Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

I t took a few minutes to get the living room straightened out again. There were a number of extremely large feathers lying around. Ashley collected them, then, grinning, put them in a vase. No one would believe they were real, anyway. Penny emerged in a pair of Ashley's sweat pants and a t-shirt with an apologetic expression and examined the scratches she'd left in the floor before they said goodbye to Maggie and Conri.

Then Penny threw herself onto the couch and pulled a pillow over her head. "I'm a disaster."

Ashley crawled after her and tugged her into her arms for a hug. "You're not."

"No, honestly, I think I am. I can't control this thing at all. I scratched up your floor and left feathers everywhere. It's a miracle I didn't poop all over everything."

Ashley, who hadn't considered that frightened birds did tend to loosen their bowels, struggled not to laugh, and ended up burying her face in Penny's shoulder, shaking with giggles. "It is a miracle. Oh, gosh. Thank you for not doing that. That would have been so very gross."

"See?" Penny wailed. "A disaster!"

"You've been a shifter for about…" Ashley twisted, looking for a clock, then gave up and guessed at it: "About twelve hours, Penny. I think you're entitled to a little bit of disaster."

"And I lost your clothes!"

"Well, you can always get naked and try to get them back." Heat flushed through Ashley and she laughed, quick and quiet and nervous. "Um, that sounded…not how I meant it to sound."

Penny craned her neck to smile up at Ashley, her brown eyes sparkling. "Does that mean we're not at the 'get naked' stage of our relationship? I have to say, as far as I can tell, we've always been at it. We just haven't been at the 'Ashley looks at naked Penny' part."

Ashley, face hotter than before, made a faint protest. "We haven't been at the 'Penny looks at naked Ashley' part either!"

"But that," Penny said wisely, "is a lack of opportunity, not a lack of scruples. You have scruples. You are scrupulous. I, on the other hand, am immoral and dishonorable and will happily look at beautiful naked women with only the slightest bit of encouragement. Sorry," she added more quietly. "I'm not really an asshole. Just a little on edge."

"You have every reason to be." Ashley smiled and put her mouth against Penny's shoulder, then left a kiss in that spot. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also intrigued by the 'getting naked' prospect. I just don't want to take advantage of you in an altered state."

Penny laughed. "It would be hard for me to get in a more altered state than I've been since last night, it's true. Oh my God, what if I turned into a partridge while having sex?"

Ashley, fervently, said, "Please don't," and Penny laughed again.

"At this point I can't make any promises. Well, I suppose I could promise no hanky panky until I was sure of my shifting abilities?"

"Did you really just say hanky panky?"

"I did." Penny squirmed around in Ashley's arms until she was facing her, and smiling. "Is that a mood-killer?"

"Not nearly as much as turning into a partridge would be." Ashley leaned in to kiss her, soft and hopeful. Penny made a sweet sound and scooted a little closer, sliding her hands into Ashley's hair. Ashley groaned and pulled her all the way into her lap.

Penny yelped, but it was a delighted sound. "Is that some of that super-bear-strength? Probably not. I'm small and you're tall. You smell nice," she added in a murmur, nuzzling at Ashley's throat. "Sort of rich and musky. Not all frilly and floral like most women's toiletries. I smell frilly," she admitted.

"You smell delicious," Ashley murmured. Penny did smell frilly, in a way. Soft, like vanilla and oranges. "And no, that's not bear-strong. I reserve that for when I know a girl likes to be pinned down."

Penny's eyes went huge. She raised both her hands above her head, wrists crossed, and heat crashed through Ashley so fast that she shivered. Penny's wrists were small, easy to wrap just one of her own hands around, and the sound Penny made in response was just gorgeous . Compliant and sweet, with just a murmur of shock. Ashley whispered, "Penny," and then let her wrists go, a little because she didn't trust herself, and more because she wanted to capture Penny's face in her hands and devour her with a kiss.

