Previous notes & disclaimers still apply.

PART 5

Ivy

After spending a solid twenty-four hours in bed making love, trading kisses and touches and whispered words of affection, I sighed as I glanced at my alarm clock and noticed that I would have to be getting up soon. I wanted nothing more than to repeat yesterday's activities, but I had a run to make and no matter how much I wanted to stay in bed, I knew I couldn't. The only consolation to the idea of forcing myself out of bed was the knowledge that I knew Rachel would be waiting for me when I came home.

Rachel was draped across me with her head resting snugly beneath my chin and one leg thrown across my hips, and I smiled as I ran a gentle hand up and down her spine to try and wake her. She smiled against my throat and purred as she burrowed closer into me, but didn't wake, and I sighed as I pulled my head back enough to be able to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "Rache, dear heart, I have to get up."

"Hmm?" She mumbled, squeezing her hand that was wrapped around my right breast.

I groaned as a shot of desire ricocheted through me, and it was all I could do to not give in and ditch the run. The werewolf who had hired me to look into the whereabouts of his pack's missing money would understand, right?

Unfortunately not, Ivy-girl, the voice of reason inside my head answered sadly.

I sighed and closed my eyes as I pressed another kiss to my love's forehead. "Rache," I said a bit more loudly as I have her waist a light squeeze. More soft mumbling was her only response, but I could tell that she was waking up so I went back to rubbing her back and kissing her forehead to try and hurry her along.

She smiled as she pulled back to look up at me. "Morning, Ivy."

"Morning," I husked, my voice otherwise gone as I drank in the sight of Rachel hovering above me. She was an absolute vision with her pert lips puffy from sleep, and her hair tousled into a style that quite clearly said that she'd spent the better part of a day being thoroughly debauched.

"Hi," I whispered, lifting my head so I could kiss her perfect lips. I felt her smile against my mouth as she leaned into me, her arms slipping under my shoulders as she resettled herself on top of me.

"Hi," she said, chuckling softly as she wedged her left leg between mine and flexed her thigh against me.

My eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of her pressed against me and I groaned loudly at the way she wantonly rocked herself down onto my thigh. God, she was already wet. So wet.

And I was late. Damn it. "Ugh," I whimpered pathetically as I pulled back from her kiss.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gazing at me curiously as she smoothed her fingers through my hair.

The feeling of her long fingers tugging against my hair sent small bolts of electricity coursing through me and I groaned again as I captured her lips in a quick, chaste kiss. "I have a run. I gotta go," I mumbled into her lips, my body putting up a valiant effort against my mind to decide what activity would take place at this god-forsaken time of day.

She actually giggled as she leaned in and kissed me again. "So why are you causing trouble then?"

"Can't help it." I smiled and kissed her again.

"S'okay, Iv," she whispered. "Go on your run. I'll be here when you get home."

The sincerity in her words made my heart clench and I smiled as I reached up to run a gentle hand over her jaw. "Promise?"

She smiled and nodded. "Always, my love. I swear. Are you going to be late?"

I licked my lips and shook my head. "I shouldn't be. It looks like it'll be a pretty routine recovery," I told her. "I'm pretty sure the pack's missing money was embezzled by their unsuspecting human accountant, although I have yet to figure out why they used a human accountant, but whatever. A little flash of fang and he should confess in no time. I should be home for a late lunch…say seven or so?"

"Sounds good." She nodded and ran a gentle finger over my lips. "I'll even cook something."

A quiet night in sounded amazing and I smiled as I lifted my head to kiss her again softly. "I love you Rachel."

"Love you too." She smiled and rolled off of me so that I was free to move. "Now, go finish your run so I can ravish you when you get home."

I sighed dramatically and rolled out of bed. "Yes, ma'am," I muttered. I glanced back over my shoulder at her and couldn't help but groan at the sight of her stretched out across my bed on her side, her head resting on her hand as she stared back at me. It was hard to leave her there like that, naked and perfect and oh so ready to be ravished, but I somehow found the strength to force myself across the room to the shower.

