Catalyst Ch. 31

Chapter Thirty-One: Christmas Break

Sookie’s POV:

What am I doin’? Oh, Gosh, what am I doin’!?

I know I must look like a terrified, little rabbit, but this place is intimidating! Leather, belts, canes, gags… What am I doin’!?

“May I help you, Sugar?” the saleswoman behind the counter looks at me kindly. She’s got this dark, dominatrix look about her, all smoky eyes and deep lipstick. Her hair’s a purplish red, and her skin’s pale.

Despite outward appearances, she smiles after I give her what must look like the most horrified expression she’s ever seen in her life. Poor thing, she thinks bemusedly.

Slowly I slink up to the counter, “Um,” I begin eloquently. My face is burnin’ red, but I have no idea how to do this myself. All the people I could ask would taunt Eric and he would find out about my first day of winter break’s, “Mission: Sookie Instigates Spontaneous, Kinky Sex.”

“I promise it’s nothing I haven’t seen, done, or handled before,” the saleswoman tells me comfortingly. I see her name is ‘Fang,’ and, for some reason, that makes me smile. Maybe because it makes me think of Eric.

I let out a strange noise that sounds like a whimper.

“Blindfolds?” she guesses, and I shake my head. “Feathers?” Head shake. “Vibrators?” Like Eric needs a vibrator. His mouth is a vibrator! “Lube?”

“How-do-I-four-point-cuff-myself-to-the-bed?” I ask in a rush.

She blinks in surprise before giving me a pleased smile, “Ooh, more adventurous than I thought!” she grins, makin’ me blush. “I have a really simple set up for that. The straps are adjustable, and you can just ring them around the legs of the bed, or the headboard if it’s accommodating,” she begins to explain while she leads me through the store. “The restraints are just wide Velcro, so you can get three of your four points secured easily, and then give yourself a little slack on the last one to roll your wrist to smooth it down. It’ll be a little looser than the other three, but if your partner has any experience in bondage, he’ll tighten it up once he finds you,” She gives me a wink.

“He does,” I mumble shyly, taking the package in my hands. “How long would it take me to set up?” I ask. “He works from home mostly… I’d have to do it before he gets back from a meeting…”

“Only about ten minutes,” She shrugs.

Totally manageable! I think contentedly. I could have myself tethered in the amount of time it takes him to return from his Sheriff’s duties. But, just to be safe…

“Um, will I be able to get myself out of these if… I choose a poor time to… y’know,” I mumble.

“If he hasn’t tightened your fourth point, you can get yourself loose… Or you can leave your fourth restraint off and let him do it for you,” she offers.

“Oh, okay,” I nod.

“Is that all you needed?” she asks with a curious tilt of her head.

“I guess… Unless you have any recommendations? My fiancé usually does all the… adventurous stuff, but I want to try, too,” I confess, feeling an odd jolt of disappointment in myself.

She smiles comfortingly at me, and I gotta admit, it’s nice not havin’ this stranger secretly mockin’ me, “I think it’s pretty awesome you’re trying to be more adventurous, and not just leaving it all up to your man.”

“Thanks,” I mumble.

She grins a bit mischievously and leans in to whisper, “Do you like to get frisky in public?”

“My fiancé does,” I offer. “I guess I do, too, but I get nervous about it, so he doesn’t prod me to do it too often.”

“I know a toy that might help you overcome that,” she tells me.

I feel myself lean in and murmur, “Really?” Can she tell I’m super intrigued?

Leading me over to the vibrators, I blush when she picks one up. It’s u-shaped and comes with a little plastic remote. “This part will be inside you,” she points to the bulbous end, “and this part can either be pressed against your clit, or you could put it against your butt if you’re into that sort of thing.” She looks me over appraisingly, and I’m a little smug when I hear in her head she can’t quite puzzle me out. For once, my face gives nothin’ away. “Your fiancé can control the vibes with the remote. Turn it off, turn it on, increase the vibes, or change the vibe pattern. It has a pretty nice range at a hundred yards.”

Holy crap! I want, I want, I want! I think wildly once I take the package into my hands and stare at it appraisingly. I think my panties just liquefied.

On cue, my cell phone starts to ring and I apologize to Fang, “Excuse me,” I apologize and turn my back to her, “Hi, Darlin’!” I answer perkily.

“Sookie,” Eric sounds amused, “what are you doing?”

