Lost and found

[Lovely]

August 8, 2007
follows: Grounded

Nicky had insisted on going to the hospital and to the police once she'd been 'rescued'. She knew that there were people who'd notice she was gone and worry, but when she was in the ER she found out they had gone as far as filing a missing persons. She had no problem talking to the police, but when they questioned her about where she'd been and who had taken her, she found herself not wanting to answer. She gave little information and acted as though she was confused and had trouble remembering details, which wasn't a far stretch as she half thought she was going crazy. Once she'd dealt with all that, she had been able to go home and was grateful to be in her own home again. She had not gone back to work or to see any of her friends, ignoring many of the calls that came in and letting the machine pick up. She'd been feeling quite different since coming home, strange, like something was changed in her. But it wasn't possible.. unless what she thought had happened had really occured. It might have been easier if she was just crazy, she sighed, taking another look at the healing marks in the mirror. She was surprised how quickly and nicely the gash was healing, if she was lucky there wouldn't hardly be a scar. She pulled the soft loose fitting robe gently up on her shoulder and turned the bathroom light off, padding quietly on bare feet through the house. The tiles where cool and felt nice under her feet as she grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine from the kitchen.

Who knew whether she had cars down her street frequently or whether she’d notice the roar of the sports coupe as it slowed down for the driver to look at numbers. Biff wasn’t even really looking more than actually smelling the air down the street through the open window. Like any casual passer-by, he only looked so out of place, not leaning completely out or letting his tongue catch the wind, though he could have. He saw the place and pulled past a short way, parking off the side street and jogging back up to the building. If she ran, he wasn’t going to be able to follow her by car, anyway. He studied the scribbles. “Neat handwriting for such an ornery f*ck,” he muttered, impressed at the neat lettering, though it was as small as it was concise, the lines of a disciplined hand, as well it should look for being a direct descendant. He popped the paper with a snap of his finger, confirming the address and tucked the square in his pocket. “Looks like daddy’s girl is about to have a night on the town.” He rang and waited, putting on a casual and warm smile. Of course she’d be happy to see him.

The sound of the door bell brought a sigh from her and she muttered to herself. "Go away.. I don't want to see any of you.." She meant all her friends and their gushing concern at her 'ordeal' -so annoying! Her long raven colored locks were loosely pulled up with enough tendrils hanging down to soften her face and give her a comfy ready for bed look. She finished pouring her glass of wine and took a sip as she walked to the door. The handle made a soft click as the latch released and she pulled it in, she didn't look up at first, taking another long drink off her glass. "I'm really not in the mood.. you could have just sent a card or flowers.. flowers would have been nice.." It was then that she finally looked up to see who was actually at her door. Her expression went from annoyed to shocked, as she gazed at Biff. She didn't say anything, but also did not run away or close the door in his face. Nicky just stared at him as if she wasn't sure if he was real or if she was imagining things.

“I was thinking roses, but I guess you didn’t hear it. How have you been, Nicky?” His sarcastic smile softened to true concern and his eyes swirled and danced in color and light as he quietly pulled her scent in to awaken the memory of her. He glanced at the healing marks and nodded. “Not perfect, but you won’t notice it soon. Looks pretty good.”

[Lovely]

She bit her lip and watched his eyes a moment, then the way his smile seemed to soften and a tiny curl pulled the corner of her lip up. "I don't see any roses.." She leaned slightly to the side as if looking around him for them and giving him a slight pout. Her eyes held quite a bit of uncertainty as she slowly stepped back, her free hand pulling her robe closed tighter at the top to hide the marks again. "Looks like shit... you know I can't work like this.. not till it's all healed and if it scars.." She shook her head, sighing softly. "I've been a little depressed.. how about you?"

“It won’t scar. Not now. You can thank me however you want,” he said, following her in slowly and closing the door behind himself. “I’m good.. better... now,” he nodded. His head turned a little as he watched her. “What’s this? No fear for your nasty little playmate or have we finally gotten over that, hm? Maybe I can cheer her up a little instead?”

"It wont scar?" She tipped her head to the side, wondering how that could be -it was deep and.. but he'd taken care of her when it first happened. "For my what?" She shook her head, bringing her hand from grasping her robe to rest against her forehead.

“Maybe it’s a little too much wine? You should try a white instead,” he said, smelling it in the air before he saw the glass. “You’re not afraid of me, Nicky. Now why is that? I thought we had a good thing going. I scare you, you scream and fight and I calm you down for a while. Guess we skip one and two and start with me and you.. calm.” He shrugged a little in his jacket, rustling the sweet and richly scented leather as he stepped closer, raising his hand to take hers from her face.

She took a step back as he came closer and she tried to understand what he was saying.. did he want her to be scared or not? "Are you trying to frighten me? Do you want me to scream and fight?... I don't really have the bondage gear here.. you know like you guys had.. unless you brought yours with you?" It was sarcastic but the answer was one she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. She looked at her hand in his and then to the other with the wine glass. "Maybe you should finish this.. maybe a few sips is too much."

