A/N: Did anyone order eight pages of pure fluff? Here it is! Lol. Took some doing and some shifting of which direction I was going to go with it here and there. Thanks Mary for introducing me to Google Docs for this, for being my awesome beta for most of it and BIG thanks to Quickening for allowing me to bounce ideas off you! You guys are the best. :)

Giving In

She stared at the window pane until the white painted wood blurred into the frost curling in intricate, icy patterns on the windowpane. Sleep eluded her. Sighing loudly, Cassie flipped onto her side, clutching a pillow to her chest. He was downstairs somewhere...stretched out on a couch. Maybe his shirt and vest were piled in a heap on the floor. Maybe the button of his pants was undone. Maybe she shouldn't be entertaining all of these maybes.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to force sleep to come to her. Instead, images of the day filtered through her mind, refusing to let her mind rest or her nerves to settle.

She and Stoker had played a delicate game of "keep away" for the majority of the day, sharing little glances here and there, touching one another when they could. Nothing that would draw attention. She would pass him and her arm would brush his, he would hand her something and their fingers would touch...little things like that. Little things that made her stomach flutter and her mind go blank. It wasn't something she was used to. Not even a little. She was used to shutting herself off emotionally, enjoying the pleasure of physical intimacy but disconnecting beyond that. Something about Stoker, and she'd be damned if she knew what, made it impossible for her to react in a way that she was used to reacting.

Being around him was terrifying and exciting at the same time and although she knew it was a danger to encourage him, she couldn't seem to stop. He would leave, returning to Mars. She would stay here, working in a department store and sharing her fake smile with anyone that walked by. And that didn't stop her.

For the first time in her adult life, Cassie Davidson was feeling emotions she had sworn off. And, like some self-indulgent martyr...she wanted to keep feeling them until the source of all of it was gone, hoping that what he left her with would be enough to sustain her for the rest of her life.

Charley's words from earlier played in a loop with every recent memory.

Yes, it will hurt...and yes, it's hard. But it's also worth it.

It would be worth it to always know what it felt like to sit beside him, to have his hand on her thigh, his thumb caressing just above her knee while his tail wrapped itself leisurely around her ankle. It would be worth it to have his whispered "sleep well, doll" echoing in her mind as she tucked herself in at night, alone. It would be worth it to be able to dream of those moments over and over again. If she could sleep, that is.

With a huff of irritation, Cassie pushed herself out of bed, tugging at her shorts to straighten them and pulling at the hem of her camisole before leaving her room. Maybe a glass of warm milk would work. She could remember her mother offering it to her a few times when she was younger. She couldn't, for the life of her, remember if it had actually worked.

She padded quietly down the stairs. The house was dark and quiet even with the constant humming of the refrigerator. She didn't expect anyone to be up being that it was nearly 2am and judging by everyone's groaning after supper, they were now all sleeping off the obscene amount of food and deserts her mother had pushed on them.

She was, of course, wrong. There was someone else up. Stoker.

She came to a sudden stop seeing his silhouette outlined in the large bay window that overlooked the front yard. He stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall and staring out over the neighborhood with an unreadable expression.

Carefully, she took the last few steps to the landing, then stood with her hand on the newel post, watching him and waiting for him to notice her.

He was such an impressive man - taller than any she had ever been with, lean and muscular but not in a way that was off putting. And he carried himself with such self-confidence, something she felt came almost effortlessly to him. Or at least he sure acted like it was effortless.

She smiled a little at that, leaning more against the banister and drinking in the sight of him. She could easily spend a day staring at him, or kissing him, or doing any number of things that involved him. Funny, before he waltzed in the front door and knocked her firmly on her ass, she had never entertained the thought of being serious with any man she'd come across. And as much as she knew it should bother her that she felt that way, she couldn't find it in her to care. Maybe there had been a reason that she had kept all men and the possibility of love at a distance. Maybe Stoker was that reason.

Her smile deepened. A sappy thought, but she was comfortable with it.

He shifted, exhaling a deep breath and started to turn from the window when he saw her.

