My Autumn and My Winter

Steve peered at the line of women. It was easy to tell which one was Junko; Her slender body was shorter by a head than the rest. With a moment of panic, he realized he could not spot Autumn. The other women were closer to her height and body type. Still, he was able to eliminate one more Tigress when he recognized Serenity. Her fake breasts did not have the jello-esque jiggle of the natural women.

Still got a twenty five percent chance of being wrong.

He hadn't figured it out when the starting signal was given and the men dashed toward the maze. On ground level, it was a lot more confusing than it had been when viewed from the perch on stage. In a way, he was glad, since it gave him time to think while he navigated the maze.

He heard a popping sound, a plaintive wail, and then cursing. From the jubilant cry that escaped from what he took to be Sam's mouth, the first point had been scored. Steve moved toward the sound of the cry, figuring that it didn't sound like Autumn.

Truth to tell, he was a bit excited about the prospect of Autumn running around naked.

I wonder if they painted over her piercings.

A grin spread over his face. Her piercings! He'd have to get close, but he could clearly remember the platinum hoops that he'd purchased for her. That was what she'd been wearing in their room, while she was making him very happy with her mouth...

The thought that the other women might have piercings as well gave him pause, but he doubted that any of them would have the larger sized rings that Autumn did. It had been tricky to get them just the right gauge, or size, that she wanted.

It's not a perfect plan, but it's all I got.

A sudden flash of movement caught his eye, and a Tigress blurred by. He let loose a stream of paintballs in her direction, then cursed when he realized that he had no idea if it was Autumn or not. Fortunately, Emma's voice rang out with a stream of unkind-sounding Korean.

Jubilant at his first score, Steve moved about the maze. At one point he and Byron nearly shot each other when they both came around the same corner. Pops sounded occasionally, echoing weirdly in the narrow confines of the preserve.

Steve dropped low and crouch walked along a three foot high wall, careful to keep his head below it. Right on the other side, peering intently though the mask's tiny eye holes, was a Tigress. Steve took a deep breath. He was going to have a split second to decide whether or not to shoot once he popped up over the wall.

He sucked in a deep breath and then leaped to his feet. His frantic eyes spotted the Tigress's chest, and saw no piercings. With a triumphant shout, he pulled the trigger and spread a yellow spatter across the Tigress's stomach.

"OW!" His heart sank when he recognized the voice. "Steve? STEVE."

"Sorry!" He peeled his goggles off his sweaty face and went to her side. "Does it hurt?"

"I don't know," Autumn said, ripping off her mask and throwing it in the dirt. The air horn sounded in the distance, indicating the contest was over. "You tell me!"

She snatched the gun from his nerveless fingers and pointed it below his waist. A pop rang in his ears, and then the pain hit. He dropped to the grass, holding his agonized shin.

"But-But..." he stared into her angry, sweat streaked face "but your piercings!"

"They made me take them out, dumbass," Autumn said, kicking him in the thigh. "You really couldn't tell it was me? Really? God, you're such a fucking idiot! I married an idiot! That makes ME an idiot!"

She spun stiffly on her heel and stalked off, and Steve could not help but be mesmerized by the way her unrestrained buttocks danced.

Guess it's a bad time to ask her to keep the paint on for a little while.

Chapter 23

"God Damn it, Rich!"

Susan stood up from a crouch and viciously kicked the flat tire.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"Okay? Okay?" Rich took a step back as the tall girl loomed over him. "Nothing's okay! We're not one fucking bit closer to finding Carmelita, and now you've stranded us to boot!"

"What?"

"I said you stranded us-"

"I heard that. You said we were stranded to boot. What the fuck does that mean?"

Some of the anger faded from the big man's voice, though he still glared at Rich.

"To boot? Well...it means that, uh...I don't know what it means. It's just a saying."

"It's a dumb one."

"Can't believe you never heard....never mind." Susan sighed, leaning her muscled frame against the truck. "Sorry I snapped on you."

"Don't worry about it. Been a stressful couple of days."

Rich looked up to the road, which was nearly a football field's length away from where the truck had skid to a halt. The day had grown overcast, at least, and they wouldn't have to walk in the sun.

"Hey, check it out." Rich turned to Susan and found her pointing at something in the distance. "Must be someone who lives out here. There's a dog."

Rich squinted his eyes, then shook his head.

"I don't think that's a dog. Looks like a wolf."

