One Night Together
Written by Donald E. Fleming II
Story Concept by Donald E. Fleming II
Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. The character of Don Michael Taylor is my creation. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.
Special thanks to fellow Garg fan/writer Denis De Plaen, who offered a few invaluable suggestions for the story.
September 24, 1999
Washington Square Park
Manhattan
Dominique Destine barely touched her lunch as she sat discretely watching the two obvious newlyweds who were sitting only a few tables away from her at the sidewalk cafe. It must be wonderful to be that much in love, she thought absently. I wonder if I'll ever be that happy again. I could be if I could just muster up the nerve to tell Don how I felt about him.
It had only been a few days since she went out drinking with Don and he had dragged her home. The next morning, after waking up and finding herself with nothing on but her bra and panties, she had been furious and ready to kill him, believing that he had taken advantage of her. That was until Angela came into the bedroom. After a brief talk with her daughter, she realized that it had been Angela had who had undressed her and not Don. Later, after she'd seen the picture in the Daily Tattler, she was angry again. Not because she thought that maybe he would have, but because he hadn't! She dimly recalled him pulling off her boots after he got her into the Jeep and asking him if they were going to make out, but he had simply tossed the boots onto the floor of the vehicle and driven her home.
Now she wondered why he hadn't. They shared a bond of sorts. He'd saved her life and then she'd saved his with the Bloodstone while he lay dying in the hospital after the destruction of Newtech. She recalled the disaster with uncanny clarity. He had gone back for her after rescuing Angela and for a brief moment, while they lay there on the floor as the fire raged around them, something had passed between them. She wondered then, as she was wondering right now, what his lips tasted like. What would it be like to run her fingers through his hair? What would it feel like for him to touch her…?
"Ms. Destine?" she heard someone ask. She looked up and found herself looking up at her secretary.
"Candice, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came to find you," she said. "You had a meeting with the insurance adjusters at one."
Dominique looked at her watch, then gasped as she realized what time it. One thirty?
"Oh, hell!" she cursed as she stood up quickly, waving to the waiter to draw his attention. "I entirely forgot about that!" As she dug through her purse for her platinum card, she cursed herself for losing track of the time. That meeting was important, damn it! We were supposed to go over the damage estimates from the loss of Newtech, and how much it would cost to rebuild. And I blew it by daydreaming again! When the waiter brought over the bill, she gave it a brief glance before slipping her card into the leather sleeve. "Why didn't you try to call me?" she snapped at her secretary.
"I tried to, Ms. Destine," she said. "But you'd turned your phone off."
Dominique pulled her cell phone out of her purse and looked at it. "I did, didn't I," she said. She turned it on, then listened to the string of voice messages that were waiting for her, a majority of them from Candice. She stuffed it back into her purse as the waiter brought back her card and a slip for her to sign. She signed her name hastily and put down a quick figure under 'gratuity' before heading for the entrance, checking her watch as Candice ran to keep up.
"I'll never make it back in time..." she started as she headed up the street.
"It's okay, Ms. Destine," Candice said. "I told them that you got a call from that detective that was handling the investigation...what was his name? Bluebook?"
"Bluestone," Dominique corrected.
"Right," Candice said. "Well, I told them that he had a few more questions for you about the fire and that you needed to come down to the station."
Dominique stopped and looked at her. "And they accepted that?"
"Yeah," Candice said. "Especially when I told them it had to do with the Newtech fire. I managed to reschedule the meeting for two, since you had that open."
Dominique looked at her watch. "We're still not going to make it back in time..." she started, but then Candice turned and started waving towards someone. Within seconds, her limousine pulled up next to them.
"I had your driver bring me down here," she said. "I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not," Dominique said as she stepped into the limousine and quickly motioned Candice to join her. The young woman quickly jumped in and sat opposite her boss as the vehicle began moving again.
"You are a life-saver, Candice," Dominique said. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"Probably go nuts," Candice said. She almost laughed at the comment, but the distracted look on Dominique's face killed that idea. "Mind if I ask you a question, Ms. Destine?" she queried.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Are you okay?" Candice asked. "You've seemed a little...distracted lately. Is something wrong?"
What could be wrong? she thought ruefully. It's just that I may be in love with someone and I'm too much of a coward to tell him. "It's nothing," she said.
"Doesn't seem like nothing," Candice said.
"Candice..." Dominique started, but her secretary quickly cut her off.
