Ermine and Bougainvillea

Ermine and Bougainvillea by ID Locke Torquere Press www.torquerepress.com Copyright ©2011 by ID Locke First published...

Author: Locke I D

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Ermine and Bougainvillea by ID Locke

Torquere Press www.torquerepress.com

Copyright ©2011 by ID Locke First published in www.torquerepress.com, 2011 NOTICE: This eBook is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution to any person via email, floppy disk, network, print out, or any other means is a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines and/or imprisonment. This notice overrides the Adobe Reader permissions which are erroneous. This eBook cannot be legally lent or given to others. This eBook is displayed using 100% recycled electrons.

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CONTENTS Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter

1 2 3 4 ****

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Ermine & Bougainvillea by ID Locke

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Chapter 1 Why, oh why, didn't I listen to my mom? "The city is a dangerous place for you to go alone," she said. "There are all kinds of bad people there," she said. "You're likely to end up dead in an alley someplace unless you have a proper guide." God, I hated it when she was so right. I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me, but the goons on my tail were gaining. I had no prayer of outrunning them. They were bigger than I was, and every three strides of mine was one of theirs. My furry ass was going to be so much fertilizer if they caught me. So far, the only thing keeping me ahead of the guys chasing me was the low branches and brambles I was running under. I was small and fast over a short distance, but the guys chasing me were definitely catching up to me. Soon, I was going to run out of cover. Like right about now soon. I skidded to a halt at the edge of the bramble, my breath coming in sharp pants and my heart thundering as I looked around frantically for the next patch of cover. I cursed my less-than-stellar eyesight and was about to say fuck it and just make a break for it when the choice was snatched from me. I yipped in fear and pain when the teeth of one of the coyotes chasing me clamped on my haunch and yanked me from the quasi-safety of the bramble. He shook me back and forth like a rag doll before letting go mid-swing, sending me 5


spinning through the air to land hard on my side. The air whooshed out of me, and I gasped like a landed fish. The coyotes yipped and barked around me, and even though I didn't speak canine, I could tell laughter when I heard it. Perfect, just bloody fucking perfect. They were going to play with me before killing and eating me. Sometimes it totally sucked being a weasel-sized shifter. Dazed, with the wind knocked out of me, I could only watch in terror as the three coyotes advanced on me. By the time I could breathe again and got my legs under me, they had me surrounded, and I could tell they weren't going to make my death an easy thing. They wanted me scared and hurting, and there was pretty much fuck all I could do about that. But "pretty much" didn't mean there wasn't anything I could do. I bared my teeth, shifted into human form, and ran at the nearest coyote, waving my arms and yelling at the top of my lungs. Surprise had the coyote scrambling out of my way long enough for me to bolt past. I scanned the area quickly—my human eyes were a shitload better than my shifter eyes for distance—and spotted a promising bramble not too far away. I changed on the run and headed straight for the tangled flower patch. My ermine form would have a way better chance of squeezing through the vines than me as a human. With any luck, the coyotes would get tripped up in the vines and decide I wasn't worth the trouble. Please let them decide I wasn't worth the trouble. 6


Howls sounded behind me, and I put every ounce of speed I had into getting my furry butt into the safety of the patch. If this plan didn't work, I was completely screwed and would likely be the pack of coyote shifters late night snack. Claws raked down my side, and I squealed from the hot burn of pain. My back legs gave way, and I rolled across the grass, coming to a stop a mere twelve inches from the flower patch. I shook my head and lunged for the bramble. One of the coyotes caught my hind end with a hard swat, sending me crashing into the vines. I gave a yelp of pain that was echoed by the coyote that hit me. I jerked away from the vine and whatever had pierced my thigh. I moved deeper into the tangle of green, ignoring the need to lick the spot where I'd gotten stabbed in the hopes of reaching safety. The coyotes paced around the edges of the bramble, growled, and tried to enter after me, but the pained whines told me they weren't having any luck. I hoped like hell they were getting stabbed all over the place every time they tried to come in. I headed for the center of the tangle. I'd probably be safe there until the coyotes got bored and went in search of easier prey. "We got your scent, you little weasel. You'd better not show your face in our territory again, you hear? You won't be so lucky to get away next time, fag," a masculine voice shouted. I bared my teeth, but didn't respond. While technically true that I was part of the weasel family, I was a stoat, damn it. Not only a stoat, but I was always in my winter coat of fur through some weird genetic mutation, and that made me an 7


ermine. I was way prettier than an ordinary run-of-the-mill weasel. I had one of the prized animal pelts of all time. Kings and queens wore ermine as a symbol of royalty. Not that I was looking to be skinned anytime soon, but it was the principle of the matter. Stupid, shit-brained coyotes. If they were gonna throw around species slurs, the least they could do was use the right ones. The sounds of the coyotes' barks faded as they moved away. I did my best to check myself over, licking the wounds from the coyotes and a deep puncture from what I soon found out were wickedly long thorns along the branches I hid under. The puncture from the thorn felt hot and seemed to throb with every beat of my heart. I worried that it might be poisoned, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it now. I had no room to change into human form under the dense tangle of vines so I could heal the wound and possibly rid myself of any poison. I wasn't about to leave the safety of the bramble for room to shift, just in case the coyotes hadn't really left. Shifters were a hardy bunch, so the chances of a poison killing me were on the low end of the scale, but there was still that small chance. Besides, I'd rather die from poisoning than be eaten alive. With the immediate danger of being eaten gone, the adrenalin left my system and exhaustion replaced it. I curled up at the base of the vines, closed my eyes, and fell asleep. ****

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Gentle hands petted my fur, and in a fuzzy, half-asleep state, I made a happy, trilling noise in my throat. My mom had the softest touch when she stroked me. I opened my eyes reluctantly, not wanting to leave the happy place I was currently in. As soon as my eyes opened, the petting stopped. I blinked and jerked back against the vines behind me as I peered up at a man standing above me. He didn't do anything or make any kind of move toward me, so I relaxed a little and started to wonder if I'd dreamed the petting. I looked around to get my bearings and was more than a little confused. The almost impenetrable bramble I'd first hidden under was now open around the man, and it framed him beautifully. At that point, I seriously wondered if I'd died from my wounds and gone to heaven because the bramble had this cool glowy look to it in the pre-dawn light, and the guy standing over me was just... wow. The guy standing over me was flat out stunning. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so I could see the lip-smacking six-pack he had. Pert nipples drew my eyes upward, and I made a small sound of surprise at what looked like a flower tattooed over his heart, the stem travelling over his shoulder, curling down his arm and over the back of his hand to his ring finger. Awesome cool. His hair brushed his shoulder, and I was tempted to shift so I'd be able to see the color of not only his hair but his eyes as well. While my night vision was great, I couldn't see colors worth a shit while I was an ermine. I could see that his hair was dark with maybe a highlight of a lighter color, but that 9


was as much as I could make out. He folded his arms across his chest and pinned me with a glare. "Those coyotes crushed several of my bracts and damaged some of my vines when they tried to follow you. They will be back. You need to leave. Now." Well, damn. I'd pissed off the gardener or something. I tried my best cute-fuzzy-and-harmless look on the guy to no effect. If anything, his frown deepened, and I heard the rustling of leaves seconds before I was jabbed in the ass with one of the obscenely long, sharp thorns I'd noticed before falling asleep. I yelped and scrambled away, pressing against the gardener's ankles. Plants moving by themselves was major freaky-ass stuff, and I wanted no part of it. I was hoping gardener guy would protect me. After all, who wouldn't be moved to protect a cute, soft, furry woodland creature? I gave him the helpless-big-eyes look again and added a little shiver and trill for effect. "Don't be such a baby," the gardener scoffed. "It didn't hurt that much. I barely poked you." Didn't hurt that much? I begged to differ. I now had another spot that was starting to itch and possibly even starting to bleed. Barely poked me, my ass. Wait, what? I looked up at the gardener, confused. He hadn't moved an inch, so I had no idea what he was talking about or why he seemed perfectly serious about the poking comment. There was also the fact that he was talking to me like he expected me to understand what he was saying. Like he knew I wasn't 10


just some adorable, fluffy critter. Something weird was going on with this guy. My butt started to throb and itch more where the thorn had jabbed me, and I couldn't resist twisting and licking at the spot. I didn't taste any blood, so the thorn hadn't broken the skin, but I could feel a welt when my tongue moved over the spot. It itched like fuck, and I gnawed at the spot to make the itching stop. The itching did stop... for all of three seconds. As soon as I stopped biting the spot, it started itching again. Fuck. It would be just my luck tonight to have crawled into something poisonous to get away from the stupid coyotes and end up scratching myself to death. "Oh, for pity's sake. You're being a big baby over a little poke that wasn't even that hard. And stop licking it. You're only making it worse. Are you as dumb as your animal form all the time, or do you lose brain cells and become this stupid when you shift?" I stopped licking and biting the spot and blinked up at the guy. How the hell did he know I was a shifter? I sniffed hard, but only smelled earth and growing things. It was a little stronger than I was used to smelling on people, but nothing out of the ordinary, especially if the guy in front of me was the gardener or whatever. If this gardener was some kind of Otherworldly creature like me, I could probably see it around him if I shifted just my vision. I'd never quite gotten the hang of doing that, though, without making myself dizzy and about three deep breaths away from puking.

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"Shift, and that should take care of most of the itching and swelling as well as whatever wounds you got from the coyotes. At least that's what I understand happens." I trilled at the gardener in confusion. Going by what he'd just said, chances were good that he was Otherworldly or at least had a lot of dealings with shifters. But I'd never heard of people spouting off to total strangers about that kind of shit. Maybe city folks really were different from what I was used to. However, I wasn't about to shift just because he sounded like he might know what I was. I wasn't a total country bumpkin. When I didn't shift, he sighed heavily. "What is your problem? All I want is for you to get out of my vines so those stupid coyotes don't come back and trample through them looking for you. I wouldn't put it past them to come back with matches and a jerry can of gasoline. I know you're a shifter. I saw you do it to get away from the coyotes." Oh. Well, that explained a lot. No real point in staying in my ermine form if he'd already seen me change once and wasn't freaked out about it. I shifted and stood, not all that surprised to find that I was shorter than the gardener. I was shorter than most men and a good number of women. I didn't really care, though, as it helped with the terminally cute appeal I could work like nobody's business. The gardener didn't flinch or gasp or look away when I stood. "Hi. I'm Wynn. Wynn Bradley," I said, sticking my hand out to shake. He looked as if he was trying to decide whether he'd catch anything from me from shaking my hand. Some people 12


reacted that way to shifters. Even though I was a little cheesed off because of that, I had to give him bonus points for looking me straight in the face the whole time and not letting his eyes skitter to my dick. Not that anything about him said he'd be interested in looking at my cock, but hello, naked dude right in front of him. What guy doesn't sneak a peek at the competition if he has a chance? "Etireh," he said, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. I dropped my hand. Mister Congeniality he wasn't. Dude had an attitude. Good thing I was a friendly guy and liked a challenge. My mom said I could win over a stone with my persistence. At least now I could really get a good look at him. As my eyes traveled over him, I started to regret not having any clothes on. I wasn't ashamed to be standing nude in front of a virtual stranger, but it was a little embarrassing to be popping wood. Since he was still looking me in the face, I was hoping extra hard that he wouldn't notice how much I appreciated his looks. And damn but he was one fine piece of manhood. He had a beautiful face. It was saved from being girly pretty by the stern look in his eyes, but only just barely. His eyes were the most unusual I'd ever seen, and they made me wonder if he was Otherworldly instead of just knowing a bit about shifters. They were a swirly green and yellow with red pupils. They could've been colored contacts, but a closer look at him told me he was no ordinary gardener. He had a subtle shimmer to him when I looked at him out of the corner of my eye that definitely identified him as an Otherworldly creature. 13


