© ItalRT4u, 2012

     I was right about Angus withholding information from me.  I felt like some sort of show piece as he paraded me down to the main entrance through the historic looking home until we had reached the den’s door.  It was shut.

     “One last thing before the evening truly begins.”  He said as he knocked on the door lightly, moving behind me slightly so I could walk ahead of him once the door opened.  When it did, there stood William with the broadest smile I had ever seen him sport; pride shinning in his eyes.

     “You look absolutely radiant!”  He further opened the door to reveal a small crowd of people, knocking the wind out of me in the process. 

     What are they all doing here?

     Before me stood the entire Nottingham family and their ladies; Cane wasn’t in the room based on the quick inventory I took in of those standing before me.

     “He’ll be here in a few, Sweetie.”  William whispered into my ear, reading my thoughts.  My empathic senses were going into overdrive with feelings of excitement, jubilation, and pride.  Once over the shock of the moment, I stepped forward in my whitish pearl floor-length gown.  I was floored when I had seen it lying on my bed, waiting for me earlier; fitting me flawlessly with its one strap that gathered over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, hugging my upper torso and smoothly following every curve of my waist; it floated down to the floor where the material followed my every movement gracefully.  Every eye in the room seemed to be awestruck; adoring smiles played at each and every face.

     “You’re glowing!”  Sandy said softly as she hugged me.  I made my rounds quickly, finishing with Carly; her, I held on to especially longer.

     “What are you guys doing here?”  I finally asked as I backed away to look at all of them, William took his spot by his wife’s side.  I couldn’t be happier but I was still slightly confused.  “It’s not like we’re getting married.”  In truth, it wasn’t.  Don’t get me wrong, this ceremony was definitely something that we both wanted; at least Cane made me believe as much.

     I heard the door to the den open, people outside the room talking animatedly amongst themselves, followed by silence once again when the door shut.  I turned to whoever had entered the room.  Standing there in a suit, I watched as Cane’s breath stuck and an open hand clutched at his chest.  His jaw dropped slightly, his gaze held mine, and he stood there seemingly frozen to the spot he paused on.  I chuckled and chose to go to him.  The closer I got to him, the more I wanted to quicken my step but maintained my composure seeing as I enjoyed taking him all in as I approached.

     “Wow!”  He whispered breathlessly, letting his forehead fall lightly to mine once I stood toe-to-toe with him, his eyes closing momentarily; I smelt the arousal and pride off of him.  My core ached for him to hold me and never let me go.

     “My sentiments exactly.”  I smiled as I nuzzled his nose lightly with mine.

     Again, a moment shared between he and I and everyone had faded away as we entrapped ourselves into each other’s gaze.  A light knock on the den’s door came and snapped Cane and I out of our trance.  Moving to the side so that the person on the other side was able to enter; it was Angus.

     “Ready?”  He eyed us, a glint alight in his eyes.  Cane nodded silently as he looked at me still awestruck.

     “Yeah.”  I followed his answer; my voice cracking, not from nerves, more from the arousal building within me.  I found myself hoping that this evening would simply fly by because my succubus wanted out to play with her Mr. Sexy.  There’s just something about a man in a suit; I can’t quite put my finger on it.

     Cane escorted me through the crowd that seemed to part like the Red Sea as we made our way to a gazebo that had been decorated with the tiniest of white lights, much like those that laced the canopy of the humungous party tent where tables and chairs had been set up with their linens and candlelight centrepieces.  The sun had set, the moon was rising to great heights in the sky, and stars were beginning to twinkle – it was all amazing.  Everyone stood around the gazebo once Cane and I came to stand in the center of it with Elizabeth.

     “Join your right hands.”  She instructed and we did as she told us.  She proceeded to wrap red, silver, and black ribbons, braided together around our joined hands.  Cane’s left hand rested on my left hip, thumb rubbing lightly in a soothing manner as my right shoulder and back leaned against his chest slightly.  Elizabeth began chanting words that I couldn’t make out, my eyes were now fused to Cane’s again.  I felt a surge running through me and noticed when Cane’s eyes went wide, his left hand gripping my waist slightly tighter.  People began to whisper quietly amongst each other. 

     Was something not right?  Did I just hear someone say ‘glowing’?  Nah!  I shook the thought off mentally and gave the ceremony my undivided attention.

     After the burning of our respective ribbons, the silver symbolizing myself, the black as his, with the pillared candle that was before us, the ceremony ended.  Cane and I turned around to face the crowd of strangers, with the exception of our family and tiny circle of friends we had made while here; our hands now unbound, my left gripped into his right.  Elizabeth now took the lone red ribbon and joined our united hands, wrapping them tightly with the piece of silk, singeing the knot so the material melted together with the candle’s flame, thus symbolistically sealing our bond.

     “Blessed be.”  She said after coming around, descending from the gazebo so she joined the rest of our observers and bowing her head at us as a sign of respect.  Everyone followed suit as Cane and I looked onward.  Surrounded with sentiments of elation, we walked down the steps to everyone’s level and were immediately encased with eager clan members that I was rapidly finding out, were from everywhere across the country but from many other parts of the world as well – all but one that I’ve noticed seemed undoubtedly thrilled of my presence; that one seemed envious, disdainful, and crossed.  She seemed familiar somehow. 

