AB/BtVS: Nightmares in Waking Life 75/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61, 62-63, 64, 65, 66-7, 68-9, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74
PART SEVENTY-FIVE
Willow frowned. "She didn't tell me that, Jason. Are you sure?"
The blond werewolf nodded. His eyes filled with fresh tears. "Just as I was leaving, I asked if we could get together and talk, for real, and she dropped the bomb. She's going to visit her sister in England! For the whole break!"
The witch sighed. It had been two days since Dawn found out Jason had been sleeping with Perdita; Willow had gone to see her the first day, convincing her to at least let Jason explain, and he had gone to see her after classes that afternoon. She thought they'd be able to work out their problems; but news of Dawn's trip was proving the redhead wrong.
She opened her arms; Jason crawled onto the bed and wiggled into her body.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know why she's going. She didn't tell me about this trip... I wish I could fix this for you."
Jason sniffled and nodded. "I know you would if you could," he mumbled.
He rubbed his face into her tank top; she felt his tears on her skin through her shirt. With a sigh, she brought one of her hands up to comb through his hair; as she stroked his head, she leaned down and kissed the back of his neck.
Jason wriggled into a better position, hugging around her waist and lower with his arms and legs. When he settled, he knocked her phone off of the bed and onto the floor.
"Oh, sorry," he whispered. "Were you waiting for---"
"Don't worry about it," she interrupted. "I was I the kitchen when Charlotte called. I came in here to keep it more private."
"What did she want?" he asked.
"To schedule a lunch for just us girls," she replied.
Jason chuckled around a small sob. "Fun," he commented quietly.
"Oh yeah," Willow agreed. "Should be a blast."
"She likes you, though."
"Yeah, but she still terrifies me," the redhead confessed. She leaned down and kissed Jason's neck again. "I'll visit the apartment tomorrow, I promise," she murmured. "I'll see if I can get Dawn to explain what's going on."
Jason nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door cut him off.
"Is it okay for company?" she asked him.
"Everyone already knows my pain," Jason admitted.
"Jason..."
"It's a wolf," he said. "That's okay with me."
Willow nodded and called out to the person on the other side of the door. A minute later, Emily was walking into the bedroom.
"Hi," she said shyly. She looked at Jason nervously. "Can I hang out here until Richard gets here, or is this some sort of private moment?"
Willow didn't smile, but she made sure she wasn't frowning. "Jason found out Dawn's going to England for a while. I'm just trying to help him feel better."
Emily frowned. "She is?"
Willow nodded. "I think it's a pretty recent development," she explained to ease the sadness on the other werewolf's face. She'd forgotten that Emily and Dawn were pretty close. "Dawn will talk to you about it---you know she cares about you."
Emily nodded. "Yeah, I... you're probably right." She sighed. "Damn, that sucks."
"Yeah... so, how was school?" Willow asked.
"Fine-ish," Emily muttered.
She shrugged out of her book bag and let it drop to the floor. Without asking permission, climbed up onto the bed and behind Jason. Then she snuggled into his back and hugged him around his shoulders.
"Thanks, Em," Jason said quietly.
"We're pack," she whispered.
When Jean-Claude and Richard came into the suite, Willow thought she'd have to explain, but a quick and silent conversation between the Ulfric and Master of the City told her that they'd been able to piece together most of the day's events.
"Bonjour, ma chérie," Jean-Claude said out loud. He sat down next to her and kissed her cheek. "How has your day been going?"
"A mixed bag," she replied. She watched Richard sit next to Jason and Emily. They shared a smile and then he placed his hand on Jason's shoulder. She turned her attention back to Jean-Claude. "You?"
"Uneventful thus far," he told her. He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. "Asher will be awake soon, I'm sure."
"He's been feeding less," Willow commented. "Is this your doing?"
"Non," he replied. "I believe he is still feeding as frequently as he used to, but perhaps he is using the energy to heal or to strengthen himself in some way." He sighed unnecessarily. "I am not sharing as much energy with my kiss, I'll admit, because I am trying to store up power for whatever may or may not happen."
"I can ask more of the pack to be available for feeding," Richard offered. "Maybe we shouldn't be storing energy as much as sharing it with those under our protection."
"Is this something you've adopted recently?" the vampire asked.
Richard frowned. "I've been thinking about it," he confessed.
Jean-Claude pressed his lips together and nodded, as if seriously contemplating what Richard was saying.
"Bon, I will take your suggestion under advisement," he said after a long pause. He peered around Willow and looked down at Emily. "And how are you this afternoon, mon petit fleur?"
The young girl blushed. "Fine, thanks, sir," she said quietly.
"You don't have to call him 'sir,' Em," Richard told her. "Just be respectful, like I told you."
Emily blushed more. "I know... but I'm not as used to being around vampires like everyone else."
"They're just like us, with hierarchy and behaviour rules," he explained.
"I never spent so much time around leaders and dominants before," the young teenager said. "In Chicago, I wasn't allowed so close to the inside... it still takes some getting used to. And you usually try to keep me from all the vampires---"
Richard touched her back. "I know. But, it's a little hard to do here, especially with Willow and Asher living together in front of us, and Jean-Claude lurking around."
Willow assumed the vampire next to her would respond tersely. She was not prepared for his laughter.
"Honestly, mon ami," he said, "the virtues of your young charge are safe. She's hardly my type."
Richard snorted. "Yes, well, she's young and I don't want her to end up in any sort of tricky situation---between Meng Die and Valentina and any other fanged landmine around here."
"Fair enough, mon ami," Jean-Claude conceded. "I am hopeful, though, that in the near future, one of them will no longer be a concern of mine."
"Valentina?" Willow asked.
He nodded. "Oui," he replied. "I have been trying to get Stephen and Gregory to define the way she and her guardian could repay their treachery, but so far, they have not provided any solution. Once Faith's child is born, I suspect Valentina will become more difficult to confine."
Richard spoke next. "It's not a simple thing to fix, Jean-Claude. Their father is... a horrible example of a human being. He abused them---"
"Je connais l'histoire, mon ami," Jean-Claude interjected.
"Anything those two're willing to do," the Ulfric continued, "like maim or kill, could actually set them back in their therapy sessions."
The Master of the City nodded. "Oui," he agreed. "And I do not want to see them come to harm. The debt, however, is still quite large, in Valentina's mind. To Belle-Morte, it has been lessening over time, as if there has been interest deducted from it---as if there is a way to calculate such things---"
"Valentina wants it to be big because she's hoping she'll get to torture or kill their dad," Richard cut in. "Belle wants them back, so she thinks it's lessened in value."
"Exactement."
Richard sighed. "So, what are you thinking?"
"I will have to mete out a task or two for them soon because I want to be able to send them back as soon as timing allows."
Richard nodded. Willow kept her mouth shut because she didn't know what the solution should be. Valentina creeped her out; she looked like a child but she loved torture too much to maintain the illusion that she was a pretty little girl. She wanted the vampire gone, but she knew that they had protocols to follow; rules had been broken before Willow arrived in St. Louis and Valentina was determined to repay the debt she and her male companion owed to Jean-Claude.
"I'll talk to Stephen," the Ulfric said quietly. "Maybe I can get a read on the situation that could help you plan a bit better?"
"That would be appreciated, mon ami," Jean-Claude commented.
The werewolf king nodded. Then, he reached out and lifted his hand to Willow's cheek. "How's your day going?" he asked quietly.
"Well... you know about the Dawn-drama," she replied. "I'm a little bummed that Dawn decided she's leaving without mentioning it to me. She never said anything about it the last time we talked. I... I have to talk to her tonight or tomorrow."
"Yes," Richard agreed.
Willow sighed. She looked at her lover. "And, your mother called me a little while ago."
Richard's eyes widened. "She didn't tell me she was planning on talking to you," he muttered. He looked her over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she told him. "She wants to meet me for lunch at the end of the week---or the beginning of next. She sort of ambushed me, so I ended up saying 'yes,' but if you don't want me to go---"
"If you want to, then go ahead," he interrupted. "It's up to you. Don't let her bully you."
Willow smiled a little. "Like you don't let her bully you?"
Richard's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, well, that's different."
She chuckled. "Sure," she murmured.
She wriggled into a reclining position; Jason moved, too, so he could keep holding onto her lower body and he ended up pillowing his head on her stomach. Emily moved onto her side, resting her head on Richard's thigh but keeping an arm around Jason's body. The Ulfric didn't move, but the Master of the City slouched against the headboard and pillows and then draped an arm around Willow's shoulders. She sighed and tipped her head into his shoulder; when Richard touched her cheek again, she turned and kissed his fingers.
They shared a look. Willow felt him pressing against her shields, the protection she raised when she was in the public areas of the underground residence and maintained when she was alone with Jason, and she lowered the defense mechanism to hear him whispering in her mind.
Will Jason be okay? he asked.
I don't know, she admitted. His heart's breaking... and hearing that Dawn's leaving...
Richard nodded when she stopped talking. He nudged Emily and she moved away from the other man; he moved in closer and hugged Jason as much as he could given their body positions. Jason whined and lifted his head. Richard nuzzled his ear, trailing down into Jason's throat, and then he murmured quiet words of assurance.
Willow chimed in her agreement by brushing her fingers through Jason's hair.
"We're pack," Richard whispered. "We hurt when one of us hurts. Together, we can heal one's wounds. You are not alone."
Jean-Claude's power to call wolves flared to life around them. Willow tipped her head back into the vampire's shoulder and she let out a soft whimper. She heard Emily yipping behind Richard, who groaned in response to the power rising around them. Jason sniffled and whined, giving into tearful sobs a few minutes later.
"Shhh," Willow whispered. She rubbed the back of Jason's neck. "We're here," she promised him. "Lupa, Ulfric, and Master. We're here with you."
"I hate feeling like this," he mumbled. "So needy---"
"You help us every day," Willow interrupted. "Now it's our turn to help you."
"I'm just---"
"You're my familiar and one of my best friends," she said, cutting him off again. "You're a trusted packmember. You're a valued pomme de sang. We'd be stupid not to see you through this, however we're able, because you give us so much every day."
Richard's power swelled to mirror what Jean-Claude was exuding. At the same time, Asher woke up and they felt it through the pentumvirate; his presence seemed to amplify the powers being raised in the room. Willow and Jason both moaned under its thrall; Emily whined, as if unsure how she should respond.
"Careful," Willow whispered.
Jean-Claude echoed her sentiment. "I have not yet fed, mon ami. With your young charge here, it would be unwise to tempt our hunger to the surface."
Both men recalled their powers at roughly the same time. Willow wouldn't have said that the ardeur was rising, but the instant the power receded, she could feel her own hunger shrinking.
Emily panted for breath. "Holy hell," she muttered.
Richard released Jason enough to flop onto his back. He looked to the teenager. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't think anything like that would happen if I added my power to the mix. I'm sorry, Emily."
"I'm okay," she assured him. "Just... ah, can you keep that from happening around me in the future?"
"I'll do my best," Richard promised.
She nodded and curled up into his side.
Jean-Claude kissed the top of Willow's head. "You need to feed, too, ma chérie," he reminded her.
The witch nodded. "I know," she murmured. "I haven't had time yet to find someone."
"Promise you will do it soon?"
"Yes," she replied honestly.
He rewarded her with another kiss. "Bon," he whispered. He brushed his fingers over Jason's arm. "If you'd like to remain here---"
"No, I'll go with you," Jason said quickly.
"Are you sure?" the vampire asked.
Jason nodded. "I want to stay with my pack, but... I want to be with you, too."
