I lashed her clit with my tongue one second, then sucked the next, then nibbled, tugged. Each step brought with it an increasingly unsettling sound from the Tassie. First a moan, then a bark, a black metal pig squeal that sounded straight from a Velvyric Syrens song, an unholy yowl that half-sounded like she was dying. It was enough that I started to pull back to ask if it was too much, but she shoved me right back into her pussy, one leg wrapping around my head as her juices flowed freely. Guess not.

"Stay right there! Nobody told you to bloody stop."

I growled into her cunt and dipped lower. My thumb replaced my tongue and kept rubbing her clit as I kissed and licked her slick, rubbery flesh. While I sucked and bit her labia, my free hand found her tail. Her body stiffened, and a warning growl rumbled in her throat.

"Don't tug my tail 'less ya wanna see me chuck a reggie."

I tried asking what the hell that meant, but she forced my face deeper into her sex and my words instead bubbled against her flesh. Didn't seem like I should try to find out — yet. So, I released her tail and instead returned to the task at hand. And thumb. And mouth. And tongue.

Continuing my attack on her clit, I swirled my tongue around her entrance, the musky, earthy taste of her washing over and through me. Her leg and paws pulled me tighter, her thigh boxing in my ear and scraping her hairs against the side of my head as she swung her hips forward, chasing my tongue. I played keep away for a few seconds, smiling smugly against her pussy until she barked and raked her claws against my head hard enough to make me hiss.

"Stick that tongue in my cunt, or you'll see why they call me 'devil.'" Beneath the growl in her tongue was something slightly teasing. At least, I hoped so.

I fumbled back to check if I was bleeding. Thankfully, I wasn't, but I could feel the raised welts stinging as I touched them.

"Don't be a nointer. I barely bloody scratched yaaaa-!"

She keened as I attacked her pussy with my tongue. I shifted my head as much as possible given her paws and leg, my face squishing against her as I swirled my tongue around her hole, slurping her as I sucked while my tongue caressed every surface it could find.

Tilly's hips rolled, and her panting and growling grew louder, faster. I worked her button frantically, till she started to whimper and let off a little bit — though not entirely. I ate and sucked and worshiped her cunt. Every little scratch on my head was a victory of making her lose some self-control, sparking a weird pleasure in me as if the pain itself was a sexual jolt straight to my cock, and pushing me deeper into that mindset I'd found with Moko — not shying away from the roughness, but embracing it as part of what she wanted, and now, frankly, what I wanted as well.

I kept lashing her pussy, burying my face deeper. Slick sounds filled my ears, her scent my nose, her taste my mouth — cocooned in sexual sensation. Her feral sounds grew sharper, body undulating ungracefully. She was close.

Her pressure on my head abated, just a little, but it was enough. I grabbed her wrists and pushed her arms up so I could slide out from under her and get back on my feet. She almost toppled over, a snarl on her muzzle as she glared at me, even as I caught her to keep her steady.

"You bloody cunt! I was so close!"

Wiping my face, I slid my hand down to my cock, stroking it as it throbbed in my hand. Her eyes snapped to it, her growl shifting to something needy, tongue wetting her lips.

"I'll do you if you do me, Til."

She glowered at me, then grabbed my hand and yanked so hard I almost tripped as she led me to her bedroom, shoving me onto the unkempt bed, then climbing up as I scrambled back to make room. With a deft swing of her leg, she flipped around and shoved her ass back before I could do anything, sitting on my face as I felt her lean down, hot breath on my cock.

"I can't tell if you're bloody brave or bloody stupid letting my mouth near yer knob."

"Only one way to find-"

She dropped her hips on my face so hard it squished my head into the memory foam pillow. Immediately, her scent enveloped me, bristly thighs rubbing against my cheeks as she squeezed my head between her legs. Hot, humid slick smeared onto my face as I went back to work on her, hands gripping her thighs as I made out with her pussy.

Tilly didn't hold back. She crammed my cock in her muzzle, snapped her mouth shut around it, and began to blow me. Her tongue cradled the underside as she sucked on me. Her mouth was nearly as wet as her cunt. Teeth closed against my shaft, raking softly. Her growls reverberated into my shaft as she buried me until I hit the back of her throat, her nose brushing my pubes. She gagged a little, but kept herself there, large tongue swirling and cradling my manhood as she breathed heavily through her nose — each time a hot huff that swept over my balls, sending a frisson through my sac.

