i haven't forgotten this one :) i just don't have as much time to write and i have to stick with where my inspiration is for the sake of my stories. but i'm feeling something a little darker/smuttish and i thought it would be a great time to repay a visit to this one. Are you all still interested? let me know xoxo
"Where did you get that scar?" James asked as he watched her read her spell book. He'd found her in the bottom of her vault on the floor, surrounded by ancient magic books and ended up sitting down with her to help scan through them for sections that could help them break the magic cusp. It had been a couple of hours now and he was past the point of boredom, allowing himself to get sidetracked with watching the beautiful creature beside him.
"You promised you wouldn't talk," Regina didn't look at him, keeping her eyes on the book on her lap. Irritation laced her tone but he didn't really care, he was too fascinated with observing her. Her brows creased slightly in concentration and she troubled her bottom lip, ignoring his existence.
He'd managed to worm his way closer to her and when she'd untucked her legs from underneath herself to stretch them he'd guided them over his lap. It wasn't what he'd consider affection, he just wanted to touch her. She was the closest to physical perfection he'd ever seen and he just wanted to put his hands on her, to distract her from her studying, to lay her down and make her come on the floor of her vault.
"Just answer me," He rolled his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall behind him. Her shoulders raised and dropped as she sighed loudly to show her frustration.
"One of Leopold's rings," She answered without meeting his gaze, her voice and expression devoid of any emotion as she turned a page in the book.
He was somewhat shocked, never hearing anything but how kind of a person King Leopold was and how he'd taken care of his people. "He hit you? For what?" He couldn't help but ask another question. Never had he expected that anyone ever put their hands on someone as powerful as Regina, that she'd ever been anything but head strong and intimidating.
"Resisting him," She lifted her head from her book, looking at him with angry eyes and he knew he'd probed too much, "So he backhanded me so hard that it knocked me out and I came to bent over the side of the bed with him grunting behind me. Any more questions?"
He didn't usually consider himself an empathetic person, but his stomach turned for her. His mouth opened and he started to say he was sorry and reached out for her even though he has no experience at comforting people. The look on her face told him not to try, for it was probably as unnatural for her to accept comfort as it was for him to give it. "No, sorry," He mumbled, watching her gaze flick back to the book on her lap.
There was a flush to her neck and cheeks that wasn't there before and he has a feeling that the mention of these memories did much more to her than the casual way she'd just discussed it. He'd heard news of the King taking a new bride and that she was merely a teenager. It wasn't uncommon for men in that realm, it was a different time, but now that James knew the type of man he was it sickened him.
"Tell anyone and I'll kill you," She muttered without looking at him, scribbling something down on her notepad from one of the books.
"You never told anyone?" James asked, shifting a little uncomfortably with the knowledge she was opening up to him. He didn't know how to act, had never taken an interest in someone like this before. And here she was, this closed off, wounded creature, giving him a glimpse of how she came to be that way.
"No, Snow adored her father, and he is my son's great grand father and Emma's grand father. I won't ruin their memories or opinion of when he's already gone, it isn't fair. Plus it's humiliating," Regina frowned, sliding her legs from laying across his, tucking them back underneath her and breaking their contact, "So breathe a word of it to anyone and you're dead."
"Humiliating? You don't have anything to be ashamed of, he was a rapist and a pedophile," James frowned, finding himself trying to reassure her. He understood why she'd told him, he had pushed her until she was angry enough to try and shock and embarrass him with the harsh truth. "Did you at least make him pay for what he did?"
"I had him killed," Regina shut her book and busied herself with rearranging the stacks of ones they'd already been through beside her, "Do I have your word you won't speak of this? Whatever your word is worth," She muttered and he frowned, feeling himself offended.
"You do," He replied, biting back any sarcasm he felt like throwing her way, "I should head home before it gets too dark," He stated, setting the books near his lap to the side. She hadn't told him anything because she'd wanted to, she'd shared because he pushed her too hard and she was trying to get him to shut up. He took the cue, knowing it was time to go.
"Where are you even staying now?" Regina seemed to look him up and down, appraising his appearance for the first time that day, "The farmhouse is half burned down."
"The outbuilding beside the house has a cot in it," He shrugged, shoving himself up from the floor and brushing off his clothes as she did the same, "And the river is right there."
