Echo couldn't help himself from pacing back and forth around the front of the house, peeping quickly between the blinds into the rapidly darkening evening. Every time he heard a car pass by outside his heart jumped a little bit and he'd look out again, even knowing that it sounded nothing like Elizabeth's little compact. She was due home tonight from the biggest break in her career. The part she had been offered in a cable mini-series hadn't been starring or even co-starring, but the pay for the recurring role had still been huge compared to a normal photo-shoot. The pay wasn't even the most important part though; the biggest perk had been the chance to network out and meet people in the movie business. 

He was very happy for the opportunity she'd been given, but the shoot had taken the better part of four months. It was the longest she and Leco'thian had been apart from each other since they'd met. It had been a long four months. Even with Anne and Laurence regularly dropping by the keep him company, the time alone in the house had seemed endless. When Elizabeth had called to announce that she was headed back home he'd been ecstatic. 

Now Anne was on the way back from the airport with Elizabeth, and despite all attempts at restraint Echo was practically dancing in anticipation. Finally he caught the familiar whine of Elizabeth's car. It was shortly followed by the shuffling whump of tires on the curb. Echo jumped to the front door, looking through the glazed window at the headlights in the driveway. He had just enough presence of mind to make sure none of the neighbors were out before he flung the door open and raced out. Elizabeth was just getting out of the passenger's seat. She had only enough time for a short yelp before he sailed over the hood of the car and caught her in a smothering embrace. He put his nose into her hair and sucked in her scent.

"It's good to see you too Echo." She laughed against his throat.

"Are you crazy?" Anne hissed, snatching up luggage and looking around to make sure no one could see them.

After a long moment he released her and dropped back down to all fours. "I missed you."

She kissed him on the nose, "I know. I'm glad to be home." 

They quickly made their way inside. Echo carried one of the heavier suitcases in his jaws and pranced happily about Lizzie's feet. Inside, they unceremoniously piled the luggage in a corner, and afterwards Lizzie immediately collapsed onto the couch. He climbed next to her while Anne reclined in the rocker. "So how was Las Vegas?"

"It's big and bright and loud. Kind of sleazy. It was fun though; it's been a long time since I've been in a city that huge."

"How about the shoot? Did ya rub elbows with any big names? Any hot movie star hunks?" Anne asked gleefully.

"Well yeah, but it was only on the set and during cast meetings and such, so it was all work related."

 "Aw, that's no fun."

"Well, one of the Camera guys hit on me at the hotel bar one night." Echo harrumphed his displeasure, but was quickly soothed by Elizabeth's hand on his neck. "It was a good trip, and good experience. The director seemed pretty happy with my scenes." Behind the jetlag, she sounded pleased.

"Just remember hon, when you make the big break into acting you have to tell all the other snooty starlettes who your fitness trainer is."

Elizabeth laughed a little. "Don't worry Anne. In the unlikely event that I make it into showbiz I'll remember the little people."

"It's not that unlikely." Echo protested.

She kissed him quickly on the snout as she stood up. "Thanks for the support love." She said over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.

"I'm serious Lizzie." He spoke up to be heard over the tinkling of glasses.

Elizabeth reappeared with a trio of wine glasses and a bottle. "Echo I hope you're right, and I'm going to stay optimistic until I have reason to think otherwise, but I'm not going to lie to myself."

She poured a glass and set it on the table next to Leco'thian. "I'm almost thirty and this is my first gig." A second glass went to Anne. "I'm above average in the looks department, but there's a reason I'm a fitness model instead of a fashion model." She sat back down next to Echo holding a third glass. "I mean, between my lack of training or contacts, and my barely b-cup bra, I'm kind of fighting the curve here."

"Well, I think you're beautiful."

Elizabeth smiled and hugged him, "I know that. It's just that I can't really consider you for expert, unbiased advice."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're a dragon, so not quite my target demographic. And you're practically my husband so you have a conflict of interest."

Anne smirked, "The second part may be right, but with as much porn as I saw on your computer I think he has a pretty good idea of what men find attractive."

Elizabeth stopped and gave him a mock glare. "Didn't I tell you to stop using my computer for that smut?"

He shrugged and looked away. "You were gone for a long time. I had to take care of myself and it's not as if there're a lot of pictures of my own kind out there."

"Well, we could fix that. I have a camera right here." Anne reached into her purse.

"What do you say Echo? Want to be an internet porn star?" Elizabeth teased.
“I bet he’d be a hit.” Anne added.

"You two are incorrigible."

