A/N Oh my God, I love the reviews! Thanks so much CaFanel and IRockYourSocks for being loyal! My love is given to you!
Chapter 21
He should have woken up with every part of his body sore. Instead, he felt relief. She was still beside him, her hair still sticking to his chest. Her legs were still intertwined with his and they were still in the same passionate embrace they had been the night before. Except they were under the furs and he wasn't that close to her, but still.
Howl made small circles on her shoulders, just lightly enough to keep him entertained and her still asleep. He trailed his fingers along the muscles in her back, up to where the bones in her shoulders stuck on. Not bony, not flabby… perfect. He pressed his lips to her back gently, keeping one arm around her stomach. Korra sighed in content.
He knew that he should feel worried that, at any moment, someone would find them all tangled up in skin. As the moments passed and not a single soul came, his nerves faded away until they were nothing but a speck in the back of his mind. He was more concerned on how Korra would feel when she woke but he didn't dare wake her to find out. After seeing her a few rare times in the morning, he knew how much easier it would be to let her wake up on her own. He knew that it was stupid, but he was growing impatient. He concentrated on the circles.
Then he remembered how much pain she had been in when they had started. He'd hurt her. He hadn't meant to but he had done it anyways. A knot rose in his throat and he buried his face into the crook of her neck, trying to inhale her sweet scent. His nose pressed on just the right spot on her neck and he could both feel her pulse and hear her breathing. He never wanted to move from that spot, with their bodies so free and so willingly bare for each other. Her hair tickled his cheek as he shut his eyes and matched the slow, calm rhythm of her breath. He hoped that she could sleep the rest of the day and not be disturbed.
Unfortunately, she stirred only a few minutes later. Howl was partially asleep, his eyes half closed, his mouth half open. He heard her move but was afraid to say anything in case she was just rolling over. She propped herself onto two elbows and glanced around the room before her beautiful blue gaze met his. "Mmm… hey." She whispered before collapsing on the pillow and groaning.
Howl sat up quickly. "Are you okay?" He asked, moving her hair out of her face. His hands began to quiver, before she yawned and fell back asleep. He felt a stupid lopsided grin crawl across his face as he pulled her to him, resting her head on his chest. He stroked her delicate strands of hair until his own eyes grew heavier and heavier until he faded into the darkness.
In his dream, he saw her standing over a pool of water. Her hair was up in her usual ponytails but something seemed different. He noticed the frown before he could distinguish what was wrong. It was… sad. He'd never seen her truly sad before, but he had imagined it as a pout or a lopsided frown. Nothing like the depression on her face.
Then he realized that he was in the pool of water, staring up at her. He kicked his way up and started to the surface only to find a perfect thin piece of glass keeping him from her. His lungs burned as he tried to swim upwards and break the glass, but he was losing hope. His body began to feel ten times heavier and he saw his uniform on his body, causing him to sinking into the murky depths of the pool. His legs shook like flippers as he tried to keep himself up, tried anxiously to pound the glass out above him. He saw Korra shed a single tear as he began to fall, deeper and deeper until the pressure of that one tear caused his lungs to explode.
He shot up in the bed, his hands shaking like an earthquake. His breathing was ragged as he tried to inhale as much as he could, but his lungs weren't filling like they should. He threw back the fur pelted covers and raced to the bathroom. While nearly ripping the handle on the faucet to turn it on, he hastily splashed his face with water. His entire body was violently quaking, his knees threatening to give out any moment. He bit his lip, trying to avoid the terrifying thought of drowning, trying to push all thoughts of dreaming away.
"Howl?" He heard her ask. Her voice sounded small and frightened. Howl turned and took another deep breath, spotting her sitting up on the bed. She had the blankets covering all of her body except for her face. Her eyes were wild with fear. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He reassured, trying his best to smile. Korra gave him a look of disbelief, and on shaky legs he returned to the bed. His mind flashed to his nightmare in horror as he climbed over the bed and took her in his arms. "It was nothing."
"You're shaking." She whispered, her voice raspy. He hesitated to answer, wrapping a dark brown lock around her finger. He wouldn't believe her words, but he had been so frightened that he knew they were true. Was his worst fear losing her? Or was it drowning? He couldn't tell. Instead, he tightened his grip around her hips and buried his face into her shoulder. "Howl, you know you can talk, right?"