“Put it down Nicky. You don’t need it and I’m not trying to scare you. Not on purpose. Feeling dizzy? Or is it something else? Something you hear... feel... smell maybe? It’s nice leather, isn’t it? Italian. I have thing for Italian styling. May I?” Biff nodded toward the other room, wondering if she’d let him come sit down with her.

She looked over him, his jacket and then back to his face, slowly nodding her head. She was feeling dizzy and something else, like he said the smell of things seemed so much stronger. "Yeah.. yes.. please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." She set the glass down on an end table as she invited him further into her home.

“What’s it been like?” He asked broadly, looking around her place, running a finger over the table she set her glass on, running it around the rim of the glass and tapping the surface of the wine, just to carry a bit of the scent to his nose and lip for a light taste. He followed more attentively. He also wondered what happened to her chaperone. “It wasn’t very nice of you to take off like that.”

"Being home?" She asked turning to look at him as she settled herself on the couch, leaving him a choice of chairs or the couch to sit himself down on. "A little strange.. honestly. It doesn't feel the same as it did before... nothing does." She said quietly, looking down at her hands as they twisted in her lap. "It wasn't very nice being held prisoner.. and this.." She tugged the robe aside to reveal the marks again. "I didn't think this was very nice either.."

“Wasn’t my choice. Am I glad it happened? Maybe...,” he said flatly, a little too honestly. He took a seat in a chair near her. “He was wrong to do what he did. I’m not glad about that. I’m glad you let me help you. I have a feeling you need more... answers at least.”

[Lovely]

"Yeah.. I did get that.. surprisingly.. I did.. he was in charge. He did what he wanted.. I really thought he was going to kill me like the others.. " Her legs curled up onto the couch and she rested her head to the side on the back cushion. "Thank you.." She spoke softly, turning her face towards him. ".. for helping me.. and for not killing me when he told you to.."

“I couldn’t,” he said, shrugging as if apologizing that he hadn’t. “Maybe I should have. He didn’t give you any other real choice. Although you still have one if you want to accept it. What he did start, he didn’t finish.”

"You really feel like you should have?" Her voice softened to near a whisper and she seemed to curl into herself more, glancing at him now more cautiously. "What.. do you mean.. what didn't he finish?"

He shook his head. “Like I said. I couldn’t do it. I can finish it, though. You know what it is... what he did... how you’re... how you’re different now?” His eyes flared a soft red, curious, warning, prompting.

Her arms curled around her middle, tucking into her robe a little as she shook her head. "No.. no.. I don't really.. I don't understand any of it.. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me.. why he did any of the things he did. I don't even know if you're real.. or if I'm just losing my mind."

He chuckled and brushed a finger under his nose, smelling the wine, then leaning forward, smelling her a little closer. "You're not any crazier than me or Marc," he smiled a little darkly. "You're pretty much just like us.. now. Well, almost. You see, Dad gave you a present. Do you like how you look now? Ever thought about what it would be like to stay like that... mm.. for decades?"

Her head turned slowly toward him again, her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked over his face. "What the hell does that mean? and.. well honestly I think every woman thinks about staying young and attractive for much longer than aging allows for."

"Nicky, listen closely. Decades... try centuries. You're not crazy. He changed you, or at least started to, but he didn't explain or give you a chance to say 'no'. He's dead and now he can't teach you or explain. It's up to us... me... You have to promise me you'll listen, okay?"

Her hands lifted to rub her temples and her eyes closed, a sigh exhaling out as she took a moment to try and understand, to accept that this was real. "Look Biff.. it is Biff, right? I keep feeling like everything is jumbled and I'm not sure if I remember or I dreamed or if I'm just confused. Feels like someone took my head and just shook everything up in there." Her hands shifted down to her lap again and she opened her eyes to look at him. "I don't know how good of an idea it was to even let you in.. so I'm not promising you anything... okay?"

He nodded, his hands clasping together in front of him. Beneath his elbows his knee bounced, ever in motion and ready to spring if she decided not to listen. "You're trying," he grinned weakly and started in, his eyes deepening in color. "You're jumbled, but not crazy. Until you're taught to be what you're becoming, it will stay jumbled. Your appetite has changed... things you never thought about craving before are things that you feel you can't live without... sleep comes in shifts different than you've ever known. Smells drive you insane and light shows you things you've never seen before like being on a high that never stops, but you're alert. You feel sharper than you ever have. Sound about right?"

[Lovely]

She bit her lower lip, glancing at him and away, then back again and slowly nodding her head. "Yeah.. that pretty much describes it." She spoke softly, twisting her fingers into the tie of her robe as she shifted to face him a little better. "Well.. there's the temperature too.. I feel like I'm coming down with a fever and it won't go away.."

His grin twitched a little more. "Yeah, I know," he said, brushing his nose again. "Like I said, you're mostly like us, now, but you can't change yet. You just feel the effects, heal faster, move faster and better, but to make it complete... if you say yes... you'll be gorgeous forever."

"What do you mean? I thought I couldn't stop this.. " She was still confused about the majority of what was happening, but at least he semed to understand and know about it. Maybe he could and would help her. "Say yes to what?"

