Fatherhood

Story by AlkalineArts on SoFurry

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Dusk never expected to be a father so early in life, in fact he never expected to be a dad in life at all. But his past caught up with him, and on this particular day he was greeted by a young girl born from a fling he barely remembered, having never known that for all these years she'd existed far away being raised by a single mother who barely had the means to support her. Finally, without ever desiring it, it was his turn to raise the daughter he was responsible for bringing into the world.

Part 1 of what will probably be a series of stories detailing Dusk's experiences with raising his daughter Emilia as a single dad, trying his best to give her a life she deserves.


Dusk's claws clicked over the wooden floors of his brownstone apartment, too bright early morning light casting rays from behind the curtains of the living room. The knocking at the door was incessant and had been going on long enough to wake him from his day off lie-in. Had Antonia been in that bed with him he'd have not even bothered to get up for whoever was calling so early.

He muttered groggily under his breath, tail dragging lazily over the floor from above the waist of his sweatpants. That was another thing he wouldn't have bothered with if she'd been here. Pants.

The knocking continued in the same rhythm it had been keeping for the past five minutes. Knock-knock-knock. Pause. Knock-knock-knock. Pause. Knock-knock-knock. Pause. And it would probably keep going like that forever, he thought.

"Someone better have died or be ready to hand me a lottery prize." He grunted as he reached for the handle, unable to stifle the yawn that drew apart his maw even as he opened the door.

What he saw stopped him mid yawn, the unconscious action completely forgotten, but his mouth still stuck open in shock of what was in front of him. He slowly closed his mouth, looking down to meet the eyes of a small child on his doorstep. A Noaia child, like he was, complete with a small pink backpack, colour faded with threads fraying in several places. She wore a simple dark blue dress and white shirt, crinkled from a lack of washing, sock mismatched with sneakers that looked like they were several years due for a replacement.

She looked back up at him with wide, curious blue eyes, surrounded by the dark sclera of his kind. Small horns, only just growing in, jutted from her forehead, and her hair was a short but bushy mass of dark, almost golden blonde, run through with black streaks, sitting just above her shoulders.

"Hi." She chirped in a girlish voice completely devoid of surprise.

"Hi..." Dusk began, taking a moment to find his wits. "Are you a....girl scout or something?" He asked.

After a second the girl answered back, pausing beforehand to look up and down the relatively empty street. "No. Mom says I'm gonna live here now." She said.

"Your mom? Where is your mom?" He asked, shaking his head to clear the confusion of the whole situation from his mind.

"Gone now. She drove off five minutes ago." the girl replied, hefting her backpack a bit as she shuffled her feet.

""Why did she say you're supposed to live here now?" Dusk questioned, thinking he should probably call the police and report this by now. It wasn't normal for strange young girls to just be abandoned anyones doorstep.

"s'cause she said my dad was supposed to live here and now he's going to take care of me." She said, looking past Dusk and into the darkness of the apartment beyond.

"But I'm the only one who lives..." Dusk trailed off as the thought completed its loop in his mind. He felt chills run down his neck before they settled as a heavy nausea in his stomach, face flushing hot in contrast as the realization came to him.

"Are you my dad?" She asked, looking back up at him with the same fearless curiosity in her eyes.

"I....kid, what was your mom's name?" He asked her, stalling for something, anything that might give him more time to understand this.

"Everyone called her Nicole, or Niki." The girl said. "I'm Emilia, since you haven't asked yet."

"Do you have a photo of her? Or a phone number?" he leaned against the door frame, palming his face roughly as the sickness sunk deeper into his stomach.

"Yeah." The girl said, before pausing. "Can I come inside if I show you?"

"Sure. Yeah. Sure." Dusk groaned as the girl shuffled past him and marched into his apartment.

It wasn't large by any stretch. A single longue connected to a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom, with a small extra room that was used both as storage and as a makeshift office. The girl, Emilia, made herself at home sitting on one of the chairs at his small table in the kitchen.

