A deep purr reverberated in the room, and heat pressed against me. My gasp caught in my throat. I felt hot breath on my neck, lips brushing me slightly. My skin prickled at the slight touch, the slight cooling making my nipples firm. I straightened with a constrained groan as hands dragged down my breasts, drinking in the liquid touch of tender hands and warmth on my wet skin. Sir Meliodas pressed his body against mine, his hips fitting neatly against my own, a hardness embedded pressed against the inside of my thigh. The slick muscle of his tongue darted out to lick my neck, heat followed by a delicious cool. My eyes fluttered close and I let out a small moan, feeling his motions increase against me. My breasts bobbed up and down with each ragged breath, Sir Meliodas' hands restraining their movements. The tingling increased to an unbearable inner itch, begging for release. Sir Meliodas trailed kisses up my neck to the shell of my ear. I felt his hot breath against the fragile membrane.

"Elizabeth… you smell…" One hand snaked from my breast across my stomach, tracing a path towards my entrance. I felt a heat pool near my core, and I pressed my legs together, the friction easing some of the ache. I glanced back, breathing heavily. Sir Meliodas' eyes had turned opaque, and the swirled symbol of the demons danced above his eyes. Slowly, I reached behind me to stroke his cheek, and he pressed the smooth skin against my hands.

"Sir… M-m-meliodas…" I ground out, restraining another moan as he pressed his hips against my butt, the hardness pressing against my inner thigh, tantalizing close to my core. His hands stopped moving, and my skin and heart froze after the building anticipation. The body against my back, and the hand against my breast and torso disappeared, leaving my body shivering as I tipped backwards without support.

"Ah-!" I rebalanced myself, suddenly self-aware that I was completely bare. Panicked after our interaction, I scrambled to pull on panties and the shirt and turned quickly to Sir Meliodas. He was slammed against the wall, emerald eyes wide in shock at what he'd done. His chest heaved, and there was a puckering in his pants.

"Sir Meliodas, are you okay?" I stammered out, my face still bright red. I turned to walk towards him, trying to touch him again, craving the interaction. He twisted away and looked at me with horror mixed with tremendous sorrow.

"I'm… I'm so sorry Elizabeth, I don't know what came over me, I didn't mean to-"

"No! No, Sir Meliodas please, it's okay!" I reached towards him again. Desperate to comfort the hysteria dancing in his eyes.

I was losing him. I needed to change the subject now, I needed to help him heal and recover. I am here for you. My heart sang out. He twisted away from my touch and his fist embedded itself into the wall. He looked around wildly, consumed by guilt and started to the door.

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry, I don't want to, I can't, please don't." I caught his wrist, and he looked up at me with the pain of love. My heart swelled.

I wanted him to love me.

"Please tell me what happened to me." I interrupted his stammering. He paused and regained his wits, I felt the tendons under his skin shifting as his fists curled.

"You mean what happened in the...?" He growled out at me. I nodded vehemently. His gaze darkened significantly.

"You don't want me around you. After what just happened. Are you kidding me? I could hurt you. I can't… I can't-"

"Tell me." I softened my grip on him.

"Are you sure you want to know?" His eyes went unfocused, flashing with some type on ancient anger. The pulsating wrath behind his pupils comforted me rather than scared me though, like a gentle ebb of a shard of memory in my brain to remind me of his past.

I

"Please." I whispered. He looked down in distaste and pulled me to the bed, which made my heart flutter at our passionate memory just seconds before. Sir Meliodas remained unchanged, distracted over my demise. He took a deep breath.

"It was Diane that heard you screaming. I went out first and the first thing I found was the shovel and garbage. And I realized that you were missing. You were kidnapped by a Holy Knight. He was New Generation and had been out of Liones when we purged the New Generation of Demon blood. When I showed up, he transformed into a demon when I fought him." He began hesitantly. I nodded, sensing something else. He sighed.

"Before he transformed, I had tracked both of you. He had tied you up after kidnapping you and knocking you out. He ended up lugging you deep into the forest. You were still unconscious, wrists tied and…" He swallowed. "You know, you were just lying there unconscious." He shifted slightly, and I realized he was leaving something out. I lay my hand on Sir Meliodas' knee.

"Please tell me everything." I said simply. Sir Meliodas drew in a deep, shuddering rage-laced breath.

"Elizabeth, you really don't want to-"

"Please."

He looked into my eyes, all pain and all wrath. His breath hitched as he retold the scene.

"When I found you both, I discovered that he was… bare. Your panties had been pulled down, and he was standing over you, like he was about to… to…" He drew in a breath through gritted teeth, face a mask of hidden inner turmoil. "Like he was about to take advantage of you." He looked up and tightened his grip on my hand on his knee.

"I have no idea if he did or not, Elizabeth. When I found him, he morphed and fought back. When Ban showed up, I had beat him up pretty good, but we turned him back into a human and locked him up." I stared blankly into my hands. He grabbed both my hands and hung his head in shame, squeezing them reassuringly.

"This is all my fault. I wasn't there for you. I should've gone with you, even if it's just to empty garbage. I'm so sorry Elizabeth. I could've prevented this."

I had gotten raped. I pondered for a moment, reaching with my Goddess powers.

Something throbbed within me, telling me that I hadn't lost my purity. My virginity remained intact. I hadn't been raped. I was positive that I still had my dignity, and I belonged to myself. Gently, I tilted his face to face mine, willing our eyes to meet. He had to believe me if I told him. It would take all his pain away to know someone under his care hadn't been harmed, to maintain his honor as a man. I looked at him with complete forgiveness.

