Chapter 14

He might have disappeared to find a place to camp out, but I could see his silhouette as he paced back and forth in front of the lantern his hands up on his face, definitely thinking but I'm not so sure of what. I watched for a while, just taking in that stride, the quiet, angry alpha male stride that he kept up at an even pace, until he noticed me.

I had never seen something so primal before. He leaned his head was down, not all the way but as he lowered his hands from his cheeks, his eyes stared up at me from under the hair that fell from behind his ears. Those hands now fisted at his side, his gaze ran the length of me from head to toe and back before I finally saw a breath from him. He was intimidating, broad shoulders, wide chest, angling inward towards his hips, all muscle, all man and definitely hot as hell, especially in the tight tee-shirt that he wore, having stripped away that extra layer of the dark flannel shirt.

His shoulders moved with the breath, in fact his whole body became larger than life as he took in everything with every single rise of his chest, like a wolf breathing in the scent of his surroundings, and I watched his nose crinkle, making me wonder if he was just that…a wolf in Sam's clothing.

"You're angry," I whispered and listened to that grunt, one that came out almost as a growl, but he rolled his eyes, straightening up, eyes still locked on me. "Angry at what?" He shrugged, his lips becoming a thin line. "Ah, silent brooding type, I get it."

I took a step forward and watched the confusion cross his eyes, as if no one had ever dared to move closer when he looked like this, but he didn't move.

"Are you angry over the car? You really shouldn't be, you had no control over an animal putting us off the road." Nothing, no response. "Are you angry because you think you couldn't protect me from the vampire? Again, no control because you were unconscious."

I wasn't getting anywhere, his eyes didn't flinch, his body didn't move, no matter the question, and then I thought for a moment and found myself within arm's reach, his arms not mine.

"You're not mad at all," I whispered and shook my head, a light blinking behind his eyes before it faded, that was the only sign that he gave me. "You're holding back, afraid to lose control."

"I don't want to hurt you," he mumbled, barely audible through clenched teeth, every muscle in his body twitched as the restraint he kept on it. "The way I feel right now, Al, I could do some damage."

"You really think you're capable of that?" I gave him a small smile, the notion itself seemed as absurd as, well, finding Sam and Dean in our lives at the moment but he gave me a little nod. "Have you ever, I mean, done some damage on a woman before?"

"I never gave myself that opening," he growled and his eyes moved from me to the rafters of the building. "I've kept people at a distance," he smiled, not a fond loving one, but an acknowledgement that yeah, he could really do some harm, and his breath came out like a "ha". "I've got a lot inside me, Al, a lot of evil, and a lot of anger and…"

"You just keep it inside?" I only kept up with the questions because he was letting me, not moving to stop not growing more uncontrollable, not even so much as a movement in my direction, but he nodded. "Totally an unhealthy way to go."

"Yeah, bar fights are not my thing."

"Sex," I whispered and heard that growl from his chest. Yeah, that was his out, and what he meant by he could do some damage. "Ever hurt someone during that?" I watched as he slowly shook his head, the words not coming from him and I smiled. "Why do you think that you are going to do that with me?"

He rolled his eyes, I watched his jaw clench and his fingers dig deeper into his palm, white knuckles and all. I didn't get it, didn't understand his hesitation but then again, this was a different Sam, and a different animal all together. I moved closer to the light of the lantern and watched his eyes scan me over again. He stopped at my waist, his hands suddenly unclenched and his eyes widened.

"You're bleeding!" He huffed out and instantly the distance between us was gone.

"What?" I felt his hands on me, gently, like he was inspecting every part of my arms, then over to the top of my shirt, his fingers grazing the cuts that were slowly fading, I took his hand. "Sam, I'm not hurt."

He tugged me closer to the light, into that stall behind him and I watched the panic in his eyes as his shaking hand reached out towards my stomach. Looking down, finally able to see what the hell had him so up in arms, I realized. I was COVERED in blood.