In the low light of the pre-dawn sky, the only thing I could tell about his hair color was that it was indeed dark with a few lighter highlights. His skin was darker than mine, so he was probably tanned or had a naturally darker complexion. His body, what I could see of it, was gorgeously fit. Not in the gym rat way, but in the way of somebody who did hard, manual labor. Fuck, I think I was about to be in lust. "Do you have something I can borrow so I can get back to my clothes and not get arrested for indecent exposure? I'd shift back, but people aren't as willing to help out a cute little forest creature being attacked by coyotes as they would a human. I don't think the hotel staff would look too kindly on me showing up buck naked begging for another room key, either." Etireh snorted softly, and his eyes finally left my face to travel down my body. His eyes lingered a little longer than was strictly polite on my cock, something that didn't help in making my erection go away. Etireh looked at my face again and raised an eyebrow. I could've tried to explain away why I was hard, but my mom also said I was bold as brass and too honest for my own good. I shrugged and grinned, deciding on honesty for Etireh. If he slugged me, he slugged me. Wouldn't be the first time I'd been decked for stating where my preferences fell. "You're a beautiful man, and I get hard for beautiful men. You could look at it as a compliment." Surprise moved through his eyes so quickly I almost missed it. He smiled at me, and my cock twitched in 14


appreciation. Damn, I could easily see myself with a permaboner if I was near Etireh for any length of time. I could totally live with that. "I think I have something you can borrow. It might not exactly be to your taste, but you will be covered up." I smiled and drew in a breath to thank him when the smell of desire rushed into my nose. It wasn't mine—I knew my scent anywhere, and this was different. It had to be Etireh. My cock got harder, if that was even possible, and I leaned in closer to him. His eyes widened a little, and I heard the leaves around us rustling. I could have sworn I felt petals brushing over my bare skin in one of the most erotic caresses I'd ever experienced. I shivered as pleasure crawled up my spine, and Etireh made a tiny sound of want. No way was this really happening. For a night that started out so spectacularly craptastic, this was unbelievable. I'd gone from nearly getting my head bashed in by a bunch of homophobes, to nearly getting eaten by said homophobes when they'd shifted into coyotes, to finding a simply gorgeous guy who was as interested in getting laid by another guy as I was. How awesome was that? At least I was pretty sure that I now knew what kind of Otherworldly creature Etireh was judging by the way the plants seemed to be moving around us. ENDEXCERPT He had to be a dryad, and I had a serious thing for them. Fine, I'd only ever met two dryads in my entire life, and only one of them had been a dude, but it had been instant attraction then. Hell, I'd even checked out the female dryad, and I wasn't into boobs at all. I just really liked the way 15


dryads looked and the way they smelled. I had a thing for naiads, too, but they were even shyer than dryads, and I'd only ever seen one of them from a distance. It kinda made sense, really, that dryads and naiads tripped my trigger. I was a stoat, and we stoats loved trees and water, so it followed that we'd be extra attracted to Fae creatures that were connected to trees or water. Of course, it didn't hurt anything that dryads and naiads were absolutely gorgeous. We weren't near any body of water, so that meant he definitely had to be a dryad. After all, there were tons of trees in the park we were currently standing in. One of them had to be his tree. "You're a dryad, right? This is seriously cool. Can I see your tree? I bet it's just as beautiful as you are." "I'm not a dryad. Your senses are off. Did you want some clothes or not?" Not a dryad? My nose was never wrong about stuff like that. And there was the thing with the plants moving and shit. Normal people couldn't do that. Etireh turned and headed deeper into the thicket. I followed automatically. I didn't get it. He had to be a dryad. Maybe my opening my big mouth about liking men meant that he didn't want to encourage a gay shifter. But I'd caught the scent of desire coming from him, so... Etireh stopped in front of a vine as big around as my thigh. The thorns on it were a good six to eight inches long, and something on them shimmered a little in the early morning light. The vine suddenly split open down the middle, and 16


warm golden light spilled out, calling to me to step inside. Etireh stepped into the opening without a backward glance. Not a dryad, my ass! The opening started to close behind him, and I lunged forward, barely making it in before the opening closed tight. The momentum of my rush had me colliding into Etireh, who'd stopped in the middle of the room we stood in, and sent us both crashing to the ground, me on top of him. Etireh's breath whooshed out of him, and I let out an oof of my own. The smell of growing things was stronger this close to him, and the skin of his back was soft and warm against my chest. The feel of my cock nestled tight against his ass, even through his pants, was giving me a rock-hard boner again and was the only thing that made me get up off him. I'd have preferred to stay exactly where I was, dry humping his tight little butt, but I wasn't an idiot or an asshole. Even if Etireh liked cock, nobody liked having a stranger grind his hard dick into their ass without exchanging a bit more than names. Especially if there was nothing between the grinder and the grindee but one pair of pants that seemed really, really thin at the moment. "Sorry," I said, as I stood and offered Etireh a hand up. He ignored my hand and pushed himself to his feet. Confusion was in his eyes again, along with a little wariness, when he turned to look at me. He stared for several minutes without saying a word, and just when I was about to say something, anything, to break the uncomfortable silence, he sighed and dragged his hand through his hair. I noted that it was a dark shade of red with white highlights around his face. 17


Fuck, he was a redhead. I always got hard the second I saw a good-looking redhead. I barely managed to bite back a little moan when the combination of redhead and dryad hit my brain. My cock twitched, and I felt a bead of pre-come slide down the shaft. I wondered if he'd punch me in the face if I begged for the chance to blow him. The wary look he was giving me jerked my mind away from the thought of how happy I'd be to have his dick between my lips. "How did you follow me in here?" "I saw the opening and just... walked in." Okay, so I'd lunged after him. Same difference. "You saw the opening? But... you shouldn't have been able to follow me inside." Etireh frowned and held up an arm. A vine dropped from the ceiling with some kind of cloth dangling from the end. He passed the cloth to me, and I saw that it was a robe of some kind. It was very lightweight and had a pattern of leaves and flowers on it. It wasn't exactly the kind of pattern a guy would wear voluntarily, and I had the sneaking suspicion that it'd look an awful lot like a dress on me, but I wasn't exactly in the position to be choosey. I put the robe on and hoped like hell that once I was in public in the thing, nobody decided to beat me unconscious because I looked so totally flaming gay in it. Etireh looked me over and flicked his fingers at me. The hem of the robe went from knee-length to ankle-length and the fabric split and wrapped around my legs. I wasn't wearing a quasi-dress anymore, but I wasn't so sure a floral patterned 18


jumpsuit was all that much of an improvement. Then what'd just happened hit me, and I gaped at Etireh. He was so a dryad. Etireh further shocked me by pulling out a cell phone, pressing a few numbers and holding it to his ear. I started to demand an answer, but he held up his hand as he started to speak to whomever he'd called. "Mom? How or maybe why could somebody follow me into my vines when I didn't invite him in?" There was a pause and then a soft sigh. "Yes, Mom. No, Mom. I don't know. No. No. No, he just stumbled into my vines. I... yes, I guess so." Etireh sighed again and gestured for me to take a seat on one of the chairs that suddenly rose up from the floor. I sat gingerly and listened unashamedly to the one-sided conversation. There were a lot of one word or grunted answers, and after five minutes, eye rolling was added. Five minutes beyond that and Etireh closed his eyes and tipped his head back, exhaling heavily. He shook his head a little and looked at me. "Mom. Mom. All I wanted to know was how I could've been followed into my vines without inviting the person in first and why you never told me that could happen. Now I know." Etireh paused and grimaced. "Yes, I will keep you informed. I've got to go, Mom. He's waiting for me now. Well of course I called you right away. What was I supposed to do? Send him on his way without finding out if what he did was a threat or something to me and my vines?" Etireh got up and started to pace. 19


"No, Mom. I'm not trying to back talk. I just... look, I really have to go. Wynn is waiting. Yes, that's his name. No, I don't know if that's short for anything. I'm hanging up now, Mom." Etireh pressed one of the buttons and snapped the cell shut with a satisfied look. I took a wild stab in the dark and guessed he'd just turned his phone off. I smirked a little. I'd love to be able to do that to my mom sometimes. Technically I could, but I wasn't stupid enough to try. My mom could still scruff me by the back of the neck if she wanted to, and instinct always made me go as limp as if I were a newborn kit again. "Moms, huh?" Etireh rolled his eyes. "I love her, but she drives me nuts. My mom said she never told me about what just happened because she thought it was something only dryads could experience. She was very excited for me." "Okay, but you're obviously a dryad. This is your tree, isn't it? It's not like any tree I've seen before, but I'm not an expert or anything. It's pretty. I like it. And those thorns are wicked cool and helped to save my furry ass from the coyotes. Would it be really rude of me to ask what kind of tree this is?" Surprise flashed over Etireh's face, followed by a pleased look. The warmth in the room went up a little, and the golden light brightened a bit. Pale pink dusted his cheeks and really emphasized his prettiness. I grinned at him when I realized my saying he had a pretty tree was making him blush. That was so damn cute. 20


"I'm not a dryad. I'm a half-dryad, and this isn't technically a tree. It's a type of flowering vine called a bougainvillea, although it can get as large as a small tree." "Oh. Okay. I still think it's pretty cool. So... ummm... what's the big deal with me following you into your tree?" "I have absolute control over my vines, and nobody comes in or leaves unless I want them to. It's like a safety feature. You lock your doors to make sure that nobody gets in your house when you're not there or go to sleep, right? Same sort of thing for my vines, only better." "Well, it's not like I busted into the place. I mean, you knew I was there, and you did say you were going to get me something to wear. That sort of implies that I should follow you to get clothes. What's the big deal anyway? It's not like I'm going to do some kinda home invasion on you. Unless the fact that I'm a shifter is what bothers you. Or was it my comment about my getting hard for guys that makes you all twitchy? I can't help either of those things. I'm a gay shifter. Deal with it." That last bit came out a little aggressive, but I couldn't help it. I got all kinds of flak for being gay and a shifter. Etireh frowned and looked a little confused, which made me confused. What the hell was up with this guy? "Look, you can't catch lycanthropy or gayness from me. I was born a were-stoat and gay. I'm not going to pretend to be anything I'm not. I tried that for a while, and I was miserable. I'm out, and I'm not ashamed of being gay, even if it does sometimes lead to me getting my clock cleaned by some idiot who thinks it's fun to beat the snot out of a fag. 21


Yes, I think you're absolutely gorgeous, and you make my dick stand up and say howdy, but contrary to what you may have seen and heard, gays don't jump every guy we see, and we don't turn poor, confused, straight boys gay. You can take a swing at me for saying that I find you attractive and would love to rock your world, but it's the truth. If I were a chick and said that, you'd probably be all over me, and really, saying you find somebody desirable shouldn't be worth a punch to the face." "What makes you assume I'd be under you? Perhaps you'd be under me, and I'd be the one to... rock your world," Etireh said with a little smirk. "But your sexuality and how attractive I find you is completely beside the point. I just wanted to know how you could've followed me into my vines when I didn't invite you in." The bit of righteous anger I'd been working myself up to stopped cold. He was a dryad, or half-dryad, whatever, and he was a redhead. He was so my type, it wasn't funny. He thought I was attractive? In a do-me-now way, or just a heyyou're-cute-pat-my-head kinda way? He looked serious. Interested, too, and maybe even a little toppy with that smug look on his face. Blood rushed to my dick in approval. I licked my lips and tried to put words together that made sense, but all my brain would supply were the words 'okay' and 'yes, please'. "Oh, ummm... thanks and ummm... I'm sorry for barging into your tree uninvited," I finally managed to get out in a mostly normal-sounding voice. I wasn't going to touch the 22


