Remember how I said my muse was evil?
I was really, really right.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Title: Shards of Memory
Pairing: Ivy/Rachel
Rating: Honestly, I don't know how we hit 'M' so quickly...
Disclaimer: Not being Kim Harrison, I don't own them.
Summary: What do you do if your entire life is erased, someone is trying to kill you, and the ones trying to keep you safe scare you even more? Post "For a Few Demons More".
It would have been nice if I'd been able to remember something - anything - about my attack in my dreams. Naturally, I wasn't so lucky.
Anything that might have been at all related - flashes of pain, someone laughing, screams of agony - were so blurred and muted that I couldn't pick out any details. I doubt my mild concussion was helping there. Not that I was really in any kind of state to look, as scared as I was. There was also running, though where to and from what I had no idea. Just that I had to get away.
I had the sneaking suspicion that I was in for a lot of those.
After that, though, things... shifted.
My brain must have decided that I needed a break or something, because the next thing I knew, I was back in the church. Seated in a gray chair in the living room - only one of the table lamps was on, giving the room an appropriately dreamlike lack of distinction around the edges - holding a white box with something that smelled rather appetizing in it, I had little on beyond a fluffy black robe. I wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, but at least there wasn't anything for me to be afraid of here.
"I was born a vampire," a soft voice told me.
Whoops. Spoke too soon.
There lounged Ivy, similarly attired. "Both of my parents were vampires," she continued, and I honestly had no idea where this was going... though I suspected I wouldn't like the answer. "I was conceived and born before my mother became a true undead. Do you know what that means - Rachel?"
"Yes. We went over it in the car." It was one of the few things I was sure of. "Ivy, what's going on?"
"Now, now, that's not the way this happened, and you know it," Ivy admonished, not taking her eyes from mine. Slowly - oh, so very slowly, she lowered her feet to the floor and leaned closer. "I suppose I can understand you not wanting to deal with that now, though. Bigger fish to fry, right?"
"Um, right." What was she going on about?
"I didn't tell you everything, though. Do you want to know the best part?" she asked.
Did I? If it had to do with Ivy and her nature - which I was basically counting on to keep me alive at least until I could remember how to protect myself - I supposed I might just have to. "Um, o-okay."
Her eyes grew fervent. Torso unmoving, she levered one of her knees up onto the coffee table, and then the other. Oh. Um... Well. She was coming at me. I decided I should probably do something about that, stop her, move, something. And I would.
Any second.
Really.
"Living vamps can bespell people - if they want to be," she whispered. The softness of her voice rubbed against my skin until it tingled.
Un. Good. "What good is it if it only works on those who let you?" I asked, my voice harsh next to the liquid essence of her.
Ivy's lips parted to show the tips of her teeth. I couldn't look away. I wasn't sure I even wanted to. "It makes for great sex - Rachel."
"Oh." That was all I could manage. Not that she might have noticed anything more. Her eyes were lost in... lust? For me?
Wow. I had NO idea how to react to that.
"And I've got my mother's taste for blood," she said kneeling on the table between us. "It's like some people's craving for sugar. It's not a good comparison but it's the best I can do unless you... try it. But you know that."
I did? Was that why I wasn't even trying to get her to stop?
Ivy exhaled, moving her entire body. Her breath sent a shock reverberating through me. My eyes went wide in surprise and bewilderment as I recognized it as desire. Was that supposed to happen? I was under the impression that relationships tended to happen between men and women. So why did I suddenly want to know how soft her hair was?
I'm not sure if I blinked and missed it or what, but suddenly Ivy was on top of me. "I'll never hurt you, Rachel," she whispered into my ear, and I couldn't do anything to stop the shudder this time. "You're everything to me."
I pulled back to look her in the eyes. Or rather, the pupils, since her eyes had gone entirely black. That should have scared me, but somehow, it didn't. The trust and utter devotion on her face, shining down at me, made that impossible. I felt all warm and gooey inside, and having her on top of me was only exciting me. Which, yeah, was weird, but I suddenly didn't care. "Ivy..." The whisper was barely audible, but I knew she would have heard it from across the room, let alone the few inches that separated us.
