Author's Notes: So after updating once a week, I took a slight hiatus with this chapter and I'm sorry, but I had to really think about how this chapter was going to go. I think the end result is pretty okay, but we shall see what you guys think, yeah? Big thanks to:
peaches252
SilverShadowWolf46
Sazzy
PoisonIvy89
nickybluejess
Guest
Mikanxnatsume – thanks for your review! I'm trying to update as fast as I can, but I have two other stories to work on. You'll be seeing some more risqueeness from Serenity in this chapter.
alitre
Guest
Lady Vee – Thanks for reviewing, not only this chapter but the other two as well!
LoveInTheBattleField
For reviewing the last chapter. Each one made me smile and kept me going when I hit writer's block with this chapter. I hope you guys like this one!
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own the song "Slut Like You" by P!nk. And this story is rated M for a reason. In this chapter, there is language, dangerous knife throwing, and some hand job action. You've been warned.
House on a Hill
By: afallenblackrose
Chapter Three:
More than He Bargained For
"You don't win a prize with your googley eyes
I'm not a cracker jack you can't go inside
Unless I let you Jack
Fuck damn, what's your name again?
You male, come now
You caveman, sit down
Ssh don't ruin it wow check please
I have a little piece of you
And it's just like wohoo, wam bam thank you man
Boo-hoo, I'm a slut like you"
~Slut Like You ~P!nk
Endymion was sitting in the darkness of his study nursing a bottle of whisky. He didn't even bother with a glass, he was drinking straight from the bottle. He was reflecting about what had happened. Part of him was gloating that he had conquered her, against the wall while he was still fully clothed. The other part of him was drowning in despair. How could he have done that so soon? And fully clothed? And against the wall? Fuck. Didn't she at least deserve to have their first time together in bed? While he was naked? But no…the beast didn't let him take off his clothes, just the undoing of his zipper before he pounded her into orgasm. Twice.
He groaned and rubbed his fingers over his temples. Well, that was it, Serenity was probably going to run now. He had definitely scared her away, especially with what he had said before he had left her. She had been curled up against the wall, spent, before a look of horror passed through her eyes. You're going to be so much fun to break, he had said. What did he even mean by that? And why had she looked so scared? Sure, most women would have been, but there was something else there. And Endymion wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that she wasn't a virgin.
It was a shocking fact to think about that Serenity – who literally looked like an angel on earth – wasn't perfect, pure, untouched. She had been had before, and even though a logical part of his brain reminded him that just because she didn't bleed the first time didn't mean that she wasn't a virgin, he knew. She had known what she was doing. She had been taken before, and for some reason that made him angry. Who had she been with and why? Had it been love? And how could she betray him in such a way? Didn't she know that they were supposed to be together? That they were meant for each other? Whoa, easy there, Endymion thought to himself. Those kinds of thoughts were starting to border on obsessive Diamond territory, and that was one thing he didn't want to become. It was going to be hard enough to make Serenity love him after what he had just done to her and because of his beast, but to add in a Diamond complex? He might as well just throw in the towel now.
But still…whom had she been with and did he mean anything to her now? He needed to know. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't trying to seduce someone who was already taken.
A soft knock on his door made him freeze. It wasn't possible for it to be Serenity on the other side of the door, was it? The way she had looked at him when he had left her… No. She wouldn't be in any state to come after him in his study. So it had to be one of his friends. "Enter," he said and took another swig from the bottle. The door opened and Zoicite walked in. He took a look at the bottle and the look on his face before he sat down.
"I take it things went well?" He asked with a sarcastic tone.
"I fucked her against the wall," Endymion replied and watched as his friend's eyes widened in shock. "Fully clothed." Zoicite's jaw dropped. "So, yes, I think it went fantastically well." He took another drink and swallowed.
"You didn't…" Zoicite trailed off as he saw the look in his friend's eyes. "Oh, hell…Endymion, do you want to break this curse at all?"
