Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Scorpion Tale
   by Nysidra
   Erotica (MF, magic)
   Summary: Xandria moves into a new neighborhood and meets the local
playboy
   <->
   The move had been going well for most of the morning.  Xandria walked up
the ramp to grab another box, but on her way back down she lost her
footing, the weight of the box added to her unbalance.  She thought she had
the box in hand, but at the last moment she realized it was going to be it
or her. Xandria tossed the box aside and put her arms out to brace her
fall, but a pair of arms yanked her back from hitting the asphalt. 
   After a short scream of relief, Xandria embraced her savior in a hug. 
"Thank you so much."
   She took a breath and noticed the faint whiff of sweat, the good kind:
post-workout, male, delicious.  She took a step back and recognized the
jogger she'd eyed earlier several blocks away.  His path must have brought
him past her house. They both had a bit of sweat on them and her awkward
smile matched his boyish one.
   "You're welcome.  I'm just glad I made it to you in time.  New here?" He
walked over to the box she had tossed aside and lifted it as if it were
filled with styrofoam balls.  "I'm Evan Moultrie."
   "Xandria Belk." She rushed to hold her screen door open for him. 
"Renting.  I can handle the rest.  I don't want to interrupt your run."
   "It's no trouble.  I was wondering who Erica would rent the place out
to, better you than the college kids she had in here before."
   "What happened?"
   "They weren't a good fit for the community." He set the box down and
combed his fingers through his russet colored locks.  "I don't mind." He
walked back out to the truck.  "Exercise is exercise."
   Xandria climbed up to grab another box and fell in step behind him. 
With the extra pair of hands she was finished by sun down.  "Thank you
again.  I'm," She looked at her boxes and pulled the one out marked
kitchen. "I have some glasses in one of these boxes.  Uh, hopefully not the
one I dropped."
   He stepped close, put his hands on either side of her, pinning her
against the counter.  "Is it wrong I'm glad you almost fell?"
   "Only if it's wrong that I'm glad you caught me."
   "Yeah, no more heavy lifting for you."
   Xandria blushed and took a deep breath, trying to memorize the scent of
him.  She pressed her body to his, praying that she was correctly reading
his intentional proximity.
   He leaned down and pulled gently on her lips with his teeth.  "You," He
pressed kisses to her lips between his words, "don't have a boyfriend or
husband, do you?"
   "No," Xandria rested her hands on his hips, caressed his sides through
the tantalizingly thin fabric of his shorts.  "Do you ...  are you in a
relationship?"
   "No," he lifted her and set her on the counter.  "Arms," he flicked his
fingers up.
   "Oh," she closed her eyes and grinned as he removed her shirt and
unhooked her bra.  The she rolled her head back as his tongue circled her
erect nipples.  Her breasts were usually sensitive after working out, the
jostling caused just enough friction, even in her bra.  She squirmed and
her moan remained trapped in her throat.  She tried to keep from being too
loud, but her clenching vaginal muscles only added to her agony.
   "You have a beautiful pair of tits," he whispered as he switched from
her left nipple to her right.
   Xandria bit on her lip and rolled her hips on the counter.  She needed
him inside her.  She pulled him up by his shoulders and kissed him.  He
wrapped his arms around her and lifted her by the hips and carried her into
the living room.  She was impressed with how easily he navigated around the
boxes on the floor.
   She hadn't been in the neighborhood for more than twenty-four hours and
she was already naked and working up a sweat with a near stranger.  She
expected to get her wits about her, to muster a bit of decency, but the
feel of his hands, the warmth of his body kept those thoughts at bay.
   She shuddered as he pressed inside her.  He entered gently though she
was wet enough to take him hard and fast.  Xandria angled her hips upward,
spread her thighs, and lamented how wonderfully perfect he felt.
   It was just sex, only sex, she tried to remind herself.  Usually, it was
a scratch to an itch, but instantly, she knew this was going to be
different, he was good, felt good.  He moaned as his hips met hers.  In a
matter of minutes their breathing turned heavy, the wet sound of bodies
meeting echoed off the bare walls.  Her thrusts met his, her pussy hungry
for every inch of him.  His hands gripped and caressed and handled her with
a surety that belied possession.
   She was possessed all right, because the woman about to have an orgasm
wasn't her, not this quickly, not this strong.  Her efforts at remaining
quiet, calm, lady-like were forgotten as she cried out.  She held onto his
shoulders as if she were clinging for her life.  He slowed as she came
down, but didn't stop, sweat dripped from his body down onto her own.  He
buried his face into her neck and with thrusts so powerful that the couch
began to move, he reached his own orgasm.
   "Thank you," he whispered into her ear with several kisses to her cheek.
   Xandria laughed and kissed him back.  "Thank me?" That was the best sex
she'd ever had in her life, but she wasn't about to admit that.  "You kept
me from taking a nasty fall, did all my heavy lifting, and," She slicked
the sweat from his shoulder and grinned.  "I truly enjoyed the welcome."
   "I should let you get back to unpacking."
   It wasn't so much a thought as a reaction.  Her leg wrapped around his
and she clenched around the softened erection inside her.  "I just ...  we
just met."
   His chuckle told her that he already knew exactly what she was feeling,
that he had been in this position before, that he knew exactly what she
wanted.  His mirth carried a note of pride without going too far into
arrogance.  "I want to see you again.  I thanked you because I wanted to be
inside you the moment I saw your pretty ass in those baby blue shorts.  I
was thankful I caught you and got to watch your body move all afternoon. 
You want me again?"
   "Yes." Xandria felt her heart beat through her face.  He wanted her the
moment he saw her?
   "You want me right now?"
   "Yes." How selfish of her.  She had him all day and she had no clue what
he had planned.  Even still, her answer was yes.
   Evan pulled back and sat up against the couch.  "Then get me ready for
you again."
   Xandria moistened her lips and rolled onto her knees.  She'd never given
a man a blow job after he was inside her.  The smell of him was stronger,
mixed with the smell of her own moisture.  She took all of him in her
mouth, washed him clean with the steady swirl of her tongue.
   "Damn," his moan ended with a masculine purr and the slight thrust of
his hips.
   Xandria smiled and eased her lips down his shaft.  Now that he was fully
erect she had an upfront view of his blessed length.
   "You should..." he moaned and his thigh trembled.
   "Don't worry about it," she licked and sucked on the head of his dick
before taking him back in her mouth.
   "Enjoying yourself?"
   She nodded and kneaded his thighs and began to massage his balls.  She
felt him throb moments before he came in her mouth.  She swallowed him
down, careful not to spill a drop and rested her head on his thigh.
   He brushed her cheek with his thumb and dropped his head on the back of
the couch.  "I am exhausted."
   "Do you need a ride back to your house?"
   "Kicking me out?"
   "I can offer you a shower and a floor mattress, but little else."
   He face was unreadable as he shook his head.  "I'm only a few blocks
away."
   She sat up and gave him his freedom.  She watched him throw on his
shorts and lace up his shoes.  He picked up his phone.  "What's your
number?"
   She gave it as she curled up naked on her couch.  She'd move in a bit,
when she made it back down to earth.
   "Xandria."
   "Hmm?"
   "I'll see you in a couple days." He was out the door before she had a
chance to respond.
   ***
   If it was a trick on his part, it had the desired effect.  She worked
tirelessly to get her place in order.
   She met the other members of the 'community' her second day.  She was
rolling her garbage bin to the curb when two women waved at her as they
crossed the street.
   "Hey there.  My name is Barbara and this is Michelle.  We're just across
the street.  How are you adjusting?"
   "Fine.  Everyone has been really nice."
   "Oh?  Did Sarah already make her way over here?" Barbara looked at the
house next to hers.
   "No.  This guy Evan helped me move in."
   "I bet he did," Michelle grinned as she gave Xandria's body a once over.
   Barbara chuckled at the look of suspicion.  "Evan is," she began
blushing, "very friendly.  As long as you don't get attached, he tends to
stay that way."
   "Oh.  Okay." Xandria couldn't pretend to not know what they were talking
about.  The memory of him too fresh, his promise to see her again too near.
She expected him to be too good to be true, just not for her fantasy to be
shattered so early.
   "Poor thing," Michelle elbowed Barbara playfully.  "You could have kept
that to yourself."
   Barbara shook her head.  "Evan is a darling, but it's better you know
what kind of man he is rather than finding out the hard way." She followed
Xandria's gaze to the ring on her finger and chuckled.  "He can be very
discreet when he needs to be."
   "I guess you're right.  Let him stay at arms length and you won't know
the sorrow of him avoiding you."
   "Thank you for the heads up.  Nice meeting you two." With a breath for
courage, Xandria turned and made her way back inside.  The last thing she
wanted was to be sucked into a desperate housewife group and she certainly
didn't need to see that look of pity in their eyes.
   Barbara had been right, it was better she know ahead of time.
   ***
   When he showed up she didn't say a word about her new neighbors.  She
didn't treat his arrival as anything more than a friendly visit.  She fixed
a light dinner and had drinks with him on the same couch they had shared a
few days ago.
