NOTE:
Yes, I realize I've been away a long time. Life didn't just get in the way, it steamrolled me. This has not been edited more than my own proofreading, so point out any major glaring mistakes and I'll submit an edit so this reads smooth. I know I switch sometimes between and "I" and a "we" voice, but forgive me. Jezza is still figuring out her control, and sometimes she loses it.
As always, constructive criticism and comments are welcome.
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I sat cross-legged on the patio, my wrists resting on my knees, trying to will my power into the circle I had drawn on the stones. If Bane had been out here guiding me, I could have done it. But it had been a week since my power had come out, and I supposedly needed to learn to do things like this without him holding my hand the whole time. As it was, I could feel him in the house waiting for me to do this. I thought I had it, only to hear the faint chime of the doorbell through the house and lose my concentration. Bane's reassuring touch in my thoughts turned to a faint surprise and I gave up.
Standing, I stretched my arms to the sky, groaning a bit when my back popped. I bent forward slowly to rest my hands on the stones when two upside down legs walked out onto the patio with me. One set I knew was Bane, and the other set turned out to be Larian when I stood from the stretch.
"You almost had it," Bane smiled at me before handing me a bucket to wash the chalk off the patio. My groan was louder when I took it and went to the faucet. This had become a deep rut over the last week. Gaining control meant I should be able to power a protective circle on my own, but since I would have less control than a normal succubus the going was more difficult than it was for others. "Another week and it will be second nature, like the runes have been."
Larian cleared his throat when I dumped the bucket of water over the patio and then grabbed a long scrub brush from the side. I couldn't complain too much since Bane scrubbed out his own chalk lines when he drew them. "Watch your feet," so I was late with the warning.
"The months here have done you well, girl," Larian's low voice sent ripples across the pool of power in my mind and I stifled a shiver. Bane's chuckle didn't help when he felt the effect.
"So you won the coin toss, huh?" I tossed my hair out of my face and looked at him. He wasn't smug and didn't seem to be capable of showing any emotion as I stared at him. He just shrugged and sat in the chair Bane pointed to at the small table in the corner.
"I would like to think it was my experience that swayed the feelings in my favor," Larian rumbled. "But at this point I believe I am the only one Bane thinks can survive you right now."
That got my attention where Bane's less than subtle prods of power hadn't. "Survive me?"
"You haven't even touched Bane in three days, girl," he managed to make that sound like chastisement, and I ducked my head and went back to scrubbing the chalk off the patio. I had gotten the last traces three minutes ago, but I didn't want to sit with them right now. "A new mate-bond should have had the two of you all but inseparable right now. Even I can feel your power pulling at the edges of the world around you."
"We've been working on it," Bane said quietly.
"No," Larian's voice was firm and he looked between the two of us. "You're not. Maybe you are, Bane, but she isn't. The bond between you is stretched beyond all reason. Would you put that brush down and come here, girl?"
I dropped the brush and walked to them, watching the stones pass beneath my feet. The closer to Bane I got, the tighter I could feel the bond getting between us. I yanked my power back close when it tried to reach for him, even as I desperately wanted to touch him. He didn't keep his power from touching me, though, and it almost burned as it poured over me.
"It is true that I won this 'coin toss,' as you called it," Larian said, and I cringed. "But you need to fix this between yourselves before I can touch you, Jezza." He hadn't called me 'girl' this time. "Mates are usually given at least a month before the first contract is taken, and you haven't had that time together. Feed the bond, girl," there it was. "Touch him, fuck him, it doesn't matter how you do it so long as it's done. Forcing yourself to ignore it to this extent is going to drive you insane, and will prove those who believe a second generation succubus is unstable right."
"Who cares if I go insane?" I had hugged my arms around my middle at some point, but I didn't lower them.
"Everybody within a fifty or sixty mile radius will care greatly if you go insane and call them to you and kill them." I stared at him. "Succubi don't just go insane, they turn siren. The more powerful the siren, the farther her call will reach. And the only way to stop a siren is to kill her. I for one would rather not have to kill you since I used so much energy to heal you and get you away from Asher."
