Illusions & Destinies - Chapter 14 (M rated)
Decided to post this chapter up here this time around. M-Rated for sexytimes.
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Title: Illusions & Destinies
Rating: M for this chapter.
Chapter Fourteen: A Determined Minx
The train rocked steadily from side to side, its pace having slowed in the past half hour but still fast enough that the motion of the train hadn't eased. Using the railing to support herself with one hand and holding a glass lantern with the other, Alice moved slowly along the narrow corridor of the boxcar. Her attention was divided between keeping her balance and going over the earlier conversation in an attempt to dissect its real meaning. It was hard enough to think of her mini-lessons without feeling a little depressed now. Chesh's melancholy had almost been contagious and it made her steps feel heavier and heavier. That he clearly thought there was no hope for himself if he wasn't turned back was a strange guilt for her. He had helped her and now she wasn't sure she could help him, not sure she could trust him.
She shouldn't trust him at all. It did linger in her mind that of all of them Chesh was a master manipulator and he could be lying to her. It would not be the first time and it certainly would be fitting his character to lie. But he'd been almost pushing her into some sort of action and for that she was a little thankful. Chesh might look after his own interests but when they ran parallel to her own, she stood to benefit from his quick thinking.
The number 7 door was unlocked when she came to it and she slid it open without truly thinking of what she was about to get herself into. Her intentions had changed thanks to Chesh's snide observations and she needed more than to just go back to bed and rest. A momentary selfishness, she knew, but the only one she could afford right now.
She needed more than a lonely bed and tension that burned inside her. She wanted more and it was time to try for more.
The dimly lit berth was narrow but it was warmly lit by the few lantern globes that were braced on the walls. Alice slid her own lantern onto the tiny half-moon table and squinted through the darkness. The berth was small enough that she didn't have to really look all that hard. She could just make out Hatter's outline in the shadows, a pale figure bent over on the edge of the bed. He had his head in his hands and he was trembling as if he'd been woken from a bad dream, softly murmuring nonsensical words as if to bring himself back to reality.
"Hatter?" she whispered and he jumped as if she had shouted suddenly at him, though his head remained lowered. "Are you okay?"
His head lifted from his hands and he looked her over, his expression startled. Then he relaxed a little as if finally realizing who it was and his hands dragged down his cheeks slowly. Still eyeing her, he rubbed at the back of his neck and then shrugged.
"Can't sleep, darlin'. Feelin' a mite bit sick in this thing, and that feelin' isn't about to leave any time soon," he answered, finally smiling at her though his face remained drawn and tense. Alice went further into the room, the ragged hems of her night-gown and coat dragging along with her and making whispering sounds on the wood. She looked around the strangely quiet berth, hearing only the faint sounds of rumbling wheels, and focussed intently on a wall-globe to try to get her eyes to adjust to the shadows in the room.
"How long has it been since you really slept?" she asked before reaching up and drawing the edges of the coat closer around her chest. No wonder he couldn't sleep; there was a draft from the floorboards that sent a chill up her toes.
"A good sleep? Not drug induced or because I was knocked out?" Hatter took his time answering and counted off on his fingers until he gave up on the effort. "Hard to remember but I'd say a month and a half."
Alice stared at him, shocked. She hadn't realized how badly he was still needing it and had taken it for granted that since his somewhat return to a more natural state he'd been sleeping. He hid it all so well and his face was not showing the signs of true sleep-deprivation. He just seemed a bit groggy more than anything else. Hatter looked back at her and gave a sheepish half-grin when he saw her disbelief.
"How are you even still standing?" she asked curiously. She thought for a moment perhaps he was taking something like pep pills but then pushed that from her mind. Even if he could take something, what would it be? They were on an abandoned train that didn't stop for anything.
"Stubbornness and adrenaline, I guess. Considering I lived on that alone for how many days before I got a wink of sleep, it's not really as impressive as it sounds," Hatter pointed out and she shrugged, not having any response to that.
He got to his feet and moved past her. The narrowness of the compartment made him brush against her and Alice swayed unconsciously into his body when he was passed but he was already moving beyond her. He shut the door she'd left open and touched the globes on the panelled wall so that they brightened a little, giving the room a warmer glow. It made her blink but she welcomed the light now and the warmth it seemed to bring with it. It made her see him more clearly and she gnawed on her lower lip in thought.
He looked sleep-mussed, and he was only half-dressed, something she felt even more acutely when he started to squeeze past her again. Watching him, she took in the changes of the past week that he'd done to himself. Since they'd boarded on the train he'd thoroughly washed and cut his hair back to the usual length he'd had when she met him, and the familiar sight attracted her more now that they were close. He had even shaved at some point and he was back to looking a little scruffy. It was like looking at him from the first time they met and it made her glad to see he was taking care of himself again.
She stared him covertly and ran her eyes over his wiry frame. He was still on the thin side, the wounds he'd suffered from fading to pink and white scarring on his chest and arms, but he didn't seem as fragile as he had before. He'd recovered some of his weight and she said so aloud with some surprise.
Hatter cocked an eyebrow as he paused beside her, stopping mid-step. He looked down at her and she tilted her head back to meet his eyes squarely. "You say it like you're shocked."
"I'm happy to see it, that's all. You look healthier," she answered, smiling up at him. Something else shone in her eyes and he opened his mouth to say something before closing it with a snap. Hatter's eyes lingered over her face before dropping to her hands as she removed her coat. He took his gaze away immediately, as if afraid she'd catch him looking.
"Glad my weight makes you happy." His voice drifted off and he took a seat on the bed again. The almost weary way he spoke tugged at her and she sighed, momentary happiness and attraction fading inside of her.
"I wish I knew what it would take to make you happy," Alice whispered, so lowly that she thought he'd not heard her. But his eyes shot back to hers. With a casualness she didn't feel, she threw the coat onto the tiny chest at the end of the bed and then turned back to him.
He seemed to be debating asking her what she meant but cowardly she changed the subject before he could.
"I couldn't sleep," she blurted out and went red at his arched brows. He shook his head and gave his half-smile that sent a shock of tingling butterflies into her stomach.
"That's a terrible club to join, though a popular one these days," he joked half-heartedly and she sighed.
"Hatter, please. I don't like it; don't like the cold and this incessant rocking of a train and feeling like I might fall out of bed, but most of all..." She toyed with the sleeves of her night-gown. "I miss you."
He was silent again and when she peeped at his hands she saw that they were clenched on his thighs.
"I'm not exactly fantastic company these days, Alice. But I shouldn't have to tell you that," he answered seriously. Flicking her tongue across suddenly dry lips, Alice smiled wryly.
"No one is it seems." She took in a deep breath. "But I don't like sleeping alone in my bed anymore." She lifted her eyes to his and saw him staring at her curiously. "I fought so hard to gain even a smidgen of you back, Hatter, and I'm tired of feeling like it's... forbidden for me to want you still."
