500 Miles Hellfire 2
By Princess Alexandria
"Hi." Raven spoke softly while laying on her bed. She'd checked the phone number before answering this time and knew who it was.
"Hi." Tessa's voice spoke just as softly. "I called to find out how your second show went."
"It was strange." Raven rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, remembering the dark clothes everywhere and the strange looks she'd get sometimes. "It didn't start until an hour after dark. That's how they worded it too, not eight o'clock, but an hour after dark."
"That's odd." Tessa sounded like she wanted more data, but Raven didn't have any.
"Janette got a really nice set up for me and everything sold. I don't think that's normal and I didn't see all the buyers." Raven suspected Janette was more well to do than she'd let Raven know and that she might have bought a few pieces. "They liked my art. Especially the Genosha set." Raven sighed, still feeling strange about selling those, profiting from those. Every show had some of them. It felt like she was betraying something every time they sold, but the dead didn't need Raven to hold onto them.
"Those were dark but beautiful." Tessa spoke gently and Raven envisioned the dark haired woman lying in her own bed. "What else are you doing besides painting and having shows?"
"Taking a class." Raven didn't volunteer what type of class she was taking. "Just trying to make sense of things."
"Raven, is there any chance that you'll come home for Christmas?" Tessa asked. "Even just a visit, since you're coming to Manhattan for a showing soon?"
"I don't celebrate Christmas." Raven whispered, her throat feeling tight.
"Oh Raven." Tessa's voice sounded slightly pained and guilty. "You used to."
"We've made New Years a bigger deal." Raven added, hoping that Tessa would see it as a trade off. "I can celebrate that." Since it happened Raven was only to one Christmas and that was in this house, surrounded by Mistresses that wanted to protect her and care for her. Still it had been tense, and Heather hadn't decorated much. That was a few years ago. They were quiet for a moment and Raven spoke a little faster. "Do you want to come to my showing?"
"I would love to."
Raven waited and when Tessa didn't ask, Raven broached it. "If you want to bring Emma you could. If she wanted to come." It felt like Raven was really putting her neck out there. She hadn't heard from Emma very much and that made her think she was still unforgiven. "I'm going to be pretty busy talking with people."
"We could get something to eat after?" Tessa asked.
"Yeah, that would be nice. I have trouble eating before a showing so I'll be hungry after." They talked a little longer, and it was more awkward than when they'd been kids, but it still left Raven feeling like she wished Tessa had actually been in the room. Just a week and she'd be in New York again.
………………
"Well I guess this is it." Raven muttered while she stood in the parking lot next to Catherine's car. "Thanks for being my partner." It felt strange having class over.
"Yes, spank you very much." Catherine wiggled her eyebrows and Raven blushed. "I'll be around and you have to call me and tell me what happens with the brothel." Raven had finally told Catherine what she was doing the shows for, right after she'd finally told Drahke. She hadn't told Drahke until after the second show, when it was clear she had enough money to make a difference. Enough of a difference. Drahke had tears in her eyes and held Raven tight when she heard, muttering about how Raven would never have to work again. That with the profits from the brothel Raven would be able to do art all the time, Drahke would make sure she could.
"I'll let you know." Raven opened the door for Catherine and waited for the woman to get in. "Oh and you might want to get a pillow to sit on." Raven smirked as she watched Catherine sitting tenderly. "It helps." Lessons took the heat out of what they did, making it less interesting, but Raven couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed today at least a little. Her grin grew wicked as Catherine pretended to glare at her.
…………….
"This is the contact information." Drahke pulled out a business card and handed it over. "Since you'll already be in town you could call and get the paperwork filled out. I let him know my partner would be in town and he'll make time to see you." Raven stared down at the company trying to sell Drahke's brothel and her jaw dropped. "I really appreciate this."
"Worthington Industries?" Raven looked up and stared at Drahke. The name was some lower level manager, but that was Warren's company. Things just got complicated. "Warren Worthington is an Xman." It wasn't a huge monster secret anymore.
"So you know him." Drahke's smile was too hopeful. Raven was wondering if Warren was petty enough to jack the price up if he knew she wanted it. She didn't think he was, but then he wasn't overly friendly when she was at the mansion.
"He's not a friend." Raven sighed. "We never really got along. He's a pompous stuck on himself ass that spends more time looking at himself than anyone else does." And those were the words that started their downhill spiral of a relationship. "And he heard me call him that a few times." Raven hated how he'd put down her powers at times and she'd always lash back about his looks and vanity. He'd had the nerve to say it was handy that she could sense death, because then she'd know exactly when her being on the team got her teammates killed. It wasn't long after that argument that Ororo took Raven onto her team and Raven was eager to go with so many of her teammates turning on her just because Raven valued their lives more than the strangers they were sent out to protect. It made her a poor team player they'd told her and Raven could see it, but who watched the Xmen's back when the very people they were saving wanted to stab it? Raven tried, but she never did get it. She wasn't meant for that type of team, she finally accepted that but it really wasn't until recently.
Drahke started to look worried that the poor relationship would cause problems. "I've got it under control." Raven smiled gently and put the business card in her pocket. It wasn't guaranteed that she'd need to talk with him. He rarely took care of business himself.
"Is Heather going with you?" Drahke asked as Raven double checked her airline ticket.
"No, she told me she was getting ready for Zoe to come back for the holidays." Raven sighed and put the plane ticket in her pocket as well. It had also come with a discussion about Mistresses not always relying on backup and taking care of the large and small things with confidence, so it made Raven think that Heather could have come, but was afraid Raven would look to Heather if anything went wrong. "But I can do this. Whatever I earn I'll add to what we can buy and then we'll at least own the majority." They'd end up with a partner, Raven couldn't see herself earning more than the other two shows combined and that's what it would take to buy him out completely.
