"Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 1/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net Sex. And nothing but. :) An erotica epic (in my own mind, if nothing else ) set in the Words universe. Figure it falls somewhere between "At a Loss for Words" and "A Mother's Words". Be forewarned--this has no redeeming social value whatsoever. I just needed to get out of the angst groove for awhile. As far as disclaimers go, not only aren't these characters mine, but what I have planned for them would likely make CC roll his eyes in disgust and dismay. However, as I'm not making any money off the deal I'm hoping he'll leave me alone. Post where you will, but I'd appreciate my name remaining attached to the tale. ********************************************************* ARCHIVISTS: Mulder and Scully try to work some of the kinks out of their relationship. In the bedroom. Make of that summary what you will. ;) MSR, NC-17 (Harder edged than you're used to seeing from me. What the heck. A girl's gotta stretch.) Enjoy. ********************************************************* This is for the Dragon. You know, when you've written as many fine stories as Sheryl, you sometimes get taken for granted. I'd rather that didn't happen. :) Hope this helps get you through all those Wookie- less months, kiddo. * * * * * * * * * "Mulder, I don't think this is such a good idea tonight." "You're kicking me out?" "No. I'm not letting you in. There's a difference." Fox Mulder sighed in frustration, and braced his arm across the doorway to his partner's apartment, effectively blocking her entrance as well. The two agents stood in the softly lighted corridor, hunched and rumpled, both exhausted by that evening's ordeal, glaring at each other. "Scully . . . Look--I know you're pissed. . . ." Dana Scully calmly folded her arms across her chest, and planted her feet wide, her squared physical stance suggesting that she was just dying for someone to take her on. Mulder couldn't decide whether her defiant posture turned him on or scared the hell out of him. Or both. "Pissed? Why would I be pissed?" she drawled, lifting a brow for accent. "Just because you ditched me tonight after specifically *promising* me you would wait for--" "Scully, I told you--everything happened all at once. I had no choice. I had to move--" "Move without me." "Yes!" Shaking her head, she pushed past him and slid her key into the lock. "Go home, Mulder." The tall dark-haired man knew that the woman he loved didn't want to discuss what had happened that evening. Recognized that she had done everything short of drawing him a picture to get that point across. And yet, despite the fact that he got her message loud and clear, Mulder chose to be obtuse. Much as he adored her, at that moment he didn't really care what Scully would prefer. He wasn't going anywhere. They had both suffered a scare that night, had both come face to face with the very real possibility of the other being taken from them. By forcible means. But the fates had been kind, and they had dodged a bullet. This time. Yet that terror, that adrenaline rush stayed with him still. Like a drug that just wouldn't leave his system. Yes, they had triumphed. But their success had never been a sure thing. Even now, hours after they had left the crime scene, he could feel a slight tremor vibrating through him. A surge that wasn't entirely unpleasant, but unnerved him nevertheless. He felt adrift somehow. Lost, even as he stood in familiar surroundings. And Scully was his North Star. His only constant. The best and safest way for him to find his way home. He needed her. Needed her warmth, her understanding, her comfort. Needed to know that she was indeed sound and whole, and not lying in a pool of her own blood on the floor of that bastard's lair. And much as she was trying to hide her own vulnerability, mask her own residual fear with anger, he suspected that the woman beside him could use a bit of that same reassurance herself. "No, Scully. I'm not going home. Not until we talk about this." She paused for an instant and thinned her lips, clearly vexed by his stubbornness. Then, as if coming to a decision, she spoke once more. "Oh, fine. *Now* you want to talk," she muttered darkly as with a twist of her wrist, the door swung open. "Funny--when I asked you earlier this evening what you made of that note Sinclair had delivered to us, you had very little to say." Ignoring the withering stare his partner tossed over her shoulder in his general direction, Mulder followed her into her apartment. "That's because I wasn't sure." Scully wasn't buying it. "Bullshit, Mulder. The minute I wasn't around you went right to him. Right to where he was hiding out." "Scully, it wasn't--" But the petite redhead apparently didn't want to hear his explanations. She slammed shut the apartment door so fiercely that Mulder could see the pictures hanging on her walls jump in reaction. It was all he could do not to follow their example. Shoulders rigid, Scully stalked away from the entryway and him, shedding her briefcase and coat as she moved. "You know, I can take a lot from you, Mulder. But this is unacceptable." "What is?" he asked ingenuously, shrugging off his own trench so that he stood clad simply in his navy suit and tie. Without warning, she spun on her heel to face him. "Lying. Don't lie to me. Don't =ever= lie to me." "I wasn't." Something dangerous crackled in the air around the woman before him. Danced across the trim teal green suit she wore, rippled over the ivory silk blouse beneath it. The force of it so intense, Mulder marveled for a moment that his hair wasn't standing on end as a result. Her eyes narrowed, almost as if the gesture were a reflection of her opinion of him. Smaller and smaller until you disappear altogether, Mulder, old boy. "Weren't you?" she purred after a beat. And Mulder knew the jig was up. She was on to him. Grimacing, he bowed his head. "I thought so," she said tartly, and walked away from him to the kitchen, where she flicked on a light. Sighing, he trailed after her, trying to salvage what he could. "Scully, okay. . . . Yes. I had a pretty good idea where Sinclair was holed up." "But you didn't feel the information was important enough to share with me?" she inquired with finely honed sarcasm as she rifled through her cabinets for a glass, refusing him eye contact. "Or maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe =I= was the one who wasn't important enough to the investigation to be kept in the loop." His lips twisted, a combination of aggravation and guilt tightening his jaw to the point where he wondered if he would be able to get out any words at all. "Oh, come on! You know that's not it--" Scully had just crossed past him on her way to the refrigerator, when she whirled on him once again. "Well then, =tell= me," she urged, her eyes flashing blue sparks. "Explain to me why the HELL you would walk in alone to confront a man who is quite possibly responsible for the deaths of over a dozen people, when your partner had begged you to wait for her!" They stood like sparring partners in the center of her kitchen, muscles clenched, eyes locked, both breathing hard. Then, Scully's face softened just a fraction. "I *begged* you not to do anything stupid, Mulder. And you promised. You promised me you wouldn't." Mulder let out a long slow lung full of air, almost as if he were deflating. His gaze dipped away from hers. "I know. And I'm sorry. But, I couldn't . . . I didn't have any choice." "=Why=?" she asked, gesturing weakly with the forgotten glass in her grasp. Hands on his hips, he fidgeted for a moment. Like a kid called on the carpet who knows damned well he was wrong. At last, he spit out his excuse. "He had your business card, Scully." Her brow crinkled in confusion. "Who did?" "Sinclair." "When? Where did you see it?" "It was folded up in that note he sent to us." She nodded, her eyes looking up at him measuringly. "Okay. So what's the big deal? Why didn't you just show it to me?" He rubbed his hand over his mouth, his jaw. "It had blood on it." She cocked a brow. "Blood? Whose?" He shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know who it belonged to. But the message it conveyed was pretty damn clear." Giving up on the idea of refreshment, Scully set the glass on the counter, then turned once more to face him, her hands braced against the formica surface. Her pose suggested to Mulder that while she still hadn't entirely forgiven him, she was now at least willing to listen. He took a step closer and, resting his shoulder against her fridge, leaned into her. "Scully, you know that Sinclair liked to collect things from his victims. Trophies. Almost like Tooms did. Steal them so that those he had targeted weren't even aware that the items were missing. That they were in danger." She shrugged. "Mulder, he could have picked up my business card anywhere. We've been passing out our cards to everyone we've spoken with. And with as long as this case has dragged on, that's half the population of D.C." "True," Mulder admitted in a low voice. "Getting his hand on the card wouldn't have been all that difficult. But that's not what worried me." "So what did?" He winced. "Scully, the card didn't just have a smear of blood on it." She looked at him, waiting. "It had the word 'goodbye' written in blood on the back of it." She considered that revelation for a moment before nodding. "I see. So you thought that Sinclair had targeted me next." Swallowing hard, he nodded as well. "Yes." She chewed on her lip. "And you couldn't simply *tell* me that, rather than ditching me?" "Scully--" "Why, Mulder? Were you afraid I'd overreact? Afraid I wouldn't be able to handle it?" Needing suddenly to dissolve the remaining distance between them, both emotionally and physically, he reached out and gently cupped her cheek, "No. I was afraid of losing you." She just looked up at him for a breath or two, then whispered, "So you decided it would be easier for me to lose you instead?" His hand dropped away from her face. Sighing, he mumbled, "I didn't intend for either of us to lose." Eyes large and haunted, she stretched out her hands and gripped him just above the elbows. "But don't you see--we almost did. Both of us." "It's not--" "Mulder, when I burst into that room, Sinclair had the drop on you." "What do you want me to say, Scully?" he queried harshly, embarrassment and guilt making it difficult for him to meet her gaze. "That you saved my ass? Okay. You did. You shot him before he could shoot me. Thank you." "No!" she nearly spat, turning her back on him to pace without direction across her tiled kitchen floor. "That is =not= what I want." He followed her restless movement with his eyes, her apparent anger fueling a similar response in him. "Okay. Then tell me. Tell me what you do want." "I want you to talk to me." Oh, that was rich. That really was. The Queen of "I'm Fine" was accusing him of being uncommunicative. How absolutely priceless. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. The only thing was, the sight of Scully in high dudgeon didn't exactly amuse him. Arousal, on the other hand . . . Why, oh why, did a certain tiny redhead with a colossal head of steam make him want to fall to his knees and beg for mercy. In more ways than one. His mind busily conjuring up images to go along with that insight, Mulder felt the corners of his lips lift in a small crooked smile. "You want to tell me what good talking would have done?" Scully appeared taken aback by his question. Her forehead wrinkled in consternation. "What do you mean?" "I mean what do think would have happened if I had told you about the business card?" he asked with deceptive mildness. She pondered that for a moment before giving a small shrug. "I don't know. I suppose I would have insisted on accompanying you to Sinclair's hideout. Convinced you to at least let me provide you with some sort of back-up." He nodded. "In other words, you would have made damn sure you were in on it. In on the arrest." "Yes!" she retorted instantly, her hands rising and falling in exasperation. "Of course, I would have." "And it wouldn't even have occurred to you that I could take care of it? That I could handle it on my own." Her brow rose like an exclamation point. "Mulder, anytime you go off on your own, disaster strikes." "That's not true," he insisted with a noticeable lack of conviction. "Isn't it?" she countered silkily, knowing as well as he did that the evening's events were all the evidence she needed to win the argument at hand. Time to regroup, Mulder. "The point is . . . this isn't about me, Scully," he said a tad impatiently, recognizing that he was about to throw up a kind of smoke screen. And hoping against hope that his ploy would work. "I'm talking about you." "What about me?" Yes, he thought with a triumphant yet silent little cry. Scully was going for the misdirection. Thank God. "I'm talking about this need you have to be in charge," he said, treading cautiously, realizing how easily the woman before him might take his statement as an insult. When, in fact, he meant it as anything but. "The way you always have to be in the thick of things, directing how a situation plays out." Scully nodded absent-mindedly while mulling over his words. "Are you saying that you think I'm some sort of control freak, Mulder?" "No," he said quickly, a tiny smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "No, I'm not." "Then what are you saying?" she asked quietly, her chin tipped upwards in apparent aggression, even as her eyes belied that challenge with their softness. Understanding that despite his care his words had wounded her, Mulder crossed to her, and lightly ran his hands across her shoulders, up and down her arms. "I'm saying that you are brave and loyal, and that if you had thought my life was in danger, nothing short of a good stout length of rope or a blow to the head would have kept you from being there with me." She opened her mouth as if to protest. But, he managed to squelch that urge by drawing her into his arms and pressing his lips to her forehead. "And as much as I needed you there beside me, there was no way in hell I was going to chance your safety tonight. Not with Sinclair. Not after he had practically announced his intentions." Rocking her in his embrace, he sadly shook his head, rubbing his chin over her hair. "I'm sorry, Scully. But the whole thing just reminded me too much of Riggs. You know?" Hearing the name of the man who had nearly succeeded in using their feelings for each other to destroy them both, she sighed, and nuzzled her cheek against his chest. "You don't know what I might have done, Mulder," she chided softly from against his shirt, his confession having seemingly cooled her earlier ire. "You can't be sure." He tightened his arms around her. "Can't I?" "No." He kissed the top of her shiny head. "You mean to tell me that if I had come to you and told you that I wanted to confront Sinclair on my own, you would have given me your blessing?" She pulled back just enough to look at him, her lips twisted in what looked to be half smile, half grimace. "I don't know. I can't say for certain what I would have done." Mulder inclined his head as if to wordlessly say, "I told you so." However, Scully wasn't prepared to let him think her admission in any way got him off the hook. "But, you can't take that choice away from me, Mulder. It isn't fair. To either of us," she told him sternly, even as her hands swept slowly and soothingly over his back. "You have to talk to me. You have to tell me what's going on." "I do--" he argued. She grabbed hold of his suit coat, and gave him a little shake. "You =don't=. At least, not all the time." "I don't, huh?" "Uh-uh." "Okay. And what about you?" What the hell. The same tactic had worked before. Her pert little rosebud of a mouth pursed. "Why does it always come back to me, Mulder?" Because you're all I think about, he wanted to confess. All I care about most days. "Because I'm not the only one at fault here." "Oh. So now =I'm= the one to blame for you walking in alone to confront a serial killer?" Jesus. Why couldn't he stop digging a hole for himself? "All I'm saying is that I might have gone about the whole thing differently if I had believed that you would listen to me and agree to step out of the picture." She looked up at him from the circle of his arms. Then, shaking her head, she took a step back to stare at him, chuckling in disbelief. "What do you want, Mulder?" she asked, her tone incredulous. "Do you want a partner who just follows you blindly? Who goes along with whatever you say whenever you say it? Is that what you want?" Frustrated in more ways than one, he ran his hand impatiently through his hair. "What I want, Scully, is for you to trust me." She sighed in exasperation. "I do!" His riposte flew out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Not enough!" Silence. Scully and he stood separated by a couple of floor tiles. But to Mulder it felt as if the distance might as well be light years. Damn it. This wasn't how he had meant for their discussion to go. He didn't want to fight. Not tonight. Not with her. Not when he so badly longed to soothe his jangled nerves by losing himself in her arms, her bed, her body. Shit. Hands on his hips, he bowed his head to study the gleaming linoleum at his feet, wondering just what the hell he should say or do next. "So, what'll it take?" His gaze shot level once more. And instantly fastened on Scully's. The words should have been his. But she was the one who had spoken. "What?" he asked, brow knitted. She looked at him calmly, her arms folded across her chest, and repeated her query, her voice even and low. "I said, 'what'll it take?'" At first glance, she appeared to be asking him a simple question. An innocent sort of inquiry. Casual in nature. But there was something else in her eyes. Something far, far removed from casual. The dark side of innocence. "I don't know what you mean," he admitted softly, aware that somehow, some way, the dynamic between them had changed. He