As I ate her, she kept me pinned to the pillow, her slit drooling all over me. I suckled her clit, and her thighs crushed me, a hundred pinpricks of coarse hair like needles on my skin that only drove me wilder. Something about the intensity, letting go of any pretense of gentleness... exhilarating.

She continued to pump my cock into her snout, pushing through her gag reflex like she had something to prove. The wet sounds of her deepthroating reached me as she pulled me almost entirely out, then slammed her head back down. It was too much, I needed to see this devil on me.

I tapped her thigh. Nothing. Like I wasn't even there. "Tilly?"

Still blowing me, still muff-buffing my face.

I tried shoving her off, and only then did she stop, letting my cock free and lifting her hips to glare at me upside down. "What?"

"I wanna watch."

"You bloody well do."

"I'll fuck you however you want. I just want to see you blow me."

She looked off to the side for a second, and I really didn't like the smile that curled on her lips. She dismounted, swung around, facing me. "Yer gonna rut me proper for this. We devil-fuck if I do this, yeah?"

No clue what that meant. I wanted to ask, but I wanted to play it cool even more. "Absolutely."

She barked a laugh, straddled my leg, then slammed my shaft back down her throat.

God, what a sight.

A look of annoyance and glee and defiance written on her face, eyes sparking like a thing possessed, lips almost snarling as she gobbled my cock. Glurk, gluck, gluck. She kept shoving me into the depths of her throat, eyes watering. She sucked like she was trying to pull the cum straight from my balls, no holding back, tongue a whirlwind as drool dripped from her lips, slathering my balls, matting my bush.

I couldn't help it; I put a hand on her head. I almost pulled back at her glare, but that wouldn't have been the move of confident Drew, and I was confident Drew now. She growled as I rested my hand atop her head, then crammed my shaft even deeper into her throat, her whole body shuddering with a heave.

"You don't have to-"

Apparently, she did. The fire in her eyes, so fierce it froze the next words out of my mouth, was very clear on that. She was gonna get every inch in her throat if it killed me.

She grabbed the underside of my thighs and started to fuck her face with me in earnest. Her claws scraped my flesh, more welts, my hiss of pain bringing a fleeting smirk to her snout before returning to work. Her throat started to relax a bit. The pull and tug of her lips, the teeth grazing at just the perfect pressure, her sopping cavernous snout, it sent jolt after jolt of pleasure ripping through me.

To hell with it. I pushed down on her head, and I swear, she smirked. She ground her cunt against my leg as she very nearly got every inch in. Less of a gag that time though, her throat relaxing a bit.

"Horny devil, aren't you, Til?"

Claws dug into my leg with a small flash of annoyance, but she kept humping my leg, smearing me with her juices as she slammed down one last time. Tears brimmed in her eyes, and I — carefully — helped push her head down as she struggled to get the last little bit in. Finally, her nose bumped my skin, and her lips closed around the base. She stayed there for a minute, staring at me with a flash of defiance and accomplishment.

"Good girl," I said, stroking her head once before I caught myself.

Her growl rattled around my shaft, a faint, unholy yowl joining it. Then, she snorted, almost a laugh, and pulled my cock out of her throat with a brief heave.

Spit soaked my shaft, my pubes almost as wet as when I'd been with Moko. It dripped and rolled down my balls, streamers of it falling from Tilly's snout. She licked her chops, then sat up, pussy still hot on my shin. "Enjoy the show?"

Even though her voice was fairly even, there was something beneath it. Tense. Impatient.

"Certainly was something."

"Lookit you, Mr. Cool. I saw yer face. Bloody entranced, ya were." She smiled, almost kindly, then abruptly surged forward. She crashed into my chest and slammed me back to the bed, nose to nose as her paws pinned my arms down and her claws dug into my flesh. Her eyes bored into me, dark with lust, her panting hot, heavy, hitting me square in the mouth. "Made me bloody needy. My cunt's burning up. You ever rut before?"

"Well-"

"Trust me, you haven't. But yer gonna rut me proper. Devil style."