"You really should come by the brothel sometime." Drahke's eyes caressed Raven. "See what you're saving and the women that will still have work because of you."
"I will. I can't just send money and not see what you've done." Raven reached out and touched Drahke's face gently. "You saved me, I'm just glad my art gives me the power to save you." Raven leaned closer and kissed Drahke slowly, tenderly. "Once I do this I promise I'll be a very silent partner. I won't try to change things, you know what you're doing."
"I never once thought you'd get into a power trip over this. You prefer your power trips to be in the bedroom." Drahke smirked at her and pulled back out of reach. "Come on, I'll take you out to lunch and drop you off. That shouldn't interfere with your training to just get a ride to the airport. I'll leave all the hard stuff to you."
"Gee thanks." Raven shook her head in mock disgust, but she really did understand why Heather thought Raven needed this. She'd had a safety net for too long.
……………….
The show was crowded, like the others. Raven wore a black dress and mingled, talking about the history or inspiration for this or that painting as the rich art crowd looked on, and it felt like teaching only too personal to be talking about her own work. She glanced around after finishing a conversation with another potential buyer to see a few familiar faces had joined them. Tessa and Emma both looked like they fit in perfectly and drew Raven's eyes immediately.
She really should go talk to them, Raven thought, but then was pulled into another conversation. Later she could talk, but she had to work now. Still even as Raven talked to people she didn't know, her eyes trailed after Tessa. Tessa looked so beautiful tonight.
As Tessa stood in front of a painting with Emma, Raven let her eyes travel over the blonde. The way Emma stood, the way she stared at Raven's art. Emma was a stunning woman in her own right.
"Raven?" The woman next to Raven spoke and it drew her attention back to the conversation she was supposed to be a part of. "This is a piece of pain and confusion." Raven looked at the abstract piece in front of her. "You convey it so well." Yes, didn't she, Raven thought and managed to not sigh.
"Thank you." Raven just smiled and glanced back across the room, to see Emma staring at her with an unreadable expression. Raven had no idea what it meant, but Emma came. That meant something.
The show seemed to take longer, but it was also over too soon. Raven took a deep breath as the majority of the people left, leaving a few scatterings of people. "You did very well." Alexandra spoke quietly and smiled. "Do you want to go out and celebrate?"
"I have a date." Raven said and then glanced over at Tessa, who was looking her way, "But thank you." She listened to the estimate of sales and said her goodbyes, before slowly moving toward the women staring at the painting in the corner.
"Hello." Raven spoke quietly and waited for the two women to acknowledge her. Tessa turned more quickly than Emma and her eyes held pride. Raven felt flustered with that and blushed.
"I remember you talking about this, the first time you said maybe someday you'd be good enough to sell something." Tessa glanced around at the art. "You used to talk about how it would feel, what you would do with the money, but I your voice always sounded like it was a dream, not something really attainable." Tessa stared into Raven's eyes and spoke more quietly. "You're good enough now Raven. You apparently have been for a long time."
Raven took a shaky breath and looked away as she remembered those talks as well. She really didn't know what to say. "Yeah, the time of begging for a model is over."
"I still say you owe me a sitting." Emma spoke and Raven turned to look at her. There was tension and Raven didn't really know how to respond to Emma now. She did know one thing, she needed to.
"Okay." Raven spoke quietly and stared into Emma's blue eyes, trying to gauge the blonde's reaction to Raven's move. "Tomorrow?" They needed to deal with this and Raven wasn't running anymore. Her voice was in control, almost a challenge to Emma's own power. "I don't have time for a full painting, but I could do a few detailed drawings for you." Raven had picked the battlefield and Emma had the next move.
"Sounds lovely." Emma's reply came with a pointed stare. "Where were you thinking of doing it?"
"My hotel room." Raven didn't blink as she stared back. "I'll pick up some supplies before lunchtime. I have a lot of free time this weekend, before I take care of some business on Monday."
"Oh yes, the brothel." Emma moved to glance over toward where Alexandra was about to walk out the door making it clear where she got that information. "You do love rescuing ex-lovers don't you?"
"Well, if a person ever actually cared then they'd still want lovers to do well even after it's over." Raven resisted the urge to make a rude comment, because that would drag Tessa into this. "You can't tell me you disapprove of my new business Emma." Raven shook her head, knowing that Emma's morality would have no problem with the business Raven was going into. Tessa had heard this story and while she had been a little surprised, and that doesn't happen often, Tessa didn't judge Raven for it. "Shall we go eat?" They could stay here and make subtle jabs, but Raven wasn't going to waste the night that way.
As they were getting into the car Tessa spoke. "Warren is getting rid of a brothel he didn't realize he owned." Raven just sighed.
"Don't tell him I'm buying some of it, okay?" Raven settled into the back seat, a choice she had made, because Tessa offered up the passenger seat. "I can imagine what the others would say about my going into this business and I'd rather not deal with that right now. Let's wait until I'm actually in the sex trade before I hear that lecture." Raven's voice was sarcastic. Emma smirked for a moment. Being in the back seat gave Raven a good view of both women in the car. "Besides, I'm going to be a silent partner in it. Drahke built this thing from the ground up and I'm not going to go in there and take over anything."
They stopped at a late opened restaurant a few miles from the show. Raven wanted to change out of her dress into something more comfortable, but with the others wearing those clothes she wasn't sure how much more comfortable she could get and still fit in. With a moment of thought Raven switched to a pantsuit, still dressed up, but able to move more freely. She smirked at Tessa as she got out of the car.
Dinner was an exercise in denial. Raven had seen it in action before, but once again nothing real was talked about. They never mentioned Raven's role in the Hellions deaths, they avoided any talk of the Hellfire club or anyone from there. The Xmen's daily antics and quirks took up most of the dinner conversation. Raven found out that Bobby was clueless that the new business teacher was gay and attracted to him, she heard about the fact that Scott had taken to working on a new car and it seemed he was avoiding people more than indulging in his mechanical side. It might be because they were in public that the conversation was so inane, but Raven was getting frustrated with it.
