The thing from the backyard.

She didn’t even budge. When he moved closer, she moved into him even more, plastering herself to his warm, bulky, chest. Her arms wrapped around him and she held on tightly.

For the first time that night, Clea didn’t have her gun on her mind. All she could think of was to gum herself to this man in every possible way.

So it didn’t surprise her when she woke up on a human bed.

She had slept on Tarik Wolf all night, and it had already registered on Clea’s mind as one of the best nights of her life.

She slept soundly, which was a bit out of place. Considering most of her sleeping hours were spent trying to sleep. But she had slept on this man, who was significantly harder than her bed, and she had slept well.

She pushed herself off so she was laying beside him on her side. A peer into his face showed that he was still fast asleep.

Her eyes left his face and travelled down his chest. For the first time, she noticed a chain dangling from his neck. She took it in her hands and placed it on his chest. The chain was spiky with a ruby-like pendant. It wasn’t a normal chain, rather it was made of something that felt soft, like shredded wood. It intrigued Clea.

But his body soon stole that intrigue.

Clea wasn’t sure how the transfer happened, but instead of the chain, she was soon sampling his body. She used a finger to outline his abs and chuckled when she poked at his chest. It felt hard. She was enjoying touching and drawing inanimate objects on his chest.

Then her eyes fell on the bulge in his groin and her smile froze. That was his dick. What else could it be?

Clea had heard of the early morning boner men got but this was her first time seeing it with her own eyes. She felt a bit guilty for staring so she looked away, only to see a pair of tired amber eyes staring at her. Her eyes bulged and the hand she had on his chest curled to a fist. She stayed still, wondering what his reaction would be to her staring.

“Good morning, Miss…”

She smirked. Finally, he wanted to know her name. “Clea. Pronounced cl-air.”

His brows furrowed. “I know how it’s pronounced.”

Clea smiled. She understood him finding her clarification out of place but she also knew where she was coming from. Someone once called her ‘Clay’.

Tarik sat up. He looked at his dick, then looked at her. Clea looked away, glad when her eyes landed on Jo. She rushed to his side, but it was just the blankets there. No Jo.

“Jo!” Clea called, standing up and staring around the house.

Asides from the sitting room and pathway to the backyard, there was only one other door. It got pushed open and Jo walked out, catwalking like it hadn’t been hurt the day before. The smile that appeared on Clea’s face on seeing him was wide. Her whole face lit up.

She knelt as he came closer and took him in her arms. “Hi, little guy. So glad you’re okay. Can you please not do what you did yesterday again?”

He meowed and left her grasp. Clea knew that meant ‘No’. He wasn’t stopping his guardian angel's actions anytime soon. He walked to Tarik and licked his knee.

“His name is Tarik, Jo.”

Jo meowed.

“He says Hi.” Jo meowed again. “He’s thankful.”

“How do you know what he’s saying?” Tarik asked as he stood up.

“I just do. I understand him.” She smiled fondly at Jo.

She directed the smile at Tarik, but he didn’t see it as he entered the room Jo exited. Left to herself, Clea put the blankets back into her box and steadied it by the exit door. She missed her jacket which was laying close to the fireside though. Her phone had been switched off since yesterday and Kali was probably already crazy with worry. She needed to get it charged soon, and clearly, it wasn’t going to happen here.

The closest place would surfice.

She entered the room to ask Tarik for directions, but the words left her mouth when she came to face his naked body. She immediately turned her back to him, but now the image of his backside was dancing in her head. Her eyes had closed on their own accord, and she still couldn’t bring herself to open them.

“I am SO sorry. So sorry. I know I should’ve knocked. I promise I’m not usually this mannerless, that was just…” she forced her eyes open and breathed out. “…a mistake.”

“Okay.”

Clea's eyes bulged. Tarik didn’t sound the least bit shaken, or embarrassed. She knew she should be glad he didn’t see it as a big deal but, it also made her a bit conscious that he didn’t see it as a big deal.

“Okay, thanks for not being upset. Can you give me directions to the closest hotel to this place?”

“If you walk straight down through the forest you’ll eventually get to the road path. Take the left turn, that takes you to the town. The right takes you back to the road. There’s a spoilt ‘welcome to Ohalo’ wooden signboard, the inn’s a stone's throw from it.”

Talk about an efficient guide.

“I can take you if you’re con-”

“Oh, I got it, thank you. And you’re… busy, and I can’t wait since I’m in a hurry.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah… thanks for last night. A lot. I’ll repay this debt to you if I get a chance to.”

“You owe me no debt.”

Clea chuckled. “By the way, I really like how you sound. It’s hot. You’re hot.” literally and sexually. “You’re also one of the nicest guys I’ve met.”

A lot of guys would’ve tried to take advantage of her. The circumstances were perfect. But he didn’t do anything funny even when she was laying on him, gun-less.

She waited five seconds for a response and when she got none, moved out.

She was picking up her box when she heard a low growl. Clea would’ve ignored it if Jo’s head hadn’t snapped towards the sound. His curiosity about it meant that if she didn’t look into it, he was going to. She quietly laid her box back down and moved towards the backyard door.

She tiptoed towards the door, continuing even when the growl stopped. When she pushed open the door, she saw nothing. Just an empty backyard. There wasn’t even a kangaroo’s carcass like she was expecting.

But in the absence of those, she heard thumping. Consistent force against the ground, growing harder and harder… closer and closer. She took a step back even before she saw it.

A huge wolf jumped across the bush fence, landing feets away from the backyard entrance. The stuff in its mouth —it looked like the leg of an animal— fell off when it saw her. It bared its fangs and growled. Then dashed at her.

Clea noted its glaring red eyes, sharp fangs, and fast limbs. If she didn’t move, she was going to be its next meal. She sprinted back to the sitting room. Her heart beat erratically as she slid towards the fireplace. The sight of her jacket relieved her. She lunged for it, turning back in time to see the blood-hungry animal take a last leap towards her. At that same moment, her hand exited her jacket gripping a gun.

She targeted its forehead and shot.