33. Andi

33

ANDI

T he Sacred Grove, with its rustling trees and gurgling fountain all gilded by the "moonlight" shed from the dimmed artificial sun above, abruptly disappeared. There was blackness for a moment and then Andi found she was inside a huge, crowded arena filled with hundreds—no, thousands of people.

At first she didn't understand where she was. About half the people seemed to be standing or kneeling on blocks of stone—like a pedestal you'd put a statue on, she thought. The other half were milling around like shoppers in a store, looking at the people who were on display, most of whom were either naked or in some state of undress.

What is this? Some kind of weird museum? Andi wondered. And then she heard someone shouting,

"Slaves! Fresh slaves for sale! Fresh and handsome and eager to serve you, perfect for all your needs!"

Suddenly she understood—the people on pedestals were up for sale. They were the slaves being bought and sold and the ones wandering around looking at them were the prospective buyers.

No one seemed to be looking at her and Andi wasn't sure if she was just a ghostly observer in this memory or if she could actually interact with anyone.

"Hey, hello?" she said, turning to a man with green skin and about two dozen nose rings running around the outside rims of his oversized nostrils. "Hi, can you hear me?" She waved a hand in front of his face but he paid her no attention at all.

Andi tried poking him…but her hand passed right through him. All right, it seemed that she was nothing but a ghost in this particular memory. She wondered if that would be true of all of them. If it was, how could she possibly protect or heal Thrax? And where was her partner, anyway?

She turned in a circle and finally spotted him. He was kneeling on a hard stone pedestal with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Andi went to him at once. He looked so much younger than the seasoned warrior she'd been working with for the past three years. It was clear he still hadn't gotten his full growth. He looked to be around seventeen or eighteen and he didn't have any tattoos yet—not a single one. His horns were smaller and shorter, as he was himself.

He can't be more than five foot ten or eleven, Andi thought, which was a far cry from her partner's current seven-foot height. He wasn't quite as muscular either though it was clear the potential was there. Basically, he was a boy on the cusp of manhood—a very sensitive and vulnerable age.

Thrax was naked, his shaft on display like the other male slaves. There was a look of mingled fear and defiance on his face.

Kneeling on the pedestal beside him was another Kindred warrior—a Beast Kindred, Andi thought, judging from his golden eyes, black hair, and olive complexion. He was a little older than Thrax, but not much—maybe just a few years.

"Who do you think is going to buy us?" the Beast Kindred muttered in a low voice.

"Don't fucking know," the younger Thrax growled back. "And I don't fucking care, either. Whoever it is, I'm going to escape as soon as possible."

"You and me both," the Beast Kindred muttered. "I just hope they don't— ahhh!"

His last words were cut off in a shout of agony as the lizard-like Saurian slaver who had been walking around the pedestals suddenly jammed a pain-prod into his ribs and gave him a shock.

"I thought I told the two of you that you mussst be sssilent!" the Saurian hissed, his long, forked tongue flickering between his sharp teeth.

"Sorry, Sir!" the Beast Kindred gasped. "I just?—"

"Sssilent!" the slaver demanded, shoving the pain-stick into his ribs again.

"Ahhhh!" the Beast Kindred cried again, nearly falling off the platform he was on.

Andi stepped forward to stop the cruelty, only to remember she was nothing but a ghost here. But suddenly a new voice rang out.

"Stop that at once—leave him alone!" A Yonnite Mistress in a flowing green gown came forward with her hand outstretched in an imperious "halt!" gesture. She had long brown hair streaked with green that matched her dress and kind brown eyes.

"Who are you to tell me how to dissscipline my own ssslaves?" the Saurian demanded.

"I'm Mistress Sweetwater and I intend to buy this slave—as long as you don't damage him too much first!" the woman exclaimed.

"Oh, that'sss quite a different matter!" The slaver drew the pain prod back at once, leaving the Beast Kindred slumped and panting on his pedestal, clutching at his ribs where the prod had shocked him.

