Bound by Pride Ch. 06

"What's for lunch?" She asked suspiciously.

He shrugged, "No idea, Anna and Maria are putting it together for me, Bastion got huffy when I started rummaging and they took over for me to keep him happy."

She chuckled, "I honestly believe he's getting more anal by the minute."

He shrugged; he didn't really know Bastion well enough to comment.

She stood; she willed a bag into her hands and checked to make sure she had enough paper and charcoal sticks to draw. "Okay... let's go pick up the basket and go."

He smiled pleased with the way things had gone so far. They left the room and went to the kitchen; a basket was just in the process of being packed with food and drink. Maria and Anna kept casting glances at a clearly annoyed Bastion.

"Let me guess, it starts with a T and ends with an E." Vivian said amused.

"No... he caught Thais trying to move that priceless vase in the up stairs library." Anna explained.

Vivian frowned, "Thais normally doesn't destroy things... he must have been trying to move it for a reason. Maybe to keep Temperance from breaking it."

"I'll move it as soon as can if I don't forget." Anna said to herself as she packed the last airtight container into the basket. Maria tucked a heavy rug on top before they closed it up and slid it over to Lupa.

"Have a nice lunch." Anna said before she turned back to making lunch for the rest of the hungry horde.

Lupa picked up the basket and together they ducked out of the house through the kitchen garden where Maria grew most of the herbs she used for cooking and even some of the vegetables. Lupa reached out and took Vivian's hand as they walked into forest surrounding Wolfgang's home.

"So how long will it take to get to this place you found?" She asked amused at the almost youthful act of him taking her hand in his.

"About an hour." He answered; they then fell into a comfortable silence for the rest of their trip. When they started to get close to their destination, he started to get excited, the night before he had stumbled across this place completely by accident and had instantly wanted to show it to Vivian. However, he had conceded that going and waking her in the middle of the night after the emotional upheaval she had gone through the other day would be rude. He had then come up with the idea of bringing her out her for a picnic lunch.

He smiled at her as he moved a low hanging branch. "Here we are." He told her. She ducked under the branch and walked into the small clearing that was shaded by a massive willow. A small cascade hugged one side and filled a small crystal clear pool, which tapered off to a small brook.

"Wow... it's beautiful." She said in awe.

He grinned, "Not as beautiful as you." He said.

She turned and gave him a look that clearly meantyou cannot be serious.

"Too corny?" He asked for which she nodded. "Corny or not I think it's true." He joined her in the clearing and set the rug up in the only patch of sunlight to filter through the sweeping branches of the willow.

He sat and started to pull out what had been packed, spreading their lunch across the rug. She joined him on the rug and started to open containers, cold roast chicken, everything to make sandwiches including fresh bread. He also opened containers exposing potato salad, coleslaw and fruit salad. Plates, knives and forks were quickly pulled out and they started to eat and chat, learning more about each other. When they had eaten their full they packed up the leftovers and lay down on the rug staring up at the sky.

"Vivian," He began when they came to a quiet spot in their chat.

She hummed although she felt drowsy.

"My memories are fractured of that time, could you... how did we meet?" He said changing the way he wanted to phrase his question; she was silent for several long moments. "If it's too painful..."

"No... it's okay." She sighed. "I felt compelled to make a sword early in my life as an Ancient."

"Excalibur." He surmised.

She sat up and nodded. "Just as I finished the sword I added a protection to it, to keep the king's sword safe. It had to be taken from me, so that it couldn't be used by people who would use the sword for domination. Fate told me to give Excalibur to a medieval tribal king so that he could defeat his enemies and bring stability back to the land. So I went to give him the sword. I walked through his camp and up to him and offered Excalibur to him and told him that with it he would defeat his enemies."

She rested her chin on her knees after she brought them up to her chest. "He asked how I could be so sure that this sword would guarantee his victory and I told him it was because Fate told me to make this sword, and Fate told me to give it to you. That Fate wanted him to win and was giving him what he needed to win." She glanced up at the sky. "You were there... I mean... well you get my point." She turned her eyes back to him.