"And what have you been doing for money or food?" Her brows furrowed deeper as she stared at him, hands on her hips now. She was the most confusing woman he'd ever met, cold one minute and pushing him away and worried about where he was getting his meals with the next breath.
"I was stealing money at first but it ran out and as you know there's not a lot of businesses to rob in Storybrooke," He grinned and rolled his eyes, making light of his situation that was slowly growing more dire each day, "As for food I eat when I get the opportunity."
She frowned contemplatively for a moment, "That won't do. If you're going to help me with this time reversal I don't need you sleeping in some shed and starving. You can sleep here, but don't touch anything," She nodded towards the small bed in the other section of the vault, "And be at my house at six for dinner. You'll leave right after, I don't need company."
"Right after dinner or can I stay for dessert?" He smirked when she glared at him, closing the space between them, "Thank you, Your Majesty," He added as he gripped the back of her neck, pulling her up for a firm kiss.
"Please it's not because I care about you," Regina put a hand on his chest and broke the contact of their lips with a firm stare, "I have too much invested in this plan for you to croak now. I'm a business woman, I protect my assets."
He wasn't bothered by her distance, he understood it was one of her methods to keep him at arms length. It didn't bother him because he didn't care about her. Right? "See you tonight, Queen."
Regina kept her head down in the store, focusing on getting what she needed for dinner and being done with this public outing. She hadn't been truly seen in town since they'd returned from the Underworld and she felt the eyes of everyone who recognized her. It was as if they were expecting her to set fire to the establishment at any moment.
Irritation at James grew inside of her, for it was because of him she was even making dinner in the first place. But she couldn't really be upset with him when she was the one who invited him, could she? She still didn't know what prompted her to tell him she'd cook for him or that he could sleep in her beloved vault. She couldn't stand him, he was really only good for sex, but she couldn't let him keep living the way he had been. Besides, at least when he was around the constant irritation and banter was enough to distract her from missing Robin.
"Regina?!" A familiar voice sent a shiver of irritation through Regina as she momentarily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning. Snow approached her when she did, baby Neal on her hip and a grocery basket in her other hand. At least she wouldn't try to hug her.
"Snow," She raised a brow, pressing her lips together in a half assed attempt at a smile.
"How are you? We've missed you," Her step-daughter gave her an empathetic smile, pity showing in her eyes.
There wasn't anything Regina hated more than being pitied. She was a Queen, for christ's sake, she was to be feared, not felt sorry for. She scoffed, averting her eyes and shifting the boxes of pasta in her arms, "How do you think I've been? But I see you all are getting along fine without me."
"Your lack of presence doesn't go unnoticed, Regina," Snow's tone softened and Regina could feel those big doe eyes staring at her even while avoiding her gaze. They were the same eyes Snow had used when she was a child, all earnest and innocent and had made Regina hate herself at first for even resenting the girl. "Henry misses you terribly. He knows you're grieving, he understands but...he needs both of his mothers."
"Don't you think I know that?" She snapped, looking back at the younger woman and seeing Neal's eyes widen at her tone, making a hint of guilt creep up in her for scaring the baby. Damn Snow and her perfect life, her perfect marriage, perfect children. Why couldn't she just leave her alone? "I'm no good to Henry or anyone right now, I've done the responsible thing and kept myself away so you all could live your lives. Why must you insist on guilting me? After everything I think I deserve to grieve on my own terms."
"No one said you couldn't," Snow corrected herself, biting down on her bottom lip. It was strange the way her step-daughter looked at her sometimes, almost in a matronly way. Regina had cried in front of her before, had been comforted by the younger woman who had even given her motherly advice. She supposed in a way Snow White was more emotionally mature, had been allowed to grow into a mentally healthy woman without any severe tragedy to stunt her. Her demeanor was something Regina rolled her eyes at but also coveted. Snow was free to be openly affectionate, could give advice and comfort to people, wasn't afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve. Regina had been like that once, but that girl lost much.
"We just miss you and want you to know that we're waiting for you when you're done doing whatever you need to do," Snow said with an earnest expression, looking at Regina for a long moment. She was giving her best hardened expression to the girl, but it didn't seem to bother her. She supposed Snow had put up with worse from her.