"You poor boy." The Yonnite Mistress went to him at once. Putting her hands on the sides of his face, she lifted his head until he was looking at her. "Are you all right?" she asked him anxiously. "Did he hurt you?"

"I…I'm fine," the Beast Kindred panted. "Why do you care?" he added defiantly.

"I care because I want to buy you and train you to please me, dear boy," she said, giving him a gentle smile. "But first tell me—are you of age?"

"Am I what?" he asked, frowning.

"Have you reached the age of consent for your people?" she repeated patiently.

Her question seemed to surprise the Beast Kindred, but he nodded warily.

"I had my Manhood Rites six solar months ago."

"Good! Then I'm going to buy you." She stroked his cheek lovingly. "And you're going to learn to please me in every way."

"Wait—what about my friend?" the Beast Kindred asked hopefully, nodding at Thrax who had been watching the entire exchange silently.

"Oh my dear, I'm sorry but I'm afraid I can only train one male at a time." Mistress Sweetwater looked regretfully at Thrax. "But I'm certain your friend will land on his feet—he has a certain savage quality that most Mistresses will just love."

She paid for the Beast Kindred and then led him away on a leash, leaving Thrax alone on his pedestal.

A moment later, a new Mistress arrived—one that Andi recognized.

It's that bitch, Mistress Stoneheart! She wished she could slap the other woman's face. But when she tried, her hand simply passed right through the Yonnite's head as she walked up to examine Thrax from all angles. She felt his muscles, tugged on his horns, and even grabbed his cock, which was dangling between his legs.

Thrax winced as she tugged on him and a look of pure hatred and shame passed over his face for a moment. It was almost too much for Andi, seeing her partner so young and vulnerable, being molested by the heartless Mistress.

"You bitch!" she snapped at Mistress Stoneheart. "Leave him alone!"

Thrax's head jerked up and he looked directly at her. For a moment it seemed to Andi that their eyes met. Then the younger Thrax shook his head and looked away, as though dismissing something he thought he'd imagined.

It wasn't much, but it gave Andi hope.

"How much for this male?" Mistress Stoneheart demanded of the Saurian Slaver, who had been watching her inspection with greedy eyes.

"For an esteemed Missstresss like yourself, only five hundred thousand creditsss," he hissed.

"What? You must think I'm made of money!" she protested. "One hundred thousand and not a centine more!"

As the two of them haggled, Andi stepped close to the younger Thrax, still kneeling on the pedestal.

"Hey," she said in a low voice. "Can you see me? Can you hear me?"

Thrax looked around, frowning, but didn't answer her. Andi had the feeling that her partner could almost hear her but not quite. Still, he could clearly feel her presence.

"I want you to know you're not alone in this," she said to him, reaching out to stroke his cheek. For a moment, it almost felt like she was making contact and Thrax turned his head towards her hand.

But then the moment ended and Mistress Stoneheart paid for him and put a pain collar around his neck. She led him away on the end of the leash and the memory abruptly ended.

There was a moment of darkness, like someone blinking their eyes, and then Andi found herself in a different memory.

In this memory, the younger Thrax was tied to a post, both his hands raised above his head and bound tightly together at the wrists. To her horror, Andi saws that his broad back was a mass of bloody stripes. Looking to her left, she saw Mistress Stoneheart standing there with a long, crackling whip in her hand. Blue sparks of electricity jumped from the end of it, spitting and sparking all over the place.

"Have you had enough or do you need another taste of the pain whip?" she asked coldly.

"Gods, no more—please!" Thrax rasped out. "I'll do what you want—just stop with the fucking whip!"

"Language!" Mistress Stoneheart snapped. The whip cracked again and another bloody stripe appeared across Thrax's shoulder blades.

Andi couldn't bear to watch her partner beaten.