“Shoppin’,” I answer with as playful a tone as I can muster.

“For?” he asks, and I feel him laughin’ at me on the inside.

“Things,” I offer, tryin’ to sound more nonchalant.

“Are they sexy things?” he asks, and I feel a flare of lust in the Bond.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait until I’m home to find out!” I tell him teasingly, and I see Fang give me an approving nod. I blush, realizing that I finally said something confident for the first time since entering the store. “Now, you just wait for me to get home, and maybe I’ll show you what I bought.”

“I look forward to it,” Eric whispers with a gentle purr that does not help the previous panty-dissolving issue.

“Bye, Darlin’,” I croon back and close my phone with a blush. “Sorry about that,” I apologize again to my attentive sales lady.

“It’s all right,” Fang laughs. “It sounds like you’re going to be taking that baby for a test drive when you get home. May I make another recommendation?” I nod, and she leads me over to the lubricants. I manage not to blush. She picks up a bottle and hands it to me, “I’d use this stuff with the Cum’n’Go-”

“The what?” I ask, befuddled.

She points to the vibrator, “Sorry, it’s what we call it around the shop… Because it makes you cum while you’re on the go?”

I giggle at the clever name and nod, “Okay.”

“It’ll make your clit nice and tingly,” She picks up the sample bottle and while I’m reading the label on the container she handed me, Fang reaches over and places a little on the inside of my wrist. It feels very pleasant, and I can’t help but wonder how it would feel on my ears…

Holy crap! I’m thinking of my ears as a sexual part of my body! Eric will be so proud, and suggesting we use the lubricant on my ears might surprise him more than my purchase of the Cum’n’Go.

“I’d really like this,” I agree to buy the lube. Before Fang can sell me on anything else, I start for the checkout, and pay for everything in cash, so Eric doesn’t know from the credit card statement that I bought more than the vibrator and lube. When everything’s paid for, I take the bondage kit out of the packaging and roll it all into a ball to shove in the bottom of my purse. I accept the plain bag with the vibrator and lube, grin at Fang, and wave goodbye.

I’ll have to come here again!

Eric’s POV:

“Welcome home, Dear One,” I greet my Bonded with a deep kiss. “Now, are you going to tell me what had you so worked up while you were out?” I ask with hope, kissing her neck and pushing my body tightly against hers.

She catches her lip between her teeth and holds up the bag with her purchases, “I bought some stuff I want you to use on me,” she says shyly.

I raise my eyebrows and take the bag from her. When I glance inside, I must admit that I am very surprised. My Sookie went to a store and bought these? I am not merely surprised, I am impressed!

“In the condo?” I ask, knowing that Sookie is intimidated about my predilections for public sex. It is not so much the exhibitionism as it is being able to enjoy her pleasure whenever the mood strikes me. There are times when she smiles at me, touches me, or just feels a certain way that scream at every one of my impulses to give her pleasure right there and then. Of course, having such a beautiful woman love and desire me all the time increases the need and want to pleasure her as well.

She shakes her head, “I thought we could go for a walk in about an hour… after sunset…”

My expression darkens while I place the bag down and pull Sookie close, “Do you know how fuckable you are right in this moment?” I ask huskily.

“Well, if you want to familiarize yourself with your new toy before we take it on a test run…” she trails off, letting her offer wash over me and I nod.

“What is the lubricant for?” Anal sex, anal sex, ANAL SEX! “I have never known a juicier woman than you,” I tease.

“Oh,” She flushes deeply. “Umm, it’s really warm and tingly, and…” She pulls my head down to whisper in my ear, which always makes me laugh when she whispers to me in the privacy of our own home. “I thought it would feel real nice on… my ears.”

I gape momentarily. Sex toys! Special products to stimulate her ears! Exhibitionism! “Where is my Sookie? What have you done to her!?” I tease before crushing my lips to hers. Before she can reply, I have flung the woman over my shoulder and picked up the bag with our new activity set. Throwing her on the bed, I set the bag neatly by her feet. “Ears or toy first?” I ask, opening the packaging of the vibrator.

“Ears,” she whispers, and I grin excitedly. It is a perfect decision. If this lubricant is as pleasant as she is anticipating, it will have her pussy nice and wet by the time I clean the new toy, add batteries to it, and the remote.

