SQ – Surprise, a new chapter! I decided to give a little February treat and post this one a bit faster than usual. Thank you all for favoriting and following me and my story. Thanks, also, for the comments.

Note: things get a bit hot and heavy in this one. After all, this story is rated M for a reason. You have been warned.

[Chapter 12: Frozen Memories]

Raven hated herself for doing it. Hated herself for grabbing Starfire, shoving her into the chair, binding her arms and legs with dark magic. Hated how soft Starfire's skin felt under her palms, how wide Starfire's green eyes had become, how her lower lip trembled. Raven hated it. Her fingers slipped. She clenched her jaw, a hiss escaping between her teeth. And yet, she couldn't stop. Couldn't do anything different. Couldn't help herself. How could she have been so idiotic? So dumb! So… foolish to let that woman in… anger burned within her.

Hoarfrost started to laugh, low at first like the rumbling of a nearby car. Maybe Raven could ignore it. Maybe Starfire wouldn't hear it. Then Hoarfrost's laughter grew louder, bubbling over, spilling into the room. Raven straightened next to Starfire and since she finished her commanded task, turned toward the noise.

"After all this time, all the nights you kept me up gushing over these Teen Titans, I expected something more challenging. A hint of greatness, resistance, even." Hoarfrost's hands swept the room. "Nothing. They could do nothing! I had them under my thumb in less than a minute. And I have you to thank for that, Raven."

Of course the woman had to be true. This was Raven's fault. Raven pursued her lips, her jaw ached. She strained against the spell cast upon her. She couldn't move her legs, arms, or hands. Nothing that could allow Raven to attack her captor. No, Hoarfrost knew her better than that. Raven's anger flashed, boiling just beneath her skin. She couldn't undo this. Hoarfrost's statement rang true.

Starfire shifted in her bindings. "You do not have me."

A burst of pride shot through Raven, warming her. She shifted her gaze down to the gorgeous alien strapped down by her own darkness. Starfire kept her back straight, her arms straining against the bonds that held her, her eyes trained on Raven's ex flame. Of course Starfire would fight back. But… Raven looked toward Hoarfrost… how would Hoarfrost retaliate? The woman pursed her lips and flicked her hair off her shoulder. Raven knew Hoarfrost would do anything to get what she wanted. No one had ever resisted her sorcery before. She'd want to know why. And how. Suddenly, Raven wished Starfire hadn't spoken at all.

Hoarfrost smirked, tapping her arm with a gloved hand. "True. I don't have you. Where did you say you were from?"

"You have not asked of where I am from." Starfire lifted her chin. "And I will not tell you."

"We'll see about that, little alien." Hoarfrost sashayed over to Starfire and leaned down, now eye level with her. "Maybe I need to be a little bit closer for my magic to work." She grasped Starfire's chin. "I want you to tell me where you are from."

Raven's power swirled as she glared at Hoarfrost, wanting to lash out at her, wishing she could sock her in the jaw, slam her into the window and shove her out of it. Wishing she could do something. But she couldn't. She couldn't protect Starfire from this vile woman. She couldn't protect anyone. Not even herself. Her darkness pulsed, twisting through her core, slamming into her skin, straining to get out. Longing to touch Hoarfrost, not to caress, but to attack.

Starfire's voice remained clear. "I will never tell you."

Hoarfrost tightened her grip, fingernails scraping a red line across Starfire's cheek. "Wanna bet?"

The red lines on Starfire's cheeks burned into Raven's mind. Her power lashed out on its own accord. Darkness spiraled from her relaxed fingers. It slammed into Hoarfrost's chest, throwing her to the ground. But Hoarfrost reacted too quickly for Raven's power to continue. The woman threw herself at Raven, grabbing hold of Raven's arm with one hand and the side of her neck with the other. The scent of over-ripe bananas lingered on Hoarfrost's breath. Hoarfrost drew herself even closer to Raven, pulling their bodies together. But anger still coursed through Raven. Anger she couldn't, and didn't, want to contain. Hoarfrost's magic tamed Raven's darkness, pushing it to the floor.

Her lips brushed Raven's when she spoke. "My, my, my, Raven, you are still the angry one, aren't you?"

Raven couldn't answer. Her darkness pooled, drifting toward Raven's feet. Docile. Why wouldn't her power fight back?