"Hi," she said softly, not making an attempt to move, rooted to the spot by the weight of his gaze on her.

"Hey," he returned. His low voice caused a shiver of longing to skirt down her spine. "What are you doin' up, doll?"

Cassie shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

"Hm, same." He watched her for a moment before tilting his head back a little, motioning for her to move. "Come over here."

She went without hesitation, not at all ashamed of being a slave to his husky demand. He could tell her to walk over hot coals in that voice and she'd do it, powerless to stop. He opened his arms when she neared and she walked into them, relaxing against him as a maelstrom of emotions overtook her. He held her close, his arms a source of security she'd never known.

She looked out the window where Christmas lights from several houses bathed the snow covered ground in muted colors. That was one thing she had always loved about this neighborhood. There were no timers set here. Christmas lights burned through the night and well into the next morning when they would finally be turned off as people left for work.

"Quite a planet you have here," he murmured, his voice a soft rumble under her ear that muffled the steady beat of his heart.

Mundane ice-breakers. He wasn't the best at them but it was adorable how he tried. "Is it much different from Mars?"

He made a noise that would have almost been a laugh if it weren't for the cynical quality of it. "Earth and Mars are nothin' alike, doll. Things are...better here. Sure, you've got wars and all sorts of shit I'm not going to get into...but Mars...there ain't much left of the lady and what there is ain't much to look at."

Cassie hesitated with her next question, fear stopping her. What he did with his life was none of her business. They were two people going in two completely opposite directions who had been lucky enough to stumble upon one another for a moment. But still…
"Why go back?" she whispered. "If there's nothing there...why go back?"

His hand stilled on her back. "Because there's a lot of people up there that depend on me to lead them. You can't trade one life for hundreds. Wouldn't be right."

A deep, unsettling sadness wove its way through her, twisting like a serpent through the feelings of security and happiness. She held him tighter, willing it to go away. And she knew then that she was too far in. He would leave and she would hurt...there was no way around that. But she would also know what it meant to feel something deeper than mild lust with someone. She would know something far more significant.

It's worth it….

"You got awfully quiet," Stoker murmured. "Didn't mean to upset ya, doll."

"Oh, no...it's okay," she said quickly, though she felt anything but 'okay.' "You didn't upset me."

"Why do I feel like you're not finished with that thought?"

The smile in his voice warmed her, chasing away the threat of darkness, tempting her to be honest and lay everything out in the open. The idea was intimidating. She'd hid behind her self-built walls for so long, unwilling to let any in past a certain point.

"It's nothing. I just…"

"Just?" he coaxed.

"Everything is so different with you," she whispered.

His large hands moved in slow, soothing movements up her back and down low over the curve of her hips. "What do you mean?"

She didn't even know what she meant. She knew the truth of her words but had no idea what exactly she was trying to say or how to say it.

"I don't know. I don't usually care about guys...or care for them. I know it makes me a horrible person-."

He stopped her, pulling back and glaring down at her, his fingers gripping her shoulders. "You are not a horrible person, Cassie."

The smile she offered was a sad one. Her history was splattered with one affair after another - some single, some married...their status never mattered to her. They served one purpose and one purpose only and when they stopped serving that purpose...she stopped using them.

"I'm not a good person."

His fingertips traced along her temple and down along her jaw. "Are any of us?"

She closed her eyes, savoring the fire his touch left behind, the pleasant, heated curling sensation in her stomach that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with the man who held her. "You make me feel all of these things I've never felt before. Things I've ran from. And I can't make myself run from them with you."

He lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers, his muzzle brushing her nose and sending another riot of sensation through her. "What do I make you feel?"

Her breath caught and she leaned into him, aching to feel his body against hers. "Everything," she murmured, lost in the fathomless depth of eyes that held secrets she might never know. "You make me feel like I could want to love you," she admitted, her words a quiet rush.

He was silent for a moment, watching her carefully. "Good."

The flash of lust in his eyes was the only warning she saw before his mouth was on hers and fire consumed her. She fisted her hands in his mane, kissing him back with fevered desperation, pressing every inch of herself against his solid length and moaning at the intense pleasure it evoked.