"I don't think there's wolves in Mexico."

"A coyote, then. Definitely not a domestic animal. It's just standing there checking us out. I thought they were afraid of humans."

"Don't imagine he'll come any closer."

As if to deny Susan's prediction, the canine loped toward them. He came over a low rise and was followed by another...and another. Rich stopped counting at seven.

"Uh, what should we do?"

"Get back in the truck!"

"The windows won't roll up! What good will that do?"

"Shit! Just, let's get on top. Hopefully they can't climb."

The two men clambered up on top of the roof. Susan made it just as the first coyote got to the truck. It had a dense, gray coat, skinny limbs, and a determined look in its dark eyes. As it was joined by its mates, Rich was alarmed at the lack of any yipping or barking.

"How come they're so quiet?"

"I think they're trying to figure us out." Susan laughed without mirth. "Figure out if they can eat us, that is."

"Do you have any weapons?

"What? No!"

"Well, they don't seem to be in a hurry."

The coyotes walked around the truck, sniffing it. A couple of them laid down on the sand and panted heavily. He wondered where they found water in the desert. A shout from Sarah had him turning about carefully on the narrow hood. One of the coyotes had put its front paws up on the driver's side door.

"Get the fuck back!" shouted Sarah. She stomped hard on the hood and the coyote retreated a few feet. Rich felt the truck wiggle on its bad suspension. His eyes went wide as he spotted another coyote had jumped into the bed.

"Shit! They're gonna eat Diablo!"

Rich crouched down and reached for the cage. Seeing his plan, Susan grabbed Rich's belt to support him while he bent in half. He managed to get his fingers through the cage, but the bird pecked them every time before he could lift it.

"Fine, you stupid ass cock!" Rich pulled his fingers back and stuck them in his mouth. "See if I care when you get eaten!"

"Well," said Susan, a note of resignation in her voice "hopefully they'll be satisfied by eating him and leave us alone."

The coyote stuck its nose close to the wire cage. He got a peck on the face for his trouble. Now one of the coyotes finally made a sound, a low growl. It was picked up by the others, and soon the whole pack was agitated, howling and yipping as they circled the truck.

"Great job, Diablo. You made them mad."

Rich reached for the cage again, and Susan hastily braced him once more.

"What are you doing, Rich? He's just going to peck you."

"I'm letting the stupid bird out. Hopefully he'll draw them away from us so we can make a break for it."

Rich reached out with his toe and undid the latch. The coyote was wary of his action, and retreated a few feet away, head cocked to the side and ears locked forward.

"Bon apetit," Rich said, flipping open the door.

Diablo was out of the cage in a streak of black lightning. He swarmed all over the coyote, clucking and slashing and pecking with a fury that Rich didn't think was possible in a yard bird. In an instant the coyote jumped off the truck bed and was retreating back into the desert, tail between its legs. Rich shuddered at the dark stain on Diablo's yellow beak, but Susan had a different reaction.

"Yeah! Kick some ass, little bird!"

Diablo must have heard, or more likely just noticed the other coyotes. The black rooster leaped off the side of the truck and landed in the face of a big reddish-furred coyote. The red coyote yipped three times, and soon the whole pack was running for the hills.

"I don't believe it," Rich said, overcome with giddy laughter. "I just don't believe it."

"Hey, Diablo!" shouted Susan, hands cupped to his mouth. "You tha Chicken!"

Rich climbed down from the truck and gave Diablo a handful of corn. He even dared to stroke the feathers on the great bird's back while he ate. His mind was abuzz with possibilities. From his admittedly limited experience, cock fights were all about the betting.

And if he bet a wad on Diablo, how could they lose?

** *

Steve rushed after Autumn, following her paint clad rear as she stormed back to the Inn.

"Wait a second, Autumn!" He winced as lances of pain shot through his leg. "Did you have to shoot me in the fucking shin?"

Autumn spun around, which caused her bosom to dance in a manner that he found distracting even in the face of her anger.

"I was aiming for your balls, so count yourself lucky!"

Steve sputtered.

"It was an accident!"

"Yeah, an accident that you shouldn't have made! How many times have you seen me naked?"

"Well, you're covered in paint..."

He was aware of the camera crew following them, recording every word of their fight. With a start he realized that this was exactly what they wanted; Some drama for the airwaves.

Autumn grunted in frustration and rolled her eyes.

