Sailor Moon V
                                       *
                               Tales Of The Night

(Author's Note: While this series is based on my original "Sailor Moon V * The
  Dark Adventures Of The Sailor Scouts" series, and while it is possible to
  incorporate these episodes into SMV*DA, this is not the case.  SMV*TN is to
  be considered, for all intents and practical purposes, a separate series
  from SMV*DA.)


                                 Episode Four
                                       *
                                 The Huntress


     "Ma'am?" the burly man at the door said.  "I'm going to need to see some
form of ID before I can let you in here."
     Susan looked up at him and smiled softly.  "Will this suffice?" she said
as she held up a driver's license that stated she was twenty-nine.  The card
itself was genuine, as she had presented the proper paperwork to the local
Department of Motor Vehicles and passed their tests with flying colors.  The
birth certificate had been forged, of course, but anyone who bothered to take
the time and effort to check would find that an "original" copy could also be
located in the basement archives of a particular hospital in the outskirts of
Devonshire, England.
     The bouncer nodded his head as he double-checked the date and eyeballed
the sealed border of the card to make sure it hadn't been tampered with.  He
then stepped back and held the door open for her, allowing the slightly rowdy
ambience of the night-club to briefly seep out onto the sidewalk.  "Welcome to
the Unspoken Secret," he said.
     Susan smiled at him again as she strode past the doorman and into one of
her favorite hunting grounds.  The establishment had been around since 1924,
set in the outskirts of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and she had made it a
point to visit it every few years.  Since she was no longer out-of-phase with
a positive temporal coefficient, she had to be very careful about travelling
back in Time to hunt for her chosen prey.  After much thought, she had finally
settled on dialing the clock back two years from what she called 'the Moment,'
the ripple in the eternal flow of Time that marked what the 'present' was.
     The night-club hadn't changed much since she last remembered it, despite
the five years that had passed since her last visit.  The lighting was still
quite low, enough to navigate by and see whom you were talking to, but not
bright enough distract or blind if one looked up at the lights.  The air was
still thick with the heavy tang of cigar and cigarette smoke, an acquired taste
that only added to the ambience once you got used to it.  The noise from the
upper level seemed to get louder every time she visited, but she had little
interest in the energetic dancing or rave parties that usually dominated most
night-clubs these days.
     She casually made her way over to the bar, absently dodging around the
apparently random scattering of tables that cluttered a direct path to the old
wooden stools and polished brass.  The jukebox in the corner didn't appear to
have changed in the slightest, and a cursory glance at the display showed that
the recorded contents hadn't kept up with the times, either.
     The bar was empty, save for a couple at the far end and what appeared to
be an off-duty maintenance worker occupying one of the corner stools.  The old
man behind the bar glanced at her for a moment before he returned to his task
of cleaning a round of glasses, apparently dismissing her as just another young
woman 'dressed to kill' on a lonely Saturday night.
     She selected the remaining unoccupied corner stool and sat down, absently
smoothing her jet-black cocktail dress in the process.  Unlike the majority of
her evening wear, this particular dress had a closed back that concealed the
scars of her wings.  While she usually didn't care about who saw the scars or
under what circumstances, she preferred not to deter any potential prey from
making an approach.
     She glanced up as the bartender came over to her and placed a hard paper
coaster in front of her, giving her a slightly curious look.  "Brandy, if you
have it," she said quietly as she brushed her hair back and tugged her hairband
down half an inch.  The hairband was hardly necessary to keep her hair pinned
up or otherwise kept in order, but she still would have a need for it later.
At least, she would if everything went according to plan.
     The bartender inclined his head and went over to the far side of the bar,
coming back with a bottle of an inexpensive brand of brandy.  A clean glass was
produced from beneath the bar and half-filled with the liquor before it was set
on the coaster with a very faint thump.
     "Thank you," Susan said as she placed a five-pound note on the counter.
     He scooped up the note and left without saying a word, which suited her
just fine.  A single sip of the brandy told her that she had been given one of
the better brands, and that the price for such quality was not unreasonable.
She took a second sip of the drink and turned around to survey the room, idly
wondering if anyone would come to her or if tonight would require her to play
a more active role in hunting her prey.
     A cursory scan of the crowd revealed three different tables where single
men appeared to be either drinking alone or with friends.  The number was cut
down to two a moment later when a pair of women emerged from the hallway that
led to the bathrooms and sat down at one of the tables.  That was hardly a
surprise to her, but she was still slightly disappointed that the initial odds
didn't appear to be overly in her favor.
     Her mood changed as she noticed the lone gentleman at the first table
looking up at the bar.  He seemed to pause for a moment before he up-ended his
glass and set it down, looking at it contemplatively.  He glanced up at the bar
again before he picked his glass up again and stood up, apparently intent on
carrying it up to the bar for a refill instead of waiting for one of the local
waitresses to come back around.
     She half-turned back to the bar and picked up her own glass to take a
measured sip, giving the approaching gentleman a decent view of her profile.
She thought after a moment that perhaps she was being just a little too eager
or obvious, but she chalked it up to the thrill of the hunt and anticipation.
     The man walked up to the edge of the bar a few feet away from her and set
his glass on the counter with a solid thump, loud enough to draw a quick glance
from the bartender.  "I'll have another pint, if you please," he said with a
pleasant European accent.
     Susan smiled inwardly at the way the opportunity presented itself.  She
could tell that he was studying her out of the corner of his eye, no doubt at
least slightly curious about the woman with dark green hair.  She knew that the
rare coloring wasn't very common in this part of England, which is why it made
rather effective bait.
     She blinked as he suddenly paused and turned to look directly at her, a
look of slight confusion etched on his face.  "Excuse me, ma'am," he said in a
slow and measured tone.  "I don't mean to be rude, but.... haven't we met once
before?"
     A slight icy chill flooded her veins as she quickly sifted through her
demonic memories.  She knew full-well that the downside to having hair such as
hers was that it tended to make her somewhat memorable to most, and there had
been more than one occasion where she had been remembered by people in various
time-periods with slightly chaotic results.
     "No, I don't believe we have," she said after a moment, her Devonshire
accent laced with genuine honesty.  "It's probably the hair, though, as I've
only seen two other people with coloring like mine," she explained, casually
draping a lock of hair over her shoulder for several seconds before brushing
it behind her.
     "Ah, my apologies," he said with a faint smile.  "You're right, it is the
hair, but the last lady I encountered with it had eyes to match.  Your eyes,
however...." he said before trailing off, openly studying her.
     Susan said nothing as she tilted her head at a slight angle, studying him
in return.  He had short brown hair that he apparently kept neatly trimmed, and
his eyes were a most interesting shade of hazel.  He appeared to be in his
early thirties, which Susan found to be her favorite kind of prey.  Old enough
to know what they're doing, young enough to still be able to keep up with her.
     "I've seen eyes as clear as crystal before," he said in a slightly subdued
tone.  "I've seen eyes as dark as night, and I've seen eyes as bright as day,
but I've never seen eyes like burning coal embers before."
     "Burning coal embers?" she echoed in a faintly amused tone.  "I've never
heard it phrased that way before.  Thank you.... I think," she added with a
hint of impish humor to her voice.
     "They seem to burn from within, but not like fire burns," he explained as
he leaned one elbow against the bar.  He paused as he realized he was brushing
up against his refilled pint of beer and quickly straightened up before he
could spill the dark amber liquid.
     "Really, now?" Susan said with open curiosity.  She extended a leg forward
to nudge the barstool next to her away an inch, just enough to make it scrape
against the floor and draw attention.  "Should I ask how they burn, then?"
     He took the overt hint and moved to sit down next to her, edging the stool
another few inches away from her so as not to appear to be getting too close to
her.  She knew the subtle gesture for what it was, of course, and figured that
he both knew she knew and that he knew she knew that he knew.  It was enough to
make her demonic blood sing with excitement and anticipation that the hunt had
begun in earnest.
     "When a fire burns," he started to explain as he took the obligatory first
sip of his beer, "It burns hot and bright, then it burns out.  Embers, on the
other hand, are slow to burn.  They're warm, not hot, but they also burn far
longer than fire does.  Some would much rather savor a slow and gentle warmth
instead of enjoying a short and blazing fire."
     "Perhaps," she allowed as she took a sip of her brandy.  "I suppose it all
has to do with one's mood," she said, absently tracing the rim of the glass
with a fingertip.
     "And what is your mood, if I may ask?" he inquired casually.
     She tilted her head at a slight angle as she thought how to respond to his
question.  "That is somewhat of a direct question, don't you agree?" she asked
in return, keeping her tone perfectly neutral.
     A faint smile of what might have been embarrassment tugged on the corners
of his lips.  "Forgive me, but I tend to be a rather direct invidivudal.  It
helps in my line of work.  My name is Lance, and I'm a private investigator."
     "Susan," she replied as she studied him in a new light.  "Am I going to be
investigated now, detective?"
     A hollow laugh rose up from his throat as he leaned back and rested his
elbow on the bar, making sure this time not to come anywhere near his beer.
"Only if someone pays me to," he said lightly.  "I focus more on corporations
and businesses than individuals, but when a client has a certain need to know,
I do my best.  You're evading my question, by the way."
     "I thought interrogations required some sort of notice in advance," she
said demurely as she took another sip of brandy.
     "So tell me how a guy like me can get to know someone like you if I have
to give advance notice that I'd like to ask a few questions designed to get to
know you," he suggested lightly.  "Just walking up to the bar and saying, 'I
think you look great, want to go get dinner so I can get to know you?' tends to
convey the wrong impression."
     She gave him an amused look and allowed a small smile to play across her
face.  "Is that more directness, detective?" she said coyly.
     He blinked and gave her a wry look.  "You're not going to make this one
easy for me, are you?" he inquired in a slightly dry tone.
     "Surely a private investigator like yourself should be used to having to
work to find the information you seek," Susan said, giving him a sultry look.
     "Alright, let's try it like this," he replied as he reached into his back
pocket and pulled out a small leather card case.  He flipped it open and held
it up so she could see an official-looking badge and picture ID that said he
was an associate member of Scotland Yard.
     Susan studied it for a moment, blinking in surprise as she realized that
it was a genuine ID and badge instead of the fake look-alikes that most private
investigators used if they encountered anyone who questioned their presence in
a given location.  "Am I being arrested?" she inquired with humor.
     "No," he said slowly, "But you are being subpoenaed for an investigation
I'm about to open.  I need to unravel the mystery behind a pair of enchanting
red eyes, and I'm enlisting you to help me."
     She looked back up at him and had to bite the tip of her tongue to keep
herself from giggling aloud.  "Really, now...." she said with amusement.  "And
where, pray tell, will this.... investigation start?"
     He shrugged casually and put the card case back into his pocket before
taking a deep draft of his beer.  "You tell me," he said simply.  "Where would
you like to be interviewed?"
