Snake Charmer (6 page)

The Morrisons shivered. Every small shifter knew what a crush box was. It forced a shift on instinct and locked a person in their smaller state.

“So, they forced me into my snake form and iced the box, slowing me down. They kept me in the cold box and transported me, finally opening the crush box enough to let me out of it, and I slithered into a glass case that was immediately pumped full of gas.”

She rubbed her neck with her free hand and checked for the nearly faded scars. Her audience was rapt.

“When I woke, I was in the underground holding, my hood was nailed to a backboard and my tail was nailed to the floor of the cage. They fed me every night, I wasn’t able to shift to human, and I was stuck in my own filth. Every night they fed me and every three nights, they milked the venom from my fangs using electricity to force me to bite down. I ripped through my own flesh twice and finally they switched to larger clips.”

Her new in-laws looked grey and a quick glance at Liander showed grim lines around his mouth. He may have suspected but now he knew.

“For two months I was there, watching the dead being removed, presumably to be destroyed. My head was pinned in place and I had nothing to do but watch. When the rescue came, I was not…well.” She rubbed her neck again.

“They had to be careful with me. They used snake hooks that the lions had standing by, and a healer with a lot more guts than sense administered the first repairs so that I wouldn’t bleed to death thrashing around. He also knocked me out. When I woke up, I was at the recovery centre, and it was Liander hanging on to me while the healer worked to regenerate the missing scales. I think it was a week before I could shift back to human, so Liander was with me the entire time. I spent more time with his mouth around my neck than I am comfortable admitting, but eventually, I got back in touch with my arms and legs.”

She sighed and squeezed Liander’s hand. “Fast forward six months and here we are.”

Molly applauded. “I can’t believe you found each other that way.” She sniffled and smiled.

Mrs. Morrison got to her feet and hauled Yvena out of her seat and into her arms. “Welcome to the family, daughter. Call me Windy.”

Liander’s father hugged her next. “I am Liam, call me Pops.”

She couldn’t call him anything. He had a grip tighter than a python and she couldn’t breathe. Her feet were off the ground and she squeaked.

Liander tugged her out of his father’s arms. “Enough, Pops. Leave her some air.”

She stumbled back and gasped. “Good grip.”

Pops grinned. He looked so much like an older Liander that she now had no difficulty imaging what he would look like surrounded by their own children.

Rowena had her phone in front of her and her shoulders relaxed. “You are a snake that prefers other snakes.”

“To eat? Yes. For sex? Not really.” She shrugged. “Male serpents try too hard to impress.”

The women giggled and the men scowled.

Molly cocked her head. “I think I heard a rattler in the pottery shed. Would you take a look, Yvena?”

Liana laughed, “Putting her to work already?”

Liander smiled, “If you are interested, I can show you where it is.”

Yvena looked at the ring of hopeful faces and nodded, paying her first due as a member of the Morrison family. “Show me.”

And so it came to pass that Yvena found herself at the front of a small parade out to the pottery shed. She could see the appeal to a snake. The glazed tiles on the floor would be smooth on the belly and hold the heat of the day very well. It was practically a designed habitat.

Blushing a little, she shifted her tongue and flicked it out, tasting the air. She sought out the scent of another snake, and to her surprise, she found two.

“I am going to ask them to leave, so if you could all either get onto something four feet high or stand far back, I would appreciate it. They may not come out in the best of moods.”

She untucked her shirt and stepped into the pottery shed. Liander looked like he wanted to follow her.

Yvena watched him fidget. “Fine, if you want to come along, shift on top of something high and stay out of my way. You are immune to neurotoxin, not necrotic venom.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He followed her in and she pointed to a safe spot for him and she stripped off in the middle of the shed, folding her clothing for easy dressing later.

She pulled her snake around her and sank to her belly. Her tongue was far more accurate now. She let out a deep rumbling warning growl that was the signature noise of her species. Rattles met her noise, so she growled again, sliding along the slick tiles with her belly scales moving her along.

In a shadowed corner, a rattle sounded. She rumbled at him and he hissed at her. She kept coming, and he moved away from the corner, sliding along the wall. At a respectful distance, she pursued him until he was out in the afternoon light.

Now, it was time to get in there and rout his girlfriend. She turned and made her growl again. The larger female didn’t require much coaxing. It would have been too dangerous for her to defend territory that they had just moved into. She escorted the large female rattler out into the light, and then, she turned and looked around for her husband.

He was perched on top of a worktable and his bushy tail lashed lazily. He bounded down to the ground and gestured for her to follow him outside.

She may as well get it over with.

Slowly and carefully, she swayed out to meet her new family. The Morrisons were perched on stone tables, and she saw them flinch as she approached.

Liander looked around and shifted to human. “Yvena, show them your markings and flare your hood please. They need to know what you look like at all times.”

She nodded her head and flared her hood, turning to show the distinctive chevron pattern that marked the king cobra.

Brian said it first, “You are huge!”

She sidled up to him and extended herself until she could reach his cheek. The young man held perfectly still, and she pressed a dry kiss to his cheek.

“She considers that a compliment.” Liander chuckled.

Molly grinned. “I really want to get my camera and Photoshop her into the family portrait we did last year.”

Pops smiled and carefully reached out to stroke her head. “We can have him and his wife come back for another shoot with all the family.”

She nodded her head, and one by one, the Morrisons stroked her scales. She kept still while they got used to the feel of her, and the moment they were done, she returned to the pottery shed.

Yvena was straightening her hair when she emerged. She threw Liander’s jeans at him. “Here you go. Your family has seen it before, stop showing off.”

The Morrisons looked at her for a moment before they all dissolved into giggles. Liander put his jeans on. “We are a little more casual about clothing when we are together.”