"Look, Ms. Destine," she said. "I'm probably the last person to be giving you advice on relationships right now. Hell, I can't seem to keep a steady boyfriend myself. But if this has something to do with that guy down in PR..."
Dominique's head shot up in shock. "There's nothing going on between us!" she snapped.
"And maybe that's the problem," Candice said. "Ms. Destine, I know that you've had bad luck with men in the past..."
Dominique's hand hit the intercom button. "Gregory, stop the car!" she snapped. As the limousine came to an abrupt halt, she turned her glare on Candice.
"I do not wish to have this conversation," she said through clenched teeth. "But if you persist in sticking your nose in where it does not belong, Miss Reilly..."
Candice shrunk away from her, surprised by Dominique's anger. "I...I'm sorry, Ms. Destine. I just thought..."
"I am not in the habit of discussing my private life with my employees," she said. "Am I making myself sufficiently clear?"
"Y...yes, Ms. Destine," Candice said meekly. "I'm sorry that I brought it up."
"It should not have been brought up in the first place," she said coolly.
"It won't happen again," Candice said.
"See that it doesn't."
Dominique looked over the estimates for a third and final time as the adjusters finished their report.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention," she said as she watched them leave. She waited until the door to her office closed before sagging back in her chair and sighing heavily.
It wasn't as bad as I had feared, she thought. At least the infrastructure of the building itself was stable, and the underground labs hadn't been touched. And no lives were lost...
Almost of their own accord, her thoughts drifted to Don and that terrible night at Newtech. I almost lost him, she thought. What would I have done if I hadn't... She quickly shook away those thoughts, knowing that they were meaningless now. Because I did save him, she thought. And now I've been given a chance to...
What? she asked herself. Set yourself up for another disappointment? Like the last time? The thought came unbidden, almost as if it had come from a source other than herself, but she knew the sound of her own nagging doubt. She quickly sat up and her eyes went wide in stark realization.
By the Dragon! she thought. Was that it? After all this time, am I still trying to come to grips with what that bastard did to me? She reached for her briefcase and quickly opened it, pulling out the two-day-old copy of the Daily Tattler, the copy Xanatos had 'given' her after her night out with Don. She looked long and hard at the front-page picture of her and Don at 'Bronco's'.
She was smiling...no, laughing. Laughing, either at something Don had just said, or something else entirely. But it didn't matter. All she knew was that she had obviously enjoyed herself that night, what little she was able to remember of it.
She couldn't remember any time like that with Thailog. Their nights had been spent in each others arms, true. But mostly they had been spent plotting against Macbeth, and whatever feelings she had for Thailog seemed hollow, as if she knew that he really didn't care for her, but refused to admit it to herself. It wasn't until Thailog tried to kill Angela that she realized that he didn't love her.
Dominique looked at the picture again, focusing on Don. She could see a hint of a sparkle in his eye, and she realized that he had truly enjoyed her company that night. No preconceptions, she thought. No hidden agendas. No expectations of any kind. She remembered the scant few nights she spent at Don's apartment. They had talked through most of the first night until, tired she fell asleep, her head on his shoulder. He let her sleep and didn't expect anything in return for his kindness. The second night, she ended up in his bed, but with him on the couch, and in the morning he cooked her breakfast. Thailog would never have done that, she thought. Not out of the kindness of his own heart, since he didn't have one to begin with. He would have taken something in return, just like he's always done in the past. Taken something of value, like he tried to take the life of my daughter. Like he tried to take my life more than once.
"Well, no more," she said, getting up out of the chair. "It's time I put an end to your hold over me, Thailog." She set the tabloid down and looked at the picture Don had sent her of Angela and Broadway's 'wedding'.
"It's time I started living my life again."
Candice picked up her bag and took a long look at her desk. It was nice while it lasted, she thought. Odds were, she was going to be looking for a new job Monday morning. Maybe this'll teach me to mind my own business from now on. She put the strap on her shoulder and turned towards the elevator.
The door to Dominique's office and the CEO looked out, catching her attention. "Candice," she said. "I'd like to see you in here for a moment."
Candice looked back at the double doors as the executive disappeared inside. Here comes the axe, she thought. Sighing heavily, she started for the open door. "Might as well get it over with."
Dominique was leaning back against the desk as she entered the office. She paused inside the door, unsure of what to do.
