Pete didn’t seem to see any of that. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and reached out his hand, cold from the outdoors, to place it on my neck, guiding my face over to his. He kissed me again, and I slid my hands over his coat.

“We are wearing a stupid amount of clothing,” I told him.

“It’s an easy fix,” he said, and he started to take them off. I followed suit, and soon we were standing naked in a pile of clothing. “Fuck, I’m freezing.”

I crossed my arms over my body and said, “Me, too. That was dumb we should have waited to get undressed.”

“No way. I don’t want to waste time getting undressed. We have to get to the good part and make it last all night.” He swept me up into his arms, carrying me over to my bed where he dumped me unceremoniously on top of the sheets. I butt scooted up the bed, got under the covers, and looked at him. His body was cut and looked like something out of an advertisement. With his handlebar mustache he looked like an old time strong man.

“You look good,” I told him and touched the muscles of his stomach. They were tight and smooth with just a line of wiry hair running down the middle. He was slightly hairier than most men, but he wasn’t unpleasantly furry which you would think maybe a werewolf would be.

“Thanks. I work out.” Pete struck a pose flexing his arms and grimacing in a comical manner. Despite the cold his penis hung gloriously between his strong thighs. “Honestly, no, no, I don’t. I sit on my ass and watch football and drink beer. I drink a lot of beer, but saying I work out sounds better than saying I’m a lazy borderline drunk with a genetic disposition to burn calories like a mofo.”

“Genetic? You mean...” I paused, not knowing the correct nomenclature.

“Turning furry?” he asked and put his arms down “Jesus, woman, it’s cold in here. If you want to talk about my personal history, move over. I’m freezing.”

“Oh! Sorry. I guess I just got distracted by the view. Come on in. The bed’s fine.” I threw back the covers and wiggled. Of course, then the cold hit me “Hurry up. It’s freezing out there.”

He climbed into the bed and put his arms around me. His body cold from the air pressed hard against mine. Tentatively, barely daring to touch him, I ran my hand down his back. He had some hair on his shoulders, but his lower back was smooth. His ass felt round and hard in my hand. When I touched it, he responded by bringing his arm underneath me, pulling me closer with his hand on the back of my head. With our naked bodies touching, I was very aware of what part of him was a little harder now.

“So, what were we talking about?” he asked. His voice sounded deeper. I couldn’t tell if it was on purpose.

“You turning furry,” I reminded him and tugged at his chest hair. Being held like this made me happy, and our bodies were warming up. I wanted to snuggle deeper into him, but I didn’t want to turn my face away, so I threw my leg over him. He ran his free hand down my leg and back up so it came to rest between my legs. He didn’t move his hand, just held it there touching me.

“It’s genetic, more or less. Sometimes people get turned if they marry into the pack. Mostly we just marry other wolves and have lots of little fur babies. I grew up in the north pack tribe and spent most of my childhood in my wolf skin.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t think of anything more coherent to say. I was having a hard time not rubbing up against his hand. As it was, I could feel myself growing wetter.

“Yes. Even now I can feel my wolf under my skin. He’s always there. Sniffing the air and trying to get me to hump your leg.”

Pete started humping my leg, and I couldn’t stop laughing. When my mouth was open in laughter, he kissed me as if he was trying to suck the soul out of my body. The kiss consumed me. I could feel it deep in my chest. I threw my arms around him. His whole hand rubbed between my legs as he kissed me, and his other hand cupped the back of my head. Soon I was panting and squirming under his hand as the urge to come built. He took his hand away.

I pulled back from kissing him and said, “Hey! Why’d you stop! I was almost there!”

“I know. That’s why I stopped. You’re going to have to work for it a bit, Pet.”