   "I need your help." She set her glass down.  She'd thought about this
moment for days and she wasn't going to be put off by a set of married
women afraid of losing their pool boy.  "With?"
   "Getting my bed together.  Just need someone to hold the headboard." She
led him to her room and showed.
   "You hold the headboard and I'll handle the rest."
   "Okay." She held the headboard still while he attached the side boards,
and then she held the footboard as he secured it.  Together they put the
wooden slats in place and then lifted the mattress onto the bed.  "Thanks.
I probably could have figured it out, but you did say you were coming back
over."
   He blocked her way out of the room.  "You don't want to make sure it's
sturdy?  I wouldn't want it to fall apart while you're sleeping."
   Xandria laughed.  "I'm sure it'll hold."
   "I'm not." He walked past her and sat on the bed, bounced on it then
crooked his finger to her.
   If this was only an ephemeral relationship, there was no reason she
couldn't make the most of it.  Right?  No.  Wrong.  "Living room.  I think
I need to know more about you before we test the structural integrity of my
bed."
   She turned and left the room, but not before she caught the look of
confusion on his face.  Yes, it confused her as well, a perfectly fine,
gorgeous, endowed specimen of boy toy and she wasn't trying to ride him to
exhaustion.  If that was what he wanted, he had his pick of women for that,
it seemed.
   He returned to the living room and picked up his drink.
   Xandria topped off hers.  "I went to the park yesterday.  Didn't see a
single pound dog.  Was it pedigree day only or something?"
   He smirked.  "No, the people here love their show animals.  They even
have a mini kennel show each year."
   "Do you have any pets?"
   "Not currently.  I used to have a siamese cat.  You?"
   "I live out of so many rents that I find it easier to stick to plants."
   "Erica used to have a garden in the back."
   "She told me.  That might be too big a step.  I just got used to keeping
houseplants alive." Their conversation continued in the same vein for the
next hour - light friendly, not too personal.  Time Xandria could have
spent testing her bed.
   They moved to the kitchen, the place where he'd set her on the counter
and stripped her.  Except this time he helped her wash and put away the
dishes from dinner.
   "You don't have a television?"
   "No," Xandria said, "my laptop works for any movies.  If I want to watch
something live I usually hit the bar or hang out with a friend."
   "I prefer the comfort of my living rom for that."
   "Do you have guests?"
   "Rarely."
   Once the kitchen was clean, he hugged her, brief, just as friendly as
their conversation, and left her house.
   Nothing like last time.  No promise to see her again.  No kiss. 
Nothing.
   Xandria didn't know what drove her to dredge up principles she didn't
even know she had.  A week later, Evan had become a wonderful blip in her
new community.  She busied herself with the duties of change, settling in,
getting things where she liked them.  It kept her mind busy for a time.
   ***
   Xandria lay across her bed, laptop open.  She scrolled through the list
of new releases, waiting for something to catch her eye.
   She dialed her mother and set her phone to speaker.
   "Xandria, hold on." Track laughter faded to nothing in the background.
"How are you?"
   "Good.  I'm settled in for the most part.  Did you get my new address?"
   "Yes.  I've got the box on the end table up front.  It's mostly junk,
but I noticed a couple of them were about the car.  Are you getting a new
one?"
   "No.  I just wanted to look, but you know how dealerships are.  I'm out
of warranty, but it hasn't given me any trouble.  How are things with you?"
   "I'm all set for APRD next month."
   Xandria rolled off the bed and went to the kitchen, holding the phone at
her side while her mother went on about her yearly pharmacological
conference.
   "You remember Dr.  Libertine?"
   "Mm hmm." Xandria hummed in all the right places while staring into her
cabinets.  Just outside the window, the moon crested the tree tops. 
"Sounds like you're going to have fun."
   "I don't know about fun, but I'm looking forward to several of the
speakers.  Other than your mail, do you need anything else?"
   "No.  I'm good."
   "All right.  Call me if you do."
   "Thanks, mom.  Talk with you later."
   Listlessness persisted.  None of the books on her shelf tempted her. 
She sighed as she went through the pile of magazines.
   Knock, knock, knock.
   Face scrunched in wonder, she walked over to the door.
   Evan had on a pair of dark cotton pants and a soft blue shirt.  His hair
looked like it hadn't seen a brush all day.  "Don't invite me in if you
don't want me in your bed."
   Xandria took a step back and held the door open.  She didn't know what
inspired her to be so accommodating - the fantasies she'd been having about
him, the hungry look in his eyes, her regret over her decision to deny him
a week ago.  She agreed with his sentiment, there had been far too much
talk between them.  She turned down the lights in her living room,
undressed, and cleared her bed.  There wasn't much to take off, just a
shirt and sleep shorts.  "On your back," she pulled the covers back and
waited for him to lie down.
   His erection was pointing towards his face.  She took hold of it and
straddled him.  She put the head against her labia and rubbed back and
forth.  Thank goodness he had missed her.  She finally put him inside her.
She leaned over and let her breast hang in his face and he gladly latched
onto her nipple.
   If there was a single word said between them that whole night, Xandria
didn't remember it.  Climaxes, moans, sighs, grunts - those were the words
of the language they spoke to each other.  It was spooky, the way he fit so
perfectly inside her, felt so right beneath her, on top of her.  These were
the precise emotions Xandria wanted to avoid having.
   There was no avoiding it though.  He was getting to her, overwhelming
her with his presence.  After that night she never turned him away when he
showed up at her door.  She took him any way he wanted, any room he wanted,
any time.  He never stayed the night.  She always slept alone.  Any other
person and Xandria would have thought it a perfect arrangement, but she
wanted more, she had a need to know him, to be important to him.
   Silly girl, Xandria chastised as she continued on her evening walk.  She
looked at the different homes in the neighborhood.  They were not cookie
cutter models, the community allowed the owners to inject some
individuality onto their proterty.  She was coming up on the most
impressive of those models, slightly larger than the others, but certainly
worked on with meticulous care: the large porch, yard furniture, gorgeous
glass windows and doors.
   She peered onto the dark porch.  Was there someone standing there? 
"Hello?" She whispered.
   "Come on up."
   Her belly fluttered at the sound of the voice.  His voice.
   "Whose house is this?"
   "Mine."
   "Nice," she pushed open the gate and climbed the porch steps.  "Why are
you in the dark?"
   "Have a seat."
   There was only the one chair, so she perched on his thigh.  Evan pulled
her back against him and pointed.  From his spot he could look over the
other houses to the lake in the distance.  The lake surface reflected the
moon overheard.  "It's beautiful."
   ***
   "Darkness allows me to catch that beauty." Evan kissed the back of her
neck and his hands slipped under her shirt and cupped her breasts.
   He'd been watching her from blocks away, wondering when her walk would
bring her to his front door.  The sound of her, the feel of her, the taste
of her was in his head and it refused to depart.  He needed to put an end
to the fantasy trying to root itself in his brain.  "Would you like to see
inside?"
   "Sure," she whispered.
   He took her through the first floor, most of the rooms and described the
upstairs.  "Did you get around to visiting the market?"
   "I did.  Everything was so fresh.  I made an incredible salad
yesterday." Xandria looked at the door he had not opened.  It was too wide
to be a closet.  She went to the door and the knob turned easily in her
hand.
   Evan opened door for her.  He held it open and waved her in, expecting
her to peak in and dash right back out again.  It's what everyone foolish
enough to look inside did.  He wouldn't have to fight his desire for her
after that.  It would be a matter of fact and his dick would just have to
fall in line.  She could withdraw and fade away from his memory.  She
entered the room and walked around, perusing the items as if she were in a
museum.  She held her hands behind her back, angled her head from one side
to the other.
   The time she was taking was excruciating to watch.  She didn't have to
pretend none of it bothered her.
   "Is this why you speak so fondly about darkness?"
   "Yes."
   "How long have you practiced?"
   "Since I was a boy."
   She went back to the central altar and Evan wiped his palms on his
shirt. His heart raced as he awaited her next question.
   "Is this something you have to be initiated into or born into?"
   "What do you mean?"
   "When you were a boy, was there a ritual you did?"
   "Yes."
   "Did somebody help you through it?"
   Evan scoffed.  "Why?" He crossed his arms over his chest.  "Just
curious?"
   "Partially, a long held curiosity.  I apologize if my questions seem
rude." She wrung her hands.
   Evan stepped over to her and held her by the chin, tilted her face up to
meet his.  He stared at her, searching for her true intention.
   ***
   Xandria relaxed as she looked into his eyes.  She couldn't believe how
handsome he was, how entrancing those silvery brown eyes could be.  Just
looking as his lips, the intensity in his eyes, she felt the truth winding
its way into her heart.  She wanted to be obligated to him.  She wanted
some reason to stop by his house long after he found another woman to sleep
with.  She wanted the complications of a shared, private interest.  She'd
fallen in love with him despite the warnings not to, despite her own
knowledge that it was the wrong thing to do.
   Evan released her chin and folded his arms.  "Tell me what you think you
know."
   Xandria detailed the snippets of conversation about the dark gods and
those who followed them.  The one in particular that kept her interest had
the same symbol that was etched into the ebony altar.
   "I can initiate you right now, if you are serious."
