Of Phantoms

[The Cedar Witch]

There was a tension gathering in the space between her lips and chest, a held breath.  His quickening pulse, seeming to reverberate within the shell, was causing her to fixate ever so slightly--like a touch of possessiveness.  Organically the passion began to build, nudging the intensity up.  For a moment, she forgot where she was and who she was with.  With her eyes closed, the chill of familiarity washed over, as if suddenly she would open them again and see something else.  She peered out through her eyelashes at intervals to fight it off, simultaneously filled with the thrill of believing it would be.  Hoping.  But without any clear idea what that something else could be. 

And as it had begun to build he pulled away; and she released the whisper of a gasp in the absence. Her hand released his hair and rested on the back of his neck. The movement away from her face increased the yearning, and she fiercely met his eyes in the dark.  His hand on her leg felt hot.

"Anna."  Her voice shaking with an exhale, an attempt to release the built tension. 

Why did you say that?

[Trillian]

"Anna," he repeated softly, her name falling easily off his lips. He liked the symmetry of it, the simplicity of its sound. "I'm Decker," he told her, the name harsh after hers, the 'k' bouncing off the curved walls and assaulting his ears. Soft and rough. Feminine and masculine. Powerful and vulnerable. Goddess and mortal.

He moved off the seat, half-crouching until he turned and knelt before her, his hand still on her knee. The seat was low but her face was still above his. He was the repentant man, begging for her mercy. He wanted to kiss her again, but in this position instead. He thought she might like it, that she would value his worship. He'd done nothing but be enchanted by her since the moment he'd laid eyes on her. Somewhat fearful, certainly wary, always desirous. Maybe she would tire of him because she would have many admirers. Not all of them would be capable. He was a capable man, but she had no need of them.

And he liked that about her even more.

"Anna," he said again. "What would you like to do with me?"

A direct question, perhaps impertinant. He wondered what she looked like angry. He hoped not to find out.

[The Cedar Witch]

Anna.  Anna died in 986.  Anna was lost somewhere long ago in the Carpathians.  Was she this Anna?  Who emerged from the ocean, then?

"Decker."  She liked the taste of his name on her tongue.  It did not spark a memory as she thought it might.  Perhaps they did not know one another.  She watched him go to his knees before her.  Some act of adoration?  This appeased the Queen, still lingering like a ghost behind her teeth.  She reached to him, placing her hand against his face and tracing his lips with her thumb.

"Many things. Some now, others...another time.  Another place" she spoke rhythmically, as if casting a spell.  What did she want?

"Do you know what I am?" She asked, searching his face.  He must have suspected.  If so, this would have been a confirmation.

[Trillian]

The sound of his name on her lips stirred something deep inside him. His fingers twitched on her leg, unable not to react in some way. Her cool finger stroked his lips and he pooched them out minutely, wanting to kiss it but trying to hold back. Restraint. He had to practise restraint. He wasn't often tested in such a way.

Did he know what she was? "Yes," he replied, not withholding the answer or attempting to make himself mysterious.

He remembered the moment in the alley years ago when he'd been pushed up against a brick wall by someone who shouldn't have been able to exhibit such strength or get the better of him. He remembered feeling the pressure of a stair-rail against his side because he'd been cornered. He recalled the pain that he'd felt initially and the order to relax... and then the absurd desirous feelings he'd experienced. The will to fight had left him and he hadn't even cared.

He'd been left to recover by himself and he'd stumbled home into the tiny hole that had been his apartment back then.

Anna could do that to him. Render him helpless. Leave him for dead. He thought she might not. He thought she liked him.

[The Cedar Witch]

Her gaze shifted from his eyes to his lips, thumb still pressed against them, tracing around them, as he answered.  Many things she wanted.

"Give me your phone."  the command was softly spoken, but expectant of obedience.  She waited for him to retrieve and unlock it if necessary, keeping one hand on his face if he allowed it and the other open, anticipating holding the device.  Anna would dial her phone allowing it to vibrate once, leaving their numbers stored in their call logs.  Then she would pass the device back into his hand. 

With one hand on his face, she placed the other on his hand that rested on her knee.  Something in the back of her mind struggled to pull her back, to stop her before she progressed further.  It stormed within her, crashing against the will to do as she pleased, against the desire for touch and passion.

"Come closer."  Eyes on his lips, leaning ever so slightly over him on the edge of the bench, she parted her legs to allow for him to kneel between them.  When he had come as close as their positioning would allow, Anna brought her face to his, brushing their lips together for a teasing moment.  Her hand went back into his hair and she pulled him in for a deep kiss, picking back up where they had left off.  She was intensely aware of the pulse beneath her lips, the drumming heart echoing in her ear.  It drew passion from her mouth and a bit of urgency.  Entranced by the heat of his breath and the increasing build of tension, she broke away to trail her quaking mouth from his lips to jaw and throat, traveling slowly and retracing the journey back to his mouth again. 

