Leigh!fic- Bleed It Out (1/1)- Stewart Ackerly/Katie Bell, Theodore Nott/Katie Bell
Title: Bleed It Out (1/1)
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Stewart Ackerly/Katie Bell, implied Theodore Nott/Katie Bell
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,285
Summary: Katie comes home and faces the repercussions of her actions.
Warnings: A bit of violence, angry sex, sex-flashbacks, angst in general.
Author’s Notes: This is a direct sequel to Whatever It Takes. Most of my stuff can act as stand alone, but this fic will definitely make more sense if you read the first part before this one. It's very heavily NC-17, so please heed the warning.
Cold, dark and wet. That was all Katie could comprehend as the Portkey slammed her into the ground with alarming velocity, jarring every bone in her body and making her cry out softly in pain. It was raining, she noted dumbly, turning her face up to the sky. A fat raindrop hit her square in the eye, and she blinked rapidly as she tucked her left arm further beneath her body, shielding the precious pieces of parchment from impending doom by moisture.
The rain continued to fall as she lay sprawled about in the wet grass, and her skin, already cold from shock, grew clammy and even colder than before. She needed to get up, get the plans to Kingsley, but she couldn't seem to make her feet move towards the house.
She'd done it. She'd survived. She had the plans, and now they could rescue Jonathan and the others from certain death.
You've got to get up, Katie-bugg, a voice- which sounded suspiciously like her father- said, the words filtering through her hazy mind. Come now girl, you're helping no one out here in the rain.
"I can't," she whispered.
When she heard a loud ruckus coming from the house, her heart immediately seized up, and her fingers tightened about her wand. They loosened, however, when she recognized the shapes running towards her in the darkness.
"Katie!"
She nearly had the breath knocked out of her when someone- it took her a moment to realize it was Heidi Macavoy, one of her oldest friends- tumbled down on the ground next to her and wrapped her long arms around her bare shoulders. "Thank god you're alright!"
"I'm fine," Katie whispered, giving Heidi a ghost of a smile. "I'm fine. Where's Kingsley?"
"Right here," the dark Auror said from behind Heidi, his deep voice oddly comforting to her.
It took her a few tries, but with a bit of help from Heidi, Katie was able to stand on wobbly legs. Nothing seemed to be out of place or broken; after all, it had no reason to. Other than her rough Portkey, she'd done nothing to warrant such injuries. She'd just spread her legs and fucked a man to get what she wanted.
"Here," she said as she pulled the parchments out from underneath her arm, clutching the now-oversized black evening dress to her body. She handed them to him, glad to have the cursed things off of her person. It was worth it, she just had to keep reminding herself of that. What she'd done... it would save her brother.
If Kingsley were surprised, his face didn't show it. He merely tucked the plans into his robes and gave her a nod. "Excellent work, Bell. We'll have the rescue team out there within the half hour." Before she could open her mouth, he added, "And no, you're not going. You've done enough already. Get inside, get something to eat, take a hot bath and get some rest."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode back towards the house.
"Come on," Heidi said as she wrapped an arm around Katie's waist to steady her, "let's get you inside."
"Heidi, I'm fine," Katie protested weakly. "Really, you should go. Zach's like to go with the team; you should be there when they leave." The thought, 'in case he doesn't make it back' went unspoken.
Her friend's face faltered a bit at the silent implication, but she shook her head. "We can at least get you back to the house and to your room. I can see him before he leaves."
The 'we' she spoke of wrapped an arm around Katie's shoulders, and the brunette turned her head to see Cassandra Montgomery, one of Carisbrooke's newest residents and one-half of the Montgomery twins. Her sister- Miranda- was not currently in resident, though, having been captured by Death Eaters. She was supposedly being held at the same place as Katie's brother.
The tall, willowy blonde gave Katie a quick smile and leaned in to brush a kiss over her cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Katie tried for a faint smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Don't mention it," she said softly. Really, don't mention it. She'd just as soon try and forget what she'd just done, though that was a lofty and unreachable aspiration.
