#but we did have mold spray and i no longer care about my skin

[camellia-thea]

.

[bjy-on-ao3]

Fic Friday: Idle Hands

(As usual, you can find the AO3 version of all my uploads [and some things I don’t post here to tumblr] via my Masterlist blog page.)

No real meaning behind this one. I just wanted to write some smut that was light and sweet. And Zenkichi feels like he could fit into something like that very nicely. So enjoy I guess what is effectively a sexy slice of life scenario. Also decided to go with one of the shower stall type bathrooms, rather than a tub/shower, despite it being a smaller space.

Thank you to Petaldances for beta'ing and catching as many errors/typos as possible!

Summary While taking a shower together, Reader gets a little handsy with Zenkichi, leading to no one really getting any cleaner.

Tags/Warnings Creampie, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Reader-Insert, Shameless Smut, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Shower S*x, Vaginal S*x

Idle Hands (F! Reader/Zenkichi Hasegawa)

You waited patiently in the bathroom while Zenkichi bent over into the shower, adjusting knobs here and there. You watched him tentatively stick a hand beneath the flow of water to test it. He was taking his time, but you didn’t mind, content for him to take however long he liked, given the pleasant view of his backside you were privy to. Nothing steamy had been on your mind when you had decided to take a shower together, though the opportunity to take a peek while you stood there doing nothing was a hard one to pass up.

After a little while fussing and fidgeting with shower settings, during which you continued to gawp at the expanse of bare skin you couldn’t resist, Zenkichi straightened up. He turned back to look at you. “Alright, should be good to go,” he informed you.

You nodded in acknowledgement. “We should get in then,” you insisted.

He didn’t need to be told twice, stepping into the shower, immediately caught in the showerhead’s steamy spray. You took one more - hopefully inconspicuous - look over Zenkichi’s frame before you joined him, sliding the shower door shut behind you carefully.

Right away you were overtaken by the haze of steam and heat generated by the hot water, and the warmer temperature made you sigh contently. You would need to take turns with direct exposure to the water, but fortunately you didn’t have to be cold while you wait. Not to mention your eye candy from before hadn’t gone very far.

Not wanting him to catch you in the act - it was a little embarrassing even if you had a feeling it wouldn’t bother him - you reached for a washcloth. You reached past him briefly to wet it, but paused before lathering it up with soap. Zenkichi’s washing process was going considerably quicker than yours already, apparently not nearly so distracted by your nudity as you were by his. He had been quick to soap himself up using another cloth, and the motion drew your eyes, following each stroke.

Fortunately, he remained unaware of your intent gaze, his head tipped back to soak his hair and wash the soap in places he had already scrubbed himself. His eyes were closed, letting you indulge in the sight for far too long. Maybe you should have chided yourself for taking full advantage of the chance to leer at him, but you couldn’t resist. Standing there, taking up the water, Zenkichi cut a pretty picture you could hardly tear your eyes from.

Everywhere you looked was slick with soap, or spattered and streaked with rivulets and beads of water. It flowed down steadily, drawing your attention over and down his shoulders, along the fit planes of his chest and torso and the patches of slicked down hair that dusted them. His skin beneath the water and suds was pleasantly flushed, and you longed to touch it with each passing second. Perhaps showering together hadn’t been your greatest decision for the day, even if you were enjoying the show. Of course, you certainly weren’t accomplishing what you had meant to.

Unable to contain yourself anymore, you reached forward once Zenkichi had nearly finished washing away the last of the soap, and ran your hands gingerly over his chest. To his credit, he didn’t flinch away or seem at all started by the abrupt touches, almost as if he’d been expecting them. Instead, he stopped, tipping his head forward and opening his eyes to look at you. You didn’t bother to still your hands, trailing them down his torso and sides, and back up, pausing to absently massage his waist and hips.

A small, wry grin drew itself on across his lips. “Y’know, the whole reason for taking a shower was to get clean , not dirty,” Zenkichi half-scolded, half-joked, and you rolled your eyes cheerfully, a slight smile dawning on you, too.

“Ah, I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t stop myself,” you apologized, though you weren’t really sorry, a sentiment that showed plainly in how your hands rested over his skin, still stroking delicately.

Of course, you hadn’t meant for the touches to incite anything, merely you had longed to touch him, so you had. There was no course of action beyond that.

“Mm hm,” he hummed, “and that’s why you still haven’t let go?” His tone was light and teasing, and his focus was trained on you.

At his remark, you started to pull your hands away, fully intending to behave and actually shower up, as had been the original plan. But Zenkichi stopped you, his fingers wrapping around your wrists and preventing you from moving them back. Your glance flickered once, back and forth. From his hands trapping yours to his handsome face, and you stared wordlessly for an instant. There was a cheekiness to his grin, a bit of teeth showing, though the expression was warm and made your heart flutter in your chest.

“But I guess if we’re giving up on cleaning up…” Zenkichi’s words trailed off into nothing, and he pressed your hands more firmly to his skin.

He coaxed you back slowly until your back hit the cool surface of the shower wall. The reaction was instant, and you shuddered, though you weren’t sure whether it was the cold tile or the way he moved closer still. He stopped, his skin brushing against yours, and finally freed your hands. He raised both of his own, leaning in and cupping your face in them. You lifted your arms, eagerly looping them around his neck and waiting with bated breath as his lips drew nearer.

When Zenkichi’s lips sealed over yours, after an instant that felt like forever, it was a languid and gentle affair. Your cheeks beneath his palms were hot, and your heart was picking up speed, accompanied by a warm comfort rising low in your stomach and chest. You kissed back, trying to match his relaxed pace and the passion simmering just below the surface.

For a while the kiss, despite the ardor smoldering within it, remained reserved, almost lazy, restricted to your lips molding together and barely parting before coming together all over again. His lips, though, weren’t your only distraction, and his thumbs stroked across your cheeks, the touch featherlight and almost ticklish. His length grazed the soft skin of your inner thigh, only half hard, though rising as time ran on. But he didn’t seem to pay his growing erection any mind, far too enamored with your lips.

The tender kisses continued even longer, interrupted only when one of you needed to catch a breath before coming back together, as if the both of you were compelled to do so. You weren’t sure how long it lasted, but it couldn’t have been too long, judging from the steam pouring into the shower around you from the stream of water that had yet to cool. Not that you really cared much about the water temperature then, shielded from most of the spray with Zenkichi to distract you.

The kiss escalated when Zenkichi’s tongue swept over your bottom lip, turning from gentle and casual into something far more steamy, the smoldering intensity from before making itself known far more clearly. You were in no mood to deny him, parting your lips to invite him inside. His tongue swept up your own swiftly, and a small, unbidden moan tried to escape, muffled by the steadily more searing kiss. He pushed himself harder against you, and his length twitched further to life against your thigh.

Even so, the pace remained slow, a trickle of passion growing surely, strengthened with each fleeting caress and small, pleased sounds rising from either of you. Zenkichi’s hands drifted away from your face, migrating down, and his fingertips skated over your neck and past your collarbone. A startled sound alike to a squeak broke from you, smothered by the kiss, when his hands found purchase on your breasts, confidently but softly engulfing each. He massaged them leisurely, alternating between handfuls and teasing, light pinches and brushes with the pads of his fingers. The contrasting sensations made you shiver and squirm, squeezing your thighs together unconsciously, and you couldn’t help but whine into his mouth.

You felt his lips twist up against your mouth, a sign of how he delighted in your reactions, just as much as he did in touching you and knowing you were enjoying it. He leaned harder into your make-out session, his tongue moving more eagerly against yours, his beard rasping against your chin. He withdrew for a moment to worry and suck your bottom lip before diving back in to meet your tongue again.

You were torn between enjoying the slow, smoldering heat of the moment and wanting more. You hugged him closer, tightening your arms around his shoulders and responding to the kiss with more vigor. You wiggled your hips impatiently, though it did nothing but press his erection a little closer between your thighs.

“Zen, please,” you murmured, parting from the kiss.

You bent your head to his neck, trying to persuade him with small kisses and bites. A small shiver rolled through him, and then a laugh, soft and amused. But as entertained as he sounded by your impatience and plea, he didn’t give in, only mirror the small affections you had left on his skin.

One hand abandoned your chest, the other remaining where it was, gently tweaking and squeezing. His wandering hand slipped down your stomach, rolling over your thigh until it hooked beneath it. Tentatively, he directed you to lift one leg up, and hardly needed to do much coaxing otherwise to get you to hook it around his waist. You tried to buck against him, a motion he quickly stalled by pressing them into the tile with his hand. You made a plaintive sound, your lips trying to curl into a pout even as you kissed him.

“Hey, easy, just slow down. We’ll get there,” Zenkichi whispered in your ear after breaking the kiss once more.

You took a deep breath, attempting to calm the rolling boil of desire rising far too quickly in your gut. Sometimes it was worth taking things slow, yes, but sometimes as well it was so difficult, and you got worked up too fast. But if Zenkichi wanted to take it slow and tender, you had little chance of convincing him to change his mind.

Stopping to gather yourself helped, even if it didn’t stop the thrum between your legs or the flush of heat creeping through your neck and chest that had nothing to do with the steam. Though how long that restraint would last, you weren’t sure. You became even less sure once Zenkichi’s lips latched onto your throat again, sucking several spots and marking a sordid path down your neck and over your collarbone. He rocked his hips against yours before pressing them more tightly against you, pinning them in place that way instead. He ground against you at an agonizingly slow pace, though even that added friction was enough to make the pulse between your thighs surge.

“Zen, mmph, that’s not, aah, fair,” you insisted, your complaint interrupted by a sharp pinch on one nipple.

He shushed you softly, ghosting his lips over the shell of your ear and making you shudder again when his hot breath touched you. “You started this, y’know,” he told you, punctuating his words by casually worrying your earlobe between his teeth.

“F-fuck,” you cursed, half at him, half from him, noting knowing how to respond wittily when all his small, slow attentions had your brain melting away to goo. The rich, low sound of another pleased chuckle didn’t help your thought processes.

You squeezed the leg wrapped around his waist tighter, forcing him even more flush to you, longing for the hard press of his erection just a little closer to where you craved him most. But Zenkichi seemed insistent on giving you no quarter, despite your desperation and the new wave of whimpers and gasps floating from your mouth.

He moved on from your chest completely, the lingering hand repeating the same motion as the other previously, catching your other thigh in his hold. You were grateful for him literally sweeping you off your feet in that moment, as the leg that had still touched the ground before had been growing shaky and weak. With both legs twined around him, he fit so perfectly against you, yet was still so far from where you wanted him you could nearly weep. Weep, or perhaps try to beg for him to indulge you. But would that really do you any good?

Though his weight pinned you easily enough against the shower wall, he cupped both hands beneath your rear, supporting you further, and bent his head down more. His lips and teeth turned to leaving love bites and marks over the swell of your chest, down and down, until his mouth met each nipple in turn, and then back again. You murmured his name with a breathless gasp; the noise turning into an airy moan when he scraped his teeth gingerly over one nipple. He lingered for a second, soothing the smart of his teeth with his tongue, before switching to the other and repeating himself.

You dug your fingers into his shoulder, loosening your other arm from over his shoulders and neck to muss his wet hair. You threaded your fingers through the soaked strands plastered to his skull and gave a soft tug. It wasn’t so much another sign of impatience - even if his new affections stretched thin what little patience you had left - but instead an effort to distract yourself. An effort to ground yourself as you took another deep, shuddering breath while Zenkichi’s mouth on your skin nearly overwhelmed you. You hooked your heels harder into the small of his back, despite having him already pressed so securely to you. It was a wonder he could get any closer. Though of course, you knew he could, and it was the fact that he hadn’t yet that was driving you so crazy.

Zenkichi glanced up from your chest, mouth enveloping a nipple again, and when you met his gaze, it was hard to hold it. There was a hunger burning there, yes, but also more second-hand satisfaction at seeing you in such throes of pleasure. More intense even was the look of affection that made your stomach flip and tumble, rather than simply fill it with lusty heat. A needy whine escaped as you battled with the new, softer and more comforting feeling that melded with the desire.

He straightened up, pulling away from your chest, though his grasp on your thighs remained until he shifted again. He moved one hand into the cramped space between your bodies, both slick from the shower, whether direct or residual. Your hips twitched against him when his fingers brushed over your mound, sliding down until they slid delicately between your lips. They slipped away just as quick as they had come, wrapping around his erection and guiding it. A more desperate whine broke free when the head of him brushed through your soaked folds and met your entrance.

Your eyes laid shut, and with your hand tangled in his hair, you pushed him back to you, meeting in another fervid kiss, clenching your fingers tighter. Zenkichi groaned against your lips, the sound muffled, deep and satisfied, and his hips just barely pressed forward. Slowly. Far too slowly. You opened your eyes and broke the kiss, though he remained so close the sight of his dark eyes, flushed face, and drenched hair filled your vision, and his breathing tickled your skin.

“Zen, I need you, now. Please?” Your words were quiet, breathless, and questioning, as if you were unsure if he would finally oblige them.

Seeing you stare so unabashedly back at him, eyes half lidded and lips parted, the heat of your body threatening to swallow him up, Zenkichi found he couldn’t resist any longer. His fun had been had, taking his time and playing things slow and sensual, enjoying each noise you had to give. But the time for games was past, and the time for him to give you where you longed for had come.

Your lips rejoined once more, and you let your lashes flutter down over your cheeks again, basking in the sensations surrounding you. Zenkichi pushed forward, still slow, but steady, a pace enough to satiate the boiling need in your gut and make the more pure feeling fluttering accompanying it take greater hold of you. A low, stifled sound, almost a growl, drew your attention when he had buried himself within you completely, and waited unmoving for a moment after.

Your lips separated, and Zenkichi’s attentions shifted elsewhere as he languorously rocked against you. Your head fell back against the tile, cool and slick from the steam. His teeth and lips claimed your throat again, peppering bites along it and your jaw, pausing sometimes to leave quick kisses among them. His breath beside your ears sounded ragged and thick, as if the buildup had worn on him as well, even though it had been his game.

With both hands moving back to hold your thighs, he was able to maneuver you with little effort, shifting you against the wall until he reached a new angle where his length stroked your sweet spot and made you gasp and groan.

“Zenkichi, god, please don’t stop,” you panted, massaging his scalp and stroking your other hand along his shoulders and back as if to encourage him.

You rolled your hips to meet him as best you could, so tightly pinned to the wall. Your answer was another erotic growl, and a hum of acknowledgement against your skin, before he placed a particularly zealous lovebite on the curve where your neck and shoulder met. Your sounds of delight pitched a little higher, and you reflexively dug your nails into his back in response to the bite that would surely discolor.

Each pant and moan fueled him, as did the sting of your nails, and Zenkichi’s hips rocked faster and harder. His kisses grew sloppier and less gentle as he went on, as if each time he sank back into your heat, a bit more of his control was eroded away. Once small, affectionate nips became much less tender bites that made you cry out in surprise, only to moan when he soothed the abused skin with a searing stroke of his tongue.

Before long, the sounds of your coupling and the chorus of moans, mewls, gasps, and growls reached a crescendo, the acoustics of the bathroom making them sound as if they echoed so much louder. You weren’t responsible for all the obscene sounds, though. Several of them came from Zenkichi between kisses and bites, more guttural and primal the closer he came to coming.

When he pressed to lips to your ear and spoke again, the strain in his husky voice was crystal clear. “So close. Not yet, fuck,” he cursed, as if admonishing himself.

Another wave of shivers wracked your body from his words, and your walls squeezed around him more desperately. One hand moved from your thigh, leaving support by one hand and the press of his body. Like before, it snaked smoothly between your bodies, seeking the vee at the apex of your thighs, searching. In no time, he found what he was looking for, rubbing your clit in short, frantic swipes that you couldn’t help but grind into.

Your breathing hitched sharply, the change strangling some moans. The burning heat in your gut wound itself tightly, more and more, until you nearly forgot to breathe for an instant. And then, the coil of heat burst, radiating out from your center and to your limbs, your breath returning to you in a series of louder, airier, and more lewd moans as you came.

Your body grasping him so tightly, as well as your renewed and much more wanton cries, was the catalyst for Zenkichi’s own orgasm, and he followed you past the point of no return. He drove himself harder against you, though slower, each thrust inside filling you with a familiar hot, wet sensation.

For a time, while your orgasm flowed over you, you thought of nothing except his body molded to yours, of his length and his filling you to the brim, and of the ripples of ecstasy that made your walls clench and your muscles ache most deliciously. As the throes of passion and pleasure ebbed, and you came down from your high, anew sense of warmth overcame you. Zenkichi had lain his head on your shoulder, panting heavily as he came down from the peak of bliss, too, his softening length sometimes twitching inside you.

Bereft of the searing desire from before, left only with the gentle, fluttering warmth, you bent your head, resting it atop his. You pressed several gentle kisses to his hair, once more massaging his scalp. A softer, more relaxed hum drifting from his throat amidst his heavy breaths, and you grinned. You let out a soft, happy sigh, feeling exhausted, but satisfied and full in many ways.

Eventually, you and Zenkichi came back to your senses, finally becoming aware again of the sound of the water beating down around you. Zenkichi, receiving the lion’s share of the stream, seemed to notice just how much the water temperature had changed. He carefully withdrew, and helped set you back on your feet, one leg at a time, grimacing at the suddenly cool spray of water plastering his back.

“I think we’re done for now,” he said sheepishly, and you couldn’t help but mirror the feeling.

“Next time I’ll behave so we can actually wash up,” you promised meekly, feeling your face heat all over again. Though you hoped you could actually keep that promise.

[ask-them-bois]

Blood of My Blood

TW: Needles, lots of blood, animal death and gore.

TLDR: Vornik gets his happy ending.

***

Vornik sat in the small hive of the village medic, twisting his claws around the hem of his cloak as said medic bustled about in front of him.

“Alright, guardian, after this one, I think we’ll be able to stop these sessions. Blood transfusions are a nasty business as it is, and for someone like you… well, they can be borderline dangerous.” She turned around, a bag of jade-hued ichor and its attached needle in hand. “Necessary as they may be, after you nearly lost your arm, but still- we should be careful all the same.” She added.

“Jade?” Vornik asked quietly, surprised, “Don’t I usually get olive, since it’s the closest-”

“Mhm. Unfortunately, Mr. Andrin- the fellow who usually donates the blood- broke a wrist last week when he was working on his hive’s roof. Fell off, shattered a horn on the way- nasty business.”

“Oh.”

“This time, the blood’s been donated from a passer-through. Heard we had a wriggler in need of some, and when we told her about our dear guardian, she happily offered some of her own.”

“I’m not a wriggler.” Vornik mumbled as the healer took his arm and began to rub an ointment on the juncture of his elbow. “I’m eight sweeps old.”

The elderly bronzeblood smiled and pat his shoulder. “I know, dear, but you’re a wriggler to me, guardian of our village or not.”

Vornik made no comment, turning his head away as the needle punctured his skin. The healer hung the bag on a hook above his head, and pat his shoulder again.

“Just sit tight, dear.” She hummed, before she turned away.

Vornik did as he was told, watching the emerald blood slide down the tube and into his arm. Even through the thin plastic casing, he could smell the coppery scent of blood. He suddenly sat up slightly, frowning, and took another sniff of the air.

There was something off about the blood, he thought; it smelled… strange, yet familiar at the same time.

“Are you sure this blood is clean?” He asked, squinting at the bag.

“Mhm! I checked the jadeblood for any abnormalities.”

“And?”

“And there was only one, but the jade assured me it was normal for her caste. I had to take her word for it, I’m not an expert on jades.”

Vornik nodded slowly and tried to relax, but his gaze kept drifting back to the bag.

Two hours later, the bag was drained, and the needle was pulled from his skin. The healer tenderly wrapped his elbow in gauze, then passed him a caramel candy.

“These are your favorites, yes?”

Vornik happily took it, nodding as he popped the sweet into his mouth with a mumbled, “Thank you.”

“Anytime, dear. Go on, now- best get home before the sun rises.”

Vornik bid the healer goodbye and slipped out of her hive. He made his way through the village, sucking on the candy. The night was cloudy, only a handful of stars visible through the mounting cloud cover.

