An Intangible Pattern - Fate Bound.

The longest night.

Snow crunched underfoot as Alex walked through the woods. With every step she took, the urge to run back home grew more and more insistent, yet she walked on chanting in her head: One foot in front of the other foot, in front of the one foot in front of the other...
The path was lit by a waning moon, and the snow deadened all sound, still her eyes scanned every shadow, her ears strained for any sound and she felt for the pocket knife in her coat. She doubted she would be strong enough to fight off an attacker, even if she were ambushed, but it made her feel better.
After all, she thought grimly, it's not the first time.
A red ribbon caught her eye, dark against the snow and she stopped. She looked around and saw another tied to a branch a few feet away. Feeling sick with nerves she wound her way through the pines following the trail of red fabric. Eventually she came to a low dry stone wall. She glanced up and down the wall and spotted the wooden stile nearby.
Go over the stone wall and keep to the hedgerows so you don't get spotted. Follow the hedge along the garden until you reach the french doors.
She recalled Noah's instructions and soon found herself approaching a whitewashed stone cottage. As promised, she found the mask under the garden bench by the door. She hastily slipped it on and stood hesitantly in front of the french doors.
Last chance to turn back!
How she wanted to turn around and run back to Cat's house, back to safety. She stood for several minutes scanning her surroundings, all was quiet, all was still. She glanced along the cottage at the single lit window, at the plume of smoke coming from the chimney. She dared not move into the light for fear of being spotted, the curtains were drawn anyway so she would have to walk in blind and hope Noah had taken precautions, as he promised her.
Alex breathed deeply to ease the knot in her stomach and slid the door open. Trembling, she peered around the kitchen and stepped inside.
So this is where he lives?
Noah's home was not what she expected, at least, not how she imagined the home of an heir to an international corporation should look like. There was no marble, no expensive furniture or artwork. The cottage was small, clean but shabby; the furniture was old and mismatched; worn rugs carpeted the scuffed and scratched wooden floors. Peering through to the living room, she could see that the space was dominated by books, paper and notepads, overflowing from large oak bookshelves that took up two walls and gathering on side tables or in piles on the floor. It surprised her just how disorderly Noah was: her perception of him shifted slightly from the well dressed, well spoken and elegant person she always perceived him to be. Somehow, it made him seem less intimidating. She steadied herself and went to the room at the end of the corridor.
Noah was sitting at his desk wearing his mask, he looked up at her and took a deep breath, "I didn't think you would come."
"I almost didn't." She looked around the room nervously and removed her coat. Finally she looked back at him. His hands were bound behind his back and handcuffed to the metal frame of the chair. With his foot he slid the key for the handcuffs across the floor to her. She bent and picked them up. "Are you sure this is safe?"
He shrugged and replied, "At very least, this should slow me down so you can run out."
There was silence for a moment as Alex hesitated, she was frozen to the spot, visibly trembling .
"You don't have to go through with this." He reminded her, "We can come up with something else."
She shook her head, "We're out of time."
She took a tentative step towards him and circled round to the back of the chair. He dutifully demonstrated the security of his bonds for her. Satisfied, she reached out and lightly touched his shoulder. He shivered involuntarily and the tips of his ears went red; she withdrew her hand.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I've never done anything like this before, I don't know how I'm supposed to act," she apologized, feeling her face grow hot."
"Can't say I have either." He muttered awkwardly.
Why is this so hard?
The whole scenario was too absurd, too off putting for her to concentrate. If she wasn't so afraid, she might have laughed at how ridiculous they looked, heads encased in plastic, Noah bound to a chair while she snuck in like a burglar. She realised that removing her mask and succumbing to her heat might actually help her overcome her nerves. She reached up and took it off.
The dry smell of woodsmoke, books and furniture polish mingled with Noah's warm scent hit her with the force of a tsunami and she immediately felt waves of hot and cold roll through her body. She staggered and collapsed against the desk gripping the edge of the table to reorient herself.
Noah shifted, anxious to help her but his hands rattled uselessly against the chair. "Alex?"
"I'm fine," she gasped.
Her eyes locked on Noah taking in the unease in his expression, the tension in his posture and the bold line of his clavicle, visible beyond his collar as he leaned towards her. Her eyes lingered on the window of exposed skin, and she wondered how it would feel to press her lips against it.
