Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Wyvern
   by Nysidra
   Occult Fantasy (MF, magic, wraith)
Summary:
   <->
   "How much for a cab ride back to the historic district?"
   "Whoa!" Drunken laughter and hoots grated on her nerves.
   Her ride, Jamie, was among the slurring fools.  She was supposed to be
drinking water, sobering up, not playing another drinking game.
   "I'm sorry what was that?" Alana scratched her head as she compared the
price to the money in her wallet.  "Okay.  Thank you." That was the fourth
and last taxi company and the price didn't change much.
   Jamie stumbled and pulled some college aged golden boy on top of her. 
They laughed and kissed, their lips and tongues missing the mark more often
than not.
   Alana resigned herself to spending the night in a strange house.  She
moved from room to room in the large house searching for a place to escape
the drunken revelry.  Alana didn't mind drinking when she enjoyed the
company, but Jamie's crowd didn't do it for her.
   Lesson learned.
   The second floor balcony had a breath-taking view of the moonlit lake.
Unfortunately, she had to get through someone's bedroom to get to it.  Down
below, a lanky guy in a bright blue shirt attempted to flick bottle caps
into a shoe box set on the table.
   The sliding glass door opened behind her.  It appeared two bedrooms
shared the balcony.  An adorable sleepy-eyed man with disheveled dark hair,
and firm pectoral and abdominal muscles looked her over.
   He looked better every passing second.  She waited for his dismissal, a
reminder that she shouldn't have been up here and had disturbed his sleep.
   Peels of laughter rose from the backyard.  Well, maybe not her.  Alana
wasn't about to apologize for people she didn't even know.
   He finger-combed the long dark locks of hair hanging in his face.  She
expected to see irritation or anger, but she couldn't get a read on his
mood, other than half sleep.
   He cleared his throat.  "Are you sober?" The sleepy gentleness of his
voice sounded delicious.
   "Yes."
   "Bring me a couple bottles of water from the kitchen?  If you're quiet,
you can watch a movie with me."
   Alana hurried to the kitchen.  She grabbed a few bottles and took the
stairs two at a time back to the balcony.  She wasn't sure how to find his
room from within the house.  The sliding door was still open.  She slipped
inside and looked around.
   The blank flat screen on the wall bathed the room in blue light.  He was
on his bed, shirtless in dark boxers.
   Alana walked over to the bed with her arm full of bottles.  She had to
put her knee on the bed to get close enough to hand them over.  He took
each one from her and lined them up on the floor.  "Close the door," he
mumbled.  He pulled a laptop into his lap.
   Her hands trembled as she slid the glass door shut.  They were plunged
into silence.  Impressive, and suspicious.  If he wasn't disturbed by the
party, what brought him onto the balcony?
   There were two chairs, one at a desk opposite the bed and another by the
dresser.  The floor looked clean.  She sat cross legged on the floor near
the bed.
   Hey!  Snatch!
   She loved that movie.  She drew her knees to her chest and rested her
chin.  As promised, she kept her lips zipped and made herself small.
   When the movie was over she watched his mouse navigate to the next movie
in his library.  She shifted and lay her head back on the footboard.
   "It's more comfortable up here."
   On his bed?  She got on her knees and looked at him from over the foot
of the bed.  It was a queen bed, large enough for them both.  She stepped
out of her sandals and lay on the side nearest the sliding glass door, near
the foot.  That was all.  She didn't want to send him any mixed signals.
   The man was seriously handsome and Alana didn't want to test her
fidelity.  Her boyfriend would never understand it.  Actually, her
boyfriend wouldn't appreciate her spending the evening in another man's
bedroom, but it was this or drunken laughter.
   Part of the problem was that if he touched her, said anything, gave her
the barest sign that he wanted to have sex with her, she would take the
hint and run with it.
   ***
   Alana woke with a mini heart attack.  She bolted upright in a stranger's
bed.  The covers fell away and she yanked them back up to cover her bare
breasts.
   He was at his desk, fully dressed, his luxurious hair shone like
volcanic glass.  The room smelled like herbal soap and a light woodsy
cologne.  He looked stunning in daylight, and his smell made her mouth
water, but why was she in her panties?
   "You friend Jamie..."
   The conversational tone of his voice stalled her panic.  Her heart beat
out a dance rhythm, but she wanted to hear what he had to say, and for
that, she needed to keep her rant on ice.
   "She left around sunrise.  I told my room mate to tell her that I would
take you home."
   Room mate?  Not a relative?
   "Why am I out of my clothes?" Why was she under his covers?
   "I told you to get comfortable.  You took off your dress." He pointed to
it next to the dresser, folded over his other chair.
   When he said it, she remembered, rolling off the bed and undressing as
if she were home.  Alana typically slept in the nude.  She'd walked from
that chair back to his bed and got under the covers.
   He's seen it once.  She snatched up her dress and scurried to his
bathroom.  She did as much as she could to clean up: splashed water on her
face, used his mouth wash.  Was that rude?  She felt like she'd slept with
the guy.  Had she snored?
   That did not matter.  Alana was taken, and he clearly wasn't interested.
   She exited the bathroom and he handed over a bottle of water and a bagel
toasted with cream cheese.
   "Thank you." Alana's heart went from pounding to fluttering, her stomach
along with.  She hadn't felt this kind of flightiness since she was a
teenager.  Perhaps she'd gotten out the bed too quickly.  Too bad she
couldn't stretch out and get another hour.
   She ate the bagel and slipped into her shoes.
   It must have been that cologne of his.  That woodsy smell had Alana
aching to bury her face in his sheets (or him).  She gathered her purse and
took a long drink of water.  "All right.  I'm ready."
   He loaded her address into his phone and she followed him into the hall,
down a back stairway, and outside to his car: an understated two-door Audi,
dark gray with a ash gray leather interior.