Her tone was sharp, an undernote of that shrill shriek and rumbling growl with each punctuated syllable. She was literally shaking, her breathing becoming uneven as she pulled back an inch and sat heavily on my stomach, knocking the wind out of me a little.

Her ask didn't sound that difficult, though. Pretty manageable, actually. "All right, Til. Get on all fours for me."

She blinked at me, then laughed. Not a small laugh, but a huge guffaw, her whole body shaking. "Oh, mate..." she said, wiping a tear from her eye as her laughter died down. "Not bloody likely. Yer gonna have to make me."

"Make you?"

"Yeah. Or I can ride yer dick till I break your hips. Up to you. But yer gonna breed me, one way or the other."

I glanced at my bare cock. "Um, but what about...?"

She sighed. "Don't worry. Ya won't knock me up. Bloody males, all you worry about. It's roleplay, yeah?"

Then, with no further ceremony, she grabbed my shaft, raised her hips, and sank down onto me. She let out a yowl that sounded like a woman being murdered, then a sigh of relief as she sat hard and plunged me to the hilt in her pussy. "Fuuuuck! Finally!"

She leaned forward and braced both paws on my chest, the faintest bit of contempt on her muzzle. "Are ya just gonna lay there like a dead fish?"

This was both almost the antithesis of Moko and so similar. The goading was the same, but the difference between Tilly's snarky jeering and the salamander's bratty "oopsie" couldn't have been more different. Claws dug into my chest as she started to ride me. No attempt to go slow, or build up, immediate bouncing on me, plunging me over and over into her sodden cunt.

Her walls loosely gripped me in favor of making the glide as smooth as possible — and it was, her juices slick and lathering my cock, barely any friction as she bottomed herself out on me, pummeling my hips on each drop. Her fingers curled, dragging red furrows across my skin.

I grabbed her hips to try to slow her. My meek attempts seemed to amuse her; she just snorted and rolled her eyes, dug a claw a little more into my flesh. "I didn't think you'd be this boring, hume."

Fine. She wanted to play it like that, we could do that. My grip on her tightened. I raised her hips a bit with my legs, then started to thrust up into her. She didn't weigh much despite her strength, so it was difficult, but not impossible. Her hairs stabbed into my palms as I drilled up into her pussy, hips slapping against her ass as I grunted and pounded my indignation into her greedy hole.

A brief look of surprise turned into a pleased half-smirk. She braced her hands on my arms and rocked her hips in sync with mine, both of us pulling back, then slamming together, sending a concussive ripple through my body as we crashed into one another over and over. Her juices squelched and splattered, claws marking up my arms, making me hiss as she raked her claws along my skin.

"This the best you got? C'mon, mate, gimme a proper breeding."

It was gonna be like that, then. I slid out of her, my cock flicking toward me and sprinkling drops of her juices along my body. Before she could do anything else, I rolled and shoved her into the mattress, one hand on her chest as I quickly grabbed my cock and got it back into place before driving into her.

She screeched and squirmed beneath me, trying to roll, but I pinned her arms to the side and started to hammer into her cunt. Now her walls grabbed at me, making me exert myself more to keep up the rhythm. Her legs wrapped around my ass and shoved me forward to get every inch of my shaft buried inside her, eased up to let me pull back.

"Better," she grunted. "Put yer back into it."

Shifting my hips, I did just that. My crotch bashed hers as I slapped our sexes together. Her heat enveloped me, gripped, squeezed, wrung pleasure from my cock as sweat beaded on my body and matted my hair to my forehead. I was panting, she was panting. Her eyes blazed as her mouth yawned open, a pink cavern of teeth and tongue that assaulted my ears with an unholy mix of squeals, shrieks, and yowls.

My muscles began to ache, and my pace faltered. Big mistake.

Tilly's gaze snapped to me the second I showed weakness, and before I could stop her, she released my ass, squirmed out of my grip, and pulled herself up to bite into my shoulder. Not hard enough to draw blood, and clearly not as hard as she could have — it felt like she could've easily ripped my arm clean off, no problem. It didn't hurt, more like heavy pressure threatening pain.

I yelped; she growled. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she hissed against my skin, "Keep going!"

So I did. I braced against the mattress and continued to pummel her cunt. Wasn't even about the direct physical pleasure anymore. I needed to give as good as she gave. Nobody could mistake this for "lovemaking," or "having sex," or even "fucking."