He shrugged and sighed, looking to the floor a moment. "You can't stop it, what's happening, but you can still die of old age, starvation... not heal completely. You're still human... still mortal," he said as if it were normal. "But I can make that part stop.. make you like me."

She shook her head, her eyes tearing up a little. "I don't understand.. the way he said.. he said there was no stopping it.. I was one of you.. I don't know what that means, and what you're saying.. I just want this to stop.. this being all jumbled and confused. I want things to make sense again.. to be able to think clearly.. can you do that? Help me do that?"

"He meant you're different, no longer human, Nicky. You can make the confusion stop if you trust me. It will hurt like hell and you'll think you're dying, but you won't be," he said, offering a direct gaze and slight smile. "It's eternity in exchange for the scariest ride of your life. I took it. I'll help you through it. Otherwise, you'll always be halfway there, halfway to understanding, but never quite making it work up here."

Her lips trembled and parted, but it took a few moments to get any sound to come out. "This hurt like hell and I thought I was going to die.. thought he was just going to shred me if I didn't.. and all the blood and.. will it be worse than that?" Her teeth tugged softly at her lower lip as she studied his face. "You.. went through it.. ? and you'll help me.. really?"

He chuckled again, his head tilting to view the memory. "Hell yeah. I was just a punkass kid with a stolen hotrod, a rap sheet longer than my arm, blood on my hands and a guy standing in an alley between me and a cop with my name coming out his bullhorn trying to get me to come out. I went through it and the rest is ancient history... so was the cop when I got done with him. I walked away on all fours. The guy between us? He finished what he started that night, Nicky and here I am now. That was twenty years ago."

She leaned forward reaching her hand out as if to touch his face, but her hand fell away and she chewed her lip, unsure about so much. Would he be angry if she touched him, looked more closely at him, to 'see' what he'd told her. Could she trust him to help her.. did she want this.. was it the only way to be 'sane' again?

"What? What is it?" He smiled, watching her move in curiosity. "Don't you think I'm real? What do you want to know.. see?"

She shrugged, she didn't really know how to answer him, how to explain everything that was going on in her head. Slowly her hand lifted again and this time her fingers brushed his cheek, gently tracing over his jaw line. "I'm scared.."

Biff sat still so he didn't scare her more, letting her find what she needed to know. His skin was weathered, but resilient and quite warm to the touch. "Don't be scared tonight," he whispered, his voice softly vibrating under her touch and pleading gently. His own hand reached up to brush hers, warm, in his attempt to comfort her.

"I'm not sure I know how not to be scared of all this.. " Her eyes drifted over his face softly finding his gaze. "I'll try not to be." She added in a gentle whisper, her hand cupping his cheek for a moment and then curling into his hand as he brought it over hers. "What happens.. if I say yes to you?"

[Lovely]

He curled around her hand, gentler than she'd known from him before as he kissed her knuckles and lowered them to his lap. "If you say 'yes', I'll be as gentle as I can, but it's not gentle and it takes some time. It won't leave a scar, in fact after a few hours, you won't have a mark at all, but in those few hours, you'll be sick, hot, miserable... but I'll be here for you."

Nicky nodded her understanding as he told her of the effects she'd feel, she chewed her lip some more. Her fingers curled a little tighter in his hand and she sighed softly again. "But.. after.. I'd be better?"

"You won't be scared of me.. you might even end up liking me a little," he teased, sensing from her hand in his that maybe she did enough to trust him at least. "You'll be better, and still beautiful."

"I have plenty of reasons to be scared of you." She retorted quietly, with a slight smile twitching her lips. "Which.. makes me wonder -why are you being so nice to me now?" she bit her lip a little harder, thinking of how he'd tried to help her that night. "You.. when this happened.. you tried to take care of me then.. why?"

He shrugged, not hiding the smile or the gaze that carried over her. "Because... may I ended up liking you a little... or because I did from the start. That was before.. with orders and rules that aren't there anymore. And a brother I don't need to fight anymore. He's got his own thing and maybe... maybe I was hoping I'd have you."

"Maybe.. so you might not be hoping?" Her eye brow lifted just slightly and her other hand came down to curl around his hand with her other. "I suppose.. you'll have to fix me.. so we can find out." She couldn't help the tremble that ran through her and she took a deep breath.

He cringed. "Let's... just try to stay away from the 'f' word, okay? That one, anyway." He looked around at the windows and open space. "Does this place have a basement? Someplace you can hose down... not as many questions to answer later?"

She kind of shifted back away from him at the mention of a basement, feeling a shiver walk over her back. "I.. yes.. " She nodded and pulled her hand away from his and pointed to the hallway that also led upstairs. "The door is through there."

"Show me," he said, slowly standing up. He noted the stairs going up, but down was better, more soundproof, darker for her eyes from the light she'd need to adjust to again. He offered her help up, seeing she was already nervous enough.

Her hand slipped into his again as he offered to help her up, she stood very close to him for a moment after she got to her feet. "do.. do we need anything?" Her fingers curled tightly as they held onto his hands, she started to move to the hall to show him the way.

