Danse Russe

Chapter 13

Come on over

Marlene inwardly groaned at her own actions as she found herself bundled up in not only her hat, scarf, and coat, but in Sirius coat as well, not to mention being tucked away under his arm, as they made their way down a small city street toward the 'Chinese place 'round the corner' from Sirius' flat. She fervently cursed herself for falling back into her old bad habit so easily as Sirius tightened his grip around her shoulders, steering her around an icy patch of ground and she accidentally inhaled just a bit too much of his scent, her cheek brushing against the soft fabric of his jumper.

"Damn, McKinnon, you're still shivering. It's not even snowing, anymore," chuckled Sirius as he rubbed her arm. Marlene smiled softly, laughing lightly along with him, letting him believe it was the cold and not memories of him that made her tremble.

Shrugging, she said, "Well, I've only been back a few weeks, haven't adjusted to the cold weather yet."

"Good thing you have me to keep you warm, then," replied Sirius jokingly and Marlene forced a smile.

Dear Merlin, she thought, what in the hell was I thinking. She had been over him, or at least that's what she told herself. Sleep came so easily the entire time she was gone, panic didn't overtake her anymore, she didn't wish that he were beside her while she dreamed. She didn't need him, not even a little bit. And now? Now, she felt her entire body craving him, her courage melting away. She felt sheltered, safe with him so close and panicked at the thought of leaving his side, of leaving that safety.

She was dragged from her thoughts as Sirius announced, "Here we are," tugging the door to a quaint little restaurant open and ushering her in.

The place was obviously one of Sirius' haunts as everyone seemed to know him, or maybe it was just hard to forget such a handsome face. As Sirius introduced her to a pretty server, Marlene's mind swirled. Was this some sort of date? No, she assured herself, we are simply old friends, catching up over dinner.

As she moved to shrug out of her layers of outerwear, Sirius' warm breath danced across her cheek. "Let me help," he murmured into her ear. His hands seemed to linger or maybe she was just hyperaware to his touch, his presence. He pressed a kiss behind her ear and Marlene suppressed a shiver. I am not going to fall into this again! She mentally shouted, I am not going to become dependant on him. I'm fine on my own!

The first two months of her time in Greece had not been the easiest time in Marlene's life. In fact, she might even write it down as similar to two months in hell. Nightmares raged in her mind every night, homesickness dwelled in her stomach, and haunting images flashed before her eyes at the most awkward of times. Then, suddenly every thing was fine, she slept, she ate, she started having fun again. She was quite fine on her own. More than fine. And now, Sirius Black's mere presence was threatening to shatter it.

Shrinking away from him slightly, she slipped into her chair. "So, how's Remus? He hasn't owled me recently," she asked, desperately trying to put an end to her weakness.

Sirius appeared unaffected by her reaction and dropped to the seat across from her. "Oh, well enough, I suppose," was his answer. "You know Moony; he grins and bears it."

"Fucking bastards," sighed Marlene.

"Couldn't agree more, McKinnon," said Sirius with a shrug. "But, there's not much anyone can do about it. Believe me, if there was, we'd of done it by now." If Marlene hadn't understood Sirius' relationship with Remus so well, she would have been upset with this response. However, as it was, his distress over the situation was apparent to her with just the soft flicker of emotion that passed through his grey eyes.

Marlene failed to suppress a yawn and Sirius laughed softly. "Are you gunna fall asleep on me?"

"No," she replied with a smile. "It smells too good and I'm too hungry." He grinned at her.

Her sleepy expression aroused memories of her stretched out beside him, her breasts exposed, a series of love bites trailing down her neck and his eyes hungrily traced the skin where his marks once lay. He found no mark of possession, no hint of him on her body. He didn't like that.

"What?" asked Marlene as she chewed on her bottom lip, her hazel eyes staring warily at him.