     She looked deep into his hazel eyes and smiled, knowing that the silent
sound she had just heard was the sound of a trap springing shut, and it was
definitely music to her ears.

                *               *               *               *

     The delay was just as agonizing as it was required, stopping at a nearby
restaurant for a very late dinner.  The dinner conversation was, at least from
her perspective, as routine as always.  Questions were asked about backgrounds,
about careers, hobbies, and pets.  Small smiles appeared at random on lips and
in eyes, words were not just exchanged but subtly bent and carefully twisted in
the process, the better to get a feel for where things would later head, if
things were to head in that direction at all.
     She had to admit that she found herself becoming quite interested in him
as the night wore on, and she couldn't determine what it was.  His abridged
life's story didn't appear to be any better or any worse than the literally
countless other abbreviated life stories she had suffered through on previous
hunting trips, but something still intrigued her nonetheless.
     The tingle of primal desire in her body and blood, however, made it quite
impossible for her to stop and truly think about things.  All that mattered was
that she had a need, the incessant and pervasive needs of a succubus, and that
she was about to have that need fulfilled.
     The apartment complex they returned to was a modest one, not overly fancy
but still in a relatively decent neighborhood.  The trip up the elevator seemed
to take forever, despite it only traversing seven floors, before the elevator
doors finally parted to expose them once again to the cool evening breeze.
     She said nothing as she followed him down the exposed hallway, one arm
wrapped around his and leaning against his shoulder slightly.  She surveyed her
surroundings out of sheer habit as he fumbled with his keys, wondering how many
people had seen her and how many would bother to remember.  She was fully aware
that she was still in the past and that she still needed to be careful in what
she did, lest she create another kink in the flow of Time that would require
divine intervention to repair.
     Her attention quickly refocused itself as she heard the door creak open
and he made a gesture for her to enter.  "Home sweet home," he said with a soft
laugh that send a shiver of anticipation down her spine.  "Sorry it's not much,
but when you're a bachelor and all...."
     She smiled at him as she reached up to very lightly brush her fingernails
across his cheek.  "I wouldn't worry about it," she said demurely as she took
a few steps inside.  The interior was basically what she expected, with only a
few of the unusual odds and ends that made each residence unique.
     She stepped aside to make room for him to enter, watching with more than
casual interest as he closed the door behind him and seemed to absently lock it
out of simple habit.  "Can I get you something to drink?" he offered as he took
off his coat and hung it in the tiny closet just off to the right.
     "No, thank you," she replied.  "I've probably had enough to drink for one
night as it is."  She paused and blinked as he reached into the waistband of
his trousers and removed a small gun holster.  "Wait, what is that?" she said,
deliberately interjecting an audible note of trepidation into her voice.
     "Hmm?  Oh, sorry," he said as a dark blush spread across his cheeks.  He
quickly secured the weapon in a small fire-proof box in the closet and sealed
it shut with a heavy clang.  "It comes in handy sometimes in my line of work,"
he explained.  "It's registered with the gents at Scotland Yard and all."
     Susan was trying to think of what to say when a quote suddenly bubbled up
to the surface of her mind.  "I see," she said slowly, allowing herself to
sound remotely disappointed.  "So that was a gun in your pants the entire time.
And here I was thinking that you were happy to have met me...."
     Lance blinked hard before laughing quietly to himself, a blush sweeping
across his face.  "Be that as it may," he managed to say in a level tone, "I
would have thought by now that you would have realized that I am indeed happy
to have met you tonight."
     "Mmmm, are you, now?" she purred quietly as she slowly edged herself over
to him, leaning against him slightly.  "And how happy, might I ask?"
     He paused for a moment as he studied her face carefully.  "That is a bit
of a direct question, don't you agree?" he said softly as he stared into the
depths of her dark red eyes.
     "I thought you said you tended to be a direct individual," she replied,
equally as softly.
     "It helps in my line of work," he breathed quietly.  "You never answered
my question from earlier."
     "Which one?" she mused.
     "What is your mood, if I may ask?" he murmured.
     "Why don't you find out?" she whispered back as she pressed against him,
her eyes fixated on his.  Their eyes locked for what felt like a minor eternity
to her before his head dipped down and she felt the gentle pressure of his lips
pressing against hers.
     Kissing was the most erotic thing a succubus can experience, even more so
than sex itself.  Their strongest and darkest powers required a kiss, or at
least the contact of their lips.  While only sex could truly satisfy the needs
of a succubus, kissing one with seriousness never failed to elicit one of the
deepest feelings of pleasure in them.... or in those who kissed them with a
purpose.
     The tingle that swept through her entire being was one step removed from
an orgasm, an uncontrollable shiver of half of the muscles in her upper body.
She pressed both her lips and her body against him by instinct, deepening the
kiss and allowing her demonic side access to the life-energies in his body and
soul.  She couldn't tap into them directly, at least not in her human form, but
even the simple exposure of his life-force to her was sufficient to make her
ache with the fiercest of desires.
     She was literally breathless when he tipped his head back a few inches,
breaking the kiss and allowing him to look into her eyes again.  She looked up
at him and noticed that his pupils were dangerously wide, almost completely
blocking out the hazel irises that she found so intriguing.
     "Susan?" he whispered, causing them both to blink at the slightly hoarse
sound.  "I.... I won't lie to you.  I am no stranger to women, but in all my
life I have never.... ever.... enjoyed a kiss like I did just now."
     Susan slowly drew in a breath to reply, her eyes widening slightly as she
realized that she was still tingling too hard to talk.  While it far from the
first time she had experienced a strong reaction to a passionate kiss, she had
never had one this intense or had it persist after the kiss was broken.  And
what really surprised her was that the kiss itself hadn't been all that laced
with passion or fire, just a simple exploratory kiss between two willing and
consenting adults.
     She looked up at him in amazement, wondering what the problem was.  Not
that she viewed it to be a problem in the slightest, merely that her reaction
was unusual enough to be of intellectual interest and deserving of analysis.
     Later.
     She leaned forward to kiss him again, brushing her lips across his before
deepening it with a perfectly silent moan.  She could feel his hands coming up
to hold her as her lips parted slightly, acutely aware of how their bodies were
pressed together, how he was starting to become more than slightly aroused, and
most importantly, how she was starting to actively contemplate taking him right
there in the hallway in the next twenty seconds.
     She was well past the legal definition of dizzy when he broke the kiss
again, leaning his head back to very quietly gasp for air.  His body seemed to
tremble as he squeezed her shoulders, his head moving back down to very lightly
rest his forehead against hers.
     "Susan?" he whispered, his voice sounding heavily strained.
     She reached up to press two of her fingertips against his lips, blinking
as she realized that she was shaking like a leaf in a stiff breeze.  "I...."
she started to say, pausing as her voice rasped in her throat for at least six
different reasons.  "I.... I think.... I need a moment.... to think...."
     He tilted her head up to gaze into her dark red eyes, seeming to have just
as much trouble breathing evenly as she was having.  "Like I said," he rasped
as evenly as he could manage, "Burning coal embers.  The problem with embers,
though, is that they can flare up if you fan them enough...."
     She blinked and sighed silently as the mental fog finally began to lift,
allowing her brain to process rational thought once again.  In all her seven
centuries of life, give or take, she had never had this severe a reaction to a
kiss, not even when seducing or being seduced by an incubus.  Something was
definitely amiss, but she knew beyond all doubts that he could not be a demon
in disguise.  But the sheer pleasure of kissing him....
     "And that is a bad thing?" she whispered in a husky tone, her hand moving
from his lips to trace the outline of his jaw.  "I must admit to feeling more
than a little inflamed myself at the moment...."
     A soft grunt emerged from his throat.  "Someone once said that if you play
with fire, you can get burned...."
     She briefly closed her eyes as a tingle of pleasure swept through her for
an unknown reason.  She dismissed it as an aftershock-effect of the kiss and
looked back up at him.  "I don't know who taught you to kiss like that, but I
know a good thing when I feel it," she said quietly.
     "Do you, now?" he murmured quietly.  "Dare I ask what else you're feeling,
or will that draw another protest about being direct?"
     A faint twinkle of amusement sprang to her eyes as the intellectual part
of her tried to decide how best to reply.  "At the risk of sounding somewhat
direct myself," she said slowly as she ran both hand along his shoulders and
down his chest, "I think you know what I'm feeling right now.  And yes, flames
would be an apt description...."
     A soft laugh of amusement rose up from his chest.  "Shall I call the fire
brigade, then?" he teased as he ran a fingertip along her cheek.
     She turned her head slightly to lightly nip at his fingertip.  "Only if
you feel inadequate to the task," she said in a casual tone.  Her verbal jab
had the desired result, as she suddenly felt his hand gently take hold of her
chin and twist her head back around to look at him.
     "And which task might that be?" he asked in a very soft tone.
     "When one encounters flames, one usually tries to put them out," she said
as she pressed against him.  "I know we have only met recently, but there is
something about you that I find.... igniting," she whispered, speaking with
genuine honesty.  There was something about him that made her blood tingle, and
it wasn't solely a desire to pleasure herself with him.
     "Well, then," he purred very quietly, causing her blood to tingle even
harder.  "Whatever shall I do with you?" he asked as his fingertips slowly
traced the outlines of her jaw and collarbone.
     "If you need help figuring that one out...." she said lightly, leaning
forward to gently nip at his earlobe.  Her breath caught in her throat as he
returned the favor, nibbling on her ear just above her double-chevron earrings.
     "Well, I didn't want there to be any misunderstandings...." he murmured
in reply as his fingertips glided across her shoulders and caressed the back of
her neck.
     A soft sigh of contentment rose up from her chest as she nuzzled his neck.
"Why don't you see what you can do, and I'll let you know if we encounter a
misunderstanding," she suggested, her voice barely more than a whisper as she
casually undid the top button on his shirt.
     She closed her eyes as he moved his head back slightly to kiss her again,
sending another delightful wave of pure pleasure coursing through her body.
The sensation was enough to make her instantly dizzy again, the world slowly
whirling around her in a blur as her focus narrowed down to the feeling of his
lips melded to hers.
     She almost whimpered as the kiss was broken an indeterminable time later,
her whole body aching with need.  She slowly opened her eyes to look at him, an
even deeper shiver running through her body as she saw the look of barely
contained passion starting to burn in his hazel eyes.
     "You know, Susan...." he said in a hoarse whisper, "One more kiss like
that and we're going to have problems."
     It took her several seconds to remember how to talk again.  "Wh.... what
sort of problems?" she rasped, glancing down and blinking as she realized that
she had somehow unbuttoned his shirt down to his waist.
     "Well...." he said slowly as he tried to slow his breathing.  "I may have
to ravish you right here in the hallway...."
     Susan closed her eyes for a moment as her nerves suddenly seemed to twitch
all at once, bringing her dangerously close to orgasm for a moment.  "And what
is the downside to that?" she whispered.