This was rutting now.

I bit down on her ear, and she stiffened beneath me as my teeth sank into the skin and my tongue traced the edge. She moaned into my shoulder, her jaw loosening — thank God. But when her teeth relaxed, the ache of pressure morphed to a burning pain. She buried her muzzle in my neck, no biting this time, but lapping at my skin, licking the sweat from it as her hot breaths sent a small ripple of goosebumps radiating out each time.

"How's that, you fucking devil?" I snarled in her ear. "Is this 'better' now?"

"Eh."

Fucking "eh"?!

I bit down a little harder on her ear for that, earning me a pleased yelp.

My muscles were screaming now, but I didn't care. They did, though, and faltered again.

Again, Tilly wasted no time. She yanked her hips back to slip free of my cock, then tried to wriggle out from under me.

But I was ready this time. I grabbed her, and she snarled and screeched and squealed as she struggled. For a second, I hesitated, that mother hen version of me saying it didn't feel right, but between hellish noises, Tilly hissed, "You gonna bloody do it or what, hume?"

Right. Time to rut the devil then. She wanted a breeding? I'd fucking breed her properly.

I tried to flip her over, but she slashed at my side and kicked against my leg. Hot pain. I struggled to get hold of her. Sweat was dripping from me now, but her bristly hairs worked in my favor. It wasn't hard to get a grip, but it was hard to maintain one. Fucking strong. Just as I felt my strength begin to falter, her struggling lessened, and I regained the upper hand. She yowled and snapped her jaws at my face as I finally managed to get her on her side. My cock slapped against her ass, and she stiffened again, body shaking a little as she moaned.

Sex wrestling wasn't on my bingo card for today, or any point in my life, but here we were.

She slashed at me a few more times as we struggled. Chest. Legs. Arms. Back. Sweat stung the furrows she'd dug — never drawing blood — and that pain only fueled me. I was losing myself. No idea who this guy bubbling up was, but he needed to fuck this devil, and she clearly needed him to rut her, so who was I to stand in the way?

It was such a strange, novel feeling. One I didn't appreciate until later. Almost out of body. Not quite a fight for survival, but hitting similar pathways. Adrenaline surged. A sense of faux danger mixed with my desire to avoid pain and my desire to breed the shit out of this mad creature.

I slipped one hand between her legs and tweaked her clit. She stopped flailing for a second and let loose a moan, body slackening.

Perfect opportunity. I flipped her onto her front. She immediately raised her hips high as I gripped her neck and pushed her head into the mattress. Her tail flicked up and out of the way, revealing the sopping catastrophe between her legs. I slid in behind her, lined up, and jammed my cock into her cunt.

I swear to God, her yowl rattled the windows. It left a ringing in my ears as I started to rut her.

Tilly turned her head, cheek pressed to the duvet. She looked at me with a feral, frantic ferocity, and threw her hips back to cannon into my own as I slammed into her pussy. She'd stopped fighting. Her whole body shook as her walls spasmed and milked me.

I leaned over the top of her and kept hammering away. Her hair scraped my chest, tail tucked between us. She squirmed a little, and I gripped her neck harder. There was a thick layer of skin, her scruff. I grabbed hold and held her fast. Her walls slammed down on me, her back arched and front smushed into the bed as she let loose a blistering yowl.

In the near distance a pack of coyotes started howling and yipping in response. Part of me — a very small part at this point — wondered how much of this her neighbors put up with, but there was a decent amount of space between houses, so maybe it wasn't so bad. Still, it sounded like someone was being murdered — enjoyably, though.

Her body bucked, so I gripped her scruff harder, and her cunt squeezed all the tighter. Like a vise now, forcing me to grunt and really work for it. I was drenched, drowning in her heat, my sweat, her screams, the pleasure, the rut.

Juices dripped onto the bed beneath us as I churned her depths to the slick sound of our fucking. The air reeked of sex, a glorious, primal scent that sparked even more of that instinctual drive to breed this woman. The idea of shooting my seed into her, filling that devil pussy to the brim, leaking out... God, I needed that so bad.

The bed shook and squeaked beneath us. My muscles began to scream, my breaths coming as huffs. More sweat, in my eyes, stinging. I released her scruff for a second to wipe my brow.