"Hey, don't act all high and mighty. You're the one that boned me for a live audience." Elizabeth shot back.

Echo shrugged again and groped for the television remote, hoping to change the subject. "So when do we get to see it anyways?"

Elizabeth bit her lip in a smile. She was tempted to keep up the embarrassing conversation, but eventually let it drop. "I don't know. There's still a bunch of editing and stuff to do before it airs. I know it's scheduled for sometime this fall." She absently rubbed behind his ears as he flicked on the screen and started buzzing through channels before settling on a cooking show.

They had only just started watching for a few minutes when Elizabeth suddenly stood up again. Echo watched curiously as she went over to the pile of baggage. After a moment of shuffling through her suitcases she returned and handed thin bottle of gooey golden honey to him. "There's a farmers market that sells this stuff from Arizona. It's all raw honey from a bunch of different desert flowers. I got a few different flavors boxed up in the car." Echo eagerly accepted the bottle. The hand printed label read 'Doc Greene's: Eucalyptus.' It was much darker, tinged almost blood red.

"Thank you Lizzie!" He barely managed to get the thanks out before he dipped his long tongue in the bottle, savoring the unusually minty flavor.

"So Echo, I was trying to think of something special to do for a long weekend. Since it's been so long since we've been together and we missed New Years, and our anniversary."

"Oh?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to get you out of the house. Anne has got an RV she's willing to let us use, and now that it's warming up we can visit some of the camping spots around here."

Echo's heart leapt. It had been a long time since he'd really been away from the city, out where he could really fly. Sure he took a couple quick flaps around the neighborhood a couple times a month, but that exercise was barely enough to keep his wings from wilting off. He missed the sky. The idea excited him so much that he forgot to answer.

"Echo?"
"Oh," he snapped back to the conversation. "That's very nice. Are you sure it's not too much trouble though? I mean, that is your home."

Anne waved a hand dismissively. "Thing is built to move, might as well use it."

"I think I would like that very much. Thank you."

"No problem." Anne said.

They ended up largely ignoring the cooking show as they became engrossed in plans for the road trip. Apparently the two women had discussed it previously, as Anne had already filled the RV with enough food and supplies for the three of them. As the first bottle of wine emptied and was replaced by another one the conversation started to wander.

"I'm glad we can use the RV. I still remember the first time I tried to get Echo into my car."

"When did you try that stunt?" Anne asked incredulously.

"It was when we first met."

"Oh do tell." Anne looked far too interested, swirling her glass of wine as her eyes widened.

Elizabeth looked at Echo, "Do you mind?"

He had to think on it a moment. The memories weren't the best, but it had been a long time since then, and the humiliation was mostly gone. "No. Go ahead."

"I hit him with the car." Elizabeth started quite bluntly. "I had just gotten off the night shift where I was working and I always took this alley behind the store as a shortcut. He bolted out from behind a dumpster and I hit him. When I got out of the car he was trying to unpin his tail."

"And your first reaction wasn't to scream and run away?"

"Well, it was. But he looked pretty ragged at the time. And when I spotted him the first thing he did was ask very nicely if I could back up so he could get on his way. It took a bit, but he talked me down."

"It was my first winter hiding up here. I didn't realize how hard it could be to find food. I had resorted to dumpster diving." Echo lifted his head from the honey long enough to clarify.

Elizabeth nodded. "He was way underweight."

"Technically I'm still underweight."

"Anyhow, I felt so sorry for him that I told him I'd take him home and give him a meal. I managed to cram him into the back seat of my car. I still don't know how nobody saw him on the drive home. It was like I was trying to haul a horse." She smiled and gave a light tug on one of his horns. "And then I gave him a bath. He'd been living off garbage and hiding in a hole he’d dug in the woods."

"How long ago was this?"

Echo smiled a bit wistfully, "Nine years now. Elizabeth had just signed the mortgage on this place." He tilted his head and butted against her shoulder, "You still had a little bit of an accent then."

"So did you."

Anne shook her head and took a sip of wine. "I'm so jealous of you two."

"Huh?" The sudden confession took the couple by surprise.

"Don't get me wrong, I love me some freedom in my love-life. It's just a royal pain in the ass to find someone who hears the term 'open relationship' and thinks of anything other than bumping uglies." She gulped down the rest of her glass. "But now I'm just bitching about having some cake and eating it too."

Echo wasn't quite sure what to say to comfort Anne for a moment. Then he smiled. "You've been coming over here and sharing dinner and time with me for months now. Lizzie and I have shared some of the most intimate moments of our life with you. I'd say that's about as much of a relationship as you get, and we've never 'bumped uglies'."