"D'accord," Jean-Claude agreed. He continued brushing his fingers against the werewolf's skin. "Will you come to Guilty Pleasures even though you're not working?"
"Can I stay in your office?"
"Absolutely," the Master of the City replied. "You can stay by my side the whole time, if you'd like."
"Thank you," Jason whispered.
"De rien," Jean-Claude whispered back. "I am going to bathe in my quarters. Would you like to stay here, or---"
He stopped talking when Jason lifted his head. The werewolf looked from Willow to Richard and then back at the vampire. "I... I think I'll go with you, if..." he looked back at Richard. "Is it okay?"
Richard smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but come find us when you get back," he insisted. "We'll be in the guest room I've been using. Some of the other wolves are going to show up tonight."
"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks."
"We'll get through this," Richard told him quietly. "One day at a time."
Jason nodded slowly. "Yeah... it's just... it hurts... knowing she's going away without letting me try to fix things."
"Love can be a bitch," Richard commented. "I know that better than I want to. But, turning to pack and friends... it got me through the rough patches."
"I know..."
Richard ruffled Jason's hair. "So, lean on us for a little while, okay? You don't need to be your usual self... we'll understand," he said. "Just promise me you're going to take care of yourself."
Jason nodded. "Yeah... yeah. Not like Willow and Jean-Claude would let me slip up---"
"Bien sûr," Jean-Claude cut in. He touched Jason's chin. "I am going to my suite," he told the werewolf. "Join me when you are ready?"
"I'll come with you now," he replied. He hugged Richard and Willow, kissed the witch's cheek, and then tweaked Emily's chin. "Thanks, guys... I really appreciate the support."
A few minutes later, Richard, Willow, and Emily were alone in the bedroom, relaxing on the bed.
Richard looked at the young teenager and patted her hip with his hand. "You got homework?" he asked. At her sigh, he smiled. "Why don't you go to our room and do that, then? I'll meet you there in an hour. I'll bring something to eat from the kitchen."
Emily sighed. "Do I hafta?"
"Yes," he replied.
She sighed again and slowly pushed herself off of the bed. "Can we watch a movie tonight?" she asked as she made her way to her dropped book bag. "Or is dinner and pack time my only reward for getting all that math done?"
Richard chuckled. "We can watch a movie," he promised. "Nothing too girly, though, if I'm expected to sit through it."
"Cool!" Emily chirped.
She grabbed her bag and left the room with shapeshifter speed. Willow laughed quietly, smiling at the werewolf king as she got comfortable on the mattress. He chuckled, too, and turned onto his side to look at her.
"Asher will probably be here soon," he commented.
"He'll probably stay with Jean-Claude to feed and stuff, though," she said, thinking back on Asher's personal habits when he slept somewhere other than their suite. "So, we might have a little time..."
"A little time?" Richard inquired, his voice playful. "That might not be enough for what I want to do with you."
He pulled her into his body and eased himself up onto an elbow to look down at her. Willow looked back at him, up into his brown eyes, and she felt desire warming her from the inside.
"What do you want to do with me?" she asked, feeling flirtatious around him for the first time in at least a week.
He smirked. "Everything."
"Then, that's definitely not enough time," she said on a little laugh.
Richard chuckled. She leaned up and kissed him, pulling on his shoulders with her hands to keep herself close to him.
Their kisses deepened. He pulled Willow on his front as he rolled onto his back, not allowing their lips to part more than a millimetre. His large hands claimed her back, sliding slowly down to the backs of her upper thighs; he kneaded her flesh through the jogging pants she was wearing until she moaned and flexed her hips into his body.
Willow managed to wiggle out of his kisses by placing her own on his throat and collarbone; he wasn't wearing a tie so she only had to negotiate the buttons of his shirt as she descended. She untucked his shirt and moved onto his pants, starting with his belt and ending with his zipper.
Giving head always came with a certain amount of performance anxiety, but the noises Richard was making made her concerns worth what she was attempting. He'd only been half-hard when she first unwrapped him, but after she stroked and licked his length a few times, he was completely hard and pulsing against the palm of her hand.
She licked and nibbled the underside of his shaft and then drew its head into her mouth. His size made deepthroating difficult, but she did her best. Richard groaned and whined, letting her know how much her attempts pleased him, and she used those sounds and his body's tension as a guide as she continued.
When she felt a hand brushing between her legs, she almost yelped and pulled away; Asher's voice in her mind, however, kept her in place.
He didn't stay on top of her clothes for long. When she moved to kiss Richard's testicles, Asher pulled Willow's pants and underwear over her hips and thighs so he could touch her bare skin.
I'm sorry for intruding, he silently told her. I couldn't help myself once I saw the two of you.
Willow chuckled softly. The sound vibrated through Richard's body and made him groan.
"Fuck, Asher," Richard growled.
"I'd like to, mon ami," Asher replied in an over-the-top sweet tone of voice. "But since I cannot..."
"Fuck me," Willow offered.
"Richard?" the blond vampire asked for permission in as few words as possible. "I can---"
"Stay," he decided in a rough voice.
Asher eased Willow's pants to her ankles, then let them drop to the floor. He parted her legs; Willow felt him fumbling with his own clothing for a few seconds before she felt his arousal pressing into the top of her thigh.
Willow sucked as much of Richard's erection as she could back into her mouth. Asher stroked between her legs until he had her writhing from the waist down; then, on a sharp yelp from her and a muttered oath from Richard, the vampire worked on forming his own connection to the witch.
She tensed when he was fully sheathed inside her; the angle of penetration wasn't what she was accustomed to, and even though it felt good, it took a little getting used to. Asher growled wordlessly as her hidden muscles tightened around his erection; his grip on her hips tightened in response and Willow felt Richard tense as she stilled.
It took a few minutes, but they eventually relaxed enough to decide on a rhythm that worked for all of them. Willow felt Asher's arousal as he looked down at Willow and Richard; she also felt Richard's mixed emotions, mainly confusion and arousal. She stroked the Ulfric's hip, first with her fingers and then with her nails, in an attempt to distract him away from his confusion, and she smiled inwardly when she felt his hips tighten.
"God, Willow---"
She pulled back, slurping a little. Richard had been watching her through almost-amber eyes that darkened when she licked up the moisture on his swollen erection. He reached down and caressed her chin.
"More?" she asked quietly.
"Please," he whispered.
Willow's eyes fluttered shut; Asher increased the force of his thrusts to demand her attention.
"Ash---"
The vampire kissed over her spine.
Richard reached out and threaded his fingers into her hair. He guided her head back towards his crotch; she understood that he didn't want to be left out so she didn't fight the pressure.
"This sooo wasn't what I had planned tonight," Willow mumbled on a little laugh.
"I trust it's not a disappointment, mon colibri?"
"Nnnno," she breathed.
She licked the length of Richard's erection before drawing its head back into her mouth. Richard groaned; his hips started to rise, but they stopped as if he thought better of the reaction.
Use your breasts, Asher whispered into Willow's mind. When she sent wordless confusion back to him, he spoke again: I will hold you up, mon colibri. Cup your breasts around his cock, let him thrust against your skin.
Willow finally understood, and when she felt his grip on her change, she pulled off her top and made the adjustments to her own actions.
Richard seemed to approve. His mouth opened in what could have been either arousal or surprise. As Asher helped her rise and fall, she watched the Ulfric's face; no disapproval ever made itself known, so she tightened her breasts against each side of Richard's erection and continued to do her best to please him.
Asher, not wanting to be outdone or forgotten, it seemed, increased the tempo of his thrusts and added wandering fingers to his combination of movements. Willow closed her eyes as her inner muscles started to tense; she knew she was going to lose her rhythm when Asher drove her to climax, but she wanted Richard to reach that point first because he had been first.
Neither man seemed to be thinking that way, though. Asher pushed her into orgasm without any consideration for Richard's pleasure; Richard, though, seemed to find his own release at roughly the same time. Through the fog of her own pleasure, Willow felt a warm splattering on her neck.
As soon as Richard relaxed underneath her, Asher slid his hands to Willow's hips and hurried his pace. Five sound thrusts later, he was stilling and curving over her back as a groan escaped his lips.
Willow collapsed. Asher and Richard caught her and they rearranged her so she was lying between them in a comfortable position.
"Oh..." she breathed. "That was..."
"Pleasant?" Asher asked.
"Mmmm," she hummed, nodding. She reached out for Richard. "You okay?"
"You always make a point of asking if I'm okay when Asher joins us," the Ulfric commented.
"I... uh, well---"
"How about if I don't freak out, you assume I'm okay?" he suggested. "I know I have hang-ups, and I'm not bisexual like Asher, but I've been working on my comfort lev---"
Willow cut him off with a kiss. "I know," she whispered when she pulled away. "But I don't want you to think I'm taking you for grant---"
"I don't think that," he murmured.
"Oh... okay."
Asher chuckled on Willow's other side. "Are we alright now?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," the redhead said, blushing a bit. She brought a hand up to her chest and touched the cooling evidence of Richard's orgasm. "Oh... ah..." she trailed off and fumbled for her top. Asher plucked it from her hand and used it to wipe up the slippery mess. "Thanks," she whispered.
He replied by kissing her temple. She snuggled into their bodies and stifled a yawn.
"You two always tire me out," she muttered. "I've only been awake for a few hours!"
Asher chuckled. "Then, sleep, mon colibri."
"I have about twenty minutes before I have to get supper for Em," Richard said. "I'll wake you up when I leave, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed drowsily.
Asher kissed her temple. "Before you drift off, I have something to ask of you," he whispered.
"Mmm?" she asked.
Would you be willing to join me later---either at Narcissus in Chains or our dungeon? he silently asked her. I need you, and I know the last time you ---
"Yes," Willow agreed out loud. "Tell me where and when, and what to wear. I'll be there."
Richard chuckled. "Date night in the dungeon?" he asked.
"Something like that," Willow murmured. "Our night got cut short last time... we took care of Nathaniel, but it's not the same as---"
"I get it," he said quietly. He rubbed her thigh. "Just... be careful---both of you."
Willow nodded as Asher chuckled. "Do you think I'd dole out more than our fiery redhead can handle?" he asked.
Richard sighed. "No, but... if it's been a while---"
"Maybe I'll lose control?" Asher suggested.
"Guys..." Willow whispered. "It's going to be fine."
"I just---"
"Worry, I know," she supplied for the Ulfric. "It's sweet, but I thought by now you'd be used to this side of my relationship with Asher."
"I am."
Willow turned and kissed Richard's cheek. "You want to inspect me when we're done?" she asked teasingly.
He smiled. "It's a school night for me," he reminded her. She'd been so used to him being at the Circus on a full-time basis that she'd forgotten he resumed his teaching position, with more guards outside and a panic button---security's latest add-on in their lives---in his pocket. "But, tomorrow, I'd be glad to."
"It's a date, then," she said before yawning again.
He kissed her forehead. "Take a nap," he whispered.
"Part of my brilliant plan," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.
&&&&
Her nap didn't last very long.
Minutes before Richard was about to wake her, according to him as they hurriedly dressed, Dawn entered the suite. She would have walked into the bedroom to see the trio lounging in various states of undress if it hadn't been for Asher's quick thinking. He had been able to grab the blanket miraculously kept on the foot of the bed through their romp; he positioned it over all three of them a moment before Dawn poked her head into the bedroom.
Once Dawn realised what she was interrupting, she said she'd wait in the other room. Willow kissed her lovers and got up to find fresh clothes; by the time she was decent, though, Dawn was no longer in the outer chamber to the suite.
