Once Dead Twice Bound Ch. 02

"While completely adorable, what does that have to do with this?" I said, waving at my stomach and groin.

"I think it has to do with the energy composition in your body. Currently it seems to be Diana's energy that is most prevalent in your body. Sex involves more than just the exchange of pleasure, during such an emotionally charged act energy is shared between the parties involved. You appear to be taking my shared energy and incorporating it into your matrix."

"I know my understanding of the forces involved is limited, but wouldn't that make me more..." I gestured lamely at her tail and ears. "Foxy, than human."

She laughed softly. "Yes and no. Hence the shapeshifting. Your mind remembers your human form the best, so as the draconic energy wanes in the presence of my superior kitsune energy, you're instinctively shifting your form to that of something more familiar. Hence your transformation into a more human like body."

"So if I keep having sex with you, I'll continue to become more saturated with your energy and my form with reflect that?" I said, speaking through and trying to understand the logic.

"That is what I believe, yes." Her tail swirled behind her and I fought to keep my attention from her subtly bouncing breasts.

It shocked me how easy I felt in the presence of this gorgeous naked woman. There was something profound about the bond we shared, easing my natural anxiety with comforting pheromones along with her calm and gentle nature. She smiled at me, almost like she could feel what I'm thinking.

Empathy! She can feel what I'm thinking.

Suddenly, the only thought in my mind were her breasts and glistening sex that hovered just over my stomach. It was like the thought experiment where you're told to try not to think of an elephant but then the only thing you can picture is grey wrinkled trunks and floppy ears. My waning erection returned and I could see in her eyes that she could sense the direction my thoughts had turned toward.

"I think it's sweet you find me that attractive. You're not so bad yourself," she said, her golden eyes flashing with hunger as they crawled across my body, taking in my improved physique. "Now that we've straightened your thoughts out in a more productive direction, I have this itch that I think you'll enjoy scratching." Rolling her hips, she slid her well lubricated pussy over my dick, penetrating herself with a single smooth stroke. It reminded me of our first time, her taking the lead and guiding me through my neurosis as she brought us both pleasure. Messing with her hair, she gave me an seductive act, full of playful looks and wanton moans while steadily pumping herself up and down on my shaft, using my body to get herself off. It was incredibly erotic and I found myself wanting to actively participate, to work together with her so this wasn't such a one sided affair.

So the burden of action doesn't rest solely on her shoulders. I want this to be a partnership. Equal stakes. Equal responsibilities.

Fear, like it often did, kept me from action, staying my hand.

She seems to have a nice thing going for her and I don't want to mess it up.

Our bodies squelched, Tara continuing to firmly impale her pussy around my dick, enveloping me with blissful sensations that I could see reflected in her expression. Fortunately, being the amazingly thoughtful woman she was, picked up on my poorly concealed worries. Her nose twitched as she smelt something that had no business being in this room. She continued to ride me, her delicious body towering over me, but she slowed, leaning in close to whisper breathlessly in my ear. "What's wrong lover?" It was asked so sincerely, without judgment or disappointment that I felt compelled to answer.

Bravery is not the absence of fear...

"Would it be okay... Would you mind if I took control for a bit? I mean... I'm sure I won't be any good. But I would like to try. Just for a bit," I mumbled shyly, unable to look at her while asking about such things.

"Of course," she said like it was the most reasonable thing in the world, her tempo not changing in the slightest. "In all my years on this world I've found that good communication is the key to healthy relationships. Be it friendship or lovers." She drawled that last word sensually. "If you want something just ask me... okay?" She gripped my chin and forced me to meet her gaze.

I nodded. Uncomfortable by her easy earnestness in the intensely intimate setting. But it was a good sort of uncomfortable, like how a good haircut feels strange as you walk out of the salon.

"Good." She sank herself onto my dick, her mons kissing my pubis for a moment before she rolled her hips, spinning us so she was underneath me. My chest pressed against her breasts and our faces were mere inches from each other, sharing the others breath. Citrus and woodsmoke mulled around us, the scents spilling through the air, teasing me with their comforting familiarity.