The second I did, she shrieked and started to twist. Her foot kicked, scraping claws against my leg. I hissed in pain, then lunged atop her, putting my whole weight to pin her down as I scrabbled for her scruff and took hold again. We lay there panting for a moment, a devilish grin on her muzzle, eyes glassy with lust.

"Nice try," I said, panting.

"Can ya go harder, mate? This is good, but..." She licked her lips, squeezed my cock with her walls. "Go to town."

"You asked for it, Til," I growled.

Keeping her pinned, I hooked my other arm around the tops of her thighs for leverage and started to fuck her again. My cock ground through her slippery channel, which clutched me like a fist, greedy, reluctant to let me leave each time I pulled back. Buried deep, I started quick, short thrusts that drew a moan from us both as her pussy swallowed nearly every inch of my shaft.

I picked up speed, no longer caring about the hairs scraping my skin, how loud we were, any sense of politeness, all of that was gone. I fucked that devil as hard as I could.

As the bed shook, I released her legs to grope one of her tits, her nipples hard, but plump, swollen. I pinched one, and Tilly's body bucked. "Fuuuck," she hissed. "God, I love that."

I pinched a little harder, grinning as she squirmed and her eye squeezed shut. "Big bad devil, getting rutted. I bet you want a whole litter of... uh..."

"Joeys, gimme yer joeys!"

Oh, okay. Guess that wasn't just a kangaroo thing. "You want me to give you a whole litter of joeys, Tilly?"

"Yes!"

She slid forward a bit more, my hand sliding off her chest, down her belly a little, right to the edge of her- Oh, I'd forgotten about her pouch in all this insanity. Old Drew would've stopped immediately and meekly asked if he could touch it — assuming he asked at all. But this was rutting, and I wasn't that Drew, so I slowed my thrusts a little and teased the opening.

She grinned at me, one hand sliding between her legs to toy with her clit. "Gonna finger me pouch? Make room for all your joeys?" On the word "joeys," she shuddered, pussy clamping down on me.

Fuck it, why not?

Still holding her scruff, I slipped a couple fingers into the opening. It stretched with ease, and my digits were immediately encased in a warm, humid space. Slightly damp, incredibly smooth — almost like the inside of a cheek. Her hairs brushed against my wrist as I started to finger the pouch. I wondered if it felt good or was just one of those weird things that didn't innately feel pleasurable, but tickled the brain just right because of the taboo nature or something. Whatever it was, she seemed to enjoy it, because her eyes slipped closed again and she nodded against the duvet.

I pumped carefully into her pouch, tossing in a third finger, easily accommodated, then a fourth, swallowed immediately. I'd almost stopped fucking her as I did, but started to ramp back up again, swapping out fast thrusts for longer, harder ones — mostly to give my muscles brief pauses to recover. Thank God I'd been working out a bit more lately.

As my cock slammed into her, my fingers explored the damp cavern of her belly. The entrance was fairly elastic, though occasionally its sphincter squeezed tight. Exploring along the sides, I felt the pouch stretch almost cartoonishly. Surreal.

Then, I felt along the top, against her stomach, over a few nubs. Tilly bucked and let out a sharp bark, both cunt and pouch clamping down on me. The head of my cock caught on her entrance, and I drove it back in as deep as it would go while I felt the four bumps that seemed to be driving her wild.

It took a second to click. "Oh, are these your teats, Tilly?" I yanked her head back a little to look her in the eye. "This where your babies are gonna get nice and fat?"

The devil shivered, groaned as I swirled my fingers around one of the nubs. "Fuck. Fuck! Oh God, keep talkin' like that and pound my bloody cunt. Fuckin' knock me up!"

My brain paused for a second, but she'd said she wasn't gonna actually get pregnant, so it was fine. The rut quickly subsumed thinking Drew as we continued.

"Gonna fuckin' breed you, Tilly." I shifted a bit, settling in, and started hammering her again. Ignored the pain, ignored the burn, just chased the pleasure — both mine and hers. "Gonna pump my cum into your devil cunt till you look pregnant."

No part of me cared how stupidly porno what I was saying was. Tilly didn't either, because she nodded feverishly and rubbed her clit like she was trying to start a fire with it.