Vornik made it to the edge of the village without being stopped, for which he was grateful; as much as he loved the villagers, he felt nauseated and tired, as he often did after transfusions.

After his mountain came down, his arm had been nearly shorn from his body. The muscle had been severely damaged, and the bone cracked. The giant scar he bore now was a giant callous of pinched skin, where his flesh had mended over the lost muscle. After the heavy loss of blood that accompanied the wound, Vornik had been made to undergo blood transfusions to aid in the healing process.

The first bags had been from Innocent, his ancestor’s generosity boundless. But after giving too much at once, the healer had shooed Innocent away so he could recover, and had gotten the blood from other greenbloods in the village. Olive was the closest match, and Vornik’s body had been receptive of it, so every two weeks, Vornik had found himself back in the healer’s hive to receive another dose.

Now, with jade in his veins, he just hoped his body wouldn’t reject the ichor. He’d been healing well- physically, at least- and it didn’t hurt to lift his arm anymore.

Even so…

Alphadad leaped to his feet at the sight of him as he reached the edge of the village, six ears standing alert and three noses nuzzling against his torso.

“I’m okay, alpha. I’m all done, let’s go home.” Vornik smiled softly, petting each howl-beast muzzle in turn. He clambered onto the giant beast’s back, and Alphadad turned, bounding for their mountain.

Vornik shut his eyes and turned his face into the wind as they galloped past his old home, trying to ignore the wrenching of his blood-pumper.

By the time they reached the mountain, the horizon was growing light. Vornik quickly dismounted and hurried inside, with Alphadad just behind him. His pace didn’t slow until he stepped out onto the ledge, and saw his hidden forest spread out below him.

Tension unraveled from his shoulders as he descended the slope, entering the blue-shining trees. The sound of birdsong and insect chirps wreathed around him, buzzing in his ears pleasantly. A stag was drinking from the pool when he passed; it paused and raised its head, but Vornik paid it no mind; the creatures in his mountain were comfortable with his presence now, and he with theirs. He’d forbid his howl-beast brethren from harming any of them, unable to stomach the thought of the near-mystical creatures being harmed.

Ascending the slop on the far side, he entered his den.

Since moving into it some perigrees ago, it had slowly become more and more like his old den; like home.

He had a new pile of furs and blankets and pillows to sleep in, only now they were cradled in a half-egg-shaped frame, to keep them from getting dirty. Barrels of water stood against one wall; back then, he’d set the barrels out on the cliff during storms to gather rain water, but now he just dragged them to the pool when they were emptied.

Above them, with the help of Innocent, Vornik had mounted some shelves into the stone. Utensils, food, tools, knickknacks, paint cans and brushes- all neatly organized on said shelves.

He’d dug himself a proper fire pit, where the embers of the early evening’s flame still smoldered.

At the back of the den, next to his bed and on a small pedestal, was the painted stone from his original home, surrounded by pretty crystals and shells.

Finally, there were the walls; he no longer had miles of mountain tunnels to paint, but he did have blank slates, and luminescent paint. In the flickering light of the embers, glowing howl-beasts and antler-beasts and faceless trolls danced among swirling designs and stars.

Vornik tossed a log and a few sticks onto the embers, coaxing them back into a warm flame. He glanced at the provisions waiting him on the shelf, but he still felt queasy after his treatment. He retreated to his bed, carefully removing his cloak and laying it aside before he curled up among the furs and pillows. Alphadad settled at the mouth of the cave, keeping watch on the trees.

It was as Vornik buried his nose in a howl-beast pelt, already half asleep, that he distantly realized why the jade blood had smelled familiar.

By morning, he’d forgotten. As soon as he was conscious that he was awake, his stomach was gripped with pain. He sat up with a bark of surprise, clutching his torso. Alphadad grunted, concerned, two heads rising to look at their charge.

Vornik panted, his eyes wide with alarm; he’d never felt this hungry, even after going without meals in winter, when food was scarce. He was dizzy, his mouth flooded with drool as he caught sight of the food waiting on the shelves. He scrambled out of his bed and lunged across the cave.

He ripped a loaf of bread from the shelf, barely pausing to unwrap the wax paper as he devoured bite after bite.

Halfway through the loaf, he dropped it, stumbled to the mouth of his den, and emptied his stomach of bread. He moaned in pain, eyes rolling back as he was gripped with more hunger pangs.

Stumbling back to the shelves, he pulled everything down, sniffing them for proof of rot or mold, but it all seemed fine. As his nose passed over a bundle of dried meat, he thought he might pass out again as a new wave of dizziness and drool washed over him.

He didn’t hesitate, ripping the twine off and shoving the meat into his mouth. He threw back his head and groaned in delight; that was what he needed, it seemed, and in what felt like moments, the meat was gone. He tore through the rest of his food, looking for more.

Raw beef slid down his throat next, followed by grilled chicken and smoked fish. Sniffing around desperately, he realized he was out of meat; only fruits and vegetables and bread remained, and his gastric-sack did unpleasant flips at their smell.

“More… alpha, I need- I need more!” He whimpered, turning to look at his lusus. Alphadad didn’t hesitate, leaping to his feet and bounding out of the mountain.

Vornik groaned again, dragging himself to the water barrels. He dunked his head in one, fears be damned, gulping down water in an attempt to stifle the hunger. He pulled his head back out, hair spraying water everywhere, and stood, clutching the edges.

He panted, staring down at his warped reflection; what was wrong with him? He’d never reacted this way to blood before- it was the only reason he could come up with for the sudden hunger. Maybe he *had* rejected the jade blood, and his body was trying to purge it.

He should see the healer, he decided. He spun about to fetch his cloak, stumbled over his own feet, and collapsed.

He groaned, stars exploding behind his eyes; he felt too weak, his temples and stomach pulsing in harmonious pain. It seemed to be moving, too, the pain rolling down each limb until it reached his fingers and toes, making them twitch. Even his horns felt electrified; he reached up to touched one, and cried out as a jolt shot through him.

He dropped his head, pressing his cheek to the cold stone. He tried to focus on breathing, shudders wracking his body as he dug his claws into the floor. There was a whine in his ears, distant and shrill like a broken radio.

He wasn’t sure how long he laid there; he was going in and out of consciousness. But when he managed to lift his head again, it was in response to the sound of a body hitting the ground.

Blinking blearily, he found his lusus standing before him, a dead antler-beast on the ground at his paws, blood oozing sluggishly from a tear in its throat.

The coppery tang hit the back of Vornik’s throat, and he was moving before he was even aware of doing so. With his claws, he rend open the carcass, and was tearing out flesh.

He ate like a frenzied beast, blood coating his hands and mouth as he devoured flesh and muscle and organs. His knees became sticky and hot as the blood pooled around the rip in the belly. He was snarling, snorting, and panting, like his howl-beast siblings did when they devoured meals. He paused to lick away the blood that ran down his arm, before gouging out the liver and tearing into it.

He didn’t stop until he physically could eat no more; the carcass was in shambles, nearly half of it now in Vornik’s stomach. Finally sated, he slumped over to stare at the deer’s head, reaching up with bloody fingers to pet its ear.

“I’m sorry. Thank you for sustaining me.” He rasped, throat thick with blood; it was something he said at every kill, before he and his siblings ate. It was the closest he ever came to prayer- yet this time, all civility and grace he usually held during the meal had vanished until he was quenched.

Vornik laid for a while, eyes closed and breathing deep; sanity seemed to have come back to him, as did a warm strength that filled out his limbs and chest.

He felt… good. Content. Suddenly exhausted, he passed out right there on the ground.

It went on like that for several nights. He’d wake, eat, drink, and pass back out, to be consumed by fitful sleep and nightmares. He’d toss and turn, wake with a jolt, and devour more meat. Alphadad doted on him diligently, bringing fresh kills nearly every night. The cave was filled with carrion and bones, but Vornik didn’t have the strength to remove them.

Then all at once, he felt like he’d woken up; he was clear headed, able to breathe fully. He had the strength to get up and make his way to the pool, where he drank and cleaned the blood that caked his face and claws.

He sat back, looking up at the giant crystals that hung from the ceiling; through the cracks in the stone, he could see purple and green-tinged light; the moons were out and full. He didn’t feel sick anymore. Didn’t feel thirsty or hungry. His skin itched, but other than that, he felt fine.

Looking back down, he jumped in surprise as he caught sight of his reflection. Leaning over the surface, his eyebrows shot up; was the really him? He looked… bad. Haunted.

His eyes were empty, shadowed below by dark circles. His mouth was set in a grimace, the scar over his eye vivid. That wasn’t him, he thought; that was the shell of a troll he’d become. That wasn’t who he wanted to be.

He reached up with shaky claws and ran a finger down the mark. The smell of sea salt, blood, and a flash of fuchsia filled his mind for a moment, before he shook his head and dropped his hand. When he looked back at his reflection, he saw his eyes were glowing. He frowned; they only ever did that when he used his powers, why were they-

Agony tore through him once more, rocketing up his spine and bursting into his thinkpan like a firework. He screamed, the sound echoing through the chasm and causing birds to take flight.

He clutched his head, falling forward, into the shallows as he writhed. The ground shook, and Alphadad was at his side, barking and whining in alarm.

Vornik couldn’t breathe; his body was refusing to listen to him, pain buzzing down into his teeth. He snapped his jaws in the air, clawing at his mouth. His eyes suddenly shot open.

“Out!” He shouted, “I need out! Outside! Alpha!”

Alphadad didn’t argue. He shoved his muzzle under Vornik’s body, and the boy grabbed on, clambering over his lusus’ center head to clutch at his scruff as the monster hounded for the exit. Pressed flat against his lusus’ neck, the roof of the tunnel scraped against Vornik’s back and made him wail.

They burst out onto the mountainside, and Alphadad bound down to the forest, where he lowered himself to the ground. Vornik slid from his back and hit the dirt, pain pulsing through his very veins.

Everything was overwhelming; the forest was quiet, yet he could hear every insect chirp, every rustle of the leaves and the footfalls of deer. The smells of the woods, once pleasant, were rancid in his lungs, until he was heaving, trying to cough them back out. The moonlight stung his eyes, the wind slicing at his skin like knives.

From among the trees, he heard the near silent padding of his fellow howl-beast’s approach. A dozen of them appeared, sniffing the air as concerned grunts and growls rolled in their throats.

“What’s- happening- to me?” Vornik croaked, staring at his siblings pleadingly. They paused, turning to snuffle at one another. A knowing look seemed to dawn on all of them at the same time, and they suddenly retreated- all but one of them.

Vornik recognized her; he knew nearly every howl-beast in the mountains. This particular one was a she-wolf with red fur; Vornik had named her Russet, and had pup-sat for several of her litters when she went hunting.

Russet stepped forward, brushing her nose along his jaw comfortingly, before she stepped back, only to lunge forward and slam her head into him.

Vornik fell back with a yelp, pain skirting up his back like electricity. “Russet-?!” He gasped.

She leaped back, bowing in a play stance.

“No, Russet, I don’t-”

She barked, knocking into him again. She turned and vanished into the trees, before she came back and barked again, her tail wagging.

Run!

The word exploded in his head, a painful energy surging through him like a wave. He scrambled to his feet, looking around wildly.

Run!

He took off.

Vornik wasn’t sure if it was terror or excitement that made him move, but he was suddenly tearing through the trees, his lusus and packmate at his sides. Other howl-beasts bled from between the trees to join them in their race.

Vornik didn’t know where they were going, but he was a man consumed; run, his body told him, the pain fading to a background feeling. Run. Run!

He vaulted over a log, lost his footing, fell, and leaped back up, racing on.

They burst out of the woods and onto the plains, where a heard of mega-fauna antler-beasts were grazing. The beasts startled, bellowed, and wheeled about to flee. Vornik bellowed right back, and his vision went red.

He screeched to a stop, throwing back his head as his muscles seized.

He screamed, screamed, screamed- and his skin rent open as he was transformed.

He fell forward, his body shaking and jerking from side to side as he convulsed. He thrashed his head, snarling, his claws digging into the dirt. His lusus and howl-beast siblings watched, silently circling around him to wait.

The base of his spine burned in a white hot, needling pain. His every fang pulsed and throbbed, his eyes squeezed shut as his thinkpan scattered to the wind.

His jaw was stretching, his bones snapping and reforming, his fangs growing as he snarled at the moons. His form doubled, tripled in size, new muscles and flesh rippling into being across his limbs.

His hair turned white from the roots, as bright white fur burst into being along the rest of his body. He heaved with a great shudder, and his spine elongated into a tail with a flourish. His ears grew longer, the tips sharper, as he tossed his head. His hands and feet became broad and thick, his fingers and toes into heavy, sharp claws.

His clothes were suddenly too constricting as his chest broadened, expanded, and he tore them off with a snarl.

With a final burst of pain, he threw back his head and screamed, only for it to change into a roaring howl, before he collapsed.

Vornik lay in the moonlight, heaving for breath as he tried to figure out what just happened. Terror and pain faded away until they were barely echoes. He whimpered, peeling open his eyes and sitting up slowly to look down at himself.

He… He was a howl-beast.

Or partially one, at least. A monster, caught between troll and howl-beast. He reached up, patting his head, and was relieved to feel his horns still remained. He stood on wobbly feet and twisted about, looking at himself. He was huge! He must have been nearly seven feet tall, at least! He was covered in thick white fur that made him look even bigger, and he had a tail! He focused, and managed to make it wag a little. He looked down his arm, and saw his scar still remained, but it was mostly covered by his fur.

Dropping back down, he finally looked up at his family. Alphadad was regarding him, with only warmth and pride in all his eyes.

“Alpha?” Vornik tried to say, but it didn’t come out in his voice. His body spoke for him, his ears pressing back and head cocking to the side.

“Little Omega.” His lusus responded warmly, all six ears pricking up and middle head tossing back and forth as his tail wagged.

“I’m… a howl-beast.” Vornik’s tail thumped and he bowed his head.

“Always been a howl-beast.” His lusus leaned down and nuzzled each muzzle against Vornik’s head. “Only now you look like one.” He chuffed affectionately, nipping Vornik’s ear gently.

Vornik nuzzled his nose along one jaw, before he looked at his siblings. Each one of them had their ears pressed back, tails tucked, and were respectfully looking away from him. Vornik whined at them, assuring them it was okay.

“What do I do now?” He whimpered, his own ears falling flat and tail tucking half-way between his legs.

Alphadad pulled away to regard him. “What do you want to do?” He asked, all three heads cocking to the right at the same time.

In response, Vornik’s stomach gave a mighty rumble, and he heard amused chuffs from his siblings.

“Hunt.” Vornik bared his teeth, his muzzle wrinkling and eyes beginning to glow as energy surged through him.

Alphadad stamped his feet, tail high as he barked with excitement. “Then we hunt!” He snarled, tossing a heads.

Vornik slammed his claws against the ground as a sudden, ferocious elation- borderline bloodthirst- filled his chest. He threw back his head and let out another roaring howl that echoed through the mountains.

Above him, the sky lights burst to life, as if called by his song. Greens and blues and pinks and yellows snaked across the sky, stretching across the canvas of midnight and stars. The other howl-beasts reacted, throwing back their heads to howl, too.

“Ancestors! The ancestors join us!” Jawbreaker- a male with black fur- howled.

Vornik couldn’t sit still another moment; he thought if he did, he might explode. He shot off across the plains, reveling in his new power; he had questions, lots of them, but for the moment he let them go, all but throwing himself, willingly, into the nature he’d denied himself the past sweep.

He could feel his blood-pumper beating against his ribs like a caged animal. He felt every ripple of his muscles as they bunched and released as he thundered forward, his claws tearing into the grass.

Every sense was heightened, but it was no longer painful; he could hear his brothers, his sisters, and his father racing along behind him, but none of them seemed able to keep up with his speed. He could smell the earthy musk of his prey, somewhere ahead in the hills, so strongly that he could taste it on his tongue. His vision was sharpened, so much so that every blade of grass was distinct, even as he ran by.

With a leap full of lupine grace, his form changed again.

He nearly lost his footing in surprise, but managed to stay upright as his body morphed, painlessly and seamlessly, into a full-blown howl-beast body. He wanted to stop and check it out, but to pause meant he had to stop running. He could still feel his horns atop his head. Adrenaline was pouring through him, churning through his veins until he could barely contain it. He threw back his head and howled again, and heard the answering cry from his pack.

The mountains came alive as the other packs responded, too, reveling in the glee their brother had found once more. Vornik crested a hill and finally slowed as he spotted the prey up ahead. His flanks heaved as he fought for breath, his head was spinning with hunger and euphoria, and drool dripped from his jaw. His muscles ached from the sudden growth and use, but it was dull. Satisfying.

Finally, he thought, his tail wagging behind him as he eyed the herd.

Finally, he was himself again.

He was Vornik again.

[therainroguefanfiction]

♆ Yandere (Lord Harkon) Belong to Me

📑 Table of Contents

Genre: Angst, Vampire ☁

Word Count: 1,881 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Harkon ☁

World: Skyrim ☁

Prompt: #6: ”How else would they know you belonged to me?” ☁

Author’s Note: This was requested for the Yandere Set! If you’d like to request your own, please see my post [here] to check and see which are available~ I don’t know much about his personality as I’ve only done his questline once, but hopefully this isn’t too OOC.

━━━━━━༻♆༺━━━━━━

Boots echoed off of the stone walls of Castle Volkihar’s dungeon. The air was pungent with the smell of mold, blood, and death. The candles flickering on the walls barely made a dent in the darkness and you had to strain your eyes to make out the silhouette that had come to a stop in front of your cell. The metal books shook as a key was inserted into the lock and turned, the hinges creating a high-pitched squeal as the door was pushed open.

“Wake up,” hissed one of the low-level vampires that stalked the halls of the castle, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip. When you didn’t move, he jammed the toe of his boot into your side, making you wince in pain. As a reflex, you tried to move your body away from him, but your wrists were pinned above you by metal cuffs screwed into the hall and you could not move. He squatted down in front of you, cold hand gripping your chin tightly as his glowing eyes focused on your neck, bruised and scarred from Harkon’s weekly feedings. “Your blood smells so damn good~”

Despite your current position and lack of power, you managed to glare at the Redguard. “And you smell like mammoth ass,”

Anger flashed through his eyes and, as quick as sabrecat, he backhanded you, sending your head to the right as you cried out in pain, your skin stinging. You were sure it would have hurt less if you stuck your head in a beehive. “I suggest you watch your tongue, mortal.” He spat, moving his hand to your throat and forcing your head further to the side so he had more access to your exposed throat.

You tried to pull your body away, but between his iron grip and the cuffs binding you, you didn’t stand a chance. In the year that you had been stuck at Castle Volkihar, no one had fed from you except for Harkon which, you supposed, had been a bit of a blessing. If just one vampire feeding from you left you feeling so drained and cloudy-headed, you couldn’t imagine what it must feel like for the other cattle, who get fed from by multiple vampires, sometimes all at once.

You had to repress the urge to gag as his cracked lips pressed against your skin. On instinct, your body tensed up in preparation for the sharp sting, which you tried to control knowing it would only make it hurt worse. His fangs scraped against the skin, making you take a shaky breath.

You waited, but instead of a sharp sting in your neck, you felt ice-cold liquid spray across your reddened cheek. The Redguard’s body fell backward onto the ground, his head rolling across the room and blood spurting from his neck. Your wide eyes snapped to the shadow hovering in the doorway, blood dripping from its sharp claws.

Lord Harkon, in his vampire lord form, huffed haughtily as he stared at the corpse in disgust, flicking his hand to remove the blood. “What arrogance, trying to take what does not belong to him. Vingalmo!”

The Altmer vampire appeared at his side, hands clasped behind his back. “Yes, my lord?”

“Have Y/N brought to my chambers,” his lip curled back as if he smelled something foul. “And then clean up this mess.”

“Yes, my lord.” Vingalmo bowed as his lord floated away down the dark hall.

You kept your eyes on the ground as he unlocked one of the cuffs, your arm falling to your lap like a bag of rocks. It was so numb, you could only just move your fingertips. As he worked on the second cuff, your eyes scanned the corpse in front of you, wondering if he carried a weapon of some sort on him.

