Desire 3/?
Title: Desire
Author: Aphrodite Roslin
Book or TV: TV (I'm afraid I haven't even begun to read the series. I know, I lose at life :D)
Rating: PG-13 Maybe R for this chapter
Spoiler: Maybe one for Soul Beneficiary
Disclaimer: Jim Butcher owns The Dresden Files. Harry owns my soul. Bob owns my heart.
Summary: Harry Dresden wanted a little hired help. What he got was a whole world of trouble, courtesy of one beautiful strange young woman. And this time, he's in way over his head. (Okay, yeah, the summary's kind of corny and nondescriptive, but give it a shot please. It's my first story ever written for this fandom! :D)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Black magic. Fire. Evil. All of these words tend to give Harry Dresden a rather nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach. All of which were words he’d become rather familiar with during these past couple days. Add to the mix one fiery housekeeper, literally, and an exploding ghost, and you’ve got the ingredients for one very bad week.
“Good evening, Miss Bain,” Harry greeted with his best smile.
“Mr. Dresden,” Sera smiled back.
“Shall we?” the wizard indicated the booth next to them.
“We shall,” the pyrokinetic nodded once, taking a seat across from him. “And, please, call me Sera.”
“Alright, Sera, I guess you can call me Harry,” Dresden replied.
“Harry it is then,” she grinned. “So, that’s an interesting name - Harry. Is there a story behind that?”
“Uh, yeah. My father named me after Harry Houdini.”
“The famous magician? That’s ironic now isn’t it?”
“A bit,” Harry gave a short laugh, unsure of what to say or do next.
“So, your friend,” Sera solved the dilemma for him. “The one from your office. What was his name?”
"Who Bob?” Dresden replied. “Yeah, he’s kind of my…associate of sorts.”
“It’s okay. I have the gift, remember? You don’t have to lie to me,” Sera smiled sweetly. “He’s the Bainbridge ghost, isn’t he?”
“Sounds right,” Harry nodded.
“Oh, this is amazing! You have to let me speak with him again!” said the suddenly excited Sera.
“Why all the excitement?” asked the slightly confused wizard.
“You mean you don’t know?” the woman questioned with a look of amazement. Dresden tilted his head in a slightly bird-like fashion, urging her to explain.
“The story of Hrothbert and Winifred is legend! Filled with romance, intrigue, life, death, and beyond! Their tale taught me the meaning of loyalty, true love, and the cruelty of the universe! I never thought I’d get the chance to meet one of them! Not in my lifetime at least.”
“Uh…Wow…I…didn’t know that.” He didn’t know what he’d expected the woman to say, but it certainly wasn’t that. Had anyone else in the world told him something like that, Dresden would have laughed in their faces. But something told him that taking this young woman seriously was best for everyone.
Sera let out a small giggle. “Obviously.”
“Well, I’ll let him know you’d like to talk to him,” Dresden said casually. Sera looked as if someone had just smacked her across the face.
“You mean you’re not interested in the story?” she questioned in utter disbelief.
“Sure I’m interested, but it’s not your place to tell me. If Bob wanted me to know, I’d know,” Harry responded.
“Your slave is a legend, and you don’t even care about the reason why?”
“Hey!” Dresden yelled a bit louder than he should have. Looking around at the staring faces of the other caffeine consumers, he lowered his voice to a near whisper but kept the same angry, threatening tone. “Bob is not my slave, servant, or anything else you could possibly associate with that word! Got it?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” Sera shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Thank you,” Harry Let the volume of his voice return to normal. Sera studied his face for a long moment.
“You really care about him,” she stated with a soft grin.
“Yeah,” Harry answered shortly, not meeting her eyes.
“How long have you known him?” Sera attempted a return to civil conversation, taking a sip of her coffee. Harry hesitated before answering, looking up to meet her eyes once again.
“Since I was eleven.”
There was silence then, as Dresden was reluctant to say anything more, and Sera simply watched him, taking slow calculated drinks. Did the woman ever blink? Her dark green eyes were piercing, and it made the wizard’s insides squirm. He hadn’t been this uncomfortable in a long time, and for some reason he was compelled to fill the silence.
