Bitter Change

by Mara Lee

  Lothos sank back into the chair. He was Loopin and used to being in control. What was he to do with this confounded woman? “Then what?” He asked of Sophie.

  Sophie came over and stroked his cheek. “You could always go take a run.”

  At the mention of a run, Lothos's already dark eyes darkened even further. He felt the beast in him hunger, and he nodded. He gave Xethre a short cursory look before he sprinted out of the kitchen.

  Sophie and Xethre shared a knowing look. The Loopin could not ignore the call of the forest. Lothos would find some peace in the wood.

  * * * *

  Xethre watched as Sophie prepared dinner. He liked her tidy, neat movements. He liked how she measured and weighed everything so precisely and with such care. She took care in everything that she did—it was one of the reasons that he loved her.

  Xethre swallowed. The first time he had made such an admission to himself, it had stunned him so greatly that he had had to go out and kill something to relieve the tension. Now, admitting that he felt love, that he was even capable of feeling love, merely brought a lump to his dry throat. Xethre was aware that he didn't love Sophie, not as Lothos loved and hungered for Ethenia. His love was that of a dear friend, a partner. And he knew that Sophie felt the same. It was all right for the time being, their relationship—strange as it was. But eventually Sophie would find her missing half, as she was destined to do, and would leave him. Xethre tried not to feel pain at the thought. It was natural. Sophie wasn't his. No, he could only hope that somewhere in the wide universe that there was a piece of soul that longed for him—and hopefully, it would be attached to a great set of—

  “Don't finish that thought, Xethre.” Sophie admonished.

  Xethre laughed. “How long have you been listening in, you termagant.”

  Sophie grinned, “Not long, but long enough.”

  Xethre glided over. It was good that she had interrupted his turbulent thoughts. He was melancholy enough as it was.

  Xethre was unaware of his somber expression.

  Sophie looked up from her skillet. As always, she was made breathless by those deep turquoise eyes of his. No one, living or dead, had such amazing eyes. They were fathomless, a true sea of turquoise, on occasion so blue and swirling, they appeared to be a stormy meridian. But she had seen those eyes a different shade. When the hunger, be it for blood or flesh was on him—oh yes, she had seen those eyes a different shade.

  “You will find her.” Sophie reached out and stroked Xethre's pale cheek.

  Xethre said nothing. He knew of what she spoke.

  “You just must be patient.”

  Only the brief flicker in Xethre's eyes gave him away. “Patience,” he murmured.

  “It all takes time,” Sophie said, “You have a lot of that, darling.”

  Xethre looked away. “Perhaps I am getting tired of having all of time at my feet.”

  Sophie didn't like the flat tone of his voice, or the hard edge to his words. She walked over to the kitchen table, quietly. “There are wondrous things to be had in the span of time.”

  “For you, perhaps. You're mortal.”

  Sophie divested her clothes magically, hopped up on the kitchen table, legs spread. “For you as well, darling,” smiling at his expression when he turned around to face her.

  Xethre was dead, not a eunuch. His cock was instantly hard at the sight of Sophie so beautiful, so open, in front of him. He walked slowly over to her. The tent in the front of his pajama bottoms spoke of his intense desire. “Sophie…” he said warningly. “You try to distract me, woman.”

  Sophie's laugh was musical. “Is it working?”

  She watched him standing so still in front of her, and felt her nipples pucker under the weigh of his stare. She flipped her head, the fall of her chestnut curls rippled down her back. She wet her lips with her tongue, slowly gliding them back and forth, never taking her eyes off of him. Spreading her legs wider, she scooted to the edge of the table. Sophie knew that Xethre's control hung by a thread. She smiled. Well tough, he would just have to take it.

  “Too well, perhaps.” Xethre clenched his hands into tight little fists. He was unaware that his skin was already stretching tight and his talons were coming unsheathed.

  Sophie clucked her tongue. “Now, now, darling, you can do better than that. Put away the claws…” She waited until his talons had retracted to continue. She reached down slowly with one slender hand to part the soft folds of her labia. She stroked the delicate flesh tenderly, lovingly, right before she inserted two fingers into her pussy. She moaned. Her juices were already beginning to flow and she could feel them cooling on her fingers when she withdrew them. She brought her wet fingers to her mouth and sucked them clean, one by one. Her smile was feral when she heard the hiss that escaped Xethre's mouth.

