A/N: Set at the end of chapter 15 of 'Forever.' Alice had just returned home from Nationals, and she has missed her Hatter.

Really curious to see what ya'll think about this one, it's a bit different.

Miss Me?

She sat next to him in the bed, propped up on pillows against the headboard, one of her legs thrown casually across his under the blanket they shared. She stroked her fingertips across the bare skin of his leg, and then moved inside the leg opening of his silk boxers to caress the soft skin of his inner thigh. He held his breath as she brushed his cock; he thought she was going to take it in her hand, but then she pulled her hand away to settle on his stomach.

Hatter believed her little tease was over, but then her fingers began brushing over his hipbone and lower stomach. He didn't know how much longer he could keep control of himself; he had to touch her. The all too brief heated kisses they had shared in Alice's hotel room had done little to satiate his need for her. Surrounded by her touch and scent, he suddenly felt stupid for beginning this tease between them. Time to end it.

"I'm also not very patient…" he murmured, his voice gone deep and raspy.

He set aside his cup and then took hers out of her hand and placed it next to his. He leaned in over her, trapping her beneath him and closing the space between them. She looked up to meet his gaze through lowered lashes, a wicked little smile on her lips. Oh, yeah. She knew exactly what she was doing. A corner of his lips lifted in a smirk… he'd see about that.

"Oh?" she asked innocently.

"Mmmhmm. And I can be impulsive," he added, his mouth now a breath away from hers.

"I'm not so sure that is always a bad thing," Alice replied, her heart tripping at his nearness.

He was looking at her as if he wanted to devour her, his perfect Cupid's bow lips parted, his pupils nearly eclipsing the dark chocolate brown irises. His breathing was unsteady as his lips brushed hers once and then pulled back again.

"Well then… sometimes I am selfish; I want you all to meself," he murmured.

He maneuvered so that he was on all fours over her, his legs pressed on either side against her hips. She could feel the heat radiating off of his skin he was so close. This contest of wills was growing more difficult by the second. She didn't even know why she was resisting, other than just to prove that she could. She'd always been stubborn, after all. Alice didn't give in.

"Then take what you want," she dared him, because then he would lose.

"Mmm. Tempting. I'd rather ya gave it to me," he replied, a hint of a smile curving his lips briefly.

Alice ran her hand up his ribs and back down in a feather light caress. As she had hoped, he broke out in gooseflesh at her touch. She heard his sharp intake of breath as she slipped her hand over his ass and squeezed. She brushed her lips over his cheek, and then down to the edge of his jaw and bit gently before moving down the line of his throat to suck at his pulse point. She breathed him in, brushed her cheek across his stubbled jaw and found his mouth with hers. She returned his earlier soft brush of lips with her own.

"Given," she said softly.

She didn't always have to be so stubborn. Everything wasn't a fight, and this man meant more to her than she could ever imagine he could. She loved him completely. She didn't need her walls with him, her armor, her protections… and sometimes it was just her turn to yield.

He cupped her face in his hand and kissed her deeply, slowly, sweeter and less insistent than she thought he would. She had sensed the tension and fierce desire building in him throughout their little test of wills, or maybe it was a test of another sort? Her offering of herself seemed to temper the urgency of the moment. It was a simple word, but she meant it. Whatever he needed from her, she would give it, and she knew he would do the same.

Hatter took his time kissing her, drawing it out, sinking into the warmth and love that was his Alice. She had said to take what he wanted, but all he wanted was her love. And she gave it to him willingly; it was a gift and a miracle. No matter how many times he kissed her, it always filled Hatter with a sense of awe that it was for him… that she was his as much as he was hers. He wanted to show her how much it meant, because his cunning words were not meant for things such as this.

Alice threaded her fingers through his hair and moved in close, buried her face in his neck briefly and breathed him into her lungs. He shivered and laughed softly against her skin. She shifted to sit more upright and pushed him back gently so that she could wrap her legs around him and settle in his lap. He peeled her shirt off of her before pulling her flush against him again. She bit at his bottom lip; she wanted more of those languorous intoxicating kisses. She wanted more of him… his hot, soft skin, the feel of his hard, wiry muscle beneath it, his soft lips and clever hands and all that was her Hatter.

