Lina Inverse was in a bad mood.
Actually, that was putting it mildly. She snarled at him any time he came within arm's length of her. She snarled at Amelia for suggesting they make camp for the night, and then she rounded on Zel for arguing with Amelia. As they set up camp, she complained about the weather—apparently, the gorgeous crisp autumn weather was not to her liking, and the rising full moon was offensive. Finally, much to the relief of Amelia and Zelgadis, she stomped into the forest on the self-appointed task to find firewood.
He watched Amelia heave a silent sigh and waited for Zel to turn on him.
"Do you know what's bothering her?" the other man asked, pretty much on cue.
Gourry shrugged. "Maybe it's that time of the month?" he suggested casually.
"Shhh!" Amelia shushed him, looking nervously over her shoulder. "You know Miss Lina hates it when people talk about it!"
"I doubt she can hear us, Amelia," Gourry pointed out reasonably. "She's going through the trees with all the grace of a bull in a china shop." Even as he spoke, the sound of Lina moving through the forest grew fainter.
"Maybe I should go after her?" Amelia suggested hesitantly.
"Leave her alone," Zel said shortly. "She'll just bite your head off again. Let her cool down. We'll all be happier for it." He turned his attention to coaxing a larger flame out of the fire, and then he pulled out a coffee pot, filling it with water from his canteen.
Amelia looked back and forth between the path Lina had taken and Zelgadis seated by the fire. Gourry knew she was torn between the desire to help Lina and the realization that Zel's assessment of the situation was probably spot on. Finally, she started rooting through their food pack, mumbling to herself about a good meal fixing Lina's mood.
With his two remaining traveling companions thus distracted, Gourry took the opportunity to slip away. He highly doubted that it had been Lina's intent when she stomped off into the forest, but her abrupt departure had made the situation much easier to deal with.
Gourry knew exactly why Lina was so surly, and it had nothing to do with having her magic powers reduced to nil for a few days. At the moment though, he was hardly in the mood for lengthy explanations, and he was sure Lina would prefer to keep things quiet, especially since she had specifically told him so. Several times. Still, her current sour mood was at least partially his fault, so he had some level of obligation to fix it. If he could.
Idle thoughts that had plagued him off and on over the past few days now suddenly clamored for his attention. Quite deliberately, Gourry cleared his mind. For now, he had only one concern. He was hunting Lina Inverse.
Tracking her path was simplicity in itself. But as the hunter, it was important that he give no hint of his presence to his prey, at least, not until he was ready. So Gourry was careful to move silently, avoiding rustling branches or treading on dead twigs. His preference for light armor made it much easier than it would have been had he been wearing full armor, but it might have been better to have left it behind altogether. On the other hand, that might have aroused the suspicions of Zelgadis and Amelia. Zelgadis for sure would have questioned him leaving their camp without armor. The last thing he needed was either of them—or both, for that matter—coming after him.
He made slow progress, as it had been quite some time since he had practiced stealth. Lina's typical modus operandi was to blast her way in, with a devil-may-care attitude. What was the point of sneaking when the world was exploding around you? Although forcing himself to move slowly after his quarry was torture on one level, he had to admit that practicing long-neglected skills helped him find his center, and made it easier to avoid thinking about what he planned to do.
Her path led to a small clearing in the trees, not even large enough to set up a decent campsite. Gourry paused, still partially concealed in the trees, and watched her without alerting her to his presence. She sat on moss-covered ground, her knees clenched to her chest with one arm, while the other slowly and methodically tore up the plants near her feet. Her chin was resting on her knees, and her hair formed a curtain, partially obscuring her face. She looked lost and forlorn, but he knew so well how deceiving appearances could be.
Now that he had found her, his resolve wavered momentarily. Maybe all she needed was time alone. Maybe she would come back to their camp, happy and cheerful, as if nothing had ever been wrong. And maybe she would announce that bandits were people too, who deserved to be left in peace. Gourry snorted silently to himself. No. Leaving her in peace was not the right solution. For either of them.