"under him" comment, even if my cock was waving the yes flag like crazy. Etireh's smirk faded, and he ran a hand through his hair. He looked uncertain, and some of the golden light around us faded. He bit his lip and looked away for several seconds before facing me again. "My mom thinks that you got into my vines because it's spring and... well... she said my sap must be running. Spring bloom is in full swing and...." A delicate pink dusted Etireh's cheeks, and he cleared his throat before he continued. "Spring can be a little hectic for dryads with everything waking from the winter sleep and flowers bursting into bloom, waiting to be pollinated. Other dryads shun me because I'm only a half-dryad. Unless, of course, they're just looking for a quick lay to take the edge off all that sap running and pollination fever. They tell me I should be grateful for the attention since I don't even have a real tree." The last little bit was said with a sneer. Sounded like things hadn't been easy for Etireh. I couldn't care less if he was full or half dryad. He was fucking hotter than hell and sex on legs. I had to admit I wouldn't be very thrilled with the idea of getting used by people who thought they were better than I am because of some accident of birth. Matter of fact, that would really rub my fur the wrong way. "Just because I'm not a full-blood dryad, I'm not considered an actual dryad by other Fae. I'm supposed to be grateful that any pure bloods bother with me, so excuse the hell out of me if I don't fall all over myself that yet another 23


full blood Otherworldly creature has decided to gift me with their wonderfulness." Well somebody had 'tude. And a totally wrong idea about me. Maybe if he knew it wasn't the perfect life to be a pure blood, he'd lose some of the chip on his shoulder. Although, if I was being completely truthful with myself, that pissy attitude was kinda turning me on. God, I was a sick and twisted animal. "Just because I was born a shifter doesn't mean everything is sunshine and roses. Hell, it makes some stuff even harder for me. I'm gay, and I don't care who knows it. Being gay is hard enough, but when you throw being a shifter on top of that... it's a whole new level of difficult. Do you know how many gay shifters there are where I'm from? Three, and that includes me. One is another guy, and one is a chick. The chick is a ferret, and the guy is an eagle. Even if I thought the guy was attractive and available, both of which he's not... he's a fucking eagle. His kind eats mine. A romantic relationship between predator and prey is a little more dangerous than I want to play. And he's so far in the closet, I'd need a GPS, a Sherpa guide, and rations for a week just to pick up his trail." "But..." Etireh started before I cut him off. "Everybody has some kind of shit to deal with, and chances are you don't get to see what that is. So I followed you into your tree? So what? I'm sure you could boot my cute furry ass out if you wanted to. If your sap is running high, that's cool with me. Spring is when most animals go out and really get their freak on. I'm not a whole lot different. I'm not 24


opposed to picking up some guy in a bar for a little action. You could kinda look at it like that's what you were doing when you let me in your tree. Your sap is running high, and you wanna fuck. Don't make shit more complicated than it has to be." A look of dawning realization passed over Etireh's face. "You wouldn't be offended by that?" "Nah. Why would I? I already told you I thought you were gorgeous. I've got a weakness for dryads and I don't really care if you're a pure blood or a combination of whatever. I'm attracted to you, and I think you're attracted to me. Does it really need to be any more complicated than that?" Etireh was quiet for a long while before he held out his hand to me. "No, I suppose not." I took his hand to shake, and a giddy feeling of anticipation curled in my belly. Sweet. I grinned at Etireh and felt my pulse jump when he smiled at me. I gave his hand another squeeze before letting it go. "Now that that's settled, leave my vines so those coyotes will think you ran off after they left." "Huh?" I said, as I reached for his hand again. I thought we were gonna get down to some dirty business. I couldn't even begin to explain the level of disappointment I was feeling. "I'm sure they'll be back, and they might decide to get creative with fire if they think you're hiding in my vines. They seemed the type. All you need to do is take off and stay away for a day or two. That should throw them off. And stay away 25


from wherever you first ran into them. I don't need you leading them back here again." "But I can come back after that? I mean, you do want to...." I trailed off and made a vague hand gesture. Etireh nodded, grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm looking forward to it." Impulse had me pull Etireh into a hug. He was stiff for a few seconds in surprise, but relaxed before I let go of him. He gestured, and a split appeared in one of the walls to reveal the outside world. I stepped through, took a deep breath of the early morning air, and waved at Etireh before making my way out of the bramble with a little bounce in my step. I'd come to the big city looking for a little action that I'd never be able to find at home and stumbled on a guy who was as close to custom tailored to my tastes as I could get without placing an order with the gods. Life was suddenly looking way up. [Back to Table of Contents]

26


Chapter 2 I watched Wynn go and figured I had another fifteen minutes before my mom showed up demanding to see this person who'd entered my vines without my express permission. Almost to the exact second I estimated, she showed up demanding entrance. I could've refused, and she would've had to return to her tree after an hour or two, but I'd never have heard the end of it. I let her in and braced for the barrage of questions. My mom wasn't a big person, but she had presence. Most Fae did, to varying degrees, but I think my mom was a little too used to people deferring to her because of what her tree was and her status among dryads. Her tree was a poison sumac, and she'd been around for easily a couple of centuries longer than most of the local dryads. She was an elder dryad, and that got her a certain amount of respect. It was likely also why no one said much about her decision to take a human as a lover and have a child with him. Of course, the other dryads didn't extend the same respect or even basic courtesy to me. To see my mom, you'd never know that she was several centuries old. She barely looked old enough to legally buy booze. Without a Fae glamour to hide her looks, one could tell right away that she wasn't human. Her hair was varying shades of green; her hazel eyes had almost hypnotic swirls of gold; and if you looked close enough, you could see a faint 27


bark-like pattern on her skin. My mom was stunningly beautiful even for a Fae. "Well? Where is he? You knew I was coming over when you so rudely hung up on me. Honestly, Etireh, your father and I brought you up better than that." I sighed. Let the nagging begin. "I don't leave my tree lightly, and you had to know that I would want to see this Wynn person. Your father may not have understood your choice in partners, but it would've been nice to at least let me meet the young man," my mom said, as she pointedly looked between me and the floor as she waited for me to provide a chair for her. "He walked into my vines, Mom. It's not a wedding engagement, just mutual attraction." I gestured, and a chair rose up from the floor. My mom settled herself like a queen about to hold court. She sniffed, twitched her skirt into place, and gave me the Mom Look. I hated that look. It made me feel guilty for shit that I really shouldn't have felt guilty about. "And after a few minutes of conversation with me on the subject of why he might've been able to do that, you're suddenly an expert on the matter? You never know what can happen when your sap runs high and the spring bloom is upon you. Look what happened with me and your father." "Wynn said it didn't have to be any more complicated than attraction," I insisted stubbornly. Just because my mom had enjoyed a long, fulfilling, loving relationship with my father, a human, didn't mean that I'd get anything even remotely close to that with Wynn. I'd just met 28


the guy. Granted, I thought he was cute as all get out in both his forms, and he had one fantastic looking ass that I couldn't wait to plough, but that didn't mean we were going to set up housekeeping together. For all I knew, Wynn was just passing through, and we'd have the one time together, and that'd be it. I was oddly depressed by that thought. "I saw your bracts when I arrived. Very pretty and colourful, if terribly out of season. You can't hide something like that from your mother, sweetheart. The red was more vibrant than usual, and there were quite a few more flowers blooming than you'd typically have at this time of the year. I know what that means. You're very attracted to him and were putting on a showy display for him." My mom was giving me a knowing look, and I flushed deep red. Trust my mom to nail it right on the head. I didn't think Wynn noticed or could tell that my bracts were extra colorful and that there were a lot more when he left compared to when he'd first stumbled into my vines. I set to adjusting that as my mom rambled on. No point in drawing any more attention to my vines than I normally did. I had heard the plants whispering about the coyotes playing a cruel game with a small animal. I didn't think much of it until the surprised murmur of the plants revealed the animal to be a shifter. I got outside my home just in time to see Wynn streak past the coyotes as a man and shift on the run. When he'd been knocked into my vines, I'd tried to cushion his fall without stabbing him with any thorns. I didn't feel the same compassion about sparing the coyotes and 29


grinned in satisfaction at the yelp of pain when several thorns pierced a paw or two or three. Wynn's animal form was incredibly cute, and I couldn't stop myself from petting him as he slept. His fur was so soft that petting him was like touching satin and velvet at the same time. Seeing him as a man was even better, and I'd sent up a thank you prayer that shifters came out of a change nude. He was still incredibly cute as a man. The white ermine fur translated to nearly white or possibly very pale blond hair, and he had light violet-blue eyes. He wasn't a big guy, even as a human, but he had a nice, lean body. The state of his package was certainly pleasing to me and made me doubly glad that I wore clothing made from my vines, as I could hide my rather obvious physical reaction to him with relative ease. When he followed me into my vines and knocked me to the floor, I'd had to close my eyes and grit my teeth at the feel of his erection pressing into my ass and the lewd ideas that gave me. Despite the fact that he'd said he liked men, I wasn't about to start anything when I'd still had questions that needed answers. Because I was only half-dryad, I had better control over the spring bloom than a full-blooded dryad. Better didn't mean absolute, though. "Etireh, are you even listening to me at all?" I was jerked out of my thoughts by the strong tone of disapproval in my mom's voice. A guilty flush burned across my cheeks, and my mom gave a long-suffering sigh. I could see her starting to wind up to some long talk about how I 30


should respect my elders and the wisdom they could impart to me. "Wynn will be back in a few days," I offered, hoping to steer her away from one of her favorite talks. "Good. I'll look forward to meeting this nice young man of yours. You're not going to be disappointed if he's not like you, are you?" my mom asked gently. "After all, most humans who see one of the Fae are stunned by our beauty and may feel attracted to us even if they normally wouldn't be attracted to someone of the same sex. He could balk when the time comes to actually join you in bed, and I'd hate to see you disappointed." Now it was my turn to sigh softly. My mom had known for decades that I was attracted to men. She tried to soften the blow whenever I mentioned that I found someone attractive, as she was well aware of the views many humans had with regards to gay relationships. The Fae didn't have problems with same-sex relationships, and they couldn't quite understand the issues that many humans and even some Otherworldly creatures had with it. "Actually, Mom, he is like me," I said. "It doesn't necessarily mean something will happen, sweetie. Just because he got into your vines doesn't mean he'd return what you feel. It could be just the effect of seeing you in the midst of spring bloom." My mom reached over and gave me a conciliatory pat on my arm. I was decades old and she still tried to protect me and my feelings from getting hurt. Gods, but I loved my mom even if she sometimes drove me crazy. 31


"True, but he did tell me right up front that he found me attractive, was gay, and would like to be more intimate." My mom got a thoughtful look on her face and stared at me long enough to make me want to fidget. I didn't, but it was a close thing. She tilted her head to the side and seemed to be listening to a voice I couldn't hear. When she smiled softly, I knew my father was telling her something. Whether or not she'd share that information with me... I sighed. The Fae loved to be mysterious, even with family. She finally leaned back in her chair and gave me a pleased look. "Rain says this boy, Wynn, will be good for you, and you know he's never wrong about these things. He's never understood your desires, but he wants you to be happy. What he told me puts a whole different light on this. You will be careful, though, won't you? Just because you have a good amount of Fae blood doesn't mean you can't still catch a human disease. I've heard couples talk about such things when they sit under my tree or pass by. There's some very nasty stuff out there, and you still need to be careful, Etireh." I felt my cheeks heat again. "Mom!" "This Wynn of yours would be a fool to pass up joining you in bed. You're beautiful, you're Fae, and he prefers men like you do." Of course she thought I was beautiful. She was my mom. While I was half-Fae, I was on the ordinary side of what a Fae considered beautiful. To a human, I was probably the bestlooking piece of man-flesh they'd ever seen, unless they'd seen a full-blooded Fae at some point in their lives. Not having had a whole lot of dealing with shifters, I wasn't sure 32


where I fell in Wynn's eyes. He had called me beautiful and gorgeous more than once, but I had no idea if he threw those words out casually or not. I could even sort of see why my mom thought that I'd hop into bed with Wynn. That was mostly my fault and my trying to figure stuff out when I was halfway through puberty and suddenly growing my vines. My sap had certainly been running fast and free that first spring. More Fae had wandered by my vines in those few months than I'd seen in a year. The clue stick hadn't hit me for quite some time, and by the time I did figure it out, spring was over and I had no more Fae lovers stop by my vines for a little bloom-inspired action. That had been a hard lesson on how Fae saw me, but one I hadn't forgotten. "At any rate, since this Wynn of yours is a shifter, disease shouldn't be an issue, but you should still use some kind of protection. Do you need some money to buy condoms? I have some left from the clothes I sold last month at the Ren faire in the park." I cringed mentally. I was not going to have my mom buy me condoms. I was sure that would kill any erection I'd have when I thought about how I got the condoms. She meant well, but sometimes the Fae views on sex and how okay it was to talk about really private things made me want to run screaming from the room. I certainly took after my father in that respect. Besides, I did have some cash left over from the art show I was part of a few months ago, and I could buy my own condoms, thank you very much. "No, I'm fine, thank you." 33