No, he couldn't. He couldn't talk because he might spill those of his greatest fears. He couldn't talk because he knew that she would pity him and he didn't want that. He just wanted to hold her, feel her soft breathing against his body, wrap himself up in her dangerously seductive scent. "I know." He whispered softly but said nothing more.
Korra didn't speak again until his quivers subsided into warm breaths against the soft of her cheek. She reached up to touch him, to feel that he was okay. Whatever was wrong, he wasn't going to tell her. She couldn't blame him, but it didn't help her worries. She'd woken to his ragged breathing and all she'd seen was water splashing everywhere. Then, before she could say anything, he had looked into the mirror, his lips in a stoic, cold line.
Instead of letting him push her away, push her out of his mind, Korra moved so that she straddled him. She watched his brow raise and the panicky look on his face change to content. She leaned forward and kissed his chin, then his cheek. Then his adorable lips that always gave her that stupid lopsided grin that made her smile no matter what was wrong. Howl moaned softly as she pressed her hands to his chest. Though Korra was too sore to hardly move, she wanted to make him feel better. She wanted him to feel the same happiness she was feeling.
Her lips lowered to his jawbone as she moved her hands down his back. She felt her hands graze broken skin and she pulled away immediately. Howl's eyes flickered in resentment. "Your back…." She hesitated. He blinked. "Turn around. I need to see your back." With a look of confusion spreading across his face, he bade her command and turned. A gasp caught in her throat as she saw where her nails had dug into his smooth skin. There was a love bite on his shoulder from where she had bit him in the flurry of pleasure. "Oh Spirits, Howl…."
"What?" He questioned, his brows clenched tightly together. Korra separated herself from him, trying desperately to hide her quivering lip. "Korra, what's wrong?"
"Your back is… it's all my fault…" Her words were parted, her already raspy breath shaking. Howl shook his head, twining his fingers with hers as she tried to escape. "Let me go." She whispered. Howl didn't move, his thumb running soothing circles on the inside of her palm. His fingers grazed the scar where the blood pact had been made and she sighed softly.
Howl ran his free hand down her exposed shoulders and gently placed his forehead to hers. "I'm fine. Completely fine. Are you?" Her crazy hair tickled his shoulder, her lips lingering dangerously close to his own. Without hesitating, he gently picked her up and set her in his lap, cradling her to his chest.
Korra wondered if he was truly okay or if he was lying to protect her. As much as she wanted to believe the first one, a shroud of doubt filled her mind. He was always trying to protect her even when she didn't need it. Though she adored his papa-bear attitude, she was frightened that it would lead to trust issues, especially with her. She inhaled softly and her worries were washed away as his pleasant smoky scent washed over her. It was his masculinity; his simple smoky scent a lot like an unknown addiction. She wanted more but was too frightful and too tired to ask.
After what seemed like hours of leaning against his chest, she felt him shift uncomfortably. "Damn," He breathed, letting go of her soft skin and crawling out from underneath the sheets. Korra saw all of the scratch marks on his back, still red. The love bite on his shoulder was dark purple with yellow edges. Her stomach twisted with realization of how badly it had happened, of how un-perfect it was. She dipped her head in defeat.
Howl slid on his underwear and pants, glancing back at her. She had curled back into a ball, her eyes partially closed. Without thinking he twisted around and loomed over her, his nose touching her cheek. He heard her hum softly in appreciation and approval, and he lowered his lips to her searing skin. Though the fire in the fireplace had gone out long ago as they had slept and the candles were burned down to their wicks, she was still on fire. Heat surged through his lower body, tingling as his lips explored her earlobe. She giggled softly, her chest shaking in humor. Words came from his throat, first nothing but a whisper but growing louder and louder with each lull of the moment. "I love you, Korra."
He put all of the truth behind his words. Korra could hardly breathe as he pressed all of his weight onto her lower half. Though he was partially clothed, she could still feel his strong member against her stomach. He loved her even if she caused him pain. She did the same. Howl's teeth grazed her sensitive skin along her scalp, his gentle words shrinking back to their tender volume. His breath was sizzling, husky, wild with arousal. He wanted her again as badly as she did.