"Stop it!" she shouted and ran to try and get the whip out of the other woman's hand. She still couldn't touch the whip or the woman wielding it, but she found she could get between the whip and the younger Thrax. It hurt when the whip fell—a kind of sharp, stinging shock. But Andi's interference kept the whip from breaking the big Hybrid's skin again—it was almost like she was muffling the blows as they came.

Mistress Stoneheart clearly couldn't understand what was going on.

"What's wrong with this thing?" she muttered angrily to herself, after a few more blows that didn't even make a mark, let alone break the skin. Finally, she threw the whip down in disgust and stalked away, muttering about faulty equipment.

Andi wondered if the scene would change again, but the younger Thrax remained there, tied to the whipping post, bleeding and panting. The last few blows might not have hurt him, but it was clear that Mistress Stoneheart had gotten in plenty of good hits before Andi had appeared to stop her.

Wishing she could help to heal him somehow, Andi stepped closer.

"Thrax," she whispered in his ear. "Thrax, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm with you now. I care about you—you're not alone."

Her partner didn't reply but he leaned towards her voice and Andi got the feeling that he could feel her presence somehow, even if he couldn't actually see or hear her clearly.

"I wish I could heal you," she whispered in his ear. Tentatively, she put a hand on his wounded shoulder. To her surprise, it didn't pass through him. Instead, she felt a kind of tingling coolness in the palm of her hand. The feeling spread to her fingertips as well and Andi began to wonder if it was the effect of touching her partner…or something else.

Carefully, she ran her tingling hand down his wounded back. Thrax flinched at first…then let out a relieved-sounding sigh.

"Goddess," he rasped, looking her way. "I don't know you and I don't know why the pain is easing, but thank you for helping me."

The pain was easing? Andi looked in surprise at her tingling hand and saw that it was glowing a cool blue. Carefully, she pressed the glowing hand to Thrax's wounded back again. Wherever she touched him, the bleeding slowed and then stopped and the wounds began to heal.

I'm healing him—I really am doing it! she thought. She wasn't sure how it was possible—maybe the Kindred Goddess had heard her wish to heal him and allowed her to help. But for whatever reason, she was making a difference for the younger Thrax. She ran her hand all over his back and while the wounds didn't heal completely, they stopped bleeding and her partner gave a grateful sigh.

"Thank you…whoever you are," he said aloud.

"It's me—Andi," Andi said to him as the edges of everything around her began to get misty and indistinct. "You don't know me yet, but you will. I'm going to get you through this—I swear I will…"

The blinking motion happened again and then she was in the middle of another memory. This time she thought Thrax looked a little older. Possibly he was of age this time—maybe he'd had a birthday during his captivity. It seemed possible, anyway.

Her partner was kneeling on a cushion on a raised platform, much like the one where he'd been sold by the slaver. He had his hands and arms tied behind his back and he was nude again. His thighs were spread, showing what looked to Andi like a painfully erect shaft. Mistress Stoneheart was standing over him and Andi saw that she was wearing a thin, black leather glove.

The glove was glistening with oil and when Andi looked again, she realized that Thrax's shaft was as well. Clearly his old Mistress had been putting it on him.

"There now," she said to the younger Thrax, who was grimacing in what looked like a mixture of pain and pleasure. "You'll wear the burning plum oil until you're ready to submit to me. I'll come back and check on you in a few hours."

Then she swept away, leaving Thrax bound and helpless.

"Goddess, it burns! " he growled, shifting on the cushion and wincing uncomfortably as his shaft thrust out in front of him. "I can't bear this…I fucking can't!"

This time Andi went to him at once.

"I want to heal you—to stop the burning," she told him and looked down at her hand. Sure enough, it had started glowing with the healing blue light again. But Andi didn't want to just grab her partner's shaft. She leaned down to put her face near his.

"Thrax," she murmured in his ear. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here to help you."

He looked around, frowning.