Predator examined prey, considering possible avenues of escape and the best methods to close them off before he sprung his attack. He knew that his quarry was far from defenseless, and if he was not careful, the hunter could easily become hunted. Deadly and dangerous she was, even as she sat quietly and seemingly unaware in a tiny forest glade. But even dangerous prey could be neutralized. Gourry smiled to himself.
He launched his attack without warning, but she still managed to get herself to her feet before he could close the distance between them. He had planned to pin her to the mossy ground, but since she had reacted more quickly than he had anticipated, he settled for pinning her to a tree instead, wrenching her arms above her head and capturing both her wrists in one of his hands. He had to give her credit. She fought against him, quickly turning to her magic. Fortunately, he was expecting it, and before she could chant more than two words of the spell that would have sent him flying up into the air in a cloud of debris, he covered her mouth with his, pressing a deep and possessive kiss upon her.
Not unexpectedly, she bit him hard, and he could feel blood welling up in his mouth. Her body heaved with surprising strength as she struggled to fight him off. He could feel her heart thudding against him, both in terror and in anger. Relenting ever so slightly, he kissed a gentle trail from her mouth to her ear, where he whispered her name.
Instantly, her struggles ceased, and he pulled back his head, although he still kept her mostly pinned and her hands captured. The terror in her eyes faded, and was replaced momentarily with relief, before the lingering anger flared. "Gourry, you bastard!" she yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Let! Me! GO!" She heaved against him with her last words, trying vainly to escape his bulk.
"Isn't it obvious?" he asked, as he gently traced a finger across her cheek and down the side of her neck, watching her shudder in spite of herself. "I think I'm taking advantage of you, Lina," he said huskily, his lips moving to follow the path blazed by his finger. "It's been too long," he whispered, as he cupped her breast. Even through all the layers of clothing she wore, he could feel her nipple harden in reaction to his touch. It was bliss to have her in his arms again, and torture to have too much cloth between them.
"Gourry . . ." his name modulated into a moan when he tried to grip her nipple through her tunic. Her breath came faster and she arched her back, pushing her breast against his hand.
He released her arms and pushed the yellow bandeau up with one hand while the other fumbled with the fastenings of her tunic.
"Gourry . . ." she breathed his name again. "Wait—"
"Lina," he whispered as he pushed her tunic open, exposing her chest to the cool night air, and watched her skin prickle into goose flesh. "You need this," he said as he took her nipple into his mouth, sucking hard and moving his tongue against it. "I need this."
Her surrender was abrupt, but not unexpected. He had recognized the yearning in her when she started snarling at him every time he moved too close. He had understood that she did not want to share the altered nature of their relationship with Amelia and Zel, and even though he thought it was silly, he respected her wishes. Still, if he thought it had been hard to follow her around chastely before, it was nothing compared to enforced celibacy after learning the joy of sharing her bed. Seducing her that first time had not been easy. She had seemed oblivious to casual touches modulated into caresses . . . he had despaired of ever progressing their relationship to the next level, until he had hit on the idea of seducing her with food. Being Lina's lover was everything he had ever imagined and more, far surpassing years of fantasies, and well worth the wait. But not without its price.
Oh yes. They both needed this. Her hands twined in his hair, holding his head to her breast, and already her breathing came faster, punctuated with ragged groans. He felt his own pulse race in response, echoed by the strong throbbing in his groin. The world narrowed down to just the two of them in this tiny forest glade. His senses were filled with her and her alone. The taste of her flesh against his tongue. The texture of her skin under his hand. The sound of her cries and the scent of her arousal.
Sooner than he would have thought possible, she thrust her hips against him, moaning an inarticulate plea. Slowly, he released her breast, tracing his finger over her damp and reddened nipple. She shuddered, and he admired the effect. In spite of the chill in the air, her exposed skin glistened with a sheen of sweat. And then he felt her hands on his shoulders, pressing him down, encouraging him to move lower.