   She settled in the car and drew a deep breath.  Maybe he had on some
type of musk rather than a cologne, something lower, darker, like
mineral-rich soil.  Alana caught herself grinning and yawned the grin of
infatuation away.  "What's your name?"
   "Zephyr."
   "Thank you, Zephyr, for the sanctuary and the ride home."
   "You're welcome, Alana."
   She wanted to ask if he had a girlfriend, but why did she care?  She had
a boyfriend.  Other questions came to mind, but she kept quiet.  Before
long he pulled up in front of her house.  She looked at him, really took
him in.  Chances were she'd never see him again.  His hair bordered on a
little too long, strong brow, long lashes, and silver green eyes.
   "Thanks again."
   ***
   Life went on, but the raven haired Zephyr did not leave her thoughts. 
More disturbing, she thought about him more when she was around Stephen,
her current boyfriend.  Alana liked Stephen, appreciated being with him,
but she got caught up in the fantasy of an affair with Zephyr.
   In her imagined memory, she took off everything.  He kissed and explored
her body, made love to her through the night.  Alana played that version of
the evening until she had every detail memorized.  Her infatuation infected
her like a fever.
   Alana hummed noncommittally to Stephen's question as she stared at a
map. She found Auburn Lake and the house Zephyr lived in.  Yesterday she'd
gone as far as to print it out only to tear it into tiny pieces an hour
later.
   The fever broke with time.  Alana couldn't be sure Zephyr would return
her feelings.  She didn't even know if he liked women at all.  Oh, and that
other thing, she already had a man.
   She was with that man attending a wedding.  Another social event where
Alana watched other people enjoying themselves.  Her attempts to mingle
fell flat.  She had less in common with Stephen's friends than she had with
Jamie's.  These people were all breeding, opening or selling companies,
buying cars, improving houses, or spinning tales about their last
international vacation.
   Alana rarely met someone she had much in common with.  Maybe that's why
she liked her mystery man so much.  She knew two movies they both enjoyed.
At the reception, she chose the table toward the back, a good vantage point
for the room.  She sipped at her punch and picked at her cake while Stephen
did what he did best - strengthen his social network.
   Her eyes locked with the brooding, long lashed, bright eyes of a
familiar face.  Alana's stomach twisted into a fat knot.  She held her
breath and the cake in her mouth sat on her tongue.  He was staring at her.
He'd recognized her.  How long had he been looking at her?
   He stood and left the hall.
   Alana shot to her feet.  She struggled not to run, not to draw attention
to herself.  Once she got to the parking lot, she ran as fast as her heels
could manage.
   Zephyr stopped and turned.
   Damn that man looked sexy in a suit.
   Breathless, she stood in front of him.  Alana swallowed and tried to
catch her breath.  What the fuck was she about to say, do?
   "Um, hi." Alana stalled for a few breaths more.  She had a million,
shallow, stupid questions, but not a single good one.  She couldn't manage
to say anything.  Crazy fucking girl.  Alana shook her head.  "Sorry.  I
just wanted to say hi."
   "What's your phone number?" He asked as he reached into his pocket.  She
assumed he was going for his phone.
   She told him the number and caught the keys tossed in her direction. 
She stared at the keys in her hand as if they might bite her.
   "Alana!" Stephen called out.
   Fuck.
   He rounded the building and walked over to them.
   "Hey, someone said they saw you rush out.  Everything okay here?" He
nodded to Zephyr.
   Alana held the keys up, only for a second, her hands were trembling.
   "He left his keys." She stepped over and handed them over.  'Save me,'
she mouthed to him.  It was stupid and crazy and she nearly fainted on the
spot.  She turned and took Stephen's arm.
   Stephen said something about the groom's sister and a resume.  She
didn't hear much else over the roaring of her pulse.
   Had she really done that?  Save her?  From what?  From here?  From her
own boyfriend?  From her empty fantasies?  Alana wasn't a freaking captive.
   Zephyr had asked for her phone number.  He'd seen her long before she
saw him.  He waited until she noticed him before he walked out the
building. He must have wanted her to follow him.  He knew she had a
boyfriend and literally tossed her an alibi.
   The old fever returned with a vengeance.
   The remainder of the night passed in a blur.  Alana feigned a headache
and spent the night alone with her turbulent thoughts.  She sat in the
middle of her bed, glass of wine in hand, running questions through her
mind.  Questions without answers.  Curiosities left unexplored.
   When her cell rang, she answered it blindly.  "Hello?" She kept her
voice soft, pretending she'd been asleep.
   "Save you?" His voice sounded like melting chocolate.  "What did you
mean by that?"
   She rubbed the stupid grin on her face.  "I've been asking myself the
same thing." She stood and paced the room.  "How long ...  when did you see
me at the reception?"
   "I saw you at the wedding." The inflection in his voice added the 'with
your boyfriend.'
   'I can't stop thinking about you.' She thought the words, but didn't
dare say them.  She didn't want to sound as crazy as she felt.
   "I seem to be ...  I-I don't know."
   "You run after me in a parking lot, get right up on me, and you don't
know why?"
   Alana chuckled.  She didn't get nearly as close on him as she wanted.
   "I can't stop thinking about you." She fell across her bed.  Treacherous
mouth!
   "How long have you been with the blond?"
   His question was a splash of cold water on her face.  She shouldn't have
even been on the phone with him.
   "Two years and some change." Alana rolled onto her side and curled
around her pillow.
   "Why wasn't he with you at Nicole's party?"
   "He was out of town.  Jamie was trying to get me out the house, meet new
people."
   "You don't get out much?"
   "I guess not.  I tend to get comfortable where I am.  Crowds aren't my
thing.  Other people aren't really my thing either.  I have a hard time
knowing what to say."