"Well, if you need anything, you just call. I have to go, sweetie. You know I can't be away from my tree for long. And don't think I'll forget about meeting this Wynn character. You may be under the influence of the spring bloom, but even so, you wouldn't be putting on quite so showy a display if you didn't find Wynn very attractive in general." I nodded, hugged her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I watched her walk away before turning back to my home. I still needed to tone down the color of my bracts, and there were some repairs that I needed to do to the places where the coyotes had tried to get into my bramble after Wynn. I smiled when I thought of Wynn. Even if nothing more came of our relationship than a couple of romps in bed, I got the feeling that we could still be friends. I figured I'd be ahead of the game even if we ended up only being friends and never even made it to bed. I hadn't had somebody to talk to, my mom aside, for several months. My father had passed on decades ago, living well past a normal human life span because of the amount of time he'd spent in my mother's tree, protected from the passage of time as if he'd been in a fairy mound. Dryads were bound to their trees, and I was no exception, even for a halfdryad, so I didn't get out and do a lot of socializing. Not that I was a very social creature to start with anyway. The spring bloom allowed us a little more freedom from our trees to get out there and pollinate, but we were still limited on how long we could safely be away from our trees. The last steady partners I'd had were in the spring of last year. I would really 34


appreciate a little one-on-one contact, especially since Wynn was one hot piece of tail. **** Just when I'd started to think that Wynn had decided to take a pass on coming back, he showed up at my bramble. He stood at the edge with an intense look on his face. I watched with some amusement as he waved his hands in front of the vines and made shooing motions. I wondered how long he'd try to get them to part before giving up and shouting my name. In a final fit of pique, he kicked out at my vines. My temper flared, but was quickly smothered by surprise when he lost his balance, fell toward my bramble, and the vines parted for him, sparing him a nasty tangle with my thorns. He landed on his belly with a startled grunt. I hadn't moved the vines to protect Wynn from some nasty wounds. I hadn't even thought of doing that after seeing him aim a kick at my vines. I'd never had that happen before. My vines didn't even move out of the way for my mom. I walked over to where Wynn was still sprawled in the dirt. "Did you just try to kick my vines?" "I asked them to move nicely, and they didn't. I got a little frustrated, so... ummm... yeah, I did." Wynn pushed himself to his feet and gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry about that. I didn't actually kick them. I brought food." Wynn held up a slightly squished bag from a fast food place. The smell of cheeseburgers and onion rings made my stomach give a small growl. It'd been ages since I'd had fast food. I was only half-dryad and needed more to eat than the 35


nutrients in the soil that kept my vines alive. I usually made do with nuts, berries, and other plants and a run to a restaurant every couple of weeks for a big, nutritious meal, but every now and again, I wanted real food that was completely bad for me. "If that's a cheeseburger with bacon that I smell in that bag, you're forgiven," I said, as I reached for the bag. Wynn's eyes widened, and he jerked the bag away. "The bacon cheeseburger is mine. I got you a salad and a baked potato." "I don't want a salad or a baked potato. I want the bacon cheeseburger," I said, as I made another grab for the bag. "But you're a dryad," Wynn said, jerking the bag close to his chest. "Half-dryad, and so what? Give me the bacon cheeseburger." "Don't you eat nuts and grass and... stuff? You're not supposed to eat meat." "Said who? Hand over the bacon cheeseburger." "But...." "Burger. Now, Wynn, or I take it from you, and you really won't like how I do that." Wynn's jaw clenched. He looked me square in the eye and had the light of battle in his face. He wasn't going to give up that burger without a fight. A slow smile spread over my face. I had warned him. I sent non-thorny vines out and had them slither around Wynn's legs, holding him in place. They wound up his body and pinned his arms to his chest before he could 36


do much of anything. I reached out and yanked the bag from his hand, tearing the paper when he still refused to let go. "Sneaky son-of-a-bitch," Wynn said through gritted teeth, as he struggled against the hold of my vines. I could feel the strain against my vines and knew it wouldn't be long before they snapped. Wynn might look cute as a button, but he was a shifter and had the strength of one. My vines were strong, but Wynn could probably bench press a small car without too much strain. I watched him struggle and slowly start to win against my vines. The bag of food was shortly forgotten as I got to enjoy the feel of Wynn' muscles flexing and shifting against my vines. Wynn stopped struggling suddenly and fixed me with a serious look. "Not to be rude or anything, but are you as turned on by this as I am, or are you drooling because you really wanted that bacon cheeseburger?" I touched my mouth and was surprised to find none of the drool Wynn mentioned. He smirked at me and twisted a little in my vines again, almost getting an arm free before I sent more around him. I was aroused. Incredibly so. Images of Wynn naked and held down by my vines as I fucked him hard flipped through my head. I wanted to make that a reality in the worst way possible. My vines responded to my wants and started stroking and squeezing Wynn in a way that couldn't possibly be anything but carnal. "Etireh?" Wynn's voice had gone husky, and I just knew he'd make all kinds of delicious noises during sex. "I really don't want to come in my pants like a horny teenager, so as 37


great as this feels, could you please stop your vines from feeling me up?" My eyes were drawn to Wynn's crotch and the exceptional bulge my vines were stroking. I licked my lips and felt the twitch of Wynn's cock through my vines. Right at that very moment, I wanted nothing more than to see Wynn naked again. My cock was rock hard and reminding me that a year was a very long time to go without fucking, never mind the fact that it was also spring and I was a somewhat reluctant slave to my biology. "What if I like feeling you up with my vines?" I directed them to give Wynn's cock a squeeze. Wynn's breath hissed softly through his teeth at the move. "You can feel what your vines are doing to me? Holy shit, that's kinky." Wynn groaned, and his cock gave a hearty twitch at the now rhythmic squeezing of my vines over his dick. "Fuck me, that feels good." I grinned. It certainly did. Wynn was starting to pant and twist in the vines, but he wasn't trying to get away any more. His hips jerked, and he bit his bottom lip hard enough to bleed, trying to hold back his orgasm. He might even have succeeded if I hadn't sent more vines to him, this time twisting under his pant legs and curling over the bare skin of his calves and thighs. He moaned when the smallest of the vines slipped under the elastic of his underwear and circled his cock, squeezing and sliding up and down his length. Wynn gasped in surprise when a thin vine tickled his puckered hole before wiggling its way in. 38


"Fuck," Wynn ground out through clenched teeth, as his cock spurted warm come over the vines wrapped around his dick. My eyes closed to mere slits, and I swayed where I stood at the pleasure I felt through my vines. Wynn's come was warm and slick and was slowly being soaked up by the vines around his cock. The strong, rhythmic contractions of his ass on the vine I had buried inside him made it almost as if it was my dick there instead. Seeing Wynn with a sated look on his face and knowing I'd been the one to put it there was erotic as hell. I was close to blowing my own load and really had no idea how I managed to keep from doing exactly that. "Oh, fuck. That was... that was about the kinkiest fucking thing that's ever happened to me. Please tell me we can do this shit again," Wynn panted softly. I smiled at Wynn. So he liked that, did he? He brought me fast food, and he liked kink. Having Wynn stumble into my vines was looking better and better every second. I reluctantly withdrew my vines from him, my smile getting wider at the tiny noise of protest Wynn made. "Food first," I said, as I held up the slightly battered bag. Wynn grinned at me. "I'll split the burger with you. I need the protein after that little bit of fun." I gave a little nod of my head. After the good feelings I'd shared with Wynn, I was in a generous mood. Splitting the burger would do... this time. Next time, though, Wynn would just have to make sure he brought us each burgers. Or maybe pizza. I was easy. I let my vines fall away from him and then turned and headed toward the middle of my 39


bramble, certain Wynn would be right behind me. I had a rather naughty idea circling my brain involving more vines and couldn't wait to test it out once eating was out of the way. "Hey, Etireh, I don't mean to question you or your tree or anything, but aren't there a hell of a lot of flowers blooming right now when there shouldn't be? And holy crap but I had no idea they could be so... vibrant. How awesome is it that they're the same color as your hair, too. That is a seriously gorgeous display." Heat washed into my cheeks. On the one hand, I was pleased that Wynn noticed the colorful display. On the other hand, I was annoyed with myself for allowing that to happen. I'd had my tree for forty years. I knew I had better control than that. I toned down the riot of color and allowed the majority of my bracts and flowers to wither and die, falling to the ground in a red blanket dotted with tiny points of white. I felt Wynn's hand on my arm seconds before he spun me around, concern in his eyes. "Etireh, are you okay? Did something happen?" "I'm fine, why?" "A bunch of your flowers just died and... the ones left aren't as pretty. I mean... they're still pretty, but they don't have as much oomph, y'know? You're not hurt or anything, are you? Oh my god! Sex doesn't suck the sap out of you or something, does it?" I really couldn't help it when I burst out laughing. The idea that sex would be harmful was hilarious. Especially considering I hadn't found release yet. Wynn's look of concern 40


slowly turned to a scowl, and he crossed his arms over his chest. I laughed even harder at the annoyed look on his face. "I was worried about you, and you're laughing like a freaking hyena. Anyone ever tell you that you can be a real asshole, Etireh?" "You wouldn't be the first to say so," I snickered. "I'm fine. Honest. I withered some of the bracts and toned down the colors of the remaining ones because as you said, it isn't right for them to be so colorful and plentiful at the moment, and my vines are unusual enough as it is without drawing additional attention to them And just for future reference, you may have come, but I didn't, so no sap sucking what-so-ever happened." Wynn's eyes widened in surprise before a slow smile spread across his face. He walked up to me, rested his hand on my chest and stared up at me with a cocky grin. "Might have to do something about that. Wouldn't want you suffering when I could help out a guy in need. Speaking of coming, I know I did, but I don't have the wet, sticky pants to prove it. What gives?" "My vines absorbed it all. It was very satisfying, quite tasty, and I'm looking forward to doing that again." I smiled at the surprised expression on Wynn's face and turned to continue on to the main trunk of my vines. Wynn would certainly be helping out with my denied release. Information I'd managed to dig up on shifters led me to believe they had fairly high sex drives. Especially in the spring, when most animals were starting their breeding cycles. Lucky me, spring had sprung not that long ago. I 41


thought it was wonderful that our urges seemed to coincide nicely. For me, after an entire year without a partner, that news was like a heavy rain after a long drought. I hadn't been sure Wynn would really want to start something sexual with me right away. After all, we were still virtually strangers. I walked into my vines, Wynn close on my heels. Chairs and a table formed up from the floor at my wordless command. I gave in to the urge to really put on the ritz for him and formed the chairs in gothic shapes the size of small thrones. I put the bag of food on the table and gestured for Wynn to take a seat. "Dude, that is wicked cool. Do you do that for all your stuff?" "When I'm in my vines, yes. I can shape them however I want. I am my vines, and my vines are me. Obviously the inside is much bigger than the outside, but it's not a huge space. When I'm done with the table and chairs, I'll rearrange them into a couch and end table or a bed or whatever I need. It's the ultimate space saver." "Wow. What about things like clothes? I was going to bring back the stuff you loaned me, but they just... dried up and fell apart the next day," Wynn said, as he accepted half the cheeseburger and half the onion rings on a bark plate I handed him. "Most of what I wear is also made from my vines, like the outfit I lent you. After about twenty-four hours away from me, they'll wither and die, so don't worry about it. The things I have that aren't made from my vines, like dress clothes and 42


books, are protected in plastic bags or containers and I store them around the roots to save space. Can't do stuff like TV, though. There just isn't a subtle way to run electricity to my vines, and I don't think the little solar things I have to charge my cell would be enough to power a TV. I know I couldn't get cable or satellite, and the free signal would need an antenna, which isn't an option either." I took a bite of the bacon cheeseburger and closed my eyes in pleasure. It'd been months since I'd had the delight of warm fake cheese and far more grease than was healthy. I wasn't sure half a burger was going to be enough. I briefly wondered how pissed Wynn would get if I bound him with my vines and stole his half of the cheeseburger. "Portable DVD player or a laptop would work if you wanted to watch stuff. They run on a battery, so you don't need to plug them in anywhere or worry about a signal. If you can charge a cell phone, you might be able to charge up one of those, too, although you couldn't get internet, which kinda sucks. I've got a portable DVD player I can bring next time, if you want. What kind of movies do you like?" Wynn asked between bites. "I haven't seen many movies, but I like books that screw with my head. Or aliens. I like sci-fi a lot, so I'd probably like movies like that, too." "Really? Cool. I love disaster flicks. I'll bring some by next time." "Bring more burgers. Or pizza," I demanded, as I popped the last piece of the burger into my mouth and eyed Wynn's, 43


now giving serious thought to immobilizing him and taking what he had left. Wynn's eyes followed my gaze, and he quickly stuffed the remainder into his mouth. I sighed softly and snagged some onion rings off Wynn's plate to add to my stack. Wynn started to say something, but grabbed the baked potato instead and pushed the rest of his onion rings my way. He watched a little wide-eyed for a few seconds as I popped onion rings into my mouth and chewed with gusto. "You weren't kidding about the burger and stuff were you? Is there anything else about dryads that I should know? Like... can you leave your tree? What happens to you when your tree dies? Can you control other plants, or is it just your tree?" "I like burgers a lot. And Chinese food. I'm not really a picky eater. Yes, I can leave my vines. I'm only half-dryad, so I can be away from it for several days at a time, longer if I take a piece of it and some dirt with me. I don't do that much, though, as I'm not really a social kind of guy. Most dryads aren't. I don't know what would happen if my vines were to die. I think that because I can leave it for longer than if I was a full dryad, I might be able to live beyond the life span of my original vine if I had a healthy splice of it. But I am part human, so even if I constantly splice pieces of my vine, eventually I'll die. I can ask plants from the same family as mine to do what I want, but that's up to them. I can hear and talk to pretty much all plants, although I have to work harder at it than other dryads." 44