The trio passed across the wide, immaculate lawn and up the stairs to the house, moving silently through ballrooms and formal parlours, reminders of the old blood that had lived in residence on the Isle of Wight for nearly four hundred years. These days, though, the ballroom was used for testing and practicing new hexes and defensive maneuvers, while the various other rooms housed Order strategy sessions.
As they passed up the grand staircase towards the living quarters, Katie glanced back down to the main floor, where many of the Order members were gathering.
"Where's Stewart?" she asked faintly, scanning the crowd. She didn't see the tall, dark-haired outline of her lover amongst those in the foyer.
Heidi and Cassie exchanged quick looks before Cassie said, "I don't know. No one's seen him since you left."
"I'm sure he's just checking the wards," the other woman said quickly, shepherding Katie up the stairs. "He'll come around as soon as he knows you're back."
Somehow, Katie doubted that, but she let her thoughts remain unvoiced. She'd seen the look on Stewart's face just before her Portkey had activated; his face looked as if it were made of stone, and his eyes were burning hot with barely-concealed anger. She couldn't blame him, not really, but at the moment, all she wanted was his touch. She wanted his arms to wrap around her, and his hands to help ward off the memory of Theodore Nott's touch.
But mostly, she just wanted him.
Heidi's lips twitched as she watched the little light left fade from Katie's eyes, and her head dropped down. "Come now, let's get you to your room. You'll feel better after a hot bath."
I'll feel better once I cut my skin off and replace it, she thought. After all, nothing could be worse than how she felt now. So, so... desecrated. It felt as though she'd never be clean again, as if Nott's very touch had defiled her somehow.
It was but a short walk down the hall to the westerly wing before they arrived at the large room Katie shared with Stewart. The two women pushed the door open and led their friend, looking quite fragile and small in her long, gaping evening gown, into the room.
"Alright, what do you-" Heidi was cut off from talking anymore by Katie's finger, which she placed against her friend's lips in an effort to silence her.
"Go," she said, directing her comment to the both of them. "See Stephen and Zach off. I'll be fine."
It took a bit of waving, assurances, and, finally, the threat of hexes, but her friends soon left her in silence, shutting the heavy wooden door behind them, leaving Katie alone with her thoughts.
The silence of the room echoed, ringing in her ears, pulsing along her skin, and threatened to overwhelm her. What she needed was a shower, something hot to wash away her sins. She took a step towards the bathroom and stumbled, nearly falling on her face as her feet were tangled about in the loose material of her dress.
In a burst of anger, Katie let out an angry scream as she reached up to grasp the halter straps. With a loud, satisfying tear, she ripped the dress off, splitting it from between her breasts down to her pelvic bone.
She let the torn cloth fall to the floor in a rush of material and beading, then bent down to rip her shoes off. She flung them across the room, and was filled with a small satisfaction when they hit the wall with a loud 'thud.'
Naked as the day she'd been born, she strode into the bathroom, ignoring the wide, inviting bathtub in favor of the shower. She stepped inside, immediately adjusting the water temperature to as hot as it would allow.
Stepping back, she tipped her face up to the spray and allowed the scalding water to pound at her body. It was burning hot, but Katie didn't care. It was her baptism by fire, her cleansing ritual.
He wasted no time. His hands moved up to grope her breasts, and one hand slid beneath her dress to palm to bare skin beneath. He rolled her nipple between his fingers, and interpreted her whimpers and gasps as ones of pleasure. His lips broke from hers to kiss and bite at her throat, marring the smooth skin and leaving angry red welts in their wake.
Katie gasped as the memory overwhelmed her, her own hands sliding to cover her breast from the ghost of Nott's hands. "Stop," she whispered to no one, squeezing her eyes shut in a vain form of protection. "Don't."
Pulling back, Theodore knocked her hands out of the way and practically ripped his belt from his trousers before he pushed trousers and pants down, exposing his erect member. His hands fisted in her dress and pulled up, eyes darkening with desire as her long, white legs were revealed to his leering gaze. One hand slid between her legs, parting lips and folds as he pushed one finger, then two, up into her hidden place.