She flung her backpack onto the table and began rummaging through it. Dusk had barely passed through the archway from the living room when she shoved a small book towards him, a diary with a blue cover covered in stickers.

"Its in there." She nodded, holding out the diary for him to take.

Dusk opened to the first page where he found a polaroid photograph taped inside the cover. It was Emilia, probably no older than two, being held by a canid woman with cream coloured fur, white splashed over her muzzle, red hair tied into a braid that hung down her neck. She looked tired, blue eyes baggy despite the smile on her face.

She looked familiar, and as he stared longer at the picture a long distance memory came to the fore of his mind. A young woman on the other side of the country, with him, sharing drinks at a beachside bar on the California coastline. Los Angeles, if he remembered right. She'd been lively and flirty, and he'd been at least half a decade younger and much the same. That part of him still hadn't changed, at least. He remembered now, her name had been Nicole, and they'd spent that night in bed drunk and having hard, passionate sex until the morning. Then they'd done it again a dozen times over the next few days as they hopped bars and ran the streets. It had been her spring break from college, and for him it had been a vacation from bumming around working terrible jobs up in San Francisco. He never got her number and until now he'd completely forgotten about her. He thought it had been the same since she never sought him out after they'd parted ways, both too busy and alive and young to think about staying in contact.

"How old are you, Emilia?" he asked, still lost in the photograph as it drew out his memories.

"Five, just last week." She said, looking around the kitchen in that distracted way kids tended to do.

They hadn't used protection. They had been that level of young and stupid, and he had been too sure of his species low, but not improbable, chances of conceiving with someone outside of themselves. It matched the timeframe. Five years, and unfortunately his kind were rare enough that it was unlikely she'd found another Noaia where the timing could line up. In New York alone there were only about a hundred. He and Antonia counted two of them, with their friend Noah making three. In Los Angeles he hadn't even seen another of his kind.

There wasn't a phone number for her on the page or the photo, just the photo followed by childish writing that ran over the pages. Emilia snatched the book back as he turned a page.

"Private." she said, drawing out the word as she tapped the small "TOP SECRET" sticker on the cover for emphasis.

Dusk pulled out a chair from the table and slumped down into it. He hung his head back and let out a painful groan. His day off hadn't even started and now? Now he was a father? The thought sent another wave of nausea through him.

"Mom said she was moving, but I was coming here." Emilia continued. "We lived in Florida but now she said she's going to Canada. So I get to live with my dad. I thought Rufus was my dad but he left a month ago and didn't come back."

"Rufus?" Dusk asked, rolling his head forward again.

"Mom said he was my dad. I've had like...six dads. You're number seven." She said, "But Rufus left home and didn't come back so mom said we had to move." Her voice dropped at that last part.

She seemed to take this all in stride, maybe it was because she was used to it, dusk thought. Emilia fidgeted with her diary, looking back up at him.

"But she said you're my real real dad. Like you were the first, but you weren't there at the start." She said. Dusk winced at the stab of guilt that went through him. He hated thinking about failed relationships enough, let alone leaving a girl pregnant and running off. But that was what he had done, even if he hadn't been aware of it,

"So, mom said now you're going to be my dad...right?" Her little voice dropped at the end of her question, losing that confidence she'd had before now. Her eyes dropped to the floor and Dusk had to force himself back to looking at her.

Part of him wanted to slap himself for this, and another wanted to slap Nicole for it, but he couldn't find himself feeling righteous over that. This girl was his mistake, and she'd lived not knowing he was to blame for that.

"...Sure." He croaked, watching the way she clutched to that diary. "Yeah, Emilia. I'm going to be your dad."

The young girl didn't say anything for a while. It seemed almost like she'd drawn into herself until she finally spoke up. "Can I have breakfast?"