"Cool. So, how old are you? You're probably way older than you look, right?" "I'm around fifty." "Really? Wow. I'd have never guessed. You don't look a day over twenty-five. I'm twenty-one as of two weeks ago. I'm all legal like for pretty much anything," Wynn said with a grin. "You mentioned coming to the big city, so I'm guessing you're not from around here. Just here to see some sights, or is there another reason for you being here?" "I'm from a smallish town, and there aren't a lot of shifters there. There's not a lot of potential partners there, either, when you're gay. If I find myself a guy who's into cock, he's not a shifter and probably not even an Otherworldly creature, so things could get complicated or even dangerous if I shifted by accident during sex. I figured my best bet would be to hit the big city and see if I could find myself somebody there." "Makes sense. You found me," I said with a little smirk. "Yeah, I did, didn't I? Oh, hey, thanks again for saving my furry ass from those coyotes. I've avoided the spot I first ran into them, so hopefully they won't try and hunt me down again." "So, are you planning on staying in the city then? Or did those coyotes make you re-think your idea?" "I'm staying. No pack of stupid coyotes is going to chase me out of here because they're idiot homophobes. I just need to be a little more careful is all. Besides, I talked with some other local shifters and found out there's a guy who's drawing lone shifters to him. All different kinds, too. I checked it out, 45


and they seem pretty cool and welcoming. It's a kinda weird group mixing predators and prey, but seems to work. Best of all, the alpha guy is gay and makes no bones about the fact that if anybody has a problem with that, they can fuck off and not come back. His beta said I was welcome to join the cackle if I wanted to. I took him at his word and am now part of the cackle." "A cackle?" "The alpha guy, Kaleb, is a jackal, so his group is called a cackle. He's... different. Not like any shifter I've ever met." A little flare of jealousy sparked to life in me, and I wasn't sure where that came from. I barely knew Wynn and certainly had no claim on him. Even knowing that, I still felt a little jealous. "Different? Different how?" "He was turned, not born like me, but even so, it's like he doesn't know anything about shifter rules and behaviour. He's... winging it, as close as I can figure it. Don't get me wrong, I think some rules are dumb and should've been changed a long time ago, but I still follow them. Kaleb... he said it's his cackle, and he'll run it any fucking way he sees fit, and if anybody has a problem with that, they can talk to him about it. I get the idea that his idea of talking to him about it means you get your ass kicked by him, and he decides if it's worth it to keep your trouble-making ass in his cackle. Fighting to solve problems is a shifter thing, so no real surprises there." "So this Kaleb is single?" 46


"Nope. He's got himself two lovers, and it looks like a permanent kinda deal between the three of them. That's cool and all, but I have no idea how that works out for them. I think that'd be hella complicated. But they seem content, and the cackle runs pretty damn smooth, so who am I to say what does or doesn't work in somebody's personal life?" I relaxed slightly. Sure, I might've said that I would be fine with nothing more from Wynn than friendship, but I wanted him as a lover, too. I'd shared lovers easy enough in the past, but they'd always been Fae, sometimes dryad, sometimes not, and I knew that we were only taking care of needs with each other. I could pass one of the Fae I'd screwed before with barely an acknowledgement and zero emotions attached. I doubted it'd be the same way with Wynn, although I wasn't sure why. It could be an effect of spring bloom, but I'd never had that problem before. It could be because he wasn't Fae, but I'd had a few human lovers before and not felt the kind of... connection I did with Wynn. "So are you gonna play with that onion ring all afternoon, or do you wanna play with something a little more interesting?" Wynn asked with a smile that was damn close to a leer. I raised an eyebrow at Wynn. Forward little guy. Good thing I liked that in a lover. I popped the onion ring in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Purely for effect, I gestured, and some of the vines making up the chair Wynn was sitting on moved and reformed as restraints around his wrists and ankles. Wynn's eyes went comically wide before lust flared to life in them. 47


"Is there anything I should know before I fuck you into next week? Something you won't do even if threatened with death?" "Ummm... no? I'm pretty open. Wait. Nothing to do with shit or piss. Other than that, knock yourself out." "That's a little... irresponsible of you, Wynn. I have you bound in my vines, and I get the feeling that nobody knows you're here. I could seriously hurt you, kill you even, and nobody would be the wiser. Your body would go to feed my vines." Wynn snorted softly. I had zero warning he was going to do anything before it happened. One moment he was nicely tied to his chair, and the next he was at my throat and bearing me down to the floor, knocking me from my seat. I reeled from the sudden shock of my vines being torn apart and the abrupt stoppage of breath in my lungs. "I can lift a fridge with one hand and move faster than probably anything you've seen before. Just because I like to submit to a partner and play rough sometimes doesn't mean I'm easy prey." Wynn let go of my throat, and I sucked air in huge gulps. My eyes were wide in shock. Sure, I knew shifters were strong and fast, but I had no idea they were that strong or fast. Wynn looked cute as a button and like he wouldn't hurt a fly, but that was obviously a mistaken assumption on my part. Wynn stroked my cheek gently before moving off to return to sit in the chair. "I'm not stupid, Etireh. Sebastian knows where I am and who I'm with. He's one of Kaleb's seconds, and if I don't show 48


up or call in a couple of hours, the cackle will come here and demand some answers from you. If you don't talk and they think you're holding me against my will or worse, they burn your tree to the ground. Shifters take being part of a pack and looking out for the members of that pack really seriously." "Duly noted." I stood and moved to sit in my chair. "Let's try this again, shall we? I would like to have you bound for my pleasure. I'd like to use items on you like floggers and perhaps a whip. I want to cause you pain because it's something I think we're both after. Are you interested in any of that?" "Hell, yeah," Wynn said with a grin that bordered on a leer. "Chances are that I can get out of whatever bondage you throw at me, and I can take a lot of damage. I can play harder than most humans, but I'm not into serious pain. No broken bones or slicing me open. And yeah, I've heard of shifters in the scene who do shit like that because they can take that sort of crap without dying. That's a little too freaky for me." "Uh, yeah. Same here," I said with a little shudder. I'd heard things, too. Shifters weren't the only highly prized playmates in the scene. Some Fae went for that extreme level. I didn't understand it, and it wasn't something I was interested in. "Whips and floggers are fine in my book. I like being restrained. My pain tolerance is pretty damn high. I appreciate a partner being all toppy on my ass, although I don't go for humiliation in any way. I use safe words because 49


it's stupid to play without them, even if I could get free quickly or heal damage just by shifting. As long as you hurt me good and give me gentle downtime, I'll keep coming back. Sound good to you?" "Sounds damn near perfect to me." I stood, and my chair and the table flowed back into the ground. Vines wrapped around Wynn's limbs again, and his chair changed into an X-frame with a thought. I gave him my best I'm-in-charge smile and morphed the clothes I was wearing into something closely resembling an outfit I'd seen in a bondage magazine once. I smirked at Wynn's expression of amazement and naked lust. I gripped Wynn's chin and looked him straight in the eyes, seriousness in my voice. "I know shifters can take a lot of damage, but I won't hurt you that way. That's not what this is about for either of us. I like playing with my vines in creative ways, but not everybody is into that. Tell me now if you're not, and I won't use them for anything else but restraining you." Wynn actually shivered, and a little moan left his throat. Oh god, that couldn't possibly mean what I thought it did. I wasn't going to be that lucky, was I? "I don't know how much you know about shifters, but dominance and submission are pretty big things for us. It's even stronger if you're born a shifter instead of turned. Just for the record, I'm not an alpha male. Beta, sure, but not top stoat by any stretch of the imagination. I'm okay with that, too. I know my place in the hierarchy of shifter society, and I like having an alpha above me. I guess you could almost say I was born a bottom. I do like to top every now and again, 50


but I prefer being the one getting done instead of being the one doing." I almost groaned at Wynn's words. I would bottom for somebody if really pressed about it, but I much preferred to top. Not only that, but I liked to play games of dominance and submission, something I rarely found a willing Fae partner for. Maybe that was why Wynn had been able to not only see the opening of my vines but follow me inside. Had I subconsciously recognized somebody who was interested in being the submissive and was gay? I was starting to think so. "So restraints are fine and you'd appreciate a little more intense play? I just want to be clear here on what your limits are." The look Wynn gave me was excited, and his eyes darkened with arousal and something that I thought looked hopeful. My belly fluttered in anticipation at what I thought that look might mean. No Fae had allowed me to play with them as hard as I wanted, regardless of how much damage they could take and heal as if nothing had ever happened. They'd been perfectly willing to torment my body, but drew the line at letting a half-breed do the same to them. Damn stuck-up Fae. "Whip me, spank me, tease me, squeeze me, fill me, taste me, hurt me, and I'll be a happy little camper and probably ask for more. As long as you spread all that fun hurty stuff out between less intense and gentle sex, you will have one very satisfied partner on your hands." Oh, fuck. 51


I needed to take several deep breaths to calm myself down. I almost couldn't believe that I was going to be allowed to play with Wynn as I really wanted to. Today was my lucky day. Or the gods had decided to favor me. Whatever it was, I wasn't about to question it. Wynn would gladly bottom for me, and he'd let me play rough with him. My day couldn't get any better. "So, are you okay for a little rough play today? I know we barely know each other and really only just met...." I trailed off, giving Wynn one last out. "It's been over a year since I've been able to play like I think you're suggesting. I found out the hard way that playing like that with humans is a bad idea. Finding a gay or even bisexual shifter... well, there just aren't that many where I'm from, and the few Otherworldly creatures I know about, they either weren't something I was interested in sleeping with, they weren't into me, or weren't into BDSM. You aren't gonna freak out if I get loose from restraints when I shouldn't be able to, and you sure as hell aren't going to have a psychotic break if I happen to shift a little because I get too far gone into sub-space to control myself." I actually shivered a little, and my nipples hardened as arousal twisted through me. This was going to be so fucking good. I was going to make absolutely sure of that so Wynn would want to come back for more. I did wonder a little about the psychotic break comment, but figured that could be something we talked about at a later date. Right now, I had a willing, sexy man to torment for both our pleasure. 52


"If I do something you're uncomfortable with, say so right away. Fire will be your safety word, and everything stops at that. Ember will be your slow word, and I'll back off immediately until you're ready again. If your mouth is otherwise occupied, I'll give you a ball of vines to hold. You drop it, and I dead stop so you can tell me what's wrong. Agreed?" "Fire to stop, ember to slow down, and drop the ball if I can't speak and need you to stop. Got it. So does this mean you're going to punish me for sneaking into your tree without being invited?" There was a heavy undercurrent of lust in Wynn's words, and I smiled at him, my gaze raking over him as if he was already nude. I think he was going to really like my idea of punishment. I was willing to bet he was going to ask me to do it to him again, too. Time to get started with my new playmate. [Back to Table of Contents]