"Damn it woman, the things you do to me," he growled against her mouth.

She slid her hands under his shirt, greedy fingertips tracing the contours of his abs. "What do I do to you?"

He pulled back, grinning at her. "everything.."

With a breathless laugh, she pulled him back down, eager to have his mouth against hers again, to have not even the slightest hint of space between them.

"You got your own room?"

Her mind went numb from the simple question and the enormity of what it implied. She could do nothing more than nod as her nerves frayed like the ends of a satiny thread of yarn. She relented in her exploration of his upper torso and grasped his hand, pulling him along behind her towards the stairs, unaware of how quickly she was moving in her sudden urgency.

He bumped into the edge of the couch, stumbled and nearly took her down with him.

"Shhh," she whispered, trying not to laugh when he grabbed her around the waist and hauled her back against him.

"You shhh," he whispered back, lowering his head to kiss her again.

Somehow, and she wasn't entirely sure how, they made it up the stairs and to the threshold of her room. She reached to the side when they entered for the light switch, flicking it on and Stoker pulled back, his eyes wide.

"I'm sorry...I can't take your room seriously," he muttered, starting to back away.

Cassie giggled and rolled her eyes, snagging his hand and dragging him back in. "Oh shut up," she said as she shut the door. She locked it, then hit the light switch again, throwing the room back into shadows. "Better?"

"Almost." He curled a hand around her waist, turned her until her back was pressed to the door, then grabbed her wrists and pinned them against the door above her head. She gasped, her stomach twisting with a riotous blend of excitement and pleasure. His mouth was at her neck, just below her ear and she was melting, her lids drifting shut as she surrendered to him.

"Now its better."

His breath was deliciously hot against her skin. She tilted her head to the side, giving him more access to what he sought, unable to stop herself from impatiently pressing her hips against him in a silent invitation to do more. She was desperate to have him, all of him, to let herself be part of something more that had the power to cripple her and leave her heart broken. Because he would.

The realization hit her hard, taking her by surprise and her eyes started to burn. He would leave her. He had to leave her. And no amount of allowing him to ravage her, of giving herself to the moment would stop it from hurting when he did. That snake like feeling from before, the one that had threatened to overshadow what she felt for Stoker was back with a had a name for it now. Dread. Everything she had never wanted to feel and she was going to have to feel it. And no amount of telling herself that it would be worth it would stop it.

A horrible noise, strangled and desperate escaped her and she pulled her arms free, turning away from him.

"What? Cass-."

She shook her head, trying to hide the tears now streaming down her face but he caught her arm and pulled her back, refusing to let her hide.

"Hey, what's goin' on?" he asked softly.

"Nothing," she muttered, trying to shake him off. "Seriously, it's nothing."

"You know how easy it is to call bullshit on someone who says nothin's wrong when they're crying?"

She glared up at him then because there was no point in hiding. She was having a complete melt down and it was his fault. "I never cried this much before you came along. Hell, I never cried at all, really. Thanks a lot for that!"

He made an effort not to smile but failed entirely. "So we're blaming me for this?"

"Yes!"

"Cass honey, come on-."

"No!" She jerked her arm free, suddenly furious. "Don't do that. This isn't something I'm used to. I don't let people in. I keep them out and I keep them out for a damn good reason. So that I don't have to feel like this."

He dropped his hands to his side and moved away from her. "If you want me to leave-."

"No! Oh my god, I sound like a crazy person," she whined miserably, covering her face with her hands. But the tears wouldn't stop. If anything, they came faster. "I'm sorry...I just...I never-."

She felt his hands at her wrists and peeked up at him through her fingertips. "You have to go back to Mars," she whispered, letting her hands fall and shrugging helplessly.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah...I do." He closed the distance between them, pulling her hands down and releasing them to hold her face between his hands. "But I'm gonna leave knowing what it felt like," he dropped a kiss on her forehead, one on her nose, "to make love to a woman," a kiss on one cheek, then the other, "that distracts the hell out of me, is funny, cooks a damn good meal, is tough as nails...and that make me feel more alive than I have in a long time. So you're gonna have to get over how much me leavin' is gonna hurt."