"It's not mine!" I quickly realized what was going on. The man was in a panic over the fact that he could see nothing but red. His hands shook as his eyes became distant, he was shutting down, his walls were going up, but he was going through the motions of checking me over before I swiped his hands away. "I'm not bleeding. Sam, Jesus, it's not mine."

He wasn't stopping, he was inspecting and noting every little line on my body before he took hold of the shirt. I think that was when it happened, the wet stain solidified it for him, I was bleeding or at least that was all he registered and I growled.

"Listen, Moose!" I snapped and watched him move back from the name, yeah, probably not the best time to pull out the Crowley nickname but he wasn't listening. Kicking off my shoes, I grabbed the end of the light shirt and ripped it off over my head, exposing everything but what the bra covered. He stopped dead, his hands inches from my skin and he stared. The blood had soaked through onto my skin, but there wasn't a mark on me and I watched his lips part, the first sign of hope that this move, this insane half-assed move was going to help him. "It's not my blood, sweetheart! I'm fine."

His fingers finally made contact at my bare ribs, tracing the curve of my body gently as he reached the edge of my jeans and I took a deep breath in when he trailed them across the part of my stomach that held the red tint of color. His lips parted just a little more as his foot took one step closer. I could feel the heat that came from his body and looked up into his eyes, watching the curiosity there, the way they played over my skin.

"Sam, you're not going to do any damage." I reached out, letting my hands settle on the tight muscles of his lower arms, feeling his fingers twitch against my skin, and as I ran my own down the length of him. I finally grabbed his wrist and pushed his fingers against my skin, wanting to feel every part of the callous edges of them. Sam took a deep breath, closed his eyes just a little, as if suppressing something and then they folded into me, pulling me towards him. "Don't hold back, I'm not going to break."

That was his cue, the words he needed to hear, just enough encouragement to wrap around me as his lips claimed mine. I could feel his body shaking, one hand moving up to the spot between my shoulders, holding me to him as the other traveled down to the small of my back and I swear I heard a low moan come from somewhere deep inside him.

He sidestepped, bringing me closer to the lantern, closer to the blankets that he had set down on the bed of hay, but he suddenly released me and left me standing there for a moment as I heard him disappear. In the distance, not far off but enough that I couldn't make out what was said, I heard Dean and Sam exchange words, the sound of the faucet in an old tap run, and the water trickling down into a metal bucket.

When he came back, I watched him stop in the doorway to the stall, look me over and slowly, he made his way over to the blanket. I watched as he knelt down, sitting back on his heels, a towel in his hand and his eyebrows went up.

"Lay down," he whispered. It wasn't an order, just a friendly suggestion, one that I took my time obliging as those blue-green blazing eyes watched me possessively.

He licked his lips, watching me move, and then swallowed hard as I finally rested the length of the blanket. I tucked my hands up under my head and watched him as he took the towel, held it tightly in his hand for a moment before he dipped it in the water. I watched him catch his lower lip, as his eyes came to rest on mine.

"This is going to be cold," he said in just above a whisper, and he let out a small breath, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for the water being cold?" I smiled and watched the shy little grin appear on his cheek, but he was right, it was cold.

The tip of that towel hit my heated skin like an ice cube and I found myself sucking in my breath. One hand came down from behind my head and I let it grip his thigh, not that I had nails, but I'm sure he would have felt it if I did. The grin on his face widened as he brought the cloth across my stomach. He was washing away the blood, taking away the stain of the fight that I had been in and I finally relaxed enough to close my eyes.

His touch was gentle, the way he moved was full of thoughtful care, and before I knew just what was going on, he had moved from under my touch. I felt his hands on the button of my jeans, but at that moment, there was no way that I cared. The harsh material of the jeans was coated with the crimson liquid, stiffening the fabric as his fingers curled beneath the waist and I lifted my hips, letting him tug them down, eyes still closed.

