A/N: Okay so this is something my muse decided to get me to write while I was bored during my Pre Calculus class. It's sort of a One Shot, but if anyone likes it and wants things cleared up or more added, I just might. You know for some reason, my favorite pieces are the least popular...go figure! Anyway this is dedicated to my very good friend, Beverly, who is always very supportive and enjoyed this story, even though she pouted at the end. If you've read Ink then this will probably seem very different.

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Shattering Expectations

The night seemed young in the illustrious embrace they were now in. Skin against skin, touch against touch… the pair felt their ecstasy while together. It was four after midnight and a tempest seemed to never quit outside. They, however, cared neither for the weather nor the reasons their meeting was clandestine. They had yet to understand why they were bound in such a manner that their past hatreds were gone and forgotten.

He had lived a life of privilege, but it had a constant he did not like. The horror of the dark magic that consumed his childhood seemed unmistakable and unforgettable. Because of the dark magic and the beatings he endured, he had become a foul, icy figure. It was expected of him to marry of his social standing…of the right blood. It was expected of him to be mean and cowardly. He had filled the quota of those expectations out of fear and he carried on being a cold man who had difficulty showing any emotion he had. But all that had been before she had come into his life as a ray of light…even if it was momentary. When he was young she had been a bother and he loved to pick on her because of her blood or of how she looked. That flew out the window, when she fell from a ladder while looking up a book in the library. She would have been heavily injured had he not caught her.

When she fell into his arms, he had automatically fallen in lust with her It no longer mattered that they were different, that they had once hated each other; all that mattered now was the lovely vanilla smell she seemed to produce and the beauty of her figure and face. Her body seemed ripe for the picking and he wanted nothing more than to claim her, if just for one night.

She had lived a decent life, but it had been difficult. Always in constant fear of that evil that had once consumed their world. She had fought for the light side of the equation and it had taken its toll on her and her life. She had been given a job right off and she too lived up to what was expected of her. She married whom society wanted her to marry. At first her life seemed idyllic, but eventually she became terribly bored. Her manner was still polite and lively as it had been so many years ago, but on the inside she was losing her soul. She wanted a spark. She, unlike her future lover, was looking for a way to get out of the mundane schedule she lived in. Nevertheless, on that day in the library, she did not expect to fall into his arms. Neither could she have fathomed that at one look of the steel in his eyes, she would grow uneasy with anticipation. She had not been touched in months and his body looked lean and firm---perfect for her desired rapture.

They looked at ach other during that moment in the library and against all odds, pressed their lips together. A fire was lit within them at that kiss. As they threw animalistic sounds to the wind, they realized where they were. They disappeared to his French cottage.

Neither of their spouses would be in France and both, surprisingly, were away on business. Their illicit affair began and ended that night. Maybe it was fate, perchance it was plain serendipity, but now they were here. Together in a cottage and on a bed of silk, making love as the fates knew they would. Had he been less proud and prejudiced and had she lived a different life, they would have been bound by love and lust to the end of eternity; but life had different plans.

They were not gentle, they were rough, as was in their nature to do so. He thrust into her with all his might and she responded with a reciprocal thrust of her own. He grunted and she moaned---neither thinking of the consequences down the road.

Now they lay in the aftermath. Now it was four past midnight and the thunder shook the exterior vegetation while the lighting illuminated their affair. This would be one night and one night only. They knew so, as did the fates. They held on to each other and cried silently, now knowing what they could have had had the circumstances been different and had they not followed through on society's expectation. And so when morning broke, they left the comfortable embrace and went back to their expectations.

They met once more, eighteen years in the future, both at the graduation of their children. He had his pure blooded heir and she had her perfect daughter. In fact, they both had the perfect daughter, but he wasn't even remotely aware of it.

She sent him a note and told him to meet her in the nearest courtyard. Another clandestine meeting. She confessed how her first born was the child of their passion and he was ecstatic. But it didn't change anything. They still had to live up to expectations.

The only thing that now mattered was that they shared something in common. Something that would keep them attached beyond expectations and beyond any reproach. Not that it did them any good right now. But the fates had yet another plan to restore what expectations shattered.

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Reviews would be nice if people want this made into a story. Let me know.

GinHermi