   "You can ...  do that?"
   "I can." Evan gathered the ends of her shirt in his hand and lifted it
over her head.  "I'll lead you through the dedication ritual.  You just
follow it.  You'll need to be willing to give yourself over to the
darkness, allow it inside you, to change you." He closed the door and
continued to peel her clothes away.  The very idea should have filled her
with trepidation, but she was thrilled to finally find someone who could
put her in contact with a dark god, the one she wanted, admired from a far,
much like Evan himself.
   "It's kind of like ...  play acting, right?" Seized by a sudden idea,
she reached out for him.
   "At first, yes."
   She lifted his shirt over his head and untied his shorts.  "Then ...  I
stand before the darkness, naked ...  and willing." She pushed his shorts
down and placed a trail of kisses on his chest.  "I offer my body to that
darkness."
   "What use do I have for your body?"
   Xandria looked sharply at him.  The disdain in his voice sent a chill
through her body.  The hair on her arms stood on end.  What use was she? 
"I want to serve you in any way you will allow me.  I want to be filled
with your darkness."
   "To what end?"
   It was a good question.  She'd taken off his clothes, but could not
think of what sane or rational reason she had for going through this.  She
always had the curiosity, but never the burning desire.  Her family did not
subscribe to any particular religion or faith.  She was sure the more
popular of these, did not hold ceremonies with this level of intimacy and
challenge.  All Xandria had was her desire, her instinct, and a magnetism
she never thought to deny.  "I don't know." This was not acting.  Why was
she here if she couldn't think of a suitable answer?  She stared down at
the floor hoping he would help her through this.
   He framed her head and made her look at him.  "Because I have not told
you." He tenderly pressed his lips to hers and placed a kiss upon each of
her cheeks.  "Please," she brought her trembling hands to his shoulders. 
Xandria thought about going to her knees, but she remained standing.  "Make
whatever use of me you find fit.  I am ...  your willing student."
   He walked over to a chair, pulled it out and sat wide legged as he
looked over her body.  As he did he stroked his erection.  "I am likely to
take everything from you and give you nothing in return."
   She hadn't heard any instance of that happening.  "I am yours."
   "I will make you feel pain." He threatened.
   Pain?  No one mentioned anything about that, but then, it wouldn't be
much of a dark god.  "I am yours."
   "I'll make that pretty face of yours contort with misery."
   Might as well stick to her vow.  "I am yours."
   "Come here."
   Xandria straddled him without sitting down.  His hand rubbed the inside
of her thigh.  "I am Soryn, your god, your dominion.  You will serve me as
you have served no other." He grinned as his fingers slipped along her
slick labia.  Even Xandria was surprised by the ample moisture he released.
"Is this for your new god or the man I possess?"
   The question shocked her but helped her remember what she was doing. 
"Both of you.  My flesh wants your flesh.  My soul wants your soul." It
sounded good to her ears, but it didn't inspire the look of pride she
desired.  His eyes appeared to darkened along with the steadily darkening
room.  When his hands rounded her hip, his touch felt thicker, heavier.  He
lowered her onto his rock hard cock and worked himself until she was fully
seated on him.  "Convince me of it."
   That her flesh wanted his?  Easy enough.  She rocked back on him and
squeezed her vaginal walls around him.  Pushing off with her heels, she
rode him in slow motion, like the hypnotic pump of a carousel.  "Will you
teach me how to serve you?  I want to know the darkness."
   He laughed and it wasn't a laugh she'd ever heard from Evan.  He reached
down and grabbed something, but she didn't turn to look.  "If I tell you to
be my lady?"
   "Then I am your lady."
   "If I tell you to be my whore?"
   "Then I will be your consummate whore."
   "You will bleed for me?"
   "Ask it of me.  I assure you; I am yours to command."
   "To be closer to him?" The question came with a dark, sneering tone. 
With one hand curled around the hair at the nape of her neck he pulled
slightly on her hair.
   She didn't resist his pull.  She gave instead of trying to protect
herself, but kept her hips grinding into his.  "It is a perk I have
secretly hope for."
   "You will keep no secrets from me.  Secrets are hidden in the dark."
   "And you are my darkness."
   "I am."
   She gasped and moaned.  She was getting close, but not enough to drive
her over.  Just thinking at how terribly twisted this was, using a man she
liked as an avatar.  He did it so well, conjuring.
   "Tell me," he whispered.  "Tell me your secrets."
   "I know he's fucking me for his pleasure," she admitted as hot tears of
embarrassment rained down her cheeks.  "I know he's fucking me and any
other willing female.  I am aware that our time will pass, but I'm ... 
failing ...  I failed to keep my distance.  I feel more for him than I
should.  Will you be there," she began as she closed her eyes.  She had to
confess her darkness, "when he leaves?  Will you take up the void?"
   He pulled her head to his, she felt his lips at her ear as he hauntingly
whispered.  "Never abandon me, and I will never abandon you."
   "I will not."
   "Not when you are happy, not when all is well, not when you have no need
for a god.  Abandon me, and when you need me most, I will destroy you."
   None of the other gods threatened their followers in such a way.  That
was how he came to be known as the darkness, the king of sorrows, the
sovereign of nightmares.  "I am yours." She didn't understand the sudden
upwelling of emotion, but the tears came fast and hard.  She felt every bit
the confused, emotional, distraught woman.
   "Yes," he moaned as he wrapped his arms around her, thrusted deep into
her.
   It opened a floodgate.  An icy chill spread through her chest, and down
to her feet.  Like something had infected her.  Wait!  Her mind screamed.
But wasn't this what she wanted, asked for?  She had made the first
mistake, not truly believing.  He warned her before she began.  Only after
an initiation could someone believe.  That's why the dark gods required a
ritual, to turn idle fancy into true belief.
   "What say you now?" He growled.
   "Yes," she gasped between sobs.  "I am yours.  Fill--" she groaned,
struggled for breath.  She felt lightheaded, as if all the blood were
rushing away from her.  And then the entire world moved away.
   ***
   A part of Evan recognized the moment she blacked out.  He'd seen it a
few times before.  He'd played the part of avatar for many new followers,
but he could never predict which ones would pass out.  He slipped into the
role a little easier each time, the longer he spent in service to the
darkness.  He gave up the reigns with ease.  He listened as his voice form
words as if he were watching a play, but he wasn't as disinterested as
usual.  Soryn knew it.  He cradled her body to his.  "Get rid of her."
   "Permanently?"
   A voice in her mind chuckled.  "Just checking."
   He breathed deep and got a lungful of her.  He would, if asked of him.
   "Would you also keep her?"
   "She amuses me." He hedged.
   "Mmm hmm.  She is as good as sleeping and your cock strains for release
still.  You've struggled through this phase every time.  Remember the
fantasies we had to conjure?  The visions you would need?"
   "Yes, but she's so honest ...  so innocent."
   "Honest, yes, but she has not come to me out of innocence."
   The voice of his god, the warmth of her in his arms, his cock strained
inside her.  The very thought, the hope that she wasn't pretending, that
he'd truly be able to share this with her.  "Will you tell me about her?"
He closed his eyes and he felt the broad grin, the dark laughter from far
away.
   "Xandria?" The dark god whispered with his voice.
   She hummed and stirred sleepily in his embrace.
   "Do you know who this is?"
   She chuckled.  "My new best friend, Soryn."
   "And?"
   Her hips moved slightly.  "You are using Evan's body."
   "Do you know what happened?"
   "I blacked out?"
   "Yes, I need you to wake up so that I can fuck my new girl."
   "I'm trying," she whispered.
   "He wants you.  He wants to fuck you until you scream."
   She giggled and lifted her head.  "I wish he knew--" and then with the
imperceptible shake of her head, she leaned forward.
   Wish who knew what?  Evan wondered.  He didn't pose the question to
Soryn.  His role as vessel was to be passive, no matter how much he wanted
answers.
   The hand that held the dagger rose and traced a line down her back.
   "Are you cutting me?" she mumbled.
   "I am.  Will you bleed for me?"
   "I will." She tensed as the pain intensified.
   Evan didn't know how much more his dick could take.  All he needed was
one it two good strokes.
   Her shudders continued and he realized that it wasn't pain, just a drawn
out orgasm.  "I need you," she muttered.  "I need you."
   He took hold of her hips and brought her down on his cock like she was a
rag doll.  He screamed as he came and he felt that overwhelming pressure of
the shadow world.  A type of all encompassing darkness he only experienced
in ritual, and yet this was greater, this was richer, deeper, nearly as
profound as his own initiation years ago.
   It's never going to be like this again, he thought with a bittersweet
note.
   "Xandria," his voice called.
   "Yes, my lord?"
   "I have a use for you." That's quick, Evan thought in awe.
   "Anything," she swore.
   "Tell him what you were thinking while I came inside you."
   He felt her physically recoil.  Evan thought she would run.  He felt
sorry for her, when Soryn made his request, it was never easy.  He'd born
witness to the consequence of refusing him.  Evan steeled himself for being
the instrument of his god's punishment.  He'd do it in a heart beat.  The
tears began the same time as she began speaking.  "I was thinking about
your ...  his hands around my throat," and then her words came out in a
fast blur, like the abrupt rip of a bandage, "I couldn't breathe and I was
thinking about his other hand digging into the cut you made on my back, his
nails causing the blood to flow faster, the bite of pain in my spine.  His
teeth pulled on the lobe of my ear." She stopped with a gasp.
