The drive home from the city seemed to stretch on forever. Clarice sat staring out into the darkness that surrounded the car, remaining completely still. The only sound that permeated the silence was the constant fall of rain on the windshield. She had calmed herself enough to cease from crying, but inside she was still screaming and kicking herself for making her choice. Clearly, it was the complete and unforgiving truth that she wanted him. There was no one else whom she cared for and generally liked more than him. But she was betraying so much; her father, her morals, the FBI. The list of unforgivable sins she was committing went on and on. But she hadn't been able to make herself leave him or make the choice to extract him from her life forever. She was so deeply attracted to him but it still terrified her to believe that she wanted him, wanted to be with him. There had been so many instances in the past months when she had just wanted to throw him against the wall, either out of frustration or pure, dark desire, and cover his mouth with her own. But it was wrong to her and contradicted everything she knew, and she didn't know how to take the next step forward.

Lecter sensed her turmoil, and allowed her to remain silent without prying for answers. After a long and tiresome drive, they finally reached the house and parked in the driveway. Clarice quickly got out of the car and headed towards the front door, clearly trying to avoid him and his inevitable questions. She knew that he had been generous enough to give the ride home to herself, but that by the end of the night he wouldn't leave anything to remain unsaid. She entered the front door and was headed towards the stairs, but heard him close behind her.

"Clarice." He shouted after her, his tone commanding her to stop, but she ignored him and kept going. She soon felt him close behind her when she was almost to the stairs, and was pulled by her arm and twisted around to face him. He grabbed her by the shoulders and battled with her as she fought to escape his grasp, but he quickly overwhelmed her with his strength and shoved her roughly into the wall.

"What the hell do you want from me? I can't do this tonight, I can't give you answers!" Her eyes begged for sympathy, but found none in the gravity of his face.

"No Clarice, we will talk now." He emphasized the 'now,' as he stared penetratingly into her eyes. "You made your decision, and I want to know why."

"What do you mean, 'why', Dr. Lecter? You've won, I am staying here with you willingly. I hate the FBI for what it's done to me, and I'd rather be here with you, what more is there to say?"

"Nothing more than the truth," he replied calmly. "Why would you rather be here with me?"

Her eyes sank at this question in utter defeat. She was cornered. "I can't answer that," she whispered, looking down.

"Yes you can."

She looked up at him, and something in his voice pushed her over the edge. "Because, without you, my life doesn't make any sense. You're the only one who can make it seem worthwhile, and I can't help it if that makes me want you." She breathed heavily, and her fear and hesitation were almost tangible. The doctor said nothing and it angered her deeply, helping her to find the courage within herself to look up. "But so what, the only reason you want to keep me here is because I'm like some sort of god damned play-thing for you. The only purpose I have is so that you can toss me around, mind-fuck me a little, and take every piece of me that you can get a hold of. It's the most infuriating thing I've ever seen," she said, glaring at his calm and collected gaze.

He sighed deeply, caressing her arms softly. "Oh Clarice. For a woman of such intelligence and wit, you have such a tendency to misjudge and over-analyze."

"Well, if that's all you have to say, I'm going up to bed because I can't do this anymore. I'm sick of it," she said as she pushed forward to head up the stairs. But Lecter quickly whipped her back against the wall, using his body weight to pin her there as he whispered menacingly into her ear. "I wasn't finished yet, Clarice."

"What do you want?" She cried in desperation, squirming as she tried to free herself.

"It is vulgar to me that you truly believe that you are merely my 'play-thing.' You are so much more than that, and I think it's time I show you. You have no idea of the true beauty and grace that you are," he murmured, his lips tracing her lower jaw as he spoke. "I resented you for years Clarice, because of the weakness that you are to me. But even still, I have hungered…" He kissed the contours of her neck, punctuating each word, "…and ached…," his lips continued to trace her jaw, "…and desired…," his mouth moved to kiss her shoulder, nipping her with his teeth, "…and wanted you… for far too long… for this night to end here."

She felt her knees give with each touch of his mouth upon her skin and laid her head back against the wall, breathing deeply. "And as far as 'mind-fucking' is concerned …" He raised his head to whisper in her ear once more, "…you are the best I've ever had." He caught her earlobe in his teeth, suckling. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, as a sensation of pleasure overtook her body.

He pulled back to look her in the face. She stared at him, her eyes heavy with passion. She thought of her old life and the FBI fleetingly, but it quickly passed out of her mind for the last time. She groaned and gave in to him, pulling the back of his head towards and locking his lips with her own. His mouth covered hers, absorbing her and taking her in completely. The sensation of feeling his mouth on hers almost overwhelmed her, and she had to use the wall behind her to support herself. As the kiss deepened his hands circled her waist and back, tracing her spine and pulling her closer to him. She whimpered as she felt his body pressing against hers and felt herself becoming rapidly lost.