She'd remembered how everyone had been so careful to always be around when she and Hatter seemed close to being alone. He was still dangerous, was the argument, and she knew it was a good excuse, which was why she'd allowed it for so many days. It had been to protect her but she didn't need that. It was going to stop here, if she had any say in the matter.
"Whose to say it isn't?" He sighed and lowered his head, pulling his hand through his hair.
"Me." She watched him, knowing he too still felt the tension of the others around him, the mistrust. He'd thought that she was one of them and it made her determined to prove him wrong. She'd already been able to seduce him into realizing she wasn't afraid of him and she wasn't afraid of doing it again.
"Alice, it's not just my head and what's gone wrong. I might... I still don't know what I'll do. Then you're pregnant now and I just don't think you actually want..." He paused as he heard a slither of ribbon through fabric and he looked up.
Alice let the night-gown fall to her feet in halves, and stood naked and exposed to the dim light. She felt the cold but lifted her chin as she decided to ignore it for as long as possible. Hatter swallowed and didn't finish his sentence. His eyes, impossibly dark and intent, took her in with an almost critical interest. It made her feel like a bug being inspected before dissection and she waited for him to touch her.
But he didn't.
In the long moments that went by, Alice felt goose-bumps go crawling up her arms and legs and felt a hot bundle of nerves churn in her stomach that sharply contrasted the cold of the room. Her body had changed a little, though not by much, but with him staring at her like this she felt as if she'd undergone some radical change that only he could see. She'd only been self-conscious once before with him; it had been during their first time together and that had passed quickly once she'd learned how easy it was to be with him. But now an almost childish wish to cover herself was creeping up. She was suddenly too aware that her belly had rounded a little, that her breasts were fuller as were her hips, and the idea that those changes could repulse him suddenly reared its nasty head.
Deeply regretting her desperate boldness, Alice shut her eyes and despite her best attempts felt a few tears slip out. It was nothing more than final evidence that things can't go back to the way they were, Alice thought to herself. For a moment she longed for her old Hatter, who had needed no excuse to seduce her at the most inopportune of times. She even wished for the more violent Hatter that had wanted her desperately just over a week ago. The one who would have thrown her against a wall and taken what he wanted.
Two versions of Hatter that were definitely different from this silent man who had retreated into jokes and slights to mask his own needs. Who could only stare at her it seemed.
When he sighed she opened her eyes and watched as he bent over, his hair brushing her stomach he was so close. He picked up the silken folds of her night-gown and she shut her eyes again, knowing what was next. He'd put it back on her and gently but forcefully tell her to get out, to leave him to wallow in his own brand of guilt and misery. But when he didn't try to slip it back over her she peeked again and held her breath. He was simply folding the night-gown up neatly, obsessing over the tiniest flaw in its folds, before setting it on the end of his bed.
Alice watched him, curiosity overwhelming her self-consciousness. Hatter turned back to her and glanced up, his expression calm, and she jumped when she felt a hand slide up her bare leg to her hip. His palm was ice-cold, warming slowly from the friction of his skin on hers, and his fingers tapped an odd rhythm against her hip bone. Without speaking, he wrapped his arm around her hips and pulled her hard into him. Her knees banged into the edge of the bed-frame and Alice hissed in pain, her fingers clenching into a fist.
Hatter's head dropped and his other hand lifted to take her balled fist in his grip. He opened her fingers slowly and then gently grasped them. Not daring to breathe, Alice swayed with the movement of the train and felt his mouth brush her stomach. After a moment's hesitation, he slid his knees on either side of her legs and sat up a bit higher. The feel of his mouth on her breast was so sudden and intense that she couldn't stop the moan that came from deep in her throat. Her fingers tightened against his and she felt her knees almost buckle when his warm mouth caused her nipple to harden to an almost painful point.
The week had been too long and the tension between them made everything seem far more intense. She felt so on edge that she started to tremble against him, her breathing coming quick and panting.
Hatter's other hand tightened on her hip, steadying her and keeping her from pulling away when the sensation became too intense. Her hand slipped from his, her body almost caving in as she tried to ease the intensity a bit by pulling back a bit. Squeezing her eyes shut, Alice took in a deep breath and gripped his shoulders as he began to caress down the curve of her spine with his free hand. It felt like tiny rivers of heat moving over her bare skin and she squirmed closer into him again, no longer fighting the sensation. His tongue flicked out over her nipple and she made a sound in her throat as his hand slipped around her hips again, sliding down against her thigh. He nudged her one leg further forward and she did it willingly, her head spinning.
The room was still quiet, disturbed only by her deeper breathing and the soft whisper of his shifting on the bed's edge. Alice readied herself for him to pull her down but he didn't move to do so, his hand instead curving under her shifted leg. Hatter seemed more than content to keep her standing and she tightened her fingers on his shoulders as he took his mouth from her breast and trailed it over her chest.
"Sometimes it's hard to get rid of this feeling," he murmured against her skin and Alice blinked, struggling to focus on his words.
"How?" she managed as she stared blindly at the wall behind him. Struggling to control her rampaging heartbeat, she started to count the whorls on the painted wood. Hatter seemed to sense her distraction and shook his head.
"Feels like," he began and his fingers caressed the backs of her thigh before sliding between her legs from behind, causing her to jerk in surprise at the cold touch. She immediately lost count of the whorls on the wall and stared at the top of his head instead. "Sometimes you can make time stand still, Alice, and for a moment everything that's happened means nothin' at all."
He gently stroked her, feeling the heat emanating from her body, and lifted his head so he could watch her face. Alice sank her teeth into her lower lip and exhaled sharply. Her one hand lifted to tangle in his soft hair, her lower body thrusting forward to follow the stroke of his fingers.
"Then sometimes it feels like I'm so bound up that I can't live without you, and you go and speed up time, so that I can't do more than follow you blindly," he admitted, her loud moan interrupting him. His fingers danced along her warmth, touching and relearning how to get the response from her he so desperately wanted. He continued to talk, as if her moaning wasn't disturbing his train of thought. The thickening of his accent let her know, even in her foggy state, that she was affecting him by her response. "I watched you the past week, saw yer eyes burnin' sometimes when you looked at me, saw the passion in yer face when you spoke about saving Wonderland. Not just for your sake but for the sake of everyone. You remember?"
She gave a shaky nod as he circled her clit with his thumb and slowly slid a finger inside of her, causing her to rock into him. Her body clenched around him and he shivered as her nails slid along the back of his neck. She made a soft sound and moved closer to him.
"Sometimes feels like my soul is gone, Alice, when I'm without you," Hatter admitted as he slid his leg up between hers so she could rock impatiently against his thigh. "I can't help but feel that way. Makes me a slave in some sense."
She trembled, her fingers tightening in the hair at the nape of his neck. She wanted desperately to say something back, not knowing what it would be, but he knew her body too well. He knew how to make her feel incoherent. Even being 'out of practise' he still knew how to get the response he wanted.