She stepped into the hall as she let down her shields. She reached out for Dawn and found her outside the building, near her parked car.
Not wanting to miss Dawn's visit, Willow hurried to the exit, not bothering to find a guard to escort her.
When she burst out of the building, through the door marked as the employees' exit, she drew her magic back inside herself and gave the younger woman a small smile.
"A sock on the door is too much to ask?"
The redhead shrugged. "I don't usually get to think about things like that when they're both around and, ah, cooperatively amourous," she admitted. "What brings you by?"
Dawn frowned. "I... well, I'm going to go visit home base."
"Right..."
"Jason told you?"
Willow nodded. "Without saying anything that would risk his manliness, yeah, he told me."
"So, he cares," Dawn mumbled.
"Dawnie, of course he cares!" Willow exclaimed, forgetting her private policy to be gentle with the brunette. "He is head over heels in love with you, terrified you'll hate him forever, and you announce you're skipping town---how did you think he'd react?"
Dawn frowned. "When I see him... I think of Perdita's scaly fish-mitts all over him and I hear all the things he said to me when we were alone... and I want to puke or scream or both! How dare he say he's never felt like what he feels for me before, but---"
"Did he explain what happened?"
The other woman crossed her arms. "He's been screwing the mermaid."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, but did he get a chance to tell you how it happened?"
"There's nothing---"
The redhead glanced around the parking lot and cast a quick peak to the rooftop. Even though her eyes told her no one was around, she still used magic to convey her message.
Jean-Claude asked him to keep an eye on her, without her knowing she was being watched, Dawnie. He didn't order Jason to sleep with her, but I can imagine it got hard to keep up the charade after a while without things progressing.
"That's not an excuse---"
"No," Willow argued, "it's a reason. It was his job---just like it's his job to feed Jean-Claude, but you don't seem to mind that."
"That's not sex!" Dawn exclaimed.
Willow shrugged. "It's more like sex than you think, then---"
"Being rolled isn't the same as---"
Jason cares deeply for Jean-Claude, Willow continued silently. And Jean-Claude cares for him, too. One's a flirt with the biggest heart humanly possible despite his life's experiences and one's an incubus who despite the entourage and Anita can feel pretty alone because of his position. Sharing blood's intimate, to boot---
"Are you trying to make it worse?" Dawn quietly asked.
Willow shook her head. "No, I'm just trying to get you to understand---"
"Some of us don't want more than one boyfriend, Willow."
The witch frowned. "I know that..."
"He told me he wanted someone... someone."
Willow nodded. "I can believe that," she commented. "And, I don't think he was lying. But, that someone needs to understand he's not his own master and he does have obligations that he can't put aside."
"Like feeding Jean-Claude."
"And occasionally feeding Anita's ardeur."
Dawn frowned. "He's been screwing her, too?"
"I don't know," Willow said honestly.
Dawn's eyes filled with tears. "I hate this!" she exclaimed. "I just hate this! I love him but I hate him for lying to me!"
Willow reached out to touch Dawn's shoulder; the younger woman flinched away. Willow frowned and put her hands in her sweater pockets.
"What can I do to help?" the redhead asked.
"Nothing... You're on his side."
"I am not," Willow insisted. "I love you both---I can be supportive, I can try to be neutral---I can't take sides. He was my first real friend here and you're like my family... I won't lie. I want you two to work this out, and if you can't, then I'll keep on loving both of you the same. But, no sides, Dawnie."
The other woman frowned. "Yeah.... that sounds like you."
"I wish I could fix this," Willow whispered.
"Me, too."
"Then don't run away."
Dawn sighed. "I can't stay here, Willow. Not right now."
Willow nodded. "Okay, but promise me you'll talk to Emily about why you're leaving."
"Yeah," she agreed.
"And please give Jason a chance to really tell you everything."
Dawn glared at Willow. "Fine..."
"Whether or not you decide you love him enough to really give him a second chance---that's always your call, and I can't ask you to do it as a favour to me," the redhead said quietly. "But, all I'm asking is that you listen to him explain his actions and how he feels."
Dawn gave another sigh. "I promise to listen. Okay?"
"Okay," Willow echoed.
"Can you give me a lift to the airport?" Dawn asked.
Willow nodded. "Absolutely. Just tell me when and I'll be there."
"As soon as I book my flight, I'll tell you."
"I'm gonna miss you," the witch admitted.
Dawn's tense body language melted a bit. "I'm gonna miss you, too."
&&&&
"Viens ici," Jean-Claude instructed, before he snapped his fingers and pointed at the floor by his feet.
Through the holes in the leather hood she was wearing, Willow focused on the spot the Master of the City indicated and crawled to it. He rewarded her with a few gentle strokes to the top and back of her head before he returned his attention to his work.
At that moment, Willow was so far down in her submissive headspace that she no longer contemplated her strange situation.
When she first saw Asher's handwritten note on top of his chosen outfit for her, she was both embarrassed and impressed. The blond vampire intended to take her down as deep as she could go; his inclusion of Jean-Claude in their game was unexpected but she had known it would be effective.
Dropping into the mental place Asher wished for her to go had not been easy.
The leather hood and other items of clothing were different than what she usually wore; she was completely covered in black material, from head to toe. Her hair was hidden in the hood; her hands were covered by odd mittens with no thumbs. She'd had to let Requiem take her to the club in near-silence. Jason wasn't evicted from the office and his reactions to her appearance, Jean-Claude's orders, and her expected behavior had made her very uncomfortable. She'd hesitated several times---and talked a few times, too, between the trip and her first hour in the office---and she knew those infractions to Asher's instructions were being tallied in some way for punishment later.
It took at least another hour before she began to accept her station. Her silence and concealing, restrictive garb seemed to slowly draw her inside herself. When Jean-Claude was between orders, she was able to reflect; it became easier after Jason started to ignore her. As she drew back into her mind, a strange floating sensation distanced her thoughts so that even her internal monologue became harder to maintain and then less important to maintain.
Willow transformed into Asher's submissive, first in fits and starts and then much more steadily. Jean-Claude became her guide, more nameless by the time their first visitor interrupted them---a firm voice and a gentle hand, extensions of her dominant partner until he was due to arrive.
Asher wasn't behind the door at its first knocking. Willow hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings until the voice that had been commanding her turned soft and romantic.
"Ma petite," the voiced all-but-crooned. "I did not expect you tonight."
Behind her zippered-shut mouth in the hood, Willow frowned.
"Is that why you decorated with bondage tonight?"
The man stood and left his desk, his position as Willow's guide and master.
"Ah, non, I am doing mon chardonneret a favour tonight."
Anita spluttered for a minute. Then, she said, "That's not Nathaniel... I thought he's on stage in twenty..."
"Non."
"What the fuck kind of creepy---are you playing with Willow?!"
Willow caught sight of Anita marching towards her, hand outstretched as if to reach for the hood. Both Jean-Claude and Jason yelled out to stop Anita, but it was Jean-Claude who snatched the necromancer away.
It had been close---so close that, on impulse, Willow flinched. She knew moving was not allowed and she'd lost some of the progress she made that night; she hung her head, to hide her fear and disappointment.
"Why do you have her all---"
"Get out!" Jean-Claude ordered, cutting across her question.
"What?!" Anita asked. "Asher's never done this to Nathaniel! This isn't normal!"
"Mon loup," the Master of the City said quietly. "Please move the stool by the door and wait there. I would prefer no one enters, except for Asher, while Anita and I are out in the hall."
"Jean-Claude---"
"Anita, you and I will discuss this in a moment," he told his human servant. "Go wait in the hall for me."
Willow frowned more as Anita protested her lover's orders. She closed her eyes. It had been going well, finally, but her peace of mind had been shattered by a rush of several emotions: embarrassment, for being seen by someone else; anger, towards Anita's incompletely vocalised attack of their behavior; disappointment, because she had failed to wholly maintain her state of mind; and fear, of Asher's reaction to her disobedience.
She'd been so lost in thought and feeling that she hadn't noticed Jason moving the stool, Anita leaving, or Jean-Claude kneeling in front of her.
When he drew her into his arms, she didn't talk; instead, she opened her mind and thought apologetic thoughts.
"Shush," the vampire whispered. "This is not your fault."
He kept her close to his body, rubbing her back repeatedly. Willow sniffled and buried her face in his chest as her emotions and his reaction to them overtook her.
"Mon loup will stay in the room with you," Jean-Claude said quietly. "I want you to kneel behind my desk until I return. Do not focus on what you think you did wrong, as hard as it may be."
Willow nodded.
He pulled back a bit and lifted her chin. "You are not at fault. Do you understand me?"
She nodded again. Jean-Claude smiled a bit and leaned in, resting his brow against hers so their eyes were too close for Willow to look anywhere else.
"You are a very good submissive," he said. "And once you worked past your discomfort, you went to that place your dominant wants your mind to go tonight. I did not think it was possible, given everything that has been happening, but you did so well. I want you to forget the last few minutes and go back to where you were. I know now that you can do it."
Willow nodded slightly. Jean-Claude smiled and leaned back.
"Bon. I hope to return shortly."
He eased away from her. She went to kneel behind his desk; he left the room. Willow could feel the fight between Anita and the vampire on the periphery of her part of the pentumvirate, but she slipped away from it as she forced herself back into that peaceful state from which she had been dragged.
By the time Jean-Claude returned, she'd quieted most of her thoughts.
He must have been able to guess that she hadn't fully succeeded because he took one, sweeping look at her and ordered her under the desk, in the place he usually stretched his legs while working.
When he resumed his seat, Willow found herself boxed into a pretty cramped space.
She rested her head on his knee and mentally prepared herself for some difficult waiting, because she guessed she'd be there until Asher came for her.
&&&&
She guessed correctly.
When the door opened again---preceded by Jean-Claude giving Jason permission to admit entrance to whoever was on its other side---Willow didn't move from her position, kneeling under the desk with her head on the vampire's knee. She was so deep in her submissive headspace again that movement wasn't an issue, unless someone like Anita made another grab for her.
Asher and Jean-Claude didn't converse in French. Willow wasn't entirely sure, but she thought they were speaking in German---not one of her best languages. It was easier to tune the words out when she didn't understand them.
Jean-Claude demanded she crawl out of her hiding spot when they were finished talking. He clipped a lead to Willow's collar, and both vampires made a show of the leather strap changing hands. She crawled to Asher's side and rose to her knees, putting her mittened hands behind her back, and she felt a rush of pleasure when Asher rubbed the back of her head and neck.
"Where is she now?" Asher asked, in English.
"With Nathaniel. I told her she could come back to the office after he takes to the stage, if she is willing to behave," the other vampire replied.
Asher sighed. "I'm sorry, if this has---"
"Do not apologise, mon chardonneret. I was enjoying myself."
The blond chuckled. "She behaved well enough for your high standards?"
"Requiem told me she spoke twice, and it did take her some time to get used to Jason's presence... but, yes," Jean-Claude replied. "Her reaction to Anita was not her fault."
"Bon."
Asher rewarded her with a squeeze to the back of her neck. Willow felt as though her insides were melting, which let her know Asher's arrival only enhanced her submissive state.
He went to the sofa; she followed. When he took his seat at one end, she settled into a comfortable position on the floor and rested her head on his knee.
"Do you think she will return?" Asher asked the other vampire.
He shrugged gracefully. "I do not know."
"I thought she was becoming accustomed to Nathaniel---"
Jean-Claude spoke up when Asher stopped mid-sentence. "It isn't quite the same, now, is it?" he said, gesturing to Willow. "This type of bondage is something she has never seen up close and personal, so to speak. It did not help that she was with me."
