A/N: This derailed a bit towards the end when some (a lot of ) angst decided to sneak in. Sorry for that and, hopefully, enjoy the smut parts! ;)
Griffin barely waited for Valtor to get under the sheets before pressing herself into him and draping a leg over his to let him convince himself of how naked she was. The penthouse was naturally warm at this time of the year and it was finally the end of the week which meant she had him all to herself when he didn't need to be anywhere the next morning. Of course they still had the wedding celebration the next day but it was in the evening and her mom had offered to help her with the cooking so they had plenty of time to get all the sleep they would delay now.
Valtor hummed. "I suppose you're not just looking to cuddle?" he asked as he wrapped an arm around her, making sure to pull her even closer if that was even possible and she appreciated the effort to help her soak up the warmth of his skin, and tangled a hand in her hair. He ran his fingers through it lazily, his intentions not at all innocent as he did his best to let her feel every little movement.
She let out a few small moans as she took her time to enjoy the tugs his fingers gave as they threaded through the purple strands, knowing that it would affect him as much as his actions were affecting her. Perhaps even more with the knowledge of how easy it was to get her going. She just had to be careful not to let herself get too lost in it. He knew too well how much she loved it–as she'd proven every time he'd pull on her hair in the many years they'd been together and on their honeymoon, too, in case he'd forgotten it during the one night they'd spent apart before that–and while there was nothing inherently wrong with how quickly she'd be gone to the touch, she needed to stay focused right now.
"Of course I am," Griffin said, adjusting her head on his shoulder and sighing in delight. There was no pretense there, she was thrilled to get to feel the softness of his skin under her cheek rather than the fabric of the sheets that would pass for sandpaper compared to it.
He'd worn his pajamas the previous nights–not because he didn't trust her not to touch when she knew he had to get up early in the morning but because he was doing his best to resist the temptation of her body on his for that same reason–and she hadn't gotten to feel it, much to her chagrin. She'd gotten so used to having immediate access to every inch of his body on their honeymoon as they'd barely gotten to put clothes on for the entirety of the two weeks they'd spent in Greece and she'd always been wrapped around him like poison ivy, infecting them both with passion and the inability to keep away from each other. It had been so jarring to come back to the penthouse and have work get between them quite so literally.
"Mhm," Valtor drawled out, his hand moving over her back, rubbing her skin while simultaneously pulling on her hair, too, and she knew she would lose it if he kept that up. It felt too good, a very pleasant and conquering tingling sensation running from her scalp down her spine and spreading through her body like a fire in the woods swallowing everything in the need to feel more, all of him. "That's why your hand is trailing lower and lower," he brought his lips to her ear, his breath tickling it just like his words did with her mind and, hopefully, like her hand was doing to him.
She'd passed his ribs now, letting her fingers trail over his abs. Soft, teasing touches that she had to struggle not to make firmer as she was torn between the sensations she could make him feel and feeling him. The slight tensing of his muscles under her feather-light caresses was tempting enough to have her wishing to press her palms against them and eat up the deliciousness of the contact but that would lessen the intensity of the anticipation she'd set out to fill him with so she settled for denying them both for now. She'd have all the time and opportunities to touch as much as she wanted later. She could focus on mindfuck now. Or at least as much of that as she could manage under the thumb of her eagerness.
"I need to get rid of your underwear," she said, letting her lips move over his neck in the rhythm of the words and write them over his skin so that they could sink deep inside him and have him melt in the desire to feel it happen. "It's in my way," she said, letting her voice drop lower just like her hand was doing to have him strain to hear it like he was straining to keep still and not press himself into the touch. He wasn't quite ready to admit defeat but she would get him to submit to her will.
"Oh?" Valtor made a surprised sound, making her shove at him with her whole body to punish him for the mockery and she was glad to feel the hand in her hair moving to her waist to keep her from pushing herself into him like that again–he wouldn't be able to handle it, all that heat coming in contact, and they both knew it–and the other grabbing at her thigh to keep her close at the same time. "It's stopping you from cuddling me?" he asked innocently as if his mind wasn't racing with hers and trying to figure out what she was planning and his erection wasn't already hardening under her leg.
Griffin propped herself up for more effect, knowing he was budging under his eagerness to see where this was going as he let go of her to allow the movement. "It's stopping me from taking you in," she said, her lips almost on his as she held his gaze and watched him trying to hide the question rising in his mind like his breath was rushing out in short, quick puffs and caressing her skin.
She smirked, doing her best to keep it from becoming a full-on grin, and pressed her lips right where his ended, moving downwards quickly until she was out of the zone where his mind would make him reach for her and pull her back into a kiss and set a leisurely pace as she kissed her way down his body. She left a trail of the softness of her lips and breath over his flesh, making detours when he least expected it to cover more of him in her affection and keep him guessing, occasionally allowing herself to bite and mark him with her passion while also working towards that goal.