     Those eyes.  I know those eyes.

     Tonight, I learned of another interesting fact from Elizabeth herself.  It seems that the heat I had experienced last month was the beginning of something.  Tonight’s bonding ceremony had woken the already restless succubus within me, that much I knew.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only one that was now suffering from this discomforting erotic urge – every time my body came in the slightest skin-to-skin contact with his, he’d groan and by the smell of his arousal, I knew that the possibility of cutting this evening short was becoming ever so realistic.  I was beginning to understand why this bonding ceremony was usually a more intimate and private kind of thing at this point.

     As predicted, Cane had rushed me in from under the starry skies and up toward our room; leaving his brothers chuckling behind us.

     “Git ‘er done!”  Andy cheered which I turned in time to observe Sandra slapping him at the back of his head, giving him a warning look as Carly tried to stifle her fit of giggles in his chest.  It seemed those two have worked out some of their issues and for that, I was relieved.

     The thoughts that Cane was sending me through our link had caused my knees to weaken and threaten to buckle by the time we had reached the bottom of the staircase.  He turned to me and smirked as he realized his effects and then grabbed me like a sack of potatoes, throwing me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.  Retribution for the vividly painted pictures had been great as he stormed us through the bedroom door, kicking it with his foot as he sat me down on my feet.  I pushed him up against the door, reaching for his tie to undo the knot as the front of our bodies was pressed against one another.  His hands wandered down my sides and around my hips pulling me even impossibly closer against him.

     “Is this how you felt when we thought we had fully bonded the first time?”  He asked breathlessly, his lips swollen from our kisses, pupils dilated, and gaze gone wide, gold flecks swimming around in his violet irises.

     “Mmm.”  I said, trailing kisses up his jaw and back to his mouth, leaving the tie undone around his neck and proceeding to feel each button of his shirt pop out of their sockets.  Impatience reared its head so quickly that after two buttons, I quickly pulled back and aggressively ripped his shirt, sending the remaining buttons scattering to the floor and eliciting a guttural groan from Cane who took that time to step forward, turn me and slam me with gentle aggression, my front now facing the door.

     Kissing down my neck and over to my sleeveless shoulder, I felt the zipper to my dress slide down at a torturously slow pace; Cane’s fingers sending fiery licks on the skin he was slowly revealing – and then it happened.  Call it an anti-climactic happenstance, a stroke of bad luck, or a wardrobe malfunction – the zipper broke and got stuck. 

     You’ve got to be kidding me! 

     As soon as the frustration set in, I felt Cane grab the undone portion of my dress and with a growl that made my core throb in want for him even more, he ripped the rest of the gown down – a moan creeping to the surface as my now bare back collapsed against his bare chest with the sheer force of his pulling on my garment.

     Shed of all our clothes, Cane picked me up with my legs wrapped around his waist and lowered us to the bed.  My skin burned, my body ached in its entirety with need to feel him buried deep inside – I didn’t know how much longer I could take.  As if reading my mind, Cane knew just what to do to send us into blissful oblivion.

     My body ached with the aftermath of our lovemaking the next morning.  Still feeling mine and Cane’s heat present, I hoped that its thirst wasn’t going to be as demanding as it was that first time around or else it would be one interesting flight back for Cane and I.  Last night had been magical to say the least – never had I experienced or even fathomed that I would experience something like I had.  Mind blowing wouldn’t even cut it as a description; in fact, I don’t think they’ve come up with a single word that could describe what we experienced so I’ll just leave it at that.

     With my muscles protesting my every movement, I got out of bed and left Cane sleeping as I yearned for the steaming water the showerhead had to offer in order to soothe those aches.

     Cane walked into the bathroom as I was brushing my wet hair, water still beading off the skin of my shoulders, wearing nothing but a towel.

     “Why didn’t you wake me?”  He kissed the side of my neck, licking some of the water off of my shoulder.  I shuddered at the feel of his mouth, my breathing hitching as my body craved to let him take me once more.

     “You looked too comfortable.”  I looked him in the eye through the mirror we were facing.  “After last night, you deserved the sleep.”  He chuckled in the crook of my neck as I turned to face him, pressing my lips to his in a soft peck.  “Take your shower, I’ll get dressed and finish packing.”

     I had gotten dressed and packed my belongings, picking up my torn gown and including it with my luggage before reaching for Cane’s suit.  I was reaching into his pockets to remove anything he had left in them before laying it all on the bed, ready for packing when I found it.  As quickly as I had found it, there was a loud knock on the bedroom door, taking me away from my thoughts, my actions.  Apparently I wasn’t hurrying enough for whoever was at the door because as I had crossed half the distance from the bed to the door, another knock came with more urgency.

     “I’m coming!  I’m coming!  Where’s the-” my voice trailed as I faced a panicked looking Angus; “fire.”  I finished.

     “Gage is gone.”  He said, worry in his tone.

     “What do you mean gone?”  Cane hurried over in nothing but his towel.  For a brief moment, my mind floated to him, naughty thoughts swimming in my mind and just as quickly, shaking my head to rid the thoughts, went back to the issue of the moment.

                                          *************************************

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