+++/+++\+++

It was a little before seven when I made my way into the church. I had been right and the pack's accountant was the one responsible for their missing millions, and I had been equally right in guessing that he hadn't the faintest clue of whom he'd been dealing with. One would have thought that, this many years after the Turn, that humans would be better at discerning a physical threat, but this guy sure hadn't been. Anyways, when I brought the man crying and sniveling in front of the pack, they'd been so pleased with my work that they gave me a fat little bonus for being so quick about it all, and I felt lighter knowing that that extra bit of cash should hold us over for a few months until Rachel hopefully gets that damned shunning reversed.

My boots landed quietly on the mat under the coat rack and I tossed my keys into the glass bowl on the console table against the wall as I passed. I smiled at the familiar sound of Rachel in the kitchen and though I was always happy to come home, tonight the experience was even better because I knew that she was waiting for me. Whether or not I'd get that promised ravishing didn't matter, I was just happy to know that she was here and she was mine.

I shook my head at the sound of Jenks questioning Rachel about me and I stopped in the doorway to the kitchen to see what was going on. He was sitting imperiously on the end of a wooden spoon that was draped across the rim of a glass mixing bowl that looked like it was full of brownie batter, and Rachel was standing in front of him, her hands pressed into the countertop as she stared him down.

"Do you really think that's a good idea to ask Ivy that, Rache," Jenks asked in that concerned fatherly tone of voice that he did so well.

She sighed audibly and shrugged. "Who knows, but I have to try."

My heart jumped into my throat as I realized that I obviously missed something important. She sounded so serious. I was pretty sure about her… us… what had happened, finally, but hearing that tone in her voice stopped me cold. What is wrong? What did I do wrong?

"Well, she's in the hall behind you," Jenks said, not bothering to whisper. Which, really, didn't matter, because I would have heard him either way. "Good luck Rache, let me know how it goes."

My presence already announced, I gamely padded the rest of the way into the kitchen. I glanced around the room as I entered, noticing that there was a salad already prepared and waiting on the kitchen table, and I could smell a pizza cooking in the oven.

"What's up," I asked cautiously, my face automatically slipping into what Rachel called my vamp-mask as I crossed the room to pour myself a cup too.

"You heard us," she said quietly when I stopped on the opposite side of the counter from her.

"Only the last bit," I told her. "What's going on?" Though I was again trembling inside, I managed to not show her that I was deathly afraid of what she was going to say.

"I…. well…." She stuttered, rubbing a hand over her face. She shook her head and took a deep breath as she looked me. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday," she waved her hand in the air to emphasize the whole impreciseness of the timing.

"Okay. Did I do-" I couldn't help asking, but my fear must have been obvious in my tone because she cut me off with a small gasp and a gentle hand on my forearm.

"No! Dear Goddess no, Ivy! It's nothing like that. I just wanted to ask you something."

Though I'm sure she'd meant for her words to be reassuring, my stomach still twisted with the fear that my brief, shining moment of happiness was over. I reached across the island to steal her coffee cup and take a sip, and arched a brow at her to show that I was listening.

Her lips pursed thoughtfully as she worked them from side to side, making her look like an adorable ginger bunny rabbit, and I took some small measure of relief from the fact that she was still there and that she didn't smell guilty. She smelled unsure, like she didn't know how I was going to respond, but not like she was going to leave. "I was just… I mean, I wanted to ask…." She stomped her foot and shook her head. "Why is this so hard?"

"I don't know, dear heart," I murmured. "Just say it, Rache. Whatever it is, just say it."

My quiet encouragement must have been what she needed because she took a deep breath and asked, "I was wondering why you didn't bite me last night?"

I licked my lips and studied her carefully as I set my pilfered mug down onto the counter and slowly made my way around the island so that I could reach her. I smiled gently at her as I cradled her jaw in the palm of my right hand and I shook my head as I leaned in and kissed her softly. When I pulled back I could see that her eyes were closed and I nuzzled her cheek with my nose as I hummed her name imploringly. Green eyes fluttered hesitantly open and I smiled as she finally looked at me. "I didn't ask because I thought you didn't want it, and because…" I paused for moment, trying to organize my reasons for why I didn't particularly want to do it. "Well, because I love you, and I just wanted to show you how much I love you and still be me."

