Chapter 460

... Walking over to the brain/piss bucket, Jasmine wiped the rim off, checked one more time to make sure Morales’ back was turned, and, before she could change her mind, dropped her pants and squatted over the bucket. The fizzy was loud in the quiet of the cave. I know he can hear me. Crap, if he were half deaf he could probably still hear me, but, I swear if he says anything I’ll pay his ass back.

Done, she dabbed herself dry with a piece of tissue, tossed it in the fire and yanked her pants up. Her face blazing, she washed her hands before going to stand before him. As he dropped to his knees and spread the hide out, “What do I do?” she asked as she knelt next to him.

By being careful, in addition to working from the sides of the hide, they managed to rub the piss/brain solution uniformly into the hide without getting the concoction on their clean fatigues – clean being a relative term since they were kneeling on the dirt floor of the cave. Morales rolled the hide up and put it out of the way while she scrubbed her hands three times using his lye soap.

Done, her hands red from the caustic soap and her energetic scrubbing, she stood smelling them suspiciously while he casually washed his. If he says one word, I’ll...

Morales knew she was waiting for him to comment, but he wasn’t about to go down that road, so he said, instead, “If you will stand guard for me, I’ll fill all our spare buckets with snow so we’ll have plenty of water to wash our clothes with in the morning.”

“Sure,” she said as she donned her quivers and slung her bow over her shoulder before picking up her crossbow.

Since the snow was so dry, when melted, a full bucket of it only produced roughly a fifth of a bucket of water. Rather than opening and closing the door several times and thus losing most of the warmth in the cave, Morales filled all the buckets and set them near the door. Opening it, they quickly moved the filled buckets inside and closed the door against the cold.

Jasmine put her weapons in their place, then helped Morales move the buckets near the fire so the snow would melt by morning. Then it hit her. He trusted me and went outside without his weapons. Since I arrived, he has never so much as walked past the door without being fully armed, whether I was with him or not. But this time, he went at least twenty feet past the entranceway, since he wanted to obtain pristine snow that we could use for drinking water as well as water to wash the dishes, our clothes and also to bathe with, and he did it with only me standing guard, and ... the wolves, of course.

She felt her face flush for some reason and had to force herself not to grin. As she readied the percolator and put it on to heat, she risked a glance at him. He has a look, an almost-smirk on his face. He’s waiting for me to say something about not bothering to arm himself and trusting me, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.

But, he caught her looking and, much to her consternation, she blushed again. What’s wrong with me? Yet again, I’m blushing like a virgin on her wedding night.

When the coffee was ready, they sat near the fire as the wind picked up outside, occasionally howling past the entranceway. Morales put on more wood before returning to sit a couple feet from her. “I was impressed this morning,” he quietly said. As she started to respond, he went quickly on, “Not just with your shooting. Oh, I was very impressed with that, but you kept your cool as well.”

“Well, I...” she started, but didn’t know how to continue.

Morales nodded to Lila who was lying a few feet to Jasmine’s left. “The wolves have accepted you. They’re comfortable around you, and they obviously trust you.”

“And, how do you know that,” she quietly asked.

A frown crossed his face. “Oh, by the way they act; the way they look at you. Things like that.”

“And perhaps you know a little about what they think of me from a more direct route?” she asked/accused.

Instead of his frowning and denying it as she expected, he just sipped his coffee. After a long pause, he met her eyes for an instant. “Maybe a little,” he answered with a teasing tone.

Frustrated, she didn’t know whether he was answering her honestly or just teasing her.

Turning the tables, she asked, “So where did you learn to shoot like that? Both your crossbow bolt and your arrow hit dead center, and both were basically snap shots.”

“Well,” he said with a chuckle, “there wasn’t time to do much aiming, as you well know. But, to answer your question, I took very seriously what the General’s people told me. I learned a little there on the short range attached to the jail cell, and after I got dumped here, I’ve practiced almost every day. To put it plainly, it was literally learn or die. That tends to really focus your attention. Besides, I love to shoot both the bow and crossbow.”

“You trusted me to guard you tonight,” she blurted before she could stop herself.

“So?” he replied, raising an eyebrow as a crinkle of a smile formed around his eyes.

“I guess; I never ... Uh, just ... thanks,” she finished, lamely.

Morales absently tossed a piece of bark at the flames. “You’re welcome, and thank you as well.”

When they had finished their coffee, he came to his feet. “Want to dig out some more shelves, or sack out early?”

She stood also. “I want to pee and then go to bed. Pushing that case just about finished me.”

Morales let out a chuckle. “I was really worried that you would want to get more shelves dug out tonight.”

“So, let’s go do our thing and call it a day,” she said with a giggle as she went to get her weapons.

Back from their evening constitutional, Jasmine stood drinking a cup of water while glancing around the lit portion of the cave. The chickens have somehow picked up on our preparations for sleep. The hens are already on their nests with their heads tucked under their wings. The chicks are snuggled around Gertrude. Lobo and Lila are, of course, together not far from the fire, and Morales has said nothing to them about it being an early bedtime. How do they know?