He slowly dropped to his knees in front of her, leaving a moist trail of his kisses along her breastbone and down towards her navel while his hands unfastened her pants and pushed them over her hips. Her hands moved to the top of his head, exerting steady pressure, and he slowly complied with her unspoken request, kissing and teasing his way lower, below her navel, pausing just above the juncture of her thighs.
Her knees splayed open in a silent invitation, and she nearly overbalanced, hindered by leggings that hobbled her at the ankles. Gently, Gourry pushed her back against the tree, while he kissed along the line between her thigh and body, moving closer to her center. With a ragged groan, Lina dragged his head over, positioning him exactly where she wanted him. He looked deep into her folds, and blew warm air over them, resisting the insistent tug of her hands and drawing the moment out.
When he finally pushed his face deep between her legs, his tongue flicking out to lick and suck on her sex, she cried out, and her legs trembled in response. She wrapped her arms around his head, while he held her legs open, giving her extra support. He breathed deeply the scent of her arousal, reveled in the familiar taste too long denied as he pleasured her relentlessly through her initial climax that came too soon, and then through another until her legs threatened to collapse and she begged him to stop.
"Enjoyable?" he asked.
"Mmmm," she replied, slumped against the tree.
He smiled at the blissful and relaxed expression on her face, giving her a moment to enjoy the afterglow. It was incredibly erotic to see her standing in the moonlit glade in partial nudity, exposed from breasts to knees. Somehow it was more exciting than seeing her completely naked.
After a moment, she tried to push away from the tree, but Gourry had other ideas. He stood up, lifting her so that their heads were level, and he pulled at her legs, encouraging her to wrap them around his waist. She kicked off her leggings and complied, while he supported her against the tree, kissing her slowly at first, but with an increasing urgency to which she eagerly responded. Very quickly, he reached the point where he could hold back no longer, and while he fumbled with his pants, Lina unbuckled his armor. For once, he did not care when she tossed it aside in her haste to worm her hands under his shirt.
Eagerly, he pulled her closer and thrust into her, pinning her once again to the tree. She cried out, and he could feel her heels digging into his backside as she locked her legs around him, while her hands clutched at his shoulders. They fought for dominance, each of them trying to dictate movement. Gourry tried to achieve a steady rhythm, while Lina writhed against him, whimpering that he was missing the right spot. He knew what she wanted, but at the moment, he was beyond all thought aside from the feel of her surrounding him and the mounting pressure that nothing could deny. His entire world began and ended with the sensation of her sheathing him in dark and secret depths. He barely even noticed that she had reached a hand down between them until she arched her back, allowing him to penetrate deep within her, and then he felt her spasm around him as she climaxed yet again. All sensation narrowed down to the incredible pleasure of his own orgasm as he pumped his seed into her, their throaty cries mingled together.
They stood in silence for a moment of eternity, before Lina spoke. "You were right," she said softly. "I did need this." She smiled at him, and gave him a quick kiss. "But this tree is getting really uncomfortable. I think I have the bark imprinted on my back!"
He offered no reply, feeling lazy and content, and not inclined to move. He wanted to stay inside her as long as possible.
"Move it!" she said sharply, "or I'll move us!"
The threat of her levitating him was enough to get him moving. Unfortunately, he was now hobbled at the ankles by his pants and he lurched alarmingly. He was on the verge of regaining his balance when he tripped over a piece of his armor, and he ended up sitting down hard, bringing Lina with him. Fortunately, the moss was rather springy, and his dignity was more injured than anything else.
"Not exactly what I had in mind," Lina said sharply as she disentangled herself. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he replied shortly, as he started to lever himself up.
Lina stopped him by pushing him onto his back. With a wicked gleam in her eye, she straddled his hips and planted her hands firmly on his chest. Her weight was not sufficient to keep him down, but that hardly mattered, as he had no desire to move. He was quite content to be at her mercy for the moment.