   "I've noticed."
   Flattery warred with embarrassment and Alana buried her face in the
pillow.
   "I asked for your number to let you know that we can't do this.  I'm not
the one to save you."
   Alana sat up in the bed.  "You have a girlfriend?"
   "No."
   "Because of my boyfriend?"
   He huffed over the line.  'As if,' that confident puff of air said. 
"No."
   That left her own crushing conclusion, a painful truth to face.
   "Oh." Spontaneous tears burned her eyes and pooled in her lashes.  This
was better, an end to her stupid fantasies.  "Thank you for calling." Her
chest ached.  "Bye." She pressed 'End' as tears streamed down her cheeks.
She buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.
   Alana let her vanity get the best of her.  Good looks weren't
everything. Maybe he was gay?
   The small voice provided little comfort.
   But, maybe.  She didn't ask.
   What was she so damned upset about?  She was the one with the boyfriend.
   He wasn't her husband.
   Alana sniffled and giggled.
   The knock on her door pulled her from the pity party.  She lay stock
still.  Who in the hell would that be?
   Her phone lit up with a text: "Open the door."
   Alana rolled out the bed and crept to the window.  It was Zephyr.  She
slipped on a robe and opened the door.  Her eyes were probably red, cheeks
wet, but she wasn't thinking about any of that.
   Zephyr walked in and kicked the door shut.  He stalked her across the
living room and pressed her back to the wall.  He looked angry, frustrated.
   What in the hell did she do?
   "Oh," his voice made a mockery of her own.  "Oh, what?" He pressed his
body to hers.
   Alana should have felt threatened, scared, something normal.  She made a
grasp for proper behavior and failed.
   "You don't like me."
   "Like you?  I don't even know you, woman.  I'm attracted to you.  I've
been thinking about you every day since I had you in my room, half naked,
in my bed.  Can I save you?  No chance in hell."
   Alana would have gone to her knees if it weren't for his firm body
holding her upright.  Her breath rattled as she stifled a moan.  She needed
to push him off her, pick up her phone.
   He leaned over and kissed her, wrapped his arms around her waist and
lifted her higher on the wall.  It was a deliciously insane moment, being
held, weightless, wanted, pinned by his hips.  He set her down and stepped
away, walked to the front door.
   Alana squealed, yelped - some weird frantic, wordless plea, but he
didn't walk out.  He stooped down and picked up her phone and locked her
front door.
   "It was a poor choice of words.  I don't even know what I meant by it.
If corrupt me or destroy me or--" Fuck her, hard, fast, right here in her
living room.  Make her scream his name.
   Alana clenched her jaw tight and shook her head free of madness.  She
needed to get a hold of herself.
   Zephyr chuckled.  "You don't want that."
   "I really want you." Yes!  That was the right thing to say.
   His eyes danced with a dark fire.  Not quite anger, but something like
it.  She wanted him.  Images flooded her brain, slamming into her.  Her
body hummed with new fantasies, in the flesh, staring at her.
   "Sit."
   Alana plopped down onto her couch.  He sat down and she leaned onto him.
Usually, men who were attracted to her would have been mauling her by now,
trying to get her out of her clothes.  Alana wanted to do the mauling, to
hit him over the head and drag him to her bedroom, never to be seen again.
   She grinned and a blush warmed her cheeks.  She was acting like a little
girl, peeking at her crush from down the hall.  He was right here, on her
couch, in her home.  He'd backed her into a wall and made a simpering
puddle out of her.
   Her fingers pressed his pecs.  They were as firm as they looked.  She
counted the ripples of his abs down to that one firm roll just over his
hip. She followed the line under the waist of his shorts.  He wasn't
wearing underwear and soon her hand was wrapped around the silky softness
of his erection.  She pulled his shorts down, and grasped him, stroked him
nice and slow.  Zephyr didn't say a word, but his hips bucked, pushed
against her hand.
   She shifted between his legs and licked along his shaft, from the base
all the way up to the tip, tasted the sweet drop of arousal.  Stephen
always rushed her along at this point, always impatient to reach the end.
She rubbed her tongue over the tip, back and forth, then sucked him into
her mouth.  She got halfway down before she pulled back up, and eased down
again until he hit the back of her throat.
   Zephyr exhaled heavily and caressed her shoulder.  Alana pulled back
most of the way, licked the head again, then took him as deep as she could
manage.  She kept her tongue in motion, swirling and licking as she
explored him.  He tasted good, smelled good, and his length and girth gave
her jaw a work out.
   Alana pulled back and kissed the underside of his head.  Zephyr's eyes
were closed and his head rolled back.
   "Follow me." She sat up and disrobed as she entered the bedroom.
   She pulled the covers back and patted the bed.  From the living room to
bedroom, he'd dropped his clothes.
   "On your back," her heart thundered as she fished the condom out of the
bedside drawer.  The power trip was a rush unlike anything she'd ever
experienced.  It was almost like she was taking advantage.
   Alana wanted to take advantage.
   She rolled the condom on and caressed and hefted his balls.  She
straddled him and slid his erection back and forth along her wet slit.  She
was so horny she ached.  Zephyr had a sultry grin on his face.  Amused by
her boldness?  Curious about what she'd do next?
   Alana put him inside her, slid down, holding her breath the whole way.
She braced her hands on his shoulders and rose up, then down again.  She
was so wet the sound of her pussy sliding along his cock filled the room.
He put one hand on her hip, but didn't alter her pace.  She tortured
herself as much as him.  She let her orgasm build, until her lust set the
pace.  She rode him, coming down hard and fast, testing the bed.
   She couldn't maintain the position.  Alana had never ridden a guy before
and it wasn't as easy on her thighs.  Riding him like this felt wicked,
delicious.  She loved the way he looked at her body, the way his fingers
dug into her ass.