     Her reply seemed to catch him off-guard for a moment.  "Well.... I just
thought you would prefer a softer place to land," he said carefully.
     "Lance?" she said with as much deliberate calmness as she could manage,
which at the moment was barely more than zero.  "The only problem I forsee is
if you don't do something about this.... burning.... desire...."
     She closed her eyes and tried not to moan too loudly as he dipped his head
down to brush his lips across the hollow of her throat.  His hands came up and
briefly massaged her back before finding the small zipper at the base of her
neck.  He started to tug it downward with agonizing slowness, allowing the seam
of her dress to part one soft tick at a time.
     She tilted her head back and whimpered softly, massaging the back of his
neck with a sense of urgency and not bothering to hide her feelings in the
slightest.  She began to tremble with anticipation as she felt the tip of his
tongue start to dance across the soft flesh of her neck and throat, teasing her
at a deliberately slow and casual place.
     "L-Lance?" she breathed softly as the back of her evening dress continued
to part at a turtle's pace.  "I.... should like to warn you that I.... have a
few scars that are...."  Her words fell silent as he brought his head up to
hers and kissed her deeply, the tip of his tongue briefly flicking out to brush
against her lips.
     "What are scars?" he murmured softly as he moved over to kiss her ear,
still slowly unzipping her dress.  "They are merely hallmarks of life, a record
of one's past.  They are nothing to be ashamed of, my burning flame.  Indeed,
some view them as marks of honor of trials overcome.  Marks such as this," he
said as he rolled up his left sleeve and moved back enough to allow her to see
the set of four perfectly parallel scars on his forearm.
     She glanced down at his arm and made a soft noise deep in her throat.  The
scars had obviously been inflicted by a large feline of some sort, as they were
simply too neatly spaced to be anything else.  "I.... now I see why you wanted
to know if I had any cats...." she breathed softly.
     He chuckled and nuzzled her ear softly.  "A large mountain cat I had the
misfortune of meeting a number of years ago," he explained quietly, his lips
brushing the delicate shell of her ear.  "I won in the end, but not before he
gave me something to remember him by."
     She sighed and closed her eyes, surrendering to the whirlwind of feelings
surrounding her.  This was unlike any encounter she had experienced before, and
the sheer intensity of the feelings was starting to frighten her.  His touch
was intoxicating, even more so than any of the various mind-altering drugs she
had sampled here and there throughout time.  But what was truly blowing her
mind was the fact that things had only just begun....
     The zipper finally reached the end-point at the base of her spine, her
dress held in place only by the fabric on her shoulders.  Her breath left her
lungs in a soft exodus as his fingers slipped between the edges of the dress
and brushed against the skin of her back, very slowly working their way along
her spine up to the back of her neck.
     Her own fingers slipped into his collar and started to knead the back of
his neck with an almost uncontrollable tension.  His breath seemed to scorch
her throat in a most delicious fashion as he began to kiss his way down her
neckline, very slowly sliding her dress down as he went.  It was done in a very
slow and deliberate manner, and she wasn't sure if she could take much more of
that sort of attention without screaming in orgasm or raping him on the spot.
     Or both.
     Her nerves suddenly seemed to explode like lightning as he tugged gently,
sliding the fabric over the curves of her breasts and causing the entire dress
to glide down her body to puddle on the floor.  She was now clad only in her
low-heeled shoes, a black hairband, and a pair of black satin panties.
     Her breath left her lungs yet again a moment later as she felt his lips
sliding down lower, very lightly brushing against the aching swells of her bare
breasts.  It took every ounce of self-control not to grab his head and push it
over to her throbbing nipples, waiting instead with almost painful desire for
him to explore them at his own pace.
     To one intimately acquainted with the flow of Time, it seemed that both an
instant and an eternity passed before she felt his cheek brush across the tight
point of her nipple as he kissed his way around the super-soft flesh.  Time
abruptly came to a complete halt as he passed his lips over her breast in a
sideways motion, parting them just enough to allow her nipple to slide between
them in a most electrifying fashion.
     She didn't bother trying to suppress the soft sounds that emerged from her
throat at the contact, knowing that it would have been a futile battle anyway.
She knew that she was completely his now, and would be until the raging fires
of lust in her blood were thoroughly quenched by raw passion and pleasure.
     She gasped as he suddenly drew her nipple in to his mouth with a sharp
suck, drawing hard on the senstive flesh and very lightly scraping his teeth
against it.  There was definitely no turning back now, which was just the way
she wanted things to be.  And if he refused her later.... well, he wouldn't be
the first man she ended up having to rape to take the edge of passion-induced
insanity off.  Not that she thought it was going to be that kind of night....
     The orgasm struck her completely without any warning, arcing through her
body like a bolt of lightning as he sharply nipped her aching hardness.  It was
forceful enough to leave her teetering rather precariously on the brink of
consciousness before her body reoriented itself.  Her mind took far longer to
recover, however, and when she regained her senses she found herself slumped on
the floor with a slightly concerned and deeply intrigued Lance looking at her.
     "Susan?" he whispered softly yet again.
     "W.... wait...." she stammered as she finally figured out which direction
was down and started to sort things out from there.
     "Are you alright?" he asked, his hazel eyes starting to twinkle with
amusement.  "I was starting to think I had hurt you or something...."
     "I.... I think...." she panted as his face fully came into focus.  "Maybe
there is.... something to be said for.... playing with fire.... after all...."
She blinked several times and looked into his eyes, feeling the wave of heat
finally starting to recede from her face.  "If I may be so bold.... I did not
think one could put out a fire with fire.  At least, not like that...."
     He carefully sat down next to her and reached down to gently take her hand
in his.  "Don't tell me that's all it took to reduce a roaring fire to mere
embers," he teased quietly, brushing his lips across her fingertips.
     A soft smile brushed her lips as she stared into his eyes.  "Perhaps you
really are that good," she suggested softly, causing him to blink in surprise.
"Or, perhaps, that was just a taste of things to come," she said, giving him a
slightly predatory smile as she reached up with her free hand to brush her
fingers across the smooth expanse of his chest.
     He made a slightly startled noise of surprise as she suddenly grabbed the
halves of his shirt and pulled him close, her lips fastening to his the instant
he was within range.  Charged by the orgasm, her demonic blood was now fully
awake and flowing through her veins with the intensity of a river of molten
lava spilling from the heart of a volcano.
     Her senses were now super-sensitive, able to both feel and hear the deep
thrum of his heart beating in his chest.  She could feel his lungs quiver ever
so slightly with each breath, and the raw tension of impending passion made his
body sing a song that only a succubus like her could hear.  He was ready for
her, and if he had been foolish enough to think that he had put out the fires
of her lust with a simple orgasm, she thought it was time he was shown just how
wrong he was.
     His shirt wasn't so much removed as stripped off, almost ruining a button
that she had overlooked earlier.  Her nipples burned like fire as she pressed
herself again him, rubbing them across his chest in a very slow and deliberate
manner.  She dipped her head down to gently nibble on his throat for several
seconds before she leaned back, staring into his eyes with open lust as she
gently reached out to push him back on his backside.
     He slowly complied and stretched out, hazel eyes never leaving dark red
eyes as he reached out to gently cup her breast.  He squeezed her gently before
bringing his thumb up to flick across her nipple in a slow side-to-side motion
like a metronome.
     She paused for a moment to savor the electric thrill running through her
nerves before reaching out to him, placing her fingertips against his chest.
She then slowly traced a path down his chest and abdomen, her fingernails very
lightly scraping against the skin as they went.  She unconsciously tilted her
head slightly as she finally reached the edge of his slacks, more that mildly
curious as to what she would encounter.
     She toyed with the button for a few moments before unfastening it with a
slight twist of her wrist, followed by the slow and slightly ominous sound of
a zipper being parted.  She leaned forward to kiss him deeply as she gently
tugged downward, exposing a pair of dark gray briefs that looked to be in
imminent danger of tearing from the pressure of the prominent bulge.
     Perhaps it was merely the demonic side of her, but she simply couldn't
help the soft growl of passion from rumbling in her chest, or to refrain from
gently nibbling on his lower lip as she traced the outline of his manhood as it
strained against the fabric of his underwear.  She wanted him quite badly right
now, but there were other ways to take the edge off the burning hunger.... both
her and his.... that would make everything else all the more enjoyable.
     She pulled her lips away from his with a soft moan, angling down to leave
a trail of kisses along his jaw and down his chest.  She paused for a moment to
very gently nip at his nipple, drawing a sharp gasp of surprise.  She thought
it was an outright shame that some weren't aware that a man's nipple could be
just as sensitive as a woman's, despite the size difference.  But if he hadn't
known that before, he was certainly aware of it now.
     Patience was usually one of her stronger suits, but intoxicated by both
desire and her initial orgasm, she saw no need to prolong the teasing.  She
gently tugged down on the elastic waistband of his briefs to release his hard
and throbbing member, bobbing slightly in the air in time with his pulse.  She
studied it for a brief moment to make sure that nothing was out of the ordinary
that would preclude intimacy before lowering her head to brush her lips along
its full length.
     He sighed quietly at the contact, the deep sigh of anticipation that most
men made when they were about to be pleasured by a woman in that manner.  His
sigh quickly changed pitch as she parted her lips and took him deep into her
mouth, engulfing him almost completely in a single motion.
     She knew that few men could withstand the intensity of experienced oral
stimulation by a succubus for very long, even when they didn't bother to draw
upon their demonic powers to induce and heighten the sensations of this most
erotic pleasures of the flesh.  She could have probably made him orgasm within
seconds if she truly desired to, but she decided to draw out the process for a
number of minutes so that they could both enjoy it.
     Her lips made only the faintest of slurping sounds as she started a very
slow and gentle rhythm, letting her tongue slide around the sensitive underside
of his manhood as she slowly slid her head back before taking him deep in her
mouth once again.  Her senses weren't so much tingling as screaming at the
intensity of the intimate contact, exposing her to one of the largest conduits
of life-energy that led to the very core of his soul.
     She sighed very quietly as she felt his fingertips gently run through her
dark green hair, holding onto her with firmness but not forcing either her or
himself to change the rhythm.  His restraint didn't go unnoticed, as she was
quite aware of how easy it was for a man to lose virtually all control when he
was having part of his life-force coaxed out in a most pleasurable sensation.
     His hands were starting to tremble just lightly now, bringing a sort of
smile to her lips as she started to increase the tempo.  She could feel the
building tension in his entire body as she continued to slide his manhood in
and out of her mouth, igniting a burning hunger of a different kind in her own
body.  A man's seed was the most potent source of life-energy known to succubi,
and she was shamelessly eager to have that sort of energy as her reward for
pleasuring him.
     "Susan...." he whispered quietly in warning as he felt his blood heat up
as if it were getting ready to boil in his veins.