"As far as I'm concerned, you can sleep in the lobby tonight."

"Autumn. AUTUMN!"

She dashed up the stairs ahead of him. His shin hindered his speed, and by the time he got to the top stair she was in the process of slamming their door shut.

He came up to the door hotly, thinking it wouldn't be that hard to break it down. A wave of guilt washed over him at the notion, however, and he ended up leaning his back against their door and sliding down to his butt.

"Autumn?"

There was no response, but he heard bed springs squeak and two thumps as she discarded her shoes to the floor.

"Autumn..." he heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry. I really am. I thought I had it all figured out, but I'm just a dumbass."

There was a brief pause, then he heard her muffled voice.

"Go on."

"Uh...I was really stupid. Just totally an idiot."

"Uh huh."

A grin spread over Steve's features, as there had been a hint of mirth in Autumn's voice.

"Yeah, I need to start riding the short bus. Probably have an extra chromosone or two."

"You're big and hairy enough to be some sort of mutant."

"I wish I was a mutant, then maybe I'd heal my leg fast like Wolverine."

He heard the bed springs squeak, her footsteps, and then the door was opening inward. He struggled to his feet to behold Autumn, still naked but for the paint. Her eyes were narrowed, brows lowered, but a rueful smile had spread on her face.

"How bad is it?"

"Don't know, it's still covered in paint. It really hurts, though."

"Yeah, well so does my stomach where you shot me."

"I said I was sorry."

"Yeah, whatever." She sighed, then opened the door wider. "Let's get it cleaned up and take a look."

They went into the bathroom. Steve sat on the edge of the tub and ran water over his shin, gasping at its coldness. There was a nasty welt that looked to be swelling right before his eyes. He was pretty sure nothing was broken, but it was going to be a hindrance for the competition.

"Sorry."

He looked up into Autumn's face, and saw that her expression had softened.

"It's cool." He stood up and held out his arms. "C'mere."

"You'll get paint on you."

"I don't care."

Then she was in his arms, and he relaxed. His fingers ran over her painted flesh. It was strange, felt more like vinyl or latex than wet paint. Steve pried up a corner that was flaking and peeled a four inch section off.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting the paint off of you. How long did it take to put on?"

"Oh god," Autumn rolled her eyes "you have nooooo idea. Over two hours, I'd say."

"I don't know how you could stand having that hot ass furry mask on your head in the sun."

"That wasn't even the worst of it." Autumn chuckled. "They put duct tape over our mouths first so we couldn't signal our husbands in the maze."

"That's not cool! How did they expect you to breathe?"

"Ahh, don't worry about it." Autumn traced a finger over his thick chest. "I was sweating so bad under there the tape came off in about ten seconds. Anyway, it can be fun to be gagged."

"I guess it's a good thing this stuff peels off," Steve said as he pulled another long section off of her back.

"You're peeling the wrong areas, sugar."

"Huh?"

Autumn pulled away from him and grinned. She reached beneath her breasts and held them out toward him. His own face plastered with a smile, he reached out and gently peeled near her nipple. Soon the light brown flesh of her areola was exposed. It seemed like it would have been rude not to, so he put his mouth on it while he exposed the other nipple. Autumn thrust her hand beneath the waistband of his pants.

"Oh, you're hard already," she cooed. "I should cover myself with paint more often."

"This is kind of fun." Steve groaned as her hand went to work. He fumbled around her crotch, trying to peel the paint for access.

"Hang on, there's a patch of material spirit gummed over my joy department."

"Joy department?"

"Shut up."

"Why didn't they just cover THAT with paint too?"

"Apparently I have thick labia. That's what they said, anyway."

"There's nothing wrong with your labia." Steve slipped a finger down the fold in her skin as soon as the cloth came away. It came away sticky.

"Don't stop," Autumn said breathlessly even as she gripped him more tightly. He cupped his hand and gently worked both his index and ring fingers inside. Autumn put her free hand on his shoulder to balance herself when a spasm ran through her body.

Gently, he pulled her into the shower, their hands still intimately engaged. He yelped, and then they both giggled, when the cold stream hit his back. Soon enough the water became tolerable, and then exquisitely hot. Autumn's lips were on his skin, nibbling, kissing and sucking on his chest. He gasped as her teeth bit down on his nipple just enough to be painful.

With a grunt, he grabbed her around the small of her back and crushed her to his body.

