Hunting the Hunter Ch. 03

The Dremora looked the now rather flushed and only half dressed Breton over and gave her a dark smirk. She gaped at Faves.

"You wouldn't!"

His wicked smile turned sinister.

"Oh, you're bad." She cooed in a low voice.

"Whatever would the other Telvanni say if they found out?"

"Who gives a damn."

The Dremora grinned in earnest.

*

Hours later there was a knock at the portal door.

"What?" Faves called from his languid position sprawled across the long couch set up along the far wall. He drew in a quick breath and stilled the fingers that were lazily following the intricate lines tattooed across his chest.

"Shall I have dinner prepared Master?" The voice called through the door.

"I suppose." He answered.

"Is it that time already?" He murmured to the ceiling. A long leg draped over his thigh shifted higher.

"I told you I was distracting."

"Yes, I suppose you are. I didn't even finish opening the mail. Whatever will I do with you."

He glanced down at the floor where several unopened letters had been scattered and reached for the nearest one. The seal was of unassuming red wax. He broke it with the flick of his thumb and shook it open in one movement, then frowned at it.

"What is it?" Desdemona asked, propping her chin on the back of the hand that lay on his chest. He turned it to face her.

"I'm not sure. Does that mean anything to you?"

She read the three lines and sat up with a start and an "oh!"

"What?"

She looked down at him and quirked a smile.

"Well it looks like I won't be distracting you anymore. That, my dear, is a summons I can't refuse."

He frowned. "I thought your sister went into the east?"

"No, not my actual sister, but the closest thing to it. Remember me telling you about Ina, the one who acted as a guide for Emily and I in the wastes?"

"The insane Ashlander?"

She chuckled.

"She's not as crazy as I made her sound. I just told you the particularly interesting stories. She just has....an unusually voracious appetite for life."

"That's a poetical way of putting it."

"Why thank you darling. I do try."

He handed her the letter and gazed up at the ceiling. She watched his face as if seeing the wheels turning, a small smile playing on her own.

"I suppose she'll be dragging you around on some wild escapade?"

"One can only hope."

He sighed.

"Take Dar'Basha with you."

She blinked at him in surprise.

"But...he's your senechal..."

Faves shrugged as much as he could without dislodging her from his shoulder.

"He's getting antsy...it's not good to have a 'Dar' around who's getting antsy. They start looking for ways to entertain themselves."

She smiled down at him and he cocked a brow at her.

"Are you worried about me Faves, you big softy."

He smirked.

"Well if you don't come back...who's going to keep my family out of my hair. You ARE distracting it is true, but you have your uses."

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Told you so." She grinned. "You're going to get so bored without me."

"And I might finally get some work done." He added dryly.

**

Inanna toyed contemplatively with the tip of her braid. Lucas's first lesson with the bow had gone predictably. Part of him wanted to learn, she could tell, but he had a morose streak two leagues wide which caused the whole thing to end in one of those, 'this is hopeless/what's the point of trying/ blah blah blah' moments.

That kid needed to lighten up. He did have potential though, with or without the "Beware: Angst" sign tattooed on his forehead.

It also brought back some memories. Ah, to be young again. At least he hadn't started worshiping Daedra yet—an obligatory phase for any disgruntled youth. Well Ok, HER disgruntled youth. Really though, is there any other kind?

She'd try again tomorrow morning. In the meantime, she had things to do, people to see.

Rearrange that phrase however you like—it was still true.

Inanna was tired of waiting. In fact she had a plan. It involved getting her way. It also involved payback. She strode down the quite halls of the Ayleid ruin entertaining a very self-satisfied smile. She liked payback. She liked getting her way even more.

She had volunteered for the second evening watch, just before Mirisa took over, and before everyone would be more or less settled in for the night. Feric, she knew, would still be awake, and most certainly alone. Now her watch was over, everyone was asleep, and Muthsera-Mirisa was happily occupied.

Her plan went something like this:

Step one: corner the prey. Step two: get him as hot and bothered as she was. Step three: walk away. Hang out to dry and repeat as necessary.

The time for patience and subtlety was at an end. She was going to switch things up a little.