"Can I get back to my shopping now?" Regina rolled her eyes away from the woman when they glossed over with tears, hating how her step-daughter knew exactly how to get to her. She'd somehow learned how to deal with her over the past few years and understood exactly what pushed her buttons.
"Of course," Snow said with a gentle tone, hugging her son closer to her as she gave Regina a half hearted smile that she caught out of the corner of her eye.
"You're in a good mood," David smiled when he came into Mary Margaret's apartment, seeing their son in a high chair while his wife cooked. She glanced back at him as she turned from the stove with a smile on her face.
"I saw Regina today, she was in the grocery store," Snow chirped as she picked up a tomato to begin to slice it, shrugging her shoulders matter of factly.
"How is she? Did you talk to her?" Her husband came closer, closing the distance with long strides as he took a seat on one of the stools at the counter across from her.
"A little bit. She was irritable and feisty, but she's still in there David. I don't think she's going to revert into the Evil Queen, she's come too far. And even though she's angry and resentful right now, she knows deep down that we're here for her," She nodded with a hopeful expression, "She's going to be okay."
"Good, I'm glad," He nodded in relief, letting out a deep breath, "What?" He raised a brow at the hint of a smile on her lips.
"She was buying stuff to make dinner, and had a bottle of wine in her arms," Snow raised her brows before frowning at her husband who looked back at her cluelessly. "She's cooking dinner for someone! I think it's your brother."
"What?" He scoffed, raising a brow of his own, "Just because she's grocery shopping you think he's having dinner with James? That's a stretch."
"No, you don't know her like I do. When she's depressed she doesn't eat, just drinks and has the occasional piece of toast," Snow shook her head quickly, "She never ate meals when we lived at the castle. I know she's the same way now because she's so thin. And I mean, who else would she be having dinner with?"
"This could be a disaster," David muttered with a roll of his eyes, "James isn't a good guy, his intentions with Regina are probably not honorable ones."
"I don't know, they have a lot in common, David," Snow said with hopeless optimism, "They could be exactly what each other needs right now."
"Or they could feed off of each other's darkness," He said with a more concerned expression, causing Snow to look at him contemplatively, "Look I believe you when you say Regina will be alright, I feel like she has come far and that she's going to get through this. But with someone like him hanging around in such a delicate time..."
"Maybe just talk to him, see what he says," Snow shrugged, her optimism returning, "I think it has potential."
James made his way down Regina's street, hands in his pocket at the cool air. He was glad she'd offered him to stay in her vault, it was a hell of a lot warmer and the weather was getting nippy. His pride was a little wounded at the fact she was putting a roof over his head and feeding him, but then again what did it matter? It was all about survival, and if he had someone willing to do it for him then why not?
His daydreaming was cut short when he spotted his twin's truck parked a few houses down from Regina's, souring his mood instantly. David's driver door opened and he stepped out, casually nudging the door shut behind him before rounding the front of the truck as James approached, "What brings you to the neighborhood?"
"What brings you here?" James asked but he already knew the answer. His brother was checking up on him like the self righteous moron that he was, hands on his hips near his gun and his useless badge. How could they honestly believe the law in this town was any use when they had powerful sorcerer's like Regina and Gold in it?
"Making the rounds," David shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and eyeing him for a moment, "You going to Regina's by any chance?"
"I don't think that's any of your business, to be honest," James smiled fakely, letting out a deep breath and seeing it in the cold air, "If you'll excuse me, dear brother."
"Not so fast," He held up a hand with a frown, "It is my business. I allowed you to stay in this town under the agreement that you not cause any problems and you stay away from the people. If you're not telling me what you're up to, I can only assume it's not something good."
"I'm going to Regina's to eat some fucking lasagna," He rolled his eyes at the idiot who shared his DNA, "And work on diabolical plan to destroy Storybrooke," He added in a mocking tone with a smug grin, "Can I go now?" It wasn't far from the truth, but David didn't know that.
"Look," David's frown grew deeper and James sensed one of his hero lectures were coming, "Regina is in a bad place right now and although she may not seem like it she is vulnerable. Don't take advantage of that."