On trembling legs she closed the gap between them. He froze, watching her with apprehension, while she laid her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back against the chair. He complied with her touch, barely breathing, though she could feel his heart hammering through his shirt. She straddled his hips.
"Mph," he grunted as she lowered herself into his lap. His breath left little blooms of condensation on his mask and she felt him stir beneath her.
Something almost vindictive rose in Alex, a desire to dispossess this sober, imperturbable man of his composure. She wanted to see him lose control, she wanted to hear him beg her for release. She tilted her hips against him and was rewarded with a surprised gasp.
Lightly, she let her fingers trail down his chest, tracing the form of his abdomen toward his belt buckle. He held his breath, trembling slightly, with eyes cast downward. She leaned into his neck and whispered, "There are only a few millimeters of fabric between you and my body now."
A soft groan escaped him and he shivered. His erection twitched against her again but she removed her hands from his belt and instead slipped them under his shirt. His skin felt hot against her fingertips as she trailed them up his torso, now fluttering in and out with his quickening breath.
"Alex...uh!"
He flinched as her fingers brushed an erect nipple. He glanced up at her, eyes wide and searching. She reached up and pulled the mask off his head, tossing it on the floor. Strands of his hair caught as it came loose and fell over his flushed face. Before he could say a word she pressed her lips into his and kissed him deeply. He moaned longingly and his hands clinked against his bindings. When she pulled away, his wide-eyed anticipation had melted away to ferocious lust.
There you are, Mr Hyde: she thought with perverse satisfaction. She rolled her hips against him and he groaned in frustration, struggling with the handcuffs.
She leaned back, drinking in the sight of the powerful looking creature bound and helpless beneath her. Here was the alpha who had stripped away the refuge of her body, and it was deeply gratifying to watch him struggle while she taunted him.
A tremor rippled through her body, her own need overwhelming her desire for revenge. She collapsed against his chest and shuddered breathing in the heady scent of his body. Hazily, her lips found the crook of his neck and tasted his skin.
He made a hissing sound as he drew breath sharply between clenched teeth and thrust against her insistently. She bit his shoulder in chastisement, her fingers popping the buttons of his shirt loose. Intoxicated, she leaned back and admired her work. The only other time she had seen Noah's exposed body, she was in shock and it was stained in blood; now it was very different, lit by firelight and seething in excitement. She met his eyes, intense and hungry, and sat upright and defiant as she reached down and pulled her sweater over her head, tossing it to the ground.
He growled impatiently and started forward, seeking out her bared breasts with his mouth. Electrical jolts jumped through her core as he sucked and teased, forcing a moan from her lips. Glancing down, she saw the light of triumph in his eyes.
Indignation warred with the desire to give way to his ministrations and she pulled away from him. He would not have mastery over her tonight.
She pushed him back down and let her hand trail down to his belt. He submitted to her direction without contest, allowing her to loosen the buckle, but she was aware he was watching her intently, poised to exploit any opening in her defenses.
She unzipped his jeans and he raised his hips from the chair, allowing her to remove his clothing. As she slid his underwear over his thighs his member sprang free, swollen and twitching as though beckoning her to take it. She bit her lip to distract from the terrible ache between her legs.
Not yet!
She was not done playing with her prey. She dragged her nails lightly over his hips and along his thighs. He cried out at the unexpected sensation.
"Ah...ahn! Alex!" He reproached, a startled look on his face. Emboldened by his disconcerted reaction she playfully nibbled the inside of his thigh, lightly trailing kisses up, and up. She drew her face close enough to his cock that he could feel her breath, hot and heavy against the sensitive head. He stopped breathing and watched her in stunned silence as it throbbed expectantly. She leaned back again and smiled coyly like a cat releasing a mouse, only to catch it by the tail again. He collapsed into the chair, and groaned in frustration.
"Fuck!"
While he was still reeling, she lightly licked the tip of his cock; he tasted of salt and soap. Noah started violently, choking on another curse.
Snippets of giggled conversations with Rob bubbled up through her memory and she gently traced her fingers along the base of his shaft to the tip, teasingly tracing ridges along his glans and over the hot slick tip; he shivered and met her eyes, his face slackened and dark with lust. She lowered her mouth and enveloped him. With a low moan his head fell back and his body shuddered. Alex felt herself go light at the sound of his surrender: she sucked, kissed, and teased him with her tongue, drinking in every shiver, every halting gasp. Her own need grew and eventually she could stand it no longer: she wanted him. He thrust his hips at her as she released him, speechlessly begging her not to stop. She removed her leggings and underwear and stood naked before him. He swallowed, his eyes roaming where his hands could not and she straddled him again, hovering provocatively just out of reach.