"Mon corbeau---"
"No apologies," he interrupted. "I offered my assistance to you, and I am well within my rights as Master, as a man, and as Anita's lover. I did not overstep any rules."
"Perhaps... I should talk to her," Asher suggested. "Explain my actions here, in this situation?"
Jean-Claude shrugged again. "If you think it will make a difference, mon chardonneret, then I will leave my defense in your hands."
Asher stroked his fingers over Willow's hooded head. "Has ma fifille fully returned to her previous mental state?"
"Mostly," the other vampire replied. "Your arrival has helped her relax further, I've noticed."
The blond reached out for his male lover. Jean-Claude sat down willingly; Willow heard them share a kiss before Asher spoke again.
"Your handling of her was rather inspired," he murmured. "I might not have thought to put her under my desk, but it did the trick."
"Merci," Jean-Claude said on a chuckle that pulled at Willow's insides. His laughter faded away and he sighed. "Ma petite is coming to pay us a visit."
Willow tried not to flinch when Anita came back into the office, but it was difficult. She was deep enough into subspace to want to remain still to please Asher; however, she could feel Anita's discomfort and anger along their mental link and they were effective agitators. Asher's hand tightened on the back of her neck until she gasped and froze in her position against him. Then, he maintained the tight hold on her as Jean-Claude and Jason both greeted the other woman.
"Asher..."
"Your displeasure should be aimed at me, not Jean-Claude," he told her.
Anita frowned. "He was playing along---"
"Not sexually," the blond interrupted.
"These games are all about sex---"
"Non, they are not," Asher insisted. When Anita opened her mouth to protest, he spoke again. "Often, when Willow and I play, sex is a factor. Nathaniel finds pain to be arousing, too, which supports your belief. However, tonight, it's been nothing but a game of dominance and submission---what my human servant needs in order to relax after a trying few weeks."
"How can you say---"
"Mon corbeau, apart from your original affection for Willow, have you been any more aroused by tonight's activities?"
Jean-Claude shook his head. "I prefer my female lovers to be much more... active... or assertive." He shrugged. "I have never enjoyed BDSM as much as mon chardonneret, but there are some elements I appreciate. Still, this hasn't been about anything other than giving Willow a safe, guarded place to sink into the mental place she needs."
Anita sighed. "But... the hood and the mitts and the kneeling...?"
"All props," Asher told her.
The necromancer looked down at Willow. The witch had been carefully watching her through the holes in her hood, but she didn't speak.
Her silence seemed to bother Anita.
"Can she talk?"
"I have not given her permission to speak," Asher replied. "You either trust us, or you don't, Anita."
The black-haired woman sighed loudly. "I do, but... I know how you like these games, and Jean-Claude's been attracted to Willow---"
Asher let Jean-Claude profess his love for Anita. The blond occupied himself with ties and zippers on Willow's hood. She felt part of the leather relax; then, she felt Asher's fingertips on her lips. Without thinking, she opened her mouth and sucked on his cool skin. He let her feel his pleasure through their bond.
"If she were in distress, I'm sure you would feel it," Asher told Anita. "You've had access to her emotions and sensations before, haven't you?"
Anita nodded and looked from Willow to Jean-Claude. She sighed. "You weren't going to screw her or anything?"
Jean-Claude snorted and shook his head. "Non, ma petite," he assured her.
"And she's not in pain?" Anita asked.
"Not yet," Asher replied.
She grimaced. The blond vampire chuckled.
"How can you make light of hurting her?"
"She needs it as much as I do," Asher said quietly. "And it's not done to be cruel. She needs it to find true release---and I need the release that can only come when I give into my darker desires. But, it's as much about trust and love as it is pain and release, ma chérie. She trusts me not to go any further than she can handle, and I love her to much to abuse that trust."
"Isn't this humiliating for her?"
"It was at first, but I made sure she was only in the company of people who were trusted to understand and respect her predicament."
Anita sighed. "I failed that test, then, huh?"
"It wasn't a test. I simply did not account for your arrival... or your mistrust of us."
The black-haired woman frowned. "I... I thought... Nathaniel told me neither of them liked being humiliated."
"She wasn't---not really, until you scared her out of her headspace."
She sighed again. "Wasn't it humiliating when Jean-Claude made her kneel?"
"Ma fifille," Asher said, addressing the then-submissive witch directly. "Did you find it humiliating to obey our Master's commands?"
Willow released Asher's fingers slowly and lifted her head so she could look into his eyes. "No, sir," she whispered, her voice hoarse from a lack of use. "I was uncomfortable at first because Requiem's never seen me as your submissive... and Jason's in the room, but once I realised you trusted our Master with me, I trusted him, too, and it got better."
Asher smiled, tilting his head so his curtain of golden curls fell away to expose his whole face, and she felt his pleasure in her head. He was pleased to hear her speak those words, without hesitation.
He brushed his fingers past the opening in her leather hood; she latched onto them again, not wanting to have to be told to resume sucking them.
"She knew, once she stopped fighting, Anita," Asher told the other woman.
"But the clothes!" Anita insisted. "I read those books you gave me... and they said latex and coverings were to make a surrogate into nothing or---"
"Ma fifille, is that what I did to you?"
Willow releases the pads of his fingers and shook her head.
"Did I explain my intent beforehand?"
She shook her head again.
Asher brushed his index finger over her lower lip. "Do you know why I dressed you this way?"
She shrugged. She wasn't completely sure, but she had her suspicions.
He chuckled. "Care to share your thoughts?"
"The hood and the mitts keep me from expressing myself the way I normally would," she said upon prompting. "They keep me from interacting. They helped me sink deeper... where you want me to be, inside my head."
"And the rest of the ensemble?"
"For your pleasure?" she asked.
Asher graced her with another warm smile that only faded a little when he looked back at Anita.
"So, she's not here to service Jean-Claude... and she's not being turned into a piece of furniture or a stand-in for someone else," the necromancer said.
The blond vampire nodded. Then, he asked, "For whom did you think she was acting?"
"Me?"
Willow flinched, offended by Anita's response. Asher, too, seemed offended; his laugh was cold and fell flat before he spoke again.
"Never," he said. "I love you both, c'est vrai, but not for the same reasons nor in the same way."
He reached out and guided Willow's head back onto his knee. "What I share with my human servant is not a surrogate for the feelings I have for you," he added.
"I didn't mean---"
"One step forward... two back?" Asher commented.
Anita huffed loudly. "That isn't what I said---not the way you think!"
"Then explain it," he suggested. "And do it carefully, because you've insulted my submissive, my lover, and your Lupa."
The black-haired woman's face darkened.
"Do you deny she's your Lupa?"
"I'm Nimir-Ra," Anita reminded him hotly.
"And Bolverk."
She glared at both of them; Asher's hand was the only thing keeping Willow from flinching again.
"Are you picking a fight on purpose?" Anita asked.
"Non."
"Then---"
"You've tried to make peace with Willow, but despite your progress... there appears to be...." he trailed off. He gestured a little with his free hand before speaking again. "You still believe she's beneath you... lesser than you in some way. Maybe not as a woman, but as a wolf, maybe? As a human servant?"
"That's not it," she said in reply.
"A poor man's Anita?"
Anita rolled her eyes. "Asher, knock it off."
"I suggest you 'knock it off,'" he commented.
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Jean-Claude snapped his fingers once and the werewolf remained silent.
"I let---"
Anita stopped talking. Willow felt a chill in the room unlike anything she'd ever felt before. When she saw Jean-Claude step into her limited field of vision, she knew he was the source of the cold.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Jean-Claude took Anita's hand in his. "I know," he murmured in a tone meant to placate Anita.
Willow wasn't doing much critical thought at that time, but she did feel sad for Jean-Claude. As she catalogued her emotions, Asher stroked her neck and shoulders. She tuned out the words the other couple was exchanging and focused on her lover's touch.
After a few minutes, Asher turned his secondary attention to Jason. They talked quietly, about the club, about the café, and a little about the situation involving Perdita and Dawn. Willow closed her eyes and let the others' voices turn into melodic noise. Asher's hand continued its rhythm. The stress related to Anita's return faded enough so the redhead could surrender again to her dominant's desire.
"Are you sure?"
At Anita's question, Willow looked up and took in the room from behind her mask. Anita was talking to both Jean-Claude and Jason, it seemed.
The black-haired vampire nodded. "You need to feed, , and I think Jason might enjoy it tonight." He looked at the werewolf in question. "I know I promised you could stay at my side all night, but I sense new needs in you---"
"Are you okay with it?" Jason asked.
Jean-Claude nodded. He walked over to his pomme de sang and caressed the young man's chin. "I think so," the vampire admitted. He smiled. "And perhaps you've enjoyed some of tonight... and need to blow off some steam?"
"If you didn't fuck---"
Jason cut off Anita's accusatory question. "I'm a red-blooded wolf, Anita. Dominance games can really do it for me if they're done right."
Anita frowned. "You don't like being tied up---"
"I'm not a sub like Nate. Maybe I'm more like Willow---but I think I like being on top a little bit more. And even though I don't want all the toys, I get the appeal, Anita."
The necromancer smiled a bit. "You think I'd let you be in charge?"
"Maybe..."
Anita smiled more. "Well, if you're game, that'd be great. Seeley helps, but... we're not really up to full meals, and I want to give Micah and Nathaniel a little break---"
"Hey, maybe you could stop buttering me up by reminding me of all the guys you turn to before me?" Jason asked, cutting her off. "I already know the score---there's no need to rub my nose in it."
Willow tuned them out as they started to bicker. After a few more minutes, they were gone, and Jean-Claude muttered something in French before gracefully flopping down next to Asher. She heard them talking and then she heard them kissing. She wanted to look up; she usually enjoyed seeing the vampires together, but her current position was not one that allowed her to decide where to look.
Accepting her fate, she resigned herself to listening through the leather hood. Like every other sound, the kissing noises were muffled. They did not leave her unaffected, though, and after a few minutes she felt her arousal grow.
"So well trained..." Asher mused between kisses with his male lover. "I have never seen her so deeply submissive."
"Do you enjoy it?" the other vampire asked.
"Tonight? Yes."
Willow smiled to herself, pleased to have made Asher happy.
He stroked her covered head gently. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"And, you, ma fifille? Are you enjoying it?"
"I am tonight, sir," she murmured.
"Bon."
Jean-Claude was the next one to sigh. "I must make my rounds of the club... and feed a little off of the crowd," he said in a reluctant voice. "Will you be staying much longer, mon chardonneret?"
"I could be persuaded to stay, provided we leave together," he replied.
The Master of the City smiled---Willow could hear it in his words. "I would like that, very much," he told Asher. "What are you planning for your human servant, though? I know---"
"We'll continue here, while you're gone, and finish... later," Asher replied vaguely.
"If the timing is bad---"
"Shy, mon corbeau?"
Jean-Claude chuckled. "Non, but I know you are very careful about leaving a submissive alone---"
"Meaning I don't," Asher cut in quietly. "And I don't intend to this time either, if you don't mind the company...?"
"I do not mind," Jean-Claude told the other vampire.
"Bon."
Willow shivered as she thought about watching the two of them together. Even when Asher had set up the sight to hurt her emotionally, she wasn't able to deny their beauty; besides that, her attraction to the Master of the City was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
As if the black-haired vampire sensed something of her thoughts, he chuckled. The sound washed over her and made her shiver again.
"D'accord," he said quietly. "I will be back near closing."
They shared a kiss, and then, moments later, dominant and submissive were alone for the first time that night.
TBC...