"Of course I do, but you didn't see her, Zoi. She was standing in front of me, she was so angry…" he trailed off as he thought about the way Serenity had looked after he had slammed her laptop down. He had never known a beauty like hers before. Her cheeks had taken on a pinkish hue because she was losing her temper. Her chest was heaving and she was wearing another low cut top so he could see her ample cleavage. He groaned and took another drink. "I didn't mean to do it this way. I wanted to know her first, but the beast took over."
"You need to apologize."
He pursed his lips knowing that his friend was right. But at the same time his beast was growling at him. Like hell, it said. There was no need for him to apologize. He had taken her and she enjoyed it! He hadn't heard her complaining or telling him to stop. Why should he apologize? Another drink. He was becoming an alcoholic because of this girl. Because of this curse. "I know," he said. "I need a favor, though."
"What?"
"I need you to look into Serenity for me."
"Look into Serenity? Like a background check?"
"More than that," Endymion replied. "I need to know everything about her. Her friends, her lovers, everything."
"Her lovers?"
"She had been taken before. I want to make sure that this isn't all for nothing."
"I see," Zoicite replied and got up from his chair. "I'll start right away."
"Thank you," he said and watched his friend leave him to his misery. He took another drink and stared off into space. He knew he should feel bad, he did feel bad, but at the same time he was picturing her and the way she had looked as he came inside her. He groaned as the beast growled with need again. All he had to do was go up the stairs… He threw the bottle across the room in frustration. How was this possible that he still needed her? Wanted her? Even though he had just had her? He rubbed his temples again and sighed. Please don't hold this against me, Serenity. He thought and began to clean up the mess he had made.
Serenity was curled around a pillow her eyes open. She was exhausted mentally and physically. But yet she still couldn't find it within her to go to sleep. She was thinking about what had just happened. About how it had felt…well, it had felt right, until… She sighed and squeezed the pillow tighter to her chest. It had felt right until he had told her It's going to be so much fun to break you. She tried not to whimper, but it escaped from her lips anyway. She hadn't pinned Endymion to be that kind of man, but she should have known better. Somebody that tall, dark, and handsome couldn't be perfect, there had to be a fatal flaw. And she had found his. She threw her pillow across the room in anger.
It's going to be so much fun to break you. Ha. What Endymion didn't know was that she had already been broken. A few years ago when she had gotten out, she had promised herself never again. She would never again be in that sort of situation. But here she was on the brink of getting into something way over her head. No, she thought to herself. She wasn't going to get into that position again. She wasn't going to be so easily broken. She would fight back this time. She wouldn't runaway from this. Not like last time.
She fell back into bed, feeling somewhat better than she had, but still there was something lingering in her stomach. It almost felt like dread.
Raye was trying to fall asleep. It wasn't easy considering that she was on a plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, but she was in first class and she had been up since the day before studying for that bloody exam. She sighed and put her seat back up. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep now. Her brain was running on high alert. That exam had nearly been the death of her. Even though she had studied for hours, she still left four of the eight essay questions blank. She was totally going to bomb that exam, but she didn't care. The professor was an asshole, who had been giving her shit all semester because she wouldn't sleep with him. She should have complained to the dean, and she would, when she got back, but until then her GPA was going to suffer. But she didn't care.
Serenity needed her. Her best friend was in trouble, and she needed to be there just in case... Raye sighed and her mind kept playing. Serenity and her had met at freshmen orientation when they had moved into the same dorm room. Raye had instantly taken to the girl, and they had been friends ever since. They had gone to parties together, studied together, and had even gone on a few double dates. But one day halfway through the first semester, Serenity brought home a guy who gave Raye the creeps. She had told her of her concerns, but she had just blown her off. Then as the weeks passed, Serenity began to change. She slept in late, she skipped classes, and most nights she didn't even come home. Almost a month later, right before Christmas vacation, Serenity disappeared. Normally it wouldn't be a need for concern, but she disappeared during exam week. Raye knew something was wrong and kept calling her cell phone until finally someone answered.
They told her that they had found her friend passed out and she wasn't moving. It looked like someone had beaten her, she had bruises all over her face, and her leg was broken. The person called an ambulance and Raye rushed off to meet her friend at the hospital. When she finally woke up the following day, Serenity didn't tell her anything about what had been happening. The only thing she would tell her was that things with that guy were over. Raye had taken her back to the dorm and was reluctant to leave for the Bahamas for Christmas with her friend like this. Serenity told her to go, and against her better judgment she went.
