cosmicshifts Read online

  Her lover didn’t stop delving into her pussy. Instead, Phillip kept on torturing her until only choked gasps left her throat. It was not until a second wave of delight picked her up and carried her away that he relented. Alika tried to catch her breath. Her hearts jackhammered into her ribcage. Phillip’s smile beamed down at her. He leaned over and kissed her so that she tasted her nectar on him.

  “Did you enjoy that?” he asked.

  She nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “Very much. Where did you learn such a skill?”

  Phillip kissed her cheek and snaked his fingers lower, but she grabbed his hand before he could start manipulating her again. She was not sure if she could handle another session with him. Besides, she wanted a chance to pleasure him too.

  “I have my secrets.”

  “You would make a wonderful asset on my planet. The women would love you.”

  “I’ll just stick to you.”

  Alika smiled and slipped her hand down his length. Phillip shimmied down her body. She stroked him until he squirmed and moaned. Feeling the firmness of his prick, she yearned to have him inside of her.

  “Where did you learn that?”

  Alika grinned. “Most males have sexual organs such as yours. And I learn to adapt. I want you inside of me.”

  He kissed her deeply, and she felt him plumping up even more. She cupped his balls and squeezed. His eyes rolled back, and he thrust his hips into her hand. Alika slipped her hand around his neck and brought him down on top of her. She reached down and eased his cock into her. Alika groaned as his prick moved into her. It felt so right, and this time she did not have to switch her shape to accommodate him.

  “You feel so good.”

  Phillip clutched her breasts and squeezed her nipples. She cried out. He kissed her shoulders, and his hot breath blasted against her throat. He pinched her nipples harder. The pain sent bolts of sensation to her clit. Phillip’s heavy breathing filled her ears. With her eyes shut, Alika lost herself in the tempo of their lovemaking. The bliss surged through her. Her man was building her to another peak that would rocket her to another world. Screams echoed in the cave. She barely recognized them for her own. Phillip pounded into her harder. He groaned and then slid into her one final time. She felt him release inside of her. He rested his head on her chest for a second and slid his fingers from her breasts. From there he touched her clit.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, pulling in her breath.

  He did not answer her but began to rub her once again. Alika cried out from the swiftness of the delight that captured her. Phillip drove into her a couple more times, heightening their experience together. He continued to fondle her until he brought her down and she was out of breath. Then they collapsed onto the sleeping bag together.

  Chapter Seven

  Phillip awoke from the most restful sleep he had had in a long time. It seemed almost as if it was some bad dream in which he had become a monster and when he was waking up it was to the woman he had loved. He stretched and looked around him. It all rushed back. Kaylana was no longer with him, but he had fallen asleep in the arms of another woman, a very sexy and beautiful green-skinned woman who had come from outer space to be with him. Although Phillip wanted her to stay, after the debacle with the army the day before, they would never stop looking for her. Hell, they could be swarming the caves now, searching for signs of them. It was a mistake to get photographed. But there was nothing he would not do to keep her secure. Alika was not safe on this planet. No matter how much she could try to fit in, her unusual skin coloring and the fact that she turned into a wolf sometimes would force her to stand out. It was not fair to make her live underground when there was a vast world she could explore. He knew many hidden places where he had traveled, and since he had transformed he preferred the mountains.

  Ever since he first saw the rising peaks in the New World, Phillip had fallen in the love with the tribes. Since Kaylana had died, he had spent his years traversing across the Americas, Canada, and had walked into South America learning some of the secrets of the tribes there. They had been the most welcoming, even in his other form, and had revered him. From there he had gone up the West Coast and into Alaska, keeping to the dense forest. One thing he discovered while in Alaska, where they had hours and days of sun, was that he could remain a man. It was during this time that he had rowed with the local people to the Diomede Islands between the straits and then over to Russia. From there he had gone all over, but never made it into Western Europe because it was too populated, and never into the desert because he would not be able to hide. In the end, Phillip returned to the Appalachian Mountains. Even now there were people encroaching on his home, and soon he wondered if he would have to live forever in a cave. He could deal with the blight that had been laid upon him, but he never did want to bring that upon Alika. She deserved better.