Anne stared at him. "I think you've got the role of dragons way off there bud. You're supposed to put the damsels into distress."

"I'll keep that in mind." He said smugly.

"So I've already got the RV ready to go for the most part. I figure tomorrow morning I'll grab it early so we can get moving. It's going to be a long drive."

Echo nodded. "How long?"

Anne considered for a moment, “Dunno, at least most of the morning.”
 
He smiled, "Good. That will give us a few hours to entertain each other on the trip."

"Hey, no banging in my home unless I get to watch." Anne interrupted, not entirely jokingly.

Slowly the conversation trickled off until the drone of the television overtook it. As the televised judges deliberated on the pros and cons of overly elaborate cakes, Echo saw that Elizabeth was deliberating the insides of her eyelids. Before she was completely out he nosed her softly. "Hey, you want to head up to bed?"

She looked a little out of it. "Yeah, I guess I should." She slowly unfolded off the couch, setting aside he nearly empty glass. "Thanks again for picking me up Anne."

"The guest room is made up for you. I'll see you in the morning." Echo added as he followed Elizabeth up the stairs and into their room.

"So Echo," Elizabeth turned to face him as the door closed, "you want to help me get out of these clothes?" She emphasized the statement by slowly unbuttoning the top of her shirt. The last few buttons were made more difficult by her enormous yawn.

Echo smiled and nudged her back until she was sitting on the bed. "Lizzie, you've been on a plane all day. It's obvious you're exhausted."

She sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry love. I had hoped to come home and greet you all proper."

He carefully undid the laces on her shoes. "I am happy to have you home again Lizzie. I don't need sex to make the night complete. And it doesn't bother me that we have to be apart for a time; not if it means you can be happy with what you're doing."

She leaned down to kiss the top of his head as he removed her shoes. "The sex is as much for my benefit as yours. It's been too long, but you're right, I'm about to pass out. Anyhow, I'll be happy when I see a nice fat paycheck in the mail."

Echo stopped, still holding one sneaker in both hands. "Lizzie, do you actually like modeling and acting?" He asked quietly.

She shrugged, "It's all right, and I don't really have a lot of other skillsets I can sell."

"It just seems like, if you're only doing it for money, maybe you should take some of mine and try and find work you enjoy more."

"We've been through this before. I'm almost thirty years old; I'm not about to start having someone else pay my way for me."

"At least let me help with part of the rent."

"No! You already do all the housework and cooking here." She countered.

Echo fell silent for a moment. He was tempted to let it go, arguments always made him uneasy, but he wasn't satisfied with her response. "I do housework because I'm home making the messes all the time, and I cook because I need to eat. You always say that it makes you feel weak to have someone pay your way; imagine how I feel after having you feed and house me for the last decade."

She pursed her lips. "You know, you've gotten a lot pushier in the last year."

"You have always told me I need to be more aggressive."

"I didn't think you'd pick this particular topic to be aggressive about." She sat there staring at him for a moment, and he steeled himself to meet her gaze. "Fine, I'll let you pay half the mortgage."

"And half the utilities." He insisted. "After all, I'm the one running the lights and television all day."

Elizabeth looked genuinely annoyed that he was pushing this. "Fine, we split it all, but that means I don't have to listen to you bug me about going back to school."

He relented, "I can live with that." He watched her finish undressing, and leaned in to place his face against the warm, bare skin of her chest. She wrapped her arms around his cheeks, leaning over his neck for a long, silent minute. Finally he backed up just enough to reach the light switch before he clambered up into bed with her.
 
When he had laid down Elizabeth turned to face him, "Did we just have our first argument?"

He shook his head, forgetting that she couldn't see it in the dark room. "No, our first argument was when I accidently smashed your new television the first year."

"Oh yeah."

"Besides, this was more a diplomatic confrontation than an argument."
 
She smiled and threw one arm over his neck, pulling herself tight against him. Echo let out a shiver at the sensation of her naked flesh pressing to him. "Good, I know you hate arguing."

Pleased with the outcome of the evening, Echo curled himself around her and settled down for the night.

--
The heavy rumble of a large diesel engine woke Echo early the next morning. He blinked a few times as the lingering languor of slumber faded before he crept out of the bed. He gave a slight smile as Elizabeth mumbled and groped at the empty depression he left. He was careful not to let in too much of the early morning light as he peeked out of the heavy blinds into the front yard.