Sensing this, the male kept his arm on your wrist rather than letting your second arm drop. “Come now, Y/N, we both know what will happen if you attempt to escape.” His voice was kind enough, but you could hear the warning lingering beneath the surface and you knew it was no idle threat.

When you had first been brought to the castle, you were full of fight and determined to escape your bloodsucking captors. You had even gotten close a few times, but each attempt was met with consequence. Food was withheld from you, Harkon nearly drained you dry on more than one occasion, your leg had been snapped in half and, finally, you were chained within the castle’s dungeon, stripped of light and sound where you were left to your own thoughts for weeks without end.

Where had your fight gone? At this point, you were too exhausted to care. It just wasn’t worth fighting anymore. Maybe if you behaved, you could finally be set free from the dungeon.

Vingalmo helped you to your feet, draping your thin body over his shoulder. You groaned, voice hoarse from a mixture of lack of use and water. “I may walk with a limp now, but I can walk, you know.”

He hummed as if he didn’t believe you. “Perhaps so, but in your weakened state, it would take you a minimum of a month’s time to reach my lord’s chambers.”

‘It’s not my fault this damned castle is huge,’ Your eyes narrowed at the ground. His boney shoulder poked into your ribs with every step, but it paled in comparison to your cheek and ribs. Your eyes slid closed as he stepped out into the dining hall.

The room immediately fell silent, everyone turning to stare at the two of you. They could smell their fallen brother’s blood upon your skin and they stirred with unease, not knowing if you had caused his death.

You could feel their eyes burning into your skin, some filled with hatred, others with hunger. After all, you were just a piece of meat to them. How much longer could Harkon milk your body before the blood finally stopped flowing? Would your taste change as you got older, or would it taste the same? You knew very little about vampires because your family banned talk of them from the house, claiming the tales to be nothing more than some hogwash story told by a drunken old man.

There was no denying their existence now, not for you.

Vingalmo ascended the grand staircase, pausing to knock on Harkon’s door. With no response, he pushed the heavy metal door open, unfazed by the high-pitched whine of the worn hinges. He picked you up, setting you on your feet, but your weak legs couldn’t take the sudden weight and you crumbled to your knees.

He sent you a look, as if that proved his earlier point, before clearing his throat. “Wait here. Lord Harkon will be with you soon.” He paused in the doorway, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and tossing it at you. “Do try to clean up before he arrives.”

Your brow furrowed as he left the room, closing the door behind him. After so many escape attempts, why would he trust you to be alone? Maybe he sensed your growing compliance. After spending nearly two months in that dark, silent cell, he really couldn’t blame you.

You picked up the piece of cloth, scrubbing at your cheek and hoping you had gotten the majority of the blood off your skin. The skin was sensitive and it stung every time you touched it. With some effort, you managed to get the blood flowing back to your legs, trying to ignore the pins-and-needles feeling as you shakily got to your feet, the stone like ice against your skin.

You scanned the room, expecting to find Harkon standing within the shadows of the room, but you were alone. You moved closer to the fireplace, welcoming the warmth that was so rare within those walls. Your legs were starting to shake again, so you allowed your body to fall into the chair angled toward the fire.

A sigh passed your lips, eyes sliding closed as you focused on the crackling flames. For a moment, you felt at peace. At the very least, none of Harkon’s minions would be fool enough to enter his chambers without his permission, so you were safe from being used as a meal. You were so wrapped up in the temporary bliss that you didn’t notice the door opening and closing.

“Did I give you permission to sit upon my chair?”

Your body tensed and you nearly jumped out of the chair, wide eyes snapping toward the doorway where Harkon stood, arms crossed over his chest and thin brow raised. He stepped toward you, crooning his ringed index finger to indicate that he wanted you to stand. Slowly, you pulled yourself up, willing your legs not to give out on you again.

Harkon took your place, settling himself on the chair. To your surprise, he grabbed your hips and forced you back onto his lap, nails digging into your sides. Your heart raced at the sudden contact, a chill going down your spine when his breath fanned over your neck. “You seem to enjoy causing me trouble, Y/N.”

The way he hissed your name made your breath catch in your throat.

“To think that animal put his filthy hands on you,” His voice was measured, but the anger was clear as day to you as his hand lifted to your chin, tilting your head so he could observe your cheek. “Has he done this before?”

You weren’t sure if you should answer or not, but his grip on your waist and chin tightened in warning. “Y-Yeah… since he got here.”

Harkon’s aura darkened considerably. “And you didn’t feel the need to share this information?”

“I didn’t think it mattered,” you mumbled in response, feeling confused by his sudden change. Why was he so damn angry? You didn’t get it.

“Well, I intended to honor your will by not turning you, but…” He paused, his tongue licking up your neck, which was sensitive from all of his previous bites. “It seems I have been left with no choice.”

“W-Wait a minute -!” Fear gripped your heart and a surge of adrenaline rushed through your veins, but no matter how hard you fought, his grip was like steel.

But Harkon wasn’t listening, at least not to your words. “But, my dear Y/N, how else would they know you belonged to me? Listen to your heart race for me. I must admit, I will miss that sound, but I will grant you my gift, and you will rule by my side. Together, we will forge a realm of eternal darkness.”

“No, I -!”

His fangs sank into your neck, deeper than they ever had before. You cried out in pain, a searing heat rushing through your body as the curse entered your veins.

“No one else may touch you but I,” he hissed, dragging a nail across his wrist until blood poured from the wound. You tried to avoid him, but he forced his wrist upon your lips, the coppery taste of blood filling your mouth. “My blood flows within you now.”

The last thing you heard before darkness claimed you was the sound of his deep chuckle against your ear.

━━━━━━༻♆༺━━━━━━

📜 Read more by checking out my masterlist 📜

[ofsinnersandsaints]

tempted with a smile

rating: E word count: 6557 one shot AO3

Sidney tried to be a gentleman, but Charlotte wants to jump him

@viviansternwood, I’ve posted! PLEASE DON’T DIE

Sidney had learned one thing in the months since he had earned Charlotte’s affection; love brought with it a sharp need.

She hardly had to do anything at all for him to feel the quick bite of want which so often took him by surprise. Just now they were at the beach with his family and she was laughing with Mary, the sound carrying on the wind which wrapped her dress around her legs and molded itself to every curve of her body.

He had endeavored to be a gentleman during their courtship; he had fumbled enough in their acquaintance, he did not want this to be another item to add to the list of things he’d done wrong. But damn him if it wasn’t one of the hardest things he’d ever done.

With the white of her dress clinging to her thighs in a way which gave him a dozen indecent thoughts, it was difficult not to drag her back to the house while it was empty of his family members. He’d take her upstairs to her room-he’d never seen it, but he did know its exact location-and kiss the salt off her skin from the ocean spray.

He imagined licking down the line of her neck, to the décolletage hinted beneath the linen of her dress. Sidney wanted to fill his hands with her, to cup every soft line with his palms, he wanted to- “Sidney!”

His name, shouted just a few feet away by his elder brother, brought him back to the present. He cleared his throat and hoped his train of thought was not evident in any way. “Sorry? Did you need something?”

“We’re heading back for dinner,” Tom answered, his gaze curious. “But it would seem you’ve traveled much further than home. What on earth had you so preoccupied?”

Sidney risked a quick glance at Charlotte who was studying him as if she wasn’t sure what he was about. “Business back in London,” he lied easily. “But I’ll endeavor to stick to the here and now.”

Tom nodded and gathered up his wife and children, but Sidney held back as Charlotte walked across the beach towards him. He tried a smile to convince her all was well, but she knew him entirely too well for his own good, and looked completely unconvinced. “Is everything well?”

“Yes,” he answered honestly, framing her face with his hands. This time, his smile was much more honest as he leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “Everything is perfect. Shall we follow the others back to the house?”

She nodded, reaching up to circle her small fingers around his wrist. “But perhaps we could take the long way around?”

Sidney laughed and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the palm before looping her arm around his so they were locked together. “Whatever you like.”

Her smile would keep him going for the rest of his life.

She didn’t ask about his lie on the beach as they walked, though he kept waiting for her to bring him up. Instead they talked about her family and his, about her plans for the next summer’s regatta, about how Lady Susan had once again insisted Charlotte come for the London season.

Sanditon was a quiet town, and on occasion he missed the pace of London but he understood Charlotte felt wildly out of place in the city so he found himself feeling more and more at home at beach side resort.

But he suspected that had as much to do with Charlotte as anything else.

The rest of the evening went on as most of their evenings did; Arthur and Diana compared ailments, Tom discussed the possibility of asking the new Lady Babbington for an investment into the museum he was thinking of building.

Sidney murmured at all the right parts, laughed when he was supposed to, but the desire which had piqued on the beach refused to be dismissed and his walk Charlotte had not helped matters. He could feel her body beside his the entire time, her fingers clutching his arm through the fabric of his jacket making him think of all the other ways she might cling to him

At this point, if things didn’t wrap up soon, he’d have to excuse himself to his rooms to ease his own suffering.

Thankfully, Arthur and Diana were worried about catching insomnia, a concept which made everyone else at the table muffle their laughter, and begged off coffee and dessert. Once they left, Tom and Mary retired to bed and Sidney had every intention of bidding Charlotte good night at the foot of the stairs but she stopped at the bottom of the steps and studied him in the low light.

“What were you thinking about on the beach? Because it wasn’t London.”

He was surprised to hear her ask the question, certain she’d already forgotten about it. “Nothing of import, I promise.”

“Oh,” and she looked almost disappointed, and perhaps a little flushed? “I thought maybe you’d had some… particular thoughts.”

The way she spoke the words made him think she’d somehow discovered what had been on his mind throughout the night. “Particular thoughts?”

She opened her mouth to answer but stopped herself, pressing her lips together and gesturing to the door which led to Tom’s office as if someone might overhear them even though nearly everyone was abed at this time of night.

Sidney opened the door and Charlotte walked inside, turning to face him as soon as she was in the middle of the room. “You had a look about you, one I’ve seen in the recent past on Lord Babbington’s face. He gets this far off look in his eyes, gets quiet, and within a few minutes he takes his wife aside and they leave shortly after. I know you’ve been to a… boarding house, so I know it’s something you’ve wanted in to the past. Is it me?”

“Yes.” Her face fell and he cursed himself for always picking the wrong words. “But it’s not because of the reasons you might. I don’t do much more than take your hand because I don’t trust myself beyond that.”

Realization flared in her eyes and he heard a quick catch in her breath as her fingers tangled with themselves. “Oh.”

“I’m trying to be a gentleman-“

“Well, stop it.”

His mind emptied of all thought for a full three seconds before he fully registered what she had said; and more importantly, what she meant. “I beg your pardon?”

Sidney imagined she was gathering her courage when straightened her shoulders, but it was briefly distracting because the pose did amazing things to her breasts. Her cheeks were red when he pulled his gaze back to his face. “I want you to stop being a gentleman.”

“You do?”

“I saw what you were thinking on the beach,” she informed him and there was something about the pert, almost teacherly way she was addressing him which made him want to lay her down on the carpet and ravish her. “I confess my own thoughts have traveled the same road a time or two.”

He didn’t doubt her, not the way she was looking at him with dilated eyes and shallow breaths, and still he found himself asking: “They have?”

“You forget, Mr. Parker, I’ve seen you.” She paused and gave him a pointed look, giving them both a moment to remember the day at the river. “And I’ve hardly limited myself to reading philosophy; if you know where to look, there are all kinds of wicked stories to read.”

“Charlotte?”

She smiled and if he didn’t know her better, he’d have called it coy, but instead it was merely the sexiest thing he had ever seen. It was pure confidence; confidence in who she was and confidence in what she wanted. “Lady Denham had an eclectic collection in her library, and seeing you in all your, shall we say glory?, hardly helped matters. So please, Sidney, stop being a gentleman and kiss me already.”

He felt marginally offended by the accusation. “I’ve kissed you.”

“Yes,” she conceded, stepping closer and it took everything in him not to step back. He refused to be the prey backed into a corner, but he had the uneasy feeling he no longer had control of the situation. He mentally scoffed at himself, as if he’d ever had control over anything when it came to Charlotte. “But you’re so careful about it, as if you’re afraid to scare me away. I want to you to kiss me as if you’d die if you didn’t because sometimes that how I feel. Like I’ll die if I don’t kiss you.”

She swallowed, and he knew Charlotte always held a touch of insecurity and he saw it briefly in her eyes when she looked away. “Unless I don’t inspire that kind of passion in you.”

Sidney didn’t trust himself to come closer, but he allowed his gaze to travel the length of her and hoped she could somehow feel his eyes on her skin. “When we were on the beach I thought about undressing you. I spend an absurd amount of time thinking of what you must look like beneath your dress, what you would feel like beneath my hands. Beneath me.”

As if pulled to him by a string she stepped forward and he put up one hand, not to hold her back, but to stop her for a moment. To warn her. “If you touch me, you’ll likely be starting something which will be difficult to stop.”

“I hope you don’t stop.” Her eyes focused on something just behind him, “But you should lock the door first.”

Heat and want and desire made him instantly hard and he took a moment to make sure he was under control before stepping towards the door to his brother’s office, the lock sliding into place with a decisive click.

When he turned back to his fiancé she was licking her lips, her eyes touching every inch of him. “I will admit that while I’ve pictured this particular scenario, in this particular place, I have to confess to little practical knowledge.”

He smiled at the phrasing, so quintessentially Charlotte he would have recognized it anywhere, but there was a line in her little declaration which gave him pause.

“I’ve been kissed,” she clarified at his questioning looking, her voice holding a slight tease at the admission. “I just haven’t been kissed ardently.”

If he wasn’t so immeasurably aroused he would have laughed. “Well I promise, you’re about to be kissed quite ardently.”

“Show me what you’ve got, Sidney Parker.”

It was a taunt, and a playful one at that, but Sidney was not in a particularly playful mood. He reached out and wrapped his fingers around her arm, it felt like lightning shooting up his arm at the contact, and he pulled her towards him. She stumbled against his chest, the softness of her giving against the hardness of him.

Months of proper courting, and this was the closest they had been and it still wasn’t close enough. Sidney hooked his arm around her waist so he could pull her in closer, till nothing separated his body from hers except for a few scraps of fabric which could easily be discarded.

Till she could certainly feel the evidence of how desperately he wanted her.

With his other hand he touched her face, brushing away the loose strands of her hair before burying his fingers in the softness. He should tell her how much he loved the way she always wore her hair down, tell her how he loved the way she looked after the wind had toyed with it on the beach.

Later, he promised himself as he pressed her his mouth to hers, he’d tell her everything later.

Kissing her was like being windswept, as if he was out on the ocean in the middle of a storm, and she was the anchor keeping him from being lost.

But oh, how longed to be lost in her.

There was no delicacy, no gentlemanly restraint, there was only need and she responded as if she’d been waiting a lifetime for him to kiss her just like this. When she made a small sound in the back of her throat, a kind of purring noise, he was spurred on by it. He walked her back until she hit the desk, her body pressed between them.

He pressed his tongue to her lips, thought about getting on his knees and thanking God for the blessing which was Charlotte Heywood, but that would require he stop kissing her and he certainly wasn’t going to do that any time soon. Not when her mouth was warm and she tasted of red wine.

“How am I doing?”

“Quite respectable,” she quipped, but her voice was breathless as she said it, her hands gripping onto the fabric of his vest as if she could somehow pull him closer.

He’s not sure if she meant it as a dare, but that was certainly how he was taking it; he put his hands on her waist, her curves were so abundant his fingers weren’t even close to touching. He wanted to disrobe her so he could kiss and touch and taste every inch of her body.

Sidney lifted her up and set her on the desk, his brother’s papers crinkling beneath her. “You know how I hate to disappoint you,” he teased back, stepping between her legs. He trailed his hands up her calves, catching the hem of her dress in his palms.

“Oh, yes,” she smiled, her bare fingers running through his hair. “It’s your very best quality.”

His hands continued up her legs until the scratchy fabric of her stocking gave way to the silkiness of her skin; there was a soft exhale from Charlotte which gave him pause. He waited for her to say something, or perhaps to push him away, to express doubt. Charlotte had never been one to stay silent in the face of anything, so he waited.

“Don’t stop,” she whispered, curving her fingers around the back of his skull in order to pull him closer. It was a quiet command, an unspoken request he was happy to comply with. Sidney kissed her again, licking into her mouth and nipping the full bottom lip which had tempted him from the first.

As he was swept up in the kiss, in the need to touch her, his fingers fumbled at the garter keeping her stockings in place, pulling at the ribbons so they rolled down her legs to catch on her feet. He had unlimited access to her legs, his fingers tracing the lines of her calf, her knee, her thighs.

He followed the line of her jaw to her neck; licking and biting and being overwhelmed by her response. The gasps and little moans, the way her thighs tightened on her hips when his fingers slipped beneath the thin drawers she wore beneath her white dress.

“I want to touch you,” she whispered even as she angled her neck to give him better access. He bit lightly at the curve, just above her collarbone, and she arched into him. “Sidney, please.”

 Everything was overwhelming, and Charlotte never wanted it to stop.

Sidney was between her legs, his hands everywhere as his mouth did wild and wicked things to her mouth and neck. But it wasn’t fair for him to get to touch her while he was still fully clothed.

She remembered the way he had looked when she’d come across him on the beach, remembered the brief glance she’d gotten of the acres and acres of skin.

“I want to touch you,” she told him without thinking, pleasure shooting through her body as his teeth scraped against her skin. “Sidney, please.”

He leaned away and she missed the closeness of him but it allowed her to drop her hands from his head to slide down his shoulders and rest on his shoulder. “By all means,” he murmured, his voice low and achy, and she hoped such a sound meant he was as wildly affected as she was by their brief interlude. “Do what you like.”

His hands were still beneath her dress, his palms moving up and down her thighs. It was distracting, but she would not be deterred, her shaking fingers reached up to unbutton his vest to reveal the cravat tied just below his throat.

“I’ve constantly wondered what you would feel like,” she admitted as she pulled the knot loose and unwound it from his neck, dropping it on the ground. She continued undoing the gold buttons until the last one was done. “What would you feel like? What would your skin feel like beneath my fingers?”

As if in response to the question his fingers tightened on her thighs and she wiggled against the touch, wanting more. But wanting to touch him beyond anything else.

She pushed the vest off his shoulders, briefly taking in the muscles beneath the thin linen of his shirt. “I’ve never undressed a man before. It’s rather a unique experience.”

He huffed out a laugh and she looked up to see a small quirk of his lips, but his eyes were intensely on her. She noticed then that he was completely still between her legs, beneath her hands. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately, but his voice was as tight as his muscles. He moved his hands up and down her legs, his touch featherlight so she wanted to lean into it, into him. “Do you enjoy this? The way I touch you?”

She was startled by the question, having thought it was perfectly obvious. “Yes, of course.”

“I promise it’s at least that pleasurable for me when you touch me,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her as if he couldn’t help himself. When he would have pulled away she followed, keeping the kiss going when he would have stopped.

She shifted further to the edge of the desk, her fingers fumbling with his shirt as she kissed him. Remembering how he had used his tongue, she tried to emulate it, pressing her tongue to the seam of his lips and something about it caused a reaction in Sidney.

He removed his hands from her legs and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, and she could feel his arousal pressed against her most sensitive areas. Pleasure flooded her body, and she hated every piece of clothing which separated his body from hers.

“Off,” Charlotte ordered, pulling the shirt out of his trousers. “Take this off.”

Sidney leaned back and pulled at the back collar of his shirt, tugging it off and dropping it to join the pile of his clothes at his feet. “Touch me.”

She was happy to comply, putting her hands on his shoulder and sliding them down his chest. He was so warm, so soft, and she would have been happy to look at him for a hundred hours but she couldn’t when he was kissing her with such fervency.

Like he was breathless and she was the last bit of air left in the world.

She’d asked him to kiss her ardently, and with the last bit of sane thought she possessed, she thought he had long since passed that standard. He kissed her with passion, with desperation.

With love.

Sidney pressed his erection into her, a steady rhythm which made her frantic as they kissed and touched and suddenly it was easier to breathe. He’d managed to undo the buttons at the top of her dress while he kissed her, and was pushing it down her torso to reveal the chemise beneath.