"Have a seat," Dominique said, gesturing towards one of the chairs. As Candice moved towards the desk and sat down, Dominique stood up and moved to the wet bar by the window. Opening the mini-fridge, she took out a bottle of sparkling water and filled two small glasses. Picking them up, she walked back to the desk and handed one to Candice before stepping back slightly to consider the younger woman.
"I believe an apology is in order," she said.
Candice looked up at the redhead, then cast her eyes downward at the carpet. "Ms. Destine, I'm sorry that I..."
"Not from you," Dominique said quickly, interrupting her. "From me. I'm the one who should apologize."
"I don't understand," Candice said.
"I'm...sorry for the way I snapped at you earlier, Candice," she said. She took a drink from the glass before continuing. "I have been distracted lately. And it has been because of Don." She set the glass down and turned to look out the window.
"I thought you said you weren't in the habit of discussing your private life..." Candice started, but Dominique cut her off.
"I realize now that you were only trying to help," she said. "You've been with me for almost three years, Candice. And it was only natural that you show a measure of concern in light of what's been going on lately. You're really the only person on my staff that I feel I can trust with things of this nature, and with Andrea still out of town..." She stopped herself then, looking back at Candice. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"
"Kind of," Candice said. "But I don't mind." She looked up at Dominique. "So you and Don..." she started hesitantly. "The two of you are..."
"No," Dominique said. "As I said, there's nothing going on between us." She paused before looking at her secretary. "And that's the problem."
"I had a feeling it was something like that," Candice said. "Have you told him?" she asked. "About how you feel?"
"No," she said. "I haven't even been able to consider telling him. I've just..." She hesitated again. "As you said, I've had more than my share of bad luck with men in the past."
"How long has it been?" Candice asked.
"Over three years," Dominique said. "Since Alexander disappeared. I realized some time ago that he was only truly interested in my wealth, but I was so blinded by my feelings for him that I didn't see him for the monster that he was."
"That's kind of harsh," Candice said, wondering why Dominique would call her third husband, Alexander Thailog, a 'monster'.
"You didn't know him the way I did," Dominique said.
Candice thought that over before she looked at her boss. "So you're worried that you might get hurt again," she said. "I can understand that. But you can't just hide away and not tell someone your feelings simply because you're afraid of getting your heart broken again."
"I am not..." Dominique started to protest, but then she stopped herself short. The truth was she was still afraid. I am not going to let you do this to me, Thailog. Not any more! "You're right," she said. "I am...afraid. I've been in so many bad relationships over the years, I guess I've become a little gun shy."
"That's no reason to give up," Candice said. "Surely there's been at least one guy in your life who made you happy."
"There...was," Dominique said. "Once. Someone I met in France after I 'divorced' Angela's father." Michel, she thought. I never should have waited so long to tell you how I truly felt about you. "He was...a physician. Unique, in many ways."
"Sounds like you really cared for him," Candice said, catching the softness in Dominique's voice. "What happened to him?"
"He died," Dominique said regretfully. "Before I had a chance to tell him how I felt." Her eyes drifted down to the tabloid on the desk. "In a way, Don reminds me a lot of him." She paused. "Especially the look in his eyes..."
"Are you okay?" Candice asked.
Dominique looked up, realizing she was on the verge of crying. "Yes," she said, sniffing back the tears. "I came to grips with Michel's death a long time ago, Candice. Still, there are times when I really do miss him."
"Can I get you something?" Candice asked.
"No, I'll be fine," she said, then smiled ruefully. "It was just another case of 'bad luck', I suppose."
"I guess you do have a reason to be a little gun shy," Candice said. "But you shouldn't let that stop you from having another go at it." She reached over and picked up the tabloid. "Besides, it looks to me like the two of you had fun that night."
Dominique allowed herself a slight smile. "We did," she said.
"So..." Candice said. "What are you waiting for? You should tell him. Or you might end up losing him to someone else." Then she paused. "He isn't seeing someone else already, is he?"
"No," Dominique said. "In fact, he just came out of a relationship." She hesitated, then sighed. "I'm a little worried that it might be too soon for him."
"Do you know what happened between him and his last girlfriend?" she asked.
"They were engaged to be married before he left for the Gulf War," she said. "When he...returned a few months ago, so much time had passed that Don and his fiancée realized they weren't going to be able to recapture what they once had. They ended up breaking off the engagement."
Candice sighed. "You don't make things easy for yourself, do you?" she said.
"No, I suppose not," Dominique said. "I really do want this to work out, Candice. But I'm at a loss as to how. There's so much about him I still don't know."