Dusk had gone into his small office while Emilia ate the breakfast of sausages and eggs he'd cooked her, pulling out his phone to quickly dial in the only person he felt could shed some perspective on his right now.

"Dusk, why are you calling so early? You know I'm working today." Antonia's voice came over the line, sounding as if she was holding the phone awkwardly and too far from her mouth.

"Because I need to know what to do when a child shows up on your front doorstep and says they're living here now." he said, words pouring from his mouth stupidly and without much thought.

"...What? Dusk, what the hell did you do?" She asked,. "Call the police and get her parents to pick her up, what else?"

"Antonia, she's MY child." Dusk sputtered. The line crackled and banged as if the phone had been dropped,then Antonia swearing and the sound of shuffling coming through as she picked it up again.

"I'm sorry, what?" She said flatly.

"It's a long story but she's my kid from a one-two-three night stand I had five years ago!" He hissed, trying not to yell. "Her mom dropped her off here and now she's eating breakfast in my kitchen! My daughter. In my kitchen!"

"You....hold on, what the fuck, dusk?!" Antonia yelled, then her voice grew distant as she called to someone in the background. "Hey! Hey, tell 'her majesty' that I'm taking the day off!...fuck the client, just...fuck, rebook him and give him a free extra two hours with me or something!"

Her voice came back to the phone and she huffed in the way she did when she was actually angry, not the cute way she did it when she was fake angry.

"Dusk if this is some stupid joke I'm going to kill you dead. Just stay there, I'm coming over." She told him.

"What do I do, though? She's in my kitchen and I said I was going to be her dad-" Dusk started

"You said- Oh for hell's sake Dusk, shut up and wait there for me you gods. damned. idiot!" She growled, before the line disconnected.

Dusk looked at his phone for a few moments, taking in the silence. Antonia was the closest thing to a stable relationship he had, and that was saying something. He knew she must be taking this seriously if she had been that truly pissed off about it. This morning was going downhill faster and faster, he thought.

Dusk sighed and walked back to the kitchen to face Emilia. To face his daughter.


He watched as she ate her breakfast, trying to recognize something in her that might give away that she wasn't his child. But the more he stared the more he saw parts of himself in the girl. The sharp jaw, the higher cheekbones, the straight back ears. Parts of her mother were there as well. The wide blue eyes and high crescented lips, those small dimples at the sides of her mouth, and even the dark ruddy blonde of her hair run through with black, how it waved naturally as it fell from her head.

He sighed once more. This really was his child.

Dusk had never planned to have children. He hadn't even planned to have a family with a partner, sharing a life. He'd never wanted that tying him down so his life had been filled with short term flings and casual relationships that were more platonic and sexual than romantic.

"What was your mom like?" He asked without thinking, causing Emilia to pause with a mouth full of egg. She swallowed before answering.

"She was at work a lot. I got left with grandma most of the time." She said, cutting into the sausage on her plate. "Grandma took me to school sometimes, but most of the time I walked there myself. I got to stay after school in the library or in the gym because mom couldn't pick me up and didn't come home until later."

"Did she take you to do sports or anything? What do you like doing?" Dusk asked her.

"Uh uh. Mom was always at work a long time so I couldn't do stuff after school like the other kids..." She shook her head sadly. "I got to do karate for a few months and it was really fun, but then grandma got sick and couldn't take me...Dave, he was my dad before Rufus, he taught me to play the harmonica a little. But mostly I play a lot of games and read a bunch."

"Did your mom ever say anything about me?" He asked her. He wasn't sure if Emilia had even known about him before this.

"She doesn't like you." Emilia shrugged. "Says you stole her life and ran away when I was born...I dunno what she meant, but she doesn't like me asking about my real dad."

"I...your mom and I met a year before you were born. We were only together for less than a week, and I didn't know she had you." Dusk admitted. "Did she ever try to find me?"

"Didn't say. She didn't like to talk about it. It made her mad." She said, stirring the remains of food on her plate.