Sirius shrugged, pulling his gaze to meet hers. "I just didn't realize how much I missed seeing you." Her cheeks flushed crimson and her eyes jetted to her hands, folded neatly atop the green table. She watched in a state of stunned panic as his large hand gently covered her small ones. "I like it when you blush, McKinnon," he murmured and she attempted to tug her hands from him.

"What are we doing?" she asked shakily, glancing up at him as he drew impossibly light figures on the inside of her left wrist. "Because I can't—"

"Can't what? Have dinner with me?" he questioned laughingly. "Come on, McKinnon. We're not doing anything wrong. You need a place to sleep; I have a spare room. You're hungry, and I didn't want to eat alone. It's not a big deal."

Swallowing hard, she bit her lip. "I don't want this to become anything more…" Her voice trailed off, and she paused cursing herself for what she knew she would say. She just could not say no to him, not completely. She wanted him, not all of him just… enough. "Than it was back in school. There's too much going on for anything—"

"Don't worry, McKinnon. I know," he responded, quashing down the hint of anger at her reaction to him. Since when didn't a girl want him? They all wanted him, didn't they?

"It's just, this was starting, so," she rambled out, the words spilling off her tongue frantically, "differently, than last time and…" Taking a deep breath, she met his eyes. "Oh fuck, I'm sorry. You must think I'm completely daft."

"McKinnon," said Sirius softly, "relax, huh? You're going to stress me out."

"Right," sighed Marlene, "right." Gazing up at him with a furrowed brow, she apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm thinking too much."

Sirius laughed, tossing a straw wrapper at her, before dropping the straw into his drink. "Well, stop it." She smiled faintly up at him as he grinned over his drink.

"I missed you, too," she admitted and he slid his fingers further up her wrist, toying gently with the cool silver bangle on her arm.

"I noticed."

--

Marlene McKinnon slept peacefully under the soft, gray sheets of Sirius Black's bed, her dark curls spilling around her pale, freckled face, one hand curled under her cheek, the other laced with Sirius'. He sat beside her, leaning up against the dark oak headboard, watching her sleep as he twirled a curl around his finger.

He didn't get it. She wasn't pretty; she wasn't smart; she wasn't special. She was nothing that he was. He was gorgeous; he was brilliant; he was a Marauder. He shouldn't want her. He shouldn't. But, there was something about her… he wasn't sure what… Maybe that was it, his inability to place what it was that attracted him to her. But, he wanted her. Always. Even if it didn't make sense.

His eyes closed as she turned in her sleep, a hum escaping her parted lips. She nestled her head in his lap and he bit back a groan the sensation it caused, clenching his fingers in her hair. Her breath seeped through the fabric of the sheet, and Sirius paused momentarily, his desire telling him to let her stay there. Trailing his fingers across her cheek, he murmured her name. Her eyes fluttered as she stirred and he whispered, "McKinnon," once more.

"Hmm?" she mumbled burying her face in his lap. Sirius hissed, his eyes widening.

"McKinnon!" he said a bit more forcefully than he intended and she jerked awake staring at him wide-eyed.

"Wha?" she asked, barley lifting her head and glancing up at him, panic clearly written in her eyes as they frantically jetted around the room for some unknown signal.

Cupping her cheek in his hand, he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," he said softly, watching her fear ebb away. Her eyes closed and she leaned into his caress.

"No," she murmured. "Just, your tone. I thought there was an attack or something."

It took a moment for the gears in Sirius' head to click into place and he didn't manage to hide his shock as he stuttered, "You're responding to attacks?"

Sleepily, Marlene nodded, moving to lie back down. Sirius ignored his anger and astonishment at her nod, distracted by her movement. Catching her chin in his hand, he smiled. "Uh, that would be why I was just a bit…unnerved?" Marlene glance downward at her "pillow" and blushed crimson.

"Sorry," she mumbled, shying away from him, her cheeks fiery red.

Sirius laughed cockily. "Oh, no. Don't apologize. I mean, you can stay there if you like…" His voice trailed off as she raised an eyebrow, tilting her head mischievously.