He rolled onto his side and watched her carefully not interrupting.

"As I was leaving you grabbed me, and asked to walk with me. You wouldn't take no for an answer. A walk that leads to dinner, which led to a moonlit stroll. When I told you I didn't have somewhere to stay, you offered me your tent." She said with a smile. "I asked where you were going to sleep. You smiled and said 'my tent'."

He chuckled as it sounded like something he would say.

She grinned. "You then walked me into your tent and offered me the bed, before grabbing some blankets and curling up in a corner. In the morning, you took me for a walk and we spent the entire day together, you sweet-talking me. Then we spent that night together, making wild passionate love until the early morning. When I woke you were gone." Her voice broke.

She took a deep breath and held out her hand, a crude ancient looking dagger appeared in her hand. "On the pillow was your dagger and a note that read..."

"To protect you until I return." He said gently, he remembered that part vividly.

She nodded, "But you never did." she glanced skywards to keep her tears at bay as his death was still a very painful thought to her, "I waited and when the men returned they returned with your shield and body tied to your horse, you were dead." She stroked the dagger turning her eyes to it. "I've kept this with me ever since."

He sat up and cupped her jaw with his hand. She closed her eyes and leant into his hand, gently rubbing her cheek against his rough hand. "I didn't mean to leave you; I had every intention of returning and making you my wife. Of leaving war and settling down and raising animals." He took a deep breath, "I don't know what happened and I don't think I ever will, and don't think I will ever fully forgive myself for leaving you to face being a single mother."

He leant forward and gently kissed her forehead, his hand snaking behind her neck as he moved his lips to hers. He kissed her gently, skimming his lips gently over hers. She leant forward to deepen the kiss and bring more contact between their lips just as it started to pour.

They jumped to their feet, grabbed the rug, her bag and basket and raced beneath the willow, its branches were deep and sweeping, and it would take hours before the rain soaked through to them.

He growled a little as he suddenly remembered what Thais said. "Damn it... I should have listened to Thais."

She chuckled, "What did he say?"

"Bring an umbrella." He said grumpily wishing that he had listened to that little boy.

She smiled as she watched him sit and cuddled up to him, he wrapped the rug around them both to keep them warm. "Thais doesn't talk much... but when does people should take notice. He sees the future as clearly as I see you sitting here."

"I wish I had known that before."

She pressed her face to his chest and smiled. "Well even Wolfgang and Amy have trouble believing everything to come out of his mouth."

He kissed her forehead. She shifted her body until her back rested against his chest; she opened her bag and pulled out her sketchpad and a stick of charcoal. She started to sketch the little area and wished she had packed something more then just charcoal to capture the beauty of this place. His hands rested on her hips gently sliding under her shirt to stroke her skin. He couldn't help himself; he needed to touch her skin.

She took a deep breath as his roughened palm slid gently across her skin. Her nipples hardened as his hand gently explored her side and stomach. She took a deep breath as she felt desire course through her, she just couldn't help it, it was as if her body was tuned to react only to him, his touch his presence. She tried to focus on what she was drawing but knew it was a doomed battle.

She groaned when she felt one of his fingertips trace a pattern on her skin. She arched her body back to bring more contact, his lips pressed against her neck as his other hand slid into her shirt. She took a deep breath and suddenly they were in her room, the basket was in the kitchen and the damp rug in the laundry.

She grabbed his shirt and tugged it open, sending buttons flying; her lips fastened on his chest as she slid her hands up over his shoulders and pushed his shirt from his body. She moaned slightly as her tongue slid against his skin, damn it... she thought to herself, he even tastes the same.

"I thought..." he began to say but quickly decided to shut up as her hands went to his belt. He held his hands out of the way as not to interfere with what she was doing.

She pushed his jeans down and pulled his feet out of his shoes before divesting him of his jeans. He watched her every move with a little bit of wonder, he hadn't expected to get here so quickly. "Vivian?" He questioned as she stood.