He broke the kiss, breathing heavily. "Upstairs, now," he commanded, and he pulled her quickly up to the bedroom hallway. She looked towards her room but the Doctor led her into his own, grasping her by her arm and pulling her to the bed. The bedroom was nothing short of what she had imagined; the bed was covered in black, silk sheets and the carpet and curtains were a rich, deep burgundy.

He stood with her next to the bed, kissing her neck and collarbone as he lowered the straps of her dress off her shoulders and unzipped the back. His hands trailed lightly over her exposed back, sending chills up and down her spine. He reached back up to touch her hair and release the clasp that held it up off her neck, letting the loose strands fall down around her shoulders. Her body was heaving with waves of desire, and at that moment all she could think of was how badly she needed him.

"There will be no turning back after this, Clarice." He looked deeply into her eyes for a sign of recognition.

She nodded and said "I know."

He finished the zipper and let the dress fall in a pool of silk around her feet, leaving her exposed to him. He hummed in approval, taking in her full form. She quickly grabbed his waist and pulled him to her as she began to unbutton his shirt. But her maddening desire for him obstructed her movements as she fumbled with the buttons, so he reached up to still her hands and finished unbuttoning the last few himself. She tore the shirt off him hastily and then reached to undo his belt and zipper, making her desire for him clear as she pulled his pants and boxers down to his feet. He stepped forward and pushed her down onto the bed, not as gently as he had meant to, but he quickly decided that delicacy that night was out of the question; they both had hungers to fulfill and be sated, and hesitancy would simply be impossible.

She fell back against the pillows and reached up, grabbing at him and pulling him down to kiss him passionately, as she ran her hands frantically all over his naked chest and shoulders, trying to explore and memorize every curve and muscle of his body. He lowered his face to her chest, kissing her slowly as he bent to find one of her nipples with his mouth, reaching to grasp the other with his hand. Clarice moaned, her fingers digging into his shoulders as his hand continued to fondle her breasts, his lips moving down over her stomach. He let his hands trace the insides of her thighs and then enter her, exploring her as he moved in and out, fucking her with his fingers.

She moaned uncontrollably as his thumb circled her clitoris, his other two fingers continuing to move in and out of her, faster and faster until she cried out as the waves of pleasure overtook her.

She moaned as she slowly climaxed, his fingers continuing to move rapidly in and out. She gripped his shoulders and held on as the waves overtook her, and Lecter watched in fascination. He smiled at the way he was able to play her body like an instrument, creating reaction after reaction to his simple yet deliberate movements.

After her orgasm had passed he pulled himself forward where he captured her mouth in a penetrating, burning kiss. She grasped his face with her hands and ran her fingers through his hair, as she wrapped her legs around his waist, undulating her hips against his. He pushed his body against hers, creating friction as his erection hardened and demanded for release.

"Doctor, please…" she whimpered, as his mouth wandered back down to kiss her breasts. His body ached for her and he knew that his boundaries of patience were being pressed entirely too far. He positioned himself to enter her and then pushed, penetrating her deeply and making her gasp as she clutched the back of his neck. He stilled himself for a moment, then began to pull back and push into her, even harder.

"Doctor…" she murmured, clutching him as their bodies moved in increasing speed. "…Deeper, please…"

He thrust himself into her as deep as he could possibly enter, and he felt her muscles clench around him, pulling him into her. She whimpered as their bodies rocked together and waves of pleasure coursed through her body. Moments later he was lost in her orgasm as the walls of her vagina clenched around him, pulling him so hard that he too could no longer hold back and felt himself release within her, calling her name repeatedly as he lost complete control and climaxed with her. They continued to move together as their pleasure overtook them and carried them high above reality and past their boundaries of control. They rocked together until the waves subsided as they floated back down to earth, laying in the bed where their bodies remaining entangled, breathing heavily.

Finally, Dr. Lecter was able to extract himself from her after regaining his composure, and rolled off of her to lay on his back. They laid there quietly for some time, until he finally turned his head to look at her. She looked back at him, smiled, and murmured softly, "Hannibal," as she gently reached out to touch his face.

"Clarice." He said, reveling in the sound of his name on her lips. "How do you feel?"

She locked her gaze with his and simply said, "Home." She smiled at him and he nodded in agreement. He reached out to pull her to him so that she came to rest within the comfort of his arms, her head resting on his chest. And after an extended time of laying there with her, he looked down only to find that she had fallen asleep in his arms. He softly stroked her hair as he closed his eyes, feeling that he too, had finally found his way home.

And outside in the cold, autumn night, high above the house and the trees, the stars in the heavens continued to move and circle in movement until they found their final place of alignment in the night sky.

-Fin-