When Emma got up to go to the bathroom, Raven found herself looking around the restaurant, taking in who was there, making sure it wasn't someone that would be trouble. She did this quickly and quietly, but when she stopped she saw Emma still standing at the table watching her. That unreadable expression was back. "Would you rather escort me? Because I can assure you I can manage on my own. I won't talk to strangers and I'll make sure not to take any candy from them." Emma's sarcasm was actually welcome, because it was better than actually asking about why Raven was checking the place to make sure it was safe.
"Make sure you go in the one with the lady on it." Raven spoke as if talking to a little girl. "And don't forget to wash your hands." Raven turned back to her plate and ignored the blonde as she walked away.
"You were worried about her." Tessa spoke quietly. "Worried that she'd run into trouble like I did."
Raven didn't bother denying it, she just changed the subject. "I heard from Karen that you and Emma are a couple now."
"We've worked through our differences and decided to give it a try." Tessa stared at Raven. "She's taken some rather creative jabs about that. A few people seem to consider me yours." Raven had to wonder who that would be, since when she was there few aside from Storm approved of that at all. "Storm even talked to me, asking me if I was really thinking about what I was doing?" Raven couldn't help it, the idea of someone asking Tessa if she was thinking made her smile for a moment. That was liking asking Scott if he was leading, or Kitty if she was talking. Tessa's voice dropped and got a little deeper, hinting to her being more serious and concerned. "I told her that we'd talked about this and that you understood. I wasn't lying to her, I don't think I was."
"I do understand, well, for the most part I understand." Raven sighed and glanced over toward the bathrooms, noticing that the people that could see down that hall were acting normally. "But Tessa, this really does complicate things. I won't lie, I would have preferred to not deal with this." Raven looked back at Tessa, seeing that Tessa had noticed what Raven had been doing. "There is already so much baggage just between us."
"And then when we add the baggage you and Emma share it does fill the car doesn't it?" Tessa spoke gently.
"Yeah." Raven glanced over toward the bathrooms again, thinking that it wasn't taking too long yet, but didn't want Emma walking up to them during this conversation. "Don't come tomorrow if she does." Raven turned to stare into Tessa's eyes. In those months away Raven had made a tentative decision. Truthfully, it was a decision she'd considered and one that inspired her trip home. "I need to do this." Raven swallowed and resisted the urge to look away. That was a submissive move, she'd learned that, and right now she needed Tessa to give her this. "Just continue to stay out of this, for now at least. I need to be able to deal with her myself."
"I see." Tessa said and Raven knew she really did.
The blonde they were talking about came out from the hall to the bathroom and Raven noticed her. "I do love you." Raven said quietly to Tessa, while watching the blonde walk across the restaurant towards them.
………………….
Raven had a bit of trouble sleeping and absolutely none with waking up. By eleven she'd gone to an art supply store, bought a few things, ran past a fabric store and picked up a lot of light blue fabric that would go with Emma's eyes and the texture would show in a charcoal sketch, adding interesting contrasts to the type of dress Raven assumed Emma would wear. They also had an oversized decorative pillow that Emma would look good leaning on. Raven picked up a light airy fabric that she had a few ideas for. Raven had run past a liquor store and got a nice bottle of wine and a glass from the nearby kitchen store. All of this was set up and ready, and the bottle of wine was chilling.
Raven ate at the hotel restaurant even though she wasn't all that hungry, not wanting to get hungry once things started. Once she was done she sat in the lobby and attempted to read a magazine, but she felt jittery and really used that time to meditate like Heather had taught her, to keep that Mistress calm.
"I'm looking for Raven Taylor." A familiar voice had Raven looking up to see she'd missed Emma walking in. Emma had a clothing bag over her shoulder and wore more comfortable pants and a shirt.
Before the man could tell Emma that there was no Raven Taylor at the hotel Raven stood up and started toward them. "Emma."
"Raven." Emma turned to her and then spoke a little quieter to the man, "Never mind, I found her." Hopefully he didn't pay much attention to them afterwards or Raven would have to explain the name difference.
"Well, shall we." Raven motioned with a hand which direction Emma should walk and moved to take a bag from the blonde's hands. Emma was staring, Raven knew it, but she didn't acknowledge it. "What color will you be wearing?"
"I went with a black dress." Emma said as Raven hit the button on the elevator.
"Good, that should work very well with the scene I've created." Raven did her best to be overly polite for now. It seemed Emma was willing to play along because she didn't say anything to ruin it as they rode the elevator up to one of the top floors. Raven had asked for a room with a view of the city when she got the place and she wasn't disappointed. It had cost more, but this plan had been in the back of her mind when she'd booked it.
Raven moved to the door with the do not disturb sign on it and unlocked it. "I had to rearrange things, but I think I have something good. Just didn't want the maids to complain." Raven opened the door and went in, taking in how the bed now fit up against the window and the sun shined in. "One long sitting works better than several shorter ones and I'm more familiar with your features now. I can do this in a weekend if you're willing to give me both days." Raven turned to see Emma studying the blue fabric and the bed, she noticed the blonde looking at the pillow and then at the canvas set up in the corner.
"We'll see." Emma moved to take the dress bag from Raven's hand and moved toward the bathroom.
Once Emma was in place on the sea of blue fabric Raven moved forward, her face calm as she started to place her model in a pose. She reached out and moved to caress Emma's cheek as she moved hair out of the way. Raven stared into Emma's unblinking eyes for a moment before slowly caressing the cheek again as if she hadn't gotten all the hair moved. Raven reached out and gently moved an arm bending Emma's elbow just a little more, and let her hand caress the inner curve of the elbow before moving to gently push a hip back just a little, not even really a visible amount, but Raven then went about playing with the draping of the dress.