"Call your work... tell them you quit," he said, seriously and dry. "After tonight you won't need it and you won't want to answer their questions anyway. You'll be free to do what you want."

Nicky stared at him a moment in disbelief, but his tone and his expression told her he was serious. "I'm going to have alot of questions later.." She murmured softly, leaning against him as she reached around him to the small table to pick up the phone. Her fingers were a little unsteady as she dialed the number and then listened for them to pick up. The voice was friendly and familiar on the end of the line and she closed her eyes. "Yeah.. it's Nicky... I quit." She didn't wait for a response, simply clicked the talk button to hang the phone up and then let it drop to the couch. She looked back to Biff's face, watching him curiously as he stood there. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. Pour me a glass of that wine so I can celebrate with you," he chuckled, though it faded quickly with her being right there as he curled around her, protective as he was that night, but able to embrace her properly.

It was natural to embrace him in return as he curled around her, her arms sliding up over his to bring her hands to rest on his shoulders. She closed her eyes again, leaning close but not quite resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't even know what I did with my glass."

[Lovely]

************************


Slowly the fog ebbed away from her as her eyes slitted in the semi dark room and she let a much calmer though heavy breath out. She was a bit slumped forward, held up mostly by the bonds Biff had twisted around her. Her muscles screamed and ached, yet felt stronger then they ever had before. He wasn't lying when he'd told her it was going to hurt like hell, it had and still did, but was getting better as she recovered from the changes. Nicky ran her tongue over her lips and felt the sting of a small cut, she tasted her blood mixing with a smear of Biff's from their struggles. She smiled, closing her eyes to enjoy that flavor, her tongue flicking along to pull more of his into her mouth. Behind her, her arms pulled against the ropes, straining and testing her new strength against his knots. She was held very securely and nearly chuckled, wondering if she strained hard enough if she could break the rope. Her head throbbed though and it kept her from struggling too much, even that seemed to lessen as minutes passed. Slowly her head tilted up and she tried to see through the blur of her vision to find where he was. "Biff.." She nearly whispered his name, the need to feel him near her coming across in the tremble of her voice.

He was laying quietly nearby, stretched, torn but languishing in the cool air of the room. She'd cuffed him at least once and his eye was a swollen and clawing marks covered him anywhere she'd managed to get hold before the knots held her where she was. The sound of her voice caused him to stir slowly. Many nights and mornings he'd been the one to wake first to her sounds, bringing her morning meals or simply watching her. Her voice was different, calling out from somewhere else within her. Curling, stretching, popping and crackling like a stiff old dog sunning on a porch, he rose from the floor to tend to her. "Wasn't so bad, was it?"

This wasn't the first time she'd awoken to find him closeby, but this was different -the situation, the rules.. everything had changed. Her eyes narrowed and she glared slightly at him. "Yes.. it really was." She replied, straining towards him now as he approached, her vision clearing and her eyes fixing upon his face. ".. you were right though.. I feel better."

"I'm sure you do. Better enough for me to undo those knots, huh?" He smiled, but only came so close, enough to see they were still tied securely for now. He'd apparently changed at some point and back again, the sharp clothes he'd had when he arrived being ripped and strewn in bloody ribbons and scraps around the room. He hid nothing and had no reason to hide, his youthful and strong form holding a sinister grace even in morning's light. He was a natural hunter and every muscle of his human form showed it as he stood watching her.

She licked her lips, watching him back and pouting that he didn't come close enough to her. She leaned out farther, letting the ropes pull her arms and stretch them tauntly behind her. Her long dark hair, flowing loosely made a veil over half her face as she enticed him closer. "Wanna come find out how good I feel?"

"Oh I know what it's like. Been there, remember? You wake up starving and the first thing that sounds good is the heart straight from the chest of the f*ck that f*cked you up so good," he nodded slowly, watching how she stretched and leaned.

"So did you bring me something else to eat.. or will I have to settle for you?" She let her eyes roam over his bare form that he did not hide from her. "Biff.." She pouted more, calling him to her, her eyes hungry in more than one way. "Come on.. you have me all tied up over here.. and I'm lonely.." Her form stretched and arched against the ropes tangled around her, trying to reach him.

"You're not having me for breakfast," he chuckled, teasing, stepping closer to brush the hair from her face. "We'll get you something just as tasty though."

Her eyes closed as his fingers touched her face. brushing the hair back and she turned, flicking her tongue over his wrist. "Can I have you for lunch?... you're.. very tasty."

[Lovely]

"And you're still the equivalent of punch drunk. I want to be sure you mean that, Nicky, but thank you," he smiled, staying wary. The smile curled up into the swelling of his eye reminding him it was there. His fingers stayed in her hair, brushing it back over her shoulder as he came close to her ear. "Remember when I helped the pain stop? Do you want to try?" He pointed to the cut on his cheek.