     She paused her motions and very slowly withdrew him from her mouth, the
tip of her tongue firmly pressed against the large vein on the underside as she
went.  She tipped her head back just enough to look up at him, one eyebrow
arching up in amusement as she noticed that his pupils were almost wide enough
to completely block out his hazel irises.
     "I don't mind," she said softly, giving him an openly sultry look.  "It
just means we get to snuggle for a little longer while you recover...." she
added as she lowered her lips to his glistening manhood, her eyes never leaving
his as she slowly took him back into her mouth.
     He tried looking down at her as she resumed a steady pace, sending bolts
of pure lightning shooting throughout his entire body.  He had to close his
eyes after several seconds, becoming disoriented by the sudden blurring of his
vision.  His grip on her head became tighter as she continued to mercilessly
push him to the brink of orgasm, his breath starting to rasp in his throat.
     She knew it was only a matter of seconds now, closing her own eyes and
turning her focus inward.  She wanted his orgasm to be as powerful as hers had
been and deliberately slowed her pace, keeping him on the brink.  She held him
there as best as she was able, balancing the intense pleasure against the pain
of anticipation before sending him over the edge.
     A soft moan trickled up from her chest as his whole body became as rigid
as steel, his thunderous gasp echoing in his ears as her mouth was suddenly
flooded with his seed.  It washed across her tongue in a forceful burst that
made her tingle in an entirely different fashion.  She swallowed and waited to
see if he was finished, the very back of her mind raising a small flag to try
to tell her that something was just slightly amiss.
     The orgasmic aftershocks produced more of his essence, but not nearly as
much as before.  She gently brushed her tongue across the tip of his quivering
manhood to get it all before swallowing again and slowly sliding him out of her
mouth.  She could already feel her body start to absorb the life-force of his
seed, sending up another tiny flag in the back of her mind.  It was only then
that she realized that the taste was slightly unusual, but that could easily be
dismissed as simply being just as inherently unique as every individual was.
     She sat back slightly to observe him, one hand reaching down to lightly
caress his softening manhood.  She had no doubts about either his vitality or
his ability to pleasure her again soon, but she was fully aware that even the
most conditioned of men needed a slight rest after orgasm.
     She blinked as he muttered something very soft beneath his breath before
slowly opening his eyes to look at her, the color drained from his face.  He
managed a wan smile at her before shaking his head rapidly, obviously trying to
restore both his sharpness of vision and his higher brain functions.
     "I think I just lost a year of my life with that," he murmured quietly.
     A soft smile touched her lips as she tilted her head to study him.  "Are
you alright, Lance?" she inquired softly, very gently squeezing his manhood.
     "Actually.... I don't think so," he replied, drawing a startled blink from
her.  "I think I died a few moments ago, which would make you the angel sent to
take me back up to heaven."
     She couldn't help the slight giggle that rose up from her chest.  "Be that
as it may, I assure you that I am far from being an angel," she said, her dark
red eyes twinkling with amusement for several reasons.
     "You will, I trust, forgive me if I now have second thoughts of trying to
make love to you later," he said with a straight expression.  "If the feeling
of your body is any greater, you might indeed end up killing me with pleasure.
Not that it seems like a bad idea at the moment...."
     "I can think of worse ways to die," Susan replied lightly as she leaned
forward, wrapping her arms around him and pressing herself close.  She rubbed
her cheek against his slowly, knowing that most men would rather not be kissed
by the same lips that had just ravished their manhood to orgasm.  At least, not
without her having something to drink first.
     She sighed as she felt his hands gliding up and down her bare back, very
lightly tracing the outline of her spine.  "So much for finding a soft place to
land," he murmured in her ear, the tone of his voice sending yet another shiver
of pleasure through her.  "Susan?" he asked, his tone suddenly changing.
     "Yes?" she whispered back, curious as to what he was thinking.
     "Where have you been all my life?" he asked softly, causing her to blink.
"As I've said, I'm no stranger to women, but you.... I've never met anyone like
you before, and I don't mean in just a passionate sense.  I mean I've never met
a woman like you who's been able to just walk into the picture and completely
turn my senses upside-down."
     She shifted her weight on her legs to relieve a slight tension cramp and
sat back, staring deep into his eyes.  It would have been a lie for her to say
that she had no idea what he was talking about, but it surprised her that he
not only felt it as well but had spoken about it this soon.
     "Really...." she said in a faintly neutral tone.
     "Really," he replied, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
     A faint twinkle of amusement sprang to her eyes.  "Are you trying to tell
me, detective, that your.... research.... has gotten you into something which
you are not able to handle?" she inquired lightly.
     "I don't know," he said demurely as he reached out to casually brush his
fingertips on the outside swells of her breasts.  "I think I can handle getting
into you...."  He paused and looked up at her with a twinkle of amusement of
his own and added, "After a break to organize my research notes.  Being a
private investigator is hard work, you know...."
     She allowed herself a soft laugh as she edged back before standing up,
mentally surprised by how weak the joints in her legs still felt.  Still? she
thought in amazement as she reached down and offered her hand to him, bracing
her other hand against the cold metal sink.
     "So much for chivalry," he commented with a dry laugh as he took her hand
and was carefully pulled back on his feet.  He winced reflexively as his pants
briefly compressed the still-exposed portion of his anatomy, bring a muted but
still audible grunt of protest to his lips.
     "What does chivalry have to do with this?" Susan inquired absently as she
reached down, caressing the delicate flesh of his scrotum and the surrounding
fluff of dark hair before gently tucking him back into his underwear.  She then
grabbed the edges of his slacks and tugged downwards until they fell free,
leaving him clad only in his shoes and briefs.
     "I'm supposed to be helping you to your feet, not the other way around,"
he said good-naturedly as he leaned back against the refrigerator to take off
his shoe and socks before stepping out the slacks.  He paused and leaned back
a little harder, studying her beauty with open admiration.  "I could see you
were beautiful, my dear, but I had no idea you were this beautiful," he said to
her in a quiet tone.
     She smiled and leaned back against the sink, accenting the curves of her
hips and the fullness of her bare breasts.  She said nothing as she studied him
as he studied her, both clad only in a single piece of underwear.  She could
feel the tightnes returning to her nipples from the intensity of his gaze as
his hazel eyes wandered up and down.  She privately wondered if they would make
it to the bedroom before her panties came off and the true pleasure began.
     His eyes flicked back up to hers and he smiled, shaking his head gently.
"Tell me again what I did to deserve meeting someone like you," he murmured,
drawing a small smile of understanding from her in return.  He blinked as a
thought popped into his mind and he edged to one side.  "Umm.... do you want
anything to drink?  I think I've still got some Beaujolais in the fridge...."
     "Certainly," she replied with a slight nod of her head.  The white French
wine was far from her favorite, but it was still pleasing enough to her to be
accepted when offered.  She watched as he turned around to open up a cabinet,
a sudden and decidedly uncharacteristic impulse springing to her mind.  Without
stopping to analyze it, she moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around his
chest, very gently brushing her rapidly aching nipples back and forth across
the smoothness of his back.
     Quite predictably, he paused in mid-motion for several seconds to savor
the intimate contact before continuing to retrieve a pair of wine glasses.  He
set them down on the counter and closed the cabinet before reaching up to very
gently squeeze her hands as they toyed with the sparse patch of hair on his
chest.
     "Of course," he breathed quietly as she started to nibble on the edge of
his neck, "The wine can wait if you.... aren't in the mood to...."
     The soft purr that rose from her chest was enough to raise the hair on
both their bodies, he because of the desire and she because of the way it made
her nipples vibrate against him.  "After having tasted you.... perhaps you can
see why trying to savor a taste of wine would be.... a slight disappointment,"
she whispered in a very husky tone.
     He hesitated for several seconds before speaking very carefully.  "We're
not going to make it to the bed, are we?" he asked in a low tone.
     She laughed quietly and kissed the nape of his neck before stepping back.
"As much fun as being taken in the kitchen sounds, I see no overriding need to
be uncivilized," she said with obvious humor in her voice.  "We can take this
to the bedroom at your leisure, detective.  I am far from being in a rush to
leave this domain of delights you have swept me into."
     "That *I* have swept *YOU* into?" he echoed, giving her a highly amused
look over his shoulder as he opened the refrigerator to retrive the half-full
bottle of imported white wine.  "Susan, if things can possibly get any better
between us, I may have to haul you over to Scotland Yard to have you cataloged
as a Class-A narcotic.  I'm almost afraid to ask if you would consider keeping
me company until dawn because it would traumatize if you said no."
     "Only until dawn?" she echoed archly as she accepted an empty glass and
watched as he filled it halfway.  "You want me to stay the night but leave in
the morning?" she said, intending to tease him.
     She blinked hard at the startled look on his face, a momentary bolt of
horror shooting through her as he almost dropped the bottle before recovering.
"No, no, no," he blurted out at a rapid-fire pace, some of the color draining
from his face.  "Susan, that's not what I meant...."
     "Lance," she purred softly, one hand reaching out to still his lips while
taking a measured sip of the wine with the other.  She blinked at the pleasant
taste, realizing that it had been allowed to age for a few years before being
uncorked.  She stared into his eyes as she slowly licked her lips before taking
another deep sip of the wine.
     "I was only teasing you," she said very quietly.  "I would very much like
to spend the night with you, to awaken to a new day in your arms.  I live alone
in an apartment not unlike this one, so few if any at all would notice were I
not to return home tonight.  I don't know what precisely I'm feeling right now,
but what I do know is that I should not like to see it end anytime soon.  I
want you right now, very much so, but I also want.... you.  Not just for some
pleasure tonight, but I want to know what it is about you that keeps making me
so dizzy beyond anything I have ever experienced before."
     The words seemed to tumble from her lips without thought, the remote part
of her mind actually starting to become frightened by the rapid pace of things.
She had spoken the truth, of course, but she only realized it as she said it.
She was highly attracted to him for some reason, and it wasn't just because of
the raging lust in her hybrid blood.  In fact, the call of her demonic side was
quite tame in comparison to the whirlwind of unknown feelings she was finding
herself swept up in, and she didn't have a clue what to make of it.
     She blinked as she realized that her hands were trembling slightly, the
wine starting to slosh in an uneven rhythm in the glass.  She took a deep sip
from the glass to try to steady herself, commanding her nerves to remain calm
even while she continued to shake on the inside.  What is wrong with me? she
thought.  Why am I shaking?
     She almost hit the ceiling as she felt his hand slide across her wrist,
unaware that he had moved close enough to touch her.  The wineglass was gently
pried out of her fingers and set down on the counter before she was pulled into
a soft embrace, his lips seeking hers in a deep kiss that almost numbed her
soul with fiery bliss.
     "I don't know who you are," he whispered softly in her ear as she slumped
against him, "And I'm not sure why you were sent here, but I know a gift from
the heavens when it finds me.  Come with me, my archangel, and we will learn
together the true meaning of heavenly passion...."