"Are you the one I heard during the awful beating Mistress gave me with the pain whip?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yes, that's me," Andi breathed. "Can you hear me clearly?"

"Almost…I hear a whisper in my mind. Don't know if that makes any fucking sense…" He shook his head.

"It does," Andi assured him. "Can you see me at all?"

Thrax squinted his golden eyes for a moment, then nodded.

"You're kind of transparent, but yes, I can." He sighed. "You're fucking gorgeous, whoever you are."

"Thank you. And I'm Andi ," Andi told him. "I want to heal you but I don't want to touch you without your permission."

He barked an angry laugh.

"Why should you care about getting my permission? The Mistress certainly doesn't!"

"She's a monster—consent is always important," Andi said indignantly. "Look, I know she touched you when you didn't want her to…"

"But I did…in a way." A look of painful confusion came over his face. "I've never been with a woman before. Sometimes when she touches me it hurts…but sometimes it feels so fucking good I can't help coming! Then she beats me with the pain whip for ‘spilling my seed without permission.'"

"That's not your fault," Andi assured him. " None of what is happening is your fault. I know it's hard and frightening, but you will get through it—I promise!"

"Do you swear?" he asked.

Andi nodded.

"I swear."

A look of doubt came over his face.

"But how can you know that?"

"I know because I'm from the future— your future," Andi told him.

Thrax stared at her hopefully.

"I can see and hear you more clearly now. Are you my fated mate? Pitch Bloods can't usually Bond with a woman but if they find their fated mate…"

"I'm your partner and your best friend," Andi told him. "I've been sent here to help you get through this time in your life. That's all."

"Can you untie me then?" he asked hopefully.

"I'll try." Andi went around behind him and tried to work on the bonds that held him in place. But her fingertips just slipped right off them, causing her to curse in frustration.

"It's all right if you can't," Thrax said at last. "I understand—you're not really here, are you?"

"I am and I'm not…it's hard to explain," Andi told him. "But I think I can ease some of your pain…if you're willing to let me try." She nodded down at his swollen shaft, still covered in the slick, shiny oil. "And if you're at the, uh, age of consent?"

"I am. But…do you really want to?" The younger Thrax gave her a nakedly vulnerable look. "Mistress says that part of me is dirty and no woman will ever want to have anything to do with it—she says no woman will let me put my ‘dirty thing' inside her."

"That's a lie!" Andi said angrily. "No part of you is dirty or wrong, Thrax—she's lying to you to hurt you and manipulate you! I'll be happy to touch you and heal you…but only if you want me to."

"Fuck it…all right." He nodded at last. "Please—just make the fucking burning stop."

Andi looked down at her hand again and saw that it was still glowing with the cool, blue healing light. Reaching between his muscular thighs, she grasped his shaft carefully in her hand.

The stinging oil caused a burning sensation so that she shared his pain, just as she had with the whip, but Andi didn't pull away. Instead, she stroked slowly up and down her partner's shaft, easing the fiery pain he was feeling as she slowly wiped the oil away.

As she worked, Thrax sighed in relief.

"Fuck" he groaned, looking up at her. "That feels so much fucking better!"

"You're welcome." Andi shook her head. "I just wish I could get you out of here, but all I can do is help you to bear this and let you know you're not alone."

"That helps," Thrax told her. "Helps a hell of a lot."

"Is it all better now?" she asked, nodding down at his still-erect shaft. "Is the oil all gone?"

" Mostly gone," he told her. "It's bearable now, anyway."

That wasn't good enough for Andi. She had an idea of how to get rid of even the last traces of the burning plum oil—though she wasn't sure if he would consent or not.

"Hang on—I think I can get rid of all of it," she said, frowning. "That is…do you mind if I use my mouth on you? On your shaft?"

Her partner's eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline.

"You want to put your mouth on me? But Mistress says?—"

"I don't care what she says," Andi said firmly. "You're not dirty or bad or wrong. And yes I'll put my mouth on you if you'll let me."