"It feels good though.." She whispered about the punch drunk comparasion. "If you're worried about me meaning it.. then keep me tied up.. just don't stay so far away." She pleaded softly, pouting at the short distance between them still. Her eyes looked into his as he came closer and she nodded as she felt the warmth of his words against her ear. "Do I have to do anything special.. or does it just happen naturally now?" She questioned, tilting her face so her lips brushed against the welt around the cut on his cheek.

"As natural as it gets," he said, holding her arm lightly as she tended his wound. "Something in it, just like mothers nursing their wolf pups. I think I will keep you there for now, just a little while longer."

Her breath sighed out warmly over his cheek as she gently ran her tongue over the mark, her eyes closing. A soft sound followed, and she ran over the cut again with more pressure this time. She could taste him in the tang of the cut and it made her want to tear free -tackle him to the floor.

It tingled and stung the way a popsicle did on a dry throat in summertime. His hand slid down her arm to test the ropes. "You want out so bad you can taste it... I can smell that. Use your nose, tell me what you smell." He turned to face her suddenly, a whisper away from the lapping tongue and his eyes filled with warm molten copper.

Her eyes searched his as she breathed in the scents of him for a moment. ".. I.." She licked her lips again and began over. "You.. it's a little confusing.. so many things.. happy.. worried.. wanting.. protective.. " With each word she breathed more of him in.

"Uh huhn, keep going," he said quietly, leaning to brush against her cheek. Some scents had no words she'd know and others far too many to express in a single breath. He let her learn as he reached around her to untie the knots at her back.

"Don't.." She warned him quietly not to completely release her yet, her arms lowering but still bound together. Her face brushed back against him in a soft show of affection. "Delight.. wonder.. very.. protective.." Her face shifted against him, curling closer -wanting and needing that from him. ".. you're territorial.. a predator.. a hunter.. strong.. fierce.. loyal.." There were other things she couldn't find words for so she shook her head, not describing them. She took in a deep inhale along his neck and sighed. "..lo.." She stopped -love? it couldn't be could it? She felt her heart pick up it's pace within her chest as she wondered. He'd protected her -nearly at the cost of his life that last night in the wharehouse and then he came to find her. He'd protected her while she'd been held, keeping the others away and from hurting her more -as they easily could have.

"Hmm? What?" He hadn't tapped into the last partially spoken word, but turning back and seeing her expression, he wondered. He left the bindings alone to stand in front of her again. "Why do you want me to stop? Told you, you're not eating me for breakfast."

[Lovely]

"love.." She whispered softly, turning her cheek to him as she glanced away, thinking she might have been wrong and realizing somehow she hoped she was right. "Maybe.. I'm not ready for you to let me go yet.." This was whispered as well, her face tilting back to gaze at him again.

Biff nodded and reached to shift her hair again, not that it was in the way, but he liked its scent even after the chaos she'd tumbled through. He grinned briefly as he caught her gaze. "Hadn't planned on it. Hadn't planned on that either." He let her work over his meaning as he watched her eyes.

Her eyes seemed more heated than they had before, her gaze meeting his without flinching away like she might have in the past. "Unplanned doesn't make it untrue.. does it?" Her lips curled lightly as his fingers played in her hair.

"No." He shook his head only a little, the smile coming out to match hers slowly. "You've been through enough though.. you sure that's something you want?"

"Yes." She said softly, without hesitation -even when she'd been resisting or shying away from him, she hadn't wanted him to leave her. Some things had not been clear to her before but they were now, other things still muddled but of this she was sure. Nicky stepped closer to him. "Been through enough.." She nodded. ".. is it something you want?"

"I think you know that answer... all those answers, don't you?" He slipped a soft kiss to her cheek, holding his fingers in her hair. "You already knew when you woke up."

"Did I?" She whispered back, curling to try to catch his lips softly. "Tell me how I knew.."

"Because you let me make you like me, you lived through it, more or less, and you haven't wanted to rip my throat out yet," he smiled, pressing kisses back between his words.

"Well at least I could meet your high standards.." Her teasing smile nipped softly back at his kisses and she leaned into him, seeking his warmth.

"So what happens if I untie you? Do I meet yours?" He chuckled, standing close so she wouldn't have to strain. "I can think of a lot of things while you're still like this that would start my day out just fine."

She felt him lean towards her and she eased against him and the ropes behind her back. "You could show me a few things.. while you still have me like this.." She teased in a warm breath over his lips as she reached for his kisses more urgently.

"Show you? What's not already showing?" He laughed softly scooping up each of the kisses and following with more. His face wasn't hurting as much, sooner than he'd expected and he wondered if the seam had cracked. He dabbed at the swelling that was nearly gone, the cut no longer bleeding. "How'd you... I didn't show you that."

"Didn't show me what?" She questioned softly, very interested in more of his kisses and hoping for him to show her a great many things before they moved.

[Lovely]

He looked at his hand again a moment before sliding it behind her, draping himself over her shoulders. "You'd make a great nurse," he grinned, rubbing closer. She should see the difference if he felt it - the cut and bruise nearly gone already. He healed fast, but not like that.

She chuckled softly, kissing his cheek and lapping over the cut one more time. "You know.. I think I have an outfit upstairs.. left over from one of my shows.." She teased with a smile he would feel as she nibbled down his neck.