"I did need this," she repeated as she flexed her hips against him. "But did you have to scare the crap out of me?" she demanded with a hint of anger. She traced his bloodied lip. "If you'd been just a second slower . . ."
"I knew the risk," he replied evenly. "You're a dangerous woman, Lina." With his hands, he pushed the wealth of her hair over her shoulders and stroked the sides of her neck. "Tell me honestly. If I had come in here with plans of a gentle seduction, what would you have done?"
Her eyes took on a faraway quality and she sighed. "I would have said no," she finally replied.
"Exactly. You would have said no, leaving me with the choice of forcing the issue against your wishes, or having us both leave here surly and frustrated." As he spoke, he ran his hands up her sides from her hips to her breasts, enjoying the feel of her skin against his. Then he started refastening her tunic. He began at the top by her breasts and worked downwards, caressing her exposed skin before pulling her tunic together just enough to secure the hidden button before he moved lower. Her breath came faster as she responded to his touch and he made no effort to hide a self-satisfied grin.
For the most part, he was content to allow her to set the terms of their relationship. If she said no, he respected that. But he had found that if he could arouse her to a certain point, she would deny him nothing. It was something that he occasionally used to his advantage, and the main reason he had launched his surprise attack on her, regardless of the risks. He had even used the "reverse strip" to keep her in bed with him when she had planned to go bandit hunting.
She moaned when he reached her waist, and he felt a surge of warmth where she straddled him. Then she glared up at him. "That is so unfair!" she gasped even as she readjusted her position ever so slightly to grind herself against his growing erection.
"Oh?" he asked innocently. "Should I stop?" He placed both hands on her hips and effortlessly lifted her off of him so that she straddled nothing but air.
Her answering growl was quite eloquent, but Gourry just chuckled as he lowered her back down. With a practiced twist of her hips, she sheathed him inside her depths. He kept his hands on her hips and guided her movements, even as his thumbs reached to manipulate her. At first, she braced herself against his chest, ceding control to him. Her hair shimmered as it moved between them, now obscuring her face, now revealing it. Her eyes were shut tightly and her focus was inwards, on the sensations he was evoking with his touch. He felt himself moving quickly and too soon to the razor's edge before the plunge, and he slowed their movements because she was not quite close enough yet.
Lina growled again, this time in protest, and then she opened her eyes. He was not sure what she saw in his face as he gulped air and struggled to pull back from the edge. With a wicked grin, she sat up straight, forcing him deep within her, and slowly, she drew her hands down his chest towards her thighs. He held his breath as her hands trailed up her sides over her tunic. Then she cupped both breasts, leaning forward ever so slightly. Even through the fabric, he could see her grasp both her nipples between thumb and forefinger. Rational thought fled as the edge rushed up to meet him and force him over, although he retained enough coherence to recognize her throaty chuckle.
When he came back to himself, her hands were back on his chest, tracing lazy circles, and now she wore the self-satisfied smirk. "That was hardly fair," he said with a pained expression.
Her wicked little smile grew broader, but she said nothing in response. After a moment, she lay against his chest, placing her ear just above his heart.
They lay in silence for a while, and then with a small sigh, Lina rolled off and over to sit next to him. "I think my legs are turning into pretzels," she commented as she rubbed at the backsides of her knees.
Gourry rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow. After a moment, Lina leaned back, supporting herself on her elbows and gazed up at the sky, tracking the progress of the moon. "We should get back before Zel and Amelia get antsy," she finally said.
"I know a good cure for antsy," he said mischievously as he reached over and placed a hand low on her abdomen. He wondered if this time she would prove fertile. So far, she had not conceived in spite of frequent activity. They both knew the possibility existed, but they had agreed to make decisions if and when they were faced with that particular reality. Lina had told him that her use of chaotic magic may have made it impossible for her to carry a child, although nothing was certain. "Besides," he added absently after judging the progress of the moon, "it hasn't really been that long yet."
"Long enough," she commented as she started hunting down her leggings and boots.