"I didn't mean to leave her alone with you. I...I didn't know, I thought she'd just left back to college." Dusk's voice was almost pleading as if he wanted to ask Emilia to forgive him for it, the child he'd never known he'd abandoned care of. He should have been asking that of her mother, but it seemed that Nicole wanted nothing to do with him. Admittedly that makes this easier than if she did, he thought.

Emilia didn't say anything. She just took another bite of her breakfast and the two sat in silence. The two of them sat in that quiet until there was a knock at the door of the apartment. Dusk quickly took the opportunity to leave the awkward hush and answer it.

The second he had it open Antonia pushed her way into his apartment and forcefully closed the door behind her, pressing him back and into the hallway as she twirled to face him.

"You've really fucked yourself this time. A kid, seriously?" She said scathingly. She had been dressed for work, but she'd now halfway changed into more casual clothing. The heels swapped for sneakers and a denim jacket thrown over the slinky dress she'd been wearing, the one with the extremely low cut neckline and side slits that barely hid her thighs, which she'd now covered with thin shorts underneath. And even though her hair wasn't yet done up, her makeup brought out those dazzling eyes and cute lips in a completely bewitching way.

He'd have been turned on by it if it wasn't for her glare and the way she'd pressed him back into the wall with just her posture. It was amazing how a woman only five feet tall could have an air like that.

"Dusk, tell me this is just a joke so I can murder you and get back to work like this was all a stupid excuse to get the morning off." She said.

"If it was a joke then the punchline is sitting in my kitchen..." Dusk grimaced. "Antonia, I had no idea this girl even existed. I couldn't even remember her mom before she showed me a photo."

"I'm surprised you remembered even then." Antonia clicked her tongue, poking him in the chest with a single, clawed finger. "You thought you'd get lucky slutting about like usual and not have to deal with the consequences."

"Hey, you're just as promiscuous as me, remember?" He shot back. "Bet you had at least two new guys last week alone."

"At least I wasn't so stupid that I didn't even think to get the girl a morning after pill." She scowled at him.

"You don't even need to worry about that! What makes you think I-" He dropped it as he saw the real, genuine hurt flicker over her face. That had been too far. He'd let himself get too worked up defending his mistake and hit too far below the belt, and now his anger just deflated into shame.

"...I'm sorry. That was too far." he hung his head, and all the emotion that had been kept back by the adrenaline of the morning crept into his chest. "It's all been too much this morning and I...Antonia, I don't know what to do."

Antonia looked away from him towards the door, and for a moment it seemed like she just wanted to leave him to this all on his own. Dusk put a hand on her shoulder, then another on her other one as he felt his limbs begin to shake.

"I don't know if I can be a dad to this girl. I fucked up with her mom, I don't think I could do better with her." he pleaded. Antonia took one of his hands in hers and held it tight. She let out a slow breath and twined their fingers together.

"You're a fuck up sometimes, but you're a good hearted fuck up all the time." She told him gently. "So you're not going to make the same mistake twice when it comes to her."

"She's had an uneasy life. I'm not going to abandon her so she can go back to that." Dusk told her.

"You're damn right you're not going to abandon the kid." Antonia huffed. "Or I'll rip your balls off so you never get the chance to make that mistake a second time."

Dusk stifled a laugh, feeling like it was wrong at a time like this. But Antonia had that way of making him feel better even when she was threatening to castrate him.

"So I'm going to be staying here until you get yourself settled with her, got it?" She announced, stepping back from him.

"Wait, why?" Dusk asked suddenly. "You don't need to take care of her-"

"It's so you don't get CPS called on your ass when you forget to take her to school or feed her properly." She cut in.

"I'd forgotten she'd need to be enrolled in a school here..." Dusk admitted as Antonia rolled her eyes.