"Don't need it... don't want it," he rasped, letting her explore as far as she could reach. He started to follow, craning and curling to kiss back and explore more now that it didn't seem to entail self defense, his fingers filtering down from her shoulders along her sides. "What were you saying about lunch, huh?"

Her tongue flicked behind his ear, finding a small claw mark from their earlier struggles. A healing lap of her exploring tongue and the mark would be gone in a moment. "I'm hungry for lunch now.." She whispered, reaching all she could with her tender kisses, sighing under the touch of his hands as they moved down her sides.

"How hungry are you?" He teased and hinted, helping her steady against him and encourage a little space to whet her appetite more as rubbed against her.

"As hungry as you want to make me.." She let a tiny sound part her lips as he rubbed and her eyes shuttered a moment.

"Things are different now, Nicky. You're not Daddy's prisoner. You can have... take ... whatever you want," he whispered, hoping to make her a little hungrier still, sliding against her, warming her more..

She nodded, her fingers curling and flexing behind her as he teased her a bit more. "You.. Biff.. want you.. wanted you then but there was too much going on.. in the way.. too many things to know and be able to.. " She shifted, enjoying the feel of his warmth and how warm she was getting.

"Nothing's there now, not in the way. Not Daddy, not Marc.. not anything, right?" He moved down enough, jabbing upward slightly. "Sure you don't want me to untie you?"

"Nothing in the way now.." She murmured in return, lifting one leg up to curl around his hip as she felt the way he moved. "I'll leave it up to you.. when you want to untie the rest." She whispered, licking his neck again and then moving to bring a kiss to his mouth.

"Only fair," he said, knowing the treats he'd been told he couldn't really have yet, though he'd done his share of teasing. He reached behind her again, taking his chances, nearly breaking the ropes himself as he loosened them for her to slip herself free. "Fair for you to fight for what you want, huh? Come get me," he said, part challenge, part plea, the faint whine of desire sighing out in his laugh as he waited for her to shift and stretch.

Her growl came faintly like a purr that ran through her as he loosened the ropes and freed her. She nodded to his words, shifting and shaking her hands to pull them from the tangle of rope and knots. finally free, her hand slid up his arm and over his shoulder to rest at the back of his head, down low where his neck met it. She tugged him to a passionate kiss as her desire seemed to unleash along with her arms. Her other arm tangled around him, bringing her even closer to him as her muscles sang with the movements.

[Lovely]

"You're still healing," he tried to remind her, silenced by the pleasurable onslaught. He apparently didn't need to worry much about her aches.. except one. Her fever was still just as real and now it was hungry, but she'd given him all his answers and a few he hadn't counted on. He spun and whirled, fighting, leading, landing wherever they would. "Looks like you got me."

The passion that flowed from her was more intense than anything she'd known before, it wasn't as if she was a stranger to lusty feelings, but she never experienced such want for anyone before. "Good.." Was all she could manage to whisper out as her mouth hungrily took his, they spun and tumbled where they would, she didn't care if it was there on the floor or if they made it up to find softer cushions to land on -she just wanted to feel more of him.

He chuckled, also not caring where they landed. He wouldn't feel it or care now that he was focused on her. He only knew that tumbling as they had, he ended up looking somewhat up, down on a shoulder against what appeared to be a chair or what was left of it, broken in the events of the night before. Padding enough around splinters and bent metal, he ignored, pulling her down to him.

She chased after the kisses that parted from her lips as he went down before her, following already when he pulled. She met him again, her warmth sliding along his as she tangled around him again, hungry for each taste of him he would give her.

As naturally as she'd healed over his sores already, they fit along each other naturally, intuitively, seeking curve and resistance, strength and softness. Before he'd even relized, tangling and teasing, they 'fell' together in just the perfect way, gently, just as naturally. Everything in the world stopped for that moment and he was sure even his heart might have as he searched her eyes.

Her eyes flutered as she felt him slide into place and how they fit so.. "Perfect.." She breathed out, opening her eyes to find his gaze fixed and searching. Her lips curled softly and she reached to kiss him tenderly, wondering if her heart was even beating -it felt like the universe froze for this minute. "love.." She whispered brushing her lips to his. "like we were made for each other.."

What followed were scents and sounds and feelings that he had no words for either, just soft and quiet, unchallenging movement, moments and expressions, tinted by copper and gold embers that watched her as he tumbled her gently now. He chased and led as he had the kisses, finding themselves eventually at the stairs where he'd come in.

How they ended up back up stairs in the hall, she couldn't remember, all she knew was the feel of his soft touch and his kiss. Everything else faded to trivial facts that didn't matter now, who and what she'd been before -it was nothing.. She was new, strong, pasionate.. she was in his arms and there was nothing else she needed. In the foyer she kissed him for what felt like hours, still blissfully entwined until she nudged and tugged to lead him to the silk and softness of her sheets and cushions in her bedroom.