Taking a second, I regained my bearings. Pushing up with my arms, I got situated and took a single tentative stroke. Biting my cheek, I nervously examined her expression, waiting with baited breath for her reaction. She bit her lip coily, her fingers hooked into claws that pulled at my back, trying to get me to go just a bit deeper.

With a nervous smile, I settled into a halting rhythm. I was so preoccupied and nervous about what I was doing that my orgasm snuck up on me. Instinct bade me to sink into her as I released my seed. She smiled sweetly, as I lost myself in the softness of her flesh and pleasant smell of our combined fluids. She pulled me into a decadent kiss, scooting back from underneath me. Jerking slightly at the overstimulation of the sensitive head of my penis, I flopped to the side, covering my face with my hands. "Just once I would like to feel proficient at this sort of thing. Instead I feel hopelessly outclassed," I admitted, feeling like a petulant child whining at getting the wrong candybar.

Taking my hand she wound her fingers in my own.

"I know it won't help you for me to tell you that it felt wonderful. But I do it anyway because it's something I believe you need to hear. Jack. My bond mate and sweetly shy lover, what you do to me feels good. With time and experience we will only improve as a couple, learning the special things that make our partner tick. Give me your other hand," she demanded gently.

I acquiesced.

She took it and brought it to her sex, now sloppy with her lubrication and my second release. Curling her hand over mine, she forced my fingers into her pussy, her muscles flexing slightly around my fingers as they adjusted to my presence. After I curled my fingers, she sighed pleasurably, sinking deeper into the bed. Vaguely recalling some random internet suggestion, I let my tips of my fingers rise up, lightly rolling the bundle of nerves at the top of her pussy. Tensing almost imperceptibly, her eyelids fluttered. Continuing the stroking it didn't take long before she shuddered, her sex convulsing around my fingers as she rode her orgasm. I felt awe, her visage glorious in the primal expression of release, no concern for politeness or social niceties. Simply naked pleasure and all the more wondrous because of this.

I did this. I thought with amazement and pride, my spine straightening ever so slightly as I gained a miniscule amount of sexual confidence. Laying my head on her stomach, I curled around her, a wing folding out and draping over half her torso like a small blanket.

Laughing she curled a hand around my back, holding me close as we relaxed in our afterglow. I half dozed, my thoughts drifting, unconcerned with my usual worries or anxieties, enjoying the shared moment with Tara.

The comfortable silence was shattered by loud knocking.

"Tara, Jack," Diana's voice called out from beyond the closed door. "There's something I think you should see. Dressing quickly, I felt a little embarrassed that I could smell the scent of sex on both our bodies as we exited the room.

Embarrassed... but also proud.

Riding the high, I leaned over and gave Tara a quick kiss before she pulled open the door. Surprised but pleased, she wore a joyful smile as we confronted whatever it was that Diana had to show us. Throwing her hand sharply, Diana indicated we should follow while striding purposely down the hall.

"What's this about?" Tara asked. Touching her lips lightly, her tail danced a happy jig behind her. Her fangs poked adorably at the bottom of her lips while smiling. She threaded her fingers through mine while fighting off the desire to skip energetically down the hall.

"You'll see when we get there," Diana answered enigmatically.

Guards became more prolific as we ventured deeper into the stone castle. We entered what seemed to be a ritualistic chamber, a woman, bound in clearly magical glowing chains, was bound to their knees. Her pale white hair, covered her eyes, pale eyes that's clearly seen an abundance of guilt and sorrow.

"Olivia," I whispered. Doused with a mixture of fear, horror, and concern, I wasn't sure how to feel at seeing her. Especially, at seeing her here like this. "What happened?"

Baring her fangs, Tara hissed at the broken woman, throwing her hands wide as they filled with raging balls of threatening fire. The intensity of the heat made me take a step back as my enraged girlfriend advanced on the woman who tried to kill me.

Did she try to kill me? That's what they say but the memory is so fuzzy...

Diana held Tara back with an arm, addressing me like the outburst hadn't happened. "We found her sniffing around the edges of the keep like a wild animal, looking for a way into my domain." She leveled her own glare at Olivia.