"See? Hopeless. So I'm going to make sure you're at least set up so she can live somewhat like a normal little girl." She told him. "Some of my stuff is already here anyway, I can get everything else tomorrow. And today we need to get you caught up on what she's going to need if she's going to be staying here. Clothing, school supplies, a phone..."

Antonia listing off even just the basics reminded him how much he was in over his head. Dusk sighed, thankful she was here to make this all feel somewhat normal. So he thanked her by pulling her close and planting a sudden kiss on her neck. Antonia let out a quick gasp as the kiss turned into a draw of his teeth along her skin, her whole body shivering in his grasp.

"That's not fair..." She groaned as he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Just wanted to shut you up...and say thanks for this." He chuckled, going in to kiss down her neck again.

"Is that my new mom?" Emilia's voice suddenly interrupted them both, the two of them freezing in their intimate tangle. Antonia quickly disengaged from Dusk and stepped back to look at the small girl standing in the doorway to the lounge.

"Oh...sweetie. No." Antonia shook her head, embarrassed and flustered at the same time.

"I had six dads. Does this mean I get a second mom now?" She looked over at Dusk.

"Six...N-no! No...Dear, I'm just here to help your dad get you some new clothing and stuff." Antonia cleared her throat, trying to sound calm again. "Did you get a bedroom yet?"

Emilia shook her head, looking between the two of them. She seemed unsure of Antonia, moreso than she'd been with Dusk.

"Well, then we're going to get you a new bed, new clothes, and some toys, how about that?" Antonia told her. And the smile Emilia gave at the mention of toys and a new bedroom for herself was bright enough to make Antonia truly smile right back.

The shopping trip had taken them the better part of the morning, through lunch, and into the early afternoon. Between the two of them they had managed to find everything Emilia would need if Dusk was going to take her in, although Antonia's prompting was often the most helpful between the two of them.

They had first had to find a bed for the girl, and have it delivered the very same day. Dusk had resolved to clear out his office to act as Emilia's bedroom, not knowing anywhere but the living room to move it all to. And then most of the rest of the junk stored in there would have to be thrown out so that Emilia could have a proper wardrobe and space of her own.

Next they'd let her pick out her new clothes to replace the small backpack full of old and largely ragged clothes she had with her. Having a full range of things to choose from at the department store was entirely new to Emilia, who had mentioned that almost all of her clothes were second hand or donated. It had taken the better part of two hours to fully satisfy her desire for a new wardrobe without also buying half the store.

After that they'd managed to find her everything she'd need for school, all the while with Dusk having to call through to several of the district elementary schools to find which would take a new student so late into their first semester. Thankfully Antonia was able to help Emilia pick the stationary she would need. The young girl had a thing for pink and red notebooks, with a lot of stickers to plaster over them, as well as over her new backpack.

Finally, just after lunch, was the part that Dusk could actually help her with. Toys, electronics, and some sports gear. Emilia had talked about how she had done Karate for a short time before she had to give it up, and that was one thing he could help her with. Both Dusk and Antonia practiced MMA, although vastly different styles, with Dusk preferring the striking and takedown arts while Antonia went for heavily grappling and kicking based martial arts. Emilia had been excited by the chance to take classes again.

But more immediately, Emilia had been allowed to take her pick of whatever toys she wanted for herself. It was like a late Christmas, or early birthday. Dusk realized he would need to find out when her birthday even was, trying to do the math on when he'd been with Nicole plus nine months.

Nevertheless, Emilia wasn't too different from how girls her age had been when Dusk himself was young. She wanted plush toys, some dolls, a nice playhouse for them to go in, coloring books and pencils. Antonia insisted on getting her some computer games, telling Dusk he'd thank her later if she sunk enough time into them to give him a break from her.

But if Dusk was honest, the way she asked him about every plush she considered and talked to him about the dolls she wanted and went on about how cool her new books would look, made him feel like he might enjoy spending that time with her instead. She had been so wide eyed at the prospect of getting all these new things that the odd, blasé girl who had turned up at his doorstep and seemed to be disturbingly indifferent to this sudden upending of her life had transformed into something a little more...well, normal.