[Trillian]

He unlocked his phone and gave it to her, returning it to his back pocket.

At her command he shuffled closer and moved his hands around her, locking them together at the small of her back, pressing her against him. His face slightly raised and easy for her to kiss him, he relished the contact and answered her passionate kiss with gusto. His heartbeat hammered his excitement, his body became ultra-aware of every touch, every whisper upon it. His hands separated so he could stroke her back through her clothes, feeling her skin through the material that kept him at bay. It was frustrating and exciting.

When she was upon his throat he rumbled a sigh that came from deep within his chest. He anticipated that she would bite but she didn't. Before she quite made it back to his mouth he turned his head to capture her lips, wanting to take something for himself. He could feel her against his chest, her breasts pushed against him, her flat stomach against his, slightly curved spine because he was slightly below her.

It was so erotic he lost his mind and pulled her off her seat, holding her he moved back, sitting down and shifting legs around so he could lay back, holding her atop him on the floor with her straddling him. It was enough to make him hard and he knew she would feel it - potentially an uninvited guest.

[The Cedar Witch]

It was impossibly difficult to resist biting, feeling his pulse beneath the thin skin of his neck.  A delighted little thrill rushed through her as he recaptured her lips, and she allowed a small smile through the kiss.  Their bodies pressed together, each touch hot and electric.  Her hands moved down his back with a firm pressure, a desire to draw him closer.

Being lifted caught her off-guard and she made a small, breathy sound of pleasant surprise.  Most waited for her to guide actions, too intimidated (or terrified) to take initiative.  This was a pleasing move, and she liked the way he felt beneath her.  She pulled away from his lips as she was positioned on him and straightened her back with a slight roll of her hips.  For a moment she stared down at him as she watched his chest rise and fall with each breath, a hungry expression on her face.  She moved slowly forward and leaned over his face, hair hanging around his head.  Her lips drifted above his, grazing lightly against them, pulling back, returning, and leaving again--seeing how many times she could get him to chase them before she crushed them to his for another fury of passion and grinding hips. 

Not yet.  Not now.

Anna was at his throat again, trailing rough kisses to his collarbone.  Mouth watering, jaw trembling, her tongue traced a small circle on a spot at his neck.  She moved one hand to lightly grip his hair and a bit of charm unintentionally flowed from her, touching his mind in a seductive caress.  Gently her fangs slipped past his skin and she let out a soft moan as blood, perfumed with arousal, flowed into her mouth. 

[Trillian]

He felt like prey.

Throughout his life he'd been the hunter; solitary, resourceful, survivalist. He'd sacrificed others, manipulated conditions, entrapped his opposition and ended those who'd sought to harm him. He'd never been caught up in emotions or feelings, never been blinded by love or sex or violence. Anna brought that to an end.

There was something absurdly seductive about giving in and going against his primal need to be dominant. The floor was cold and unyielding at his back, she was liquid above him - shifting and moving and writhing. She was hot and cold, her movements on fire, her touch was ice. He lifted his lips to gently buck her when her hair became a curtain, shrouding his vision.

She teased his lips before returning to what she really wanted. His neck. His blood. She became a lioness, her lips on his throat, drinking from him while the sensation of it forced a tremor down his spine so violent that he thrust his hips upward to shake it off. He held her tightly. His neck was now a pleasure point for his whole body, and it radiated a sense of calm to his muscles. Enough so that he no longer had to cling to her, but now his hands could roam. Her shoulders, her back, her ass. His hands had good reach - he could go beyond her rump to the space between them, reaching all the way around and pressing fingers against her clothing between her legs, curling fingers in time with her swallows. His other hand glided up her back, moving up her nape and into her hair where he held her softly, to register her movement.

[The Cedar Witch]

Anna relished in the traveling touch of his hands, his fingers reaching around and between her legs sending a shiver of pleasure through her.  She pressed against his hand, hyperaware of the warmth beneath her.  Knowing that moist desire was restrained by only a few layers of clothing increased the intensity of the contact.  Several breathy noises escaped past her teeth, still buried in his neck.

Not now.
When?

The feeling crept in again--that she was being watched.  That someone was standing just outside the protection of the shell.  Waiting.  Listening.  Logically she knew there was no one there, and she wished the distraction beneath her was enough to drive the feeling from her mind.  She thought he almost was.   

When his other hand moved to the back of her neck she froze, then melted into his body for the brief duration that his fingers lingered there.  It was like flipping a switch, her body releasing tension on its own accord as if under a spell.  It lasted only until his hand went above that spot into her hair and she was taut with want again, leaving the reaction unacknowledged.  But she needed to stop drinking. 

