Catalyst Ch. 26

Chapter Twenty-Six: New

Sookie’s POV:

“Your fiancé is such a badass!” Cynthia tells me while she and Piper lead me upstairs to her room.

“He really is,” I agree shyly.

She flings her closet door open and starts flipping through t-shirts. Piper hands me a pale blue tee and I strip off my bloodied shirt and replace it with the clean one. “Here, I’ll go throw this in some cold water before it stains,” she offers, taking my dirty shirt.

“Thank you,” I call gratefully.

“So,” Cynthia turns to me once Piper’s gone, “when did you meet Eric?”

“Back in December,” I tell her. I’m not a huge fan of Cynthia, but she’s Kappa House president, so I can’t really ignore her without being snubbed by the entire sorority.

“And you’re already engaged?” Cynthia asks in surprise.

“Yup. We got engaged in June, but we’re not getting married until next December,” I explain. “I didn’t want anyone to think I was preggers or anything.”

“Hmm.” We need to get him to some of our parties. Maybe I can get that rock off her finger that way.

It takes years of practice not to respond to her thought. It is particularly vicious, and I can tell it’s not a fleeting one. I officially don’t like Cynthia, I frown.

Piper comes back quickly and tells me she managed to rinse out most of the blood and will let my shirt soak until I leave. She offers to run it with her wash and give it back later, but I decline her offer. Piper’s been nice enough to me already.

I spend the rest of the night hangin’ out with the Kappa Sisters and a few pledges. They try again to encourage me to pledge. Cynthia’s almost made it her mission to enlist me, but I know it’s because she wants to wedge herself between Eric and me. Like that could ever happen!

At some point, Jason’s had enough and he tells me it’s time to say goodnight. I hug a few of the girls goodbye, and then follow him back to his truck.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep that from happenin’, Sook,” he apologizes sadly, thinkin’ of my nose.

I shrug, “It’s not a big deal. You can’t stop every guy from bein’ a jerk. Besides, if I’d managed to keep my temper in check, maybe we could have avoided the whole thing.”

“Nah, he was lookin’ for something to rattle my cage all night. He just figured you was the way to do it,” Jason sighs.

“Sometimes I think you’re the telepath,” I joke.

Once we arrive at the condo, I hug my brother goodbye, and he waits until I’m in the door to pull away. I throw my purse on the entryway table, and search our Bond for my vampire. He’s pretty far West of me, so I know he’s at the warehouse, doin’ his Sheriff thing.

Pullin’ off my clothes, I go and run a hot bath. When I start to prune, that’s when Eric shows up in the doorway.

“Did you have fun after I left?” he asks, comin’ to kneel next to the tub. His hand reaches into the water and takes one of mine, examining how it’s begun to shrivel.

“Yeah. I don’t like the Kappa president. She wants to steal you from me,” I poke my tongue out playfully.

“Is that so?” he laughs. “Was that the one with the black hair?”

“Yes. How did you know?” I frown.

“She was giving me ‘the look’,” He shrugs.

“Eric, I’m sure more girls than her were givin’ ya ‘the look’,” I tease.

“Yes, but hers was more… Intentional. She was trying to convey something to me,” he explains.

“Really now?” I frown again, more than a little peeved.

“Are you jealous?” he asks amusedly.

“No. I’m annoyed,” I tell him.

“Hmm, it feels like jealousy to me,” he taunts and lifts me out of the tub. “You are shriveling up in there. Let me get you dry,” He sets me on the bath mat and starts toweling me off.

“You’re usually more intent on gettin’ me wet, not dry,” I grin up at him.

“Oh, Sultry Sookie tonight. I approve,” he shares my grin and leans down to kiss me. “Is your school work caught up?”

“Mmm-hmm,” I reply with a breathy moan.

“A woman who keeps up on her studies should be rewarded,” he says thoughtfully, “and I did tell you I would give you a sample of my abilities with rope.” My breath catches at that and I feel myself beginning to pant.

Without another word, Eric picks me up and carries me to bed. He throws me down on the mattress hard enough to make me bounce a couple times and I giggle. I watch him walk out of the bedroom and return moments later with a length of rope.

“I am only going to tie your hands to the headboard,” he tells me as he straddles my waist. “It is a good, versatile binding. I will be able to flip you from your back to your front that way.”

I nod silently as he takes the rope, pulls my arms together, and starts wrappin’ them up. The knot feels loose, and I mean real loose. I could slip my wrists out of it super easy.

Or at least I thought I could until he pulls the rope between my arms and turns the loop into shackles.

“Wiggle your fingers,” Eric tells me. I do so confusedly. “How does that feel? Is the rope rubbing you when you move your fingers?” I shake my head. It’s actually pretty comfy. The notch between my wrists is acting like a spacer, so my shoulders aren’t drawn in at all.