When she came back things had gotten worse. Serenity was now up at all hours of the night. She didn't sleep and it started to show. Her grades were fine, so the professors weren't concerned, but they didn't live with her, like Raye did. One night Serenity finally hit rock bottom and she had to pick her off the floor. She finally told her what had been going on, and Raye hadn't left her side since. Not until Serenity had gotten the call that she had to come and take over for her asshole of a father.
Now, with this Diamond guy getting overly obsessive she had to move in with a guy she barely knew for her protection, a guy who had a nasty reputation in the business world. Raye was nervous for her friend. It didn't help that her friend was now having dreams with him again. It couldn't be a coincidence. She sighed and wished that this plane would go faster. She needed to get there fast, especially because unlike her friend she knew who this guy was.
Hold on, Serenity, she thought. I'll be there soon.
Serenity went down to breakfast the next morning for the first time since her first morning here. The guys – minus Endymion much to her shock – all looked up at her entrance to the dinning room. They all wore shocked expressions, and she held back a laugh. The tension that was in her body disappeared when she noticed that Endymion wasn't at the table and she went to sit down wondering why he wasn't there.
"Good morning," she said as Amy filled her coffee cup. "Where's Endymion?"
"He'll be down shortly," Nephrite replied. "It's good to see you, Serenity."
"It's good to see you too, Nephrite."
"Aw, what about me?" Jadeite asked giving her a puppy dog expression that made her laugh. The other guys – even the usually stoic Kunzite – smiled at the sound of her laugh.
"Yes, even you, Jadeite," she replied with a smile. "I'm sorry, I haven't been down in a few days, it's just that I have a lot of work to do now that I'm under house arrest for the foreseeable future."
"We understand," Zoicite said. "But it's not healthy for you to go so long without eating. Not even when you're working."
"So I've been told," Serenity replied catching a familiar pair of blue eyes as he walked into the dining room and stopped at the door. Endymion looked surprised to see her at the table, and she tried not to laugh at the expression on his face as she ate her eggs. He hadn't expected her to show her face after what had happened the night before. Well, she wasn't going to let him scare her off. He told her that she needed to eat, so she was going to eat.
"Endymion," Jadeite said as their friend entered the room and took his seat at the head of the table. "Look who finally decided to grace us with her presence this morning."
"So, I see. Good morning, Serenity."
"Good morning, Endymion," she replied her voice strong even though on the inside she was screaming. She forgot about how even the sound of his voice could do something to her. It's going to be so much fun to break you. She winced inwardly. No, she couldn't go there again.
Endymion had been shocked when he had walked into the dining room and saw Serenity sitting at the table. He didn't know what shocked him more the fact that she was there or the fact that when her eyes met his she didn't have a hint of terror in her eyes. In fact, she was laughing at something one of his friends had said. She had a beautiful laugh, and he wished that he could hear her laugh more. He sat down feeling a little bit happier than he had the night before. So his actions hadn't scared her away, maybe he had a chance after all.
Her phone buzzed on the table and she gave everyone – even him – an apologetic look as she excused herself from the table. He watched her leave and then exchanged looks with the guys at the table.
"She didn't leave," Zoicite said.
"Apparently," Endymion replied with a small smile on his face.
"What exactly happened last night, anyway?" Jadeite asked. "You left here so pissed off, and now she's back at the table…"
"He fucked her against a wall, fully clothed," Zoicite replied for him.
"You didn't," Kunzite said looking at him.
"I did."
"Shit, Endymion, what were you thinking?"
"I wasn't. The beast took over and…" he trailed off and looked to where Serenity had left the room. She was pacing and she looked pissed. Something was going on there. "It doesn't matter. She's still here. Obviously, it's going to take more than that to scare her away."
Nephrite went to say something, but then thought better of it, and instead Jadeite's phone buzzed. He looked intrigued and checked the screen to see who was calling. His face paled considerably before he answered the phone.
"Hello?" Something was said on the other line and his face paled some more before he nodded and said. "I'll be there soon." He hung up the phone and pushed back his chair.