So close, she thought to herself, crying out as he slipped another finger inside of her and began to thrust his fingers back and forth slowly, and he can still carry on.
"Then other times, it feels like you give me a sense of being back." Hatter took in a shaky breath and lifted his lips against her skin. His fingers continued to slide inside her and she felt him move against her, his pants rough against the inside of her legs. She whimpered, biting so hard into the inside of her cheek that she tasted blood. She was so close and with a moan she tried to push her body over the edge.
"Alice, look at me," he ordered suddenly, his fingers stilling so that she nearly cried out at the loss of friction. She shook her head, not wanting to open her eyes. It felt so alike to standing a precipice of a cliff that she was strangely frightened by it. Her body clenched painfully tight and her breathing was shallow and fast.
"Alice."
The way he spoke her name reminded her of the time, so long ago, on the edge of a Wonderland street when she had been terrified of the dizzying heights. It was soft, encouraging but also commanding of her. She opened her eyes and stared down at him. It surprised her that she could see real warmth in his gaze, though there was a hint of cockiness there. It made her body tighten to realize that he knew exactly what he was doing to her by hesitating like this.
"Thing is," he continued on, fingers teasing her again, just keeping her release out of reach. "When I look at you in times like this, it's like a mirror. It shows how you feel. And I know what I'm feelin' isn't just one-sided. Selfish as it is, it's how I want it; but it was hard to hope for sometimes when we had that distance between us."
He used his arm to tug her down harder against his lap, letting her rock impatiently against his hand and thigh. Hatter lowered his head and lipped at her nipple gently, worrying it for a moment as if to gather his thoughts. "So, I have to admit the truth, Alice."
"The... truth?" she whispered brokenly, trying hard to use her body to encourage him to touch her harder, higher, anything to bring about what her body needed.
"Mmhmm," he nodded against her breast and tilted his head back. His eyes went over her face and he smiled.
"What... exactly... is the truth?" she breathed out, groaning when she felt his teeth nip against the underside of her breast whenever she swayed closer to him.
Hatter smiled against her skin. "That I've been wantin' to do this to you since last second Tuesday. That I don't like feelin' like wantin' you is wrong. So I don't want you feelin' that way right now, Alice, especially when I want you to come apart the way you used to."
He moved quickly, taking her nipple into his mouth and tugging hard with his teeth. His fingers quickened inside her and Alice cried out, clutching at the back of his head to steady herself and him. He remembered exactly the rhythm he needed, the right pressure, and with the skill of a dedicated artist he began to pull her into a release. His fingers curved and slid, thumb doing circles on her clit while he bit her nipple hard enough that she felt the sharpness of his teeth. Golden sparks exploded behind her eyes and she cried out again, hunching her body against his desperately to try to support herself. It thrummed through her, pulsing so strongly that her knees buckled and she softly cried against his ear when she sunk onto his lap further.
Hatter trembled against her, releasing her from his mouth and watching the glow increase on her skin as she came apart in his arms. The glow seemed to wrap around his own body, warming his skin, and he drew her closer, absorbing it as much as he could. Alice fell into him, her legs sliding to either side of his hips and forcing him to him to move his hand from her. She shivered against him, her hips still rocking against his as aftershocks ripped through her body, and he nestled his face against her neck. She wrapped her hands into his hair and held him closer, murmuring nonsense against his ear. Her breathing was still heavy but her body was relaxing, inch by inch, against his.
"Thank you," she whispered suddenly, her body still twitching. He smiled, breathing in the scent of her through the silky curtain of her hair, and felt her lips grab at his earlobe. Between them, the faint swell to her stomach seemed to... flutter, and he pressed a hand against her belly. The tiny jump happened again and he tensed a little, irrationally worried that they shouldn't be doing this.
"We need to talk about..."
Her hand covered his mouth quickly and she leaned back. "Uh uh."
He tried to mutter through her hand but felt her grip tighten a bit to keep his lips closed.
"Not now. Not when I have you where I want you." When he still tried to talk she squeezed a bit harder so that his lips pursed comically between her fingers and then using her other hand she shoved him down. It was an awkward position for him to be in with his feet still planted on the floor and his back arched on the lumpy mattress but he was too stunned to move. Alice straddled his lap for a moment longer, giving him a warning look when he opened his mouth to protest the uncomfortable way he was lying. Once she was satisfied that he'd keep quiet she stretched out beside him and propped herself up on an elbow so she could look down at him.
He looked so adorably worried that she couldn't help but grin.
"You look scared."
A cool, bland look came over his face suddenly and she bit her lip at the chill she felt. Not a chill she minded but it went right through her from head to toe. That momentary worry was gone from his face, replaced with an almost condescending smirk that was an echo of his old arrogant smile.
"I'm not scared, Alice. Just a bit... wary," he tapped his head with a finger. "Remember, this part of me thought you were an illusion till a few weeks ago."
"That's true," she answered, nodding as if she took it very seriously. She leaned her body into him a bit and slid a hand down his front. Her fingers traced over the faint ridges of scars and healing wounds and he shifted under her touch. "I've already proven I'm not an illusion to you."
"True," he admitted, squirming a bit when her nails tracked lightly over his abdomen. Alice leaned closer to him and placed her lips against his ear.
"But I think that I still have to work at letting you know I'm not a fantasy all the time? Though I'm flattered you'd have constant fantasies about me," she joked though her voice had gone husky. She popped the buttons on his trousers slowly, so that each metallic sound of them releasing echoed in the still air. Bringing her hand up to her mouth, she flicked her tongue across her palm and then moved it back to its place on his stomach.
"So seducing you is the only way to really convince you, is that what we're saying? The way to let you know I have no intention of spending my nights alone now?"
He shifted as if trying to decide whether he wanted to move closer or farther away. Her cool hand slid down his hips and slipped under the waistband slowly. "Alice, you don't have..." He swore aloud when she actually stroked her fingers down into his trousers and wrapped them around him. His hips did an involuntary arch and she smiled smugly as she watched him close his eyes. His head turned a little so his face was pressed her neck and she stroked her fingers around the sensitive skin, feeling his breath quickening when she moved a bare leg over his. Shifting cloth out of her way, she clenched her fingers tighter around his cock and felt his body jerk.
"You were saying?" she murmured against his ear and heard him make a faint sound even as his body tried hard to follow the teasing strokes her hand was making.
"That... you didn't have to...this..." he muttered haltingly and she lipped at his earlobe, biting the sensitive skin when he felt ready to twist from her. Even the cool moistness of her palm couldn't hide that he was rock-hard and on edge, and she twisted her fingers a little, pressing her thumb at the tip of him.
"Oh?" She answered, lifting her head and staring at him. She stopped moving her fingers and he actually choked on his next words, his dark eyes impossibly wide as his hips tried to thrust up into her hand. He looked so innocent for a moment that she smiled indulgently.