didn't quite understand how it had happened, but they didn't appear to be fighting anymore. Thankfully. Yet, a tension still remained between them. A current that crackled from Scully to him and back again. Heightening his senses and pinpointing his awareness until everything he knew, everything he was became about this woman. She licked her lips. He felt the sweep of that tongue glide phantom-like across his groin. "You worry that I don't completely trust you, Mulder," she murmured, her gaze intent. "I worry that you don't talk to me enough. Tell me what you're thinking. What you need." "I need you." She knew that, right? Even with all this foolish arguing, she had to know that. Scully smiled. Yeah. She knew. "I need you to be sure about us," she said, her voice maintaining its intimate, husky timbre. "Sure about what we have together. Secure in my feelings for you." "Scully, I didn't mean--" "I know you didn't," she said swiftly, stopping his flow of words before his apology could even fully take shape. "But you wouldn't have said what you did if you didn't have some doubts." Angry at himself for ever having broached the subject in the first place, Mulder cradled her face in his hands. "That's not true. The one thing I have never doubted is you. You've got to believe that." She gently laid her hands atop his. "And you've got to believe that I trust you in all things." Then, she smiled at him, a full blown dazzler. "And I think I know how to prove it to you." All he could do when she looked at him like that was grin back at her like an idiot. He did so gladly. "Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?" Her lashes lowered, shadowing her gaze. "I've been thinking about what you said, Mulder. About control. And how difficult it is for me to be without it." Not quite certain where this was headed, he refrained from commentary, choosing simply to nod his encouragement. "It's something I value, you know?" she said softly, her eyes dodging his still. "Something that makes me who I am." "I know," he assured her quietly. "I know that." "But I think that tonight it might do us both some good if I let go of that control. If I gave it instead to someone I trust. With it. And me." God. She couldn't possibly mean . . . . . "There's just one catch," she said, interrupting his silent ruminations before he could draw any conclusions. "What?" he asked, the word stuck somewhere in his throat. "You have to tell me =exactly= what you want from me. Otherwise, how will I be able to obey you?" And all at once, Fox Mulder felt as if he were viewing the world through a fun house mirror. Reality as he knew it took a decidedly unexpected turn. "'Obey'?" he croaked, trying to make certain he understood what she intended. "You mean to tell me that you're willing to . . . ." "I am willing to do whatever you ask of me," she whispered as she laid her hand upon his chest, directly over his wildly beating heart. "But you have to ask, Mulder. That's the deal." Okay. So, the urge was primitive. More than primitive. Savage. Beyond anything a reasonably enlightened guy like himself should desire from an intelligent, strong, assured woman like Scully. He freely admitted that. But, he'd be lying if he said he didn't want it. And yet, he had to be sure that she wanted it too. That she wasn't offering such a thing out of guilt or some other misguided notion. Shaking his head with a kind of amazement, he threaded his fingertips through the fringe of hair edging her face, aware that his hand trembled as he did so. "Scully . . . much as I'm . . . =intrigued= by your proposal, . . I want you to know that I don't *expect* . . . what I mean is . . you don't have to do this. Not to prove something to me. Something that I already know is true if I just stop long enough to think about it." She ran her fingers lightly over his shoulders, down the front of his suit coat. "I know I don't. But I want to. I want you to be sure, Mulder. To know the faith I place in you. To believe in it." God. Here he was, mere moments away from what promised to be one of the peak sexual experiences of his entire life, and his eyes were threatening waterworks. How did she do that? How did she take a situation plucked from the pages of Penthouse and turn it into something tender, something spiritual? With that, she stretched up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. He let her mouth rest lightly against his for all of a millisecond before caving in to the impulse that had been stirring in him since they had first gotten home. Letting out a soft, muffled groan, he crushed her to him, driving back her head and plunging his tongue into the warm moist confines of her mouth. Scully clung to him, more for balance Mulder suspected than anything else, and met him stroke for stroke. No doubt about it--in every way that mattered, they were very evenly matched. Finally, he pulled away, and breathing hard, he asked one last time, "You're sure?" Eyes bright as stars, she nodded. He kissed her again, this time gently, as if in apology for what came before. "Well then, Agent Scully, you have yourself a deal," he murmured, his mouth hovering over hers. She smiled. He grinned back at her. Idiotically. "Just remember to talk to me, Mulder," she said as she strung a line of soft damp kisses along his jaw. "You've got to talk to me." His eyes slid shut as his hands closed around her shoulders. "I promise." Scully's laughter puffed against his throat. "Then let the games begin." * * * * * * * * * Continued in Part II ***The Words Universe, Cancer-Free Since 1995*** "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 2a/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net I hate splitting chapters up. Archivists, if there is any way you could put Humpty Dumpty back together again I would =really= appreciate it. All the non-story stuff is in part 1. The sex starts here. * * * * * * * * * Dana Scully had never noticed before how poorly the ginger jar lamp atop her night stand illuminated her bedroom. The squat peach-colored light glowed beneath its shade, true. And with its assistance, a person could move easily about the space, without fear of stubbing a toe or barking a shin. Yet, in spite of the little lamp's valiant efforts, shadows ruled her sleeping room. Bled like spilled ink upon the handmade quilt covering her mattress. Licked like a lover at the knickknacks displayed upon her bureau. The encroaching darkness reminded her that while this chamber was a sanctuary of sorts; a place where she stored her most personal belongings, where nightly the sandman seduced her with promises of peace and rejuvenation, it also served as backdrop for a variety of far less wholesome pursuits. After all, here was a place not only of dreams, but of nightmares. Not just of slumber, but of sex. The juxtaposition of innocence and corruption struck a chord, one that grew in power and in resonance when she considered the man seated before her. Because presiding over this oddly familiar twilight realm, as still and as watchful as hell's sentry was Mulder, his face a study in such contradictions. Her dark angel. One of the fallen. At that moment, when he sat slouched and sullen in the corner of her bedroom, she could think of him in no other way. This man with the moody hooded gaze could no more be one of heaven's denizens than Old Nick himself. Fox Mulder was far too intimately acquainted with suffering and loss to ever fit in comfortably among the cherubim and seraphim. No. When you got right down to it, the man she loved seemed infinitely more at home with the sinners than with the saints. His present appearance certainly bore out that impression. Gone was the Special Agent spit and polish. His suit coat had been removed, as had his tie. What remained looked lived-in, wrinkled with wear. His dress shirt sleeves had been rolled midway up his arms, the garments' collar open, exposing the steady pulse at the base of his throat. His hair was at its unruly after-hours best, pieces of it feathered across his brow. His legs were splayed. His erection, easily identified beneath his trousers' fine fabric, rose hard and needy at the apex of his thighs. He sipped at a tall frosty tumbler of ice water, having finally put to use the glass she had ages ago pulled from her cabinets, his eyes watching her intently over its rim. How in the world was the ice maintaining its shape under the heat of that gaze? she mused. She had to admit that she wasn't holding up nearly as well as those little cubes. Melting, she thought. When he looks at me like that my body always responds the same way. It softens. Liquefies. The moisture pooling at her engorged center ample evidence of this truth. "Take off your clothes," he said quietly as he set the glass on the table beside him. Here we go. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hands to the buttons running down the center of her fitted blazer. "Slowly, Scully," he murmured, his voice as murky as the room's lighting scheme. "Take it nice and slow." She swallowed hard, her eyes locked on his, and began to do as he had requested. Her hands were shaking, she noted in some amazement. How absurd. Despite the forbidding air Mulder had adopted for the purposes of their game, she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't. Then what is this, Dana? she silently questioned as even with her less than nimble fingers, the buttons slipped easily enough from their holes. Why the trembling, the ragged breaths, the uneasiness that stoked her awareness to an almost painful sensitivity? Fight or flight, she realized with a rush. That was what her body was urging her to do. Some part of her had recognized a threat. But what was it exactly that she feared? She reached up and slipped her hands between her jacket and blouse as she made ready to remove the former. The movement arched her back, thrust her chest forward. She hadn't given any conscious thought to her posture, hadn't meant the action to be deliberately provocative. Yet, in the end, her intention proved unimportant. Because Mulder reacted to the simple gesture as if it were calculated. His hands flexed, the movement slight, not much more than a twitch. But she caught it just the same. "Let it slide off your shoulders," he instructed softly. "Yeah. Like that. Just let it fall." Let it fall, she echoed in her head as her Dry Clean Only wool crepe dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap. You may not know it, buddy. But, you'll be getting a bill for the damages, she wordlessly warned him. Standing before him clad in her skirt and blouse, Scully then paused for a moment, chewing lightly on her lower lip. Now what? she wondered. Top or bottom? Should she simply make a choice, or should she look to her partner for guidance? Oh, what the hell. Quit agonizing over it, Dana, she thought. You're a grown woman. You know how to undress yourself. Just do it. Fumbling clumsily, her fingers found the top button on her blouse. "No," Mulder said, stopping her. "Not just yet." She arched a brow. The corner of his mouth lifted at her silent question. "Turn around." Unsure as to the reason for this unexpected directive, she hesitated for a moment. "Do it." The words were spoken softly, yet with unmistakable authority. Inclining her head, she did as she was told. Pivoting slowly on her heels, she faced away from the man in the chair. "The skirt," he said from somewhere over her shoulder. "Lose the skirt." Allowing her eyes to drift shut, she followed his instructions, stretching behind her to lower the garment's zipper. This was actually easier, she realized. Facing away from him allowed her a certain sense of anonymity. A degree of privacy, that while she understood it to be ultimately no more than illusion, comforted her nonetheless. Taking heart from this sudden insight, she pulled the zipper down, head tipped back slightly. Her eyes were still closed, her lips parted. Breathe, Dana, she wordlessly coached herself. Breathe. Stop thinking so much and just let it happen. Give yourself permission to let it happen. After all, this is your game, right? Your idea. So, why not enjoy it? Be honest--you aren't just doing this for Mulder's benefit, are you? You want it too. Want him. The skirt's waistband gapped at her middle. She hooked her thumbs between it and her slip, and pulled it down, shimmying just a bit to ease the closely cut garment past the swell of her hips. Finally free, it fell to the floor, pooling atop the jacket that completed the outfit. Task completed, she carefully stepped outside the circle of fabric lassoing her feet. But did not turn around. "Very nice, Scully," came his whispered approval. "Very nice indeed. Now do the same with the slip. Only this time . . . I want you to bend over as you take it off." Lips compressing into a narrow line, she nodded, a quick bob of her head. "Oh, and Scully? Be sure and keep your legs straight for me." Bastard, she thought as her face flooded with heat. And yet, even now, she wanted him. Wanted to erase the tension and exhaustion their six weeks of painstaking yet frustrating investigation had provoked, quell the panic she had felt when she had witnessed him unknowingly targeted by Sinclair, make disappear the hurtful words they had exchanged. Heal whatever breach their relationship had suffered as a result of that evening's events. She wanted all of it. Every last bit of it. And would do whatever it took to achieve her goal. Whatever it took. It was only that this, this complete and total submission to his whims, his needs . . . . Aroused her. She almost gasped aloud with the knowledge. Strange, but undeniably true. As much as the notion of her being wholly dependent on another terrified her, at the same time it held a kind of allure. An appeal she did not fully understand, but could not dismiss. "What are you waiting for?" The question was asked calmly enough. But running just beneath it was a suggestion of consequences should she, for some reason, choose not to comply. She didn't feel quite that brave. Not right at that moment. Licking her lips, she bent over at the waist, her fingertips holding tightly to her half-slip's glossy fabric. Slowly, slowly, slowly she slid it over her nylon-covered ass, down her thighs to her knees. She paused there, her torso curled over her thighs, knowing that Mulder had given her the instructions he had so as to maneuver her into just this position. And somehow, given the roles they were playing, she sensed it wouldn't do to disappoint him. Then, hair brushing against her calves, she let go of the undergarment, straightening gently once more. And stepped out of the slip just as she had done previously with the skirt. "Look at me, Scully." Her knees now trembling with the same force as her hands, she turned around a bit unsteadily to face him. He looked back at her, his expression deliberately bland, his eyes glittering by contrast in the half-light. He knew. He knew what this was doing to her, she thought with a touch of dismay. How could he not? At the very least, he must have guessed at its effects. For heaven's sake, her panties were practically dripping with it. And given the display she just had put on, he certainly couldn't have overlooked that little detail. She could feel the blush staining her cheeks, knew her hair to be tousled and in disarray. Her heart was pounding with such vigor that she feared Mulder could hear it from across the room. She felt exposed. Vulnerable. Naughty. He picked up the glass and took another sip of water, biding his time before he spoke. She waited, doing everything in her power to keep her arms at her sides and not crossed protectively over her breasts. "Tell me how you feel," he urged at last, the words silky and low. With her breath proving as difficult to control as her heart, she shook her head. "No." His brow furrowed in disbelief. "No?" She raised her chin. "You're the one who's supposed to talk, Mulder. Remember?" The faintest suggestion of a smile lifted his lips. Toasting her with the drink in his hand, he dipped his head as if conceding the point. "That's right. I'd forgotten the rules." She nodded. Then, Mulder set his beverage back on the table with a sharp click of glass against wood. "But you know something, Scully, I think you've forgotten some of those rules yourself." Her mouth went dry at his suddenly harsh tone. "What do you mean?" His movement controlled, precise, he slowly leaned forward in his chair. Clasping his hands together as if in prayer, he braced his elbows against his thighs, his gaze fused with hers. She could sense an awful tension coiled within his lanky frame; a tautness that appeared to start at his blood-heavy center and radiate out the length and breadth of his body. "Your job is to obey, isn't that what you told me?" he asked, interrogating her with the same banked intensity he would a suspect. "Yes," she whispered, not sure whether the chill shimmering down her spine was fear or passion induced. "In all things." Not a question, a statement. She nodded helplessly. He smiled slyly. Like a Fox. "So come here," he commanded, the words rumbling in his chest. For just a split second, Scully honestly wondered whether her legs had the strength necessary to carry her to him. Cautiously, she took one step. Then another. Until finally, step after careful step, she crossed the distance to stand before him, within arms' reach. Mulder looked up at her from his seat, seemingly bemused by her frailty. