Date Posted:20:47:32 06/01/02 Sat Author: moondreamer Subject: Instinct - Chapter Nine In reply to:
moondreamer
's message, "Instinct" on 11:51:56 05/22/02 Wed
Chapter 9
Same old disclaimer
Sara drove as fast as she safely could in her haste to return to her apartment. The Witchblade had hopefully given her the knowledge she needed to help Ian. She found herself thanking whatever gods directed her actions last night. Giving him the whiskey could have been what had kept him alive this long. She could only hope that Gabe had been able to get enough of the second bottle down him to really do him some good. What a treacherous snake Kenneth Irons was. To so coldly dictate who would live and who would die. His ego knew no bounds. A god he was not. Nor was he the Caesar he imagined himself. To have actually cloned Ian, and then attempt to kill the original. Sara could only think of Kenneth Irons as a monster.
Forever shattered was the distance Sara had tried to keep between herself and Ian. Her defenses had crumbled during the long and difficult night. Her worry for his health, her fear for his safety, her horror at the scene The Witchblade had showed her. Her natural attraction to him was now allowed to break through, and her life could never be the same again.
Racing up the steps to her loft she burst through the door. “Gabe? How is he?”
A strange sight met her eyes. There was Gabriel, pinned up against the wall by a naked Ian. Unable to help herself, Sara’s eyes drank in the unadorned beauty of Ian’s lean and muscular body.
Gabe was held in place by one of Ian’s hands. The muscles of his arm bunched with the effort of holding Gabe still. Ian’s other hand was filled by the bottle of whiskey, which he held to his lips as he drank deeply. Obviously, Gabe had been able to get enough alcohol down Ian to counteract the destructive virus he had been injected with.
“Sara!” Gabe’s voice was a brief squeak. “Help me out here, man. I was only doing what you asked me to.”
“Ian? Ian, its Sara.” She walked toward them slowly, her hands out at her side. “Ian, you need to let Gabriel go.” Sara walked a little closer to Ian. Daring to reach up and put her hand on his bare shoulder. “Ian, please. Gabe has done nothing to you. Look at me, Ian, we only want to help you.”
Feeling her hand on his flesh, looking into her green eyes was too much for Ian in his alcohol induced fog. Quicker than Sara’s eyes could follow, Ian dropped the whiskey bottle, dropped Gabriel and grabbing Sara, bent her over one arm as he gave her a hot and feverishly wet kiss. Sara opened her mouth willing under his forceful assault.
The frustrations of the last night, her dreams of the morning and the unbridled power of his need all overwhelmed her normal defenses. Her eyes closed as her arms came up around his shoulders, one hand caressing the soft curls at the nape of this neck, the other drawing him closer to her as she savored the smoky whiskey taste in his mouth and on his tongue. Here was the combination of Ians she had dreamed of. The gentleness of her Ian coupled with the untamed aura of danger that surrounded the other.
Gabe sat on the floor, rubbing his neck. Ian hadn’t really been trying to choke him. It had just been unnerving to be so effortlessly pinned against the wall. And Ian had used only one of his hands! It had been all too apparent that had Nottingham really wanted to hurt him, he could have, and nothing Gabe would have done would have made any difference. He watched the pair in front of him with awe. Neither one of them had come up for air yet.
“Hey guys?” Gabe ventured to speak. “Uh…guys? Anybody want to let me in on what’s going on here?” There was still no response from the passionately involved pair. “Right. How about I just let myself out and I’ll…talk to you both…uh…later.” Gabe shook his head as he picked himself up and headed towards the door of Sara’s apartment for the second time that day. It was definitely never dull being around Sara Pezzini.
Neither Ian nor Sara noticed Gabe’s discreet exit. Ian’s senses swam with the combination of alcohol that had definitely gone to his head and the unbelievable reality of Sara’s warmth and softness in his arms. He had awakened from what he had hoped was a nightmare to find Gabe pouring whiskey down him. Unable to prevent himself from reacting he had neutralized Gabe easily. Then realizing the alcohol was having a beneficial effect on his nervous system he decided to just keep drinking. By the time Sara had walked in his usual restraints on his behavior were long gone.
Ian picked Sara up effortlessly and carried her over to the bed. He let her done carefully, neither one of them willing to break off their kiss. It was as if once started, they couldn’t find it within themselves to stop. He lay on top of her, his bare body cradled between her thighs; cushioned on her softness. To have gone so quickly from nightmare to paradise was more than he would have ever dared dreamed he would experience.
Finally, both the need to breath and reality interrupted their communion of flesh and spirit. Ian raised himself up on one elbow, and passed a caressing hand down Sara’s soft cheek. “My lady, my Sara.” His voice was smooth and deep. Just the sound of her name on his lips sent a shiver down Sara’s sensitized body and caused The Witchblade to gently swirl and hum.
“Somehow you managed to save my life.” Ian looked deep into her eyes. “I just wanted to warn you before I died. To have you be the last image I would see. Never did I imagine you would save me.” Breathing deeply, he laid his face in the curve under her ear. Shaken at how close he had been to never seeing her again.
Sara shuddered at how close those events had been to occurring. “I saw it all Ian. When I was at Irons’ estate today. I saw what that bastard did to you. The Witchblade showed me. How did you manage to get free? How did you make it here?”
Ian kissed the delicate skin of Sara’s neck. He savored the salty tang of her skin. “I had no choice my lady. I couldn’t let him do that to you. I had to find my way to you.” Here he paused, then continued. “Sara,” she raised her head and the change in his tone. “Did you see…the…the other?”
“Yes, Ian. I did.” It was her turn to pause.
“What, what did you think of him…of me?” Ian’s voice was soft and hesitant.
“I was afraid at first.” Sara began slowly. “Yet, I must admit I was strangely drawn to him. His is so like you, and yet not. When I was at Irons’ estate, he was…strangely gentle towards me. How do I explain that?”
“The download was not completed, Sara. He lacks control. Yet, he is me. My feelings, my emotions. My desires…for you. All of these are now a part of him. Eventually, I believe he could…grow beyond what Kenneth plans for him.”
“You are asking me not to kill him, aren’t you Ian.” Sara’s voice was gentle.
“Yes, I believe I am. Whatever will happen next Sara, he will always be a part of me. Closer than a brother could be. Without him I am afraid I will not be whole.” Ian ran his hand down Sara’s shoulder and gathered her hand in his. Raising it to his lips he placed a gentle kiss in her palm. “Remember, he loves you as much as I do.”
Touched by his gesture, Sara reached up to find Ian’s lips with her. His words brought to her mind her fantasies of the morning. Both of the Ians and her…together. “How strange this all seems Ian. Yesterday, the day before, I would never have imagined we would be here, like this. Now, I can’t imagine my life without you.”
Ian parted Sara’s lips with his own. His tongue delicately probing for hers. “Imagine no longer, my lady.” Ian deepened the kiss and Sara gave herself up to the moment. Both of them unaware of the dark shadow looking in as the two of them discovered the new joys to be found together.
Good grief woman!! Get back here! You can't just leave it there!! Must have more!! (NT) -- Spin, 21:04:53 06/01/02 Sat