"Maybe you could talk to one of his friends?" Candice asked. "See if they could give you some advice?"
Dominique thought about that. "I guess I could ask his ex..."
"Not a good idea," Candice said. "That likes waving a red flag in front of a bull. There's no telling what she'd say about him."
"Maybe not," she said. "After all, they are still friends."
"Are you sure about that?" Candice asked.
"Fairly sure," Dominique said.
"I guess you could try," Candice said. "But if you ask me, you might be better off not talking to any of his ex-girlfriends. Believe me, I know from experience."
"Thank you, Candice," Dominique said.
Candice looked at her watch. "Well, I've got to get out of here, Ms. Destine," she said. "I've got a ride waiting downstairs, and if I don't leave now, they'll probably leave without me."
"Very well," Dominique said. "I'll see you Monday."
Candice got up and headed for the door. She paused as she looked back at her boss. "Just don't take too long to tell him, Ms. Destine," she said. "Guys like him come around only once in a lifetime." Then she was gone, leaving Dominique to consider what she had said.
She's right, she thought. I will tell him.
September 25, 1999I must be completely out of my mind, Demona thought as she approached the Eyrie building. Completely and totally nuts!
Of course you are, she told herself. You are about to walk right up to Elisa Maza, someone whom you have despised for the better part of five years, and tell her that you may be in love with her ex-fiancé. You have to be crazy.
She sighed heavily as she adjusted her course, catching an upwind that would take her up towards the castle.
It had taken her most of the day to work up the nerve to act on Candice's advice. Now she wondered if she should go through with it. Yes, she told herself. I definitely need to do this. Otherwise, I'll always regret not telling him. Just like before. When I lost Michel...
"Demona," she heard someone call out. She shook herself back to reality and realized she was over the castle. She looked down and caught sight of Goliath and Elisa in the courtyard. Ah, she thought. Just the person I wanted to see. She glided down and landed before them.
"What brings you here, Demona?" Goliath asked. "Angela and Broadway are…"
"I didn't come to see our daughter, Goliath," she said. "I came to speak to Elisa."
The reply was a bit of a shock to them, not so much in that it was an unusual response, but in the manner she had put it. Demona never called her Elisa, Goliath thought. It was always Detective with her. Goliath put his hand on Elisa's shoulder.
"About…" Goliath said.
"It's…personal, Goliath."
Elisa looked at her. "I'll be all right, Goliath," she said. "It's not like she going to gut me and hang my entrails from the battlements. Not without drawing a lot of attention."
"Very well," Goliath said. He took his hand off her shoulder and turned to leave.
"Okay, Demona," Elisa started.
Demona looked around. Off to one side, Brooklyn's twins, Ariana and Graeme, were sparring and Bronx and Nudnik were playing under the watchful eye of Hudson.
"Not here," she said. "Somewhere private." She caped her wings and started walking across the courtyard. Elisa followed. Maybe she is going to gut me after all, Elisa thought.
They ended up in the kitchen. With Broadway and Angela out for the night, it was the most private place in the castle.
Demona sat in a chair while Elisa poured them both some coffee. "Okay, Demona. What's this all about?"
"I wanted to ask you about Don," Demona said. "What's he like?"
"Don?" Elisa said as she started to sit down. "Well, he's…"
"In bed."
Elisa almost missed the chair. "What?" She certainly hadn't expected that!
"What's Don like in bed?" Demona repeated. "You were engaged to him. I assume that you've slept with him."
Elisa jumped up out of the chair. "Demona, is this some kind of sick joke?"
"No," Demona said. "No joke. It's just…that…"The reality of the situation hit Elisa. "Demona, you're not falling in love with him, are you?"
The gargoyle stuck out her chin defiantly. "And what if I am?" she said. "It's not as if you have the option of taking him back anytime soon."
Elisa was still trying to get over the shock she felt. "I don't believe this. You, falling in love with a human? And not just any human. My ex-fiancé!"
Demona stood up and turned away. "I know," she said. "I can hardly believe it myself." She turned back to look at Elisa. "But it's true. I know it is. I haven't felt this way about anyone, human or gargoyle, in a long time."
Elisa was taken aback. "You...you fell in love with a human before?"