Her mouth was so sweet, warm and welcoming, and tasting a little of bacon, if Ashley was going to be honest. But then, she probably did too. She kissed Penny again, greedily, trying to take her breath and knowing she'd succeeded when Penny made the smallest whimper and melted against her. It took effort to break the kiss and to ask, right against Penny's mouth, "How far do you want this to go, Penny? Because I'm feeling a little all or nothing right now."

Penny whispered, "All. I'm always an all-in kind of girl. Oh my God, Ashley, you're strong ."

Ashley grinned, still against her mouth. "You like it?"

"Not with guys." Penny sounded dizzy. "And honestly I'm usually the, uh, the pushy one with girls. I think I might like to be pushed a little, though. If it's you pushing."

"Tell me something else." Ashley pushed Penny's chin up with her nose and found the tendon in her neck, nipping at it. "How do you feel about dirty talk?"

"Again, not so crazy about it with men, but…" Penny shivered all over, deliciously. "I think I'm willing to experiment?"

"Good, because I want to spread your legs and fuck you silly, baby. I want to listen to you beg me for more and come until you can't think, and to know I'm the one making you feel that way." While Penny gasped, Ashley pushed her t-shirt off, delighted to see Penny's bra was the same kind of all-lace one she'd spilled beer on months earlier. "God, that's pretty. You're pretty. C'mere, baby. I've got plans for you." She slid Penny's hands behind her back, catching her wrists in one hand again, and lowered her mouth to tease at a lace-covered nipple, gently at first and then with careful teeth and tongue, suckling it to an aching peak. Her free hand found Penny's other nipple, plucking and pulling at it until Penny was rolling her hips against Ashley's, whimpering breathlessly.

"Ash, Ashley, but I can't, I can't touch you when you have my hands, I want to touch you too?"

The words were almost a whine, exactly what Ashley wanted to hear, and she lifted a wicked smile at her mate, nuzzling at her mouth before saying, "No."

"But!" The little protest burst out and Ashley swallowed it with a kiss, pushing Penny backward against the couch cushions.

"No. No buts. You're mine right now. God, you're pretty. Look at those tits, Pen." Ashley brought her mouth back down to Penny's breasts, nibbling and sucking still through the bra, seeing what her mate liked and grinning when she earned particularly sharp gasps or moans. Penny was all curves and pale skin, although Ashley's view was badly interrupted by the borrowed sweatpants the other woman wore. "Gotta get rid of these. Might keep the panties on, though, if they match the bra. I love a woman in lingerie."

"Please," Penny whispered. "Please, Ashley. Please, I need you so bad it hurts, I'm aching, I'm so hot and wet." She almost faltered at the last words, but Ashley raised her head, smiling.

"Oh, that's good. That's good, Penny. Tell me everything, baby. I like it." She pushed the sweatpants down, glancing down the pale curves of Penny's body to discover her panties did, indeed, match the lacy bra. "Oh, perfect. Good girl. God, I've been waiting for you my whole life!" She slid her fingertips up Penny's thigh, very light touch to encourage her legs to open, and they did, as Penny whimpered again. "Good girl," Ashley murmured again. "I'm going to tease you now, baby. Just stroke you through the lace until you're desperate, how does that sound?"

"I'm already desperate!" Penny blurted.

Ashley laughed. "God, no, sweetheart, you're not. Come on, baby. Open. Open up." She traded her attention back and forth between Penny's breasts as she stroked her, keeping her wrists held snugly at the small of her back, until Penny's hips were rising and falling and she was squirming, panting, obviously trying to get a firmer touch between her thighs. "You ready for me to fuck you, Penny?"

" Please ! Oh my god, please, please!" Penny opened her legs farther and with a happy cackle, Ashley slid her fingers inside her panties, over a little thatch of curls to lodge her thumb against Penny's clit as her braided fingers slid inside her. Penny went rigid, crying out, so teased and ready that wet heat flooded over Ashley's hand almost instantly.