   He grabbed her hips and thrusted up.  Alana shuddered and gasped.  She
leaned forward and moaned as he fucked her, settled into a pace that made
her explode.  This was real, better than fantasy.  Her climax, strong and
unembellished.
   Zephyr pulled out, still hard.  "On your knees." His voice was low,
thick with lust.  He grabbed her breasts, tugged on her nipples.  He put
his leg between hers and kicked her legs wider.  He put one arm around her
waist, leaned over her back and entered her.  He rolled his back and
snapped his hips in a motion that added to his pure sex appeal.  The hand
around her waist started to rub her clitoris and Alana fell apart.  She was
practically screaming as he slammed into her.  Her orgasm started and
wouldn't stop.  Nothing existed except for the pleasure he inflicted on
her.
   With a groan Zephyr came, pressing deep inside her.  He shuddered along
her back.  Alana twisted slightly and allowed him to fall beside her.  His
cock slid out as he kissed the back of her neck.  Both of them were
panting, sweat slid down their bodies.
   ***
   Alana woke in her bed, under the covers.  She lay staring at the ceiling
running the night before through her mind.  They'd only fucked once and as
wonderful as it was, it was only once.  She'd fallen asleep with his hands
caressing her, his smell all around her.
   She rolled over and spied the note on her nightstand.
   "Remember, you have someone else.  You should probably fix that.  I
locked the door behind me.  When you want me, call me."
   How about now?  She reached for her phone.
   Her front door rattled.
   "Lana?  You awake yet?  I brought lunch."
   "I'll be out the shower in a sec." Alana ran for the bathroom and hid
the note in her box of tampons.  She meant for a quick shower, but she got
lost in thought about the way she practically raped him, but then the way
he fucked the hell out of her.  Curling up with him in bed, both of them
winded.
   She needed that again, and soon.
   The day droned by.  Lunch, then an argument.  He kept talking about
moving her into his house and she wanted to broach the subject of breaking
up.  Having sex was out the question.  Stephen's lightning quick shallow
fuck would only piss her off.
   As soon as Stephen left she texted Zephyr.  "Did you enjoy your visit?"
   "Yes." Came the quick reply.
   She dialed his phone.  "Are you as dangerous as I fantasize you to be?"
The words tripped out her mouth.
   "That depends on the things going through your mind."
   She giggled.  "Corrupt me."
   "You want that?"
   "Yeah, I do." Her phone buzzed and she pulled it from her ear.  She had
a text message of an address.  "Where is this?"
   "A hotel near the marina.  Bring your bathing suit, a change of clothes.
Meet me there."
   "Um, I get off work tomorrow at three.  What time were you talking
about?"
   "Now."
   "Like ...  right now?"
   "Yes.  This is what corruption feels like."
   Alana bit down on the inside of her bottom lip.  She rubbed her sweating
palms along her side.  This man was not all talk.  Was she?
   "Okay." She whispered.  "Bye."
   "See you soon."
   She tossed a few options into a backpack, some cotton shorts, fitted
fee, a dress, her bathing suit.  She put on sandals and hurried out the
house in her jeans and t-shirt.  What was she going to do about work?  Her
boyfriend?
   No idea.  Didn't care.  This was once in a lifetime.
   The drive to the beach resort took an hour and a half.  The second text
contained a room number.  Alana parked, shouldered her bag, and entered the
elevator.
   The room was on the third floor, end of the hall.  She found the door
and tapped softly.
   Zephyr answered wearing a pair of black shorts.  Fuck he had a gorgeous
body.
   And the room ...  huge windows overlooked the gulf and beach.  The
apartment sized room was the stuff out of magazines you only see in the
reception of a doctor's office.
   He took her bag and set it down.  "Get comfortable."
   Alana grinned while she undressed.  The last time he told her that...
   She slipped her panties off along with the jeans, tossed her shirt off.
She had become a different woman in his presence, a wild, insane one.
   Zephyr licked his lips and pointed to the couch.  "You're a beautiful
woman."
   "Thank you."
   He poured two glasses of water and set them down in front of her.  He
reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of pills.
   "Do you know what this is?"
   She shook her head.  The oblong purple pills were foreign to her.
   "Do you want to find out?"
   He had a singular way of making her feel innocent, naive, like a child,
a child about to get in a lot of trouble.
   This was what corruption felt like.
   She picked up one of the pills and reached around him for the water.
   "Empty the glass." He popped the pill and knocked the water back. 
"Whatever you feel, don't fight against it.  Open yourself to the
experience."
   Alana followed suit.  Awesome sex, fit body, delicious voice ...  all of
that aside.  She placed a tremendous amount of trust in a near stranger. 
What was this drug supposed to do?
   "Come on," he went into the bedroom.  A sea breeze ruffled the
diaphanous white curtains.  She lay across the bed with him.
   Zephyr's fingers grazed her lips, a soft touch, but it vibrated through
her body.  She squirmed as his hands brushed her arms and legs.  Whatever
it was made time stretch into a fine line.  She experienced the nuance of
every movement, sensation, moment.
   She lay on her back, his head between her legs.  His tongue licking,
mouth sucking.  It felt so attentive, detailed.  After what must have been
half an hour, Alana turned to look at the bedside clock - five minutes
since she last looked.
   All the time in the world.  Alana sank further into the sensation
marveled at every sound, touch, sensation.  The unique way they melded
together, body and soul.
   ***
   She woke first, still on top of the covers.  Windows and doors open,
sound of the oceans and laughter from the floors below.  The night air was
cool, but her blood ran warm.  Thinking back, it was hard to believe only
an afternoon had passed.
   Zephyr stirred an pulled her down beside him.  "How are you feeling?"
   "Good." She snuggled down and breathed his scent deep.