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her shirt tail, and worried the silk between his thumb and forefinger. "Tell me, Scully," he began in an off-handed tone, his eyes now trained on his hand rather than on her face. "Can you honestly say that you've been obeying me? Completely, I mean. Nothing held back." "No," she confessed in a hushed voice, infinitely aware that his face was currently inches from her humid crotch. "And what do you think I ought to do about that?" he queried as he slid his hands under her blouse, found the band of elastic topping her pantyhose and began peeling the stockings from her slender legs. "I mean . . . I ought to do something. Don't you think? Seeing as I'm the one who's supposed to . . . keep you in line." She teetered for a moment, surprised by his action and unsettled by his nearness. He instantly steadied her with a gentleness that belied the menace lacing his words. Flailing blindly, she somehow found his shoulders and held on for dear life as he eased first one foot from her pumps, then the other. Working with his head bowed, intent on his chore, Mulder removed her nylons, then replaced her heels. When he finished, he lightly ran his fingertips up the backs of her legs as if to confirm their nakedness. Lashes lowered, Scully swayed within the circle of his arms. "You didn't answer my question," he chided, his thumbs sneaking beneath her panties to caress the rounded edge of her derriere. She bit back a whimper, her hands clenching for an instant on his shoulders. "What do you want me to say?" "Anything. As long as it's the truth." But she couldn't speak. She could only moan as he slowly traced the crease of her buttocks. Moving at a leisurely pace, he skimmed along its seam, fingering for the briefest measure of time the tiny puckered hole secreted in the fold. He parted her cheeks. Lifted them. Then released them once more. Only to begin kneading, handling her flesh with the greatest of care. As if he were afraid of inadvertently bruising her with his touch. She was panting now. Her words escaping in little wisps of sound, her fingertips clinging to his shirt. "It doesn't matter what I say, Mulder. You're going to do what you want to do. I can't fight you. Not here. Not tonight." "Can't or won't?" he challenged, as he all at once stopped toying with her behind and instead grabbed hold of her bikinis. In one swift motion he shoved the underwear to her ankles. Gasping, her eyes snapped open as she wobbled on her heels. For an instant, she was certain she was headed to the floor in an undignified heap. But unexpected though it was, Mulder came to her rescue once more. Nearly springing upwards from his crouched position, he threw his arms around her middle; one hand landing chastely between her shoulder blades, the other finding its way back to her ass. They merely held each other for a moment, his cheek pressed just above her navel, her hands clutching his shirt. Then, sighing, he rubbed his face against her belly. Slowly, from side to side. Like he had that first time, when he had rested his face in the valley between her breasts. Remembering that and so much more about this man and his lovemaking, Scully wondered if in the end she might not wind up tumbling to the floor after all. Surely, her knees couldn't hold out much longer against this onslaught. "Tell me, Scully," he said, his breath hot and moist against the creamy cool fabric of her blouse. "Tell me the truth. Can't or won't stop me?" She couldn't explain how she knew it to be so, but more was hinging on the answer to his inquiry than simple curiosity. She wasn't exactly sure what signals she was giving off, what doubts or demons shone in her eyes. But somewhere along the way, Mulder must have picked up on something. Something that made him question the wisdom of their course. And so, he had decided to stop and ask for permission. Permission to finish what they had begun. Together. No holds barred. "Won't," she whispered, the single word a promise. "I won't." And saying nothing more, she stepped from her sodden panties. He released his hold and watched her, nodding. Silence. "That's better," he murmured after a bit, as he leaned down and with a flick of his wrist pitched the discarded bit of silk somewhere off to the side. Scully couldn't tell if he was referring to her acquiescence or to her increasing lack of clothing. "But it's not enough," he continued, settling back once more in his chair. "What would be?" she countered quietly as she stood before him, nude from the waist down. "What would be enough for you, Mulder?" He smiled a lazy, self-satisfied smile, almost as if he had been waiting for her query. "Nothing short of everything. I'm greedy where you're concerned, Scully. I want it all." No surprise there, she thought with a touch of rueful humor. She had known from the start the extent of his need. The gaps in his life, in his soul, that cried out to be filled. And from the beginning, she had done what she could to plug those holes; first as his partner and friend, then later as his lover. Feeling, at times, like a variety of emotional Spackle, she had diligently plastered over the cracks in his persona as she had discovered them. And yet, was she repairing the flaws or masking them? That was the sort of painful question she asked herself from time to time. But not right now. She had other things on her mind. "You know what I'm feeling particularly greedy for, Scully?" Mulder drawled, his eyes sweeping over her with a hunger he could no longer entirely conceal. "What I need this minute?" "What?" she asked him softly. "Your skin," he told her, his voice as raw as her nerves. "I want to see it, smell it, taste it." She didn't move. "So take off that fucking blouse before I rip it off." Continued in IIB "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 2b/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net Picking up where we left off . . . . * * * * * * * * * Startled by his sudden vehemence, she roused as if from a dream to do as he asked. Her fingers seemingly nerveless, she plucked at the buttons holding closed her cuffs. After an aborted attempt or two, she wrestled them free, then did the same with the fastenings running down the shirt's front. With scant ceremony, she eased her arms out of their sleeves and added the blouse to the growing pile on the floor. "That too," he said as he gestured to her last remaining article of clothing, a demure lacy little underwire. "It's pretty and all. But quite frankly, I prefer what's underneath." A quick twist, a slide, and a shrug later, the bra too had been shed. At last, Dana Scully stood before Fox Mulder naked. And wondered just what was coming next. Mulder seemed in no hurry to enlighten her. In marked contrast to the urgency with which he had instructed her to strip, he now appeared content to simply look at her. To let his eyes glide from her flame-bright fall of hair down to her ankles' narrow circumferences, returning time and again to the spots that most captured his attention. The rounded fullness of her breasts, her trim waist, the thatch of wiry curls guarding her sex. "God, you're beautiful, Scully," he mumbled softly after awhile, his gaze dark with longing, gentler than she had seen it since their game had begun. "Have you any idea how beautiful you are?" "Tell me," she urged breathlessly, caught up in the spell his voice was weaving. He sadly shook his head. "I can't. I'm sorry. I know I'm supposed to. Supposed to . . . tell you stuff like that. But it sounds so stupid when you try to put it into words, Scully. Or . . . at least when I try to." She nodded, understanding his reticence, but disappointed by it just the same. Their eyes held for another silent second or two. Then he raised his hand from the arm of the chair, and curled his middle and index fingers in voiceless command. Come here. She did. She crossed to him. Mulder held out his hands. She took them, and allowed him to guide her down onto his lap. She sat facing him, her knees bent on either side of his narrow hips, his erection prodding her bottom. The instant her hands touched his chest, signaling that she was settled, he seized her. Plunging his hands into her hair, he pulled her to him for a deep, slow, wet kiss. Groaning into her mouth, he stroked his tongue along hers. Rubbed over and under it. Bathed her lips, her teeth, the roof of her mouth. He was devouring her, she thought, the notion making her a trifle giddy. Eating her alive. Feasting on her tender mouth as if he were starving for the taste of it. Of her. He suckled her lips with his own. Pulled them into his mouth. Nipped at them. Covered them again and again. Twisting and turning her face in his palms as if searching for the best possible angle; the tightest, most exquisite fit. Recklessly, she returned his caresses, the need rising in her like a fever. Yes, want me, she yearned to whisper to him. Want me . . . Here. Now. In this chair. On the floor. What did it matter? Nothing mattered. Nothing. Not when he was kissing her like this. And this. And . . . oh God . . . like that . . . . So ferocious was her arousal, so fierce her desire, that when he pulled away from her--pulled away and grabbed hold of the arms of the chair as if he thought to rip them from the poor unassuming piece of furniture--she sobbed. The sound flying breathy and weak from her swollen lips. He looked up at her, eyes unfocused but bright, his mouth damp from their kisses. "Touch yourself, Scully." "What?" Her brain wasn't functioning properly, that's all there was to it. She couldn't hear, couldn't think. His words made no sense. He might as well have been speaking Reticulan. "You heard me," he muttered as his hips began to rise and fall beneath her, pressing against her open, pouting lower lips, then pulling away like the cruelest of flirts. "Play with yourself." Oh my God. She had never done anything like that. Never shared with anyone something so essentially private. "I want to watch you come, Scully" he told her hoarsely. "I want to sit back and watch it happen. Up close and personal." Still she waited, frightened and embarrassed. Excited and on fire. "Do that for me," he implored, the words spoken soothingly, as if he were trying to tame something wild. "Be a good girl, Dana, and do as you're told." A good girl? Not tonight. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. And letting out a deep shuddering breath, she at last nodded. Yet still didn't move. "Go on," he urged, his eyes sleepy now with arousal. Slicking her lips with her tongue, she raised up slightly on her knees. She covered her mouth for a moment with her hand, the gesture suggesting she just couldn't *believe* what she was about to do. Then, slowly, as if moving all on its own, her hand drifted down the front of her. Her fingers trailed down the column of her throat, meandered across the hard jutting peaks of her breasts, glided over the smoothness of her belly to comb lightly through the coarse hair at her crotch. She whimpered. God, she was wet. Wet and swollen. And ready. So very ready. Idly, she wondered how long she'd last. Head tipped back so that her hair dangled down past her shoulders, she closed her eyes and slipped her fingers inside the distended entrance to her body. Two, at first. Then three. Slowly. In, where the walls of her vagina clung to her intruding digits like a suckling mouth. Out, where she spread the moisture coating her makeshift cock along her tender, pulsing slit. Smeared it over the ripe little bud tucked away up front. Oh Christ. In . . . Out. Again. And again. Sweat broke out on her forehead, dotted her upper lip. With a will of its own, her pelvis tipped forward to meet her easy thrusts, some primal impulse instinctively guiding her into the position bested suited for climax. Gradually, her body sinking in to the rhythm established by her hand, she felt a delicious sort of tension begin to build. A throbbing kind of ache that ratcheted tighter and tighter until it threatened to snap her in two. "What does it feel like, Scully?" Mulder asked, his voice coarse like gravel. "Tell me what it feels like." "Soft," she whispered, her brow wrinkling with effort. "Soft." His hand found its way to her face. Lovingly, with the gentlest of touches, he skimmed his fingertips along the curve of her cheek. "What else?" he prompted, his tone still ragged. She kept her eyes closed, focusing on the pleasure rippling through her rather than on the man beneath her, his hips mimicking the motion of her hand. Her head turned feverishly from side to side, lolling on her neck. Her lips were parted, open as if ready to cry out. Honeyed with her own arousal, her fingers slid over her clitoris once more. Her breath hitched with the sharpness of the sensation. She circled, taking care to keep the pressure light as her sensitivity was high. Around and around, her middle finger swirled, her hips twitching, her breath unnaturally loud to her ears. "Hot," she mumbled, head twisting fitfully. "I'm . . . it's hot." Somewhere, on the periphery of her hearing, she heard ice tapping against glass. Then suddenly, a keen, stinging cold lanced through her left nipple. "Oh!" Scully groaned, her head snapping upright, her eyes fluttering open once more. Mulder had taken his glass of water, now little of it left save cubes and condensation, and pressed it to her breast. "How does that feel?" he asked with almost clinical detachment, his gaze locked on the sight of her shiny pink nipple. "Um . . . I don't know," she admitted in a broken sounding whisper, her hand stalled for a moment between her legs. "I can't . . . I . . oh . . ." What did he want from her? Sorry Mulder, but I just can't discuss with you things such as nerve endings and temperature variances. Not when her senses were just about ready to launch into overload. Not when the nerve endings in question were her own. Continuing until her one nipple was numb from cold, he then applied the same treatment to her other side. Her back arched involuntarily as the frigid surface danced against her far warmer one. "Does it hurt?" he queried in the same casual tone as he traced the edge of her aureole with the tumbler's frosty bottom rim. Her fingers began to move inside her again, the action commencing almost without conscious thought. She could do nothing else. Not when she was so close. "No. No, it doesn't hurt." "Good," he murmured as he set the glass on the table once more. "I don't want to hurt you, Scully. I don't ever, ever want to hurt you." "I know," she said, moving faster now, her hand thrusting smoothly, rhythmically between her legs. "I know you don't." "I want you to feel good," he said, as he reached up and with his index finger spread the droplets of water left behind by the glass over the pebbled peaks of her breasts. He dabbed at them, scarcely touching her, his caress maddeningly light. "I do," she chuckled feebly, her lashes drooping, her hips surging in counterpoint to the slide of her fingers. "And I know how sensitive your breasts are," he said conversationally, his fingers tapping soundly against her nipples now as if testing their firmness, their resiliency. The little nubbins responded by lengthening, plumping; feeling gradually returning to them after their trial by ice. "How much you like it when I touch you there." She hummed her agreement, words more than she could manage at that moment. True enough, Mulder, she thought dazedly. When you're right, you're right. "How much you like it when I do something like this," he growled, the change in his voice signaling his intentions before he himself had actually moved. Then, with that shift in tone her only warning, he seized her rigid nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, and tugged. Hard. She screamed atop him, her body stretching, arching, searching desperately for a way to relieve the stress. Her slender frame bent like a bow, she hung suspended over him, chin tipped towards the ceiling. At first, she thought to help support her weight herself, and to that end, clutched at his forearm with the hand not buried between her legs. "No," he told her sharply. "Let go." Whimpering, she did as she was told. It wasn't that he was hurting her. Not exactly. After all, the muscles in her thighs took some of the pressure away from her imprisoned nipples. But the tension, the pull . . . she felt as if the two tender tips he was pinching were being squeezed by little mini-vises. Clamps that oddly rewarded her with their punishing grip. "What's the matter, Scully?" whispered the man she at that moment looked to as Master. "Did I tell you that you could stop?" Stop? "No," she admitted, confused for a second as to what he referring. Then, she followed his gaze to her hand where it lay still and glistening against her thigh. Vaguely surprised by this, she looked up and found Mulder watching her closely. "Go on," he instructed; the words an order, the tone a caress. Teeth gnawing on her bottom lip, she nodded, and inched her fingers inside her body once more. "Yeah, that's right. . . . and out. That's beautiful," he praised, his voice velvety soft, his thumbs and forefingers still holding her nipples captive. "You're doing very well." She sighed, the sound lost and low. "Come on now. A little harder. . . harder. Faster. Yeah, like that. Just like that. I can see you, you know, Scully. I see everything you do." She knew that. God, she knew that. That was at least half the reason she kept her eyes closed. "Go back to your clit now. Yeah. Rub there for me. Lightly now. Slowly. Imagine it's my tongue. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" "Yes." "Later, Scully. Later. We've got all night. But for now, this feels pretty good, doesn't it? Feels really good." "Yes," she sobbed, as he gently wiggled her breasts from side to side for emphasis. "Oh please . . ." "Very good," he said, amusement seeping into his words. "'Please and thank you'. You're always polite, Scully. Regardless of the situation. I admire that in you." He rolled her nipples now, careful not to lose his grip. "Mulder . . . ." She was reduced to begging. Even though she had somehow still managed to refrain from voicing the actual plea, she could hear the entreaty when she spoke. True, her pleasure was technically being generated by her own hand. But for some reason, she felt as if she had to ask for his permission. Implore the one who had set her to her task to free her from it. At that point, anything else would seem like rebellion. And a dutiful slave never disobeys. "Listen to me," he gritted out, seemingly growing as effected by her need as she. "I'm going to let you come, Scully. Do you want that? Do you want to come?" What--was he kidding? "=Yes=." "All right. But you have to do exactly as I say." She nodded, her head nearly flopping back and forth atop her shoulders. "I want you to make sure your fingers are wet. Are they? Good girl." GoodgirlGoodgirlGoodgirlGoodgirlGoodgirl. "Now, I want you to push your hips forward. As far as you can go. That's right. Don't move them, now. Keep them still. And rub your hand over your clit very lightly. Circle it. No. Ease up. I said, 'Ease up.' Better. Yeah. That's it . . . that's it." Damn him, she thought, silently cursing her tormentor. It wasn't enough. He was barely allowing her to use any force at all. Given how slick her fingers were, she couldn't feel any friction, any pressure. Instead, all she could enjoy was a kind of current humming through her, a vibration. Breath flowing from her lips in a series of deep gusty pants, she focused on the sensation. And after a time was astonished to discover a method to Mulder's madness. Because out of that gentle gossamer-light caress, ecstasy bloomed. Oblivion beckoned. If she was patient. And did as she was told. She groaned. He began deliberately pulling on her nipples; easy, rhythmic little pulses, as if he were milking her. "You're close now, aren't you?" he queried, his voice hypnotic, shadowed like the room, their souls. "I'll bet you're very close." "Yes . . . . ." She increased her fingers' speed, but not their pressure. He wouldn't like that. Wouldn't approve. "And you'd like me to let you go. Let you come." "Oh yes . . . . ." Swifter still. Until she wondered if, were she to open her eyes, her hand would appear only as a blur. "Yes, please . . ." "*Please* what, Scully? I'm not sure what you want." Her words were thick, difficult to understand. "You know." "Say it. I want to hear you say it" It was over. Pride had lost all meaning. "To come. I want to come." And even though her lids were lowered, she knew without question that Fox Mulder was smiling. "All right then," he told her, sounding as if he were bestowing on her the greatest of favors. "If you really want it, I'll give it to you. On my count." She nodded. Oh, thank God. He pulled her to him, brought her closer. The fingers locked on her aching nipples guiding her into position. "One." Gradually, he increased the pressure. Tightened the vices. "Two." He kissed her on the center of her chest, directly between her breasts. "Three." And all at once, he let go of her nipples, bringing his hands around to cup her shoulder blades instead. Circulation was restored to the two rosy tips. With sensation flooding back seconds after. A searing, white hot river of it. And with its return, Scully's world exploded. Fragments of light, shards of color flashed behind her closed eyes. She screamed and moaned and bucked. Danced on his lap like some sort of X-rated bar-girl. Her hair flying, her fingertips still spinning over her clitoris like a top. Her nipples burned and throbbed; heavy and tender at the same time. Her entire body convulsed with the power of her free fall. It was wondrous and scary and it felt like drowning because for a moment she didn't think she'd be able to breathe as this immense rushing wave of heat and arousal and passion and release crashed over her sweeping up her torso from her throbbing groin past her quivering breasts to her cheeks her brow her brain and for one crazy instant it felt as if her hair were tingling with it but that was absurd because everyone knew that hair was actually dead and why couldn't her neck support her head all of a sudden when all she really wanted to do was curl up in Mulder's embrace because he had her cradled against his chest now and was kissing her hair her temple he was talking to her but she couldn't hear what he was saying because her heart was pounding so loudly that her head felt like the inside of a bell tower Notre Dame Go Irish but it didn't really matter what words he used she had heard them before knew them by heart and besides he smelled so good all musky and male and burrowing against him made her feel cherished and safe and warm fuzzy everything was fuzzy buzzy wuzzy was was was what was she going to . . . . . . . . . .? And for the first time in her life, Dana Scully swooned. * * * * * * * * * Continued in Part III ***The Words Universe, Cancer-Free Since 1995*** "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 3/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net Yeah, there's more. Of the same. And then some. * * * * * * * * * Oh, my God. I've killed her. That was the first semi-coherent thought to enter Fox Mulder's mind when he felt Dana Scully, shaky and soft in the aftermath of a positively shattering orgasm, suddenly sigh and collapse limply in his arms. Idiotic though he later recognized the notion to be, for one brief moment, fear seized his heart. Squeezed it in its barbed wire grip until he imagined he could actually feel blood seeping from the wound. Then, he gathered her to him. Rested her slender form against his. Once she was nestled securely in his embrace, he had no trouble discerning the deep, even rise and fall of her breasts, detecting the moist, heated kiss of her breath against his skin. She lived. Thank God. Nearly light-headed himself with relief, it was all he could do not to laugh at his momentary delusions of grandeur. Take it easy, Romeo, he mockingly advised himself as he softly smoothed her hair from her brow. Your love-making techniques don't exactly warrant the skull and cross bones warning just yet. Still, he couldn't help but feel some small measure of satisfaction over the way the unmistakably sated woman in his lap had responded to his seduction. Seduction, Mulder? Doesn't that word suggest a certain degree of romance? a little voice inside him challenged. Imply a kind of tenderness or, at the very least, some attempt at wooing? Hmm. Was there any way in hell that the words "Touch yourself" could be construed as wooing? What about "So take off that fucking blouse before I rip it off"? Uh, no. Probably not. And yet, Scully hadn't seemed to mind. Not at all. In fact, once things had truly gotten underway, she had appeared to enter into the spirit of their game with no small measure of abandon. Her daring, her trust, her vulnerability had been . . . . Amazing. Absolutely breathtakingly amazing. But then, this was Scully he was talking about. Amazing was nothing more than her usual state of being. Pressing a kiss to her hairline, he tightened his arms protectively around her. Warm and yielding, she lay sideways across his lap with her head tucked beneath his chin. Her knees were drawn up, her hands lay slack atop her thighs. Sweat slicked her flushed skin so that it glowed like pearls. A single shoe dangled from her toes like the last leaf of autumn. Curling around her small body, he gently removed the pump and tossed it to the floor, caressing her dainty foot as he did so. That simple touch proved enough to rouse her. She stirred. Instinctively, she turned into him more fully, lifted what looked to be a ridiculously heavy arm and draped it around his neck. Nuzzling his throat with her brow, she sighed, the sound suggesting utter languor. "Scully?" he murmured quietly in question, hoping she was indeed coming down from her high. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying this interlude, this break from the erotic drama that had gone before. After all, holding Scully--particularly a naked Scully--was never what he would call a hardship. It was only that while holding this delightfully naked woman he was wrestling with a hard-on of near Wagnerian proportions. Well, actually he wasn't wrestling with it. Neither was anyone else. That was the problem. "Hmm?" she hummed in reply as she pressed a sleepy kiss just below his ear. "You okay?" he queried as he combed lightly through her tousled hair with his fingertips. "You kinda scared me there for a minute." "I'm fine," she assured him, her head on his shoulder, her hushed voice a tad rough around the edges. "Here," he said, stretching over to the little chair-side table and retrieving his water. A bit more of the ice had melted since he had last handled the glass; liquid now floated what cubes still remained. He judged there ought to be enough H2O there to soothe her throat. Not even considering what the action implied, he brought the glass to her lips himself and slowly tipped it so that the water trickled into her mouth. She swallowed greedily, accepting his care without comment or protest. Behavior which did not go unnoticed by Mulder. "Better?" he asked when she had all but drained the glass dry. "Better," she softly confirmed, her eyes flickering to his, then away. This too failed to escape his attention. Gently, he slipped his fingers beneath her chin and tipped up her head to meet his gaze. "What's wrong?" he asked, his previous satisfaction threatening to shrivel up and blow away. She looked up at him, her blue eyes enormous. And more than a trifle bewildered. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. It's just . . . " "What?" he prompted, gliding the back of his hand along the curve of her cheek. She cleared her throat, and dipped her eyes. "Mulder . . . nothing like that has ever happened to me before." "Nothing like what?" he queried, thinking that depending upon her response he was either going to be one of the proudest men on planet Earth or one of the most mortified. She shrugged a bit helplessly. "Like . . . well, like *any* of it." He slowly nodded, still unable to judge from her tone of voice whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. So, he decided to ask. "Does that frighten you?" Her gaze lifted slightly. It now appeared to be focused somewhere in the vicinity of his chin. "No." Okay. That sounded promising. But he needed to be sure. "No?" She shook her head, then shyly peered up at him, her hand resting on his chest. "Uh-uh. . . . I . . um . . I kinda liked it." Proud. He was definitely Proud. Maybe even borderline Smug. "Not as a lifestyle, Mulder," she continued quietly, talking to his collar rather than to his face. "Not every day. But, as a sort of a . . . change of pace . . . . it's intense." "It is," he chuckled, hugging her to him and affectionately kissing her brow. "It is that." But Scully seemingly wanted more; more affection, more reassurance. More of him. Turning, she reached up and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her fingers entwined in his hair. Breasts pressed firmly against his chest, she kissed him, her mouth open and demanding, hot and just a little bit wild. And all at once, the kitten curled atop his lap turned into a tigress. But it was Mulder who felt like purring. His hands skimmed up and down her graceful back, tracing its flats and curves. On one downward sweep, he filled his palms with her buttocks, cupped her there and squeezed. She moaned her approval and shifted restlessly atop him. Which inevitably brought her hip in contact with his raging erection. Which inevitably wrenched a heartfelt groan from his lips. Upon hearing his low strangled cry, Scully pulled away from the kiss and looked at him, amusement twinkling in her eyes. "Problem, Mulder?" He licked his lips before wryly replying, "Nothing you can't help me fix." She nodded as if gravely considering the matter before murmuring, "I could do that, I suppose." The corner of Mulder's mouth pulled up in a lop-sided smile. "Well, that's a relief. Now, the question is--how should we go about it?" "What do you mean?" Mulder adjusted the woman on his lap so that her wonderfully rounded little bottom wasn't quite such a distraction. "What I mean, Scully, is that you and I have going what you might call a 'Theme Night'." "A 'Theme Night'?" Smiling sheepishly, he shrugged. "For want of a better term. I believe you referred to it as a 'change of pace'." Lifting her brows in understanding, she nodded once more. "Now, we can continue in that vein if you're willing," he said, running his index finger lightly down her arm, and watching goose flesh rise in its wake. "Or we can . . . take a more conventional approach. It's entirely up to you." His hand found hers and lifted it to his lips. Softly kissing her knuckles, he realized that the scent of her arousal lingered still on her fingertips. His groin pulsed with the awareness. "Truth is, Scully," he mumbled once he had gotten himself under control. "At this moment, I want you so badly that the finer points really don't matter a whole hell of a lot to me." "They don't, huh?" she asked in a husky voice, her expression gentle. "No," he confessed with sham remorse, his hips rolling beneath her almost against his will. Scully didn't answer at first. She didn't even look him in the eye. Instead, she loosed her fingers from his and went to work on his shirt. Saying nothing, she slowly unbuttoned one fastening after another until the garment lay open to his waist. Mulder sat watching her, struggling to control his respiration, his blood pressure, his heart rate. And other vital signs. "I think there's something to be said for consistency, Mulder," she whispered at last, her eyes trained on her hand as it swept lightly along his torso. "Don't you?" Oh God, Scully, don't quiz me when you're touching me like that, he thought a tad incoherently. "Consistency?" "Hmm," she hummed, her fingers finding beneath the shirt one of his small flat nipples and scratching carefully around its rim. His willpower in tatters, he couldn't stop the moan that spilled from his lips. She smiled at the sound, and gave the same treatment to the tiny nubbin's twin. "Consistency. It seems a shame to establish a certain mood and then let it go to waste." Okay. True, in his present state, he wasn't quite as quick on the uptake as he usually was. But, if he wasn't mistaken, it appeared that the naked woman perched before him wanted . . . . "Are you saying that you're in the mood to be bossed around some more?" he queried, his voice rumbling low in his register. Scully slid both hands beneath his rumpled shirt, and ran them slowly down the front of him, from his shoulders to his waist, fingers spread as if she feared missing so much as an inch of his skin. Pursing her lips into a sexy little pout, she looked up at him through her lashes. "I don't know. Think you're man enough to handle me?" He growled in mock menace, and pulled her to him for another long, slow kiss. He could feel her smiling as his mouth roamed over hers. His lips curved to answer her. At last breaking free, he muttered heatedly, "Anytime, anywhere, Agent Scully. I'm always willing to take you on." She gazed up at him from where her head lay pillowed on his upper arm. "Then do your worst, Mulder. I can take it. And you." Of that, I have no doubt, he thought ruefully to himself. I know you can take me, Scully. Take me and tie me in knots just by using your bedroom voice to lecture me on the habits of the not-so- average fluke worm. Take me from stand-by to rock-solid-ready simply by delivering a well deserved dressing-down to a guy with twice your size and half your brains. Take me straight to heaven with the sensation of you stroking and straining against me, your skin sliding over mine, the heat between us building until at any moment I keep expecting us both to ignite like flash paper. Oh boy, he was the one in trouble here. Just how the hell was he supposed to hold it all together to give this woman the experience she deserved? After all, the game was control. And he was currently clinging to his only by his fingernails. There was no way around it. He was going to have to relieve a little of the pressure if he had any hope at all of making their evening last. Kissing her one last time, he framed her face with his hands before whispering, "On your knees, Scully." Her eyes darkened in understanding. Then, lips tilted upwards in the most subtle of smiles, she nodded. And gently slipped to the floor. "I told you I need a little help," he said, his pupils large and unfocused, drugged with desire. "Why don't you see what you can do." She looked up at him from between his legs, her small, infinitely capable hands setting atop his thighs, her lovely face inches from his painfully throbbing cock. And moved not a muscle. "I need instructions, Mulder," she told him in a husky voice. "Instructions?" he echoed, too overwrought at that point to fully comprehend the cause of her inertia. She smiled, her lashes lowering just a touch to obscure her gaze. "I told you before, I need to know =exactly= what it is you want from me." "Exactly?" he croaked, thinking that the bulge tenting his trousers should have given her some clue as to how to proceed. Then, she lightly rested her hand directly on that bulge and every clue in his head flew out the window. "=Exactly=, Mulder," she said, idly doodling on his penis with her fingertip, watching with a kind of bemusement as it twitched and jumped. "Step by step. Otherwise, forget it. After all, your talking to me =was= part of the deal. Remember?" Oh, he remembered all right. He vividly recalled promising to tell her what he wanted, what he needed. As long as she promised to then fulfill those needs. Which, he had to admit, she had thus far been doing. Admirably. And he had no doubt she would continue to hold up her end of the bargain. Scully's word was her bond. It was just that walking her through something like that, sharing with her in the most specific detail how he wanted her to make love to him was . . . very revealing. Almost more intimate than the act itself. Which was, of course, precisely why she asked it of him. "You are going to get it," he murmured with dark promise, his hand now gently cradling her cheek. "Only after you do," she softly replied, mischief in her eyes. My. Someone was feeling frisky. He chewed on the corner of his lip while he mulled over his options. And realized he had none. Sighing, he gave in. "All right, Scully. I'll play by the rules. For now. So, let's start with the basics, shall we? Open my pants." She sat up a little straighter and reached for the top button on his trousers. Pausing for a moment, she looked up at him with one brow arched. "Belt