The same Olivia who only had eyes for me, dark crimson irises that held both sorrow and a deep and unquenchable hunger. She swallowed, whether through dryness of mouth or the thought of tasting my blood I didn't know. Seeing my fear, she averted her eyes. Tremors ran throughout her body in tiny broken twitches that displayed her rough state. Pale as a ghost, she still possessed a certain stark beauty. She tried to speak but her voice came out as little more than a rasp. Licking her lips, she tried to produce enough moisture so that she didn't sound like week old corpse.

Emotions swirled through the air like a broken rainbow, too many to count with such varying intensity. Tara was the strongest, a healthy dose of anger brought forth by a spectre of pitch black fear. Opal was more muted, standing behind me at the ready, eyes locked on Olivia, regretful and resolved not to repeat her past failure. I didn't get anything at all from the Lady. Olivia's emotions were nearly as strong as Tara's, echoing through the atmosphere with such strength that it didn't matter that our connection was weaker. I felt more than saw the same ethereal tentacle reaching out from Olivia's tattered soul, much like what had happened with Opal. The connection sprung to life with a jolt.

I feel... Hunger. So much hunger. And pain. Loneliness so biting she hurts herself at night just to feel. Regret. The taste of blood on her lips, drawing her in, making her want more. Shame. A waterfall of shame. So thick she wants to dig herself a grave to live in for the next thousand years.

My head jerked to the side and the intensity of her emotions lessened slightly. Tara looked at me, concerned for a moment, her tail striking the air with an uncomfortable motion.

"I'm sorry. Jack... I'm a monster. I should never have done what I did. No matter the consequences..." Olivia confessed, finally regaining her voice.

I had to say something. The situation was too awkward for me not to. "I actually don't remember too much about what happened."

The relief was palpable in her eyes. "Good. I'm glad," she said wearily. "I wouldn't want you to have to remember... that." Her bright pink tongue darted from between her lips, tasting blood that was no longer there. "I can't seem to get the memory out of my mind. When I entered the cabin, I smelt your blood on the air and I... I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want to stop myself. You smelt too good. And the taste." She shivered again. This time obviously due to the pleasure of the memory. "I can't get it out of my mind. I tried feeding from the usual sources and it... It doesn't sustain me anymore. My body can't process the blood necessary for me to stay alive. I'm dependent on whatever was in your blood." She laughed brokenly. "It's like a drug and I guess it's true what they say about the first taste being free. Anyway, I was... am starving, unwilling to return to my master, when my body started to follow this trail. It wasn't something physical, more like an itch that nagged at me from the back of my brain. Following that led me here. To you." She licked her lips again and I caught a glimpse of her fangs. Sharper and longer than Tara's, they evoked a very primal fight or flight response that sent my heart hammering.

Opal stepped in front of me, partially shielding me from the trapped yet dangerous creature in front of me.

"I'm glad we got to meet again," Olivia said, reluctantly averting her eyes again. "I never got a chance to apologize for... Missing our date. I was looking forward to it. My master... he had other plans for me at the time." She seemed genuinely contrite.

I didn't believe her.

But I didn't hold that against her. I still appreciated the attempt at kindness.

A rumbling growl, echoed from Olivia's stomach, and she instinctively tried to cover it with her hand, only managing to rattle her chains. "So hungry," she groaned pitifully.

I turned to Diana, "Can't you give her some food?"

She gave a subtle toss of her chin, indicating outside the door.

I looked to Tara for direction, but she and Opal only had eyes for Olivia. "Go, I won't do anything to her... yet," Tara said ominously.

We both left the room and walked a short distance into what looked to be an office. "How much do you know about a lich's biology?"

"Assume nothing. Because that's how much I know."