"Who was that?" Endymion asked.
"Nothing. I just have to go pick someone up," he replied looking distracted and left the room before Endymion and the others could say anything else to him. As he left, Serenity walked back in the same pissed off look on her face. She took her seat and threw her phone onto the table with a loud crash.
"Stupid, useless…" she muttered.
"Is everything all right, Serenity?" Kunzite asked.
"No," she replied. "Sometimes people can be really stupid."
"What's going on?" Endymion asked.
"I have these two huge binders that are critical to this project that I'm working on," she replied. "The company finally sent them over…to my office even though they knew I wasn't going to be in."
"I see," Endymion commented and looked at Kunzite who nodded his head.
"I can go pick them up for you, if you'd like?"
"Would you?" Serenity turned to him a light in her eyes.
"Sure. Just tell me who I have to see to pick them up."
"Thank you!" She exclaimed blasting him with her full smile, which caused Kunzite to blink and smile back in return. "Just go to my office, and my assistant Mina will have them waiting for you. I'll call her right now, and tell her to expect you." She got up from her seat and kissed Kunzite on the cheek before she walked out of the room to make a phone call. Endymion pushed back his chair to follow her. She was in a good mood now. It would be a perfect opportunity to apologize for his behavior last night.
"Hey Mina," she was saying into her phone when he approached her. "Yeah, so I have a solution to our problem. My friend Kunzite is going to come by the office and pick up the binders for me." She listened intently to her assistant's response, but her eyes met his and she raised an eyebrow when she saw him there. She muttered a few more things into the phone before she hung up.
"Look, Serenity," he began but she waved him off.
"I don't want to hear it," she replied and went towards the stairs.
"At least…"
"No," she was up the stairs and into her room before he could say another word. He watched her go with an amazed expression on his face. He was trying to apologize and she didn't want to hear it? How weird was that? Most women would have had him beg. But Serenity isn't most women, he thought to himself with a smile. The beast was growling again in need, but he went away before he did something as stupid as he did last night.
Kunzite left for Serenity's office right after breakfast. Endymion knew that out of all of his friends, the curse had affected him the most. He had been a stoic and quite man before the curse, and after the curse had taken its toll he had been ruthless. He had been the one that Endymion looked to when he was looking for CEOs to 'mysteriously disappear.' Because of this, Endymion made sure that he got out of the house the most. This errand for Serenity was no exception, although he was happy to do it for her. He agreed with his friend that she was going to be the one to break the curse. If what his friend had told him about what had happened last night and she was still here than she would be the one. Which was sort of disappointing because she was quite attractive.
But Endymion had seen her first and there were other fish in the sea. He kept musing during the rest of the drive into the city. He walked into the building that belonged to Serenity's company and asked the secretary on the main floor for directions to Serenity's office.
"She isn't in," the secretary informed him.
"I know, I'm here to pick something up for her," he replied.
"Oh. Well, take the elevator to the thirtieth floor and you'll see it when you get off."
"Thank you." He went onto the elevator and pressed the button for the thirtieth floor. He was amazed at how fast the elevators moved in this building, a lot of others had slow moving elevators, and didn't have to wait long to reach his destination. He stepped off and saw the office at the end of the hall, in front of the office was a desk where a blonde was sitting.
He approached and slowed when he finally got a good look at the blonde. She looked almost like Serenity, but there were a few differences. Her hair was slightly longer and was pushed back with a red ribbon, while her blue eyes were slightly darker. There were other differences there, but he couldn't name them all. Her attention had turned towards him as he finally approached her desk. She opened her mouth to greet him, when a gasp came out of her mouth instead. Apparently he wasn't the only one who was taking stock of the person before them.
"Kunzite?" She finally asked.
"Yes," he replied. "You must be Mina, it's a pleasure to meet you." He put out his hand and she hesitatingly put hers in his. Instead of shaking it, like he had originally planned, he found himself leaning over it and placing his lips chastely on the knuckles. His lips tingled from where they touched her skin.