Setting down the toy, I reach for the little bottle. I only allow a drop on my digits, rubbing it between my thumb and index. I can feel the warming action and the tingle she mentioned. Leaning over her, I run my fingers across the shell of her ear before massaging the oil into the lobe. I hear her tiny gasp, and smile before treating the other ear to the same consideration.

“Is it nice?” I ask quietly against her ear, letting my cool breath create a stimulus against her sensitive skin.

Her reply is to whimper, and I watch as she twists her hips in an almost quiet desperation.

Chuckling, I slide my hands down her body to quickly divest her of her jeans and panties. She moans and tilts her exposed pussy at me beseechingly, “Do you want the lubricant on your clitoris, too?” I ask in my ‘growly’ voice as she endearingly refers to it.

“Please,” she whimpers with another delicious arch of her spine. I grin and lean down to plant a kiss on her clitoris, giving it a brief clip of my tongue. She cries out, and I must admit, this lubricant she discovered is amazingly potent on her extraordinary ears.

When I have given her a few teasing caresses from my tongue, I add some of the lubricant between her folds. She writhes as the fluid activates, and I watch for a moment as her body moves on our bed as though phantom hands are touching and pleasuring her. It is exhilarating to behold.

While Sookie allows herself to be stimulated by oils, I quickly finish opening the vibrator she purchased. While she is blissfully oblivious, I clean it and put fresh batteries in the toy and its remote. Turning it on in my hand, I play with the control, learning the different intensities and patterns before determining my best strategy. I must remind myself the goal is to make sure she does not cum from the vibrator or lubricant. The goal is to make her so wild with desire that she wants me to take her abruptly while we are still out.

Already I notice the lubricant losing its steam. Though Sookie’s lust is still fanned, her body is not undulating as it had been after the oil was first applied. Quickly, I remedy her waning enthusiasm by slipping the vibrator into her slick channel. She groans and flexes her pelvis when the toy presses against the back of her pelvic bone and the antennae rests tauntingly against her clitoris.

“Eric,” she whispers, but before she can say more than my name, I thumb the remote and it springs to life against her. Her body tenses immediately, and a soft moan murmurs past her lips.

“How does that feel?” I ask curiously and softly as not to break the spell of her arousal.

“Mmm, like you’re teasing me,” she confesses and I nod, having guessed as much. Slowly, I adjust the speed of the vibration and watch her body clench. “Ah! S-still not much more than teasing…”

I press another button and watch her reaction. This time the vibrations are alternating from inside and against her clitoris. Each time it buzzes against her little blossom, I see her hips buck, but I am delighted that it is rather underwhelming. Good. After all, this game is only meant to fan her flames for me, not a toy.

Looking out our window, I note the sun is setting and it should be safe enough to leave the condo. I abruptly turn off the toy, and Sookie blinks up at me dazedly.

“We need groceries,” I tell her with a shrug while I throw her panties and jeans on to the bed. “Shall we give that toy a real test run?”

She blushes prettily, or perhaps her cheeks are red from excitement. With a kittenish smile, she redresses and snuggles into my side as we leave the condo.

My hand is resting lightly on Sookie’s hip while I lead her to the car. I open her door for her and she settles in with an anticipatory smile. Lust and excitement are coursing through the Bond, making me surprisingly giddy for our little adventure. Yet, once I settle behind the driver’s seat, I realize I cannot operate the remote, hold her hand, and drive all at the same time.

Therefore, we make it to the grocery store without any good vibrations, but I can feel her waiting for it to happen. That is why I turn the toy on while making my way to her door. I watch delightedly when she gasps and tosses her head back in surprise. When I reach her door, I turn the vibrator back off and grin when she looks up at me heatedly.

“What g-groceries do we need?” Sookie asks me after I take her hand and help her out of the car.

I smile, “Nothing frozen or refrigerated,” I reply and she rolls her eyes.

“So, basically, nothing we could have gone without for another day?” she teases while we stroll toward the shop.

I smile and kiss the side of her throat, “Plenty of ambient noise, so you do not focus on the sound of your little secret.”

Her face is still flushed, and I see now it is from the arousal. She is self-conscious, but her desire is quickly over shadowing it, which is exactly for what I had hoped.

She grabs a cart, unsure of what all we will be purchasing, and I walk beside her, my hand gently resting on the small of her back. We stroll lazily through the store, and I see a nice opportunity to give her a new sensation.