James inwardly twinged for a moment, wondering if that's what he had been doing. Regina was technically still grieving, though it was hard to tell with the wall she kept up at all times. Had he been taking advantage of her in a weak time? Was she only sleeping with him because she was lonely? Was the Queen not as strong as he thought? "What happens between Regina and I is exactly that. Between Regina and I," He frowned, brushing past his brother to keep going down the street.
"She's family at this point, James," He heard David say behind him, "If you hurt her, we hurt you."
"The Charmings know I'm here tonight," James threw her down on the bed, jerking her hips to the edge as he started to ruck up her dress, seeing the frown appear on her otherwise flushed features. They'd started to fool around in the dining room after finishing the bottle of wine, both of them buzzed and aroused and ready to go. "He stopped me down the street and questioned my intentions with you."
"Did you tell him your intention was to fuck me until I pass out?" She grinned wickedly, spreading her legs for him when he got her dress around her waist and he groaned with the realization she was not wearing anything underneath.
"No," He smirked, running his hands up her thighs and over her hips before gripping the dress and pulling it the rest of the way over her head. She pressed her heels on the edge of the bed, bending her legs at the knees and giving him a view that made him throb in his pants. "He said I was taking advantage of you in a vulnerable time."
"Charming doesn't know that the fuck he's talking about," She rolled her eyes, reaching between her parted knees to grip the edge of his shirt as he bent over her, letting her pull it over his head, "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of himself," She grit out with an exhaled breath of defiance.
"So you're doing this because you want to? Not to just fill a void?" James asked as he stepped up between her legs at the edge of the bed, running his hands down her thigh until he saw her sit up quickly.
"Fill what void? The one caused when you stole my soulmates heart?" She sniped with a bitter smile at the reminder, pressing one of her feet against his chest and shoving him backwards with a change of mood so sudden he did not see it coming.
"What the fuck, Regina? I was just repeating what David said to see if there was any truth behind it," He frowned when he stumbled back against her dresser, regaining his footing. She stood from the bed, grabbing her silk robe and jerking it on her arms, leaving it gaping on her chest.
"Who do you think you are? Causing his death and then having the nerve to ask me if I'm fucking you because of a void or because I really want you," She laughed bitterly, "What do you think? Of course I'd rather have Robin! You think I actually care about you?"
He frowned deeply, hating the fact that her words stung him. It had been a good evening, they'd had dinner, he'd even helped clean up. Everything was very domestic, very unlike both of them. They'd gotten along, their banter was even less biting than normal and they'd talked about the past, but nothing too deep because they weren't sharing people. During all of it he'd let his guard down, had forgotten that they were just fucking, "Forgive me for wondering if I may be taking advantage of a grieving woman, I forgot for a moment what a coldhearted bitch you are."
A small palm came in contact with his cheek unexpectedly and he hissed. The bitch always used her claws at the end and he was sure he had a scratch near his jaw line. He grabbed her wrist and she snarled at him, trying to loosen herself from his grip. "Fuck you, you're nothing but a pathetic piece of meat I use to distract myself with," She spat up at him challengingly and he could tell she was using whatever she could to get to him in the moment.
"Because you're a monster and no one else is willing to come near you," He growled, jerking her towards him by her wrists and watching fear flicker across her features when she looked at the cuff on her wrist and realized she had nothing to defend herself against him. Her eyes grew slightly wider and she swallowed at a lump in her throat as he leered over her, all of his anger dissipating when she winced at his sudden movement, as if bracing herself for a blow.
"Regina..." He sighed when she took a step back and her legs hit the bed, reaching out to steady her as she averted her face from his gaze, "I wouldn't..you know I wouldn't actually...hurt you," He admitted, causing her to look up at him with eyes so full of pain it almost took his breath away. It was as if all of her life's heartbreak was in her gaze, eyes glossy with unshed tears, memories of pain and abuse replaying behind them, feeling the grief of lost loved ones. She looked at him as if she'd never actually looked at him before and for a moment he felt like she was seeing him; who he truly was without his evil reputation following him around. Of course, who better to understand that than her?
She reached up then, still naked and looking small as she sat on the bed, cupping the back of his neck and pulling him down towards her. Her eyes closed when their faces neared, pressing her lips to his in a firm kiss as she laid onto her back and he came overtop of her, wrapping an arm under her waist to scoot her up the bed as he crawled on it. The tension between them changed instantly, transforming from misdirected anger at one another to a deeper understanding and the need to connect.