"This is hardly as violent a process as I remember it." Emma spoke and Raven relied on her training to not blush, to just accept the words and not worry about the subtext of it.
"You look very good in black. I wish you'd give up the white and just accept it." Raven spoke softly and moved back, studying the pose she'd just put the blonde in, but also studying the blonde's reaction to her words. Without giving Emma a chance to respond Raven continued. "The contrast with your skin is more artistic than the white, which blends too much with a pale woman." Raven spoke professionally. "So is that pose good or do you need some support?"
Emma's eyebrow arched, but she answered with only a hint of a sarcastic tone. "I'm fine."
"I'll use these sketches as the basis for a painting." Raven said as she moved to her easel. "Your not going to be able to talk too much as I start." Raven warned Emma, but really it wouldn't have affected much, it just served to ensure the blonde stayed quiet and in doing so gave Raven control.
After a half hour Raven had still not started to draw Emma's face. She'd drawn in the sheet Emma was laying on, but left the shading for later, she'd put in the dress and Emma's legs, but she was saving that excuse to keep Emma quiet as long as possible. She kept it a little too long, because Emma started to talk. "I've thought a lot about the situation you found yourself in." Emma spoke quietly, sounded almost lost in thought as she said it. "About what you must have been thinking and feeling and I can see why you'd believe Destiny's version of the future. We gave you little indication that it could ever be anything different, but my kids were good kids. The New Mutants never saw the best in them, their competitions made sure of that." Raven stopped drawing and just sat still. She didn't know what to do with Emma's denial, because Raven still believed Destiny. Emma's words were soft and not accusing, and Raven didn't offer an apology into the silence. She'd apologized so much and it really wouldn't make it better. With that thought Raven's eyes fell to the ground as she thought about all the small apologies that Emma had given her, and how insignificant they'd seemed. An apology was insignificant and small in cases like theirs, but that didn't mean it wasn't felt. Raven's eyes looked up into blue eyes staring at her. "I'll forgive you this time, but if Destiny tells you anything else, if you withhold something from me that gets my students hurt again, you will regret it." It ended on a threat and Raven heard it, but her mind was still stuck on the other words. Forgiven. So many years Raven had carried this burden and Emma's words felt like they were powerful enough to knock Raven to the floor.
"I didn't want it to happen." Raven spoke quietly, repeating words she'd repeated so many times.
"I know." Emma started to move, to run a hand through her hair, and Raven as an artist should have stopped her, but she didn't. "You thought you were protecting Tessa." Raven started to move forward, seeing how Emma's hair was out of place now.
"Not just Tessa." Raven spoke softly as she moved to squat down next to the bed and stare into Emma's eyes, before her hand moved out to move and caress Emma's hair back into place. "Not just Tessa." Raven whispered as she let her hand caress Emma's cheek. "I didn't want you hurt either Emma. Christy and I made sure to tell the Professor you'd protected us a little, we left out the rest, but that was back when I thought he'd care and might help me get justice. I didn't want you getting hurt, Christy cared about you too much." Raven's finger gently caressed the blonde's lip and it felt like her heart was beating faster, but she pulled away. "And Generation X, we'd heard about them." Raven turned to go back to her easel after reminding Emma of other pieces of that prophecy, a little surprised at how Emma had allowed her touch. Raven had clearly gone above and beyond the artist's duty with it.
After sketching for a while it felt like they'd grown accustomed to the tension between them and Raven looked up, catching Emma's eyes and holding the stare. "I've been staying with a friend of mine in Vegas. She owns a club." Raven moved to start to sketch. "Don't move, I'm working on your lips." Raven lied as she drew in some of Emma's hair. It had taken a while to get up the nerve to go ahead and if Emma spoke it might ruin it at this point. "It's a BDSM club." Raven spoke casually as she moved her charcoal over the page, paying more attention to Emma's face than she needed to in order to draw Emma's hair. "Her form is the one I took at the dinner party you held with the Xmen." Raven focused on the page and moved her charcoal faster. "No, hold still." Raven muttered as Emma's expression started to change, looking like she was going to talk. "I'm still working on your face." Raven moved her hand filling in Emma's hair, slowly moving into the blonde's facial features. "This drawing is coming along very well." Raven muttered as she started to fill in an arched eyebrow. She went quiet for a moment as she put the outline of Emma's eyes on the page. Emma's eyes were one of her best features, Raven thought as she looked at the ice blue of them again. "I'd spent time at her club before, but this time I wasn't as," Raven nibbled on her lip and focused on the blonde's eyelashes, "fragile. I asked questions I hadn't asked before, even though my relationship with Mystique included some power games, there was a lot I didn't know. Probably is still a lot I don't know." Raven looked up, staring into Emma's captured eyes, enjoying the way the blonde stared at her.
"I knew there was a story behind that Gertrude form." Emma spoke and Raven let her. "Are you hoping to be able to Dominate Tessa now? Give her that?" It was like that earlier conversation about the Hellions hadn't happened, old habits perhaps, but Emma's voice was slightly taunting. Emma liked to argue, and seemed to love to argue with Raven more than anyone. Her entire attitude screamed for it at times, demanded that Raven lash out. It was passionate and angry, and Raven almost let herself go there again. Raven liked the struggle just as much as Emma seemed to, liked being able to fight back and see she couldn't be punished for it. Maybe that's why Emma did it, Raven thought and it almost distracted her. It took a good deal of effort to push that thought aside and focus on her conversation.
