Checking into the motel ended up being a lot simpler than the ending to their diner visit.

Ria wasn't used to discrimination anymore. After achieving so much fame in the 40s and 50s, she had almost forgotten how it felt to be looked down upon for being mutant, and she wasn't at all happy with rediscovering it. The waitresses didn't speak, despite Ria's efforts to be friendly, and only dropped off plates of food and the bill. The human families cast disgusted looks her way when Ria's claws were out, and being unable to fully retract them, she had no choice but to ignore the glares.

The food was good, and she tried to enjoy it the way Victor seemed to, but it was difficult. After so much time spent being cut open in a lab, society was...hard. Being in public was a bit nerve wracking, and she was happy when they left and got back on the road for a few hours until nightfall. She didn't even complain about staring out the window for so long.

The lady at the motel desk didn't seem to care about the claws or fangs or spots, and only gave Victor a wary look as she handed them the room key. Ria was grateful for how polite the woman had been. There were no pitchforks or torches, and she barely even batted an eye at the two of them when they walked in.

"She knew," Ria commented as Victor led her to their room.

"She was mutant," he grunted as he threw the door open. "Bed. Now."

Ria let out a high snarl. "Don't tell me what to do."

He growled. "I'm tired, frail. An' I'm about to be real grouchy if I don't sleep. Bed. Now." He gave her a nudge towards the full size bed and she made another noise of protest but complied.

"I don't appreciate this," she hissed as he pushed her down and then joined her, a thick arm locked over her waist.

She tried wiggling away, but he only tightened his grip, and she settled for whining in his ear with the hopes that he would get annoyed enough to let her go. She was in need of a shower, and some water, and she needed to pee, and she did not at all have the time or patience to be held down on a bed unless something interesting was going to happen.

"I'll piss on you," she warned jokingly.

Victor made a noise of disgust and released her, rolling onto his side as she jumped up and ran the few steps to the bathroom. She found herself staring at a framed painting of a sunset that was nailed to the back of the door and thought it was a little too elegant for such a cheap motel. But who was she kidding? It was a pretty nice change from the complete lack of any type of artwork in the cabin. She would have to make sure to find something to hang up when they got back.

As she washed her hands, she stifled a sigh. Maybe it was time to stop pretending that she needed to be surrounded by luxuries. She was a feral. She didn't need a lot to get by. Her burlesque days were over, and the sad reality of her life now was that she was hiding. On the run.

Living in the wild wasn't too bad, it was just...not what she had been doing lately. Her body knew what to do to survive; she could hunt if she had to, and she had a good enough sense of smell to find water. She was the ultimate predator, and the leopard was an expert at defying the odds, as it had proven when those scientists sliced her up and down for years.

"Frail," she heard Victor say from the other side of the door.

"Do you need something?" She snipped.

She heard a low growl. "Bed."

"I want to shower." She said haughtily. Walking the few steps to the door, she cracked it open and peeked out at him. "Do you wanna join me?"

That seemed to quell his attitude and he inched closer, staring her down. She could only see his eyes through the tiny slit between the door and its frame, and they were cold and wild and hungry. It stirred something up inside of her, and as she opened the door a tiny bit more, the way that he wedged his shoulder in and forced her to back up toward the shower gave her butterflies.

He grabbed her hips and her stomach knotted up. He had touched her before, yeah, but he always held back. She didn't want him to, but he did it because they both knew they wouldn't be able to stop once it started.

Now she was stronger, though. She was healthier. She could handle it.

And she wanted it.

"Victor…" She purred, trying her best to remember how to do this as she reached up to touch his jaw.

He let out a pleased noise and ran his hands up her sides, taking her shirt with them. He wanted to feel her, he wanted to taste her. That's probably as far as he would let himself go tonight; he wanted to save the real action for her heat, but at least if he couldn't stop himself, he knew that she wanted him, hopefully as much as he wanted her.

"Off with this," he growled, pulling her shirt over her head. He growled again at the lacy bra in his way, moving to rip it off rather than deal with the clasps before Ria stopped him with a snarl and did it herself.

"Don't you dare ruin-"

He cut her off with a kiss and she fell absolutely still.