"No!" she cried in protest. Why wouldn't it just stop? "Let me be!"
Theodore slid his hand from her when he felt her wetness coating his fingers, and his hands went to her hips as he lifted her. Walking them backwards, he sat down when his knees hit the sofa and pulled her down with him. A simple lift, and Katie sank down onto his erection, letting out a lusty moan as she did.
He began to thrust into her, hips moving up against hers. She clenched and fluttered around him, trying to draw out his orgasm quickly as she lifted herself up with her thighs, then sank back down onto him.
“Fuck,” he groaned, “you feel so good.”
She began to cry, loud sobs racking her body as she backed against the wall. Her naked skin slid against the tiles, and her legs gave way. She collapsed to the floor of the shower, her hot tears mingling with the scalding water as it beat down on her body. Her skin was turning redder and redder by the second, but she paid it no heed.
Silently, she held out her hand and Summoned a luffa and bottle of body wash. She let the fragrant soap squirt out over her slick skin before she methodically began to scrub away. With each pass of the coarse sponge, she was more and more aware of the stinging sensation radiating throughout her body.
“Harder,” she whispered, “you know you want it. I want you to.”
A low, wordless sound fell from his throat, and Theodore began to spasm against her. He lost all control and rammed into her with a force that caused her to cry out. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders, and her knuckles were white as she held onto him.
Underneath the blistering hot spray, Katie continued to rip away at her skin, leaving angry red lines in her wake as she sobbed. Please, make it stop.
*~*~*~*~*~*
She didn't know how much time had passed- fifteen minutes? Thirty?- before she found the strength to push herself back to her feet and get out of the shower. The steam billowed around her when she opened the door, adding even more moisture to the air and rendering the mirror completely useless with clinging water drops.
Katie grabbed one of the fluffy towels Stewart all but insisted they have and wrapped it around her body. Glancing down, she winced to see the long, red scrapes that ran down her arms and, even though she couldn't see, her legs.
Her wet hair trailed down her back as she opened the door to the bedroom. Her heart leapt up into her throat when a bit of movement caught her eyes. Upon recognition, she relaxed and let out a shuddery breath.
Merlin, she hadn't been prepared for how much the sight of Stewart made her heart ache.
"How long have you been in here?" she asked quietly from her spot in the door frame.
"Ten minutes, give or take," he answered curtly, and the look on his face made her want to run across the room and wrap her arms around his waist. She'd never seen her lover look so, so... hurt. "You?"
"I don't know," she said, shrugging one pale shoulder.
"Did you do it?"
She knew what he was asking, but she didn't want to give him affirmation. "Kingsley has the plans," she hedged. "The team should already be in action."
Stewart snorted. "Don't play stupid with me, Katie. Did you fuck him?"
Katie sighed and stepped further into the room, her bare feet silent against the plush carpet. "Stewart, I-"
He pushed off of the bed and strode across the room to her, moving her until her back was against the wall and his hands were planted on either side of her face.
"Don't you dare lie to me," he hissed as he looked down at her, his blue eyes alight with a combination of anger and pain. "Did you fuck him?" One hand slid down to cup her breast through the towel, kneading the tender flesh. "Did you spread your legs for him, like a good slut?"
"Stop," she whispered, closing her eyes as she fought back the memories that were all too fresh in her mind. "Stewart, stop."
"No," he said in a low, dangerous voice. He lowered his lips to her neck, not even bothering with a kiss before he sank his teeth into her skin. "Did you like it? Did he make you moan, like you moan for me?"
Something inside of her snapped at his words, and her eyes flew open before they narrowed in anger. Katie reached up and fisted one hand in his short, dark hair, taking a tight grip as she pulled his face away from her skin.
"No," she hissed before she backhanded him across the face, the back of her hand connecting with his cheek with a sharp 'crack!'.