She'd waited too long as it was, and as much as she wanted him, she had absolutely no intentions of being the one to come crawling on her knees like a bitch in heat. Even if that DID sum up the situation pretty accurately. She had every intention of letting him suffer a little first. It was only fair after all.

She pulled out her braid and shook out her hair with both hands, wetting her lips with her tongue. She found him alone as expected.

Step one: check.

"So, I have a couple of questions for you."

He was standing over a fire pit, looking thoughtfully into the flames and looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Yeah? What's on your mind?"

"I have a theoretical situation I need to run by you."

"Fire away." She smiled at that. Good image. Weirdly appropriate.

"Well, let's say, if I were to introduce Mirisa to my friend Max...and they were to hit it off, theoretically," she added, noticing his raised brow, "would there be any problem with them getting together?"

"How do you mean?" He frowned at her and shifted, looking less than completely at ease.

"Well, would there be some kind of taboo or anything against it, would the pride have a problem with her seeing someone outside the group. She could probably stand a roll in the hay. Might take the edge off her, if you catch my meaning."

He smirked and shrugged.

"I can't see that being a problem." He chuckled. "Hell I might even encourage her. It might actually do her some good." He gave her a warning look which was mitigated by an irrepressible smile, one that made her innards writhe.

"Don't you dare tell her I agreed with you though, or I'll tear you a new one."

She smiled and breathed deeply in. 'Oh if only you would.'

"Ah. Good. That brings me to my second question." He smiled at her gamely, no doubt expecting her to offer to arrange such a meeting, which wasn't that bad of an idea now that she thought about it. Mirisa probably had the same standards she had. The old 30 second rule. If you could fight her and remain standing for at least 30 seconds...you had a better than fair chance. If not? Well usually that was the least of your worries.

But this was not the aim of her next question. Oh no, this was a tad more pressing.

"Which is?" He goaded her as she paused to organize her thoughts for her oh-so important question, and to let the silence become emphatic. She cocked a brow at him.

"Why aren't we fucking right now?"

He gaped and, after blinking himself into a state of understanding, lost the color in his face, which he promptly regained a split second later in the form of a reddish flush.

'Oh Serjo, did you just blush?' It was the most adorable expression she'd ever seen. If he didn't watch it she was just going to pin him to his shadow and ravage him within an inch of his life. To hell with retribution, she'd take what she could get.

No! The plan...must stick to the plan.

"Um...I, uh" He stuttered, searching for words, or excuses.

"Nuh-uh. None of that." She said waving a finger at him. She put her hands on her hips and advanced on him slowly.

"Do you have any idea how incredibly, painfully, fist-bitingly worked up I've been for the last two weeks, waiting for you to find time to fit me into your busy schedule?" She stopped in front of him, poking him in the center of his big chest, which was a little below eye level— she wasn't terribly tall— and glared balefully up at him. "I nearly killed a man in a bar fight you know." She added grimly with pursed lips.

Ok, maybe not killed...gently maimed perhaps. She didn't just kill people without reason. She was a reasonable mer after all. Usually. Except, apparently, when it came to big, strong, green-eyed were-lions. In which case she was about as reasonable as a horny Dremora doing lines of moon sugar off a Sanguinite's ass: not terribly. She'd seen that once, and for the record, reasonability was the last thing on anyone's mind at the time.

'Hmmm, sanguinites, I bet one of their parties would do wonders for my mood.' Ugh, no, she wanted this one, and for some inexplicable reason, only this one. Damn.

"Well?" She asked testily, plagued by thoughts of sangunites and were-lions, the combination of which was making her uncomfortably hot around the proverbial collar...among other places. His face took on a pained expression and he looked away at the ground next to her.

"Inanna..." his voice wasn't much more that a whisper. It sounded pained. Her hackles dropped almost instantly. Her accusatory finger was removed and replaced with a soothing palm instead.

"Yes Feric?" she encouraged, her voice almost as soft as his. Those green orbs flicked up again, catching her gaze. His eyes were filled with a myriad of expressions and emotions, most of which blended together in a way that made them unrecognizable. But she did recognize a few, and that was enough for her.