     Susan didn't lift her head up to smile at him, knowing that he would still
feel it as she brushed her lips against his throat.  "Then let us see what is
in store for us in the bedroom," she whispered quietly.  "Together."
     She said nothing as he stepped back to kiss her once more before gently
taking hold of her hand and slowly leading her out of the kitchen.  She began
to follow before suddenly pausing with a soft sigh, looking up at him with a
slight look of resignation.
     "Hmm?" he inquired, more of a grunt than a hum.  He blinked and chuckled
as she reached down to remove her shoes, letting them fall to the floor next to
her discarded dress with a soft clatter.  He squeezed her hand gently before
resuming his slow pace down the hallway, the sense of renewed anticipation
filling them both with not just burning passion but an aching need for one
another.
      It was, had they stopped to ask, something neither of them had ever truly
encountered before, but had they also asked, it was something neither of them
were worried about.

                *               *               *               *

     Lance opened the bedroom door and took a step back, gesturing for Susan to
enter first.  She smiled at him and stood up on her tip-toes to give him a deep
kiss that left them both breathless before she crossed the threshold and looked
around the room.  The state of casual disarray was precisely what she expected
from a single adult male living alone, but she had no complaints.  She had seen
far better, but she had also seen far worse.
     A sharp intake of breath from behind her caused her to cast a concerned
glance over her bare shoulder, blinking as she saw his eyes slightly wide with
surprise and shock.  "What is it?" she asked with a note of concern.
     "Nothing," he said quickly.  He paused as he saw the look in her eyes and
sighed very quietly.  "I see what you mean by scars," he said very softly.
     "Ah," she replied, nodding with understanding and a soft smile tugging at
her lips.  "An incident in my youth, nothing more," she said demurely.
     He looked into her eyes for several seconds before moving forward to run
his fingertips along her back, gingerly tracing the outline of the dark and
symmetrical scars running at an inward angle from just above the small of her
back up to the base of her shoulder blades.
     She allowed herself a soft sigh at his light touch, his fingertips very
gently exploring the dark scars that had been caused by the emergence of her
demonic wings so many centries ago.  Her sigh became a soft moan as his hands
followed the curves of her hips, gently taking hold of her black satin panties
and tugging them downward in a slow motion.
     She closed her eyes and leaned back against him as the material slid down
to her ankles, using him as a balance while she stepped out of them.  Her soft
moans became slightly louder as she felt his hand glide around to the front of
her thighs, teasing her leg muscles before sliding up to caress the muscles in
her lower abdomen.
     His lips roamed across her neck and shoulders as his fingertips took their
time exploring her, tracing the outline of her pubic muscles before moving up
to encounter the supersoft patch of dark green hair surrounding her sheath.  It
took her a great deal of effort to remain standing as he carefully traced the
sensitive edges of her nether lips, very gently parting them a fraction of an
inch with each movement.
     Her pulse pounded in her veins with every agonizing second, leaving her
even more dizzy than before.  Just when she feared she would either pass out or
collapse, she felt his hands on her hips and was gently pushed forward towards
the king-sized bed.
     She almost stumbled onto it as she reached the edge, her vision tainted
crimson with raw lust and her lungs burning in her chest.  She couldn't even
begin to describe the fierceness of the ache in her nipples, and she wondered
how many microseconds it would take for her to reach orgasm once he laid her
back and filled her sheath with his throbbing manhood.
     She turned around at the very last second, managing to fall backwards to
land on her backside instead of flopping face-first into the sheets as she had
feared she might end up doing.  She reached up to him, almost panting with raw
desire as he loomed over her.  Her hands found his as he bent forward at the
waist, melding their lips together and sending her senses on a roller-coaster
ride for what felt like hours.
     His lips slid down to tease her throat and she leaned back by reflex, one
hand coming up to massage the back of his neck.  A soft chuckle rose up from
his throat as he carefully laid her back, both hands coming up to massage the
ultrasoft skin of her breasts even as his tongue flicked between them.
     She had to literally bite the tip of her tongue to keep from whimpering
aloud as he paused to plant a soft kiss on each of her nipples, sending white-
hot needles of desire shooting through her chest.  The whimper changed pitch as
his lips slid down to caress her stomach, signaling his intentions and driving
her almost clinically insane from sheer anticipation.
     Her hands never left the back of his neck as he kissed his way down to her
navel, lightly rolling the tip of his tongue in a slow circle around it.  He
knelt down at the base of the bed as he brought his hands down to her legs, his
fingertips once again lightly exploring the sensitive edges of her willing
sheath.  A soft kiss planted at the very top of the slender patch of pubic hair
was all it took for her to yield to him, drawing her legs up slightly to give
him freer access to her.
     She felt his fingertips lightly part the velvety folds of her sheath an
instant before the tip of his tongue darted down to make contact, pressing
firmly against the small nub of extremely sensitive flesh he had just exposed.
She was amazed that she didn't orgasm on the spot, the delightfully electric
shock strong enough to dazzle her vision with tiny points of light.  Her lungs
seemed to empty in an instant, almost like a shout with the sound turned off,
and it was enough to make her gloriously intoxicated with pleasure.
     The erotic torture that followed was unlike anything she could remember
ever feeling before, and she was hardly a stranger to pleasure.  His tongue
seemed to work magic as it probed her sheath, swirling around her in a fierce
circle and dragging her senses along with it like a whirlpool drawing in a
drowning sailor.  She almost literally unable to breathe properly because of
the onslaught of pure pleasure, and the noises that emerged from her lips and
throat were almost enough to shock her with embarrassment.
     The tension continued to build deep inside her until she thought she was
going to kill him from the sheer force of her convulsions should he finally
decide to push her over the edge.  She knew he was toying with her as she had
with him earlier, and the payback was so exquisite as to almost be painful.
There was no capacity for thought anymore, only the primal desire to achieve
the pinnacle of pleasure and for him to remain with her the entire time.
     Her only warning came when she suddenly felt his hand clamp over her mouth
just as his tongue thrust deep into her in a single, sharp movement.  Blinding
radiance flooded her tightly-closed eyes an instant later, and during the one
moment she was suspended in Time she feared that Death had finally come to lay
claim to her damned and forsaken soul.
     The world refocused moments later as the orgasm finally receded enough to
let her brain sort out individual nerve impulses once again.  It only took a
fraction of a second to realize that there was something in her mouth, and it
took her several moments to realize that she had accidentally bitten Lance's
hand.  The shock of possibly having hurt him broke through the thick veil of
pleasure-induced haze surrounding her mind and snapped her back to almost full
cohesiveness.
     She blinked hard as she heard a muttered curse as he snatched his hand
away from her, his face contorted into a disgruntled grimace of pain.  "Ach,"
he grunted very softly as he stood up and moved to one side, sitting down next
to her and looking at his hand.
     "Lance, I'm sorry!" she gasped as she sat upright, only to fall flat on
her back as the world swam around her in a dizzy parade of light and sound.
     "No, it's okay," he assured her as he leaned over her to plant a kiss on
her stomach.  "I should have been more careful, that's all.  Are you...?" he
started to say before he blinked hard and stared at her.
     "What is it?" she asked before she suddenly realized that she could see a
faint glow reflected in his eyes.  A faint green glow.  The realization shot
through her with the force of a bullet, one hand coming up to her forehead to
quickly tug the hairband back down into place to cover the glowing sigil.  She
wasn't sure when or even how it had slipped, but she only had to take one look
at the expression on his face to know that he had seen it.
     "Lance, I can explain...." she said breathlessly.
     "Senshi," he suddenly spat, his entire body going tense and causing her
to gasp.  The word he used was not of Earth origin, and the way it had been
spoken registered on her mind like a supernova.  Even as the situation began to
dawn on her, she was already reaching out to grab his hand, yanking it close
enough for her to see how badly she had bitten him.
     He snarled and yanked his hand back, but not before she was able to see
the perfect set of teeth marks on one of his fingertips and see the traces of
bright blue blood oozing out from the broken skin.
     Her eyes darted up to his, widening with horror.  "You're a denizen?" she
gasped, her blood turning dangerously cold.  Their eyes locked for an instant
before they both exploded into panicked motion.
     She jumped off the bed just as he brought his hand up, a curtain of green
sparkles leaping from his fingertips to splatter against the sheets.  It only
took an instant for her to release her demonic side, the scars on her back
exploding outward into her wings and allowing her full access to the innate
powers of a succubus.
     A seething ball of red energy formed around her fist as she brought it up
to aim at him, hesitating for an instant as she saw that his own fist was also
aimed at her and outlined in a veil of green sparks.  Time itself seemd to stop
in its tracks as they stared hard at one another, trying to process the sudden
change in the situation and figure out what to do.
     "Who are you?" they both demanded in perfect unison, causing them both to
blink with surprise.  Nothing but silence followed for several seconds, broken
only by the soft gasps of heavy breathing that had very little to do with their
state of passionate arousal.
     "Who are you?" Lance asked again in a low tone, his hazel eyes narrowed.
     "I am Susan Meiou, Lady Pluto and Chancellor of the Kingdom of the Moon,"
she said very quietly, not sure what else to say or do.
     "A Senshi," he said in a low tone.  He paused for a moment as he tried to
remember the exact translation.  "A Sailor Scout," he added as it came to him.
     "I am," Susan said quietly, very slowly reaching up with her free hand to
remove the black hairband.  A soft green light filled the darkened room as the
sigil on her forehead was exposed, still reacting to the power of her orgasms.
"Lance...." she said softly.
     He made a soft grunting noise deep in his throat.  "I am Field Captain
Lance of the Fourth Mountain Division," he said in a flat monotone.  "I thought
you looked familiar.  You're the Winged One, aren't you?  One of the Sailor
Scouts that we were able to videotape during the Moon Kingdom invasion.  But
that was a thousand years ago...?" he added in a confused whisper.
     Susan slowly closed her eyes and lowered her hand, knowing full well that
she was risking instant death by doing so.  A cold pit formed in her chest as
the implications began to sink in.  He was a denizen, which after a moment's
reflection made a great deal of sense now.  The tingle of his soul when she
kissed him, the taste of his seed, the feeling of never having met someone like
him before....
     And yet she still wanted him.  Not just for sex, but to keep him in her
life, to try to sustain the whirlwind that had swept her up the moment she had
laid her eyes on him.  She still wanted him.
     Very, very badly.
     "Lance?" she whispered as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.
His hand was stil enveloped in green energy and was still pointed straight at
her chest.  What brought the tears to her eyes was the look of remote coldness
that had taken up residence in his eyes, as if she was no longer someone to be
with but a thing to be disposed of.
     "Yes?" he said in a detached tone.
     "Can we still....  Do we have to fight?" she implored in a whisper.  "Does
it matter right now if we are from opposing worlds?"
     "You're a Sailor Scout," he said flatly, his eyes never leaving hers.