Stewart staggered backwards, cupping his face as smoldering blue eyes glared at her. "You little..."
"You listen to me, you son of a bitch," she retorted, pushing off the wall. "Yes, I fucked him. I did what I had to do, and I got those plans for the Order. And you know what? If it meant I would get my brother back, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
She didn't give him a chance to reply before she closed the gap between them once more and surged up on her tiptoes, slanting her lips against his in a fierce, unrelenting kiss.
His hands immediately grasped at her towel, ripping it away from her body in his haste. Long, dexterous fingers slid over her skin, grasping and caressing her body as their lips and tongues dueled in a heated battle for dominance.
"Fuck, Katie," he swore when her hand found him, semi-hard underneath his denims, and grasped him. Her fingers stroked at him, coaxing him into full awareness.
"Make me feel, Stewart," she gasped against his lips when his hand slid between her legs. "Please."
Without replying, he pried her hand off his erection before he grasped her slim hips, lifting her off of the ground. With his lips still against hers, he turned and maneuvered them to the large bed. Gently, almost reverently, he laid her down on the edge before breaking the kiss.
Eyes dark with desire, he dropped to his knees as his hands moved to her inner thighs. Without warning, he parted them and buried his face between her legs.
Katie's gasp melded into a moan, this one of pure pleasure, as his lips and tongue worked against her sensitive nub. He knew how to make her fall apart, screaming his name, and he did it oh so well. Ravenclaw diligence, he had once told her with a smirk after one of their lovemaking bouts.
She couldn't argue, though, not when his hands were holding her hips in place against the bed, preventing her from instinctively bucking against his face. Her breathy moans and gasps of pleasure fell from her lips like a symphony as he continued to coax her body higher and higher.
The warm, low beginnings of orgasm began to move through her body, starting out in her belly and slowly spreading out to her fingers and toes. She was tight, hovering on the precipice between heaven and hell, and she just needed one more push before she would fall over the edge into ecstasy.
And then he swirled his tongue like that, and her world exploded as she screamed his name, back arching off the bed and body shuddering throughout her climax.
Stewart didn't give her any time to react, and she had no idea how he'd gotten his denims and pants off before he slid up her body and sheathed himself within her. When her eyes opened, his face was hovering above hers, and his eyes were like depthless orbs, so blue they were almost black with desire.
"You only scream for me," he rasped before his hips began to move and he pressed his lips to her once more.
She hummed in agreement, wrapping long legs around his waist. "Only you," she whispered against his lips. His movements within her quickly brought her back to the edge again, and she whimpered, straining against him. "Stewart."
"Louder," he growled, his hips pushing against hers in time with the rhythmic clicking of the headboard against the wall.
"Stewart," she called again, this time louder as she moved higher and higher, "oh, Stewart!" The last was a scream as her second orgasm overtook her, and her nails raked down his back, combining stinging pain with overwhelming pleasure.
He groaned, and with all the squeezing of her inner muscles, finally let himself spill into her perfect body. His arms were tense as he held himself above her, and the furious, passionate kisses from before melted into soft, sweet, languid slides of lips against skin.
Katie sighed and reached up to twine her fingers with his, dusting kisses over the taut skin of his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered against trembling flesh. "Stewart, I'm so, so sorry."
Unable to hold himself up any longer, he slid out of her and rolled onto his side, immediately gathering her into his arms. "There's nothing to be sorry for," he murmured, pressing a kiss into her damp brown hair. "I still love you, and I will always love you. No matter what."
No matter what. The words brought a smile to Katie's lips, and she tipped her head back to accept another sweet kiss.
"I will love you until my last breath," she whispered against his lips.
"And may that last breath come many, many years from now," he murmured, tugging her closer as the familiar, post-coital sleepiness began to descend.
"Merlin willing," Katie replied. She didn't know how the rest of their lives would turn out; she didn't even know what the next day would bring. But she did know that she had Stewart, and he had her, and that they loved one another. The rest would happen as the gods willed it.
And with that thought, she let herself drift off to sleep, safe in the comfort of Stewart's arms.