Upon her return to land, withdrawing her teeth seemed less and less a priority.  There was a force within her that growled against the efforts, like an animal defensive over food.  She gripped his shoulders tight, wanting to sink her nails in but keeping her fingers firmly flat.  This was not a human she wanted to dispose of.  A mildly shocking realization.  After a second or so of internal struggle and a last, long mouthful, she released his neck and closed the wound with a well-practiced motion of pricking her tongue and licking the puncture.  Her lips feathered against the spot her teeth had been in what could have been an attentive and loving motion if not for her firm grip still on his shoulders.

[Trillian]

At her mercy, not fighting, relaxed, wanting. He could've died if she'd wanted, but didn't. Decker was well aware, when she started licking his neck instead of drinking from it, that she'd chosen to keep him around. He'd made enough of an impression on her that she wanted more. It would be in his best interest to keep her in that mindset, though he didn't think he'd be able to deny her anything. He'd been well and truly claimed. The intensity of his desire to please her should've concerned him, but didn't.

Because she was pressing down on both of his shoulders, he couldn't favour his left side anymore and now his handgun was pressing uncomfortably against his ribs. There was another pressing sensation trapped inside of his pants and he curled his fingers more firmly, cupping her, wanting to shift her focus. At the same time, he returned his other hand to her nape where he'd inspired a very obvious change in her movements. He wondered if it would happen again.

His skin was numb now, where her mouth was. He opened his eyes to look at where the shell wall met the floor but paid attention to her reaction.

[The Cedar Witch]

Her grip on his shoulders released as his hands again drew her attention.  Anna smiled, face holding the hint of a flush with the blood freshly in her system.  A pleasant mood, almost playful, came over her now that she was feeling lighter after the feeding.  She was just wondering at the logistics of shifting clothing and allowing his fingers better access.  Her hand moved over his, tracing his fingers--

Then his other hand returned to that spot at the back of her neck (she had foolishly hoped he wouldn't notice) and she dropped down again, laying her head against his shoulder.  Sweetly.  A large part of her felt ridiculous, pushing her to fight against the reaction.  Her body felt heavy in response, but his touch was light so she made a move to pull away from him and straighten her back.  A firmer hand would find less resistance.  It wasn't impossible to resist.  Initially difficult, maybe.  Involuntary reactions were hard to fight but easier if the action was repeated and could be anticipated.

[Trillian]

He noticed the change in her again. It had been difficult to miss and he liked that he knew something about her. His secret. Her secret, really, but now he shared it. He turned his head, looking down at her nestled into his shoulder and he enjoyed it. This was what it would be like to relax with her in bed. Only they weren't in bed, and this was made obvious when she shifted against him. His hand slid away and moved down her spine.

He bent a leg, offering her something else to press against, not just his hand. He wanted to move that hand between them but didn't want to give up his spot. He'd created his own impasse.

"Anna," he said again, voice rumbling her name. He watched her questioningly, though couldn't properly see her face. He liked the touch of her body upon him but it was also too restrictive. The floor and space they were in disallowed rolling.

[The Cedar Witch]

Anna shifted her weight as he moved.  The bent leg made for better friction, but she was growing tired of the restriction of the shell.  If they left this place would it break the spell?

She liked the sound of this name on his lips, and wanted to hear it again: breathy in her ear, on a gasp of desperation or an orgasmic exclamation.  Anna leaned forward again, to look him closer, intensely, in the eye.

"Decker,"  There was the subtle inflection of a question on his name. 

[Trillian]

His lips curled into a smile when she toyed with him, saying his name. He took it as playful mockery.

He wondered how long she'd let him stare at her for. Her eyes were magnificent; full and empty at the same time, their colour rich, their intensity heavy. He could look at them for hours. He normally used staring for intimidation, but now it was just... adoration. He would've forgiven every man who'd lost their minds over a woman, except he knew that this was different.

Not every woman was this woman. Those others - they were stupid for sex. Anna... she was like the meaning of life. Or death. One of those. Important either way.

"Shall we explore?" he asked. The meaning was ambiguous. They could explore this museum or each other.

[The Cedar Witch]

Anna traced his lips with her thumb, trailing her hand down his neck, pausing at where the bite was.  Her hand continued a lazy journey down his chest as she straightened her back again, hand following to tease the space just above where she sat on him.

"Yes."  To both really, but she decided to show restraint this evening.  At least within the confines of the sculpture.  She moved off of him slowly, writhing into his hips for a beat before dismounting with as much grace as the tight space would allow.  The heat of her desire protested but she was in no rush to enjoy this game.  Anna made her way out of the sculpture casually as though nothing had transpired within.  Would he follow?  Would he tire of being denied, grow frustrated like other men?  She hoped not.  That would be predictably boring.  He did not seem boring.  But would he chase? 

Anna wondered at the security system here.  Would there be motion sensors triggered as she left the safety of the shell, cutting their after-hours exploration short?  Was there only an alarm on the door to the place?  She wanted to see what other dark corners they could find.