53


Chapter 3 I was so excited by what Etireh said, I was surprised I hadn't lost consciousness from all the blood rushing to my dick so fast. The wank before we'd eaten was fantastic, and going by what we'd discussed, I was going to like this next part a whole lot. I already liked that he had me restrained again. I knew if I applied myself, I could get free, but I didn't want to. I liked the helpless feeling, even if it was mostly an illusion. I'd like it a whole lot better if I was naked. I'd been surprised when Etireh's clothes shifted around his body and turned into one of the hottest looking pieces of bondage gear I'd seen in a long time. I couldn't see his cock, but there was a very nice bulge at his groin framed by thick vines with some of those wickedly long thorns sticking up like spikes. Vines circled his arms and legs with more thorns sticking up. There were even some vines criss-crossing his chest with more thorns. God, he looked hot. "Do you care if the clothes you're wearing get shredded?" My mouth went dry, and it took me several seconds to remember how to form words. "I'm gonna need my jacket and jeans when I leave. The shirt and underwear... not a big deal if they get trashed." Etireh nodded, and vines slithered up my body, under my jacket. They circled my upper arms, holding me tight while the vines around my wrists dropped away. Etireh peeled off my jacket, and a vine dropped from the ceiling, grabbed my 54


jacket and disappeared with it. The vines wrapped farther down my arms once my jacket was gone. Etireh bent, undid my shoelaces, and slipped off my sneakers. He unzipped my jeans and pulled them down my legs. More vines wound their way down my legs from thigh to calf. The vines around my ankles disappeared, and Etireh pulled my jeans off. Not once was I free to move or try and get away. I loved it. Vines slithered up my body and thorns pushed out of them, snagging on my T-shirt and underwear. They pulled in opposite directions, the tips lightly scratching my skin as the fabric tore. I swore softly as I waited for the itching to start, but nothing happened aside from the slightly hot feeling of the welts they'd created. Etireh must've seen something in my face, because he smiled reassuringly at me. "There's no urushiol on the thorns this time. I can control that, and for this type of play, I don't want to drive you crazy with the itching. It might be interesting another time, though." "Uru-what?" I asked, a little distracted by the way his hands were caressing my chest and stomach over the slight welts. "Urushiol. My mother's tree is a poison sumac. They're considered the most toxic tree in North America, and I inherited the ability to produce the same type of oil. Other bougainvillea don't have that. I did say my vines were a little unusual," Etireh said with a smile. "So no itching?" I asked, as I tried without success to arch into his hands. 55


"No itching. But there will be some pain," Etireh said, as a vine dropped down from the ceiling and into his hand. Excitement curled hard in my belly at his words. He flicked his wrist, and the little pop from the short length of vine he held had me moaning softly. I liked where I was sure this was about to go. A hiss escaped me when he snapped the vine over my thigh, leaving a thin, hot line of sensation. Etireh started a rhythm of strokes across my body, never hitting the same spot twice. After five minutes, the front of my body was covered in a series of narrow welts. "Are you okay, Wynn?" Etireh asked softly, as he traced his fingers over some of the marks he'd made. "Fuck, yeah," I gasped. I'd only had one lover play really rough with me, and he'd been human. He'd never played as hard as another Otherworldly creature would've with me, but I hadn't exactly been in a position to tell him it was okay to really let loose. Most humans had no idea Otherworldly creatures existed, and we liked to keep it that way. It helped to keep us safe from getting turned into scientific curiosities at best and hunted down and exterminated as a species at worst. My play with my human lover had been good, but never at the level I wanted from him. The one time I did manage to convince him to really lay into me, my control had slipped just a touch and I'd gone into a partial shift. I think I broke his brain by doing that. As far as I knew, the guy was still in a nut ward and ranting about how his perverted gayness made the devil pay him a visit and had him fucking an animal. 56


The next kiss of the whip made me yip in pain, and my attention snap back to Etireh when another welt was added to one already raised on my hip. "I think I'm going to insist that you pay attention to what's happening here and now, Wynn. I'd hate to think I wasn't holding your interest." I watched with wide eyes as vines slithered up from the floor and wrapped around my balls, separating and pulling them down. I swallowed hard, and a little moan worked its way from my throat. If I tried to move, I'd be pulling my balls away from my body. They were stretched down to a point where it was a little uncomfortable, but I was sure that it wouldn't take a whole lot of movement on my part to turn into a painful stretch. I shivered in pleasure when I realized that I was even more restrained than before. My nuts started to throb a little from the restriction, and my cock oozed precome. This was so fucking awesome. More vines moved to tightly circle the base of my cock. A thrill shot through me at the effective stop Etireh had just put on my reaching orgasm before he wanted me to. Tiny vines curled around my nipples, pinching as they wrapped several times around the stiff nubs. The same throbbing I was feeling in my balls was starting to echo in my nipples. They turned a deep red, and when the ends of the tiny vines binding them brushed back and forth over them, I swore at how sensitive they'd become. Etireh let the vine whip he was holding fall to the floor. Another vine rose up, and he took what was being offered to 57


him. I swallowed hard and moaned when he shook out what looked like a mini flogger. He lightly slapped the ends of the flogger against my chest, and I strained up into the blow as much as I could, swearing softly when that stretched my balls in a deliciously painful way. The vines of the flogger were supple and stung where they flicked against my welted skin. Etireh smiled in a way that made my breathing speed up, and I just knew he was going to do something that would hurt but that I'd like a hell of a lot. He snapped the flogger and hit my bound balls. I cried out in surprise, even as my dick gave a hearty twitch of approval. I was suddenly grateful that I'd come earlier and that Etireh had given me a vine cock ring. Otherwise, I think I would've come on the spot from that one hit to my balls with the flogger. It would've been a damn shame to end this session with Etireh so soon after starting it. Etireh laid several more strikes to my balls with the flogger that had me twisting in his vines. The pull on my nuts was painful but erotic at the same time. I tried to stay still, but every other hit had me moving a little because I revelled in the stretch to my sack. I wanted to close my legs to stop another blow from landing at the same time that I wanted to keep them spread for more. It was like I was of two minds, and the torture of trying to figure out what I wanted was another delicious layer to the scene. When Etireh stopped, I wasn't sure if the whimper I made was relief or disappointment because he'd stopped. "Still not at the point where your control is shaky, are you? Hmmm, I suppose that's a good thing as I wouldn't want you 58


to lose control and bite me with those rather sharp teeth I saw when you were an ermine." Bite him? Why? And how the hell was I gonna do that when he wasn't anywhere near my mouth? My silent question was answered when the X-frame I was held on suddenly flipped back so that my feet were higher than my head. The vines wrapping around my balls extended with the new position, keeping up the erotic pressure that was thrilling the hell out of me. Etireh walked around to stand at my head, and I blinked up at him, my mouth going a little dry when I saw that his groin was pretty much level with my face. As I watched, the vines covering his cock parted and wrapped around his thighs, exposing his dick. If I could've danced around with joy, I would've. I loved all shapes and sizes of cock, but my favorite kind was jutting proudly right above my face. I was a little bit of a size queen. I moaned softly and licked my lips. Etireh was uncut and wonderfully thick. Given the choice, I'd take a dick with a good, stretching girth over a nine-inch long monster any day of the week. I almost wondered if I was dreaming this whole encounter with Etireh. If I was, I wasn't interested in waking up any time soon. "Open up, Wynn. I have a cock that needs sucking." "Oh, yes, fucking please," I said, before opening my mouth as wide as I could. Etireh smirked at me as he guided his dick between my lips. The taste of him was... I'd never had anything like it. His skin tasted like new leaves, and the drop of pre-come I caught on my tongue before he pushed fully into my mouth 59


was a little sweet and yet woody. He tasted like a tree. I wanted to chuckle over the fact that he tasted pretty much exactly like what I thought a dryad would taste like. "If anything is too much, drop the ball of vines in your hand, okay?" Etireh said, as a weight settled in the palm of my left hand. I gave Etireh a thumbs up with my free hand and worked to keep my jaw open as far as I could to accommodate Etireh's nice, fat cock. He moved slowly at first, seeing how deep he could thrust before I started to gag. He hummed approval when I was able to take a good two-thirds of his cock without choking on it. He set up a nice, steady in-andout motion, fucking my mouth like he had all the time in the world. His fingers traced along my jaw, almost petting me. "Good boy, Wynn. Use your tongue. Suck my cock like it's the best damn thing you've ever had in your mouth. Do a good job, and I'll fuck your ass hard." I moaned around Etireh's cock, mine twitching and leaking pre-come at his words. From his position standing over my head with his legs spread, I could watch his balls swing back and forth as he fucked my mouth. That reminded me forcefully of how my nuts were bound and held immobile. They throbbed in time with my heartbeat and cranked my desire higher. Etireh's ass was as great as I thought it would be, and seeing his muscles flex was erotic as hell when I thought that they'd be doing the same thing when he finally got around to nailing my ass. "That's it, Wynn. Mmmm, I like fucking your mouth. I'm almost tempted to blow my load right now and make you 60


swallow it. Do you have any idea how hot you look bound in my vines with my cock down your throat? I can feel every twitch of your body through my vines. It's like it's my hands tugging on your balls and my fingertips pulling on your nipples. I want to feel more of you. I want to invade you completely." Desire twisted hard in my guts. I wasn't typically into swallowing, but having Etireh tell me he was going to make me do it pushed my lust button hard. I wanted him to invade me, too, and I tried to take even more of Etireh's cock into my mouth. I made a surprised noise when I felt something slick teasing over my hole. Etireh chuckled, and I knew the bastard was sending his vines to probe my ass. Not that I was complaining. Fuck no. If he could feel everything he was doing to me through his vines, stuffing them up my ass was going to be kinky as hell. I vividly remembered how amazing it had felt to have that one little vine up my ass when he'd jerked me off earlier. Besides which, it'd be damn handy to have my ass stretched a little before he stuffed his thick cock into me. The softly stinging bite of the flogger on my dick had me trying to yelp in surprise around his cock, even as my dick twitched in excitement. My body jerked, and the vines around my balls pulled tight. Heat rushed through me, and a whine of pleasure was trapped in my throat. The vines that had been teasing my asshole pushed in at the same time the flogger descended on my cock again, the pleasure and pain melting together and damn near overloading my brain with goodness. 61


"Get some tongue action going, Wynn. And mind your teeth. One slip, and this lovely game stops and I never play like this with you again," Etireh warned, as the fingers of his free hand traced my jaw. I did manage a whimper then. There was no way in hell that I wanted to fubar my chances of getting into this kind of position again. I did my best to do what Etireh told me to, never realizing how hard it was to give good head when I couldn't use my hands to direct my lover into moving the way I wanted. Or couldn't touch the skin that was so close yet might as well have been a million miles away. Etireh used the flogger on my cock and balls without any kind of rhythm I could figure out. It was driving me crazy with tension and arousal. The little pain of the flog tips on my sensitized and welted skin was just another layer of the pleasure/pain he was driving me to. The one small vine he'd initially shoved in my ass was god only knew how many now, and they were stretching me in ways that made me breathe heavily through my nose. I wanted to push my ass down on the vines for more, but couldn't, and the frustration was damn erotic. My jaw was starting to ache from being held open so wide for so long, and I hoped like hell Etireh wasn't planning on coming in my mouth, despite his threat earlier. As cool as that would be, I wanted him in my ass for our first time together. Seeming to sense my mouth was getting sore, Etireh pulled his cock free. He massaged my jaw and leaned down to kiss me. The kiss was soft and sensual, a stark contrast to the way he'd been pleasurably abusing my cock and balls. When 62


he pulled back, I wished my hands were loose so I could've drawn him back into the kiss. "This is probably going to hurt like hell, but given the way you've reacted so far, I think you're going to like it," Etireh said with a wicked smile, as he moved away from my head. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I'd liked everything he'd done so far. I was game for more. The Xframe tilted upright again, and Etireh moved back between my legs. He stroked my cock lightly before his fingers glided over my nipples. I gasped and didn't know if I wanted him to continue touching the engorged buds or not. They were wickedly sensitive, and it was a pleasure/pain I'd never experienced before. None of my previous lovers had been into nipple play. "Ready, Wynn?" Etireh's hands hovered over my nipples. I nodded my head. That light brushing of fingertips over them had been incredible. I wanted more. Etireh smiled, and what I got wasn't what I thought I was going to get. The tiny vines that'd wrapped around my nipples quickly uncurled and dropped off my chest. I looked at Etireh and wondered why he thought that would hurt for all of three seconds. Blood rushed back into my nipples and shot them through with fiery sensation. I yelled, and my back arched. The vines binding my balls pulled tight and added to the pain rushing through me while the ones holding me at wrists and ankles pressed hard into my skin as I strained against the bonds. The vines in my ass writhed and rubbed on all the right places inside me, making me pant. Etireh leaned forward and blew softly across one 63


nipple, and I swear to god if I hadn't still had vines wrapped around my dick, I'd have come on the spot from the intense feeling. I slumped against the X-frame, covered in a thin film of sweat, and dragged in ragged breaths. My mind spun, edging into sub-space. My control slipped a little. Claws slid out of my fingertips, and those sharp little teeth Etireh worried about when he'd had his dick in my mouth made an appearance. A soft trill of pleasure twisted from me. Oh, god, I hurt so good. "I'm going to release your balls. Are you ready for that, Wynn?" Etireh asked, as his hands stroked gently over my skin. I groaned, focusing on Etireh's voice and hands as I got some control back. "Yeah. I think so. Maybe. Fuck, this is going to hurt, isn't it?" "Only for a bit. You're going to want to come, but I'm leaving the vines around your cock for now. I don't want you coming quite yet." Like I didn't want to come already. But I wanted that gloriously thick cock of Etireh's in my ass before that happened. That was going to be one hell of a stretch, even with the prep from his vines. I could barely wait. I had no warning when the vines fell away from my nuts. One minute my balls were throbbing along with the beat of my heart, and the next it felt like they were on fire. I writhed against the vines holding me and shouted, my back arching until only my wrists, ankles and the back of my head were touching the X-frame. The vines in my ass wriggled, and my 64