"Maybe we should be a bit closer too, hmmm?" Hoarfrost wrapped her arms around Raven's neck, sapphire eyes capturing their prey. After a few moments, Hoarfrost shifted one arm and tossed her white gloves behind her. She placed both hands on Raven's neck, inching her thumbs up Raven's cheeks.

Raven tried to be brave. Failed. Her mouth dried.

"Let's change that, shall we?" Hoarfrost's eyes whitened briefly, intensifying her spell. Her palms grew colder, pulling Raven's heat, calling Raven's power to her. Raven's darkness dissipated into her body. Crashed through her system. Pooled now beneath Hoarfrost's palms. The anger had dissipated, too. Replaced by the same longing as before. The same need to be close to Hoarfrost. To be taken by her. Loved by her. Raven stepped closer to Hoarfrost, running her hands up Hoarfrost's back, intending to pull her in for a kiss.

Hoarfrost snuck a hand between them and stopped the kiss within a hairs width of Raven's lips. She tilted her head and whispered into Raven's ear. "Much better."

The woman backed away, sapphire eyes smoldering. "But I can't have that happen again. I want you to shift some of your darkness into me."

Raven lifted her hand, palm up. "Then that is what I shall deliver."

Hoarfrost touched Raven's palm with four of her fingers, her pinky lifted away. A ball of light spiraled together between Hoarfrost's fingers and hung just above Raven's skin. Raven's darkness rushed to the spot, melding with the light, caressing the sphere, pulsing outward then submerging again. A dance of two magics. A dance of lovers. It pierced Hoarfrost's palm the same moment Hoarfrost's light dove into Raven's.

Raven's hand tensed. Her body tensed. Her entire soul tensed from the contact. Her magic drained through that touch, quicker than ever before. But she wanted more. She needed more. Wanted physical contact. Yearned for it. Hoarfrost stepped back, lifting her hand from Raven's. The ball of light remained, and a tendril of darkness moved with Hoarfrost. Raven's magic still shifted to her ex flame even with their contact broken.

A nagging thought grew in the back of Raven's mind. Once their physical contact broke, their magic would sever, too. But the thought shifted away again, disappearing from her mind as if it was never there.

"What do you want, Raven?" Hoarfrost smiled. "I want you to tell me what you want."

The words flew past her lips before Raven could even think. "I want you."

Starfire gasped. But Raven didn't care. She wanted the whole world to know. If only she could've said those three words louder, shouted them from the rooftops.

Hoarfrost kissed her on the cheek. The spot on Raven's skin seem to freeze from that slight contact.

"Then you'll have me." Hoarfrost turned her gaze on Starfire. "But not quite yet. I'm still not done with this little alien. In the meantime, I want you to remember my gift, remember me. I want you to remember us."

Raven's eyes unfocused, the room shifted, blurred as Hoarfrost's spell drew her down into her memories. Before the room completely darkened, though, Raven saw Hoarfrost turn back to Starfire and slap her across the cheek.

But the memories had already claimed Raven enough to stop her from doing anything about it.

Raven opened her eyes. When had she closed them? Why had she closed them? She couldn't miss anything about this night. She didn't want to. Not the feel of the cool silk sheets as they shifted over her naked skin. Not the soft mattress bending under her weight. Not the taste of over-ripe bananas lingering on her lips.

She didn't want to miss any of it.

Movement by the bathroom door claimed her attention. Her love would be ready soon. Her gaze skipped from her dresser where a heap of trinkets cluttered the top to the end-table where books lay open. She wished she had tidied up a little bit more before Hoarfrost came over. But then she noticed the dark clothes on the floor, leaving a path from the door to her bed.

Or maybe they could make a bit more of a mess.

The bathroom door whined. Opened. Light spilled from it, washing onto the floor, falling on Raven. She lifted the sheets over her chest. Stupid, silly move. A habit hard to break.

A curved silhouette appeared in the light. "I never knew you to be shy, Raven." The figure turned, exposing the curve of a covered breast.

Raven swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She dropped the sheets. The silk flowed down her skin, tickling it. "And I've never known you to stand in one place for so long, Hoarfrost."

Hoarfrost laughed and moved to the base of Raven's bed. "True." She gathered the silk in one hand and with one swift motion, tugged it off and threw it to the floor.

Raven's skin prickled with cold. Or was it anticipation?