Inches that were shrinking by the second as she leaned down, closer and closer. Dimly, it occurred to me that she was about to kiss me, and I was doing nothing to stop her. That just seemed like a silly idea anyway. I mean, sex goddess in your lap, why would you say no?
Well, okay, maybe if she went for my neck or something... But she wasn't. She was close enough for me to feel her breath on my lips...
And a sudden slam woke me up with a start.
Oh, now that was just not fair! Just when things were getting good...
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."
Wait a minute. Was that...?
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked again. Sure enough, there was Ivy, standing near one of the... the, um... Ah! one of the bureaus, a drawer pulled halfway out. I was swiftly distracted, however, by the realization that she was wearing a fairly thin nightgown - sure, that term I remember right away - that stopped at mid-thigh... and nothing else.
Oh, God...
That was even more unfair. How could I be expected to go from a dream where we almost... to her standing there looking like that, without reacting?
I couldn't, obviously. "What are you doing in here?" I was embarrassed by the way my voice went all high and squeaky when I asked, but she didn't seem to notice. Maybe she was used to getting odd reactions from me.
"I needed to get some clothes."
I almost asked why she did wake me up, then - vampires were supposed to be all kinds of stealthy, weren't they? - but that question was pre-empted by the implications of her statement. "This is... Oh, God. I am so sorry! I swear, I honestly thought..."
"It's okay," she assured me. "I do have a fairly comfortable couch."
"You could have taken my bed." Even as I spoke, I slid out of hers, glad it wasn't too chilly inside the church. "I wouldn't have minded, really."
She smiled, but there was a slight edge of strain to it. "I know. But I was worked up enough without having to deal with our scents mixing. That's..."
I looked quickly at her bed, then back at her. "Oh... Damn it, I'm sorry, I-"
"Rachel, it's okay," she told me, strain fading somewhat. "I know what kind of shape you were in last night. I can wash them easily enough later, it's no big deal."
"Still..." I frowned. "This is really your room?"
"Yes." Her smile shifted into a look of confusion. "Why?"
"Because... Well, you may think I'm crazy, but it smells familiar."
She blinked. "What?"
"The scent in here... It's the only thing I've recognized since coming home from the hospital." But if this was her room... I walked closer and sniffed her. "It's you!"
"How can you tell...?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure of it, now. Being in here, surrounded by that, I felt so safe and protected..." I wasn't sure I should have been telling her all this, but my mouth seemed sometimes disinclined to pay much attention to my brain. And I was standing right next to Ivy. And her hair. Still keyed up from the dream, I didn't even think before I reached out to run my hand through it.
Ivy, who had looked somewhere between surprised and touched by my admission, now froze. "Rachel?" she asked carefully. "What are you doing?"
"Not sure," I murmured, enjoying the silky feeling of her hair. Had I never done this before? She wasn't acting like I had, which just seemed odd. "I remember wanting to know how soft it was."
She reached up and stilled my hand... though she didn't remove it. "You remembered something?"
"I had a dream. We were in the living room, eating... You were telling me about yourself... I don't think it ended right, though."
She winced delicately. "No, not exactly."
"I mean, it wasn't the same." I could more or less remember what had actually happened, and while certainly a good thing, I was a little embarrassed at how easily I'd let my fear of Ivy derail the evening. Not that it hadn't been largely her fault as well, but still...
"Ah. Well, you may not recall it, yet, but I gave you something the next morning." She gave me a book which I took with my free hand. "It was written as a, well, dating guide, but I gave it to you so you'd know what not to do." My left hand was still playing with her hair, and she didn't quite seem to know what to do about it.
"Okay. Thanks." I absently tossed the book onto her bed, not taking my eyes from hers.
"Rachel," she began, but then she just trailed off.
