BONDING TIME

Short Short Story

Sequel to Second Nature

By

JAE

Bonding Time

Short Story - Sequel to Second Nature

Copyright © 2009 By Jae

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-934889

First Edition

eBook Format

November 2009

This electronic book is ePublished by

L-Book ePublisher

La Quinta, Ca. USA

Email: info@ L-Book.com

Web Site: http://L-Book.com

* * *

This work is copyrighted and is licensed only for use by the

original purchaser and can be copied to the original purchaser's

electronic device and its memory card for their personal use.

Modifying or making copies of this work or distributing it to any

unauthorized person by any means, without limit email, CD, DVD,

memory cards, file transfer, paper print out or any other method

constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects

the violator to severe fines or imprisonment. Please purchase only

authorized electronic editions.

* * *

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and

incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used

fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,

businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

* * *

Author's Note

This short story takes place about one year after the end of

'Second Nature'. Please read 'Bonding Time' only after finishing

'Second Nature'.

Bonding Time

G RIFFIN SLID HER Fingers over warm curves and closed

her eyes in pleasure. "Mmm." She purred at the return pressure

against her thigh.

The unwelcome ringing of the phone interrupted the tender

moment.

"I'm sorry," Griffin said as she took one of her hands away and

received a disappointed glance. She leaned back against the bed

and lifted the receiver to her ear, planning on quickly getting rid of

the caller. "Westmore."

"Hey, sis. It's Leigh," her half sister said.

"Hi, Leigh," Griffin answered. Her attention was already

returning to the body that was snuggled against hers. "What can I

do for you?" Over the course of the last year, she had slowly

learned to be more polite when it came to family interactions, so a

"What do you want?" or a "Not now!" was out of the question.

Leigh started to converse about news on their fathers, cousins,

and the rest of the whole pride in true Kasari style. If no one

stopped her, she would go on and on for hours until she felt she

had thoroughly caught Griffin up on pride business.

"Leigh," Griffin interrupted. "I'm a little busy right now." Her fingertips trailed up a warm belly and received a groan of approval.

"Oh," Leigh said. "I didn't want to interrupt. It's just that Ronnie went with the dads to meet with the leaders of the

Hiawatha National Forest pride." Gus had been mentoring Rhonda,

preparing her for her role as Leigh's partner and future natak of the

pride, just as Brian had been mentoring Leigh. "The dads didn't

want to overwhelm them by bringing a fourth person, so I'm a little

bored all alone at home."

A year ago, Leigh never would have admitted a weakness like

that to her half sister. If she had, Griffin would have snarled in

disgust. Back then, it was beyond her understanding how a grown

1

woman could feel bored or lonely just because she was on her own

for a day.

Now things were different.

Last month, Jorie had been gone on a book tour to promote her

new novel and had then been stuck in Boise for council meetings

for two more weeks. Kelsey Yates and two other saru had

accompanied Jorie, and by now, there was no need to guard Jorie

as fiercely anymore. Most Wrasa had finally accepted her as a

dream seer and would never even think of harming her, so Griffin

had stayed behind in Osgrove to get some of her own work done

and enjoy some time alone.

The problem was she realized she didn't enjoy it anymore.

After a week on her own, she found herself driving over for short

visits with her family just to stay busy until Jorie returned.

Now it was her turn to entertain her sister. "Why don't you

come over for dinner?" she suggested, suppressing a sigh. "I can fill you in on the work I'm doing for the council as a maharsi

searcher." While she would enjoy an evening alone with Jorie

more, she had learned to compromise if necessary.

"Dinner? I thought I could come over right now. Ronnie has a

box of books she wants Jorie to sign," Leigh said.

Griffin let her hand trail higher, spreading her fingers out over

the curve of delicate ribs. Signing books was not what she had

planned for Jorie tonight. "No, Leigh. Right now is not a good

time," she said. "Jorie and I are both busy."

Her gentle touch evoked an enthusiastic response. Griffin

stifled a groan. "Ow, sweetie, not quite so hard, please," she

murmured with one hand covering the receiver.

"Not a good time?" Leigh asked. "Why not?"

Griffin leaned forward and pressed a kiss to a soft forehead.

"Well, right now, we're having a little... bonding time."

"Oh," Leigh said. She was silent for a moment, then repeated,

"Oh. I'm sorry for interrupting. Please say hi to Jorie for me. Talk

to you later. Much later. Bye." Abruptly, Leigh ended the call.