“You need another case of water,” I point to the packaging. She looks at me suspiciously because I never let her lift heavy items when we are together. Raising her eyebrows, Sookie bends over to pick up the case and I turn the vibrator on once more. Even though she had anticipated my actions, I see her legs tremble, then smile after she takes a knee. Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, certain to let my breath tickle the sensitive flesh, “Allow me…”

I reach past her and lift the case, leaving Sookie kneeling on the tile once I place it in our cart. Glancing at her, I see her hips shimmying and I grin to myself for the hundredth time since she told me of this game she wished to play.

Turning off the toy, I extend my hand to her and shakily, she takes it. I haul her to her feet and we begin our shopping anew.

I tease her when she reaches for cereal. I let the vibrator torment her all the way down the bread aisle. She is letting out surprised gasps all through the jams and jellies while the toy alternates patterns as quickly as I manipulate them. Amusedly, I watch as her eyes scan back and forth. Impatience quickly fills our connection to each other. Impatience, need, lust!

“Eric,” she groans after she crouches to grab her coffee and I taunt her again. She clutches at the shelf and I watch her chest heave in concentration. “I can’t take much more,” Her voice is weak, pleading.

“That is the point,” I tell her, placing my hands on her waist and squeezing, making sure to give the soft flesh above her womb a firm pressure. She unabashedly moans when I do this, and I chuckle, “Shh, Dear One. You do not want anyone finding out your secret, do you?”

Her eyes are dark and hooded with glorious intangibles and I gasp at the gaze she gives me. It is even more potent with the swarm of emotion flooding the Bond and I find my body gravitating toward hers, “Here? Next to the coffee grounds?” I breathe jokingly against her ear. My hands trail from her waist to her hips, reaching behind to squeeze her bottom. I can hear the faint buzz of her secret, and it makes me harden more than the half-mast I have sustained since this game began.

“Anywhere you want, please,” she moans softly into my chest, wrapping her arms around me tightly and squeezing.

Taking the canister of coffee from her loose grasp, I toss it into the cart, trap her between myself and the handle, and begin guiding her toward the side of the store. Every few seconds, I increase the vibration of the toy until we are outside the bathrooms. I grab her purse and practically shove her into the men’s bathroom.

“Eric,” She is trying to climb me while I push her into one of the stalls.

“Turn around,” I tell her, setting her purse on the tank. She moans and does as I tell her. Swiftly, I have her jeans undone, and shove them and her panties from her ass. “Your panties are soaked through,” I tell her with my own moan. She wiggles her bottom at me after I slip the vibrator out and lick it clean.

“Please, please, please,” she murmurs over and over, wriggling and pushing back against me.

Quickly, my trousers are open, and I bend Sookie forward until her hands are flat against the tile of the wall. She whimpers and mewls until I bury myself deep inside her. We both take a moment to collect ourselves, both having waited so long for this moment.

“Please, Eric, need you so much,” she whispers frantically, pushing back against me. I respond by bucking my hips harshly against her. The noise that action brings from her lips is heavenly to my ears, and I am soon losing myself in her heat and want. There are no attempts to hold back once I thrust wildly behind her and she moans and cries out happily in front of me.

Pushing her shirt and bra above her breasts, I clutch at them violently as my hips push tightly against her rear. She gasps and yowls while I pluck at her nipples, grinding her sex against me and achieving maximum depth from this position. “Yes, Sookie,” I snarl, staying in close and bucking wildly. “Fuck me, Sookie,” I remain still to allow her the opportunity to bounce back against me.

Her hips swivel and bounce in a perfect figure-eight, twisting and milking my cock until I can no longer remain still. I release her breasts and grab her hips to pull her back and surge forward simultaneously in a delicious collision that spurs a yell from both of us. I feel her contracting, I feel myself pulsing, and soon we are reaching brand new heights as we cum noisily in the men’s bathroom.

We remain frozen, bent over a toilet. She is catching her breath and I am merely acting as an anchor keeping her from tipping forward. With one arm holding her firmly against my chest, I reach forward and slip her toy into her purse while kissing the back of her neck.

“Are we more open to sex outside of the home now?” I ask against her nape.

A surprised giggle escapes her lips, “Yeah, Darlin’, we are much, much more open about it.”

Sookie’s POV:

Day three of “Mission: Sookie Instigates Spontaneous, Kinky Sex” is the night I plan to tie myself to the bed. It’s Eric’s night to be at the warehouse for Sheriff business, and a perfect opportunity to play with outfits I won’t mind gettin’ tore up. I’ve considered just bein’ naked when he finds me, but there is just somethin’ super sexy about havin’ my underwear ripped off me.