"I wasn't raped. I'm unharmed. Please don't worry, Sir Meliodas." He eyed me, all uncertainty. I felt as though he sensed I was attempting to comfort him. Fine. Then I would. I pulled him towards me keeping our hands together.

"I'm perfectly fine."

He gripped me protectively around the shoulders. His face was soft and accepting, and I felt my love for him strengthen.

"I know you are." Sir Meliodas wrapped me in a fierce hug, and my mind hummed. He'd believed me. He respected me enough to believe me. Maybe…

"Thank the Goddesses you're alright." His face was buried in my hair and I felt his breath against my neck again.

I felt my chest tighten again, strangely.

"There's something else I need to ask you." I blurted out.

He kept his face buried in my hair resolutely, offering no affirmation. His arms tensed in our hug. I plowed ahead, fumbling over my words and speaking to the air.

"Do you, um, do you know anything about the, uh, G-goddess, um, race?"

Sir Meliodas' arms tensed further.

"Or maybe… About what race you are?" I plowed ahead. He ripped my shirt apart a little bit with his vice-like grip.

"Those are dangerous questions, Elizabeth." The dangerous timbre of his voice chilled me and stirred something in my chest. Oh, Elizabeth now is not the time for urges.

I paled.

"You can tell me everything, Sir Meliodas. Just like I would tell you everything." I traced the demon swirl into his back.

He released me and looked away.

"You aren't ready for those types of questions." He insisted, controlling the growling below his breath. I grabbed his hand and squeezed once.

"You can trust me. Please. I need to know what's happening with me. What I am, why I can't control my powers, what I'm doing in this world. I wasn't to know why I'm so damn pathetic-"

His head whipped around, eyes blazing in fury. I recoiled in surprise.

"Never say you're pathetic!" He exploded. Suddenly, I was pressed against the bed, his body hovering over mine, all muscle and wrath. My body tensed and my heartbeat went faster. A warmth spread through me, same as earlier. He relaxed and backed off me quickly. My face was flushed, inflamed by his advances and his voice.

"You're not pathetic, Elizabeth. You're…" He trailed off uncertainly. "You're a Goddess." He finished simply. I pulled my bangs from my orange eye, and he startled.

"Explain this symbol to me, please." I insisted.

He gently moved his hand towards my eye. Then, dropped the hand.

"I can't. I don't know anything."

Dismay crossed my face. He looked guiltily. I started again.

"Then…" I traced my finger over where his mark had been. "Tell me about yours." His chest rose with a hiss as I touched his forehead. He gripped my wrist gently and pulled my hand away.

"Don't… Don't touch, Elizabeth. It's… um…. Dangerous." My mind flashed to our shared moment from earlier.

I shook my head, puzzled, and waited for my response from Sir Meliodas exspectantly. He sighed.

"It's the mark of the Demon race. What covers my body is my power, my magic: Darkness. I command it, and it is, I guess, a part of me." His emerald eyes looked expectantly at me to stop.

"They trace all over your body." I pressured. He looked surprised, not expecting the reaction I had gave.

"Uh, yes."

"Can I see?"

He drew backwards, shaking his head.

"Oh, no, that's a very bad id-"

"I trust you."

He eyed me uncertainly. I stared back with determination. He looked away.

"I know you do. I don't trust myself."

I sensed him closing himself off from me, a connection between us severing. I grabbed his face in both hands.

"I trust you, Sir Meliodas."

He visibly gulped. Slowly, he released my wrists and sat backwards on his heels, looking more scared then I'd ever seen him before. It wasn't fear for him though, it was fear for me.

"If I do anything… You must call the other Sins, immediately."

I hesitated and nodded. He took a breath, and a shock of power blew his hair from his forehead. Deep violet erupted across his skin. His eyes turned opaque, and power filled the room. The familiar spiral redrew itself over his eyes. I drew in a deep breath and traced my finger over the lines in his porcelain skin. Gone was the carefree, nonchalant attitude. Sir Meliodas now possessed an arrogant, animal-like perception of power and dominance. A deep purr reverberated in his chest, just the same as earlier.

"Delicious… You smell delicious, Elizabeth." I looked into his eyes, surprised at the strange choice of words. The new Sir Meliodas made no moves against me. Hesitantly, I pressed my entire palm against his arm, covering the exposed skin. He closed his eyes and smiled. A soft growl emanated from his throat. I didn't know what to do, but the sight of his pleasure to my touch ignited a spark of warmth in my core again. I needed to distract myself. Instead, questions tumbled from my lips.

"How come I can't control my magic? Why am I so useless compared to you, Sir Meliodas?" I was thrown back onto the bed as he snarled.

"That's not my name, Elizabeth." I looked up, confusion coursing though my brain as heat began to pool around my body. What? He just ignored my question? I felt his hips against mine, and the heat in my core burned again. The friction was amazing, and I felt my mind fold into itself back to eroticism. Instinctively, I bucked my hips up against him, and gasped as my ache was briefly satiated. Sir Meliodas groaned above me, and I bucked my hips again, hoping to draw out the wonderful sound from him again. He pinned my waist with one solid hand.

"Elizabeth, stop." His eyes faded to an emerald colour again. "It's dangerous." I searched his face; my heart aching for something else then that carefree shut-off look. Impulsively, I leaned my face up and connected my lips to Sir Meliodas.