"Lina," he said softly as she pulled on her leggings. "We can't keep it a secret forever."
Her jaw hardened, but she made no response.
"Plenty of people know we're lovers. A bunch of others probably think we're lovers. Why not our friends?"
Again, she said nothing, although her hand trailed down to rest on her lower abdomen. He could almost guess what she was thinking, particularly since he had just been thinking the same thing.
"What are you afraid of?" he asked, finally voicing the question that had been bothering him for years. Unfortunately, he thought he already knew the answer, that she was embarrassed to be the lover of someone with yogurt for brains. Never mind that he loved her desperately, that he had wooed her so carefully. She had him utterly wrapped around her little finger, whether she realized it or not. He had made it his business to understand her on every possible level . . .
But she could still surprise him.
"I don't want to lose you again," she said simply. "I don't ever want to be in the position where I have to choose between you and the universe, because I've been there before, and the universe loses." She paused and looked directly at him. "Hellmaster Phibrizo took you from me. To use you as a bargaining chip. And that was before we had so much as kissed." She stood up and started pacing in the tiny clearing. "Yes, people know we're lovers. But they don't really count. They may guess, but they don't really know who we are. Others may guess or suspect . . . but if we can fool our friends . . ." she trailed off.
He swallowed hard against the sudden lump in his throat, embarrassed by how badly he had misjudged her.
"You thought I was embarrassed to be your lover." She said quietly.
Gourry nodded, knowing that he was blushing crimson, but feeling that he owed her that much honesty, at least.
"I'm sorry," she said softly as she turned to face the trees.
"Why are you sorry?" he asked as he stood up. He had to take a moment to do up his pants before he could close the distance between them. "I'm the one who should be sorry."
She leaned back against him, hugging her arms around herself, even as she shook her head. "Because I knew you thought that, and I didn't do anything to change it."
"And now I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight until he felt her relax against him. "You really think this is necessary?" he whispered into her hair.
"For now," she agreed. "For as long as possible." Her hand strayed once again to her abdomen.
"I guess I can live with that, for now," he replied, covering her hand with his. "Besides," he added as his hand drifted up to cup her breast, "being able to hunt you every so often has its own rewards."
Lina twisted around in his embrace to face him. "Ah, but I've been warned now. You're going to have a hard time taking me by surprise again."
"Lina," he replied with a pained expression. "You can't be a good hunter if you're predictable. Just because I did it this time doesn't mean I'll chase you down every time you run off in a snarly huff."
She stared at him as understanding slowly dawned on her face. "Gourry," she finally said, swallowing hard. "Do you have any idea how much you scared me tonight?"
"You lived," he pointed out evenly. "Fair is fair, Lina," he said, placing a finger over her lips to prevent her from interrupting. "If you're going to torture me by holding me at arm's length and turning into a surly bitch on a regular basis, you can deal with an occasional fright."
"'Surly bitch?'" she echoed, sounding slightly shocked. Then she laughed softly. "Yeah, that sounds about right." She disentangled herself from his arms and started back to their campsite.
Gourry stayed behind, thinking that it might be better for them to return separately, rather than together. Just before Lina passed out of earshot, he heard her murmur to herself, "Fair is fair, and sometimes the hunter becomes the hunted!"
Whether she intended him to hear or not was unclear. Still, she was welcome to try. To his knowledge, Lina had never hunted him, whereas he had spent years studying her habits, moods, and movements. He thought Lina might find the transition from prey to predator to be harder than she expected. On the other hand, she might surprise him. It certainly would make things interesting!
AN: This fic is loosely based on the images from the Slayers hentai doujinshi story "Midnight Secret" in the W-Mix volume. Zoey Joey has scans of the volume at http://www.mugenpink.com/darkroses/slayscans.html. I don't read Japanese, so I know there are parts of the doujinshi that I'm missing, particularly on the last few pages of the arc. For whatever reason, the images sparked my imagination, and this was the result!
Posted September 17, 2007