   Evan was thankful he had no control over his own body.  He even
relinquished control of his arousal for the moment.  He didn't want any
change in him to spook her any further.  "Continue.  Tell us what else
you've kept in the darkness."
   "When I'm with him," she'd slowed down.  "I'm trying to find the right
word." Her body was still tense, but she hadn't bolted.  Evan wasn't sure
if he wanted control of his body or not, what he would do to comfort her,
or if his action would startle her.  Inaction seemed to be the best call as
she found the courage to continue.  "I think it's masochism, but it's not
always pain.  Whenever I think, fantasize about it ...  the pain ...  it
comes from a gentler place.  Sometimes I," she swallowed thickly and fresh
tears dripped from her face and landed on her breasts.  "Want to lose
myself in him?  I want him to be lost in me, tearing at me to get deeper."
She groaned, "this sounds insane."
   There was no response verbal or physical from either him or his dark
god.
   With a sharp intake of breath she continued, "Lose myself to his will,
lost to his love."
   "You sure it isn't to him you've pledged your allegiance?"
   "I'm sure." Her voice turned hard.  "I'm also sure of how aroused I was.
I'm sure I would like to."
   "Oh, I know all this.  He wanted to know."
   "Please don't.  Evan doesn't want--"
   "Shhh," he gathered her into his embrace.  "You are my child.  I look
forward to hearing from you.  Remember what you promised me."
   "I'll remember.  I won't fail you."
   With a single kiss to the top of her head her breathing turned deep.
   "You know what she's saying." Soryn whispered.
   "I do?"
   "Yes."
   "How long did you know?  Were you going to let her run away?"
   "If she did anything short of giving her self to me, would anything I
said mattered?"
   "No."
   "That's why, my devoted son."
   "Why was she keeping that secret?"
   "Why are you?" He countered.
   Evan rubbed his hand up and down her back, blood slicked his palm. 
Because he didn't need it getting in the way of his fun, because he was
tired of being judged, because it didn't matter without trust.  "Someone
hurt her because of it?"
   "Not the way you think.  The ridicule cut deeply enough."
   "Okay." He kissed her on the head again as he understood what he was
being called to do.  "As this was not planned, how long do you need to
bring her up properly."
   Evan thought he could manage it in half an hour.  "An hour?"
   "Get her into a resting position and I'll stay with her.  You remember
how to bring someone up?"
   "I study it." Just in case, Evan thought privately.  He took his calling
as an avatar seriously.  He cradled Xandria in his arms and carried her to
his bed.
   "One hour," his dark lord whispered as he walked out the room.
   ***
   "Xandria."
   The change in his voice was easy to hear, lighthearted, smooth, gentle.
   Her eyes opened as if she'd been asleep all evening.  It was still dark
according to the view out his window.  "Hey," she whispered.  Had she
dreamed?  She felt foggy.
   "Sit up." He helped her prop up against a stack of pillows and put a
breakfast tray over her lap.
   "What ...  ?" Was it morning?  Had she passed out?  [ She winced as she
began to feel the warm throb at her back.  ]
   He put his arm around her shoulders and rested her head to his.  He took
a spoonful of the creamy pink mixture in the bowl and brought it to her
mouth.
   She was just tired enough to be compliant.  It tasted wonderful, some
rich dessert like concoction, milky and tart, sweet and chewy.  It wasn't
quite oatmeal, but some kind of porridge.
   What was the last thing she remembered?  A voice that wasn't Evan's. 
His altar, the room in the back across from his bedroom.  A blackness more
deep than darkness, more complete than mere unconsciousness.  Something had
been with her there, something powerful, profound, terrifying.  Soryn.  She
turned her eyes up to him.
   "Finish eating, then finish all your juice there, then we'll talk."
   Her hand moved for the bowl and he pushed her wrist down.  "Just eat and
drink."
   He smelled like an herbal soap and mint, Xandria thought as she drank
from the glass he held for her.
   "Good." He removed the tray and set it on the bedside table.
   Xandria looked around her room and realized that this was the first time
she'd been here.  She'd never spent the night, never had sex with him in
this bed.
   "How are you feeling?"
   "Extremely well rested.  Was I sleep long?"
   "An hour."
   "Wow, feels like a whole night."
   "Do you remember?"
   "Yes," she whispered.  She sat up and looked down at her clothes.  She
did remember being naked in his lap, but now she was dressed.  "Did you
dress me?"
   "Yes.  It's less jarring because of the temporary memory loss."
   "Done that ...  often?"
   "Eight, no, ten times."
   "So that was pretty routine?"
   "No."
   "Can I go home?"
   "No."
   She snapped a look at him.
   "Despite the use of my body, we were not together." He grinned.  "I've
set up my bathroom for you to get a nice hot bath and then I want you back
in my bed."
   Goodness how she wanted to, but she couldn't let her desire for him and
the religious experience he'd helped her with become too entangled.  "I
think I should..."
   His heavy sigh gave her pause.
   Go ahead, she thought.  Throw me out.  I've given you the out.
   "Get up."
   She crawled out the bed and got to her feet and yelped when he tugged at
her arm and led her to his bathroom.
   "See all that?" He pointed to the fresh towel, the bath oil.
   "Yes."
   "Get undressed.  I'll draw the bath for you.  Unless you want nothing to
do with me, then I'll walk you home and get a bath started before I leave.
Regardless, I need to walk you through this last part."
   "I'm sorry.  I didn't know this was part of the process.  I feel really
confused."
   He removed the towel from the toilet and sat her down on the seat. 
"Your clothes."
   She nodded and pulled off her shirt while he turned on the bath water.
   He helped her into the bath and caressed her cheek.  "Hey."
   "Hmm?"
   "Look at me."
   She opened her eyes and looked into his.  Why was he staring at her so
intensely?
   "Remember that talk I had with you about our relationship?"
   "Yeah, neighbors with benefits.  You're not looking for a girlfriend.  I
understand and I'm going to stick to that."
   "Don't bother." He dipped the wash cloth into the water and squeezed it
onto her chest and shoulders.
   "Is this about the ritual?"
   "Yes.  Close your eyes so that I can get your face." For a while there
was just the sound of a dripping water and the sensation of warmth on her
face.  "There are things about me that I don't compromise for anyone: my
religion and my sexuality."
   "Just those two?"
   "That's it.  You're probably wondering how the second one even applies,
never mind that you didn't know about the first one."
   Her blushing grin broadened when she felt his thumb caress her lips.
   "Because I don't need anyone trying to impress me, or compromising those
things for me.  I'd never know if it was real.  I speak from experience on
that one."
   "So now I'm relationship material?"
   "Yes, you are."
   She opened her eyes and saw deep creases in his brow, the look of pain
on his face.  He'd never been this intense, this open with her, outside the
bed nor in it, but if he never compromised his sexuality ...  She didn't
even know what that meant.  She had sex with him plenty of times and it
never seemed like he was compromising.
   "When you're ready to get out, sit in the water until it's run out."
Evan stood and left her to her thoughts.
   She had to admit the warm water and the oils made her feel even better,
positively energetic.  She ran her hands over her slick skin.  She wanted
to keep her emotions in check, but they continued wildly.  She felt special
in his house, his bedroom, sharing a religion with him.
   Once out of the bath, Xandria stood in front of the vanity mirror.  She
flipped the bathroom light off and stared into the darkness reflected back
at her.  "I don't know how to call you, but I need advice, if you're still
around.  My lord, Soryn, I know he's your avatar, but," Xandria hitched her
breath and braced against the sink.  The pressure in the room felt stifling
and the arousal in her loins was so intense that her labia stung.  Her
breath came in short pants and she was gripping the edge of the sink so
hard her knuckles ached.  "I'm taking that as an answer," she whispered as
her hand felt for the door knob.  "I'm yours and I will listen." Xandria
pushed herself upright and opened the door.  Evan wasn't in the room so she
fell across the bed.
   He knocked before he entered.  "Do you feel all right?"
   She shook her head, tossing her damp and hair back and forth.
   He crawled onto the bed over her back.  "What's wrong, Xandria?  I need
you to tell me, the first few hours after a ritual are critical."
   She turned over and wrapped her hands around his neck.
   Evan felt around her face and neck.  "You shouldn't be this flushed."
   "Do me a favor?"
   "Yes.  What?"
   "I want to know your sexuality."
   He sat up beside her and the serious look in his eyes chilled her.  "Say
it again, and make sure you mean it."
   "If you want to be serious about us, I need to know that other thing you
won't compromise."
   "Noted."
   If there was a difference, she didn't note it.  He entered her with the
same passion and maddening lust as always.  For the moment she forgot the
evening, her request, and just felt him, just like old times.  And just
like old times her orgasm was quick in approaching.
   "That's right," he whispered in her ear.  "That's what I want, baby."
   Xandria reigned in the words that threatened to escape.