Parked in front of the house was a monstrous RV, almost as long as the entire face of the property. It completely blocked out the driveway. As he watched, the ignition shut off with a coughing sputter, leaving a sudden silence. Anne emerged from the heavy door in the side. Echo slipped out of the room, intending to head her off. He hesitated as usual at the stairs. The small steps were much too narrow for his large size, and the carpet offered no traction to the smooth scales on his palms and soles.

He managed to make it almost all the way down before he stumbled, crashing chin first into the floor just as Anne opened the front door.

"Oh hon! Are you all right?" She hurried to try and help him up, as much as she could help someone three times her size. "I don't know why ya'll haven't just put tile on those stairs after all these years."

"Tile isn't much better, and it doesn't offer any cushion."

He stretched out his back, arching it down to the floor to pop it, and then gave himself a shake.

Her worried expression turned into a bemused smile. "You look like a big old cat when you do that."

He grinned in return, "So that's your home outside?"

"Yup. Is little miss celebrity still asleep?"

"Not with this racket." Elizabeth's groggy voice was barely audible from the top of the stairs.

"Woah, Liz! You should go to your next shoot with your hair like that! It could be the new rage."

"Very funny Anne." Elizabeth grumbled as she headed down to meet them.

Echo stifled a laugh. He knew that she wanted to cut her hair shorter for just this reason. It stuck out at impossible angles like some sort of terrible sculpture. "You look wonderful this morning Lizzie."

"See at least one of you knows how you should use white lies and flattery." Elizabeth said as she reached down and fondled one of his ears. "I'm going to make a coffee and take a quick shower."

"Nuh-uh." Anne interjected. "It's going to be a long drive and we need to head out now if we hope to get there before evening. I've already got coffee brewing in the RV. You two rinse quick and pack up anything you need so we can hit the road."

Chivvied along by Anne's constant reminders, they were showered and ready in practically no time, and with none of the fun Echo normally enjoyed in his showers. As they clustered in front of the door, Echo couldn't help but glower at Anne a little.

"Ok, I don't see anyone." Lizzie said, peeking out the front door. She hurried out to the RV and opened it up, motioning for Leco'thian to hurry. He sprinted across the yard, covering the space from the porch to the curb in two giant bounds.

Anne came in a few seconds after. "Hot damn you move fast for a big lizard! I'd hate to be on the lunch menu when you were hungry." She quickly got up front and got the RV purring to life. A short moment later the huge vehicle lurched forward "And we're on our way!"

Echo stayed low and away from the windows until they reached the edge of town. At that point he couldn't resist anymore. For the better part of an hour he dashed from window to window. One moment he'd be perched between the two massive pilot's chairs where Lizzie and Anne sat, the next he be hanging off the counter, looking out the window over the sink, or up on the bed in the back looking out to the rear. Finally Anne snapped, "Will you sit your scaly ass down? You're rocking the whole damn van. It's hard enough to drive all ready."

"Sorry, it's just been so long since I've been out of town." He felt a little stung by Anne's tone, but Elizabeth cured that by producing a fresh bottle of honey for him. He sat between the two women and watched the oncoming scenery while Elizabeth dedicated one hand to slowly stroking his neck; the rest of her was engrossed in a book.

Echo tried to keep calm there, but his blood was still running high with the thrill of being on the move. It felt like a decade of energy trying to burst out all at once. Fortunately, Elizabeth's stroking gave him a wicked idea for another outlet. He slowly leaned into her touch, until he was practically resting his head on her shoulder. She moved her hand around to begin scratching under his chin, but offered no protest.

He suppressed a smile as he deliberately tipped the thin jar of honey just a little too much, allowing a large spatter of it to fall on her leg just below the hem of her shorts.

"Echo!" She complained lightly, frowning over her book.

"Sorry, let me get that." Before she could react his tongue was darting in at the spot. He didn't actually make an effort to clean it though, instead letting the strokes of his tongue spread it father up her thigh, slowly nosing her shorts higher and higher. It took her a bit to catch on, but when he was tickling the edge of her panties she finally closed her book and set it on the dash.

Without a word she laid both hands on his head in obvious surrender to his intent. Leco'thian fairly purred his appreciation and quickly swiveled her chair so she was facing away from the dash to give himself more room to work with.

"You guys are going to do this now? When I can't even watch?" Anne groaned, peeking quickly out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't worry," Echo said happily, "I'm sure you'll have another chance."

He lifted himself up to eye level with Elizabeth, pressing forward for a kiss. She moaned softly as his hands found her breasts, and suckled softly on his long tongue.