Did he fuck up already? He pulled back an inch, but before he could even really look at her, she grabbed his face with both hands and attacked his mouth with hers, expertly moving her lips against his. He wrapped one arm around her and put his other hand on her ass, lifting her up and setting her on the counter while he tasted her lips, the beef she had at the diner still lingering there.

His heart was speeding up, and Ria could hear it. She knew he could hear hers, too, but as she leaned back and pulled his shirt off and ran her fingers over his chest, she didn't care. This was happening, and it was happening now. She wanted something, anything, from him. To be touched, to be kissed, to just be wanted.

Enough thinking.

Her fingertips trailed down his stomach, running over the soft line of hair that thickened the lower she went. She felt him stiffen as she unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and as she slipped her hand in, a low growl rose in his throat. It was threatening, and hungry, and terrifying, but she only had a second to try to pull her hand back before Victor's mouth was on hers again. He was demanding and impatient, pushing her until her back hit the mirror and she had to put her other hand on the counter to steady herself.

Victor bit at her lip and she let out a squeal. Her entire body was heating up, warmth spreading across her skin as claws ran up her stomach, leaving light red lines in their wake. A large hand grabbed her breast and squeezed, kneading it while lips and teeth moved down to her neck.

Ria moaned as his fangs pricked her flesh and moved both of her hands to grip his back, sinking her claws into the fabric of his shirt as she pulled him closer to her. Something in her belly was igniting, and as quickly as she could, she tore the shirt off, pushed him back so that she could jump down from the counter, and shoved his jeans and boxers down.

What she saw pleased her, and she hummed happily as she looked down. He was big, and he was hard, and he was all. Hers.

Victor watched intently as she kneeled down in front of him. He was aching for her. He was practically salivating. All he could think about was how pretty she would look underneath him, sweaty and panting and-

His breath stopped in his chest when he felt her tongue on him. Oh, he hadn't had this in a long time, and it was so...good.

Ria fit as much of him into her mouth as she could and worked the rest with her fingers, humming and swirling her tongue around his head until she felt his fingers in her hair pulling her head back. She looked up at him, a string of saliva running from her lips, and she saw a man overcome with lust. His eyes were darkening and his chest was heaving, every muscle defined, every inch of him perfect.

As she stood up, she took his hand and pulled him into the shower, flipping the water on. Before she had a chance to turn around and look at Victor again, he grabbed her hips and slammed her into the wall, flexing his pelvis and shoving his cock up against her. He wanted her to feel how hard she was making him, and he wanted her to know how big he was. She tried to wiggle away and he snarled in response, pinning her with his weight, pressing himself so close to her that there was no way she could possibly move.

"You're-such-a showoff," she panted as she struggled to breathe.

"You're mine," he hissed, ignoring her. Bending his neck, he brought his lips to her throat, ghosting them over her skin while a hand wandered down her front. His claws trailed over all of her belly scars, down to that soft patch of neatly groomed fur. He knew that his fingers were clumsy as he fumbled around, trying to find that little nub that drove females so crazy.

She bucked back against him the second he found it, an overwhelming surge of sensations coursing through her. He smirked and rubbed it again, holding her still with his other hand on her thigh. She moaned, the sound delicious and sticky sweet to his ears, and she only got louder as he slipped a finger into her.

"Like it?" he asked, whispering against her neck.

He nipped at her when she didn't answer and she quickly nodded a few times, gulping in air while Victor played her. He explored the way her walls felt, poking at every unique spot he could find and paying attention to all the ways she flinched and spasmed until finally she opened wide around his finger, juices coating his hand as she whined his name.

"Victor," she breathed, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Please."

He pulled his fingers away and held his hand behind him, letting the water wash it off. "Frail…"

"Please," she said more forcefully, shoving her ass up against him.

He couldn't even think of words to say.

Instead, he took a step back, grabbed her hips, and pushed himself into her.

They both moaned, Ria louder than he, her eyes almost rolling back in her head as he sheathed himself in her. This was already much, much better than the last time she had fucked, and as she listened to Victor grunting and growling as he pulled out and then pushed back in over and over again, all she could think about was the way he was hitting just the right spot, and how maybe every spot was turning out to be the right one, and how she never wanted this to end.