   "You don't have to tell me." He pinned her hands above her head.  "I
promise you I plan to." He smothered her in a kiss that stole her breath.
   Evan had pinned her arms down before.  It wasn't something totally out
of the realm of male behavior, but it brought to mind her earlier
experience.  How present had he been when she confessed her dark secrets?
What did it matter, if he never compromised his own sexuality?  It felt
good; he felt good, being in his bed room, trapped under him, here at his
command.  One of his hands slid down her body, lifted her by the hip, and
pressed into the cut into her back.  Xandria screamed into his mouth, but
her body was trapped beneath his.  It hurt, and not in a kind of lover's
game sort of way.  It was the type of raw brutality she never imagined any
non-homicidal man would have, but hoped one would.  The dam of her fantasy
broke and Xandria's climax arrested her ability to move, to think, to make
a sound.  It was more like a seizure.
   And then she was tasting blood.  His fingers rested on her lips.  It
hurt a lot more than she imagined it would; she'd climaxed so much harder
than she thought possible.
   The moments she spent gasping for air and breathing in the scent of her
own blood were in a vacuum.  It was the only sensation she had a grasp of.
Xandria felt on the precipice of another blackout.
   It wasn't until he kissed her eyes that she knew she was crying.  It
wasn't until he cradled her in his arms that she heard her sobs.  What in
the fuck was wrong with her?  Had she gone crazy?
   "Xandria." He whispered her name and brought an abrupt halt to her
sniffles, her tears, her sobbing.
   "Take a deep breath."
   She did.
   "And out, slowly."
   He walked her through several deep breaths before sanity started to
creep back in.  She'd twisted her muscles so tight that she felt a cramp in
her thigh.
   "I think I hurt myself."
   "Where?"
   She put his hand on the muscle at the side of her thigh and he kneaded
the muscle.  "Turn over." He lifted up and kissed his way down her back,
paying extra attention to the place he clawed open.  He continued down her
back to her rear, placing soft kisses on each of her cheeks.
   She was sleep before he made his way back up to her neck.
   ***
   Xandria woke feeling the feverish sting of a fresh wound, the ache of
her muscle, and the soreness of her thoroughly fucked pussy.
   What had she gotten herself into?  And was any of it real?
   The man lying behind her was certainly real.  His hand possessively
cupped her breast, the other leg lay over her.  This was really his bedroom
and the months of casual sex had been nothing compared to the intensity she
felt last night.
   Just thinking about the possibilities he presented made her wet again.
She lay in quiet contemplation as she did most mornings, dreaming of
futures steeped in fantasy.  Just the taste had been fuel enough.
   No, she couldn't allow that to be enough now.  She wrestled free of his
hold and straddled his chest and leaned over to rub her face against his
erection.
   "Fuck," he whispered.  "Wait, I need to piss."
   She rolled onto her side and watched with a smile as he dragged himself
out of bed.  "Get in here," he called to her.
   She allowed him to usher her into the shower.  He didn't turn on the
spray, just stepped in and put his arms around her.  He swallowed her with
his body.  When he pushed down on her shoulders she went easily to her
knees.  She kissed and licked on his stiffening erection and even went down
to his balls.
   He combed his fingers softly through her tussled hair.  She didn't
really notice the transition between that soft, calming touch and when both
of his hands gripped her.  She didn't have to do anything but keep her
mouth open, her head back, and remember to breathe.  Eventually she figured
out why he preferred the shower.  He triggered her gag reflex and then
pulled out.  She only had enough time to empty her mouth and take a breath
before he went right back in.
   She heard the harsh way he was whispering, almost as if in prayer. 
Praising how fucking hot her mouth was, how close he was to coming down her
throat.  When he finally did she was ready, braced herself for the
onslaught.
   When he finally pulled out she slumped in the tub and coughed.  He
turned on the shower, but blocked the spray from hitting her face.  He then
wiped her face down with a soft cloth.
   She didn't know what she should say or do.  It was something she'd
thought about, a man losing control, fucking her face with near disregard
for need for oxygen.  It was painful, scary, but she feared saying, feared
knowing whether she liked it or hated it.
   He never asked for her opinion on the matter, so Xandria remained
silent. He helped her to her feet and continued to bathe her.
   She needed to go home today.  Clear her head.  Process the last 24
hours. Figure out if she's been dreaming, hallucinating, or tripping on
some drug she'd been slipped.
   When she felt a little better, Xandria bargained as she brushed her
teeth.  Even after the shower she was wet.  Her pussy had not forgotten how
much getting fucked in the face turned her on.
   Regardless, she needed to breathe.
   "Here," he handed her a pair of his gym shorts and a t-shirt.
   "I have clothes at home."
   "How are you going to get there?  Naked?" He winked at her.
   She sighed and put on the clothes he gave her.  She kinda liked how they
looked on her.  She smelled the shirt and sighed.
   "I'll walk you home."
   Despite the small worry, he walked her to her door and continued on with
his morning walk as usual, the same route that brought him by her house
every other morning, that put him in the position to help her move in.
   Xandria wasn't sure why she was in such a hurry to be home once she was
there.  She'd just had a shower.  She didn't feel the least bit hungry.  A
little sore, but nothing out of the ordinary considering the sex.  She
tongued her rough lips and looked to her door.
   There were probably things she needed to know, to learn about Soryn. 
She didn't know very much about this particular dark lord, but what she did
know had attracted her.  She closed her eyes and remembered the things he
said to her, made her say.  Evan must have heard, been aware.
   His religion, his sexuality.
   Was he the other side of her coin?  Did he want what she shamefully
craved?
   Xandria shook her head.  No need to be silly.  He liked it a little
rough some times.  Nothing beyond that.  She shouldn't try making him take
her any further than that.
   Concentrate on the things she did want: Evan, all of him, to herself. 
She smiled as she let that sentiment work its way inside.  None of those
other women would be able to get him now.  None of them had slept in his
bed.  Xandria was sure of it.  He was hers now.
   She grinned and even giggled a little as she curled up on her couch, but
it faded.  Well, maybe.
   The hours passed and eventually her stomach sent her to the kitchen. 
Her phone interrupted the trip though.
   "Ate yet?" Evan asked.
   "I was just about to."
   "I want to go to a restaurant.  Will you join me?"
   "Yeah, sure."
   "I'll be by with the car."
   "How should I dress?"
   "If you don't figure it out by the time I'm there, I'll help you."
   She didn't.  She was standing in front of her closet in her panties when
he entered her room.  He walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder
into the closet.  "The brown one." He hooked his thumbs into her panties
and pulled them down.
   "Is that your way of saying that's all you want me in?"
   "Yes." He kissed the back of her neck.
   "I think you're taking advantage of my adoration for you." Xandria said
as she pulled the dress over her head.
   "I adore you."
   She squealed as he lifted her and tossed her onto her bed.  He grabbed
her legs, tugged her to the end of the bed, then he went to his knees and
dove between her legs.
   Xandria's eyes rolled back into her head and his kissed, tongued, and
sucked on her clitoris.  He took his time, driving her to a slow frenzy. 
"You didn't leave the car running did you?"
   He laughed.  "Of course not."
   There were no further words exchanged.  Her panting screams filled the
room as she came.  He wiped her up and pulled her to her feet.
   "Didn't think I could wait much longer." He said as he kissed her.
   "Keep this up and we'll never get out the house."
   "Does that mean you're thinking about me spreading you open?"
   "I haven't been able to think about much else."
   "A couple skipped meals won't kill us."
   She giggled and wrapped a playful leg around his waist.
   He grabbed her thigh and held it there.  He held her close to him and
they fell silent.  "Lunch, then you'll come back home with me."
   "I ...  will need to get some of my things first."
   He set her leg back on the floor.  "Get them."
   "You're serious?" She didn't look at him while she grabbed an overnight
bag.
   "Think maybe I run the risk of smothering you?"
   She wasn't sure if he saw her shrug.
   He walked into the bathroom and put a hand to her throat.  "Perhaps I
want to suffocate you."
   Usually Xandria was more in control of her reactions, but the sudden way
he held her, the slight squeeze of his hand.  Her eyes closed, a low moan
rolled in her throat, and her body squirmed against his.
   "Don't fight me.  Let me own you, please.  I need you with me."
   She didn't say a word.  She was still drowning in the sensation of his
grip, his voice in her ear.  She'd forgotten about what she was doing or
why for that moment.
   Please.  That plea rang in her ear.
   Her hands began working shortly after his hand dropped.  She put her
toiletries in the bag and grabbed a enough clothes for the next couple
days.
   She was quiet on the drive.  When she leaned onto his shoulder, he put
his arm around her.  He'd never held her like that before.  She had held
back her own desire to be close to him, and suddenly he was asking it of
her.
   They had lunch and ended up running a couple errands together.
   On the drive back home Xandria said, "Can we talk about Soryn?"
   "We certainly can.  You're probably curious about the next step from
initiation?"
   "Yes."
   He launched into a lecture on daily meditation, reflection, what was
expected of her.  She paid attention to his words, committed them to
memory, but the sound of his voice lulled her, kept her calm and made her
alert at the same time.