     "Lance.... I didn't survive the Negaverse invasion of our world," she said
very softly.  She paused as he blinked hard and tried to explain as best she
could.  "I'm only half-human, as you can see, and the other half is.... not of
Earth origin.  Two years from now, I will be resurrected from my death after a
thousand years of existence as a wandering soul, and it is because of my other
half that I am able to travel back and forth through Time."
     "What?" he demanded, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
     She sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting it support most of
her weight as she struggled to cope with the current situation.  "I went back
in Time to come here, to the bar in Liverpool.  I.... was lonely and wanted
some intimate company for the night.... and I found you."
     "Okay...." he said calmly, seeming to accept her explanation.  "So what
was supposed to happen tonight?"
     She might have smiled if the situation didn't look so bleak.  "What was
supposed to happen was that you and I would return to your place to indulge in
one of the finest pleasures known to both our kind, nothing more.  I certainly
didn't intend to.... to be so.... captivated by you...."
     He stared at her in silence for several long moments before the glow faded
from his hand and he lowered it to his side.  "You know," he said slowly, "I'm
almost ready to believe that one."
     "Lance," she said very softly, feeling both tears of despair and a sudden
wave of desire welling up in her.  It bothered her deeply that she still found
herself desiring him, and she knew that only so much of that could be blamed on
her demonic desires.
     "Let's be honest, Susan," he said evenly.  "What are the odds that you
would just happen to show up when you did?  I've never been to that night-club
before, and I keep a very low profile when I'm walking around in this world."
     "I had no idea, I swear," she replied, trying valiantly not to cry and
wondering why she was doing so in the first place.  It was certainly upsetting
for things to have turned out this way, especially after sharing so much with
him already, but it shouldn't be bothering her this deeply....
     "Alright then," he said after a moment of heavy silence, studying her nude
figure and trying to decide what to make of the wings and the glowing mark on
her forehead.  "Let's just say for the sake of argument that I believe you,
that our chance encounter tonight was just that.... chance.  So now what?"
     She paused to wipe away the pair of tears that had managed to escape her
tear-ducts and looked at him, feeling her heart twist into a knot.  "I don't
want to fight," she said quietly.  "I don't see a need for us to fight.  I....
I want to forget what just happened a few minutes ago, Lance.  I want us to go
back to how it was when you first kissed me.  I want you."
     His eyebrows arched up in mild surprise.  "Are you serious?" he inquired.
     "I don't care," she whispered, shivering inside as she suddenly realized
that she really didn't care.  "We had something special between us, something
I truly never felt before.  I don't want to just give it up.  I've never met
anyone like you, and not because you're a denizen.  I'm actually friends with
a few denizens.... at least, two years from now I will be," she amended before
shaking her head.  "I can't explain it because I don't understand it myself,
but I still want you.  I want you deep inside me, I want to feel your lips on
mine again and feel the warmth of your body pressed against me."
     She almost screamed as she felt his hand close around her wrist, caught
off-guard once again by his perfectly silent approach.  His grip was firm as
she looked up at him, dropping what little emotional guard she had left that
hadn't been utterly destroyed in the past five minutes.  It was rare that she
didn't keep her emotions in check, and the feeling of vulnerability only made
her senses tingle all the harder.
     "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked very quietly.
     His words were like a knife into her heart, a sharp stab that brought more
tears to her eyes in a silent cascade.  "Lance, please," she whispered, trying
to look at him through the watery veil of her tears.  "I will do anything for
you, anything at all to have it back....  If what we shared means anything to
you, I beg you.... please, don't turn away from me now, not when I need you."
     The analytical part of her mind was having a seizure at the words that
fell from her lips.  What in the Burning Hells was wrong with her?  Why was she
saying such things, thinking such things.... feeling such things about him....
     The realization was like a cold bucket of water thrown on a burning fire,
not so much putting it out as encasing it in solid ice.  She had feelings for
him, very strong feelings that she had never felt before in her entire life.
She had long ago resigned herself to never being able to experience or truly
understand the strongest of human emotions, denied to her by the more limited
emotions of her demonic side, but even now she began to wonder if what she was
feeling was something she had only dared to dream about during those darkest of
days when she was in a mournfully introspective mood.
     Her mental focus was shattered by the feeling of his lips against hers,
kissing her deeply.  Her body responded to him out of pure instinct, parting
her lips slightly and drawing him closer to her.  Now that she was in her
demonic form, her powers were fully available to her and able to bask in the
warmth of his living soul.  The feeling was intense, far more intense than it
had been when she had kissed him previously, and it only deepened her feelings
of desire for him.
     A gentle jab of his tongue parted her lips completely, allowing him to
explore her mouth.  A soft moan of pleasure rumbled up from her chest as she
tightened her lips around his tongue, very gently sucking him deeper into her
mouth.  An electric feeling coursed through them both as his free hand came up
to rest on her hip, squeezing her gently.
     She very gently nipped the tip of his tongue with her teeth, elicting a
soft but sharp gasp from him.  His other hand let go of her wrist and encircled
her waist as well, pulling her against him.  She could feel his manhood start
to swell again in the confines of his underwear, only adding more fuel to the
fires inside her that had been dampened but never fully extinguished by the
drastic shift in mood.
     Her hands seemed to act of their own volition, reaching out to grasp the
edges of his briefs and tugging them down with restrained urgency.  A deep moan
rose up from her throat as his shaft popped free and poked her in the abdomen,
just a few inches away from her aching sheath.  She continued to push down
until the fabric fell away from his body completely, landing at his feet in a
puddle of soft cotton.
     "Susan, are you....?" he started to say before finding a pair of fingers
firmly pressed against his lips.
     "Don't talk," she whispered before leaning forward to cover his lips with
her own.  Her tongue slid into his mouth a moment later, drawing very soft
groans from the both of them.  She whimpered as he very lightly nibbled on her
tongue before she withdrew and broke the kiss.  "Not until after you've come
inside me," she said, her voice barely more than a hint of a whisper.
     She wasn't sure who first moved towards the bed, drawing the other along
with them, but it was only a matter of a handful of seconds before they were
both sitting down on the edge of the mattress.  She tilted her head back to
look deep into his eyes before she gently pushed down on his shoulder.
     He scooted over to the center of the bed and laid back, absently tucking
a pillow behind his head as he reached out to her.  She moved over next to him
and straddled his waist, resting her weight on her legs for a moment while she
savored the feeling of his hardness pressing against her inner thighs.  She was
unable to prevent the soft smile from crossing her lips as he reached up to cup
her breasts, gently rolling her throbbing nipples around in the palms of his
hands.
     She leaned forward just enough to allow her to take hold of his pulsing
manhood, settling her weight back on her legs as she used both hands to caress
his length.  She studied him for a moment before she looked up at him, aware
that her red eyes were probably literally glowing with lust by now.  She kept
her eyes focused on his as she leaned forward again and shifted her weight just
enough to bring the tip of him against the gentle pucker of her sheath.  She
remained in place for several long seconds before easing her weight forward,
her nether lips parting around the head of his manhood as she impaled herself
on him.
     The sigh that followed was one of utter contentment and pleasure, a heavy
sigh of satisfaction as her sheath was slightly stretched by his presence so
deep inside her.  She braced her hands against his hips and shifted her weight
back slightly, trying not to gasp at the almost painful sensation of loss as
his member almost completely withdrew from her depths.  Just the tip of him
remained inside her, clamped between the velvety folds of her sheath, before
she gently rocked forward, thrusting him back inside her once again.
     She gasped as his hips suddenly arched up beneath her just as she began
to settle into a slow rhythm, sending the most intense jolts of pleasure she
had ever experienced crashing through her.  She carefully withdrew and started
to impale herself on him again, gasping once more as he came up to meet her
gentle downward thrust.
     She looked up at him, staring into his eyes as she started in on a slow
and steady rhythm as old as life itself.  His eyes never left hers as his hands
gently kneaded her breasts, lightly pinching and pulling and twisting in a
seemingly random pattern that would have left her breathless if she hadn't
already become that long ago.
     The rhythm somehow turned primal somewhere along the way, despite her best
efforts to keep it slow and steady.  Her back muscles flexed hard with every
downward thrust of her hips, sending her wings swaying back and forth in an odd
pattern.  She could no longer keep herself perfectly steady on her legs, having
to lean forward and brace against the bed itself as she rocked back and forth
with increasing fervor.  Her hair spilled across her shoulders and onto his
chest like a green cascade, swaying back and forth in time with her movements.
She could scarcely breathe now, barely able to keep enough air in her lungs to
sutain her and leaving very little left for making noises of passion and lust.
     The pressure inside her built at an almost terrifying speed, driving her
into a frenzy of motion before it exploded across her nerves in a truly fierce
orgasm.  Her lungs came dangerously close to collapsing as they expelled the
air they held in single instant, and they were both completely blinded for a
moment by a green light that shone on her forehead with the intensity of a
supernova.
     As before, the intensity of the orgasm almost rendered her unconscious,
leaving her huddled in a twitching heap on his chest.  Her senses weren't all
blotted out, however, as she was acutely aware of the vividly throbbing member
still inside her.  The muscles of her sheath were clamped around him like a
vise, preventing him from moving for the moment.  The firmness of her internal
grip was enough to let her feel the force of his pulse, causing his manhood to
twitch twice a second.
     She closed her eyes and briefly surrendered to the darkness, allowing her
senses to fade in and out like a ghost.  She could feel the burning warmth of
his skin beneath her, feel the hyper-sensitive tingle in her back caused by his
extremely light touch as he explored the delicate structure of her wings.
     A soft sigh escaped her lips as he lifted his head up to kiss her throat,
sending another series of shivering tingles coursing through her blood.  She
knew that her demonic side wouldn't be fully sated until he came inside her,
allowing her body to absorb the life-energy of his seed.
     Even though she was essentially exhausted at this point, she still had
plenty of energy left to enjoy his passion.  She brought her hands up to his
chest and pushed herself upright, gasping quietly as the motion pushed him
deeper into her.  She looked into his eyes for several moments, a soft smile
coming to her lips as she saw the look of barely restrained lust still burning
in his eyes.  He wasn't finished yet, but she would see that he would be.
     Taking a deep breath, she gently pushed his hands away from her wings and
turned her focus inward.  The process of reassuming a purely human form was at
this point almost physically painful, not just absorbing her wings and masking
the glow of her demonic eyes, but sealing off part of the sweetest of physical
sensations of him still inside her.  She could still feel it with exquisite
pleasure, but she now lacked the power to tap into the vital link of his soul
and savor the richness of his life-energy.
     She leaned forward again to kiss him, running her hands along his chest.
She started to dismount him to roll over to her side when she felt his hands
around her hips, holding her firmly in place.  She blinked hard as his body
suddenly seemed to flex, rolling her onto her back in a single motion with
surprising gentleness while remaining completely encased within her.