Her other hand came up to his chest as well and smoothed up to his shoulders and back down again as she pressed lightly into him, her head still tilted up to his. He stared down at her, and though he was clearly conflicted about something, she could see her own intense longing mirrored back at her. She could also see his fingers twitching in the corner of her eye and felt the very real, very hard, evidence of his arousal pressing into her stomach as she crushed in a little closer.

Her own breathing had become some what labored and her fingers trembled imperceptibly with the power of her arousal as she slid one hand up the side of his neck and under the loose waves of his hair, twining her fingers at the nape and gently, instinctively, drawing him closer.

He gave her no resistance, his eyes darkening with lust as their lips met with a soft groan of mutual want.

Her mind hissed in approval and she moaned softly as she felt his hands finally make up their mind and reached for her, taking her first by the hips, then sliding slowly up her waist and back. He pulled her closer as she ran her tongue lightly over the crease of his lips, teasingly asking permission.

He granted it, and she blissfully proceeded to taste and explore the warm heat of his mouth with hers, her eyes falling closed with pleasure. He groaned into the kiss as her tongue playfully mated with his, his hands fisting into the light material of her shirt.

She gave a little whimper of delight as he took over the kiss and his movements become hungrier and more demanding, his mouth devouring hers with unrelenting intensity. She had to struggle not to get lost in that kiss as he reduced her to a cooing pile of desire.

Afraid to lose their momentum she wasted no time in loosening his belt and spreading the top of his robe open to run her hands possessively over the swell of muscle that covered his chest and wonderfully defined stomach, once again marveling at the erotic perfection of that body.

She slid one hand down the grooved center, following the light line of silky hair that trailed its way over his abdomen and beneath the loosened belt that was now barely holding the rest of his robe together.

They both gasped as her fingers found the smooth head of his cock hidden beneath. She opened her eyes just long enough to see that his were shut tight and his face contorted in an expression of pained ecstasy. She licked and nibbled at his bottom lip, pulling it taunt with her teeth as she wrapped her fingers around his hard length with a firm squeeze.

It throbbed in her hand like a beating heart. She shifted her hips anxiously, already feeling her own sex respond, pulsing in time with his: hot, wet and aching. The desire to feel him inside her was all consuming, terrifying even, or would have been if she hadn't already been too desperate to care. It was all she could do to remind herself to breath as she continued to stroke his smooth length and imagined it spreading her open one more time.

'Oh just once more, oh please...please...'

Suddenly his gripped changed and he took her by the shoulders, pulling away from her and stepping backwards toward the wall. He slipped from her fingers, and she groaned at the loss.

She blinked a few times, remembering herself...and the plan. That's right, she came here with a plan. Must stick to the plan. She pulled herself together and went with him, walking him backwards as he half-heartedly held her at bay.

"I can't..." he breathed out as she pressed into him once more.

"I beg to differ." She breathed back, trailing her lips along the underside of his jaw. One hand deftly loosened the ties of her specifically chosen linen pants while the other began to squeeze at the bulge under his robes. One of his own hands reached down to stop her, but she caught it and pressed it against her bared stomach with hers over top, guiding it under the material until she felt his hand cup the mound of her sex.

A soft gasp escaped her lips and he groaned as she pressed one of his fingers between the slick folds with her own. She arched her hips against his hand, instantly wanting more. His fingers curved upwards, searching for purchase inside of her even as he shook his head no.

"I can't...we can't do this...you don't understand..." his voice was a whispered groan.

"Then explain it to me." Her mouth was pressed up against his jaw, her teeth nipping at his skin. His eyes were still closed, and his hips rocked unconsciously against her hand, much as hers were grinding against his.

"Ina...damn it, I can't explain...not here like this.." "Why not?" She groaned. Gods, she could feel the heat of him throbbing through the robe. He was so hot...so hard...

"I want you too much." He gasped, as if it made any sense, what...so...ever.

Her laugh sounded more like raw sob as it tore form her throat.

"Tell me why that's bad?"

His fingers had pressed into the entrance of her now soaked cunt, the thick tips forcing their way past the tight ring of muscles. She clenched down, making both of them moan, her from the wave of stomach tightening sensation it caused, him from the promise of that taut grip wrapped around something else.