"I don't have to do this?" she asked curiously and he couldn't answer when she dipped her head and kissed along the ridged column of his neck. She felt his Adam's apple bob against her lips as he swallowed and smiled. "But, Hatter, I really think I do."
As much as Hatter knew her body, she knew his and she stroked and pressed, feeling him jerk into her hand now and again when she hit the perfect spot. He was trying to hold back his own groans and it made her move her hand in more varying patterns. Slow, fast, it all seemed to work for him right now. But it was more fun to toy with him, since he'd insisted she might still be an illusion.
"I really think you're real," he gasped out, one hand clenching the mattress hard.
"What was that?" Alice lifted her head. His eyes were closed, his mouth twisted in a grimace.
"You're real," he admitted, groaning when her fingers tightened harder around his cock. He was close, she thought, or he wouldn't be fighting to respond to her. She stilled her moist strokes enough that he actually made a soft whimper of pain.
"How, exactly, am I real?" she asked, starting once again and debating whether to slide down and take him in her mouth. Her body actually trembled at the thought of tasting him again and she pressed against his leg, unconsciously grinding against him in time to her own stroking. She could feel the tension of impending release going through him, his entire body was so rigid, and she grinned, starting to move down the bed. Maybe teasing him still wouldn't be such a bad idea since he seemed so helpless.
"Or can't you manage a coherent sentence?" she muttered against his ear as she pressed hard into him, flicking her tongue across her lips in readiness.
The sudden grab for her hand warned her too late and she cried out as she was yanked across Hatter's body. The strong pull on her wrist was not gentle or relenting. She only caught a glimpse of his dark eyes before she was planted on the bed face down. Grappling for a hold, she threw her hair out of the way at the same time he landed on her back, his one arm curled around her hips.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, her breath coming in short but excited pants.
"I know you're Alice," Hatter growled against her ear and his one hand slapped down hard on her buttock, causing her to cry out in shock. The stinging pain went away quickly and left only a burning sensation that tingled up her body. "I know it because only you would know to tease me like that to get what you want."
She laughed into the mattress, a pure joyful sound even though she could hear him muttering in annoyance about her teasing him so cruelly. The sound melting into a moan as he slipped a hand between them and pushed into her. The other hand around her waist slid up over her ribcage, cupping a breast firmly, and she felt his teeth against her shoulder. Alice moved her head and looked at him, blue eyes twinkling.
"You enjoyed it," she whispered, hiccuping between the words as he started to thrust into her, and he glared at her.
"Minx," he muttered against her shoulder, his teeth flashing out as he nipped her. His hips rocked against her buttocks and he felt Alice clench around him.
"So says the bastard who," she started but he grabbed her chin and kissed her. It was like being made love to by two different men now: a gentle one who only wanted her trust and the rough one who wanted her more than anything in the world and wouldn't hesitate to take her. It was a heady sensation and she reached back to grab his hip, her fingers slipping on the slick skin and she dug her nails in. When he hit a spot deep inside her that caused her body to do a hard flutter of boiling nerves and pausing heartbeat, she cried out and clenched her nails harder into him.
Hearing her cry out and feeling the way her body's clenching was already pulling at his own body, Hatter suddenly minded very much that he'd orgasm alone. Even he had some principles about this like this though his body was almost throbbing at being put off its release for so many long minutes. Moving his hand down her stomach, he cupped her between her legs and never stopped moving against her. Alice gasped, her hand leaving his hip to grasp into the pillow under her forehead. His thrusts slammed into her so hard that Alice actually felt pushed forward violently, only to be pulled roughly back to meet another movement. She started to cry out in time to the movements and her body felt braced on edge once again, desperate for more. She was almost ready to ask for something more, anything to stop this throbbing pressure inside her body, when she felt his teeth sink into her shoulder sharply at the same time his palm ground into her. Every sensitive nerve was suddenly divided between the pain of his bite and the pleasure of his hand and endless thrusts.
Feeling her body spasm and tighten around him, Hatter let out a thankful groan that was covered by her cries and continued to move harder into her. Her body was quivering underneath him and he felt her hand tangle up into his hair, pulling his head over her shoulder so she could kiss him. Her teeth raked against his tongue as they kissed and he let himself go, crying out against her mouth. The contractions still wracking her body drew out his release in slow throbs, the tension leaving him instantly.
He collapsed against her back, practically smothering her into the pillow until she made a sound and shifted underneath him. Pressing his lips against the back of her neck, he breathed in the smell of her before moving away. He rolled onto his back and stared blindly at the ceiling, his pulse still beating rapidly. If there had been any lingering doubts that he was alive or that this was a fantasy, they were chased away by the racing heartbeat drumming through him.
Alice's face swam in his vision when she leaned over him, a sated grin on her lips that was oddly similar to a Cheshire Cat's. Her eyes were almost shining and he saw the glow of her skin seeming to pulse in time with her heavy breathing. She slid one leg over his hips and sat there on his stomach, her arms bracketing his head and her face close to his. He felt her fingers toy with his hair and after a moment of silence, his numb mouth started to work again.
He blurted out the first thing on his mind.
"Give me twenty minutes," he muttered sleepily and Alice smiled, lying on top of him fully. His body did a good attempt at trying to respond to her nearness but the exhaustion going through him was incredible. Her dark hair swung over her shoulder like a curtain and he felt the brush of it over his face. Reaching up, he weakly pushed her hair to one side and gave a sheepish grin.
"Twenty minutes?" she inquired politely as she rested her chin on his chest and peered up at him. Hatter didn't respond for a moment, reaching over his head to touch the lantern over the headboard. The lights in the room dimmed instantly at his touch but he could still make out the pale outline Alice made on top of him. He looked back at her, feeling her comforting weight on his body and his grin widened a bit.
"Then you can prove to me that you're real again," Hatter answered with a grin and she chuckled, tucking herself into his body as his arms went around her waist. He let his hands wander just below the small of her back, stroking gently, and she responded by shifting against his hips. He could feel the fading sting of her nails on his own body and when he grimaced at the thought that maybe he'd bruised her, Alice shifted on his body. She looked down at him and grinned happily, making him forget the slight discomfort. She bent lower and brushed her mouth against his but before Hatter could respond to the kiss she was moved away, lying down into his body again with her head just below his chin.
"I'll start the timer then, but I won't hold you to the twenty minute rule after that performance. I think I can give you an extra ten minutes as a bonus to rest up," Alice answered finally and she jumped a bit when Hatter laughed, low but long, while his arms tightening around her. It felt good to laugh after all this time and he felt Alice smile against his chest even as her breathing evened out in sleep. Hatter lay awake longer, stroking her back and staring at the ceiling. For once, his mind felt wonderfully still.
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Author's Note: Though elements of this chapter were written long
ago, part of it stems from emails I was getting with the wonderfully
subtle 'so..um... are there M chapters coming up?' which I took as a
hint for sexytimes. Considering the tension that these two always have,
I took it as opportunity. Wild Cards did have a series of deleted
scenes that I couldn't put in but this was too good an opportunity to
pass up. Situations like these don't always come up. (ha)
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Title: Illusions & Destinies
Rating: M for this chapter.