  He ran his fingers over the sleeping bag and found a warm spot. However, she was not with him. A momentary stab of worry went through him, but he trusted Alika. So Phillip unwound the bandage from his leg and the now healed bone. There was one thing about his blight that he appreciated. Of course, it was all part of the shaman’s plan for him to live for all eternity. Phillip had tried various ways of ending his existence in the early years of his curse. Nothing worked; it just caused him pain. Eventually, he stopped trying. With the way the weapons were today, he wondered if in the event that he was blown to bits whether his body would reconstruct itself from those small particles or if he would finally have true peace. Right now he yearned to spend whatever time he could with Alika, no matter how short that time was. At last he stood, found a back part of the cave to relieve himself, then dug into the backpack for another power bar to ease the hollow ache in his stomach. Eventually, he would have to go out for more supplies. Living off the cardboard-tasting food bars was not his original idea. It would be better if he hunted and brought down game. For a second, he entertained hunting with Alika in her wolf form. She was a glorious sight with two tails and six toes on each foot, which gave her a uniqueness that he would always envy. He figured that they would make great hunting partners.

  “I was wondering when you’d be waking up.”

  Phillip stared into her beautiful orange eyes. For a moment, he forgot she had said something and felt his neck burning. “Well, you took a lot out of me earlier.” Alika looked enticing in the too-tight jeans that hugged her body and the white tank top that showed off the swells of her breasts. Her dark green nipples were visible through the thin fabric. The thought of making love to her again hardened his cock. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, nuzzling her neck. Phillip placed kisses along the line of her throat. She moaned and then pressed against him.

  “I want you again,” he whispered in her ear.

  Alika placed a hand on his chest and pushed him away. Her eyes were dilated with pleasure, and she was breathing heavily. Her restraint seemed to be slipping. “Even though I do enjoy coupling with you, I have to see if I can make a transmitter out of the instruments you thieved for me.”

  “Are you having any luck?” Phillip asked. He smoothed his hair back and tried to think of other things than Alika’s lithe body so he would not have to suffer the terrible throbbing he was dealing with in his dick.

  She sighed. “Not so well. Come here, I’ll show you what I’ve done.”

  Phillip saw where she had carefully laid out the computer, the cell phone, and the bits he had taken from the equipment he had stolen from the army encampment. He was also glad he had thought to grab some of the tools lying around. The pliers were the main tool she was using. The laptop was split open and the hard drive removed. The cell phone was also in pieces, and the bits she had from her ship remained separate.

  “What else do you need?” he asked.

  “I need some kind of a power source. I can use the crystals, but I need a way to harness their power. The computer parts are great, but I need…” She looked around at the parts and shook
her head. “I need more than what you have here. I hate to say it, but I must go to a place where there are electronics available. Then I can tell what I need.”

  He heard the desperation in her voice. They both knew that she needed to go home. He glanced at the sky. The sun would set in a few hours. The cave system went a few more miles and connected with old mine shafts close to town. However, he hated to venture that way because sections of the mine shafts were unstable. If they left now, they could make it to the mines. Then under the cover of darkness, they could go into town and get what Alika needed.

  He nodded. “There’s probably a place in town, an electronics store or general store, that will have what you need. If we go now, we can reach the mines and weave through them until we get to the edge of town. After that, we have to wait for darkness and when the place closes down.”

  Her face lit up. “That’d be great. Of course, we will be careful in the tunnels. We’ll look out for one another.”

  “Yes, we will. Let me put some clothes on and pack the bag. We’ll need it later. I’m afraid I don’t have any shoes or hiking boots for you.”

  Her brow creased as she tried to figure out what he said. Phillip pointed to his feet. “Boots are coverings we wear on our feet to protect them or to keep our feet warm.”

  She nodded. “Okay, I understand now. We have the same thing, but all of my garments went up with my ship. Clothes are cumbersome when I change forms.”