"Nice to meet you too," she said with a light blush on her cheeks. "So, here are the binders that Serenity needs. How is she doing anyway?" She handed over two three-inch binders that were filled to the brim with paper. He took them with ease and sent her a smile.
"She's doing all right," he said. "But I'm sure she's the kind who's going to go stir crazy soon."
Mina laughed, "You have no idea."
Kunzite stared at her feeling the same way he had when Serenity had laughed today. He felt a smile on his face and wanted to make her laugh more. "You have an amazing laugh."
She stopped laughing, "Th-thank you," she stuttered. "So, uh…"
"Right," he said and turned to leave. "Good-bye."
"'Bye."
He started walking away before he stopped and turned back to her. "Hey, I know this is going to sound insane, but…"
"Oh, thank God," she said with a smile.
"Thank God, what?" He asked amused.
"If you had taken another five steps, I was going to go after you and ask you out," she replied with another laugh.
"Really? So it's not crazy…"
"Of course not," she said and scribbled something onto one of the business cards. "Here's my number. Call me when you want to do something." She smiled and as he walked away with the card in his pocket he felt something for the first time since the curse had been cast three years ago. He felt happy.
It was just after lunch had been served – Serenity took hers in her room, Endymion in his study – when Zoicite walked back into the kitchen and placed his plate on the table. Ms. Pots looked up at his entrance and he only smiled at her in response. He sat down and dug into his lunch while she continued to prepare dinner. He continued to stare at her, until she finally turned around and said in exasperation, "What?"
He smirked, "Nothing. I'm just watching you work, Ms. Pots."
"Well, stop," she replied and turned back to continue her work.
"Why?"
"Because I can't get anything done if you're watching me!" She exclaimed. "Now, tell me what's really bothering you, Zoicite." She wiped her hands on a towel and turned around to face him again.
"It's Serenity," he admitted.
Her face fell, "Oh."
"No, no, not like that," he said and stood up to reassure her that he wasn't interested in their new houseguest. "Endymion had me do a background check on her and I found something…"
"What did you find?" Ms. Pots asked curious.
"That's the thing, I'm not quite sure. There's this brief period in her records where the location is given but it doesn't say why she was there."
"You should ask her about it, then."
"Yeah, but then she'll know that I've been looking into her and she'll want to know why…" he trailed off. Ms. Pots looked up at him and shook her head before turning back to the oven.
"She's going to find out eventually, Zoicite," she said. "Might as well let her know what's coming before she has to talk to him about it. She seems to be the kind of person who wants to be prepared for these sort of things."
"You're right," he sighed. "As usual. Thanks, Amy," he said and kissed her on the cheek before he left the room to go talk to Serenity about what he had found. While he was walking up the stairs he was thinking about his 'relationship' with Ms. Pots. He had known Endymion since they were five years old and had been in this house since then too. He had been here when Amy Pots – the original Ms. Pots' daughter – had been running around helping her mother. He had fallen for her at first sight and it wasn't until three years ago that he was going to do something about it. But he never got the chance because of the curse, although, Amy knew about it. She also knew about his feelings for her, he didn't know how, she just did. So, they were still tentatively dancing around each other. She was waiting for the curse to be lifted and he… Well, he was fighting the curse.
Darker side, indeed, he thought before he knocked on Serenity's door.
Serenity knew that she was being ridiculous. She had been waiting for Endymion to barge into her room since she had left him speechless downstairs. She figured – from what she knew of him in the last seventy-two hours – that he wouldn't be too happy that she didn't let him talk to her about what had happened last night. She had known when he had followed her into the foyer that he was probably going to talk to her about what had happened last night, and she really didn't want to hear it. The reason that she didn't want to hear it was because she still was trying to figure out how exactly she felt about it, and until then she didn't want to know what he had to say.
Maybe he was trying to apologize, a part of her thought, but she brushed that aside. Endymion apologize? Ha. She doubted that he had it in him to apologize. Oh, sure there was that moment on her first night here that he apologized, but it wasn't for his behavior it was for her father's. She shook her head and tried to get her mind back to her work. It had been difficult there for a while, until Kunzite came by and handed her the binders that he had picked up from her office. After that it was easy breezy, but not so easy that she was going to be down for dinner. She groaned, knowing that if she didn't come down for dinner than Endymion would definitely be barging into her room.