She stared up at him, trusting him and scared out of her mind at the same time. "What if I can't?"

"You will."

"Stoker-."

He kissed her lips then, softly, silencing her.

"You will, Cass. We both will, honey."

She forced a sound of feigned disgust. "Quit with the pet names, stud."

His laugh was soft. It relaxed her and she leaned into him.

"I could go back downstairs...we could leave this where it is. But we'd never know-."

She wouldn't let him go on because as terrifying as a him leaving her was, it was nothing compared to living a life in which she never knew what it would feel like to be his, to know every emotion that went with whatever the hell it was she felt for him.

She went up on her tip toes, wrapping a hand around his neck and pulling him down to meet her for a kiss that she felt clear to her soul - one full of promise, full of regret and an aching tenderness that brought a fresh wave of tears. He lifted her, cradling her in his arms and moving to the bed where he laid her down.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she watched him as he shrugged out of his vest and pulled his t-shirt off, shamelessly giving him a slow once-over. Every bit of him was toned and chiseled, noticeable even through the thin layer of fur.
"Like what you see?" he asked, tossing his t-shirt on the floor with his vest.

Cassie pushed herself up to her knees in front of him. "Yes."

She latched onto the preliminary banter, finding an easy comfort to it. This was familiar to her. She reached forward, hooking her fingers through the belt loops of his cargo pants. "You're too far away."

"Can't have that."

She felt the brush of his fingertips at her hips and raised her arms for him, letting him peel the fabric of her camisole up over her head. It quickly joined his shirt and his hands settled on her midriff, and his mouth caught hers in a slow, searing kiss. How many different ways could this man kiss? Every time he caught her off guard, shattering her nerves and making her feel weak and slightly disorientated.

She wore nothing underneath the flimsy fabric, leaving her upper body naked. He was almost leisurely in his exploration of her, his capable fingers dancing along her ribcage, tickling around her navel, tracing her spine. It was all maddening, testing her patience until finally his thumb brushed the underside of her breast, driving a gasp of euphoric relief from her.

His deep chuckle reverberated against her lips as he became more bold, taking one nipple between his fingers and rolling it to a taught peak. She mewled a soft hum of pleasure, pulling free from the kiss and nuzzling just below his ear. She was rewarded with the sound of his breath hitching. She repeated the action, catching sight of the deep red antenna and grinned wickedly before touching her fingers briefly to the tip. She was suddenly on her back, Stoker leaning over her, staring down at her with wild, burning eyes.

"Wow, are those pretty sensitive?" she asked breathlessly.

He nodded. "Yeah...really sensitive."

"Interesting." She reached up, touching them again and his powerful body shuddered.

"Ya gotta stop that if you want this to last, doll," he managed, groaning when she caught one antenna between her fingers.

She immediately stopped, dropping her hands. "Sorry."

"Sure you are."

She would have said something slightly coy in return but he was slipping his hand under the hem of her shorts and the pressure of his fingertips against her heat drove any rational thought from her mind. He toyed with her, working her into a frenzy and she had to bite her lip to keep from shrieking as white-hot desire flooded her senses.

"Easy, doll," he murmured close to her ear, nipping at the sensitive lobe. "Don't wanna wake anyone up."

Yes, waking people up. That's what she was worried about right now. Not the fact that her body felt like it was trying to escape itself and every inch of her was burning with need. He continued to drive her to the brink of insanity, toying with the sensitive folds of her femininity, sliding his capable fingers into her and groaning as her inner muscles clamped around them.

"Damn, Cass…"

"Damn Cass?" she whispered, her voice a frantic whisper of disbelieve. "I'm not…" capable of finishing a sentence, she finished in her head when he drove forcefully into her.

He seemed to reach a breaking point then, a moment where his patience and need to take his time with her snapped. She sensed it as it happened, the atmosphere in the room shifting, the tension rising to levels that neither of them would withstand. She reached between them, jerking the button of his pants free and shoving them down his hips. He did the same, yanking her shorts down viciously and throwing them to the side.