too?" Oh man. She was not going to make this easy. "Belt too," he confirmed gruffly. Nodding, she slipped the narrow strip of leather free from its buckle. She next moved to the pants and popped the button topping the zipper. Then, with excruciating slowness, she carefully lowered the zipper itself, the back of her hand brushing against him through his boxers as she did so. His vision swam with her touch. Breathe, you idiot. Breathe, he silently exhorted himself. Christ. If something this simple was affecting him this strongly, how the hell was he going to react when she actually caressed him, skin to skin? Let alone what came after that. Her task complete, Scully sat back on her heels and looked up at him. Waiting for her next instruction. "Take it out," Mulder mumbled, feeling all of fifteen again under the knowing light of her gaze. "Take what out?" she queried with counterfeit innocence. Sweat was now coating his brow. "Well, this particular portion of the male anatomy has several nicknames, Scully," he began, embarrassment and arousal roughening his voice. "But I believe the correct term is 'penis'." "Ohhhh," she said as if a light bulb had suddenly clicked on above her head. Then, her lips curved in a cat-that-ate-the-canary smile, and she leaned forward to do as she was told. He lifted. She pulled. And a few short seconds later, the evening air caressed his erection, cool and soothing against his heated flesh. However, the minute that she had done as he had asked, Scully once more sat back to watch him. Calm, composed. And, as far as Mulder was concerned--utterly, blindingly maddening. How ironic, he mused dazedly. The woman before him was naked, on her knees, on the floor, between his legs, following his every direction to the letter. And yet, the balance of power had somehow shifted to her favor. Maybe he just wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. Then the memory of Scully poised atop his lap, writhing in the throes of passion, shimmered into focus in his mind's eye. And he took heart. No, he had a certain knack. He just needed to master his own need before he could master her. But before he could do =anything=, he had to say the words. Swallowing hard, he gave it a try. "Touch it." She did that smile thing again. "Touch what?" she inquired sweetly. Just you wait, Dana Scully, just you wait, chanted an almost frantic little voice inside his head. "My *cock*," he choked out, hoping the word might shock her, but knowing her too well to actually believe such a ploy might succeed. It didn't. Instead, she stretched out her fingertips and dragged them lightly along his length, stroking over him with a deliberate lack of pressure. Toying. Tickling. Giving him what he wanted but refusing him the proper measure of it. "Like this?" she asked, already knowing the answer. A single groan was his reply. God. It might not be all he needed, but it sure as hell wasn't a bad start. Scully floated over him like a whisper, calling to him. To his heart, his soul, his body. Stirring his nerve endings, urging his blood to flow faster, more heavily. Like a well trained beast, the flesh beneath her hand responded, grew thicker, harder, longer. More, more, more, screamed his brain. And yet, in all honesty, he didn't know how much more he could stand. Still, he let her play with him, tease him with her feathery caresses until the pleasure promised to turn into pain. "Wait." She stopped immediately. "Hold it. In your hand. Hold me. Tight." She did. Right at the root. Her hand was cool and strong. And he swore he could feel his pulse pounding nowhere else on his body except in the long, hard piece of muscle nestled in her palm. "Yeah. . . . Now move it. Move your hand." "Up and down?" "Yes." "Then I think maybe I ought to do this first," she murmured, and lifting her hand, she licked her palm, her eyes simmering as she watched him watching her, warming him with their glow. He dug his fingers into the chair's arms, and waited. Until she gripped him once more and gently ran her moistened hand up his rigid member, then back down again. "Ohh," he moaned low, his head falling back to rest against the seat cushion; his hips lifting languidly, then falling; following the motion of her fist. Taking it even slower, she repeated the caress, pulling on him slightly as she brought her hand all the way to his penis' head before letting it glide back down to its starting place. The third trip up, she improvised. When she reached his sensitive tip she took her thumb and swept some of the liquid she found there over the head, swirling smoothly and evenly until the entire knob glistened from her efforts. Oh God, it was remarkable. Her hand, wrapped around him. Moving over him. The friction, the heat. "Faster," he commanded hoarsely. Obligingly, she picked up speed. Working him now, carefully stretching him as she stroked. Lifting him further and further away from his body. Propelling him closer and closer towards the stratosphere. "My balls, Scully," he whispered after a time, his voice thin and breathy. "Touch my balls." Keeping her one hand busy, she brought her other palm beneath him, and painstakingly balanced his satiny sac of nerves there. Closing her fingers lightly around him, she rolled it. From side to side. In a slow, tight circle. He groaned. Helpless, ragged little bursts of sound leaked from his lips. His hips arched for the ceiling; his thighs quivering from the excitement, the strain. Christ, this was good. This was too good. He could come just from this. Just from her hands, pumping, stroking, and generally driving him out of his mind. But he wanted more. "Your mouth, Scully. Give me your mouth," he implored, his body twisting restlessly in the chair, his hands locked in place on its arms. She didn't stop her ministrations entirely, though upon hearing him speak, they did ebb in intensity. "What was that, Mulder? I didn't quite hear you." Liarliarliarliarliarliarliarliar. Taking a deep, jagged breath he gave it one more shot. "Take me in your mouth." Her hands stilled. Mulder didn't know whether to rejoice or mourn. Scrambling for some semblance of control, he raised his head. Scully looked back at him, her gaze singeing him with its fire. Mouth parted, lips moist and full. So ready to take him inside. After she had made him work for it just a little bit. She made him wait, let him stew. Tortured him just a touch by rubbing her thumb along his underside, purposefully targeting the angry blue vein running up its length, pressing against it with finely measured force. "Tell me =exactly= how you want it done," she murmured, her gaze unwavering, more black it seemed than blue, all pretense at innocence gone. "I want to be sure to get it right." This is where they separate the men from the boys, Mulder, he mockingly told himself. So be a man. "Your tongue," he mumbled weakly, eyes sliding shut at last, unable to look at her right at that moment. "Lick it. Lick the head." Almost immediately, her small wet tongue lapped gently at him. Around and around, with short, fleeting strokes she moistened the keenly tender crown, her hand still locked firmly at the base of his groin. "Oh God, Scully," he murmured brokenly, his hips thrusting at the air. "God. . . more. . . . Give me more." Shifting slightly, she did as he asked. Brushing along his swollen length with her tongue, her hair, she caressed him sweetly. Tracing over the hot silken muscle with gradually lengthening strokes. He was sobbing now. Scraps of words, a jumble of incoherent inanity. His breath burst from his lips in choked little hisses. Reality narrowed down to two things, and two things only. His cock. Her mouth. He couldn't hold out any longer. Couldn't wait. Couldn't go without. "Scully . . . . Scully, please," he whispered, his lashes creeping open once more. "Please." At first he only saw the bright crown of her head as she knelt curled over his crotch. But, upon hearing his voice, she straightened to regard him solemnly, her hand still clenched around where his erection began. "What do you want, Mulder?" she asked, her voice hushed. Desperate though he was, he didn't speak. Couldn't speak. Why should he? She knew. She =knew=. "Ask me," she said softly. "And I'll give it to you." Panting, he shook his head. Bending over him once more, she nipped at him lightly, dragging her teeth along his velvety skin, taking care not to injure him. Crying out in surprise and arousal, his hands flew from their place on the chair's arms to land heavily on her shoulders. She only chuckled at his reaction. "Be good now, Mulder. Behave." "You're the one being bad, Scully," he muttered, his hips rocking again, straining against her confining hand. "But I'd be so good to you if you'd let me," she crooned, her gaze nearly molten now as she peered up at him. "If you would only let me, Mulder." He could feel his inhibitions dissolving, sense his need overwhelming his pride. Then, she lowered her lips to him and kissed him on the very tip, her mouth open and soft and wet and warm . . . . "Ask me," she coaxed, low and tempting like a Lorelei. It was too much. He was drowning in it. In his desire, in her. In the sight of her, the feel of her, the promise of her . . . And something inside him shattered. "Suck it," he gritted it out, his voice harsh and fierce with longing. "I want your lips around me. . . . your tongue. I want everything. . . . everything. Please, Scully, . . I want to come . . . . I have to . . . " "Where?" she asked, demanding one final concession. He swallowed hard, his face dark and sulky with passion. "In your mouth." She smiled, the curve of her lips distinctly sensual. "Whatever you say." And all the while keeping her eyes locked on his, she slid him slowly between her lips. Christ Almighty. He feared for an instant that the sight of his penis disappearing inside her mouth might literally stop his heart. Inch by hot, aching inch she lowered her lips down his rigid member. Then back up. And down. Keeping pressure on him, pulling hard, her flushed cheeks hollowing with the effort. Just as she had been told. Entranced, he lifted his trembling hands to her hair. He just set them there, so that they rested lightly on either side of her head. He didn't try to push, didn't attempt to guide or control her movements. At that moment, he just needed to touch her, to somehow caress her when she was so memorably caressing him. Watching him shiver and mumble and moan, the bottom half of his body undulating with a steady, measured pulse, Scully continued her efforts. Faster and faster her head bobbed, her tongue fluttering over him; rubbing, dipping, and swirling. "God . . . oh God." Regular speech had deserted him. All that was left to him were prayers. Finally, he couldn't watch her anymore, couldn't keep his eyes open. He couldn't concentrate any more, all his focus having shifted elsewhere, along with apparently half his body's blood flow. Face screwed tight, sweat trickling down his cheeks, his head twisted fitfully against the chair's back. His mouth was open, sucking in great shuddering lung fulls of air. Waiting. He was waiting. It wouldn't be long now. Wouldn't be long. Not long. Not . . . . And with one last tight slid of her mouth, his body convulsed. Moaning a series of guttural nonsense sounds, his body twitched as if electricity were pouring through him. His hips surged relentlessly, like his orgasm would never end. It continued to roll over him, flowing like quicksilver from one end of his body to the other. He tingled hot, then cold. And he couldn't be certain, but he suspected that his bones had dissolved. It had to be something like that, because given the sort of dense relaxation that had descended upon him as his body had poured into hers, he doubted he would ever again be capable of movement. Forget Spooky Mulder. His new nickname would be Mulder the Hut. And through it all, Scully was with him. First taunting, then soothing, she had urged him mercilessly towards that impossibly high peak. Then plunged from it with him. Shielding him as he fell. Afterwards, she licked him dry, pressed an affectionate kiss to him, then laid her hand softly atop him and waited for him to come back to himself. It took some time. But finally, he whispered in a ragged voice, "Hey, Scully?" "Yeah?" "Wow." She chuckled. "You're welcome." "See what I mean?" he murmured, head still tipped back, eyes closed, pulse zooming. "Always polite." She stretched up to kiss him low on his belly, then rested her cheek against his thigh. His fingers threaded absently through her hair. He could feel his sweat cooling on his skin, chilling him unexpectedly. "Scully?" "Hmm?" "There's just one thing." "What?" "You made me play by the rules. . . ." "Yeah?" "But you cheated." She lifted her head from his leg. "What do you mean?" He opened his eyes and looked down at her. "You were supposed to do as I said." "I did." He shook his head slowly from side to side. "No. Not really. Not right away. You had some fun first." She arched a brow, but said nothing in her defense. He lifted the corner of his mouth. "And I figure now it's my turn." She lifted her chin, a smile tugging at her mouth as well. "You had your turn, Mulder." He leered at her, then reached down and tugged her up for a quick kiss. He could taste himself on her mouth. "Ah. But this is the penalty phase." Her hands were spread high on his chest for balance. "Penalty phase?" He nodded, a slow sensual smile spreading across his lips. "You heard me. You were a bad girl, Scully. A very bad girl. You made up the rules and then you broke them. And now . . . . now you have to pay." * * * * * * * * * Continued in Part IV "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 4a/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net You know, this started out as just a nice, simple erotica vignette . . . . . And has turned into freakin' "War and Peace." Too many words! Only one more (chapter, that is) after this. Honest! :) * * * * * * * * * Dana Scully snapped off the vanity lights and prepared to exit her small tiled bathroom. She had taken a few moments for herself just as Mulder had before her to repair some of the damage inflicted upon her face and form by their lovemaking. And had discovered quite happily that she really didn't have much to put to right. The woman who had looked back at her in the mirror was radiant. True, her wildly tousled hair made her look as if she were the requisite babe in Aerosmith's latest video. And her furled nipples blushed a tad darker than their usual petal pink. But, in the end, she suspected Mulder would find fault with neither. And besides, even if he should for some reason look askance at these small anomalies in her appearance, she knew that her slender naked body had a few other enticements with which to tempt him. The delicate slope of her shoulders. Her breasts' high twin curves. The lush flare of her hips. No. Unless she very much missed her mark, she doubted that the man she loved would feel compelled to pick up his toys and go home. At least, she hoped like hell he wouldn't. She still wanted to play. Smiling in anticipation, she returned to her bedroom. Just as she crossed the threshold, she witnessed Fox Mulder sliding shut the drawer of her bureau. Shirt hanging open from his shoulders, he stood in his trousers and socks, his back to her. "Looking to slip into something more comfortable, Mulder?" she wryly inquired from the doorway, her voice both husky and bemused. "I'm afraid I don't have much that'll fit you." He turned to gaze at her from over his shoulder, his hair endearingly askew, his eyes shining with approval as they leisurely traveled the length of her body. "What if I said I wasn't looking for something for *me* to wear?" he queried lightly. "You'd prefer I got dressed?" she asked in surprise. He slowly shook his head from side to side. "Not exactly." "What then?" He pivoted to face her more fully. And she discovered that he had something bunched in his hand. Opening his fingers, that something slithered free from their tangled coil to trail like snakes from his palm. Scarves. Three of them. Scully licked her lips and contemplated what this revelation suggested. "If you're hoping to have me to perform the Dance of the Seven Veils, you're four short." The corners of his lips lifted as he glanced down at the crumpled silk spilling from between his fingers. "Actually, I was happy to even find three. You're not what I would call the fussy accessory type, Scully. I was worried I might need to improvise." "Improvise?" she echoed warily. He nodded, his lips pursed. "Yeah. But luckily, that won't be necessary. These are exactly what I was looking for." "And what *exactly* do you plan to do with those?" she asked, wondering if her tone gave away just how dry her throat had suddenly become. His eyes gleamed in the room's muted light, the look almost predatory in nature. Twisting to his right, he deposited two of the scarves on her night stand, then walked slowly towards her, holding the remaining bit of silk in his fist. Watching his finely regulated stride, the steely focus of his gaze, the smoldering sort of energy that radiated from him, growing more potent the closer he came, it was all she could do to hold her ground. He drew to a halt mere inches from her, his decision to encroach upon her personal space clearly deliberate. When he spoke, she could feel his breath blowing hot and ragged through her hair. "I'll bet you feel pretty proud of yourself, Agent Scully," he muttered softly as he nonchalantly ran the long strip of fabric through his fingers. "What did it feel like to make me beg? Did you like holding that sort of power over me? Did it make you feel good? Did it turn you on?" Her heart was racing. He hadn't even touched her yet, and still she was having trouble drawing breath. Not certain she could trust her voice, she simply nodded. Mulder accepted her admission with a rueful half-smile. Lifting his arms, he looped the scarf around the back of her neck so that its tails hung limply over her chest. Letting go of one end, he slowly pulled the other