"Oh!" Autumn looked up at him, eyes shining, and then aggressively mashed her mouth into his. His hands roamed all over her back, cupping her buttocks tightly. Both of them were coated with splotches of paint now, though neither paid it any mind. Autumn put one foot up on the edge of the tub and lifted her hips. Since his hands were busy, she gripped his shaft firmly and slid it past her dripping labia.

Maybe they were still a little mad at each other, because there was an element of aggression to their lovemaking. Their bodies seemed desperate for each other, clinging tightly despite the layer of soap and water. Steve lost himself in her biting kisses and hard kneading. Their position was a bit awkward, but he was able to do some minor thrusting despite the handicap. His shin became a distant nagging whisper, insignificant next to the sensations shooting through his body.

When a bit of a cramp sprang up in his lower back from supporting her, he gently disengaged their bodies and knelt on the floor of the tub.

"What are you doing? OH!" Autumn cried out as he turned her around to face away from him. He kissed her on her buttocks, now largely free of paint. When he slipped his tongue between her cheeks, she giggled. "Oh, sugar...you spoil me."

Steve didn't respond except to increase the amount of attention her rear was receiving. He pulled back for a moment to fling wet hair out of his eyes, noted the wide gap between her nether lips. Soon all four fingers of his left hand were inside her even as his tongue kept stroking the dark ring of muscle between her buttocks. Autumn lurched against the shower wall, palms spread out to brace herself as his efforts made her legs rubbery. When he actually thrust his tongue deep inside, her hands formed fists and slammed against the glass sliding door.

"I'm coming!" Bang! "I'm coming!" Bang! "I'M COMIIING!" Bang KRAK!

Autumn collapsed, supported only by Steve's strong arms and back. He carefully eased her into a sitting position on the tub before him while she panted. There was nothing he could do but grin at the sizable crack running down the shower door.

"Damn," Autumn said between pants as she stared up at the damage they had wrought. "Hope they don't want us to pay for that."

"We wouldn't be the only ones. Vinnie was saying that him and what's her name broke the bed in their room."

"Broke the bed?" Autumn elbowed him in the ribs. "How come WE never broke a bed?"

"It wasn't for lack of trying!"

Autumn laughed, then pursed her lips as she examined the knot on his shin. He grunted when she lightly poked it with one finger.

"I really am sorry, sugar."

"Well, it's not like I didn't shoot you first."

"Yeah, from twelve feet away, not point blank." She leaned over and kissed the wound. "There, all better."

Steve wished it WERE all better, because now the hot water of the shower was growing uncomfortable as it washed over the swollen lump on his leg. He moved as if to rise, and Autumn leaned forward and scooted out of his way. She remained in the shower as he toweled off.

"Aren't you coming?" he said, raising his brows in what he hoped wasn't too subtle of a signal.

"I need to get the rest of this stupid paint off. Damn pain in the ass shit!"

"Well, you looked amazing."

"Amazingly not like myself, or you wouldn't have shot me."

Steve closed his mouth and toweled his hair to hide his guilty expression. A knock came at their door, and he sighed. Wrapping the towel around himself, he went to answer it. One of Iorich's assistants told him they were needed for the post challenge interview. From his manner, Steve figured they were a bit upset that he and Autumn had taken off without being officially dismissed by the production team. He assured the man that they would be along shortly and apologized.

"No worries, sir." The man smiled. "What happened between you and your wife, well, that was great TV."

Yeah, I'll bet.

Steve felt the smile drop from his face and he closed the door without another word.

After he and Autumn dressed, they returned to the rear of the Inn. It looked like the rest of the contestants were sitting in chairs arranged in a half circle. When they appeared, they were greeted with narrow-eyed stares and grumbling.

Looks like we made everyone wait. Again.

He returned their icy stares, because it just didn't bother him that they had to wait. Wondering if he were becoming too much like Autumn, he took his seat next to her.

The elimination ceremony was brief. Though Steve had shot the wrong target, it was after he'd scored a point. That put him ahead of Hideyoshi, who had only struck his wife. Steve had to wonder how the man had possibly not recognized Junko's petite frame even under a glaze of tiger stripe paint. The eliminated couple had to walk between two burning torches as the cameras rolled. In a way, Steve envied them. They were done and could go home. He briefly had, and then discarded, a notion about failing the next test on purpose. It wouldn't be fair to Jiro, or his friend Genki, to just throw the competition.