"Yes," Demona said. "A long time ago." She paused as she squeezed the back of the chair. "His name was Michel. Michel de Nostredame." She looked up and caught the expression of shock on Elisa's face as she recognized the name. Nostradamus? "He found me when I fell victim to the Black Plague and nursed me back to health." Her voice grew soft. "We were together for a very long time, detective. As friends, not as lovers, but I'm certain that he felt a certain attraction for me, because I know I felt one for him. Had I not been hung up on the whole 'human' thing, I probably would have spent every possible moment in his bed."
This was a side of Demona Elisa had never seen before, and she suddenly wondered if Demona was drunk.
"Have you been drinking again?" she asked.
"I haven't touched a drop since the night Don brought me home," Demona said. "I'm as sober as a priest on Sunday, as you humans would say."
Elisa smirked. "I guess you don't know very many then," she said. "I've known a couple who've had more than a little 'spiritual' help with their sermons."
"Granted," Demona said. "But I am sober. And I'm serious." She sat down again and clasped her hands around the coffee cup. "All I want is a chance, Elisa. One chance to know. To experience what you once had. Realistically, I know that it can't possibly work out, not with my history with mates. But if there was a chance, one chance for a moment of true happiness with a human, don't you think I should be entitled to it?"
Elisa thought about that for a moment. To her knowledge, Demona certainly did have lousy luck when it came to lovers. She had lost Goliath, not once, but twice. Her marriage to Macbeth had ended badly, only because Demona was only after him for his money, and Thailog had concocted that idea to begin with. And Thailog, his only interest in Demona was 'her' money. And how many others had she lost over the centuries? If anyone deserved a moment of happiness, it was Demona.
"You're serious about this," Elisa said.
"I am," she said. "Please, I want to know."
Elisa looked at Demona, unsure if she should give in to her request and tell her what kind of lover Don was, but as she looked at the azure gargoyle, she could tell that Demona was as uneasy about this as she was.
"Okay," she said. "Just promise me that this is just between the two of us."
"I promise," Demona said.
Elisa sat back in the chair, took a deep breath and told Demona what she wanted to know. Several times, Elisa had to pause as she saw a look of surprise on Demona's face at some little intimate detail she told her. About how he kissed. The way he would touch her. The gentle little caresses that always seemed to arouse her that much more...
They talked for what seemed to be forever, and Elisa's face was slightly flushed when she finished.
"Are you okay, detective?" Demona found herself asking.
"Yeah," she said with a bit of a smile. "It's just...Don's always had that effect on me."
"You still care for him," Demona said.
"Yeah," Elisa said. "Which was probably why I had such a hard time giving him up. And why I went off on you the way I did before."
"It's understandable," she said. "I must admit that deep down, I still care a great deal for Goliath, despite all that has happened between us. But I've come to accept the fact that our fates have taken different paths. Goliath's destiny is with you. Mine...well, we'll just have to see where things go from here, won't we?"
Elisa reached out and touched Demona's hand lightly. "I really hope things work out for the two of you," she said with a hint of a smile. "Of course, you do realize that I'll be keeping a close eye on you, just in case."
Demona allowed herself a slight smile. "I'd be surprised if you didn't, detective," she said. "Don't worry, though. I promise I'll behave myself. The last thing I want to do is to hurt him."
"Just one thing, Demona," Elisa said. "If you do decide to do this, don't expect Don to jump on you right away. Give him a chance to 'discover' you first."
"What do you mean 'discover'?" she asked.
Elisa's eyes sparkled as she got out of chair. "I'll let you figure that one out for yourself," she said as she looked at her watch. "Now, if youdon't mind, I've got to get out of here before Captain Chavez calls an All Points out on me. Good night, Demona." She quickly turned and headed for the door.
"Good night, detective," Demona said as Elisa left. She sat there alone for several minutes, considering Elisa's words before finally deciding on her next course of action and heading for the door. I'll do it, she thought. She reached the parapets and looked out across the city for a moment before leaping from the castle and heading out across the sky.
It didn't take her long to get to Don's apartment, but as luck would have it, a storm had begun to settle over the area during the night, and by the time she reached the apartment, it had already started to rain lightly. She made it to the apartment just ahead of the storm front and landed on the roof, then headed for the skylight, hoping to get inside before the rain worsened. She had just opened it when the storm hit. Within seconds, she was soaked. She quickly dropped into the apartment and closed the skylight.
"Well, that's just perfect," she said. She ran her talons through her hair to shake out as much of the rainwater as she could as she glanced around the apartment.