down her shoulder and across her breast. It slid cool and slippery along her feverish skin, snagging for just an instant on her tender nipple. She moaned with the sensation. "But that wasn't supposed to be the game now--was it, Dana?" he whispered from right at her ear, using his height to intimidate her, purposefully crowding her against the door jamb. "That wasn't what we had agreed upon." Her back pressed flat against the archway, she raised her eyes to his. He loomed over her, holding her in place as much with his silent gaze as he did with his far larger physique. "You said you wanted to give up control tonight, didn't you?" he challenged hoarsely as, without even looking at the fabric in his hands, he twisted and knotted it, fashioning it into what looked to be a small, soft noose. "You told me you felt like letting go of it, of turning it over to me." "I did," she whispered, lightly touching his chest with her fingertips, feeling his heated skin quiver beneath her caress. "I do." With that, he swiftly grabbed her wrist, almost as if he couldn't bear the halting stroke of her skin against his. His grip firm but not injurious, he pinned her arm above her head. Holding her captive, he took the silken shackle he had created and slipped carefully over her hand. "You sure, Scully?" he asked, his breath now bathing her face. His body rested heavily against hers, his belt buckle cutting into the soft flesh just below her breasts. "Are you certain you trust me enough to turn yourself over to me?" She regarded him gravely. His features were harsh with arousal, his lips pulled back to bare his teeth in what could be mistaken for a smile, but to her way of thinking looked more like a snarl. His brow was dark. His eyes were locked on hers, their lids heavy. She could feel his erection pulsing to life once more against her hip. She supposed that some women might feel threatened by such a situation. Fearful. Endangered. But Dana Scully prided herself on being braver than the average female. "I trust you completely," she told him quietly, her lips curving into the softest and gentlest of smiles, her free hand reaching up to skim lightly along his cheek. For an instant, she thought she spied a surge of moisture welling in Mulder's expressive hazel eyes. Then, he blinked. And it was gone. He erased what little space remained between them, bowed his head and settled his lips against hers. The kiss lingered, but didn't blossom into the wildly carnal tongue duel they often shared. Rather, the touch was tender, reassuring. "You won't regret it, Scully," he muttered fervently when the kiss had ended; when his lips had pulled away from hers to instead trail over her cheek, her brow, her temple. "I swear you won't regret it." And with that promise, she closed her eyes and relinquished herself to his care. Allowed him to snatch her other wrist and stretch it above her head, to bind it as he had the first, handcuffing both her slender limbs with his silken restraints. For just an moment, she simply stood there, her back flush against the doorway's frame, her arms lifted tautly aloft, her chest rising and falling in a series of shallow, uneven breaths. Her lashes were lowered, her face turned slightly to the side. He's looking at me, she realized, the idea as disturbing as it was erotic. Mulder is less than a foot away, studying me. Taking it all in. Seeing everything. My vulnerability. My submission. Knowing that I'm doing it for him. Understanding that I'm giving myself wholly, utterly to him. Then all at once, her musings ceased. She felt his fingers link with hers, entwining tightly, holding on. She sensed the warmth of his body blanketing hers, his shirt tails tickling her belly, his cock rubbing insistently against her hip. His lips descended once more. Swooping down to steal her breath, her soul. Her mouth opened. His tongue plunged inside; delved, then retreated. Moaning his name, she struggled to keep up. To slide her tongue sweetly along his, tasting his need, stirring his desire. At last, he pulled away with a gasp. Her eyes snapped open. He stared at her, his dark angel guise back with a vengeance. Releasing her hands, he gripped her cloth chain at its mid-point, and lowered her arms. "Come here," Mulder mumbled, giving a small tug on her makeshift leash. She obediently followed as he backed towards the bed, its piled pillows spotlighted by the nearby lamp. Once they stood before her night stand, he let go of her bound hands and turned instead to finger one of the still unused scarves. "Do you know what sense we as humans rely most heavily on?" he asked conversationally, his gaze averted from hers, his hand toying with the wad of silk before him. "Become most easily distracted by?" Hands tied tightly in front of her, separated by only a scant length of fabric, she shook her head. "No. Which?" He chose one of the scraps of silk, the wider of the two, and worried it between his fingertips. "Sight," he said shortly, still not looking at her. "Studies show we value that particular sense above the other four." She swallowed hard, waiting a trifle uneasily for what she now knew was to come. "Will you give that to me, Scully?" he queried softly, his eyes focused on hers once more. "Will you sacrifice it if I ask you to?" She hesitated only an instant. "Yes." The suggestion of a smile softening his lips, he nodded and crossed to stand behind her. She closed her eyes and felt the scarf drape across her lids. Holding her breath, she waited until the blindfold was secured before testing its actual functionality. Once the knot was tightened, she tried to lift her lashes. But could not raise them at all. She was blind. Bound. Naked. And at the mercy of the man who had made her so. The man who now traced the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, the caress so unexpected that she startled and took a step away. "Stand still." A quick breath. An even quicker nod. His touch returned. This time it outlined her lips, the shape of her jaw. Then, it floated like down across her chin, along her graceful throat, to her chest. He slipped his hands beneath her breasts, lifted them, kneading them carefully before releasing them. And yet, he wasn't finished with them. Or with her. Gently, he circled his palms over her swollen nipples, dragged them teasingly them over her pebbled skin. She sucked in a quick, sharp breath. Immediately, he ceased his fondling. "Sore?" he queried, concern roughening his voice. She licked her lips. "Tender." Saying nothing at first, he hefted her satiny globes once more in his hands. Held them mounded high, his fingers curled loosely around their sides. As she stood there waiting, mulling over his intentions, Scully idly wondered whether he could feel her heartbeat pulsing against his palms. "Poor Scully," Mulder whispered gruffly as he dropped to his knees, his hands still cupping her breasts. She felt his hair brush softly against her collarbone before she actually experienced his lips touching first one, then the other sensitive peak. Opening his mouth just a fraction, his tongue slipped out to soothe as well, to rub delicately over the nubbins, bathing them in moist heat. She sighed with his caresses, trembled from them. Mulder continued on, seemingly unawares. Framing her breasts in his hands, he made slow, sweet love to them. He lapped and licked and nuzzled his way across their rounded expanse, paying particular attention to the two tiny bits of flesh he had treated less kindly not so very long ago. His lips flowed like honey over her, coating her with the same speed, urging from her body a similarly rich substance. Part of her wished they could stay like this all night. Yet, alas, that was not to be. After a time, an all too short time, the man before her rose and gave her joined hands a small pull. "Come with me." She swayed for a moment, her balance a bit uncertain without her eyes to guide her, then took a step towards him. His hands landing lightly on her shoulders, Mulder turned her and backed her to the edge of the mattress. "Lie down." Bending her knees, she sat, then swiveled so that she was facing the foot of the bed. Her partner leaned over her, cradled her head in his hands, and carefully lowered it onto the pillow. She straightened her legs and took a long, slow breath, striving to relax. Her trussed wrists rested crossed atop her abdomen, her nipples throbbed with a mixture of excitement and dread. Again, Mulder made her wait before he chose to act. What is he thinking? she asked herself. What does he see when he looks at me like this? What is it about our game that excites him? He wasn't a cruel man, she knew. He had a temper, an anger that harkened back to his childhood. Certainly. But, he had never focused that wrath on her, never abused her either mentally or physically. Even now, in a position of nearly absolute power, he handled her with utmost gentleness. What was he getting out of this? "Lift your arms, Scully" he murmured quietly from beside the bed. "Raise them above your head." She did as he instructed, stretched her arms above her so that her wrists dangled between the headboard and the mattress. The position arched her back, thrust her breasts towards the ceiling. Her nipples reacted to the tension, stiffened even further, their pink centers crinkling with arousal. She felt him bend over her, sensed his body covering hers. The scarf binding her wrists was then lifted as well, jostled slightly, to finally be pulled tighter than it had been before. She tried to adjust. To bend her elbows. To shift into a position which allowed her a greater range of movement. And found she was trapped. Mulder had apparently attached the remaining scarf to her handcuffs, knotting it firmly at the center of the cloth running between her hands, and then tied its free end to the spindles at the head of her bed. The mattress dipped at her hip. And although they were not yet touching, she knew he now sat beside her. "You know, some people find it liberating to be restrained," he said in a low gruff voice. "They believe it somehow frees them from responsibility. Takes away the burden of having to act." He moved. She could hear cloth scraping against cloth, sense the shifting of his weight. Without warning, he kissed her just below the curve of her belly. His mouth was warm and moist against her tender flesh. Gentle. And yet, she still twitched in surprise, a choked gasp sliding past her lips. "All you have to do is react, Scully," he muttered as he slowly kissed his way up the center of her torso, his lips open, his tongue slipping out to taste her velvety skin. "I'll take care of the rest." He nuzzled between her breasts with the bridge of his nose, nibbled her shoulder, lapped at the underside of her chin. "Unless this frightens you," he whispered in her ear, the sensation hot and chilling at the same time. "Unless this is more than you want to deal with." He traced the intricate whorls of cartilage with his tongue, pulled her lobe into his mouth and suckled on it lightly. She moaned and shifted restlessly atop the covers. "Just say the word," he mumbled, his words little more than the breath buffeting her ear. "If you want to stop, just tell me. And we will. Okay?" A smile tilted the corners of her lips. How like him, she mused. How utterly Mulderish to set up this entire scenario, to deftly maneuver her into this bizarre situation and then have second thoughts. The man was nothing if not true to form. She didn't know what had set him off this time; if perhaps he feared that her being bound might bring back memories of those times when she had not willingly turned herself over to her captor. Given their shared histories, she supposed she couldn't blame him for worrying. Yet, despite her run-ins with Pfaster, Barry, and the rest, she felt strangely comfortable with the current state of affairs. After all, she was freely turning over her control to this man, not struggling to hang on to it while he violently tried to steal it away. He would never hurt her. She trusted him to respect her limits, to never demand more of her than what she could give. Besides, part of her was curious to learn just how far those limits extended. How much she could, in fact, withstand. And who better to test those waters with her than Mulder? She cleared her throat before assuring him in a hushed voice, "It's okay. I'm okay." He kissed her softly on the temple. Then pulled back, stood and seemingly crossed away from the bed, leaving her bereft. She lay there for a time, all her senses straining for clues as she tried to figure out what might be coming next. She could hear Mulder walking around the room, could just make out the hushed rustle of fabric as he moved somewhere off to her left. She turned her head on the pillow, rotated so that she was looking in the proper direction. Even if sight was still denied her. She heard a click. Lights? A door opening and closing. It sounded far away. Down her hallway perhaps. Or maybe it wasn't a door at all. Cabinets? What was he looking for? Hands clenching and releasing with an impatient sort of agitation, she at last heard him approach. "You know, this spur of the moment stuff is murder, Scully," he murmured as he returned to stand over her. "What do you mean?" He chuckled ruefully. "I mean a guy has to try to get the job done without the proper . . . equipment." Her lips curved in a wicked smile. "Don't sell yourself short, Mulder. I know your 'equipment' as well as anyone. And from what I've seen, it ain't half bad." He laughed again, the rhythm bumpy, as if he weren't used to making the sound. "My equipment thanks you. But, to be honest, I was specifically referring to something a little less . . . *personal* in nature." "Like what?" With that, something airy and almost unbearably soft trailed along the outside curve of her breast. She gasped, squirming away from the sensation before she had even fully identified what it was. "You ticklish, Scully?" * * * * * * * * * * Onward to IVb "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 4b/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net Once again, if archivists could paste this chapter back together again it would be ever so appreciated. :) * * * * * * * * * =Ticklish=? He wouldn't. Fox Mulder wouldn't dare subject her to . . . . The same hellish something grazed the tender stretch of skin below her navel, was dragged in a lazy semi-circle above the coarse nest of curls there. A choked little whimper escaped her lips. Mulder chuckled once more. "I take that as a yes." She ignored his gloating tone to instead demand, "What =is= that?" "A feather." If her eyes had been open she suspected they would be bulging in disbelief. "A =feather=? Where on earth did you find--?" The item in question dipped into her armpit's shallow hollow, cutting off her query. She squeaked in dismay, jerking against her bindings so fiercely that the bed frame rattled. "I pulled it off that thing under your sink." Off that thing under her sink? =Off that ratty old feather duster she used to clean the lighting fixtures?= Oblivious to her indignation, the feather next drifted along the sharp bend of her waist, from her hip to the top of her ribs. She longed to berate the man directing its path, chastise him for turning her cleaning supplies against her. But all that issued from her lips was a yet another strangled cry. "I didn't even know what I was looking for," he quietly admitted as he stroked the instrument of her undoing lightly against her navel, danced it into the tiny indentation, and then out again. She sucked in her stomach in a feeble attempt to flee its touch. But, tied the way she was, she wasn't going anywhere. "I was just kinda scouting around the place, you know? Searching for . . . . inspiration. And I found this." He fluttered the bit of down beneath her chin, behind her ear, along the muscles in her neck. She twisted her head atop the pillow, her brow wrinkled with effort as she tried to evade it. "Lucky, wouldn't you say?" he murmured, his tone suggesting he was vastly pleased with himself and his find Scully wished she could feel so smug. Unfortunately, seeing as Mulder had just unwittingly uncovered one of her most closely guarded secrets, she doubted that particular word would be used to describe her anytime soon. She was ticklish. Horribly, heinously ticklish. Had been since childhood. It had been bad enough when her two brothers had used her weakness against her. But this . . . "Where else, where else, where else?" he mumbled to himself as he circled her bound form. "I know." He perched at the end of the bed and took her ankle in his hand. Oh no, oh please, oh God . . . . Not her feet. He lightly dragged the feather from her heel, up her arch, to her toes; lingering on the softest bits, the parts of her sole not toughened by callous or underpinned by bone. She waited, feigning indifference, clinging to her composure. Every muscle in her body having gone rigid in a heroic attempt to hold back her response. She bit her lip, stretched her throat so that her chin pointed skyward. Her fingers clutched wildly at the scarf holding her in place, seeking something against which to brace herself. Then, he pulled the blasted piece of fluff slowly between her toes. And she lost it. She shrieked with laughter, kicked and thrashed upon the mattress, her skin sheened suddenly with sweat, her breath flowed harsh and hurried from her lips. Seemingly astonished by her outburst, Mulder momentarily lost his grip on her flailing limb. But before Scully could hope to take advantage of his distraction, he retrieved it once more. Within seconds, he had secured not only one, but both legs. Holding her ankles tightly in his grasp, he pulled them into his lap and locked his forearm over her calves to keep them still. "Well now. *That* was interesting," he murmured in amused fascination, the backs of his fingers coasting lightly over the tops of her tootsies. "I had no idea, Scully. No idea at all." Damn right you didn't, she silently told him. And believe me, Mulder--much as I love you, I had no plans to share