It was when he nudged my knees apart that they flew open and I watched as he settled down between them, once again on his knees. His hand ran the length of the backside of each of my thighs, moving my legs until they were braced against his own, and that towel descended again. I felt his fingers on the inside of my legs, close to the cotton barrier that separated the flicker of his index finger of his left hand from the heat that my body let off in desire for him to move closer, but he just braced my leg as his right hand moved gently down.

Who would have thought the feeling of a cloth could be so much, almost too much, and I let out a small whimper as he moved both hands to the other leg, this time he switched, the right hand grasping the inner part of my thigh, the same finger grazing over the fabric as his left used the towel to clean away the memories.

I didn't know anything else except his presence, his touch and that cold cloth, not until his lips hit my stomach. Such a contrast from the rough dampness, his lips were warm and wet and they drew a path of fire until he was over the bra, across my neck and planted softly on my lips.

His finger hitched on the edge of my bra as my arms came down and my hand tangled in his hair, tugging him closer as he moved his mouth to capture mine, like a puzzle that just clicked together. I reached down, as his mouth ravaged mine in a slow tortuous way, and gripped the end of his shirt, pulling it up and away from his body.

When his skin touched mine, the feeling intensified. Sam was heat and desire, and oh so much more all rolled into one but that contact was what we both needed. Chaos erupted in a fury of lips, tongue and touch, as we moved together, removing the barriers between us, and I gasped as I felt the naked length of him resting against me in what seemed like an instant.

He sat back, and my body was instantly aware of something missing, but I watched the light from the lantern dim, heard the rip of the little foil packet and felt his arm against my thigh, moving carefully along his on length. A condom, good boy, I smiled to myself and shook my head. Now why hadn't I thought of that?

Sam's hand didn't come back to my waist, not even to rest on my hip, instead it slipped from him to the wet heat between us and with one flick of his fingers against the folds, my eyes rolled back and I could feel the world as it began to shatter, this all from a slight little touch. I reached for him, finding the tight muscles of his shoulders as I settled my hands on his skin and pulled up just a little, wanting to see what he was doing and the sight of him, as he knelt there hard and ready was almost as dangerous as looking up into those darkening eyes, but the feelings that his fingers alone sent soaring through me made my arms shake, and give out.

He moved like a ghost, suddenly upon me, moving me back down to the blanket with just his kiss and before I knew it, he had my thighs up, locking my legs behind him. I could feel him there, the tip just itching to move and he backed away, looking softly down at the kiss-swollen lips he had just left before his eyes met mine.

"I don't want…" I grabbed him by the hair, not wanting to hear that he thought he would hurt me when I was more than ready for him and I brought my hips up, closing that distance. He moaned, quiet loudly as he slipped in, the heat surrounded him and one hand suddenly grasped my hips. Buried deep, as far as he could go, he froze. Against my lips, I felt the shudder of his breath, "don't move."

"Sam," I pleaded, because him, being so close was killing me not to move.

"I swear if you move this will be done before it starts," he smiled. "Just…give me a second."

I waited, our eyes locked as his breathing matched mine and his lips moved, trying to find the words just as his hips began to rock. Slow, deliberately shallow movements that would have never been felt if it had been anyone else, but I could feel him, every part of him and he squeezed his eyes tightly, his teeth clenched as his forehead rested on mine.

"I want it slow and torturous." He smiled against my lips.

"Oh my God, Sam," I mumbled, feeling the shallow thrusts as he brushed his lips along mine.

"I need it," he confessed, "you'll never be like the others, so this…this is how I need it."

I understood what he was saying, I wasn't a conquest, it was so much deeper than that. I wasn't one of the girls at the bar, a fast heavy action that needed a quick release. No, he wanted to savior it, draw it out, but damn did I need that boy to move.