  Phillip chuckled. “I know how you feel. I always try to leave my clothes in a place where they won’t be disturbed while I’m a Bigfoot. Over the years, that hasn’t always worked.”

  She slid her fingers over his chest. “I prefer you in your own flesh without the fabric covering you, but I understand the necessity for it. Not all cultures are two-natured, and many have rules or taboos about being unclothed.” Her nails scraped over his nipple. “I’m sure you’ve seen many different things in your travels.”

  “More than you know.” She placed a kiss on his cheek as her nails dug into his pecs. Alika pierced his flesh painlessly, and that made his dick firm once more.

  “You keep doing that, and we won’t be going anywhere.” He took her hands and guided them away from his chest.

  “I can’t help it. Something about you appeals to me more than any other male I have been with. But yes, you’re right, you need to get dressed and we should go.”

  Phillip pulled on an old pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He didn’t have any boots either anymore, so it was a barefoot trip for him too. Dressed and packed, he took a lantern and motioned for Alika to follow. He led them back to the waterfall. The spray hit him, and the image of Alika naked under the spray in a sun-filled pool flashed through his mind. For a moment the blood left his brain, but he forced himself to think about the journey ahead. Phillip slipped behind a narrow opening to the left of the waterfall and held out his light so Alika could see. The first part of their trek was not so perilous. When the earth was looser under his feet and the aroma of the air grew damper, they knew that they were close to the mines. Animals scurried out of their way and spiderwebs hit him in the face, clinging to his skin. Drips of sweat were streaming down his face by the time he stopped. He dug into his bag and pulled out a bottle of water, took a few sips, then handed the rest to Alika. She smiled at him and took the bottle.

  “Is it much farther?” she asked.

  “We’re at the end of the mines now, toward the back of a couple of the shafts. They used to dig for silver here, but after a big disaster almost two hundred years ago, they abandoned the mines. Tales say that the shafts are haunted by the spirits of those who died here.”

  “Is that what you believe?”Alika finished the water and passed him back the empty bottle.

  He thought about the ghost stories he had heard over the years and the things he had seen. Even in the old mine, he had witnessed some things. “I believe that there are some people who don’t pass on, and they get stuck behind in a certain place. I don’t know. Come on. It will be dark soon; I can feel the weight of the sun settling on my shoulders and don’t want to be caught in the tight spots when I’m over seven feet tall.”

  She nodded. “I agree.”

  The light from his flashlight beamed into the darkness and split the shadows. Once in a while he caught a pair of eyes that reflected the light. The load-bearing beams creaked. He hardly dared touch them in case they might splint and break. He was surprised that they had lasted this long, but he doubted that anyone had ventured into the mines for days unless they were teenagers searching for a thrill. He treaded carefully. When he arrived at a branch in the tunnels, he stopped and had to remember which way to go. It was getting harder to breathe. A cool breeze slid by the side of his face, so he followed it to the left. As he walked a few steps, the floor gave way beneath him. The light fell from his hand and rolled back toward Alika. A gasp left his lips, and he felt himself falling. Panic overwhelmed him. If he fell he would live, but he was not sure if he would be able to climb out. He could not risk anything happening to Alika. As his fingers grasped on to the remains of a wooden floorboard, he felt his grip slipping.

  “Phillip, stay where you are!” Alika called down to him.

  “No, stay there. The floor is too weak. I don’t want you to fall too.”

  Her head appeared above him. She shone the light down and stretched her arm out so he could grab on to it. When he reached up, the bag slipped from his shoulder. He tried to take hold of it, but it fell and landed somewhere at the bottom of the shaft. “Forget about the bag. Give me your hand.”

  His heart jumped into his throat. The sun was setting. His bones were already taking on extra weight. It was only a matter of time before he would change completely. “I’m too heavy. You won’t be able to pull me up.”

  She stretched her arm further into the hole, dangling precariously close to the edge. Her fingertips brushed his wrist. “I’m stronger than I look. Now give me your hand!”