"You certainly have been busy, Don," she said aloud as she took in the computer system sitting on the desk along one wall, something that hadn't been there the last time she was here. She walked over to the desk and examined the computer, randomly pressing a few of the keys on the keyboard.
The corner of a picture caught her attention. Her curiosity piqued, she picked it up and looked at it. She sighed heavily as she did.
Delilah, she thought. It seems you may have beaten me to the punch. It was a picture of the hybrid clone, wearing one of her belly-dancing costumes. Demona set the picture down and turned to leave.
Then she paused, turning to look at the picture again. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, she thought. If Don and Delilah were involved, surely Elisa would have known and told me. She certainly wouldn't have told me the things she did otherwise. She picked it up again. It's probably...
Her ears picked up the sound of the bedroom door opening and she turned as Don stepped out and stretched his arms. He paused for a minute as he caught sight of her. "Demona, hi," he said. "I didn't hear you come in." He paused again as he saw the rainwater dripping off of her. "My God, you're soaked! What happened?"
"The storm," she said. "I was on my way over here when I got caught in it."
"Hold on a minute," he said as he headed back into the bedroom. A second later, he came out with a bathrobe. "Here, put this on," he said.
"Thank you," Demona said as she took the robe. She caped her wings around her shoulders and slipped the garment on.
"You said you were on your way here," Don said. "To see me?"
"Yes," she said.
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
She hesitated, unsure of what to say to him. I came here to seduce you certainly wasn't what she wanted to tell him. "I need to talk to you," she finally said. "About what happened."
"Uh oh," Don said, worried. "Do I get a last request, or are you going to shred me right here and now?"
"What?" she asked. "No, that's not what I'm here for. If it were, I wouldn't have waited this long. I just wanted to talk." And maybe a little more, she thought to herself. I hope.
"About..."
"Us," she managed to blurt out before she had a chance to stop herself. "I want to...I mean I need..." She hesitated, still unsure of what she should say to him. How do I say this? she thought desperately. "I just came by to see how you were doing," she finally said. "How...are you doing?"
"Okay, I guess," Don said, although he had a feeling there was more to her stopping by than that. "I was just getting ready to do a little workout.""Work out?" Demona asked.
"Exercising," Don said. "You know, lifting weights and stuff. With all the inactivity I've gone through lately, I've lost some of my muscle tone. I need to start building it up again."
Demona noted the gray T-shirt that read 'ARMY' across the front and gray shorts he was wearing. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to interrupt..."
"That's okay," he said. "I was just getting started. If you want, you can join me..."
"No, that's okay," she said, although the idea intrigued her a bit. "I never seemed to feel the need to 'work out'."
"I guess it just comes naturally then," he said. "Unfortunately, we mere humans need to work at it." He turned back towards the bedroom. "I might be a while."
Demona debated whether or not she should wait for him. "That's all right," she said, looking towards the skylight. "It's not as if I have anyplace else to go."
"I guess not," Don said, seeing the rain beating against the skylight. "Make yourself at home. I'll be out in a little bit." As he headed into the bedroom, Demona took a step to follow him, then paused. He might not want me to follow him, she thought. He might want some privacy...
She heard a slight groan from the bedroom. Concerned, she went into the bedroom.
Don was standing by the exercise bench, bending down and reaching for his toes.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "I thought I heard..."
"I'm okay," he said. "Just a little stiff. Like I said, I haven't been doing this a lot lately." He stood up and took off his T-shirt, then tossed it aside. As he turned towards the bench, Demona gasped sharply.
"What?" Don asked, turning around.
"Your back," she said. "By the Dragon, is that the result of the fire?"
Don sighed as he stretched again. "A lot of it, yeah," he admitted. "But it's okay. It's not like I haven't been hurt before."
"When..." she found herself asking.
"A long time ago," Don said. "Back when I was a crazy kid and didn't know any better."
"What happened?"
Don paused for a moment. "Well, let's just say that a twelve-year-old boy, rock salt, moonshine and barb wire don't mix."
"I don't..." she started, but then she remembered all the trouble the Trio used to get into at Castle Wyvern. "I think I understand."
Don sat down on the bench, and Demona moved closer, looking at the scars on his back. This is because of me, she thought. He almost died because of me. She reached out and lightly touched his shoulder. Don turned to look at her. "Is there something you want?" he asked.
Demona stepped back slightly. Yes, I want you, she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. "No, not really," she said. "I was just...curious," she stammered. "About that picture on your desk."
"Picture?" he asked.
