chapter 1

AUTHOR NOTE: Morgan is an OC of someone else who requested I write this story. She is not mine! The other, however, is :)

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The brisk fall air cooled Morgan’s cheeks. The sun, when it peeked through the canopy, was warm and inviting but the shade was not too cool. A bright red or gold leaf dropped here and there, lazily floating to the ground.


Morgan sipped her latte—pumpkin spice, of course—and snuggled into her peacoat. She inhaled the subtly sweet scent of the forest. Every few steps a twig crunched beneath her boot.


For a moment, something hollow tapped deep in her chest. Morgan enjoyed her own company greatly but she couldn’t help but wish to share the scenery, fresh air, and romantic solitude with someone. As she observed the trail, she couldn’t help but notice cozy alcoves where two lovers could sneak off to for some plein air frivolity, whispers in each other’s ears muffled from passersby by the breeze rustling the leaves.


She continued down the path, lost in her thoughts and silly romantic fantasies when a startling CRACK rent the air. Morgan immediately identified the sound as a tree bough giving way; what she didn’t expect to follow, however, was an alarming shriek.


“Oh no! Oh shit! Help!”


Morgan scanned the treeline, looking for a broken branch or some other clue as to where the hapless tree-climber was located. Some yards ahead, a lump of leaves shook unnaturally, and there she saw it: a slight woman dangling helplessly from the end of an ominously-angled branch. She was not too far from the ground but just enough to cause for concern.


“Oh! Just wait! I think I can catch you!” Morgan was not actually sure if she could, but human instinct kicked in and she ran over anyway. Her instincts proved right and the woman fell the moment Morgan skidded to a stop below her. They tumbled to the ground, elbows jammed into ribs and crunchy leaves caught in hair.


The woman brushed herself off as Morgan caught her breath and recovered her latte. Scraps of leaves and twigs flying about as she muttered to herself before standing at her full height. Morgan inspected her beverage, pleased that only a few drops had spilled.


She stood several inches over Morgan. Her lithe body and milky skin did not seem frail compared to Morgan’s plumper frame; on the contrary, Morgan could sense the sinewy strength within her from where she stood. Silvery hair hung to her waist, unusually straight and not visibly disheveled from her encounter with the tree. Her violet eyes openly scanned Morgan as she did the same.


Morgan was completely enraptured. Even as the strange woman’s body was dressed in clothes that were out of place; a baggy sweatshirt, jeans, and boots, as though they were not hers. Her facial features, while recognizably human, seemed a bit more pointed and angular in a way that sparked something in the back of Morgan’s mind.


Her lips, too, seemed most enthralling. They were plump but not large, moist but not shiny, and a perfectly soft peachy shade that Morgan could not help but imagine tasting...

“I can’t thank you enough for your help. Surely I can repay you?” She moistened her lips and stepped closer to her savior.


Morgan clutched her latte and pursed her own mouth shut. “I… there’s no need, really. Any stranger would have done the same!”


Her acquaintance advanced still. Her wide violet eyes remain fixed on Morgan. “Oh, but it would be no trouble at all. It’s customary where I come from, to touch lips in gratitude for a selfless favor.”


“I really shouldn’t.” Morgan took a step back.


The woman stood nose-to-nose to Morgan now, her breath warm, puffing on Morgan’s lips. “I insist.” Morgan opened her mouth again; this time to call for help, but the only sound that emitted was a faint squeak of surprise as the woman’s mouth closed on hers. Her lips were warm; moist but not slick; soft but perfectly textured. She gripped Morgan’s shoulders and leaned toward her; rough bark pressed into her rescuer’s back.


Warmth from her companion filled Morgan’s mouth; slid down her throat; pooled in her stomach. Morgan found herself gripping the other in return, pressing back into the kiss. Their lips smacked and gentle gasps and moans filled the air as the warm coziness in Morgan’s belly curled.


At long last, when warmth touched the very tips of each of her fingers and toes and she felt cozy from the inside out, Morgan pulled away from the woman, sated.


Except she couldn’t.