While redoing and updating Justice, I remembered this little one shot piece I did a long time ago. Smut later on, so it's not safe for work.

He went from sleeping to waking in the space of an instant, his muscles tensing as he shot up into a sitting position, and his hand fell to his hip where his weapon should have been...

Should have been...

Valen went still as reality imposed itself onto his mind, sweeping the remains of the dream away. He took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly, letting it calm him, a voice in the back of his head speaking reasonably against the unreasoning terror the nightmare had brought. He was not in the Hells. He was not fighting for his life. The sound of cloth sliding over cloth had not been the stealthily approaching movements of a devil enemy, it had been the woman laying beside him turning over on the bed.

Valen dropped his gaze to Angeline. She'd rolled over on her back and the back of her hand had fallen against his side, which had been what jolted him out of sleep, every sense tuned outward in caution by the familiar fear that had been with him constantly during the Blood Wars.

Valen winced and turned from her, throwing his legs over the side of the bed and sitting on its edge, letting his head drop as his breath started to even out. It had been a long time since he'd had a nightmare that vivid and awful. To be honest he'd thought they had left him for good. A foolish hope, that part of his life would always be a part of him, part of who he was, and so would the horrors that had come along with it.

Behind him, Angeline stirred, perhaps feeling the absence of the warmth of his body beside her. She murmured is name sleepily and he closed his eyes, that one word, two syllables, calming him more than any reasoning could have. He'd heard her say his name a hundred different ways, tight with anger or high with worry, or hoarse and wild with passion. A hundred different ways but it still touched his heart in no other way to hear her say his name in her sleep, to know even beyond her waking mind he was there with her.

He shifted again to look back at her and his movement drew her out of sleep. She opened her eyes and blinked at him, a smile curving her lips as her mind fought to shake the sleep off. Angeline slowly pushed up onto her elbow, her eyes sharpening with concern as she looked at him. "Valen? Are you all right?"

He looked away. "Go back to sleep, I'm fine." His voice was quiet.

She paid no heed of course. He heard and felt her move to sit up and felt her lay a hand on his bare back a moment later, her skin warm against his. "Nightmare?" She made it a question even though she was fairly sure.

Valen sighed and nodded. "I'm all right."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"You'd fall asleep halfway through." He chuckled weakly at the attempt at a joke.

Angeline didn't answer, her silence stretching out. After a moment he half turned to look at her, but she touched him lightly at last. He felt the tip of one of her fingers trail over his shoulder and trace a diagonal line down his back almost to the other side, running along the runnel of scar tissue there. He shivered.

They were everywhere on him. His demonic blood didn't make scars disappear. They were a map of the troubled years of his early life. Stab wounds, burns, arrow wounds, claw marks, bite marks...the one Angeline was touching had been caused early on, a sword blow that would have severed his backbone if he had not twisted out of the way in time. Her focus on each scar brought back what had caused it and he didn't want to remember, especially not after his nightmare. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to ask her to stop when she placed her hands on the small of his back and slid the palms slowly upward, simply working the muscles of his back. She slipped her hands over his ribs as she slid her arms around him and laid her cheek against his shoulder, her soft hair brushing over his skin. "There's a part of me..." she spoke softly, "...that will always wish I could take these from you. Not because of the physical marks but the ones they make on your soul, your memories."

"They made me who I am, my love." His voice was equally soft. His tail curled around one of her legs absently even as he spoke.

"You survived them because of who you are," she corrected.

"Picky, picky."

She bit his shoulder softly. "I'm being serious."

He turned toward her and sat back on the bed, pulling her around and into his lap. He kissed her. "I don't look back on the past anymore. I haven't forgotten it, part of me never can, but it isn't the center of my life, there's no need for me to dwell on it." He caressed her cheek gently. "You're the center of it now."

She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his hand. When he leaned forward and took her mouth again she shifted in his lap, turning so she was facing him with a leg on either side of his. He ran his hands up over her sides and she stopped him, pressing soft kisses over his face. "Let me.." Her voice was a whisper. "Let me."

There were times she felt an almost overwhelming need to shower tenderness upon him, cover him with the love and gentle touches to make up for the brutality of his past. She stroked her fingers through the thick red silk of his hair, kissing him until he growled softly in pleasure. His hands came up, sliding beneath her shift, the calluses on his hands rough against the soft skin of her thighs. He tugged at the cloth urgently, pulling it up, showing his desire to feel her skin against his. She moved to help him, drawing the shift up over her head and laying it aside, letting herself settle on him once again. Valen wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face against her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin. In the darkness of their room, she was little more than a silhouette looking down at him with bright golden eyes. Her skin, the most obvious mark of her drow heritage, was a dusky charcoal color, but her hair...some trick of nature had given Angeline her half elven mother's hair, thick and a black so deep it held a sheen of blue in the right light. Holding her in the dark always gave him the vague feeling of being in a dream, but her skin was soft and hot and real beneath his hands as he ran them up her back, his fingers tangling into her hair.

She laid her hands on his shoulders as he brought her mouth back up to his, nipping softly at his lips as she pressed him back, stretching out so she lay atop him comfortably. Valen caught her lower lip between his teeth and bit softly, making her shiver, a soft sound between a purr and a growl coming from deep in her throat. She pulled her head back, golden brown eyes meeting his blue ones for a long, burning instant, then she raised herself up on her arms and bent her head, kissing slowly down his throat. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back a bit, his breathing coming up short as she bit softly at his collarbone and moved over his chest, every movement and every kiss slow and gentle, her tongue flicking out every time she touched skin. Her lips traced the muscles of his stomach lightly, actually brushing the skin above the waistband of his pants before he slipped his fingers into her hair again and dragged her up, his breathing ragged. His voice was rough as he spoke, rolling her beneath him. "Give me your mouth..."