Day two had been rather tame compared to our adventures in the grocery store the previous night. It had been our first day back in Bon Temps, and I’d felt more mischievous than kinky. Before Eric had gone to his office for the day, I hid my panties from the previous night in the heat register, and then cranked up the furnace. It took about twenty minutes of the heat wafting through my panties and mixing into the air before Eric called me upstairs. With a naughty grin on my face, I’d skipped up to his office and asked what he needed with my most innocent voice. His eyes were all hungry and dark and the next thing I knew, he’d thrown me on his desk, ripped off my clothes, and ravished me.

After a thorough debauchment, Eric had asked how I managed to make the entire room smell like my sex. That’s when I’d gone to the floor register and lifted it, revealing the pair of cum-soaked panties from the night before. He’d called me a tricky, little Madam.

My little daydream of yesterday’s activity passes, and I’m once again trying to pick out a perfect negligée. Pam’s done wonders for my bedroom wardrobe, but, even still, it’s hard to choose one for sacrifice. Finally, I pick the one I think Eric will like best. He’ll just have to buy me a new one.

Suddenly my phone rings and I smile, knowing it’s Eric before I even look at the caller I.D.

“Hey, Darlin’,” I greet, layin’ out my sacrificial negligée on the bed.

“You have no idea how pleasant these past three days have been,” Eric growls into the phone, and I feel his arousal through the Bond, making my nether regions respond. “You do not give your sexual creativity enough credit, Dear One.”

“What do you mean?” I ask playfully, maneuvering around the bed and securing my restraints to the frame.

“I know you will have a surprise for me when I return home,” he says in this dark, chocolate voice that’s just as sinfully delicious. “You are excited…”

“Hmm, well, if you take too long gettin’ home, I might start without you,” I tell him tauntingly.

“Should I cancel my last two meetings?” he asks roughly, and I feel his desire burn even hotter in the Bond.

I make a pouting sound just to make his breath catch, “No, I guess I can be a good girl… At least until you get home…”

I can practically see him clutching his phone at that statement as frustration starts to seep into our connection. It really is empowering to know I make a thousand-year-old vampire not just want me, but need me.

“I will keep them as brief as possible,” he breathes into the phone eagerly. I made a dead man pant! I hope he can feel just how giddy I am right now!

“I’ll be waitin’, Eric,” I tell him huskily.

He hangs up after that and I get some of my excitement out with a little happy dance in our bedroom. As I dance around giddily, I see my reflection in the window, proving what a little girl I still am at times. There’s a window in here again… Two actually, one more than there used to be. I quickly skip over and draw the blinds…just in case. Even though our house is out in the middle of nowhere, I don’t want to run the risk someone might peek inside and see me all tied up and mostly naked. For one thing, I’d be embarrassed the whole rest of my life, which is a very long time! Secondly, and probably more importantly, Eric would murder them.

Once the shades are drawn, I pick up my chosen negligée of oblation. Eric is my God of sexual awakening, and I offer to him my sexy nightie!

My face is pleasantly flushed with anticipation while I skip to our bathroom and wash up for the millionth time that day. I want to smell good and be squeaky clean before my Bonded makes a mess outta me! I put on my nightie, brush my teeth again, and floss. I apply just a smidge of mascara and tasty Chapstick. Any other make-up would just sweat off in the first fifteen minutes and I don’t want that.

Preparations are halted once I realize Eric is movin’ in the Bond. Holy crap! He left the car and is flyin’! He’s already nearly home, and I’m not ready!

With a squeak, I jump onto the bed and quickly start strappin’ myself in. Right ankle, left ankle, left wrist- Eep!

I barely get my other wrist restrained when our bedroom door flies open and crashes into the wall. With a jump, I stare up at the demon before me.

“Loose?” Eric asks me impatiently, already peelin’ off his clothes. All I can do is stare at him dazedly while he climbs onto the bed and starts checkin’ all my restraints. He actually loosens the ones around my ankles a bit, undoin’ the Velcro and layin’ two of his fingers between my skin and the straps before tightenin’ them again. He tightens up my right wrist, since I couldn’t quite do that one properly by myself.

