Here it is guys, the sequel to No Rest for the Wicked! I'm going to do longer chapters for this one, so the updates may take a tad bit longer, but I hope it's worth it.

Also, this is rated M, for...well...mature content, per usual. I'm trying to make the smut a little less prominent in this one (unless, of course, it's what you all want, I do tend to get carried away ;)) There is some (a shameful amount) in this first chapter, gotta kick it off with a bang...you've been warned!

Anyway, without further ado: The continued adventures of Catia Lione and Mercer Frey!


Chapter 1: Tighten Up

I wanted love, I needed love,
Most of all, most of all

Uncertainty washed over her as she entered the city gates. She was greeted by the sounds of children playing and merchants selling their wares, crowds of people lined the streets. The weather was good, the sun shining, and the people of Solitude were taking full advantage of it. If the mood struck her, she could easily making a killing by looting unaware shoppers of their coin purses.

She wasn't in the mood, though. She had just returned from Dawnstar, quite possibly her least favorite town in all of Skyrim, and she wanted to retire to Proudspire for a proper rest, something that she hadn't had the opportunity to do in quite some time.

Her heart skipped a beat as the Manor loomed into her field of vision. He would be there, she could feel it in her bones, she always could when he was around. Her excitement was briefly clouded by the same uncertainty that had plagued her frequently since that night months ago when he had returned to her life, after she was sure that he was dead. She bit at her lower lip as she pushed the heavy door open. She entered quietly and let her eyes adjust to the dimly lit house.

The fire was lit, giving proof to her gut instinct that he was, in fact, there.

Even knowing this, she felt her heart jump into her throat as he emerged from the shadows. He gently took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

She studied his face for a moment, tracing his jaw line with her thumb. His cheek was covered in light stubble, and while he had trimmed his hair, it was still a shaggy mess...and he had the nerve to comment on her tangled hair. Stepping forward, she sank into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her. She breathed in his familiar scent of leather and spice.

His arms tightened around her as he pressed his face into her hair. "I don't like it when we're apart for so long." She felt him frown.

She leaned back, pushing his messy hair from his dark eyes. His gaze softened as he searched her face, the angles and planes seemed to become more gentle as he took in her expression.

"I don't like it either." She sighed, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.

"I made some stew," He said, gruffly, "I had a notion that you would be back soon."

She frowned, "I'm not really hungry." She felt his hands trail over her abdomen, lingering on her ribs and hipbones.

"You've not been eating enough," He determined.

"I've been busy."

He gave her a pointed look and began to pull away. She grabbed his hands.

"You haven't even given me a kiss..." she pouted a bit.

"Catia..." His tone was disapproving, but he wrapped an arm around her waist anyway, pulling her back to him.

"Mercer." She whispered as their noses grazed together. His lips caught hers in a gentle kiss. She tangled a hand in his hair as he deepened the kiss

Catia sighed as he pulled away slightly, touching his forehead to hers. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his once more. Mercer squeezed her to him, holding her as close as was possible, and all of her uncertainty fell away.


Catia woke the next morning, bleary eyed and still tangled in the mess of sheets from her and Mercer's escapades the evening before. Everything was so much more intense when they hadn't seen each other in quite some time. She enjoyed the activities immensely, but she wished that they didn't have to be separated for such extended periods of time.

That and splitting her time between the Guild, the Brotherhood, and Mercer was really wearing her down. She hardly ever slept and she didn't eat properly. She was exhausted and was nearly considering an extended vacation from the whole lot of them.

Maybe she would take Mercer with her.

His dark eyes fluttered open, sleepily, he squeezed her lightly, "Go back to sleep, it's too early." His voice was dark and husky as he closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath.

She propped her head up and smiled at him, reaching over to brush the tangled hair from his face. Her fingers trailed down his cheek and continued along his collar bone and then tracing down his abdomen. She watched his muscles tense as she halted her journey right below his belly button, her fingers danced in teasing circles.