Griffin stared at the phone, then shrugged. She looked down at

the warm body that lay snuggled against hers. "Just you and me

2

again," she said, knowing that the object of her attention didn't like sharing her affection.

The bedroom door opened.

Jorie leaned in the doorway and stretched as she always did

after hours of being bent over the laptop. Just the sight of it still

made Griffin's heart beat faster. "Hey," Jorie said and padded over on bare feet.

"Hey." Griffin watched Jorie's every move, drinking her in.

"Finished with the scene that has been giving you trouble?"

The dark head tilted in a nod. "I finished it earlier and already

sent it off to Ally. You can read it later if you want."

Griffin answered with a smile. Jorie's trust, her willingness to

share her writing with her, was a prize she held dear. "I'd love to.

So if you already finished the scene, what were you working on?

Got started on a new scene already?"

"No. I was writing down a few things for the dream-seeing

manual your mother and I are working on. I think it's a really great

idea to have something like that. I sure could have used a little

more instruction while I was trying to figure out how it works,"

Jorie said, rolling her eyes.

"The council really lucked out with you," Griffin said. A wave

of tenderness and pride swept over her, and she studied Jorie

fondly. "Not only did they get a dream seer who is giving them

advice, they also got a writer to write it all down for them, all in

one beautiful package."

A seductive smile teased the edges of Jorie's mouth. "So only

the council lucked out with me?" The timbre of her voice made

Griffin's body vibrate.

Griffin laughed. "No. I'm one lucky cat too," she said,

meaning it. "I never thought I'd find a woman who can give me the

space I need as half Puwar and the closeness my Kasari side

craves."

"That's easy since you give me the same things." The gaze of

the dark eyes rested on Griffin, warm like a touch.

Who would have thought... My perfect mate is a human. The

Great Hunter really has a weird sense of humor. "And you can

3

even handle my mother and the rest of my family," Griffin added,

purring with satisfaction.

"Apropos mother..." Jorie nodded in the direction of the

phone. "Was that my mom? Did she call to ask why her allergies

always flare up when the in-laws get together?"

Laughter rumbled through Griffin's chest. "No. She's been so

accepting of us that I think it's only fair to give her some time

before we tell her why one turkey won't be enough when she

invites my folks over for Thanksgiving. Leigh called and says hi."

"Ah. So that's who you were talking to."

"That and her." Griffin pointed at the cat on her lap. "I've been trying to teach her to keep her claws to herself when she kneads

my leg, but so far, she's not a quick learner. I think we need more

bonding time."

Her words stopped Jorie's approach one step from the bed.

"Okay. Then I'll go back to my writing. I wouldn't want to interrupt

your feline bonding time." She winked at Griffin.

"Oh, no." Griffin reached out one of her long arms, grabbed

Jorie's belt loop, and pulled.

Jorie landed on the bed next to her.

The bouncing of the bed annoyed the tri-colored cat on

Griffin's lap. Emmy stood, hopped down, and stalked out of the

room.

"Ow." Griffin pretended to sulk. "My cuddle buddy left me!

Whatever will I do now? I'm a cat; I need affection."

Jorie's T-shirt slid up when she stretched out on the bed and

leaned up on her elbow to grin over at Griffin. Bare skin peeked

out between faded jeans and the edge of the T-shirt. Instantly,

Griffin moved closer, wanting to touch the warm skin.

"Oh, poor cat," Jorie cooed, "all starved for affection. Want me to scratch your belly?" She slid her hand under Griffin's T-shirt

and trailed her fingers teasingly up Griffin's belly.

In the past, Griffin would have had a dozen suave comebacks

for that question. No one would have been able to talk to her that

way without triggering the urge to reassert her feline superiority.

Her role had always been that of the seducer, not the seduced. She

4

had directed lovemaking, not trusting her partner enough to let her

have complete control over her body and her heart.

Now and with Jorie, everything was different.

Griffin stripped off her T-shirt, lay back on the bed, and

whispered "Yes, please" against the skin of Jorie's neck.

Jorie moved down and planted a soft kiss over Griffin's navel,

making her chuckle, then purr. "Then let's see how quick a learner

you are," Jorie said. She stopped Griffin's hands from sliding under

her own T-shirt. "Keep your claws to yourself."

With a sound that was half groan, half purr, Griffin laid her

hands onto the bed and let Jorie have full control over their

bonding time.