"Was that the only time?" Rachel, what are you doing? Why are you having eye-sex with the vampire?
"What are you talking about?"
"That night. Was that the only time we almost..." Seriously, Morgan, stop it. Vampire. If you keep this up, she's going to eat you. And not in the fun way.
Whatever that was.
Her eyes were going all dark again, but she didn't scare me. It was odd. Standing here alone with her, about as vulnerable as I could get, and she scared me less now then she did when I was in a hospital bed, surrounded by other people. "Almost...?"
She had to smell how I felt. "We almost..." I breathed, just managing not to start trembling. Just two more little inches...
She abruptly withdrew, removing my hand from her hair with surprising ease. "You need to reread that book," she told me huskily, not quite managing to keep the sensuality from her movements. "And I need to take a shower." Then, under her breath, she muttered, "A cold shower."
"You know, that's getting really annoying," I told her.
She paused next to the door, confused. "What is?"
My brain told my mouth to just shut up and let her go, saying that this was not the time for this sort of thing, but my mouth thought otherwise. My groin agreed with my mouth wholeheartedly. "First in the dream, now again... If you're want to kiss me, then just kiss me, already."
The wide-eyed look of shock on Ivy's face was absolutely priceless.
I'm not sure what surprised her more, my demand or the admission that I'd been dreaming about kissing her. I gave her a little shrug. "I told you it didn't go the same way."
"Obviously not," she replied faintly.
Feeling a sudden surge of boldness, I walked over to her, pushing her against the door. Resting my hands on her side, I looked her right in the eyes. "Are we together, Ivy? Is there something more that... I don't know what I feel for you, but I know it's something. Something huge and real, and..."
"Rachel..."
"In the dream, you told me I meant everything to you. Is that true?" I pressed. And here she could have easily reminded me that it had only been a dream, and mine, rather then hers.
Instead, barely audible, she whispered, "Yes."
I kissed her.
Oh, God... If we seriously never had done this before, I was going to hurt myself severely for it. Somehow, I just knew that even if I did have my memory, this kiss would put all others previous to shame. It took Ivy a second to get over her shock to respond, but when she did...
Ivy didn't kiss me so much as she made love to my mouth. My hands drifted back up to her hair, while hers rested on my back. My breathing picked up, and I pulled her closer, kissing her with an increasing intensity. My neck was starting to tingle for some reason, but I paid it no attention.
Really, I had so much better things to focus on.
Ivy pushed away from the door, shifting her grip to my thighs and scooping me up. I helpfully wrapped my legs around her waist, breaking the heavenly kiss only because of a pesky little need for oxygen. Damned lungs, I decided. Ivy, standing near the edge of her bed, seemed to shake herself partway back to reality. "Rachel, wait. You need to-"
Whatever she was about to say, I was fairly certain that no, I didn't need to do it. I moved my mouth to her neck, sucking at a point just above her jugular. Ivy let out a guttural moan and her knees buckled, resulting in both of us crashing to the bed. Apparently, Ivy really liked that.
I filed that little fact away, certain it would prove all kinds of helpful... and fun.
I rolled her over until I was straddling her and took in her smoldering expression without flinching. "We've never done this before?"
It took her a moment to scrape together enough coherence to respond. "No. Rachel-"
"Why the hell not?"
She gave me an odd look. "You didn't want to."
That threw me. "I... Are you sure?"
"Yes. Believe me, yes, I am." She sighed. "Rachel, we can't do this. Until your memory comes back-"
"I am still me, though, right? Inside?"
"Yes, but I know you don't remember-"
"Ivy," I interrupted... again. "I may not remember names, dates, faces... But I still feel the same. Even in the hospital, I trusted you and Jenks. Now, I don't know why I might have said we couldn't be together before, and frankly? I won't care if I never remember that." I leaned down and kissed her again, pouring every ounce of heat and passion that I was feeling into it. She looked a bit dizzy when I pulled back. I know I was. "You make me feel safe, and loved," I whispered to her. "Teach me how to love you."