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61, 62-63, 64, 65, 66-7, 68-9, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74
PART SEVENTY-FIVE
Willow frowned. "She didn't tell me that, Jason. Are you sure?"
The blond werewolf nodded. His eyes filled with fresh tears. "Just as I was leaving, I asked if we could get together and talk, for real, and she dropped the bomb. She's going to visit her sister in England! For the whole break!"
The witch sighed. It had been two days since Dawn found out Jason had been sleeping with Perdita; Willow had gone to see her the first day, convincing her to at least let Jason explain, and he had gone to see her after classes that afternoon. She thought they'd be able to work out their problems; but news of Dawn's trip was proving the redhead wrong.
She opened her arms; Jason crawled onto the bed and wiggled into her body.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know why she's going. She didn't tell me about this trip... I wish I could fix this for you."
Jason sniffled and nodded. "I know you would if you could," he mumbled.
He rubbed his face into her tank top; she felt his tears on her skin through her shirt. With a sigh, she brought one of her hands up to comb through his hair; as she stroked his head, she leaned down and kissed the back of his neck.
Jason wriggled into a better position, hugging around her waist and lower with his arms and legs. When he settled, he knocked her phone off of the bed and onto the floor.
"Oh, sorry," he whispered. "Were you waiting for---"
"Don't worry about it," she interrupted. "I was I the kitchen when Charlotte called. I came in here to keep it more private."
"What did she want?" he asked.
"To schedule a lunch for just us girls," she replied.
Jason chuckled around a small sob. "Fun," he commented quietly.
"Oh yeah," Willow agreed. "Should be a blast."
"She likes you, though."
"Yeah, but she still terrifies me," the redhead confessed. She leaned down and kissed Jason's neck again. "I'll visit the apartment tomorrow, I promise," she murmured. "I'll see if I can get Dawn to explain what's going on."
Jason nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door cut him off.
"Is it okay for company?" she asked him.
"Everyone already knows my pain," Jason admitted.
"Jason..."
"It's a wolf," he said. "That's okay with me."
Willow nodded and called out to the person on the other side of the door. A minute later, Emily was walking into the bedroom.
"Hi," she said shyly. She looked at Jason nervously. "Can I hang out here until Richard gets here, or is this some sort of private moment?"
Willow didn't smile, but she made sure she wasn't frowning. "Jason found out Dawn's going to England for a while. I'm just trying to help him feel better."
Emily frowned. "She is?"
Willow nodded. "I think it's a pretty recent development," she explained to ease the sadness on the other werewolf's face. She'd forgotten that Emily and Dawn were pretty close. "Dawn will talk to you about it---you know she cares about you."
Emily nodded. "Yeah, I... you're probably right." She sighed. "Damn, that sucks."
"Yeah... so, how was school?" Willow asked.
"Fine-ish," Emily muttered.
She shrugged out of her book bag and let it drop to the floor. Without asking permission, climbed up onto the bed and behind Jason. Then she snuggled into his back and hugged him around his shoulders.
"Thanks, Em," Jason said quietly.
"We're pack," she whispered.
When Jean-Claude and Richard came into the suite, Willow thought she'd have to explain, but a quick and silent conversation between the Ulfric and Master of the City told her that they'd been able to piece together most of the day's events.
"Bonjour, ma chérie," Jean-Claude said out loud. He sat down next to her and kissed her cheek. "How has your day been going?"
"A mixed bag," she replied. She watched Richard sit next to Jason and Emily. They shared a smile and then he placed his hand on Jason's shoulder. She turned her attention back to Jean-Claude. "You?"
"Uneventful thus far," he told her. He leaned in and nuzzled her neck. "Asher will be awake soon, I'm sure."
"He's been feeding less," Willow commented. "Is this your doing?"
"Non," he replied. "I believe he is still feeding as frequently as he used to, but perhaps he is using the energy to heal or to strengthen himself in some way." He sighed unnecessarily. "I am not sharing as much energy with my kiss, I'll admit, because I am trying to store up power for whatever may or may not happen."
"I can ask more of the pack to be available for feeding," Richard offered. "Maybe we shouldn't be storing energy as much as sharing it with those under our protection."
"Is this something you've adopted recently?" the vampire asked.
Richard frowned. "I've been thinking about it," he confessed.
Jean-Claude pressed his lips together and nodded, as if seriously contemplating what Richard was saying.
"Bon, I will take your suggestion under advisement," he said after a long pause. He peered around Willow and looked down at Emily. "And how are you this afternoon, mon petit fleur?"
The young girl blushed. "Fine, thanks, sir," she said quietly.
"You don't have to call him 'sir,' Em," Richard told her. "Just be respectful, like I told you."
Emily blushed more. "I know... but I'm not as used to being around vampires like everyone else."
"They're just like us, with hierarchy and behaviour rules," he explained.
"I never spent so much time around leaders and dominants before," the young teenager said. "In Chicago, I wasn't allowed so close to the inside... it still takes some getting used to. And you usually try to keep me from all the vampires---"
Richard touched her back. "I know. But, it's a little hard to do here, especially with Willow and Asher living together in front of us, and Jean-Claude lurking around."
Willow assumed the vampire next to her would respond tersely. She was not prepared for his laughter.
"Honestly, mon ami," he said, "the virtues of your young charge are safe. She's hardly my type."
Richard snorted. "Yes, well, she's young and I don't want her to end up in any sort of tricky situation---between Meng Die and Valentina and any other fanged landmine around here."
"Fair enough, mon ami," Jean-Claude conceded. "I am hopeful, though, that in the near future, one of them will no longer be a concern of mine."
"Valentina?" Willow asked.
He nodded. "Oui," he replied. "I have been trying to get Stephen and Gregory to define the way she and her guardian could repay their treachery, but so far, they have not provided any solution. Once Faith's child is born, I suspect Valentina will become more difficult to confine."
Richard spoke next. "It's not a simple thing to fix, Jean-Claude. Their father is... a horrible example of a human being. He abused them---"
"Je connais l'histoire, mon ami," Jean-Claude interjected.
"Anything those two're willing to do," the Ulfric continued, "like maim or kill, could actually set them back in their therapy sessions."
The Master of the City nodded. "Oui," he agreed. "And I do not want to see them come to harm. The debt, however, is still quite large, in Valentina's mind. To Belle-Morte, it has been lessening over time, as if there has been interest deducted from it---as if there is a way to calculate such things---"
"Valentina wants it to be big because she's hoping she'll get to torture or kill their dad," Richard cut in. "Belle wants them back, so she thinks it's lessened in value."
"Exactement."
Richard sighed. "So, what are you thinking?"
"I will have to mete out a task or two for them soon because I want to be able to send them back as soon as timing allows."
Richard nodded. Willow kept her mouth shut because she didn't know what the solution should be. Valentina creeped her out; she looked like a child but she loved torture too much to maintain the illusion that she was a pretty little girl. She wanted the vampire gone, but she knew that they had protocols to follow; rules had been broken before Willow arrived in St. Louis and Valentina was determined to repay the debt she and her male companion owed to Jean-Claude.
"I'll talk to Stephen," the Ulfric said quietly. "Maybe I can get a read on the situation that could help you plan a bit better?"
"That would be appreciated, mon ami," Jean-Claude commented.
The werewolf king nodded. Then, he reached out and lifted his hand to Willow's cheek. "How's your day going?" he asked quietly.
"Well... you know about the Dawn-drama," she replied. "I'm a little bummed that Dawn decided she's leaving without mentioning it to me. She never said anything about it the last time we talked. I... I have to talk to her tonight or tomorrow."
"Yes," Richard agreed.
Willow sighed. She looked at her lover. "And, your mother called me a little while ago."
Richard's eyes widened. "She didn't tell me she was planning on talking to you," he muttered. He looked her over. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she told him. "She wants to meet me for lunch at the end of the week---or the beginning of next. She sort of ambushed me, so I ended up saying 'yes,' but if you don't want me to go---"
"If you want to, then go ahead," he interrupted. "It's up to you. Don't let her bully you."
Willow smiled a little. "Like you don't let her bully you?"
Richard's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, well, that's different."
She chuckled. "Sure," she murmured.
She wriggled into a reclining position; Jason moved, too, so he could keep holding onto her lower body and he ended up pillowing his head on her stomach. Emily moved onto her side, resting her head on Richard's thigh but keeping an arm around Jason's body. The Ulfric didn't move, but the Master of the City slouched against the headboard and pillows and then draped an arm around Willow's shoulders. She sighed and tipped her head into his shoulder; when Richard touched her cheek again, she turned and kissed his fingers.
They shared a look. Willow felt him pressing against her shields, the protection she raised when she was in the public areas of the underground residence and maintained when she was alone with Jason, and she lowered the defense mechanism to hear him whispering in her mind.
Will Jason be okay? he asked.
I don't know, she admitted. His heart's breaking... and hearing that Dawn's leaving...
Richard nodded when she stopped talking. He nudged Emily and she moved away from the other man; he moved in closer and hugged Jason as much as he could given their body positions. Jason whined and lifted his head. Richard nuzzled his ear, trailing down into Jason's throat, and then he murmured quiet words of assurance.
Willow chimed in her agreement by brushing her fingers through Jason's hair.
"We're pack," Richard whispered. "We hurt when one of us hurts. Together, we can heal one's wounds. You are not alone."
Jean-Claude's power to call wolves flared to life around them. Willow tipped her head back into the vampire's shoulder and she let out a soft whimper. She heard Emily yipping behind Richard, who groaned in response to the power rising around them. Jason sniffled and whined, giving into tearful sobs a few minutes later.
"Shhh," Willow whispered. She rubbed the back of Jason's neck. "We're here," she promised him. "Lupa, Ulfric, and Master. We're here with you."
"I hate feeling like this," he mumbled. "So needy---"
"You help us every day," Willow interrupted. "Now it's our turn to help you."
"I'm just---"
"You're my familiar and one of my best friends," she said, cutting him off again. "You're a trusted packmember. You're a valued pomme de sang. We'd be stupid not to see you through this, however we're able, because you give us so much every day."
Richard's power swelled to mirror what Jean-Claude was exuding. At the same time, Asher woke up and they felt it through the pentumvirate; his presence seemed to amplify the powers being raised in the room. Willow and Jason both moaned under its thrall; Emily whined, as if unsure how she should respond.
"Careful," Willow whispered.
Jean-Claude echoed her sentiment. "I have not yet fed, mon ami. With your young charge here, it would be unwise to tempt our hunger to the surface."
Both men recalled their powers at roughly the same time. Willow wouldn't have said that the ardeur was rising, but the instant the power receded, she could feel her own hunger shrinking.
Emily panted for breath. "Holy hell," she muttered.
Richard released Jason enough to flop onto his back. He looked to the teenager. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I didn't think anything like that would happen if I added my power to the mix. I'm sorry, Emily."
"I'm okay," she assured him. "Just... ah, can you keep that from happening around me in the future?"
"I'll do my best," Richard promised.
She nodded and curled up into his side.
Jean-Claude kissed the top of Willow's head. "You need to feed, too, ma chérie," he reminded her.
The witch nodded. "I know," she murmured. "I haven't had time yet to find someone."
"Promise you will do it soon?"
"Yes," she replied honestly.
He rewarded her with another kiss. "Bon," he whispered. He brushed his fingers over Jason's arm. "If you'd like to remain here---"
"No, I'll go with you," Jason said quickly.
"Are you sure?" the vampire asked.
Jason nodded. "I want to stay with my pack, but... I want to be with you, too."
"D'accord," Jean-Claude agreed. He continued brushing his fingers against the werewolf's skin. "Will you come to Guilty Pleasures even though you're not working?"