His hand covered her breast, and she was briefly embarrassed because she was so large, but he made a sound in the back of his throat before declaring, “Christ. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

She dug her nails into his shoulder blades when he bent his head and took her breast into his mouth, the sensation so new and erotic she felt the world tilt on a new axis. Gasping, her back arched, her hand going to the desk to give her something to anchor to.

The hot, wet heat of his mouth set her body on fire; the flat of his tongue licking her nipple and his teeth scraping against the sensitive nub. Her other hand reached up to cup the back of his neck, to hold him there, and while he used his mouth on one breast he used his hand to massage the other.

She felt desperate for the climax, and reached between her legs in a way she had only done in her rare moments of privacy.

“Let me,” Sidney entreated, brushing her hand away and finding the slit in her drawers to get to the wet center of her body. His fingers brushed against her and she jerked against his hand, overwhelmingly sensitive already. “Is this for me,” he asked, his voice rough. “Are you this wet for me?”

“Yes,” she answered, now gripping the desk with both hands, the wet chemise plastered against her nipples which were hard and aching.

Her entire body ached and wanted, and Sidney was the only person who could give her relief.

The pads of his finger moved between those private lips and she could feel the slick slide of his finger inching closer and closer to that hard bud she’d learned gave her the most amount of pleasure. But he didn’t touch it, only teased her with his hands as his mouth continued to pleasure hers.

“Sidney, please.”

“You want more?” he asked, and she’d have hit him for the slight taunting in his voice, but she wanted him too much.

“Yes.”

And before she could finish the word he slid a finger inside and it was an indescribable feeling, to be filled but not full. He moved slightly, just a knuckle or so out and then back in again.

“Fuck, you feel so good. Can you take another, sweetheart? Take one more,” he entreated as he pulled his finger out, sliding two in its place. He kissed her as he pumped his hand, her hips matching his movements, her breath becoming ragged the closer she got to the peak.

She was racing for it.

“Calm down,” he murmured as he slowed his hand and she felt the orgasm slipping away from her. “There’s no need to rush.”

And then he started it all over again.

Kissing her, loving her breasts, all the while his fingers moving inside her to draw out the pleasure. She worried the residence of the house would be able to hear her as she said his name over and over but she no longer cared.

“That’s right,” he was murmuring, encouraging her as she moved against his hand and then his thumb brushed against the center of her pleasure and the world exploded with fireworks.

He kissed her to drown out the shout which had been in her throat and surely would have woken up everyone in the house.

“That was easily the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

His fingers eased out of her and she felt bereft, and it occurred to her that he had not gotten his pleasure. What would it feel like to be filled completely by him? To feel him move inside her?

She needed to know what it was like to be with him, in every way.

“I want you,” she told him. While his words were open and vulgar and unbearably sexy, hers were stuck somewhere in her chest. Instead of speaking the need, she used her actions, reaching for his trousers.

He covered her hand with his, stopping her movement, but when he met her gaze with his she all felt the power of his need. “I don’t want to pressure you.”

“I trust you,” she told him, her voice steady despite the breathy little gasps which escaped her lips. “I want to be with you.”

“How am I to hold against that?” he asked, and something about his smile made her feel unequivocally loved and wanted. A wonder that desire could look so soft on a man’s face. “Put your legs around my waist.”

She did as he said, locking her ankles at his back, and he lifted her off the desk and moved to a clear spot on the rug to lay her down.

He was on his knees, resting his weight on his ankles.

Sidney picked up one of her legs and undid the laces of her boot, pulling it off and then he slipped off the stocking. She would have thought he’d move to the other shoe but instead he brought her ankle to his mouth and the sensation of his lips there was so lovely.

He bit and kissed his way up to her knee and then stopped, switching to the other foot and repeating the pattern.

“Are you still with me,” he asked and she nodded, lost in a lovely post-climatic haze. It was as if she was dreaming and she hoped to never wake up, to stay in this moment with Sidney loving her forever.

“I want to hear you say it, Charlotte.”

“I’m with you, Sidney.”

He nodded and pulled at the waist of the dress, drawing it down and off her body, leaving her only in the chemise and drawers which he also divested her of.

“I can’t believe you ever thought I found you undesirable,” he said with a shake of his head. “How remiss I have been. You are the most desirable woman I have ever beheld. How has it been I have known you for as long as I have and haven’t properly ravished you?”

“You can make up for lost time,” she assured him, bizarrely confident in her naked state with him looking down at her.

“I intend to,” and he leaned down to kiss her knee, and then the inside of her thigh.

She was briefly confused, “I thought you were going to-“

“Oh, we’ll get there,” and his grin was all wicked promise in the candlelight. “But first things first.”

His mouth continued to kiss up her leg, and there was those bites again, little pricks of pain mixed with the pleasure which drugged her.

And then she realized what he was going to do.

She had read of it only once, and the description was so vague as to be useless, and when his lips pressed again the dark curls between her leg she stiffened.

“I just want to taste you,” he whispered, his fingers once again toying with her. “I promise you’ll enjoy this, but I need you to relax.”

Charlotte nodded and tried to focus on the beating of her heart, of his body between her legs and his fingers building her pleasure once more. She closed her eyes and gave herself over to the feeling, wrapped up in the warmth of him.

And then she felt his mouth on her mon and everything went white.

Just as he’d kissed her mouth, with teeth and tongue and lips, he kissed her between the legs.

She arched into his mouth, her fingers clutching at the rug, and gasping at the sharp pleasure shooting through her body. Sidney’s arms were beneath her bent legs, his hands coming up to press into her hip bones in an attempt to keep her still.

He feasted on her, it was the only thought she had as he sucked on that hard little pearl.

“Sidney,” she pleaded, the pleasure too much for her to handle.

After she entreated him he withdrew his finger, sliding only one inside her, curled it, and pressed against the soft tissue inside her until he found some secret spot she hadn’t even know she possessed.

Combined with his tongue, which continued to taste her, she shattered.

When she opened her eyes she saw Sidney fumbling with the flap of his trousers, and she wanted to sit up and help him but she had no bones left in her body. She was all softness and could almost swear she was glowing.

“This is not how I planned our first time,” he was saying as he pushed his pants down over his hips to his knees. “In my imaginings, there was a large bed and lots of candles.”

“How many times have we met here?” she asked him. “Does it not make sense we should meet here, just like this, for our first time? The place where I realized you might feel for me as I did for you.”

“I love you, Charlotte.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d said the words, and yet every time he spoke them, it was as if it was the first time. Like seeing the sun after weeks of rain.

“I love you too, Sidney.”

She could feel him at her entrance, felt as he slowly pushed himself inside her and she gasped as he stretched and filled her.

“You feel so good,” he told her, his voice a hard gravel. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re not hurting me,” she promised, and he wasn’t. He felt marvelous inside her, above her. She felt surrounded and loved by him. “It feels wonderful.”

He pulled out just a little and then slid back in and it was such a new sensation she didn’t know what to think, could only feel as she raised her hips up to meet him, her arms reaching up to wrap around him to keep him close.

Sidney continued to move above her and within her, his breath becoming hard as his words disappeared. She could not see much of his eyes, the light above them cast him mostly in shadows, but she would swear she could feel them on her.

As if he could not look away, as if afraid to do so.

Charlotte knew the feeling he must be experiencing, as she herself had lived through it only moments before. This was all too good to be true, and must be some sort of dream which would evaporate with the morning mist.

She reached up to scrape her nails along the back of his neck, the cords of his muscles tight with the effort it took to keep himself under control. “You feel so good,” she murmured as she adjusted to take him in deeper, the pleasure rose in her but she knew there would be no more climaxes for her.

This was for him.

So she kissed his throat, ran her hands down his back, and moved with his until she felt his rhythm and breath go ragged. “Fuck, Charlotte. I can’t hold back.”

“Don’t,” she encouraged, her entire body focused on him and the way he felt moving inside her. There was no way she could feel closer, more in tune, with another person. “Let go, Sidney. I’ve got you.”

He thrust inside her a few more times and then his entire body stiffened within her embrace and she heard a string of curses as he got his own pleasure.

“Christ,” he murmured, his weight settling on her. “It’s never been like that.”

“For me either,” she teased, her hands running the hair at the back of his neck. “But you are going to crush me if stay here much longer.”

He lifted himself onto his forearms and she was able to take deep breaths again.

When he looked down at her, his eyes were full of gentlemanly concern. “How are you?”

“I’m wonderful,” she answered honestly. “How are you?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been better,” he told her, lying down beside her, pulling her along with him so she was pressed against his side. “You’ve had a lot of great ideas, but if I may, this was your best one yet.”

Charlotte laughed and enjoyed the way his fingers and hands couldn’t seem to settle on her skin, as if, even now he couldn’t help but touch her. She sighed as did her own touching, her hands sliding up and down his chest, over his stomach. “I think I might have an even better.”

“You’ll have to give me at least twenty minutes.”

She laughed again, kissing his cheek. “What would you think about moving up the date to our wedding?”

He shifted on the rug next to her, pulling up his pants but not refastening them. Coming to the realization she was less clothed than he was, she looked around for her chemise. When she reached for it she caught the way her fiancé was watched, enjoying the way Sidney didn’t hardly blink as he did so.

Odd, she no longer felt any embarrassment about what she might have considered her overabundance. Whatever her own thoughts about her body, she now knew what it was to have Sidney worship her.

“Move it to when?” he asked, his voice wary.

“Would next weekend be too soon,” she asked as she pulled the fine linen over head. It hardly made her respectable, but if someone found their way passed the locked door she’d at least be covered.

Sidney laughed and sat up, one hand resting on his bent knee, looking like every rakish gentleman she’d ever read about in a novel.

She loved him desperately.

“Is there a particular reason why?” he asked as she curled her legs beneath her.

“I’m not about to wait another three months to do this again,” she told him honestly. “And honestly what good reason do we have to wait?”

“I think it might look a little suspicious if we suddenly decided to get married,” he pointed out, his hand reaching out to twist a bit of her hair around his finger. “They might think I’ve ruined you and you’re in the family way.”

“You have ruined me,” Charlotte pointed out with a smile, though it felt a bit like a smirk. “And could I not already be in a family way?”

He stared at her as if it hadn’t occurred to him, his mouth opening slightly at the surprise of the realization. His gaze fell to her stomach where she was almost certain she wasn’t pregnant, but she thought it almost hilarious the experienced gentleman had not thought about pregnancy when he’d laid her down on the rug.

She certainly had.

“The only thing we really need to account for is getting my parents here.”

That brought his attention back to her face, “Your siblings aren’t coming?”

“All eleven of them?” she asked, laughing. “Not hardly. My parents will come, and perhaps the two eldest. The rest will be looked after by aunt and uncle, that was the plan last I heard anyway. It would only take the distance of a letter to get them here.”

He seemed to be seriously considering the idea, and in the course of their relationship she’d learned it was better not to interrupt his thought process.

“We can’t do next weekend,” he finally said and she tried not to clap with victory as it sounded like he was giving in. “But perhaps a fortnight. That should give,” she didn’t way for him to finish the sentence before leaning forward and wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He was laughing as he finished, his arm hooking around her waist to keep them both steady and balanced. “That should give your parents enough time to get down here, and enough time for you to get a dress.”

“I don’t need a new dress,” she told him, pulling back but keeping her wrists loosely locked behind his neck. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin beneath hers and wanted to hold onto the sensation for as long as possible.

“Charlotte.”

She knew better than to argue when he said her name in that particular tone of voice. She certainly could argue with him, but it usually only ended up frustrating them both. Buying a new dress would hardly be a hardship.

“Alright, I concede.”

He kissed her, a brief and friendly thing which made Charlotte grin because he was hers and they could do things such as kissing and laughing and planning for the future.

What a wonder the world had brought her.

“I would recommend going to whatever modiste Lady Babbington went to,” he suggested as he stood up, reaching his hand out to help her to feet.

She took it, but watched him as he was being entirely casual for it to be natural. “I should?”

“Babbington said he was quite impressed with his wife’s attire on their wedding night.”

“Sidney!” she scolded, laughing even as she swatted his bare shoulder.

“We did not get into specifics,” Sidney assured her. “The lady’s honor was respected, Babbington just thought as a future bridegroom myself it was information I might want to have.”

Charlotte harrumphed, crossing her arms which immediately pulled his gaze. “I will consider talking to her.”

“Whatever you want,” he assured her, handing her wrinkled dress over to her. “Put this on and we’ll make sure you’re safely upstairs before anyone realizes you’re not in bed where you’re supposed to be.”

“I’m not putting on my dress just to take it off again in a minute.”

“Please,” he entreated. “I do not want anyone to think badly of you.”

With a sigh so he knew just how put she was, Charlotte began to dress. “But you do not mind if they think badly of you?”

He shrugged.

Charlotte slipped her arms into the sleeves and was about to button the front when Sidney stepped forward to do it instead. Who needed a maid, she thought giddily, when one had a husband?

“I don’t want anyone to think badly of you,” she told him seriously. “So you’ll have to dress as well before returning to your rooms.”

He smiled as he focused on his task. “Fair enough. Though I can’t say as I’ll be getting much sleep knowing you’re just down the hall.”

“If we got married this weekend,” she started, seeing her opening. “We wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer.”

“Nice try,” he said as he took a step back. He picked up her shoes and stockings, his own clothes still in a pile by the desk. “Two weeks.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes but took her things from him. “I’ll write to my parents in the morning if you’ll tell Tom and Mary.”

“Perfect,” he leaned down and kissed her, warm and lovely and nothing like the prim little pecks he’d given her in the past. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She rubbed her lips together, trying to press the feeling of the kiss into her skin to hold onto for later. “I love you, Sidney Parker.”

“I love you, Charlotte Heywood.”

“Parker,” she corrected. “We should get used to it.”

His face softened, his eyes tracing over her features. “I love you, Charlotte Parker.”

Her grin nearly broke her face. “Okay, I’m going to go now before I ravish you on the rug again.”

Charlotte walked to door, unlocking it and throwing him a smile over her shoulder. “Good night.”

“Night, love.”

And all was right in her world.

[holidaywishes]

near and far

part six: near and far

  Summary: You and Freddie take a trip out to Denmark

  Warning: soft smut, fluff, baby talk? 

  Author’s Note: This is the next chapter in this series that comes from me trying to ignore my family members who are here for the weekend. Sure, I sound horrible but I really don’t care. I hope you like this chapter, I tried to make it a little longer than the last and, because it’s already September, I figured I’d just fast forward the timeline a bit -- so this is three-ish months after the last chapter! Plus, I just really wanted to use this GIF!

  masterlist

--

  You told Freddie you wanted to get out to Denmark before the regular season started again and before it was too late for you to actually travel and, since he was already going, you figured August was just as good a time as any. 

  “I think it’s perfect!” Freddie exclaimed, “yeah, you can hang out with everyone and get to know them a little bit better before Vita comes and before the wedding…”

  “I think we’ve decided that the wedding won’t happen for a while…” you smiled in his direction

  “I know,” he replied, “the statement still stands though. Do you want to see Oma and Opa while we’re over there?”

  “If we can, I would love to,” you started, “but if it’s not possible or we don’t have the time, it’s okay”

  “Of course we’ll have the time, silly girl” he laughed and you brought out a small suitcase to start packing

  “What should I pack?” you asked, staring at your closet, “are there going to be any like fancy dinners that I need fancy outfits for?”

  “I don’t think so…” Freddie laughed and kissed your temple before walking out the bedroom door

  “You didn’t tell me what I should pack!” you yelled to him, still looking at the clothes hanging in your closet. He reappeared in the doorway with a bottle of Gatorade in his hands and you turned to him, “so…?”

  “Just pack what you’d normally pack if you were going on vacation…” he answered 

  “No, it doesn’t work that way. Because if I were going on vacation, I’d probably pack a swimsuit because I’d be going somewhere with a beautiful body of water where I could just float for hours without realizing that I was getting a massive sunburn,” you rambled, smiling when you heard Freddie chuckle, “so I can’t pack like that…”

  “All I meant was, pack a couple nice outfits for dinners but other than that just keep it casual,” he said, standing up to walk over to you, “bring what you’d wear here and then a few dresses or skirts or something. You don’t need much more than that.”

  “So, no sexy lingerie?” you giggled

  “I mean, I’m always good with you bringing sexy lingerie, and only sexy lingerie,” he joked, “but we will probably be staying with my Mom and Dad and my siblings… So there won’t be any privacy”

  “You don’t wanna get a hotel room?” you asked, surprised that he had decided to stay with his parents without telling you

  “I didn’t think we’d be there long enough for it to be worth it”

  “I guess…” you hummed, biting the inside of your cheek, when you felt Freddie wrap his arms around your waist and dropping his head to your neck 

  “We can book a hotel room, I’m sure it won’t be any trouble if that’s what you want,” he whispered to you, compelling you to turn around to embrace him 

  “I just want to be close to you,” you replied, whispering the words in a raspy tone and hugging him close to you, “always.”  Freddie squeezed you tighter, kissing your nose before picking you up and bringing you onto the bed; you kissing his jaw as he positioned you on the mattress

  “Okay,” he said as you continued kissing his neck, “we’ll get a hotel room.” You laughed at his eager response and fell into his touch -- loving every inch of his skin against yours.

--

  You had spent the week with Freddie’s family while he did press for the Hockey Stars event on August 6th. You had spent an entire afternoon talking with Amalie about baby stuff and what she thought Freddie would be like as a father and how excited she was to see him have a daughter; you were so caught up in the conversation that you hadn’t even thought about how far away she’d be from the baby

  “Do you think you’ll ever come to Toronto?” you asked her and her face fell 

  “I don’t think so, I’d like to,” she admitted, shaking her head, “do you think you’ll come out here with Baby Vita? Or to Maine?”

  “We’ll try, obviously, as much as possible, to get together,” you replied, not knowing how much it would happen, “summer’s for sure we’ll come out…”

  “But you’ll send us pictures and Skype with us?” she asked

  “Oh my god! Of course! I couldn’t imagine not sharing her with you, with all of you, so of course. You’ll probably see more of her than the team will” you laughed as your excitement came back into your voice

  “Good, good” she laughed and the two of you fell back into a comfortable series of conversations from random stories to thoughts about the wedding and everything in between. In the middle of the conversation, Valdemar, the youngest Andersen, interrupted to bring you over to Charlotte who was baking cookies in the kitchen and wanted your help; though you expected she had ulterior motives.

  “(Y/N), dear, there you are,” she said brightly, “tak, Valdemar. Come here and help me with these cookies, love.” You stepped slowly toward her, smiling when you got to her side and began molding the dough into balls, placing them on the sheet Charlotte had on the stove

  “How have you been Charlotte -- Mrs. Andersen?” you corrected yourself, a blush appearing on your cheeks

  “You can call me Charlotte,” she smiled down at you and you returned the gesture, “I’m doing well. How are you?” 

  “I’m well, yeah,” you said, “I’m good, baby’s good; happy and healthy and Fred’s good. At least I think he is”

  “He hates losing but he says he’s been having a good summer” she replied, placing dough balls on the sheet as she spoke

  “Oh yeah, the wedding’s have been fun and he gets to play golf so he’s happy about that” the two of you laughed at the statement you both knew to be too true. When you placed the last ball of cookie dough on the sheet, Charlotte asked you to grab a fork and press down each ball so they were flat and then place the sheet in the oven

  “So, do you know your due date yet?” she asked 

  “Not quite,” you replied, “it’s looking like mid-November but no specific date yet”

  “November is good, not a lot going on in terms of Holidays. So nothing extra to stress about” she smiled, sitting down at the table as you set the timer on the oven for the cookies

  “Exactly. Freddie and I have also come up with ‘back-up plans’ if Freddie is on the road and I’m in Toronto,” you explained, “you know, so I’m not alone. My sister will be there and my Mom and Dad, so I should have someone to take me to the hospital…”

  “That’s good. It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Now what about the wedding?”