Morales walked over to the lantern, glanced at her, and when she nodded, he turned the light down to a warm glow. Sitting on his rock, he pulled his shoes and socks off, then, without hesitation, stripped.

Jasmine quickly averted her eyes, and when she looked in his direction again, he was under his sleeping skin and Junior was burrowing under it to be with him.

Oddly enough, I feel safe, and ... content – somehow. What’s the matter with me? I could have died this morning, but I’m not afraid of going outside – well, as long as Morales and the wolves are with me. With a shrug, she stripped to her panties and folded her clothes before slipping into her sleeping bag. At peace, she watched the fire with its frequent snaps and pops accompanied by an occasional louder noise as the wood burned and shifted.

I remember lying and watching our campfires when I was a girl. Darnit, I still miss my mom and dad. They enjoyed camping as much as I do. A smile touched her face. I imagine that most women would miss civilization and modern conveniences, but I’ve always loved working in the field. Now, I’ll have another story to tell my grandkids one of these days. That is, if I ever manage to get married. Surely, there’s someone out there for me – somewhere.

Feeling a trace of melancholy coming on, she shifted her thinking. The lantern was on low, but I got a glimpse of Morales’ ass, anyway, and when he bent over, I could see an outline of his cock and balls hanging down. I had time for more than a glance this time, but with the poor light, all I could make out was an outline. Hmmm, he didn’t say anything when he began taking his clothes off. Was he expecting me to look, or did he just assume I wouldn’t be able to see much in the near darkness?

She realized that she had slipped a hand inside her panties and had a fingertip slowly circling her clit. I’m as horny as I’ve ever been, but do I dare play with myself? Can I be quiet enough that he won’t be able to hear me? I was scared the first night here and put my sleeping bag fairly close to where he sleeps. That might well have been a mistake. If I move it now, he’ll wonder, but the guy hears so well, not to mention his ability to smell almost like ... Lobo and Lila. Darnit, what’s wrong with me? she asked herself again. Hmmm. Odd. I’ve seldom been horny in the field, and when I was, I could always play with myself. We never had our tents close together, so I could stuff my panties in my mouth or bite the pillow while I orgasmed. But we’re too close together and this cave is far too quiet.

Turning her head, she stared in Morales’ direction. She could vaguely make out his outline, and it seemed as if he were lying on his side facing away from her. Does he masturbate? she wondered. Does my sleeping so close to him keep him from being able to do it? I’ve heard that men generally do it in the shower, but he doesn’t have a shower.

Later, she realized that she hadn’t made a conscious decision to continue with what she was doing, but one hand tugged on a nipple while the other stroked round and round her clit. Barely in time, she snatched her small pillow over her face and bit down on the cloth. Trying desperately to not make a sound while the orgasm roared through her body and mind left her trembling. Later, she had no real idea if she had remained totally quiet or not, but one thing was for certain; it had been the most intense orgasm of her life, but who she had thought about while she pleasured herself left her troubled, indeed.

Crap. My panties are soaked and, if he’s awake, chances are he can smell me. How will I ever face him in the morning?

Hours later, when she awakened to a full bladder, she realized that she had her hand inside her panties again, and it still felt great to circle her clit with a fingertip, but ... she had to go pee.

I shouldn’t have drunk that water just before going to bed, she thought morosely as she slipped out of the sleeping bag to shiver in the cool air of the cave. As she quietly dressed, sans bra, she could hear Morales’ deep, long breaths. I wonder what he would do if I slipped under that hide with him? Guiltily, she glanced toward him as if he could have heard her thoughts. Unconsciously shaking her head, Get your weapons and go pee, Girl. But her next thought was even worse, I can’t get pregnant, and I know that they checked him for any type of disease before they sent him to 2214. I could...

Mentally chastising herself, she grabbed her weapons and quietly slid the door back enough to squeeze through, the wolves happily accompanying her.

The whole area was almost surreal under the light of the full moon shining on the snow. The wind had eased and the quiet seemed absolute. Just as she dropped her pants, a clump of snow was dislodged from a tree a hundred feet or so from her. The resulting thump made her heart skip a beat before her mind processed the sound. She must have sucked in a breath, because Lobo snapped his head around to stare at her.

“It’s okay, Boy,” she reassured him as she wiped herself and came to her feet. Darn, I’m talking to 2214’s version of a wolf as if he’s human – as if he understands exactly what I’m saying. Then again, does he?

Lobo gave her one of his many-toothed grins. Oh, crap. I’m glad he likes me, but that grin takes a bit of getting used to even though I know he’s only trying to reassure me. As she fastened her pants, her thoughts continued. But how do I know that? I haven’t been here long enough for me to feel this comfortable with an animal that could kill me in a second – yet I am. With the two pseudo-wolves standing calmly nearby, I’m absolutely certain there is nothing in the area that might hurt me.

“Let’s go inside,” she told them. “Exposing my bare butt out here in the middle of the night has gotten me really cold.”

Lobo and Lila escorted the young woman back inside to find Morales putting wood on the fire. As she went over to the fire, without either speaking, he slipped on weapons and went outside, Lobo and Lila following on his heels.