   "Put your seat back."
   She reclined in the car.  Her eyes opened at the sound of the car
windows going up.  He turned on the AC.  His hand traced a teasing line
along her thigh, coming close to her pussy, but not touching her.  By the
time he pulled into his garage her legs were spread like those of a wanton
whore.  Each time his hand went a little higher she rolled her hips forward
hoping for the slightest brush of his fingers.
   He turned the car off and started getting the bags from the back.  In a
haze, Xandria put her own seat up and helped him bring it the bags he left.
She set them down on the counter and just kind of hung there.  She hadn't
been so turned on since she was a teenager.  The thought occurred to her to
just put her fingers between her legs and finish what he'd started, but her
hand wasn't going to fill her void.
   He came up behind her and kissed her on her exposed shoulder.  "I like
you like this." She turned around and put her arms around him.  She barely
had the energy to stand.
   "I know what I'm doing.  No matter what happens, remember that."
   She buried her head in his chest.
   He led her to the living room and pulled her into his lap.  He lay her
back along the arm of the couch.  His hand met no resistance on the way up
her thigh.  He kissed her lips as he finally slipped a finger over her
swollen clitoris.  She moaned into his mouth and whimpered as his tongue
made a deliberate thrusting motion in her own mouth.
   How many times had he made her orgasm today?  The number may as well
have been zero for all the heat she felt in his lap now.
   The ring of his door bell made her start as if she'd been caught doing
something she shouldn't.  She scurried from his lap to the other side of
the couch.
   "Fuck," he cursed and looked at his watch.  He'd mentioned a visitor
while they were out.  He was expecting someone to stop by.  "I'll be right
there." He grabbed Xandria by the hand and walked her to his ritual room.
"That reflection I mentioned?"
   "Yes?"
   "You can stay in any state you feel comfortable.  He'll watch over you
until I'm done."
   She nodded and sank to the floor in front of the altar.  He closed the
door behind himself.  It was a woman's voice she heard in the living room.
Probably beautiful.  With a scowl she turned her eyes toward the altar. 
Think about Soryn.  He'll be with her no matter what.  He's inside her, in
her own darkness.
   She felt a presence in the room with her.  It made the air feel thicker,
made the shadows darker and longer.  She closed her eyes and listened, told
him about her fear, her trauma, her shame.  No matter what painful memories
she visited upon, her arousal didn't change.  She kept her hands at her
waist, but it felt as if she were floating right where Evan left her.
   The melodic sound of female laughter lit a flame in Xandria.  Damn her,
why was she acting so possessive suddenly?  She made her mind still,
concentrated on her breath, she didn't dare allow herself to form the
thought that threatened to articulate itself.
   No.
   What more do you want?  Who ever that is probably doesn't know a damned
thing about this room.  He could have left you at home.  He's never kissed
you like that before.  It doesn't matter who she is or why they're talking.
   ***
   She felt cool air, arms around her.  It was dark in the house, but she
remembered his bed.  She crawled onto it and pulled her dress over her
head.
   He was in his boxers.  He took her dress away from her and stepped out
of them.  Xandria shivered as he crawled onto the bed over her.  He was
looking at her with an intensity that snared her heart.  His hand slid down
her arms, over her breasts.  The possessiveness of his touch made promises
she desperately wanted to believe.
   She arched her back as his nails raked down her side.  She wrapped her
hands around him and he did the same, holding her as if she might run away,
as if he were scared.
   It's important you don't resist him, Xandria thought as she felt one
hand wrap around the back of her head, tangling in her hair as he wrapped
it around his fist.  The voice in her head was a deep, somber voice,
foreign and yet familiar in her mind.  She wouldn't resist him, not when
she was so close to his soul.
   She pulled his head up to her and he smothered her with another kiss
that took her ability to breathe.  Xandria nipped at his bottom lip and
went limp when she heard the warning growl deep in his chest.
   ***
   Evan held her tighter to keep from trembling.  This side of him needed
to stay dead.  The beast rushing to the surface felt meaner, darker,
hungrier than he remembered: starved.  He used his free hand to pull her
thighs apart.  He bit down on her shoulder, not too hard, just enough to
warn her, to satiate the beast he hoped to tame.
   His fingers slid down between her pussy lips and the sensation there
nearly blinded him.  His eyes closed to slits as he felt the pool between
her legs, more than he'd ever managed to get out of her.  The bed under her
was probably soaked.  He heard the rumble, the growl of his inner beast,
hungry for what she was offering.  Her hands moved to his arms and he
tugged on her hair.  He circled the opening of her pussy, diving into her
oil slick, pressing lightly, but not giving her much more.
   Xandria parted her legs as far as she could manage, spread under him,
her hips rolling in desperation.  Her whimpers found words for her
frustration.  "Please, Evan," she gasped.  He lifted his head to look at
her, his dark eyes looked darker, but there was a slight smile as he slid
his finger deep into her.  It was her turn to growl, the moan started low
in her throat.  He pressed harder then pulled out only to thrust his
fingers inside her again.  With his lips, he clamped down on her breast,
sucking and nibbling while he finger fucked her, rough, but slow and deep.
Xandria bit down on her bottom lip and held onto him.  This was what she
wanted, what she needed.  She was amazed to hear the sound of his fingers,
squishing with each thrust.
   ***
   After having his way with each of her breasts, Evan returned to her
mouth.  He went back to thrusting his tongue, fucking her mouth with his.
He pulled on her lower lips, sucked them.  Each time he looked in her eyes,
it made his heart race.  Even if she could fake the look in her eyes, there
was no faking the way her pussy clamped down on his fingers, the way her
moans called out for his beast.
   There was the sharp whimper, that first sign of pain.  He'd heard it,
but it didn't stop her from thrusting her hips into his soaking wet hand.
   "You want me?" He whispered.  "All of me?"
   "All of you." She angled her head to meet his eyes.
   He thrust his fingers a few times and then pulled away from her. 
Xandria cried out and squirmed under him.  She'd been so close!  Her body
protested the withdrawal like she was about to have a tantrum.
   "Look at me!" His grip in her hair tightened and he held her down. 
"Calm the fuck down and look at me!"
   With a trembling gasp she opened her eyes and gazed up at him.  What in
the hell was wrong with her?
   There was another beast he needed to tame, Evan thought as he leered
down at her.
   Xandria's lips were red and swollen, hey eyes glazed and wild.  He slid
his wet fingers into her mouth.  She moaned and her tongue licked and her
sexy plump lips sucked.  Evan felt a tightening in his groin as he watched
her.  "I am going to enjoy you." He whispered the words as his hand made a
slithering trail down her torso, back to the sopping wet heat of her pussy.
   Xandria gasped, nearly forgot to breathe as his fingers resumed.  She'd
come down from the precipice he'd left her on, but she could get back
there, almost to that orgasm, but he didn't resume the pace he had before.
She opened her eyes to see him watching his fingers move in and out.  She
groaned and his eyes rose, but not his head.  He stared at her, glared at
her.  He leaned down and thrust so hard he nearly lifted her hips off the
bed.  Xandria buried her face in her neck and stifled the cry.
   "I am going to fuck you so hard, Xandria." He whispered.
   "Please," she gasped.
   "Please what?"
   "Fuck me, use me." She bit his shoulder, ran her nails down his back,
begged with her whole body, her pussy clenched madly against his fingers.
"I'm yours," she swore.
   "Are you really?"
   "Yes, Evan, please.  I need you, all of you.  Make me yours." Her body
had begun to thrash again, convulsing under him.  It was like she was about
to have a seizure rather than an orgasm.
   With a snarl he pulled away from her.  Xandria screamed as he flipped
her onto her stomach.  She felt lighter than a rag doll in his grasp.  He'd
turned her so suddenly that she dared not move.  He lifted her hips to put
her right where he wanted her.  His hands dug into her skin, but that
wasn't what she focused on.  She trembled as she felt the head of his cock
sliding up and down her folds a mere instant before he thrust forward,
impaling her in one smooth thrust.
   Xandria's whole body shuddered.  Fuck yes, she loved having Evan inside
her, on top of her.  She loved the way he punished her body with the force
of each thrust.
   "That's what you wanted, isn't it?  That's what you were so hungry for?"
   "All of you," Xandria whimpered.  She made fists with her hands, her
pussy pulsed around his dick with each thrust.  He never really pulled back
so much as relaxed and then tried to work his way deeper into her.  When he
did pull out, he pounded her to the hilt in one quick motion.
   Xandria screamed, not from any pain, just the intensity of her passion.
   Evan pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, "Xandria?"
   "Hmm?"
   Evan closed his eyes, took a deep breath to block out the wall of red.
"If you scream like that again ...  I'm not sure I'll be able to control
myself.  I ...  I don't want to hurt you." He felt like he was going to
lose control regardless of his effort, but she deserved a fighting chance.
His eyes met hers as he gradually pulled out, giving her ample warning. 
She was so beautiful like this, helpless, hungry, wanton, needy, afraid. 
She was a drug and he wanted to abuse her.  He wrapped his hand around her
jaw and held her face while his other hand gripped the head board.  He
cupped her face and kissed those beautiful lips while he slid his cock up
and down her slit.