The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry sort of expression. "No need to stop there, Lione." He rumbled, his voice low.

She shifted a bit, making it easier to lightly run her fingers over his length, teasing him until he was fully aroused.

Suddenly she rolled over onto her back, stretching languidly, "You're right, it's far too early to be awake." She feigned a yawn and closed her eyes, but she couldn't wipe the grin from her face. He growled next to her.

Mercer was quite awake now. The bed shifted as he moved closer to her. His hand ghosted over her skin, causing her to shiver involuntarily. She was afraid to open her eyes and see what sort of expression he was wearing.

He ran his fingers over her breast and the curve of her hips. He trailed his fingers through her hair and then cupped her cheek, running his thumb over her bottom lip. He brought his face close to hers and breathed kisses along her jaw line before taking her lips with his and kissing her softly and gently.

"You're in so much trouble, Lione." He whispered in her ear, his nose grazing along the edge of it.

Catia felt a shiver run through her spine, and before she had a chance to react, Mercer had her flipped over on her stomach. He moved behind her and lifted her hips up slightly. He took a moment to admire the roundness of her rear end, before giving it a hard slap and entering her roughly.

She squalled at his forceful movements. Despite the fact that he had given her little time to warm up, it didn't take her long to become wet enough that his deep thrust were less painful and more pleasurable. Every nerve in her body seemed to be singing with delight. Of course, as soon as she allowed herself to settle into the warm, heady, sensation, Mercer pulled sharply on her hair, forcing her head up.

The resulting outcry caused Mercer to plunge into her even harder, each thrust more forceful than the last. He held her hips tightly, pulling her back to meet him every time. He shifted a bit and hit a particularly sweet spot, causing her to squeal and buck up against him. The animalistic noises that she made drove him harder and deeper.

He leaned forward and grabbed one of her swinging breast, he violently pinched her hardened nipple, earning him a scream and a glare over the shoulder. Her hair was a wild mess, her grey eyes were wide and accusatory over flared nostrils and clenched teeth. He twisted the bud, none to gently, and got another loud scream from her.

A few more deep thrust and he was done, pushing into her one last time, he held her to him as he released his seed deep inside of her. He pushed her away from him and she landed, ungracefully, on her stomach. He smirked smugly at her reddened ass and how obviously aroused she was.

He slowly stroked himself as she warily rose up, watching him over her shoulder. Her cheeks were rose colored and the expression she wore couldn't be described as anything but incensed. She made to turn over, but was stilled by a heavy-handed slap on the rear.

"We're not done here, Lione." Mercer growled as he finished stroking himself back to full erection. He dragged her back to him, pushing into her quickly. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

Catia whimpered slightly as he began pumping into her at an alarmingly fast pace. After the previous night's rather rough foray, followed quickly this morning forceful display...she just may not even attempt to leave bed today. He wrapped an arm around her waist and snaked his hand down until he stroke her clitoris. Her muted whimpers quickly escalated to barely concealed screams.

She let out an indignant yell when he pulled his hand away, if she could properly see his face, she knew that it was be smirking in dark amusement.

"You...bastard..." She managed to grind out between breathy moans.

He slapped her ass with a loud crack and she yowled in response. He did it a couple of more times rending a deep growl from Catia. It didn't take as long for him to finish this time. He held her hips in place so that he could drive in as hard and deep as possible, earning an uncontrolled moan each time. He groaned as he spilled himself in her, giving a couple of extra thrusts as he finished.

She landed in an undignified heap in front of him when he released her this time. Learning from her last mistake, she quickly flipped over on her back, and clamped her thighs together. She narrowed her eyes and dared him to try anything.

Mercer accepted the challenge. He leaned forward, and kissed her roughly, more teeth than lips. He twisted her nipples, roughly, causing her to holler and squirm. In her movements she opened her legs enough for him to move in between them.