The afternoon had been spent hauling out everything from the spare room in Dusk's apartment and then hauling in everything that they had bought Emilia. While Antonia had been calling around the neighborhood schools looking for any that would take on a late enrollment Dusk had been putting together the bed and dresser and desk in the girl's new room.

Despite the girl's energy earlier in the day, the long hours of travel and shopping had left her tired. So tired that she was practically falling asleep halfway through the takeout dinner the trio had picked up only an hour after her room was finally put together. Her eyes were heavy as she leaned on the table, half eaten burger resting listlessly against her mouth.

Dusk had already finished his meal, he'd always been able to put down food quicker than most people he'd met, and Antonia gave him a nudge.

"I think you should get your girl to bed." She gestured to Emilia. "I'm going to grab a shower, come find me when you're done." She gave him a wink before she got up and took her leave, giving him no time to argue anything.

And so Dusk scooped up the half asleep Noaia child in his arms, leaving the remnants of her meal on the table. She was so light that he barely noticed her weight in his arms, and she didn't protest to him carrying her to her new bedroom, instead laying her head against his chest as they walked.

Her room was dimly lit by the bedside light, the sheets he tucked her into printed with a vibrant mess of pink and purple swirls. It wasn't a very large room, just big enough to fit the bed, a desk and a dresser into, the small amount of remaining floor space covered by a soft white rug. A few of her old belongings lay scattered from her backpack on that rug, the journal she kept amongst them. Even if she had a whole new wardrobe, toys, and stationery he doubted she'd want to get rid of the few things she'd arrived with. It made him wonder at what her life had been like before today. A mix of good, and bad, and he hoped that his not being there hadn't made it significantly worse. But part of him knew that was likely a futile hope.

He moved to leave, but Emilia's small hand grabbed at his arm. She looked to him with sleepy eyes, luminescent in the dim light just as his were.

"Can you read me a story?" she asked him, voice heavy with drowsiness.

"I don't think we bought any storybooks..." he answered, unsure of what to do with her request.

"Can you make one up?" She asked, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Dusk gave a small huff. He was a part time novelist, but everything he'd written had been small time, sold through online retailers. All of it adult mystery and speculative fiction, certainly nothing suitable for a child.

"How about...the story of Taka and the second sea?" He said. It was a Noaian tale he'd been told when he was young by his grandmother, one of the ones from centuries back when the Noaian species were still seafaring islanders off the coast of Greenland. Back when their kind was far more numerous than it was now, even though they'd never been as numerous as other species around that area of the world.

"Who was Taka?" Emilia yawned.

"He was a sailor on the second sea-"

"Where?" She interjected

"It was close to Greenland, between Iceland and Norway-"

"Why was he sailing?"

"If you let me tell you the story you'll find out." He cut her off, giving an annoyed grunt. She didn't speak again, and he gave her hair a gentle ruffle. "Now, do you want to hear the story about what he found?

She nodded, and bedded herself down deeper into the blankets as she kept silent.

"Good." he began as his grandmother always had. "Taka was a sailor, the middle of three children, on the isle of Nautou. One day he spotted a great whale in the distant ocean, so big he thought it must be the size of his whole village. So Taka went to his brother and said..."

By the time he was finished, Emilia had been asleep for over half of his story. Dusk rubbed at his eyes and realized he'd not even noticed when she'd drifted off, being so lost in the storytelling. He let out a yawn as he pushed himself to his feet and turned off her nightlight, leaving the room in darkness. Dusk made his way out of the newly furnished bedroom, complete with childish stickers adorning the door, and took one last look at the tiny sleeping figure on the bed, surrounded by the trappings of a new life she'd never asked for, then closed the door quietly.