Tears were slowly streaking down Ivy's cheeks, and she looked so scared, nervous... and hopeful. She'd been wanting to hear me say that, I realized. Wanting it badly, and for quite some time, now. She searched my eyes, as if to determine whether or not I meant it. Since I did, I just smiled down at her tenderly. Eventually, she smiled back, a radiant smile that I instantly decided I needed to see more of, as often as possible. "I will," she promised.
She eased me back into a sitting position, pulling my nightshirt up over my head and tossing it aside, taking some time to just look at me. "So lovely," she murmured. "Even with the bruises."
Bruises? What bruises? I wasn't feeling any bruises. I wasn't feeling anything but a delicious fire beneath my skin wherever Ivy was touching me. Her own clothing - meager as it was - swiftly followed suit, and all I could do was stare at her body in amazement. And she thought I looked good? "You're so beautiful," I told her, feeling a brief - and puzzling - urge to cry myself. I pushed it aside, and went back to drinking in the sight of a naked Ivy Tamwood.
Ivy blushed, then let her hands begin to wander across my body. I couldn't stop the slight moans and whimpers her touch elicited, but a quiet little pulse from my neck made me not care in the slightest. Besides, how could I be embarrassed by the touch of someone who so obviously loved me the way Ivy did? Feather-light kisses ghosted across my breasts before Ivy's lips found one of my nipples. That made me moan loudly, and I didn't care in the slightest. She lifted my hands to her own body, encouraging me to explore.
It wasn't rushed. The touching and caressing went on for longer then I could keep track of - though that wasn't the biggest challenge in the world, right then - before she laid me down on the bed and began kissing her way down my body. I quivered when she finally reached the apex of my legs, but even then she took her time, determined to show me how to do this right. When her tongue first flicked out, I nearly bucked off the bed.
I wasn't really surprised that Ivy proved to be as good at this as she was at kissing. Clearly, she was an expert in all things related that required the use of her mouth. The fingers that she slid up inside me nearly sent me over the edge, and when she began pumping them in and out - with her mouth still busy down there as well - I honestly wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on.
"May I have this?"
It took me a few seconds to even register the question, and a few more to decipher its meaning. By then, Ivy had also realized what she'd just asked, and froze. "I'm sorry, Rachel, I shouldn't have-"
"Yes."
"...what?"
"Yes. I want you to bite me."
"Rachel..."
"Ivy, please..."
She paused a few moments more, no doubt checking to make sure I really meant it.
I did.
Her fangs delicately pierced the skin near my groin, and I screamed as white-hot ecstasy surged through my veins. Every pull on the wound elicited a fresh shout of pleasure, and the fact that her fingers hadn't stopped meant that she sent me over the edge to an orgasm that made me nearly black out in short order. But she wasn't quite done with me, riding me through two more before she stopped.
By then, I was sprawled limply on the bed, not quite able to summon up the energy to do much more then lift my head. I did that, though, because I was just so amazed by what I was seeing.
One of the facts Ivy had mentioned last night about witches was our ability to see auras. I hadn't managed to actually do that before now, but I was amazed at the way ours were flowing together, blending into one another until I couldn't see any difference between them. It was as if we only had one aura between us, and I could swear I briefly heard a chiming sound somewhere. I had no idea if this was normal, but asking Ivy would have required more energy then I had. All I could do was cuddle up against her when she moved to lay down next to me, wrapping her arms around me and holding me close. I lay my head against her chest, knowing there was nowhere I would ever want to be more then where I was now.
Okay, dammit, what the hell happened? This is NOT how chapter 3 was supposed to go! *glares at muse* [*muse looks back, unrepentant*] Oh, I see your little game. Wait until I get distracted by a new fandom, then sneak in here and rewrite the story on me! That won't always work, you know. You just got lucky this time.
[Not as lucky as Rachel just got.]
*sighs* Honestly, I don't know why I even try to have serious conversations with her, sometimes...