"Alice..." he sighed, saying her name as if it were a prayer.

"Missed you," she breathed into his ear before she licked a path up the outer shell of it.

It warmed him through to hear those words from her. There had been a time when he had never thought he would. There had been a time that he had only been able to look at her longingly; a wish so unattainable that he had laughed at himself for ever having a moment's hope that it could ever be for him. But here she was in his arms, his betrothed and his love... his soul mate. He would show her how much it meant to him.

"I'll have to make up for the lost time," he murmured.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked, her breathing hitched at the dark promise in his words.

She moaned as he began to place stinging kisses down her throat and neck, nipping gently than laving the bites with his tongue. He had her panting by the time he made his way to her chest, and when he answered she had almost forgotten that she had asked a question.

"I plan to make you come for me… over and over," he promised as he gave long deliberate licks over the sensitive skin on her chest and shoulders.

"That's your plan?" she replied, trying for light and teasing but her brazen words were diminished somewhat by her breathy sighs.

Her nipples were hard and aching; she thrust them towards his mouth. He chuckled and brushed his fingers across them instead. She ground against his hard cock in equal parts retaliation and her own desire to ease the throbbing ache that had settled there. He growled back at her, low in his throat and she knew she had succeeded. She laughed softly and then gasped as his fingers flicked across her taut nipple. She ground against him again, wishing the barrier of his satin boxers and her panties weren't in the way.

"Yes. That's my plan," he rasped.

The low growls she drew from him caused a shudder to run through her; she wanted more. She fisted her hand in his thick mop of dark hair and pulled his head back to expose the line of his throat to her. She ate at his skin, pushed him back to so she could cover his chest with wet open mouthed kisses. His hands moved over her as she tasted him, kneading her flesh as she touched and teased. She slipped his boxers off and took him in her hand; he threw his head back as she stroked him firmly.

"You'll not distract me," he said, his words thick and cumbersome in his mouth.

She was distracting him. Her soft hands stroking him just the way he liked it, her lips moving across his body, her teeth and tongue teasing his nipples, tickling down his ribs, her tongue circling his navel before her head dipped down and her mouth closed over the head of his cock. He cried out, his eyes rolled back into his head as she took him down her throat. It was incredible, what she did to him. No other woman had ever affected him this way. Alice could ignite him with the barest of touches, and when she touched him like this, he came undone.

Hatter trembled beneath her, his fingers digging into her flesh as she drove him towards climax. She had no doubt that he meant what he had said about his plans for her… and she didn't doubt his ability to do just that, but she would have this from him first. She pulled away from him, stared into his cloudy eyes and smiled wickedly.

"You look pretty distracted to me," she replied, continuing to stroke him.

His lips glistened wetly, his throat worked as he tried to answer. She kept her gaze locked with his as she passed the flat of her tongue over the head of his cock, licking off the precum beading there. He cursed softly and squeezed his eyes shut. Rueful acceptance flashed across his face before it was displaced by lust.

"So I am," he admitted.

Alice laughed gently and swallowed him down again, her hand pumping as her tongue circled around him. He was crying out and cursing and growling for her, his hips jerking; Alice expected him to pull away before he climaxed, but this time he let her take him over the edge. He knew he would be inside of her before the evening was out; contrary to his own admission, he could be patient if the situation warranted it. He let go, abandoning his control; his back arched, he shuddered and cried out her name as his vision turned white and pleasure consumed him. Alice pressed a kiss to his hip before moving up to lie next to him.

He lay on his side, turned towards her, a gentle smile on his lips. He traced his hand down her cheek and bent to kiss her as his hand traveled down her body, skimming softly over her curves. He pulled away to watch her as he stroked her skin; he loved to see her sigh and moan his name. He brushed his fingertips over her nipples, along the curve of her breasts and down to brush over her mound. She rolled her hips towards him, but he wouldn't be rushed.