"The one of Delilah," she said.
"Oh, that picture," he said.
"Yes," Demona said. "Are you and she..."
"No," Don said, which almost caused Demona to breathe a sigh of relief. "She's just a friend." For a moment, he seemed to regret that fact. "She asked me to design a poster for her. Something for her friends at the 'Saturn's Rings'."
Demona frowned at that. She remembered when Delilah worked at the 'Rings' as an exotic dancer, and while she understood why Delilah had done it, she was still upset with her because of it. And I find it unacceptable that she is still keeping company with those...persons, she thought. Why...
She paused as Don lay down on the bench and wrapped his fingers around the resistance bar. He pushed it up easily and lowered it again. "Too easy," he said. He got up and added another resistance band to the mechanism.
Demona stood there and watched as Don lay back down on the exercise bench and resumed his workout.
"You know, Don," she said, crossing her arms across her chest and moving to stand next to him. "When you have guests in your home, you are supposed to give them your full attention." He paused as he pushed the resistance bar up. "Trust me, Demona," he said. "You've got my complete and undivided attention.""Oh, really?" she said. Before she could even think twice about what she was about to do, she quickly threw her leg over his body and sat down, straddling his hips. Then she leaned forward and rested her arms across his chest, smiling slightly as she looked into his eyes. "You were saying?" she said.
"Okay," he said, pausing as he gazed up at her. "Now you've got my complete and undivided attention."
"I thought I might," she said.
"The question is," he said. "What are you going to do with it?" He curled his fingers around the bar and pushed it upwards.
"You are the most exasperating human I have ever met," she said as she sat up. "I came here to..." She stopped herself. She definitely wanted him, but if she voiced her desire, she was afraid he might reject her.
Don noted her hesitation. "Yes?" he said.
I can't go through with it, she thought. "I...I have to go," she said as she started to get off of him.
Don quickly sat up and brought up his hand, catching hold of her wrist as she started to move. She hesitated when she felt the contact. She looked down at him.
Don pulled his hand away, sensing that he had made an unwelcome gesture, and Demona suppressed a disappointed moan as he did.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to, but I thought…"
"No," Demona said. She sat down on the exercise bench, facing slightly away from him. "I'm the one who should apologize. I came here because...what I really wanted was...to..."
Don brought his hand up and touched her chin, turning her face towards his. "I think I already figured it out," he said. He moved forward on the bench as he began easing his hand around to the back of her neck, closing the distance between them.
Demona resisted the sudden urge to pull back, knowing what he was going to do. She had been kissed before; by Thailog, by Macbeth, but she hadn't been as nervous then as she was now. Thailog had been cold, Macbeth… at least he had been pleasant, but she hadn't been in love with him. She wasn't even sure if what she was feeling for Don now could be called 'love', but she was determined to find out. She allowed Don to slowly pull her towards him, turning as he did until she was facing him. The butterflies that she had been feeling all night since she left the castle began to breed exponentially. She closed her eyes.
Don brushed his lips against hers lightly, not wanting to startle her. He had learned from Elisa and the rest of the clan that Demona always had rotten luck when it came to relationships. She had had a bad ending with one gargoyle a long time ago, she lost Goliath to Elisa, her marriage to Macbeth had been extremely short-lived and Thailog had tried to kill her. Not a good track record, he thought, so he decided to go slower than he would have with Elisa.
She felt his lips brush against hers lightly a second time, and it sent a shock wave racing up and down her body. She'd been electrocuted once; it had been nothing compared to this. She trembled as he brushed his lips against hers a third time and that's when she leaned into it, pressing her lips fully against his.
Don was slightly startled by that, but he wasn't all that surprised. He'd expected it. On the way back from 'Bronco's', Demona had said some things that he doubted she would have ever said sober, and would no doubt flatly deny if it ever came up in a conversation. For a moment, he wondered if she had gotten drunk again, but the lack of alcohol on her breath and the fact that she was fairly lucid made him realize she wasn't. But just to be sure…
Don eased his hand around her thigh, slowly lifting it and pulling it forward until it was resting on top of his own. Demona paused and looked down, taking note of what he did, and realizing what he was up to. It's fight or flight time, she thought. The next step is mine. Moving slowly, she brought her other leg up and rested it on his, then put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, hoping that she had made the right move. That proved to be the point as she felt Don put his arms around her waist and gently pull her closer until she was sitting in his lap, their bodies pressed against each other.