She looked a little confused. "But you are you Ivy."

I smoothed my thumb ever so gently across her cheekbone and shook my head. "What I meant, was that I wanted to make love to you as just me, no vamp tricks, no pheromones messing with your mind. Just me. I needed to know that I was who you were responding to, and not the fuzzy-feel-good vamp shit."

She nodded slowly. "Okay, I get that. But why…."

I cut her off before she could finish the thought because I had a pretty good idea of where this was going. "Rachel, dear heart, time and again you've made your feelings clear on the whole blood thing. So I didn't ask because I didn't want to mess up what I thought was a particularly splendid day. I'm just happy you've given me your heart. I have people I can call to help me manage that other stuff."

"I don't want you calling other people, Ivy," she said softly.

I licked my lips as I leaned in to brush a light kiss across her lips as I began to understand exactly what it was that she and Jenks had been talking about. "What do you want, dear heart?"

"I don't want you calling anybody beside me to help you take care of any of your needs. I want to be the one you come to for blood, Ivy. I've always wanted that. Ever since that first time in Mackinaw and our auras merged so that I was able to feel your love for me and I was able to cover you in my love for you, I've wanted it. Sharing blood with you is beautiful, Ivy. And the second time we tried was just…"

Orgasmic, I thought. "But after that second time you swore that it'd never happen again," I reminded her.

She nodded. "I was wrong, Ivy. I was scared that just a bite could make me feel so much. I was still running from myself and so I lashed out at you."

"I thought it was because you were afraid of being bound to me."

She shook her head slowly and then rolled her eyes as she nodded. "I was afraid of being bound," she admitted sheepishly. "But after last night, with you, I'm not afraid anymore."

"So you want me to bite you now because you know I'm good in bed?" I asked, not wanting to push her, but needing to know what, exactly, she was thinking.

She looked up at me with a shocked, hurt expression on her face. "No! Geez, Ivy! Give me a little credit here! I have always wanted you to bite me! Every time I was saying no, my body was telling my brain to just shut up and say yes! I've always wanted it." She shook her head. "And then, when we made love…" She took a deep breath, still staring intently into my eyes. "When we made love I realized that it didn't matter if you bound me to you by blood because I'd already bound myself to you with love. I could never leave you, I love you too much. And just because you bound my scars doesn't mean that I'll be a shadow," she said, using my old argument to her to back up her point. "It's just a way to belong to you and only you."

The cow timer on the counter behind me mooed and we both jumped.

"Timer," I said softly, my voice a little shaky.

"Pizza's done," Rachel answered, quickly standing to go and pull the pie from the oven.

I watched her reflection in the window as she lifted the pizza from the oven and shimmied the pie off the sheet onto a cutting board. She let out a quiet huff of annoyance as she looked around the countertop for the pizza cutter, and I couldn't help but smile at the way she ran a frustrated hand through her wild hair as she turned her attention to the drawers around the sink.

I quietly retrieved the pizza cutter from the drawer on the end of the island where it belonged and sidled in behind her, my left hand resting lightly on her hip while I held the tool in front of her with my right.

"Here it is," I breathed onto her neck, onto the scars that my teeth had left on her beautiful skin. They used to taunt me, like pale specters of a future I would never have, but now they looked welcoming. Warm. Inviting.

It was a good thing I had one hand already on her hip, because her knees buckled as my breath danced across her scars and I had to catch her. I set the pizza cutter on the counter and wrapped my other arm around her, spun her around to face me and easily lifted her to sit on the counter, settling my body between her knees as I held her tightly. "Are you okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah," she answered, her voice breathy.