Pete lowered his mouth to my neck and kissed his way up to my ear while his hands explored my body. He had his hands everywhere, grabbing my ass and rubbing my nipples. He ran his hands down my stomach and returned to rubbing, this time, he was only using two fingers. I was already so worked up I almost went over the edge right away. Once again he pulled back. I worked his smooth and warm cock in my hands. He moaned a bit as he sucked on my earlobe. Again he reached his hand down. He circled my clit, his fingers sliding easily around because I was so wet from wanting him. He toyed with going inside of me, teasing me with just one shallow finger. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy me. I wanted more. I needed more.

“Please, please,” I begged, “I can’t take it anymore.”

“Are you ready? Do you want me? Do you want me inside of you?”

“Yes, yes, oh, God, yes,” I begged as I tried to pull him to me by the penis.

“Do you want me like this or,” he paused, and his cock in my hand shifted until I was holding something different. The tip was swollen and wider than the base and the skin on it seemed looser. “Like this?”

“What is that?” I asked.

“My half-form cock. It’s a hybrid of my human dick and my wolf one. If it freaks you out, I can change it back, but I thought maybe you would want to try something different.”

There was a vulnerability in his voice I hadn’t expected. “I...” I started to say and paused, “...yes. I want to feel it inside me.” A small thrill went through my stomach.

“Are you sure?” he asked again, and instead of saying anything I pulled it toward me. “Ah, ah, ah, not yet. Let’s get you a little bit more worked up.”

Pete rubbed me again as I rubbed his strange penis, exploring its new shape. I told myself I wouldn’t beg, but at the end, I begged. When he slid into me, I went over the edge and, for the first time in my life, came without something rubbing my clit. It was glorious feeling. I yanked his hair in excitement, which he didn’t seem to mind. When I calmed down, his strange cock inside me, with its enlarged tip, hit the right spot. I was back on the edge, and with a few quick strokes, I was over again. This time he came with me.

Afterward, we lay in a tangle of sheets, and he propped himself up on one arm. “You’re beautiful. You know that, right?”

“Um, thanks,” I said and squirmed closer to him. It was cold even with all the exercise I had just gotten.

“No, honestly, you walk around all hunched over like life has beat on you, and you’re trying to be invisible. It keeps people from seeing your light, which could be your goal. I don’t know, but I wanted to tell you that.” He traced slow circles with his fingers on my exposed shoulder.

“My light?” I said dubiously.

“Yeah, not a real light, obviously. Your energy or something. I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m explaining this right. It sounds hokey when I over-explain.” He shrugged.

We talked and laughed and screwed again. I fell asleep in his arms, and when I woke up, he was still there. Asleep, he looked so handsome I couldn't believe he liked me. I slid out of bed, grabbed some yoga pants and a tee and locked myself in the bathroom for a pee and a panic attack.

What was I doing? Why was he still there, and how was I going to get rid of him? Did I want to get rid of him? Maybe I should make breakfast for him and then kick him out. I had some stale bread and eggs and milk. There wasn’t anything else to eat. I flushed and brushed and went out to make coffee. Pete seemed to still be asleep, although perhaps he was awake, and I just couldn’t tell. Thankfully there was coffee and filters, so I made some and started in on the French toast. I was frying it up when I looked over at Pete and saw him watching me.

“Is that for me?” he asked.

“I’ll be honest with you, I was planning on eating some, too. I am most definitely having some of the coffee,” I told him as I flipped a piece of toast from the pan to a plate.

“Mmm. You are, are you? Come here for a second.” I walked toward him. “Better turn off the stove, pet.”

“Oh, it’s like that is it?” I asked, turning off the stove.

“Yes, it’s exactly like that,” he said as I got into bed with him. By the time I got back out the French toast was cold. It was still pretty cold in my apartment, so I took the food and coffee back to bed. As I handed him his plate and crawled in naked beside him, he said, “A man could get use to this.”