"God yeah! Make me fuckin' fat with it! I wanna leak. I wanna hold yer jizz in me so it takes."

She grabbed my forearm with her other hand as I fingered her pouch, making sure to continuously brush over her teats. But doing that and fucking her was becoming increasingly difficult. Screw it. I shoved my whole hand in and splayed it against her underside, cupping her pouch nips. The opening swallowed me as greedily as her cunt did my cock, and I continued to fuck her.

The ache and burning intensified. I was soaked in sweat, my crotch soaked in her. It was filthy, feral, her yowls turning into squeals and high-pitched moans backed by that almost dinosaur-sounding screech. My body was on fire, pleasure surging through me. Drunk on the rut.

"Gonna breed your devil pussy real good," I grunted.

She whimpered, breaths coming faster, body tightening, pouch and pussy gripping me. "Drown my cunt! I want a whole litter!"

I pounded harder, all but snarling as I fucked her rougher. She tensed as I yanked on her scruff, twisted to make her look me in the eye. She was wild-eyed, feral, lips pulled back in a snarl. I yanked hard, lifting her head up as I slammed into her. My body was on fire, seized and possessed by primality.

My balls boiled, seed screaming to be released. "Here it comes! Gonna knock you up. Put a whole fucking litter in you. All those joeys in your pouch, sucking on" — I pinched one of her nipples in her pouch — "these teats!"

Tilly let out a high squeal as I fucked her like an animal, chasing the pressure rapidly building up. Balls slapped against her. Hips crashed into her ass. Cock pummeled her depths. Squelching, wet sounds. Heady perfume of sex. The desperate look in her eyes as she keened and babbled, "Do it! Please! Make me fat with joeys! Make me a mum! Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuuuuck!"

"Take it!" I gripped her scruff tight, plunged my cock as deep as it could go, and erupted.

My seed gushed into her. It set her off, body shaking beneath me, her screech both hellish and ungodly sexy as she howled my name and her cunt frantically clutched at me. Gush after gush, blasting into her, swirling with her juices, mixing, filling her slit, cum flooding into her.

Both of us cried out and groaned and grunted as every muscle in my body tensed. It felt like I was pouring all of my energy and life into her, planting myself, the jets of seed never-ending as my vision blurred and went white round the edges. Head pounded. Balls clenched as they tried to wring out every last drop inside them, Tilly's pussy milking my manhood to suck up everything it could. It started to leak out, overflow, and finally, we both collapsed.

My grip on her scruff loosened, and her head fell to the bed as she took deep, gasping breaths of air. My other hand relaxed, but stayed inside her pouch, and in my daze, I lightly stroked her belly from the inside, over her nubs, making her shiver and shudder with each pass. Her hairs dug into my sweat-coated chest, but I was almost numb from the orgasm, so it was more of a dull pressure than anything.

Eventually, my cock retreated and slipped from her, followed by a strand of my cum, and I finally slid my hand out of her pouch. It gripped me briefly, then released, Tilly huffing a throaty laugh. "Not bad for a hume. Shame it won't take."

"Birth control?" I dunno why I asked — autopilot, probably.

She turned her head a little bit more toward me, a brief, sorrowful wince flitting over her face before she quietly said, "Not exactly."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"'S'all right." She crawled out from under me and I flopped down beside her.

We took a few moments to catch our breath. Tilly swirled her fingers over her pussy, dipping them in, playing with my cum for a bit while her other paw rested on her mound. Her eyes slipped closed, and she hummed to herself; it sounded like a lullaby.

Eventually, she fetched a couple damp rags and we cleaned ourselves off. The high from the orgasm was finally wearing off, and the scratches and welts and aches were making themselves abundantly known.

I looked up from cleaning my penis to see Tilly appraising my body. Scratches, bites, the beginnings of some bruises. It was gonna hurt like hell for the next few days, but damn was it worth it. Ego death, burning down Drew and replacing him with a wild creature. Rutting. I imagined telling my pre-Abeni self about what just happened, how he'd be all wide-eyed and slack-jawed and stuttering and saying something dumb like, "But you can't do that!"

Hell fucking yes I could.

"You all right, mate?"

"Yeah, fine," I said, trying not to wince.

"Sorry, I forget you humes shred like paper," she chuckled. "I tried to go easy on ya, though."

