After Dark

[valerie_vause]

Things unravelled in the oddest of ways. Everything that had happened since she’d gotten to UNLV had been quite unusual. With so many different things happening Valerie had pulled away, secluded herself and thrown her focus into school and patrolling. Not that it really helped, because Brian was there in her thoughts, just under the surface. Reminding her of the dangers that being with him could lead to. The fact that there was a Watcher where she spent her daylight hours unnerved the blonde and she had to wonder if the woman would be against her seeing anyone. The Council liked their girls to concentrate on the supernatural entities. Then something happened, a change began to take place as she came to the conclusion that since Rhiannon also patrolled, taking a night off wasn’t a crime.

Valerie had felt the anxiety shift to something else, not anger, but a restless energy that she turned into purpose. Her entire life since she’d been called had revolved solely around her duty. Time for a change. Time for her to get a life of her own. Gathering up a few things, gum, wallet, keys, the blonde hesitated and turned to open the mini fridge freezer. Fingers caught the thin metal case she’d kept under the ice cube tray and slid it into her back pocket. All in all it was a bit bigger than a pencil case, half an inch thick, with a little clip to keep it locked.

She strode out of her room and through the dorm before it occurred to her that she hadn’t changed. It doesn’t matter. The voice in the back of her mind said, and Valerie nodded and continued onward into the night. Jeans spattered with paint, torn in places, and streaked with blood from accidents happening in patrol. After a few washes the dried crimson had turned orange, and most people chalked it up as some sort of paint or that she’d wiped pasta sauce down them. Blonde hair was hidden by the hoody, underneath it a clean t-shirt sported the same kind of artistic abuse as her jeans.

Legs might have been short but they carried her at a fast pace, and within half an hour she’d managed to walk straight to Brian’s apartment building. Valerie tilted her head back to take a good look at it, street lights casting it in a pale glow that seemed to emphasize how old it was. Small chips and cracks could be seen, the faintest hints of moss clung in sparse patches further up, and she splayed a palm against the bricks to feel the rough texture. Old, but oddly beautiful. Both hands lifted then to push the hood down as the blonde took in a slow breath and checked her watch. Nine at night wasn’t that late to show up unannounced, was it? Only then did she realise he might not even be in. Why hadn’t she called? Oh, right, fear.

Shaking herself out of it, Valerie gathered herself as best she could and knocked three times on Brian’s door. If he didn’t answer at least she’d followed through on her impulse, and that was better than nothing.

Comments

[brian_campo]

The squirming was a good thing. So were the fingernails. He felt himself steadying, more like his regular self, which he contributed to the alcohol that was hot in his stomach. Brian swooped lower and closed sharp teeth around the buckle of her jeans. He gave them a firm tug and released again, being playful, letting her know what he was picturing doing, even if it was too soon to do it. A slow path was traced by his nose, up the center of her body, belly button to throat.

She smelled sweet and feminine. His hands itched to touch her. He just wasn’t sure he could start it without moving faster than she wanted. To stop himself from reaching up her shirt, he stretched out and he let her take his weight. The sweatpants weren’t much of a barrier. She was soft and warm and he could feel her shape. He figured she could feel him, too.

He buried his face in her neck and closed his eyes. Narrow hips sought and pushed against her. The pressure was both relief and torture. The voice in the back of his head kept spitting out her name on repeat. Valerie. Valerie.

Breath flooded her ear.

“How do I get you to make that sound again?” He looked over his shoulder at her leg, the one nearest the back of the couch. His fingertips drew a slow circle on her kneecap. Brian met her eyes as he looped the crook of his arm under her leg. There had to be advantages to her line of work; he assumed flexibility was one of them. With a quick tug, he pulled it up to meet their shoulders.

[valerie_vause]

There was something undeniably sexy about how teasing his slow dance of intimacy unfolded. No rush, no goal to reach, no pressure, just light barely there touches that had Valerie shivering beneath him. The way he bit and tugged at her belt buckle caused the blonde to bite her own lip, eyes darkening as she breathed deeply. Brian’s scent was wonderful, a sweaty, pheromone laced musk that she couldn’t get enough of. His nose tickled as it brushed a path upwards from belt to throat. Laughter bubbled up richly and Valerie didn’t try to hold it in this time, the sound was rich as he buried his face against her neck and she gave in.

Fingers pushed through the short strands of his hair then worked their way up his scalp to tangle in the longer strands at the front. Not to hurt, but to grip with encouragement, fingertips massaging the skin beneath them in a restless caress as their hips met. Well, that wasn’t a gun in his pocket, because his sweatpants didn’t have any. Valerie let out a deep breath as if that would calm her down, reduce the rate of her heart, quell the heat that threatened to take over. It did nothing except grant an excuse for the blonde to nuzzle into his dark hair as she breathed.