She ran her hands over his chest and ran her fingers through his chest hairs. She glanced up to his eyes, "I don't want to fight this." She told him, "I've lived for a very long time, and for far too long I have lived with a hole in my heart. A hole that was put there the moment you left my life." She moved one of her hands to cup his jaw, "being with you today, it reminded me of that day and how easy it was to love you. I don't want to fight what I know I need to be complete in the first time in ten thousand years."

"But..."

She smiled gently at him glad that he was willing to take this slowly, "We have the rest of forever to get to know each other. All I know is that I need you so much now."

He lurched forward, his control gone, and attacked her lips, his hands caught the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, his lips only leaving hers for a few moments to get her shirt off. He tossed her shirt away and pulled her close, letting his hands roam over her skin and down to her jeans; he grabbed her bottom with both hands lifting her until her legs wrapped around him. He took two steps and together they toppled onto the bed.

He growled gently against her lips as he tugged on her belt, snapping it with his strength. He broke from her lips and started to attack her neck with kisses and gentle nips. His hands found her bra and with no finesse, he tugged, snapping the fastenings and flung it away after another tug to snap the straps, his lips teasing the hollow behind her left ear.

She moaned as his roughened hands moved to cup her aching breasts; she arched her back bringing more contact, needing more. She couldn't describe the need within her. She thought she would have to get to know this version of the man she loved, she was wrong... oh so wrong. She had wondered once how Rhun could just grab his soul mate and become so entrenched in her life in a few short days, or in Taylor's case mere seconds and she was the one who jumped him. She knew now that she couldn't have helped herself, she needed to be with him no matter what and in the few short days that he had been in the manor he had managed to get exactly where he wanted to be. Under her skin and firmly entrenched in her heart, never to come free.

"Lu-" She started to say but was cut off as his lips moved back to claim hers. She squirmed beneath him, needing him to join their bodies, needing his possession. She groaned as she felt him settle between her legs then growled at little in frustration that she was still clothed waist down. His hands went to get rid of her jeans. He was too slow and before he could even reach her jeans they were gone, she had willed them away. He broke the kiss and growled a little in anger, as he had wanted to remove them herself. "Viv......" He started but stilled as her long legs wrapped around him, her feet pressing at his bare behind, urging him forward.

He slowly crushed their bodies together, trapping his throbbing erection between their bodies. He shivered for a moment at the sensation of her skin against his sensitive organ. His instincts were roaring at him, he had to close his eyes as he panted trying to rein in his control.

She watched him trying to keep control. She stroked his face and raised her body up to bring her lips to his ear. "Claim me." She whispered gently into his ear.

He growled as he felt his teeth shift, his instincts coming more to the front, his control slipping. She nipped at his throat, he suddenly jerked away leaving her confused until he grabbed her and flipped her onto her stomach. His hands grabbed her hips and held her firmly as he growled between pants, trying to rein in his desperate need. He jerked her hips up, pressing her face deeper into the mattress as her knees came to rest beside his. His throbbing shaft brushed against her warm heat as she pushed her upper body up to brace her body.

He tried to keep his shift minimal but his instincts to claim her were just too strong. He slowly started to ease his throbbing shaft into her moist heat, his control loosening further, his head shifted and his body grew, a thin layer of fur grew on his body but that was where it stopped. She moaned as she felt every inch of him slide within her.

When he was fully seated within her, he stilled, his knot was beginning to form but he couldn't stay still, he had to move. He rested his head near her neck as he started to thrust, he moaned into her ear as he felt his knot start to catch. Her eyes rolled up as she arched to meet his demanding thrusts, this was more intense than she remembered.

She gasped and tried to pull away as something big tried to force its way within her. He reacted and his teeth were suddenly around her neck, with a growled warning for her not to fight this. He stopped thrusting and held himself tightly to her, slowly stretching her. She squirmed beneath him, trying to relieve the pressure, his teeth tightened, only a breath of pressure from breaking the skin.

He moaned as he felt her start to give way to his knot. He kept his pressure firm, sliding millimetre by millimetre of his knot within her. He whined when his knot suddenly slipped within her, she gasped and felt herself clamp down on the intruder as she suddenly climaxed. She felt him rumble against her neck and his grip on her neck loosened then was gone entirely, he licked at her neck as he waited for her to calm down.