Thrax shrugged and she saw a ghost of the sardonic smile she knew so well.

"Of course I'll let you. I'm a male, aren't I?"

Andi had to hold back a laugh.

"All right then. Just be still."

She knelt down beside the cushioned platform he was kneeling on, which put her head at the right level. Leaning forward, she began to lick his long, hard, swollen shaft.

Thrax groaned softly as she licked him and Andi could see that he was watching her avidly. Her mouth was burning like she was eating hot sauce, but she didn't stop until the last traces of the burning plum oil were gone from his thick length.

At last she straightened up and looked at him.

"All better now?"

"Yes, the burning is gone. But—" Thrax broke off, wincing.

"But what?" Andi asked anxiously. The burning in her mouth from the oil was fading and she had an idea that it would be gone completely very soon. Maybe she just needed to take his pain and offer healing in order to mitigate this particular memory. "Well?" she asked again, since he still hadn't answered.

"Well, the burning is gone but I'm still so hard—I have been for hours. The Mistress won't let me come," he explained. "I think if I could just fucking spurt—just once…"

Andi nodded, understanding. His pain wasn't just physical—it was sexual too. Maybe this was what the priestess had meant when she said there were more ways for Andi to heal her partner than just physically and emotionally.

"Do you want me to suck you off?" she asked frankly.

Thrax looked at her uncertainly.

"You'd do that for me?"

"I have before—in the time when we know each other," Andi said. "Would it make you feel better and ease your pain?"

"Fuck, yes!" he growled eagerly.

"All right. Hold still then."

Andi knelt before him again and leaned forward. This time she took his shaft in her mouth and began to suck and lick, swirling her tongue around and around his thickness as she ran her fingertips over his Bonding Knot.

She hadn't been doing it for long before Thrax said, "Wait!" and began trying to pull away.

Andi pulled off at once.

"What is it? Did I hurt you? Do you feel uncomfortable?"

"No." He shook his head, a pained expression on his face. "I'm just too near the edge. I know I can't come in your mouth but if I spurt my seed on the carpet or the cushion, Mistress will take the pain whip to me. I fucking hate to say it, but I think we'd better stop."

"That's not a problem," Andi assured him. "You can go ahead and come while I'm sucking you—I'll be sure it doesn't go anywhere."

His eyes widened.

"You're going to let me come in your mouth?"

"Do you want to?" Andi asked. She still had one hand on his shaft and she could feel it getting even harder as they spoke. Clearly the idea was turning him on even more.

"Fuck yes! But I thought?—"

"Never mind what you thought or what that evil bitch of a Mistress told you," Andi said sharply. "Just let me take care of you, all right?"

Thrax nodded and she bent to take him in her mouth again, sucking and swirling her tongue to tease him. Though she was doing this to heal her partner's younger self, she couldn't help remembering how good it had felt sucking him during their latest mission. She was glad that the memory she had landed in was one of when he was over the age of consent or she wouldn't' have felt comfortable doing this for him. But since he was of age, this seemed to be exactly what her partner needed and she was happy to give it to him.

Thrax moaned and pumped carefully into her mouth as she sucked and stroked him.

"Gods, Andi!" she heard him groaning. "Going to come now…going to spurt my cream in your mouth. Pull back if you don't want me to!"

Instead of pulling back, Andi pushed forward, taking even more of his shaft in her mouth. And then hot, hard spurts of his cream were hitting the back of her throat in pulsing waves.

Andi swallowed, enjoying the salted caramel flavor as she took every drop he gave her. Gods, why did it turn her on so much to heal him this way? Maybe because she knew he would do the same for her if the situation was reversed. Or maybe just because she loved him and wanted him to be well.

As he had during their mission, Thrax came a lot.

"Oh…oh, Goddess!" he groaned as his back arched and his muscles flexed while he kept spurting. "Your mouth on me…so good…so sweet!"