“After my dad died, I went to live with my uncle. He made Bob my tutor. Bob taught me everything I know about…well…anything. He’s my best friend, and a, uh, a second father of sorts. Hell, the man practically raised me. I’d be dead a thousand times over if it weren’t for him.”
“And you really love him, don’t you?” Sera asked with a tender look in her eyes.
“Yeah, I do,” Harry replied without hesitation, keeping the defensive tone in his voice. Sera’s gaze became thoughtful and a mischievous grin spread across her face.
“Come on. I wanna show you something,” she said as she stood, holding out her hand her him. Dresden took it reluctantly, uncertain of exactly what the mysterious young woman’s intentions were. Sera let out a small laugh at the look on his face, and her green eyes connected with his deep brown ones. Suddenly he no longer cared.
As soon as they reached Dresden’s apartment, he no sooner opened his mouth to question why she had taken him back here than her mouth was on his, and she was shoving him roughly back into the wall. Remembering Bob's skull was still in his backpack, Dresden swung the bag to the side just in time to keep it from being crushed between him and the wall.
“What -” was all he was able to get out as they came up briefly for air before Sera’s tongue was back in his mouth and he no longer cared. Quickly, he began leading her upstairs, fumbling with clothing slovenly as she followed him up more than willingly. Once in his bedroom and more than half undressed, Harry dropped his backpack by the bed, and Sera pulled him down on top of her. Immediately, he pulled his T-shirt off and tossed it away. Sera made quick work of her own shirt as Dresden began covering her neck in long, needy kisses.
“Pants,” the sorceress breathed as she pulled her shirt over her head. All Harry could do was nod as he unclasped her belt. Sera instantly laid flat on the bed with her legs raised slightly so as to grant him an easy passage to remove the bothersome clothing.
“I want you,” Harry panted as the woman beneath him slipped one hand into his hair and one into his boxers.
“I know,” she whispered slowly into his ear, a sly smile spreading across her features. “Now take me.”
600 Years Ago
Hrothbert of Bainbridge was a day’s ride away from home when he’d received the letter. Winifred had gone into labor sooner than expected and things were not looking well for her or the child. Grabbing the fastest horse in the stable, he rode all day and night, stopping only when the animal showed signs of exhaustion. His patience nonexistent at that point, Hrothbert abandoned his steed in the nearest town and commandeered the first healthy equine he could find. He was back home at his manor within nineteen hours.
One of his servants ran quickly to assist him, but the sorcerer brushed his efforts aside.
“Winifred? Where is she?” he demanded.
“In your chambers, my lord,” the servant replied hastily, sounding as if he wanted to say more, but Hrothbert paid him no mind. He was concerned with one thing and one thing only.
“Winifred!” he called as he ran up the winding steps which led to his bedchambers. Throwing open the chamber doors, the great Lord of Bainbridge was nearly brought to his knees at the sight that met his eyes. There, sitting up against what seemed to be every pillow they owned, was his wife, smiling and teary eyed as she softly bounced the small bundle in her arms. Looking up at him, she gave a short laugh.
“Hrothbert, come forward. Come and meet your daughter.”
Not trusting his legs to carry him for long, he obeyed her command swiftly, rushing toward the bed and taking a careful seat next to the beautiful redhead. His gaze drifted immediately toward the swaddled babe in her arms, and even the distinguished sorcerer could not stop his eyes from burning with fresh tears.
“A girl. We have a girl,” he said in babbling amazement.
“Did I not say it would be so?” Winifred grinned mischievously.
“She’s beautiful,” Hrothbert stated needlessly.
“Of course, my love. She is ours,” his wife nudged him with her elbow, gently offering the newborn to his arms. He accepted gratefully, supporting the child’s neck and lower back as she fussed in protest of the movement.
“Hush, child, you are in your father’s arms,” the Lord cooed gently, not believing how soft this small being had made him already.
“You know, we cannot continue to call her ‘child’. We must give her a proper name,” Winifred said softly, playing absently with one of the baby’s tiny hands. “What shall we call her?”
“We shall name her for your mother. Were it not for her, our paths may have never crossed,” Hrothbert decided without need for thought. Winifred simply smiled and nodded her head gently, amazed at the spell their child seemed to have held on her husband.
“Very well,” she agreed happily, continuing to play with the newborn’s hand. “Welcome to the world, my little Seraphina.”