     She laid her head back against the pillow as he readjusted his weight on
his hands and knees before he began to move within her, setting his own pace
for another round of intense pleasure and passion.  She was more than willing
to yield to him, not having the strength at the moment to continue on her own.
     The feeling of him moving within her at a steady pace was every bit as
intense as before, plunging in and out of her sheath without mercy.  Her body
rocked slightly with every thrust, leaving her breathless with pleasure.  She
knew there was no stopping him now, and that he would have his way with her
until his body could simply take no more.
     It was enough to make her dizzy with anticipation, and she was surprised
to discover that she was rapidly approaching yet another orgasm.  While that
didn't bother her in the slightest, it did make her stop and wonder how much
more she would be able to withstand.  The capacity of a succbus to achieve
multiple orgasms was somewhere between astounding and staggering, but she had
never experienced any as powerful or as close together as she had tonight.  She
knew that her demonic endurance was limited by her human side, but until now
she had rarely worried about finding her limit.
     The change in pitch of his breathing told her that he was ready, and it
was enough to make her blood boil in anticipation.  She began to clench a few
internal muscles around his manhood, making it feel like she was grabbing him
with each thrust.  She could feel the increase in tension in his body as he
increased the pace, fiercely ravishing her with an almost animalistic frenzy
and making her wonder who would come first.
     A guttural cry rose from his throat as he buried himself as deep within
the tightness of her sheath as he could, his whole body shaking with the force
of his climax as his seed splashed into her depths.  The primal sound was very
shortly followed by an explosive gasp as Susan was pushed over the edge, her
muscles clamping around his still-twitching manhood in a grip as tight as any
vice.  She held as still as she could, the sensation of actually being able to
feel his essence pulsing into her eliciting a mind-numbing rush of endorphins
that was stronger than a drug high.
     When her mind drifted back down to the point of cohesive consciousness,
she found that he was collapsed on top of her, the heat of both their bodies
almost scorching them like fire.  A reflexive squeeze told her that he was
still inside her, and her body almost ached from the intensity of her orgasm.
She had been satisfied before, but never could she remember feeling so utterly
and completely satisfied in her life.  If this was to be her last night, then
she was more than happy with the results.
     The sudden realization exploded up from the back of her mind where the
last shreds of her sanity had sought shelter.  It wasn't enough to throw off
the haze of exhaustion, but it reawoke her to the reality of her situation.
Lance was a denizen agent, he knew of her identity, and she was in a period of
time in which such things tended to provoke violent reactions.
     But for now.... the universe could wait.
     She had no idea when she finally regained full consciousness, only that
she had been drifting in and out of an ethereal state of mind as she lay in his
arms.  He had withdrawn from her depths at one point and was curled up next to
her, one arm around her waist and the other under her head as a pillow.  Her
back was to him, and he could feel his body curled against her in a spoon-like
fashion.
     "Lance?" she whispered very quietly, not sure if he was awake or not.  She
purred very quietly as he shifted positions, kissing the back of her neck and
reaching up to caress her breasts.
     "I'm here," he assured her quietly.  He seemed to hesitate for a second
before he kissed her ear lightly.  "Can I ask you a personal question?"
     "Of course," she murmured in reply.  After what he had just given her, she
would have told him anything he wanted to know.  The realization that she was
quite willing to do so sent an icy chill down her spine, only adding to her
uncertainty about the depth of her feelings for him.  What was it about him
that made her so reluctant to refuse him anything?
     "Are all human women like you so.... orgasmic?" he inquired with audible
humor in his voice.  "I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself with that
last one."
     She couldn't help the quiet chuckle from rising up in her throat.  "No,
that is merely my.... inhuman side having an influence," she said demurely.
Despite her feelings for him, she didn't feel comfortable for some reason to
try to explain her demonic heritage or what exactly it meant.
     "Mmmm," he hummed softly as he nuzzled her ear.  "You just keep becoming
even more unique with each passing moment, ne'ana."
     She said nothing, turning her focus inward for several moments.  She could
still feel the burning warmth of his seed inside her, slowly being drawn into
her womb by natural biological activity.  She idly wondered if it was possible
at all for her to conceive to begin with, having been unable to obtain any
definitive medical answer to the question of her hybrid heritage.  While it was
impossible for her as a succubus to become pregnant against her will, as all
she had to do was drain the life out of any such seeds spilled inside her, she
still wondered if she had enough control over her body to NOT drain the life
out and instead give it a chance to do what it was intended to do.
     Would I truly want to, though? she asked herself.  I just met him only a
few hours ago, and already I'm contemplating what it would be like if I were to
bear his child?  Have I gone insane?  Does he have some sort of denizen power
or influence over me?  Is something really wrong, or am I just....?
     "So what's on your mind?" he murmured quietly.
     "Lance, come with me," she softly blurted out without thinking.  "Let me
take you back to my time, to my world.  We have denizen allies there, people
like you who are on our side.  We wouldn't need to fight then, and we could
remain together that way...."
     "Slow down," he protested as he rose up on one elbow, his hand still idly
caressing the ultrasoft skin of her breasts.  "What are you talking about?"
     She sighed and slowly twisted in her arms to look up at him, a pleading
look in her dark red eyes.  "I can't stay here, in the past," she whispered.
"I have to return to the present.  Both Earth and the Negaverse will be forever
changed in two years, and I'm afraid.  Afraid I might lose you when it all
begins."
     "Susan?" he said very slowly.  "When all what begins?"
     "When.... when the Sailor Scouts reawaken and the fighting starts," she
explained.  She blinked as she felt tears welling up in her eyes once more,
stunned by the depth of the pain that even thinking about it caused.  Was she
truly that enchanted by him that the thought of his loss would hurt her that
badly?
     He looked at her for several seconds before he took a careful breath.  "I
take it you mean that girl who killed two of our agents a few days ago?" he
asked in a guarded tone.
     She blinked hard with the realization that the Negaverse had already began
their campaign of trouble in the United Kingdom, and that the girl he was
talking about was probably a fourteen-year-old Mina Aino in her accidentally
premature transformation as the mysterious Sailor V.
     "No...." she whispered as the true horror sank into her mind.  Sailor V
had killed close to three dozen denizens before she had to return to Japan, and
if Lance was involved in the Negaverse effort, he might be killed.  But what
truly filled her with dread was the fact that she was out-of-phase in the past
with a negative temporal coefficient.  The past was thus set in stone, and any
attempt at altering it would result in another catastrophe....
     "What is it?" he asked with a faint edge to his voice, his hands abruptly
ceasing their tender massage of her breasts.
     Could she do it? she thought as fast as she could.  Could she whisk him
away from here and keep him sequestered in a domain outside of this one?  He
wouldn't be able to influence events on Earth or in the Negaverse.... or get
caught up in the fatal tide.... but she would also have to sequester herself
to level the balance.  Just the two of them, alone together until they died?
Would it work?  Would he be willing to sacrifice everything to be with her,
just as she was willing to...?
     "Susan," he said firmly, drawing her focus back to him.
     "I'm trying to think of a way out of this," she whispered as more tears
welled up, blurring her vision.  "I want to take you away from all this, away
from what might happen if you stay here.  I've searched the ends of Time for
centuries to find someone like you, and I don't want to lose you, not after
what we just shared...."
     "Take me away from what?" he demanded.  "You're not making any sense!"
     "Lance, please," she pleaded.  "You must come with me.  If you remain here
in this time period, you will most likely be killed.  I know what happened in
this era, I know that our worlds began fighting again."
     He blinked and regarded her very carefully.  "Susan?  If you really are
from the future.... tell me what we can do to end this, to prevent all this
death and destruction you seem to be talking about."
     She shook her head.  "The past is already written," she said in a bare
whisper.  "I can't change it, nor can I allow it to be changed.  But I can take
us both out of the equation," she added, giving him a saddened look.  "I can
take us to a place where we won't have to fight, where it will be just you and
me, together...."
     "And what of my world?" he said in a netural tone.  "What of my friends
and family?  You would have me abandon them all on a whim?"
     She closed her eyes as the feeling of despair started to take hold of her.
Didn't he realize what she was offering him?  Didn't he know what she was more
than willing to sacrifice to be with him?  "Lance, please...."
     "I have a duty, Susan," he said, his voice laced with an air of finality
that made her very soul cry out with the deepest pain imaginable.  "I'm here on
Earth to perform a mission, and I won't let anyone interfere with it.  Not even
you," he added softly.
     She opened her eyes to look at him, feeling the warmth draining from her
soul as if the plug in a bathtub had been removed to empty it.  "What does this
mean for us?" she said, her voice barely audible.
     "I can't go with you, but you can come with me," he said quietly.  "I'm
not sure if it'll work, but I can at least ask if you can be given sanctuary in
my world.  I can probably get a discharge once my assignment is finished, and
then we can be left alone together.  I've never met anyone like you in all my
life, Susan, and to be honest, I'm not sure I want to let you go either."
     "Lance...." she whispered before slowly shaking her head as an icy weight
settled around her heart.  "The same power that allows me to travel back and
forth through Time also anchors my soul to this world.  Were I to try to leave
it, the result would be instantly fatal."
     "I guess we have a problem, then, don't we?" he said in a voice completely
devoid of any semblance of emotion.  "I'm not about to turn my back on my world
for the sake of one woman, no matter how good she is in bed."
     "Do we have to fight?" she asked softly as her soul went completely numb.
     "I have a duty, Susan," he said simply.
     She sighed and looked away, wondering what her options were and just how
viable they truly were.  "Are you going to kill me, then?" she asked, wondering
if she was willing to die for him.  The answer would have chilled her blood if
she wasn't already beyond caring at this point.
     She blinked as she felt his hand touch the back of her neck, a tingle of
energy racing across her skin and making the hair on her arms stand up.  "If I
have to," he said quietly.
     She looked back at him, the remains of her heart growing heavy at the pale
green glow being reflected off of his skin.  She knew her sigil had calmed down'
considerably in the past ten minutes, which meant that the glow could only be
from the energy he had used earlier to try to attack her.
     Her mind seemed to detach itself from the rest of her body, letting it
move and operate on its own.  She reached behind her to gently take his hand
in hers, ignoring the needle-like sensation the charged contact produced.  Her
eyes never left his as she pressed his hand to her chest, nestling it between
the soft globes of her bare breasts and holding it over her heart muscle.
     "Promise me it won't hurt?" she found herself saying.
     He blinked hard before he sighed heavily.  "I'll do my best," he replied,
his voice sounding like it belonged to someone significantly older than him.
"I don't want to do this, Susan, I really don't...."
     She leaned forward to kiss him, savoring the taste of his kiss and trying
to etch it into her eternal memory.  She knew what she had to do, and it would
forever haunt her for the rest of her life, but she too had a duty to do.