  Xethre stepped forward and stopped when Sophie held up her hand. She shook her head and the look in her eyes brooked no argument.

  Sophie dipped her fingers into her aching pussy once again. This time she hooked her two fingers together and screwed them gently back and forth. The pleasure was so intense. She could feel her clit puff and pulse and she had to touch it. She captured the hard, full bud in her fingers and twisted lightly. Her mouth dropped open and her head fell back. She arched her hips higher towards the source of its pleasure and continued to rub and tease her aching flesh. She felt her heart hammering in her chest and her blood beginning to burn and build. There was a great humming sound in her head and her body was vibrating. She gave her clit one more pinch and came. Her juices openly broke through, flooding her fingers and dripping down her hands. She fell back on the table, gasping and panting.

  Xethre put his two large hands on Sophie's soft thighs and kept them anchored. He knelt down and slowly, with intense pleasure, lapped up the cream that was cooling on her body. He felt the shivers that wracked her body and gave no quarter. He licked, lapped, teasing the highly sensitized flesh with his talented tongue. He loved the taste of her, so thick on his tongue, she was delicious, his little witch.

  Sophie's groan was wrenched from her throat. God, the vampire knew how to eat pussy. She tried to move her hips but found that Xethre's hands held her tight. He was taking his sweet time, pulling out each second that he could, tormenting her. Sophie felt her blood boil—her muscles tense and vibrate. Her chest was heaving with exertion. She felt Xethre's tongue curl around her clit and pluck. She screamed and let her climax roll through her. Sophie was allowed one minute of sated pleasure before she felt Xethre's cock, hard and smooth, begging for entrance. She smiled. “What are you waiting for, darling?”

  Xethre laughed and thrust home. Xethre stilled Sophie's already moving hips with his hands, reveling in the tight, wet feel of her flesh against his cock. She was so unbelievably hot. “Damn you're tight, Soph,” Xethre ground out. He resisted the urge to plunge and take her hard.

  Sophie was near tears. She needed to move. She wiggled her hips and groaned when Xethre only raked her belly with his teeth. “Xethre…”

  Xethre's face was tense with the strain of keeping still. “Tell me, tell me what you need, Sophie Anne Alexander.” Xethre rarely used Sophie's full name, but now it rolled down his tongue thick as molasses in winter.

  “I need you to fuck me,” Sophie's eyes were dark and glassy, “Fuck me hard.”

  Xethre felt the pinch of her pussy against his cock and groaned. “Whatever the lady wishes,” Xethre said. Xethre pulled Sophie to the edge of the table, never breaking contact with her hot body. He grabbed her legs and locked them around his back and thrust surely into her wet, welcoming warmth. Sophie moaned helplessly and Xethre began to pump with hard thorough strokes into her pussy. He could feel her muscles clenching and contracting and hear the slap of their bodies against one another. Xethre saw Sophie's breasts so plump and full beneath his avid gaze. He leaned down and captured one taut nipple in his mouth, worrying it with his teeth. His thrusts became harder more brutal and he took his pleasure mercilessl
y. His body was screaming for release. And Sophie's moans and the reach of her hands did nothing but fuel his fire on. Sophie's breathing was becoming ragged and pained. Her pussy clenched and she arched up against the hard wood at her back. Xethre felt his cock leap and pulse and knew he was close. He dug his hands into her soft flesh and looked into her eyes pleadingly.

  Sophie saw his desire. She gasped as he executed another deep thrust into her pliant flesh. She had to try twice to find her voice, and when she spoke her voice was laced with heavy passion. “Yes, yes, Xethre, oh God yes.”

  Xethre used his arm as leverage, bringing Sophie's body up and off the table. He ground their pelvises together, and leaned over her neck. He located the vein, quickly, easily, and licked the soft, nearly translucent skin above it. The vein was a soft molten blue and shimmering from his saliva. He caught the flesh in his mouth. He pumped his hips, roughly thrusting their bodies together, and when he heard Sophie's ragged, pleading moan, he pierced her flesh and drank. Sophie's blood was thick and sweet. The rich, red copper filled his mouth to overflowing. He felt Sophie's body jerking and vibrating under his and knew the moment she achieved orgasm. His cock was begging for release. With the warm richness of her blood in his mouth he allowed himself to peak.

