Facing Sunset, Facing Dawn

"It helps, sometimes, to come here," he said. "To remember that there is always so much more than just one day."

"It's beautiful," she said, and meant it.

Then he reached out and took her hands in his. "So are you," he said. He moved closer, and she caught the sweet scent of his fur. "I know this must seem sudden, but... I never expected to feel this way. To care about someone this way."

The pads of his palms were hot against her hands. She had never thought that holding hands could be erotic, but it was. She felt herself caught between fear and a wild, winging ecstasy.

He's a colleague, she told herself firmly. Nothing else. I've worked with plenty of men before—

--but none like this, none whose eyes held such joy and wonder at the same things she loved, who looked at her as a person, as a woman, as herself, not just a symbol or a title. She'd had other men try to flirt with her before, and a few had persisted so much as to ask her out. She'd rebuffed them all politely but coolly, telling herself she had neither the time nor the interest for those kinds of distractions.

But this time...

- Renee Hall, "Facing Sunset, Facing Dawn"

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...I don't think I'm supposed to be uploading this yet. Let's see if I get caught and yelled at. >3>

Illustration commissioned for a story in an anthology of adult anthro-themed short stories that's being published this spring/summer by Sofawolf Press. I enjoyed the story and doodling this up so much I couldn't wait to share. x'D

I still have a few more days before the deadline, so if you have any suggestions for improvement, make em now!

Adobe Photoshop CS1.