"No," Raven stared into the blue eyes and made no pretense of drawing. "I can't top her. It feels wrong, and I think it always will. It isn't just what she's been through." Raven took a deep breath. "She's my Mistress. I think I may have accepted her as that long before that club, she always was the stronger one, but there Tessa took me places I didn't think I could go and I need her like that. She's not typical in any way and I remember you thought she was too submissive as our Mistress, but I have no desire to Dominate her." Raven held Emma's eyes a little longer, before moving to focus on the drawing again. "I learned about safe words and other things." Raven's hand started to move to draw again. "Do you know what safe words are? Did they ever actually use that there?"
"I've heard of them, but no we didn't use them." Emma actually answered her. "I'm a telepath, I knew the limits of my slaves."
"But you can't read Tessa anymore." Raven pointed out and did her best to remain calm through this talk.
"I can still tell." Emma told her and Raven just nodded, but focused on drawing more.
"Keep still." Raven warned as she moved to quickly draw that mouth she'd claimed she'd already drawn. "I'm almost done with you, and I can fill in the background without you." Raven had left the face for last, wanting that leverage to make Emma hold still kept for as long as possible. "I'll give you a stretch break after this and then I have another pose idea for you." Raven's voice was firm and she started in on the shading on Emma's face. Her voice went quieter. "You are a beautiful woman Emma, it's a shame it's so often just on the outside." Raven knew it made Emma mad, it was in her eyes. Raven started to wipe her hands off, the charcoal clinging to her. "You can take a break." The blonde waited just a moment, glaring at Raven, before sitting up, and then standing. Raven watched Emma roll her shoulders and stretch a little.
Raven moved out from behind her easel and closer to the blonde. "Emma, I have a change of clothes for you." Emma's eyebrow, just the one, went higher. "Once you are done with your break I'll help you with it." Raven spoke as if she wasn't planning to take no for an answer. She didn't beg, she just assumed. The new clothes were really just a piece of fabric Raven would drape over the naked telepath, and Raven wondered at her chances of actually getting Emma to do that. Emma wasn't modest, but Raven sensed this would require a battle. Raven's eyes fell to Emma's shoulders, bare as they were, and imagined the blonde in nothing at all. Her memory filled in details and she knew Emma would be stunning in the next drawing.
"What are you after here Raven?" Emma asked outright and started moving closer, the way Emma held her body spoke of domination and control, it was very familiar, and Raven stood taller in response, more rigidly. Her eyes stared into Emma's not backing down, not submitting in any way. "You've changed? Delusions of grandeur? A few months in a club and you think you're Mistress material?" Emma leaned in, her voice dipping down to a whisper. "My Mistress? Please, you couldn't ever hope to top me." Raven surged forward at the challenge and grabbed Emma's arms, holding them tightly. She could feel Emma struggle, her arms attempting to pull away, then attempting to push forward, but Raven enhanced her strength and pressed back slowly. Forcing Emma to take a step back or fall, and then another, until the back of the blonde's legs hit the bed.
"Don't push me Emma. I'm more than willing to push back." Raven finished the comment with a rough toss onto the bed, watching Emma fall onto it less than gracefully. "No more Emma, no more White Queen with me." Not all of Raven's training had been with Catherine and Raven's eyes burned as tendrils similar to the ones on her portal moved with lightning speed, erupting from her back and darting out to pin the blonde's arms to the bed. Lady Heather had worked with Raven, exploring how Raven's mutation could be used to make a slave submit. Lady Rachel had been the willing partner for those sessions and Raven glared as she stepped forward, two more tendrils moving to hold Emma's legs down. Raven had modeled the tendrils partly after Dr. Octopus, a man she'd only seen pictures of. It gave her complete control of Emma and Raven stared as the blonde struggled, only able to move her arms and legs a minimal amount. Blonde hair fell wildly over the blue fabric and a reddened and angry face glared back up at Raven when Emma finally stopped struggling.
She stared at the blonde. "No more Emma. You can't expect me to submit to both of you, and I've already told you Tessa is my Mistress. That just leaves one role for you." It felt like Raven was watching someone else hold Emma down, like someone else moved forward to kneel over the woman, straddling her hips and staring down into her eyes. The tendrils moved and twisted to get out of her way but still hold the blonde down. Surely Raven couldn't do this, but Raven didn't feel Christy inside her and she knew as she leaned down to whisper into the heavily breathing blonde trying to escape her that she'd won. Raven's heart was pounding and her hands wanted to feel Emma's struggle, wanted to hold Emma down as well, but in all the training Raven had, it became clear that she should leave the immobilizing to the tendrils. Raven's smile was a little cruel as she looking into glaring eyes. "You told me I was too strong for people to make me do anything Emma. I'm too strong for you to get away." Raven used the newly shifted additions to her body to push Emma's arms and legs further into the bed.
Raven's voice became a whisper as she got closer. "Safeword Emma. I'll give you that, what you never gave us, but we are doing this my way or we are never ever doing this." She could see the proud woman struggling and Raven's voice softened. "I'm not saying I'll never submit, but I can't, I just can't, until I learn to trust you. Give me this. If you still want me, you need to give me this." Raven moved back, her voice a normal tone. "I'll walk away and I'll never give you another chance if you can't give. You've taken so much, if you can't give there is no point in this. There was no satisfaction before, you left Christy feeling like sex was nothing more than a job. You took and you took, and you never gave."
Emma's struggle stopped and she stared at Raven, calculating, most likely plotting, and Raven waited She listened as Emma's breathing started to calm and noticed that Raven's own breathing had stopped completely. Raven started to breath again and her voice was quieter. "She wanted your touch so much it haunted her, and you never touched her. I felt her pain." Raven's hands slowly started to caress Emma's skin where the dress exposed it, her upper chest, and her shoulders. For some reason, Raven really liked Emma's shoulders, they drew her touch. "She loved even you and she'd been alone for months trying to get home. You had the power to ease her soul and you didn't. You just made it worse. She just wanted some affection, that's all she wanted, and it took that night with Selene to get any from you." Tears filled Raven's eyes but she just blinked hard and tried to clear her vision. "I loved her, and you hurt her." Raven took a moment and focused on her powers, and a trick Christy had taught her, she pulled her tears inside and then reached into her soul like Heather taught her and sought her calm. A Mistress mask came over Raven's features and she waited. She noticed Emma relaxing, her struggle stopping completely and her head rested back on the bed. Emma sighed and stared up at the ceiling a moment before looking into Raven's eyes.