  Xethre lifted his mouth from Sophie's neck and roared. His body pumped out its seed in a great wild rush. He felt Sophie's blood coating his lips and dripping down his chin. He brought his tongue out to lap up what he could, loving the sweet tang of her blood. He gently placed her back down on the table's wooden surface. He placed a tender kiss to her sweaty forehead. “My wild witch,” he murmured softly.

  Sophie smiled, but didn't open her eyes as she spoke. “I forgot about dinner.”

  Xethre grinned—his eyes were alight with mischief and just buried passion. “Doesn't matter … there are much better things to eat.”

  Sophie's eyes popped open and she broke out into peals of laughter.

  Chapter Six

  Lothos realized he was in dangerous new territory. He had longed for his amouratesh with every breath that was in his body, but he had never looked past the actual finding. Now that he had found Ethenia—he wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't sure how to keep her, how to make her love him. He had always just assumed that once you found the missing part of your soul that, well, things just clicked. He hadn't thought that Ethenia would need convincing of this fact. Just went to show how stupid he could be. Or perhaps Sophie was right—he was just one stubborn wolf.

  Lothos slowed his gait. He allowed his large body to flatten to the ground. He dug his snout into the rich soil of the earth and took in the scents and sounds of the enveloping night. The forest always calmed him. You could not take a wolf from its natural habitat, not even a man-wolf. Lothos heard the snap of a twig and smiled. It was his she-wolf. He now knew her scent better than his own. Lothos pulled back and ducked behind a tree to wait. He didn't have to wait long.

  Ethenia appeared and was in wolf form.

  Lothos felt hunger, hot and heavy unfurl in his belly. His angel made a beautiful wolf. Her fur was molten gold, very, very unusual for a wolf. It appeared to be softer than silk in the moonlight. She was a petite wolf but her lush form nearly took his breath away. Lothos felt his heart thudding wildly and he could not keep a lustful howl from escaping.

  Ethenia turned toward the tree. “Even if I did not smell your scent, Lothos, no one for a quarter of a mile could have missed that howl. You are very loud.”

  Lothos found that he was gritting his teeth. He padded out from behind the tree and came to stand before Ethenia. “Angel.”

  Ethenia flipped her tail in Lothos's face and began to walk away. Lothos cut across her path, stopping her escape. He growled menacingly. Ethenia sighed—the sigh came out strangely from her long snout. “All right Lothos, we'll do it your way.” Ethenia circled Lothos for a moment before she tackled him straight on. She saw the surprise register on his face before she landed on top of him. Before he could pin her she jumped up and swatted him away. She growled, bearing her teeth.

  Lothos was shocked, but not unpleasantly. His Ethenia was physically fighting him, as best she could. It was obvious who the winner would be. She was only a female after all. Lothos sidestepped a wicked claw to his face just in time. Whoa, it seemed that she was out for some blood tonight. Not wanting to hurt her, well, not too badly, he bit her hind-legs, bringing her down. Ethenia growled and struggled, kicking her legs and snarling wildly at him. Lothos laughed and brought his considerable weight to rest entirely on top of Ethenia's petite body. He ignored her snarls and pants and nipped her shoulder. “Would you like to go another round, angel?”

  Ethenia bared her teeth and forced out a no.

  Lothos nodded, “Now, perhaps we can talk rationally.”

  Ethenia said nothing.

  Lothos sighed, “Or not.” He looked into her golden eyes. “Are you truly not going to forgive me, angel?” Lothos found it exceedingly difficult to speak in true wolf form. It was not impossible, obviously, but uncomfortable. “If I get up off of you will you promise not to run away?”

  Ethenia nodded reluctantly.

  Lothos rolled over and let Ethenia out from under him. She scampered away. “Now, will you answer my question, angel?”

  Ethenia looked away. She found it difficult to concentrate when staring into Lothos's forest green eyes.

  “Ethenia,” his soft voice beckoned to her.