Raven watched as Hoarfrost's gaze swept up and down her body, lingering on her exposed breasts and the curve of her thighs. She flexed her legs a little, self-conscious her large leg muscles. Surely such things weren't attractive. But Hoarfrost, saying nothing, lowered herself to the bed and placed her hands on Raven's ankles. She ran her hands up Raven's shins, knees, thighs, all the way up to her hips. Hoarfrost's touch left a freezing sensation in their wake. Raven had never felt anything like it before. And she wanted more. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She reached down to pull Hoarfrost up for a kiss, twisting her hands into Hoarfrost's soft hair. The kiss deepened as Raven slipped her tongue past her lover's lips, wanting, needing to taste her. The sweetness of her banana smoothie still lingered.

Hoarfrost pulled away, lips cherry red. A slow smile spread on them. "Not so fast." She straddled Raven, one knee on either side of Raven's hips.

"That isn't fast?" Raven said, nodding to her lover's position. Light washed around Hoarfrost, accentuating the thin blue fabric on her shoulders and hips. Raven became acutely aware of how naked she actually was, and how two very important thin pieces of clothe still separated her from her lover. She reached for Hoarfrost's bra, but Hoarfrost slipped a hand between her fingers and the fabric and pushed that hand down onto the mattress. She did the same with Raven's other. Her feet hooked around Raven's knees.

Captive.

All at once, Raven had become captive.

Hoarfrost bent down, her hair spilling over her shoulder, and kissed Raven's neck, tracing a path from her collar bone to her lips. "I'd like to try something out first, if you don't mind."

Raven wanted to say 'I'll try anything for you' but even in her head that sounded too cheesy, too needy. Instead she murmured, "Like what?"

Hoarfrost's eyes glowed white. An odd white. It should have unsettled Raven. But it didn't. It captivated her. Hoarfrost lowered herself, brushing her lips against Raven's while saying, "I want you to fill me with your magic, your lovely darkness."

"Then that is what I shall deliver." Raven didn't know why her words came out so formal, didn't know why she even said them, didn't care. Over the past few months, she had learned to love Hoarfrost, and wanted, needed, longed for Hoarfrost to love her back.

Raven called up her powers, letting them rush over her, flow over her skin, crash through her soul. She pooled the energy between their fingers, hesitant to give it at first. Not knowing what would happen. She caressed Hoarfrost's pinky with her magic, dusting feather light touches across the back of her hand, swirling around her fingertips. Then, all at once, her power dove into Hoarfrost's palm. Her power ripped off the thin fabric covering Hoarfrost's, exposing her skin.

Hoarfrost's back arched, her breasts jiggling from the sudden movement, the sudden release, her mouth parted. In joy? No, the warmth spreading over Raven's stomach told her the emotions running through Hoarfrost was not joy, it was ecstasy. Hoarfrost moaned. Her hands clutched Raven's tighter. Her thighs squeezed Raven's hips. Definitely not something as quiet as joy. But Raven's power drained too fast, she wouldn't be able to keep this up, wouldn't be able to hold this flow much longer.

But she had to keep Hoarfrost satiated. She had to fill her somehow. Raven could be dark in different ways. Tensing her arms, Raven threw herself sideways, tumbling on top of Hoarfrost in the process. The captive becoming the captor. She tore her hands away, called the last of her power up, and lashed Hoarfrost's wrists to the bedposts. The dark bonds wouldn't hurt, never hurt, just keep her still for a little bit.

She searched Hoarfrost's sapphire eyes. "Is this okay?"

Hoarfrost, bathed in the warm light, nodded. Her pale skin seemed to glimmer. But not for long.

Raven ran her hands down Hoarfrost's skin, unable to resist nipping Hoarfrost's neck, drawing a pink line down and over the curve of her pale breast. Raven sucked a small tight nipple between her lips, swirling it with her tongue. Hoarfrost gasped, bucking under Raven's form.

Raven pushed a knee between Hoarfrost's legs, grinding down, feeling the hot wetness waiting for her. She let the nipple go with one last lick and focused on the other one. She had one new technique, a darker one. Would Hoarfrost like it? Raven gently pushed the nipple against her upper teeth with her tongue. Hoarfrost moaned her name, arching her back and spreading her legs. Raven couldn't contain her smile. She let the hard nipple go, grinding her leg faster between Hoarfrost's. Her hands wandered to Hoarfrost's sides and her lips claimed her lover's.