"You taste like honey." She murmured breathlessly when he finally broke the kiss. He nodded and began to slowly unbutton her shirt. Elizabeth seemed unsatisfied with his progress. She started trying to pull it off faster, but he wrapped one hand around her wrists to pull her arms above her head and nipped at her throat.

"I do this part, you be patient."

"You are a terrible tease, you know that?"

He didn't answer, just continued unbuttoning her shirt, even more slowly with only one free hand. She groaned as he covered each new inch of exposed skin with his tongue. Finally he reached the point where her shirt was tucked into her shorts. With a devilish grin he gripped her belt in his teeth, tugging it out bit by bit. He made sure to grind his snout lightly into her every time he came back for a better grip. She panted through the torture, and watched with half-lidded eyes as he finally undid the button of her shorts, pulling them down with his fangs until she could kick them loose herself.

He drank in the sight of Elizabeth for a moment. She was caught in his grip, her shirt cast open and her shorts down around one ankle. Finally he leaned in and started nuzzling against the almost sheer fabric of her underwear. Her breath became unsteady at the contact, and then turned into a growl as he kept it up. 

"Oh damn it Echo, do something!" She struggled in earnest against his grip as he continued the light caress, constantly breathing in the building scent of her arousal. He just grinned. It was a long minute before he finally hooked one claw on the hem and drew it down.

Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief as his heated breath washed over her sex. He paused just long enough to make her groan in displeasure before his tongue flicked out. Her whole body twitched as he licked up along the sensitive folds. Several more strokes of his tongue had her bucking up against him. He finally released her wrists, and her hands immediately grasped his horns trying to force his face harder against her. He slipped his paws under her, kneading her rump and lifting her into a more accessible position. She wriggled her legs to push her panties down until she could flip them away, crossing her ankles over his neck.

"Ah! Shit." She gasped as he let his teeth graze oh so gently across her clitoris. "Careful Echo, a little too sensitive."

Echo gave the slightest nod and replaced the harsh stimulation with the much softer sensation of his tongue across her hood. While the meatier portion of his tongue circled her most tender parts, he let the tip of it plunge a short distance inside of her, and a little deeper on the next stroke. Each time he pushed a bit deeper, and each time the pitch of her gasp rose just a little more. A dozen or so strokes later and he was as deep as he could get. The taste of her made Echo give up any pretenses of teasing, and he lapped unceasingly at her. Her walls spasmed each time he plunged in. Despite the resistance he pushed faster. His own arousal was driving him now, and he had no intention of slowing down. Each breath was heavy with her scent, and he couldn't stop himself from humping lightly into empty space, his erections having long since emerged.

She was getting close, her ragged panting and the frantic grip of her thighs around his face was a giveaway. He knew just the sendoff to help carry her all the way. The tip of his tongue speared up, tickling against the entrance to her womb. At the same time he pressed his nose into her crotch, rubbing against the delicate nub above her entrance.

It was enough for Lizzie. She threw herself forward with a breathless gasp, pressing herself to his neck, crying out as her orgasm overcame her. He grinned as her walls clamped down onto his tongue, a tiny flood of flavor making him shiver in delight. He slowed the motions of his tongue, slowly bringing out at as her body started to go slack and her breath returned. Echo breathed deeply one last time, smacking his lips loudly in satisfaction.
 
He glanced at Anne out of the corner of one eye. She had her eyes fixed firmly on the road, but she'd crossed her legs tightly and her hands gripped the wheel in white-knuckled determination. "If you'll excuse us," Echo said, his voice muffled by Elizabeth's thighs, "I think I'll take her back to get cleaned up."

Anne just grunted in frustration.

It took him a minute to pry Lizzie from his neck so he slide her onto his back, then he carefully carried her to the small bedroom at the rear of the RV.

She lay there with him silently for a few minutes, before her eyes finally blinked open.
"Oh don't look so damned smug. It's been months since I've gotten off." She mumbled at him.

Echo gave a wicked smile and rolled his hips so that she could feel his shafts rubbing between her thighs, drawing a startled gasp from her. "Months hmm? Perhaps you'd care to do it again."

Before he could press his point she reached down and wrapped her fingers around the smooth organs, making him fall still.

"Maybe, but before we go any further, I have to ask you a question." The gravity of her tone caused him to falter for a moment in his lecherous thoughts.

"What's that?" He had to force himself to be calm, as his body was screaming at him to mount her.

She hesitated, but eventually looked up to meet his eyes. "How would you feel about asking Anne to join us?"