"Christy, my safe word is Christy. You'll hear that and she never would have hurt me." Emma spoke slowly and Raven took a moment to stare into eyes, searching for something. Raven saw only a surface surrender there, the woman had dignity and probably couldn't let it go, and Raven wanted her to keep that. It was attractive.
Raven blinked at the choice of safe word and spent a moment wondering at it, before pushing that thought aside. "Okay, Christy it is." Raven repeated it. Moving forward and placing her hands on either side of Emma's head on the bed Raven stared down at the blonde. "I want your mouth." Raven's voice became heated as she imagined that cruel mouth all over her body. It would show Emma wasn't her Mistress, because to Emma that wasn't a Mistress thing to do. "I want your mouth all over me." This wasn't normal, the way Raven dominated, it was what she needed. Raven's voice was a command and her clothing faded into her body, leaving her the only naked one on the bed. Reverse yet again, but she wasn't letting Emma up to get undressed, not just yet, she didn't trust that the woman wouldn't try to leave.
Raven leaned down and captured pink lips, kissing hard and demanding. A groan escaped her lips as she felt Emma respond. It shook her out of what she was doing and Raven pulled back, with a new concern. Her powers. "I haven't been with anyone since I changed. Don't make me scream."
"That takes some of the fun out of it." Emma smirked at her and Raven's grip on Emma's arms weakened a little, but the blonde didn't try to pull away. "You want my mouth, come to it." Raven leaned down and kissed Emma again, her soft moan didn't stop her as she moved to kiss the woman's neck, and Raven's body ached.
Moving forward just a little Raven leaned down, her breast level with Emma's mouth. "Suck, bite." Raven ordered as she lowered her body. "Rough is good." Raven muttered as Emma's lips closed over her nipple. "Yes," Raven gasped as her nipple was taken between teeth and pulled. No Mistress reserve was left in her, Raven would need more training, she thought distractedly as she pulled back just a little to see Emma didn't let go. "Oh yes." Raven moved closer and Emma moved from biting to sucking, and kissing. "Yes, use that mouth."
"This isn't what you want me to suckle is it." Emma pulled away and asked, her voice still had that commanding edge and Raven had to discipline her. Raven's hands moved to Emma's hair and pulled her down to the bed.
"I'll tell you when I want more." Raven's voice was a warning. She needed more foreplay first and she didn't want this over too fast. "Mouth." Raven ordered and moved her other breast into range. The nip of teeth was a little too sharp, but Raven flinched and didn't pull back. "Rebellious slave." Raven pressed down on the woman, holding her head still and using her body to move her breast over that mouth. "I will punish you if you don't behave." Raven whispered. "I've just spent months learning how. I did that for you Emma." Raven's voice was too sweet, which highlighted the threat. Emma's breathing was changing, coming faster and Raven started to wonder at the woman's always claiming she wasn't a submissive, not even a little bit. "Do you want it?" Raven pulled back and started to move.
"Just do it already." Emma spoke, her voice a little heated, but still not submissive. Raven reached down and found the blonde's erected nipple through her dress, pinching hard, but careful not to use her enhanced strength. "Ahh." Emma's back arched up. Oh God she looked good like that, Raven thought as she pinched again.
"Call me Mistress." Raven spoke coldly, and pinched a little harder, using the other breast. Emma's back arched and she squirmed, but she didn't speak. "Call me Mistress." Raven repeated before pinching harder.
"Mistress." It would sound like a bored comment if it weren't for the panting, but it would do for now. Emma said it.
"I have my doubts that you can give pleasure." Raven spoke with disdain. "I wonder if you even know how." Raven started to move up, but she kept the woman pinned down. "Prove me wrong." Raven felt her heart hammering as she straddled the blonde's face. She just stared down at Emma a moment, feeling like this couldn't possibly be real. A soft whimper escaped her lips as she watched the blonde lip her own lips and look up at her seductively. "Don't bite me here." Raven ordered as she lowered her body slowly. Oh God, Raven just managed to not say it but her body shook at the first touch of that mouth on her sex. Raven stared down her body to see brilliant blue eyes staring at her, unblinking blue eyes. Raven gasped and her body jerked, moving Emma out of sight for a moment, but Emma was still staring when Raven looked down again. "Like that, that's good." Raven muttered. It was more than good. Raven felt consumed. Raven felt a scream aching to come out and she struggled with it, to the point of pulling up. "Oh shit." Raven muttered as Emma's mouth stopped. "My powers." Raven felt more frustrated than she'd ever felt before as she told Emma what was wrong. "Oh God, Emma."
"Just don't scream." Emma spoke and Raven stared down at the woman panting as much as she was. "Squirm, clench, gasp, but don't scream. Mistresses don't scream and you can't."
"It's so hard." Raven slowly started to lower herself again. "Oh God," She whispered as Emma slowly started again. "Oh God." Raven's hands clenched in the sheets under her and her body started to rock against that mouth. "Take," Raven couldn't believe how good it was. "Take me." Raven pleaded. "Oh God, take me."
"Still a little submissive." Emma moved her head to speak. "If you want to be taken you need to let me up."
"No, no, no. I'm not submissive to you." Raven pressed down, seeking that mouth. "Not to you. Give."
"Give, take. Do you even know the difference?" Emma spoke and Raven reached down to grab her head and pull her to Raven's sex.