Antonia had made herself at home in his bed, her deep purple skin slightly wet from the shower, glistening in the warm light of the bedside lamp. He sucked in a slow breath at the sight of her like that. Hair damp and clinging to her neck and face, skin flushed from the heat of her shower and each curve shining in the gentle light, her eyes a faint glow in the dimness of the room, rising to meet his.

Her tail shifted to lay lazily over one leg, the fur that ran down the overside from top to tip ruffled from her toweling. Her breasts, small but round and perky, rose and fell as she breathed.

"You've been missing this sight, haven't you?" She asked, voice breathy and light.

"Every night you stay just reminds me of how much I do." He said, a hissing breath leaving his chest as she sat up on one arm, tilting her head as she held his gaze. Her deep emerald eyes flickered up and down his body, just as he took in hers the same way.

'Gods, if she isn't a much needed sight after today...' he thought, stepping forward to join her on the bed as he pulled off his shirt. He sat himself on the bed and leaned forward, one hand running down from her shoulder to her waist and feeling the way her body moved beneath his touch.

He leaned in closer and gently kissed over her exposed neck, beginning where he'd been forced to stop this morning. He felt her throat shift under his lips as she let out a quick, breathless moan, following the contours of her neck as he drew his lips up, leaving gentle bites and feathery kisses along her skin.

Antonia's hand reached out and ran through his hair, claws gently scratching along his scalp so pleasantly while she shivered under his gentle touch. But when he reached her face she stopped him with a single finger against his lips before he could press them to hers

"You know...you're a father now, right? Can't go bringing home a new girl every night anymore." She told him softly, a slight smile curling at the side of her lips.

"I won't have to worry about that this week with you here, will I now?" He asked, hand continuing to trace down her side, over her stomach and then finding its way up to gently cup her breast.

"And when I'm not?" She gasped, chest rising to meet his touch as her cheeks flushed with arousal.

"Come back and visit, like we've done before..." He whispered quietly, breath playing over her ear as he stayed close to her, feeling her heartbeat under his hand over her chest. "Doesn't count if I only bring one girl back, right?

"I suppose....ahh, I missed this too." She admitted with a light catch in her voice as Dusk ran his tongue over her ear, sending shivers all through her lithe form. Her hands found his shoulders and held onto him as he massaged her breast, before he moved his lips back to where they'd been before she'd stopped him.

"Hey..." He said breathlessly, his own body feeling hot so close to the girl he'd spent so much of his life around. "Thank you. For helping with everything. It's going to be okay..."

She answered his gratitude by meeting his lips with her own, and drawing him into the kiss they shared. He was drawn down into her naked embrace, their breaths coming in short breaks between their kisses, and her hands moving down to tug at his pants, demanding they come off at once.

Soon he had his nude form pressed against her own from above, and she felt his hardened muscles sliding against her own toned body, heat against heat, rough in some places and smooth in others. Her breasts heaved under his touch and her back arched as his hand found its way between her thighs, greeting the wet excitement there with slow strikes against the folds of her sex.

His own shaft was hot against her stomach, hard and throbbing as they explored each others bodies for the hundredth time, still finding new and unexplored pleasures between themselves. Her hand stroked along his length in time with the way his fingers worked their way into her, soft skin of her stomach gliding against the underside of his shaft.

The two broke their kiss, unable to continue under the flowing stream of pleasure between their bodies, but their ministrations continued unabated. Slick, wet warmth coated his fingers as he thrust them within her, walls tightening around him in response to the waves of ecstasy they brought. His cock leaked against her belly, a heavy trail of his seed left running over his skin as she stroked him.

Their eyes held each other's gaze, his deep amber and hers vibrant green, watching the pleasure play over the other's features. Both of their bodies grew wet with the sweat of arousal and tension, muscles tightening in anticipation of what would come as the play of delight over their facades played out its act, driven by the emotions hidden behind.

Finally they separated, unable to bear the building tension any longer, and drew themselves into position with Dusk's hips between her thighs and her legs pulling him in close. With a single push he buried himself to the hilt within her, and the two moaned out in the ecstasy that came with the desire for connection fulfilled.

