Author's Notes: This fic is for the Turn Up the Heat Fanfiction Challenge at the SkewedBelievers's LJ community. For my readers, there will be updates on my series soon and I have more stories ready to post. Comments inspire more stories and updates.
Samantha walked down the street, oblivious to her surroundings. Earlier she'd stormed out of the VCTF when Bailey had tried to tell her to calm down. The revelation that Jack had been killing for her had shaken her to her very core. Although she'd always known that Tom had been killed because of her, the knowledge that many of his victims had been for her was both heady and frightening. Jack had not only asserted his place in her life, but he was eradicating parts of her life. Her former life, an unwanted voice whispered within her.
Sometimes Sam felt as if her entire being had been fractured by Jack's entry into her life. It was was as though he'd shattered her shell and slowly his unwelcome attentions and insidious charm had worked it's way into her very core. Since the beginning she'd admired Jack's intellect and skill, but it had always been tempered with horror and distress. But lately, her admiration had been tinged with curiosity and the aversion seemed absent. Now when she looked at his murderous creations, she didn't feel distraught but rather exhilarated. And the knowledge that such a brilliant man was committing these acts for her, thrilled her in a way that terrified her.
In other cases, Sam always saw the victim and had a strong sense of what they experienced. However Jack's victims weren't what she saw as she contemplated his murders. Try as she might, what Samantha felt most was admiration for Jack's skill and at times she could see his sheer brilliance with a crystalline clarity. What should have created revulsion within her, brought forth unwanted desires. Sometimes as Samantha looked at photos of Jack's work and walked through the crime scenes, she felt the same adrenaline rush she knew he felt.
When she snapped at Bailey for telling her to calm down, she'd snapped at him because she felt some of the last tenuous threads that were anchoring her, snap. It was a wonderful and terrifying feeling, but she'd felt almost betrayed that her old friend and mentor couldn't see what was taking place within her.
Maybe if she turned back to the VCTF and tried to make Bailey understand, Sam thought. Maybe she could-
Could what? a voice within her taunted. Pull you back from the edge you've already begun to fall over? Turn you back into good and tragic Sam?
She stopped walking as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a store window. Who was she really anymore? Not Sam Waters. Sam Waters saw the victims to understand the crimes and was repulsed by the violence and needless deaths. But Jack had changed all that. Since he'd begun to work his way in, she saw the brilliance of the killer and found the violence intriguing and at times even exciting. If it were all her cases that the shift in her thought process had occurred, Samantha wouldn't have been nearly so disturbed. But it was only Jack's case that she saw differently. All his messages to Sam and his occasional verbal taunts on the phone where he would say her name like a caress-
"Samantha," a voice behind her purred.
Involuntarily, an erotic shiver swept over her body as she heard his voice. It was the voice that haunted her dreams and her nightmares, the voice that filled her thoughts and had invaded her fantasies. Jack. Slowly she turned around to face him. Dark eyes seemed to capture hers as she took in his face. Her glance fell on the rose on his hand and she cast a worried glance around.
"Relax Samantha," he soothed. "The watchdogs aren't around. You've wandered very far from the VCTF and they aren't behind you anymore. I would scarcely risk being torn away from you now that we've reached this stage in the game."
"And what stage is that?" she asked in a soft and uncertain tone.
With a sensual smile, he replied, "The climax of course."
At his words, an intense blush stole across her face and she spluttered, "I don't know what you mean."
Taking the rose in his hand, Jack traced her cheek with the velvet petals and corrected, "Of course you do. You are no longer my nemesis Sam, rather you are now my Samantha. Cat and mouse has been a great deal of fun, but now you're ready to take things to the next level."
He moved closer and she could smell the scent of his cologne, the lingering scent of roses, and the faint trace of his last cigarette. His fingers threaded through her hair and he drew her close. Nervously, Samantha met his gaze, then felt a sense of rightness as she saw her eyes reflected in his.
Sensing the shift in her demeanor, Jack murmured, "That's right, Samantha. You see yourself reflected in me now. The last veil has dropped and you realize we're the other's reflection. All that time you thought I was the hunter and you were my prey, but you weren't. You never were my victim, Samantha. I saw that you were a predator like myself and I saw you trapped in Sam's life. But you finally see, don't you?"
Mutely, Samantha nodded. It was overwhelming as the last tenants she'd clung to seemed to fade away and a new truth emerged. His lips moved over hers and she melded eagerly to Jack as he embraced her. In a vortex of passion, she felt as if she'd been reborn and an energy and intensity seemed to take over her soul.
When Jack raised his mouth from hers, Samantha continued to hold onto him as she asked, "How did you know I was ready? Bailey-"
"Didn't see," Jack interrupted. "He's meaningless. They all are meaningless. How did I know? I knew the moment you realized they had all been for you, that you would see the full complexity of my creation."
