Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 5

a slow, rocking rhythm. No matter how hard he tried to be gentle, he knew a bit of pain was inevitable, but the sounds that came from Deshi slowly changed. The pain he could hear went from bright to muted, and then it mixed with something deeper, something more desperate. The boy's nails dug into him, but instead of weakly pushing him away, Deshi yanked him closer, into a kiss more passionate than the others had been.
    He growled low in his throat, and Deshi shuddered under him. They didn't need words. Sounds, scents, and heated glances told him far more than any new word could. Deshi whimpered when he shifted their position a little, and then the boy cried out with the next thrust. He couldn't help but grin ferally into the next kiss.
    In the humid warmth of the jungle floor, he took Deshi, pleasure and possession dancing through his senses. Everything else fell away. His world narrowed to the sweet moans and thick musk they created together. He tried to draw it out, but the gripping tightness of Deshi's body worked against him. The fire of release rolled through him, gaining strength the longer he rocked into the boy. Deshi was firm against his belly, and he gathered his wits long enough to snarl, reach between them, and take Deshi's cock in his hand.
    Deshi arched, shouted, and clawed his nails down his back. The potent scent of seed filled the air, twined with pleasure and pain within him, and the sheer joy the boy took in the coupling shoved him over the gaping precipice. He came with a roar, his hands gripping with bruising force at Deshi's hips. After a moment of bright tension, he collapsed against the boy, panting, his head still spinning. He didn't know if it was the heat of the forest or the lingering ecstasy from the rutting, but he didn't care. He felt wonderful. Deshi's fingers began to comb through his hair, and he couldn't keep his purr quiet.
    He lifted his head after a moment and licked from Deshi's collarbone, up his throat, to his lips. The silly smile on the boy's face caused something to tighten in his gut. He purred a little louder and licked over Deshi's lips. "Deshi well?" he asked, the words trilling with his purr.
    The flush gracing Deshi's cheeks darkened just a little. "Yes, I'm well."
    "Good."
    He wrapped his arms around Deshi as he pulled his softening cock from him. After pulling Deshi against him, he nuzzled his ear. Sleep clawed at him. The heat, his full belly, and their spent passions conspired against him and demanded a mid-afternoon nap. Since Deshi seemed to be in the same boat, he decided not to fight it. He'd hunt when they woke up, and he easily fell into dreams of running through the forest on four legs with Deshi at his side.
    ****
    The scent of the forest had changed. It was a subtle thing he might not have noticed if he had spent all his time as a human. Luckily, with Deshi so receptive to his feline form, he had been hunting each day as a cat, only shifting into a man when Deshi desired a little conversation or rutting. They had fallen into a routine that allowed him more time as a cat. This seemed to be yet another reason to be grateful for Deshi's understanding. As he stalked through the undergrowth and brush of the forest, he sniffed the air again. It was slight, but as a breeze moved hotly through the semi-darkness of the jungle beneath the canopy, he caught a whiff of it.
    Humans. Oh, he couldn't smell them yet—not from this distance—but he knew the changes that signaled humans approaching. From the odd birdsong above him to the scents of other animals changing their marking and hunting patterns. Beasts only changed those habits when new, powerful hunters were suddenly introduced to the area, and there was no predator more dangerous than the human.
    He spared a thought for Deshi before deciding to track the humans. If there were more poachers approaching, it was best he take care of them himself so Deshi wouldn't be bothered. Close enough to cause the changes around him was closer than he liked to the den he'd made with Deshi by the lake. With Deshi out gathering more figs, he knew exactly where the boy would be for the next few hours. That comforted him, enabled him to hunt the poachers without the distraction of worry.
    They weren't difficult to find. Tracking the changing scent to its source only took patience, and he had that in abundance. His ears and tail twitched when he scented the distinct musk of them, followed closely by the first sounds of human