"Please, Raven," Hoarfrost panted, eyes darkening, her wild woman scent filling the air.

Lifting her leg, Raven slipped a hand between Hoarfrost instead. Raven's fingers found what they searched for - Hoarfrost's clitoris. She tweaked it, like she had done a dozen times before. Slipping her fingers between the wet folds, Raven found the rhythm of her lover's rocking hips. Her lover moaned.

Raven needed to do this for her. Needed to make her come. Her magic snapped away and Hoarfrost wrapped her arms around Raven's shoulders, clawing at her back, leaving an icy trail in their wake. Raven's heart pounded, her own need surging to the surface as Hoarfrost writhed beneath her, clenching around Raven. Hoarfrost threw her head back and a flood of warmth ran down Raven's hand.

When Hoarfrost's shivers had finally subsided, she narrowed her eyes at Raven, who smiled in return. Raven kissed the curve where her shoulder met her neck. "You asked for it, love."

Hoarfrost laughed, rolling so that Raven lay on her back. Her eyes raked over Raven's form. She pinched each of Raven's nipples once. Raven gasped, pleasure spearing down between her legs, aching for contact, aching for release. She stared at her lover, unable to tear her eyes away, as the light haloed bright red around her lover's head. Hoarfrost scraped her hands down Raven's sides, but the pain only intensified Raven's bliss.

She twisted her hands into the mattress, letting out a low groan. Hoarfrost's hands on pushed her thighs, forcing them apart. Raven let them open, the cool air shocking her warmth. Hoarfrost buried her head between them. She gave Raven one long lingering lick, then pressed her tongue inside her folds only to withdraw.

Raven's lower stomach ached, she pushed her hands into Hoarfrost's hair. She couldn't take much longer. Couldn't stand much longer. Her body twisted beneath Hoarfrost, skirting away then pressing harder into Hoarfrost's waiting lips.

Hoarfrost grasped her hips, holding her in place, and drew Raven's clit into her mouth, swirling it with her tongue. The pressure, the lovely agony ached in Raven, threw her head side to side, her hands shoving Hoarfrost deeper. She opened her legs wider, giving her lover more space, wanting more, wanting more, wanting more.

Hoarfrost acquiesced, slipping her fingers deep into Raven's folds. Raven gasped, pleasure coursing through her body, sheer bliss rocking her into Hoarfrost, her breathing ragged. Light poured around Hoarfrost's body, tinting her skin orange. But Raven didn't care. Her muscles contracted around Hoarfrost. She came. A warm release. A yell escaped her, too. Raven relaxed, staring at her lover, but Hoarfrost kept thrusting in and out, in and out.

The ache built once more. "Wait, Hoarfrost, wai-" She couldn't finish the sentence. Hoarfrost had pulled Raven's nipple into her mouth, grazing her teeth against it. Waves of ecstasy rushed through Raven. She pulled Hoarfrost's chin up to meet her gaze. She wanted to see her, needed to see her lover, when she came again.

Hoarfrost's eyes, once white, then blue, flashed green. Raven couldn't piece it together. Her mind couldn't form a string of thoughts long enough to care. She rocked against Hoarfrost, grasping her neck, her shoulders, anything to keep them connected. Her deep ache unwound in shivers this time. Finally Hoarfrost withdrew. Raven relaxed fully. So fully a few disconnected thoughts skittered through her foggy pleasure-ridden mind.

Orange skin. Green eyes. Red hair. Starfire.

Starfire.

Starfire.

Raven sat up.

She blinked.

And Hoarfrost's spell broke.

The bedroom shattered around her, the silky sheets melted away, Hoarfrost's naked form disappeared. The light spilling from the bathroom brightened. Then dimmed.

The Tower's living room pieced back into view.

Hoarfrost, still leaning over Starfire, smirked. "Have fun, Raven? We can do the real thing in a minute, you know. Once I'm done with this little alien, of course."

Raven's gaze skipped past Hoarfrost and landed on Starfire. A cut had opened up on her lip. The scratches on her cheek had turned a deeper crimson. And her eyes, those beautiful green eyes, stared at Raven, not in love, but in horror.

SQ – I hope you liked this chapter. Comments and critiques are both welcome. Until next time! (Hoarfrost is a character of my own creation, not found in the TT universe.)