He tugged back, snickering, reclining on the stairs and liking the feeling of being so open and alive, looking up into smokey layers of her own feral gaze. "What's wrong with right here? I thought you were hungry," he teased.

"Starving.. may have to have you all day.. " She came back down over him -just as happy to stay right there with him. Her knee braced against the step and her other leg stretched along his to find the floor and a solid balance.

[Lovely]

"You need real food, Nicky. The kitchen is that way. We both need food, and you're going to learn a few more things that you may not like for a while, but you'll get used to. There's more to this than... well, this," he laughed as she worked her way around to keep him enveloped in every inch of her embrace, earning her a few more playful and warm kisses.

"Spoil sport." She pouted and slowly, very slowly untangled from him, leaving lingering nibbles behind to make him feel her absence as she straightened and stood. "Like what.. what is it I'm not going to like.. and how soon will it happen?"

"Already happened and things you probably used to enjoy might not settle well for you now, at least not to settle hunger. Like forget being a vegetarian. Grass is for hiding in, not eating. You're a carnivore and your favorite cut is fresh off the bone. Any bone. Keep that in mind and don't let yourself get too hungry around your pack."

She seemed a little aggrivated that he'd interupted their play for this and her arms folded around her middle as she regarded him for a moment. "So I'm gonna.. like I saw them when I was being held.. any bone meaning people too.. that's not a choice?" She looked down at the carpet, feeling somewhat ill at the thought -trying to imagine herself ripping into someone like she'd witnessed. "What pack?"

"My pack. You and me, well Marcus, but what does he care? He doesn't have Daddy to show off for anymore, oh woe is him," he laughed, but stopped, seeing her withdraw a little. "It's not really a choice, but there are options. I'm just warning you... don't get too hungry. I'm also not sure what smelling blood... food... um... look, let's start small, okay?" The mood and charm were already broken and he moved to help her stand up to move to the kitchen to rest a little.

She just looked at him a moment, her eyes now held many questions as a load of disturbing thoughts were coming to mind. "Marcus..? Wasn't I.. supposed to be.. for the two of you.. something to share and entertain you?" She asked him, recalling a few things 'daddy' had said to her, to them, to the others while she'd been held. "Where is he?..."

"Home, the street, under a bus... who cares? He's not here and he's not going to be. Just like he doesn't have Daddy to impress, Daddy's not there to yank that chain around his thick neck. If he wanted this, he'd have wanted it bad enough to do something and he never did. He's not going to now that I've finished it."

"How do you know that he wont.. especially if you don't even know where he is?" She had to ask, she couldn't help but wonder -the man in charge (who had been killed) had scared her enough to keep certain things in her head. One of them being his promises of making her a special toy for his two boys.

"I know Marc and if he's not breathing down my neck, he's busy and will be for who knows how long, but... busy. Only room for one long-legged wolf to breathe down my neck and that's you. He'll know that if he comes anywhere close. Mine... if that's okay with you."

"So.. he's alright though.. I mean.. he was hurt very badly last I saw.. I thought he was.. well nevermind.. " She sighed softly, uncurling her arm from her middle and reaching for his hand. "Yes.. it's okay with me.. to be yours."

He laughed again. "Marc's fine. You'd have to cut his head off to get anywhere, but he's so stubborn, I'm not even sure that would cause lasting damage. Of course, I didn't see it, so, maybe... but I'm sure he's fine. And yeah... you're really very mine."

[Lovely]

"You're sure he's fine.. have you actually seen him?" She was hesitant, as if worried he might charge in and snatch her away. Marc had been more dark and seemed the one to follow obediantly along with their father's orders, perhaps he planned to complete whatever had been started. Her fingers slid along Biff's skin as she stepped closer and embraced him. "Really.. very.." She smiled faintly, hoping he would know that the 'him' part of all this was what she liked most.. the rest was what she found troublesome.

"Okay, sit down and try to relax a little... okay? If big ugly guy with the sword wanted him or me dead, neither of us would be here. Welcome to your first step into 'more than you ever wanted to know'... you want eggs or something with that?"

"Sit down.. stand up.. stay on the stairs.. go in the kitchen.. make up your mind -will ya?" She sighed, curling her head down to his shoulder and lacing her hands behind his back. "No eggs thank you.. but this works."

"Okay. Sorry. Get used to dealing with dumb humans that become dumb dogs, I forget how to treat a b... um... lady, I meant lady," he chuckled. "Hooo boy... if you want to just... um... anything you want. It's a term of endearment in a pack, by the way. You're like the queen."

She laughed and didn't get mad at him for what he said or almost did. "You're not dumb.. I am. I'm the one with all the questions, who doesn't know anything.. So I guess you're going to have to teach me." She lifted her head from his shoulder and leaned to kiss his cheek.

"I'll teach you anything. The first is not to let me get away with too much," he winked. "Okay, so start asking. It's not like there will be a test, until you're in the middle of something you don't know... scared, pissed off or ready to take the sword out of some jackass's hand and gut him with it."