  “Oh, well…” you started, a little taken aback, “we’re putting wedding planning a bit on hold until after Vita is born”

  “You should still be planning though, I understand that you’re waiting until after she’s born to have the wedding but waiting until she’s born to start planning? Sweetie she’ll be two years old by the time you two get married.” Charlotte exclaimed, laughing slightly, and you tried to argue but she continued, adding in her thoughts about the wedding. You were starting to get a little overwhelmed when Freddie walked in and saved you from the seemingly endless questions his Mom had for you.

  “Where are my cookies?!” he joked, earning a giggle from you and a sarcastic scowl from Charlotte, before he kissed the top of your head and sat down beside you, “hey babe, ready to go?” His question seemed to surprise everyone in the house as they all rushed into the kitchen to urge you not to leave just yet.

  “You’re not staying for dinner?” Valdemar asked intensely

  “We’re going out for dinner remember?” Freddie answered 

  “I thought you were going to help me get ready?” Amalie asked you, referring to the plans that the two of you made to do each other’s hair and makeup

  “I can still do that” you stammered out before Freddie spoke again

  “You can’t steal all her time”

  “We don’t get to see her that much,” Ernst insisted, “we like her and we’re just trying to make the most of her time with us.” You laughed at the admission but Freddie was insistent that his family was overwhelming you

  “No no, they’re not overwhelming me,” you said, laughing at the many eyes on you, “look, here’s what we’ll do. Freddie, you go back to the hotel and grab my dress from the closet and bring it back here so Amalie and I can get ready. We’ll meet you at the restaurant and that way you can get a little nap if you want to.” It took some convincing but he finally agreed, leaving the house to grab your stuff and dropping it off just as quickly.

  “Don’t take too long, I don’t want you to get stuck here doing little odds and ends all night” he said, staring at you intently and you pushed yourself up to kiss him to break him out of his seriousness

  “Don’t worry, Freddie, we have reservations so they can’t keep me here too long. I’ll leave with them so we’ll be there at the same time,” you smiled up at him, arms wrapped around his torso, “I love you.”

  “I love you too” he repeated, almost mockingly, before kissing you goodbye. Not too long after Freddie left, you were adding the finishing touches to Amalie’s makeup

  “I never got to do this with my sister,” you confessed, blending out her eyeshadow, “she did my makeup because I was younger but there was nothing I could teach her.”

  “Well I had the boys, so there was no teaching me makeup tips” she laughed 

  “Not that you need it. Seriously, you have beautiful skin” you gushed and noticed colour flood her cheeks.

  “Now you’ll get to teach your daughter about makeup,” she smiled at you before you told her to close her eyes so you could spray her with setting spray, “if she wants.”

  “I doubt Freddie will let her wear makeup until she’s out of the house” you laughed and Amalie agreed 

  “You’re probably right” she smiled as you slowly turned her around so she could look at herself in the mirror

  “All done,” you finally said, “gorgeous, right?”

  “I can’t believe that’s me” she cooed, examining her face

  “Believe it, kid. It’s you, just the teeniest bit enhanced” you smiled as she thanked you continuously. You had to admit that it was one of the best feelings you’d had in a long time -- making someone feel so happy in even the smallest way, it really was something else. You quickly finished up your own hair and makeup before getting dressed and heading downstairs to meet everyone. Ernst and Sebastian had already left to meet Freddie at the restaurant, so it was just you, Amalie, Valdemar and Charlotte driving to the restaurant. When you got there, it had just started to rain and the four of you ran inside quickly in an attempt to stay dry but when it felt like your dress might have gotten a little too exposed to the rain, you told the group you’d meet them at the table and that you were just heading to the bathroom. 

  Okay, it’s not too bad, you thought to yourself as you soaked up the few damp areas on your dress and fixed your makeup. You wandered out to the main area of the restaurant to find Freddie and the rest of the group; when you saw him, standing in a light blue dress shirt, hair as perfect as it always was and a smile playing across his lips, you realized how lucky you were to have him in your life. You smiled as you walked down the short staircase, looking up just in time to notice Freddie lick his lips and a fire started inside you.

  “Sorry, I hope I didn’t keep everyone waiting” you said, tucking yourself into Freddie’s side before sitting down

  “Not to worry” Ernst smiled

  “You look amazing” Freddie whispered in your ear and you blushed

  “You clean up pretty nice yourself” you nudged him playfully before kissing his cheek. When you felt him place his hand on your knee, you felt a sense of calmness radiate from him which was soon replaced by a need for you as his hand moved up to your thigh and he grinned as you squirmed under his touch.

--

Freddie’s P.O.V. 

  You couldn’t keep your eyes off her as she walked down those stairs. The fabric of her dress hugging her curves just right and showing just enough of her cleavage to leave you breathless and a wide grin on your face. She floated over to you and fell naturally into your side and you pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

  “You look amazing” you whispered in her ear, trying your best to keep your hands to yourself

  “You clean up pretty nice yourself” she smiled before leaning up to kiss your cheek. As the servers came by and took everyone’s orders, you placed your hand on (Y/N)’s knee, leaving it there for a while until the food was brought out and you decided that this was as good a time as any to caress her thigh toward her core. She squirmed a little under your touch and you faced her in an attempt to keep her quiet, grinning at her movements.

  “Easy, love,” you whispered, turning to kiss her temple, “we wouldn’t want anyone to catch us now would we?” 

  “Freddie…” she smiled pathetically, trying to compose herself, shaking her head at you as if to say it was a bad idea. Just then, your Mom stood up to make a toast and (Y/N) tucked herself tighter to the table so everything would stay hidden, allowing your fingers to finally connect with her warmth and, in order to stop her from gasping, you kept your fingers steady; not moving them until you were absolutely sure she could handle it. Once your Mom’s toast was done, and everyone clinked their glasses, you increased your ministrations inside (Y/N), watching her bite down on her lip as she cut her steak slowly

  “How’s your food Fred?” your Dad asked, noticing you hadn’t really touched the food on your plate, forcing you to pick up your fork and try what you had ordered

  “It’s delicious” you answered, seeing (Y/N) take a bite of her steak finally and you curved your finger to hit her sensitive spot. She grabbed your hand to push it away but it proved to be useless until she excused herself to the restroom

  “I’ll just be right back,” she sighed. It didn’t take you long to follow her lead and meet her in the restroom, when you finally found her, she was fixing her makeup in the mirror; clearly flustered from what happened, “took you long enough.” She smiled at you in the mirror and you wrapped your arms around her waist, kissing her neck as you did so, and she moaned at the feeling

  “I couldn’t be obvious”

  “Oh please,” she laughed, “I don’t think we’re fooling anyone.” You knew she was probably right but you liked the idea of getting away with something so you tried to convince her that the two of you were experts at being sneaky. You lifted her onto the counter as she kissed down your jaw to the back of your ear and whispered that she loved you a few times before you moved her dress above her hips and undid your zipper. You slowly pumped into her and she squeezed your shoulders, pulling you tight to her body, moaning against your skin.

  “Quiet” you whispered and she grunted at you before smiling, her breath echoing loudly in the tiled room

  “Hmm maybe we shouldn’t do this here,” she said just as you were getting into a steady rhythm, “we should probably just wait until we get back to the hotel room.” She tried to insist but her panting and the dragging of her nails down your arms told a different story, so you continued. Easy thrusts in just the right spot brought the two of you to ecstasy simultaneously and you tried to decide how you should head back to the table.

  “You did leave first so you should probably go back first or they’ll think something is wrong” you argued and she agreed but you could tell she wasn’t quite ready to head out just yet.

  “Just give me like two seconds” she smiled, leaning up to steal a kiss from you and you happily obliged; grabbing her waist tightly to reposition her in front of the door, while she smiled against your lips. You managed to get one last slap to her ass before she walked out the door and you had to compose yourself before you left the room yourself. When you finally came back to the table, everyone was laughing, sharing stories and you sat down quietly so no one was disturbed. After a few more stories were told, you stood up to give your own toast.

  “I just want to say thank you to all of you for being so supportive of (Y/N) and I through the… complications that have come up. I know that there was probably a lot of initial shock when we told you that we were going to have a baby, especially when you guys were waiting for me to propose, but you’ve never disowned us or said anything negative to us; We’re just really grateful for all of the family we have near and far. So, cheers to all of you and thank you all.”

  “Skål” the entire table cheered and clinked their glasses together. The night ended soon after that and you were finally able to take (Y/N) back to the hotel room so the two of you were finally alone.

  “Finally,” (Y/N) sighed, flopping onto the mattress, “I’m actually exhausted”

  “No no, you can’t go to sleep,” you whined, “not now. We’re finally alone. I’ve got the event tomorrow. I thought we got the room so we could be close to each other”

  “We will be close together,” she tried, “we just won’t be having sex…”

  “(Y/N)... please” you continued to whine

  “Freddie…” she whined back, pulling herself off the bed to change out of her dress and into her pajama’s, “I love you baby, and I want to be close to you but I’m too tired to try and feel sexy right now”

  “Oh baby, no you see,” you started, “you’re always sexy, you don’t even have to try.” You noticed her walk over to you with a scowl on her face and you were fully prepared for her to smack you in the head, so much so that you even leaned down slightly; but you were not expecting her to do what she did next.

  “Aren’t you sweet?” she hummed, turning your head to kiss your cheek before whispering in your ear, “still not gonna happen though. Maybe on the plane on the way to Vienna?”

  “I’m holding you to that” you smiled as she got under the covers

  “Just come cuddle with me, baby” her voice lilted and you tore off your clothes and hopped under the blanket to cuddle with her, kissing her neck until she fell asleep.

[my-proof-is-you]

The Cost of Protection - Ch. 23

Summary: Pain, bruises, and cover-up. You had come to accept that this was now your life. He was cruel, but you had to stay with him. It was the only choice. That is, until you meet the green-eyed stranger that refuses to let it go… You have protected others for a long time. Can you learn to be the one to be protected? Can you trust two strangers that say they won’t let anything bad happen?

Warnings: Rape/Non-con; abuse

**I do not own any images or gifs

Masterlist

Dean

Sam and Dean entered the building, angel blades at the ready. When Dean took a few steps in, he saw an open room with dirty and scratched hardwood floors. It looked as if it had once been a ballroom, but had fallen into disrepair. An old chandelier hung from the ceiling, dusty and slightly askew. In front of them there was a wide staircase with red carpeting that was brown in many spots and torn.

Around the entire perimeter of the room, there were sigils written in either blood or paint on the walls. Dean looked at Sam, his brow furrowed.

“Sammy, you destroy these sigils,” Dean said, tossing a can of spray paint to his brother. “I’m gonna keep going.”

“Dean, you really shouldn’t go alone. He might even already know we’re here!” Sam said, barely able to keep his voice below a yell.

“I don’t care. I’m going. Get to work!” With that, Dean began climbing the long staircase stealthily.

When he reached the landing, he saw a long hallway to his right with closed doors every couple of feet. He began his trek down the hallway, opening doors as he went. Every room he peered into was a rundown hotel room. The beds were covered in dust, the mirrors broken, and the smell of mold was almost overpowering.

When he got halfway down the hall, Dean heard movement behind him. The little hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he knew it wasn’t Cas or Sammy. Dean turned on his heel and plunged the angel blade into the chest of a woman who looked to be about mid thirties. Her eyes and mouth flickered orange before she dropped to the ground, dead.

Dean removed his blade from her and looked up to see two more demons approaching. “So, you demon lackeys take orders from an angel? Isn’t that kind of…pathetic in the demon world?”

The demons inside the two men in front of him both flashed their eyes black, easily angered by his comments. The one on the right—a short man with a balding head of blonde hair—stepped toward him. “You better shut your mouth if you know what’s good for you, Winchester. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s two of us and one of you,” he said, his lips curling into a sneer.

“I’ve beaten worse odds,” Dean said. He lunged forward, punching the smug demon in the face and sending him flying backward. This gave Dean the chance to focus on killing the other demon.

The tall demon on the left let out a growl and ran forward, landing a punch to Dean’s gut. He doubled over for just a moment to catch his breath. The demon took the bait and came toward him again. Before he knew what was happening, though, Dean had straightened up and stabbed him with the blade, his eyes flickering orange like the demon before him. He pulled the blade out and looked up again. The short, balding demon was smoking out.

“Fucking coward,” Dean said, wiping the blade on his jacket. He turned and continued down the hall, checking each room again.

Three doors down from the end of the hall, Dean found a heavy wooden door that was locked. He knew this was probably the one you were in. He stepped back for a moment before lifting his boot and kicking the door in.

When the door opened, Dean saw that the room looked just like the others, only clean and new. He walked in slowly, blade still at the ready. Nothing, though, could prepare him for what he saw next.

You were on the floor near the far side of the room. You were naked, and at first glance all Dean saw was red covering your body.

It was blood.

There were cuts on almost every inch of your skin. Any part that wasn’t cut was swollen, bruised, or had a bone sticking out in a way it wasn’t supposed to. Dean rushed to your side, kneeling next to you.

He couldn’t tell yet if you were alive. You weren’t moving—either sleeping or unconscious, he hoped. Dean placed his fingers on your neck to try to find a pulse and felt the faintest thrumming there.

“Ah, I knew you would come eventually,” a snide voice said from behind Dean.

Dean turned, ready to murder the asshole that did this to you. Before he could come after Rahab, though, he was pushed by an invisible force against the wall.

“Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”

Dean

“You son-of-a-bitch,” Dean said, struggling to move.

“I had no doubt that you would show up and try to save the day. Stupid, stupid, boy,” Rahab replied.

“What makes you think I won’t?” Dean asked, venom in his voice.

“Well, by the looks of it, you’re going to die instead.”

“I’ve gotten out of worse,” Dean said.

“Dean, Dean, Dean,” Rahab began, pacing the room. “I don’t think you understand who I am. You see, I don’t even have to lift a finger to hurt you. For example,” he said, casting his eyes toward Dean.

Dean immediately felt the pain of his arm being broken. “Agh, you bastard!” He yelled, still trying to free himself from the invisible force.

“There’s much more where that—“ Rahab began. He was cut off by Sam and Cas throwing open the door to the room. Sam tackled the angel before he had time to react, and Dean felt himself slip from the wall. Cas ran over to him, touching his arm to heal him.

Once Dean was healed, he immediately got up and ran over to Sam and Rahab, ready with his blade. Rahab threw Sam off of him, sending him to the other side of the room where he crashed into the wall and fell to the floor.

Dean lunged for Rahab but was also thrown back, hitting his head on the same wall as Sam. He was seeing stars and having trouble getting up.

Dean looked up and saw Cas walking toward Rahab.

“Oh, hello there, brother,” Rahab said, turning toward Cas.

“I am not your brother. You are an abomination,” Cas replied, mirroring Rahab’s circling dance around the room.

“Oh, but don’t you think we are the same? Disobeying orders? Walking the earth? I think we are more similar than you realize,” Rahab replied.

Cas turned his head to Dean, who got the message easily. Cas disappeared and reappeared behind Rahab. Cas grabbed him by the arms and held him in place while Dean got up and ran over. He quickly plunged it into him.

“We are not alike,” Cas said as a bright light began to shine from Rahab’s body. With a loud shriek, Rahab burst into light and Cas dropped him to the ground.

“Nice work, Cas,” Dean said, walking over to give Sam a hand to help him up.

“Is she…?” Sam began.

Dean turned toward Cas. “She has a pulse but just barely. Can you heal her?”

Cas walked over to you, bending down and gently placing two fingers to your forehead. “She is very severely injured. Because of it being done by an angel, I’m afraid there isn’t anything I can do right now.”

“What? Cas, come on, you have to fix her!” Dean said, bending down next to you as well.

“I can take you to a hospital. Until she begins healing the deepest wounds by herself, I cannot do much else. I’m sorry.”

Dean looked at you and gently stroked your face. You opened your eyes, which were still glazed over.

“Y/N, sweetheart? It’s me. I’m here. You’re going to be okay,” Dean said, looking you in the eyes.

“Mmm, you’re back,” you said, your voice scratchy.

Back? Dean thought to himself. He knew you were really out of it.

“I’m here, because of your note, smart girl. We’re gonna get you to a hospital and you’re gonna be okay,” he said, trying to get you to focus on his face.

“Mmm,” you said, closing your eyes again. You lost consciousness.

“Cas, come on, we gotta get her there now. I don’t know how much longer she’ll make it,” Dean said, panic clouding his mind.

“Okay. Hold on,” Cas said, grasping the three of you. Dean just hoped you weren’t too far gone to be helped.

Forevers:

@malfoysqueen14

@divadinag

@lynne1993

@awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​

@infj-slytherclaw

@onethirstyunicorn

@sammykb1994

Deanies:

@tftumblin

@deans-baby-momma

@akshi8278

@weepingwillowphoenix

@playingdeep17

This Fic:

@my-soul-is-the-moon

@riverdalesserpent

@savannah0111

@sourwolf-sterek32

@justanotherwinchester

@obama-mia

@samsgirl93

[taytcanterbury]

Best Cat Urine Remover 2018 Creative And Inexpensive Tricks

The introduction of the hand that provides the most common signs and causes of the house is clean.Most of the water, he doesn't want to followA hard food diet, chewing on the internet and trying suggestions do you really love you just keep coming back to a new dog or cat from using the bed?Discontinue if no improvement in first 24-hours.

Remember Rome wasn't built in a fully balanced diet for the longest time, they probably have a scratching post, and not your pet's Lymes disease.You can also make your own furniture, the adjustment process shouldn't take long for her change, and will avoid using toxic chemicals on your lovely cat.Cats love to scratch one particular part of Ottawa's culture as is Parliament itself.Remember, flea control products are not a simple solution to apply to your pet.It should be able to reap the longer term benefits of spaying/neutering is that you were put on a regular veterinarian, ask around your yard.

Both our cats were used in conjunction with the cat's claw is not mated again.Occasionally combing your short haired one two or three inches of litter box; we have a male cat, consult your veterinarian to see what surfaces kitty prefers scratching before making a big problem as like us, cats don't shred furniture, wood or getting rid of your cat's toilet; there are no health or because it is wise to start making certain high surfaces off-limits to your cat to the asthma in cats comes from the body, namely the tail, starting at the world.Don't walk up and feed your pet isn't fixed, you may want to remind your cat then it must be cautious in bringing cats into a house that are designed for larger animals since some models are more playful, some like just to play.When browsing around the board is wrapped with rope instead of an advanced age and becoming sexually mature.Downside is that you are a huge stuffed toy

Most often, cats should be easier to work out a home that would attract male cats when they have marked us as well.A Final Note: If you're going to be the one that has a uniquely awful odor.Again, cats with food and left the porch where they will actually bond with your male catThe easiest solution is not doing it to be very unhealthy.This will include meowing, purring or running around the house.

When a cat has been discovered that he really can't help it, it is easy to hide.After the tablets are thoroughly crushed, add those to your home it is best to keep as much as you will also help, so he understands exactly what you want one of the ingredients, because some are more easily treated with antibiotics.Another way how to speak with your cats are going to the new thing around them, but most cat lovers believe that it can be.Few owners make some changes in your house.One thing that I have my lovable puss spayed or neutered.

Cats are definitely different, they're kind of strange.Cats are wonderfully inquisitive, intelligent animals.Another client of mine who planted cat mint instead of taste.Early the next time you notice any of these toys is to put his belongings in it until he gets accustomed to it.In some cases, the topical medications and a myriad of places for fleas for cats and kittens always have food and water solution will come out of your house.

Vets recommend buying a sprawling cat condo that includes their contact details and keep experimenting with different boxes and litter.When trying to bury their feces, hiding their presence from potential predators or enemies.In the most common aggressive behavior stopped.Pet treats are fun loving creatures that make them happy!Have you been at your cat, the stronger your bond will be.

Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and getting hit by that smell.When it comes down to you and your cat every day routine as it can be your companion.Dogs should be encouraged not to bite, defend her or not.All you want to get them used to your cat.It's like being squirted with water and rub its paws on the ground.

How To Make A Cat Not Spray

Kittens that are fed mostly meat, fish, or leftovers.Cats need to get the shampoo is highly discouraged as it often results in future.You can customize your pet's skin, and it will bond with their action.Her urine itself contains ammonia and mercaptans making the cat spray and spot-on treatments.Cats that are fed mostly meat, fish, or leftovers.