"Don't talk," She whispered, bringing her knees up his sides and wrapping around his bare torso. He groaned in response, kissing her hungrier as he reached down between them with one hand to undo his belt and jeans, feeling her feet pushing them down his thighs once he got them undone.
James kissed over her neck and chest desperately, needing to work her up as quickly as he could for he knew they were both anxious for it. He settled between her legs once his cock was free, rubbing the length of it over her wet sex, groaning into her neck with the grinding of their hips. She let out little sighs and breathless moans near his ear, her hands running over his chest and shoulders, wrapping an arm around his own and hooking her hand on his shoulder to keep him close.
They avoided lifting their gazes enough to look each other in the eyes, knowing that the intimacy between them startled them both. Neither one of them liked to share or talk about their feelings, but they were aware that whatever was going on between them was more than fucking. They had a deeper appreciation for one another, their similarities allowing them to understand each other even though they'd never intended to.
Regina moaned, reaching with both hands to cup his face and give him a searing kiss as he pushed his cock fully inside of her welcoming heat. He swiped her lips with his tongue before she let it dip into her mouth, sighing into his when she opened her lips fully and their tongues caressed. Her legs locked around his waist as he started to rock into her at a slower pace than usual, pulling out just slightly before sinking back into her. Fingers found his hair and she pulled and tugged at it while they kissed, exploring each other's mouths with a fervor that hadn't been before as they settled into a rhythm.
"..Yes," She cried quietly into his mouth when his hands gripped her bottom, tilting her hips up towards him, causing her legs to spread a little wider and allowing him to thrust deeper. Her arms wrapped around the back of his neck, keeping his forehead pressed against hers and their mouths lingering when he added more force behind his slow thrust, hitting a spot inside of her that had her coiling quickly. He could tell by the way her stomach muscles contracted, the way her hips curled against his sloppily as she lost control and the whimpers that escaped her throat that she was about to come.
"That's it," He whispered back, no teasing or cocky grin on his face like usual, just an honest beckoning for her to give into the pleasure. He slipped a hand between them as he continued to hit her with firm, steady thrusts, his fingers finding her wet little bundle of nerves. Her brows furrowed and she gasped, eyes closed and mouth parted as he lifted his face just inches from hers to watch her more closely. He'd never been with someone so magnificent, someone who consumed him the way she did when he was inside of her. "Let go, Regina," He said with a hoarse, breathless voice as he rubbed faster circles on her clit, feeling her jerk in response.
"Mmm," She pressed her lips together firmly as the moan reverberated in her throat, back arching from the bed a few inches, "I'm..oh god, yes.." She whimpered underneath him as her whole body started to writhe, causing him to grip her ass tighter as he kept a steady pace, hitting her with more force each time and making her choke on the sounds she made. There was nothing more breathtaking in the world than watching her come undone and he did, despite how much he wanted to collapse against her and start pounding into her, despite how breathless he was and how much he wanted to blow inside of her. He held her hips up with one hand, teasing her clit with the other and continued to drive into her, feeling her fingertips grasping at his shoulders, digging her nails in a little as she started to tense.
Her body went rigid underneath him and she clung to his frame desperately when her hips shook, curling up towards him desperately as his name came out of her mouth in a loud cry. That beautiful dark hair was thrown back when her back arched so hard her shoulders lifted from the bed, heels digging into his ass as she ground herself into him. He cursed out loud at how tightly she clenched around his cock, causing him to jerk a few more times before spilling himself deeply inside of her as she writhed underneath him. Both of his hands gripped the flesh of her bottom, keeping himself sheathed inside of her fully as her body jerked and twitched through the aftershock of her orgasm.
He collapsed on his elbows, body pressed against her but not allowing his full weight to lay on her petite frame. The only sound in the room was their labored breathing, his cock still buried inside of her as he pressed his face into her neck and inhaled her scent. Much to his surprise her arms stayed wrapped around his shoulders, one hand in his hair.
"Will you stay?" A small voice asked near his ear, the question that would be so casual to most sounding so intimate between them.
"Yes."