"Shut up and suck." Raven's voice was ragged. She held Emma to her until the woman started to lick her again. "Suck." Raven ordered again. Lips closed over her and Raven took a gasping breath as Emma sucked.
Raven came, gasping and shaking, a nearly silent squeak was all that escaped her. She took air into her body in gasps and her body felt like collapsing. Raven pulled her sex away from that mouth as Emma tried to keep going, but it was too soon. Raven was sensitive. "Oh yes." Raven managed to get it out, and then she finally made her body move, but she had to struggle to not let the tendrils move.
"Do you have what you wanted?" Emma asked, but her face was reddened and her breathing heavy. Raven ran a hand over the peaks of Emma's breast, feeling how hard they'd gotten.
"No, not just yet." Raven smiled just a little and started to partially get off of Emma. This was the hard part, it took a lot of coordination. Raven focused and jerked the blonde's body around onto her front. It twisted the tendrils awkwardly, but Raven enjoyed the shocked cry from Emma as Raven put Emma on her knees and bowing on the bed. The crossover of the front tendrils pushed Emma's head down into the bed. "I hear you like a nice rosy red." Raven reached down to touch the hem of Emma's dress, slowly pushing it up.
Emma started to struggle and buck. Raven wasn't sure why she was surprised, she should have anticipated that. "You were bad and this is my pound of flesh Emma." Raven squeezed a cheek as she spoke. It just made Emma struggle more. "You know how to stop me if you really need me to." Raven spoke coldly and finished exposing Emma's lacy panties to the air. One enhanced tug tore those right off. No words came from Emma's lips, so Raven didn't stop. A slightly evil grin crossed her lips as she moved to the side just a little, so she could bring her hand solidly down on the blonde's pale skin. A crack sound of contact filled the room, partially artificially created by the way Raven held her had. She had training after all.
"God damn you." Emma yelled and squirmed to try and look back at Raven. Raven allowed her that much mobility and stared with a smirk at Emma.
"I'm going to spank you until you have trouble sitting." Raven felt powerful and playful. "And then I'll spank you a little more. Do you need a gag or can you keep from screaming? I know Christy could do it, but you might not be able to."
Christy was more than a safe word between them, Raven could see it the moment she'd uttered it. The spark in Emma's eyes calmed and Emma sighed. The blonde didn't fight it as Raven's hand came down again. Once Raven noticed that she started the spanking in earnest, but she hit the blonde in ways to excite her as well, or hopefully excite her. The gasp after one hit had Raven caressing Emma's reddening rear. "So pretty." Raven muttered as she let her hand caress lower. A condescending tone filled the room. "Looks like I found that lie. You told us you weren't into this, but Emma," Raven paused and let her fingers do the talking, moving through wet flesh. Emma's body shook. "That's worth a few more spanks don't you think? Lying?"
……………….
Hours later it was dark and Raven stood hesitantly at the door of the hotel, leaning on the door handle as Emma finished straightening herself in the mirror. The woman still stood tall and proud, but she moved just a little slower. "You really are beautiful." Raven spoke softly and stared into Emma's eyes as the blonde turned to her, not looking at all like she'd just spent hours having rough sex, being dominated. Emma also didn't beg, Raven found that interesting and since Emma didn't beg Emma hadn't been pleasured herself. It seemed fair to leave her wanting at least once. "I forgive you." Raven spoke quietly and noticed the slight flinch of Emma's response. "And if we can make this work…"
"I won't submit like this often Raven. I'll give this to you, but not often." Emma shook her head, but a small smile put doubt on the words being true.
"Look, another lie." Raven smiled at finding another one.
"Did you want to," Emma glanced at the easel and the partially done drawing with a smirk, "have Tessa over tomorrow to model?"
"Yes." Raven actually felt the surge of renewed need at that thought.
"Will we ever do a group drawing?" Emma tilted her head, not talking about art at all. Emma just seemed amused at the pretense Raven used to get her there. It was rather cliché.
"Yes, but not yet." Raven looked over at the easel. "Not just yet." Raven nibbled on her lip. "You two are so beautiful together." Emma moved forward and claimed the poor abused lip with her own. When she pulled back Raven stepped closer and kissed her again, tenderly.
"So are you and Tessa." Emma took the door handle from Raven's hands. "I'll tell her that you want to see her."
"Thank you."
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Sunday morning Raven got up and started to put the room back the way it had been. Tessa wouldn't need a ruse to let Raven speak, or anything else. Still Raven did have a chair placed before the window that could serve as a scene for a sketch or two if she needed it to.
By late Sunday morning Tessa was knocking on the door. Raven looked up from the drawing of Emma she was finishing from memory and started to wipe her hands as she moved to let Tessa in. Raven's eyes moved appreciating Tessa's long coat covered body and commanding stance. Emma told her something, Raven could see it in Tessa's eyes. Raven held the door opened for the dark haired woman.
"Emma sends her regards." Tessa smirked just a little.
Raven closed the door and turned to stare at Tessa, watching as Tessa slowly undid the buttons on her coat. "Tessa." Raven's voice was rough. "Did you want me to sketch or," Raven's words trailed off as she saw the dark haired woman pull the coat off, leaving her in leather pants and a black silk shirt. "Oh Tessa." Raven stared at the woman, taking in the expansion of flesh shown as Tessa didn't button all the way up. Tessa was definitely worthy of a few sketches looking like that.
"She still has trouble sitting. You did punish her well." Tessa walked around with a graceful gait, taking in the drawing Raven had been working on. "And I believe Emma told me to make sure to make you beg, it's a challenge to her now. I didn't bother to tell her I strongly suspect that you like begging." Tessa caressed the canvas, moving with more confidence than Raven had seen in her for a while. The uncertainty was gone and Tessa hated uncertainty. "This is beautiful. She made me think that the drawing was just a trick to get her here, but this is a lovely charcoal Raven."