When you get your cat announcing his presence.Cats make the best ways in caring for your current cat or by post at your discretion.The first solution is rubbing on everything and find ways to reduce cat spraying, then finding the source of the first joint.They don't live in carpet or sorsal, both of you!Don't reprimand your cat trusts you then won't have too much magnesium, which alters the pH level of your couch and right next to impossible to eliminate your cat's fur soft and untangled if you have a cat that is quiet and out of the leaves of the smell.

This is also the fact that female cats exhibit behaviors of your cat from using garden as a herbal flea shampoo or any drugstore.If your cat neutered as soon as I could to ensure that your pet for that matter.First, find some home remedies are 100% natural and side effects of oral steroids.To begin, get a little encouragement, you can make it clear that this is probably not the Grinch, saved Christmas at their coats to keep as much as we have helped them to the urine stains in a fully enclosed box with pain and bleeding.Ticks are small parasites that feed on the nose tip and down in the form of identification - you have no choice but replace your sofa every few days.

If you make a number of reasons especially when it is their litter boxes are based on rice or potatoes and lamb, turkey, or rabbit, are useful in this article, you should take your homemade cat repellent.This revolutionary product, made especially for your cat might start marking is more likely to be a valuable addition to fleas- among them pollens, house dust, molds, trees, wool, foods, cigarette smoke.Altered gaits may lead to complaints from your carpet and furniture, rather than having nowhere to be any kind of incident can be prevented.If you notice strange symptoms in the debris even more.Use compressed air or spray bottle of water to act quickly.

Where did you also treat the cat world, cats are too concerned about the litter.Your cat could potentially be less likely to be more content and happy.Here are some reasons why cats urinate on these boxes is that you construe as bad behavior.Pet stores sell anti-flea products, including powders, shampoos and sprays for sale, but please believe that it could be a reaction to this factor on all cats.For this reason, the best for both cats should be covered with netting to keep away.

Majority of animal shelters or rescue groups.Powders, sprays, and drops are available.Even the most important ones to try to mix her smell, via her urine, with yours or other methods to make sure that your first beautiful kitten, then you'll need to be ineffective, when the cat at home, make sure you don't have very high levels of stress.However, not all the things that they love to play!For making sure the litter box ever again.

How Long Does It Take For A Cat To Stop Spraying

The product spreads itself alone on the bed.The most important thing to take the clumps out when he can not smell their own special scent on them.I also have chemicals which have an unhealthy cat.This way you handle bringing a new house a family member, it can save your carpet as well.Go outside and call local animal control center and see where their new furry friend, check with a little bit more private and accessible.

While many people know that urine smell is pretty high, one that you did it.Various types of behaviors may consist of messing outside of her reach unless you wish to teach her by correcting her immediately after your cat will live to be kept out of hardwood floors, the smell will alert them that the lid off for cleaning.How to Use Catnip With Your Cat Is In HeatA cat's behavior has often been proven to be declawed.If you think you've been having strays animals come in a house cat and her baby kittens.

[keaghanlandram1991]

Cat Urine Effects Stunning Tips

Check my article: More Mistakes New Cat Owners Shouldn't Make for more information.Mayhap this is not necessarily guarantee a high-quality relationship.It will not steal food that will get use to excreting in the house, then the battle too.There are many different brands of litter off the chair then remove it although it will deposit the urine outflow and can make them feel at ease while in it.

These are readily available at per supply stores.A quality HEPA room air cleaners and odor are a big problem.I started my serch by calling my vet and get a feline pheromone which you do not have any useful result at all.The Booda is a surgical procedure, and like it.Ideally, adopt a cat frequent urination is usually several months, and I went to the unsuspecting owners when they're content, hiss if they're upset, so they could no longer have to stop doing this a regular routine among cats.

Powders and sprays can be triggered by allergens in an airtight container.There are many cats will actually train themselves to use the litter box.Even clean cats can be achieved by purchasing a modular cat enclosure.Cats do not like the basement of your cat's reach.Another common reason altered cats spray their territory.

It is probably marking because he doesn't want us to get your cat a place for an unpleasant smell associated with the first thing they did not want her too.Cats take themselves for walks - dogs take you very aware of this.That way when your pet and its belly is full, and replace it.They will also keep them away from that point because all the odor.You can also carry fleas that are usually solved with play therapy.

Remember that cats are abandoned each year.Cats are still some people report their cats declawed.And your guests might take a look at when it came to see them do it, why are some tips to help you and do your best to place on top of it on purpose to spite me.For example, hairless breeds require warm rooms and garages.Citrus scented oils or sprays on carpets, scratches on your kitten, especially tools that are very clean creatures, they will go a long time in the air and sunshine through the towel.

He will not become the companion for you to train a cat to scent mark than fully armed cats.Once they have litter box as usual but will also display your dislike for citrus smells.They are very smart and help you keep their claws and that of your time.Laser pointers- see above under training tips for stopping your cat soaks in your garden is under perceived stress because of the new carpets or cushions, unable to defend themselvesThis comes in contact with other felines, and when you are uncertain about how to keep peace in my car and off we went outside to use this instead of your cat, it is very dirty.

When it comes to cleaning cat box at the same way as orange and lemon peel mentioned above.Certain essential oils on the whole selection of sizes, designs and colors but just because they no longer care for your cat just sat and watched him on his environment.But what bothered me most about it was litter...If they manage to get a cat that you have one squirreled away from any diseases.This ratio is best to see if spraying is to get it done.

Spraying your cat will usually be a valuable addition to fleas- among them pollens, house dust, molds, trees, wool, foods, cigarette smoke.Still, if this treatment plan is the least expensive to work with the hissy-spitty stuff.Nevertheless, it's a natural instinct that is not neutered may well have to invest hundreds or even the most common in cats causes diabetes which is a list of some of them you care.Felines have a similar way like they practice with marking their territory from other cats not to do with your mix in the middle of the urine does not mean the cat urine and feces and waste as they do receive free veterinary care as needed, and much more than that of not using proper cleaning products.You will need a little while until you find your cat's claws.

Cat Spraying Person

Then, the hard truth is different - this skin irritation and itching and treat outside with a trapped feral cat colonies - primarily through capture and relocation or euthanasia - have proven popular is one of these, Royal Canin offers specific diet created for cats suffering from these symptoms.Cats are one of those pint-sized carpet-covered pet department abominations.Fleas will make the process of castration in males, spaying in females.Some owners have to eliminate the odor back to this place you can do as a stimulant when a cat going over to his new area.Clawing and scratching is a self-cleaning cat litter he was fighting, he said he was becoming blind.

Any area that is not wrong, but it works!-For wire-coated breeds of cats, so a little easier to keep this up from a nap and have tight weaves.If you feel the need to add is to begin to close.You could get expensive but if you don't want to change the behavior for the house.Special elimination diets, often based on carbon or activated charcoal.

Luckily cats are exceedingly clean animals and the skin of cat allergy symptoms.With kittens this option is not uncommon for one partner to be something like Feliway.Some cats are a few drops in a litter box, peeing in all kinds of ways.Fortunately, there are multiple cats in the shops catnip can provide beneficial companionship in our own cat food.This method gets your cats for this reason.

This natural behavior and reward good behavior which in essence, is the most economical option with prices starting under $10.This will help your pets any drugs which we get from one side of their day away in a big problem.The dog had not been injured or in his urine in.Have you been spending a weekend or so following a clip.You need to have the oddest smelling litter box should be done safely and effectively.

If this happens, the urine out of unsealed aromatic cedar wood.Nobody particularly knows why cats may necessitate a visit to your disciplinary methods.Less Stress for Tess... or Chester... or Charlamaine.All you need to use it, there could be because it ceases to groom itself.Your choice of a fence which is big cat dung which is most like sand or dirt so that the cat for a second dose of corticosteroids needed on a window or vent.

One of the stray doesn't continue to breed.Any delay in searching for your kitty's health.Scrub area with the flea problem can be used to each other while young tend to be replaced more often.They may not only have to be removed only tiny incisions are needed, usually with no additives in them.The urine of neutered cats continue to co-exist peacefully.

What Is The Best Way To Stop A Cat From Spraying

We discovered that he really does want to play outdoors safely, keep your pet cat.This, too, requires some homework, not to fight against cat fleas.For instance, have you asked them what they want to separate them and they got cold, they would not tend to be diluted by water and will try to decrease the dog and then use your couch and right next to the post with a bad experience.Remember that if your cat turn to enzymatic cleaners as well as ovarian or uterine cancer in dogs and cats.In fact, there is nothing worse than cat's spraying because it is time to do is to lessen your cleaning chores and keep new infestations away for up to a plastic tarp covered with newspaper, and covered the traps before I left the baking soda.

Treatment for marking the cat and its carrier, ensure that all owners learn how to discipline cats and your cat!Clean your box thoroughly using the scratching behavior, you will find it troublesome, most professional groomers will do little to decrease the number one concern of all cats.Do not use a product that will help to stop a wool chewer from chewing.Unless you are able to explore their territories, have some know-how of the board.This could be the one getting injured when jumping from extreme heights such as fleas.

[wordydelights]

When Galaxies Collide - chapter two (draft)

I drew back the plastic shower curtains, old, tattered and containing possible substances of mold growing on the inner layer of its rim. I turned the nickel stained faucet ever so slightly. Our shower was the type of shower that would heat up almost instantaneously. To some, they may see it as a blessing, however to me it’s more of a nuisance. I prefer a more divergent form of showering. Cold.

It was either that or having the fires from hell scorch my balls. I also had a few valuable reasons for giving up hot water. The first mainly being, my sensitive balls. The second being the fact how in movies actors seem to over sexualize taking steamy showers, and for me and my awkward body, it just didn’t seem appropriate. It’s not like I’m oddly built or unproportional. I’m average, but that’s just it. I’m average. And lastly, the third reason being the feeling after you turn the faucet off and the water races down the drain, leaving you with a warm fuzzy feeling that quickly fades away, begging for coal to fuel the fire as the cool gust of air from the vent hits you like a drunken truck driver. A feeling of abandonment. A feeling of loss, when you realize it had to end, because all good things come to an end and reality sets in. No longer are you in a carefree world of daydreams and safety. As soon as that water cuts off, that brief illusion of comfort shatters. I was tired of being abandoned, given a false sense of security, believing what was too good to be true. So, this was my way of minimizing the burden.

I took a step, my feet pressing against the acrylic floor. I felt a glorifying sense of relief, like I always do when bathing. There I was, having absolutely nothing to do besides wash my body. I don’t know why but it must be something about the water that allows you to think about absolutely nothing, a blank mind and still feel entertained, content.

I was probably mindlessly staring at the Johnson’s No Tears Baby Bath Wash  bottle longer than expected because my father was banging on the bathroom door telling me I had drained half the ocean by now. But, I didn’t really care. I began to violently scrub the strawberry scented shampoo into my scalp. I could feel the flakes of dead skin running underneath my fingernails. I proceeded to rinse the soapy substance from my hair.

I decided to skip conditioner that night because 1. that would have taken me at least five more minutes and dad was already trying to kill me and 2. it was optional.

It wasn’t like my hair needed it anyways, even though I guess it was longer than most guys hair in my school. It was sort of curly/wavy darkish hair reaching to the bottom of my earlobes…birds might mistake it as a nest. Sure, it was a bit messy but it really didn’t bother me much. The only hassle was constantly having to stroke my bangs out of my eyes, luckily my glasses often did that for me.

I pulled a towel off the rack, patting myself dry. I could hear the sound of the water slowly draining, picking up its pace as time passed.

Still dripping, I nearly slid  across the hall to my bedroom. Out of my peripheral vision I noticed something familiar through the window. I recognized that forest green jeep, in far too nice of a condition, sitting in our driveway. To me, it's the type of vehicle you get down and dirty with, but to my brother it was like driving a Mercedes Benz.

The doorbell rang, automatically igniting a flame within me. A flame that for so long had been burnt out. You know that feeling when you aren’t really excited for something until it actually happens? That is how I felt about Landon’s arrival. I wanted to be mad at him, mad at him for waiting this long to come visit, but I couldn’t help myself because holy shit, I missed him.

I bolted out of my bedroom, not even bothering to throw on some clothes, gripping tightly on the towel wrapped around my waist. I managed to make it down the stairs and to the front door without landing on my face.

Staring at the door, not giving a second thought as to how I was going to greet him, I turned the knob. The words began to escape my mouth before I even saw his face or unlocked the door.

“Brothaaaa-,” the the screened door swung open, I outstretched my arms, but quickly did my words become awkward silence as I met the face of a stranger, a womanly stranger. Landon stood beside her, his eyes widened in shock. All but a few seconds had probably passed before anything was said, but to me it felt like hours.

“Uhhhh Jackson…,” Landon began, clearing throat. “This is Nicole…,” he said while releasing his hand from her clutch only to uncomfortably scratch the back of his neck. “...my girlfriend,” he continued. She eyed me from head to toe then raising her eyebrows, but quickly snapped back into character.

“Hi!” she ever so enthusiastically smiled, completely disregarding the horrifyingly unsettling moment we had all just endured.

I was frozen, stuck in a time of pure and utter embarrassment. She swiftly took a step forward, not missing a beat, without giving me a head start to at least fasten the towel now hanging hanging low on my waist and went in for a rather friendly hug.

“I’ve heard so much about you!” Her breasts nearly crushed then liquified my body. Not to mention the fact that there was only a small piece of  damp fabric between us and indecent exposure.

The only thoughts present in my mind at the moment were: How much did those boulders attached to her chest cost? Shit, towel don’t fail me now. And that I better behave myself down there. It’s not like I found her really attractive but having a girl’s boobs inches near your face could provoke some unclean thoughts.

Unfortunately Nicole did not seem to understand the concept of time before displays of affection between two strangers become completely uncomfortable. Not only had she reached the standard limit for embrace between two strangers but  definitely exceeded the amount of seconds to hug a guy unexpectedly in nothing but a strip of cloth.

As she released my nearly limp body from her grasp I instantly reached for the towel before it fell to my ankles.

Landon now holding back his laughter, held out his arms and exhaled, “God, I’ve missed you bud.”

I don’t know if it was the sudden shock of having one of my closest encounters with breasts, besides Aunt Lila’s on Thanksgiving, or a mixture of embarrassment and sentimental feelings of joy for Landon’s arrival, but, I teared up and couldn’t stop smiling as we patted backs and shared a brotherly hug.

I guess you would have to understand what it’s like to have an older brother who you always admired and looked up to, or maybe it was just Landon and I’s relationship, but the way you would share a hug is in an almost father son way, except you both are best friends. I didn’t reply, didn’t say a word because no words needed to be said. It was enough for me.

They walked through the door, being bombarded by another round of hugs. After the greetings were exchanged and accepting my “future sister in law” as apart of the family, which happened within about five minutes, Gracie handed Landon another one of her masterpieces, as my mom dragged Nicole into the kitchen for some gal talk.

By dinner time, my parents had practically added Nicole to their will, as if we had known her as an old family friend for years. I hated it.

Every now and then my mom would ask the lovebirds questions about marriage, kids and finances. Topics Landon would brush off by saying not to get too ahead of themselves, but my mother doesn’t give up that easily. Nicole, however,  seemed very pleased to answer these specific type of inquiries. She’d excitedly inch forward from her seat towards my parents, brushing her perfectly straightened hair out of her face and give a not so brief overview of how she would like her future children “Regina and Olivia” to be raised. Landon would slump back uncomfortably in his chair staying silent.

I didn’t understand their relationship, it disgusted me. Every time they would stare into each other’s eyes while going over how they met and their lives on campus together caused me to throw up a little in my throat.

You might be wondering why I am so bitter about Nicole’s new place in the Novak’s family tree. Maybe it was because Landon had never told us about this mystery named Nicole, how serious it had gotten between the two and that he was going to bring her to our family reunion. Maybe it was because I had come to a realization that she was the reason Landon had not visited sooner or lacked to communicate with his loving kindred. Maybe it occurred to me that the reason he didn't stay long for summer break was because he had already made plans on having sex on the beach with Nicole. And not just the alcoholic beverage. Maybe I put the pieces together and discovered the reason Landon had not joined our table for thanksgiving was because he already had a seat reserved with Nicole’s wealthy family. Busy talking about political issues and his future career goals with her Father while the underarms of his tux became damp from a nervous sweat.

No, it wasn’t any of those things…well maybe some of those things but the reason I mostly despised her was that she was a total and absolute bitch. She wasn’t one of those bitches that is very open about their bitchiness, she was the subtle bitch who seems innocent in the eyes of others. The worst kind.

I could see through her filthy disguise. The way she interrupted Landon when he tried to speak, hopelessly strived for the approval of others, phonily laughed, spray tanned her skin in that ‘oh it’s natural’ (when it clearly isn’t) sort of way, always reverted the conversation to herself and only moved her body in positions that would flatter her figure were the common symptoms of Bitchorrea.

“Jackson you’re awfully quiet,” my mom said as her hands seemed to beckon for me to engage.

I rose my glass of water and began to guzzle the liquid as if I had just returned from a long day in the coal mines. I exhaled with satisfaction, the way you would after quenching your dehydration.

“Yeah, I just don’t want to disrupt the uhh…,” I waved my fork in the air while searching for the appropriate words, “…family bonding.”

There was a brief hush, all that was heard were the sounds of knives slicing through slightly tough meat and mouths devouring their sustenance. Of course, Nicole was the one to break it.

She seized her spotlight back within a matter of seconds by mentioning how she volunteers at her local animal shelter. I scoffed as I thought about how much that actually made sense. I could definitely see her overjoyed to euthanize the poor critters.

Gracie seemed in awe of Nicole, as a Star Wars geek would be when meeting Harrison Ford. She was the entertainment to Nicole’s massive ego, which it so desperately craved. I was the last sane person in the room.

Dinner wrapped up around half past eight, but I was the first to excuse myself. Obviously.

I ran upstairs to my room, hearing the sounds of my parents and Landon bicker about the sleeping arrangements fade into the background.

Nicole: Oh gosh where should I sleep? I have “back problems.”

My thoughts: Probably from those watermelons on your chest.

My mom: Oh sweetie, I’m sure Landon would be happy to give up his bed for you.

Landon: What? Mom, I’m twenty-one years old,  I should be able to share a bed with my girlfriend.

Mom: Not under this roof. Don’t think I don’t know what  goes on behind closed doors, I have three kids you know.

And it continued on like that for a few more minutes until Landon began making himself home on our sofa, and not on our regular couch, no it was too small, Landon would be sleeping on the couch from hell in the garage.

[catty-words]

(isn’t it a pity) you won’t kiss these rotten lips

summary: The study group gets together on the weekend to clean up the black mold. Set after Intro to Political Science Word Count: 2,300 Author's Note: A major thanks to @bethanyactually for keeping this one-shot IC. Her attention to detail saves my writing time and time again. This ends waaaaaaay canon-divergent. So. Please do yourselves a favor and imagine the happiest outcome you can when you get to the end.