  Ethenia looked up. He had shifted into human form. He was gloriously naked and already semi-erect. Ethenia swallowed. And she thought looking into his eyes was distracting.

  She followed suit and shifted into human form. She was not ashamed of her nakedness but for once she wished she had at least a small scrap of clothing. It was difficult to talk about serious matters in the buff. She lowered her eyes. “I've already forgiven you, Lothos,” she said softly. She sighed, “I was upset that you didn't let me in—that you didn't confide in me.”

  Lothos nodded. He moved closer. “I am sorry Ethenia, truly I am. I only, well, I only just realized it myself.” He saw the dubious look on her face. “I promise you that I only just came to the realization myself. I was trying to find the words and the courage to tell you earlier today when Sophie interrupted us.”

  Ethenia frowned. “About Sophie…”

  “What about her?”

  Ethenia blushed furiously. Damn it all, why did she still blush? “What, well what is the nature of your relationship with her?” Ethenia knew that it was a brazen question but she had just been informed that she was Lothos's amouratesh, didn't she have the right to know what was going on between him and Sophie?”

  Lothos grinned, “Jealous, my angel?”

  “No,” Ethenia saw his look and sighed, “Yes. So what?”

  Lothos laughed. “I'm glad that you're jealous. But you need not be.”

  “You and Sophie are very close.”

  “Yes, but it is not like the closeness that you and I share, angel.” Lothos settled himself next to Ethenia. He took her hand in his and gently rubbed her palm. “Sophie is my friend, my dear friend. You, my angel, are my heart. There can be no one in this world for me but you.”

  Ethenia told herself that she would not cry. She blinked back tears. Damn. “You were awful eager to get rid of me,” she murmured.

  Lothos nodded. “I was an ass. God, I am so sorry, Ethenia. I was a real jerk. I … I didn't know how to handle the situation. You just sort of fell at my feet.”

  Ethenia smiled at the memory.

  Lothos continued. “I told myself that I only felt the normal lusts of a wolf in heat. That you were beautiful and that it was natural that I wanted you. I tricked myself into believing that by bringing you to Sophie I was doing the chivalrous thing. That you would be safe here, with Sophie, that my hands and my conscience would be clear. I was such a blind fool, Ethenia.” Lothos's eyes were pleading. “Please tell me that you forgive me, angel.”

  Ethenia was at a loss for w
ords. Oh God, the Loopin of her dreams was declaring his love for her. Lothos was telling her that she was his amouratesh, and that he couldn't be without her. Tears began to fall silently down her cheek. Kieran had taken so much from her. She had thought he had taken her ability to love, too. But here was Lothos, so shining and beautiful before her, and she knew without a doubt that she loved him.

  “Ethenia … angel … please say something.”

  Ethenia threw her arms around Lothos's neck—hugging him for all that she was worth. She breathed in his scent, a delicious mixture of salt, pine and peppermint? She snuggled into his body. “I love you Lothos, God how I love you. I know now why I survived all of these years … it was so that I could come to you, come to you as I am now, strong and ready to share with you my soul.”

  Ethenia was unprepared for the holler of delight that came from Lothos, or for being tumbled to the ground. She looked into Lothos's eyes and saw a deep hunger lingering there.

  Ethenia gasped when she felt Lothos's tongue laving the soft flesh above her heart. His tongue was rough and warm against her skin. It felt wonderful. She swallowed when his took her flesh between his teeth and nipped.

  “What are you doing?” Ethenia asked breathlessly.

  “Biting you.”

  Ethenia smiled. “Yes, I … I can see that.”

  Lothos looked up. “Do you trust me, angel?”

  Ethenia groaned as Lothos's large hands began to knead the flesh of her thighs. His mouth was still warm against her chest. “Yes.”

  “My angel.” Lothos once again took her flesh between his teeth, but this time he bit down—hard.

  “Oh my GOD!” Ethenia began to writhe. She could feel him, teeth digging into her skin, warm mouth and tongue. He was everywhere. She vaguely heard him whisper, when lights exploded within her head and the world went black.

  * * * *

  “I've never felt anything like that before,” Ethenia murmured. She had come back to consciousness slowly, feeling incredible.

  Lothos laughed. “You had better have not.”