"Oh, I can, can I?" teased Marlene, her fingers tickling his side as she leaned over his chest, placing a chaste kiss on his chin. Her breath washed across his throat as she straddled him, whispering, "Because, I would very much like to stay." The heat of her overwhelmed him as she carefully balanced on her knees above him, tasting him, teasing him, tickling him.

When he felt he could no longer take her teasing, he placed one hand on her hip, curled the fingers of the other in her hair, and he attempted to join them as he so desperately desired. "No," she whispered against his skin, raising up and placing a tantalizing kiss on his lips. "No, let me."

Sirius skin broke out into gooseflesh at her words. She always submitted to him, gave him what he wanted, and she was telling him no. He wasn't sure if he liked it. At his hesitation, she stroked the length of him with the tips of her fingers, the feel of her own hand brushing against her core as she searched for him making her shiver. Sirius was positive it was her shiver, not his own, that won him over. "Please," she begged, her lips brushing against the shell of his ear. "I want to." He nodded, agreeing to anything as the sound of her pleading sent delightful tingles throughout his body.

She placed hot kisses down his body, guiding him from his sitting position until he lay on his back beneath her. Caressing his face, she smiled at him, gazing solemnly into his eyes, the entirety of her world sparkling in their depths. Sirius wished he understood what their sparkling meant, the stories they told. He wished he knew her, more than just her secrets.

Kneeling between his legs, she trailed her fingers up the inside of his thigh, dancing around him before taking him in her small hand. Holding his gaze, she tasted him, gently applying pressure above his pelvic bone with her free hand to stay him. Whispering unheard words, her breath tempting him before she turned to tiny licks and tickles with her lips. Her fingers gently teasing him all the while.

"You're a tease," Sirius rasped out hoarsely, his resolve to submit to her wavering as she continued to slowly torture him to bliss. Marlene laughed softly as he grasped her wrist in his hand and she shook her head, pulling her hand from him before taking him fully into her mouth.

It was a sudden shock for him, he had been too busy trying to convince himself that stopping her was the right decision. There was a reason they hadn't done this before. He had begun to wonder if that was the cause of her slow teasing. Maybe she was afraid of his reaction if she stopped, but too frightened to go through with it. Maybe she needed him to halt her, to give her an escape.

His fingers curled and twisted in her hair as she brought him closer to his climax, his mind and body at odds with each other. He knew couldn't press her into more than she was willing, but he wanted control of it. He wanted to hold her head in his hands and make her do as he pleased. Fear gripped him as he realized he wasn't going to be able to stop himself from hurting her.

He bucked his hips against her, holding her in place and her nails dug into him, the brief pain immediately halting his demanding actions. She continued to pleasure him, sending him little reminders of who had control when his stubborn like for dominance got in the way until he stopped trying to control her.

As he neared climax he uttered her name and she let him take control, spilling his seed into her mouth with exploding force. She swallowed slowly, letting the taste of him linger on her tongue as his fingers uncurled from her hair. She crawled up beside him as he gathered himself. "You taste good," she informed him lightly. "Salty."

Sirius lay there, for a moment, beside her as she nestled her head on his shoulder. "Fuck, McKinnon," he panted, sitting up and tugging her to his chest. "Fuck," he sighed, kissing her lips, her chin, her brows, her throat. "Fuck… You… Fuck…"

Marlene chuckled, burying her hands in his hair. "Yes, you could do that now." He laughed and she added, "please?"

"Oh, don't worry, baby," he murmured, nipping at her earlobe teasingly. "You'll get yours."

--

Endnotes:

1) I rewrote the end of this chapter, as I hadn't noticed what a huge wrench allowing James and Lily in on the relationship was going to throw into my plot in my haste to get this chapter up. I apologize for making you have to reread it, and extremely long wait between updates... not that you actually got a real update. Sorry.

2) Review if you'd like.