He made a discontented sound and arched his body impatiently. She swayed away from him, denying him the connection he craved.
"Please...I want you!" his voice was low and urgent.
She leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips, then whispered in his ear, "since you asked so nicely." With that, she nibbled gently on his earlobe and felt him melt beneath her.
She lowered her body and allowed the tip of his shaft to kiss against her entrance. A tremulous groan escaped him and he tried to bury himself into her.
"No!" She hissed, "we do it my way, remember?"
He grew still at the threat of rejection in her voice. She swayed like a dancer, rolling her hips side to side easing his thick, swollen head against the delicate skin that marked the boundary between them. He watched, entranced by her flowing movements, his breath catching every time she edged him a little deeper inside her, but she always drew back again. She saw, with wicked delight, the maddening effect she was having on him: his abdomen tight, bracing for the moment she would finally give him what he wanted.
Without warning she swallowed him whole, taking him all the way to hilt. He gave a ragged cry and swooned, she shuddered rapturously and began to move. He met every downward motion with a thrust of his own and with wild joy, she rode him into oblivion. The satisfaction she denied herself loomed in her senses and she reached between her legs, nudging herself closer to the precipice. She screamed as she climaxed, shaking uncontrollably and crumbling into Noah's chest. Before the waves of her first orgasm could ebb away, she stirred her clit in a crazed frenzy, coming even harder the second time. Only when she came back to earth, did she notice Noah was staring at her with a look of unutterable astonishment. Before she could feel abashed, he thrust hard into her body as though to wring a third orgasm out of her - but she had other plans. This time, she was focussed on him, watching his reactions closely to see which switches did what. She could see the tension building up and up in him, but just as he seemed to be on the verge of exploding she would stop, slow down or withdraw all together, then she would resume teasing him, building him back up and once again denying him release. By the third time he was cursing furiously, by the fifth he was begging her,
"Alex, I can't...no more...please." His voice was hoarse, his expression dazed and his body shone with exertion. She wrapped her fingers in his hair and kissed him forcefully, thrusting her tongue into his mouth. Now she took him faster and deeper, and he responded with a feral groan. He shook as though gripped by a cataclysmic force and he pulled hard at the handcuffs, desperate to hold onto her. Failing to get free, he arched up into her, his brow furrowing with the intensity of his climax.
"Uhh...Aahh Fuck! Ahh! Mhmmm..."
He collapsed, exhausted, riding out his release with short shuddering gasps. She took a moment to catch her own breath, then climbed off him and poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on his desk. She turned and looked at him, thinking to offer him some water but was rendered speechless by the scene in front of her.
He was completely undone: naked apart from the shirt which clung uselessly at his shoulders; silvery hair in disarray and sticking to his flushed face; eyes peacefully closed with an expression of blissful relief. His toned body shone in the firelight and his cock still stood to attention, slick with the evidence of their union.
Though the heat had passed, the rawness of the sight seared itself into her memory, one that would make her stomach somersault every time she recalled it. She shook off the trance with some difficulty.
"Do you want some water?"
"Hmm?"
Noah lifted his head drowsily. Through half lidded eyes he looked at her, seeming to need a minute to collect himself. He slowly sat upright and nodded. She refilled the glass and picked up the keys to unlock him.
First, she helped him to drink a little, then slipped behind him and unlocked the hand cuffs. He groaned in relief as his arms were released and rubbed his bruised wrists.
She handed him the glass of water and turned away to collect her clothing.
"You're just going to leave?" He croaked.
"What else is there?" she shrugged, setting her clothes down on his desk.
He stood up and put his empty glass firmly on the table, towering over her and blocking her escape. He lifted her chin gently, locking eyes with her.
His voice was low and his gaze intent as he scanned her face.
"Tell me you don't want me. Tell me now!"
She knew if she said it, he would stand aside, that she could walk away unscathed, and yet the words stuck in her throat. He slipped his hand around her waist and lifted her up to kiss her. She wrapped her legs around him and answered his kiss. Firmly but gently, he carried her over to the sofa and laid her down.
In the firelight, they succumbed to one another again, and again.