Come by Night 2: Winter's Moon

Chapter Five - In the World Without a Sun

Warning: The following chapter contains erotica.

*hakama - pleated Japanese 'pants'

I awaken in a darkened room bigger than my home, and at first I do not know where I am. Panic grips me. What happened? How...? There is an arm around me. Who am I with?

Then I remember. Isamu came for me last evening. I breathe a sigh of relief. The memories flood back. Was that only yesterday? It is still night, but what is the hour? Days or minutes might have passed, and I have no way to know. There is no concept of time in Isamu's realm. Without a sun and tasks to force me into a routine, I have no anchor. It is disorienting.

Everything is quiet. The castle is asleep, I can tell. I suppose that if I had slept too late, Tsukiko would have woken us. She is a rooster crowing at dawn no matter what time I lay her down to sleep.

I sit up and Isamu adjusts, rolling onto his back. I look down at my husband to be. He seems to glow. It makes me think of moonlight over snow. He is lovely to my eyes. I would curl back into him, but the pressure in my bladder forbids it. I get up, silently cursing the inconvenience when I want to stay warm and nestled.

There is a dim lantern with a pale blue light to see by. Along the way, I notice the wall screens abound with the most beautiful art of nature, fantastical beasts and landscapes. One has mountains and torii gates. How odd. Isamu is a yōkai and so cannot pass beneath them, or inhabit a shrine unless the kami has abandoned it to ruin.

But this imagery is different. Why would he have such scenes in his most private chamber? No matter how well I think I know him, my beloved yet remains a mystery to me.

When I come back, I pause and gaze down at him. He's not human, and it's obvious in more than his physical attributes, although that is enough. He does not think like a human. His love is more ferocious than a man's, almost all-consuming. I see it burning in his eyes. He will love me forever, and it frightens me a little.

I tell myself I am being silly and overthinking things again. What woman does not wish such devotion in her lover? He will never forsake me, as everyone else has in my life with the exception of Tsukiko. He has turned me into a princess in an eternal dreamland. And he is a most attentive lover.

I tell myself I should be grateful.

I smile and kneel beside him. He's so pretty. I give into the temptation to pet him. His hair is as soft as his tails and the fur on his ears. I touch them, a privilege I alone hold. I've waited years to do this again. At last.... Tears spring to my eyes at the strength of my love for this fox. I would die for him and Tsukiko.

I lean over and kiss his lips. He murmurs in his sleep, a half-smile accentuating his full lips. We did not celebrate our reunion last night in the traditional manner, for I was too exhausted. I thought he might be peevish with me, as most men who are refused pleasure when reunited with their women.

Isamu did not act put out at all. "It is enough for me to be with you," he said, and he held me until I fell asleep.

"I love you for that," I whisper, meaning it with all my heart. He is wearing the hakama and kimono from last night. He never left my side, not even to undress.

A terrible notion takes over me. I untie his hakama, pulling the fabric away. I feel possessed. I need him! Not the dream version of him, not the fantasy, but the real Isamu.

I push aside the layers of kimono and climb on top of him, straddling his hips. His morning mast presses against me, and I settle myself skin to skin, already wet. I bare my chest and lay upon him, needing to feel the kiss of our flesh pressed together. I wriggle, wishing I could burrow into him.

He murmurs restlessly in his sleep, his tails begin to stir. I feel the warmth of one brush against my back, then another.

There is no way to forget I am making love to a monster. I don't want it any other way. I accepted him long ago for who and what he is. Except, I only know what he wants me to see. I know him, but nothing of what made him this way. In the heat of the moment, it does not matter.

I rub myself against him without shame. Over the years, he has taught me how to claim the enjoyment my womanhood. I put that to use now, little moans escaping my lips until at last I grasp his shaft and leverage him inside of me.

My dream self may be no stranger to Isamu's girth and length, but my physical body is tight. Little by little he spreads me until I envelop him completely. His eyes open as he gasps awake. They focus on mine, the jewel-toned irises nearly eclipsed by the cat-like pupils. He doesn't say anything, but his hands grip my thighs, the massive muscle between flexing inside of me.

I moan, struggling to rise to get a rhythm, but he doesn't let me. My core soaks around him. The demon's face is almost angelic below mine.

"Please, Isamu," I whisper tremulously, begging. His answer is to smile, and I see the darkly mischievous gleam in his eyes I know very well.

His hands encircle my waist, his tails weaving about me. I rock my hips, feeling how the base of him peeks only to be swallowed whole again. My body clutches his, stroking the delicious muscle that impales me.

I lose all sense of time. There is only the pleasure and my heart beating frantically in my chest. Isamu is inside of me and holding me in his gloriously furred appendages. In this way, we envelop one another, body and soul, for there is no barrier between us now.

My eyes close, but I force them to stay open before he commands it of me. He likes it when I peak looking into his eyes. It's more difficult when my breasts fill his hands. My breath comes in fast little pants, and I slide in time to them. I could ride him forever and never tire of it.

Then I hit that place, and I can scarce breathe at all! I call out nonsense. His hand touches my cheek, while the other works more sensitive flesh below.

"Let go," he whispers, and I do. I feel him steal my energy as it cascades forth. He gives me his seed, and we bask in our mutual affection.

I collapse on top of him and now he is petting my hair, my back. "Hotaru..." His voice is husky. I kiss his chest, refusing to be parted.

Light fills the room, and I look up stunned. Beyond the screens that shield us from outside, there is what can only be the dawn. "For you," he says.

He cannot give me true sunlight, but for me he will make this world bright. It is a beautiful gift. I do not need fancy things, just him and our daughter. As if summoned by the mere thought, I hear the sound of tiny feet pounding up the wooden stairs.

I quickly roll off Isamu and we manage to make ourselves presentable before Tsukiko bursts in the room. She runs to the bed and I wish I had a little more time to clean up. Still, I have never been so happy in my life. There is nothing I will not do for my precious family.