"I didn't think I was letting you get away at all.." She grinned a little and started to walk him towards the kitchen. "You mentioned food and needing to eat.. so I guess you need to teach me about that first.. so we can go on to other things. You said not to let myself get too hungry.. and so show me what I can eat that will help keep me from biting legs off and all."

"You can still eat anything really, just... well you have to have certain things first. Like I said... options... rare steak... like really rare is good, but not so good out on the street. What you can't carry you have to find and take down or have someone take down for you. It's not easy to get used to. One of our boys...," he shook his head a little. "Strong as an ox, but if it doesn't have grill marks on it, he still looses it anyway. So we hotwire a truck for him, get the engine hot... you get the idea. Options... not all of them are that glamorous."

"Alright.. see, this is the stuff I have to know, learn.. things you do everyday that are just part of life are things I don't know about." She continued to guide him to the other room, getting closer to the door. "And you had me quit my job.. so what do I do.. if not that?"

"You hunt," he shrugged as if it were so simple. "You come with us and learn the daily life of what it's like not to be simply human. Ancient indians... they worshipped us, some still do for what we are. We're like gods. We don't need the daily grind. We live off the land. Like camping all the time. What you want you take... money or anything else."

[Lovely]

"Hunt? Thats all you do?.. well it can't be all you do.. but you make it sound all so simple and this is how it is.. no grind and.. that's a big change. I'm not sure.. was it hard for you to adjust to those sort of changes?"

"Not really. Not once you learn to feel what your instincts tell you, and know that you have the freedom to follow them. You can't be in the middle of an executive shindig, all ties and bullshit and get an urge to go running and shift there in front of them all. Not good for their business or ours."

"I can understand that.. it didn't take you a long time to go from this way to.. how you are now?" She was curious and wondering about herself -how long would it take her to learn and be 'normal' as what she was now. "And where do you live?"

"In a house," he chuckled, not meaning to make fun of her, though it probably came out that way. "We're still people with ... creature comforts, wanting warm baths and warm milk and playing with the kids after supper. We've just got a different way of going about it is all. It doesn't really take long, unless you fight it."

She pouted a little as he laughed at her and she chewed her lip as she mulled it over. "Well I didn't know if you.. nevermind.. How do you manage to have a house if you don't work?" She wondered out loud, moving into the kitchen and to sit down in one of the chairs at the table.

"Okay, to be fair, a lot of our boys don't live anywhere. They stay on stairs or behind dumpsters, shack up with the flavor of the week or god help them, spending some time in the county for being stupid, though I haven't seen the one that does that the most lately. Doesn't mean they're any less family. It means we're all looking out for each other and keeping the kings and princes the best out of the bunch... though we're down one less king."

"Boys.. princes, kings.. shacking up with the flavor of the week.. You talk as if there are no females.. don't you have those in your packs?" She looked at him, confused and concerned -if there weren't other girls.. how would they react to her being around.. being one of them as he seemed to feel she was.

"That's the thing. There aren't enough left." His expression hardened and his gaze turned cold. It touched a nerve to think about their kin and what had happened to some of the families. As much as he and Marcus fought, he couldn't help the sorrow he felt for his brother and the losses. He squared his shoulders after a moment and fought the anger inside, nodding. "Now we have one more."

It was like a wave of his emotions washed over her as she took a deep breath once he'd given his answer, she gasped softly and looked up at him from where she sat. "Not enough left.." She echoed softly, feeling the weight of the meaning in those words even though she didn't know the circumstances that had caused it. Nicky pushed herself up, not sure if it would be welcomed but feeling the need to offer Biff comfort and her strength in some manner. her fingers brushed his arm as she slowly brought herself close to him, gently nuzzling at his cheek. "Now -you- have me and your pack has one more.. Others could be.. like how you changed me?"

He welcomed the warmth of her cheek against his, rubbing back, tempted to turn and curl around that warmth. "I have you," he echoed. "And if the pack touches you they can f*ck themselves. They can find others if they want to, although most haven't."

"Maybe they will now that you have.. you know following your example? I got the impression you and Marcus were.. I'm not sure the right term but at the top.." She shrugged a little, uncertain but hoping he would understand what she was trying to say, Nicky had no intention of letting herself be shared among his pack but wanted to be a part of it for him... with him. Her fingers ran more firmly over his arms, tracing over the muscle and smooth skin in what she hoped was a comforting and reassuring caress.

He chuckled a little and reached around her to hold her close. "We are at the top, aren't we? That means you're on top, too," he teased, meaning something else than she'd intended. "If we tell them to jump, they usually will. The risk has been too high until now, though, so maybe you're right. None will be as hot as you, though."

She smiled and rested her cheek lightly against his, she was happy like this with him, some distant voice that she barely heard questioned how she could be happy after all that had happened and been done to her.. some of it by him. She ignored the voice because what she felt was far stronger than anything she'd ever known and though he'd played a part in what happened, he'd also protected her. "Mmm.. they better not be," She tilted her head to steal a nipping kiss from him, her brown eyes warm with affection for him, she remembered wanting to protect him and telling him to go so that he wouldn't be killed by the one who'd come to rescue her. Had she known then that somewhere inside her she felt this way toward him?