“I was just thinking of the paying guests. They might look through that window and see you going sky clad.”

The Morrisons grinned again. It was definitely family behaviour.

Liander sauntered over and wrapped his arms around her. “This is a holistic spa. We can get away with as much odd behaviour as we like as long as we do it within the confines of the facility.”

She went up on her toes and he kissed her. Just to mess with him, she forked her tongue and flicked it in his mouth. He jerked back and she laughed.

His eyes warmed, and he moved his head close to hers once more, “Do it again.”

She obliged as the sun beat down on her shoulders. He tasted even better with her heightened senses.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he lifted her and started walking. She didn’t care where they ended up; she just didn’t want to break the kiss.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and held tight. Yvena slid her tongue along his and enjoyed the heat that the kiss was generating in her body.

He bumped into several walls, but it didn’t slow him down. She tried not to smile as they licked and nipped themselves into a frenzy.

She heard the clicking of a door and the cool confines of a dark room with the heady scent of flowers.

He leaned over and flicked the lights; she blinked, pulled away from him with numb lips and looked over his shoulder around the room. Flowers were everywhere, of every variety offered by the desert.

“Oh wow.”

She unlocked her legs and slid down his body, exploring the room.

The bed was covered with petals, and there was no way for Liander to have done it. She teared up. “They did this? For us?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. “For you.”

She sighed and tilted her head to give him better access. “I will have to thank them.”

“Keep chasing the snakes away and that will be all the thanks they need.”

Yvena stroked her hands over his arms. “Good to know. What do you need?”

“Well, dear wife, I would love to find a snake in my bed.”

Laughing, she helped him remove her shirt. “I would love to oblige.”

She brushed her hair over her shoulder and reclined against the petals. Yvena opened her arms to Liander, and he wasted no time in shucking free of his jeans.

She parted her thighs and settled against him until she was comfortable. “This is nice.”

He nibbled at her lower lip, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Very nice.”

She slowly undulated her body under him, stroking his skin with hers. A portion of her flexibility remained with her in any form.

His cock rubbed against her, parting her sex and encouraging her to give him a slick invitation. The pressure on her clit had her twisting against him.

He tasted her, there was no other word for it as he worked down her body, nibbling and licking at her with light flicks of his tongue. She made a note to return the favour when his attentions were not driving her to distraction.

She moaned, hissed and twisted when he plunged his tongue into her navel and lapped his way below it. The sensitive skin between her belly and her sex had always been her undoing.

Liander settled between her thighs, and after nipping each side of the frame, he plunged his tongue into her, curling and twisting it inside her.

She gripped his hair and gave him light direction until he struck light to her passion and she shrieked, lifting her hips against him.

She could feel the muscles of her entrance gripping his tongue, and he swiftly lifted his head and moved up her body, plunging into her. It was a very tight fit considering her grip on the head of his cock, but as her muscles relaxed, he slipped further inside.

“Sorry about that. It is beyond my control.” She felt an apology was in order as he slid into her segment by segment.

He grunted, sweat coating his skin. “It is amazing.”

Relief ran through her as her body finally decided that having him inside was a good thing. He thrust inside with one flex of his hips, and she hissed, digging her nails into his back.

As her skin heated, the scent of flowers mixed with musk and the earthy overtone of sex.

She rocked against him, continuing her undulation with his thrusts. Tension began to coil again, and her body heated until her skin almost broke a sweat.

Liander plunged into her harder and faster, his sweat coating them both.

Yvena arched her neck, and she hissed, her fangs extending a moment before she screamed as a wave of joy overtook her. She snapped her jaws shut for safety and winced as the pain of her own bite rang through her.

Liander bit her shoulder, and his hips pumped into her in a flurry as he fought the constriction of her orgasm. He lifted his head and groaned then held still as she continued to milk him until he flinched with every contraction.

“Oh, god. I love that.” He smiled and twitched a little as another ripple caressed him.

She chuckled and stroked his back. Her fangs had withdrawn, but her lip was still sore.

He tried to kiss her, but she moved her head away. “Sorry, love, but I need to wash my face.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“When I cum, my fangs emerge. I want to bite and there is no way to stop it. My jaw is covered with venom right now. So, if you could just shift to one side, that would be nice.”

He sighed and withdrew, setting her free to wobble to her feet.

She headed for the bathroom, and after a little hide and seek, she found the light switch. Twin trails of creamy fluid were on her jaw. She quickly scrubbed at her skin until it was pink.

When she was sure that there was no danger to Liander, she gargled quickly and returned to the bedroom.

He must have gotten bored, because he had piled a large selection of flowers over his groin. She was startled into laughing.

“Since your fangs are off limits, I thought that you could think of something else to do.”

She sat next to him and took his hand. “This might become a real problem.”

“Don’t worry about it, Yvena. I have resistance to your toxins, remember?”

Yvena lifted his hand and kissed his wrist. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I can look into a solution if you are willing to engage in a trade for safety.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What kind of trade?”

“I have connections in the mage circles. There is a spell that the current guild master has been offering to a few couples. It is an equality spell and only he can cast it. He might be willing to exchange the spell for a year’s supply of venom. Would you be interested in that kind of payment?”

She smiled and moved to pin him between hands and knees. “Let me show you precisely how enthusiastic I am about this idea.”

She flicked her forked tongue over his lips, jaws and neck. She worked down the cords, touching him gently and thoroughly. His neck was tense and she enjoyed the increase in his blood flow.

She flicked down his chest, teasing his nipples until they were tight and hard. The muscle overlaying his ribs tasted different than the darker skin above. She teased her way down to his navel and tried to see if there was any commonality of his reaction.