Author: Leigh, aka leigh_adams
Characters: Stewart Ackerly/Katie Bell, implied Theodore Nott/Katie Bell
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 3,285
Summary: Katie comes home and faces the repercussions of her actions.
Warnings: A bit of violence, angry sex, sex-flashbacks, angst in general.
Author’s Notes: This is a direct sequel to Whatever It Takes. Most of my stuff can act as stand alone, but this fic will definitely make more sense if you read the first part before this one. It's very heavily NC-17, so please heed the warning.
Cold, dark and wet. That was all Katie could comprehend as the Portkey slammed her into the ground with alarming velocity, jarring every bone in her body and making her cry out softly in pain. It was raining, she noted dumbly, turning her face up to the sky. A fat raindrop hit her square in the eye, and she blinked rapidly as she tucked her left arm further beneath her body, shielding the precious pieces of parchment from impending doom by moisture.
The rain continued to fall as she lay sprawled about in the wet grass, and her skin, already cold from shock, grew clammy and even colder than before. She needed to get up, get the plans to Kingsley, but she couldn't seem to make her feet move towards the house.
She'd done it. She'd survived. She had the plans, and now they could rescue Jonathan and the others from certain death.
You've got to get up, Katie-bugg, a voice- which sounded suspiciously like her father- said, the words filtering through her hazy mind. Come now girl, you're helping no one out here in the rain.
"I can't," she whispered.
When she heard a loud ruckus coming from the house, her heart immediately seized up, and her fingers tightened about her wand. They loosened, however, when she recognized the shapes running towards her in the darkness.
"Katie!"
She nearly had the breath knocked out of her when someone- it took her a moment to realize it was Heidi Macavoy, one of her oldest friends- tumbled down on the ground next to her and wrapped her long arms around her bare shoulders. "Thank god you're alright!"
"I'm fine," Katie whispered, giving Heidi a ghost of a smile. "I'm fine. Where's Kingsley?"
"Right here," the dark Auror said from behind Heidi, his deep voice oddly comforting to her.
It took her a few tries, but with a bit of help from Heidi, Katie was able to stand on wobbly legs. Nothing seemed to be out of place or broken; after all, it had no reason to. Other than her rough Portkey, she'd done nothing to warrant such injuries. She'd just spread her legs and fucked a man to get what she wanted.
"Here," she said as she pulled the parchments out from underneath her arm, clutching the now-oversized black evening dress to her body. She handed them to him, glad to have the cursed things off of her person. It was worth it, she just had to keep reminding herself of that. What she'd done... it would save her brother.
If Kingsley were surprised, his face didn't show it. He merely tucked the plans into his robes and gave her a nod. "Excellent work, Bell. We'll have the rescue team out there within the half hour." Before she could open her mouth, he added, "And no, you're not going. You've done enough already. Get inside, get something to eat, take a hot bath and get some rest."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode back towards the house.
"Come on," Heidi said as she wrapped an arm around Katie's waist to steady her, "let's get you inside."
"Heidi, I'm fine," Katie protested weakly. "Really, you should go. Zach's like to go with the team; you should be there when they leave." The thought, 'in case he doesn't make it back' went unspoken.
Her friend's face faltered a bit at the silent implication, but she shook her head. "We can at least get you back to the house and to your room. I can see him before he leaves."
The 'we' she spoke of wrapped an arm around Katie's shoulders, and the brunette turned her head to see Cassandra Montgomery, one of Carisbrooke's newest residents and one-half of the Montgomery twins. Her sister- Miranda- was not currently in resident, though, having been captured by Death Eaters. She was supposedly being held at the same place as Katie's brother.
The tall, willowy blonde gave Katie a quick smile and leaned in to brush a kiss over her cheek.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Katie tried for a faint smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "Don't mention it," she said softly. Really, don't mention it. She'd just as soon try and forget what she'd just done, though that was a lofty and unreachable aspiration.