My grip on his hair tightened as his lips moved to my throat, kissing long a line there until I felt his teeth graze across my skin. Did he just know, or was it the sound of my reply to that small action that made his hips buck and he slid further out than he intended? He wasn't so gentle when his hips slipped closer, and I tilted my head back. My God, this man was pure sin, and I was loving every second of it, but he slowed, inching in and out further with each sway of his hips.

I pressed my hand against the back of his head, encouraging the feeling of his teeth on my shoulder and when he bit down, just enough to shock and draw a bit of pleasured pain, I gasped and my hips rose to meet his.

I was done, so totally done, there wasn't a need for slow and steady. I understood what he needed and I was good with it, but I needed more, more of him and the way he moved, the feelings he was dragging to the surface.

"Please, Sam!" I growled against his ear as I ran my fingers down his back, searching for the curve of his ass and when I found it, my legs moved until I had him around the hips instead. The sudden movement, the change in angle made him gasp and his darkened eyes came up to focus on mine. "Trust me, there's nothing you can do that's going to hurt, just…please."

His breathing was heavy, focused but he watched as I pleaded and a small smile crossed his face. His hips swayed back, and that first thrust forward sent starburst behind my eyes as the pure pleasure of it had me arching up against him. My reaction told him the one thing he needed to really understand, the same thing I had been telling him all along, I wasn't going to break, and he wasn't going to do any harm.

He was amazing, like a symphony, highs and lows, peaks and valleys and so many emotions. He brought me to the edge and back over and over until there was no way I was holding on anymore. His lips descended on my neck once more, catching me by the shoulder as I let my head drop back, my hand full of his soft brown hair. I could feel myself careening over the edge, holding my breath as the wave of shear erotic pleasure of his body mixed with the near torturous pain of his teeth on my skin.

His hand slipped under my back, raising me up as I felt him swell more. There was no way that he could get any harder, fill me anymore but then he was coming undone, the low noises that vibrated from his chest, and again where his lips pressed sent another wave of pure ecstasy through me as I followed him down until his shaking arms gave out, until his body seemed to crash down and he released my shoulder.

His lips danced over my skin as I untangled my hand from his hair, just enough to start running my fingers through the sweat-drenched locks and I found the small of his back, slick with exertion, and I couldn't help the smile that graced my face.

Sam picked his head up, his hair sticking everywhere to it and I reached up, brushing it back as his fingers traced over my cheek. The smile that formed on his lips was a new one, like a wall had crumbled down from just this one little, magnificent, undeniable connection and I watched the hard, broken man that I had taken into my arms, that I had stitched up, become soft and whole.

There were no words, nothing we had to say to each other and his kiss became soft and gentle once again, even as my eyes fluttered closed, letting the feeling of security in his arms take over. His mouth trailed back down to my shoulder but I felt him slip out, and after kissing what I could imagine was red love bite, he rested his cheek against my chest, wrapping his arms around me the best he could, and somehow found a blanket to shield us from the sudden chill that our drying, cooling bodies felt.

If it wasn't bad enough that it had started to rain before we ventured off to the small hiding spot that Sam and I were currently nestled in, now it was starting to thunder. The first sound shook the whole building and jostled me awake, but I didn't move. I was safe and secure wrapped in the arms of a man who held me protectively. I blinked away the sleep, as my eyes tried to stay open and focused as my hand brushed the soft fine hair that matted under my fingers. I closed my eyes, let my hand rest and pushed my body closer to Sam.

That was when I felt it, the eyes on me. It wasn't so much of a sense of being watched as it was a familiar feeling of a protective guard, that and I could just smell him. There was a distinct light hint of Dean in the air as the wind flowed through the barn and the man was standing upwind. He smelled of leather and gun cleaner and just that subtle hint of tobacco, but he was there. I was going to turn, to show him I was wide awake but I heard the sound of footfalls on the hay and knew that Danni was on her way over.