She quit nibbling on his ear to look up at him for an answer. He gave it to her in the form of a hard kiss that took her breath away and left her clinging to the edges of his half open robes. She rocked her hips impatiently and panted his name out against his lips, immediately regretting it when, at the sound of her voice, he gasped and broke the kiss, pulling his mouth and hands from her body.

Every inflamed nerve in her body screamed out in protest and her last rational thought went up in flames like parchment on a bonfire.

"Damn it Feric. I need y-...this." Had she almost said that she...admitted 'That'...out loud? God, who was this man? What the hell was he doing to her? And more importantly, why wasn't he doing more?

"Please" she begged, "I can't take it." She couldn't help herself, couldn't stop it from slipping past her lips. What the hell was wrong with her? This wasn't like before, this was worse, ten times worse. He had her begging. No one made her beg. Damn him.

There was that pained, almost apologetic expression again. He didn't need to be sorry, he just needed to start making up for it. She was more than willing to let him. She pressed forward, but he only swung her around and pinned her to the wall she'd backed him into.

"I'm so sorry Inanna." He wasn't looking her in the eye but hanging his head. He too was breathing hard and she could feel his hands tremble faintly, though it was barely perceptible since her own body was vibrating like a plucked string drawn to tightly across a bow.

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Then fix it damn it." She growled, not completely understanding what he was talking about, nor completely caring. Her whole existence was dominated by a single thought. Scratch that, make it two thoughts: 'Him' and 'Now.'

His eyes shot up to meet hers and the barely restrained hunger that shone out at her made her whimper and arch eagerly away from the wall, her hands reaching out for him again, roughly yanking the rest of his robe open. She groaned low in her throat as his cock sprang free. He caught her hands too late, but managed to pin them over her head before she could make any further progress. The feel of the smooth cold wall against the overheated flesh of her hands and arms as her loose sleeves fell away caused another shiver to run through her. When it combined with his tight grip and fiery gaze she was sent over the edge and reduced to a quivering bundle of nerves.

"I can't fix it."

"Oh yes you can." She groaned out, twisting in his grip. He was beginning pant again. He kept her hands pinned over her head with one hand while the other slid down her arm and over one breast where it lingered before slipping to grip her waist.

He leaned into her, brushing his mouth against her sensitive ear sending another series of electric shivers down her spine. Did he know what that felt like? He had to. But he remained still, his head bowed into the crook of her neck. She could feel the tension in him, the conflict.

"What are you afraid of Feric?" She squirmed again, fearful he'd regain his composure too soon and leave her to suffer alone in this state.

"If being with me shames you, I swear I won't say anything. No one needs to know."

He shook his head and turned to look at her once more.

"No. Never." The vehemence in his voice stunned her. "I'm...I would be proud...believe me, but this...this isn't as simple as you think it is."

"I'll make it that simple Feric." They stared each other down. He finally gave her a small shaky smile.

"I fear it's too late for that."

"Uh, for the love of...I'm not proposing here, I'm just asking you to finish what we started. Please..."

He let out a broken laugh and closed his eyes.

"Feric?" He didn't respond, but the fingers around her wrists tightened.

'And therein lay the problem', he thought with another bitter, silent laugh.

"Feric?" He looked into her eyes again and let out another groan. The heat, the pleading, the raw lust and desire he saw in those blazing garnet eyes, saw written across her features, and felt in the way she writhed against him broke over him once more, calling out to his own insatiable hunger.

That wasn't true, it wasn't totally insatiable. There was one thing that would satisfy him.

He let out a growl and pressed himself unthinkingly against her body. She slid a leg up against his, wrapping it around him, cooing, and moaning, and begging. He could smell her pheromones now, distinctly, mixing with her natural spice and the powerful scent of her arousal. It made his mouth water and his knees weak.

He slid a hand up along the smooth length of her stomach and under her loose shirt to cup the round, pert breast beneath. Her skin felt like warm velvet. He ground his hips against her, feeling nothing between her hot sex and his naked cock except one fine layer of linen.

How easy that was to remedy. How easy it would be to claim her, here, now, completely, forever....