“I’m sure a man could. You won’t. You’re going to take your furry butt out of here as soon as you’re done eating,” I told him jabbing at the air a bit with my fork. I hoped I sounded serious. I didn’t want him to stick around. At the same time I wasn’t sure I wanted him to ever leave. It felt good having him there. I liked waking up next to him. The future of easy mornings like this with food and company to chase away the loneliness and the solitude seemed to stretch out before me in a tapestry of days, and friendship, and mind blowing orgasms.

“Awww. My butts not furry,” Pete said and pouted, pretending to be hurt.

“Not right now maybe,” I admitted.

“Besides, it looks cute furry. You would love it, and scratch it, and inexplicably talk to me in baby talk even though I’m an apex predator.”

The blanket had fallen around his waist, and he was sitting up in bed holding his plate in one hand. Even with his hair sticking out like airplane wings from sleep, he looked sexy and fit.

“I would not talk to you in baby talk,” I said laughing but still trying to keep the sheet over my breasts.

“Would, too. You’d be all ‘who’s my poochy-woochy? Who wants belly rubs?’ I’d be all ‘Me, Me,’ because belly rubs are amazing.”

He picked up his coffee from his bedside table, and I watched his strong fingers wrap around the cup. When I thought about him touching me with those fingers, a small thrill ran through my stomach.

“Are they? Do apex predators,” I used one handed air quotes, “really like belly rubs? Because that doesn’t sound very scary to me.”

“Pet, when you’re a badass like me, you don’t need to keep up a front. If I want a belly rub from a pretty lady, I’ll lay paws up at her feet, and I’ll eat anyone who makes fun of me.” His tone was light and joking, but underneath I could hear the real threat. It was probably the sexiest thing he had done yet.

“Oooo! The big bad wolf. My, what big teeth you have,” I said and laughed.

“The better to eat you up.” Which he proved by eating me out, although he didn’t use his teeth. One thing lead to another. Soon the plates and the coffee were forgotten, and we were tangled up in the sheets again.

“Pete,” I said from under him, “You should probably leave now. Besides, don’t you have to walk Fang?”

“Nah, I texted a buddy last night, and he’s walking Fang. I walk his dog when he gets lucky. But the jokes on you, pet. You made me food, and you made wolf jokes. I’m never leaving. I can get off of you, though.” He pushed himself up.

“No, stay here with me, just a bit a longer. Wait until you fall out on your own.” I pulled him back down, the swollen head of his transformed penis holding him inside me. He kissed me again, really kissed me like I was air, and he was drowning, like I was precious. We lay like that for a long time.

Eventually, he did leave, after more kisses and a vague promise I would see him again soon. Of course, as soon as he was gone I started to freak out. What could I offer him? I wasn’t part of his world, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to have children who would be guaranteed to become monsters. Just thinking the word made me wince a little bit at the harshness of it. Not that I was sure we would stay together, but wolves were known for mating for life, believing they would stay together forever. They have some of the lowest divorce rates, and norms were always trying to figure out their secret. The werewolves claimed it was biological, but I’d once read the real reason was they expected to stay together, so they did. Since they had removed divorce as an option for themselves, they didn’t get divorced. It wasn’t that they were happier or even better at picking mates, but if you expected to stay married you generally did.

Pete mating with me would be unusual, not unheard of, but unusual. There would be werewolves who thought it was wrong and norms who thought it was unnatural. It wasn’t illegal or anything, but it would close some doors, and we would face real repercussions like possibly being disowned. If we had any children, they would be growing up in his culture by virtue of their genetic code and not in mine. It was silly to obsess about it. We had gone on a grand total of two dates. Nothing about them suggested we would be together forever, but I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I tried to imagine my parents’ reaction. I didn’t think they would be thrilled, but since we weren’t close, I didn’t much care. I knew I would lose a few friends over it, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t lose my job. For so long, I had pictured my future stretching before me with my ex, I had never imagined anything else. He left, and I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it all, picturing it with someone else was a totally new sensation for me.

I cleaned my apartment again and even took my sheets down to the machine in the basement to wash. I didn’t want to smell Pete and sex all night long as I lay there alone.