Demona looked into his eyes, curious as to what he would try next. As if in response to her silent question, Don bent his head down and began kissing the hollow of her throat. Sighing softly in response, Demona let her head fall back limply in order to give him better access to her neck.
She has an interesting texture, he noted as he moved his lips across her skin. Like soft suede. He moved from the hollow of her throat to her left collarbone and ran kisses along the length of it, slowly pushing aside the bathrobe she still wore as he did, until he reached her shoulder. Then he changed direction, moving along the top of her shoulder until he was back at her throat again, and then he moved upwards until he reached the base of the ear. He noted that Demona seemed to relax as he did.
Demona squirmed against him as she surrendered to the touch of his lips against her skin. It had been so long since someone had touched her like this. The last one had been Macbeth, but she had been human at the time. She had never had a human touch her like this while she was in her natural form. It felt…exhilarating.
She was aware of his hands as he pushed the bathrobe off her shoulders, causing it to pool about her waist, then wrapped his arms around her and began moving his hands up and down her spine, sending a wondrous feeling of pleasure racing along her body. His hands moved lower, lower, until…
Her hands shot behind her, grabbing his wrists as they started to drift below her belt towards that one particular spot on her body. She wasn't ready for that, she thought. Not yet…
"I'm sorry, Demona," Don said, apologizing. "I thought…"
She looked into his eyes, seeing the fear there. Fear that he had betrayed her trust, fear that he had gone too far, fear…
"It's okay," she quickly said as she brought his hands around to the front, relaxing her death-grip on his wrists while still keeping hold of them. "It's just that…" She paused as she placed his hands on her waist. "That is a sensitive spot," she said.
"Painful?" he asked.
"Not that kind of sensitive," Demona admitted with a smile.
"I see," Don said, realizing what he had found. "I guess that comes later then," he said as he began moving his hands up from her waist before slowly easing them around her again. "Are there other areas like that one that I should know about?"
"I'll let you know when you find them," she said, wanting to continue but afraid she had spoiled the moment. That proved not to be the case when Don bent down and placed his lips on the upper swell of her left breast. She sighed softly as she leaned back slightly, allowing him to continue.
Don moved carefully, not wanting to do anything that was going to upset the already unreal situation he was in, but as he continued to kiss the top of Demona's breast, he could tell that she was as unsure as he was about where this would take them. He sat back for a moment, causing her to look at him with a hint of worry in her eyes, then slowly began moving his hands up her sides until he reached the bottom of her halter.
Demona looked down, noting the position of his hands, which was mere inches from the undersides of her breasts, then looked into his eyes, seeing the hesitation there. He's wondering if I'll let him continue, she thought. If I want him to take that next step. And she found that she was curious about that herself. Do I actually want him to go on, to take that step? Once it's taken, there's no turning back.
Don noted her uneasiness and slowly began to remove his hands. "If you're not sure about this..." he started.
Demona quickly caught his hands, then held them together in her own. "I...I want this," she said, trying to keep her emotions under control. "Please." When she released his hands, she noted that he paused before placing them where they had been. Taking the initiative, she reached up and slipped the strap of her halter from her right shoulder, then let the garment drop around her waist, revealing her breasts.
Don's breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight before him, the twin mounds of azure-blue flesh topped with peaks of sapphire. Intrigued, he bent down and took one nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. Demona started slightly as he did, but quickly relaxed, remembering the earlier feel of his lips against the top of the breast and desperate for him to continue.
Don placed his hand underneath her left breast, lifting it slightly and giving it a gentle squeeze while he moved his mouth to the other breast, kissing it gently. Demona moaned at the touch, and she felt a warmth begin to fill her as he began moving his other hand to the small of her back. This time, she wasn't inclined to stop him as she felt the hand begin to drift downwards.
A loud boom caused them both to jump at that moment, and suddenly the apartment was thrown into darkness. It took them a moment to realize what had happened.
"Looks like the storm knocked out a transformer," she heard Don say. "Probably knocked out power to the entire block."
"Does that complicate things?" she asked.
Don turned his attention back to Demona. "No, not really," he said. "I'm pretty sure we can take things by feel from here on out. But I think it'd be a good idea if we moved to someplace a little more comfortable."
"What..." she asked as she felt him start to shift. She slid off his lap and felt him take her hands as he stood up. Then she realized what he had in mind. Smiling in the near-darkness, she stood up and followed Don as he led her towards the bed.
The End