Once Eric knows I’m perfectly comfortable, he pushes me onto my back and starts securin’ me to the headboard, which is easy ’cause it’s got slats with just enough space to feed the rope through. He piles some pillows against the headboard, I think to keep me from bonkin’ myself.

“All you should feel is immobilized now,” Eric tells me. “You should not be uncomfortable. Your arms might begin to ache from being above your head, but nothing is supposed to hurt.”

“Okay,” I tell him uncertainly. He has our Bond to know if I’m hurting or uncomfortable. I don’t know why he’s tellin’ me all this. Am I supposed to let him know rather than just assuming he’ll stop when he feels me hurtin’ in the Bond?

“You told me you did not want to be hurt,” Eric says. “I do not want you frightened that something I may do to you might be painful,” he explains at my confusion.

“Oh, okay,” I smile up at him. “So, this is gonna be like when you make love to me, only I can’t wrap my arms around you?”

Eric grins down at me, “Not exactly, but I do not want to ruin anything for either of us.” With that, he hops off me. “I am just going to grab something.”

He disappears into the bathroom, and I squirm. I’m naked, maybe a little cold from bein’ damp from my earlier bath, and now I’m tied up in bed. My hips rotate a bit, but I know it’s not from the cold. It’s like my body’s getting restless while I am forced to wait for my Bonded to return.

Eric returns then, naked, and holdin’ a bottle of massage oil. Oh good, I forgot to moisturize after my bath! I think suddenly.

He comes back to the bed, straddles me again, and pours a good amount of oil directly on my sternum. I flinch away at the first drop ’cause it feels cold, but then his cool hands are rubbin’ against my hot skin, and the friction warms me. He coats me in a very thin layer of oil, my breasts, underarms, all the way up to where my wrists are tied.

Then he pours more oil on my sternum and rubs it across my breasts again, then my ribs, and my belly. He pushes against my lower abdomen, making me clench my inner walls in response to the pressure on my uterus. I moan at the pleasant squeeze inside me, never having noticed the connection before.

Each leg gets its own oil. He starts at one foot and works his way up to the crease of my inner thigh and the thicker lips of my pussy, but that’s it. He barely even clips my center before switching to the other leg and repeating the process.

After both legs are massaged, Eric flips me over. It’s almost like an afterthought, ’cause there’s no real gentleness in it. I can almost hear him thinking, ‘Oh, I have covered her entire front with oil. Better get the other side!’

Eric spends a lot more time on my back than he did on my entire front, kneadin’, strokin’, and just pushin’ his palms into my shoulders and along my spine. I feel boneless and relaxed by the time he’s started bendin’ my knees so that my butt’s up in the air.

I feel his thumb strokin’ against my slit, and I wriggle my bottom impatiently. I can feel how wet I am when he does that. It makes me feel even more excited, ’cause I didn’t know I was gettin’ so turned on durin’ my massage. I was too distracted by how relaxed he was makin’ me, I had no idea things had turned into a slip ‘n’ slide down there!

“Feel how wet you are, Sookie?” Eric asks me softly. “That is all you, Dear One. No oil, no saliva, all of this is you…”

I moan as his finger slides smoothly inside me. I gasp when there’s a second. I’m panting for the third, and full-on grunting with his pinky squeezin’ in there.

“Oooh,” I sob into the mattress when his thumb starts strokin’ my nub. His fingers are fillin’ me so much, and that sweet spot inside me is getting a boat load of attention!

For the first time, I’m feelin’ the ropes, and I want to wrap myself around something. I want to curl my hands into the bedding. I want to reach between my thighs and rake my nails up his forearm. I don’t exactly know what I want, but I need it, and I can’t have it with my arms bound.

That’s when I feel his tongue on my backdoor. He gives it a teasing lick and I feel my knee slide out from under me.

“Now, now,” Eric chuckles at me. “Keep those knees right here.” He pushes my leg back into position with his free hand while the one buried in my pussy continues to pump against me and tease my clit.

As if I hadn’t just broken his concentration, Eric puts his mouth back against my bottom. His tongue’s tracin’ and pressin’ against my ring, and I’m real glad I’ve just had a bath.

Of course, once I stop thinkin’ too much about it, I realize it feels really good, like, sinfully good, which is the best kind!

I am really starting to enjoy myself when some of the pressure eases from my center. It takes me a second to register that a finger’s gone missing, and then it takes me only a fraction of that to realize it’s pushin’ into my butt.