"Can I stay in your office?"
"Absolutely," the Master of the City replied. "You can stay by my side the whole time, if you'd like."
"Thank you," Jason whispered.
"De rien," Jean-Claude whispered back. "I am going to bathe in my quarters. Would you like to stay here, or---"
He stopped talking when Jason lifted his head. The werewolf looked from Willow to Richard and then back at the vampire. "I... I think I'll go with you, if..." he looked back at Richard. "Is it okay?"
Richard smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but come find us when you get back," he insisted. "We'll be in the guest room I've been using. Some of the other wolves are going to show up tonight."
"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks."
"We'll get through this," Richard told him quietly. "One day at a time."
Jason nodded slowly. "Yeah... it's just... it hurts... knowing she's going away without letting me try to fix things."
"Love can be a bitch," Richard commented. "I know that better than I want to. But, turning to pack and friends... it got me through the rough patches."
"I know..."
Richard ruffled Jason's hair. "So, lean on us for a little while, okay? You don't need to be your usual self... we'll understand," he said. "Just promise me you're going to take care of yourself."
Jason nodded. "Yeah... yeah. Not like Willow and Jean-Claude would let me slip up---"
"Bien sûr," Jean-Claude cut in. He touched Jason's chin. "I am going to my suite," he told the werewolf. "Join me when you are ready?"
"I'll come with you now," he replied. He hugged Richard and Willow, kissed the witch's cheek, and then tweaked Emily's chin. "Thanks, guys... I really appreciate the support."
A few minutes later, Richard, Willow, and Emily were alone in the bedroom, relaxing on the bed.
Richard looked at the young teenager and patted her hip with his hand. "You got homework?" he asked. At her sigh, he smiled. "Why don't you go to our room and do that, then? I'll meet you there in an hour. I'll bring something to eat from the kitchen."
Emily sighed. "Do I hafta?"
"Yes," he replied.
She sighed again and slowly pushed herself off of the bed. "Can we watch a movie tonight?" she asked as she made her way to her dropped book bag. "Or is dinner and pack time my only reward for getting all that math done?"
Richard chuckled. "We can watch a movie," he promised. "Nothing too girly, though, if I'm expected to sit through it."
"Cool!" Emily chirped.
She grabbed her bag and left the room with shapeshifter speed. Willow laughed quietly, smiling at the werewolf king as she got comfortable on the mattress. He chuckled, too, and turned onto his side to look at her.
"Asher will probably be here soon," he commented.
"He'll probably stay with Jean-Claude to feed and stuff, though," she said, thinking back on Asher's personal habits when he slept somewhere other than their suite. "So, we might have a little time..."
"A little time?" Richard inquired, his voice playful. "That might not be enough for what I want to do with you."
He pulled her into his body and eased himself up onto an elbow to look down at her. Willow looked back at him, up into his brown eyes, and she felt desire warming her from the inside.
"What do you want to do with me?" she asked, feeling flirtatious around him for the first time in at least a week.
He smirked. "Everything."
"Then, that's definitely not enough time," she said on a little laugh.
Richard chuckled. She leaned up and kissed him, pulling on his shoulders with her hands to keep herself close to him.
Their kisses deepened. He pulled Willow on his front as he rolled onto his back, not allowing their lips to part more than a millimetre. His large hands claimed her back, sliding slowly down to the backs of her upper thighs; he kneaded her flesh through the jogging pants she was wearing until she moaned and flexed her hips into his body.
Willow managed to wiggle out of his kisses by placing her own on his throat and collarbone; he wasn't wearing a tie so she only had to negotiate the buttons of his shirt as she descended. She untucked his shirt and moved onto his pants, starting with his belt and ending with his zipper.
Giving head always came with a certain amount of performance anxiety, but the noises Richard was making made her concerns worth what she was attempting. He'd only been half-hard when she first unwrapped him, but after she stroked and licked his length a few times, he was completely hard and pulsing against the palm of her hand.
She licked and nibbled the underside of his shaft and then drew its head into her mouth. His size made deepthroating difficult, but she did her best. Richard groaned and whined, letting her know how much her attempts pleased him, and she used those sounds and his body's tension as a guide as she continued.
When she felt a hand brushing between her legs, she almost yelped and pulled away; Asher's voice in her mind, however, kept her in place.
He didn't stay on top of her clothes for long. When she moved to kiss Richard's testicles, Asher pulled Willow's pants and underwear over her hips and thighs so he could touch her bare skin.
I'm sorry for intruding, he silently told her. I couldn't help myself once I saw the two of you.
Willow chuckled softly. The sound vibrated through Richard's body and made him groan.
"Fuck, Asher," Richard growled.
"I'd like to, mon ami," Asher replied in an over-the-top sweet tone of voice. "But since I cannot..."
"Fuck me," Willow offered.
"Richard?" the blond vampire asked for permission in as few words as possible. "I can---"
"Stay," he decided in a rough voice.
Asher eased Willow's pants to her ankles, then let them drop to the floor. He parted her legs; Willow felt him fumbling with his own clothing for a few seconds before she felt his arousal pressing into the top of her thigh.
Willow sucked as much of Richard's erection as she could back into her mouth. Asher stroked between her legs until he had her writhing from the waist down; then, on a sharp yelp from her and a muttered oath from Richard, the vampire worked on forming his own connection to the witch.
She tensed when he was fully sheathed inside her; the angle of penetration wasn't what she was accustomed to, and even though it felt good, it took a little getting used to. Asher growled wordlessly as her hidden muscles tightened around his erection; his grip on her hips tightened in response and Willow felt Richard tense as she stilled.
It took a few minutes, but they eventually relaxed enough to decide on a rhythm that worked for all of them. Willow felt Asher's arousal as he looked down at Willow and Richard; she also felt Richard's mixed emotions, mainly confusion and arousal. She stroked the Ulfric's hip, first with her fingers and then with her nails, in an attempt to distract him away from his confusion, and she smiled inwardly when she felt his hips tighten.
"God, Willow---"
She pulled back, slurping a little. Richard had been watching her through almost-amber eyes that darkened when she licked up the moisture on his swollen erection. He reached down and caressed her chin.
"More?" she asked quietly.
"Please," he whispered.
Willow's eyes fluttered shut; Asher increased the force of his thrusts to demand her attention.
"Ash---"
The vampire kissed over her spine.
Richard reached out and threaded his fingers into her hair. He guided her head back towards his crotch; she understood that he didn't want to be left out so she didn't fight the pressure.
"This sooo wasn't what I had planned tonight," Willow mumbled on a little laugh.
"I trust it's not a disappointment, mon colibri?"
"Nnnno," she breathed.
She licked the length of Richard's erection before drawing its head back into her mouth. Richard groaned; his hips started to rise, but they stopped as if he thought better of the reaction.
Use your breasts, Asher whispered into Willow's mind. When she sent wordless confusion back to him, he spoke again: I will hold you up, mon colibri. Cup your breasts around his cock, let him thrust against your skin.
Willow finally understood, and when she felt his grip on her change, she pulled off her top and made the adjustments to her own actions.
Richard seemed to approve. His mouth opened in what could have been either arousal or surprise. As Asher helped her rise and fall, she watched the Ulfric's face; no disapproval ever made itself known, so she tightened her breasts against each side of Richard's erection and continued to do her best to please him.
Asher, not wanting to be outdone or forgotten, it seemed, increased the tempo of his thrusts and added wandering fingers to his combination of movements. Willow closed her eyes as her inner muscles started to tense; she knew she was going to lose her rhythm when Asher drove her to climax, but she wanted Richard to reach that point first because he had been first.
Neither man seemed to be thinking that way, though. Asher pushed her into orgasm without any consideration for Richard's pleasure; Richard, though, seemed to find his own release at roughly the same time. Through the fog of her own pleasure, Willow felt a warm splattering on her neck.
As soon as Richard relaxed underneath her, Asher slid his hands to Willow's hips and hurried his pace. Five sound thrusts later, he was stilling and curving over her back as a groan escaped his lips.
Willow collapsed. Asher and Richard caught her and they rearranged her so she was lying between them in a comfortable position.
"Oh..." she breathed. "That was..."
"Pleasant?" Asher asked.
"Mmmm," she hummed, nodding. She reached out for Richard. "You okay?"
"You always make a point of asking if I'm okay when Asher joins us," the Ulfric commented.
"I... uh, well---"
"How about if I don't freak out, you assume I'm okay?" he suggested. "I know I have hang-ups, and I'm not bisexual like Asher, but I've been working on my comfort lev---"
Willow cut him off with a kiss. "I know," she whispered when she pulled away. "But I don't want you to think I'm taking you for grant---"
"I don't think that," he murmured.
"Oh... okay."
Asher chuckled on Willow's other side. "Are we alright now?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," the redhead said, blushing a bit. She brought a hand up to her chest and touched the cooling evidence of Richard's orgasm. "Oh... ah..." she trailed off and fumbled for her top. Asher plucked it from her hand and used it to wipe up the slippery mess. "Thanks," she whispered.
He replied by kissing her temple. She snuggled into their bodies and stifled a yawn.
"You two always tire me out," she muttered. "I've only been awake for a few hours!"
Asher chuckled. "Then, sleep, mon colibri."
"I have about twenty minutes before I have to get supper for Em," Richard said. "I'll wake you up when I leave, okay?"
"Okay," she agreed drowsily.
Asher kissed her temple. "Before you drift off, I have something to ask of you," he whispered.
"Mmm?" she asked.
Would you be willing to join me later---either at Narcissus in Chains or our dungeon? he silently asked her. I need you, and I know the last time you ---
"Yes," Willow agreed out loud. "Tell me where and when, and what to wear. I'll be there."
Richard chuckled. "Date night in the dungeon?" he asked.
"Something like that," Willow murmured. "Our night got cut short last time... we took care of Nathaniel, but it's not the same as---"
"I get it," he said quietly. He rubbed her thigh. "Just... be careful---both of you."
Willow nodded as Asher chuckled. "Do you think I'd dole out more than our fiery redhead can handle?" he asked.
Richard sighed. "No, but... if it's been a while---"
"Maybe I'll lose control?" Asher suggested.
"Guys..." Willow whispered. "It's going to be fine."
"I just---"
"Worry, I know," she supplied for the Ulfric. "It's sweet, but I thought by now you'd be used to this side of my relationship with Asher."
"I am."
Willow turned and kissed Richard's cheek. "You want to inspect me when we're done?" she asked teasingly.
He smiled. "It's a school night for me," he reminded her. She'd been so used to him being at the Circus on a full-time basis that she'd forgotten he resumed his teaching position, with more guards outside and a panic button---security's latest add-on in their lives---in his pocket. "But, tomorrow, I'd be glad to."
"It's a date, then," she said before yawning again.
He kissed her forehead. "Take a nap," he whispered.
"Part of my brilliant plan," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.
&&&&
Her nap didn't last very long.
Minutes before Richard was about to wake her, according to him as they hurriedly dressed, Dawn entered the suite. She would have walked into the bedroom to see the trio lounging in various states of undress if it hadn't been for Asher's quick thinking. He had been able to grab the blanket miraculously kept on the foot of the bed through their romp; he positioned it over all three of them a moment before Dawn poked her head into the bedroom.
Once Dawn realised what she was interrupting, she said she'd wait in the other room. Willow kissed her lovers and got up to find fresh clothes; by the time she was decent, though, Dawn was no longer in the outer chamber to the suite.
She stepped into the hall as she let down her shields. She reached out for Dawn and found her outside the building, near her parked car.