He laved her skin with his tongue, slow and teasing as fingers brushed over her clit. He whispered words of lust and love in her ear as he continued leisurely stroking her. She sighed and clung to him; her nails dug into his shoulder as he drove her into a frenzy. He maintained that slow and easy pace no matter how she thrashed and begged for him to speed her way. Her first climax hit her hard and fast, the second was slower, and for the third he finally moved down to put that beautiful mouth to work on her.

She held on to whatever parts of his she could reach to anchor her throughout it; her nails digging into his defined shoulders, her hand fisted in his hair. He watched her intensely, passion etched into his face as he urged her to come for him again and again. He spoke to her, his voice gone rough with need, his accent turning the simple words into exotic music. He had long since grown hard again; and Alice knew he was on the razor edge of control. Her clit was ultra sensitive, swollen and responsive to the lightest of touches. She wanted him inside of her desperately.

"Please… please. I need you," she begged.

He kissed her as his answer, and then pulled her back up to sit on his lap. He guided himself into her and locked his arms around her in a tight embrace. Their bodies were slick with sweat, and Alice spared a thought for how beautiful her Hatter was as she watched their bodies move together in the dresser mirror across the room. His skin glistening with sweat, the flex and play of muscles in his back and in his arms as he rocked against her. It was erotic and beautiful, an image she would carry with her forever. He kissed her again with that tender intensity that was so uniquely Hatter, and then rested his forehead against hers.

He looked into Alice's stormy blue eyes, enraptured by the love he saw there. He'd missed her… a few days or a few hours… it mattered not; he would miss her desperately. He wished he could stay in this moment forever, but his body warred with him for release. Waves of pleasure washed over him, but he held on to his control; he would wait for his Alice. He wanted to fly with her, to share the moment as their souls combined and reunited into one.

His unruly dark hair, made even more so by her hands, dripped with sweat and stuck to his forehead and cheeks. His jaw was clenched, and she knew he was fighting to hold back, although he hadn't sped his pace beyond the slow but deep thrusts he'd begun with. Alice was warm and tingly, swimming in endorphins from climaxing over and over again. She was close again, the urgency building with every thrust of his hips against hers. She bit at his bottom lip, demanding entry. He opened to her, his kiss scorching in its intensity. He was growling into her mouth and she circled her hips against his in response. She swallowed down his cries until she had to break off to make her own.

She clung to him; buried her face in his neck as the coil within her wound tighter and tighter. Hatter was muttering under his breath in between low moans, but she couldn't listen, couldn't understand.

He told her he loved her, again and again. Told her she was everything to him, and would be forever. He told her he was hopelessly addicted to her. Finally all he could do was to say her name, pleasure stealing coherent thought.

She rode the crest with him, their cries mixing together as they merged. Lightning and fire raced through their veins, seizing their bodies as the nerve endings were overwhelmed with pleasure. They clung to each other after it was over, tried to breathe... tried to remember how to live in two seperate bodies again.

Hatter collapsed backwards, pulling Alice over top of him. She giggled when she recovered her ability to breathe and pushed her damp hair off of her face. She pressed a kiss to his lips and smiled.

"Miss me?" she asked.

"Hell, yes," Hatter replied with a soft chuckle.

A/N: So I have been wanting to do a more tender Reel for these two for a while, and this situation seemed to warrant it. Of course, with these two, there is always an intensity there, regardless of how sweet and gentle it may be.

Also… I'm going on vacation and I'm driving out Sunday the 11th. It kind of snuck up on me. I'll be back the 23rd, and can resume my normal update speed, but I am visiting my in-laws so I think updates might be slow. I am going to try to at least get a partial chapter up of 'Forever' before I go. I'm working on 'Hold My Silence' next, so I should get a full chapter up? Maybe? Anyway… I'll be back. Promise.

Remember that reviews feed the muse…and she is a bit starving at the moment. Please review if you like (or not.) Anon is okay by me if you feel shy.