One Hour Only

“Thanks,” I said, collecting the coffee. “Rough first day?” she repeated, still smiling like the question was easy. “You could say that.” I wrapped both hands around the cup so I wouldn’t have to look at her face too long. “Do I know you?” “Not yet.” She sipped her own. “I’m Seryna. I work a few blocks over. Saw you come out of the building looking like the ground had just shifted under you. Figured caffeine might help.” The wolf stood at my left hip, silent and solid. Seryna’s eyes flicked to him once, then away, like seeing a massive black wolf on a city sidewalk was the most normal thing in the world. “He’s with me,” I said. “I can see that.” Her voice stayed light. “Loyal type, huh?” My stomach twisted, “Something like that.” We started walking without agreeing to it, she didn't ask any questions and after a block I couldn’t stand it. “You’re not going to ask why I look like I got hit by a truck?” “Only if you want to tell me.” “I don’t.” “Okay.” The careful distance I kept trying to build had nothing to push against. It made my shoulders stay tight. We ended up on a bench outside a park, the wolf settled at my feet while Seryna sat with one knee tucked up, coffee balanced on it, and talked about nothing important. When her coffee was gone she stood, stretched, and smiled that same soft, knowing smile. “Same time tomorrow if you want. I’ll bring the good stuff. Extra sweet.” I should have said no. I said, “Maybe.” She walked away without looking back. The system interface flickered the second she turned the corner. *New task available. Task 002 – One Hour Only Locate a rabbit shifter. Edge him for sixty continuous minutes. Do not allow orgasm. Walk away upon completion. Reward: 75 points. Failure: point deduction + temporary loss of scent control.* I stared at the text until the words burned. “You’ve got to be f*****g kidding me.” The wolf’s ears flicked. I looked down at him, “Don’t give me that look. I just met a woman who feels like a ghost and now I’m supposed to find some stranger with rabbit blood and edge him for an hour without letting him come. In public? In private? The system doesn’t even specify.” *Location assistance unlocked for first mid-tier task. Nearest compatible rabbit shifter: 0.4 miles. Private den access available via scent trail.* A faint golden thread appeared in the air, visible only to me, leading down the block. I exhaled hard through my nose. “Of course there’s a trail. Why wouldn’t there be a magical f**k trail.” I stood. The wolf rose with me. “You’re coming,” I told him. “If I have to do this, you get to watch me be a menace. Again.” The den was behind a nondescript door under a fire escape. The golden thread ended at a keypad that glowed when I touched it. The lock clicked, inside was a small, dimly lit room and a man already waiting like the system had texted him an appointment. He was lean, quick-eyed, brown hair a little too long, the kind of pretty that looked like it could bolt at the first loud sound. Rabbit. The air around him smelled like warm grass and nerves. His gaze dropped to the wolf, then back to me. “You’re the new one. System send you?” “Something like that.” I shut the door. The wolf positioned himself between us and the exit. “You know the rules?” He swallowed. “Edge only. One hour. No finishing. I’ve done a few of these.” “Good. Then you know not to beg.” I bought the scent amplifier the second the gift shop icon blinked, fifty of my points for a small vial of liquid. Mild, the description said. Enough to make him desperate without making me lose control of the room. I uncorked it, dabbed a drop at the base of my throat and between my breasts, and watched his pupils blow wide. “f**k,” he whispered. “Sit.” He sat as I straddled his thighs and kissed him once, just to taste the way his breath already stuttered. Then I pulled back and started the real work. “You feel that?” My hand slid into his open jeans and wrapped around his c**k that was already hard and twitching. “That’s mine for the next hour. You don’t get to decide when it throbs. I do.” He groaned. I stroked him root to tip, tight and slow, thumb smearing the wet already beading at the head. “Sensitive little rabbit,” I murmured against his mouth. “Bet you could come from just this if I let you. But I’m not going to let you.” I edged him in cycles. Fast and filthy until his hips jerked and his breath turned into broken whimpers, then down to almost nothing. When he got too close I stopped completely, hands on his chest, and made him sit with his c**k leaking and untouched until the urgency faded enough to start again. Twenty minutes in he was shaking. “Please…” “No.” I squeezed the base of his c**k hard enough to make him hiss. “That’s not a word you get to use. Try again.” “I need…” “You need what I give you.” I leaned in and bit the side of his neck, not hard enough to mark, just enough to make his whole body jolt. “And right now I’m giving you my hand and my voice and the knowledge that you’re going to walk out of here aching.” The wolf never looked away. I felt those golden eyes like a second pair of hands on my skin. Forty minutes. The rabbit’s thighs were trembling under me. Precome had soaked through the front of his open jeans. “f**k,” I said, voice low. “Dripping all over my fist and still not allowed to finish. Bet your balls are so full they hurt. Bet you’d let me do anything if I just said the word.” He nodded, frantic. I twisted my wrist on the upstroke and watched his mouth fall open on a silent cry. “Too bad.” At fifty-eight minutes I slowed to almost nothing, just the lightest drag of my fingers along the underside of his c**k while I kissed the corner of his mouth. “One more minute,” I whispered. “You’re going to sit here and take it. And when the timer hits zero I’m going to stand up, walk out, and leave you exactly like this.” His eyes were glassy. “I can’t… f**k… I can’t…” “You can. Because I said so.” The system interface pulsed at the edge of my vision. *00:00* I let go and he made a wrecked, broken sound as I climbed off his lap. His c**k stood red and shiny, twitching against his stomach. I didn’t look back while I fixed my clothes and headed for the door. The wolf fell into step beside me. Outside, the evening air felt cold against my heated skin. The interface bloomed. *Task 002 complete. +75 points. Current total: 75 points. Bond percentage: 5%.* I walked home on legs that weren’t entirely steady. The wolf stayed pressed close to my hip the whole way. Back in the apartment I dropped onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. He jumped up beside me without asking. “I talked to him the whole time,” I said out loud. “Didn’t even mean to. Just… kept telling him what he couldn’t have. Felt easier than thinking about the woman with the coffee that already knew me.” The wolf shifted closer. “She didn’t push. That’s the part that scares me. Liora used to push. Cassian used to push. Seryna just… stayed. And I let her.” I turned my head and found those golden eyes already on me. “You’re the only thing in this world that doesn’t feel like a test,” I muttered. “Or a trap. You’re just here. Watching me be filthy for points and still not leaving.” His head lowered and settled across my thigh like it belonged there. The system interface appeared one more time. *Companion bond at 6%. Continue.*