     It seemed to take forever for their lips to finally part, breaking a kiss
that meant far more to them both than they would ever admit.  She paused as an
idea formed in her mind, one that would make her duty only slightly easier to
cope with.  She thought about it for a moment before she looked up at him with
a forlorn look in her eyes.
     "Can I have you one last time?" she asked in a soft whisper.
     He blinked in surprise before giving her a slightly abashed look.  "I'm
not sure I have the strength," he admitted as he lowered his hand to his lap,
the greenish glow fading away as he relaxed his powers.
     The faintest of smiles crossed her face as she turned her powers inward,
releasing her hold on her demonic side and causing her wings to explode into
shape in an instant.  "Leave that to me," she whispered as she reached down to
caress his manhood.
     "Susan...." he said in a gentle warning.
     "I want you, Lance," she said.  "I wanted you the moment I laid my eyes on
you, and even if you have to kill me before sunrise, I still want you.  I don't
know what this feeling inside me is, or why I've never experienced it before,
but it doesn't matter now.  All I want now is you.  I want to taste you again.
And if it's the last thing I ever taste.... I wouldn't want it to be anything
else...."
     She dipped her head down to brush her lips across the sensitive flesh of
his manhood, already feeling it begin to stir with renewed life at her touch
and kiss.  She quickly took him into her mouth, wanting to feel him swell with
desire as her tongue swirled around his head and shaft.  She could still taste
a lingering trace of their essences from earlier, both hers and his, and it was
a combination that made her soul ache like it had never ached before.
     His life-force called out to her as her lips slid up and down his manhood,
her demonic senses now able to fully tap into his energies.  Access to it was
literally at the tip of her tongue, his throbbing member a natural conduit into
the very core of his life-energies.  She had tapped into souls before in this
fashion, drawing out that energy even as she drew their essence into her mouth
in a burst of passion, and each time her prey never failed to share with her a
part of their souls in the process.
     Only this time, she would take it all.
     She tried not to think about it as she extended her demonic powers into
him, sending a series of tingles into his nervous system that was unlike any
other feeling.  She kept alternating the pressure of the suction, drawing soft
and hard upon his member in turns.  She could feel him respond just the way she
wanted him to, his hips bucking up to meet the downward motion of her head to
drive him as deep into her mouth as she could handle without choking.
     "Susan...." he gasped hard, clutching her head with both hands as his body
was wracked with exquisite pleasure.
     She knew she had him where she wanted him, able to bring him to orgasm at
her whim.  She delayed doing so for the moment, wanting to make sure that her
powers were secure in their hold on him.  She could feel his soul pulse like
the core of a star as a tendril of demonic energy coiled around it, wrapping it
as tightly as she could without alerting him that she was doing something.
     There.... she thought as she felt that everything was ready.  She made a
soft whimpering noise in her throat as she tried not to think about what it
would mean when she finally pushed him over the edge.  She wanted to focus on
him letting go in her mouth again, bathing her tongue with his essence and
giving her a small taste of his life-energy.  She would take more of it, take
it all at once, but only that first part would be freely given.
     Enough, she thought to herself as she ran her tongue on the sensitive
underside of his throbbing manhood before taking him deep in her mouth again.
I am the Chancellor of the Kingdom of the Moon, and he has threatened my life.
He is in full and willing allegiance with those who would bring harm to Mina
Aino in this time period, and he must not be allowed to further the cause and
interest of those who would destroy this world.
     She would draw his soul out when he came, and he would die.
     She could feel the doubts gripping her soul, pleading that she find some
other way to save both him and her.  She knew that if she killed him, after all
that they had shared together, after all the new and special feelings he had
ignited deep in her heart where no-one else had touched before, that her life
would be forever changed and her soul darkened beyond a new point of no return.
     But he said he had a duty.
     And so did she.
     I'm sorry, she thought as she inhaled sharply and used the power of her
demonic lips wrapped around the base of his manhood to trigger an orgasm.
     He gasped hard as his nerves were assaulted by the intense wave of pure
pleasure.  His hips lunged forward by instinct, thrusting deep into her mouth
as he came.  There wasn't much of his seed left, having twice been drawn out
before by her lips and sheath, but it was still enough to coat her tongue with
a strong pulse.
     She only paused for a moment to savor the exotic taste of his seed before
she extended her powers into him, following along the open conduit of energy
from his manhood straight into the core of his soul.  She grabbed hold of the
metaphysical force and yanked as hard as she could, tearing it loose from its
fleshy moorings.  The soul immediately solidified into a dense liquid that was
drawn back to her lips, emerging from his manhood in a stready stream like a
second orgasm.
     The only sound that could be heard was a startled gasp from him, his body
becoming as rigid as steel as she sucked hard on his pulsing manhood, siphoning
his soul out as one would sip soda from a can through a straw.  She had to
swallow several times to take it all, but it only took a few seconds before the
thick soul-syrup was completely drawn out through his shaft and absorbed.
     She licked the tip of his member to remove any lingering traces of either
his essence or his soul before she lifted her head up.  Silent tears began to
flow down her cheeks as she saw the expression on his face, devoid of life and
forever frozen in a mask of pure ecstasy as his body lay slumped back.
     She slowly stood up, absently licking her lips and trying not to start
crying in earnest at what she had done.  It was some measure of consolation
that he hadn't suffered in the slightest, just has he had promised to do for
her earlier, but it was still more than she could bear to think about for much
longer.
     "I'm sorry...." she whispered to the open air.  She could feel her insides
burning with the warmth of his soul, absorbing its power and infusing her with
incredible amounts of energy.  She would have tried to save it if she could,
but the act of extracting it in that fashion prevented her from being able to
preserve it.  He would always be a part of her now, the fading remains of his
soul added to the shroud of other such devoured souls that gave her demonic
side additional strength when she needed it.  She knew, however, that his heart
would forever be lost to her, and that was what she realized she wanted.
     With a heavy sigh, she pulled her staff out of the temporal flow and held
it tightly in her hands, taking some measure of comfort from its presence.  It
would never replace him, of course, but it was like the old friend who always
gave you their shoulder to cry on when things went from bad to worse.
     "Please, forgive me," she whispered to the corpse as she leaned heavily
on the silvery staff for several moments, trying to marshall both the physical
strength and mental fortitude to deal with her next task.  She couldn't let his
body be discovered by anyone, as a simple post-mortem examination would easily
reveal the fact that he was not a human.  That would require her to completely
destroy his corpse, and while she could easily take care of that herself, the
mere thought of having to do so made her soul feel all the more empty.
     Taking a deep breath, she brought her hand up and gathered her demonic
powers together to form a bright red ball of seething energy, letting it build
in strength until it seemed to leap off of her fist of its own volition.  The
blood star had barely struck the corpse before a second one formed, followed by
a third, and a fourth, and a fifth.
     Tears flowed down her cheeks as the flesh was methodically disintegrated
from the body on the bed, the room illuminated by the harsh red glow of her
destructive energies and the contents of the room splattered with tiny bits of
blood and gore.  The blood stars continued to lash out until there was nothing
left but a pile of blackened bones on the bed, smouldering dangerously from the
heat and giving off a truly unholy stench.
     She held her breath as she took a step forward, reaching out to grab the
edge of the sheets.  A blood star formed around her clenched fist as she held
the fabric in a shaking grip, the sheet turning black with carbon before it
finally ignited with a soft whoosh.  Her task done, she released the burning
material and stepped back, watching with an empty expression as the fire began
to spread across the sheets.
     And so it is done, she thought, knowing that the fire would make it seem
like it had been started by accident and had killed him.  There might be other
casualties as well once the fire spread to the other apartments, but she knew
that the Liverpool fire brigade was rather efficient and could probably would
have it under control in a matter of minutes.
     The thought of summoning the fire brigade reminded her of his joke earlier
that night, and it was all she could to to keep herself from sobbing again.  A
wave of tainted air wafted over in her direction, making her cough and serving
as a reminder that it was now time to leave.
     She was about to open a conduit into the flow of Time to return to the
present when she suddenly realized that her staff hadn't so much as twitched
yet, indicating that there would be no temporal repercussions to her actions.
That could only mean that whatever she had done in the past would not impact
the future in the slightest.
     A sharp snap of something burning brought her attention back to the room,
the bed now completely engulfed in flames and the ceiling starting to become
black with smoke and carbon.  Sighing quietly, she opened the temporal conduit
and slipped inside, navigating the swirling blue streams with practiced ease.
     Does that mean.... he was supposed to die? she thought as she went, only
half paying attention to where she was going.  She could follow the temporal
marker beacon to her keep in the Border Ethereal plane in her sleep, allowing
her to think about what had happened as she went.
     I went back in Time and killed someone.... but there was no effect, no
change to the flow.  Was he supposed to die?  Was I supposed to kill him?  It
was in the past, but if the past already happened before I went back.... does
that mean I was predestined to do that?  To kill the one person that I thought
I could possibly.... love?
     It would be a question that would haunt her for a very long time, but she
had other duties to perform.  For the moment, she would have to try to take a
measure of comfort in knowing that her original goal of hunting was very much
a success.  It would, however, be some time before she would hunt again.
     The memories of him, however, were something she would never forget.  Just
as her demonic memory rarely failed to retain most of what she heard and saw in
her seven-plus centuries of life, she doubted she would ever forget the tingle
caused by his kiss, or the taste of his seed in her mouth, or the feel of him
plunging deep inside her, over and over and over again with wild passion that
made them both dizzy and breathless beyond all words.  She would remember.
     And that, at least, was something to privately smile about.

                *               *               *               *

     "And me without a bag of marshmallows," the young girl observed quietly
from her vantage point on the rooftop.  Her gaze was fixated on the small wall
of fire gushing out from a broken window in an apartment complex several blocks
away, the glow strong enough to turn the curtain of low-lying clouds a dark
orange color.
     "That's not very nice," the white cat objected quietly, giving her a very
reproving look.  "Someone could be hurt in that."
     The girl sighed quietly and wrinkled her nose.  "Yeah, I know," she said
with a hint of apology.  "Such is life.  Or in this case, such is death."
     "You're in a mood," the cat said in a guarded tone.
     "Bah, it's four in the morning, what do you expect?" she countered with a
quiet yawn.  "Anyway, I don't think we'll find any more of those green-blooded
goblins tonight.  Crazy alien punks," she added in a soft growl.  "Try to ruin
my vacation, will you?  Well, I've got something for you guys now...."
     "Yeah," the cat agreed with a flick of his tail.  "Come on, let's go back
to your grandmother's house before people notice we're missing."
     She sighed and bent down to pick him up, cradling him in her arms as she
cast a final glance at the burning apartment complex.  She could already hear
the distinctive two-tone wail of the fire engines racing to the scene, and it
was clearly not a situation in which her new-found abilities would be useful.
     "This could get fun," she mused to herself, drawing an odd look from the
white cat.  Shrugging in dismissal, she braced herself before she leapt off the
roof and disappeared into what was left of the night.


                                *  THE END  *