Chapter Fourteen: A Determined Minx
The train rocked steadily from side to side, its pace having slowed in the past half hour but still fast enough that the motion of the train hadn't eased. Using the railing to support herself with one hand and holding a glass lantern with the other, Alice moved slowly along the narrow corridor of the boxcar. Her attention was divided between keeping her balance and going over the earlier conversation in an attempt to dissect its real meaning. It was hard enough to think of her mini-lessons without feeling a little depressed now. Chesh's melancholy had almost been contagious and it made her steps feel heavier and heavier. That he clearly thought there was no hope for himself if he wasn't turned back was a strange guilt for her. He had helped her and now she wasn't sure she could help him, not sure she could trust him.
She shouldn't trust him at all. It did linger in her mind that of all of them Chesh was a master manipulator and he could be lying to her. It would not be the first time and it certainly would be fitting his character to lie. But he'd been almost pushing her into some sort of action and for that she was a little thankful. Chesh might look after his own interests but when they ran parallel to her own, she stood to benefit from his quick thinking.
The number 7 door was unlocked when she came to it and she slid it open without truly thinking of what she was about to get herself into. Her intentions had changed thanks to Chesh's snide observations and she needed more than to just go back to bed and rest. A momentary selfishness, she knew, but the only one she could afford right now.
She needed more than a lonely bed and tension that burned inside her. She wanted more and it was time to try for more.
The dimly lit berth was narrow but it was warmly lit by the few lantern globes that were braced on the walls. Alice slid her own lantern onto the tiny half-moon table and squinted through the darkness. The berth was small enough that she didn't have to really look all that hard. She could just make out Hatter's outline in the shadows, a pale figure bent over on the edge of the bed. He had his head in his hands and he was trembling as if he'd been woken from a bad dream, softly murmuring nonsensical words as if to bring himself back to reality.
"Hatter?" she whispered and he jumped as if she had shouted suddenly at him, though his head remained lowered. "Are you okay?"
His head lifted from his hands and he looked her over, his expression startled. Then he relaxed a little as if finally realizing who it was and his hands dragged down his cheeks slowly. Still eyeing her, he rubbed at the back of his neck and then shrugged.
"Can't sleep, darlin'. Feelin' a mite bit sick in this thing, and that feelin' isn't about to leave any time soon," he answered, finally smiling at her though his face remained drawn and tense. Alice went further into the room, the ragged hems of her night-gown and coat dragging along with her and making whispering sounds on the wood. She looked around the strangely quiet berth, hearing only the faint sounds of rumbling wheels, and focussed intently on a wall-globe to try to get her eyes to adjust to the shadows in the room.
"How long has it been since you really slept?" she asked before reaching up and drawing the edges of the coat closer around her chest. No wonder he couldn't sleep; there was a draft from the floorboards that sent a chill up her toes.
"A good sleep? Not drug induced or because I was knocked out?" Hatter took his time answering and counted off on his fingers until he gave up on the effort. "Hard to remember but I'd say a month and a half."
Alice stared at him, shocked. She hadn't realized how badly he was still needing it and had taken it for granted that since his somewhat return to a more natural state he'd been sleeping. He hid it all so well and his face was not showing the signs of true sleep-deprivation. He just seemed a bit groggy more than anything else. Hatter looked back at her and gave a sheepish half-grin when he saw her disbelief.
"How are you even still standing?" she asked curiously. She thought for a moment perhaps he was taking something like pep pills but then pushed that from her mind. Even if he could take something, what would it be? They were on an abandoned train that didn't stop for anything.
"Stubbornness and adrenaline, I guess. Considering I lived on that alone for how many days before I got a wink of sleep, it's not really as impressive as it sounds," Hatter pointed out and she shrugged, not having any response to that.
He got to his feet and moved past her. The narrowness of the compartment made him brush against her and Alice swayed unconsciously into his body when he was passed but he was already moving beyond her. He shut the door she'd left open and touched the globes on the panelled wall so that they brightened a little, giving the room a warmer glow. It made her blink but she welcomed the light now and the warmth it seemed to bring with it. It made her see him more clearly and she gnawed on her lower lip in thought.
He looked sleep-mussed, and he was only half-dressed, something she felt even more acutely when he started to squeeze past her again. Watching him, she took in the changes of the past week that he'd done to himself. Since they'd boarded on the train he'd thoroughly washed and cut his hair back to the usual length he'd had when she met him, and the familiar sight attracted her more now that they were close. He had even shaved at some point and he was back to looking a little scruffy. It was like looking at him from the first time they met and it made her glad to see he was taking care of himself again.
She stared him covertly and ran her eyes over his wiry frame. He was still on the thin side, the wounds he'd suffered from fading to pink and white scarring on his chest and arms, but he didn't seem as fragile as he had before. He'd recovered some of his weight and she said so aloud with some surprise.
Hatter cocked an eyebrow as he paused beside her, stopping mid-step. He looked down at her and she tilted her head back to meet his eyes squarely. "You say it like you're shocked."
"I'm happy to see it, that's all. You look healthier," she answered, smiling up at him. Something else shone in her eyes and he opened his mouth to say something before closing it with a snap. Hatter's eyes lingered over her face before dropping to her hands as she removed her coat. He took his gaze away immediately, as if afraid she'd catch him looking.
"Glad my weight makes you happy." His voice drifted off and he took a seat on the bed again. The almost weary way he spoke tugged at her and she sighed, momentary happiness and attraction fading inside of her.
"I wish I knew what it would take to make you happy," Alice whispered, so lowly that she thought he'd not heard her. But his eyes shot back to hers. With a casualness she didn't feel, she threw the coat onto the tiny chest at the end of the bed and then turned back to him.
He seemed to be debating asking her what she meant but cowardly she changed the subject before he could.
"I couldn't sleep," she blurted out and went red at his arched brows. He shook his head and gave his half-smile that sent a shock of tingling butterflies into her stomach.
"That's a terrible club to join, though a popular one these days," he joked half-heartedly and she sighed.
"Hatter, please. I don't like it; don't like the cold and this incessant rocking of a train and feeling like I might fall out of bed, but most of all..." She toyed with the sleeves of her night-gown. "I miss you."
He was silent again and when she peeped at his hands she saw that they were clenched on his thighs.
"I'm not exactly fantastic company these days, Alice. But I shouldn't have to tell you that," he answered seriously. Flicking her tongue across suddenly dry lips, Alice smiled wryly.
"No one is it seems." She took in a deep breath. "But I don't like sleeping alone in my bed anymore." She lifted her eyes to his and saw him staring at her curiously. "I fought so hard to gain even a smidgen of you back, Hatter, and I'm tired of feeling like it's... forbidden for me to want you still."