The trio passed across the wide, immaculate lawn and up the stairs to the house, moving silently through ballrooms and formal parlours, reminders of the old blood that had lived in residence on the Isle of Wight for nearly four hundred years. These days, though, the ballroom was used for testing and practicing new hexes and defensive maneuvers, while the various other rooms housed Order strategy sessions.
As they passed up the grand staircase towards the living quarters, Katie glanced back down to the main floor, where many of the Order members were gathering.
"Where's Stewart?" she asked faintly, scanning the crowd. She didn't see the tall, dark-haired outline of her lover amongst those in the foyer.
Heidi and Cassie exchanged quick looks before Cassie said, "I don't know. No one's seen him since you left."
"I'm sure he's just checking the wards," the other woman said quickly, shepherding Katie up the stairs. "He'll come around as soon as he knows you're back."
Somehow, Katie doubted that, but she let her thoughts remain unvoiced. She'd seen the look on Stewart's face just before her Portkey had activated; his face looked as if it were made of stone, and his eyes were burning hot with barely-concealed anger. She couldn't blame him, not really, but at the moment, all she wanted was his touch. She wanted his arms to wrap around her, and his hands to help ward off the memory of Theodore Nott's touch.
But mostly, she just wanted him.
Heidi's lips twitched as she watched the little light left fade from Katie's eyes, and her head dropped down. "Come now, let's get you to your room. You'll feel better after a hot bath."
I'll feel better once I cut my skin off and replace it, she thought. After all, nothing could be worse than how she felt now. So, so... desecrated. It felt as though she'd never be clean again, as if Nott's very touch had defiled her somehow.
It was but a short walk down the hall to the westerly wing before they arrived at the large room Katie shared with Stewart. The two women pushed the door open and led their friend, looking quite fragile and small in her long, gaping evening gown, into the room.
"Alright, what do you-" Heidi was cut off from talking anymore by Katie's finger, which she placed against her friend's lips in an effort to silence her.
"Go," she said, directing her comment to the both of them. "See Stephen and Zach off. I'll be fine."
It took a bit of waving, assurances, and, finally, the threat of hexes, but her friends soon left her in silence, shutting the heavy wooden door behind them, leaving Katie alone with her thoughts.
The silence of the room echoed, ringing in her ears, pulsing along her skin, and threatened to overwhelm her. What she needed was a shower, something hot to wash away her sins. She took a step towards the bathroom and stumbled, nearly falling on her face as her feet were tangled about in the loose material of her dress.
In a burst of anger, Katie let out an angry scream as she reached up to grasp the halter straps. With a loud, satisfying tear, she ripped the dress off, splitting it from between her breasts down to her pelvic bone.
She let the torn cloth fall to the floor in a rush of material and beading, then bent down to rip her shoes off. She flung them across the room, and was filled with a small satisfaction when they hit the wall with a loud 'thud.'
Naked as the day she'd been born, she strode into the bathroom, ignoring the wide, inviting bathtub in favor of the shower. She stepped inside, immediately adjusting the water temperature to as hot as it would allow.
Stepping back, she tipped her face up to the spray and allowed the scalding water to pound at her body. It was burning hot, but Katie didn't care. It was her baptism by fire, her cleansing ritual.
He wasted no time. His hands moved up to grope her breasts, and one hand slid beneath her dress to palm to bare skin beneath. He rolled her nipple between his fingers, and interpreted her whimpers and gasps as ones of pleasure. His lips broke from hers to kiss and bite at her throat, marring the smooth skin and leaving angry red welts in their wake.
Katie gasped as the memory overwhelmed her, her own hands sliding to cover her breast from the ghost of Nott's hands. "Stop," she whispered to no one, squeezing her eyes shut in a vain form of protection. "Don't."
Pulling back, Theodore knocked her hands out of the way and practically ripped his belt from his trousers before he pushed trousers and pants down, exposing his erect member. His hands fisted in her dress and pulled up, eyes darkening with desire as her long, white legs were revealed to his leering gaze. One hand slid between her legs, parting lips and folds as he pushed one finger, then two, up into her hidden place.