When she stopped clutching at him, he started to move in short quick jabs, he shifted his arms hooking them around her hips, and he rested his body weight on her shoulders as his hips kept up their frantic rhythm. Her arms trembled as the weight was too much, she was strong enough to meld metal but not strong enough to support them both. Her arms folded and her face and shoulders were pressed into the mattress.

Her change in position changed the angle of his thrusts, rubbing against new areas. "Fuck..." she swore as her thighs trembled, she turned her head into the pillow and cried out as she came again. He didn't stop this time to let her recover, in fact he sped his thrusts feeling his own moment of bliss approach.

He turned his head searching out with his lips for the perfect place to bite her. To mar her skin with his teeth, claiming her body as his own. He found the junction where her shoulder met her neck and got his teeth in position for that all important bite. She was trapped between the need to stop his thrusts in her over sensitized body to wanting them with a vengeance, she tilted her head further aside, giving him more access to her neck.

Her body tensed as she felt another climax building within her, he snorted as he felt his balls tingle. He bit down the moment she came and let fly with his climax. She cried out as he moaned, as her blood filled his mouth and his seed filled her womb, his knot acting as nature designed and keeping his seed firmly within her as it kept surging up his shaft.

After several long minutes, he finally released his bite and licked at the wounds, cleaning and sealing them to prevent infection. He carefully moved them both onto their sides and let his body shift back into human form; his member however didn't it remained the same and remained firmly tied to her. He nibbled at her ear as his arms snaked around her. He smiled and gently entered her mind,Thankyou love of my life.He told her silently.

For what?She asked sleepily.

For letting me back into your life.He explained.

Like I could leave you out of it. You are my life.She told him as she turned and kissed him.

He smiled against her lips.

How long will we be tied like this?She asked.

He shrugged,Depends on whether or not I disengage or choose to keep making love.

She went still,more, he had to be kidding. She thought to herself then moaned as she felt his hips flex and start to move again.

He chuckled,More... honey... this is just the beginning of forever.He told her as he started to move more demandingly against her.

****

Mayhem felt a little out of place in the gathering, she wasn't a member of the family or even a friend of the happy couple. Electra stood next to her, with Maddie holding her hand as she glanced around her eyes wide and her head tilted back so that she could look up at the Nephalim and S'ephalim who had come for Tarval and Alanna's wedding.

Mather stood next to Michelle pleased and honoured that Tarval had invited him to the mating; he was hoping that now that Alanna and Tarval were bound, the future he had seen glimpses of would become more definite. He knew it was still some years off, that the real change would not happen until Alanna came to live in Sogol for a couple of hundred years, she would go to Sogol while she was pregnant with their first child. He could see that future more and more clearly, Santaurs and Da'Vaila as equals, with equal status and freedom. Moreover, it will all be because of Alanna, she was the instrument of that change and he was looking forward to it.

Tarval waited impatiently for Alanna to come, afraid that she would change her mind and leave him there without her. He was dressed elegantly in his full dress armour. Dominic stood beside him with a big smile, Tarval had been his best man at his own wedding, and it had only been natural that he stand next to man who raised him for his own wedding. Michelle and her husband were seated next to other friends of Tarval's who had insisted in being here.

Electra leant over to whisper in Mayhem's ear. "As long as you live with us you are classed as family."

Mayhem felt a sudden surge of heat flood her body, her cat urging on her body's natural response. Electra's scent washed over her heightening the liquid heat racing through her body. Her cat was wriggling in her mind, wanting to rub its face all over her body, laying her scent down thick and staking her claim. She tensed slightly as she realised what her cat wanted, what it needed, it had found its mate and was tuning her body to react to everything that was Electra.

"Why are you so tense... relax... all you have to do is watch." Electra had seen her tense but didn't know the reason behind it. It annoyed her a little that Electra hadn't noticed her scent, that she was completely unaware or if she was aware that she was completely ignoring her beast.