She'd remembered how everyone had been so careful to always be around when she and Hatter seemed close to being alone. He was still dangerous, was the argument, and she knew it was a good excuse, which was why she'd allowed it for so many days. It had been to protect her but she didn't need that. It was going to stop here, if she had any say in the matter.
"Whose to say it isn't?" He sighed and lowered his head, pulling his hand through his hair.
"Me." She watched him, knowing he too still felt the tension of the others around him, the mistrust. He'd thought that she was one of them and it made her determined to prove him wrong. She'd already been able to seduce him into realizing she wasn't afraid of him and she wasn't afraid of doing it again.
"Alice, it's not just my head and what's gone wrong. I might... I still don't know what I'll do. Then you're pregnant now and I just don't think you actually want..." He paused as he heard a slither of ribbon through fabric and he looked up.
Alice let the night-gown fall to her feet in halves, and stood naked and exposed to the dim light. She felt the cold but lifted her chin as she decided to ignore it for as long as possible. Hatter swallowed and didn't finish his sentence. His eyes, impossibly dark and intent, took her in with an almost critical interest. It made her feel like a bug being inspected before dissection and she waited for him to touch her.
But he didn't.
In the long moments that went by, Alice felt goose-bumps go crawling up her arms and legs and felt a hot bundle of nerves churn in her stomach that sharply contrasted the cold of the room. Her body had changed a little, though not by much, but with him staring at her like this she felt as if she'd undergone some radical change that only he could see. She'd only been self-conscious once before with him; it had been during their first time together and that had passed quickly once she'd learned how easy it was to be with him. But now an almost childish wish to cover herself was creeping up. She was suddenly too aware that her belly had rounded a little, that her breasts were fuller as were her hips, and the idea that those changes could repulse him suddenly reared its nasty head.
Deeply regretting her desperate boldness, Alice shut her eyes and despite her best attempts felt a few tears slip out. It was nothing more than final evidence that things can't go back to the way they were, Alice thought to herself. For a moment she longed for her old Hatter, who had needed no excuse to seduce her at the most inopportune of times. She even wished for the more violent Hatter that had wanted her desperately just over a week ago. The one who would have thrown her against a wall and taken what he wanted.
Two versions of Hatter that were definitely different from this silent man who had retreated into jokes and slights to mask his own needs. Who could only stare at her it seemed.
When he sighed she opened her eyes and watched as he bent over, his hair brushing her stomach he was so close. He picked up the silken folds of her night-gown and she shut her eyes again, knowing what was next. He'd put it back on her and gently but forcefully tell her to get out, to leave him to wallow in his own brand of guilt and misery. But when he didn't try to slip it back over her she peeked again and held her breath. He was simply folding the night-gown up neatly, obsessing over the tiniest flaw in its folds, before setting it on the end of his bed.
Alice watched him, curiosity overwhelming her self-consciousness. Hatter turned back to her and glanced up, his expression calm, and she jumped when she felt a hand slide up her bare leg to her hip. His palm was ice-cold, warming slowly from the friction of his skin on hers, and his fingers tapped an odd rhythm against her hip bone. Without speaking, he wrapped his arm around her hips and pulled her hard into him. Her knees banged into the edge of the bed-frame and Alice hissed in pain, her fingers clenching into a fist.
Hatter's head dropped and his other hand lifted to take her balled fist in his grip. He opened her fingers slowly and then gently grasped them. Not daring to breathe, Alice swayed with the movement of the train and felt his mouth brush her stomach. After a moment's hesitation, he slid his knees on either side of her legs and sat up a bit higher. The feel of his mouth on her breast was so sudden and intense that she couldn't stop the moan that came from deep in her throat. Her fingers tightened against his and she felt her knees almost buckle when his warm mouth caused her nipple to harden to an almost painful point.
The week had been too long and the tension between them made everything seem far more intense. She felt so on edge that she started to tremble against him, her breathing coming quick and panting.
Hatter's other hand tightened on her hip, steadying her and keeping her from pulling away when the sensation became too intense. Her hand slipped from his, her body almost caving in as she tried to ease the intensity a bit by pulling back a bit. Squeezing her eyes shut, Alice took in a deep breath and gripped his shoulders as he began to caress down the curve of her spine with his free hand. It felt like tiny rivers of heat moving over her bare skin and she squirmed closer into him again, no longer fighting the sensation. His tongue flicked out over her nipple and she made a sound in her throat as his hand slipped around her hips again, sliding down against her thigh. He nudged her one leg further forward and she did it willingly, her head spinning.
The room was still quiet, disturbed only by her deeper breathing and the soft whisper of his shifting on the bed's edge. Alice readied herself for him to pull her down but he didn't move to do so, his hand instead curving under her shifted leg. Hatter seemed more than content to keep her standing and she tightened her fingers on his shoulders as he took his mouth from her breast and trailed it over her chest.
"Sometimes it's hard to get rid of this feeling," he murmured against her skin and Alice blinked, struggling to focus on his words.
"How?" she managed as she stared blindly at the wall behind him. Struggling to control her rampaging heartbeat, she started to count the whorls on the painted wood. Hatter seemed to sense her distraction and shook his head.
"Feels like," he began and his fingers caressed the backs of her thigh before sliding between her legs from behind, causing her to jerk in surprise at the cold touch. She immediately lost count of the whorls on the wall and stared at the top of his head instead. "Sometimes you can make time stand still, Alice, and for a moment everything that's happened means nothin' at all."
He gently stroked her, feeling the heat emanating from her body, and lifted his head so he could watch her face. Alice sank her teeth into her lower lip and exhaled sharply. Her one hand lifted to tangle in his soft hair, her lower body thrusting forward to follow the stroke of his fingers.
"Then sometimes it feels like I'm so bound up that I can't live without you, and you go and speed up time, so that I can't do more than follow you blindly," he admitted, her loud moan interrupting him. His fingers danced along her warmth, touching and relearning how to get the response from her he so desperately wanted. He continued to talk, as if her moaning wasn't disturbing his train of thought. The thickening of his accent let her know, even in her foggy state, that she was affecting him by her response. "I watched you the past week, saw yer eyes burnin' sometimes when you looked at me, saw the passion in yer face when you spoke about saving Wonderland. Not just for your sake but for the sake of everyone. You remember?"
She gave a shaky nod as he circled her clit with his thumb and slowly slid a finger inside of her, causing her to rock into him. Her body clenched around him and he shivered as her nails slid along the back of his neck. She made a soft sound and moved closer to him.
"Sometimes feels like my soul is gone, Alice, when I'm without you," Hatter admitted as he slid his leg up between hers so she could rock impatiently against his thigh. "I can't help but feel that way. Makes me a slave in some sense."
She trembled, her fingers tightening in the hair at the nape of his neck. She wanted desperately to say something back, not knowing what it would be, but he knew her body too well. He knew how to make her feel incoherent. Even being 'out of practise' he still knew how to get the response he wanted.
So close, she thought to herself, crying out as he slipped another finger inside of her and began to thrust his fingers back and forth slowly, and he can still carry on.