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Title: Shards of Memory
Pairing: Ivy/Rachel
Rating: Honestly, I don't know how we hit 'M' so quickly...
Disclaimer: Not being Kim Harrison, I don't own them.
Summary: What do you do if your entire life is erased, someone is trying to kill you, and the ones trying to keep you safe scare you even more? Post "For a Few Demons More".
It would have been nice if I'd been able to remember something - anything - about my attack in my dreams. Naturally, I wasn't so lucky.
Anything that might have been at all related - flashes of pain, someone laughing, screams of agony - were so blurred and muted that I couldn't pick out any details. I doubt my mild concussion was helping there. Not that I was really in any kind of state to look, as scared as I was. There was also running, though where to and from what I had no idea. Just that I had to get away.
I had the sneaking suspicion that I was in for a lot of those.
After that, though, things... shifted.
My brain must have decided that I needed a break or something, because the next thing I knew, I was back in the church. Seated in a gray chair in the living room - only one of the table lamps was on, giving the room an appropriately dreamlike lack of distinction around the edges - holding a white box with something that smelled rather appetizing in it, I had little on beyond a fluffy black robe. I wasn't sure what was going on, exactly, but at least there wasn't anything for me to be afraid of here.
"I was born a vampire," a soft voice told me.
Whoops. Spoke too soon.
There lounged Ivy, similarly attired. "Both of my parents were vampires," she continued, and I honestly had no idea where this was going... though I suspected I wouldn't like the answer. "I was conceived and born before my mother became a true undead. Do you know what that means - Rachel?"
"Yes. We went over it in the car." It was one of the few things I was sure of. "Ivy, what's going on?"
"Now, now, that's not the way this happened, and you know it," Ivy admonished, not taking her eyes from mine. Slowly - oh, so very slowly, she lowered her feet to the floor and leaned closer. "I suppose I can understand you not wanting to deal with that now, though. Bigger fish to fry, right?"
"Um, right." What was she going on about?
"I didn't tell you everything, though. Do you want to know the best part?" she asked.
Did I? If it had to do with Ivy and her nature - which I was basically counting on to keep me alive at least until I could remember how to protect myself - I supposed I might just have to. "Um, o-okay."
Her eyes grew fervent. Torso unmoving, she levered one of her knees up onto the coffee table, and then the other. Oh. Um... Well. She was coming at me. I decided I should probably do something about that, stop her, move, something. And I would.
Any second.
Really.
"Living vamps can bespell people - if they want to be," she whispered. The softness of her voice rubbed against my skin until it tingled.
Un. Good. "What good is it if it only works on those who let you?" I asked, my voice harsh next to the liquid essence of her.
Ivy's lips parted to show the tips of her teeth. I couldn't look away. I wasn't sure I even wanted to. "It makes for great sex - Rachel."
"Oh." That was all I could manage. Not that she might have noticed anything more. Her eyes were lost in... lust? For me?
Wow. I had NO idea how to react to that.
"And I've got my mother's taste for blood," she said kneeling on the table between us. "It's like some people's craving for sugar. It's not a good comparison but it's the best I can do unless you... try it. But you know that."
I did? Was that why I wasn't even trying to get her to stop?
Ivy exhaled, moving her entire body. Her breath sent a shock reverberating through me. My eyes went wide in surprise and bewilderment as I recognized it as desire. Was that supposed to happen? I was under the impression that relationships tended to happen between men and women. So why did I suddenly want to know how soft her hair was?
I'm not sure if I blinked and missed it or what, but suddenly Ivy was on top of me. "I'll never hurt you, Rachel," she whispered into my ear, and I couldn't do anything to stop the shudder this time. "You're everything to me."
I pulled back to look her in the eyes. Or rather, the pupils, since her eyes had gone entirely black. That should have scared me, but somehow, it didn't. The trust and utter devotion on her face, shining down at me, made that impossible. I felt all warm and gooey inside, and having her on top of me was only exciting me. Which, yeah, was weird, but I suddenly didn't care. "Ivy..." The whisper was barely audible, but I knew she would have heard it from across the room, let alone the few inches that separated us.