"You know, she's going to start to think that you're a pervert, or worse a stalker if you keep coming over here." The annoyance in Danni's voice was obvious, and I cringed at it because I knew that she wanted him, and he…he just kept coming after me. Not that there was anything there except his overbearing protective streak but it definitely took away from her time with him and I suppressed a sigh.

"Believe it or not, Dan…" her name dripped with sarcasm as it left his mouth, "I was looking at my brother."

"So, that makes it less weird and perverted?" Danni retorted but there was a smile in her voice.

"Look at him," Dean whispered, his voice suddenly muffled but still clear enough to hear. He had ducked down behind the wall. "Really look at the way he's sleeping. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen that look?"

"Dean," she let out a breath and I could almost imagine her reaching up to touch him. "I…"

"Almost a decade, if not more," Dean answered before she could continue. "My brother hasn't been at peace since Jessica died, since Dad went missing, since Cas flew the coop." It wasn't a new revelation for me, at least about the fact that Sam had seen some pain, but John was 'missing", not dead? "I knew there was something, something about her, a feeling , but this…Dan, you don't get this. It's amazing."

"Still, you could wait until they're at least dressed to stand and admire." I caught the sound of Dean's canvas jacket rustle as he placed his arms back on the wall. "There's something else?"

"The vamps," he admitted. "I wish I could tell you that my only reason for standing here is to memorize the look on my brother's face, the happiness he found at this very moment, but the truth is, I can't let either of them out of my sight."

"You're not the only protector," Danni huffed.

"I have to be." Dean seemed to be stressed and I just wanted to roll over and take him in my arms, which made me think twice about it since there was nothing on under this blanket, but the emotion in his voice called to me. "Danni, you could get hurt, you could get killed and I've already got Ali and Sammy so deep into this mess that I don't know how I'm going to get them out."

"You did this? You brought the vamps to the hotel, brought Sam to the nest?" Danni was never very subtle, she always spoke her mind and damn was she demanding answers.

"Yes," he snapped, "as a matter of fact, I did! I brought Sammy on this hunt, I was the one that suggested it and it was the only reason we left the bunker. We were set there, we were perfectly happy and content sitting around on our asses drinking beer, but I got restless. Me, not him, and I dragged his sorry ass to Ohio, and I put him and Ali in danger because I'm the one that screwed up on the hunt."

"How? Exactly how?"

"It doesn't matter, okay!" He was getting mad, I could always tell when he came out with something to say and ended it with that one word. 'Okay' was a code word for drop it, but Danni wouldn't drop anything, she needed to know. Dean sighed, apparently the look on Danni's face matched anything she might have spoken. "Sam and I were in the building," his voice was muffled as he moved behind the wall again, probably to sit on the bales of hay that rested there. "We split up, did our usual, but I had misjudged, I thought the intel was good, thought we had the right number but instead of nine, there were almost two dozen. Sam got to them first, he engaged, I brought up the rear, total opposite MO than we usually do. It's always me first.

"Sam was hit, one of the suckers took a stab at him with their claws, drew blood, but Sam did what he does best, he kicked ass. We were still outnumbered, but cut theirs in half. It didn't matter, they had his scent, not mine." Dean's voice was full of self-loathing and I found myself focusing on Sam's face. If was awake, he didn't show it and his breathing was quiet and even.

I knew it wasn't easy for Dean to confess any of it, hell, I wouldn't have been able to open up to a complete stranger, but I had seen the trust that had started to grow between them, and this was just another step in the right direction, even if he couldn't move past the whole making sure he was within ten paces of us.

"When they came at us at the hotel, I had gone for coffee, Sammy had gone to check on Ali, but I didn't know that. I had no idea that he had even made contact with her in the first place, not until she said something about him knocking. I heard the glass window shatter when I walked out of the shop, I watched that thing move into the room, Ali's room." Dean paused and I heard Danni move amongst the bedding and assumed she sat by him. "Have you ever seen your friend pissed off? Because if you haven't trust me, it's damn near scary. Sammy wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for her, and she didn't even know what the hell she was doing. She just took that blade and swung with everything she had, swung at a monster that wasn't supposed to exist, but it cut her, Danni, it cut her bad enough to leave a scent and I didn't know what to do. My mistake, my carelessness brought an innocent woman into this mess."