He smirked at his victory as her eyes widened. He wrapped an arm around her thigh, bringing her foot up over his shoulder, and pinned her other leg down with his own leg, ensuring that no matter how much she wriggled she wouldn't be able to move away from him.

"Your turn." He grinned deviously.

He wasted no time with teasing and immediately ran his thumb over her. She jerked her hips as much as she could and let out a sharp cry, she glared as him from where she was propped up against the pillows.

He set a relentless rhythm, rubbing circles around it and grazing over it. She moaned and arched into him, rocking her hips back and forth. Whenever he thought she was getting too close to finishing he would pinch her lightly, causing her guttural moans to turn into sharp screams, and earning him seething glares. He worked her up again, feeling her shudder and jerk against his hand nearly had him fully aroused again. He smirked.

Her breast bounced as she rocked her hips, violently, she was nearly there. Her rose tinted cheeks flushed darker. Her glassy eyes rolled back as she arched up as much as she could. Her body jerked uncontrollably as she moaned wildly.

Mercer continued to rub her. He watched her trembling and wriggling, the sight sent a spark of pleasure through his bones and he continued to push her until she was screaming and writhing violently. Her nails scraped down his arms as she hollered his name, the sharp sensation quickly made him fully erect.

He raised up, moving her leg to his waist and plunged into her dripping entrance. She squalled as she tried to push away from him, still extremely sensitive after her vicious release. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him as he plowed into her. She held his eyes intensely as deep moans growled in the back of her throat.

His finger strayed too close to her mouth and she clamped down on it with sharp teeth, causing Mercer to let out a string of curse words, but he didn't relent in his pace. He could feel another release building in her by the way her hips were rolling up to meet his.

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she released his finger, slightly tilting her head back, her eyes closed. He grasped her jaw this time, closer to her neck, so she couldn't bite him again, and brought her eyes back to his. Her body shuddered underneath his as she screamed, arching up and convulsing slightly.

Mercer pushed in a few more times, growling, as he finished. He collapsed next to her, their limbs tangled together, both of them breathing hard, exhausted. As their heartbeats returned to a normal pace, Mercer shifted to a more comfortable position, pulling Catia to his chest and holding her against him. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. She sighed as they fell into a blissful sleep.


When Catia awoke hours later, she found the bed absent of Mercer, though she was cocooned in warm furs and the fire was stoked. She detangled herself from the sheets and climbed from the oversized bed, it was her favorite part of Proudspire, the luxurious bed.

She rummaged through the wardrobe until she produced a clean set of undergarments. Not bothering with real clothes she, instead, wrapped Mercer's discarded shirt around her. She wasn't that much smaller than him, but the shirt still fell to just below her bum and was loose around the shoulders and waist.

She padded softly downstairs and was greeted by the sight of Mercer leaning over the fire, stirring whatever was in the pot hanging above it. It didn't matter how many times she seen him in this way, she couldn't help but giggle every time. He looked so out of place doing domestic things, but she figured that even highly skilled thieves had to eat sometime.

Slipping up beside him, she peered over his shoulder, "Smells delicious." She commented, her voice still scruffy from sleep.

He looked over her attire, or lack thereof, and merely smirked as he ladled some soup into a bowl for her.

The slightest noise caused both of their heads to snap in the direction of the lower level. Catia deposited her bowl of soup on the table and turned to follow Mercer, who already had a dagger out. Whoever was breaking into her house obviously hadn't counted the highly trained ears of a master thief and assassin.

Catia grabbed a stray dagger from an end table as the crept down the stairs. They glanced around the room, finding no one there. Just as Catia made her way to the next room, Jordis's room, when she stayed, a figure immerged from the shadows. Mercer raised his dagger, but froze as the shadows covering the girl's face disappeared and light fell across her.

He looked back and forth between Catia and the girl, who was staring intensely at Catia, a look of tension and worry etched across her face. Catia stood like a mirror in front of her, the only difference was the shock that graced her features.

"Calea?" The word fell uncertainly from Catia's lips. Like she wasn't sure if she could say the name.