   His fingers caressed her shoulder, almost loving.  Her heart fluttered
in a pre-heart break seizure.  Her boyfriend loved her, wanted to marry
her. What had possessed her to come out here?  Engage in this tawdry affair
with him?  Oh, but what a tawdry affair.
   He pulled softly on her bottom lip and his tongue eased into her mouth.
Everything seemed sped up now, no more did she feel every bump and caress.
   She felt so comfortable in his arms, under his attention.  A long, slow
moan hummed in her chest.  He kissed her deeper, rolled on top of her.
   She was so wet that he slid right, in, stretching her, revealing her
soreness, but a good sore, a welcome sore.  The things this man did to her,
she put aside all thoughts of others and opened to him.  She wanted him,
needed him.
   "Please," she breathed.  "Please keep going."
   "I plan to.  Fuck, Alana.  I had no idea." He breathed the words as he
fucked her, slow, intense, right to her soul.
   ***
   Alana didn't question him about that last statement until later.  They'd
had a shower and dinner.
   "What did you mean?" She set her utensils down.  "You had no idea?"
   "That you were a wraith born.  Explains so much."
   "A..." She giggled.  "What?  I don't even know what that means."
   "There are other names, but even the most remote shadow touched know
their lineage.  What line are you from?"
   Alana closed her eyes a moment and tried to clear her head.  Were they
still high?  Why didn't she understand him?
   "I'm not from any line at all.  I'm a Vasin, which is nothing at all."
She stared at him, waiting to be let in on the joke.
   He sat up and narrowed his eyes.  "The way you slowed time down?  That
was not me."
   Alana laughed.  "That was the pill, the purple thing!" Her frown
deepened as he shook his head.  "Wasn't it?"
   "I believe the proper term is a sexual stimulant."
   Alana could only shake her head.  "Wraith?"
   "Yes."
   "So, what ...  wait, are you one?"
   He pointed to the balcony.  "Step out there."
   Alana rolled off the bed and was three steps away before the breeze
chilled her body.  Alana kept walking and felt the cool night air.  She
walked back to the bed and sat on the edge.  She was warm, and knew
touching him would be warmer, but she couldn't move.
   "Wow.  You really don't know.  Were you adopted or something?"
   She was, but Alana couldn't move her head to nod.  "Yeah," she croaked.
   Zephyr crawled beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.  "Sorry.
I didn't realize.  How about this: I'll talk, and you listen."
   "Okay."
   Sane?  Alana had not been sane since she met him.  There was something
about being around him that caused all rational thought to flee.
   ***
   They approached a brightly colored power boat, splashed with red and
purple.  The name Wyvern was painted on the side.
   "Wyvern, this is Alana.  She will be joining us today.  Alana, this is
Wyvern."
   She waved to the boat.  "Please to meet you, Wyvern."
   He helped her onto the boat and gave her a quick tour of the cabin.
   "What kind of boat is Wyvern?"
   "A thirty fiver.  I'll get us out into the water.  Come up when you're
ready."
   She dressed down to her bikini, but didn't head up.  How did she end up
here again?  Was he messing with her?  She lay out on the bed under the
clear blue sky.  The Wyvern bounced along, riding the waves, but not at
full throttle.
   Zephyr came down once he set the boat adrift.  They rocked gently on the
waves.  He crawled onto the bed with her and opened the portal.  A breeze
flowed across her body.  Was it real or another illusion?
   Her phone rang.  She ignored it.
   "Thank you."
   "For ignoring my phone?"
   "For not running."
   "It's a really long drive back."
   He massaged her and it was just what she needed, to be comforted,
consoled.  His hands seemed to work the anxiousness right out of her
muscles.
   He leaned over and his voice was in her ear, soothingly soft, the sound
of waves breaking against the hull hypnotized her.
   "I assumed you knew, especially after what you did.  We can figure it
out together.  Believe me when I say I know my own."
   Alana heard what he was saying, but she was in no position to respond.
Her whole body warmed under his touch, her loins specifically.  She felt
painfully aroused, the way that happens when she read or watched something
intensely seductive.  She felt a glowing red burn on her clitoris, moisture
gathered between her labia.
   She didn't want him to stop.  She didn't want to say anything.  She
relaxed, sighed, opened to his touch.
   He spread her legs and leaned forward, his lips touched hers in the most
gentle of kisses.  She opened her mouth and took the kiss deeper, wrapped
her arms around him.  Her arms felt heavy, lethargic, but she had no
problem rolling her hips against him.
   Alana cried out as his fingers slid inside her.  She couldn't speak to
beg.  His touch stole her breath.  His fingers stoked the fever deep in her
loins.  She rolled and rocked on the waves of lust.  Zephyr's kiss moved to
her neck, nipping at her, freeing her moans.  She couldn't reign it in once
she started.
   She went ice cold seconds before exploding, losing control, screaming
against him.  A warm, gushing stream of liquid came from her.
   She didn't have control, he did.  "Was that you?"
   He hummed in assent.  "Yes.  Something like sedation, a bit of
somnolence."
   "What?"
   "Hypnotic drowsiness."
   "Yeah.  That.  No fight in me."
   "Nothing for you to fight.  I just want you to relax."
   Alana kissed her way down his neck, shoulder, to his chest.  Her tongue
circled his right nipple.  Zephyr twitched under her.  She flicked her
tongue over the toughened nub then trailed down his stomach; hooked her
fingers around the elastic of his shorts and tugged.
   He lifted his hips as she pulled his shorts down.  Her fingers caressed
his shaft as her lips and tongue accepted him into her mouth.  She worked
slowly, getting to know the length and girth of him.  Zephyr had a dick
born for porn, and he did such good work with it that she wanted to thank
him.