Not wanting to miss Dawn's visit, Willow hurried to the exit, not bothering to find a guard to escort her.
When she burst out of the building, through the door marked as the employees' exit, she drew her magic back inside herself and gave the younger woman a small smile.
"A sock on the door is too much to ask?"
The redhead shrugged. "I don't usually get to think about things like that when they're both around and, ah, cooperatively amourous," she admitted. "What brings you by?"
Dawn frowned. "I... well, I'm going to go visit home base."
"Right..."
"Jason told you?"
Willow nodded. "Without saying anything that would risk his manliness, yeah, he told me."
"So, he cares," Dawn mumbled.
"Dawnie, of course he cares!" Willow exclaimed, forgetting her private policy to be gentle with the brunette. "He is head over heels in love with you, terrified you'll hate him forever, and you announce you're skipping town---how did you think he'd react?"
Dawn frowned. "When I see him... I think of Perdita's scaly fish-mitts all over him and I hear all the things he said to me when we were alone... and I want to puke or scream or both! How dare he say he's never felt like what he feels for me before, but---"
"Did he explain what happened?"
The other woman crossed her arms. "He's been screwing the mermaid."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, but did he get a chance to tell you how it happened?"
"There's nothing---"
The redhead glanced around the parking lot and cast a quick peak to the rooftop. Even though her eyes told her no one was around, she still used magic to convey her message.
Jean-Claude asked him to keep an eye on her, without her knowing she was being watched, Dawnie. He didn't order Jason to sleep with her, but I can imagine it got hard to keep up the charade after a while without things progressing.
"That's not an excuse---"
"No," Willow argued, "it's a reason. It was his job---just like it's his job to feed Jean-Claude, but you don't seem to mind that."
"That's not sex!" Dawn exclaimed.
Willow shrugged. "It's more like sex than you think, then---"
"Being rolled isn't the same as---"
Jason cares deeply for Jean-Claude, Willow continued silently. And Jean-Claude cares for him, too. One's a flirt with the biggest heart humanly possible despite his life's experiences and one's an incubus who despite the entourage and Anita can feel pretty alone because of his position. Sharing blood's intimate, to boot---
"Are you trying to make it worse?" Dawn quietly asked.
Willow shook her head. "No, I'm just trying to get you to understand---"
"Some of us don't want more than one boyfriend, Willow."
The witch frowned. "I know that..."
"He told me he wanted someone... someone."
Willow nodded. "I can believe that," she commented. "And, I don't think he was lying. But, that someone needs to understand he's not his own master and he does have obligations that he can't put aside."
"Like feeding Jean-Claude."
"And occasionally feeding Anita's ardeur."
Dawn frowned. "He's been screwing her, too?"
"I don't know," Willow said honestly.
Dawn's eyes filled with tears. "I hate this!" she exclaimed. "I just hate this! I love him but I hate him for lying to me!"
Willow reached out to touch Dawn's shoulder; the younger woman flinched away. Willow frowned and put her hands in her sweater pockets.
"What can I do to help?" the redhead asked.
"Nothing... You're on his side."
"I am not," Willow insisted. "I love you both---I can be supportive, I can try to be neutral---I can't take sides. He was my first real friend here and you're like my family... I won't lie. I want you two to work this out, and if you can't, then I'll keep on loving both of you the same. But, no sides, Dawnie."
The other woman frowned. "Yeah.... that sounds like you."
"I wish I could fix this," Willow whispered.
"Me, too."
"Then don't run away."
Dawn sighed. "I can't stay here, Willow. Not right now."
Willow nodded. "Okay, but promise me you'll talk to Emily about why you're leaving."
"Yeah," she agreed.
"And please give Jason a chance to really tell you everything."
Dawn glared at Willow. "Fine..."
"Whether or not you decide you love him enough to really give him a second chance---that's always your call, and I can't ask you to do it as a favour to me," the redhead said quietly. "But, all I'm asking is that you listen to him explain his actions and how he feels."
Dawn gave another sigh. "I promise to listen. Okay?"
"Okay," Willow echoed.
"Can you give me a lift to the airport?" Dawn asked.
Willow nodded. "Absolutely. Just tell me when and I'll be there."
"As soon as I book my flight, I'll tell you."
"I'm gonna miss you," the witch admitted.
Dawn's tense body language melted a bit. "I'm gonna miss you, too."
&&&&
"Viens ici," Jean-Claude instructed, before he snapped his fingers and pointed at the floor by his feet.
Through the holes in the leather hood she was wearing, Willow focused on the spot the Master of the City indicated and crawled to it. He rewarded her with a few gentle strokes to the top and back of her head before he returned his attention to his work.
At that moment, Willow was so far down in her submissive headspace that she no longer contemplated her strange situation.
When she first saw Asher's handwritten note on top of his chosen outfit for her, she was both embarrassed and impressed. The blond vampire intended to take her down as deep as she could go; his inclusion of Jean-Claude in their game was unexpected but she had known it would be effective.
Dropping into the mental place Asher wished for her to go had not been easy.
The leather hood and other items of clothing were different than what she usually wore; she was completely covered in black material, from head to toe. Her hair was hidden in the hood; her hands were covered by odd mittens with no thumbs. She'd had to let Requiem take her to the club in near-silence. Jason wasn't evicted from the office and his reactions to her appearance, Jean-Claude's orders, and her expected behavior had made her very uncomfortable. She'd hesitated several times---and talked a few times, too, between the trip and her first hour in the office---and she knew those infractions to Asher's instructions were being tallied in some way for punishment later.
It took at least another hour before she began to accept her station. Her silence and concealing, restrictive garb seemed to slowly draw her inside herself. When Jean-Claude was between orders, she was able to reflect; it became easier after Jason started to ignore her. As she drew back into her mind, a strange floating sensation distanced her thoughts so that even her internal monologue became harder to maintain and then less important to maintain.
Willow transformed into Asher's submissive, first in fits and starts and then much more steadily. Jean-Claude became her guide, more nameless by the time their first visitor interrupted them---a firm voice and a gentle hand, extensions of her dominant partner until he was due to arrive.
Asher wasn't behind the door at its first knocking. Willow hadn't really been paying attention to her surroundings until the voice that had been commanding her turned soft and romantic.
"Ma petite," the voiced all-but-crooned. "I did not expect you tonight."
Behind her zippered-shut mouth in the hood, Willow frowned.
"Is that why you decorated with bondage tonight?"
The man stood and left his desk, his position as Willow's guide and master.
"Ah, non, I am doing mon chardonneret a favour tonight."
Anita spluttered for a minute. Then, she said, "That's not Nathaniel... I thought he's on stage in twenty..."
"Non."
"What the fuck kind of creepy---are you playing with Willow?!"
Willow caught sight of Anita marching towards her, hand outstretched as if to reach for the hood. Both Jean-Claude and Jason yelled out to stop Anita, but it was Jean-Claude who snatched the necromancer away.
It had been close---so close that, on impulse, Willow flinched. She knew moving was not allowed and she'd lost some of the progress she made that night; she hung her head, to hide her fear and disappointment.
"Why do you have her all---"
"Get out!" Jean-Claude ordered, cutting across her question.
"What?!" Anita asked. "Asher's never done this to Nathaniel! This isn't normal!"
"Mon loup," the Master of the City said quietly. "Please move the stool by the door and wait there. I would prefer no one enters, except for Asher, while Anita and I are out in the hall."
"Jean-Claude---"
"Anita, you and I will discuss this in a moment," he told his human servant. "Go wait in the hall for me."
Willow frowned more as Anita protested her lover's orders. She closed her eyes. It had been going well, finally, but her peace of mind had been shattered by a rush of several emotions: embarrassment, for being seen by someone else; anger, towards Anita's incompletely vocalised attack of their behavior; disappointment, because she had failed to wholly maintain her state of mind; and fear, of Asher's reaction to her disobedience.
She'd been so lost in thought and feeling that she hadn't noticed Jason moving the stool, Anita leaving, or Jean-Claude kneeling in front of her.
When he drew her into his arms, she didn't talk; instead, she opened her mind and thought apologetic thoughts.
"Shush," the vampire whispered. "This is not your fault."
He kept her close to his body, rubbing her back repeatedly. Willow sniffled and buried her face in his chest as her emotions and his reaction to them overtook her.
"Mon loup will stay in the room with you," Jean-Claude said quietly. "I want you to kneel behind my desk until I return. Do not focus on what you think you did wrong, as hard as it may be."
Willow nodded.
He pulled back a bit and lifted her chin. "You are not at fault. Do you understand me?"
She nodded again. Jean-Claude smiled a bit and leaned in, resting his brow against hers so their eyes were too close for Willow to look anywhere else.
"You are a very good submissive," he said. "And once you worked past your discomfort, you went to that place your dominant wants your mind to go tonight. I did not think it was possible, given everything that has been happening, but you did so well. I want you to forget the last few minutes and go back to where you were. I know now that you can do it."
Willow nodded slightly. Jean-Claude smiled and leaned back.
"Bon. I hope to return shortly."
He eased away from her. She went to kneel behind his desk; he left the room. Willow could feel the fight between Anita and the vampire on the periphery of her part of the pentumvirate, but she slipped away from it as she forced herself back into that peaceful state from which she had been dragged.
By the time Jean-Claude returned, she'd quieted most of her thoughts.
He must have been able to guess that she hadn't fully succeeded because he took one, sweeping look at her and ordered her under the desk, in the place he usually stretched his legs while working.
When he resumed his seat, Willow found herself boxed into a pretty cramped space.
She rested her head on his knee and mentally prepared herself for some difficult waiting, because she guessed she'd be there until Asher came for her.
&&&&
She guessed correctly.
When the door opened again---preceded by Jean-Claude giving Jason permission to admit entrance to whoever was on its other side---Willow didn't move from her position, kneeling under the desk with her head on the vampire's knee. She was so deep in her submissive headspace again that movement wasn't an issue, unless someone like Anita made another grab for her.
Asher and Jean-Claude didn't converse in French. Willow wasn't entirely sure, but she thought they were speaking in German---not one of her best languages. It was easier to tune the words out when she didn't understand them.
Jean-Claude demanded she crawl out of her hiding spot when they were finished talking. He clipped a lead to Willow's collar, and both vampires made a show of the leather strap changing hands. She crawled to Asher's side and rose to her knees, putting her mittened hands behind her back, and she felt a rush of pleasure when Asher rubbed the back of her head and neck.
"Where is she now?" Asher asked, in English.
"With Nathaniel. I told her she could come back to the office after he takes to the stage, if she is willing to behave," the other vampire replied.
Asher sighed. "I'm sorry, if this has---"
"Do not apologise, mon chardonneret. I was enjoying myself."
The blond chuckled. "She behaved well enough for your high standards?"
"Requiem told me she spoke twice, and it did take her some time to get used to Jason's presence... but, yes," Jean-Claude replied. "Her reaction to Anita was not her fault."
"Bon."
Asher rewarded her with a squeeze to the back of her neck. Willow felt as though her insides were melting, which let her know Asher's arrival only enhanced her submissive state.
He went to the sofa; she followed. When he took his seat at one end, she settled into a comfortable position on the floor and rested her head on his knee.
"Do you think she will return?" Asher asked the other vampire.
He shrugged gracefully. "I do not know."
"I thought she was becoming accustomed to Nathaniel---"
Jean-Claude spoke up when Asher stopped mid-sentence. "It isn't quite the same, now, is it?" he said, gesturing to Willow. "This type of bondage is something she has never seen up close and personal, so to speak. It did not help that she was with me."