“Do you have any idea what you have been doing to me this last hour?” he snarls against my mouth before kissin’ me hard. I whimper as he grinds his erection against my core. “I could bend rebar around this!” he claims, pushin’ at me again and I have to admit he might not be wrong. I’ve never felt him so hard. “I will play with you later,” he tells me quickly before tearin’ off my panties and thrustin’ deeply inside.

I cry out and try to arch against him, but my restraints do what they’re supposed to keep me helplessly limited. “Ah, Eric!” I shout while he starts movin’ against me violently. He’s not even startin’ off at a human pace. He’s fuckin’ me like a vampire, his fangs are down, slicin’ me in places and licking the trails of blood they bring in their wake. I can hardly breathe as he moves to press his mouth against mine.

His fang slices my lip, and my tongue moves of its own accord to stunt the bleedin’. As it does, I feel an ivory fang. Playfully, I snake my tongue against it, up to his gum line, and somethin’ just happens.

Eric roars, and in that nanosecond before his reaction occurs, I have a very vivid flashback of him tellin’ me exactly what happens if I play with his gums while his fangs are down. “I will fuck you very, very hard,” rings clear as day in my head.

Next thing I know, I’m screamin’ my head off, Eric’s snarlin’ into my neck, bitin’ me anywhere and everywhere he can. A jackhammer has replaced his hips while I am fucked harder than I knew was ever possible.

So yeah, don’t mess with a horny vampire and his gums… Or do… I think dazedly in the back of my head while, “Oh-my-God. Oh-my-God. Oh-my-God,” tumbles from my mouth repeatedly. My orgasm is on me so suddenly and violently that I start to cry in release before it’s even in full effect. Tears are rollin’ down my face, Eric is pushin’ into me so deeply I think he’s trying to crawl into my uterus, and my orgasm just won’t stop. Even when I’m too exhausted to keep cummin’, it just doesn’t end. Not until he stills and I feel his cock inside me, fillin’ me up with just as lengthy a climax.

His pleasure is so overwhelming, even as he withdraws from between my thighs, I can feel his spendings dribblin’ outta me. He’s filled me to the brim with his sperm and I wiggle tiredly when I feel it makin’ the sheets stick to my butt.

Eric’s starin’ at me in bewilderment, but I can feel a sense of satisfaction in him that he’s feelin’ a bit guilty about. Suddenly, he’s undoin’ my restraints.

“I was fine,” I mumble tiredly, havin’ not been tied up long enough to go stiff.

“Sookie,” Eric shakes his head, “you are bruised, and there is blood and cum everywhere. You need to rest for now and there is no need for you to rest in restraints.”

As my body’s endorphins fade away, I begin to feel what he means. My body feels like it’s been in a car accident. The pain is more discomfort than pain, and well worth it in my opinion.

“Are you all right?” Eric asks me nervously.

“Darlin’, I’m so all right, it should be illegal in forty-nine states,” I tell him.

“Forty-nine?” Eric raises his eyebrows.

“Everything’s legal in Nevada,” I grin lazily. He laughs and starts rubbin’ my ankles and wrists. “So, that’s what you meant about fuckin’ me very, very hard?” I ask after I feel his mood has calmed a bit.

He gives me a sheepish grin, “Perhaps harder than what it should have been. You had me quite pent up beforehand.”

“I’ll have to remind myself to get y’all hot and bothered like that before playin’ with your fangs.”

“Sookie,” Eric looks at me in trepidation, “will you look at the bed?”

He helps me off the bed and I look down at the sheets. I don’t know how he expected me to react to the all the blood and other body fluids, but laughing hysterically was probably not on the top of his list.

“Wow, Eric, I don’t think there’s any cleanin’ this!” I am still laughin’. “This might need a whole new mattress!” Tears are rollin’ down my eyes.

“Sookie, I bled you-”

“So what?” I grin at him. “It felt amazin’ and it’s not gonna kill me. I’ll go drink some water and eat some food. I’ll sleep a couple hours just for good measure, then I’ll be right as rain.”

“Then you are not angry?” I can practically feel him searchin’ the Bond.

I shake my head and smile, “Not a bit. Why would I be?”

“You do not feel I ruined your surprise?” Eric asks hesitantly, like he’s nervous he’ll give me fuel for a fire I didn’t know I had burnin’.

Smiling, I shake my head again and pull him in for a soft kiss, “Darlin’, knowin’ I can get that kinda response out of you? You didn’t ruin a thing. You made it the best night of my life… So far…”

On to Chapter Thirty-Two!