  Phillip extended his arm and felt his fingernails growing. He was changing. His muscles were taking on bulk. Tonight, with all of his being, he fought the transformation coming over him. Alika grabbed a hold of his hand. In the light he saw that her eyes had changed color, and her arms seemed to be longer. He ran his tongue over his teeth and felt that they were sharper. Phillip grasped on to her arm, and she hauled him to the top of the hole until he could get a good grip on the lip. With one fierce tug, she wrenched him over the side of the pit. They both rolled toward the wall. The muscles in his body expanded. His ribs cracked and rearranged; a couple more appeared in order to support the great weight of his chest. Phillip’s spine elongated and popped. Phillip howled with pain. The more he fought it, the longer it seemed to take. He felt Alika’s hands on his forehead trying to soothe his pain, but it was like this every night, the shaman’s way of punishing him for feeling the same pain that he felt when he lost his daughter. Phillip’s sentence was an eternal damnation of turning into a hairy creature and never finding true happiness.

  “Breathe, Phillip. Let the change flow through you. Embrace it, and there will be no pain.”

  “That’s…easy…for you…to sayyy!” His words turned into a howl. At first he jerked away from Alika and gnashed his teeth at her, not recognizing her. It was always like this when he changed because it took him a minute to orient. Each night the beast in him seemed to steal away another shred of his humanity. Phillip wondered if he would one day succumb to the beast, and he would cease to exist. The animal sensed something about Alika, something like kinship and something else. Something of an ownership that Phillip could not quite understand. As he stared into Alika’s eyes, he saw her lips moving and tried to speak, finally pushing the animal out of his mind and back into his cage. He then was able to focus on the woman before him.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He stood up and stretched, feeling the power coursing through his body. “Yes. I am okay now. Thanks.”

  “Why do you fight your
transformation?”

  Anger welled up in him, and he could not grab a hold of it. He turned his claws into a fist and slammed it into the wall, showering dust over them. He bared his teeth and placed his other hand on her cheek. When Phillip touched her, a sense of calm washed over him. Being close to Alika helped him concentrate when he was hairy, and he was not sure why. “I fight it because I always have. This was never a gift given to me. Your wolf shape seems to be your natural state. It’s not that way with other humans. We don’t share your ability. This form is my punishment.”

  “For the one who lies under the stones?”

  He nodded. “Yes. For her. So that I’d know her father’s pain of losing her.”

  “There are places on my planet where the night does not fall. Surely your curse wouldn’t follow you if there is no night.”

  “Correct. There was a time when I traveled north and found a place where the sun did not set. I was a man for as long as the sun was up. It lasted a couple of months and allowed me to cross the ocean. I slept and woke as me. My plight is associated with the rising and setting of the sun.”

  “Maybe you should think about going back there or maybe coming with me.”

  Phillip shook his head. “Come on, we need to get through the rest of these tunnels.”

  Alika tried to respond but he walked past her, stopping to pick up the light, not wanting to think about the road ahead or the glimmer of hope that lived inside of his heart.

  Chapter Eight

  Alika sensed the conflict inside of Phillip when she mentioned him coming with her, but she did not bring it up. Instead, she concentrated on where she stepped until they finally emerged from the darkness into the night where the stars seemed buried within the thick clouds. She smelled moisture on the air. It would soon rain. She hoped it would happen quickly so she could wash some of the grime off. It was good to be outside in the cool air. Being underground, it seemed that the walls were coming closer and about to collapse on her. Even though the cave was underground, there were holes in the ceiling to see the stars, and it was spacious enough to feel as if she were still free. Phillip led her through the forest until they were at the edge of a human settlement. It was difficult to concentrate the longer she was around Phillip. Her mind should have been focused on the implements she needed to create the communication device she had to assemble. Mainly, she needed a power source and some other tools. Alika’s thoughts lingered on their coupling and how magnificent he had made her feel with his hands and his tongue. It was one of the most satisfying experiences she had ever had with any lover, and she yearned to have him again.