Inches that were shrinking by the second as she leaned down, closer and closer. Dimly, it occurred to me that she was about to kiss me, and I was doing nothing to stop her. That just seemed like a silly idea anyway. I mean, sex goddess in your lap, why would you say no?
Well, okay, maybe if she went for my neck or something... But she wasn't. She was close enough for me to feel her breath on my lips...
And a sudden slam woke me up with a start.
Oh, now that was just not fair! Just when things were getting good...
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."
Wait a minute. Was that...?
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked again. Sure enough, there was Ivy, standing near one of the... the, um... Ah! one of the bureaus, a drawer pulled halfway out. I was swiftly distracted, however, by the realization that she was wearing a fairly thin nightgown - sure, that term I remember right away - that stopped at mid-thigh... and nothing else.
Oh, God...
That was even more unfair. How could I be expected to go from a dream where we almost... to her standing there looking like that, without reacting?
I couldn't, obviously. "What are you doing in here?" I was embarrassed by the way my voice went all high and squeaky when I asked, but she didn't seem to notice. Maybe she was used to getting odd reactions from me.
"I needed to get some clothes."
I almost asked why she did wake me up, then - vampires were supposed to be all kinds of stealthy, weren't they? - but that question was pre-empted by the implications of her statement. "This is... Oh, God. I am so sorry! I swear, I honestly thought..."
"It's okay," she assured me. "I do have a fairly comfortable couch."
"You could have taken my bed." Even as I spoke, I slid out of hers, glad it wasn't too chilly inside the church. "I wouldn't have minded, really."
She smiled, but there was a slight edge of strain to it. "I know. But I was worked up enough without having to deal with our scents mixing. That's..."
I looked quickly at her bed, then back at her. "Oh... Damn it, I'm sorry, I-"
"Rachel, it's okay," she told me, strain fading somewhat. "I know what kind of shape you were in last night. I can wash them easily enough later, it's no big deal."
"Still..." I frowned. "This is really your room?"
"Yes." Her smile shifted into a look of confusion. "Why?"
"Because... Well, you may think I'm crazy, but it smells familiar."
She blinked. "What?"
"The scent in here... It's the only thing I've recognized since coming home from the hospital." But if this was her room... I walked closer and sniffed her. "It's you!"
"How can you tell...?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure of it, now. Being in here, surrounded by that, I felt so safe and protected..." I wasn't sure I should have been telling her all this, but my mouth seemed sometimes disinclined to pay much attention to my brain. And I was standing right next to Ivy. And her hair. Still keyed up from the dream, I didn't even think before I reached out to run my hand through it.
Ivy, who had looked somewhere between surprised and touched by my admission, now froze. "Rachel?" she asked carefully. "What are you doing?"
"Not sure," I murmured, enjoying the silky feeling of her hair. Had I never done this before? She wasn't acting like I had, which just seemed odd. "I remember wanting to know how soft it was."
She reached up and stilled my hand... though she didn't remove it. "You remembered something?"
"I had a dream. We were in the living room, eating... You were telling me about yourself... I don't think it ended right, though."
She winced delicately. "No, not exactly."
"I mean, it wasn't the same." I could more or less remember what had actually happened, and while certainly a good thing, I was a little embarrassed at how easily I'd let my fear of Ivy derail the evening. Not that it hadn't been largely her fault as well, but still...
"Ah. Well, you may not recall it, yet, but I gave you something the next morning." She gave me a book which I took with my free hand. "It was written as a, well, dating guide, but I gave it to you so you'd know what not to do." My left hand was still playing with her hair, and she didn't quite seem to know what to do about it.
"Okay. Thanks." I absently tossed the book onto her bed, not taking my eyes from hers.
"Rachel," she began, but then she just trailed off.
