Page 25 of Runaway Hucow

Alcohol would lower her inhibitions, and for the next two weeks while she lived with the bisonmen, she wanted to keep her inhibitions sky high.

Still, it seemed rude not to at least try a little.

She picked up the mug with both hands and lifted it to her mouth for a sip. The cider was sweet and crisp, and it tasted like autumn in liquid form. When it hit her belly, it sent nice tendrils of warmth spiraling outward through her body.

Oh hell, one mug of cider wouldn’t hurt anything, right?

One huge mug.

Beside her, Spike stood up and raised his own mug. “A toast,” he said. “Here’s to the next fortnight.”

“To the next fortnight,” Tess agreed, smiling.

If nothing else, it certainly promised to be interesting.

CHAPTER 14

Tess woke with a groan. She wasn’t sure what time it was exactly, she only knew that she would be perfectly happy to go right back to sleep for another hour or two—or eight—but the sunlight streaming in through the window wouldn’t let her. Even with her eyes closed, she could see it glowing red through her eyelids. She turned her head away, but that only helped a little, and the sudden motion made her poor head throb.

God, she really should’ve stopped after that first mug of cider.

But the stuff had gone down so easy, she’d drunk another, and then another. Three that she could recall. Maybe more than that. She couldn’t really remember when she had finally gone to bed.

Or where, for that matter.

Relenting, Tess opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around. Like the rest of the house, the bedroom was sparsely decorated but comfortable, with a high ceiling and a giant-sized door on the far wall. Even the big featherbed where she was sitting was huge. It made her feel a bit like a little girl in a grown up world again. There was a window to one side, and the curtains were drawn, but the white muslin not only permitted the morning sunlight to shine through, it seemed somehow to make it even brighter.

Whose room was this, Tess wondered.

At least she was alone. After that third mug of cider, it would have been so easy to break her vow and invite Spike into bed with her. But then, the bisonman wasn’t one to take advantage.

Tess was naked beneath the covers, but she could see her clothes lying in an untidy little heap on a chair by the wall. She was pretty sure she’d been the one who had taken them off last night, though to be honest, she couldn’t really remember doing it.

God, she really shouldn’t have had that third mug of cider.

She lay back down and closed her eyes again. A little more sleep, that was all she needed. Just a few more minutes, and she’d be right as rain.

But that damned sun was right in her eyes.

She started to roll over, and as she did so, she discovered two things in quick succession. The first was that her breasts were once more full to bursting with milk, and incredibly sore from their fullness.

The second was the scent. The bisonman scent. Musk and smoke and male sweat. The covers were completely saturated with that intoxicating aroma, and as soon as Tess turned her face into the pillow, the odor filled her, sending hot tingles of desire racing all across her naked skin.

This is Spike’s bed, she thought. It has to be.

That scent must have been the reason her breasts were sore and full of milk this morning. She was sure of it. Except for the cider, she’d been good last night. She’d kept her distance from the minotaurs, but she hadn’t been able to keep her distance from their scent. She’d been breathing in those masculine odors all night long while she slept, and as a result, her breasts had been busy producing way too much milk.

Tess carefully rolled onto her back again and placed her hands on her chest. Her breasts felt swollen and tight, and she thought they were even bigger than they had been yesterday morning when she’d woken up in the cave.

God, that seemed like a million years ago now. Had it truly only been a day?

Part of her wished Spike was here to relieve her tension again, but she quickly dispelled that shameful thought. She’d promised herself she would learn how to take care of her milk on her own, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

How was she going to do it without making a huge mess, though? It felt like she had about two gallons’ worth to get rid of, and she certainly wasn’t going to drink that much.

She glanced around and found her answer in the corner of the room.

The chamber pot.