muscles clenched and released with pleasure. Etireh groaned softly, and his hand glided over my body, soothing and arousing me at the same time. The initial burn from having my balls released settled down into a tightly coiled need to come; yet I couldn't. I moaned with equal parts frustration and excitement as I sagged against the vines holding me. "Oh, damn, that was so incredibly sexy, Wynn," Etireh said softly, as he traced his fingers over my skin. "I want to take more time playing with you, but I don't think I can. It's... been a while since I had a partner, and even longer than that since I got to play even remotely like this." "If you're saying you just want to get to the fucking right now, Jesus, Etireh, please. I think if I get any more turned on, I'm going to pass out. Stuff hurts in the best way possible, and I want to come so bad it feels like my balls are going to explode. You want me to beg you to fuck me? I will. I've got no problem doing that. Please, Etireh, fuck me. Shove that beautiful, fat cock up my ass and fuck me hard." Etireh laughed, and the husky sound sent pleasure shivers down my spine. A vine rose up from the ground on each side of my spread legs. He took something from one vine and held up a condom. My eyes widened. I hadn't even thought of that. Not that I was against safe sex, but I was a shifter, and the chances of my catching or even spreading anything were remote enough to not even make me consider the possibility. Etireh was Fae. Or half-Fae. Whatever. He shouldn't have been thinking of that shit either. "As small as the chance is that either of us would catch or pass on any diseases, I'm going to insist on condoms. At least 65


until we get to know each other better. Any objections?" Etireh asked, his tone telling me that if I did have objections to his wearing a condom, I wasn't going to be getting that lovely, thick cock of his anywhere near my ass. "Nope. Just bag it and gimme." Etireh snorted softly, and I grinned. The vines left my ass, and a little sound of protest left my throat at the empty feeling. He slipped the condom on, grabbed a container of lube from the other vine, slicked himself up, and pressed the head of his cock to my hole. Even though I'd had the vines stretching me earlier, I still caught my breath at the thickness invading me. The burn was glorious and had me gasping. He was seriously feeding my lust for thick cock. I loved every big, beautiful inch and shamelessly wiggled my hips for more. Etireh kept up a steady pressure, pushing in without stopping. He groaned when he was finally balls deep in my ass. I shuddered and wanted to wrap my legs around Etireh's waist, but the vines still held me in place and the most I could do were little side-to-side hip wriggles. I was nearly immobile until Etireh decided he didn't want me to be, and god help me, but that was hot. A needy little moan twisted from my throat, and I tried to press down on Etireh's cock even though I knew I couldn't. "Demanding, aren't you?" he said with a smile, as he ground his cock into me. "Good thing I want this as much as you or I might be tempted to tease you a little more." Tease me more? Fuck. I'd never survive that. I'd die deliriously happy, but still. 66


"Ready, Wynn?" I nodded. I wanted Etireh to start moving his damn hips. I needed to feel the pleasure of his cock sliding in and out of my ass, and I needed that right now. Etireh gripped my hips and slowly drew back until he almost slipped free. A little whimper slid past my lips, and the smirk Etireh turned on me made my cock twitch and a drop of pre-come was forced out. Etireh leaned in, the thorns on his bondage gear lightly scratching my skin and making me arch up into him, pressing the thorns into my chest and drawing tiny beads of blood. My head spun from the little points of pain piled on top of the pleasure I was feeling. Etireh slammed his hips tight to my ass, and the vines around the base of my cock loosened. I screamed as my orgasm tore through me. My balls pleasurably ached with each spurt of come that striped my belly and chest. The feel of Etireh's thick cock filling my ass was heightened with every clench of my muscles. Each shuddering breath I took pulled the heavy scent of desire into my mouth and nose, stimulating me more. Etireh's hands pinned my hips in place, giving me an even greater sensation of submission to him. Vines slid over and around me, dragging through the come decorating my body. Above all that pleasure, Etireh praised me in a passionroughened voice for being a good little submissive and told me how happy he was with me. Etireh thrust roughly into me as I rode the pleasure high of my orgasm, and the knowledge that I'd pleased my lover stimulated my already singing senses. My muscles went limp just as Etireh slammed his cock home one last time and 67


stiffened. His vines were everywhere. Caressing and stroking me as if they couldn't get enough of me. The groan that came from him sounded like he'd just found nirvana from the force of his orgasm. He panted heavily, and I watched through hazy eyes as the thorn-encrusted bondage gear fell away. I didn't think I was going to be able to move for a good long while. Truthfully, I didn't want to move. He shifted, and his cock slipped free of my ass. Both of us groaned at that. Before I even knew what was happening, my arms and legs were free, and the X-frame was now an impossibly comfortable bed. Vines massaged my stiff muscles and left me feeling even more like an over-cooked noodle. Etireh removed the condom and dropped it to the floor where I hoped his vines whisked it off somewhere. I did not want to step barefoot on a used condom when I finally got up the strength to leave the bed. Etireh flopped next to me, and a blanket of brilliant red as soft as flower petals settled over us. I was still trying to catch my breath when Etireh curled around me and kissed me on the temple. "Thank you, Wynn. That was.... That was simply incredible." "Mmmm, yeah, that was damn good, Etireh. I've never gotten to play that hard before with anyone. I liked it and want to do it again some time." I smiled, yawned, closed my eyes, and snuggled into Etireh's arms, exhausted in the best way possible. I was on the very edge of dozing off when I remembered that I needed to call in to Sebastian or the cackle would descend on Etireh's tree and make all kinds of not-very-nice threats to produce 68


my warm and living body or star as a bonfire. Etireh chuckled when I asked for my pants and told him why I needed them. A vine dropped from the ceiling with my neatly folded jeans, and I dug through my pocket to get my phone. I scrolled through the numbers in the memory, thankful I'd had the brains to program Sebastian's number in there, because my mind was not in any shape to remember his number right then. It was barely in any shape to hold a semi-decent conversation from the pleasure overload Etireh had given me. Sebastian answered on the third ring with a distracted "What?" I identified myself and said everything was fine and not to send the cackle out to burn down Etireh's tree. Sebastian gave a short bark of laughter and told me to have fun before hanging up. I stuffed the phone back in my jeans pocket and dumped them off the side of the bed before wiggling my ass into Etireh's lap and closing my eyes in contentment. [Back to Table of Contents]

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Chapter 4 I held Wynn in a loose embrace as my vines wrapped around us. My eyes closed in delight as the vines traced lightly over his skin and soaked up the remaining come from his belly and chest. Sometime soon, I was going to have to actually taste that on my tongue instead of through my vines. I enjoyed the flavor of a man's seed, and I wondered how much different a shifter's would taste compared to that of a Fae or even a human. I was willing to bet it would taste a little wild. Giving in to temptation, one of my vines coated in Wynn's come rose up next to me, waiting for me to open my mouth. Glancing at Wynn's face to see if he was looking, I noted that his eyes were closed and he seemed to be enjoying his post-orgasm high. A pleased grin appeared on my lips. I was incredibly happy that I'd managed to put that expression on his face. I opened my mouth, and the vine slid inside. My tongue curled around the vine, and I sucked gently. I moaned softly, my eyes closing at the exquisite combination of sucking my vine and tasting Wynn. I was right. Wynn's come did have a wild taste along with the standard salty flavor. Pleasure from sucking on my vine and having Wynn's seed in my mouth sent a shiver up my spine and blood to my cock. Thanks to the spring bloom, my recovery time was phenomenal. If Wynn would allow it, I could probably fuck him through the rest of the afternoon and 70


maybe even most of the night. My cock was hard again and nestled perfectly between his tight little ass cheeks. I couldn't seem to help the tiny hip thrusts. Letting Wynn rest after our intense scene would be the decent thing to do, but I wanted him again. My sucking and licking the last of Wynn's come off the vine still in my mouth wasn't helping to make me less aroused, either. "Holy fuck, that's hot, Etireh," Wynn said in a husky voice. I opened my eyes to find Wynn watching me intently. Desire was coming to life in his eyes. My vines snaked over his body, fondling him, and I was surprised to find his cock starting to firm up again. Vines teased at his still slicked and stretched hole. Wynn sucked in a sharp breath before wriggling his hips, encouraging me to push inside him. How, in the name of all the gods, was I supposed to resist such a blatant invitation? The vine slipped from my mouth, and I stroked a hand over his hip. "Wynn, are you sure you want to offer me more right now? That was a pretty intense scene." "Oh, yeah. More is a fan-freaking-tastic idea. It'll have to be something not quite so kinky this time, though. My arms and legs still kinda feel like jelly. I don't think I can move a whole lot." Wynn sounded like he was still floating in pleasure. My smile returned at the thought that I was responsible for that. My vines curled around Wynn's semi-hard cock, bringing him fully erect with slow, gentle strokes. I matched the movement of my vines with my hips, sliding my cock back and forth 71


between his ass cheeks. More vines were busy touching him wherever they could, and I pressed soft kisses over the back of his neck and shoulders. Wynn groaned and arched into me. "Damn that feels good. The thing with your vines is... it's like there's fingers touching me everywhere." "Indeed," I said with a smile, between kisses. "Wherever my vines touch you, I can feel it. Some people don't like the vines, so if you want me to stop using them like that, I will." I hoped like hell Wynn wouldn't ask me to stop. My vines were a part of me. It heightened my arousal and pleasure to include them during sex. Most of the Fae I'd had sex with didn't want my vines touching them and acted as if they'd be dirtied by such a thing. The few humans I'd had sex with had freaked out at the first touch of the vines, even though they'd been aware that I was of dryad blood. "People didn't like your vines? What are they, nuts?" Wynn asked, as he turned his head to stare at me in disbelief. "Aside from the simply awesome BDSM potential, it's kinky as hell and feels damn good. You've been fucking all the wrong people, Etireh." I laughed and kissed Wynn hard. Apparently, he was right. I let go of the tight control I had on my vines and allowed them to simply wander over Wynn's body just as my hands were. He shivered in my arms, and when I pushed my tongue into his mouth, he immediately started sucking lightly on it. A quiet groan twisted from my throat at the erotic act as my mind flashed back to how utterly gorgeous Wynn had looked with my cock stuffed down his throat while restrained by my vines. I'd have loved to do that again, but Wynn said he 72


didn't feel up to it. My hands stilled for an instant as an idea occurred to me, and I wondered if Wynn would go for it. I pulled back from the kiss and smirked a little at him when he made a noise of protest. He narrowed his eyes at me for a moment before a grin spread across his face. "You just had a kinky thought, didn't you? Are you gonna share that idea with the class?" Wynn teased, as his hand glided over my hip and he wiggled his ass in my lap. "Maybe. Or maybe I'll keep you guessing the whole time." Wynn laughed. "I'm cool with that. Keeps things interesting. I'm serious, though; my arms and legs still feel like rubber. I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of movement on my end. I'm not gonna just lay here like a dead fuck, but I don't think I'll be able to do more than moan and wiggle my hips. If you're okay with that, then have at me." I groaned and ground my cock against Wynn's pert ass. He was perfect, and I had the urge to keep him in my vines until I'd completely sated myself with him. I wouldn't actually do that, but the temptation was unbelievably strong. Of course, if I managed to really please him, he'd want to come back all on his own. I sent a tiny vine over Wynn's cock, curling it around the shaft and squeezing lightly. As much as I was enjoying my cock between Wynn's ass cheeks, I had something else in mind for this little go.... something I was hoping like hell he'd enjoy. I moved my cock so that it pushed between his thighs and rubbed over his balls and against his dick. He moaned softly and turned his head, his hand cupping the back of my 73


skull and pulling me in for a kiss involving plenty of lewd tongue action. I could seriously fall for a man this talented with his tongue. I gripped Wynn's leg above the knee and pulled it up, spreading him open. Another small vine twisted around my cock before wrapping around both of ours, snugging our dicks together. Wynn whimpered into my mouth, and his hands tightened in my hair. My pulse sped up when I felt sharp little teeth nip my bottom lip and claws scratch against my scalp. I pulled back from the kiss and licked my lips. If just that bit of play with my vines was enough to have Wynn's control slip, he was going to lose it with what was coming next. "Wynn, I don't mind you shifting part way, during sex, but don't fully shift on me," I said in a stern voice. Wynn slowly opened his eyes. They weren't human eyes that stared back at me, but I was perfectly fine with that. It actually gave the encounter an erotic kick I hadn't anticipated. Wynn grinned at me, showing lots of pointy teeth and wriggled his ass. "Not a problem. How far can I shift? You okay with some fur and a tail, too?" I thought about it briefly while my vines squeezed and stroked our cocks together. Wynn's eyes fell to half-mast, and he started to make a soft, trilling noise in his throat. Gods, he was so responsive to me and my vines. I almost lost my train of thought from watching him enjoy the little that I was doing to him. I'd dreamed of being able to play like this with a lover, but never thought I'd get the chance. 74


