Present Day

New York

Kitty woke up to an empty bed. She could hear Victor in the shower consistently banging his elbows against the tiles every couple minutes. His growled curse after each knock brought the slightest smile to her lips.

He'd left his knapsack on the floor and Kitty couldn't help but crouch beside it and rifle through its contents. There were balled up shirts and jeans, a hunting knife the size of her forearm and a bundle of paperwork. She extracted the papers, studying them, frowning. A quick scan of the first few pages revealed the name Jimmy over and over again. Victor had called Logan by the name Jimmy twice now.

"Find anything interesting, kitten?"

She jerked around, Victor was standing in the bathroom doorway, shirtless, toweling off his short hair.

"Why is Logan's name on these?" She asked. Victor dropped his towel onto the bed and came closer.

"Why were you nosing through my shit?" He asked, gripping her under each elbow and pulling her to her feet.

"Because you won't tell me what this is all about," Kitty replied waving her hand between the two of them to indicate his kidnapping her. "So I decided to figure it out on my own."

"Not smart," Victor growled back, snatching the papers out of her hands.

"Creed, please. Just tell me what's going on."

He stuffed them back into his knapsack, ignoring her.

"Is Logan in some kind of trouble?"

"That's whats got you so worried, fucking Jimmy."

Kitty hitched her fists to her hips, "Why wouldn't I be worried? I do have his scent all over me according to you. And why do you keep calling him Jimmy-"

Victor's hand shot out before she could continue asking questions, curling around the slim column of her throat, "I'd stop trying to rile me up, little girl."

Kitty's nails bit into his wrist, "Is it working yet?"

"Do you have any idea what I do to women who talk back as much as you do?" Victor demanded softly, towering over her, still gripping her throat.

"Don't try and scare me," Kitty said. "It won't work. You said it yourself, if you were going to kill me- you'd have done it already."

"That comes later," Victor replied, a smirk exposing his incisors. Kitty knew enough to be instantaneously terrified.

"No-"

Before she could finish her plea, Victor was sitting on the bed with her dangling over his knees.

"Creed-"

He gripped the tail of her t-shirt and yanked it upwards, revealing her entire back.

"Stop!" Kitty cried out, bucking against his legs in an effort to free herself.

"You're going to learn not to test my patience."

"Please let me up, I won't ask any more questions."

Victor laughed, "Very convincing, kitten. But I don't believe a word of that."

"Fuck you," she snarled. "You can't expect me not to-"

He interrupted her with a ringing slap to her upturned backside. Kitty twisted her neck to look up at him through a curtain of bedhead, "That fucking hurt!"

Victor met her gaze as he hit her again, "I want you to apologize for going through my pack."

Kitty held his stare mutinously for another two hits before relenting, "I'm sorry."

"For?" Victor prodded, hand coming down yet again.

"For going through your stupid pack and reading your papers," she replied through gritted teeth.

"Better," Victor said hitting her again. "I want you to apologize for asking so many questions."

"I'm sorry for wanting reasonable answers to reasonable questions."

"Kitten."

She growled a curse and tried again, "I'm sorry for asking too many questions."

He hit her twice more before pushing her off his knees. Kitty landed in a heap on the floor, backside stinging.

Victor looked down at her, trying to find some kind of hold on his slipping self control.

"You're such a fucking bastard," Kitty groaned from the carpet. Victor moved to kneel over her, taking her face between his fingers, claws pressing to her cheeks.

"Want to guess what happens next?"

Her eyes widened at the feel of his erection against her thigh.

"Don't you dare," she hissed, the look in her eyes betraying her utter terror.

"Then get up and get ready," Victor replied. "And stop trying my patience."

The moment he released her face, Kitty was on her feet and slamming the bathroom door behind her. Victor heard the lock click into place and couldn't help but laugh.

"Ten minutes, kitten," he called after her. "And then I'm coming in to help you hurry it up."

In exactly nine minutes Kitty emerged from the bathroom. Freshly showered, still wearing Victor's t-shirt.

"Creed."

He looked up at her.

"This time I really need pants."

He retrieved her dirtied uniform from the bathroom. Slicing his fingers through the fabric of her pants he handed them back to her, "Until we can stop somewhere this will have to work."

She shimmied into the freshly cut shorts, wincing as the spandex settled over her raw backside. All the while trying to ignore Victor's eyes lingering on her legs.

Victor smirked down at her, "What's with the face?"

Scowling back, Kitty pushed passed him. She snatched a pillow from the bed and turned to face him, "I'm ready when you are."