the information with you. It wasn't that such teasing pained her, per se. Not really. Not at all. It was only that the sensations were so acute, so all- encompassing. She had no control over her response. No way to mitigate the effect his touch had on her. It was embarrassing. And unexpectedly arousing. Fearsomely so. She wasn't certain whether it was the idea of being completely helpless that she found so exciting or whether it was the actual physiological reaction to stimuli that set her insides on fire. But regardless of the cause, she could feel her groin tightening and pulsing, the tender tissue there engorging with blood. Softening and swelling. Readying itself to be entered. "So, you're pretty sensitive here, eh?" he queried as he brushed against the bottom of her foot with his fingertips, his usual implement of torture apparently having been set aside for the moment. She curled her toes and twisted her ankle, little murmurs of distress slipping out from behind her thinned lips. But, try though she might, there was no eluding this man or his attentions. He had her right where he wanted her. "Don't," she pled, her tone hushed and throaty. "Don't do what, Scully?" he muttered as he picked up the feather once more and began weaving it slowly through her toes. She wiggled them frantically, mewling and moaning, a desperate sort of laughter bubbling forth from her mouth. Her back arched as if she were somehow trying to throw him off. And yet, her supposed plan met with little success. He was just too strong. "Don't punish you when you misbehave?" Punishment. Was that honestly what he was administering? True, the sensations he was wringing from her were keen, edged with a frightening sort of intensity. But he wasn't hurting her. Not yet. "I told you this would happen, you know," he said in a low, menacing voice as he turned now to her other foot, giving it the same sort of treatment he had shown the first. "I warned you that you were going to get it." Great bursts of air escaped from her lips. She tried to shape them into words. But the proper technique escaped her. He chuckled with satisfaction as she writhed feebly before him. "I'll bet this wasn't exactly what you had envisioned." Hell, no. She pressed her pelvis upwards, twisted her torso, strained against her confinement. She could do nothing else. Was powerless against the need roaring through her like wildfire. She had to move, to thrust, to pump her hips. Had to do something. Anything. Anything to ease her awful restlessness. To scratch that dreadful itch. Then suddenly, as abruptly as it had begun, her torment ended. The finely feathered plume was withdrawn. And was replaced with Mulder's tongue. She gasped. Then, groaned. The deep wrenching sound feeling as if had been yanked from the very pit of her womb. His hands now cinched her slender ankles, keeping her one leg secured atop his thigh. The other, however, he raised to his mouth. He tasted her skin, lapped at the muscles, traced the bones. Slipped her toes between his lips and suckled them. Gently at first, then harder. Tugging on them one by one, until her nipples, her clitoris ached with the suction. "Is this more what you had in mind, Scully?" he queried softly as he nipped and nibbled his way carefully along her sole. "Do you prefer this instead?" She gnawed on her lower lip, her head rolling fitfully now upon the pillow. "Yes." He finished with one foot and started in on the other, kissing delicately along its side in introduction. "This is nice, isn't it? Better than the feather, I think." "Oh . . . yes," she whispered. She hadn't known, hadn't realized how maddeningly erotic this could be. How intricately connected this small portion of her anatomy was with the rest of her body's pleasure receptors. Mulder apparently had. He took his time, lingering endlessly over her. Until finally, he shifted, her ankles still within his grasp, and set her now damp feet flat upon the comforter. Her knees were bent. Her legs spread wide. "Did you like that, Scully?" he asked, no longer touching her, his voice coming from somewhere near the end of the bed. "Tell me you liked that." "I did," she murmured obediently, more than aware that her vagina glistened beneath its curls, silently telling him everything he sought to learn. "I liked that." "I could do that everywhere, Scully. Over every single inch of you. I could wash your body with my tongue." She whimpered, the images conjured up by his statement almost all she needed to take her over the edge. "And you know where I'd start?" His voice had turned rough, ragged. The bed dipped between her legs. Was he sitting again? No, kneeling. "Right here." And with his fiercely muttered words, he plunged his fingers inside her, his thumb landing on clitoris. She moaned and bucked against him. Almost as if she thought to somehow take control of the situation, to bring herself to climax simply by writhing on his hand. Mulder chuckled at her efforts. "I'd cover you with my mouth," he told her, his fingers moving inside her, edging in and out, just a little bit at a time. "Kiss you there. Softly. Maybe nibble just a little bit." She squirmed beneath him, hissing, "Do it, Mulder. Just do it." He laughed quietly once more, seemingly amused by her vehemence, and circled slowly over her clitoris, stimulating the tender tip. "I will, Scully. I promise. Maybe if you're good, I'll even suck on this. Would you like that?" She gasped and pressed shamelessly against his hand. "Yes." "After you've asked me." Yes, she could do that. She could definitely do that. "Convinced me that you want it." Something in his tone alerted her. She froze, her chest heaving, her lower body impaled still upon his hand. "Go on, Scully," he coaxed, a dark sort of humor running beneath his words. "Beg me for it." Bastard. He was turning the tables on her. Getting back at her for what had happened earlier. He knew as well as she did that this, not his tickling, was her real punishment. And for a moment, she almost missed that feather. Asking for anything, from anyone, had always been difficult for her. She hated the sense of weakness such entreaties provoked. But at that moment, she despised even more the throbbing, burning emptiness centered in her groin. "Go down on me," she muttered, her eyes scrunched behind her blindfold, her hips rocking longingly against the heel of his hand. "Go down on you?" he echoed in mock confusion. "I'm sorry. What does that--?" She groaned in frustration. "Mulder, please . . . . I want your mouth on me." "Please is good, " he softly allowed, his thumb tapping lightly, rhythmically against her clit. "But where, though? Tell me where you want my mouth." "Between my legs." He said nothing at first. Then, slowly he eased his fingers from her. She moaned with their removal. "And what do you want me to do between your legs, Scully?" he queried hoarsely. She took a deep, calming breath. Then gave him what he wanted. "Make me come. Make me scream. Make me beg for more." Silence filled the shadowed chamber for a second or two. Until Mulder murmured, "I think I'd like to hear that." And moved to make it so. * * * * * * * * * Continued in Part V ***The Words Universe, Cancer-Free Since 1995*** "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 5/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net I'm sure many of you thought this day would never come. I know I had my doubts. This is it, folks. Hope it was good for you. ;) * * * * * * * * * Fox Mulder was growing increasingly concerned. He was way too into this whole domination game for his own good. Or for the good of the woman he was dominating. They had dabbled in this kind of sport before. One particularly heated encounter against her living room wall being among his most treasured erotic escapades. But never had they taken it to this length, this extreme. He couldn't get over it. At times, in the midst of their play, he would simply stop and look at his partner. Amazed by her willingness to go along with the whole thing, awed that she would allow him such carte blanche. He would gaze down at her, small and trusting and utterly at his mercy and, odd though the impulse was, he would all at once feel like weeping. In her arms. Like a baby. It was only with the utmost effort that he could put such longings aside. Cut the crap, Mulder, he would ruthlessly instruct himself. This isn't about your giving in to weakness. You do that all too readily. This is about Scully. About her wants, her needs. After all, the entire evening had been her suggestion. She might insist that she had concocted the scenario with him in mind; that she had wanted to prove to him her absolute faith in him. And yet, he suspected that something else was at work here. Something that would ultimately be as much for her benefit as it was for his. It wasn't that he thought Scully incapable of selflessness. On the contrary, he knew her to be one of the most giving individuals he had ever met. But when you got right down to it, he hadn't been the one to request this. He hadn't needed her to prove anything to him. He had told her as much. He hadn't wanted it. . . . What a crock of shit. She lie before him now, her arousal so intense that he could smell the sweet spicy scent of it as it hung over them, wove between them, around them like the richest and rarest of perfumes. He would have to be a eunuch not to want her. Not to desire the beautiful woman laid out before him like a sacrifice on an altar. But he didn't only crave the sensual delights to be found in their union. It was the whole woman he needed. Her intelligence, her warmth, her wit, her laughter, her stubbornness, her integrity, her love. All of it. Every single bit of her he needed, yearned for, had to have. He hadn't been lying earlier. When it came to Dana Katherine Scully his greed knew no bounds. Want, need, desire. They were constants with him. When it came to her. They never went entirely away. Never really dulled, never dimmed. And now, heightened by Scully's far from innocent suggestion, that unholy trinity felt as if it might just rip him totally asunder. Those feelings that he had to this point somehow managed to keep leashed threatened at any moment to break loose. Wreak havoc. He just didn't want Scully to be a victim of the chaos. He looked down at her as he slid his shirt off his shoulders. She rested flushed and lovely; her eyes hidden from him, her hair, a puddle of auburn waves upon the stark white pillowcase. She moved not at all save for the flutter of her chest as she softly pulled in air. He could sense the tension in her. See the tautness in her arms where they lay, framing her head like parentheses. Recognized the way the muscles in her thighs struggled to maintain the position in which he had placed her legs; open and accessible to his eyes, his touch, his tongue. But most of all he felt her longing, her impatience. How difficult it was for her to be forced to lie there passively, waiting on him and his whims. And as his shirt slithered to the floor and his belt slipped free of its buckle, Mulder made the woman on the bed a silent promise. Your wait is almost over, Scully. It won't be long now. With an emphasis on speed not tidiness, he shoved his remaining clothes to the floor. First his trousers, then his socks and boxers. Finally, he stood at the foot of the bed, naked. And fiercely aroused. His penis bobbed swollen and hard, and twitching to be plunged into the hot moist depths displayed so invitingly before him. But, he resisted. Barely. Where he had unearthed such control he couldn't say. Its discovery had proven welcome, but decidedly unexpected. Most especially given how desperate he was to feel her skin glide like silk against his. Silk. Silken flesh. Silken hair. Silken scarves. Silken sheets. . . . Well, maybe not sheets, he wryly mused as he crawled atop the bedding in question and eased into place between her slender legs. Scully was more the practical type. Her taste tended towards simple cotton. But somehow, when they were together it felt as if the background for their coupling was indeed that sort of decadent luxury. That type of opulence. That sort of splendor. He had no other words to describe it. Making love to this woman transcended the usual, the common, the run-of-the-mill. Sinking inside her lush, heated body took him outside of himself. Beyond petty reality; away from the everyday, the tedious. The painful. No question about it. Dana Scully was the sort of woman a man could lose himself in. Devote himself to. And Fox Mulder was going to prove to her just how devoted he could be. When it came to her pleasure. He lay sprawled on his stomach, half on, half off the bed. His arms were snaked under Scully's knees, his fingers gripped lightly just above her hips. He blew gently on the damp nest of curls at the juncture of her thighs. A shiver swept over her, followed closely thereafter by a breathy, low-pitched moan. He could see the reddened skin of her sex, the tiny tip of her clitoris as it peeked out from beneath its hood. God, she was primed. So ready, that the least little touch or caress was likely to send her right over the edge. He'd have to be very careful indeed if he hoped to prolong her enjoyment. He began by kissing her directly in the center of her soft, slick lower lips, his mouth open and tender against her sensitive skin. Almost as if the action were reflex, the woman before him pushed upwards, silently begging him for more. "Ah, ah, ah," he murmured with a smile. "You can't move, Scully. If you move, I'll have to stop. And you don't want that. Do you?" "No," she whispered, her voice throaty and small. "Good girl," he said, kissing first one, then her other thigh. High, on the creamy smooth insides of her legs. "Now stay very still." She didn't speak, but he thought he spied her nodding, the gesture quick and subtle. Content that she understood the newest rule to their game, he went back to what he had started. Slowly, he traced with his tongue the petals of flesh surrounding the entrance to her body, rubbed lightly on the small ridge of muscle separating this opening from the one behind it. A faint, choked whimper floated free from his partner's lips. But she didn't move. He would have to reward her restraint. Delicately, he lapped at her clitoris with his tongue; gentle, teasing little swipes. Groaning, Scully pressed her hips shamelessly against his mouth, her derriere lifting entirely from the mattress. Mulder immediately pulled back. "Scully, you know better than that," he chided in mock disappointment as he nipped and nibbled his way along the area surrounding her groin. Darted his tongue across the crease of her hip, the slight curve of her belly. Dragged his lips once more down her spread thighs. But, granted her no direct stimulation. "I told you that if you did that, I was going to have to stop." "Don't stop," she pleaded, the words husky, passion-clouded. "Please don't stop." He paused, allowing her to wonder if indeed he would, letting her fret just a bit. Then at last, he whispered, "Okay. I guess we can let it slide. This time. But one more move . . . and that's it. I'll leave you here, Scully. Just . . . as is. You know I'll do it." And even though he knew he was baldly lying, his warning seemed to have the desired effect. She licked her lips and nodded again, the motion little more than a jerk. "All right." He smiled and bent to her once more. He hesitated for little more than an instant. Then, plunged his tongue inside her. "Mulder . . . . . . ." His name was uttered on a low, helpless groan. He stole a peek at her face. Her expression was contorted in a grimace of pleasure, her head tipped back, her lips open and desperately sucking in air. But she didn't move. Not an inch. So, Fox Mulder continued doing with one part of his anatomy what he so dearly wanted to do with another. He thrust gently. Into her hot moist body, he slid. And out. He varied the rhythm, the depth. But, he kept up the caress. Until she was keening with it. Then, like a kind of salvation, he captured her clitoris between his lips, held it there. And rubbed his tongue firmly over it. And at long last, Dana Scully moved. Screaming, she bucked against his mouth; twisted and thrashed upon the bed. The headboard banged with abandon against her bedroom wall, the sharp cracks of wood against plaster reminding him of rifle fire. Scully appeared oblivious to the noise; to anything really, other than the ferocious orgasm tearing through her with the sharpness of a blade. Skin shiny with sweat, she dug her heels into the mattress so that she could move her hips more freely, pumping them wildly now against his face. And yet Mulder hung on for the ride, reveling in the knowledge that he had brought her to this, that he alone was responsible for this woman's utter unraveling. He was the man who had prompted her strangled cries. The man who had urged from her this fierce, shuddering release. The man who was going to make her do it again. And before her contractions had fully subsided, he rose from where he had laid crouched at the foot of the bed. Kneeling now between her legs, he kept his forearms beneath her thighs, lifting her legs so that he wholly supported their weight. Sliding as closely to her as he dared, he maneuvered himself into position, and in one swift, piercing lunge, sheathed his rigid cock inside her. God. He could feel her insides pulsing against him, surrounding him in drenched velvet, milking him before he had even had a chance to climax himself. It was all he could do to keep from jackhammering his hips, stroking and stroking and stroking inside her, until he at long last split apart deep within her womb. But somehow he refrained. "You moved, Scully," he growled, his head tipped back, his eyes squeezed shut, the tendons in his neck corded as he strove valiantly for control. Like a miracle, he found it and clung stubbornly to it, even though it threatened at any moment to squirm away from him. "Seems to me you're having a hell of a time holding still." Then, his own hips began to move; hard, short thrusts that