"Yeah, fur and tail are fine, but I want you to hold back on that until I tell you that you can shift." Wynn's trill rose in pitch until I couldn't hear anything, yet was sure he was still making the sound. His cock twitched in its cage of vines, and his breathing quickened. I smiled, pleased at his reaction. He hadn't been kidding when he'd said he liked somebody above him, dominating him. Deciding to wind him up a little more, I brushed my lips over his ear. "You're not to come until I tell you. Understand?" I ordered in a firm voice. Wynn moaned softly. "Yes, oh fuck, yes, please." I sent my vines over his chest to lightly play with his nipples, plucking and pulling on them. I idly wondered if I'd be able to convince him to pierce his nipples. I thought he'd look hot as hell with little rings dangling from firm nipples, just begging to be tugged on. My dick twitched at the mental image, and I started rhythmic squeezes to our cocks, cranking both our desires higher. Wynn shivered, and his hand dropped away from where he clutched my hair at the base of my skull. I missed that small pain, but when he turned fully on his side and bent his head forward, exposing the back of his neck, it was my turn to groan softly. When Wynn had been gone, I'd asked around and read everything I could on shifter behaviour. Baring the throat or offering the neck was both a submissive gesture and indicated a willingness to breed. It was also a sign of trust. Biting the back of Wynn's neck would assert my domination over him and make him even more eager to submit to me. I wasn't about to refuse such a gift. 75


I closed my mouth over the back of his neck and ran my tongue over his spine. Wynn trilled, and his fingers clawed at the bedding. His cock twitched, and his hips jerked. I gave a little shake of my head before letting go, and he cried out softly, his breath coming in sharp pants as a shiver travelled over his body. "Open your eyes, Wynn. Look down at our cocks and watch," I demanded. Wynn did what I told him without hesitation. My desire spiked. I didn't need to see what I was about to do, but I wanted to watch. I rested my chin on his shoulder, excitement coiling in me. I really hoped Wynn would allow what I was about to do. I'd played with myself often enough as I was about to with Wynn, but never with other lovers. "The safe word is still fire. Don't be afraid to use it, Wynn," I said softly, as the tiny vine circling Wynn's cock extended and stroked lightly over the head, swirling through the precome that had gathered at the tip. Wynn nodded, his head bowed, eyes fixed on our bound cocks. A vine rose up with the tube of lube and laid a thick trail of it over the tiny vine. The tip of the vine rubbed back and forth over his slit, smearing the lube around, before slowly sliding in. I pushed several inches in before stopping and starting to gently twist the vine back and forth. "Oh, fuck," Wynn breathed. "That's.... It feels weird but good. Kinky, perverted, and dirty. I love it." It felt fantastic from my perspective, and I needed a minute to calm myself down. Stuffing my cock up Wynn's ass was amazing. Sounding his cock with my vine was just as 76


good. At some point, I was going to have to do both at the same time. I'd probably blow my own mind, never mind what it'd do to Wynn. Now that I had my vine inside him, it was time for phase two of my plan. "That's a tiny vine to get you started," I said in a low voice, my lips touching his ear. "I'm going to train your cock to take larger ones." Wynn sucked in a sharp breath and shivered. "You're going to be the one to ask for more. When you're ready for something bigger, you're going to beg me to put a thicker vine inside your cock." I slowly withdrew the vine before pushing it back in. Wynn groaned, his eyes never leaving his cock. I started pumping the vine in an easy rhythm, my arousal rising as I watched. "You will eventually take a vine like this in your cock," I said, as I brought a vine as thick as my index finger up along side our bound cocks. "You're going to take it and thank me for filling your cock just like you'll thank me for shoving mine up your ass and fucking you hard." Wynn gasped when he saw the size of the vine. "Etireh, that won't fit. No fucking way can something that big go into a dick." "Yes, it will," I said, as I positioned the vine over my cock and slowly pushed it in. A soft groan wound from my throat as the vine stretched me. I had to bite my lip hard when Wynn's cock twitched and he started mumbling "fuck" over and over again in a desireheavy voice, his hips thrusting a little as he watched the vine enter me. I felt his claws drag over the vines making up the 77


bed, and shivered with delight. I started pumping our cocks with the vines, pushing into mine when I pulled back from his. Wynn's muscles slowly tightened, and sweat broke out on his skin. "You can shift to have fur, but no tail. You're still not allowed to come yet, either," I said in a strict voice. Wynn moaned, and I sucked in a surprised breath when I suddenly felt silky fur against my bare skin. It was as soft as I remembered from when I'd petted him when he'd been in his full ermine form. Having all that rich fur pressed against my skin was even more erotic than I'd expected. I moved the vine in my cock faster while keeping the one in Wynn's dick moving at the same steady pace. He whined deep in his throat, his eyes glued to the hard sounding I was giving myself and the less intense one I was doing to him. My balls drew up, and I pulled the vine from my cock. Come shot from my dick, splattering on Wynn's snow-white fur. I was breathing hard, and my balls ached with each pleasurable pulse. I admired the way my gold-dusted come looked against the white of Wynn's fur and rubbed some of it into his fur before bringing my slicked fingers to his lips. Wynn opened his mouth without being told, and he trilled before sucking strongly on my fingers, sharp little teeth scraping over my knuckles and making lust swirl lazily through my belly. Given how desirable I found Wynn, and the effects of the spring bloom driving me, I'd probably be ready for another round in under twenty minutes. A soft whimper from Wynn and the near desperate hip thrusts he was making had me smiling. This was going to be so erotic. 78


"You may come now," I said, as I pulled the vine from his cock and thrust a vine as thick as my dick into his still slick and stretched ass. Wynn's eyes went impossibly wide, and his mouth opened in a silent scream as his body jerked against the tight hold I had on him. His cock pulsed twice, shooting his seed over his belly. I clamped my teeth over the back of his neck, and he whimpered as another small spurt was forced from him. I groaned at the feel of his ass squeezing down hard on the vine I had buried in him. His muscles went lax, and he sucked in huge breaths as his body quivered every now and again in my arms. The vines twined around our cocks slithered away, and I slowly withdrew the one filling his ass. Wynn moaned and shivered. "Jesus, Etireh, that was unbelievable. I really can't move now. I've never been fucked like that in my entire life. Thank you." I smiled and dragged my vines through the come matting the fur on Wynn's belly, soaking up our combined seed with a soft groan. At some point, I was going to suck him dry just so I could taste him directly. I stroked Wynn, helping him to come down from his orgasmic high. "What did you like about that scene?" I asked softly. "Tell me so I'll know what really gets you going and can do it again." Wynn gave me a lazy grin and wriggled his ass in my lap. I shivered at the ultra-soft fur rubbing against my spent cock. Damn but that felt amazing. 79


"I loved the dirty talk. Telling me what to do was hot as hell, too. I've never had anything stuffed into my dick. That was pretty damn kinky. It was unbelievably erotic when you told me you were gonna train my dick to take a thick vine like you did. Do you know how hard I had to work not to come on the spot when you shoved that vine in your dick? Fuck, that was sexy," Wynn said with a happy little sigh. "Glad you think so. I can't wait to see and feel you with a thick vine like that in your cock," I said, as I nuzzled his neck. I was a little disappointed as the silky fur seemed to melt away as Wynn regained control over himself. Apparently I had a fur fetish I'd known nothing about. "Wait, what? You're not serious about what you said, are you? About training my cock to take a thick vine like that? That was like... just sex talk, wasn't it?" I turned Wynn to face me and looked into his once-again human eyes. Disbelief was warring with interest in his eyes, and it looked like interest was winning the fight. "I want to play hard with you, Wynn. You're gorgeously responsive, and you seem to like having my vines included in sex. I want to push your limits and take you where I think we'd both like to go. But the second you don't want to do something, I stop. If it was enough kink for you to have me talk about training you to accept a thick vine in your cock, then that's the end of it. We only go further if you want to." Wynn stared at me for several long seconds. I know what I was hoping he'd say, but I was also realistic enough to know that I didn't always get what I wanted. I was still reeling a 80


little mentally that Wynn allowed me as much as he did with regards to including my vines in sex. "Okay. That pushed my buttons pretty fucking hard. I'd be stupid to not jump at the chance to have you do that again for me, and I'm a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. I'm a little nervous about taking something as big as you did up my cock, but curious and aroused at the same time. You'll take it slow, right?" Wynn asked, a little uncertainty in his voice. The gods had suddenly declared me a favorite and were working to grant every single one of my kinky fantasies. That was the only explanation I had for Wynn dropping into my vines and allowing all the things that we'd done and would do. Fortune that good simply never happened to me. If it was a dream, I had no interest in waking up any time soon. I cupped Wynn's face and kissed him gently. "Thank you, Wynn. Yes, we'll take it slow. I'm not into hurting you like that. Test your boundaries, sure, but never to drag you where you don't want to go. That's not what a responsible Dom does." Wynn looked surprised before an expression of pleasure settled over his features. "Awesome. I think I'm really going to like having you dominate my ass in bed. Just don't expect me to grovel at your feet when we're just hanging out and doing regular stuff. You can be a little bossy, 'cause I kinda like that, but any serious ordering around only happens in the bedroom, okay?" I hugged Wynn tight, feeling damn near giddy with what he was offering me. 81


"You have my word on that, Wynn," I promised. "I will expect obedience when we play. I'll punish you if you don't do what I tell you, but I'll do my best to play safely with you. We'll discuss what'll happen in each scene before we start, and any time you really don't want to do something or are uncomfortable, we stop. Not all sex has to be about dominance and submission either. If you just want non-kinky sex, we can do that, too." Wynn laughed and kissed me before snuggling into my arms. "Dude, we have vine sex. You don't get a whole lot kinkier than that. That's cool, though. I like it. A lot." Tension I hadn't even been aware I'd had melted from me. I could certainly have sex without my vines, but it always felt like I was only getting half the pleasure. To allow me free rein with my vines was a gift even greater than being allowed to dominate Wynn sexually. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the gods for guiding Wynn to my bramble. Wynn suddenly yawned and rubbed his nose back and forth across my chest before sighing softly. "I'm drained. Sorry, Etireh, but you tired me out. It was fun as hell, but I'm gonna do the total guy thing and fall asleep. Oh, before I forget, why is your come all gold and glittery?" "Although I'm a half-dryad, I'm still my vines, and my vines are me. We reproduce by pollination. The gold flecks are pollen." "Huh. Cool. It's kinda pretty. You taste like a tree, too. Guess it's a good thing I like the way trees taste." Wynn yawned again and settled deeper against me. 82


I felt stupidly flattered that Wynn thought my come was pretty. I was about to respond when I heard soft little snores coming from Wynn. I smiled and stroked a hand over his soft, white hair that was so much like his plush ermine fur, pulling him a little tighter to me. As far as I was concerned, Wynn was a gift from the gods, and I intended to treasure what I'd been given. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with my new lover in my arms.

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Ermine and Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Lions And Tigers And Snares

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombie

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Theogony and Works and Days

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

Humans and Demons and Elves

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Consciousness and Persons: Unity and Identity (Representation and Mind)

Milk Consumption and Health (Food and Beverage Consumption and Health)

Abuse, Torture and Trauma, and Their Consequences and Effects

Man and the Beasts (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies)

Environmental and Health Risk Assessment and Management: Principles and Practices

The Media and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Lost and Found

Normal and Abnormal Fear and Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

Zeta and q-Zeta Functions and Associated Series and Integrals

Jewish and Christian Liturgy and Worship (Jewish and Christian Perspectives)

Ermine and Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Lions And Tigers And Snares

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombie

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Theogony and Works and Days

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

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