"Was that the only time?" Rachel, what are you doing? Why are you having eye-sex with the vampire?
"What are you talking about?"
"That night. Was that the only time we almost..." Seriously, Morgan, stop it. Vampire. If you keep this up, she's going to eat you. And not in the fun way.
Whatever that was.
Her eyes were going all dark again, but she didn't scare me. It was odd. Standing here alone with her, about as vulnerable as I could get, and she scared me less now then she did when I was in a hospital bed, surrounded by other people. "Almost...?"
She had to smell how I felt. "We almost..." I breathed, just managing not to start trembling. Just two more little inches...
She abruptly withdrew, removing my hand from her hair with surprising ease. "You need to reread that book," she told me huskily, not quite managing to keep the sensuality from her movements. "And I need to take a shower." Then, under her breath, she muttered, "A cold shower."
"You know, that's getting really annoying," I told her.
She paused next to the door, confused. "What is?"
My brain told my mouth to just shut up and let her go, saying that this was not the time for this sort of thing, but my mouth thought otherwise. My groin agreed with my mouth wholeheartedly. "First in the dream, now again... If you're want to kiss me, then just kiss me, already."
The wide-eyed look of shock on Ivy's face was absolutely priceless.
I'm not sure what surprised her more, my demand or the admission that I'd been dreaming about kissing her. I gave her a little shrug. "I told you it didn't go the same way."
"Obviously not," she replied faintly.
Feeling a sudden surge of boldness, I walked over to her, pushing her against the door. Resting my hands on her side, I looked her right in the eyes. "Are we together, Ivy? Is there something more that... I don't know what I feel for you, but I know it's something. Something huge and real, and..."
"Rachel..."
"In the dream, you told me I meant everything to you. Is that true?" I pressed. And here she could have easily reminded me that it had only been a dream, and mine, rather then hers.
Instead, barely audible, she whispered, "Yes."
I kissed her.
Oh, God... If we seriously never had done this before, I was going to hurt myself severely for it. Somehow, I just knew that even if I did have my memory, this kiss would put all others previous to shame. It took Ivy a second to get over her shock to respond, but when she did...
Ivy didn't kiss me so much as she made love to my mouth. My hands drifted back up to her hair, while hers rested on my back. My breathing picked up, and I pulled her closer, kissing her with an increasing intensity. My neck was starting to tingle for some reason, but I paid it no attention.
Really, I had so much better things to focus on.
Ivy pushed away from the door, shifting her grip to my thighs and scooping me up. I helpfully wrapped my legs around her waist, breaking the heavenly kiss only because of a pesky little need for oxygen. Damned lungs, I decided. Ivy, standing near the edge of her bed, seemed to shake herself partway back to reality. "Rachel, wait. You need to-"
Whatever she was about to say, I was fairly certain that no, I didn't need to do it. I moved my mouth to her neck, sucking at a point just above her jugular. Ivy let out a guttural moan and her knees buckled, resulting in both of us crashing to the bed. Apparently, Ivy really liked that.
I filed that little fact away, certain it would prove all kinds of helpful... and fun.
I rolled her over until I was straddling her and took in her smoldering expression without flinching. "We've never done this before?"
It took her a moment to scrape together enough coherence to respond. "No. Rachel-"
"Why the hell not?"
She gave me an odd look. "You didn't want to."
That threw me. "I... Are you sure?"
"Yes. Believe me, yes, I am." She sighed. "Rachel, we can't do this. Until your memory comes back-"
"I am still me, though, right? Inside?"
"Yes, but I know you don't remember-"
"Ivy," I interrupted... again. "I may not remember names, dates, faces... But I still feel the same. Even in the hospital, I trusted you and Jenks. Now, I don't know why I might have said we couldn't be together before, and frankly? I won't care if I never remember that." I leaned down and kissed her again, pouring every ounce of heat and passion that I was feeling into it. She looked a bit dizzy when I pulled back. I know I was. "You make me feel safe, and loved," I whispered to her. "Teach me how to love you."