Her hair, still damp and framing her face, was brushed gently away as Dusk leaned in and buried his head in the crook of her neck. She shuddered as he drew back and then thrust in once more, his breath hot on her collar, tingling over the flushed skin. Her hands reached up and around to hold onto him as he found the perfect pace for the both of them, sliding in and out of her lithe body.

Each time they did this, she couldn't believe the way he filled her so perfectly. She'd had guys twice his size, of all different shapes, some who had filled her to the point that she nearly blacked out from the sensation. After all, she was a prostitute, and her clients varied across the species. But Dusk connected with her in some deeper way that filled her body and heart with such a heat that she felt as if she'd burst from it. No one else had done that, not with anything smaller or anything obscenely larger.

Each time he thrust into her she moaned and pushed back to feel him stretch her wide, the tip so deep she could feel it pressing into her stomach, but the building pressure in her chest was what completed it. She felt him grow desperate, just like she was becoming, his movement quickening and his hands finding a grip in her hair and behind her neck as he held her closer. Dusk needed to feel the way her body spoke to his, his release coming close as her moans urged him on, lightning running down his spine from her hands holding him close.

Her legs opened to let him thrust hard and fast, toes curling as her body tensed under the assault of ecstasy, looking up to meet his eyes as he rose to look down on her, face inches from her own. She found such want in his eyes, an unhidden desire for her, all for her as he held her like he did now. He wordlessly pleaded with her for that release he felt she craved too, and she answered him again with a heavy, loving kiss as she moved her hips up to meet his one last time.

Their bodies writhed as they released themselves to the ecstasy of orgasm. Dusk shuddered into the kiss as he felt the waves of his pleasure drawing down his body, filling her with his seed with each jolt. Antonia drew out a muffled moan as she tensed and ground her hips against his in response to the torrent of heat that filled her until it ran down between her legs, soaking into the fur on her tail and onto the sheets below. Deep inside her their essences mixed and she groaned as they broke the kiss, the final thrusts of her partner stirring that heat locked within her womb and now swimming from her body, shivering at the cold sweat now on her skin in contrast to the burning inside her.

Unable to hold on any longer they collapsed next to each other, still connected, side by side and in each other's arms. Their breath mingled in deep, satisfied gasps, the cool air of the night now playing over their tired bodies. Dusk kissed her neck again as her breaths became uneven giggles, light in his ears like gentle music. She let out a groan as he slipped out, giggling again in uncontrolled ecstasy as shivers assaulted her body in the afterglow.

Their eyes met again, a smile on each other's face in the warmth of a loving, loose embrace.

"I missed that more than I realized..." she breathed, unable to gaze into his eyes anymore as a blush covered her features, hot on her cheeks. "I love it...when...when we can be like this together." her words were soft and unsure, a hint of sad longing beneath them.

"Yeah...I miss it when we go too long without a night where we can be a bit..." Dusk's words faltered. What was he going to say, gentle? Amorous? Loving?

"A bit like it could work out, between you and me." She finished for him. Her smile was warm but there was a deep forlorn longing in her luminescent green eyes.

"We could...see about trying-" he began before Antonia cut him off.

"Not tonight, Dusk...please. Just...hold me like this. I don't want to ruin it..." She asked him in a voice so soft and needy that he couldn't have answered back if he wanted to. And he didn't, not with the warmth of her body against his, and the afterglow like a drug that had settled them both into such a loving mood. Even if it covered the pain, just for a time. That time was worth the world to them both.

"Tonight will just be for us..." he told her. "Just for you, my love..."

She tensed at those words, a feeling of sadness before it was replaced by the truth that he meant it, and she answered back.

"For us..." she sighed happily, giving in to the moment rather than dwelling on the past. They kissed once more, and held each other until sleep took them away from the world.