She asked me to help her take the sheets off the bed and stick them in the washing machine. I got dressed, and she threw on some boxer briefs and a worn, oversized UCSD shirt.

"Oh, did you go there?" I asked.

"No." Another quick, pained expression. "It's just comfy."

I didn't want to pry. She clearly didn't want to share whatever moment of her past all this was, and I was a total stranger, there just to rut her, not help her work through her shit. I was kinda proud of myself for that. Old me would have fumbled and offered assurances and tried to do what he could to make her not feel bad. But that wasn't my job, she didn't ask it of me. Abeni had taught me well.

Tilly really did look so small now. The pint-sized devil had started the night off looking petite and cute, turned into an absolute beast, and now looked even smaller than before in that big shirt and with a slightly embarrassed, almost melancholic expression on her face.

Then she saw the way I was looking at her, and her whole demeanor shifted. Vulnerably tucked back away, that self-assured smirk back on her muzzle.

She cleared her throat. "No offense, mate, but I'm a bit buggered, so I think I'll just turn in. I'm not really one for cuddling after. I had fun, though. You did too, yeah?" She walked up and traced a long red mark along my forearm. "I'd say sorry about all these, but I like knowing yer goin' 'round with my marks. Proper devil breeding, that."

Thank God I worked hybrid and could easily convince my manager that I had to work from home while I healed. I'd just tell him it was the flu or Covid or something. I couldn't even imagine the gossip that the slashes on my arms, the hickeys on my neck, and the bite marks would stir up. Not a convo I wanted to have with anyone at the company.

"It was definitely fun. And a lot of other things." I chuckled, and pulled out my phone to hail a ride.

The driver wasn't too far, so I helped her put some new sheets on her bed in silence. I noticed her place was somewhat unkempt — dirty dishes, slumped stack of mail. A couple pictures on the wall flipped around. She noticed me noticing, but said nothing, so we existed in awkwardness for a bit.

Mercifully, the driver showed up pretty quick, and Tilly walked me to the door. "Thanks. I had fun," I said as I started to open the door.

"Bloody well did!" She gave me a smack on the ass as I stepped through. "Goodnight," she added, then closed the door almost as soon as I stepped through. I thought, perhaps, I heard a heavy sigh from inside, but maybe it was just my imagination.

The driver didn't interact with me at all, just had the radio on — stereotypical SoCal rock station, the same tiny setlist of early '00s songs. The obligatory Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, that sorta stuff. I tuned it out pretty quick. You can only listen to "Californication" so many times before you want to throw yourself out of the car.

I texted Abeni on the way home and gave her a quick summary. She didn't answer until I got back, then video called me.

"Lemme see!" were the first words out of her mouth. I showed her the marks, and she hissed. "Damn, dude. I knew there was somethin' 'bout her. Got my zebra senses all tingly."

"And you let me go home with her?!"

She huffed. "You're a big boy. How's it feel?"

"Pretty sure she bruised my hips." I eased myself onto my bed and lay down, sighing with relief as my whining muscles finally got to rest. Hopefully I wouldn't have to get up anytime soon, pretty sure that wasn't gonna be possible for at least a few hours.

The zebra peered closer at the screen, then whickered softly. "You've looked better. But I know a place, super relaxing, just the sorta thing you need."

"Huh?"

"Cuttle Cuddles, heard of it?" When I shook my head, she continued, "It's kinda like a relaxing spa meets warm pool massage. Went there for a bit after I tore my hammy. She's great. Amazing massages, super soothing; it felt really nice. She gets real deep. I think it'll be just what you need."

I paused, looked at her trying not to grin. I recognized the tone of her voice. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Promise me you'll go."

"Not unless you tell me what you mean."

"Dreeeww!" She pouted, big zebra lip flopped down as she made puppy eyes at me. "Just go."

"Once you tell me."

"Sorry, spoilers."

"Then no thanks."

Her pout morphed into her special brand of determination — equine stubbornness that was damn near impossible not to relent to. I wasn't gonna hear the end of this anytime soon, and, frankly, it sounded kinda appealing on its face, especially with how I was feeling now.

"Fine..."

"Sweet!" She beamed at me. "You won't regret it. No, sir. Not. One. Bit."

*****

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