"No!" she cried in protest. Why wouldn't it just stop? "Let me be!"
Theodore slid his hand from her when he felt her wetness coating his fingers, and his hands went to her hips as he lifted her. Walking them backwards, he sat down when his knees hit the sofa and pulled her down with him. A simple lift, and Katie sank down onto his erection, letting out a lusty moan as she did.
He began to thrust into her, hips moving up against hers. She clenched and fluttered around him, trying to draw out his orgasm quickly as she lifted herself up with her thighs, then sank back down onto him.
“Fuck,” he groaned, “you feel so good.”
She began to cry, loud sobs racking her body as she backed against the wall. Her naked skin slid against the tiles, and her legs gave way. She collapsed to the floor of the shower, her hot tears mingling with the scalding water as it beat down on her body. Her skin was turning redder and redder by the second, but she paid it no heed.
Silently, she held out her hand and Summoned a luffa and bottle of body wash. She let the fragrant soap squirt out over her slick skin before she methodically began to scrub away. With each pass of the coarse sponge, she was more and more aware of the stinging sensation radiating throughout her body.
“Harder,” she whispered, “you know you want it. I want you to.”
A low, wordless sound fell from his throat, and Theodore began to spasm against her. He lost all control and rammed into her with a force that caused her to cry out. Her fingertips dug into his shoulders, and her knuckles were white as she held onto him.
Underneath the blistering hot spray, Katie continued to rip away at her skin, leaving angry red lines in her wake as she sobbed. Please, make it stop.
*~*~*~*~*~*
She didn't know how much time had passed- fifteen minutes? Thirty?- before she found the strength to push herself back to her feet and get out of the shower. The steam billowed around her when she opened the door, adding even more moisture to the air and rendering the mirror completely useless with clinging water drops.
Katie grabbed one of the fluffy towels Stewart all but insisted they have and wrapped it around her body. Glancing down, she winced to see the long, red scrapes that ran down her arms and, even though she couldn't see, her legs.
Her wet hair trailed down her back as she opened the door to the bedroom. Her heart leapt up into her throat when a bit of movement caught her eyes. Upon recognition, she relaxed and let out a shuddery breath.
Merlin, she hadn't been prepared for how much the sight of Stewart made her heart ache.
"How long have you been in here?" she asked quietly from her spot in the door frame.
"Ten minutes, give or take," he answered curtly, and the look on his face made her want to run across the room and wrap her arms around his waist. She'd never seen her lover look so, so... hurt. "You?"
"I don't know," she said, shrugging one pale shoulder.
"Did you do it?"
She knew what he was asking, but she didn't want to give him affirmation. "Kingsley has the plans," she hedged. "The team should already be in action."
Stewart snorted. "Don't play stupid with me, Katie. Did you fuck him?"
Katie sighed and stepped further into the room, her bare feet silent against the plush carpet. "Stewart, I-"
He pushed off of the bed and strode across the room to her, moving her until her back was against the wall and his hands were planted on either side of her face.
"Don't you dare lie to me," he hissed as he looked down at her, his blue eyes alight with a combination of anger and pain. "Did you fuck him?" One hand slid down to cup her breast through the towel, kneading the tender flesh. "Did you spread your legs for him, like a good slut?"
"Stop," she whispered, closing her eyes as she fought back the memories that were all too fresh in her mind. "Stewart, stop."
"No," he said in a low, dangerous voice. He lowered his lips to her neck, not even bothering with a kiss before he sank his teeth into her skin. "Did you like it? Did he make you moan, like you moan for me?"
Something inside of her snapped at his words, and her eyes flew open before they narrowed in anger. Katie reached up and fisted one hand in his short, dark hair, taking a tight grip as she pulled his face away from her skin.
"No," she hissed before she backhanded him across the face, the back of her hand connecting with his cheek with a sharp 'crack!'.
Stewart staggered backwards, cupping his face as smoldering blue eyes glared at her. "You little..."