It slides in real smooth though, and I can tell from the pressure I’ve lost in one hole and gained in another that it’s only his pinky. And Lord, it’s movin’ in time with the digits thrustin’ into my center! It feels so good… I’m pullin’ at my ropes like I’m tryin’ to climb away from the pleasure.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Sookie?” Eric asks teasingly and I know it’s rhetorical because I haven’t stopped making pleasurable noises since he started goin’ to work on me. Still, I do manage a slightly sharper whimper after he asks. “That much?” he taunts softly, and I feel his hand speed up behind me. I don’t even know what noise is comin’ outta me now, but it’s somethin’ that gets the neighbors stompin’ above us. “Yes, Sookie,” Eric growls as I start to cum.

I never really noticed that my bottom did anything when I climaxed, but with his little finger in there I can feel the contractions in my rectum as well as my vagina. I feel both walls squeeze around his fingers, and it makes the orgasm last even longer.

“Very nice,” Eric approves once my body finally starts to calm down. “That was a nice, long one you had.”

I whimper as his fingers slowly ease out of me, and I moan at their loss. Then he’s gone from the bed, and I turn my head to see him walk into our bathroom. Water runs for a short time and then he’s back. Eric pats my bottom in greeting when he returns. He grabs me by my hips and unceremoniously flips me once again onto my back.

Eric straddles my chest, and I feel my arms get jerked back into place after I instinctively reach for him. I moan sadly at the restriction, but it soon turns into an indulgent one when Eric grabs my breasts and starts squeezin’ them. It’s slow and all-encompassing at first, kneadin’ the entire breast, workin’ inward until he’s just pinchin’ and tuggin’ at my nipples.

The massage oil is back, and Eric pours a generous amount between my breasts and along his cock that’s been resting hard and rigid against my sternum. He squeezes my boobs around his shaft and starts movin’ his hips slowly, so his cock is pumping into my cleavage. Even though I have a full set of twins, Eric still manages to only need one hand to squeeze them around himself.

“Open your mouth, Sookie,” Eric whispers. After I do and his fingers approach, I know he’s gonna gag me. “Ten seconds,” he reminds me, “and I will make you cum very, very hard again.”

I know my eyes light up when he makes this promise because he’s done it to me every day since that first time and every congratulatory orgasm I’ve earned has been just as earth shattering as the first.

His fingers find a new spot in my throat to stimulate and I choke and gag repeatedly. I don’t pull away, but my eyes are watering just like they always do. His cock slippin’ between my breasts make a nice metronome though, and I count his thrusts until his fingers withdraw on their own.

“You are getting so good at that, Dear One,” Eric praises me as he gives my nipples a hard tug and finally stops holding them around his length. He leans down and kisses me, and I’m relieved that his breath tastes minty. He must have swished some mouthwash while he cleaned his hands. My Bonded is considerate. “Are you ready for your reward?” he asks softly.

“Yes!” I gasp.

“I am going to untie you for it. I can feel your longing,” Eric whispers.

“Thank you,” I murmur in relief while he reaches over my head and unties my bindings so quickly, it’s almost dizzying.

Next thing I know, my thighs are shoved open, and Eric is pushin’ himself inside me. Only… It’s shallow, like, just the tip. I feel my teeth clench in frustration, ’cause not long ago, his fingers had been deeper inside me. This is almost torture, just havin’ the swollen head of his cock tauntin’ me with shallow, unfulfilling, thrusts.

I wrap my legs over his hips and try to encourage him deeper, but my weak limbs can’t make Eric do a darn thing he doesn’t want to! I grab his arms and dig my nails into his forearms pleadingly, still flexing my legs in a vain attempt to earn more depth from his strokes. Anything, but he keeps it to empty provocation of my needs.

“Please,” I beg when it goes on for far too long. He’s not even playin’ with my clit to counteract the fact he’s not even fucking me. “Eric?” Please? Why are you doing this? Wasn’t I good? Didn’t I do what you wanted?

Suddenly, he’s buried to the hilt. A thick, guttural sound rips past my throat at the unexpected impact, but I’ve long since stopped caring about the not-so-ladylike-sounds he fucks out of me.

He’s stayin’ in fast and deep, and he’s gotta wrap me up in his arms to keep me from escapin’ the John Mellencamp-inspired collision of our sexes. He’s kissin’ my face, neck, and eyes. I can’t keep track of his lips, he’s kissin’ everywhere he can reach! Then, right as I start to feel my orgasm building, his fangs are in my throat, and his fingers are rubbin’ my earlobe.

I think I scream ‘FUCK!’, but I could be wrong because, as usual, my reward fuck has completely robbed me of any recollection of the split second that preludes the explosion. Now, I’m starin’ up at Eric with a shell-shocked expression and pantin’ like I’ve just been traumatized.

His smile is the sweetest smile I have ever known. It’s soft and knowing, almost apologetic.

“This is the only way I enjoy seeing tears in your eyes, Dear One,” he whispers, kissin’ away the tears drippin’ down my cheeks. “Are you happy? Did you enjoy that?” he asks, runnin’ his hand up and down my body soothingly.