"Then other times, it feels like you give me a sense of being back." Hatter took in a shaky breath and lifted his lips against her skin. His fingers continued to slide inside her and she felt him move against her, his pants rough against the inside of her legs. She whimpered, biting so hard into the inside of her cheek that she tasted blood. She was so close and with a moan she tried to push her body over the edge.
"Alice, look at me," he ordered suddenly, his fingers stilling so that she nearly cried out at the loss of friction. She shook her head, not wanting to open her eyes. It felt so alike to standing a precipice of a cliff that she was strangely frightened by it. Her body clenched painfully tight and her breathing was shallow and fast.
"Alice."
The way he spoke her name reminded her of the time, so long ago, on the edge of a Wonderland street when she had been terrified of the dizzying heights. It was soft, encouraging but also commanding of her. She opened her eyes and stared down at him. It surprised her that she could see real warmth in his gaze, though there was a hint of cockiness there. It made her body tighten to realize that he knew exactly what he was doing to her by hesitating like this.
"Thing is," he continued on, fingers teasing her again, just keeping her release out of reach. "When I look at you in times like this, it's like a mirror. It shows how you feel. And I know what I'm feelin' isn't just one-sided. Selfish as it is, it's how I want it; but it was hard to hope for sometimes when we had that distance between us."
He used his arm to tug her down harder against his lap, letting her rock impatiently against his hand and thigh. Hatter lowered his head and lipped at her nipple gently, worrying it for a moment as if to gather his thoughts. "So, I have to admit the truth, Alice."
"The... truth?" she whispered brokenly, trying hard to use her body to encourage him to touch her harder, higher, anything to bring about what her body needed.
"Mmhmm," he nodded against her breast and tilted his head back. His eyes went over her face and he smiled.
"What... exactly... is the truth?" she breathed out, groaning when she felt his teeth nip against the underside of her breast whenever she swayed closer to him.
Hatter smiled against her skin. "That I've been wantin' to do this to you since last second Tuesday. That I don't like feelin' like wantin' you is wrong. So I don't want you feelin' that way right now, Alice, especially when I want you to come apart the way you used to."
He moved quickly, taking her nipple into his mouth and tugging hard with his teeth. His fingers quickened inside her and Alice cried out, clutching at the back of his head to steady herself and him. He remembered exactly the rhythm he needed, the right pressure, and with the skill of a dedicated artist he began to pull her into a release. His fingers curved and slid, thumb doing circles on her clit while he bit her nipple hard enough that she felt the sharpness of his teeth. Golden sparks exploded behind her eyes and she cried out again, hunching her body against his desperately to try to support herself. It thrummed through her, pulsing so strongly that her knees buckled and she softly cried against his ear when she sunk onto his lap further.
Hatter trembled against her, releasing her from his mouth and watching the glow increase on her skin as she came apart in his arms. The glow seemed to wrap around his own body, warming his skin, and he drew her closer, absorbing it as much as he could. Alice fell into him, her legs sliding to either side of his hips and forcing him to him to move his hand from her. She shivered against him, her hips still rocking against his as aftershocks ripped through her body, and he nestled his face against her neck. She wrapped her hands into his hair and held him closer, murmuring nonsense against his ear. Her breathing was still heavy but her body was relaxing, inch by inch, against his.
"Thank you," she whispered suddenly, her body still twitching. He smiled, breathing in the scent of her through the silky curtain of her hair, and felt her lips grab at his earlobe. Between them, the faint swell to her stomach seemed to... flutter, and he pressed a hand against her belly. The tiny jump happened again and he tensed a little, irrationally worried that they shouldn't be doing this.
"We need to talk about..."
Her hand covered his mouth quickly and she leaned back. "Uh uh."
He tried to mutter through her hand but felt her grip tighten a bit to keep his lips closed.
"Not now. Not when I have you where I want you." When he still tried to talk she squeezed a bit harder so that his lips pursed comically between her fingers and then using her other hand she shoved him down. It was an awkward position for him to be in with his feet still planted on the floor and his back arched on the lumpy mattress but he was too stunned to move. Alice straddled his lap for a moment longer, giving him a warning look when he opened his mouth to protest the uncomfortable way he was lying. Once she was satisfied that he'd keep quiet she stretched out beside him and propped herself up on an elbow so she could look down at him.
He looked so adorably worried that she couldn't help but grin.
"You look scared."
A cool, bland look came over his face suddenly and she bit her lip at the chill she felt. Not a chill she minded but it went right through her from head to toe. That momentary worry was gone from his face, replaced with an almost condescending smirk that was an echo of his old arrogant smile.
"I'm not scared, Alice. Just a bit... wary," he tapped his head with a finger. "Remember, this part of me thought you were an illusion till a few weeks ago."
"That's true," she answered, nodding as if she took it very seriously. She leaned her body into him a bit and slid a hand down his front. Her fingers traced over the faint ridges of scars and healing wounds and he shifted under her touch. "I've already proven I'm not an illusion to you."
"True," he admitted, squirming a bit when her nails tracked lightly over his abdomen. Alice leaned closer to him and placed her lips against his ear.
"But I think that I still have to work at letting you know I'm not a fantasy all the time? Though I'm flattered you'd have constant fantasies about me," she joked though her voice had gone husky. She popped the buttons on his trousers slowly, so that each metallic sound of them releasing echoed in the still air. Bringing her hand up to her mouth, she flicked her tongue across her palm and then moved it back to its place on his stomach.
"So seducing you is the only way to really convince you, is that what we're saying? The way to let you know I have no intention of spending my nights alone now?"
He shifted as if trying to decide whether he wanted to move closer or farther away. Her cool hand slid down his hips and slipped under the waistband slowly. "Alice, you don't have..." He swore aloud when she actually stroked her fingers down into his trousers and wrapped them around him. His hips did an involuntary arch and she smiled smugly as she watched him close his eyes. His head turned a little so his face was pressed her neck and she stroked her fingers around the sensitive skin, feeling his breath quickening when she moved a bare leg over his. Shifting cloth out of her way, she clenched her fingers tighter around his cock and felt his body jerk.
"You were saying?" she murmured against his ear and heard him make a faint sound even as his body tried hard to follow the teasing strokes her hand was making.
"That... you didn't have to...this..." he muttered haltingly and she lipped at his earlobe, biting the sensitive skin when he felt ready to twist from her. Even the cool moistness of her palm couldn't hide that he was rock-hard and on edge, and she twisted her fingers a little, pressing her thumb at the tip of him.
"Oh?" She answered, lifting her head and staring at him. She stopped moving her fingers and he actually choked on his next words, his dark eyes impossibly wide as his hips tried to thrust up into her hand. He looked so innocent for a moment that she smiled indulgently.
"I don't have to do this?" she asked curiously and he couldn't answer when she dipped her head and kissed along the ridged column of his neck. She felt his Adam's apple bob against her lips as he swallowed and smiled. "But, Hatter, I really think I do."