I could feel my face heating up, remembering the kisses when he had healed me after the sessions with Asher. Tentatively, I reached out with my power and touched Bane, and the wash of relief almost knocked me on my ass. Bane reached out to grab me when I swayed, and the physical touch was even better. He groaned as he wrapped his arms around my middle and pulled me closer to him, burying his head against the small of my back.
"As I said," Larian said, but he watched the water evaporating from the patio rather than our little display. "I have your first contract, and it is worded in such a way that no other contract can be taken until I have fulfilled mine, or a month passes. So you two have time to get this under better control before you make your decision about taking the contract or not."
With that, he stood and walked back to the house. Bane pulled me down to sit on his lap so he could touch me more completely. His power washed over me, calling my own out and I gave in to the need to just touch him. The bond that had been pulled so tight started to relax, until he took a breath to speak.
"Larian will be staying here for the next few days. Please don't move away," his arms tightened around me when I tried to push away. But I could also feel his relief at being able to touch me again, and my own relief in touching him. "He'll be in your room until he's able to book a decent hotel. Ah, you can sleep in my room and I'll take the couch if you don't want to share a bed with me."
This time when I moved to stand, I pulled him with me and headed back into the house. "Tell me about the contract with Larian," I sat at the table and he pulled a chair around so we could still touch while we sat. Larian was nowhere to be seen, so I assumed he was in the bedroom settling in.
"It's exactly what he said," he managed to turn and put his forehead on my shoulder, his hand inside my shirt to touch skin, and keep his leg pressed up against mine. It should have been awkward, but all I was picking up from him was the relief brought on by the contact. "He's contracted for forty-eight hours, and his contract is exclusive for the next month. You can choose to do it now, or at the end of the month. But once the month is up, the field opens to other contracts. You will eventually have to honor Larian's contract, but for this first month his is the only one that will be taken. Can we move somewhere other than this table and these terrible chairs?"
"Go lay down," we both jumped at the sound of Larian's voice. "The less clothing between you the better it will be for relieving the skin hunger. If you don't mind, Bane, I would like to borrow your office to handle some business?"
"That's fine," Bane replied as he stood and pulled me up with him, heading to the bedrooms. "Ah, the secure internet cable is the red one. Otherwise the WiFi password is on the blotter. Help yourself."
He had his shirt off before we even got into his room, his motions edging into the frantic range as he kicked off his shoes and his pants hit the floor along with his boxers. His power remained gentle on my thoughts as he took my hands and pulled me to the bed to stand between his knees so he could wrap himself around me. It was so much like that first night that my breath caught.
"I don't care if we don't have sex right now, or even later," his voice was muffled as he moved his head against me. "But I need to touch you. These last three days have been agonizing even if you were accepting my power touching you. It's definitely reminded me why I have actively avoided succubi in their first year of power lest I be mated."
"We were both willing enough a week ago," I muttered.
"I'm not unwilling, just overwhelmed with the feelings of the bond," his hands slid under my shirt to rest along my back, seeking skin contact. "I knew the theory of what this would feel like, but there's no way to experience it without, well, experiencing it. I know what you're feeling all the damn time, and I have an insatiable need to touch you. The last three days where you've avoided touching me, avoided even seeking me with your power, have been like some special kind of torture."
I pulled his hands from around me gently, feeling the instant distress from the loss of even that small contact. Then I pulled my shirt over my head, unhooked my bra, and slid the leggings I had on down my legs before adding it all to the pile he'd made of his clothes. He moved to pull the comforter and sheet down before sliding into the bed ahead of me and pulling me against his front. The relief of him touching so much of me was nearly complete, but I could feel a faint hunger hanging over it all.
"Relax," he whispered into my shoulder. "Reach out to me with your power, grab mine, and pull. Try to be gentle. You can feed on me without sex easier than on others, and you do need to feed that small hunger before it grows out of control."