   He tasted masculine, delicious.  She swished her tongue back and forth
under the head as she bobbed on him.  She felt the distinctive rush within
his shaft that signaled his oncoming orgasm.  She took her time, coaxing
him, listening to his moan, feeling him tremble.  Then he swelled and
ejaculated in her mouth.  He groaned low in his throat as she pulled her
mouth up along his shaft.
   He lay still, eyes closed, body relaxed.  Alana eased off the bed and
grabbed a bottle of water.  She swished the water in her mouth and
swallowed.
   Minutes passed before he stirred and led her up top.  He taught her how
to operate Wyvern.  She watched with rapt interest.  He let her start the
engine and coached her as they set off.  Alana giggled as they bounded
across the waves.
   ***
   Zephyr dropped her off at home.
   Alana entered the house.  Stephen waited, leaning against her kitchen
counter.
   "Who was that?"
   "A friend of mine."
   "You suddenly have friends?"
   "Yeah."
   "Yeah," he echoed.  He walked into the living room and pointed to the
couch.  "Sit."
   Alana crossed her arms and sat.  "I think we should break up."
   "No."
   Alana looked wide eyed at him.
   "I'm not about to let you go.  We have a future together.  Whoever that
guy is?  He doesn't love you like I do."
   Alana opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words to answer him.
   "I love you, and whatever it is you're feeling, we can work through it."
   "This isn't about letting me do anything.  We aren't married."
   "You are going to be my wife one day, sooner than later if I have
anything to do with it."
   "Last time I checked you hadn't proposed so..." Her words trailed off as
he pulled the box out of his jacket.
   He set it down on his lap.  "That dinner date you've put off twice this
week?  That's why I've been so 'intense.' I want to marry you.  I want to
take care of you while you go back to college.  I want to love and cherish
you the rest of my life, Alana.  Will you marry me?"
   The problem was that she would have said yes to that question.  She
would have because she didn't think there would have been anything better.
She wanted to go back to college, she wanted the security Stephen offered.
   But what if Zephyr had been telling her the truth?  What if she had some
kind of special lineage?  Wouldn't she be better off learning about that
from him?
   Alana shook her head, "I can't."
   "What have I done to make you throw our future away?"
   "It's not about you."
   Stephen moved over to her and pulled her into his arms.  "If it concerns
you, it concerns me.  Do you love me?"
   Didn't she?  Alana wasn't sure about that question anymore.  The words
she'd spoken for years were nothing like the emotions she'd been feeling
for the past week.  She cared for Stephen.  She was comfortable with him.
   But love?
   "Yes."
   "That's all that matters." He opened the box and pulled out the ring.
   "No.  I need to think about that."
   "I don't." He took the ring out and put it on her finger.  "We'll talk
tomorrow."
   Stephen didn't let up.  He stayed over night with her and they talked
over breakfast.
   Her phone lit up with a text from Zephyr.  "Plans tomorrow?"
   She deleted the text.  The fact that she could recover from this stupid
affair was an opportunity she should take.  Stephen seemed to understand
that he was taking her for granted and increased his attention, loving
nature, and generosity.
   Zephyr, however, did not take her silence passively.  He showed up where
she worked and cornered her just as she was leaving.
   He didn't say anything.  Goodness, the man didn't have to.  He put his
hand around her and she melted against him.  He leaned down to kiss her and
she rose to her toes to meet his lips.  Their kiss seemed to last forever,
each breath long and drawn out.  There was no one for those few minutes but
him.  Then he let her go, stepped back, and walked away, leaving her aching
and confused.
   He didn't say anything, didn't ask why she'd been avoiding him, didn't
mention the fact that she was still with her boyfriend.  Nothing.  She
drafted at least fifty texts before she had the courage to hit send.
   "This is over."
   "Wrong." He sent back.
   Her stomach flipped.  Just that one word made her heart race.
   Her phone buzzed.  "In a meeting." Another buzz.  "Can't concentrate on
anything but you."
   "I can't be with you."
   "You are already with me."
   Alana groaned and buried her head in her hands.  She deleted the
messages and stopped responding.
   ***
   She smelled him before her eyes opened: clean, woodsy, male.
   "Breaking and entering is a crime."
   "Denying your instincts is worse." He pulled the covers back from her
body.
   "You know you're stalking me at this point."
   He spread her legs and crawled between them.  "That night, I felt a
pull. I knew there was something outside my room I needed to see." He
kissed the inside of her thigh, his hands squeezed her ass.
   She'd been looking for something, a way to get away from her drunken
surroundings, but instinctually ...  no it was that wraith thing, he was
forcing her.  Alana gasped and rolled her hips as his tongue probed her.
   She didn't want him to stop.  She didn't want to lose the way he
elicited an instant reaction from her body.
   "Do you want me?"
   "Yes."
   He kissed her, his tongue delved between her labia and flicked her
clitoris.  "Do you want me to fuck you?"
   "Yes."
   "Do you want me to make you come?"
   Alana shuddered as he tongue fucked her.  "Yes."
   Zephyr sat back on his heels and looked down at her.  She lay open and
shivered under his inspection.  Alana stifled her giggle of girlish
discomfort.
   She rubbed his thigh, with her foot, pulled him onto her with her legs,
but he grabbed her ankles and set her legs aside.
   "Fuck me, Zephyr."
   His eyes closed and he took a deep breath.
   "Please," she added.
   "When you remember you are mine." Zephyr rolled off the bed and tugged
on his clothes.  His words and his actions didn't seem to go together.  He
palmed his keys and blew her a kiss before walking away.
   ***
   "Hi, Alana.  I'm Sean."
   "Hi."
   "So you're Zephyr's girl?"
   Alana just gave him a single nod.  Zephyr's girl.  Not so much.  She'd
been the object of his corruption, but that needed to come to an end
tonight.