The other woman, Calea, nodded slightly. "I...um..." She stammered, her cheeks flushing, in just the same way that Catia's did.

Catia twisted her hands nervously, her eyes shifting around, now looking everywhere, except at the visitor. "I...I...need to put some pants on." She turned on heel and sprinted up the stairs.

She flung herself into her bedroom and began pacing quickly, wondering just what she was doing here and what the implications of her visit could mean. Of course, it would be much simpler to go back downstairs and have a conversation, it would be the mature option...instead she was highly considering sneaking out the side door and hightailing it to...anywhere else.

She heard muffled voices from the floor below and in a matter of moments Mercer appeared in the doorway.

"You still aren't wearing pants." He commented, she stopped her frantic pacing long enough to look down, as if she hadn't thought about it since she arrived in the room...she hadn't thought about it, though. Mercer pulled out a pair from her wardrobe and tossed them to her, "Care to tell me what's going on?"

Catia shimmied into the trousers and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on her boots. "I don't know what's going on, Mercer." She muttered as she did up the buckles.

"Alright, fair enough, but you know that girl." He prompted.

She gave him an incredulous look. Of course she knew the girl. "She's my sister...my twin sister."

They had a few differences in appearance, Calea's eyes were a bit more brown, Catia's nose was a bit more pointed, but for the most part, they were nearly identical. It was a source of annoyance as well as amusement when they had been children.

"That's something I didn't know about you." Mercer commented, his voice dark.

Catia shook her head, "There's a lot you don't know about me." She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

Instead of being angry with her, he simply nodded his head and told her that they shouldn't leave their guest downstairs, alone, and suggested that they find out the reason for her visit.

They made their way back to the main level. Calea was sitting awkwardly at the table, tracing imaginary pictures into the wood. She looked up as Catia and Mercer sat down at the table.

After a moment of silence, Catia did an awkward introduction. "Mercer, this is my sister, Calea. And Calea, this is my...Mercer." She bit her lower lip, looking incredibly uncomfortable. Mercer was leaning, casually, back in his chair, his arms crossed, managing to look intimidating and disinterested at the same time, reminding Catia of the times back in the Cistern when he tried to be the Guild Master and not her lover.

"Are you married?" Calea asked, looking between the two, her eyebrow raised slightly.

Catia was leaning forward, nervously playing with the hem of her shirt. "Um...no." She paused. "What are you doing her Calea? I'm not coming back. I have rather important things to attend to here."

"I'm not asking you to come back...not really. Things have gotten complicated." She muttered, looking away from Catia's intense stare.

To everyone's surprise, Catia let out a harsh laugh. "Oh did it now?" she questioned, "Complicated, you say? Let me guess, you're not Daddy's favorite anymore?" She cackled again.

Mercer raised an eyebrow, unsure of where the conversation was going.

Calea grimaced. "Look, I didn't come here to fight with you over some sibling rivalry from years past, Catia." She said her sister's name sharply. "I came here to ask for your help. The Gods know I would never have came to this forsaken province if I didn't have to. For the life of me, I'll never understand what made you come to Skyrim."

"Mostly so I could get away from you and the rest of our ever-loving family." Catia said the words with little to no emotion. "What sort of help could you possibly need? When I left, the family was doing quite well, I wasn't 'needed' remember?"

"I've..." Calea started. "Well...I...Father has turned corrupt." She finally blurted out.

Her revelation was met with silence before Catia gave another laugh. "Calea, the whole family is corrupt. Every last one of them."

"No! I mean, he kills people unnecessarily...and he's been dealing with some rather evil clients. He even left Raxle to fend for himself when a job went bad." She explained, mentioning their older brother.

"Jobs don't go bad." Catia said, repeating the words her mother drilled into her head at a very early age.

Calea nodded. "Exactly. There was no reason for it. Raxle was almost killed."