Victor gathered his knapsack, leading Kitty back to the main house so he could return the room key.

"Logan is already looking for me, you know," Kitty said quietly as Victor opened the passenger side door for her. Hoisting her into the truck Victor slammed the door shut. Kitty was propping her pilfered pillow against the window when he climbed in beside her.

"Didn't sleep well last night, kitten?"

She pointedly ignored his question, continuing, "And when he catches up with us and finds out you've had your hands on me he's-"

Latching a hand onto her upper arm Victor pulled her across the bucket seat so they were thigh to thigh, his face only an inch from hers, "He's going to what?"

"Make you pay."

"You don't sound so sure about that," Victor said as Kitty squirmed against his grip.

"I'm sure," she replied, meeting Victor's gaze squarely.

"What're you going to do? Drop your pants and give him a good look at what I've done to your ass?"

Her cheeks heated, "I'm sure just telling him would suffice."

"Or were you planning on telling him I've had my tongue down your throat?"

Her palm connected with his cheek before she could think twice about the aftermath of her decision. Victor growled down at her, "Big mistake, kitten-"

A knock on the driver side window interrupted them. A man stood outside, peering in with a frown, "Everything alright in there?"

Victor cranked the window down with a genial smile, "Everything's just fine."

His arm slipped around Kitty's shoulders drawing her close to his neck.

"It's just, I saw you arguing and then the lady hit you and I-"

Victor shook his head, "My wife's got a temper when she doesn't get her way. Don't you, sweetheart?"

Kitty pressed a hand to the front of his t-shirt, his heart beat drumming steadily against her palm. With a laugh she agreed, "He's right, the poor man."

The man outside the car seemed only slightly less concerned, "Well, if you're sure."

"Positive," Kitty said, batting her eyelashes and pinning the man with a dimpled smile.

The man was visibly charmed, color infusing his cheekbones at Kitty's attention, "You kids have a good day."

Victor nodded appreciatively and sealed the window shut, never taking his eyes off Kitty.

"Nicely done."

Kitty's expression soured as she grumbled something that sounded like fuck off.

Victor smirked down at her, "You should try that look on me sometime, kitten."

She glared up at him, "Let go of me."

"Not until he's good and gone," Victor said, reaching down to angle her face upwards. His lips brushed hers and Kitty made a sound of protest. "Don't make a scene."

Victor kissed her sweetly, with much more attention to detail then he had last night. After a minute or two he lifted his head, the man had disappeared either out of the parking lot or into the motel.

"Is he gone?"

"Looks like it-"

Victor looked down in time to see Kitty pressing the tip of his hunting knife into his side. Her expression remained sweet as she pressed both the knife and her body flush to his, "I've had enough of you putting your hands on me."

He looked down at her, eyes narrowed, "You threatening me, little girl?"

"I've got a knife to your side, what else would I be doing?" She demanded quietly, expression still neutral.

"I've taken you over my knee once already this morning, don't tempt me to do it again."

Kitty shook her head, "If I'm going to help you then I want you to promise to lay off."

"If you're going to help me? If?" Victor laughed, the knife bit into his skin.

"I'm serious, Victor, I don't-"

Before she could finish Victor had her pinned to the seat, wrists captured and legs trapped beneath his. Jerking the knife out of her grip he tossed it aside, leaning his face almost nose-to-nose with hers.

"You're helping me whether you want to or not," he said quietly. "I own you until this cuff is off your wrist. And that means I'll do with you as I damn well please."

Kitty made a small sound of terror when his incisors connected briefly with the tender skin of her neck, "Understand?"

She nodded, "Yes."

Victor sat up, drawing her with him.

"Don't fight me," Victor instructed, moving curls out of her face, his eyes on the parking lot. It was decidedly more full than it had been the night before. "Someone may be watching."

"Fine."

"Give me a kiss."

She stared at him, "You're kidding."

Victor leaned in, "You heard me."

Glaring openly Kitty brushed his stubbled cheek with her lips, "There."

"Come on, sweetheart," Victor goaded. "You can do better than that."

Kitty twisted the collar of his shirt in her fist, dragged his face downward and crushed her mouth to his, tongue pressing between his lips. He groaned into her open mouth, burying a hand in the hair at the nape of her neck to pull her closer. Her hands slid, nails first, underneath his t-shirt, leaving stinging red lines in their wake. She bit down on his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.

"There," she repeated, finally sitting back.

He looked her over, wiping the blood from his mouth grinning, "Better."