"No, it was just a trick to keep her quiet so I could talk." Raven glanced at the drawing and then back at Tessa. Raven's small smile faded and serious eyes stared into Tessa's. "You know I would have never cheated on you, but this is what you wanted right? It was okay?"
"Oh, Raven," Tessa sighed and moved forward to caress Raven's cheek. "I just want you to do whatever makes you happy. I would never make you be with her."
"You didn't." Raven looked away for a moment and caught herself. She forced her eyes back to Tessa. "She's very attractive in her own right, and Emma was there for me when the world came crashing down on us. She's like a force of nature."
"I know." Tessa spoke softly moving closer. "She told me that we had you, that you were ours. Are you?"
"Yes," Raven's arm shook a little as she reached out to Tessa. "I'm yours. I can't say I'm hers, but I am yours." Raven moved forward to kiss Tessa, a slow tender kiss that she put all her love into. "I do care about her, but I don't know if I can love two people the way I love you. You consume me, you complete me, and I feel only half alive without you." Raven stared into Tessa's eyes. "I'm yours. It's all I really ever wanted, to be yours. I really don't know or understand what Emma is to me yet. It's hard to think I could love like this twice, I never have before. What I have with her will always be different than what I have with you."
Tessa had tears in her eyes and Raven brushed them off of Tessa's cheeks as they fell. "I want to make love to you." Raven spoke quietly. "When it was Christy and I, we never made love to you, and I want that with you, but if you aren't ready I would wait forever for you Tessa. I was always just waiting for you."
"You were always such a romantic Raven, I'm glad you still have that." Tessa leaned forward and kissed Raven gently back. "Oh I love you." Tessa whispered and Raven breathing hitched with her own tearful breathing.
Tessa took Raven's hand and gently pulled her along as Tessa walked backwards to the bed. "I'll give you everything." Tessa whispered. "If it had been just you, I would have given myself to you back then, but I thought we deserved something to be just ours, something we wouldn't even share with Christy. I didn't want to take from her what I wanted you to give to me."
"She loved you too." Raven watched as Tessa sat on the bed and started to move backwards on it, making room. "Oh Tessa." Raven's hands shook as they moved to help Tessa with the buttons on her shirt. "You are a goddess to me and I worship you, I still worship you." Raven moved to straddle Tessa, crawling up her. "I want to worship you." Raven crawled up until she could stare down into Tessa's eyes, her own pleading.
"Yes." Tessa reached up and pulled Raven down into a heated kiss. She kissed along Raven's neck and then whispered into her ear. "I want you to touch me." Raven's breathing stopped and she took a shaking hand and placed it on Tessa's now exposed stomach, caressing Tessa's soft pale skin. Raven always loved Tessa's skin.
Raven's lips followed her hands and Raven kissed and used her lips to caress Tessa's skin. Her hand moved down to the button of the pants Tessa wore before looking up for permission.
Tessa helped her remove the pants and Raven remembered comments about leather pants, but she used the difficulty in removing them to her advantage by kissing and Tessa's legs ever few inches. The pants were tossed to the side once they were off and Raven moved to rest her body between spread legs. Tessa was beautiful, every inch of her. Raven inhaled the scent of her lover and moved forward to claim something she'd never been allowed to claim before. "I love you." Raven told Tessa, staring into her eyes and willing Tessa to see that love in Raven's eyes, before bowing her head down to kiss a soft inner thigh. "You are my heart." Raven kissed the other inner thigh.
"Raven." Tessa's voice shook. Her voice grew louder as Raven kissed her one more time, a deep kiss that could have gone on for hours, because Raven would have loved for it to have. Tessa bucked against her, Tessa cried out for her, and Raven shook as Tessa came.
……………..
Raven met Mr. Childs at one. She'd walked right into Warren's building and took the elevator up to meet with the short fat little man with a bow tie. He seemed eager to sell, so Raven just sat back as if she had all the time in the world. "My partner wants to get this taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible." She said and noticed him relax a little. "But I told her that since I can't afford the whole thing that was going to be impossible." Her voice was calm and slightly deeper than her average. "Now we need to start to advertise to try and get a partner we can live with." Mr. Childs eyes widened and Raven thought she saw him starting to sweat. "I really had hoped to make enough when I liquidated some of my assets, but it just didn't happen."
"Oh, um, so you don't have it all?" He moved to loosen his collar and Raven resisted the urge to smile as she saw the weakness. They wanted her to buy this out, the time given to Drahke was to keep this quiet. That meant that Raven had some power here, that and the fact that Mr. Childs wasn't a strong man.
By the time she left Raven had managed to buy most of the brothel, with an agreement that the rest would be held for her to purchase with the profits she received from the business. It was an amazing deal and it left her and Drahke the only owners. All because Warren's company didn't want people to know what they'd gotten into. It felt a little like blackmail, but it was worth it. Raven smiled as she walked out of Worthington Industries. Emma's limo waited for her, the blonde had loaned it to her saying that once again Raven needed help with her image, she needed to give the air of money and power to the mid level manager. It was a nice perk that had worked.
"So now I go back." Raven told Tessa as she sat down. Tessa sat in the back waiting for her. "but I'll be back." Raven reached out and took Tessa's hand. Emma and Tessa lived here, so that meant Raven was going to have to try and consider New York home again if she wanted this, and she wanted it. "I just need to take care of some business."
"You'll miss Christmas?" Tessa asked, but she sounded like she knew the answer.
"I'll be back by Valentine's day." The day she'd lost Christy, Raven sighed and looked down at their hands. "We can make this work right?"
"I believe we can." Tessa sounded so sure of herself and Raven wanted to believe her, so she just let herself believe.
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AN: next Hope, a Christy the traveler chapter.