As much as Hatter knew her body, she knew his and she stroked and pressed, feeling him jerk into her hand now and again when she hit the perfect spot. He was trying to hold back his own groans and it made her move her hand in more varying patterns. Slow, fast, it all seemed to work for him right now. But it was more fun to toy with him, since he'd insisted she might still be an illusion.
"I really think you're real," he gasped out, one hand clenching the mattress hard.
"What was that?" Alice lifted her head. His eyes were closed, his mouth twisted in a grimace.
"You're real," he admitted, groaning when her fingers tightened harder around his cock. He was close, she thought, or he wouldn't be fighting to respond to her. She stilled her moist strokes enough that he actually made a soft whimper of pain.
"How, exactly, am I real?" she asked, starting once again and debating whether to slide down and take him in her mouth. Her body actually trembled at the thought of tasting him again and she pressed against his leg, unconsciously grinding against him in time to her own stroking. She could feel the tension of impending release going through him, his entire body was so rigid, and she grinned, starting to move down the bed. Maybe teasing him still wouldn't be such a bad idea since he seemed so helpless.
"Or can't you manage a coherent sentence?" she muttered against his ear as she pressed hard into him, flicking her tongue across her lips in readiness.
The sudden grab for her hand warned her too late and she cried out as she was yanked across Hatter's body. The strong pull on her wrist was not gentle or relenting. She only caught a glimpse of his dark eyes before she was planted on the bed face down. Grappling for a hold, she threw her hair out of the way at the same time he landed on her back, his one arm curled around her hips.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, her breath coming in short but excited pants.
"I know you're Alice," Hatter growled against her ear and his one hand slapped down hard on her buttock, causing her to cry out in shock. The stinging pain went away quickly and left only a burning sensation that tingled up her body. "I know it because only you would know to tease me like that to get what you want."
She laughed into the mattress, a pure joyful sound even though she could hear him muttering in annoyance about her teasing him so cruelly. The sound melting into a moan as he slipped a hand between them and pushed into her. The other hand around her waist slid up over her ribcage, cupping a breast firmly, and she felt his teeth against her shoulder. Alice moved her head and looked at him, blue eyes twinkling.
"You enjoyed it," she whispered, hiccuping between the words as he started to thrust into her, and he glared at her.
"Minx," he muttered against her shoulder, his teeth flashing out as he nipped her. His hips rocked against her buttocks and he felt Alice clench around him.
"So says the bastard who," she started but he grabbed her chin and kissed her. It was like being made love to by two different men now: a gentle one who only wanted her trust and the rough one who wanted her more than anything in the world and wouldn't hesitate to take her. It was a heady sensation and she reached back to grab his hip, her fingers slipping on the slick skin and she dug her nails in. When he hit a spot deep inside her that caused her body to do a hard flutter of boiling nerves and pausing heartbeat, she cried out and clenched her nails harder into him.
Hearing her cry out and feeling the way her body's clenching was already pulling at his own body, Hatter suddenly minded very much that he'd orgasm alone. Even he had some principles about this like this though his body was almost throbbing at being put off its release for so many long minutes. Moving his hand down her stomach, he cupped her between her legs and never stopped moving against her. Alice gasped, her hand leaving his hip to grasp into the pillow under her forehead. His thrusts slammed into her so hard that Alice actually felt pushed forward violently, only to be pulled roughly back to meet another movement. She started to cry out in time to the movements and her body felt braced on edge once again, desperate for more. She was almost ready to ask for something more, anything to stop this throbbing pressure inside her body, when she felt his teeth sink into her shoulder sharply at the same time his palm ground into her. Every sensitive nerve was suddenly divided between the pain of his bite and the pleasure of his hand and endless thrusts.
Feeling her body spasm and tighten around him, Hatter let out a thankful groan that was covered by her cries and continued to move harder into her. Her body was quivering underneath him and he felt her hand tangle up into his hair, pulling his head over her shoulder so she could kiss him. Her teeth raked against his tongue as they kissed and he let himself go, crying out against her mouth. The contractions still wracking her body drew out his release in slow throbs, the tension leaving him instantly.
He collapsed against her back, practically smothering her into the pillow until she made a sound and shifted underneath him. Pressing his lips against the back of her neck, he breathed in the smell of her before moving away. He rolled onto his back and stared blindly at the ceiling, his pulse still beating rapidly. If there had been any lingering doubts that he was alive or that this was a fantasy, they were chased away by the racing heartbeat drumming through him.
Alice's face swam in his vision when she leaned over him, a sated grin on her lips that was oddly similar to a Cheshire Cat's. Her eyes were almost shining and he saw the glow of her skin seeming to pulse in time with her heavy breathing. She slid one leg over his hips and sat there on his stomach, her arms bracketing his head and her face close to his. He felt her fingers toy with his hair and after a moment of silence, his numb mouth started to work again.
He blurted out the first thing on his mind.
"Give me twenty minutes," he muttered sleepily and Alice smiled, lying on top of him fully. His body did a good attempt at trying to respond to her nearness but the exhaustion going through him was incredible. Her dark hair swung over her shoulder like a curtain and he felt the brush of it over his face. Reaching up, he weakly pushed her hair to one side and gave a sheepish grin.
"Twenty minutes?" she inquired politely as she rested her chin on his chest and peered up at him. Hatter didn't respond for a moment, reaching over his head to touch the lantern over the headboard. The lights in the room dimmed instantly at his touch but he could still make out the pale outline Alice made on top of him. He looked back at her, feeling her comforting weight on his body and his grin widened a bit.
"Then you can prove to me that you're real again," Hatter answered with a grin and she chuckled, tucking herself into his body as his arms went around her waist. He let his hands wander just below the small of her back, stroking gently, and she responded by shifting against his hips. He could feel the fading sting of her nails on his own body and when he grimaced at the thought that maybe he'd bruised her, Alice shifted on his body. She looked down at him and grinned happily, making him forget the slight discomfort. She bent lower and brushed her mouth against his but before Hatter could respond to the kiss she was moved away, lying down into his body again with her head just below his chin.
"I'll start the timer then, but I won't hold you to the twenty minute rule after that performance. I think I can give you an extra ten minutes as a bonus to rest up," Alice answered finally and she jumped a bit when Hatter laughed, low but long, while his arms tightening around her. It felt good to laugh after all this time and he felt Alice smile against his chest even as her breathing evened out in sleep. Hatter lay awake longer, stroking her back and staring at the ceiling. For once, his mind felt wonderfully still.
**************
Author's Note: Though elements of this chapter were written long
ago, part of it stems from emails I was getting with the wonderfully
subtle 'so..um... are there M chapters coming up?' which I took as a
hint for sexytimes. Considering the tension that these two always have,
I took it as opportunity. Wild Cards did have a series of deleted
scenes that I couldn't put in but this was too good an opportunity to
pass up. Situations like these don't always come up. (ha)