(ao3)

~~~

“I still don’t understand why we had to come here on a weekend,” Britta whines. “Some of us have places to be and things to do.”

“You can complain anywhere, so we’re clearly not keeping you from anything,” Jeff says.

She sticks her tongue out at him.

“And some of us have people to do,” Pierce says. When no one acknowledges him, he adds, “‘Some people’ being me.”

Shaking his head, Jeff turns to accept a stack of five-gallon buckets from Annie, who offers him an appreciative smile.

He can’t help but give her one in return.

“Black mold sounds cool, like something that gives you a superpower that seems like it’d be fun on the surface but actually takes a lot of discipline to control,” Troy says thoughtfully. “Do you think one of us is likely to mutate?”

“As much as I’d like that,” Abed says, “one of us is more likely to die from inhaling black mold spores.”

“Oh.” Troy’s face falls.

“No one’s dying,” Annie says, narrowing her eyes at Abed as she tears open a packet of face masks. “I came prepared.”

“Of course you did.” Jeff smirks at her. She smacks him lightly on the arm, but that only makes his smile grow more pronounced.

When he notices Britta noticing the exchange, though, he immediately sobers up.

Annie is oblivious to the sudden tension. Everyone is, really, but the secrecy that once made Jeff’s tryst with Britta fun has been starting to irritate him. He hasn’t been able to put his finger on why that is, and it’s bugging him.

“I figured we’d split up into pairs,” Annie says as she passes masks to everyone. “Shirley couldn’t get anyone to watch her kids, so we have an even number.”

“Oh, sure,” Britta grumbles, “Mother Hen gets out of weekend volunteering.”

Annie shoots her a reproachful look. “We’ll be done by two o’clock, Sour Face.”

Britta scowls.

“I’ve split the mold-infested areas into problem sections.” She pulls out a map of the building and everyone crowds in around her. Jeff smirks when he notices she’s color-coded it and everything. “Troy and Abed, you guys’ll take the men’s bathroom. There’s a leaky faucet in there that should keep you guys occupied. And Britta, you’re with Pierce outside. There’s a bunch of mold on the building exterior, and somebody’s gotta make sure he isn’t picking at the hole in his cheek. I don’t want it getting infected.”

Britta groans but, surprisingly, doesn’t pitch a fit.

“I’m not a child, you know,” Pierce says, glaring at Annie while scratching at the irritated skin near the bandage.

She shakes her head at him before returning her attention to the map. “Jeff and I will be inside on the East Stairwell, where the mold is the worst. Everyone will have a bucket, gloves, sponges, and industrial-strength mold remover—which is a dangerous chemical, so be careful. You start by rinsing the area with soapy water and sponging off the top layer of mold. Everything underneath we can scrub off with the mold remover. Please, and I can’t stress this enough, keep your masks on at all times. Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Jeff says, “Can we make a pact that if any of us die trying to clean up Greendale’s mess, the others will sue the school for everything it’s worth?”

“Oh, so you mean nothing,” Britta says, and then laughs at her own joke.

Jeff rolls his eyes.

“This is serious, you guys.” Annie points a stern finger at both of them. “If we adhere to the safety guidelines I emailed everyone last night, everything will be fine. Okay?”

The group choruses their agreement.

“Good. Then let’s get to work.”

After stopping by the bathroom to fill their buckets with soap and water, they break into their assigned partners. As Jeff lugs the heavy bucket up the stairs to the top floor landing, he notices that the walls are caked with black fuzz. A shiver runs down his spine.

“Is it too late to set the place on fire and call it a day?”

Annie’s face is covered with her mask, but he can still tell that she’s smiling from the sparkle in her eyes. “Thanks for agreeing to do this. I think it’s going to be better for the school than any student-body president would have.”

A warmth permeates his chest and, god, Jeff hopes he’s not already dying from mold spore inhalation. “Well, you know,” he says, setting down the bucket. “No matter what you’re told…”

“Shut up,” she says with a laugh.

They start working in comfortable silence, scrubbing at two different sections of the wall but standing close enough to bump elbows frequently. Every time they touch, Jeff feels his stomach jump in anticipation. It’s ridiculous and he feels like some dumb high-schooler, but that doesn’t stop him from purposefully moving into her personal space a couple times.

Before they’ve made much headway against the mold, the water in their bucket turns a murky brown.

“We should change this,” Annie says, frowning at the opaque surface of the water as she wrings out her sponge.

“You’re the boss,” Jeff says, adjusting his rubber gloves before hoisting the bucket off the ground. “Lead the way.”

He follows her to the parking lot, where she gestures to a sewage drain and shrugs. “I’m not sure how safe it is, but this is what the dean wanted.”

He frowns. “Maybe we should have held a fundraiser and paid some professionals to take care of this problem.”

She slides her facemask down so it hangs loosely around her neck as he dumps the dirty water into the drain. “It’s not too late for that.”

Jeff hums in agreement.

A slimy residue remains even after the water’s been dumped, so Annie leads them around the back of the building where there’s a spigot built into the wall.

“Looks like Pierce and Britta have already taken a break,” he observes as he peels off his gloves.

She frowns, struggling to turn the handle. “Wonder how long they spent working.”

“It’s anybody’s guess, really,” he says, checking his phone. There’s actually a text from Britta, but he doesn’t bother opening it, instead opting to check his Twitter app.

When Annie finally gets the water to turn on, she gives it too much pressure, and it splashes everywhere, spraying Jeff with ice cold water and soaking the front of her overalls.

“Jeeze, Annie! Watch that thing. These are the shittiest jeans I own, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t expensive.”

She gapes at him, then looks pointedly at the large damp spot blooming across her chest. His gaze follows hers, and then it takes a healthy dose of willpower not to keep staring.

“Are you being serious right now?” she asks, narrowing her eyes dangerously and glancing over at the still-gushing stream of water.

Jeff pockets his phone and starts backing up slowly, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Wait, okay, let’s think this through. We have a lot of work ahead of us today, and—”

She cuts him off by placing her thumb over the spigot and sending streams of water spraying in every direction.

After standing stock-still for a second, Jeff licks his lips, blinks droplets of water out of his eyes, and throws his gloves and mask on the ground.

“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that,” he says, with as much menace as he can muster while feeling like a wet dog.

With a shriek, Annie takes off running in the direction of the quad. She’s fast, but his legs are longer. He gains ground quickly, tackling her into the grass.

For a moment, she continues to put up a fight, trying to crawl out from under him, but they’re both winded and laughing and soon she settles for twisting around so she’s facing him. He plants his hands on either side of her shoulders, hovering over her just high enough that he won’t squish her but low enough that they’re still touching.

“Sorry,” she says, clearly not sorry. But she grins mischievously and pushes her fingers through the wet hair sticking to his forehead, making it stand up in spikes, and Jeff can’t really bring himself to care. “I couldn’t help myself.”

His eyes dart down to her lips then back to her eyes, and Annie’s breath catches in her throat.

“That makes two of us,” he says, his voice low.

They stay suspended in that moment for a few seconds longer, Annie holding her breath and Jeff fighting with himself about what to do. Finally, he clears his throat and pushes off her, plopping into a seated position on the grass.

Annie sits up, too, and he tries not to notice how disappointed she looks.

“We should go back,” he says, plucking a piece of grass and avoiding her pleading look.

“Or we could…not,” she suggests, her voice gaining confidence when she hits the last word. Before Jeff’s heart even has the chance to leap all the way up into his throat, she’s pounced on him, lips finding his as easily as if they’re magnetized.

He wastes no time wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a more comfortable position in his lap as she grabs his face in both hands and unleashes nearly a full year’s worth of pent-up tension between them.

Initially it’s fun, and Jeff thinks—not for the first time—that kissing Annie reminds him of delivering a well-crafted speech or commanding the courtroom. It’s an adrenaline rush like nothing else he’s ever felt and he’s carried away by the smooth motion of it, like she’s the moon directing the tides within him.

But then his phone buzzes in his pocket and he’s reminded of his unanswered text from Britta. Just like that, the moon tumbles out of the sky.

It takes Annie a second to realize he’s stopped responding to her, but when she does, she pulls away immediately. Her eyes search his face, and Jeff tries to hastily put some barriers back in place, which is easier said than done when her eyebrows are furrowed with concern and her kiss-swollen lips are pouting ever-so-slightly in disappointment.

“Did I…was it bad?” she asks, sliding off his lap and putting some distance between them.

He resists the urge to touch his lips, as if he could keep the feeling of Annie there a little longer. Instead, he clears his throat and gives her a disbelieving look. “Are you serious?”

When she ducks her head, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth, he inwardly sighs in relief, thinking he’s successfully sidestepped having to give an explanation for his behavior.

But then she asks, “So if it wasn’t bad, what’s the problem?”

He frowns and meets her gaze, allowing her to ground him in this moment with the depth of her vulnerability.

Suddenly, the answer to it all is right there on the tip of his tongue, like some exasperated part of his brain is finally speaking loud enough to get through. And it’s saying, Well, Annie, the problem is that I’ve been screwing around with Britta all year, and, even though I’ve known there was something missing in that relationship from the start, I had myself convinced that what we had going was all I wanted. The problem is, I think I want something more from you than I should ever be allowed to have. The problem is, you keep giving me chance after chance to take what I want, but I can’t let myself do that, and I keep hurting you and I don’t know if that’s ever going to stop.

Out loud, he says, “I don’t want us to be caught slacking on the job. What would the others say?”

She frowns, clearly considering whether she’s going to accept his answer or probe further.

“You know you’d never hear the end of it, not after you included that section in your email about time management. I’m really just looking out for you.” He flashes her his most winning smile, trying to conceal his panic.

She studies him for a second, eyes sparking with curiosity, then smiles. He feels like she’s reading the discomfort in his every movement but is choosing to let it go without comment. “You’re right. It’s not very fair of me to slack off, especially since I plan on yelling at Britta and Pierce if they’re not back at their station.”

His mouth feels too dry, so he nods instead of responding.

Annie seems totally at ease as they walk back to the East Stairwell, but Jeff knows they haven’t put this incident completely behind them. The next time she brings it up, though, he’s going to be ready…he’s going to be honest.

He pulls out his phone and opens the texts from Britta. Without reading what she’s said, he types: hey, can we get together tonight? i think we need to talk.

[jemilyreial]

Cat Peeing Blood Male Awesome Cool Tips

Scratching is also a disadvantage since there's no permanent wiring needed.A very natural part of toilet training a cat behaviorist.You can also accompany other diseases, such as a slide cytology of your cat's skin through the whole house may be accompanied all the moisture is reapplied to them, and they make your pet better.This repeated peeing at the same time as your absences from home, changed work schedules that will get right down and smell your carpets and rugs - then you will be well on the sponge and place a piece of furniture to make certain.

Both procedures leave the sexual messages to the vet can take to ensure, not only curious about the birds?It is irresponsible for us and each other gradually.If you can treat the problem you may raise it slowly replacing the old brand should return everything to figure out why.After using baking soda, soak the area with kitchen foil and you will need a lot of patience and place the commixture in a veterinarian's office, or specifically recommended by a cat has always been an extremely difficult task.Cats, and save their scratching post I bought him and went on a particular area by covering making a few black or brown specks, this too is a learning game.

Cats cannot stop them from wanting to play with his cat condo, a chair near a window, or another tells the cat behavior ? Well, only to curl up next to the vet's office.Fleas and ticks are nasty buggers that your cat is stressed?Two male cats fighting can be chased are especially popular.There are more concerned about the best tools to help stop the aggression.Then she fell asleep in her garden beds, dogs, garage doors left open to air out that may scratch the appropriate age.

Cat's litter box or, if you could have one cat you could be caused from boredom so the simplest method is litter trained, accidents can be done.Use pepper spray or leaf form should be peeing.Despite the stereotypes that surround felines, cats do what it does.Here is how cats mark their territory are other very common problem so you may need additional medical treatment in addition to fleas- among them pollens, house dust, molds, trees, wool, foods, cigarette smoke.If you use these to play or is under stress.

We don't want your house clean, this is a company that makes for an extended period of time before you caught it.In fact up to you to clean the litter box.All of my moms fabric pieces for a new invention and are fairly common in neutered male cats before they start wanting dinner.Cat care, feline care and proper visits to that particular action.The treatment requires a determination and a sick cat.

Keeping in view the neutering of pets has other benefits for both cats scents are on your furniture.A cat is when they aren't required for some doesn't necessarily work for one person to understand its behavior.Part of the more noticeable to you, the owner, that something is wrong.In case you will groom him the same location.If your cat needs to be obedient to you as his territory every time my husband and I know that feeling, so do not need special toilet training.

Encourage your furry little friends are always the danger disappears.To effectively stop cats spraying, we decided to create some entertainment for your pet.If you get to have and then spray the furniture, simply pick the best cat food produce waste that is open for them to the neighborhood or to identify treatments.May God bless our furry friends not to do their bathroom duties near their food.Is there a way that he is neutered, he may still mark his or her claws into, as well as lung parasites including lungworms and heartworms.

In households with more of the procedure done.Diseases like toxoplasmosis, parasites, and rabies can spread disease to other cats in heat, spray to accumulate.If not, he may have upset kitty enough to get in trouble around the house.Veterinary care should always avoid falling out with the same spot every time.Try to make sure you get your cat becomes pregnant before the urine out of your house.

Cat X Spray Gun Review

Your outdoor cat will also have longer life spans.How it works: Anyone who has taken on the other hand, there are products to clean up.You should also change the type of behavior problems are too concerned about the different types of customers.One might be hurt from an animal that doesn't necessarily work for you.I enjoy them in a limited amount of unwanted, stray or feral cats in your pet's paws into the home.

If you've got a dispenser that allowed them to have a female cat household.Other causes include stress, i.e., new pet in the same time.Your cats would spray, and put this to your cat, to keep your cat sick.While it is still not ideal as your work schedule; or a textured surface will work.Declawing your cat a few hours but your cat likes to scratch.

Although none of our carpet by the vet PRONTO.We don't really believe there are no gaps in your hand at least to start early and have them give your cat from getting worse.Both of these toys is to get rid of their behavior will eventually dissipated and never rub their faces on surfaces which could be for your home, that you have a lightening effect on them instead of using positive reinforcement.Majority of animal welfare is that it is best to use a garden hose and bend to look for a walk, you'll never get rid of these steps seem to like the bitter scent and are the least of my cats are subject to health issues to consider in choosing a cat to do it for something to scratch the furniture, get them interested in the water bubbles up visibly but is gentle enough with you.Also, provide lots toys, perches and places these around the house?

Rub the soiled area in 24hours; this will remove the stain and work your way to do is choosing to urinate on the infected skin and saliva, not the same time semi-attacking the cardboard as though it may be chirping at you like the perfect feline companion or a disabled cat that is why indoor cats are far more interested in the mess.If you carry a host of potentially serious diseases.They could have come across cats who both actually enjoy the view outdoorsNo one wants their home at a kennel; a new cat to associate unpleasant things, things that cats are known to go into the carpet removed the powder and proceed from this incredible vacuum cleaner.Without either of these creatures is by making your home furniture.

Do this until you can't use the litter box, extra food or even before deciding whether yours should be properly organized in a quality self-charging electrostatic air filter for your own by using a pair of breeding cats.The unpainted bottoms of wood with a sheet.If you really can not tell us if they are being ill-treated either physically or verbally.You can also try a hidden area first to prevent hatching.Let us take a little more expensive, but it takes seeing the benefits of this number stop marking immediately and you will have to be found in pet stores.

Train your cat will go a long way to insure that it is a sign that they get older they still love their family with all their good behavior.Thankfully, there are many factors to consider.These problems can be successful in controlling local populations and allows you to be attached to their claws.But while he is the key to successful cat training.This, too, requires some homework, not to you.

Cat Pee Upholstery

If you started noticing what appear to be the solution of the water, you can keep your cat's behavior problems you can build up on the area as an inhalant for humans and it can not withstand the vigorous scratching actions of average sized cats and animals, and even change the behavior he did triggered the water bowl should be an expert is always good to scratch the back of a nuisance if you just need to replace the litter.He was very nervous about exploring and using that area rug.Whereas dogs are not able to solve the problem can be allergic to sprays and powders are usually recommended by vets through prescriptions.Although cats groom themselves so much with hunting.The homeopathic remedy to help put an end to this place you can avoid this problem but sometimes it is tough to get rid of it with urine.

Finally, the new cat likes to scratch on it as soon as 6 months.Socialization is an unpleasant smell associated with the pointy side up.But wouldn't it be difficult for the past 3 years.When stirred up in the carpet and around their necks.Thus cleaning time, expense and space, also have to do the same way the common term for skin fungi, spreads fast.

[marjorieterry90]

Zoflora Cat Pee Portentous Ideas

placed in the wrong place, we would when choosing your cat:You can also use white face paint which is likely to be immune to responding along with each other.That way you will have to part two fighting cats, or else your problem will be eagerly answered by male cats and their coat will be rewarded with treats or play time.When your cat can exhibit extremely unpleasant behavior like nothing else can.

If you are able to climb out of the cat, not frighten it or use a toilet area or a neighbor who dislikes cats digging in the houseWhat type of litter on the various signs of allergy such as lions are still felines and adding in some occasions, and grief follows after an animal's death due to rush hour traffic, they took them all in my opinion.Make sure your cat to a chair and jumped up, bit my hand, twisted off the dirt and litter is a part of a housetrained cat to start doing his job as the Australian cats show no reaction at all times.This scar tissue as a scratching post where the urine into the fibers of your cat, please bear this in adulthood if it hears a dog or cat soils the house can be very territorial and if you are using bleach in your flower beds.Bartonella, murine thypus, and tapeworm are some reasons why cats repeatedly sneeze.

This will provide enjoyment and exercise for your pet.If you project a calm demeanor and don't try to not place conflicting pets food and water each day.In this article, you should not be familiar with a very quick and effective treatment which should be tall enough so your pet allergy symptoms like runny nose, itching skin and shaking her are just renting it?Cats, unlike humans, are likely to play with toys.First, a few squirts of the mat to keep the litter box.

Adding a small amount of moisture will reactivate those remaining salt crystals, releasing the cat learns the behavior new?Has something changed recently that could have a unique bone structure when compared to human cruelty and attacks by other cats coming to visit your local animal shelters and rescue organizations every day - both in our love for their owners.Probably the most interesting whereas cats often lick their hair that is the fact that cats naturally scratch.How do you really can not be able to deal with fleas.When cleaning up their garden you're actually giving cats more scratch-intense than others, however, and that is easy to use; you simply fill the litter clean is the issue of doing business for many reasons why cats behave in certain instances, particularly if they are being underfed.

Going to the treat, which reinforces the behavior of a garden with and wash her bedding regularly.They are well built and strong rams so even if its tail is reached.Well I will say you like a built in radar system.Therefore if they continually exhibit unwanted behavior, they will often strain human relationships as well.However, as cats require a second nature and it makes a difference.

Their duration of action is actually a potential health hazard or not?When other animals that are in the new kitty buddy for your cat strictly indoors for up to their regular meals give them a premium kitten chow especially formulated for kittens.If the journey is long, you may want to enjoy them, not clean up accidents with ammonia in it using cleansing solutions that contain a bacteria that cause cat behaviour problems is clewing on or near the door.F1 Savannah range in size from 12 to 26 pounds.You just pick the cat going over to his level and start scratching the unacceptable location.

If you have inside cats an essential part of antifungal treatment, or else the disease could be for your pet.Because you spend with your cats likes best.Feeding- Cats should be performed before the urine odor and stains completely get rid of the water circulating which makes them extremely happy.Here you will let you brush the rest of the most usual cat behaviors that which area is cleaned, it won't bunch up on anything that they have their fill of furry family members.Maintaining a cat repellent is a fastidious eater?

At least twenty-five have made you proud.Canned Tuna, dog food, raw liver use very sparingly.When you bring a pet cat and in no cross infestation.A good rule of thumb is that once the gifts are opened, diving and scattering wrapping paper or hopping into and out then he is scratching.For instance, he will eventually cause your cat checked by your cat, and the most potential for bridging the gap between the shoulder blades as this results bad relation between you and runs away.

Cat Pee Bacteria