When Ms. Pots came up with her lunch, she informed Serenity that Endymion was also working in his study and wasn't going to be able to make it down for dinner. It was a relief, and Serenity thanked her before going back to work and nibbling on the sandwich that Ms. Pots had brought up for her. She was in midsentence when someone knocked on her door. She swallowed and thought at least he's using the door this time before opening the door.
But instead of the dark haired male being at her threshold it was Zoicite. She stepped back in surprise. He watched all of this with slight amusement.
"Zoicite?" Serenity asked. "What's going on?"
"I need to talk to you," he replied. "Can I come in?"
She stepped aside and he walked into the room as she shut the door. She turned to face him with a questioning look on her face. She hadn't had many interactions with Zoicite, but from what she observed of him he was a quiet man. "What did you need to talk to me about?"
"I don't even know where to begin."
"From the beginning would be good," Serenity said with a smile to ease his worry. He looked nervous.
"Well, Endymion had me conduct a background check on you."
"I see."
"And, I found something that I'm not quite sure how to explain."
Serenity finally took a seat at her desk chair knowing exactly what Zoicite was talking about. She had wondered how long she was going to have until someone in this household had found out about her past, but she silently admitted that she was glad that it was Zoicite who was coming to her with this. She could only imagine what Endymion's reaction would be…
"Let me guess," she said. "There is a hospital stay and a rehab facility stay that you have questions about."
"How did you know?"
"It's my background you're looking at, Zoicite," she laughed in response. "But what I'm about to tell you can't get back to Endymion."
"I'm not sure I can do that."
"Do you have to tell him the truth?" Serenity asked.
He paused from answering, knowing that depending on what she told him that he could probably come up with some sort of plausible truth. "Touche, Ms. Tskunio. I'll figure it out, but I need to hear your story first."
She smirked, "Well…"
Endymion had been locked away in his study since breakfast. He was trying to get some work done, but all he could think about was a certain blonde who lived upstairs. She wasn't like any woman that he had ever known. Most would want to know what had happened last night meant, but Serenity… She didn't want to hear it. She didn't even look mad about it either, which was odd. He had fucked her against a wall. Or had he? No, he had…he remembered the feeling of being inside her. How tight she was. He groaned and put his pen down. There was no way that he could concentrate on work right now. Not with Serenity's naked form floating through his brain.
He was just about to get up and pour himself a drink when a knock on his door interrupted him. "Enter," he said automatically. The door opened and Zoicite walked in holding a folder barely an inch thick. He placed it on his desk and took a seat.
"The background check on Serenity," he explained and Endymion started flipping through it. There were her transcripts from high school and college, she was quite bright, not that he was surprised. Her bank statements, and her medical records were more shocking. He could see from her bank statements why Serenity would have been angry if her father had frozen her accounts. But her medical records were odd. She had had her tonsils out when she was fifteen, wisdom teeth at nineteen. But it was when she was eighteen that he was most interested in. There was a hospital stay listed, but it gave no reason.
"What was she in the hospital for when she was eighteen?" He asked.
"Broken leg," Zoicite replied. "She fell down the stairs of her dorm while doing laundry."
"I see," he continued to peruse the file in front of him. There was a list of her friends – her roommate Lita and her college roommate… Well, that was interesting. He smiled at the name on the sheet but continued on. She had two previous romantic relationships a guy named Seiya when she was in high school and a man named Alan Sterling when she was a freshman in college. But after that there was nothing. So she hadn't been seeing anyone. She was free, which made him smile. "All right, thanks, Zoicite."
"No problem," his friend said and got up to leave. Endymion watched him leave and couldn't help but continue to smile.
Diamond was pacing in his office. His tail had returned, but not with good news. He had searched everywhere, but Serenity couldn't be found. She had disappeared. Diamond was angry because he had paid this guy for nothing. Serenity wasn't found. She was still missing, and that was no acceptable to him. He needed her in this room with him now. He couldn't stand being apart from her for one more day. But where had she gone that not even a trained tail could find her?