She lifted her head and let her lips touch his, trembling beneath him as his hands roamed over her body. She kept completely still and relaxed beneath him, licking at his lips every time he pulled back to breathe. He knew every inch of her body, knew how to interpret the silent language of that long, lean frame, knew that her stillness now was an invitation and a surrender all in one. The fact she gave herself over to him so easily made his heart swell with love. The fact she'd never been afraid of him was a miracle he still couldn't entirely believe. It was the reason Mephistopheles hadn't been able to sway him from her side in that final battle all those months ago. Why would he be tempted to have his demonic taint removed in exchange for betraying the woman who'd never seen him as tainted in the first place?

Valen was barely aware of her tugging at his pants, pulling them down over his hips so there was nothing more to keep the heat of her skin from his. He was lost in her, the taste of her mouth overwhelming his senses as her lips pressed frantically against his. Angeline couldn't keep still any longer, arching her body to meet his touch, soft pleading sounds pouring from her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrists and brought her hands up, pinning them above her head. She leaned up and nipped at his throat lightly and he leaned back a bit, laughing. "Hey, now! You're the one who likes getting bitten, not me."

"I've never heard you complain," she shot back with a sly grin.

"Ah, yes, but I'm far better at it, my love." His voice dropped into a soft growl as he scraped his teeth lightly down her throat, closing them on her collarbone and biting down just short of drawing blood. Angeline shuddered and twisted in his hold, struggling to free her hands and respond but she didn't have a prayer of matching his strength. She growled at him as he bit the crook of her neck, arching her back to press herself against him. Valen chuckled and kissed the spot he'd just bitten, his movements becoming more gentle. He always felt slightly guilty that he enjoyed this side of her so much, the little quirks like biting that hinted at the more primal aspect of her. Perhaps it was residual from the long periods of time she spent in animal form or maybe it was simply a little quirk in her mind, but the beast in her had always called out to the beast in him.

It made him wild. He released her hands and took hold of her hips, bringing his head back up to press his lips hard to hers. "Angeline..."

"Please..."

Valen's breath was starting to come short. His tail lashed back and forth as he slid his hands beneath her thighs, drawing her legs apart. "Angeline, I have to...I need..." The words trailed off into a soft groan as he slipped his hand between her legs, rubbing his fingers over her.

She tensed beneath him. The sound that came from her was soft, desperate, close to a whimper, and it shred any last semblance of control he had left.

He withdrew his hand, the wetness on his fingertips assuring him she was ready, and slid into her with one hard thrust, his hips pinning hers to the bed. Angeline ran her hands up his back, her nails digging into his shoulders as their lips met. He stayed sheathed inside her for a long moment, head bent so the curve of his horns brushed over her skin. She could sense he was struggling to hold back, his muscles trembling with the effort. She wouldn't have it. "Go on."

"My angel..."

She shuddered and forced him to look at her; those blue eyes were wild with need and lust, warring with fear. So strong...he could snap bone and twist flesh apart without breaking a sweat. The fear that strength would cause her harm, that he'd lose control and hurt her, never quite left him. Angeline growled softly and bit at his neck again, writhing beneath him as much as he would allow her to. It was enough to get him moving in her, his hips grinding against hers. He spoke between soft kisses, his voice hoarse. "I don't want to hurt you..."

"You won't."

"I don't..."

"Please, Valen, please..."

He moved, pinning her down, his hands moving down to grip her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh as he broke. She hooked a leg around his, throwing her head back against the pillows, her breath coming out in harsh pants as he pounded into her, harder, harder, harder...

Valen couldn't think, every sense turned toward the need screaming through his body and the woman beneath him. He knew exactly when he hit the right spot inside her because her nails suddenly dug into his shoulders, the most extraordinary sound pouring from her. He tightened his hold on her to keep her still, angling her so he ran over that spot again and again, moving so hard and fast the pleasure ripped through her, leaving her gasping in both pain and pleasure. Valen growled and drove her back up again, needing to hear those sounds, feel the way she begged for more with every movement. He moved his head and sank his teeth into the exact spot her neck met her shoulder and she came again, her nails tearing into his skin as she raked them down his back, screaming his name.

He jerked her hips up and withdrew almost all the way, driving himself back into her one final time with such force she was driven back into the mattress beneath her, keeping his face buried against her neck as he came, pouring into her as the salty, metallic tang of blood filled his mouth.

Valen pulled his head back as he collapsed on top of her, blood smeared over his mouth, his muscles feeling like water. Angeline was very still beneath him and he could feel, more than hear, the soft purring murmur of contentment she was making. He managed to prop himself up long enough to wipe the blood from his mouth and look down at her anxiously. Angeline lifted a hand up to the bite on her neck and studied the blood on her fingers before smiling up at him lazily and showing him her other hand. There was blood on her finger tips. He blinked and reached back to touch the scratches on his back, then just started laughing breathlessly, rolling onto his back and drawing her against his side. Angeline dropped her head onto his shoulder, breathing hard. "Gentle never really lasts long with us, does it?" she said wryly.

Valen nuzzled her cheek. "Long enough."

She smiled and curled against his side, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "I love you."

Valen could feel sleep drawing around both of them and pulled her fully into his arms, cradling her against him, his tail twining possessively around her thigh. "I love you too, my lady."

Angeline's only reply was a soft, contented sigh. Valen smiled letting himself drift off into sleep, knowing without a doubt there would be no nightmares following him into it this time.