I lifted my left hand from her waist to run my thumb over her exquisite neck. "Are you sure you want this? Because I'm happy with what we've got, Rachel. I am more than happy to just have you to love. I want to share blood with you, please don't mistake what I'm saying here, but I don't know if I'll be able to handle you changing your mind again. I'm just not that strong, dear heart."

"I'm not going to change my mind." She leaned in to kiss me softly before she rested her forehead against mine. "I want all of you, Ivy. I love all of you."

I smiled at her words. "I love you Rachel," I murmured, pulling her to me to kiss hungrily.

The pizza smelled good, but damned if she didn't smell better. And, knowing that I could really have all of her was the most potent aphrodisiac I have ever experienced. My hands roamed her back, rubbing and kneading, and hers were busy making similar motions on mine. I pulled her closer so that those most intimate parts of her were pressed tightly against my hips, and she moaned in pleasure at the contact.

"Pizza?" I gasped between kisses.

She shook her head no. "It'll nuke up fine," she answered, her voice rough with desire. "Take me to bed, Ivy. Please, just take me to bed."

I moaned as I quickly reclaimed her mouth with my own and I wasted no time lifting her off the counter, easily supporting her weight with my arms as she wrapped her legs around my waist. I started down the hall to my bedroom, each step causing her to rock against me and drawing quiet purrs of contentment from her throat, and once I was inside I hooked the door closed with my heel behind us in case there was a peeping pixie in the building. He could hover out there and listen all he wanted, but he wasn't getting a show.

I gently laid Rachel down on the bed and settled myself on top of her, our lips never breaking contact as we moved fluidly together in a dance that was as old as time. Now that my hands were free, I put them to good use getting rid of her clothes and she was doing an equally quick job with mine.

That first press of skin on skin drew a quiet sigh from my lips and I smiled as I ran my left hand up her body to cover her breast. She moaned as I began flicking my thumb back and forth over the nub and then it was my turn to moan when she shifted beneath me so that her very wet center was pressed against my thigh. I teased her nipple with my fingers as I took full possession of our kiss, thrusting my tongue into her mouth and forcing her to try and keep up with me, and I smiled as she started rocking slowly against my leg. "You're sure?" I asked softly.

"Oh god Ivy, please," she moaned, turning her head to the side to reveal her neck to me.

I sucked a deep breath in through my teeth as I stared at her before I lowered my mouth to her neck. I brushed the softest of kisses over her scars, purposefully keeping my pheromones in check as I did so. This would be the night that truly changed everything between us forever, and I didn't want to sway her into giving me what I so dearly wanted. "Can I?" I asked softly. "Can I have this? Do you give this to me?"

She writhed under me as my breath danced across her skin. "Yes Ivy. Please. Make me yours and only yours."

My eyes fluttered closed at her wanton need and I licked my lips as I pressed a very chaste kiss to my scars that she wore. "Thank you," I whispered, finally releasing the pheromones I'd been holding back as I began to lick and kiss at her neck. I wanted to work her up slowly and show her how truly beautiful sharing blood like this could be. This wasn't like that time in the van or our one aura-clanging affair in the kitchen; this was so much more real and I wanted to make it special. Like our first time should have been.

The more I tongued and teased her neck the faster her hips rocked against me and I found myself meeting her thrust for thrust as I sucked and lightly nipped at her neck, bringing more blood to the surface but never breaking her skin. The intoxicating scent of redwood and amber surrounded me and I groaned as I buried my face in the crook of her neck in a desperate bid to try and control my own hunger that was demanding I sink my teeth into her beautiful skin and drink.

"Ivy, please!" Rachel whimpered, snapping me from my haze. "I need you."

"I need you," I murmured, closing my eyes as I allowed my instincts to guide my mouth higher until my lips were hovering above my scars that marred her skin.

Her hands tightened on my hips as I took a moment to steady myself, and I sighed as I leaned in to nuzzle her throat one last time. Her scent was so strong and her fingers dug almost painfully into my hips, and I just couldn't fight it any longer. I needed her. In the worst and best ways possible, I needed her.