His phone rang and he answered it with a flourish. "What?" He barked.
"I have news of Serenity," another one of his contacts answered. "A man named Kunzite came by to pick something up from Mina for her."
"Kunzite?" Diamond muttered. "I'll look into it." He hung up without so much as a thank you to his contact. He turned to the tail and gave him the name. The tail said he would look into it and get back to him. Diamond went to sit down knowing that the next time the tail came back in without any news of where his Serenity had gone, he would have to be taken care of. There was only so much incompetence that he could put up with. He touched his computer screen with longing. Mine, he couldn't help but think.
It was after ten in the evening by the time that Serenity finally pushed back from her desk with victory. The project that she had been working on all week was finally done. She felt like dancing, but her stomach growled informing her that she hadn't had anything to eat since dinner five hours ago. She decided to go downstairs to the kitchen to grab a quick snack. She padded down the stairs and looked at Endymion's study. The door was closed, and there was a light underneath the door. Was he seriously still working? If he was he had quite the nerve to yell at her about working until all hours without eating and sleeping. She shook her head and continued into the kitchen.
She came to a halt when she realized that the light under Endymion's study door was wrong. Endymion wasn't in his study. He was in the kitchen too. He looked up at her entrance and they froze as their eyes connected again. There was something about his eyes that always made Serenity feel like he was seeing deep into her soul.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi," she replied and finally moved deeper into the kitchen.
"Finally taking a break?" He asked.
"Finished actually." She turned to the refrigerator and started taking out fixings for a sandwich. She was pretty sure that she couldn't make one as good as the one Ms. Pots had given her for lunch, but she could at least try. Endymion watched all of this amusement as he leaned on the counter and bit into the apple he had come in to get.
"Congratulations," he said as she set to work. "So about…"
"If the next words out of your mouth are 'last night' I won't be responsible for what I do with this knife," she interrupted him and held up the steak knife she had taken out of the holder in front of her. He swallowed hard, trying not to laugh at the expression on her face or the way she looked holding the knife. Like she could actually hurt him with that? Please.
"I won't say it," he acquiesced. "But we need to talk about it."
"What exactly do we have to talk about? Unless you want to talk about what you meant by what you said afterwards?" She didn't look at him as she said this, she was concentrating on making the perfect sandwich, or so she told herself. She could feel his eyes bearing into her, and she knew that if she looked up and caught his gaze things would happen on this counter other than sandwich making.
"You're right," he said after a while. "We don't have to talk about this."
A dark laugh came out of her mouth, "Typical." This time she did look up and met his stunned gaze. "When someone starts asking the hard questions, you don't say anything."
"I thought this is what you wanted? Not to talk about what happened last night?" He countered with a smug look on his face.
"I don't except what you meant by what you said before you left and why you had the audacity to fuck me against the wall without taking off your clothes."
"Why? Because you wanted to touch me too?"
"No, because it made me feel cheap, you asshole." Endymion was amazed at how collected she was in talking about this. Instead of falling apart or stammering when he had asked if she wanted to touch him too, she called him an asshole. The beast was chomping inside of him. He had finally found an acceptable sparring partner, and if what had happened the night before was any indication, an amazing bed partner too. She really was perfect.
"Well, I didn't hear you complaining last night," he responded and threw his apple core into the garbage. "In fact, you were more than willing to be fucked against the wall, even though we barely know each other." He turned his back on her as he started to walk out of the room.
It was the wrong move to make. She wasn't joking about what she could do with a knife when she was angry. And boy was she angry. How dare he? How dare he make her feel like such a slut, when it was him who had come barging into her room and instigated everything? Before she knew what she was doing, the knife that was in her hand was flying through the air towards Endymion. It flipped end over end in the air before the blade finally sunk a few inches into his left shoulder. He stopped in the doorway and Serenity put a hand to her mouth as he turned to face her. He looked at her, a strange emotion on his face, as his hand reached up and yanked the knife out of his skin. He looked at the knife slightly covered in his blood and back at her before stalking towards her.