Catia bit at her lip again, thinking. Jobs don't go bad...unless it's a set up. She shook her head, it must have been a mistake...a misunderstanding. Their dad wasn't a good man...but none of their family was particularly the image of upstanding member of society.

Her sister shifted nervously in her seat, her shirt moved to reveal a bit of metal hanging around her throat. Catia leaned over and plucked up the pendent.

"Stendarr?" She questioned. Her family wasn't religious, since there wasn't a god of lying, stealing, cheating, and general lawbreaking for profit. "God of Mercy and Compassion."

"I've...turned over a new leaf." Calea stuttered.

"So, you're telling me that you want me to help you bring our father down, because he's too corrupt. But really it's because you've suddenly gotten attached to the Divines? What happens after we get rid of Dad? Are you going to get Solena to hunt me down next?" She asked, referencing their kid sister.

"Catia, you don't know what it's been like since you left. It's been years, in case you hadn't noticed, and things have gotten bad for us." Calea pleaded. "I need your help!"

Catia shook her head, "I'm sorry, Calea, but you've given me little to go on. Besides-" she was cut off my a smart rap on the door.

Mercer stood to go answer it. After a few moments he returned, trailing behind him was a petite Bosmer clad in Brotherhood leathers.

"Indrel? What are you doing here?" Catia asked. Indrel was one of the first initiates that they had when they (by 'they' she meant mostly Nazir) began rebuilding the Brotherhood. She was a quick study and was now one of the higher ranking assassins in the group.

The elf pulled her hood back, "Nazir sent me." She said, "He needs you at the Sanctuary. Immediately."

Catia stood quickly. "Did something happen? Is everyone alright?" she asked, worried.

Indrel shook her head, "We're all fine. There's just...someone you need to meet." She finished the sentence awkwardly. "He really didn't give me much information."

Catia nodded her head. "I'll head out immediately. There's a spare room downstairs if you need to stay the night." She turned to Calea, "Sorry, but you'll have to ask one of the other siblings, I have other things to attend too."

She darted upstairs, leaving Calea to let herself out. Mercer muttered something to Indrel before following her to the bedroom.

"I'm sorry I didn't stay longer, Mercer." She frowned as she threw her supplies back into her satchel. She straightened up to look at him. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was quickly silenced with a kiss.

"I'm going with you." He told her, grabbing his own bag.

Catia watched him for a moment. "But...I can't let you into the Sanctuary..." She murmured.

"I'll stay in Dawnstar." He determined, "You can't keep me locked away all the time."

Catia chuckled. "I know you don't stay here all the time." She glanced around at the extra things that were accumulating in her room, things that appeared with no explanation.

Mercer shot her a smirk, "Just decorating your house a bit."

She wanted to keep Mercer safely locked away, like he said. She was always paranoid that someone from the Guild would be out on a job and recognize him, even if she knew that he was far too good to be caught. He may not have the Skeleton Key anymore, but he had had it long enough to do what he needed to with it.

Mercer set his bag down and slowly walked over to her, a smirk on his face. Catia stood very still as he wrapped his arms around her waist, sliding his hand up under her shirt so that they rested on bare skin. He leaned in, their noses grazing, and kissed her very softly. He left a trail of soft kisses along her jaw line and nipped at her ear before moving down to her neck.

She shivered slightly at his touch and slid her hands up his chest. He returned to her lips and kissed her much more passionately, sending a spark of excitement through her. They were both gasping when they pulled apart.

"Fine, you can come with me." She conceded with a breathy sigh.

"That's what I thought." He kissed her forehead and returned to packing.


a/n: Tell me what you think? Are you curious? :D

The title and quote for this chapter is from the Black Keys (anyone surprised? I think I used them for inspiration for at least half of Wicked...)

And the title for the story as a whole is The Pretty Reckless (which also played an important role in Wicked...) The lyrics for Under the Water are actually pretty indicative to the theme for this story *wink wink.

Okay, done with the ridiculously long authors notes... :D