   Sean pulled another woman over, Nadia.  She had a heavy metal vibe to
her, laid back and cuddly at the same time.  "Let me get you something."
   For the first time Alana felt part of a group.  She met several people,
made small talk with them.  They had the distinction of being well off, but
still rebellious.
   Dangerous.  That's what her instincts warned her.  He had sent her an
address and time, but so far, she hadn't seen him.
   Sometimes she'd take a hand and feel a jolt of fear.  It was like coming
upon a cute puppy only to see that it was a fully grown, snarling, wolf
with the blood of a fresh kill smeared in its snout.  But a second later
the fear was gone and she was smiling, chatting, and making another friend.
   She joined Nadia and Sean on the floor pillows.
   Zephyr walked in.  Her heart raced as she looked him over.  He sat down
behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
   "You do this often?"
   "About once a month.  These people are like family to me."
   Family?  Like him?  A voice whispered 'us', but she ignored it.
   "Ready for a drink?" Nadia brought over two short glasses filled with
cloudy orange liquid.
   "It's more than alcohol," he whispered.
   "How much more?"
   Nadia smiled.  "It's an elixir.  You'll enjoy it."
   "Okay." It smelled citrus but fruity like mango or passion fruit.  It
wasn't too sweet, thick, like a smoothie, but nothing tinny, metallic, or
even alcoholic.  It was a delicious fruit punch as far as she could tell.
She knocked it back like she saw the others doing.  It took effect within
minutes.  It wasn't like alcohol at all, but another type of loosener.
   "What did you mean, like family?"
   "What you think." Zephyr fingers traced a line up the inside of her
thigh.  She spread her legs and leaned back without a moment's thought.  He
nuzzled her neck, his breath on her skin.
   I love him, she thought.  I really love him.
   "This isn't about corruption, Alana.  I'm not going to give up on you."
   "Take me."
   Sean asked something.
   Zephyr chuckled.  "She's just fine.  Undeveloped, that's all."
   Who?  Her?  She's fine.  Of course she was.  How could she be any better
than sitting between his legs with his fingers penetrating her, his teeth
on her ear lobe.
   "Do they know?"
   "Yes." He curled his fingers and hit the wall of her vagina.
   "I want to make your eyes go dark again." She moaned, but those words
didn't capture exactly what she wanted to say.
   Zephyr laughed and turned her around until she was straddling him.
   "She can't hear you."
   Can't hear what?  Was it rude she was ignoring people she just met?  Was
it rude that she was dry humping him in a room full of people?  Maybe.
   "You really want to do that again?"
   She nodded.
   "Why?"
   She plunged her tongue into his mouth.  She reached down to adjust his
erection so that it was rubbing her clitoris.
   "I want to lose myself in you.  I want to feel your teeth in my shoulder
and your nails in my skin."
   He said something, but it wasn't to her.
   Pay attention.  Pay attention.
   "Mind your own.  She's not used to it, that's all."
   A woman spoke back to him.
   "I don't care.  If it were that big a deal she wouldn't be here now.  I
shocked her at first."
   "I still don't know how you're sure." Sean said.  "Or why you think it's
not just sex.  I bet I can get her proclaiming her love to me within the
hour."
   A delicious sensation flowed down her spine like a cool gel.  Time
slowed as she turned and got on all fours facing him, Sean, the dangerous
man with his disarming smile, fuck him.
   "You touch me and I'll rip your dick off.  Back the fuck up." Her voice
growled.
   "Now you know how I know," Zephyr pulled her back by her hips.
   Her eyes closed.  She curled against him, rested her head on his side.
He massaged neck.  She could fall asleep like this.
   "Feisty."
   "It's lowering her learned response."
   "You can't keep her high all day."
   "I can teach her better habits."
   "Corrupting me," she moaned.
   "Saving you."
   She laughed.
   "Inside joke," he explained as he tumbled with her.
   She arched under him.
   "Was it ...  here?" He started tickling her and wouldn't stop until she
couldn't breathe.  She collapsed and looked around the room.  Two of the
people she'd met earlier were openly fucking on the couch.  When he
finished, the woman on her back signaled another guy over to her.  "Don't
let that happen to me."
   "Don't worry about Sandra.  She's very much in control."
   "Have you slept with her?"
   "Yes.  Jealous?"
   "You're not going to do it again."
   "Nope."
   "What am I on?"
   "The good stuff."
   She giggled.  "I'll do whatever you want me to."
   "At least while you're high." His voice sounded sad.  He lay down on her
breasts.
   Her eyes watered and she swallowed the lump in her throat.  She had
nothing to say.  How many times did he come back to her after she turned
him away?  Each time she would come to her senses and go back to her
boyfriend, a man she didn't even love.
   "Do me a favor."
   "Anything."
   "Slide your hand between my legs and put your fingers inside me."
   Zephyr stood and gathered her into his arms.  "I'm going upstairs."
   "Spoil sport.  Since when did you get shy?"
   "Since now."
   She rested on his shoulder, nestled in the crook of his neck as he
carried her upstairs.  She didn't move until he kicked a door closed behind
him.  He slung her to the bed and jumped over her.
   "Zephyr," she moaned.  "I'll be yours."
   "How long?"
   "However long you want me.  I want you.  Please."
   "Hush." He whispered.
   She did.  She'd accomplished her goal.  His eyes darker, his body
larger.
   His voice turned husky, low, almost threatening.  "You belong with me."
   Alana cried out as he thrusted inside her.  His dizzying width stretched
her.  Part in, then out, then deeper, then out, all the way, thrusting in a
'I dare you to disagree' insistence.  He built such a fire in her, one she
saw reflected in his iron gaze.  His body rippled, tensed, shuddered over
her own.  He withdrew and slammed deep and she cried out each time.