It had him moving under her–especially when she pressed hard into him causing friction between her body and his erection–slightly while he only allowed himself to run his hands over her sides or keep them in her hair, more like he was trying to hold on rather than to disrupt her work. She wasn't sure if it was in an attempt to stay put courtesy of his pride or because he didn't want to disturb her process and push her away but by the time she was done with him, he'd surrender to her ministrations and allow himself to fall into her intentions fully, no pride or fear acting as inhibitions in his mind. She wanted to give him so much. And she would. Hearing his breath hitching because there was just so much tenderness spilling into him washed over her own heart with happiness and made her more eager.
She made it to the waistband of his underwear, feeling a slight spasm run through his muscles when she grazed the skin there with her teeth as if she was trying to bite the fabric and pull it down without using her hands. She could and she would but it would take longer than she currently had the patience for. Especially when she was under the attack of the desire in his eyes, how he drank in every one of her movements like she was the most beautiful magic. It touched both her heart and soul with the devotion she knew was living in his and she wanted to touch all of him, shower him in her love and all the tenderness she could give.
She pulled away, leading him to think she'd run her lips over his length but not doing it to see him relax back against the mattress under the slight dejection that entered him at the uncertainty of her intentions. She'd let him have everything of her he wanted if he just behaved but he didn't need to know that just yet. He liked to keep her in suspense when she left herself in his hands and she intended to return the favor. It drove her insane and she wanted him right there, on the cusp of madness before she pulled him back into herself.
Griffin hooked her fingers under the waistband of his underwear and pulled it down, appreciating his willingness as he lifted his hips off the bed to let her free him of the last piece of fabric coming between them. He was hers now and she'd take full advantage of that fact, make them both forget they'd had to keep their hands to themselves when all they'd wanted had been to hold each other close and sink together in the knowledge they had each other forever, that they would never be alone and cold again, and they could count on the other to keep them safe, holding their heart carefully.
Griffin slid back up his body lured by the memories of his kisses, how his breath filled her lungs and his arms kept her close, her heart racing in her chest thrilled that she felt safe in his embrace and didn't feel the need to pull away. She used the opportunity to provide stimulation for his length, of course, and hearing him let out a soft moan had her latching her mouth on his to swallow it and let it fill her with the knowledge she was pleasing him. She could bring him pleasure and give him love and that meant the world to her when she knew what he'd been through.
She reached under her pillow, taking awareness of where on her his hands were so that she could calculate how best to get them where she wanted them, and let her fingers find what she needed.
A quick and precise movement and his left hand was cuffed.
Valtor broke the kiss, a gasp of shock coming from him when she pulled his hand away from the back of her thigh where he'd rested it. She felt the struggle beginning in his muscles, quickly accounting for it and making a change in her plan, snapping the other cuff around the pole of the headboard and making sure it was tight enough so that he wouldn't be able to slip it loose.
She would've had him handcuffed to the special hook he himself had put on the back of the headboard–the thought of letting anyone else into their bedroom and their private business was not any less repulsive now than it had been back then–but he'd had to derail her plan with how quickly he'd reacted. She could always get one of the leather cuffs to immobilize him as securely as she'd wanted, though, but it was important that she had him handcuffed. He was stronger than her and would've overpowered her if she'd tried to proceed with her original plan. Instead she would've probably found herself cuffed to the bed.
Her progress was halted when Valtor's fingers slid between hers, the wedding band pressing firmly into her skin as he tightened his grip on her hand. He caught the other one too, entangling their fingers again to make it harder for her to pull away, and it had her lying on top of him, just barely able to lift herself up to look in his eyes.
"Care to explain what you're doing?" Valtor asked, his tone calm but there was fire below the surface. She'd challenged him without letting him prepare for it first and his ego was burning with the need to take back the reins. Even when they both knew he was tired from the day–and the previous four–and it would be best for him to leave himself in her hands. She'd take care of him and make everything else melt away, even his incessant need to be the one holding the power. But they had to get far enough past it first for her to be able to work.
"I'm returning the favor for the leather cuffs on our honeymoon," Griffin said, her voice steady and soothing now that it wasn't her who was bound to the bed.
He'd had her restrained and had touched every inch of her with his hands and body, driving her insane without even once giving purposeful stimulation. His goal had been to caress all of her and let her know how much he cherished her. She'd almost cried at how much it had been. And then he'd filled her, and every fear and insecurity of not being wanted or accepted had drowned in the insistent flow of his love, the memories burning warm in her head and all over her body where he'd let his feelings sink inside her.