It wouldn't take as long as it did the night before; all that stood in her way was his thick pants. Her fingers found their way to the hem of his trousers, where the path of fine black hairs led, where her new found desire was contained. His skin was on fire as she tugged both of the unnecessary pieces of clothing off, no longer blocking her entrance. She felt his kisses grow more intense, felt the passion and affection as his tongue invaded her lips. Light, playful tugs and nips sent frenzies of incredible joy down her body.
His large hand had a tight grip on her arm as she completely undid his pants. She yelped softly as he accidentally pulled on her upper lip too hard and tasted the metallic tang of blood fill her mouth. Howl pulled farther away for a few moments, searching her face for signs of discomfort or disgust. Instead, she took his hesitation and pushed him down so that she was the one leaning over him, a wide smirk on her face. His jaw dropped with shock which she quickly covered with her lips. Howl tried to push her back over but she wrapped her legs around his waist and kept their naked bodies close together, with her on top.
Korra kissed his ear, shivering out of lust and love mixed as his lips fell against the skin above her breast. Her fingers intertwined with his, their touches on each other's skin like a wildfire of emotions. She gasped as Howl's lips continued to lower, his lips touching her bare stomach. Oh no, no, she had to have him now.
Howl felt her give in to his eager kisses and flipped their positions. He leaned over her once more, though an unhappy smirk crossed Korra's features. He kissed her gently before moving his voice to her ear. "Next time," He promised. She giggled underneath him, her arms lacing themselves around his neck. With their mouths engaged in fierce supremacy, Howl slid himself into her slowly. Korra gasped and threw back her head, leaving her throat exposed. Her fingers tangled themselves in his dark hair as bliss surged through her, his tender skin attached to hers.
Then, with her approval, he started to move faster. Her breath caught every time he slid into her, her fingers would dig into his scalp. His kisses became too much for her to handle, her mouth too focused on trying not to shout out than kissing. Her body twitched with every thrust, her soft cries of ecstasy growing louder and louder. She hardly felt his blazing touch as he cupped her cheek, hardly noticed his lips on hers. Her torso thrust up to meet his whenever he pushed himself into her.
The pulsating ache in her abdomen returned just as the whiteness did. Howl's final thrust sent both pain and overriding pleasure throughout their entire, conjoined bodies. Korra let out her loudest scream before she buried her cry into his shoulder. She dug her nails into his scalp, unable to help herself, before both emotions left her, leaving her withdrawn and exhausted. Howl fell against her chest, his breathing shaky. Korra immediately felt bad; he was the one doing all the work. But next time, she would change that.
Sadly, their time together didn't last for long. Howl grunted, placing his lips against hers once. He was still shaking, but it wasn't for the same reason Korra was. She stroked his cheek with her hand, sighing to herself as he crawled off the bed. His golden eyes looked utterly exhausted as he struggled to pull his clothes on. As he did, she noticed how many bruises still remained on his chest; three dark purple ones from where Bruce had kicked him and two more from Bruce's punches. His split lip didn't look as bad as she knew it should but she was thankful for that.
She noticed where she had explored; around his pectorals, around his nipple, and lower, lower, where the dark line of black hairs disappeared into complete and utter—Howl pulled on his tunic, distracting her from her thoughts. She yanked the covers up around her throat and watched him as he moved towards his discarded uniform. Her eyes scanned his face and caught the only emotion readable; simple upset. "Please don't go." She whispered before she could stop herself.
Howl glanced up and caught sight of how small she seemed. Her hair was so haphazard and sprawled out in different directions. Her blue eyes were full of sadness, but nothing like the dream he'd had. Her body was mostly hidden by the fur pelts resting over her. "I have to." He said softly, adjusting his cloak so that it rested under his breastplate. His feet, with the mind of their own, moved towards her.
"You'll come back?" She questioned, leaning up to kiss him. Their lips met for a moment, just enough time to feel the fervor and love enlaced in them. Howl smiled as he moved her hair behind her ear.
"I always do." He answered, kissing her forehead and moving towards the door to grab his helmet. "I love you, Korra."
Though she couldn't see his eyes, she heard it in his voice. The truth.