"It's amazing," she told him. Ducking her head slightly, Samantha felt oddly shy. When Jack gave her an inquiring look, she responded, "We've danced our mental tango for so long, but we've never been-"
"Physical?" he supplied when she trailed off in embarrassment.
"Yes."
"Not yet, my Samantha, but soon. Very soon," Jack assured her, his voice sensual and ripe with promise.
His voice both soothed and aroused her. Samantha pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him. A bit of nervousness remained, but the erotic sensations that began to suffuse her body were pushing her nerves aside. It wasn't until she felt a heard brakes screech that she remembered they were standing on a public sidewalk.
"What the hell are you doing, Sammy!" an angry voice demanded.
Turning her head, Samantha saw Coop approaching and her eyes narrowed. Annoyed, she spat out, "What do you want?"
"What the hell are you doing? Bailey said you left the VCTF in a huff so I was driving around and I saw you practically fucking this guy!" Coop yelled and began to chew his gum rapidly in righteous fury.
Coop grabbed Sam's arm roughly and Jack growled, "I wouldn't do that."
Letting go of her arm, Coop turned to Jack and moved menacingly towards him. "Who the hell asked you!"
Samantha dropped the rose, Jack had pressed in her hand as they had kissed. Fury took over her as Coop raised his fist to hit Jack. Lunging at him, she pushed him from Jack and her jaw caught the punch he'd been about to throw. Samantha stumbled backwards and was still slightly dazed as Jack kicked Coop's legs out from under him. Throwing himself onto Coop, Jack took hold of his head and knocked it on the curb once very hard and knocked him out. Ignoring Coop, Jack stood up and moved to Samantha.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes," she nodded. Then scowling at Coop, she added, "But he's not going to be."
"Samantha we need to either leave him and deal with him later or take him and get out of here," Jack informed her as he noticed a shop keeper sticking their head out at the ruckus.
"Take him," Samantha answered, her voice dripping with venom.
Jack picked Coop up and as he walked toward Coop's poorly parked car, Samantha moved ahead and opened one of the rear doors. Roughly Jack shoved Coop into the car as Samantha went to retrieve her rose. As Jack slid into the driver's seat, she got into the passenger's side and got her handcuffs out of her purse. Reaching into the back, she cuffed Coop's hands.
Jack drove through the streets of Atlanta towards his lair. The building he owned had an underground parking garage and the car wouldn't be seen. As the car sped along, neither said much but Samantha reached out with her left hand and held his right hand. At last they arrived and Samantha watched Jack in fascination as he pulled Coop's unconscious form out of the car. He offered her a smile and told her to get the elevator, nodding in it's direction.
"You neighbors?" she inquired as she pressed the button and gestured to the various vehicles in the garage.
"All mine," he reassured her, pleased that even in her excitement Samantha was considering their safety.
His answer wasn't surprising, Jack was nothing if not careful and she'd long ago speculated that he had access to a sizable amount of money. In the elevator, Jack pressed a button for the top floor and dropped Coop on the floor with a thud. Stepping over him, he took Samantha in his arms. Eagerly she kissed him and giggled slightly as she realized they were kissing just a foot away from the man they were about to kill.
"It should bother me," she said in a confused tone as their kiss ended and she shot a glance at Coop.
"Why?"
"We were lovers," she shrugged.
"Samantha, a lover is an equal. Your latin lothario was nothing little more than a dildo with a person attached."
"It didn't bother you?" she asked thoughtfully. A small look of displeasure crossed her face, she didn't like the idea that he might not have been bothered. In that back of her mind she had wondered if she hadn't debased herself with Coop on some level to try and disturb Jack.
"Of course it did," he replied. Cupping her chin, Jack kissed her lightly and said, "But that's what you wanted. I wasn't pleased, but at the same time I knew it would never be anything serious."
Intrigued by his answer, she pressed, "How did you know?"
"Samantha, give us both a little credit. Even if you were to overlook his lack of culture, bad jokes and the mullet, the day would have come when you would have choked him with his own gum. Cows chew more attractively than he does."
Jack kissed her lightly as the elevator came to a halt. As the doors opened, Samantha moved to hold them open as Jack lifted Coop up and carried him into the hallway. She followed him to a door which he began to go through a complex series of conventional and electronic locks to open. At last the door was open and Jack told her to go inside. She stepped inside and Jack followed with Coop. Discarding Coop on the floor, he held his hand out to Samantha.
Samantha glanced briefly around the large loft when Coop began to wake up. For a moment, Coop spoke softly and confused, then he began to shout loudly.
"Shut up," Jack ordered and delivered a swift kick to Coop's mid-section.
"Sammy, you have to help!" Coop yelled
Giving him a look of detachment, she nodded and agreed, "Of course I'm going to help."
"Good then get me out of these cuffs!"
"She meant me, you strategically shaven monkey," Jack interjected.