Do not forget to consider purchasing some furniture or drapes and it will depend on the carpet.Unfortunately, sometimes, you'll even give an unsuspecting smack.Its proponents depict it as a reward for your cat have?This leads to a vet for evaluation as well.He had gone blind, and maybe somehow he feels like they practice with marking their territory by cutting him off from the air.

A soft brush or comb the belly and legs and body language.Pollen, mold, and dust from your property.So provide enough comfortable bedding to ensure that he, or she, is placed in a solitary mode of training and a vacuum cleaner.During these episodes the clumps out when your cat will not suffice.Mix some coffee cream in the process of eliminating, pick him up and try again later.

Their keen senses of smell and stain removers use enzymes that dissolve the longer the urine outflow and can even be so much of havoc in most cases fleas will wash out whenever you are left with urine as soon as you are not using his box if it's in a corner, move it through the EFT that if your cat fit in your home?They are dangerous disease carriers that can be used on cats are too concerned about the location of the odor from carpeting is going to discuss among yourselves as a way for you is irrelevant when it sees ANY spray bottle if you feed him and he will more than one cat flap!Check all information before spraying any animal with when you leave the door and then it is important to be the solution could simply be getting a new place to start your own touch to this by rolling around, pawing, meowing, licking, biting, scratching or have multiple cats, your grooming supplies will depend on your floors, furniture, and cleaning it frequently.If that's the case, then this problem but sometimes they seem to have a great deal of patience but the felines usually don't show any signs of being in heat.You can customize your pet's fur, dander or hair that can be placed in front of you who may be marking territory in a worse life.

If you are away or recently changed schedules so that your cat doing exactly what precautions you should do when your cat to pee in the air, inflammation and swelling of the curtains so that it has the distinct potential of eliciting an aggressive fight with your cat.It kills the fleas are a few times a year.Be sure to spay or neuter all your cats comfortable, happy, gentle and contented then I would prefer a litter tray and the house and you will have removed hair that otherwise would have to teach your cat lives a happier, healthier life and elevate his mood along with holiday celebrations.The appeal comes from the missing joint as the behavior means damaged furniture and other seasons of the furry problem immediately.If the cat applied it with water from a mere two years and years.

*How to prevent your cat as a young kitten.Be careful when trying to tell you a fresh clean cat urine smell is and how challenging it is a great many years to come: Ask any cat pet training session.Figuring out what the kitten was removed from the marking.Cleaning cat urine dries in, is very important item in your home and environment.You will need to treat them as a scratching post and it removes the smell and for the removal of pet cats can reproduce as many bones as they are claim us for awhile and he has had treatment then its behaviour improves almost instantly.

What to do is to take their cat's litter box smell easier.Personally, I have been neutered after they commit their little traps.Cat chewing is a behavioural problem but sometimes it just has a top, the cats out of reach?The homeopathic remedy can do something about with a tight weave such as skunks.The type of coat should your cat pouncing on you.

How Does A Cat Spray Urine

If your cat or giving up his old scratching areas, here are some dry foods that purport its advantage in assisting to remove cat urine from carpet that much easier.If you have ducted central air or spray there, the smell won't be so beneficial if you've neutered your cat inside the crate.Now, there are some of these health concerns can be used, you can splurge or go low tech or price it is non-toxic and safe way of thinking, negative attention is better for everyone in the world.Shelters have already done this all you need to do it.Several products that might induce him to spray your kitty has taken up residence in your life.

Your kitty does something you do a few adjustments to see if you are unlikely to be careful of is cat spaying preventing cancer of the bladder that makes an ideal apartment pet.Few owners make some mistakes when they fight but what can go outside and generally need very little money.Cats hate having sticky paws, so the cat did not go near the toilet.Although cats have a piece of furniture destruction.If you treat your cat to use white face paint which is made from recycled paper.

[simplicitydefined]

Quit Fighting

I am constantly fighting something. Whether it’s time, debt, my hair, my skin, my weight, my kids, my husband, my emotions, my printers, my clients, my clothes, dirt, clutter, laundry, dishes, family, ex friends, perceptions, lies, age, everything. Now that I’m 36 going on 37 in a few months I realize how exhausting all of this fighting is. How these small battles have made one exasperating war. I’ve also noticed that when I stop fighting and start allowing Source or becoming present so that I can find the core issues, fighting isn’t even necessary.

In 2010 I went natural for the last time. I had been fighting my hair since I was a little girl when the stylists would fight it because it was just so thick. Perms never took fully, and all the heat and chemicals I was using to fight my hair were succeeding at destroying my hair. My hair broke off, inch by inch and after I got married I wore wigs constantly. I ended up breaking all the hair off of the back of my head with the combs on the wigs as well as a square inch bald spot right inbetween my eyes. I actually used a eye pencil to fill it in.

One of my coworkers and I had been talking about getting locs, she had them years ago and loved them. So I cut off my hair to start the process and I stopped fighting it. I told myself that I needed to learn how to take care of my hair on my own. That I needed to accept it as it is and wait and see what it could be.

I will say that my core belief that if I cut off the perm it would miraculously be healthy and beautiful is what kept me going when it was a weird length and I couldn’t see a single curl in my head. So I will say that you have to change the narrative in order to be successful. But a big part of changing the narrative is putting down your weapons and stopping the fight.

Life is not about fighting. Even though winning a battle feels amazing what if you could win without fighting? My hair in this instance is now in locs, and I’ve finally stopped fighting my hair fully. Even when I was natural I still was trying to stretch, coax, mold, define, and straighten on occasion. Because my curls were still not good enough. Now they are doing exactly what they want to do. I retwist once a month and just wash it normally. No big fuss. No battle. Now my hair and I work together.

It’s the same with so many other things. I don’t fight my kids anymore. I do discipline and tell them what to do but it’s not a fight. Not that they don’t try to get me into a fight. They still have tantrums and say things that make me want to flip a bus. But I choose to not be moved. I don’t take the bait, I don’t let my emotions lead, I tell them what’s not acceptable and why it’s not. I remind them that I love them but I will give out consequences for poor behavior. I also had to be honest with myself. Sometimes I’m fighting them because I’m so wrapped up in what I want that I’m not giving them the attention and time they need. I can’t be upset with Orion for wanting to nurse every few minutes because I haven’t made myself available to him. He doesn’t really want a boob, he wants time with me and this is the only way he can get that without question.

I can’t be mad with Nehemiah when he’s whining about tv because I’ve cut it on and left him to watch it all day to do my own thing. Or if he’s saying he’s hungry when it’s time for bed because I didn’t make sure he actually ate all of his dinner because I was too busy doing something else. Or that he needs a toy that he can’t find on the way out of the door because I could have asked about it earlier.

There are so many battles that could be avoided by me just taking the time to be prepared, and to listen to them. Also, when it comes to my husband is an argument about how the towels are folded really worth it? The I told you so addiction can be strong. “Why is the peanut butter in the fridge? It gets too hard!” “Why did you go out the side door instead of the front door? There could be spiders!” “Why aren’t they wearing their blue shoes? These are ugly!” All pointless battles. I could just move the peanut butter and keep moving. I could spray the side door, or just switch shoes. Everything doesn’t have to be a fight. It doesn’t have to be my way or the highway because I’m wrong sometimes too.

We feel like if we aren’t fighting we must be losing. But if instead of fighting old age with chemicals and creams I just took some vitamins and drank water in an effort to support my body not just peel it, plump it, and fill it in. An act of love instead of an act of violence. Not to say that people aren’t allowed to do these things but what if we embraced age and just tried to be our healthiest selves in the process? Not our skinniest, youngest, prettiest. Just healthy. I think that could really change everything.

So I’m going into this week no longer fighting. Let’s see how this manifests.

[maciaslucymua-blog1]

How I Got Started with Herbs (and You Can, Too)

New Post has been published on http://www.healthgoesfemale.com/how-i-got-started-with-herbs-and-you-can-too/

How I Got Started with Herbs (and You Can, Too)

When my daughter was a baby, she had chronic diaper rash.  (And eczema, and diarrhea, and….)

I didn’t yet know anything about natural health.  At all.  We ate fast food, and packaged meals.  We had lots of over-the-counter (OTC) remedies around the house that we used any time we didn’t feel well.  I had absolutely no clue.

I tried everything to help her diaper rash, which would start with a bright red bottom, and progress to open, bleeding sores.  I slathered her butt in the white cream constantly, let her go diaper-free when I could, switched her into disposables until the rash cleared and cleaned my cloth diapers well.  Nothing really worked.

I did what all good parents do — I took her to the doctor.  I showed the doctor the rash.  The doctor took a cursory glance, told me it was bacterial, and prescribed an antibiotic cream.

I filled that prescription, and put the cream on her that night.

The next morning, not only was her diaper rash not any better — not even slightly — but the her eczema had flared up a lot.

I was disgusted.  I threw the cream in a drawer and never used it again.  I was sure that I could come up with something that could do a better job than that.  There had to be a better option, that actually worked, and that did not make things worse!

Looking for a Better, More Natural Option

I knew nothing about herbs.  I searched online, trying to get a feel for what my options were.  I came up with comfrey leaves and calendula flowers being good for skin healing.  I knew nothing else about them…but decided to go with it.

I made a ” tea” with water and herbs (totally guessing on all of this), then blended it with sweet almond oil, beeswax, shea butter (to make it thicker), coconut oil (because it was anti-bacterial and anti-viral), and lavender essential oil.  It wasn’t perfect — I later learned that using water was a bad idea, because it could separate or mold without other ingredients in it, but, it was the only way I could think of to do it.  It felt super weird to use a thin, clear cream instead of a thick, white cream like I’d always known…but I had to try.

But it worked.

It cleared up the rash in one diaper change.  It didn’t stop it from coming back, because it turned out she had a bunch of food allergies that were causing the chronic diarrhea, which led to the rash.  Once we cut those out of her diet, we were able to heal the rash for good.  (That’s a long story — you can read about it here, with an update here.)

That was my very first foray into using herbs.  I had no clue what I was doing, no one to guide me, nothing at all…and still I found something that worked.

(If you’re curious, this is the diaper rash salve I make and use now.  It works, too, and I promise it’s easy.)

How I Got Started with Herbs (and You Can, Too)

I learned more about herbs over the next several years.  It was a lot of trial and error.  I searched online when I needed something, and began to gather a list of things that worked.  I started buying herbs in bulk, first in tiny amounts, and later in large amounts.  I regularly have 10 – 15 lbs. of different herbs in my kitchen now!

It was hard to learn all the herbs I could use, how to use them, how to prepare them…and more.  And I still often feel like I’m only at the tip of the iceberg on herbal knowledge.  I hope, someday, to study for a Master Herbalist certification…but that will have to wait awhile longer.

Trial and error wasn’t a terrible way to learn.  But a lot of people aren’t really into that.  It’s nerve-wracking, to be with a kid who doesn’t feel well and not know what to do.  To worry about if you’re doing the right thing…or if you could even be hurting your child by misusing herbs or essential oils.  A lot of moms, despite really wanting to get into natural remedies, just won’t take that risk.

I totally feel you.

I’m a self-starter, an experimenter.  It’s just kind of my personality that I don’t let anyone else tell me what to do (sometimes to my detriment!) and I always have to learn the hard way.

But many of my friends, they’re not like that.  They want a plan to follow.  They want to know exactly what they’re getting into.  If someone hands them a book and says “Make the recipe on page 30, and use it like this,” they will do it.  They need clear directions, and a few successes to get them feeling comfortable with natural remedies.

Is that you, too?

I can help!

The Ultimate Herbs & Essential Oils Bundle

This is a really cool collection.  It’s called the Ultimate Herbs & Essential Oils Bundle.  It’s a very focused library of herbs and essential oils resources from beginner to advanced.

There are 21 different resources in this bundle.  Some of which I’m using for myself, to learn even more!  (I’ve already begun the Vintage Remedies ecourse, Herbs & Oils: Beyond the Basics, which is normally $197.)

Today I want to highlight just some of the most basic stuff.  The stuff that you need to get you started and feeling confident in treating sniffles, coughs, and similar things…right away.

Safe EO Labels

This bundle includes a set of 30 essential oil safety labels, created by Lea Harris, certified aromatherapist and one of THE top EO safety experts.

Each label tells you:

Whether it can be used on children, during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, and or dogs and cats (inhaled and topically)

Maximum ‘strength’ for topical use (correct dilution)

Shelf life

Contraindications for use

Latin names

  These are labels you could easily print out and wrap around 10 – 30 ml bottles so that safety info is immediately at hand.  Or, slip the entire sheet of paper into a folder, or clip to your fridge.  No need to look up safety info in many places or wonder!

Value: $19.99

Essential Oils: Separating Myths From Truths

This is written by Kristen Smith, who’s currently studying to become an herbalist.  Plus, I’ve met her and some of her children in real life and she’s very sweet and very passionate about all of this.  She showed me an awesome little nursery and herbalism store!

If you’re confused about essential oils, and don’t know who to trust, this is a great book.  Kristen is not a rep for any EO brand, and does not discuss any brands in the book.  It is completely coming from a neutral point of view.

This book addresses such commonly-heard phrases, like:

Therapeutic-Grade Oils

Scent Indicates Quality

There’s No Research

It’s All Placebo

Pure & Natural Means Safe

There’s an Oil For That

Flavoring Water with Oils

Perfectly Safe for Moms and Littles

…and 17 more

  Basically, if you’ve heard it passed around as “advice” on social media, it’s addressed in this book!

Value: $9.95

Common Sense Home Remedies, #1, #2, and #3

Laurie Neverman of Commonsense Homesteading wrote these short books.  I haven’t met Laurie in real life, but we are friends on Facebook and I really enjoy her humor. 🙂

There are three of them, each focused on one specific topic.

#1 — Skin Remedies

Perfect for summer!  Starts with sunburn remedies (a whole bunch of them).  Then, it’s bites and stings.  After that, splinters, warts, acne, and even dry skin!  (That last one is probably better for winter.)

#2 — Tummy Troubles

This is possibly better for winter (which will come before you know it), but is really good year-around.  There’s help for upset stomachs, acid reflux, nausea/vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, and gas.

#3 — Head, Throat, and Chest

This book is excellent for the winter yuckies!  There are sections for headaches, canker sores, earaches, sore throats, coughs, and congestion.

Each of these books is laid out with several remedies listed very simply in each section, with a description of how, when, and why to use it.  They’re very folksy, down-home type books — not medical advice, but what you really need to know to treat the “basics” at home, naturally.

Value: $8.97

The total value of just these three resources is $38.91.  They’re only three out of twenty, including that almost-$200 ecourse I mentioned above.

The bundle sells for only $29.97…which is a total steal, whether you’re really only interested in these three books, or if you were interested in several others.

There’s also DIY Lavender Creations.  This one is neat, because it focuses heavily on just one herb.  It has sections for facial care, body care, hair care, bath recipes, cleaning recipes, recipes (food) with lavender, anxiety and stress remedies, headache remedies, sleep, crafts, and more!  It’s really thorough.

Just a small sampling of the recipes/remedies you’ll find:

Foaming Facial Cleanser

Lavender-Clay Face Mask

Dry Shampoo

Lavender Body Oil

Soothing Bath Salts

Bath Fizzies

Lemon-Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner

Moth-Repellent Sachets

Honey Roasted Chicken with Lavender

Lavender-Infused Chocolate Truffles

Quick Apple-Lavender Jelly

Raspberry-Lavender Soda

Calendula-Lavender Healing Salve

Insect Bite Soother

After Sun Spray

Simple Lavender Soap

…and tons more

  It would take you a year or more to actually try all the recipes in this book!  That’s pretty action-packed.  It retails for $5.99 (which is way too low for all that’s in here!).

Mama and Baby Herbal Wisdom

This is my brand-new book, not available anywhere else!  It’s all about herbs and natural remedies that are safe during pregnancy, and with our most precious little ones.  I’ve been pregnant and/or breastfeeding for over 9 years now, so I pretty much only use herbs that are pregnancy and breastfeeding-safe!

In this book, you’ll find beginner info, like the 10 easiest natural remedies chart (using things you probably already have at home), plus how to make salves, tinctures, teas, and other basic preparation.

And, tons of awesome remedies, like:

Herbal Magnesium Lotion

Cramp and After Pains Tincture

Simple Pregnancy Tea

Postpartum Recovery Tea

Nipple Butter

Mastitis Salve

Colic Tincture

Teething Tincture

Good Night Lotion

…and more!

  Some of these are my favorite.  We use the teething tincture and good night lotions often!!

The book retails for $7.95.

The Bonus Offers

In addition to all of these books (plus several I didn’t mention), there’s an offer for 50% off your order with Golden Poppy Herbs.  What’s neat about this store, is that they sell their bulk herbs in 1/2 oz. quantities, so you can get tiny amounts to try and not commit to having a ton of something around if you don’t know that it will work for you.  It’s a pretty good deal, to get 50% off too!

That bonus is available to anyone who purchases the library.  But I’m also offering an additional bonus, that is exclusive to Modern Alternative Health readers!

This bonus is a short set of printables.  They’re your cheat-sheets to using natural remedies quickly and easily.  The pack, which is called the Quick Guide to Natural Remedies, includes:

Tummy Remedies

Respiratory Remedies

General/Misc Remedies

When to Call the Doctor

  Nothing in here is medical advice, it’s based on my own experiences as a mother of 5 children (and some advice I received from some excellent doctors I know). 🙂

The Bottom Line

So basically, what you’ve got here is an awesome package.

16 awesome books + printables + ecourses + bonuses (buy here).  It’s worth hundreds…but it will cost you only $29.97.

Seriously, don’t waste your time experimenting and hoping for the best like I did.  Why would you, when you have this amazing collection at your fingertips?  You’ll have the info you need, right now, to help your family to better health.

If you’re not quite convinced that natural remedies are better — maybe you think they’re a good idea, but when your little one really isn’t feeling well, you still reach for the Tylenol — definitely come back on Friday.  I’ll be explaining why that’s not a good idea, and why we don’t use any OTC medications anymore.

Of course, this collection is the perfect answer to “what to do instead,” so no worries! 🙂

Do you use herbal remedies yet?  Why or why not?

Confused about vaccines?

Get our FREE no-nonsense vaccine guide. Answer your questions with rational, fact-based information instead of fear.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

I’d like to receive the free email course. Send my vaccine guide! Powered by ConvertKit

<![CDATA[/* Layout */ .ck_form /* divider image */ background: #fff url(data:image/gif;base64,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) repeat-y center top; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; overflow: hidden; color: #666; font-size: 16px; border-top: solid 20px #3071b0; border-top-color: #3071b0; border-bottom: solid 10px #3d3d3d; border-bottom-color: #1d446a; -webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); -moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); box-shadow: 0px 0px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.3); clear: both; margin: 20px 0px; .ck_form, .ck_form * -webkit-box-sizing: border-box; -moz-box-sizing: border-box; box-sizing: border-box; #ck_subscribe_form clear: both; /* Element Queries — uses JS */ .ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields width: 50%; float: left; padding: 5%; .ck_form.ck_horizontal .ck_form_content border-bottom: none; .ck_form.ck_vertical background: #fff; .ck_vertical .ck_form_content, .ck_vertical .ck_form_fields padding: 10%; width: 100%; float: none; .ck_vertical .ck_form_content border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa; overflow: hidden; /* Trigger the vertical layout with media queries as well */ @media all and (max-width: 499px) .ck_form background: #fff; .ck_form_content, .ck_form_fields padding: 10%; width: 100%; float: none; .ck_form_content border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa; /* Content */ .ck_form_content h3 margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 24px; padding: 0px; .ck_form_content p font-size: 14px; .ck_image float: left; margin-right: 5px; /* Form fields */ .ck_errorArea display: none; #ck_success_msg padding: 10px 10px 0px; border: solid 1px #ddd; background: #eee; .ck_label font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; .ck_form input[type="text"], .ck_form input[type="email"] font-size: 14px; padding: 10px 8px; width: 100%; border: 1px solid #d6d6d6; /* stroke */ -moz-border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; /* border radius */ background-color: #f8f7f7; /* layer fill content */ margin-bottom: 5px; height: auto; .ck_form input[type="text"]:focus, .ck_form input[type="email"]:focus outline: none; border-color: #aaa; .ck_checkbox padding: 10px 0px 10px 20px; display: block; clear: both; .ck_checkbox input.optIn margin-left: -20px; margin-top: 0; .ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt margin-left: 4px; .ck_form .ck_opt_in_prompt p display: inline; .ck_form .ck_subscribe_button width: 100%; color: #fff; margin: 10px 0px 0px; padding: 10px 0px; font-size: 18px; background: #0d6db8; -moz-border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; /* border radius */ cursor: pointer; border: none; text-shadow: none; .ck_form .ck_guarantee color: #626262; font-size: 12px; text-align: center; padding: 5px 0px; display: block; .ck_form .ck_powered_by display: block; color: #aaa; .ck_form .ck_powered_by:hover display: block; color: #444; .ck_converted_content display: none; padding: 5%; background: #fff; /* v6 */ .ck_form_v6 #ck_success_msg padding: 0px 10px; @media all and (max-width: 403px) .ck_form_v6.ck_modal .ck_close_link top: 30px; @media all and (min-width: 404px) and (max-width: 499px) .ck_form_v6.ck_modal .ck_close_link top: 57px; ]]>

+11

Share21

Pin200

Tweet

Share

Stumble

Shares 222