Tears were slowly streaking down Ivy's cheeks, and she looked so scared, nervous... and hopeful. She'd been wanting to hear me say that, I realized. Wanting it badly, and for quite some time, now. She searched my eyes, as if to determine whether or not I meant it. Since I did, I just smiled down at her tenderly. Eventually, she smiled back, a radiant smile that I instantly decided I needed to see more of, as often as possible. "I will," she promised.
She eased me back into a sitting position, pulling my nightshirt up over my head and tossing it aside, taking some time to just look at me. "So lovely," she murmured. "Even with the bruises."
Bruises? What bruises? I wasn't feeling any bruises. I wasn't feeling anything but a delicious fire beneath my skin wherever Ivy was touching me. Her own clothing - meager as it was - swiftly followed suit, and all I could do was stare at her body in amazement. And she thought I looked good? "You're so beautiful," I told her, feeling a brief - and puzzling - urge to cry myself. I pushed it aside, and went back to drinking in the sight of a naked Ivy Tamwood.
Ivy blushed, then let her hands begin to wander across my body. I couldn't stop the slight moans and whimpers her touch elicited, but a quiet little pulse from my neck made me not care in the slightest. Besides, how could I be embarrassed by the touch of someone who so obviously loved me the way Ivy did? Feather-light kisses ghosted across my breasts before Ivy's lips found one of my nipples. That made me moan loudly, and I didn't care in the slightest. She lifted my hands to her own body, encouraging me to explore.
It wasn't rushed. The touching and caressing went on for longer then I could keep track of - though that wasn't the biggest challenge in the world, right then - before she laid me down on the bed and began kissing her way down my body. I quivered when she finally reached the apex of my legs, but even then she took her time, determined to show me how to do this right. When her tongue first flicked out, I nearly bucked off the bed.
I wasn't really surprised that Ivy proved to be as good at this as she was at kissing. Clearly, she was an expert in all things related that required the use of her mouth. The fingers that she slid up inside me nearly sent me over the edge, and when she began pumping them in and out - with her mouth still busy down there as well - I honestly wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on.
"May I have this?"
It took me a few seconds to even register the question, and a few more to decipher its meaning. By then, Ivy had also realized what she'd just asked, and froze. "I'm sorry, Rachel, I shouldn't have-"
"Yes."
"...what?"
"Yes. I want you to bite me."
"Rachel..."
"Ivy, please..."
She paused a few moments more, no doubt checking to make sure I really meant it.
I did.
Her fangs delicately pierced the skin near my groin, and I screamed as white-hot ecstasy surged through my veins. Every pull on the wound elicited a fresh shout of pleasure, and the fact that her fingers hadn't stopped meant that she sent me over the edge to an orgasm that made me nearly black out in short order. But she wasn't quite done with me, riding me through two more before she stopped.
By then, I was sprawled limply on the bed, not quite able to summon up the energy to do much more then lift my head. I did that, though, because I was just so amazed by what I was seeing.
One of the facts Ivy had mentioned last night about witches was our ability to see auras. I hadn't managed to actually do that before now, but I was amazed at the way ours were flowing together, blending into one another until I couldn't see any difference between them. It was as if we only had one aura between us, and I could swear I briefly heard a chiming sound somewhere. I had no idea if this was normal, but asking Ivy would have required more energy then I had. All I could do was cuddle up against her when she moved to lay down next to me, wrapping her arms around me and holding me close. I lay my head against her chest, knowing there was nowhere I would ever want to be more then where I was now.
Okay, dammit, what the hell happened? This is NOT how chapter 3 was supposed to go! *glares at muse* [*muse looks back, unrepentant*] Oh, I see your little game. Wait until I get distracted by a new fandom, then sneak in here and rewrite the story on me! That won't always work, you know. You just got lucky this time.
[Not as lucky as Rachel just got.]
*sighs* Honestly, I don't know why I even try to have serious conversations with her, sometimes...