"You should've warned me," Valtor said, no traces of worry in his voice since he'd learned to trust he could be vulnerable in her arms and she would protect him. There was still resistance, though, as he couldn't part with his pride, bringing it between them which was quite the commendable accomplishment considering how close they were currently.
"Are you protesting?" Griffin asked when he didn't let go of her hands at her bid for freedom, bringing playfulness in her voice to brighten up the mood and remind him they were talking about sex. There was no need for pride there. There was no need or place for anything other than their love. Even when they enjoyed the power play, it was only because there was trust and they knew they'd be taken care of even if they lost. Which was why they didn't protest and surrendered when they were bested.
"Well, I was having different plans," Valtor said, the smugness creeping in, bringing a reassuring shift of the atmosphere. She'd reached through to him. Now it was just a game they would play. "I would've loved to fuck your mouth," Valtor admitted softly, the words leaving his mouth slowly as if he wanted to savor them some more before he let them move into her system, and his eyes looking at her as if he could see inside her how the muscles in her lower belly clenched at the thought as he put it in her head.
"I would've let you but you made me change the plan." She still hadn't decided how much of the original one to keep. She felt the arousal dripping from her at the thought of taking him in her mouth and marveled at the feeling.
If someone had told her she would be so eager to do that before she'd met him, she would've been scandalized. It'd never been something she'd done with enthusiasm but hearing him groan her name like that when he came all enveloped in the softness of her mouth had her gasping for breath all on its own. And the praises she got while on her knees for him, the uncontrollable movements of his hips that made her choke sometimes only had her infatuation with sucking him off growing. There was so much power he allowed her there and that she did her best to use in his interest, hungry to see the pleasure she could get him to lose himself in. It easily had her kneeling for him more often than not.
"It's not the same that way," Valtor objected calmly but with enough fire to convince her. It was different when he was in control. It was somewhat rougher and it always left her glad she wasn't standing because her knees would've been buckling from the control she allowed him, the trust she'd never given anyone else. And that was when he didn't have his fingers between her legs, his teases about how drenched she was in her ears and making her even more aroused.
"I get wet either way." Griffin grinned at him as she moved, adjusting herself over his erection so that he could feel for himself just what effect the mere fantasizing about it had. She bit her lip as his gaze lost focus for a moment but the thought of having him do that was getting her sidetracked so she concentrated. "You would've just gotten to feel it differently." She would've had him eat her out when she was done with him, given him time to get hard again while he pleasured her, her moans the best aphrodisiac for him as they'd established way back in their relationship. And she could relate, the sounds he made for her seductive enough to nearly bring her to the edge on their own.
"I can please you better when I'm free to work, Griffin," Valtor squeezed her hands as if to remind her what he could do with those fingers–as if she could forget when she still flushed every time she got into the elevator at the company after he'd fingered her during the ride once, leaving her so desperate and wanting that she'd straddled him in the car and they'd done it there even though he wasn't a fan of the idea–and to bring her attention on the handcuffs and, more specifically, removing them. She had other plans, though.
"I am pleased with what I have currently," she said, finding the right angle and beginning to grind against his erection, a moan almost instantly escaping her lips at how good it felt to have him again, even when she had to get her stimulation that way.
Now that she didn't have work during the day, she'd found herself quite lonely in the penthouse, fantasizing about his touch and wishing he'd be there instead of having to do things by herself. And the memories of the honeymoon hadn't helped, leaving her whining to the empty apartment her need to feel him close to her again, tangled in her all the time like he'd been those two weeks. Maybe it was because she'd never believed she'd be married and it was a dream come true to call him husband but she wanted him with her constantly.
Valtor tried to respond to her actions but she arched her hips into his to keep him grounded against the mattress and not let him move. She was in control now and he'd have to accept it sooner or later.
"Don't you want me inside you, Griffin?" Valtor asked, a slight strain in his voice that, considering the situation and his words, she'd say was due to frustration. He wanted more and she'd give it. Not currently, though. She couldn't give him much when he was restricting her options.
"The night's still young. There's plenty of time," she said, trying to suppress the grin that wanted to break out on her face at the sight of his pout that was one of the most adorable things she'd ever seen when she knew it was only half-real. He obviously wasn't exactly thrilled to have the words he used against her when he had her meticulously driven into despair thrown in his face. And probably for that reason exactly as it meant he wouldn't get what he wanted immediately. She could understand his frustration and impatience but they both knew the delayed gratification was worth it.
"Why do you insist on depriving us both of pleasure, Griff-" his sentence derailed somewhere in the depths of a moan she wrung out of him just in time to keep him from telling a lie.