"Mon corbeau---"
"No apologies," he interrupted. "I offered my assistance to you, and I am well within my rights as Master, as a man, and as Anita's lover. I did not overstep any rules."
"Perhaps... I should talk to her," Asher suggested. "Explain my actions here, in this situation?"
Jean-Claude shrugged again. "If you think it will make a difference, mon chardonneret, then I will leave my defense in your hands."
Asher stroked his fingers over Willow's hooded head. "Has ma fifille fully returned to her previous mental state?"
"Mostly," the other vampire replied. "Your arrival has helped her relax further, I've noticed."
The blond reached out for his male lover. Jean-Claude sat down willingly; Willow heard them share a kiss before Asher spoke again.
"Your handling of her was rather inspired," he murmured. "I might not have thought to put her under my desk, but it did the trick."
"Merci," Jean-Claude said on a chuckle that pulled at Willow's insides. His laughter faded away and he sighed. "Ma petite is coming to pay us a visit."
Willow tried not to flinch when Anita came back into the office, but it was difficult. She was deep enough into subspace to want to remain still to please Asher; however, she could feel Anita's discomfort and anger along their mental link and they were effective agitators. Asher's hand tightened on the back of her neck until she gasped and froze in her position against him. Then, he maintained the tight hold on her as Jean-Claude and Jason both greeted the other woman.
"Asher..."
"Your displeasure should be aimed at me, not Jean-Claude," he told her.
Anita frowned. "He was playing along---"
"Not sexually," the blond interrupted.
"These games are all about sex---"
"Non, they are not," Asher insisted. When Anita opened her mouth to protest, he spoke again. "Often, when Willow and I play, sex is a factor. Nathaniel finds pain to be arousing, too, which supports your belief. However, tonight, it's been nothing but a game of dominance and submission---what my human servant needs in order to relax after a trying few weeks."
"How can you say---"
"Mon corbeau, apart from your original affection for Willow, have you been any more aroused by tonight's activities?"
Jean-Claude shook his head. "I prefer my female lovers to be much more... active... or assertive." He shrugged. "I have never enjoyed BDSM as much as mon chardonneret, but there are some elements I appreciate. Still, this hasn't been about anything other than giving Willow a safe, guarded place to sink into the mental place she needs."
Anita sighed. "But... the hood and the mitts and the kneeling...?"
"All props," Asher told her.
The necromancer looked down at Willow. The witch had been carefully watching her through the holes in her hood, but she didn't speak.
Her silence seemed to bother Anita.
"Can she talk?"
"I have not given her permission to speak," Asher replied. "You either trust us, or you don't, Anita."
The black-haired woman sighed loudly. "I do, but... I know how you like these games, and Jean-Claude's been attracted to Willow---"
Asher let Jean-Claude profess his love for Anita. The blond occupied himself with ties and zippers on Willow's hood. She felt part of the leather relax; then, she felt Asher's fingertips on her lips. Without thinking, she opened her mouth and sucked on his cool skin. He let her feel his pleasure through their bond.
"If she were in distress, I'm sure you would feel it," Asher told Anita. "You've had access to her emotions and sensations before, haven't you?"
Anita nodded and looked from Willow to Jean-Claude. She sighed. "You weren't going to screw her or anything?"
Jean-Claude snorted and shook his head. "Non, ma petite," he assured her.
"And she's not in pain?" Anita asked.
"Not yet," Asher replied.
She grimaced. The blond vampire chuckled.
"How can you make light of hurting her?"
"She needs it as much as I do," Asher said quietly. "And it's not done to be cruel. She needs it to find true release---and I need the release that can only come when I give into my darker desires. But, it's as much about trust and love as it is pain and release, ma chérie. She trusts me not to go any further than she can handle, and I love her to much to abuse that trust."
"Isn't this humiliating for her?"
"It was at first, but I made sure she was only in the company of people who were trusted to understand and respect her predicament."
Anita sighed. "I failed that test, then, huh?"
"It wasn't a test. I simply did not account for your arrival... or your mistrust of us."
The black-haired woman frowned. "I... I thought... Nathaniel told me neither of them liked being humiliated."
"She wasn't---not really, until you scared her out of her headspace."
She sighed again. "Wasn't it humiliating when Jean-Claude made her kneel?"
"Ma fifille," Asher said, addressing the then-submissive witch directly. "Did you find it humiliating to obey our Master's commands?"
Willow released Asher's fingers slowly and lifted her head so she could look into his eyes. "No, sir," she whispered, her voice hoarse from a lack of use. "I was uncomfortable at first because Requiem's never seen me as your submissive... and Jason's in the room, but once I realised you trusted our Master with me, I trusted him, too, and it got better."
Asher smiled, tilting his head so his curtain of golden curls fell away to expose his whole face, and she felt his pleasure in her head. He was pleased to hear her speak those words, without hesitation.
He brushed his fingers past the opening in her leather hood; she latched onto them again, not wanting to have to be told to resume sucking them.
"She knew, once she stopped fighting, Anita," Asher told the other woman.
"But the clothes!" Anita insisted. "I read those books you gave me... and they said latex and coverings were to make a surrogate into nothing or---"
"Ma fifille, is that what I did to you?"
Willow releases the pads of his fingers and shook her head.
"Did I explain my intent beforehand?"
She shook her head again.
Asher brushed his index finger over her lower lip. "Do you know why I dressed you this way?"
She shrugged. She wasn't completely sure, but she had her suspicions.
He chuckled. "Care to share your thoughts?"
"The hood and the mitts keep me from expressing myself the way I normally would," she said upon prompting. "They keep me from interacting. They helped me sink deeper... where you want me to be, inside my head."
"And the rest of the ensemble?"
"For your pleasure?" she asked.
Asher graced her with another warm smile that only faded a little when he looked back at Anita.
"So, she's not here to service Jean-Claude... and she's not being turned into a piece of furniture or a stand-in for someone else," the necromancer said.
The blond vampire nodded. Then, he asked, "For whom did you think she was acting?"
"Me?"
Willow flinched, offended by Anita's response. Asher, too, seemed offended; his laugh was cold and fell flat before he spoke again.
"Never," he said. "I love you both, c'est vrai, but not for the same reasons nor in the same way."
He reached out and guided Willow's head back onto his knee. "What I share with my human servant is not a surrogate for the feelings I have for you," he added.
"I didn't mean---"
"One step forward... two back?" Asher commented.
Anita huffed loudly. "That isn't what I said---not the way you think!"
"Then explain it," he suggested. "And do it carefully, because you've insulted my submissive, my lover, and your Lupa."
The black-haired woman's face darkened.
"Do you deny she's your Lupa?"
"I'm Nimir-Ra," Anita reminded him hotly.
"And Bolverk."
She glared at both of them; Asher's hand was the only thing keeping Willow from flinching again.
"Are you picking a fight on purpose?" Anita asked.
"Non."
"Then---"
"You've tried to make peace with Willow, but despite your progress... there appears to be...." he trailed off. He gestured a little with his free hand before speaking again. "You still believe she's beneath you... lesser than you in some way. Maybe not as a woman, but as a wolf, maybe? As a human servant?"
"That's not it," she said in reply.
"A poor man's Anita?"
Anita rolled her eyes. "Asher, knock it off."
"I suggest you 'knock it off,'" he commented.
Jason opened his mouth to speak, but Jean-Claude snapped his fingers once and the werewolf remained silent.
"I let---"
Anita stopped talking. Willow felt a chill in the room unlike anything she'd ever felt before. When she saw Jean-Claude step into her limited field of vision, she knew he was the source of the cold.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Jean-Claude took Anita's hand in his. "I know," he murmured in a tone meant to placate Anita.
Willow wasn't doing much critical thought at that time, but she did feel sad for Jean-Claude. As she catalogued her emotions, Asher stroked her neck and shoulders. She tuned out the words the other couple was exchanging and focused on her lover's touch.
After a few minutes, Asher turned his secondary attention to Jason. They talked quietly, about the club, about the café, and a little about the situation involving Perdita and Dawn. Willow closed her eyes and let the others' voices turn into melodic noise. Asher's hand continued its rhythm. The stress related to Anita's return faded enough so the redhead could surrender again to her dominant's desire.
"Are you sure?"
At Anita's question, Willow looked up and took in the room from behind her mask. Anita was talking to both Jean-Claude and Jason, it seemed.
The black-haired vampire nodded. "You need to feed, , and I think Jason might enjoy it tonight." He looked at the werewolf in question. "I know I promised you could stay at my side all night, but I sense new needs in you---"
"Are you okay with it?" Jason asked.
Jean-Claude nodded. He walked over to his pomme de sang and caressed the young man's chin. "I think so," the vampire admitted. He smiled. "And perhaps you've enjoyed some of tonight... and need to blow off some steam?"
"If you didn't fuck---"
Jason cut off Anita's accusatory question. "I'm a red-blooded wolf, Anita. Dominance games can really do it for me if they're done right."
Anita frowned. "You don't like being tied up---"
"I'm not a sub like Nate. Maybe I'm more like Willow---but I think I like being on top a little bit more. And even though I don't want all the toys, I get the appeal, Anita."
The necromancer smiled a bit. "You think I'd let you be in charge?"
"Maybe..."
Anita smiled more. "Well, if you're game, that'd be great. Seeley helps, but... we're not really up to full meals, and I want to give Micah and Nathaniel a little break---"
"Hey, maybe you could stop buttering me up by reminding me of all the guys you turn to before me?" Jason asked, cutting her off. "I already know the score---there's no need to rub my nose in it."
Willow tuned them out as they started to bicker. After a few more minutes, they were gone, and Jean-Claude muttered something in French before gracefully flopping down next to Asher. She heard them talking and then she heard them kissing. She wanted to look up; she usually enjoyed seeing the vampires together, but her current position was not one that allowed her to decide where to look.
Accepting her fate, she resigned herself to listening through the leather hood. Like every other sound, the kissing noises were muffled. They did not leave her unaffected, though, and after a few minutes she felt her arousal grow.
"So well trained..." Asher mused between kisses with his male lover. "I have never seen her so deeply submissive."
"Do you enjoy it?" the other vampire asked.
"Tonight? Yes."
Willow smiled to herself, pleased to have made Asher happy.
He stroked her covered head gently. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"And, you, ma fifille? Are you enjoying it?"
"I am tonight, sir," she murmured.
"Bon."
Jean-Claude was the next one to sigh. "I must make my rounds of the club... and feed a little off of the crowd," he said in a reluctant voice. "Will you be staying much longer, mon chardonneret?"
"I could be persuaded to stay, provided we leave together," he replied.
The Master of the City smiled---Willow could hear it in his words. "I would like that, very much," he told Asher. "What are you planning for your human servant, though? I know---"
"We'll continue here, while you're gone, and finish... later," Asher replied vaguely.
"If the timing is bad---"
"Shy, mon corbeau?"
Jean-Claude chuckled. "Non, but I know you are very careful about leaving a submissive alone---"
"Meaning I don't," Asher cut in quietly. "And I don't intend to this time either, if you don't mind the company...?"
"I do not mind," Jean-Claude told the other vampire.
"Bon."
Willow shivered as she thought about watching the two of them together. Even when Asher had set up the sight to hurt her emotionally, she wasn't able to deny their beauty; besides that, her attraction to the Master of the City was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
As if the black-haired vampire sensed something of her thoughts, he chuckled. The sound washed over her and made her shiver again.
"D'accord," he said quietly. "I will be back near closing."
They shared a kiss, and then, moments later, dominant and submissive were alone for the first time that night.
TBC...