"I'm sorry, do you know who you're talking about?" Danni laughed. Okay, laughing was one thing but that laugh? That was a 'boy you just screwed yourself' laugh.

"She's not as tough as you think," Dean grumbled, "this isn't a line of work for novice, Danni, I don't care who you think I'm talking about but she's not going to survive long out there alone."

"What did she do after the vampire attacked, did she run? Did she scream and carry on like some pansy little girl?" I heard that deep throated growl from Dean that told me he was about to hit his end. "No, she stayed and made sure that your brother didn't die. She patched him up, she stayed with you, she was scared as hell but she didn't run, Dean!"

"That doesn't mean she can do it on her own." I could almost picture him rubbing his face.

"She's not on her own anymore, don't you get that?"

"No." He admitted.

"The moment… the second… she chose to stay with you, and Sam, that wasn't her needing your protection, that was her choosing to keep you by her side, because if you really understood who you were talking about, you would know she would dump your ass in a New York minute without looking back and you would never find her." Okay, so Danni was over exaggerating because, come on, these are the Winchesters, they'd probably find me before I hit the ground running. "Think about it, Dean, think really hard."

Dean stood, I heard him shift to his feet and he let out a breath, louder than usual. "Trust me, I have."

"Then you know she doesn't need your protection, she just needs you," Danni replied and I heard her hand slap against his stomach, not hard enough to hurt, "and obviously, she's not letting Sam go anywhere anytime soon. So suck it up, Buttercup and leave the lovers alone. They're not gonna disappear!"

Danni spun on her heals and walked away. The sound of his shirt catching on the wood told me he was looking over the wall once more and I moved my hand, gathered the blanket up around my chest and turned as much as I could to look at him. I caught his green eyes in what little light there was, and watched as he looked over me, his lips just parted enough to look as though he was lost in thought, but he caught my open eyes, snapped his jaw shut, eyed over my bare shoulder before pressing his lips together and he disappeared into the night.

I closed my eyes, let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding and reached my arm across Sam, settling my hand down on his hip under the blanket, his free arm, the one that wasn't cradling me blazed a trail with his fingers along my arm and rested on my neck as he kissed me on the forehead. I hadn't even realized he was awake.

"My brother, the over thinker." Sam mumbled and removed his hand from my neck to rub his eye before putting it back.

"That was one intense conversation." I giggled, trying to lighten the mood as I kissed his skin, just to the side of his nipple, which had goose bumps rising. "Does he really think that way? That he was the one that did this?"

"That's just Dean, everything's his fault even when it's not, and it's his responsibility, even when it clearly isn't." Sam's voice was low, fresh with sleep and just on the edge of irritated. He seemed to wiggle lower onto the blanket, and turn on his side before giving my waist a little nudge, and I flipped over to put my back against him. I could feel every inch of him as he molded to me and pulled me in tighter. "Dean's right, you can't do this on your own."

I smiled as he pressed his lips against the tender spot on my shoulder and then kissed his arm. "Danni's right too, you know, I'm not on my own anymore. I chose you, both of you, and her."

"At some point, the rest of the nest is going to come for us." I felt the soft tickle of his breath as he nuzzled against the back of my neck.

"So when that happens, we'll fight." I whispered, and let out a breath as his hand snaked over my stomach and up to catch my cheek, turning my head just a bit so that he could capture a kiss.

"Damn right we will." He growled against me and settled back down, his lips once again against my shoulder.

Sleep didn't come, nothing but the sound of the rain and the howl of the wind surrounded me, even with my protector at my back, I couldn't get over the feeling that the fight would be sooner than they thought.