"Liches are created through a ritual where they drain and condense their blood into a phylactery. The execution of this ritual is a closely guarded secret taught to them after their hundredth year of their second life. They cannot be permanently wounded, their body reconstituting back to the state they possessed during the moment of the ritual. The ritual is known to heal all known diseases and ailments that one might suffer, so they exist in a perpetual state of youth and health. If..." she paused dramatically. "Their phylactery remains intact. If it is destroyed, so too is their body, their soul released to travel to its final destination. Lich creation is closely monitored due to their predatory nature as well as the pre planning necessary to the creation. The unique nature of their bodies means that they do not cycle ambient energy like other living creatures. Instead they gain a new set of organs that resides in the mouth and stomach that allow them to restore lost energy through the consumption of blood and distillation of the energy that it contains. This process is very slow and gradual, it's very difficult to shift the energy into a consumable source that they can use to replenish and build upon their natural matrix. On a whole this means that a lich tend to have slow but consistent growth and development. This relates to Olivia's situation because your energy is mutable, not fixed into a single flavor, so to speak. This would allow any lich who feeds from you to get a tremendous boost in power. Along with what I suspect to be a significant downside. Feeding from you could have the potential to oversaturate the organ responsible for absorbing the energy, shorting it out. This would have the consequence of rendering you their only potential food sources. The effects to a new lich would be even more severe; their tissues being less established and more prone to outside interference."

"So... They're vampires?" I said, trying to keep up.

"Of a sort. They are indeed the source of many of the common myths of vampires but, as I've explained, there are some significant differences. What I'm worried about, however, is what a master lich would do to possess you? I mentioned that liches are cautious, but that is somewhat of an understatement. Liches, old liches, learn to take the long view of things and become somewhat jaded over their lifetime. You represent both an immense source of consistent power as well as a threat, if an enemy happened to gain control over you..." Diana shook her head, bringing herself out of her musings. "Sorry Jack. You asked about feeding Olivia. I fear that I can do nothing to help ease her suffering. Only you can help her with that now Jack."

My mind was slow but steady, working my way through her words and logic. "She can only... feed. From me?"

"That is what I believe. Yes. But it is still your choice Jack. No one is going to force you to help her fix her mistake. She did feed from you without permission and that's one of the heavily policed rules that the council oversees. As you spend time in our world you will learn that some of us possess rather strange and eclectic tastes that might not make sense at first glance. I suspect that your period of adjustment might be abnormally trying."

Before I could even attempt to come to a decision, a guard poked his head through the doorway. "Lady, you have a visitor petitioning for an audience."

"Tell them I'm busy and I'll get back to them when I can."

"It pertains to the new prisoner." The guard said, giving me a nervous glance.

This news shocked Diana, her emotionless mask falling into place along with an eerie stillness. "If you'll excuse me Jack. It appears there is another issue I must attend to. I trust you can find your way back to Tara and Opal."

"Yes, I believe so."

"Good." She started to leave but then turned back, laying her hand on my shoulder, her scales cool against my own. "I'm sorry if I seem cold at times."

"It's no big deal. Responsibilities of the office and what not. Is it really just me she can feed from?"

"That's what it seems. If you give me a couple weeks with some scientists we might be able to develop a workable substitute. But there's no way to be sure it will be effective until we start diving into what has happened to her. You owe her nothing, remember that."

"We both know that's not true."

She looked into my eyes for a second before she nodded. A smile graced her lips while her hand gave a little stroke of my arm as she marched from the room, shoulders squared, head held upright, posture stiff and regal.

"What did the Lady have to say?" Tara asked as I entered the cell.

"She's starving and only my blood can sustain her."

"What?!" Tara and Opal asked simultaneously.

"You can't!" my kitsune girlfriend stated hotly.

"What do you expect from me? Do I let her starve? Do you think I'm capable of that? I asked, exasperated.

"She hurt you," Tara said, as if that was an answer for everything.

"And that condemns her to death? You hurt me too."

Tara's tail and ears drooped at my accusation. "Not like her... I don't like it. She doesn't deserve your kindness."

"Maybe not. But she's going to receive it anyway, whether she deserves it or not."

She pulled me into an impassioned kiss, venting her frustration by shoving her feelings into my mouth.

It knocked me for a short loop.

If this was a cartoon my eyes would be pounding hearts and steam would be rolling out of my ears.