In the past, Serenity would have cowered, but now she stood her ground. He knew what he was dealing with now. She had warned him that she wouldn't be held responsible for what she did with the knife, and well…there you go. He placed the knife on the counter and then backed her up against it trapping her. Serenity bit her lip having a strange sense of déjà vu. Wasn't this how it had started last night?
"You stabbed me," he said but instead of sounding angry he sounded impressed. "You're amazing." His lips crashed down on hers and the same sparks that ignited last night were reignited. Her lips were addictive and he moaned as they became pliant beneath his. He swept aside the sandwich that she had been making before his arms encircled her waist and he lifted her onto the counter. Her legs were around his waist bringing him closer to her heated core. He groaned into her mouth, knowing that if she wasn't careful that he would have her on this countertop with his clothes on again.
Serenity realized that too and her fingers began unbuttoning his shirt. He shrugged out of it and hissed when her fingers touched his bare skin. The beast was in shock and purred with satisfaction. This minx in front of him was just full of surprises. Well, he could play that way too, as he ripped open her flannel shirt. The buttons popped and bounced around the kitchen as he took her in. She wasn't wearing a tank top underneath the shirt like others did. She was just in a black lace bra. His jeans felt constrictive and it didn't help that her fingers were on the snap. This must be payback for last night, he thought and helped her get him out of his pants.
Her fingers touched him and he let out a growl. "Don't," he said gruffly. If she continued to touch him like that then he would lose it before he even touched her. But she didn't listen and continued to touch him, picking up speed. He lost his breath as he came in her hand. He took a step back from her staring at her in a new light. But before he could move back to her she jumped down from the counter and walked away. He watched her leave in amazement. She had made him come by just using her hand and she walked away before he could be inside her.
"Touché, Serenity," he said to no one as he slipped back into his jeans.
Serenity practically ran up the stairs after she left Endymion's eyesight. It had taken much of her willpower to not stick around after she made him come into her hand. It had been payback for last night. This time she was the one fully clothed, well, she thought as she looked down at her ripped open shirt, mostly clothed. But she had been close to letting him take her on that counter. She had been right about assuming that he was well built underneath those tight fitting shirts, but damn. She walked back into her room and froze for the second time that day on the threshold.
"You know, the last time we talked it sounded like you were in trouble. From the looks of things, you seem to be doing just fine," Raye said from her bed.
"Raye!" She exclaimed and ran into the room to give her other best friend a hug. The raven-haired woman jumped up and hugged her back. "When did you get here? How did you get here?"
"Whoa, whoa," she laughed. "Slow down and put on a new shirt. It's weird seeing you with the girls hanging out." Serenity laughed and went to her closet to grab the first shirt she touched. In a fluid movement she had her flannel shirt off and a t-shirt over her head. "Right. So. I got here like twenty minutes ago. Only you weren't here. Where were you?"
"In the kitchen throwing knifes and making Endymion come into my hand."
"Wait. Wait. What?" Raye asked her eyes widening in shock. "What do you mean you made Endymion come in your hand?"
"Uh. Right. I might want to start from the beginning."
"Please."
Serenity told her friend about everything that she had missed since they had talked on Tuesday morning. Raye had the decency to look shocked, appalled and pleased in the right places. At the end of her tale, they lapsed into silence. The events of the day and the past few days of roughly no sleep were catching up to her, and she was fighting to stay awake.
"Sere, I think you should go to sleep," Raye said. "You look exhausted."
"Thanks," Serenity replied, but agreed with her friend. She pushed back the covers and snuggled deep into them. Within minutes she was out. Raye smiled at the way her friend looked before leaving the room. It was time Endymion and her had a chat.
She found her way down the stairs and to the study door. She knocked and walked in without hearing a response.
"I didn't say you could come in, Serenity," he said without looking up at Raye's entrance. "But I'm glad you're here." He finally did look up and paled.
"Raye?" He whispered in shock.
She smirked. "Hello, brother."
Author's Notes: *dramatic drum roll* Ooh. Plot twist! Ha-ha. I'll admit that this chapter was supposed to go a whole lot differently when I originally planned it out. It was supposed to end with Serenity in tears and Raye pissed off. But, meh. I think it was time Serenity fought back. So let me know what you thought of this chapter and I'll update soon!