   There was no way Xandria could steel herself for what was coming.  The
moment his lips touched hers she lost sense of herself again.  He froze and
gripped her hair.  He kept his face close her hers.  She felt his breath
heavy on her face.  He dragged his tongue along her bottom lip and then she
felt the ripple of tension through his whole body a moment before he
slammed into her.
   Brutal.  So fucking brutal.  Xandria could barely get enough air into
her lungs.  When she finally did manage it, she screamed into his mouth. 
He let go of her hair and wrapped his arm around her neck.  He pulled out
and slammed into her again.
   She didn't know what her body was doing.  It wasn't any conscious
thought of her own that caused her body to collapse, for her arms to try
and pull her body away ...  where in the hell did she think she was going?
Did some animal instinct think it could escape him?  He held her body down,
pinned her to the bed.  His arm around her neck arched her back as he
roared.  "Don't you fucking dare try to get away from me?  What in the hell
is wrong with you?"
   Breathe.  She needed to breathe.  "Evan?!" She screamed, "Please, I,"
Her attempt to plea her cased ended with a whimper as he flattened her on
the bed, his arms still very much around her neck, his dick nestled deep
inside her.  He growled.  "You need to be taught a lesson.  I warned you
about screaming.  Didn't I?" His snatched her head around until he was able
to press his nose to hers.  His voice dropped even lower as he snarled,
"What did I fucking say to you?"
   She gasped and fought the wave of tears that threatened to cut off her
words.  "You said," He chose that moment to thrust into her again and the
fragile hold on her thoughts was once again lost.
   "Tell me!"
   Xandria gasped and whimpered, "You warned me not to scream.  You said
you would lose control." She struggled beneath him, but not to get away, to
try and feel something more than this crushing fear.
   "Fucking right," he pounded into her once, twice, on the third, he held
himself deep inside her, enjoying the tiny tremors running through her
body, relishing the panicked little breaths she took.  "Is that what you
want, Xandria?  Do you want me to lose control and hurt you?" He kissed the
back of her neck tenderly.  "Do you want me to lose control?" He placed
another kiss on her shoulder.  "Do you want me to hurt you?" He rubbed his
cheek to hers.  "Do you want to know the beast I keep tamed inside of me?
Do you want to be completely at his mercy?"
   Xandria panted and worked frantically to get her brain working again. 
He whispered those questions over and over.  Her back ached from having her
hips to tightly pressed to the bed and his arm still around her neck. 
Those dark promises never stopped, speaking to her most submissive nature.
"Evan," she finally managed.
   His questions stopped and he waited for her answer, nuzzling against her
like a cat.  She trembled, knowing that she couldn't stop the words about
to cross her lips no matter how hard she tried.  "Take me over.  I want all
of you.  Anything you want.  I want you to control me.  Please!"
   He moaned nibbled on her ear lobe.  "I'll show you what I want."
   Xandria shivered as he slid out of her, rose off her body, removed his
choke hold.  Utterly at his mercy and already a profound peace was
spreading through her.
   "On your knees," Evan said as he pulled on her hips.
   She needed his hands to guide her, to pull her towards him.  She pushed
up onto her trembling arms and looked back at him over her shoulder.
   Evan rubbed his hands up over the back of her thighs, over her ass,
along her back to her shoulders with a heavy handed authority, a touch that
belied confidence, assurance, ownership.  After a single breath for
strength, Xandria pushed herself up onto her knees, and pressed her back to
him.  His hands rounded the front of her thighs, and crossed over her belly
until he was cupping her breasts in his hands.  His dick was hard and
resting in the crack of her ass, Xandria described a circle with her ass
and pulled a groan from him.  She reached up for his head, telegraphing her
movements so as not to disturb this moment of fragile tenderness and pulled
his head down to kiss him.
   Evan dropped one of his hands to the valley between her thighs and slid
over her parted wet pussy lips and stroked her hard clitoris with
deliberate pressure.  She moaned and whimpered and sucked his tongue into
her mouth.  Evan broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. 
"Xandria, are you sure?" He feared giving her this last out.  He'd asked,
but his body said something else entirely as the hand on her breast eased
up her body and held her throat, not enough to keep her from breathing, but
he watched her face flush.  "Yes, Evan.  You own me.  I will--"
   He crushed her mouth with a devouring kiss.  He lifted her higher on his
body by her throat.  He groaned as the head of his aching erection dragged
down the crack of her ass, getting closer to her volcanic center.  He
needed to get back inside her, to feel her.  His whole body shuddered as he
slipped along her throbbing pussy.  He pulled her tighter to his body,
raising her off her own knees and penetrated her heavenly body once more.
   It wasn't quite a moan, not quite a whine, maybe a bit like a fevered
prayer.  With each frantic breath, Xandria made a high sound, trapped in
her throat under his hand.  She felt completely possessed by him,
controlled by him, at his mercy.  She tried to hold still, but she wanted
him, needed him.  He still had one hand fingering her clitoris and the
other at her throat, his thighs under her, her own legs unable to find
purchase on the bed.  Xandria let her head fall back over his shoulder. 
When he pumped inside her, her hands gripped his forearms for purchase, her
nails dug into his skin.
   "You feel so fucking good.  You're so perfect, so fucking hot.  This is
exactly how I want you, how I've wanted you for so long." He fucked her
harder as her whimpers and moans drove him over the edge.
   "That's right, Xandria.  You belong to me, you are mine, forever mine.
Your body, your mind, your sanity," he groaned and tightened his grip.  She
stopped breathing and she stopped along with him.  The only sound in that
room was of his body slamming up into her.  He felt the deep, spastic
tremble in her body and eased his grip on her throat.
   "Come on my fucking cock.  I got you, keep going.  Fuck!" He exclaimed
as he felt her vaginal muscles trying to squeeze the life out of him. 
"Take me, fuck," Evan clamped his arms around her as his own body lost
control, thrusting into her, putting everything into his desperate need to
crawl inside her soul.  He felt like he was pumping his sanity out with
each rush from his balls.
   Evan lost track of time, but it was the hitch of her chest that kept him
from drifting away.  He felt her tears, but didn't hear a single sniffle.
He lowered her body back to the bed and wrapped his arms around her,
snuggling close to her as he pulled the covers up over them.  Xandria
buried her head in his chest, trying to hide the upwelling of her emotions,
but he didn't allow her the luxury of withdrawal.  He pulled her head up
and watched the tears pool in her eyes, then fall in fat lines down the
side of her face with each blink.
   He kissed her eyes, tasted the sweet salinity of her tears.  She felt so
broken, deliciously fragile.  He could make her do anything right now,
believe anything right now.  She was at her most receptive, and there was
only one thing he needed her to know.  "Mine," he swore as he wrapped his
body around hers.  "All mine."
   He listened to her tears subside, her respiration deepen.  He rubbed her
shoulders, her back, circled her full ass.  "I love you so much," Evan
whispered.  It hurt to let that sentiment take form on his lips.  He knew
what kind of pain that opened him to.  She could wake up in the morning and
change her mind.  She could wake up while he was asleep and escape him. 
She might hate him for what he turned her into.  She might know how he felt
and then use it to drain him ...  and that was okay, Evan realized with a
kiss to her sleeping lips.  For this moment of bliss he would willing
endure any pain or torture she inflicted on him now.
   "Evan," she muttered as her arms wrapped tighter around him.
   She was sleeping, probably dreaming.  He felt his cock stir and rolled
on top of her.  He kissed his way down her body.  "My dark lord, Soryn, I
thank you for helping me through the profound emptiness of the past several
years, for calling out to her.  I need her so much." He hugged her hips to
his body, rested his head on her belly.  He was under the covers with her
warmth, the pungent smell of her pussy went straight to his dick.
   "I know she belongs to you, and I'll take care of her.  I'll make sure
she serves you, but I want her, everything." He kissed her belly.  He
didn't receive an answer, but it was a far cry from the piercing pain he
could have suffered for such a brazen request.  "I'll cherish her, no
matter what." My princess, Evan thought as he parted her legs, brought her
thighs up over his shoulders.  His tongue lapped at her folds, dipped
inside her.
   Xandria's eyes fluttered open.  She had not been dreaming.  The
devastating skill and precision that was Evan's mouth was currently latched
onto her tender pussy.  She lay there in the dark, kept her body still,
pretending to still be asleep.  His moans sounded so tender.
   Did you mean all those things you said earlier?
   Xandria thought back to her fantasy made more real than she ever
imagined.  He could have killed her, hurt her, broke something on her.  She
was so far gone she lost her self preservation, and it made her feel so
damned powerful.  He wanted her in a way that made him lose control.  Even
now he couldn't sleep because he wanted her.  She was his to have, there
was no doubt about it, and no turning back from it.  She didn't want to
even consider how she'd recover when he grew tired of her, but Soryn
promised he'd be there.
   Give him everything.  Show you have faith in me, Soryn whispered in her
mind.
   Xandria's eyes opened in the dark.  Would she think something like that?
Would he really want, but he said ...  Is that truly your will?
   His failure will be on him, not you.