"Oh, good girl. " Ashley covered Penny's mouth with her own, circling her clit and thrusting her fingers deeper inside her mate until Penny went rigid again, her cry swallowed by Ashley's kiss. "That's good, that's right, c'mon, baby, come for me again and then I'll let you rest. God, you're perfect. Fuck, I want you."

"Uh huh, please yes please oh god please?" Penny's voice rose, and rose again as Ashley found a perfect teasing circle to bring her up again with, until she was crying out loud with pleasure and then, reluctantly, overwhelmed, with, "Oh god no, I can't, I can't, too much too sensitive oh god enough enough?"

Ashley laughed softly and let her wrists go, pulling Penny across her lap to kiss her and cuddle her while she caught her breath. Penny was all softness and gasps against her, coming down from orgasm and finally, weakly, lifting her head to seek kisses. "Ashley." The name was soft and worshipful, the most wonderful sound Ashley had ever heard.

She murmured, "Penny," back, incredibly content. "My mate. My beautiful woman, my god, you're gorgeous. And you didn't turn into a partridge."

Penny, taken completely by surprised, shouted with laughter, but before she could speak again, Ashley slid her hands into her hair and pulled her into a kiss. "Tell me something, baby." The kiss intensified, commanding Penny's attention until the other woman was half drunk on kisses before she turned a lustful, hopeful look into Ashley's gaze. "Tell me, baby. Do you go down?"

Penny's whimper came from the bottom of her soul as she slid off the couch to look up at Ashley worshipfully. Ashley's heart lurched, heat stinging between her thighs, and she stood right in front of Penny, so close the other woman should have leaned back to give her space. She didn't, though, and Ashley thought her knees would go weak from it as she pulled her own shirt off, lost her bra, then pushed her jeans and panties down. Penny whispered, "Oh my God," thickly, and Ashley, unable to help herself, put her fingers into Penny's hair.

"Look at you," she said hoarsely. "Perfect woman. Red lingerie. Keep it on, baby, please. And make me feel good, Penny. I'm so fucking hot for you right now I could just about scream."

"Please yes." Penny slid her hands up Ashley's hips, light delicate touch before she traced her thumb into Ashley's cleft, the bare skin there shrieking with sensitivity and anticipation. Penny's tongue, incredibly hot and soft, darted out, following where her thumb had traced, and Ashley gasped, fingers tightening in her mate's hair and her knees wobbling.

"Yes. Yes, good girl, God, yeah. Come on. Come on, I want it!"

Penny hummed but didn't delve any deeper, her tongue tracing over the delicate flesh, tasting slick wetness and teasing the creases as Ashley's voice lifted in whining demand. She still wasn't ready when Penny parted her cleft and drove her tongue deep. Her knees buckled, and Penny, anticipating it, caught some of Ashley's weight and helped her drop to the couch without falling. Then she pulled Ashley's hips forward, pushing her thighs wide, and explored her throbbing clit with the same attention to detail Ashley had used on her nipples.

Only it was better, or maybe worse, because that soft strong tongue and all that heat came so close, over and over again, to making her come, bringing her right up to the edge and then faltering as Ashley cried out and squirmed, knotting and loosening her hands in Penny's hair. "Come on come on fuck me make me come I need it, you're fucking teasing me oh god god Penny!"

Penny's soft laughter vibrated through her, and Ashley knew she was right, her mate was teasing her, and it was phenomenal. She babbled again, getting so close to release, pleading for it, and then, desperately, dropped her voice and said, "Fucking now , Penny, make me come now!"

That was what her mate was waiting for. The command. All at once Penny's fingers were inside her, curving hard against the sweet spot on the pubic bone, and Ashley orgasmed so hard she saw stars. Her, "Yes, yes, again, do it, Penny!" was hoarse with pleasure, and it got what she demanded, staggering waves of pleasure slamming through her until she was quivering and exhausted with release. Clumsy, sated, thrilled, she dragged Penny back up onto the couch and wrapped her arms and legs around her, clinging and murmuring pleasured nonsense. Penny fumbled for a blanket from the back of the couch, and a little to Ashley's surprise, very quickly, they both slept.