"Trial and error?" She quiped as his fingers teased nerve endings she never knew her knee had. A delicious shiver worked through her small frame when she felt his arm under her leg. Their eyes met just before he did something she hadn't expected and a startled little noise was offered up. When Valerie first got to his door she never once imagined she'd find her ankle near her ear. Surprise shadowed the predatory look of brief hunger that broke only when her hips shifted back against him, eyes closed and a quiet sound of pleasure fell from her parted lips.

"Be honest." She whispered teasingly, lips finding his shoulder to kiss wetly, his skin tasted faintly of salt and she sighed against him with a smile. Teeth and tongue worked in tandem to leave a wet trail up to his ear so she could ask with barely contained amusement, "Are you thinking about those cheerleader tryouts?" She nipped at his earlobe then soothed it with a soft exhale of cool air. Valerie couldn’t help it, he brought out her mischievous side.

[brian_campo]

Goosebumps broke out on his neck. He writhed helplessly as they traveled the length of his spine. His ears were an erogenous zone and her breath twisted him into knots. Yeah, he was definitely at her mercy now, and she knew it. There wasn’t any hiding it. Brian licked his lips. “I don’t know. Are you thinking about keyboardists?” His fingers traced up and down the top of her thigh, as far as they could reach with his arm hooked in her leg. If wishes came true, the denim under his hand would have evaporated into thin area.

He liked the foreplay. The way they might be leading each other on. He didn’t know what was going to happen. What Brian knew was that it felt good and that Valerie was his girl. He could take it as far as she wanted or stop and force his hormones back into submission. Painful but doable. He pulled on the neck of her t-shirt. Then he bent his head to the task of biting the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He sucked on the skin and checked to make sure he hadn’t left a mark. It was still so automatic to think of her as delicate.

Which was a message his lower half didn’t receive. He wasn’t rough, but he used a steady pressure when his hips turned that tight circle, intentionally grinding where he knew it counted.

[valerie_vause]

Fingers against her thigh made it tremble, her foot twitched and she turned to see her toes curling. Valerie closed her eyes, let herself imagine for a moment what Brian’s fingers would feel like against her skin instead of over the material, and shuddered. Laughter stuck in her throat and she forced herself to look at him, “Now that you mention, there is one on my mind. Well, that’s not all he’s on.” The verbal teasing back and forth appeared to keep the blonde at ease, proved in a sense, that she’d been right to show up unannounced. Despite her position there was nothing awkward about the situation, that had to be a good sign.

Fabric stretched then strained as Brian’s fingers moved it aside, the bite surprising yet Valerie found herself tipping her head back to expose her neck for him. Trust. The blonde, whether she realised it before or not, actually trusted him. Not just with information but with her life; nobody had gotten that close to her neck before, and there she was wriggling under his large frame as she felt the suction of his mouth against her flesh. Every controlled press of hips against her evoked a quiet hitch of breath. As she pushed up against him Valerie had to wonder if she was following his lead, or if he was following hers. The way her pulse raced and her hands found his shoulder blades to grasp it was clear the blonde didn’t care.

The urge to explore his skin took hold. Valerie’s left hand traced lazy patterns down his spine, across his hip, then up along his side, stopping just short of his armpit. Fingers hesitated there before daring to brush across his collarbone, down over his chest until she could flick her thumb across his nipple, her nail scraping ghostly over it in its retreat.

[brian_campo]

He groaned. Turned so that his temple touched hers. He remembered how the simplest stroke of her finger got him going the first time they met; that was nothing compared to lying on top of Valerie and having her drag her nails on bare skin. Tiny electric sparks shot along the nerve pathways. His back arched and stretched. What he really wanted was to take her hand and guide it to his stomach, but that was pushing it.

Hips rose and fell under him. She’s so fluid, he thought. All that twisting and straining had a graceful tension to it, like an animal in coiled control of her body, or a dancer. “They teach you how to move like that in England?” he asked, laughing quietly.

Brian retreated to look at her. Flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. Valerie’s lips were parted and he could see her straight, white teeth and the tip of her tongue. He stared. He pictured putting his thumb on her bottom lip and gently tugging it down. He eased closer and flicked his tongue across the soft, wet entrance to her mouth.

Alright, fuck it.

He let go of her leg and raised himself up a few inches. Brian took one of her palms and flattened it on his abdomen. “Here,” he said.