Free Hunter's Moon.htm by C T Adams, Cath Clamp Page B

a raw turkey," she replied snidely.
    I didn't understand the apparent dig. "So I guess the 'doggie' didn't eat you."
    "The wolf was very sweet." The ground clove smell of pride; self-satisfaction burst into the air. Maybe the cloves weren't in the oil.
    "He stayed with me all night. Kept me company. That's what reminded me. When you laid down on the couch and just stayed with me. Warm and just, well, there. It's hard to describe." Cinnamon and sugar blended with the cloves in the air.
    "So why did you think the dog was a man?"
    "I didn't. Not that night. The next morning I finally heard the search party. I found out later that they'd been looking for me all night. When I heard Mom's voice I ran off, forgetting about the dog. I was halfway to the voices when I remembered the nice doggy and went back to say good-bye. But when I got there… "
    "It was gone?"
    "Sort of. I saw a bright flash of light and then saw a man— a naked Hispanic man with long black hair. He dropped to his hands and knees and collapsed on the forest floor. I tried to wake him but he was unconscious.
    My brows raised. Maybe she really had seen one of us.
    "I knew," she continued, "that I'd get in trouble for being with a strange man a lot more than a strange dog. Somehow I knew that he was the dog. But my folks were calling. I left Jessica with the man so he wouldn't get lonely. I've never told anyone about that night."
    I smiled and she stared at the water, looking shy. "That was sweet of you. But I doubt he'll remember you. Not if he's like me."
    "What else could I do? I was four."
    "So, what did you do with me after I started to stalk you?"
    Cloves dusted the steam once more. She warmed to the new subject. "I decided that you wanted raw meat, not cooked. Even rare is cooked. So I went downstairs and snuck into the kitchen." She started to grin, "And I found the perfect meal."
    "What did I have for dinner? I don't exactly recall."
    "I told you! Turkey! There was a nearly raw turkey in the oven. It was bloody and warm, hardly cooked at all. I put it on a silver platter and covered it with one of those domes and snuck back into the elevator. I should have taken a cart. I almost dropped it twice. It weighed, like, twenty pounds and once it started to bleed, it got really slippery on the tray. Nobody saw, thank God."
    I nodded admiringly. Impressive.
    She smiled. "You were so cute!" That made me frown. I don't like to be thought of as cute.
    "I put the platter on the floor next to the bedroom. I opened the door just a bit then backed up. You looked at me first, then the turkey. You were real suspicious. You sniffed it a couple of times and then picked it up in your mouth and came here into the bathroom with it. I followed you to see what you would do. You jumped into the bathtub, lay down, and ate the bird. Bones and all. Hardly left a scrap."
    Damn! No wonder I wasn't hungry. Twenty pounds of turkey had better fill me up!
    "Thank you." I'd only say it once.
    "After I fed you, you were real nice. I took the flowers out of that big bowl on the coffee table and filled it up with water. You drank almost all of it. I sat down and stayed on the couch so you'd have room to move around. But you jumped up on the recliner and just watched me. Like you're doing now. Interested in me. I've never had that. So I kept talking and you listened. I got a lot out of my system. I appreciate it."
    She blushed and it reddened not only her face but her neck and chest, as well. "I'm sort of glad you don't remember some of the stuff I said."
    "Now I'm sorry I missed it." My smile was genuine.
    I looked at her; really looked at her. Her hair was wet and tangled and her face was still blushing. Our eyes locked and the flustered smile on her face slowly slid away, replaced by nervous anticipation. The sultry musk that rose from her was stronger now. The scent of her desire filled me completely.
    The soft lighting in the bath turned her eyes an even deeper green. She wasn't stunning,