"Thank you," I whispered reverently, my lips brushing across her skin and causing a ripple of pleasure to roll through her as I finally did as we both wanted and bit down, my razor-sharp canines tearing easily through the tender flesh of her throat.

Hot blood, rich and thick and spicy poured into my mouth and I sucked reflexively, drawing more of her into me. I had taken blood from an untold number of humans and Inderlanders alike, and hers was the most potent, most delicious, most intoxicating blood I had ever tasted. It sang to me. Danced across my tongue and enveloped my every sense in her essence.

She cried out as I began to suck lightly against her, wanting to extend our moment for as long as I possibly could, and I groaned as I pushed my leg tighter into her as I pulled against her again, reveling in the feeling of her blood filling my mouth as our bodies rocked together.

The familiar sensation of our auras merging tickled my brain and I consciously pushed every feeling of love and adoration that I felt for her through that tenuous bond into her, and I felt her complete and unabashed love for me flowing back. It was beautiful. So incredibly perfect. I played slowly at her neck, not needing blood but wanting to prolong the joining of our metaphysical selves as our bodies raced toward the euphoric precipice together.

I love you, I thought desperately to her through the bond as I felt the familiar heat of my orgasm begin to build low in my hips and spread down into my legs. I was pushed that much closer as she screamed, "Oh yes. Ivy… I love you. I love you, I love…" Her voice trailed off into a silent scream as our auras chimed and she was rocked into orgasm, her release flowing through me and bringing me to orgasm along with her.

Once I regained control of my body enough to move, I gently, ever so gently, slid my teeth out of her neck and slowly lapped at the handful of drops that leaked from the wounds until they stopped. I pulled back and kissed her lips softly. "I love you Rachel."

She purred happily as she blessed me with a gorgeous, beaming smile. "I love you. That was amazing, Ivy."

I laughed and dropped my head to her shoulder. "That's what I've been telling you."

"Well, you were right. I had no idea what I was missing," she replied softly.

I smiled as I pulled back to look at her, and the unfettered love I saw shining back up at me made my heart skip a beat. Somehow, after all the wrong I'd done and all the pain I'd suffered, I'd finally managed to find somebody who truly did love me. All of me. With no strings attached. I hummed softly as I leaned in and kissed her tenderly. "I'm going to go get you some food, I didn't take much, but you will need to eat something," I murmured, staring into her bright green eyes as my fingertips reverently stroked her cheek.

"Pizza?" she asked hopefully.

I smiled. "Perhaps after you finish your cookie. I'll be right back, dear heart."

+++/+++\+++

Later that night, after Rachel had eaten her cookie and we'd shared the pizza and salad that she'd made for us, we ended up once again in my room. We were back in bed, Rachel cuddling on top of me, her head resting just above my breast, when I decided to broach the topic of what had happened.

"Do you regret it?" I asked softly, my fingers playing with her tangled curls.

She snuggled closer to me and pulled the sheet up over us both. "Regret what, Ivy?"

"Letting me bite you? Bind you?"

She smiled as she buried her face in the hollow of my neck, her lips pressing a soft kiss in that oh so sensitive spot. "No, I don't regret anything, Ivy. I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, Rachel," I murmured, dropping a gentle kiss to the crown of her head as my arms tightened possessively around her waist. Now that I had her, there was no way I was ever going to let go. "I've always loved you."

She looked up at me and smiled seductively. "Are you ready to love me again?"

I jumped when her hand cupped my breast, the feeling of her thumb dragging heavily over my nipple causing my breath to catch in my throat. I nodded as I turned my head to kiss her softly. "Do you really think you're ready to try again?"

She pushed herself up and smiled down at me, her tongue slipping through her lips as she grinned. "I have a feeling I'm always going to be ready for you, Ivy," she husked, trailing a hand slowly down my stomach. "And I can tell that you're ready for me."

"Yes," I purred, putting that grey silk into my voice that I knew drove her crazy. "Kiss me."

She moaned and lowered her lips to mine, her fingers easing into a now familiar tempo as she pressed tight circles against me.

The End