Andi kept sucking him, making sure to get every last drop. At last, when she was sure there wasn't any more, she pulled back and examined his cock. He was still hard—not unusual since she now knew that Kindred males could be multi-orgasmic. But the painful, swollen quality was gone. Satisfied that she had done a good job, she straightened up again.

"Better now?" she asked, running a hand through her partner's hair affectionately. It seemed that the more the younger Thrax got to know her, the more physical contact they could make.

" So much fucking better," he growled. He gave her a searching look. "But you must be my fated mate. No other woman would have done that for me—sucked me and stroked me and let me come in her mouth. I can see how red your lips are—you took my pain as well as my seed."

"I care for you deeply but I'm not your mate," Andi told him. "I wish I could get you out of here, but I can't. While you're stuck here with Mistress Stoneheart—and it won't be forever—I'll come to you whenever I can to help you and heal you. All right?"

"All right." Thrax nodded. "Are you going now?"

"I think I am." Andi murmured, looking around. It seemed like this memory was growing misty and she thought the "blink" might happen any minute. "But I'll see you again, I promise."

The younger Thrax opened his mouth to answer…but then the blink happened and she was immediately dumped into a new memory…

This time Thrax was by himself in a small, dimly lit room. It looked more like a prison cell than a bedroom, Andi thought. There were no windows and no pictures on the wall—just a bare mattress on the floor where Thrax was lying on his side.

It became clear to her at once that something was wrong. Her partner was panting and looked like he was in pain. His open mouth revealed his fangs, which were long and sharp—Andi knew what that meant.

"Thrax? Are you okay?" She knelt beside him on the mattress, looking down at him anxiously.

"Andi? Is that you?" He squinted at her in through the gloom. "I can barely see you."

Andi put a hand on his arm. When their skin made contact, his eyes seemed to focus more.

"There you are!"

"Here I am," she agreed. "What did she do to you this time?"

"Let me taste her…but only a little." He shook his head. "She was punishing me because I didn't do well with my conditioning."

"Oh? What kind of conditioning?" Andi's heart began to pound.

He shook his head.

"Don't fucking know. But the stimulation she gave me brought on my fucking Thirst. Ever since I came of age, it's been really bad." He frowned up at her. "Uh…do you know about my Thirst?"

"I know you're part Pitch-Blood Kindred and that you need blood from time to time." Andi bared her wrist for him and offered it. "Go on—bite me."

He looked up at her gratefully.

"Mistress never lets me drink from her."

"Because she's horrible ," Andi said, frowning. "I want to remind you again that none of this is your fault, Thrax. Go on—bite me and take what you need."

"Thank you," he rasped and, taking her wrist in both hands, he bared his fangs.

She was braced for the feeling of two sharp knives digging into her flesh and at first, that was what it felt like. But after only a second of burning pain, pleasure flooded her.

Andi was shocked—she hadn't expected to get pleasure from this act in a dream or a memory or whatever this was. Though she supposed it made sense—after all, she had been able to give the younger version of her partner pleasure—why shouldn't she be able to receive it from him?

A moment later, though, all her thoughts flew out the window as the wave of intense sexual sensation rolled through her again and she began to come, hard!

"Oh! Oh my God!" she gasped, her hips bucking involuntarily. Her pussy was suddenly so wet she was soaking through her panties and her nipples were so tight they hurt. And still she continued to come as Thrax sucked from her.

At last, just when she thought she was going to overload, he pulled his fangs free and licked the small wounds they had made until they healed. Then he looked up at her.

"Goddess, your blood tastes sweet," he growled softly and Andi could see that his golden eyes were half-lidded and glowing with lust in the dim room. "Thank you for slaking my Thirst."

"You're…you're welcome," she got out at last. God, she hadn't come so hard since…well, since the last time her partner had bitten her. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked in a slightly shaky voice.