   Is he ...  am I safe with him?  Xandria posed the question and noted
both the flutter and sinking feeling it prompted.
   No answer.  She reached down for his head, combed her fingers into hair
and held him as she let herself get caught up in the coming orgasm.  He
sucked on her clit and pushed her over that edge.  He kissed her outer lips
as she shuddered and trembled.  Her body was already sore, her muscles
ached, but be damned if she didn't want him.
   She needed to show him that.  It was the reason she pulled him up to
her, but she didn't let him enter her.  A shadow of confusion crossed his
face, but it didn't turn to anger.  He relaxed as she pushed him down onto
the bed, rolled over until she was on top.  If she was sore, he probably
ached as well.  She licked his face, kissed his jaw, his neck, felt the
tickle of stubble on her lips.  She tried not to think about things like
friction as she ground her hips down onto his erection.  She'd heal.  She'd
be okay.  She rode him slow, trying to imitate the way he fucked her
earlier.  Rising off him until only the tip rest against her opening and
sliding back down, but not rough.  She made each stroke smooth and fluid.
He didn't try to change her pace.  He only thrusted his hips when she sat
back down on him.
   "Just like that," he moaned, "don't change anything." He whispered a
flurry of pained curses and she felt him swell and thicken inside her.  He
was close, and it was probably torture to lie still and let her body tease
him.
   "Everything I am belongs to you," Xandria vowed.
   "Everything?" He questioned through gritted teeth.
   "My sanity, my faith, my will ...  it's yours."
   He grabbed a hold of her hips to keep her from rising and she kissed him
as his hips bucked under her.  It was a dangerous thing to vow.  Xandria
wasn't sure she had much in the way of sanity to give him.  "Don't move."
   "Okay," she settled down on his chest and wrapped her arms around his
neck.  "I'll be right here."
   This was something more fatal that love, Xandria realized as she
listened to his heart beat, his lungs expand and contract.  It always had
been, and now it had been set loose.
   ***
   Anything less than the weight on his torso, the warmth of her body,
probably would have sent him into a furious rage.  Evan grinned as he felt
the drool on his chest, listened to her snore.  His baby was so tired.
   "Xandria?"
   She hummed.
   "Ready to get up?"
   She grunted her negative reply, but he felt her stir.  "Shit," she
cursed as she rubbed her shoulder to her mouth.  "I'm sorry."
   "I'm not," he gave her ass a squeeze before getting out the bed.  They
hobbled into the bathroom together.  Each of them was stiff from the night
before.  He opted to draw bath water instead of fumbling around in the
shower.  He looked over her skin, massaged her back and arms.  His rational
mind said he needed to take some of the edge off the evening they'd shared,
put up some kind of boundaries, but he ignored that in favor simply caring
for her.
   When he finished, she surprised him by turning around in the tub and
repeating the process for him.  Rubbing oil into his skin, checking his
back, kissing the scratches she found as if her lips would truly heal them
just with her touch.  She kissed the palms of his hands, massaged his
wrists.
   They hobbled out the tub and worked quietly in stripping the sheets from
the bed.  She even helped him cook lunch in the kitchen.  She washed up
while he threw she sheets in the laundry.  The entire day continued in the
same pedestrian fashion.
   Xandria didn't feel her brain spin up until well into the afternoon. 
What was she going to do about work tomorrow?  The food in her house?  Her
responsibilities?  Had she given those up too?  Worry about that in the
morning, she thought as she watched him.  What was she going to work for,
anyway?
   "Hey, Evan?" A woman's voice called.  It sounded like Jocelyn from down
the street.  She'd been one of her new 'friends' in the community, one of
the ones that easily spilled their praises and warnings about becoming one
of his play things.
   She had not thought about that when she was proclaiming the capitulation
of her freedom and will.
   "Around back," Evan called out.
   She'd been lying on his chest while they watched the smoke rise from the
grill.  Thankfully the sun had already set and this bitch hadn't stopped by
to ruin her view.  Evan didn't tell her to get up and Xandria certainly
wasn't about to move.
   "Oh, hey Xandria." Her tone rose a few octaves to mask the confusion of
finding a woman with him.  "Mind if I talk to Evan for a moment?"
   "No." She answered.  "Pull up a chair." She didn't open her eyes or even
lift her head.  She could just imagine Jocelyn had decided to saunter by in
her tennis skirt.
   "Okay," she drawled and pulled out a chair.  "Well, Evan, I was just
stopping by to ask if you would be by Tuesday evening for drinks."
   At that moment Xandria didn't care about any thing.  It wasn't even a
thought process.  "He won't be." The rushing of her blood nearly drowned
out Jocelyn's nervous giggle.
   Xandria guessed Jocelyn was gesturing in the silence because Evan said.
"Don't look at me like that.  You heard her."
   "Oh, well if that's the case then I can tell her to go home while I
enjoy the company of my friend."
   Evan laughed.  "For your own safety, don't."
   "Please, my back hand would put her on her ass."
   She didn't doubt it.  Jocelyn took her physical fitness seriously
whereas Xandria mostly lucked into her figure.
   "If this is a little head game of yours, I'm not into it.  I told you I
wouldn't mind putting a bitch in check."
   "If this were any other day and any other person, you'd be right, but
the situation has changed.  I won't be over, and beyond a strictly
neighborly reason, you don't need to come over here."
   "You don't even know her.  You can't be serious."
   "I assure you, I am.  Good evening, Jocelyn.  Please close my gate as
you leave."
   That was not the way she wanted everyone to find out.  She knew they
would be mad, especially when they all but insisted she just not bother
doing anything with him at all, because they wanted him for themselves. 
Other than his sexual prowess there was his good looks, financial stability
and aesthetics.  He was one of the original home owners in the neighborhood
and had one of the nicest home models.  Single after all these years, and
he was claiming her.
   "Did you bring a brush with you?" Evan asked as twirled his fingers in
her hair.
   "I was using yours."
   "Go get it for me.  I'll check the food."
   "Okay." It took them both a moment to get to their feet.  She grinned as
she felt the tightness in her thighs, the low ache in her back.  She stole
him from all those single and not-so-single harpies.  She returned with the
brush and sat down and frowned.  "Is my hair messed up?  Do I ...  ?"
   "Sit," he pointed to the pillow he'd put on the porch beside his chair.
   She did and he took the brush from her and brushed her hair.
   "Kay, turn around."
   She turned and he burst into giggles before hurrying to fix whatever
mess he'd created.  She smiled and looked at the bulge his cock made
against his short.  "How long before the food is ready?"
   "Not long enough," his brushed his thumb along her lips.  "Is your mouth
sore?"
   "Not at all."
   "No?"
   She exaggerated the motion of opening and closing her mouth, running her
tongue along her gums and cheek.  "No," she said with a blush.  "It
probably should be, shouldn't it?"
   He pulled her up onto him and tickled her.  Xandria screamed and
squirmed in his grasp.  "You little vixen," he teased.  He finally relented
and hugged her back to him.  "It will be."
   She had long enough.  Xandria pushed him back in the chair and tugged on
his shorts.  "I have time."
   She stole any protest with the sexy way her tongue circled the head of
his cock.  Evan relaxed and watch his cock disappear into her mouth.  Her
felt her tongue lapping at the underside of his shaft and realized she was
absolutely right.  He wasn't about to last very long at all.  He felt the
tug of his balls a moment before she took him down her throat.
   "Fuck yes," he groaned as he came in her mouth.  "Sexy little vixen."
   She didn't slide him out of her mouth until he'd completely gone soft.
Then she kissed his thighs, his flaccid penis.
   "Do you want to go back to work?"
   She only glanced up at him before she helped him get his pants back on.
She reached over for the cooler and pulled out two beers.
   He took the beer.  "I don't want you to.  You don't have to, but I do,
and you can either go to work or I can fix a room up for you to make your
candles, even try out more of the soap stuff.  I still have some of my
books in the attic."
   "I could get a business license."
   Evan turned onto his side so that she could sit in front of him.  "When
you're ready.  I need you to understand something, Xandria."
   "Hmm?"
   "I'll take care of you no matter what.  When I ask what you want, then I
want to know.  When I tell you what I want, then you do it."
   "You know what that sounds like?"
   "No, what?"
   "Like a housewife."
   "If you wanted to be, or you can work.  If you don't like where you're
working, find what you love."
   "I can take as long as I want to think about it?"
   "Of course, and yes, I'm going to marry you.  Kinda hard for me to care
for you when I don't have a legal recourse."
   She gasped and tipped the beer back.  He moved to get up, but pulled her
along with him to the grill.
   "If you're not as serious as I am, now would be a very good time to
run."
   "I'm sorry, but I'm far too obsessed with you." She whispered.
   "Hand me a plate." Evan looked at her and crooked his head.  "Why are
you crying?"
   "I was just thinking ...  if you had wanted me to go home, if--"
   "Think about how your jaw is going to feel when I'm done with you
tonight."
   He watched her face flush with blood as he took the plate from her. 
"Better."
   The thought was enough to keep her smiling through dinner.  Mrs. 
Xandria Moultrie.
   <->
Written: June 2011
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
ScorpionTale