had little to recommend in the way of technique or finesse. "So why don't you just go ahead and give in. Move with me," he suggested hoarsely. "Come on, Scully. Move that beautiful ass for me. And let's see if we can't double your pleasure, double your fun." He would later wonder how the hell he had expected her to comply with his instructions. After all, the upper part of the woman's body was anchored to the bed frame while the lower portion dangled in his arms. And yet, somehow she managed it. She hooked her heels around the backs of his thighs and pushed off from the mattress with her shoulders. Her entire body straining with the effort, she slammed against him. Once. Then, again. Mulder met her stroke for stroke. He groaned in delight. "Oh yeah. . . . . God. I'm going to make you come, Scully. I swear . . . I'm going to make you come so hard." Keeping her legs draped over his forearms, he shifted position, balancing his palms against the comforter to give him better leverage. Sweat dripping from his brow, he deepened his penetration. The woman beneath him moaned her appreciation. "That's right," he muttered, his head bowed, his back arching and stretching with a relentless, measured pace. "You like that, Scully? Do you?" "Yeah . . . yeah . . ." He adjusted slightly again, pressed forward just a bit. He scooted up his arms as well, taking her legs with him so that they curled back over her torso, bringing her knees almost even with her shoulders. Her pelvis now pointed towards the ceiling. Downwards he thrust, angling so that his shaft rubbed more directly against her swollen clitoris. "What about this?" he rasped out as he loomed over her. "Better?" She whimpered. "Better. .better. .better. Oh . . . Oh, God . . ." He couldn't have said it *better* himself. It was amazing. This whole crazy evening had been utterly amazing. And now . . . Now it felt as if the woman he loved had somehow, some way absorbed him, and he her. That they had merged. Become one. She was everywhere--beneath him, over him, around him. He could taste her on his lips. Feel her passion-slicked skin caress his own fevered flesh. Hear her faint, tortured cries. Smell her. See her. Witness the way her slender body struggled beneath his as she clawed her way to climax. View the frantic manner in which her head twisted upon the pillow, tangling her hair so that bits of it stuck to her parted lips, her moist, pinkened cheeks. Note how her fingers clutched tightly at the scarf binding her to the headboard, crushing the fabric in her grip, her knuckles white with exertion. "Almost there," he chanted softly, his lanky frame coiling and releasing with nearly mechanical precision. "Almost there, now." "Oh . . . oh . . . oh," she mewled mindlessly in reply, her voice breathy and high. Then, she stiffened. And plunged over the precipice once more. Mulder watched her shimmying helplessly beneath him, her breasts bouncing, her legs locked around his shoulders, her eyes scrunched shut beneath the blindfold. She looked beautiful. Wanton. Wild. And she shared that part of herself with no one but him. In this, she was his. And his alone. God, he loved this woman. Loved her more than he had ever thought it possible to love another human being. He wanted to prove that love to her. To make her happy. Ecstatic. Delirious with it. With him. He wanted to give her everything. Everything he had. Everything he was. Yet, he wasn't wholly convinced of the value of such a gift. He knew even on his best days that he was little more than damaged goods. And as Scully's furious orgasm rippled through her body and over his, he decided instead to opt for something whose worth was more immediately measurable. He was going to bring her to this again. He could do it. He knew he could. Just one more time. * * * * * * * * * * Continued in Part Vb ***The Words Universe, Cancer-Free Since 1995*** "Words to the Wise" (NC-17) 5b/5 by Karen Rasch krasch@earthlink.net I think I've run out of comments . . . . . . . (Now, I'll =never= win that new award!! ) * * * * * * * * * Withdrawing from her with more than a modicum of regret, he lowered her trembling legs. Pulling back a touch, he slipped an arm around her slender waist, and flipped her; maneuvering her so that she rested on her knees, her ass high, her forearms bracing her upper body against the mattress. "Mulder?" Her voice sounded weak, disoriented, as she peered blindly over her shoulder at him, the swath of silk separating their gazes still. Choosing to answer her with action rather than words, he spread her open with his hands, and pushed his way inside her yet again. She groaned and dropped her head upon her bound wrists. Mulder dug his fingers into the soft flesh just above her derriere, pulled out so that only the tip of his penis remained embedded in her, then shoved it home again. "Give it to me, Scully," he gritted out, his hips setting up a rhythm that was noticeably faster, more rocky than before. "I want you to come for me again." "Can't . . ." she whispered into the bedding, the word barely audible above the wet slap of his balls meeting her buttocks. "No . . . I can't." "And I say you can," he growled, hauling her back against him once more. "I =know= you can." She didn't answer, didn't speak at all, but allowed him to manipulate her slender form, to send her crashing against him time and time again. Doing nothing to hinder his efforts, but little to assist. She remained silent save for her soft short gasps, her body fluid beneath his, ebbing and flowing like water. Mulder would later realize that her submissive posture should have tipped him off, clued him in that all was not as it should be. Hell, he would soon after lament, simply hearing the word 'no' slip past her lips should have alerted him. But his focus was off. His attention diverted. He was so intent on his purpose, on bringing Scully to climax one last time and then throwing himself over that cliff right along with her that he didn't pick up on the danger signs. "Come on," he urged from where he lay draped over her body, his lips near her ear, his arm locked around her waist. "Let go. I want you to. I'm telling you to." His cock drove into her mercilessly, sawing back and forth with such ferocity that he wondered if he weren't in danger of shredding what was left of his control. But he held on. Somehow. Searching for that something, that unknown spark that would ignite this woman's passion and send her up in flames. It had to be dramatic, he thought. Extreme. The evening's previous activities left little room for subtleties. What though? He had pulled just about every trick he had ever learned out of the bag. He didn't know how much imagination he had left. And yet, he couldn't give up. Wouldn't give up. He wanted this for her--for them both-- desperately. He had to come up with something different. Something unexpected. . . . The sharp crack of his hand against her bottom ricocheted hollowly about the bedchamber. And for a moment, Mulder fervently regretted his tactic. Christ. He hadn't hit her hard. He hadn't. But, despite his restraint, it sure as hell sounded as if he had. Then, she moaned and arched her back like a cat in heat. And he thought maybe, just maybe, he had chosen wisely after all. "You're being bad, Scully," he muttered, slipping easily into his role, his jaw clenched, his fingers rubbing lightly over the sweet curve he had just spanked. "You're not following my instructions." He brought the palm of his hand down upon her once more. *Smack* She gasped. "I want you to come--I've told you to, and you've refused." *Smack* She hissed in a quick breath between her teeth. "I can't allow that, Scully. You know the rules. You have to do what you're told." *Smack* Her head snapped back, her bottom pushed against his palm. "So come on now," he whispered, his voice pitched in the lowermost depths of his register. "Behave. Don't make me punish you anymore than I have to." His hips still driving into her, he massaged her reddened, rounded flesh with his hand. He could feel the heat rising from her skin. Could sense her arousal steadily growing. Building. She was close. Very, very close. He knew it. All he had to do was give her one last little push . . . . Wrapping one arm across her collarbones and the other around her waist, he rested his chest atop her back. Bowing his head, he licked her salt-sheened shoulder. Kissed her there. Then, opening his mouth, he bit down. And with that, Scully convulsed. Violently. As if she were in the grip of a seizure. Mulder held on for perhaps an extra quarter of a second before he too gave over to the demands of his body. He kept his arms sealed around the woman beneath him, leaned his forehead against her shoulder and pistoned into and out of her like an engine thrown suddenly into high gear. He shivered with it, delicious tendrils of fiery cold tracing their way up his spine and down his extremities. His vision shimmered out of focus, tiny flashes of light flickered at the edges of his consciousness. And somewhere, in the still lucid pockets of his mind, he wondered if this time he'd be the one to swoon. Yet, in the end, he merely collapsed atop the woman whose insides still kneaded his slowly softening cock. Breathless, sated, and utterly relaxed. Together, they dropped to the mattress, Mulder rolling immediately off of Scully so as not to crush her far more diminutive form. He laid there on his side for a moment or two, his breast to her back, his arm thrown over her side. His eyes were closed, his chest heaving, his body still intimately joined with hers. Sighing, he kissed the nape of her neck, nuzzled her hair. Boy oh boy, it really didn't get much better than this. He wondered if Scully felt the same. She was trembling, he noted, delicate little currents of it coursed through her petite frame. He moved to pull her more fully into his arms when, with a kind of surprise, he realized she was yet tied to the bed. Smooth, Mulder, he silently rebuked himself. Real smooth. Stretching upwards, he wrestled free the scarf securing her arms to the headboard. Slowly, Scully lowered her still shackled wrists before her, the motion performed in a gingerly manner, as if she were sore or stiff. Instantly, Mulder was filled with contrition. "Hey, you all right?" he murmured softly as he fumbled for the knot holding her blindfold in place. After tugging first one way, then another, he finally managed to draw the scarf up and away from her eyes. And discovered something that sent his heart careening around the inside of his chest like a twister-tossed trailer. She was crying. His brave, beautiful Scully had tears seeping out of the corners of her eyes. Oh my God. What had he done? His mouth suddenly felt like someone had vacuumed it dry. "Scully . . . what is it? What's wrong?" She didn't answer. Instead she shook her head, her eyes remaining tightly shut, and turned her face towards the mattress. Sitting up, he leaned over her in a kind of panic, and with as much gentleness as he had in him freed her hands from their last remaining restraint, wincing when he saw the bands of red circling her slender wrists. "Dana, talk to me," he implored as he laid down beside her again and carefully drew her unresisting body into his embrace. She allowed him to hold her, but did not turn towards him. "Are you hurt?" Still, she said nothing, choosing instead to shake her head once more. All the while, she openly wept, her face hidden beneath her tousled hair, her chest hitching as she strove to control her sobs. Mulder wrapped his arms around her, and choked back tears of his own. Oh man. He had fucked up. He had fucked up big time. Here he had been trying to prove how much he adored this woman, and instead he had reduced her to tears. Scully. A woman who had stared down lunatics bent on her destruction and not so much as blinked an eye. She was crying because of him. He had never known it possible for a man to loathe himself as much as he did at that precise moment in time. Not even in New Orleans. When he had nearly killed her. "Scully . . . Scully, I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice ragged with grief. "I'm so, so sorry." She remained mute, her trembling continuing unabated. "I just . . . I wanted . . . ." What? What had he wanted? What had he hoped to achieve? He couldn't speak. Didn't have the words. Couldn't think. Like you ever can, his conscience taunted. Like you ever do. Did you think this one through, Mulder? At all? Did you consider your actions for even a millisecond? Mull over their ramifications. The dangers they presented. To her. No. If he had, he would never have gone so far. Never have pushed and pushed and pushed this woman to her breaking point. Christ. She had given him control, placed herself in his care because she had trusted him. Trusted him to know when to stop. Believed that he loved her enough to keep her from harm. And this was the way he repaid her. By tying and teasing and beating her body into submission. Yeah. Some fucking Romeo he had turned out to be. Swallowing down a sudden surge of bile, he tenderly brushed her hair away from her cheek, his fingers trembling now, like her. "Scully, . . . I never meant. . . . I never wanted to do anything to frighten or hurt you," he began haltingly, his hands drifting over her body; caressing, soothing, apologizing. "I only tried to . . . to make you feel . . . . I don't know. Feel something more than you usually do when we're together." He kissed the corner of her jaw, her curve of her ear, her shoulder. "I felt awful about tonight. About the fight, and . . . the rest of it. And I thought . . I thought I could make it up to you." "Mulder . . . ." She looked up at him from over her shoulder, her lashes spiky with tears; her eyes, shimmering blue pools. "No, wait," he said, his fingers landing softly on her lips. "Let me finish." She regarded him gravely for an instant, then rolled into his arms, her cheek on his chest, her arm twined across his middle. And Mulder said a silent prayer of thanks. The damage can't be too great, he reasoned, if she turns to me rather than away. Taking heart from that bit of insight, he gathered his thoughts, his frayed emotions, and continued. "I made a mess of it," he quietly confessed. "I took things too far. I know that now. And I'm sorry." "But you--" Scully murmured, her voice rough and low. "But nothing," Mulder said, cutting her off. "There is no excuse. No excuse at all for what I did." He closed his eyes and kissed her shiny hair. "Not when I love you as much as I do. Not when you are so much a part of me that I can't drive you from my mind for more than seconds at a time." He tightened his arms around her, pressed her cheek to his heart. "You're what's best in me, Scully. What I try and fail to be every moment of everyday. I need you. You're what keeps me whole. What keeps me sane." He chuckled at his words, thinking she probably had a decent case should she choose to disprove his latter statement, and was dismayed to find the sound waterlogged. Oh great. Now they were both crying. "Because I'll tell you something, Scully. When it comes to control . . . there's only one person who truly has it." He turned slightly, and carefully eased himself from beneath her so that they wound up on their sides, facing each other. Reaching down, he gently tilted up her head with the edge of his hand. Their eyes met and held, both awash with tears. Mulder just looked at her for a time, tracing her features with his fingertips. Then, he took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Right there, Scully," he whispered as he enfolded her hand in his so that it made a small, tight fist. "That's where you hold me. In the palm of your hand." Her eyes clung to his for a moment longer. Then, she smiled, tears glistening still in her lovely eyes. "So, I don't need to tie you up to make you do my bidding?" He shook his head, a dry half-smile of his own lifting the corner of his mouth. "Only if you want to. I'm flexible." She bent her head to his, and kissed him softly. "Mulder?" "Hmm?' he queried, thinking that perhaps his apology had been accepted, no questions asked. "I feel I should tell you something." Shit. He knew it had been too easy. "What?" She licked her lips and dropped her gaze. "When I was crying before . . . . I wasn't upset." He raised his brows in disbelief. "You weren't? You sure could've fooled me." She quickly shook her head. "No,. . . what I mean is. . . . I guess I was kind of . . overcome. But not for the reasons you thought I was." Now if felt as if it was his brain not his heart swirling in a dizzying fashion. "I don't follow." Pursing her lips, she sighed. "Let's just say we probably both would have been better off if I had just fainted again." Slowly, the pieces were shifting into place. "Are you saying--" "I'm saying that you took me someplace I'd never been before. Someplace scary, true. But, someplace I wouldn't mind visiting again someday." "You wouldn't?" he asked in no small astonishment. "No," she confirmed softly, her hand cupping his cheek. "Not as long as I knew that you were there." He just looked at her again, the expression in his eyes stark, unvarnished by pretense or reserve. "I don't deserve you." She kissed him. "=I= didn't deserve that spanking," she quipped as she pulled away. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?" he offered, a playful leer darkening his features. "Maybe later," she said, stifling a yawn as she settled back into his embrace. "Could you just hold me now?" "I could do that," he said solemnly as he gathered her to him. And as they lay wrapped in each other's arms, their tired bodies floating towards slumber, Mulder realized something both simple and profound. Control wasn't something to be wielded or denied. But rather, something shared. Exchanged in a never- ending give and take. And there was no one in this universe or any other that he would rather share his with, give more to than the woman curled around him, her hair spread like fire across his chest, her hand gripped tightly in his. * * * * * * * * * THE END Oy!