“So much,” I tell him, not quite certain why he asks and explains things when he can feel everything I do. “Why do you ask me stuff like that when you can feel me?” I wonder aloud.

He smiles his sweet, apologetic smile again, falls to his back on the bed, and pulls me across his chest. “Because it is just as important to hear it as it is to feel it. It is like asking me to feel without seeing. Why only desire the satisfaction of one sense and not all five?”

I giggle because it makes a lot of sense, and, in a way, it’s really nice to know that he takes nothin’ for granted.

“I love you, Darlin’,” I tell him.

Smiling, he leans in and kisses my lips, “As I love you, Dear One.” He’s right, hearing those words is glorious in their own way. I feel his love all day long, but a completely different thrill fills me when they are whispered intimately against my ear…

Eric’s POV:

Being Bonded is very distracting, I am quickly beginning to realize.

I am lying in our bed, watching my Sookie zip back and forth, preparing for classes. Admittedly, I tend to make her late, but I cannot resist. Knowing I spend the entire day analyzing and critiquing every little emotion that passes through her, it makes me want to keep her in bed with me. I want to keep her in the one place where I know what every little emotional fluctuation means.

“Love you, Darlin’,” Sookie tells me as she flings her bag over her shoulder, leans in, and kisses me goodbye. I wrap my hand in her hair and she pulls away with an indulgent laugh. “I have to go to classes. No more of your sexy trickery this morning!”

“One of these days, I may need to sneak on to campus and try my afternoon sexy trickery,” I tease, rising to kiss her once more. Her eyes light up, and an adorable blush covers her cheeks. I love seeing that adventurous flush on her cheeks. “I love you,” I finally tell her. “Have a good day at school.”

She gives me one more grin and it turns sheepish when Jason honks from the street. With that, she flies out of the condo, and I flop back on to the bed. My impatience is growing daily. Awaiting Jason’s metamorphosis and the freedoms it will bring us is beyond frustrating. I find myself needing to be reminded that I am over a thousand-years-old and a few years is not all that long. Jason is being generous, wanting to be turned before we are too close to the precipice of the Great Revelation. It will give him a year to acclimate before he is trying to appear human both night and day.

I should tell him to tan as much as his sister prior to being turned…

Regardless of Jason’s generosity, it is still difficult, especially with my beautiful Bonded being unable to spend some of her days with me when she needs to be out of the condo. I would love to attend a farmer’s market with her, or walk hand-in-hand through the park on a brilliant, sunny day. Hell, it does not even need to be an outdoor activity! We could go to the cinema or the library if it was daytime, and I would simply be a husband spending the day with his wife.

Jumping out of bed, I find my laptop and begin typing a list of things I want to do with Sookie once I am free to be out in public during the day. I start with the big things, such as traveling the world and seeing its splendor in the light of day, watching her beautiful, adventurous, grin in the sunlight while I show her The Great Pyramids and many other temples.

By the time I look at the clock again, I find that barely an hour has passed, and I have a forty-two-page agenda typed, and my phone is ringing.

“Yes, Pam?” I answer, still reeling at the list I made.

“I’m bored,” My Child pouts.

“Were you not learning Japanese to pass the time?” I ask curiously.

“But it is so nice out today!” Pam whines at me in the way she knows I cannot stand.

“Pamela,” I sigh, “we have been given a tremendous gift. You must learn to respect the boundaries of that gift until the time we are free of those limitations.”

“I know this!” Pam snaps. “That does not make the waiting any easier!”

“I have been writing a list of things I am looking forward to doing-”

“I did that forever ago!” Pam tells me impatiently.

“How long is yours?” I ask curiously.

“Seventy-some pages,” she tells me. “I add a little more every day as I think of things, but I was around fifty when I lost steam.”

“I finished forty-two in just under an hour,” I offer.

Pam groans, “I hate idle chit-chat.”

She tells me this as if I am unaware. Pam is terrible at killing time, and I have been checking my credit cards constantly just to be certain she is not spending like a mad woman to pass her days. Thankfully, there has only been a moderate increase in her daily spending. However, my definition of ‘moderate’ regarding Pam is very steep. She has gone from roughly eight thousand dollars to about fourteen and a half weekly. I suppose I should be grateful…

My conversation with Pam tapers, so she eventually scoffs and hangs up after there is silence for a solid fifteen minutes. It cannot be helped. I am currently going over our Bloodline’s financials as well as reviewing paperwork on one of my dozens of companies. Pam thinks she is my workhorse for these businesses but the truth is, she merely gets stuck with everything I have already reviewed. A second pair of eyes as it were.

Once I am caught up on my work, I look at the clock and moan that only another two hours have passed. That means three more hours until my Bonded is back in my arms.

I need a damn hobby, I think in frustration as I slam my laptop shut.

On to Chapter Twenty-Seven!