Coop spluttered in outrage and continued to talk to Sam. Kissing her ear, Jack whispered that he would only be a moment and he left Samantha near Coop. As he gathered up the items they would need to dispatch Coop, Jack watched her with pleasure. She not only seemed unmoved by her former boyfriend's pleas, she seemed annoyed.
"Here we are," Jack told her as he returned and held a knife out to her.
Taking the gleaming blade from him, Samantha studied it, then her gaze wandered to the matching knife he held in his hand. Jack moved forward and took her hand that held the knife in his empty hand, then held up his hand that held his knife. Taking his hand, she threaded her fingers through his around the knife and looked into his eyes.
In his eyes, she again saw her reflection and she also could also see the heady mixture of lust, power and violence in Jack's eyes. She tilted her face, eager for his kiss, her hands and his never moving from around one another's knives. Meshed in a moment of murderous perfection, Samantha realized. Content in what she was becoming, anticipation filled her and her pulse began to race. When their kiss at last ended and he guided her towards Coop, her breath was a series of shallow pants as adrenaline and lust coursed through her.
Coop struggled wildly in his handcuffs, sliding away from them with his feet and shouting. After a moment he'd backed himself into a corner. Kicking out with his feet to try and fend them off, he knocked over a lamp and Jack efficiently ripped the cord from the wall and the lamp and bound his feet. Moving beside Samantha, Jack wrapped his free arm around her. In unison they knelt down and exchanged a kiss. Holding their knives as they were on the brink of killing Coop, Samantha knew they were bound more completely than if they'd been married a thousand times.
The kiss ended and Jack nodded. She knew he wanted her to make the first cut. It was her vow to him and she watched with fascination as she forced the knife slowly into Coop's midsection. Although she'd watched Grace perform many autopsies, Samantha was intrigued by the resistance of Coop's flesh to the knife and felt an almost orgasmic high as blood began to well around the knife and she struggled to pull it out.
"Beautiful," Jack sighed softly. Her technique would improve with time, but the sheer beauty of finally seeing Samantha draw blood was the realization of years of dreams.
Looking at her bloody knife and seeing the pleased look on Jack's face, Samantha felt encouraged. She plunged the knife in again, this time faster and harder. On her next stab, Jack began to join her. Samantha felt almost light headed with adrenaline as they stabbed Coop in a violent and erotic frenzy. As Coop's shouts became moans and he slowly stopped clinging to the last remnants of life, the couple continued stabbing him until at last Jack flung away his knife and grabbed Samantha's wrist. Her knife clattered to the floor as he hauled her to her feet.
Moving his lips over hers, Jack seemed to steal her breath as he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Samantha saw bits of arterial spray decorating Jack's body as he lowered her onto the bed and she tore at his clothing. Jack eagerly divested her of her clothing, his hands moving possessively over her breasts. The caress fueled the fiery neediness that had already begun to engulf her body. Wrapping her legs around him, Samantha moved so his rigid arousal was pressing against her wetness.
"Samantha," he groaned.
"Now Jack!" Samantha demanded. When he hesitated, she pleaded, "I need you. All of you."
Her words had the desired effect and he slid inside her. Later they could explore the more genteel side of lovemaking, but their need was too great to hold off. With rapid and violent thrusts, Jack moved within her. Samantha arched underneath him and practically wailed as she trembled with pleasure. Her fingers clawed his back slightly as she clung to Jack, but neither cared. Nothing mattered in those moments except for their powerful and fevered mating.
Samantha climaxed again and again as she found the greatest emotional and physical release she'd ever experienced. She was still quivering as Jack shouted his own release and collapsed. For a long time they lay panting, exchanging short kisses and looking at one another. They had streaks of Coop's blood smeared on them still and were shaking from the intensity of the what had taken place.
At last Samantha asked, "Is it always like that? Killing I mean."
"No," Jack answered, moving off her and reaching for a cigarette from the night stand. Lighting up, he took a drag and exhaled thoughtfully. "I knew it would be intense with you, but I never-"
Samantha wrapped her arms around him and stole a puff from his cigarette. Blowing smoke across his chest she sighed, "I'm glad. You've waited for so long, I would hate to have disappointed you."
"You're everything I thought you would be and more, my Samantha. When you plunged that knife in, you were so beautiful."
"Mmm, so I see," she agreed and wrapped her hand around his stirring cock.
Jack discarded his cigarette in the ashtray on the night stand as Samantha asked, "Can we do it again?"
"That's what I'm planning on," he replied throatily.
"Well that too," she giggled, her hand caressing his growing arousal. "But killing. Can we do that again?"
"That's what I'm planning on," Jack repeated mischievously.
Pressing Samantha back onto the bed, he began to move his mouth deliberately and teasingly over her body. As he made love to her slowly, they began to list future victims along with endearments. Sam had been destroyed and Samantha had been created splendidly in Jack's image, they decided contentedly as gazed into each other's eyes and saw their true selves reflected.
The End