He dug his claws into her, blood running down her thighs as he pulled her back into him to match his thrusts. He pushed himself deeper each time, speeding up as he felt pressure building. She was so warm and so tight, and as he began to lose himself, the sabretooth took over and sank its teeth into the place where Ria's neck and shoulder met. Victor didn't release her when she cried out; instead, he raked his claws down her front, blood oozing out of the scratches before they mended themselves. He put a hand in her hair and slammed her against the wall again, steadying her with his other, still ignoring her squeals and screams. Half of them were good anyways, as he found out when he felt her clamp down around him and shudder.

Her whole body surged, warmth and electricity flowing through her veins as she orgasmed. She heard him grunt her name and then felt more warmth as he finished and filled her with a few more pumps before finally releasing her and stepping back.

When she turned to look at him, she was shaky, and for a minute she had trouble straightening back up after being bent over for so long. She saw him covered in her blood, his chest heaving as he leaned back against the opposite wall. He grinned, fangs glistening red, as she stumbled toward him and lazily wrapped her arms around his middle.

"That was tame, darlin'." he commented, his breath still ragged.

"That was also my first time in years," she panted, resting against him as water ran down over her head.

He gave a slight chuckle and kissed her forehead. "Just wait."

"For?"

"The heat." he looked down at her and growled almost playfully. "I'll be so far inside you…"

She grinned and slapped his chest. "Don't talk about that now."

"Why not?" he looked at her innocently. "I think we're on that level, darlin'."

"Because you just pounded me up against a wall in a motel bathroom," she deadpanned. "I've had my share for the night."

"Gimme ten minutes an' I'll be ready again."

She paled. "Loverboy…"

"What?" he grabbed the soap and began lathering up.

"I'm gonna be sore as it is." Ria mimicked him once he was done. "I don't need to go a billion rounds back to back. We have to meet people tomorrow."

He growled. "Or we could stay here."

"Victor," she warned as she rinsed off.

"Fine." he grumbled. "Fine."

They washed their hair in silence and both dried off, and it wasn't until Victor had already gone to bed and Ria was braiding her hair that she finally noticed her neck. At first she just stared, blinking in disbelief at such a huge, ugly mark, wondering why it hadn't gone away yet, but then she found a way to make her vocal cords work again and screeched.

"What the hell is this?" she asked Victor, marching out to stand naked before him.

"What's what?" he asked from his place under the sheets.

She pointed to her neck. "This, numb nuts."

He snarled. "Just because we fucked doesn't mean yer gettin' away with that, frail."

She rolled her eyes. "So what the fuck is it?"

He smirked. "Means yer mine now."

"I already was," she snapped. He beckoned for her to join him in bed and she complied, slowly crawling in next to him. "This is ugly. And it isn't healing."

"It won't." he said, tucking her up against him. "You don't like it?"

"I-no," she stammered. "I do. I just wish you didn't do it there, fuckhead."

He snarled much louder this time, though she could hear the exhaustion in his voice even behind the nasty sound. "Do not test me."

She growled. "Or what?"

His hand was out and around her throat in a flash. "Is this what you want?"

Once she realized he wasn't going to squeeze hard enough to pop her head off, she smirked. "Maybe."

He felt his dick perk back up and groaned.

"Not right now," Ria hushed when she felt him harden. She sighed. "I do like it. But you need one."

"So give me one."

She looked up at him. "When I go into heat. Then I will."

"You'll do a lot." he commented smugly. "You'll be willing to do anything I say for the chance to get dick."

Her face reddened. "I will not."

"No?"

"I'd do anything to sit on your face. That's what I would do."

He mentally chastised himself for not eating her out in the shower. "S'pose it counts."

She smiled genuinely this time and snuggled up against him. "I'm yours now."

A smiled danced on his lips. "Mine."

"And you're mine."

"Yep."

"I guess Mrs. Creed doesn't sound awful."

"We ain't gettin' married, frail. That's...human." he wrinkled his nose.

"Well, I don't know any humans who take chunks out of each other at their weddings, so maybe you're right. Fine. I won't take your name."

That put him out a bit, but only a tiny amount. He honestly couldn't care less about marriage or changing names. "Exactly. Now go the fuck to sleep."

She smiled to herself and rolled over to face him, tugging her head beneath his arm. "Goodnight, grumpy."

He only grunted in response before he was out cold.