"You listen to me, you son of a bitch," she retorted, pushing off the wall. "Yes, I fucked him. I did what I had to do, and I got those plans for the Order. And you know what? If it meant I would get my brother back, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
She didn't give him a chance to reply before she closed the gap between them once more and surged up on her tiptoes, slanting her lips against his in a fierce, unrelenting kiss.
His hands immediately grasped at her towel, ripping it away from her body in his haste. Long, dexterous fingers slid over her skin, grasping and caressing her body as their lips and tongues dueled in a heated battle for dominance.
"Fuck, Katie," he swore when her hand found him, semi-hard underneath his denims, and grasped him. Her fingers stroked at him, coaxing him into full awareness.
"Make me feel, Stewart," she gasped against his lips when his hand slid between her legs. "Please."
Without replying, he pried her hand off his erection before he grasped her slim hips, lifting her off of the ground. With his lips still against hers, he turned and maneuvered them to the large bed. Gently, almost reverently, he laid her down on the edge before breaking the kiss.
Eyes dark with desire, he dropped to his knees as his hands moved to her inner thighs. Without warning, he parted them and buried his face between her legs.
Katie's gasp melded into a moan, this one of pure pleasure, as his lips and tongue worked against her sensitive nub. He knew how to make her fall apart, screaming his name, and he did it oh so well. Ravenclaw diligence, he had once told her with a smirk after one of their lovemaking bouts.
She couldn't argue, though, not when his hands were holding her hips in place against the bed, preventing her from instinctively bucking against his face. Her breathy moans and gasps of pleasure fell from her lips like a symphony as he continued to coax her body higher and higher.
The warm, low beginnings of orgasm began to move through her body, starting out in her belly and slowly spreading out to her fingers and toes. She was tight, hovering on the precipice between heaven and hell, and she just needed one more push before she would fall over the edge into ecstasy.
And then he swirled his tongue like that, and her world exploded as she screamed his name, back arching off the bed and body shuddering throughout her climax.
Stewart didn't give her any time to react, and she had no idea how he'd gotten his denims and pants off before he slid up her body and sheathed himself within her. When her eyes opened, his face was hovering above hers, and his eyes were like depthless orbs, so blue they were almost black with desire.
"You only scream for me," he rasped before his hips began to move and he pressed his lips to her once more.
She hummed in agreement, wrapping long legs around his waist. "Only you," she whispered against his lips. His movements within her quickly brought her back to the edge again, and she whimpered, straining against him. "Stewart."
"Louder," he growled, his hips pushing against hers in time with the rhythmic clicking of the headboard against the wall.
"Stewart," she called again, this time louder as she moved higher and higher, "oh, Stewart!" The last was a scream as her second orgasm overtook her, and her nails raked down his back, combining stinging pain with overwhelming pleasure.
He groaned, and with all the squeezing of her inner muscles, finally let himself spill into her perfect body. His arms were tense as he held himself above her, and the furious, passionate kisses from before melted into soft, sweet, languid slides of lips against skin.
Katie sighed and reached up to twine her fingers with his, dusting kisses over the taut skin of his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered against trembling flesh. "Stewart, I'm so, so sorry."
Unable to hold himself up any longer, he slid out of her and rolled onto his side, immediately gathering her into his arms. "There's nothing to be sorry for," he murmured, pressing a kiss into her damp brown hair. "I still love you, and I will always love you. No matter what."
No matter what. The words brought a smile to Katie's lips, and she tipped her head back to accept another sweet kiss.
"I will love you until my last breath," she whispered against his lips.
"And may that last breath come many, many years from now," he murmured, tugging her closer as the familiar, post-coital sleepiness began to descend.
"Merlin willing," Katie replied. She didn't know how the rest of their lives would turn out; she didn't even know what the next day would bring. But she did know that she had Stewart, and he had her, and that they loved one another. The rest would happen as the gods willed it.
And with that thought, she let herself drift off to sleep, safe in the comfort of Stewart's arms.