The End

5

About The Author

I GREW UP AMIDST the vineyards and gently sloping hills

of southern Germany. I spent most of my childhood with my nose

buried in a book, earning me the nickname "professor" before I

even finished elementary school. The writing bug bit me at the age

of eleven. The very first piece of fiction I ever wrote was a thirty-

page western story that I still have somewhere (well-hidden

because it alternately makes me cringe and laugh when I read it

today). I wrote two dozen mostly novel-length stories (westerns,

adventure stories, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction – you

name it, I've probably written it) in my "baby years" as a writer, but no one but my poor twin sister ever got to read them.

That changed when I discovered the Internet and the wondrous

world of FanFiction and online stories. My parents belatedly got

their wish – I took my nose out of my books and started to spend

my time glued to the computer screen instead. Soon after, I wrote

my first FanFiction, a Star Trek: Voyager story. Don't bother to

search for it on the web; even if there was still a copy in circulation

somewhere, it's in German. Back then, I would have taken a

thousand oaths that I would never, ever be able to write more than

a grocery list in English. Then I took an intensive, free online

language course – almost eight years of constant fanfic reading.

Let's just say that I learned some words I later had trouble

explaining to my friends why I would know such expressions.

So in the beginning of 2006, I finally put my newly acquired

knowledge of the English language to good use and wrote a series

of three Law & Order: SVU fanfics in English. As my confidence

grew, I wrote a longer FanFiction and then my first English

historical fiction. In some ways, I've come full circle – because

"Backwards to Oregon" takes place on the Western Frontier. Other than the setting I promise that it doesn't have much in common

with my first childish attempt at writing.

6

I still live in Germany, where I work as a psychologist. When

I'm not working or writing, I like to spend my time reading,

cooking for a bunch of friends, spending time with my nephew and

niece, and watching way too many crime shows. I also enjoy

learning new languages (Russian is my latest project. I haven't

found any lesbian online stories using the Cyrillic alphabet to help

me learn, though).

7

Other Titles By This Author

Backwards To Oregon – Lesbian: Historical Fiction, Romance

Summary

" L UKE" HAMILTON has always been sure that she’d never

marry. She accepted that she would spend her life alone when she

chose to live her life disguised as a man.

After working in a brothel for three years, Nora Macauley has

lost all illusions about love. She no longer hopes for a man who

will sweep her off her feet and take her away to begin a new,

respectable life.

But now they find themselves married and on the way to

Oregon in a covered wagon, with two thousand miles ahead of

them.

* * *

Conflict of Interest – Book I – Lesbian: Romance, Crime

Summary

W ORKAHOLIC detective Aiden Carlisle isn't looking for

love... and certainly not at the law enforcement seminar she

reluctantly agreed to attend. But their first lecturer is not at all what

she expected.

Psychologist Dawn Kinsley has just found her place in life.

After a failed relationship with a police officer, she has sworn to

herself never to get involved with another cop again, but she feels

a connection to Aiden from the very first moment.

Can Aiden keep from crossing the line when a brutal crime

threatens to keep them apart... before they've even gotten together?

* * *

8

Next of Kin – Book II – Lesbian: Romance, Crime

Summary

S EX CRIMES Detective Aiden Carlisle is slowly getting used

to being in a committed relationship with Dawn Kinsley – a

relationship that isn't always easy since Dawn is not only a

psychologist but also a former victim in one of Aiden's cases.

Aiden’s private and professional lives collide when Dawn's newest

patient gets in trouble with the law. Will she be able to stay

objective enough to solve the case without pushing Dawn away?

The same case also throws Deputy District Attorney Kade

Matheson's well-ordered life into chaos. In the last few years, Kade

has taken case files and law books, not lovers, to bed. She has been

focused only on her career and fought hard to win cases like

Dawn's, but now the case forces her to finally face her attraction to

women. She suddenly finds herself with two secret admirers – but

which one is more dangerous, the threat to her life or her heart?

* * *

Second Nature – Lesbian: Shape-Shifter Romance

Summary

N OVELIST JORIE Price doesn't believe in the existence of

shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and

the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.

Griffin Westmore knows better — at least about one of these

two things. She doesn't believe in love either, but she's one of the

not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She's also a Saru — an elite soldier,

investigator, and if need be an assassin with the mission to protect

the shape-shifters' secret existence at any cost.

When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-

shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate — and if necessary to

destroy the manuscript before it's published and to kill the writer.

9

Thank You

L-Book ePublisher, LLC

http://L-Book.com

10

Document Outline

BONDING TIME

Bonding Time

About The Author

Other Titles By This Author

Table of Contents

BONDING TIME

About The Author

Other Titles By This Author