"Stoker-," she panted, her hand gripping his hips and tugging at them.

"Cass, honey…"

She heard the hesitation in his voice, her mind crying out in denial. She wouldn't give him a chance to back out now. She couldn't. Using her legs and and hands, tilting her hips up, she pulled him down. His hard length pressed into her and her eyes flew open as she realized why he was hesitating. He wasn't built like human men. Not at all.

"Easy, baby," he murmured, peppering kisses over the column of her neck. "I tried to warn ya."

She made a tight sound of agreement, nodding her head. The size of him was impressive, but she wasn't afraid. She wanted him, was determined to have him. She tightened her legs around his waist, silently encouraging him and he pressed into her, his powerful body trembling.

Cassie held her breath until he was buried to the hilt, then released it slowly. Her body adjusted to his size and she wriggled a bit underneath him.

"You okay?" he asked.

Cassie smiled, warmed by his concern. "I'm amazing," she said, combing her fingers through his hair. She levered herself up to catch his mouth with hers, flicking her tongue out and catching his buckteeth with it. "Make me feel more amazing."

"Yes ma'am."

He pulled back then pressed into her again and the ache of accommodating him disappeared, replaced by pleasure unlike anything she had ever felt. She moved with him, making every possible effort she could to stay quiet and finding it extremely difficult. He was an incredible lover and she wanted nothing more than to cry out in complete abandon to let him know that.

Pressure built deep in her stomach. She pressed her face to his shoulder, breathing heavily, maintaining only the slightest hold on her control to keep from screaming.

"Stoker...Stoker, oh my god," she gasped, lifting her hips up to meet each of his thrusts, knowing that she was close...so very close.

His hand was suddenly covering her mouth and she looked up at him, confused.

His grin was cocky and pure male. "There's no way you're not gonna start makin' noise, doll. I guarantee it."

And he didn't lie. He thrust into her harder, faster, shattering any tentative grasp she had on her control and dominating her. She cried out against his hand, tightening her legs around his waist, dropping her hands and gripping the sheets tightly in her was no way the human body was built to withstand this. She felt like she was coming apart, the erotic pressure in her stomach overwhelming her until she ripped free from it, her body arching away from the bed, her cry of release muffled against his palm as wave upon wave of ecstasy washed over her.

Stoker buried his face in the curve of her shoulder, thrusting into her forcefully and following her over the edge, his low groan echoing in her ear.

In the wake of their lovemaking, Cassie clung to him, drawing in one shuddering breath after another, her heart hammering loudly in her ears. He whispered things to her, things in a language she didn't understand that was beautiful and oddly heartbreaking. She murmured endearments back, not entirely aware of what she was saying but knowing she meant every word.

Eventually, their breathing calmed and their heart rates returned to normal. Stoker rolled off of her, flopping down beside her with a huge sigh that made her laugh.

"Good Gods, woman. You're gonna be the death of me," he muttered, flinging an arm over his eyes.

Cassie turned onto her side, reaching over and tracing the line of his pectorals. "Oh, I doubt that, Soldier. It'll probably be the other way around."

He peaked out at her from under his arm, giving her a lopsided grin. "What a way to go, huh?"

"Yeah," she laughed, flicking his nose playfully.

He caught her hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. "Cass, honey...I'm gonna say the thing that men aren't supposed to say after two days of knowin' a woman and sleepin' with her. But I've got one more day before I'm outta here and I don't have shit to lose by sayin' it. Last time I felt somethin' for a woman and didn't say a word about it I spent way too much of my time regretting that I never had. I'm not makin' the same mistake again."

She went impossibly still, then nodded. "Okay."

He turned onto his side, cupped her face in his palm and kissed her soundly. "I love you, Cassie."

She closed her eyes against the sudden rush of tears. Just like that, her world had changed. The chance to have what she'd refused herself for so long was right there...she just had to take it. And damn the consequences.

Swallowing, she opened her eyes and gave him a tremulous smile. "I love you too, Stoker."