"It's you who is doing that," she said, not in an attempt to blame him but to let him see she was right. She let out a moan of her own to convince him further that they were both enjoying themselves and also to push him far enough into his arousal that he wouldn't care about anything but release. Release that only she could give him as she was controlling the pace and he was cuffed at the very end of the bed so he didn't have enough space to flip them over on the side in which direction he could actually perform that action. It was a happy accident from having her plan derailed but she'd gladly take it.
"You know-"
"You know, if I were you, I'd stop fighting against the one who has power over you currently," she said, switching to attack because she was getting tired of his resistance. Especially since she'd thought she'd gotten past his mind blockage.
He got like that sometimes, trust failing him and he started pushing at her. She didn't know if it was an attempt at self-sabotaging or if some unhealthy past coping mechanism was reactivated–or perhaps if one didn't lead to the other–but she did know that she could help him out of it. She just had to be firm and not back down no matter how much she was afraid she might be filling the lack of cruelty that his upbringing had left him used to. It was the best she could do for him when he wouldn't seek out a specialist to help him deal with his trauma.
"You can't even get me inside of you while I'm holding you," Valtor objected, a hint of a growl in his voice as if something inside him was protesting against his own argument. Which would mean that not all of his common sense had surrendered to whatever was tormenting him currently.
"True," she admitted, "but I still control what happens," she said, speeding up for a moment to feel his breath hitch. Perfect. "I don't have to hump your erection," she said as she stopped, drawing a whimper of protest from him that tugged too harshly on her heartstrings when she felt it in her whole body, too. But she needed him to stop trying to fight her. "I can get myself off on your hip too," she shifted just barely, only to illustrate her point. "It's your pleasure that's at stake here," she said, torn between making it as serious as she could and doing the exact opposite. It was a tough ultimatum to throw at Valtor and she didn't want to push him further into going against her when her aim had been to have him melting in her arms, and her mouth, too. And they'd turned it into a verbal and emotional war.
"You're hellbent on denying me, huh?" The pain that flashed in his eyes was like a lightning tearing through her mind with the realization it brought. Of course. He was scared of having pleasure withheld from him. They'd grown so accustomed to giving each other orgasms whenever they pleased when they'd been on the honeymoon that the sharp transition back to their reality where his work got between them more often than not had left him feeling deprived just like it'd done to her. So what was usually a way to build intensity and pay attention to every inch of him had turned from sweet torture into an actual such.
"No," Griffin was quick to reassure, squeezing both his hands since she couldn't cup his face while he still held her, though that might have been better as it made her aware of both wedding bands on their fingers and she knew he'd felt their presence, too. "Quite the opposite," she whispered as she pressed her nose against his, hoping the tenderness of the contact would manage to seep into his mind and have his doubts crumble. "I want to give you all that you can take, everything."
She felt her eyes filling with tears at the thought that he didn't believe that but she forced herself to pull herself together. That had nothing to do with her and everything to do with the way he'd grown up, never having enough security to manage to open his hands when he held something he wanted but knew would have taken away from him if he didn't hold on tight enough, and even if he did. She'd known that when she'd decided to stay with him, when she'd married him and it was her job as his wife to help him through those episodes. She couldn't only take the good and scowl at the bad when she'd promised to be with him through all of it. She wanted to be, wanted to be his strength when he thought he didn't have any, and it had her clutching at him tightly only to feel his grip on her loosen and his fingers open.
Griffin looked at him to find him looking back, his eyes shining with happiness from the trust he'd found in her grasp.
"I love you, Griffin," Valtor said as he cupped her cheek and she couldn't even find the breath or the time to return the sentiment in her haste to kiss him now that he'd found his way back to her through the maze in his mind that she still knew nothing about and had let her in.
She opened her lips and let the relief his breath brought in her lungs flow through her body, through her being. They'd gotten through it. She'd almost regretted bringing in the handcuffs for a moment before she'd remembered that that wasn't the problem. It had only been the trigger and anything could have filled that role. If anything, the experience had helped strengthen their relationship more when they'd gotten together through it and reminded her that they could have the fairytale even when there were nightmares interrupting it. They could write themselves right back into the pages of magic.
She covered Valtor's hand with hers and grasped at it, not even missing the feeling of his wedding band that was on the handcuffed hand when she knew they were bound together by love. She had her other hand guiding his erection to her entrance and slipping it inside her slowly, her eyes closing as she reveled in the feeling of fullness and the tensing of her muscles in anticipation of the pleasure to overcome them.
She broke the kiss to give a long and loud moan that rumbled all the way in her throat before falling out of her mouth and into his. She set a leisurely pace, the plan being to let them both feel the contact of their bodies and every movement as they simmered in pleasure while dragging each other towards the edge slowly. They had all the time in the world to enjoy each other's company now that it was just the two of them with nothing to get between them when they were so closely wrapped in each other.