"Yes, the Thirst is gone. Only…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

"What?" Andi urged him. "Tell me. However I can help you, I will—I promise ."

"Don't make promises you don't want to keep," Thrax warned her. He was looking older again, Andi thought. Had more time passed? Or was it simply that her partner was looking more like his older self to her because they were getting closer in these memories? She had no idea, but she knew she still wanted to help him.

"What is it?" she asked again. "Just ask me," Thrax."

"Well…" He shifted on the bed uncomfortably and she noticed that his shaft was tenting the loose cloth sleep trousers he was wearing. "The Thirst is gone—for now. But the hunger she gave me…she never lets me taste her for very long. I need…I want…"

"Oh, I think I know what you need." Andi remembered him saying that Mistress Stoneheart would never let him lick her for long. "Kindred have a biological need to taste their females," he'd told her. "She used that against me. She made me fucking desperate for her!"

"You know?" Thrax asked. "Then would you let me…?"

"You need to taste me, right?" Andi's heart was pounding as she remembered the feast on Salacious Delta and how hungrily her partner had gone down on her. Apparently the younger version of him needed to taste pussy as badly as the older version did.

"Yes, I need it so fucking bad ," he growled, his eyes glowing. "Need to spread you open with my tongue and taste your soft pussy. I can smell how hot you are and it's driving me fucking crazy!"

Was she really that turned on? After coming so hard, Andi supposed she was. She still felt wet and hot between her legs—no wonder he could smell her need with his sensitive Kindred nose.

"Hang on." She was about to unfasten her jeans…but when she looked down, she realized that her intentions had already become reality. She was no longer wearing jeans—in fact, she was no longer wearing anything at all. She was completely naked with both her breasts and pussy on display. It made her wince in embarrassment to see how tight her nipples were and how wet she was between her legs.

"Gods, where did your clothes go?" Thrax's eyes widened and then went half-lidded with lust as he saw that she was now naked. "Your body is so curvy and full—you're an Elite!"

"I don't know where they went." Andi shook her head. "I only know I'm supposed to heal you…to make you feel better. Would…would you like to taste me now?" she asked, offering herself.

"Can I suck your nipples first?" he growled softly. "They look so tight and ripe. And if I do it right, I can help you make more honey for me to taste."

Andi's heart was racing now.

"Do you think you can do it right?" she murmured, reaching out to run a hand over his horns.

"Gods, yes! Lay down with me and let me show you," he growled.

"All right." Feeling hot all over, Andi lay down on the mattress with him. There was no point in being embarrassed about her nudity, she told herself. After all, this was only a dream inside a memory. It was better to just be free and give her partner exactly what he needed.

His hunger to taste her was at least as tormenting as the Thirst was. Mistress Stoneheart had kept him locked up and starved—possibly as part of the mind-control conditioning she'd put him through. Maybe if she could help him meet these basic needs, she could keep him from succumbing completely to the mind-control.

Actually, Andi had no idea if any of that was right or not. She only knew that Thrax was hungry for her, and she wanted to feed him—to give him what he needed. So she lay on the bare mattress with him and offered him her body…and her partner accepted eagerly.

He sucked her nipples first—long and hard, savoring her moans as he tugged her tight points lightly with his teeth and swirled his tongue around and around each one. He seemed to love her breasts a lot and Andi ran her fingers through his hair and her hands over his horns as he went back and forth, sucking and teasing each peak in turn and kneading her with his big hands.

His hot mouth sent sparks of pleasure through her whole body and she moaned softly as he sucked each breast. She arched her back, offering herself…giving the big Hybrid what he needed freely.

But soon enough, Thrax was moving down her body, placing hot, hungry kisses along her belly until he came to the aching place between her legs.

Andi winced again in embarrassment when his broad shoulders split her wide and they both saw that her inner thighs were shiny with her juices. But Thrax seemed to love it.

"A numalla!" he breathed. "You're a fucking numalla— I can tell by all the honey you make. Goddess."