   She clawed at his back, her fingers dug into his shoulders.
   "You know it." He smothered her with a furious kiss.
   Sexually they were a flawless match.  Her body loved him, responded,
came apart whenever he wanted, however he want.  She whimpered as she
climaxed, shuddered.  He fucked her straight through it, his tongue in her
mouth, teeth at her lips.  She whined and moaned in short pleading gasps.
He smelled so good, felt so good, but Alana had to remember that he was
something crazy, unbelievable, too weird to tie her life to.
   Alana rolled her face against his chest, covering herself with his
sweat. He chuckled as he kept fucking her.
   "Zephyr," she moaned.
   His hips snapped and he bit the side of her neck.
   "Zephyr, I..."
   He was going to make her come again, fucking like this, relentless,
hungry.  He was moaning, soft, low, in her ear, his breath heavy and
labored.
   "I belong with you."
   "Fucking right.  Say it again."
   "I belong to you, Zephyr." It was crazy, but it made her feel good. 
Filled him with a frenzy.  "I'm yours."
   He lifted her legs up to his shoulders and closed his eyes.  He braced
over her and his thick cock brought her to a second orgasm.
   "Fuck, I love you.  I belong to you.  I'm obsessed with you." She
screamed the words out.  He joined her over the edge, moaning and panting.
Finally she whispered, "Zephyr."
   He kissed the top of her head.
   ***
   She sobered up and the urge to run returned.  They were back at her
house, lying in her bed.  She remembered kissing and giggling while he
carried her through the house.
   They lounged in the living room watching movies.  He looked over to her
as if afraid to speak.  He knew that she was back to the part where she
decided act 'sane' and stop answering his calls.
   She wanted him to bend her over, wanted to ask him to, but all she had
to do was reach out for him, feel him, hear him.  The intensity scared her.
   She couldn't walk away again.  She reached out and put her fingers to
his chest.
   "You have as much power over me as I have over you."
   "Do I?" He countered.
   "Yes."
   "Then why?  Why are you about to pull away?"
   "That's not what I'm doing." She sat up, paused the movie, and straddled
him.  "I want you."
   His eyes actually watered.
   "Not as my lover, not in secret."
   "Why now?"
   "I don't think you know." She breathed deep then deflated.  "It's hard."
   "Here's what I know.  I--" Zephyr's words were cut off by the ringing of
her doorbell.
   She snarled, complete with the gnashing of her teeth.  She stomped over
to the door and swung it open.  She really hadn't expected Stephen to be at
the door.
   "Where is he?"
   "Go away."
   "It's not your fault.  He'd been drugging you.  I know you're confused
right now, even scared, but acting out like this ...  think about your
future, your education, your goals in life.  You don't want to throw all
that away."
   "Stephen.  Honestly, I need you to leave.  This isn't going to work."
   Zephyr stood against the wall next to the door, staring at her.
   "You're not welcome here."
   "I'm not welcome?  In the place I bought for you?  The place where I'm
paying your rent."
   Alana felt as if she shrank in size.  The last thing she wanted was to
be reminded of her shameful behavior.  "I'll..."
   Zephyr nodded.
   "You're welcome just fine.  I'll leave."
   "You aren't going to go anywhere.  Get your act together.  You have an
interview tomorrow.  Fifty thousand a year and reimbursement for your
education.  I'm going to call Amanda.  She'll agree to see you on the
weekend and you can work through this anxiety or depression or whatever
you're--"
   Alana slammed the door in his face.  She balled her hands and just
wanted everything to go away.  Well, not everything, not really, not the
part where she felt good, where she was happy.
   ***
   They were gone when she woke up.  No one outside her house.  No one
inside.
   Zephyr had left a note instructing her to find dinner in the fridge, but
nothing about where he'd gone or when he would return.  Did she say or do
something to kick him out?
   She pulled the plate from the fridge and slid it into the microwave. 
She felt good, rested, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what
happened after she slammed the door in Stephen's face.
   She sat to the table and ate her dinner.  It was insanely delicious. 
Some kind of stuffed chicken and orange pureed goodness.  It was mouth
watering and the wild rice was perfect.
   Alana drew a bath of hot water, poured in some lavender bath salts and
turned out all the lights save for a lit candle.  She slipped into the
water with a lazy grin.  The low flickering light, warmth of the water
brought Zephyr to mind, the way she abandoned all reason with him, how
aroused he made her feel, the look in his eyes when she purred his name. 
Maybe she should have called.
   She soaked her wash cloth and squeezed the warm water over her chest. 
As her skin grew sensitive she slid her hands across her breasts,
pretending her hands were his.  She imagined his body pressed to hers.
   She touched her inner thighs and thought of Zephyr.  A strange hum
passed through her fingers.  She brought those fingers to her clitoris,
imagining even more that it was his touch, his tongue.  Sensitive, sensual,
magical.  She sank back into the water.
   She wanted him with her.  This was her weekend, her life.  She wanted
memories made, futures solidified.  She didn't want to be stalked or
hunted. She wanted to be captured, owned.
   No messages.  Alana sat on the edge of her bed with her phone in hand.
Fuzzy memory aside, she'd told Stephen to leave her alone, but she didn't
want Zephyr gone as well.
   She dialed his number.
   "Yeah?"
   "I want you to know that I love you.  I want to belong to you. 
Completely sane and sober."
   "I love you, too, Alana." He chuckled.  "To what do I owe this wonderful
call?"
   "I can't remember what happened, but I don't want to be without you."
   "Good to hear.  I'm two minutes away.  I went to borrow a truck.  Better
than my car for moving your things.  Don't worry.  I've told you.  I won't
give up on you."
   <->
Written: March 2009
   Contact: nysidra at hot mail dot com
  
Wyvern