And before she could say anything else, he had ducked his head and was cleaning her thighs with his wet, warm tongue, savoring every bit of her juices.

Andi tensed up at first…and then remembered that she was healing her partner in the only way she could. The younger Thrax had been teased and sexually tormented to the point of starvation. She had to offer herself fully to him…had to give him what Mistress Stoneheart had denied him in order to heal him completely.

So she spread her legs wide for him, even though the motion also spread her pussy, revealing her inner folds. Thrax groaned at the sight—a sound of pure need and lust. And then he ducked his head and began to bathe her with his tongue.

Knowing how desperate he was, Andi had expected some kind of feeding frenzy. What she hadn't expected was the long, slow, luscious tongue bath he was giving her. It was as though she was a gourmet treat and he was savoring her, dragging his hot tongue over her aching clit again and again and then dipping lower to slide his tongue deep in her pussy to collect all the honey she was making for him.

" Mmm , Goddess you taste so good," he groaned, looking up for a moment. "Your honey is so sweet, Andi! And your scent is fucking addictive! I could lick you all night."

"If…if that's what you need to do…" Andi panted. She was getting close to coming again. Reaching down, she gripped his horns and held on. "Oh God, that feels so good!"

Her only answer was a low, hungry growl and then two long, thick fingers were circling the entrance to her pussy.

"Want to penetrate you now," he growled, looking up at her for a moment and Andi saw that his mouth was shiny with her juices. "Want to finger-fuck you to help you make more honey."

"You're still not getting enough?" Andi panted. "All right. I…I guess you can…can do that."

"Like this?" The fingers slid inside her and she moaned and bucked her hips.

How had she gotten the idea that she was in charge here? She clearly wasn't. Even though this younger version of Thrax was inexperienced, he had the instinct that all Kindred did about how to please a woman sexually. As his fingers stroked inside her, caressing what she thought must be her G-spot, she knew that she was lost completely.

"Oh! Oh, Thrax!" she gasped, arching her back in pleasure. "Oh my God—that feels so good!"

Her only answer was another low, hungry growl and then he was licking her again—sucking her swollen clit into his mouth and circling it with his tongue as his thick fingers fucked deeply into her, pushing her closer and closer to the edge…

Oh my God, I'm about to come! Andi thought wildly. But could she come in a dream? She guessed that she could—she'd come when he had bitten her. But she had never dreamed that this was the kind of healing her partner would require. She'd had no idea that she would be lying on a mattress with him, naked and letting him suck and lick her pussy as long as he wanted to…

It turned out that he wanted to for what seemed like hours . Andi remembered hazily that the priestess had warned her that time would be distorted but she couldn't believe how long Thrax went on. It seemed like he simply couldn't get enough of her—he was like a starving man someone had brought to an all you can eat banquet.

Only I'm the banquet, Andi thought and moaned as she came again, gripping his horns tightly in her hands.

"Thrax, oh God!" she gasped as another wave of pleasure rolled over her. "Oh, please… please…"

At last the big Hybrid seemed to have enough. With a contented sigh, he licked her pussy and inner thighs clean off her juices and then came up to the head of the mattress and gathered her into his arms.

"Thank you for letting me have my fill, baby," he rumbled softly in her ear. "You don't know how much I needed that."

"I'm glad it helped you," Andi sighed and nestled into his arms. More and more he seemed like her own Thrax—the older version of her partner she was used to. He was even calling her "baby" now, the way he always did when she was upset or he felt especially tender towards her.

"You helped me more than you can possibly know." Thrax ran one big hand lovingly over the curve of her hip and then cupped her breast and circled the nipple idly with his thumb. "I just wish I never had to let you go," he said.

But even as he spoke, the edges of the room were growing misty.

"I'm afraid you'll have to, though," Andi said gently. "But I'll see you again, later—I promise."

Then the blink happened. But the next memory she found herself in was the darkest of all…